Jenny folded her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. Defiance radiated from every pore. “I am not getting out of this car without you.”

“Sweetie, please,” she implored.

“No way.”

“You’ll embarrass Harlan.”

“And your taking off won’t?” Jenny flung back. “Get real, Mom. They’re here to check you out even more than me. Maybe you should prepare a little speech denying any interest in Mr. Adams. Maybe then they’d go away.”

Janet sighed and threw the car into park and shut off the engine. “Traitor,” she muttered at her daughter.

“Don’t blame me. Blame Mr. Adams.”

Janet glanced in Harlan’s direction. He looked every bit as miserable as she felt. “I seriously doubt that this was his idea of a good time,” she observed.

“Then he should have kicked them out,” Jenny retorted. “If he can’t control his own kids, how come you think he’s such a good influence on me?”

“It’s hardly the same,” Janet replied.

“I don’t see why. If I’m going to turn out all nosy like them, I’d think you’d want to get me away from here as fast as you could.”

Before Janet could come up with an adequate answer for that, Harlan was opening her door.

“I’m sorry,” he said in a hushed tone. “I didn’t know they were coming yesterday and I sure as hell didn’t know they were staying. I couldn’t shake ’em out of here to save my soul. I thought about starving them out, but my housekeeper would have fed them behind my back, I’m sure.”

His genuine discomfort relieved some of her own tension. “Jenny thinks you have a serious inability to control your own kids.”

He grinned. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m still not sure where I went wrong.” He held out his hand to her. “Come on. We might as well get this over with. Give it five minutes and you can swear you have a major client coming and that you have to get to town.”

She suddenly found his desire to be rid of her in such a hurry a little insulting. “Are you afraid to let them spend too much time with me?” she asked irritably.

His mouth gaped. “With you? Are you crazy? I’m scared silly you’ll take one look at the lot of them and never show your face around here again.”

She grinned at his adamant tone. “I’m made of tougher stuff than that,” she declared. “So is Jenny.” She leaned back in. “Out, young lady.”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “Oh, all right. But I’m not playing cute for anybody, okay?”

“There was little doubt of that,” Janet said dryly, exchanging a pointed look with Harlan, who looked as if he wanted very badly to burst out laughing.