Marrying The Boss (9 page)

Despite her resolve to keep away from this
man, she had to curb the desire to reach out and touch him. Sooth
the lines of worry from his creased forehead, put her arms around
him and assure him everything would be all right.

Instead she pushed her hands behind her
back, out of temptation's way. The desire to run and the need to
stay set up a painful pounding within her chest.

Spencer grimaced. "I just need to get
through tonight. Then I can reassess things in the morning. Taking
Jamie to the hospital isn't an option. He has a dislike of such
places and he's been upset enough already. I rang around and got
nobody, so I was at my wit's end. Until I thought of
you."

His stormy blue eyes studied her upturned
face. "I'm grateful you came. I really won't forget it."

"
It's fine, really." Kate somehow managed
the lie. Feeling her cheeks beginning to heat, she licked at her
lips, stepping quickly away from his overwhelming nearness. She
didn't want his gratitude; it drew then inexorably closer together
onto dangerous ground.

"
Where's Jamie?" She moved quickly away
towards the open doorway of a large, comfortable looking
lounge.

"
In his room. He should be in bed asleep,
but he's too upset. I'll call him before I go. I'll be as quick as
I can. But Alexia will put up a good fight to come straight home.
It could take a while to convince her she must remain in hospital,
stay in bed and let other people take care of her for a
change."

"
Take as long as you need." She quickly
turned back to him. "Jamie and I will be fine. I'll keep him
occupied by getting him to show me where everything is. Don't
worry."

"
He's had something to eat." He told her.
"If I'm held up, just pick a bedroom. There's plenty to choose
from."

No way!
Kate caught her breath.

She wasn't planning on sleeping over. She
couldn't allow herself to become involved in Spencer's personal
life. But then she hadn't planned on being here at all.

She pushed her hands into the pockets of
her jeans. She'd made the commitment to stay as long as Spencer and
his son needed her. And she couldn't back out now when Jamie's
small boy's world had been tipped upside down.

She shrugged. "Then, I guess, if I'm still
here in the morning, I can make us breakfast. You'll have enough to
worry about."

"
I'll try and be back early enough for you
to go home." Spencer ran a hand up around the back of his neck. "I
don't want to keep you up. You have another full day ahead of you
tomorrow." He gave an impatient roll of his shoulders. "I must get
going. I'll tie the dog up and fetch Jamie."

Kate stared after him as he hurried away
down the wide hallway towards the back of the house, taking Lobo
with him. She wondered if he was saying he didn't want her there
for breakfast. It left her with an oddly hollow feeling
inside.

Foolishness
, she thought, shaking her
head.

The lounge was a wide, airy room with a huge
open fireplace. One wall was dedicated to photographs and prints of
horses. Drawn by curiosity, she moved over to study them. They were
mainly pictures of thoroughbreds, and there were many champions.
She shook her head. Another side to the distracting puzzle Spencer
Stelanos was turning out to be.

"
Jamie has homework." Spencer reappeared
with his son close behind him. "Some reading he needs to complete
but he was too upset to do it before. It's in here." He dropped a
brightly colored cloth bag onto the nearest chair. "He can show
you."

"
I'm sure we can manage that." Kate assured
him. "Hello, Jamie."

"
Hi." The boy nodded, clutching his father's
hand.

Spencer went down on one knee beside the
child. "I have to go. I need to get Alexia to the hospital. Kate
has come over to stay with you. I'll be home as quickly as I
can."

"
You'll make Thea Alexia get well again?"
Jamie's little hand settled on his father's broad shoulder. "Then
she can come home?"

"
I think I can manage that." Spencer gave
his son a quick hug before he straightened again. "Now, look after
Kate. She'll need your help to find her way around."

"
Go on, we can manage." Kate encouraged
him, seeing him linger in the doorway. She could do without his
watchful presence.

"
Thanks," he replied, before heading
quickly out of the room.

Kate looked after him for a moment, before
dropping her eyes to his son's worried face. "All this excitement
has made me hungry. How about if we find some of those cookies you
said you liked?" She remained where she was, allowing the boy to
make his own decisions.

"
Thea Alexia doesn't let me have any
cookies." His dark eyes regarded her solemnly.

"
I see. Well, we don't want to break any of
your aunt's rules. How about when you went over to Elle's? You said
she let you have cookies sometimes."

"
Yes," Jamie replied doubtfully, his small
face frowning. "But, this isn't Auntie Elle's house. This is my
house."

His words of small boy logic encouraged a
fresh smile onto her lips. Her feeling of tension melted away. It
was going to be all right. She could manage one night.

"
Then, I think we might pretend. But just
for tonight." She tilted her head. "I don't think it would hurt if
we played a little game."

"
Okay." Jamie nodded slowly. "Auntie Ellie
used to let me camp out in her lounge sometimes too. Can we camp
out tonight?"

"
Camping out sounds like fun." Kate
swallowed against the sudden lump settling in her
throat.

Jamie looked sweet and adorable as he
caught his bottom lip between his small teeth. It was all she could
do not to sweep him up into her arms and hug him. But that level of
caring made her feel too vulnerable. "How about we go on a kitchen
raid first? We'll need some milk. If we're having
cookies."

"
I like strawberry milk." Jamie's dark eyes
rounded. He moved forward to take Kate's outstretched hand. "Then
we have to read my book. Papa said so. It's my
homework."

"
I think we can fit some reading in after
our raid." Kate curled her fingers around his small hand. "We can
camp out in the middle of the lounge and then you can read to
me."

"
You have to say all the big words." He led
her into a large, well appointed kitchen. "Then I get to say them
after you."

"
I think I can manage a few big words."

She looked around the huge kitchen. The
large rust colored slate tiles patterning the floor were cool
beneath her bare feet. Pots and pans gleamed brightly from their
various hooks around the walls. The wide windowsill overlooking the
extensive gardens at the back of the house was filled with pots and
tubs containing many different kinds of fragrant herbs.

There was a warm Mediterranean charm about
the whole room, but her sense of welcome was fleeting. For a brief
moment she felt almost as if she belonged here. But within a
heartbeat her ancient jeans and old sweat top began to make her
feel like an intruder against the determined order and neatness of
the room.

She grimaced at the confusing idea. She
was here to help. To keep one small boy's thoughts off his own
troubles. Too bad if she didn't quite match the elegant
décor.

"
Okay. You'll have to help me, Jamie. Where
do you think those cookies could be hidden?"

"
We don't have any cookies," he told her
with a frown. "Thea Alexia says they're bad for my
teeth."

"
What, truly you don't have any cookies?"
She stared down at him. "Surely a growing boy like you loves
cookies?"

"
Yes, but, only at Auntie Elle's."

His logic was impeccable, she thought wryly.

An idea crept into her mind. A thought that
she should have banished immediately, leave well enough alone. But
an underlying sense of justice asserted itself.

"
Did I ever tell you that I'm the best
cookie maker in the whole world?"

"
No..." Jamie replied slowly, his wide dark
eyes fixed doubtfully on her face. "Are you?"

"
Would I lie to you?" She raised her
eyebrows. "I think it's about time you found out just how good I
am. Come on, before your Papa comes home and catches us out in our
plans and makes a scene. We've got a lot of work to do
tonight."

Before she lost her nerve all together.

Spencer stepped out of his four wheel drive
and stretched his body towards the full moon before opening the
back door to a silent house. Weariness weighed down heavily on
every one of his limbs.

The night had been very long with Alexia
fighting him all the way. And she'd come close to winning. His aunt
had been more resistant to remaining in hospital that he'd
expected. It had taken a great deal of precious time to convince
her to stay and allow herself be taken care of. It had also taken
all his energy.

Thankfully the x-rays of her hip had shown
no evidence of fractures. But there was severe bruising and she'd
also sustained a mild concussion from hitting her head.

He was aware it was now well after four in
the morning. He hoped Kate had enough sense to put Jamie to bed and
get some sleep herself. The thought that she could still be out of
bed—waiting for him to come home—stirred something within him he
was not going to acknowledge, let alone identify.

He reminded himself that theirs
needed to be a professional relationship
. Pure and simple.
It was safer that
way.

Any personal relationship was
the last thing he needed to get involved in. Even if it had been
over three years since
he'd been out on a date. Been close to a woman in
any truly intimate sense, shared his innermost thoughts or
feelings.

"
Don't even go there." He blew a long sigh
towards the ceiling. "It wouldn't work."

He still had Jamie to consider. His son
must come first in his life, always. But the boy also needed a
mother, a woman much younger than Alexia who could care for him as
he grew into a man. But no woman he knew would want a marriage that
Spencer needed, one kept strictly on a business footing instead of
a warm intimate joining of two people who would share
everything.

A woman who would want a
relationship like that simply didn't exist. But the need remained
like an unanswered question in the back of his mind.
What if…

His mouth thinned as he
considered Kate's unusual facial likeness to his ex-wife. He'd
loved Katerina once with all his heart.
Past tense
, but forgetting what they'd had
together wasn't easy. Maybe the faded memory of that love explained
his new state of turmoil, this odd need to seek out Kate Martin's
company and care what she thought of him. The temptation to mold
their mutual awareness into something they could work on together
was a disruptive distraction.

His past was stirring to life every time
he looked at Kate and felt something he didn't want to acknowledge.
She stirred his body in disturbing ways he had thought were long
dormant.

"
Or maybe you're too tired to make sense of
anything right now." Flexing his shoulders, he decided on strong
black coffee. Opening the door to the kitchen, he crossed the room,
switching on the light above the sink, before reaching for the
kettle.

Something out of the ordinary caught and
arrested his attention. The room was filled with the mouth-watering
scents of fresh baking. He inhaled deeply, savoring the delicious
smell.

He looked around the room. His aunt took
fierce pride in keeping her kitchen in strictly regimented order.
Everything had its assigned place.

Now, the sweetly scented room possessed the
rakish air of general disorder and upheaval. Things had been moved
and three trays of freshly baked cookies took pride of place on the
large island dominating the middle of the room.

"
What on earth...?" He felt his jaw
loosen.

The cookies looked dark and rich.
Chocolate chip, his favorite and Jamie's. Someone had been very
busy. His lips snapped shut. It didn't take a rocket scientist to
work out exactly who.

Turning away, he filled the kettle and
plugged it in. He cast another glance at the trays of tempting
cookies. His stomach felt hollow. Realizing he hadn't eaten his
evening meal, he reached for one biscuit, ate it quickly, before
snagging a second.

Biting into it, he closed his
eyes.
Any
woman who could cook like this…
Kate's baking was sinful and heavenly.

The kettle boiled and switched itself off.
He made the coffee one handed, while devouring another two cookies
with the other. It had been a long time since he'd tasted anything
as delicious. Even Kris's carrot cake took second place to freshly
baked chocolate chip cookies.