Page 23 of One More Baby for the Boss

“I care about him too. He’s a special little kid.” She hesitated. “Did you mean what you said about us spending the day together tomorrow. You’ll really be willing to do it?”

“For sure, I’m looking forward to it,” Elijah said. “I should have done it a long time ago.”

“You can afford to take the day away from your work?”

“I’ll have to make it up during the rest of the week. But the truth is, I’ve needed to give myself an excuse to take a day off. Like I say I should have done it before now. I’m just glad you finally talked me into it.”

“Do you know what you want to do?” Alex asked. “Usually I just play ball with him out in the yard. But if you want to do something else, really make it a special day…”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” Elijah said. “You won’t mind if I take charge for the day?”

“Please. You’re the boss. And I’m sure you know better than anyone what’s going to make Jack happy.”

Elijah thought so too. Still, it made him feel good to hear her say it. He had begun to doubt himself, to question whether he was clued in to his son’s needs at all. It helped to hear that Alex thought he was.

“I should get back to bed,” she said.

But she didn’t turn away from him. And suddenly, Elijah found himself remembering the moment the two of them had shared before Jack had come in and interrupted them.

He had been about to kiss her. He was certain of it.

What a strange, unexpected turn of events! He would never have predicted it. Seeing her in the diner that day, something inside him had sparked in a way he hadn’t believed it ever would again. He’d come back to life a little bit. But he would never have dreamed that it was a feeling he would act on. Not after everything he’d been through.

Even now, he didn’t think he ever would. Especially after that close call. If anything, it had reminded him that he had closed offhis heart after what had happened to Stephanie. He wasn’t going to let himself fall in love again. He wasn’t going to let himself get hurt again. He had his work. He had Jack. That was all he needed.

She was watching him, though, and it looked as if she was waiting for something. Was it possible she thought the kiss still might happen?

Was it possible she was hoping for it?

And why wasthatsuch a tantalizing idea? He wasn’t going to kiss her — why did he want her to want him to?

He cleared his throat and stepped back, out of the bubble of her personal space. Immediately, his head began to feel clearer. “I should go to my office,” he said.

“You’re not going to work more tonight?”

“Only a little. If I’m taking tomorrow off, I’d like to set myself up as best I can. If I can knock out a few tasks, I’ll feel a lot better about the whole situation.”

Alex eyed him sharply. “You can’t take it back, you know,” she said. “You promised him you’d be there tomorrow. He’ll take it hard if you back out of that promise, so you need to follow through.”

Elijah had never imagined a member of his staff speaking to him so sharply, and for a moment he bristled at her words. He had to pause and remind himself that this was what he wanted. She was only advocating for Jack, and that was a good thing. It was what he had asked her to do. He had to hear that with gratitude and appreciation, not resentment.

He nodded. “You’re right,” he told her. “And I’m not going to back out. I’ll be there. It’s a promise.”

“All right,” she said. “In that case, we’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”

She turned away and went back into her bedroom, leaving him alone in the hall.

He stood there for a moment, pondering everything that had happened tonight, and then he turned and headed back to his office.

But even when he was at his desk with his work spread out in front of him, he couldn’t clear his mind enough to focus.

Alex was attractive, it was true. She wasveryattractive. Under a different set of circumstances, he could imagine himself in a relationship with a woman like her. He could certainly picture spending a night with her. But she wasn’t the first attractive woman he’d seen over the past four years — not by a long shot. What was it about her that was evoking such a change in him now? Why her?

He closed his eyes and pictured her — the various glimpses of her he had gotten. That first day at the diner, defusing Jack’s meltdown. The afternoon he had seen the two of them playing soccer from the window of his office. Tonight, watching her hold Jack in her arms while he fell asleep.

That was it, he realized. That was the answer. The reason he was so drawn to her wasn’t just her looks. It was that she cared about Jack. She cared about him more than he had seen anyone care about him since Stephanie had died. And Elijah had missed seeing someone else really care for his son.

But that was exactly why he couldn’t allow himself to get too carried away with his feelings. He wanted to see Alex be a part of Jack’s life for a long time, so he couldn’t run the risk of pushing her away by treating her carelessly. He couldn’t indulge himself in a fling with her, because if that were to end badly she would leave. Hell, she had almost left tonight because the two of them had had an argument, so what would happen if they had actually kissed and if it hadn’t ended well between them?

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