Page 15 of Silver Fox's Twin Babies

“That’s okay, Park-man.” Evan had a grin on his face and I knew why. “I have that too. And guess what? I get to run a whole company. If you work hard, there’s nothing you can’t do.” Evanbeamed me a breathtaking smile. It made my voice catch in my throat.

“You run a whole company?” Parker asked. His eyes went wide and even Vera perked up.

“I do…How do you think I met your mom?” He winked at me again; it was his thing. A thing I liked very much. It made warmth flood my system and I started to relax finally—thirty minutes into our evening.

From there, we really hit it off. Evan was so great with them, even better than Jacob. Parker told him about all the things he was learning in school. Vera recited the poem she’d written last month. Evan let each of them beat him in a few rounds of go fish, and by the time I realized it, it was past 10 p.m. and I was yawning.

“Time for bed, guys. Go brush your teeth and I’ll be in there in a second.”

Both of them protested me for a moment, but Evan pushed them along with a promise to do this again soon. He packed up the cards while I put away the game controllers and shut the TV off. When I met him by the door, he was wearing his coat and looking like he was waiting for me.

The entire night was unexpected, but I had enjoyed it. Evan was as charming as I remembered him, maybe even more so now that he’d developed some maturity.

“Thank you for a great evening,” I told him. I was nervous as I walked over and opened the door. He looked like he wanted to say something to me or ask a question. He’d looked that way all night. I saw the way he studied the kids, but I ignored it. If I got too hung up on the way he was looking at them, I would’ve freaked myself out and blurted out the truth.

“Amber…” he said, his voice lilting at the end. I felt it coming. My cheeks flushed. My breath hitched. I already had a million excuses lined up for him if he asked, because while Iwould continue to keep the secret the rest of my life, I’d never lie directly to his face. I braced for the blow, but when I heard him suck in a breath I panicked again.

I closed the gap between us and wrapped my arms around his neck. My fingers curled into his hair and I pulled him down for a kiss. Our lips slid over each other’s, and my tongue slipped into his mouth. He didn’t shy away either. His hands gripped my sides and he deepened the kiss as he pulled me against his body. When he pulled away he grinned.

“Would you have dinner with me again?” he asked, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Let me show you that nothing has changed between us and we could be good together.”

I didn’t know what to say once again, so I nodded. I’d been so paranoid that he was going to ask who the kids’ father was, I spent the entire night in a state of fight or flight. Kissing him felt like a lifeline to my normal life. So how could I refuse? He was right, maybe we would be good together.

“Okay,” I said quietly, though my gut was already roiling with regret.

“Perfect…I’ll text you the details.” He nuzzled my nose with his, then kissed me one more time before he let me go.

As soon as the door was shut and locked behind him, I was kicking myself. I was only torturing myself by thinking I could get involved with him and make it work. This was insanity. It would never work. The guilt would devour me from the inside out, and I would be breaking my own heart. Evan would never forgive me when he found out. Chances were it would destroy his relationship with Jacob too, which I knew I couldn’t let happen.

I banged my head against the door a few times before walking away. My own impulse control issues were keeping me tied up in a mess I wanted nothing to do with. I’d fought so hard to keep this secret and it was like my subconscious was telling me it had all been a waste of time. Evan would find out, and myoriginal desire to protect him and let him have the life he wanted would be for nothing.

10

EVAN

Istood at the hostess stand with my hands in my pockets waiting. I wanted to pick Amber up; my driver was ready for that, but she refused. Never in my life had I met a woman so stubborn, but I admired that about her. She probably needed that grit when it came to raising children and especially being a single mother of twins, which shocked me. I hadn’t expected that.

The wait was short, as she was very prompt, which was another thing I admired about her. The clock read 7 p.m., which was exactly when I asked her to meet me when I finally resigned myself to the fact that she would drive separately. She burst through the door with rosy cheeks and a red nose. But the soft smile on her face felt warm, not distant or awkward like her presence across the table from me at dinner the other night.

“Wow, it’s cold,” she said, shivering as she took her gloves off. She leaned in and kissed the air on either side of my face as I touched her chilly fingers.

“Yeah, it is…I would’ve dropped you at the door.” My comment made her smile broaden as I slid my hand onto the small of her back and we followed the host to our table.

She took her coat off and I hung it on the back of her chair for her as she sat. Then I scooted the chair and took my own coat off as I rounded the table. The little Mediterranean dive was quiet, out of the way. We offered our drink order to the host and I took my seat across from Amber who looked stunning.

She wore a turtleneck sweater dress that fell almost at her knees, though it didn’t hide her shape. Her curves were on full display as the sweater hugged her form. I admired how she could be so fully clothed yet so sexy at the same time.

“You look beautiful this evening,” I told her. Crimson flushed her cheeks, but she didn’t avoid eye contact with me.

“Thank you. You’re very dapper yourself…” She looked like she wanted to say something but bit it back, so I continued.

“It’s nice getting to spend time with you outside office hours. It was nice the other night too…I guess I didn’t realize you had twins. That’s sort of challenging, isn’t it?” My eyes skimmed over the menu, though I knew what I was going to order already. I did it to avoid making her feel put on the spot or uncomfortable.

“Uh, yeah,” she sighed and picked up her own menu but she kept talking. “Being a single mom is hard, but I manage. Jacob has really been there for me like my own father would’ve been though, so I’m so grateful for that.”

It appeared this was a bad subject. Amber kept her eyes trained on her menu and didn’t look up at me once. I felt a pinch of jealousy when she mentioned Jacob’s name. It only furthered my suspicion that there was something going on between them. After all, why would that be the first thing she mentioned when I asked about the twins if there wasn’t?

I took a few minutes of silence to steal glances at her and when the waiter returned and took our orders, I decided it’d been quiet enough. We handed him our menus and he walked off to fill the order. I focused my attention on her again. I was determined not to let this night go sideways because of mysuspicions or insecurities by reminding myself she was here with me, not at Jacob’s house doting over his recovery.

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