Must Like Kids Read Online Free PDF Page A

to know a little bit more about them for his job. So, I have agreed to help him.”
    “You’re not dating, though. Right?”
    “No!”
    “Good.” What was that supposed to mean? Danielle didn’t give Julia much of a chance to wonder, before adding, “So, we’re guinea pigs?”
    “Actually, I think I’m the guinea pig,” Alec replied.
    Danielle’s brows drew together in consideration. “Kids are a lot of work, you know.”
    “So I’ve been told.”
    “Think you’re up to it?” she asked baldly. “Most single men aren’t.”
    He glanced over at Julia, who smiled weakly. She’d never said as much out loud, but she was left to wonder if that was the message she’d been telegraphing.
    “I hope so,” he answered. “My job is sort of depending on it.”
    “You came to the right person,” Colin assured him with a gap-toothed grin. “Our mom knows everything.”
    Alec wasn’t much for know-it-alls, but when they looked like Julia Stillwell, he was willing to make an exception, especially if her efforts succeeded in turning around his public image and professional future.
    He had to admit, her kids seemed bright and well-adjusted...if a little outspoken in the daughter’s case. The apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree apparently. It was clear Julia loved them and, just as importantly, put them first. That was something his ex-girlfriend hadn’t done. Something his parents had never managed. The fact that she kicked off early on a regular basis and was willing to sit outside in the broiling sun at a T-ball game was proof of that. He couldn’t help wondering, what had happened to Mr. Stillwell?
    The kids tumbled on ahead, Colin hoisting his equipment bag, Danielle carrying the water bottles.
    Alec remembered his manners then.
    “Can I carry something?”
    “You can. Thanks.” Julia handed over a portable canopy. It folded up into a duffel bag that measured nearly four feet long. Alec frowned as he hefted it to his shoulder.
    “This is heavy.”
    “You can take the chairs, if you’d prefer.”
    He bristled a little at that. “I’m not complaining. I’m just surprised you were able to carry this.” He
nodded to the chairs and her oversized purse. “And all that, too.”
    “I’m a mom. We tote stuff around all the time.” She didn’t appear insulted as much as amused.
    And sexy. Yeah, definitely sexy, with her sleek arms loaded in such a way that the strain caused her cotton T-shirt to pull across her breasts.
    “Do I look frail?” she asked.
    “You look...fit.” It wasn’t what he planned to say, but Alec figured the first adjective that had popped to mind might get him smacked.
    They made their way to the diamond. Three small trees were staggered behind the home team’s bench. Every square inch of the meager shade they provided was occupied with people on blankets or seated in folding chairs.
    “You’ve got to get here early to score a spot in the shade,” she said, noting the direction of his gaze. She nodded to the duffel bag he carried. “That’s why I bring my own. I learned that lesson the hard way the first year Danielle played.”
    Her daughter had stopped to talk to a couple of girls who looked to be about her age.
    “Does she still play?” Alec asked. She was a cute little thing despite her penchant for speaking her mind.
    “T-ball? Not anymore. Too old. She played one year of coach-pitch baseball, but now she’s into soccer. She has a game on Saturday.”
    “Are you telling me I need to clear my schedule again?” he teased.
    Julia’s tone was thoughtful. “We’ll see. You might need another dry run, so to speak, before I turn you loose on kids who are more impressionable than mine.”
    It was an interesting assessment. Alec wanted to be insulted, but before he could express any indignation, Julia was calling for her son to stop playing in the chalky dirt next to the home team’s bench. A couple of the other kids were doing the same thing, and their parents