Page 5 of Silver Fox's Twin Babies

“My God,” I breathed, unable to form more words. Shock rode over my entire body. Every cell was numb and pulsing.

“He had open-heart surgery. He barely survived it. We’re not sure if he’ll make it. It was just yesterday.” His grimace and the way his head dropped when I took the gift made my heart squeeze. I wanted to run to his arms and press his face against my chest to comfort him. But that thing between us, the one where I was his source of comfort—it was over a long time ago.

“The company though…” Was it selfish that I thought about my job? Without Jacob, I’d have no one to report to. I might not have a job to return to. It made the panic slicking through my veins even worse. My cheeks got hot as my body dumped cortisol into my bloodstream.

“I’ll handle that …”

“Erin,” I said as my thoughts went to her. She wasn’t like a mother to me, more like a sister, because I had my own mom. But she was a sweet lady. She had to be scared. “I should go to her.”

“I’m staying…” he said, and his eyes swept up to meet mine. “But that’s nice of you. She’ll appreciate the sentiment. She has way too much food, so don’t send any casseroles.” Evan’s warm chuckle lit up his face momentarily before his expression drooped again. “I’ll take care of her…She told me to let you know if you need anything you can reach out. Jacob would still want you to be cared for too. We all know how hard you took Chester’s death.”

He ran a hand over his hair and sighed. “I better run. You have a houseful.”

“Yeah,” I said as he took a step backward. “It was good to see you…”

Evan pressed his lips into a line and nodded at me before he turned and walked away, and I felt someone’s hand on my bicep squeezing. I turned to see my mom there, solemn expression on her face.

“Are you okay?” she asked, and I knew exactly what she meant.

There were three people in this world who knew everything. Mom, me, and Jacob. If the news of Jacob’s very real heart attack hadn’t hit me so hard, I’d have been tearing my hair out in fear. Mom pulled me away from the door, and I turned slowly to look down at Parker’s chubby face as he said goodbye to Nicky. He was the spitting image of his father. A man I’d kept a dark secret from for years. A secret Jacob helped me keep because he knew what it would mean for both of us.

A secret that I had a very bad feeling was about to be uncovered.

“Come on…I’ll pour you a drink,” Mom said, taking my hand as she ushered me away from the door.

Yes. A drink. That was what I needed.

A good stiff drink.

4

EVAN

Not much had changed in the past eight years here at headquarters, though the offices had gotten a carpet upgrade at some point. I strutted through reception and past the cubicles of some of our associates. After the emergency board meeting held yesterday afternoon via Skype, I knew my presence here would come as a shock. Only the higher-ups were being told about me taking over for Jacob, and the shift would be temporary.

I shuddered to think what would happen to our father’s company if Jake died. Me being voted in as temporary acting CEO was a hard sell—the way Jacob told me it would be a long time ago. There were reasons why my father handed the company over to him in his will, reasons I was the one sent overseas to build and expand. It wasn’t that I wasn’t trusted. It was that I hadn’t been trustworthy.

But my playboy ways were done now, those moments long forgotten. I learned my lesson the hard way when I had my heart ripped out of my chest by more than one woman. I grew up really fast, and when Amber and I had that fling, it was a moment of clarity to me. I was messing with people’s emotions, includingmine, and I had to stop it. I’d never forget the look on her face when I told her I was going to Europe for at least eighteen months, maybe longer.

It was just a flash, so brief I almost missed it, but she was hurt. I hadn’t meant to hurt her. I thought at first I was just comforting her after her father died, but then things turned more frequent, more serious. In my heart, I knew she wanted to ask me to stay, and I wanted her to. It just didn’t work out that way. Jacob thought shipping me overseas to do something for our company would make me grow up, and it had. Really fast.

The surprise I thought I’d see on the faces of the lower-ranking staff was there. Wide eyes accompanied head nods and stiff smiles as I passed desks. Taking over for Jacob was going to be a hard job but not one I was incapable of taking on. I’d been in R&D for so long I knew our products inside and out. I had worked my way up the ladder just like he had, but with him at the top, there was no room for me. Maybe someday it’d be COO or CFO, but for now, I was content with what I was doing. I enjoyed my team, and I was going to miss them for the duration of this temporary job, but I knew I could do it.

I passed the C-suite offices knowing they’d been informed already, and I went straight to Jacob’s office. I had a meeting set up later this afternoon to assure them all that I was not replacing my brother permanently and that I would need his help. This appearance was more for optics than anything else, and to connect with Jake’s executive assistant to make sure I was up to speed on things. I didn’t have half the experience with dealing with customers, shareholders, or investors that Jacob had and I would lean on this team immensely.

His office was well-kept. A large oak desk dominated the room, with matching bookshelves behind it, though he had barely any books on it. His diplomas and certificates were framed and displayed on the shelves, along with knickknacksand decor I could tell Erin had been the one to pick out. The color scheme had changed since the last time I was here from Dad’s colors of gold and blue to a more calming tan and honey, and throw pillows of similar colors on the clunky leather couch matched.

I was standing in the middle of the room thinking about my brother and how strong of man he was when I heard someone behind me clear their throat. I turned around and was shocked to see someone I thought I may never see again standing in front of me.

Amber Lawson, with the lips of a goddess, and a curvaceous figure that commanded my attention, stood with a tablet in hand and a professional expression on her face. Reading glasses perched on the tip of her nose and she looked at me over the rim like a naughty librarian who kept all her kinks wrapped up behind the rule-behaving facade. Her hair was twisted into a bun and her form-fitting suit screamed “I’m a businesswoman.”

“Mr. Montgomery,” she said, nodding at me. She took two strides closer and my heart flipped in my chest. When Erin gave me that gift for Amber’s child and I had to stop by, I felt a chokehold grip me. I thought it would be awkward, that she’d turn me away or be upset at seeing me. She was as shocked about Jacob’s heart attack as anyone else, and after hearing Erin go on about how she and Jacob had all but taken Amber in, I knew she was close with them.

“Amber,” I breathed, feeling a little lightheaded at seeing her. I had no clue she worked here, so it was all starting to make more sense why Jacob had purchased a gift for her child. My eyes dropped to her hands, where she extended the tablet in my direction. I’d already seen on her left ring finger that there was no ring, which usually meant no spouse, but I had dismissed it.

Amber moved on years ago. She had a child with someone else. If that wasn’t a kick to the curb, I didn’t know what was. Butit didn’t dissuade me from checking her out, or remembering how amazing her body felt against mine.

“You’ll see here that you have a full schedule of meetings. It’s nearing eight thirty and you’re running late already.” She tapped the screen and the itinerary lit up. I tore my eyes away from her round cheeks and looked down where she was pointing. “You need to be in the conference room soon, and I have so much to get caught up on after my day off on Friday.”

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