down around him and Hunter.
But now...
The woman she was today could handle things that the girl she’d been hadn’t been able to. That didn’t mean he still wouldn’t protect her. He had to get his revenge and keep Conner and Gabi from being hit with the fallout. That was going to take all of the skills he’d learned on and off the football field. Things such as faking out the rushers, keeping the press from seeing past his smile and definitely winning.
He pulled to a stop in the big circle drive in front of his house. The front door opened just as he shut off his car and stepped out of it.
Conner came running down the steps, laughing.
“Daddy!”
Kingsley scooped up his son and kissed the top of his head. Conner had Kingsley’s own blue eyes, but Jade’s reddish-blond hair.
“Get back here, imp,” Hunter said, skidding to a halt in the doorway.
“Um, why was my son running outside?” Kingsley asked.
“’Cause he’s spoiled,” Hunter said.
“I am,” Conner said.
Kingsley was pretty sure that Conner had no idea what spoiled meant, but he and Hunter were very close and Conner almost always agreed with his favorite “uncle.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Nothing. He’s quick. I turned my back for a second...”
Kingsley laughed. His son had caught him like that as well. Hunter was right; he’d make a good running back one day. But only if Kingsley cleared up this mess with Stacia’s murder. He didn’t want Conner facing questions about his father in the pressroom someday.
Kingsley walked into the house carrying his son. He put him down when they were in the foyer.
“You heading out?” Kingsley asked.
“Yes. I’m going to stay at my place in Malibu for the next few weeks, but if you get any information I’ll come back.”
“Sounds good. I’ll keep you posted. I’ve got Gabi moving in here and I think I should have something to go on soon.”
“Good. The sooner we get to the bottom of the Stacia situation the better.”
Hunter left and Kingsley watched his friend go until Conner tugged on his hand.
“Who’s Stas?”
“An old friend of Daddy’s. Good news, Con, we’ve got a new nanny coming to live with us.”
“Like Peri?”
Nothing like Peri. For one thing, Kingsley had never gotten excited by the prospect of Peri living in his house. He tried to tell himself that he was only feeling that way because he could finally get to work on figuring out the past, but he knew it was lie.
He wanted more than that one night with Gabi. He wanted to know that what he remembered of their embrace had been real, and he wanted in his own mixed-up way to somehow make things up to her for their one-night stand.
* * *
Gabi paced her office for a few minutes after Kingsley left. She wasn’t sure how it had happened but somehow she was back to being a nanny. A live-in nanny to a three-year-old she’d never met in the house of the only man she’d never been able to forget.
Ugh!
“Melissa, please draw up a contract for Mr. Buchanan,” Gabi said as she walked into her assistant’s office.
“I bet you’re glad I let him in,” Melissa said. “He is even hotter in person than he is on TV.”
Yes, he was. There was no way a television could capture the force of his presence. But then, the meeting today hadn’t taught her anything new.
“He did agree to fund the playground I’ve been lobbying for in town. And he wants me to start tonight.”
“You? You don’t work directly for clients anymore,” Melissa said. “What happened in your office?”
This was what came of being too friendly with your staff. Melissa felt comfortable asking her anything she wanted.
“We used to know each other,” Gabi admitted. “He offered to fund the playground if I took charge of his son and worked out of his home. This is going to take a lot of effort between you and me to make this happen. Because for the amount he’s paying—he wants me there today.”
Melissa put her elbows on her desk, leaning forward. “Oh, my God. Did he make you an indecent proposal? Are you going to be his mistress?”
“What? No! Where do you get these ideas?”
“I read a lot and watch a lot of soap operas,” Melissa said with a wink. “So no to the bargaining with your body?”
She shook her head. “Definitely no. Just the playground and the stipulation that I live and work from his house. Which means that you are going to have to run things at this office. Think you can handle it?”
“Yes. You know I can.”
Gabi did know. “It’ll mean a raise for you, and I’m thinking that you will be my assistant manager. We will probably need to hire another assistant for you.”
“Thank you, Gabi. I won’t let you down,” Melissa said.
“I know you won’t.”
“I’m going to call the county commissioners and get an exact figure on the budget for the park. I want you to draw up our regular contract for a live-in nanny service and in place of the fees reference the addendum. I’ll work on that.”
“You said you have to be there tonight?”
Gabi kept her expression serene only after years of training, but inside she grimaced. Kingsley had doubled her workload for the day. “Yes. If I send you the dimensions of my new office, will you order me some furniture?”
“Yes. Are you sure about this?” Melissa asked. “We still have our fund-raising plan to get the play area built. I think we could do it without you having to jump through hoops.”
Gabi was grateful to have Melissa not just as her assistant but also as her friend. “It would take years to raise that kind of money. This is easier. Besides, I could use some new material for my parenting column. All of my experience is several years old now.”
“Always look on the bright side?”
“It’s worked so far,” Gabi said.
She reentered her office and felt a little better about the encounter with Kingsley. Then she got down to business. She left a message for Rupert Green, the county commissioner who was her contact on the playground. Then she texted Kingsley asking for the dimensions of her office, which he immediately texted back, also assuring
