LITMIR.BIZ

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remember you cornered me,” she said quietly.

      He looked pained. “Like I said, I owe you an apology. What I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have tried to grab you. Although,” he added, shooting her a sheepish smile, “if I recall correctly, you got your revenge.”

      This was the weirdest conversation she’d ever had. “This is all very well and good, but why are you here?” Because she didn’t want to rehash old memories with a boy she’d never liked. She just wanted her son to get better.

      He looked at her in surprise. “Jenner called me. He said a friend’s baby was sick and he asked me to check things over. I just didn’t realize you were the friend in question.” As he spoke, he headed toward the computer terminal and logged in.

      “Excuse me,” she said again, her head feeling heavy. “But are you even qualified to be in this room?”

      “Hmm,” he said, looking over the file. Then he answered her question. “In addition to Wyatt Pharmaceuticals, I’m a pediatric surgeon. That’s why Jenner called me. Well,” he added, shooting a quick smile in her direction, “that and I owed him one. Or, more specifically, I owed you one, so I guess I still owe him one.” He chuckled. Sofia blinked, trying to follow that train of thought. Nope. She was still at the station.

      “Now, about your son. Has anyone talked to you yet?” Wyatt asked. She shook her head slowly. “There has been a particularly nasty strain of the stomach flu going around. It hits hard but doesn’t last long. He’s responding well to treatment.” He moved to Eddy’s bedside, lightly touching his little body. “He’s going to be fine,” Wyatt said sympathetically. “There wasn’t anything anyone could have done differently.”

      Now that was exactly the sort of bull line that was condescending and irritating. Of course she could have done things differently! She could have stayed home and taken care of her kids like she was supposed to and, in the process, not doomed Eric’s deal! She could have made sure that things hadn’t gotten to the point where Wyatt was offering her false platitudes of comfort!

      “I never liked you,” she blurted out and then, mortified, she added, “I’m sorry. I haven’t slept and I’m very worried.”

      Wyatt snorted. He didn’t even look offended. “I had that coming. But you don’t have to like me. You just have to trust me when I say that your son is going to make a full and—knowing kids—fast recovery. I’ll confer with the resident on duty before I leave but I’d be willing to bet he goes home tomorrow.”

      Sofia tried to say something, but her words got blocked up in her throat as she stared down at Eddy. Please, please let Wyatt be right.

      “Thank you for coming,” she finally got out. “I appreciate it.”

      Wyatt didn’t reply for a long moment, which made her look up at him. “Thank you for accepting my apology. I must say, Jenner doesn’t call in favors for just anyone.” His smile warmed. “But I can see why he did. Take care, Sofia.”

      And just like that, he was gone.

      Sofia sat there in a state of shock for a long time. Alone. What the heck had Wyatt meant when he’d said he could see why Eric had called in a favor?

      She wished Eric were here. She wanted him right then. He had risked so much for her. It didn’t make any sense because he was a billionaire and powerful and sexy and freaking great in bed and wonderful with her kids and apparently stupid enough to put huge deals in danger just for...

      For her?

      Idiot man.

      She wanted to apologize for costing him the deal and making him waste his favors on her but she also wanted to bury her face against his chest and have him tell her it would be all right.

      Hell, she didn’t know what she wanted. Not anymore. She’d gone into this wanting a good job to take care of her family. Nothing more.

      But even that was a lie. Because she could have applied for any number of jobs. Instead, she’d shot for the moon. And why?

      Because of Eric. Because she’d wanted something more. And for a glorious day and a half, she’d had it. He’d made her feel things, want things that she’d forgotten she’d even dreamed of. Love. Satisfaction.

      Happiness.

      For the first time since her husband had died, Sofia had dared to be a little selfish. And what had it gotten her?

      Eddy was hooked up to an IV in the hospital. Addy was also sick at home and Sofia couldn’t even be there for her daughter because she was with Eddy. She might have done permanent damage to Eric’s business.

      And Eric wasn’t here. Sofia wasn’t sure she’d ever felt so alone.

      Where was he?

       Fifteen

      By the time Eddy woke up, hungry and cranky and so perfectly normal that Sofia could barely hold it together, her mom had shown up at the hospital. Sofia did manage to ask how Addy was doing, to which her mother replied, “Much better. She’s been sleeping and—” but that was when the nurse and the doctor came in and began unhooking Eddy from his IV and Sofia didn’t get to finish her conversation with her mother.

      She knew she looked like hell and felt worse. She’d managed to snatch a few hours of broken rest after Wyatt’s mysterious appearance, but nobody slept well in a hospital, least of all a worried mother.

      By the time Sofia and Mom left with Eddy, it was two in the afternoon and Sofia was still wearing the same pair of shapewear she’d had on for the last thirty-some-odd hours. Her dress was no longer pretty but wilted and wrinkled, just like Sofia.

      The funny thing was that they didn’t take a cab home. Eric’s car and driver were waiting for them, complete with a car seat for Eddy in the back. It was the sort of thoughtful gesture that made Sofia realize she couldn’t be upset with Eric. He might have disappeared at some point in the middle of the night, but it was thoughtful of him to send the car. Besides, it wasn’t like she expected him to hang out in the hospital waiting room. There hadn’t been space for him in Eddy’s small room and he wasn’t the boy’s father.

      She had no idea what was going to happen at work tomorrow. Or even if she was going to work tomorrow. How was she supposed to do her job now that she and Eric had fallen into bed together? Would she even be able to walk into his office without thinking of him moving over her? Or would he conveniently “find” another job for her, one that removed her from the office, like he’d done for the last employee who’d tried to seduce him? And sleeping with him didn’t even count the damage she might have done to his deal. If he lost the St. Louis development, would he blame her? Her stomach turned at the thought.

      It’d been a mistake, she’d realized at some point in the middle of the night. She never should’ve mixed business and pleasure. It had been a mistake to leave her children for the weekend and that mistake had been compounded by sleeping with Eric.

      He would be upset, she knew. But the plain truth was that she did not have the time or energy to start a relationship. Her children had to come first and Eric was a bachelor. A gorgeous billionaire bachelor. Frankly, she’d never figured out why he was interested in her in the first place. Not when he could have his pick of anyone—and they both knew he could. He was the very highest of the high and she was...

      Well, she was more than just the maid’s daughter. But she was a single mom, an office manager. She didn’t fit with him. That’s all there was to it.

      Still, she thought as she sank back into the luxurious leather seating of Eric’s car, being with Eric had been a gift in and of itself. A misguided one, but still. She had not died when her husband had. She had struggled and mourned, but she hadn’t given up and she still had the capacity to open her heart to someone else. She still needed love. She still wanted to share her heart—and her body—with

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