He laughed. He always believed Jennifer. "Will do. Say hello to Reid for me."
"Okay." She gave him a wink and turned back to her boys.
Ross smiled, watching them for another minute. So that was what a happy family looked like! Shaking his head, he went back to the picnic table. Still bickering, no one had noticed his departure and he breathed a sigh of relief. This was no way to introduce Charity to the Carringtons.
That evening, Charity took them all to her restaurant.
Ross watched the transformation begin in the parking lot as they arrived. The Charity he knew so well retreated, and in her place emerged Business Woman. She still looked the same-and yet she looked different. Her lips were set in a thin line, her shoulders were straighter, her eyes had a snap to them, and she walked with a firm tap against the ceramic floor.
"Good evening, Nancy," she said to her assistant as they entered the carpeted lobby. "This is my family. I'd like you to set up the embassy table for them, in the bay-window alcove."
"How do you do?" Nancy was just as professional as Charity. She smiled coolly but with complete hospitality. "I'll take care of that right away." But before she left she had one more matter to bring up. Charity's family wandered off to look at the decor, while Ross stayed by her side.
"The Halcombs just called in a reservation for fif teen," Nancy told Charity as the others left them.
Charity nodded, glancing about the room to judge traffic for the evening. "Give them the closed-off section behind the bar," she said. "They always drink too much."
Nancy laughed, her sleek red hair shimmering in the subtle light of the room. "So the staff has been telling me. By the time the main course arrives, the men in the Hal comb party are trying to pinch the waitress, and the ladies are taking bets on the busboys."
Charity groaned. "They are a rowdy group, all right. And to think they're all corporate accountants!"
"It's all those numbers that do it," Nancy counseled wisely. "Too long at the data entry and heads begin to spin."
The two of them smiled, and Nancy left to take care of the arrangements they'd set up. Charity turned to Ross. His grin was affectionate.
"I'm impressed," he said. "You certainly do have a handle on this, don't you?"
She nodded, not proud, just sure of herself. "I should hope so."
He touched her chin. "How does a South Sea Islands girl come into this?"
Now she was grinning. "Desire. Pure desire. That and the willingness to work hard."