“Is your back hurting?” she asked and moved out of the car.

I finished pulling the baby carrier from its locking device and walked around to her. “No. Your dress is beautiful and you smell like heaven.”

She blushed and quickly looked away.

I took her hand and lifted it to my lips, kissing the back of her fingers before I could stop myself. I released her as we walked into the restaurant and played it off as if it meant nothing.

“Good evening, sir.” A middle-aged man moved from the hostess stand and peered over at Tyson. “He’s getting bigger and bigger, no? Looks like Alice if you ask me.”

I nodded, not quite able to respond. The boy did look like my sister. So much so that my mother hadn’t visited more than once since the plane crashed.

Speaking of...

I had to remind myself to talk to Kendra about my out of town trip. I should have mentioned it when hiring her, seeing that it was scheduled for the next day, but the clearance to go had come in last minute on Friday. Hopefully, she would be all right with it.

“The elevators are this way, of course.” The gentleman walked in front of us, stopping and holding the door as we moved in. He smiled sadly and I simply nodded again. Valenia was Alice’s favorite restaurant. It was the place my father brought us to each time we had a birthday or some type of celebration that called for wine and expensive food.

“There are so many memories in this place.” I glanced down at Tyson as Kendra’s hand brushed over my arm.

“We can go somewhere else. I can experience this another time. Really.”

“No. It’s a tradition. We’re celebrating your good fortune of working for the best family in town, and our superb luck in finding you.” I smiled and moved to stand in the open door of the elevator. “It’s a private balcony. Come and enjoy it with me.”

I moved out after she passed by me, the soft gasp that left her lit my world on fire. I wanted to please her and hear that sound over and over again.

What the fuck is wrong with me? Get it together.

The contraption they brought out for the baby carrier was a perfect fit. I bent over to study it for a minute, not quite sure how it worked to balance the large plastic tub that Tyson sat in. “Interesting.”

“There’s all sorts of crazy things for babies nowadays.” Kendra smiled and took her seat. “Should I feed him before we order dinner?”

“No. He’ll let us know when he’s hungry.” I pulled off the black jacket I’d slipped into, my silky white shirt leaving me with a sense of sensual power. I wasn’t sure why I needed to remind myself that if I wanted her, I could have her, but I did. Maybe because it was a fucking lie.

If she wanted me... she could have me. The coin didn’t roll the other way from what I could tell. Hunter seemed to be correct in his assessment. I was wealthy, so in her eyes, I was damaged goods. A means to an end.

“I do have some news to spring on you.” I tugged my napkin in my lap and paused as the server approached.

“What drinks might I get you?” The server smiled at Kendra and then turned her gaze on me.

“Red or white wine, Kendra?” I nodded toward her, willing to let her make all the decisions for the evening.

“Red.” She pulled her napkin into her lap too and absently licked her lips. Her pretty pink tongue shot me into a moment of depravity that made no sense.

I swallowed hard and reached for my water glass. I was approaching thirty, so maybe I’d turned some fucked up hormonal corner that left me needy for love and affection? Who knew? Either way... it wasn’t good.

“So lay it on me.” She picked up a piece of bread from the basket and lifted the roll toward me. “You want butter on it?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Lay it on her? Lay what? Did I miss something? I wanted to lay a lot on her...

She buttered the roll and handed it to me. “Jax. Tell me what you were going to spring on me. News about something?”

“Oh, yes. I’m leaving for a few days starting tomorrow and I need you to stay with Tyson. I’ll give you directions to the office so you can take him to the daycare when the week starts.” I took the roll and bit deeply into it. Had she fixed the roll for me? She had.

“I can just keep him with me. I don’t have a car.” She blushed as I watched her closely.

“I have several. We’ll just get you a set of keys to the Beamer and the Mercedes and you can use which ever you prefer. If they’re both shit, just tell me and I’ll take you car shopping.” I shrugged and shoved more of the roll into my mouth. Something about her having taken the initiative to fix my bread, coupled with the baby next to us, left me feeling very family oriented. Like I wanted a small family. A family we were almost playing that night.

She shook her head. “I’ll borrow your car. Either of those are more than I would ever imagine. No need to spend any money on me.”

My cock jerked in my pants. I was turning into a fucking basket-case and all I could hope was that I was playing off the calm, cool, collective guy I appeared to be most days of the week.

“It’s no big deal.” I turned to Tyson and found him asleep. The breeze picked up and I pulled the blanket from his bag and laid it over him. There was another buttered roll sitting on the small plate in front of me when I settled back down. I glanced up at her and felt something in my chest flutter.

No. Just no.

“I’m really sorry about not knowing who you were last night. I figured it out today. I feel like an ass.” She glanced down and shook her head.

I reached across the table and rubbed my fingers over the top of her hand.

“It’s okay. I just couldn’t bring myself to talk about it. My sister was my best friend. We did everything together.” I laughed, but the sound fell flat. “I’m not sure any of my relationships are real, but the one with her was.”

“I can’t imagine how much your family must be hurting.” She placed her hand on top of mine, trapping me there.

The warmth of her touch tugged at the deepest parts of me. I didn’t want to fuck her. I wanted to make love to her. I wanted to hear her groan my name as she rolled against me.

Being careful not to look like an ass, I removed my hand from hers and coughed, lifting my fist to my mouth.

“It’s been rough. My sister and I had a nasty falling out about six weeks ago. She left on her trip and... well, you know the rest.” I glanced up at the server, grateful for a break in the emotionally exhausting conversation.

Tyson started to cry about the time we ordered, so Kendra got up and unbuckled him as I picked a few of my family’s favorites for her to try. I sat back and took a long drink of my wine as she cuddled the baby against her breasts. Her sweet whispers and gentle disposition forced me to realize something. I didn’t know her, but I wanted to.

Badly.

She rubbed Tyson’s back and glanced up at me, her expression soft and almost loving. “Where are you going on the trip?”

“Overseas to the Sahara Desert. I was waiting to get clearance by the governing bodies to go. I got it Friday night, just before you showed up.”

“Oh. No wonder you didn’t tell me.” She picked up her wine and took a quick drink. “Your fight with your sister must not have been too terribly bad. She trusted you to raise her son.”

“Yeah. It was the same fight we’ve had my whole life. Women.” I shrugged and glanced down at Tyson. The little guy had fallen asleep on the thick pillow of her breasts. I hated how fucking jealous I was. She was beyond gorgeous, and I needed to tell her, but I didn’t want to come off creepy, so I simply let it go.

“Sounds like she cared a lot about you, Jax.”

“She did. The feeling was mutual. Our fighting should have had her ejecting me from her will a long time ago, but I’ve always been second in line behind the little guy.”