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When I glance back at him, he’s smiling fondly at Lucie. God, this man knows the way to a new mommy’s heart.
“Yeah. Of course. Thanks for waking me,” I murmur. Then I stiffen, worried. Oh god. “Did you say eleven?” I blurt, grabbing for my cell phone. Crap.
“Yes. What’s wrong?” His brow furrows.
Oh shit. I got here at 6pm; I’d been planning to leave by 8 to catch the last bus out to my neighborhood in the suburbs. It’s such a long ride, and there are so few public buses that still run the route. Now it’s way too late – buses here stop running at 11pm, at least all the way out into my neighborhood.
“I’ve got to get a cab,” I mumble, hurrying to gather my things, stuffing baby items into my bag willy-nilly. “I missed my bus. Crap crap crap.”
He stops me with a gentle hand wrapped around my wrist. “Manila.”
I glance up at him panicked and wide-eyed. I’m so worried I don’t even notice how close we are, or how concerned and sympathetic the expression on his face is. “It’s going to cost a fortune at this hour, with the mark-ups, and the whole Uber being banned thing.” I’m babbling, I know it, but I can’t stop myself. Argh. This is the worst possible first impression I could make on my future boss!
“Don’t worry about it—” he starts to say, but I interrupt him.
Who even knows if he wants to be my boss after this display. “I’m so sorry,” I add again, cutting over him. “I’m an idiot.”
His frown deepens. “You don’t have a car?”
I hesitate, embarrassed. Then shake my head.
He blinks. “Why on earth not? Do you have your license?”
I grimace. “Of course I do,” I retort, a little annoyed. Then I rub my temples. “I can’t afford a car. Not with the insurance, and repairs and gas and everything…”
“You take buses everywhere?”
I bob my head. “But they won’t be running this late, so I’ll have to call a cab… Which is fine, I just, I didn’t expect—”
He’s already shaking his head, so hard I’m afraid he’s going to drop Luca. Of course, he’s got better hand-eye coordination than me, so he doesn’t. “Just stay here for the night.”
My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. “What? No – I couldn’t – I mean, the twins need their beds, and…”
“I have a spare room,” he says. “There’s a crib in there already. Plus a twin bed for you. Stay.” His eyes bore into mine. Who could say no to a gaze like that? “I insist.”
A little shiver of desire races down my spine. I remember my dream, too little too late. The hot tub, his strong, warm body pressed hard against mine, his hands taking control of me, pulling down my swimsuit and tracing the outline of my pussy, his fingertips just barely brushing my lips…
I shiver again. “Really, it’s too much,” I try to protest, but it sounds weak. Fragile.
He’s already walking away, carrying Luca into the apartment. I pick up Lucie carefully, making sure not to wake her from her sleep. Together, he and I tiptoe across the penthouse, to a small door at the opposite end.
He wasn’t lying. He has a whole spare room, made up and tidy, the bed neat, and a crib beside it. Extra wide, too, just like the one I have them in at home.
Why does he have all this stuff here? Does he have kids too?
That would explain why he’s so good with them. He holds Luca like an experienced father, not a first timer just encountering their first baby.
He lays Luca in the crib, and I notice my son is already snoring faintly. He fell asleep while Cassius was carrying him, and somehow, magically, he doesn’t wake up when Cassius lays him down. I place Lucie beside him, and we stand side-by-side next to the crib for a moment, watching them wrap their tiny hands around one another’s and sigh in their sleep, content.
Then, without a word, we tiptoe out of the room together, as one, easing the door closed behind us.
“Are you really sure about this?” I ask him in the hallway.
“Trust me, Manila.” He glances over at me. His eyes travel up and down my body, and for a sudden startled second, I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing that I am. About the space between us – or lack thereof right now. About how easy it would be for me to take one step closer to him, wrap my arms around his neck and lean into his body. He’s staring at me almost hungrily, like he wants me as badly as I want him.
For the first time since long before I had the kids – since before my last string of shitty exes, one guy who told me I wasn’t hot enough for him after the next – I suddenly feel attractive. No, more than attractive.
