Page 94 of Taming the Boss

I had a very bad feeling he didn’t tell her everything just yet. On a lot of levels.

Rather than reply, I hurried back through the foyer down the hall into the kitchen, noting that the sound of her boots seemed so loud on the hardwood floors. I set Owen down when he wiggled for freedom. He took off through the kitchen, and I picked up the pace to make sure he didn’t get into something.

He bypassed Xavier and Gavin for the sitting room we spent the most time in. He went right for his iPad and plopped his behind in the beanbag chair his father had gotten him and clutched Spot under one arm as he lost himself in his favorite game. Fergus, our cat, climbed up to burrow into the crook of his other arm.

I hurried back into the kitchen to entertain Jude’s guests. “It’s a busy day today. Gavin, Xavier, this is Sydney.”

“The Sydney?” Xavier grinned and came around the kitchen island where he’d demolished another three cookies while we’d been gone. He held out his hand. “Finally. We expected you at least a month ago.”

“We?” Sydney glanced down at his hand, then she crossed her arms. “And why is that?”

Xavier’s grin widened. “Spicy.” He glanced over his shoulder at Gavin. “You owe me fifty bucks.”

Gavin’s cheeks reddened above his trim beard. “You are an ass.”

Xavier laughed. “We had a little bet going if you’d be like your ice queen mother or the complete opposite.”

“Is that right? How unfortunate.”

“Icy and spicy. Even better.” Xavier moved in closer, then he slipped by her without touching her as he went for the fridge. “Got a beer in here, Mads?”

I blinked. Mads? Then my chest warmed. I’d never had a cool nickname. I’d always just been Maddie or the full Madison. “Bottom shelf.”

He bent down and slipped two bottles from the drawer. Owen had been getting curious with the fridge, and we’d already had an accident with glass on the floor. He was terribly independent, but that made me love him all the more.

Xavier snicked off the top of two bottles and pitched them into the recycler. “Worry not, little one.” He tapped my nose. “Families always have a little strife in the beginning. You should have seen the scenes between me and Luna.”

I frowned. “I’m not worried.”

“That line between your brows says otherwise.” He went around me to the other side of the island and slid a bottle toward Gavin.

“Can I get you a glass of wine, Sydney? Or we have seltzer, water, and an abundance of juice boxes.”

“Wine would be lovely.”

I slipped into the butler’s pantry for the stash of wine we had for dinner. She looked like a crisp white wine kind of girl. I let out a gusty sigh. I had been too until recently. I slipped a hand over my middle. The tests were just a final yes, but I knew already.

My pants fit differently, and I was going to need new bras very soon. Not to mention my super sensitive breasts.

You couldn’t get much more obvious than that. No matter how many baked goods I’d been eating.

I poured a glass for Sydney and brought it back into the kitchen. She was standing beside the kitchen island, her arms still crossed.

Gavin and Xavier sat across from her, saying nothing. Just as she was making absolutely no effort to speak to them. I wasn’t sure how sparks could still be flying in complete silence, but they were. Somehow.

Fabulous.

“Here you go!” I gave her a wide smile as I set the glass in front of her, just before I noticed the bag full of tests sitting directly beside the glass.

Sydney looked down and into the bag, then those tiger eyes locked with mine. She lifted a test out of the bag and held it up just as Jude came through the door. “What the hell is this?”

Chapter 25

My joy from just a few minutes ago had turned into a rock that was now blocking my throat.

I had a lot to tell my sister since we hadn’t talked much this summer for many reasons, not the least of which was my mother’s putting more Christmas-related marketing on Syd’s shoulders. I needed to tell her what I’d recently learned about the Hamiltons, but I’d been putting it off.

I didn’t want to tell her we weren’t full siblings because we’d leaned on each other so much for so long. Not that it made any difference to me. I’d never bothered to have Owen’s paternity tested because he was mine, no matter what.

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