Playing With Temptation

“I know, and I’m sorry. I don’t mean to spring this on you at the last minute, but I’ve been thinking about it all day. It’s too risky to send Nate alone.”

“Then why don’t you go with him?”

“I would, but I have meetings scheduled with the networks and one of the team execs. I can’t miss them.”

Kendra groaned. “Fine. When is he leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, and again I’m sorry about this. I realize how inconvenient this is, and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t so critical. Will your mom or Maya be able to watch Kai for a few days? If not, my mom or Alison would be happy to.”

“I’ll make arrangements. Just have Kara email me everything I need to know.”

“Great. Oh, and Kendra?”

“Yes?”

“Pack for a week. Just in case.”

Kendra ended the call and gritted her teeth. There was an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. She curled her fingers to her palms in response to the visceral memory of the electricity she felt when Nate’s fingers brushed her skin.

Sitting across the table from Nate during their first two meetings had been tough, but she’d found strength in the knowledge that their meetings would be brief. She could retreat, lick her wounds and summon her courage before it was time to do it again. Being confined on a small plane with Nate for hours would be difficult for both of them.

Kendra drew in a deep breath and picked up the phone. First, she called her mother to make arrangements for Kai. Anna Williams didn’t bother to hide how ecstatic she was that Kendra would be spending the next few days on the road alone with Nate. She gladly agreed to care for Kai.

After messaging her sister to let her know about her trip, she dragged her luggage out of the closet and packed.

* * *

Kendra closed the book she was reading to Kai. He’d been asleep for at least ten minutes. She finished reading the story anyway, needing an excuse to hold him a bit longer.

She slipped her arm from beneath Kai, tucked the covers under his chin and kissed his forehead.

Her cell phone rang. She followed the sound to the kitchen, where she’d left it.

“Hey, Maya. What’s up?”

“Got your message. I wanted to check on you. You sure you’ll be okay on the road with Nate for an entire week?”

Kendra collapsed onto the sofa, physically drained from preparing for the trip, mentally exhausted from wrestling with the same question. “Don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“We always have a choice,” Maya said. “But sometimes fate pushes us in the right direction.”

“You’re not going to tell me you think this is the stars aligning again—like they did for you and Liam—are you?”

“Are you going to try to tell me again that you don’t still have feelings for Nate?” There was a smirk in her sister’s voice.

“He’s my son’s father, so we’ll always have some sort of—”

“Connection.” Maya finished her sentence. “I know, I know. That’s not what I asked. I’m asking if you’re still in love with him.”

“We’ve been through this before.”

“And you’ve never given me a straight answer.” The pitch of Maya’s voice rose.

“Seems like a clear hint I don’t want to talk about it.” Kendra paced the floor, then rearranged photos on the mantel. “So leave it alone.”

“So it’s all right for you to be all up in my business, but when it’s your turn, suddenly you’re invoking the Fifth?”

Kendra pressed a palm to her forehead. Maya usually dropped the topic once her agitation became apparent. Suddenly her sister wasn’t inclined to let the subject go.

“I’m not sure how I feel,” Kendra admitted. It was unsettling to hear the words spoken aloud where she could no longer hide from them. “Being around him like this...it’s definitely making me feel some kind of way.”

Maya’s tone softened. “I know it’s probably a little overwhelming, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Just be open to wherever this takes you. Nate’s a good guy. He adores Kai, and I have a strong feeling he’s still very much in love with you.”

“Don’t know about that. It was kind of hard to read with his arm draped around the skinny chick who showed up at his place as he was rushing me out the door.” Kendra hated the pouty tone with which she conveyed the news.

“Is he seeing her?”

“I guess so. She seemed to know her way around his place well enough. From the size of the bag she was toting, she planned to stay awhile.”

“How did he introduce her?”

“As his friend.”

“Well, there you go.” There was a lilt in Maya’s voice again. “She’s his friend until we hear otherwise.”

“Like you and Liam were just ‘friends’ over the summer?”

Maya huffed. “You’re determined to ruin this, aren’t you?”

“Maya, seriously, do I need to have the same talk with you I had with my mom? This is business—not a romantic getaway. Nate doesn’t want me on this trip any more than I want to be on it.”

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that. We’ll see.”

“Enough with the matchmaking,” Kendra said. “I still have a ton of things to do. Oh, and my mom has a doctor’s appointment on Friday, so she won’t be able to pick Kai up from school. Is it okay if he goes home with Sarah and the girls until my mom can pick him up?”

Liam’s housekeeper, Sarah, had taken on the expanded role of part-time nanny since Maya and the girls had moved into his penthouse.

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem. She loves Kai. That boy is a charmer, just like his dad.”

Kendra thanked her sister and ended their call, hoping she’d be strong enough to resist Nate’s charm this time around.

Chapter 6 (#u02b632ad-eecd-52c2-9177-94e46c892a32)

Nate climbed the stairs to the small private plane they sometimes chartered for his travel. He got a whiff of a familiar scent. Jasmine with a hint of gardenias.