Too Charming Read Online Free PDF Page A

It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a slide.’
    Listening to Scott, Megan found her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. Where was the awkwardness she’d expected from him? It seemed the bachelor barrister had a surprisingly good rapport with children. At least if her grinning daughter was anything to go by.
    ‘Okay. I’ll look after you at the park.’
    At Sally’s happy agreement, Scott shot Megan a look laced with barefaced triumph. It left her with a strong desire to scream, something he obviously guessed, from the amusement that danced in his eyes. But as she silently fumed next to him, she knew she was powerless to do anything other than accept the situation. Sally had just happily agreed to go to the park with him. It was exactly what Megan herself had wanted half an hour ago. So why did it now feel as if she’d seized defeat from the jaws of victory?
    ‘Well, if you’re sure …’ she began, but even as she said the words, Scott and Sally were walking back towards the car, chatting away as if they’d known each other for years. Megan made a mental note: have a word with Sally about being won over so quickly by handsome and charming boys.
     
    A short while later, Scott glanced down at his temporary charge as she watched her mother disappear through the court doors. Outwardly at least, she didn’t seem too concerned. It was he who was anxiously twitching his fingers, wracking his brain for something to say. Megan’s earlier words came floating back to him. He didn’t have any experience of dealing with children. Scarily true. As an only child, he didn’t have nieces or nephews to practice the finer points of childcare on. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually spoken to a child, since he’d been one himself. Then he looked again at Sally. She was six years old, for goodness sake. How difficult could it be to talk to her?
    ‘Did you have a good morning at school?’ he tried as they walked away from the court.
    She nodded her head. ‘I suppose it was good – for school.’
    That made him laugh. ‘What would be a good morning if you weren’t at school?’
    A slight frown formed across her face while she carefully considered his question. ‘Watching cartoons, eating pancakes and taking Dizzy for a walk.’
    ‘Dizzy?’
    ‘My dog. She’s black and white and Mum says she hasn’t got all her marbles. That means she’s a bit crazy.’
    ‘Ahh.’ Eyeing up a break in the traffic, he was about to dash across the road before he realised his responsibilities. Instead he sedately walked the several yards to the zebra crossing. ‘And what would make a good afternoon when you’re not at school?’
    This time Sally grinned, her dimples coming out in full force. ‘Eating ice cream and going to the park.’
    Laughing, he helped her cross the road. ‘Well, Princess Sally, today your wish is my command.’
    She giggled again and he couldn’t help but think how refreshing it was that at least one of the female Taylors laughed at his jokes.
    It had been decades since Scott had been to a children’s park, but it quickly became apparent that in those intervening years the swings and slides had shrunk and were now too small for him. Undaunted he managed a go on the mini-assault course, leaving Sally in stitches as he attempted to balance on the two-foot-high tightrope.
    ‘No, you do it like this, silly,’ she told him, and proceeded to nip across the rope with all the poise of a ballerina. Totally at odds with her rather dishevelled appearance.
    He threw his hands up in mock despair. ‘Okay, you win. Are you ready for a sit down yet?’ He was panting, which was crazy. He worked out religiously, for crying out loud, but for some reason he couldn’t keep up with a kid on the playground.
    As they ambled towards the café, Sally happily chattering away, his mind swung back to Megan. If he managed to fight his way through that prickly exterior of hers, would she be as