This chapter is a bit shorter than the previous ones. I hope you like it! Enjoy reading!

Chapter Five

Her cell phone rang & Mimi fished it out of the pocket of her blue jacket & answered. For an instant, when she head Yolei's panic-stricken voice, she felt as though time had folded in on itself.

"It's Mr. Harrison," Yolei said.

The auto company tycoon. "Oh, Yolei, I'm sorry. I was in such a hurry to get out of the office this morning that I forgot to tell you that Izzy's taking over Mr. Harrison for me."

"Izzy told me."

"Well, then…" So why are you calling me? "If you'll just send him back to see Izzy…"

"I tried," Yolei wailed. "I told him you were sorry you couldn't meet him & Izzy would be happy to help. He said he didn't want Izzy, that he talked to you & he didn't intend to start over with somebody else. I finally told him you went home with a headache this afternoon, & he said…"

"Stop & take a breath before you suffocate, Yolei. What did he say?"

"He said in that case, he'll come back tomorrow at ten o'clock sharp & he certainly hoped your headache would be better. Izzy's furious & the boss is starting to ask where you are…Mimi, you have to be here tomorrow. You just have to."


After working for hours, Mimi looked around the house. The living room was clean for the first time since Sora had left, with only a few toys still strewn on a blanket where the twins lay. Ella was sleepily chewing on the toe of her pajamas, while Nikko seemed to be studying how the light fixture which dangled above him was put together.

The dining room table was ready. It had taken a while to scrub all the applesauce off it & Sora's linen closet didn't seem to have tablecloths. But Mimi had found a couple of nice place mats with matching cloth napkins, & she pressed a big pottery bowl into service as a wine cooler. All that was left to do was light the candles.

In the kitchen, the aroma of dinner rolls & twice-baked potatoes wafted from the oven, & a pair of marinated steaks is waiting to be put on the grill.

By the simple…and somewhat desperate…method of putting the twins in the tub with her, Mimi had even managed a bath, & she was wearing a coordinated slacks & sweater set that fitted her curves naturally.

Everything was ready when she heard the SUV in the driveway & then the click of the back door as Matt came in. Mimi struck a match to light the candles, looked up at him over the flare & almost forgot to blow out the flame. He stopped dead in the doorway between the kitchen & the dining room to stare at her. Then, as if he couldn't bear to look at Mimi any longer, his gaze drifted over the burning candles, then at neatly-set table, the wine bottle, & back to Mimi's face.

Understanding dawned. "Hey, don't look at me as if I've suddenly sprouted horns," she protested. "Truly, I'm not treating this like some kind of a date."

She saw him swallow hard. "Of course you're not." His voice sounded a bit hoarse. "The candles, the wine…I'm sure you do all that every time you sit down for a sandwich…"

Mimi was starting to feel annoyed. "All right, maybe I went a little overboard, but I just thought we could have a nice dinner. That's all."

"What are we celebrating?"

"Getting through the day," Mimi snapped. "Isn't that enough?"

"Well, I'm glad to have that cleared up. It would have put me right off my food if I thought you were trying to seduce me."

"In your dreams, Ishida."

"Or possibly, my nightmares," he said sweetly. "So if this isn't some sort of a weird date, what is it? A public relations campaign for domestic bliss?"

"You're joking, right? I have better things to do than try to illustrate to you the benefits of settling down. I'll leave that thankless chore to Sora."

He seemed to relax. "I'm sure if that's what you had in mind, Mimi, you'd be more subtle about it than Sora is. But even if you have to admit that at a glance the picture looks pretty much like an ad for home sweet home."

He was right, as a matter of fact, Mimi realized. The twins…squeaky-clean, well-behaved, & looking like little angels. The candlelit table for two. The sensual aromas of sharp cheese, hot bread, & marinade…No wonder he'd gone pale, wondering what she was up to.

"Sorry to shake you up," she said. "I'm so used to adding touch here & there to show a house off and impress the prospective buyer that it just comes naturally to do things like fold the napkins into fancy shapes. I'll get out the paper plates if it'll make you feel better."

"To impress the prospective buyer," Matt mused. "And what exactly am I supposed to be buying?"

Mimi gave up. "It's no wonder you've never gotten married, Matt…you start running even when nobody's chasing you. The grill's already hot…just throw the steaks on, would you? I'll tuck the babies in & be right back."

Matt was opening the wine bottle when she came back. "What's wrong, Mimi?"

"I was just wondering again when Sora & Tai might be home. Did you happen to hear any news about the ship today?"

He shook his head.

"I tried to keep an eye on the television," Mimi said, "but I didn't see anything at all. It's weird how something can be a headline event one day, but it doesn't even matter the next."

"You must have been pretty busy all day, too." He handed her a glass. "How did you manage all this? You can't have gone to the supermarket."

"No," Mimi said gently, "I couldn't…because in your hurry to get to work, you forgot to take the car seats out of your SUV."

He winced, but his voice was casual. "Well, I guess between the key & the car seats, we're even. So if you couldn't go anywhere, how did you do all this?"

"Fortunately there are delivery services, & I raided Sora's cupboards for the rest."

"Or maybe I should ask I whyyou did all this?"

"Are we back to that again? I'm not trying to impress you with my domestic skills, Matt."

"No, I mean why didn't you just put out a plate & a knife & tell me to fix myself a peanut butter sandwich?"

She should have anticipated that question, Mimi realized. If she was mad at him about the car seats, why had she gone to all that trouble? She shrugged. "Well, I did invite you for dinner. And unlike you on the subject of your key, I just decided not to rub it in about the car seats."

"I'm glad you told me that you aren't making a big deal out of it," Matt said. "Other wise, I might not have noticed how nice you were being."

"Glad to help you out." She glanced at the clock above the sink. "If you like your steak rare, it's probably ready."

"I'll give it another minute, unless you prefer yours still cold in the center?"

She shook her head. "Medium for me." She got the salads out of the refrigerator & set them on the table. "I'm afraid we don't have much choice in salad dressing. Oil & vinegar, or the bottled stuff that was in the refrigerator? I forgot to put any on the list…not that I know what you like best, anyway."

"Oil & vinegar's fine." He got a plate from the cabinet & went out onto the deck, returning a couple of minutes later with two sizzling steaks. "I'll turn the grill off now, unless you're going to need it for bananas flambé or something."

Mimi's attention was on how to remove the twice-baked potatoes from the oven without upsetting them & squeezing all the stuffing out. "No, it's chocolate cheesecake for dessert," she said absently.

"You mean you even have dessert covered? Admit it, Mimi. You're buttering me up for something. Out with it."

Mimi sighed. She hoped to put it off a little longer, until h was well-fed & relaxed…but it was obvious Matt was reaching his limits. "Well, there is a little favor I need to ask."

"That's a relief?"

"It is?"

"Yes, at least now I know I'm not going crazy." He held a chair & sat down across from her.

Mimi picked up her glass. "To Tai & Sora…may they come home soon. Actually, this wine isn't bad for something the delivery man recommended."

"Let's get to the favor," Matt reminded.

Mimi shook out her napkin & picked up her fork. "It's about tomorrow, Matt. I did my best to clear my calendar, but it turns out I have t go to work after all."

"And you think I don't?"

"But you have a crew. They can keep right on building Ms. Motomiya's closets whether you're there to supervise or not."

"Let's not even go into that. What's so important about tomorrow?"

She was reluctant to tell him, & surprised by her hesitation. What difference did it make? It was a reasonable question, after all. "It's the tycoon, Willis Harrison."

"I thought you were sending someone else to show him houses."

"I tried, but he doesn't seem to want someone else."

He was looking doubtful.

Mimi started again. "It seems that he & Izzy didn't hit it off at all today, so he's coming back tomorrow to…"

"Izzy, huh? I wonder if he'd have been more adaptable if the substitute had been named Issa instead. Never mind. How much of your day is the tycoon planning to take up?"

That sounds like a positive reaction, Mimi told herself hopefully. At least he didn't turn her down flat. The trouble was that Matt wasn't going to like the answer to his question. She supposed she could just blithely tell him it would only take an hour or two, & then hope like mad that Willis Harrison would fall in love with the first house she showed him…

No, it would be best to tell the truth & get it over with. "I have no idea, Matt. Probably the whole day. If I show him all the listings at the office, then I might only have to take him out to see three or four houses in person. But…"

"But each one will take an hour or two."

"Exactly."

"So you want me to take charge of the twins all day. Mimi, I can't work with both arms full."

"Well, neither can I. You try opening an unfamiliar lock with a baby in each arm."

"Maybe your tycoon will be delighted at the opportunity to be a gentleman & open the doors for you."

"And maybe…" Mimi thought better of it & swallowed the rest of the sentence.

"How about taking their stroller? At least you wouldn't have to carry them."

"And take it in & out of the car at every house? Have you ever lifted that monster?"

"All right, bad idea, but at least once you're inside a house you can put them down & let them crawl…you don't have to carry them all the time."

"Oh, really? What if I put them down in some stranger's house & they pull over a vase & break it?"

"Better than breaking themselves. Do you have any idea how many dangerous spots there are on the job site?'

"So you take the stroller."

"And leave them in there all day?"

"Sure. They can nap, they can eat, they can observe…"

"They don't make hard hats that size."

"Oh, you're funny, Matt. Look, I'd be perfectly willing to pay a sitter. In fact, I tried to hire one…but I found out the hard way that the ones on Sora's list are all kids, so they're in school during the day." She took a bite off her steak. "And I can't bear to just dump the babies off with someone they've never seen before." And neither can you. At least, I hope, you can't.

"So we split," Matt said.

"What are you talking about?"

"We each take a twin. With one arm free, you can open doors & point to special features, & I can draw diagrams & sign checks. Neither of us will be in top form, but we'll both at least be functional."

Mimi was aghast. "Take a baby with me while I show houses?"

Matt shrugged. "It's either take a baby with you, or take both of them. Your choice."

There was a note of finality in his voice that made Mimi bite her tongue. Inadequate as the arrangement was, it was obviously the best deal she was going to get, & if she kept arguing things would only get worse. "I'll take one," she said.

"Smart woman." Matt dipped his fork into his twice-baked potato. "Hey, this isn't bad, Mimi. I had no idea you can cook so well. I'll be happy to help you out anytime…you can bribe me whenever you want."


AN: For all those who are reading my first fic 'The Whole Package', I got great news for you…I've found my notebook, the one where I write my story, & I'll be updating chapter nine soon!

Don't forget to leave a review!

Chapter 6 is coming up! lol