stared at her. Ellie was cuddled up in a blanket in the center of the gigantic never-seen-a-king-size-bed-that-big bed with pillows tucked around her body and the television remote control in her hand. Derrick, still wearing his dress pants and button-down shirt, sat next to her. Not on top of her, but close enough for the intimacy, the closeness, to flow around them. His only nod to being home and not at work came in the removal of his tie. It lay over the armrest of the overstuffed chair by the bed.
“Nothing.” That seemed like a reasonable response to most things, so Abby went with that as her answer.
“Huh.” Ellie made a face. “You look furious.”
Derrick let out a long breath. “So, Spence.”
“Definitely Spence,” Ellie said with a nod.
Well, they weren’t wrong. Derrick and Spence were brothers and her bosses. But still. “I don’t know how you two are related.”
“We’re actually a lot alike.” Derrick smiled at first but when Abby stood there, not moving, Derrick bit his bottom lip. “But I can see that’s the wrong answer.”
“Did something happen?” Ellie patted an empty space on the bed, inviting Abby farther into the room to take a seat.
Seeing the two of them, with Derrick’s arm resting on the pillows behind Ellie and his fingers slipping into her hair and massaging her neck, struck Abby with the force of a slap. A pang of something...jealousy, regret, longing...moved through her. She couldn’t identify the feeling or grab on to it long enough to assess it. But the idea that she was interrupting did crash on top of her.
She was about to drop the brownies and run when she saw both of their faces. The concern. Derrick was the big boss and he deserved to know Spence hadn’t really done anything wrong. This time.
She shook her head. “Nothing, really. He walked onto my job site unannounced.”
Derrick winced. “Yeah, about that.”
Ellie’s head slowly turned and she pinned Derrick with a you’re-in-trouble glare. “What did you do?”
“With you being on bed rest—”
“Don’t blame me,” Ellie warned.
“Let me try again.” Derrick, the tough, no-nonsense boss who sent employees scurrying, cleared his throat. “Since I can’t be in the office as much as usual right now—”
Ellie’s sigh echoed around the room. “You’re still blaming me.”
They were so cute, so perfectly in sync, that Abby took pity on Derrick. “Let me guess. Spence is overseeing some of the projects now that he’s back in town.”
Derrick closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. Relief poured off him. “Thank you and yes.”
She wasn’t willing to let him all the way off the hook. “Like the one I’m in charge of.”
“The key phrase there is that you are in charge. Spence watching over the project is in line with office procedure. It’s purely a we-need-to-know-what’s-happening check. You know that.”
“That was a lot of words,” Ellie said in a stunned voice.
“I wanted to be clear.”
This time, she rolled her eyes at him. “Uh-huh. You’re sure you’re not doing something else?”
Derrick smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Abby got it. Derrick rarely explained himself. He’d gone into an office-manual description with his answer. That immediately put Abby on edge. The idea of Derrick playing matchmaker or trying to push people together to talk...forget it. That was ridiculous. He wasn’t that great with people, which is why his assistant, Jackson Richards, worked nonstop and everyone ran to him for everything.
It also explained why the entire office celebrated when Derrick fell in love with Ellie. Everyone hoped love would soften him. It had, except for the palpable panic that now hovered around him due to the endangered pregnancy.
Still, shortly after Spence left town, Abby had been promoted. She’d seriously considered turning the offer down out of fear of it being perceived as a payoff to get her to keep quiet about the Jameson men shenanigans. Then she decided she qualified for the position and needed the money because there was no way she was staying at Jameson for long.
She went from assistant to project manager. Now she had a seat at the manager’s table. She didn’t need a full-time babysitter, and certainly not that full-time babysitter. “Spence showed up at a site meeting unannounced.”
“He does have access to your calendar,” Derrick said.
Ellie patted Derrick’s knee where it lay curled on the bed beside her. “I love you but you’re not very good at this.”
Loyalty. Derrick and Spence had it. Abby got that.
“No, it’s fine.” She tried to keep her voice even but knew she failed when Derrick frowned and Ellie’s eyes widened.
“Really?” Ellie snorted. “Because that tone did not sound fine.”
Derrick had stopped massaging Ellie’s neck but he started again. “I think she’s afraid she’ll upset you if she launches into her why-I-hate-Spence speech.”
Ellie waved the concern away as she turned the television from muted to off. “Nope. Jameson family gossip is ridiculously delicious. I’m always happy to hear it.”
Hate Spence. If only. Abby’s life would be so much easier if she did hate Spence. She’d tried. Her mind spun with all the ways he’d failed her. How he hadn’t believed her or let her explain. She could call up a ton of hate for the elder Mr. Jameson and heaps of anger and disappointment for Spence, but that was it. And seeing him again...her normal breathing still hadn’t returned.
She’d heard his deep, rich voice in the hallway at work and ducked into the closest office to avoid him. Then there was his face. That gorgeous face. The straight black hair and striking light brown eyes. He’d been blessed with those extraordinary Jameson genes, including a hint of his Japanese grandmother around the nose and cheeks. Tall, almost six-two with impossibly long legs and a trim waist, Spence was a bit more muscled than Derrick. Spence’s shoulders, and that pronounced collarbone, cried out for kisses.
Not that she noticed.
She was trying really hard not to notice.
With a shake, she forced her mind back to work and the best way to survive being in the same building as Spence. “Well, hopefully it was a one-time thing and I can submit reports or tell Jackson and make Jackson talk to Spence.”
Derrick frowned. “That sounds like an efficient use of office resources.”
“It might keep Spence alive.” Ellie slipped her fingers through Derrick’s as she spoke. “Just saying.”
The gentle touch seemed to spark something in Derrick. He sat up a bit straighter as he looked at Abby. “If it’s a problem
