Page 40 of My Not So Wicked Boss (My Not So Wicked 3)

I held my breath waiting for him to speak. I told myself to breathe, I didn’t hold my breath for men anymore. So why weren’t my lungs filling up?

“I want to be a better man. Will you help me?”

My breath came out all at once. This wasn’t what I expected at all. He wasn’t what I expected. I thought I would be polishing my resume by now, instead I found myself nodding. I was doing it for Henry. Yes, yes. It had nothing to do with the dashing Brit who smiled at me.

Satisfied, Miles stood. “Thank you, Aspen.” He held up the picture. “Can I keep this?”

“It’s not finished.”

“When you do finish it, I would be honored to have it.”

“It’s yours,” I promised.

Pleased, he set the doodle pad back down. “Why don’t we all have dinner tonight?”

I thought for a moment. “Okay. It will have to be after soccer practice.”

“You mean football?” he teased.

“You still haven’t fact-checked me.”

“It’s on my list of things to do. I will see you tonight?” There was a fair amount of hope and anticipation in his voice.

“Yes.” Mine sounded timid.

“I look forward to it. By the way,” he pointed at the laptop on the bed. “You were mostly correct, but I am a generous lover.”

Oh holy mother of all that was good. My entire body was on fire. “I . . . uh . . .” What did I say?

“Good day.” He didn’t give me the chance to respond. He strode out chuckling.

I kissed the top of Henry’s head. “Your uncle,” I whispered, “might be my undoing.”Chapter FifteenWe all stared at each other at the table, well, at least Chloe, Miles, and I did. Henry was chattering happily about balls and the snacks all the girls after soccer practice shared with him. He was very popular. Those of us over the age of three knew how different this was. It almost looked like we were a family.

Chloe sat extra close to me on our side of the square bar-height table in the kitchen nook that had a farmhouse style vibe to it. Chloe wasn’t too thrilled with this arrangement. She didn’t like to eat in front of strangers and mouth noises bothered her. After promising her that Miles chewed with his mouth closed, I bribed her with that new cell phone she’d been begging me to order. Suddenly she was very excited about dinner with Miles. Together she and I faced Miles and Henry. A steaming pot of beef stew and homemade whole wheat rolls separated us.

“I’m not sure what you like to eat,” I said. All I knew was he liked to eat healthy, based on the perfectly proportioned food in his refrigerator.

“This looks and smells fantastic. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in ages, so thank you.”

“Well, help yourself. Or perhaps Henry first.” The tyke was already reaching for the rolls in his booster seat.

“Right.” Miles jumped to it as if he should have thought to feed Henry first on his own. That was a good sign.

While Miles served Henry, I asked, “How is the writing going?”

Miles’s shoulders raised and sank. “Not as well as I hoped. Actually, not well at all,” he was reluctant to admit.

That was disappointing. Now that he wasn’t a complete jerk, I could make a concession and read the book I’d been waiting forever for. “Anything I can do? I have some ideas,” I joked, sort of. I did have some hopes for the where the book could go.

Miles’s face lit up. “Actually, I was going to ask you for your help. Perhaps after we put Henry to bed tonight, we could discuss how you can help.”

I held my stomach. It liked the way he said we. And I liked that he was planning on helping with bedtime. “Sure,” I said nonchalantly.

Satisfied, Miles turned and finished serving Henry.

“Make sure to blow on his food to cool it down,” I gently reminded Miles. I wasn’t sure if he knew he should.

Miles squinted. “What?”

Chloe giggled while scooting over to the other side of the table to be near Henry. “It’s easy.” She picked up Henry’s bowl and started blowing on it, stirring between every few blows.

Miles watched Chloe with interest. “I’ve never seen that technique.” He laughed until Chloe handed him the bowl. “Your turn,” Chloe dared him.

He took the bowl. “Cheeky. Like mother like daughter, I see.”

“Cheeky? What does that mean?” Chloe wasn’t sure whether she should be offended.

“In yours and your mother’s case, I would say bold.” He was no doubt referring to that email I had composed to Mary and never sent . . . yet. I was holding onto it in case Miles ended up disappointing me again.

Chloe shrugged. “I can live with that.”

Miles laughed good naturedly while Chloe scooted back next to me. I squeezed her leg to let her know I approved of her actions, was even proud of them. I wished I had been bolder like her growing up. I was more daring, but if only I had stood up for myself more where her father was concerned. But then she wouldn’t be here and that would be a tragedy.

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