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Gloria looked surprised by the offer "You mean you don’t mind? I mean, Katie’s my responsibility and it wouldn’t be fair to pal, are you? I mean, I know you’re not--you’re Mr Adao with just anyone, you know But if anything happened to her, my mother would kill me"
"I prorinned, looking sheepish for having suggested anything else "You’re sure you don’t mind?"
"I don’t mind in the least I don’t think Katie does, either Is that right, Katie?"
"Why?"
"Are you really sure? Okay, then…" Once she’d made a token protest Gloria raced off to join her friends
Katie was content to skip and hop at Maryanne’s side until they reached a huge pile of leaves under a chestnut tree, not far from the basketball court Almost before Maryanne realized it, Katie raced toward the leaves, bunching asthe her with the rarest of jewels
"Look," she cried happily "Leafs"
"Leaves," Maryanne corrected, bending over and grabbing an arrinned as Katie leapt up to catch as many as she could and in the process dropped the ar, Maryanne clasped the child by the waist and swung her around, while Katie shrieked with delight Dizzy, Maryanne leaned against the tree in an effort to regain her equilibrium and her breath
It was then that she saw Nolan had stopped playing and was standing in the oing on all around hi to one end of the court and back again Nolan see but her
A tall boy buasped, fearing he ht hi down the court at breakneck speed He stole the ball anddown hard on the paveht you said you and Mr Ada in a way that suggested she wasn’t about to be fooled again "He nearly got creamed because he couldn’t take his eyes off you"
With Katie on her lap, Maryanne sat beside the teenage girls watching the gaether she and the three-year-old beca squad, but whether or not he appreciated their efforts she didn’t know He didn’t give a single indication that he heard theame was finished, Nolan walked breathlessly off the court His grey sweatshirt was stained with perspiration, and his face was red and da up with kids half his age
For an anxious nore her and simply walk away But after he’d stopped at the water fountain, he ca
He slu hard "What are you doing here?" he gru self-conscious now and unsure "You don’t need to worry, Nolan I didn’t follow you"
"I didn’t think you had"
"You look nice in blue," he said hoarsely, then cleared his throat as if he hadn’t meant to say that, as if he wanted to withdraw the words
"Thanks" The blue sweater was one of her favorites She’d worn her long wool coat and was surprised he’d even noticed the periwinkle-blue sweater beneath
"Hello, Katie"
Katie bea out both arged him quickly, then leapt off the bench and ran to her sister, who stood talking to her boyfriend
"You’re good with children," Nolan said His voice fell slightly, as though the fact surprised him
"I do have a knack with theht as a baby-sitter by her parents’ friends and for a ti a teacher If she’d pursued that field of study she would have preferred to teach kindergarten She found five-year-olds, with their eagerness to learn about the world, delightful A couple of articles she’d written the week before were geared toward children’ssoon It see
"How many years of your life did you lose this tily
"Another two or three, at least"
He sranted her only in those brief uard was lowered His resistance to the attraction he felt to her was at its weakest point, and they both knew it
Maryanne went still, al the entle, continued to hold hers When she tried to breathe, the air sees
"Maryanne" Her name was little h his hair, then looked away "Nothing Neverto let thethe side of his jaw clenched "I said it was nothing," he answered gruffly
Maryanne gazed down at her hands, feeling an overwhel sense of frustration and despair The tension between the she could say or do would , her efforts would onlytoward the his basketball froame ’cause you couldn’t take your eyes off your wo for a re his head, Nolan slowly pushed the sleeves of his sweatshirt past his elbows
"Right," Eddie said with a knowing laugh "I didn’t think so, with your woman here and all"