Free Must Like Kids by Jackie Braun Page A

know where Grant Park is, and I’d imagine it won’t be that hard to find the event. All I have to do is listen for the sound of crying babies,” he drawled, more to irritate her than anything else.
    “That’s right. Crying babies.” Her lips pursed and she snagged the mirrored sunglasses from his hand before he could slip them on. “You’ll need to leave these off when you get there. Approachable, remember? No one wants to be looking at their reflection when they’re talking to you. Eye contact is important. It tells people that you care about them. It says you’re interested in what they have to say and have nothing to hide.”
    “Windows to the soul?” he taunted.
    “For those who have one.”
    Alec wasn’t sure whether to curse or laugh when, after giving him that lecture, she slipped on her own sunglasses.

FIVE
    The man was infuriating. He was smug. Brash. Arrogant. Insufferable. And he was way too skilled with his mouth. The kiss he’d given her as they’d stood in his living room had all but caused her toes to curl.
    For that reason, Julia kept the sunglasses snug on the bridge of her nose for the better part of the afternoon. Even when the sky began to darken with the first fat clouds of the evening’s approaching storm, she remained hidden behind the tinted lenses. Hidden was a good word for it. She felt too exposed to face Alec otherwise.
    Forget that foolish dream she’d had. It now paled in comparison to the real thing. What had she been thinking, letting him kiss her and then kissing him back like that? She should have pulled away at first contact. She should have stepped away before contact was made. His expression had made his intention plain, even if it all had happened so quickly. She couldn’t plead ignorance, only insanity.
    Now, no matter how hard she tried, that kiss refused to be exiled to the outer reaches of her mind. It remained front and center as the pair of them worked their way through a park packed with babies, toddlers and the harried young mothers who were running herd over them. With just a brush of his lips, he’d stoked to life the flames of a fire Julia had thought long burned out. She would be lying if she claimed not to have found Alec physically attractive from the very start, but she hadn’t seen all of that heat coming. Or the need it would ignite inside her.
    His words taunted her now. Is that your idea of fooling around? If so, you need to get out more. It entails a whole lot more than kissing.
    Indeed it did.
    Her friends would agree with Alec that she needed to get out more, as would her sister Eloise, who had tried more than once to fix up Julia. But Julia had too many responsibilities to take time out for romance. Besides, she was content with her life just as it was. She ignored the rebellious voice inside her head that insisted she was a liar.
    “What next?” Alec asked.
    “I don’t know.”
    He frowned and she realized he was talking about what he was supposed to be doing now that the contest was over and the cutest baby had been crowned. The judging had gone surprisingly well, even if the initial reception Alec received had been on the cool side. No one had booed outright when the coordinator introduced him, but the crowd’s applause had been more perfunctory than enthusiastic.
    Julia cleared her throat. “What I mean to say is you should mingle and start handing out coupons.”
    She reached into her oversized handbag and produced a thick envelope, which she gave to him.
    “Marketing emailed these over and I printed them out this morning.”
    He took the envelope, which he stuffed into his back pocket. “Mingle. Right.”
    Despite his casual attire, Alec stood out amid the crowd, in large part because he was one of the few men in attendance. All around them, mothers were scurrying after little ones who were eager to see how far and how fast their chubby legs could carry them. Children squealed in delight and cried out in frustration at being told