Free Ready for Marriage? by Ann Major, Beverly Barton Anne Marie Winston

nerve to tell him she was sleeping with Craig on a regular basis, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie.
    ‘‘If he’s going to be appearing in your life frequently, I want to meet him.’’
    ‘‘You know,’’ she said conversationally, holding onto her temper by a thread, ‘‘I’m well over the age of consent and you’re not my father.’’
    ‘‘Are you going to see him again?’’ He was inflexible. Impossible.
    She hesitated, then realized he wasn’t going toback off until she answered him. ‘‘Probably not.’’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘‘My dating life is none of your business.’’
    He shoved off the file cabinet abruptly and headed out of her office. She followed, completely bewildered and more than a little annoyed, as he bent and swung Mollie into his arms.
    ‘‘Give Kristin a kiss,’’ he said to his daughter. And as Kristin reached out and caught the little girl, Derek sent her an enigmatic smile over the child’s head. ‘‘Everything you do is my business, Kris.’’
    On Thursday night, Faye got fast food for Mollie and him, although he had to snatch bites of his burger between patients. By the time he finished examining the last animal of the evening and got to the fries they were stone-cold and unappealing, so he pitched them into the trash. The food was a far cry from the usual tasty meals he’d enjoyed when Kristin was in his life.
    God, he missed her. He’d stopped by the sanctuary Monday night hoping to catch her there. But their encounter had left him dissatisfied and somewhat alarmed by her evasiveness.
    Was she serious about dating other people? He’d expected to have more time. More time for what?
    More time to procrastinate, he finally told himself. More time to tell himself they weren’t right for each other. More time to pretend he wasn’t interested, didn’t want her, wasn’t going to care if she got involved with some other man. More time to pedal backward every time she came near.
    He was, he realized, exactly the same as a woman who said no when she meant yes. He wanted Kristin, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it. She’d been right when she accused him of keeping her around for convenience sake, only it wasn’t jobs he wanted her for. If she was tied up with him, she was too busy to be going out with anyone else.
    Only trouble with that strategy was, she wasn’t around anymore. The Fourth of July had been a prime example. As he and Mollie had sat on their solitary blanket at the fireworks, his mind had been a jumble, mixed emotions clouding his brain.
    He’d looked for Kris. He’d taken Mollie for a walk through the crowds to buy some caramel corn although his real mission, he could finally allow himself to see, had been to find Kris. But they hadn’t seen Kristin and her date, and later, as his daughter dozed off on the blanket beside him and the sky exploded into bright shards of light, all he could think of was Kris. Why hadn’t he seen her? It was possible he’d simply missed her, but surely she’d have called out to Mollie, even if she didn’t want to talk to him.
    Had they decided not to attend? And if not, where were they and what were they doing? He gritted his teeth against the anger that rose once more at the thought of Kristin in another man’s arms. He had no right to be mad, he told himself. He wasn’t ready to declare himself, wasn’t prepared to begin taking herout. He should be glad that she was turning her attentions away from him.
    But he wasn’t. He felt as if he’d had a bucket of ice water tossed in his face and he recognized that he probably deserved it. All right , he told himself. If you want her, you’re going to have to let her know .
    He felt as if he’d been wrapped in insulation since Deb had died, as if his feelings had been cushioned, his interest in the other sex muted by his loss. But now his insulation had been stripped away and all he could think of was how much he wanted Kristin.
    Without a conscious