I didn’t have a chance to say anything. My name had barely left her mouth when the screen went black. Staring at the phone clutched in my fist, I tried, and failed miserably, to make sense of what the heck happened.
For five years I’d seen this woman almost daily and never once had there been a stirring of anything. No, that wasn’t entirely true. I’d always hated the way she looked at me whenever a woman would show up at my office.
Then there was the guilt the times she’d come to my penthouse, only to find me in a...compromising position. Come to think of it, that guilt had never been there with Rafe or Liam or anyone else.
As the seconds turned to minutes, I realized I wouldn’t get the answers to the multitude of questions floating around my brain. I needed sleep. The only problem was, when I switched off the lights and closed my eyes, all I fucking saw was Kate.
Those damn sad eyes.
Hermurderous expression when I grabbed her on the sidewalk.
The soft curls against her skin.
And those delicate fingers toying with the neckline of her shirt.
“Fuck,” I groaned into my pillow.
I’d solved the puzzle. I knew what was bothering her. So why the hell wouldn’t she leave my mind?
By the time I woke up the following morning, I still didn’t have an answer. Only a whole lot of uneasiness crawling through my veins. It was why I didn’t go into the office. It was also why I wanted to cancel dinner.
But if I canceled, Kate wouldn’t give me another chance. I couldn’t have that. I was on the verge of convincing her to go along with this plan. We just had one more hurdle to cross before we were on our way to getting everything we wanted.
“One more hurdle,” I muttered to myself. “More like a damn mountain.”
How the hell was I supposed to impress a little person? I didn’t speak “kid.” Had no freaking clue what they liked and didn’t like. Then there was the whole sugar thing. Was Millie allowed to eat candy, or would Kate cut off my balls for feeding her kid sugar?
Another groan pushed up my throat as I scraped a palm over my face. Time to call in reinforcements. Pulling out my phone, I dialed the only person who could help.
“This is Everlee.”
“Are you busy? I kinda need your help with something.”
The rustling of papers filtered through the line. “Working on some things for this year’s yearend function, but I can talk. What’s up?”
“I...uh...” A nervous shiver raced down my spine. Doing my best to ignore it, I forced the words from my mouth. “Hypothetically speaking, if I came to dinnerat your place and I brought your six-year-old candy, on a scale of one to ten, how pissed would you be?”
“Oh my gosh…” she squealed. “Do you have a date with a single mom?”
I sighed. “I shouldn’t have called.”
“No, no, no,” Evie said quickly. “Don’t go. I want to help. So you said something about dinner and candy?”
My only response was a grunt.
“I think to keep it on the safe side maybe avoid anything edible. With all the food allergies nowadays, you never know what the kid can or can’t tolerate.”
“Okay.” I poked my tongue against my cheek. “No food. That leaves me with...toys?”
“Sure, depending on their age—”
“She’s six.”
I swear, if smiles could be heard, Evie was fucking beaming on the other end. “So it’s a girl. Hmm.” There was a short pause, then, “Most girls that age like stuffed animals. You could maybe get her a bear?”
My feet moved to the toy section of the store before she was done talking. “Thanks for the help, Evie.”
“You’re not gonna tell me what this is about, are you?”
