him handle it.
She managed to stay busy enough the entire day not to allow herself to think until she was driving out to Kingsley’s house. Butterflies danced in her stomach and she had that stupid tingling in her body that she knew was from excitement. How could she be excited?
Kingsley.
She knew it would be useless to deny it. They had unfinished business between them. Ten years might have passed, but when he’d walked into her office today she’d felt like a college freshman again, starstruck by her first sight of the handsome quarterback.
But she’d learned that the golden boy wasn’t untouchable. So why...
She shook her head. Was it possible that she was still crushing on him? That Kingsley Buchanan still had a hold over her despite the way he’d treated her? Not just ten years ago but today, arrogantly waltzing back into her life and making her feel again.
Awakening desires and passions she’d shoved to the darkest part of her soul in an attempt to never be that vulnerable again.
She had to remember that. How exposed he’d made her feel. She was stronger now. She had to be.
And there was little Conner to think about. She knew next to nothing about the boy, only that he was three and that Kingsley had used some of her methods with the toddler.
Great.
She was doing the very thing she’d warned nannies not to do for years. Going in blind.
She could justify it to Melissa by saying Kingsley was funding a playground that an economically disadvantaged community desperately needed. She could justify it to her mom by saying that getting back in the field would give her a better perspective for running her business.
But justifying it to herself just felt hollow. Like a lie. As she pulled to a stop in front of Kingsley’s Spanish-style mansion, she admitted that she was here for one reason and one reason alone.
Kingsley had asked and she’d been unable to say no.
* * *
Kingsley had tried to get furniture that mirrored the stuff he’d seen in Gabi’s office earlier but it turned out some of her pieces, such as the settee, were one of a kind. So he’d had to settle for some substitutions. All in all he was happy with the stuff he’d managed to get here on such short notice.
He was working under the desk connecting the computer and printer cords while his son lay on the floor nearby coloring.
Seven years younger than his older brother, Kingsley had been an “accident.” His parents had gone back to work and sort of moved into a new phase of their lives when he was born. He’d been left in the care of his nanny most of the time. And he wasn’t complaining about that. But he’d never had much of a chance to just hang out with his father. Kingsley did his best to make sure that he and Conner did have plenty of time together.
“Daddy? How’s this?” Conner brought a piece of copy paper that he’d been drawing on with his crayons over to him. The brightly colored scribbles were Conner’s version of the view from their backyard. Kingsley had three of the images framed and hanging on his own office wall.
When he’d brought Conner into the office he was setting up for Gabi, his son had insisted on making her a picture—or rather, a “picter,” as he said it.
“Looks good. I bet she’ll love it.”
Someone cleared her throat and Kingsley glanced up to see Gabi standing in the doorway. “The housekeeper let me in and told me where to find you.”
He let his gaze skim over her from the floor up. She’d changed into a pair of white jeans that hugged her slim legs and a pretty turquoise blouse that was made out of some sort of flowing fabric. She had pulled her long caramel-colored hair back into a ponytail and wore a pair of flat sandals on her feet.
She squatted down, smiling at Conner. “Can I see your picture?”
“Yes.”
He walked over to her with that toddler gait of his, sometimes speedy and a little unsteady. He handed her the photo and then went even closer, putting his hand on Gabi’s knee as he pointed to the picture.
Kingsley swallowed as a rush of emotion he didn’t want to define swamped him. Sometimes he got a punch of joy in the heart just watching Conner.
“This is the ocean and the sky. This is Daddy and Unca Hun.”
“Unca Hun?”
“Hunter,” Kingsley said.
“Of course. I’m Gabi,” she said, turning her attention back to Conner. “I’m here to help your daddy take care of you.”
“Like Peri.”
Gabi glanced over at Kingsley and then turned back to the little boy. “Just like Peri. Did you help your daddy set up my office?”
He nodded and Gabi stood up, holding the paper loosely in her left hand. She held her right hand out to Conner.
Conner wasn’t always good with strangers. There had been only a few people close to him since he’d been born. Pretty much Hunter and Peri. Then there were Kingsley’s parents, who doted on Conner, but Jade’s parents lived in Brazil and only saw Conner for a month each summer when they came to visit.
Kingsley took Gabi’s hand and led her over to the desk. She looked at the surface, arching one eyebrow at him as she came to her monogrammed stationery.
“How did you do all this?”
“I have my ways,” he said. He was pleased with himself because he’d surprised her. It was important to ensure that Gabi was happy here, because he needed her to watch over Conner. He’d even sort of justified it to Hunter by saying that he needed her recollections of the night that Stacia had died. But deep inside he knew he’d gone through all of this effort on her office and in her bedroom because he’d wanted to show off a little.
To let Gabi see the life he’d made for himself. To hopefully dispel the image she might have been carrying of him for all these years—the image of him in handcuffs behind a glass wall.
“Time for dinner, Conner,” Kingsley said. “Let’s go find Mrs. Tillman while Gabi gets settled into her office. I’ll be back shortly to give you the tour.”
She nodded. “I have some boxes in my car that I need to bring in.”
“I’ll help once I get Conner settled.”
“Bye,” Conner said as he and Kingsley left the office. They headed down the hallway, Conner running ahead of Kingsley, as he was wont to do.
And when they entered the kitchen, he found Mrs. Tillman putting Conner’s plate on the large farmhouse-style table in the corner of the breakfast nook. It had a built-in padded bench, which Conner scrambled up onto.
Kingsley usually made it a point to eat with Conner when he was home, but tonight their schedule was slightly messed up. So Conner would be eating alone. Kingsley planned to dine with Gabi tonight to bring her up to speed on all the details of Conner’s
