Courting the Clown Read Online Free PDF Page A

caution.
    She told herself to get a grip. He was the father of two little girls. A widower, probably. He had no business making her stomach flutter like that, and she had no business wondering what he looked like asleep.
    In the back seat, two faces were pressed against the window. Nick saw her looking that way and glanced backwards. “Emily! Back in your seat belt!” he growled, then opened the passenger door and gestured Sylvie over. “I take it you don’t have a key?”
    Reluctantly she walked to the car, then sat in the front seat again, feeling trapped. “Right.”
    “Can we drive you home then?”
    “Can’t get in. My keys are in there.” She was feeling exhausted and helpless. She’d been so close to ending this entire nightmare, and then she’d come up against a closed door. It wasn’t fair.
    Nick’s fingers drummed on the wheel, but he didn’t look too put out on being stuck with a homeless clown. He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “Someone you can call?”
    She waved the cell phone away. “Actually, I’ll just have to wait.” She glanced at her watch. “It’ll be an hour at the most. Then the Sant.... uh...” She took a hurried glimpse in the back seat, but the girls hadn’t noticed her slip. Kids still believed in Santa at that age, didn’t they? “I mean, the... staff starts returning from the malls.”
    Nick pulled away from the curb and she nearly shrieked. Was she being abducted? “No problem,” he said. “We’ll keep you company. How about we have an early dinner together? The girls need something to eat anyway, to counter all the sugar in their system.”
    Emily whooped enthusiastically and even Lana cracked a tiny smile. Dinner? Sylvie cursed herself for not having carried at least a tiny amount of emergency money. She wasn’t quite destitute yet, thank God, but she didn’t have even a penny with her. “I’m not dressed for a restaurant...” she protested.
    “No problem. We’ll go to a fast food place. One of those horrible places that serves crappy plastic toys with the meals.”
    There were even wilder shouts of joy from the back seat.
    “Nobody will even notice you this time of year.” He winked at her. “Of course, the restaurant may try to recruit you...”
    “Actually, I don’t have any money on me,” she grumbled, feeling humiliated. “I told you. Everything’s back at the store. Keys, money, phone, lipstick, hairbrush. All the essentials. Yes, stupid, but all of this wasn’t supposed to happen.”
    Nick glanced in a rearview mirror. “After what Emily did to you today, I think she owes you a meal or two. Consider it an advance payment on the clown job you’ll be doing for us.”
    Sylvie bit her lip before the curse flew out of her mouth at the mention of that ‘clown job’. She’d promised to do her best, after all. If he couldn’t find an alternative. Wouldn’t do to negate on that now. “I’ll pay you back as soon as I reclaim my purse,” she said firmly.
    “Sure,” Nick said diplomatically, probably knowing better than to object.
    She was hungry. But...
    Sylvie looked wretchedly down at herself. “I don’t know. I can’t possibly go anywhere in public looking like this.”
    “Sure you can.” Nick turned to study her carefully, then reached out to touch her cheek. “It looks like we can’t do anything about the make-up without a blowtorch or that crowbar, but now your wig is off, it’s not too bad.”
    She knew it was worse than bad and gave him a look that said so, loud and clear, but she appreciated his attempt at being a gentleman. “But the costume! It probably glows in the dark!” She pulled at the pink polka dots, but Nick just shook his head and herded his daughters out of the car. He opened the door for her, and as she stepped out, he put his coat over her shoulders. “There. Nary a polka dot in sight.”
    The coat was heavy on her shoulders, and warm enough for her to feel she was doing something