Page 44 of Boss's Baby Surprise

With deft ninja-like skills, Marci grabbed my wrist and had my thumbprint unlocking my phone before I could snatch my hand away from her.

I watched with a combination of resolve and horror as I knew she was texting Kyle.

“There.” She held the phone out to me.

I read the message that I supposedly sent.What's going on? We need to talk on Saturday. She had the name of a bar and a time listed.

“You are going to go and wait for him, and I'm going to babysit,” she announced right before she gulped down the rest of her wine, said goodnight to Leo, and left.

She was a force of nature. I was glad she was on my side.

The next evening, I sat on a bar stool. The ice in my drink was melting as I waited for Kyle.

“I’m here,” he announced as he slid onto the bar stool next to me.

“I didn't think you were coming,” I said. In an attempt to look like a badass, I took a sip of my drink. The effect was completely ruined as I grimaced and shuddered at the bitter vodka in my Moscow Mule.

Kyle gestured for the bartender. “I’ll have one of those,” he said, pointing at my drink.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked.

“Are you seeing anybody?”

“I thought I was seeing you,” I responded.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said.

“Then you need to ask the questions you want the answers for.”

“Are you in a relationship?”

I shook my head as my brows pulled together. What was going on that he would even think that? “I haven't been in a relationship since you left for Hong Kong.”

He took a sip of his drink. I couldn’t help but notice he didn’t make faces or flinch at the alcohol. “Then explain to me why I saw you with a little boy at the playground in Oak Park last weekend.”

My stomach dropped. I picked up my drink and threw half of it back. I spluttered and coughed against the strong drink. “What the hell were you doing in Oak Park?”

I never should have taken him to Oak Park. I never should have showed him that house. I picked that house because it was my favorite house in Chicago. I picked it to show him, because on the days I wanted to dream about a better life for me and Leo, I would walk a little bit out of my way so that I could see that house. By showing Kyle my dream house in a moment of pique, I'd somehow managed to let him see his son.

22

KYLE

“This is going to sound stupid,” I admitted.

“It can’t sound any stupider than anything you said to me so far tonight,” she said with a sneer.

“I wanted to take a better look at the houses in the neighborhood you showed me. I was feeling… nostalgic.”

“You’re right. That does sound stupid. You decided to take a walk in Oak Park, and you think you saw me with some kid. You could have just asked me about it instead of jumping to conclusions.”

I put my drink down and looked at her. I let my gaze linger on her features and her form. She was exceptional.

“Look at you, Clarissa. Why wouldn’t you be married with a kid by now?”

She let out a bitter laugh. “You could have just asked me instead of jumping to conclusions.”

“What am I supposed to think when I see you in a nice neighborhood playing with a kid?” I asked.

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