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the stable yesterday. It was one thing to ignore him in a room full of people but almost impossible when alone.
    So I’ll just make a point of avoiding alone-time with him.
    She’d planned to start by getting ready early and avoiding his offer of a ride altogether.
    The jerk ruined that plot by showing up at eight, bearing coffee and donuts.
    No, not the donuts!
    If Gigi was enamored of him before, he now had entered a god-like realm. As her daughter happily licked chocolate icing while watching Treehouse , Crystal eyed Kyle over her steaming cup of coffee—three sugars with cream. Just how she liked it.
    “This isn’t going to work,” she said, going on the offensive.
    “What won’t work?” was his innocent reply.
    Innocent? Ha. “This. The coffee, donuts, you being so nice to Gigi.”
    “First off, I like your daughter, and I liked her before I knew who her mother was. Second, well, I’m guilty of the second part. Once I knew where you lived, it wasn’t hard to figure out where you might go for coffee and to bargain that info out of Mario.” Mario being the fellow who owned and ran the only coffee shop in town.
    “Bargain? What exactly did you promise him?”
    “I’ve got to go over on Boxing Day and hook up his boy’s Xbox system that he’s getting for Christmas.”
    She snickered. “I see Mario’s a busy fellow. In exchange for coffee and donuts twice a week, I give his mangy cat a bath.”
    “That beast? You’re a brave woman.”
    “Not really. One good snarl from me and he’s putty in my hands.”
    “Putty, eh? I don’t know how soft you’d find me if you got your hands on me.” Nothing subtle about his innuendo or grin.
    Flustered, because despite her pep talk to herself she was tempted by his charm, Crystal turned to more mundane matters, such as wiping sugar off Gigi’s hands and face then bundling her in to her outerwear.
    As they drove to the community center, she noted a tow truck by her car.
    “Oh no. What’s he doing?” she exclaimed.
    “Pete’s taking it to his garage for a peek. Although, if you ask me, I think you should send it to the scrapyard. That car’s done its time.”
    “I can’t afford a new one, just like I can’t afford someone to look at it,” she muttered, not without some embarrassment.
    “Don’t worry about the cost. Pete owes me a few favors.”
    “Favors you should keep. I can’t pay you back.”
    “No one said you had to.”
    No, but her pride had already accepted too much charity of late. “Why are you determined to help me?”
    Gigi, with the simple eloquence of a child, had a quick response. “Because he’s a knight, and knights always help princesses in trouble.”
    Not in Crystal’s world. But maybe the cycle would end with her daughter, who seemed to have found a champion in Kyle. Thing was, Crystal knew better than to expect anything for free. Ultimately, he’d expect something in return. Something she bet that would involve tongue and naked skin.
    Dream on.
    Once they reached the community center, she tried to ditch him with the excuse of bringing Gigi to the daycare area. However, her daughter resisted.
    “I don’t wanna go.” A jutting lower lip completed her stubborn refusal.
    “Mama’s got a few things to do, and then we can go home.” Crystal waited for the second half of their usual argument where she begged to stay with Crystal. A family therapist she’d spoken to had urged Crystal to encourage her daughter to spend time with others to foster independence. Whether Gigi liked it or not, spending time with other children was necessary. So Crystal prepared her rebuttal as her daughter opened her mouth.
    “Wanna stay with Kyle.”
    Rewind. Crystal stared at her daughter. That wasn’t part of their usual script.
    “Who wants to hang with me?” Kyle asked.
    Crystal jumped in before her daughter could. “No one. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than have a little girl underfoot.”
    “I could use an