LITMIR.BIZ

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that. You cooked.”

      She swiftly maneuvered out of reach. “I hardly would call reheating soup and making grilled cheese on toast cooking. Besides, he’s waking up. You’ll need to check his diaper.”

      “Again?”

      “Yup,” she said and, with her flashlight balanced on a tray to light her way forward, she made her way to the kitchen.

      * * *

      Piers watched her go before turning his attention to his charge. He was determined to get to the root of why she was so unwavering about having nothing to do with the baby.

      “I can’t see the problem, can you?” he said softly to the little boy who was now looking up at him and kicking his legs under the blanket.

      But maybe it wasn’t the baby she was avoiding now. Maybe it was just him. At first, he could have sworn she was reacting favorably to that kiss he’d given her under the mistletoe. Hell, favorably? She’d been melting under his touch, but that had been nothing compared to how their brief embrace had made him feel. Even now, thinking about it, it still had the power to leave him feeling a little stunned.

      He’d kissed a fair few women in his time but, so far, none had moved him the way that simple touch had. The sensations that had struck him from the minute his lips touched hers were electric—curious and demanding at the same time. He’d had to hold back, had to force himself not to pull her hard against the length of his body. Had to fight every instinct inside him to keep the kiss simple, light, when what she’d awakened in him demanded so much more.

      “Who would have known?” he said under his breath and lifting Casey in his arms. “Just one kiss, eh? What do we do now?”

      What had he unleashed in himself with that embrace? He’d been trying to distract her. Her face, always composed and serene even in the most trying circumstances in the office, had looked stricken. His instinct had been to divert her thoughts, perhaps even to provide comfort. Instead he’d ticked her off—probably just as effective at distracting her, even if it didn’t quite lend itself to them repeating the exercise, as much as he wanted to.

      Did he pursue it further when she’d made it categorically clear that she wanted no further intimacy between them? He wasn’t the kind of man who gave up when he reached the first obstacle, but there was a lot riding on this. Faye was the best assistant he’d ever had. Her very aloofness had been instrumental in keeping his mind focused on the job and his busy workdays on an even keel. Her ability to anticipate his needs was second to none. In fact, sometimes he felt like she knew him better than he knew himself.

      He’d found her attractive from the get-go. From the interview selection process right through to the day she’d started she’d intrigued him, but he’d respected the boundaries they’d had between them as boss and employee. Boundaries he himself had insisted on after his last two assistants—one male and one female—had complicated things by declaring their love for him. He’d worked with Faye for three years now. He respected her, relied on her and trusted her. But now that he’d kissed her... Well, it had opened the door on something else entirely.

      For all her cool and inscrutable manner at work, she’d been different here from the moment he’d arrived. Maybe it was because it was the first time he’d seen her in anything other than her usual neatly practical and understated office attire. He had to admit, despite the horrible sweater he’d forced on her, the sight of her in his clothing appealed to him on an instinctive level, as if by her being dressed in something of his she’d become more accessible to him. As if, somehow, she belonged to him.

      And she had, for that brief moment. They’d connected both physically and, he liked to think, on some emotional plane, as well. He’d felt the curiosity in her response, the interest. Right up until that moment she’d pushed him away, she’d been as invested in their kiss as he had been.

      “I’m not dreaming, am I?” he said to the baby in his arms.

      Casey looked at him with solemn dark eyes and then his little mouth curled into a gummy grin.

      “Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to see if dreams really can come true,” Piers said with an answering smile of his own.

      He’d have to approach this carefully. The last thing he wanted was for Faye to actually turn around and quit. But surely he could push things forward without pushing her to that extreme. He was a resourceful kind of guy. He’d think of something. He wasn’t afraid of hard work. Not when something was important, and he had the strongest feeling that Faye had the potential to be far more important to him than she already was. And, he realized with a sense of recognition that felt as if it came from deep at his center, he wanted to be equally as important to her, too. If only she’d let him.

      When Faye returned to the main room he stood with Casey and held him out to her. She looked as if she was going to instinctively put her hands out to take him, but then she took a step back.

      “What are you doing?” she asked warily.

      “Handing him to you. He doesn’t bite. He hasn’t even got teeth. It’s not like he’ll gum you to death.”

      Faye rolled her eyes in obvious exasperation. “I know he doesn’t bite, but why would I hold him?”

      “I need to check on the generator, see if we can get some power running.”

      “Perhaps I can do that for you,” she said, still avoiding taking the baby.

      “It’s easier if I do it. I know exactly where it is and how to operate it. I’ll be quick, I promise.”

      “Fine,” she said, her irritation clear in her tone. “Be quick.”

      Piers watched as she nestled the baby against her, her movements sure and hinting of a physical memory that intrigued him. He liked seeing this side of her, even though she was so reluctant to display it.

      It didn’t take long to check the generator, which was housed in a small shed at the back of the house. Getting it going, however, took a little longer. In the end he’d had to pull his gloves off to get the job done. His fingers were turning white in reaction to the cold by the time he wrestled the shed door closed and reentered the house.

      He’d expected the house to be blazing with light and sound when he got back in but instead all he could hear was a gentle humming coming from the kitchen. He followed the sound and discovered Faye in the kitchen with the baby, one-handedly making up a bottle of formula for Casey while humming a little tune that seemed to hold the baby transfixed. The humming stopped the instant she saw him.

      “I thought you were going to be quick. Problems?”

      “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He glanced out into the main room. “No tree lights?”

      “I thought it best not to draw too much on the generator if we could avoid it,” Faye replied, ducking her head.

      He suspected her decision may have more to do with her unexplained and very obvious disdain of the festive season than with any need to conserve power. His backup generator could keep a small factory running, but he wasn’t about to argue.

      “Where were you planning to have Casey sleep tonight?” she asked, her back turned to him.

      “I hadn’t actually thought that far. I guess in the bed with me. He’ll be warmer that way, won’t he?”

      “There’s a lot of data against co-sleeping with a baby. To be honest, I think you’d do better to make him up a type of crib out of one of your dresser drawers or even a large cardboard box. You’ll need to fold up a blanket or several towels to make a firm mattress base and he’ll probably be okay with his knitted baby blanket over him. Your room should be warm enough with the central heat.”

      Piers couldn’t help it, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. She could have been quoting a baby care manual. How did she know this stuff?

      “Okay, I’ll get on it right away, but before I go I have to ask. How do you know these things?”

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