Harlequin Romance March 2021 Box Set Cara Colter (the mitten read aloud TXT) 📖

cake, of course.” His eyes glittered. “Although I plan to drop by your place later…much later…for some real dessert.”

Ronnie felt her heart skip a beat. Oh, yes. That was exactly the dessert she had in mind.

* * *

Red suggested that Ronnie go in the house first, while he grabbed the presents for Andy. He felt excited and a little nervous at the same time. What if Andy took a disliking to him? What if he didn’t want to share his mom with anybody else? The poor kid had already dealt with his dad leaving him for a period of time; would he be wary of another man coming into his life?

Red knocked on the door, and when Ronnie opened it moments later, his pulse leaped. He searched her face, wondering if there was any sign of regret at having him come to Andy’s birthday, but all he saw was a shy smile and luminous eyes with lashes that fluttered with restrained excitement.

“Hi,” he said huskily. “Have you cleared my entry with the boss?” He waved over her head to Casson and Justine, who had entered the kitchen.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Casson replied with a laugh. “Ronnie’s her own boss.”

“I actually meant Andy,” Red said with a smile.

“Oh, that boss. He’s in the living room, playing with our dog, Luna.” He checked his watch. “I think we can head there now and get this party started.” He took the packages from Red.

Red followed them all into the living room, thinking about how just mentioning Andy’s name had felt as if the child were already in his life… He watched Casson zigzagging around Andy and Luna before placing the two parcels in a corner with the other presents. When Andy noticed the packages, he came to a sudden stop and Luna careened into him, knocking him off balance.

Red swooped forward in a rush of adrenaline and caught the boy before he went crashing to the floor and ended up with a concussion. For several moments time stood still. Andy blinked at him with a mixture of surprise and curiosity in his dark eyes. Everyone else in the room faded from Red’s view, even though they were just steps away, leaving the next few seconds to play out in slow motion…

The boy’s hair was tousled, and his plaid shirt had flopped out of his pants. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes—Ronnie’s eyes—brought a lump to Red’s throat, in addition to igniting an accelerating drum beat in his chest. The kid was so vulnerable. No wonder Ronnie was such a protective parent.

And he could be, too… He was ready…

Red knew in that instant that he would love this little imp as if he were his own…and maybe one day in the future, he and Ronnie could give him a special gift of a baby brother or sister…

He wished he could hug Andy right this minute, and tell him that he’d be there to catch him in the years ahead but that moment would have to wait.

As Red set him down, everyone came back into focus. Red’s gaze flew to Ronnie, and he knew immediately that she had been touched by these past moments too…

“Thanks, mister.” Andy’s voice brought his attention back to the boy, who was stretching his neck to the max to talk to him.

He smiled and crouched down so he could be at eye level with Andy. “No problem. And you can call me Red.”

“Red?” Andy’s gaze flew to Red’s hair.

Red chuckled. “Well, my mother couldn’t exactly call me Purple with hair like this, could she?”

Andy giggled. “No.” He suddenly turned and scampered off to the corner with the pile of presents. “Can I open my presents, Mummy?”

Ronnie walked across the room, squeezing Red’s hand slightly before joining Andy. “I guess we can switch the order of things,” she said, ruffling Andy’s hair. “Presents, then lunch, then cake. How does that sound?”

“Yay! That sounds great!” Andy clapped vigorously, and Luna bounded toward him, her tail wagging.

* * *

Andy had opened up Casson and Justine’s gift—a high-powered telescope and an astronomy book for kids—hugged them both, and was now eyeing Red’s gifts. Red handed the smaller gift to him with the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey jersey first, and smiled when Andy opened it and cheered. And although the shape of the next gift had made it pretty obvious, Andy jumped up and down when he saw all the signatures on the hockey stick.

“Okay, sweetie, put it down now before someone loses their head,” Ronnie said firmly. “Your next gift is upstairs. Close your eyes and count to twenty while I go and get it.”

Moments later, Ronnie returned with the carrier concealed under a box that had holes cut out strategically in it. “Okay, Andy, at the count of three, you can open your eyes and lift the box.” She set the box down in front of him. “One, two, three. Okay, lift…and meet Ginger!”

Andy’s eyes grew wide. “Mummy, Mummy, you got me a kitten!” He threw his arms around her neck. “Thanks, Mummy!”

Red was glad that Casson had been taking photos with his cell phone. These were memories that Ronnie would cherish forever. Seeing her gaze at Andy with such love made his heart ache with love for her.

At the sudden cry coming from the baby monitor, Justine went upstairs to check on A.J. Casson followed, with Luna bolting after him.

Ronnie let Ginger out of the carrier. Andy picked her up right away and kissed her before walking over to Red, who stroked the kitten’s back, smiling at the memories he already had of her. Ronnie sat next to Red on the couch and watched with an indulgent grin on her face.

Andy was a lucky kid to have Ronnie as a mother. And she was lucky to have him.

Here was a little guy who had gone through an ordeal no kid—or parent—should have to go through, and had finished his treatment with positive results. Results worth celebrating. No wonder Ronnie had wanted to