“What are you doing?” he asked, tickling the baby who squealed with delight, slapping his chubby palms on the water and splashing Dominic. He tickled the baby again. “Is this war?”
The baby giggled. Audra laughed, too. Unable to stop himself, he looked over his shoulder at her and his heart just about stopped. She looked so perfect standing behind him cheering him on.
She also looked happy. Normal. Not stiff and formal as she had been when he’d first hired her. Not afraid, as she’d been when he’d flirted. Not determined when forced to confront him about spending time with the baby. But normal.
As if she were right where she belonged.
The vision froze the breath in his lungs. He couldn’t help thinking this was the way his life was supposed to be, even though he knew that wasn’t true. He didn’t want this life. He wanted his old life back. But he also knew he wasn’t going to get it, and he wondered—no he worried—that he was seeing comfort and perfection in her simply because his other options had been snatched away from him.
He pulled Joshua from the tub and handed him off to Audra, who stood waiting with a towel. “I’ve got some work to do in the den this morning.”
She smiled cheerfully. “Sure. No problem. Go now.”
Don’t be nice to me. He almost said it out loud. Protect yourself. I need somebody and you’re available and if you let me, I’ll hurt you.
Instead he said, “Thanks,” and all but ran from the room. She was simply too tempting. But he was all wrong for her, and he didn’t know how to fix the problem of liking her more every time they were together. Except to stay away from her.
When Audra brought the baby in to him an hour later—when he was in the middle of writing summaries of his meetings from the day he was out of town—it was very easy to get himself out of spending more time with her.
“All right. We both agree I need to be with the baby, but we’re going to have to set some limits.” He closed the lid of his laptop. “Especially when I have work to do.”
She grimaced. “You’re busy. Sorry. I just thought you’d said you wanted to take him somewhere today.”
She was so genuinely nice that he forgave himself for the feelings he was developing for her. He’d have to be a monk not to like her. But that only made it all the more important that he stay away from her.
“No. I’m sorry. I did say that, but I said it before I realized I would have so much work to do.”
“Maybe you can spend some time with him this afternoon?”
He said, “Maybe,” only to get her out of his office. He wouldn’t have any more time that afternoon than he did right now, but he didn’t want to argue and he knew the danger of spending too much time with her. He was simply beginning to like her too much and had grown too accustomed to having her around. Still, the pressure of the lie felt like a vise around his temple.
To salve his conscience, he worked through lunch, desperate to get everything done, to have time for Joshua. When he realized he was making time for Joshua to please Audra, he ran his hands down his face. Liking her, being kind to her, wanting to be with her was wrong, because he knew himself. In the end he would hurt her.
But it felt so darned right. She was sweet and beautiful and he liked her. Every instinct screamed that he should at the very least give a relationship between them a shot. But he really wasn’t the kind of guy to settle down, and in spite of what he’d told her when she first came to work for him, after getting to know her, he now realized she did need the kind of man who would marry her.
The phone on the desk buzzed. Rather than let one of the overworked weekend staff grab it, Dominic did. “Manelli.”
“Hey, Dom!”
Dominic sat back on his tall-back desk chair, recognizing the voice as Tom Jenson’s. Tom had been a “business” friend of Peter’s, who by default had become a friend of Dominic’s.
“Hey, Tom, what’s up?”
“I’m having some people over this afternoon to watch the basketball game.”
Because he’d rushed through his work, he was done. But he’d hurried to have time to spend with Joshua. “Sorry. I can’t.”
“Really? That’s too bad, because Alfred Longoria is going to be here.”
“The Alfred Longoria?”
“The Alfred Longoria. Internet mogul. Darned near the smartest guy on the planet. And you’ll get three hours of hooting and hollering and drinking and just plain being a guy with him.”
Which was why Tom had called him. He knew Dominic was in trouble implementing Peter’s Internet-expansion plan. If Tom helped Dominic on this, Dominic would help him the next time he needed a favor.