Free Instant Family by Elisabeth Rose Page A

his fault."
    "Just do it."
    Katy slid off her chair and flounced to the kitchen. Chloe exhaled
heavily. She leaned her elbows on the table and covered her face
with her hands. This was too much, too complicated. She did her best.
She tried to protect them and nurture them, and what happened? Seb
accused her of being a cow, when the whole situation was his fault in
the first place.
    But she had to prepare him for the fact that Alex's friendship
might be short-lived. He was a busy man, and he certainly wouldn't
want a teenage boy hanging around all the time. Seb would feel
discarded and unwanted, and what would he do then? Alex felt
sorry for them, that was all. He was doing his charitable deed for the
year-helping Seb, inviting her for lunch. Plenty of people helped
them in all sorts of little ways. All their neighbors were very supportive, but they didn't offer charity, and the Gardiner family didn't
need it anymore. Do-gooders had been rife immediately after the
tragedy, but now only the genuine, caring friends remained. As it
should be.
    Alex Bergman wasn't one of those. Seb mustn't think he could
rely on him. None of them should. The only people they could rely
on were one another. The only adult they had to rely on was her. She
wouldn't let them down. Never, ever.

    A pair of arms slid awkwardly around her shoulders. "Are you
crying, Chloe?" asked Katy softly.
    Chloe smiled and shook her head. She wiped her eyes quickly
with the backs of her hands, discovering that a few tears had escaped unnoticed. "No." She slipped her arm around the slim body
and squeezed. Katy climbed into her lap for a cuddle, and Chloe
rested her head against the smooth cap of hair.
    "Do you think Simba will ever come home?" Katy asked.
    "She might. Cats sometimes get into the storm drains and lose
their way." Chloe pressed a gentle kiss onto Katy's head.
    "She might find another family."
    "I think she'd want to come back to us. She's never lived anywhere else."
    The boys were convinced she'd been run over. Katy was adamant
she was alive. Chloe was unsure but secretly and reluctantly assumed the boys were right. Thinking about the missing Simba didn't
relieve the teariness one bit. She sniffed.
    "Alex wants to speak to you." Seb's voice startled her. He stood
beside her, holding out the phone.
    "Chloe can't talk now. She's crying," said Katy with fierce protectiveness.
    "No, I'm not" Chloe grabbed the receiver, covering the mouthpiece with one hand. "What does he want?" she hissed over Katy's
shoulder to Seb.
    Seb shrugged with sullen disdain. He turned away. Chloe eased
Katy gently off her lap and stood up.
    "Hello."
    "Are you all right? Why are you crying?" She sat down again immediately because her legs totally gave way. No strength, no bones,
as feeble as the spaghetti they'd eaten for dinner. His voice poured
into her ear like melted chocolate. Sweet, rich-toned, full of care.
No wife.
    "I'm not crying." But the way the words jerked from her mouth
and the spontaneous gasp of air negated the statement.
    Katy said, "You were."
    Chloe strode from the room, heading for her bedroom and privacy
while Alex said into her ear, "Must be tough at times being a mum."

    "It's impossible at times. Especially when people interfere. They
think they're helping, but they're not." She stopped abruptly, drawing in ragged breaths, her heart pounding.
    "Anything or anyone in particular?" Now his voice was cool,
bland.
    Chloe hesitated. She couldn't attack him over something that hadn't
happened yet. At the moment Seb was fulfilling his part of the deal,
and so was Alex. Leave it. But monitor it. Keep a wide, businesslike distance between them.
    "Not really. I'm... Katy's upset because the cat's missing. What
did you want to say to me?"
    "I wanted to check that you approved of Seb and Julian coming
over tomorrow to help with the awning. Seb works like a demon. I'm
very impressed."
    "Good." So it was Seb now rather than Sebastian.