Page 12 of One More Baby for the Boss

Alex grinned “I’m twenty-eight.”

“Oh,” Jack said. “That’s old.”

“Pretty old, yeah.”

“But not as old as Dad,” Jack said importantly. “He’s thirty-five.”

“That is more than twenty-eight, all right.”

Gio put a plate in front of each of the two of them. “Enjoy, you two,” he said.

“Thank you,” Alex said, looking up at him. “You really didn’t have to do this.”

“It’s my job,” he assured her. “Besides, it’s good to see you doing so well with Jack there. This is the most peaceful breakfast I’ve had in a long time.”

“Is it?”

“Last week when I brought him his eggs, he threw them at me.”

“Jack!” Alex looked at the boy in surprise. “Did you really do that?”

“He put mushrooms in them,” Jack said. “He knows I don’t like mushrooms.”

“There were no mushrooms,” Gio said. “What you saw was burned cheese, Jack.”

Alex lifted her eyebrows and looked at Jack, waiting.

“Well, I didn’tknowthat,” Jack grumbled.

“You shouldn’t throw food at people who take the time to prepare it for you,” Alex said. “I think you owe Gio an apology.”

“But he works for us,” Jack protested.

“That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to be courteous to him. I work for your father, but do you think he would throw anything at me?”

“I guess not.”

“And when you grow up and get a job, do you want your boss throwing eggs at you?”

Jack giggled. “No,” he admitted. “That would be silly.”

“So what do you say?”

Jack looked over at the chef. “Sorry.”

Gio laughed. “Don’t give it a second thought,” he said. “I’ve been through worse in my day. Next time you think there’s something you don’t like in your food, you can ask me! If I’ve made a mistake, I’ll just fix it for you.”

“Sound good?” Alex asked Jack.

He nodded. “Sounds okay.”

Alex looked up at Gio, who was wide-eyed.Nice job,he mouthed.

Alex was surprised by the degree to which Jack had apparently been allowed to run wild up until now.

She thought back to the day when she had first met Jack and Elijah at the diner. The kid had wanted blueberry pancakes, she recalled, and had been on the verge of throwing a tantrum until Alex had interceded and offered chocolate chip. And on his next visit to the diner, when Jack hadn’t been able to talk to her about getting chocolate chip pancakes for a second time, he had run away from his father and out into the parking lot.

She hadn’t had much trouble getting along with Jack. But hewasa child who had a history of acting out when he wasn’t getting his way. She couldn’t pretend not to be aware of that fact.

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