For Her Son's Sake

“It might be, but business should always come first.”

“That you think so might be why you’re all alone,” she said quietly. “It’s only for ten minutes and I’m sure even the great and powerful Kell Montrose can wait that long.”

The look he gave her was frosty and hard. But underneath it she could see that she’d hurt him. She had to remember what she’d learned yesterday—beneath his all-business exterior Kell was a real man. She remembered what he’d said about his mother and thought that maybe because he hadn’t had a bond with her, he didn’t realize how important it was.

Before he could say anything though, Sammy came over to them where they stood just inside the doorway by the coatrack.

“Mommy,” he said, launching himself at her.

She scooped him up in her arms and hugged him close. Then she kissed the top of his head and set him back on the ground. He kept his tiny hand in hers.

“Hi,” Sammy said, looking up at Kell.

The two had met before. Since Jessi and Cari were both moms now and engaged to Kell’s cousins, their families had spent time together. And Emma actually liked both Dec and Allan. But they were nothing like Kell. He’d always seemed out of place and uncomfortable around the new babies and around her son.

“Hiya,” Kell said. “What were you doing on the tablet?”

“Playing a game.”

“One of ours?”

“Mommy didn’t make it,” Sammy said. “It’s snack time.”

“I heard,” Kell said. “Can I join you?”

What? She looked over at him and he raised one eyebrow at her in response.

“Yes. Mommy made enough for me to share,” Sammy said.

They followed him to a table where three other children were already seated. The chairs were tiny and as the nursery teacher brought over a chair for Emma, she looked at Kell. There was no way his big frame was going to be able to perch on this tiny chair.

He just sat down cross-legged on the floor at the head of the table. Sammy sat next to him in front of his The Avengers lunchbox and opened it up. He took out a package of raisins and placed a few in front of Kell and then couple in front of Emma.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Thanks,” Kell said. “What game were you playing again?”

“Music,” Sammy said.

“It’s a program that teaches kids to play simple melodies. They can sing along with it and follow a little bouncing grape on the keyboard.”

“What can you play?”

“Can’t take it away,” Sammy said, popping a raisin into his mouth. “It’s Mommy’s favorite.”

“Is it?” Kell asked, glancing over at her.

“Yes. He means ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me.’ I like old jazz so he is sort of growing up listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Plus it’s a duet and we sing it at night before bedtime, don’t we?”

Sammy nodded. “Uncle Dec plays me rap so that I’m not—what’d he call it?”

“Stodgy,” Emma said.

“Sounds like Dec.”

She could tell that Kell had more questions but Sammy started talking to the little girl, Anna, next to him. They were trying to swap snacks.

Kell turned to Emma. “I have more questions.”

“I know, but he’s three and it’s snack time,” she explained.

“After snack time then. I want to know why he likes his game,” Kell said. “Do the other kids play with tablets as well? I recently read an article about kids in Estonia who are learning to program robots at the age of seven. Your idea for the reading app is right on trend.”

Great. “I bet you’re glad you didn’t just fire me outright.”

“Don’t get cocky. You still have to prove you can make it work.”

Of course she did.

* * *

As far as mistakes went, this was one was colossal. He’d told himself he’d come to the Malibu campus of Playtone-Infinity Games to meet with Emma about her idea. But he knew that was a lie. As soon as he’d entered the building he’d felt a zing of emotion go straight through him.

He’d thought of nothing but how she’d felt in his arms the day before. He hadn’t slept or been able to concentrate on his five-year plan as he’d gone for his run that morning. Instead he’d thought of all the ways he wanted to make love to her.

For a man who’d been focused on revenge and corporate takeovers for most of his adult life, it had been unnerving to say the least. So he’d driven here to talk to her. To prove to himself that he’d remembered it all wrong. That she hadn’t changed him by falling into his arms.

But that wasn’t the way this was going.

Instead he was sitting at the kiddie table listening to the babble of three-year-olds and realizing two things. One, that if this was they were going to launch a reading app for this market, he was going to have to find a lot more patience for dealing with his future focus groups. And two, he was still just as attracted to Emma as he’d been the day before. In fact he might be even more so than he’d previously thought.

Never before had the way a woman nibbled a breakfast snack turned him on. But it had today.

“Is that okay?” she asked.

No, he thought. Then realized she had to be talking about something else. There was no way she could possibly know that she’d rattled him. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you’d mind if Sammy and some of his friends played with the prototype and then gave us some feedback.”

“That’s what I was going to suggest,” he said. He glanced around the table and noticed that the kids had finished their snacks and were putting away their lunch boxes. It was just he and Emma sitting there.

He popped his last raisin into his mouth and then pushed up to his feet. He was more than ready to get out of the nursery. He hadn’t been around this many kids since he’d been one himself. The merger and the relationships that had sprung up from it were making his life a mess, Kell thought. There were babies everywhere. Which made him think about things he’d never really considered before. Like the future.

Emma stood up as well, brushing her hands down the sides of her pantsuit and tucking the tail of her blouse back into the waistband where it had come out. Her long hair hung around her shoulders. His palms tingled with the remembered feel of its silkiness and he wanted to touch it again. Touch her again. He didn’t know how he was going to keep his word that he wouldn’t pursue her.

It was all he wanted.

It made no sense. He felt like an idiot. Why was he here? He should be running in the other direction instead of stopping by her office.