Preston Brothers The Complete Series Page 13

  But he was a grown man. He could maintain a professional distance between them, even though this situation was fast becoming far too complicated to be professional.

  “And,” he said, throwing down his best card. “I don’t have any knickknacks in the guest suite. It’s just furniture and a few indestructible pieces of art.”

  Stephanie bit her lip. Charlie’s heart stopped, then jumped into overdrive.

  “Come see my place.” He stood up and offered her his hand. “Then you can make your decision.”

  “I hate to admit it…” Stephanie leaned against the doorframe at the entrance of the guest suite. The setup had been one of Charlie’s favorite things about the condo downtown—it offered a totally separate area for guests, so he’d never changed the layout. The door between the rest of the apartment and the guest suite opened into a large bedroom, with a second bedroom and bathroom branching off. Stephanie and Jasper could each have a private room in a relatively private space.

  “Go ahead,” said Charlie. “You can say it out loud.”

  “You might be right,” she admitted. “This is a pretty incredible guest suite.” Stephanie wrinkled her nose. “But tell me you didn’t babyproof it for a five-year-old. That would be over the top.”

  He laughed. “No. My former housekeeper Karen used to live here with her daughter. I never got around to…un-proofing it.”

  “I do love the lack of figurines.”

  “That I did especially for you. I had Sarah pack them away while we drove over.”

  Stephanie nudged him with an elbow. “You did not.”

  “You’re right.” A warmth spread over his chest. “I didn’t. It’s been waiting for you all this time.”

  A delicate pink warmed her cheeks. The air between them felt hot, almost superheated. Charlie resisted the urge to take her hand. It felt like a strap around his chest, and the only way to get free was to touch her.

  Then Jasper pressed his body between theirs, and the sensation retreated enough for Charlie to breathe. Jasper took a few steps into the room and whirled around. “What’s this bedroom, Mom? Are we going to stay here?”

  Stephanie stood in the middle of the suite and tried to clear her head. It had been a mistake to stand that close to Charlie. When he’d come up next to her, it had felt like they were standing at the threshold of a house they planned to buy together, looking into the unknown.

  But he’d smelled so good. And…familiar. She would have thought the scent of his skin would be wiped from her memory after five years of baby and little boy smells, but no. She’d taken a deep breath of it and felt it steady her, even though his closeness was no guarantee of anything. Even though she could still lose her job.

  Then Jasper had wandered into the suite, and Charlie offered to take him to the main living room so Stephanie could get a sense of the space by herself.

  It was nice. It was as nice as it had looked from the doorway. But now, standing here alone, Stephanie was acutely aware of the distance between this guest suite and Charlie’s room. It wasn’t very long. In fact, she could see his bedroom door from here. His condo was spacious, that was for sure, but at a run it would only take five seconds to reach that other door.

  That forbidden door. The door she was never going to think about, not for another second. She was absolutely, positively not going to think about all the things Charlie Preston did behind that door. Like dressing. And undressing. And…

  And. The main thing was to decide on a rational course of action, setting aside the chemistry between them that burned like a tealight at the pit of her gut. It would be better for Jasper here. She could set aside the constant fear that he’d run into a side table and destroy a batch of fifty figurines.

  “What do you think?”

  Charlie had appeared by the door while she had her back turned, and he looked as mouthwatering as the day she’d met him.

  “It’s a good space,” she said. “It would probably be better than staying in the rental. If you think…”

  “If I think what?”

  “If you think we can…you know.” She waved a hand in the air between them, as nonchalant as she could make the gesture. “Keep this…platonic.” The word stuck in her throat, but she forced it out, nonetheless.

  His eyes flared with a light she recognized, but then Stephanie blinked, and it was gone. “I wouldn’t want anything else.”

  She tasted the lie on the air and wished for a single searing instant that he’d say it out loud: they still had something between them. But that wasn’t right. They were working together. They had a project to do together, and more than that, she had just introduced him to the son they shared. This time would have to be about Jasper more than anything else. “Good.”

  “Sarah’s out in the living room.” Charlie pointed over his shoulder. “Would you like to meet her? She and Jasper seem to have hit it off, so that’s a good sign.” His voice turned tentative, and her throat ached at how hard he was trying. If he were anyone else, she might have brushed off his opinion entirely. But the hope in his eyes…

  “Yes. I’d love that.”

  Sarah, it turned out, was wonderful. She had already engaged Jasper in a conversation about his favorite books and promised to bring some that she had at home the next time she came over. When it was time for her to leave, all three of them walked her to the door.

  “It was wonderful to meet you,” Stephanie told her, and she meant it.

  “You too.” A twinkle in Sarah’s eyes caught Stephanie’s attention. “I’ll be back tomorrow, Jasper. I hope you’re ready to read!”

  “I’m ready,” he called after her as she made her way toward the private elevator. “I’m ready, Miss Sarah!”

  Charlie closed the door and turned to Stephanie with a cautious smile. “I like her, but I’m biased.”

  “I think she’s great,” said Stephane, relief like sparkles in her veins. “If she’s around to help, then we’ll be able to get the work done faster and get out of here.”

  Charlie blinked and looked away. “Exactly.”

  “And we’ll be in a safe place.” She rushed through the next words, hoping to cover the pain she’d seen in his face. “You and Jasper will get more time together, too.”

  “It’s the silver lining of it all,” Charlie said. “But I have to tell you…I can’t rush.” He moved a step closer.

  Stephanie met his eyes, breath catching. “Can’t rush what?”

  “I can’t rush our work.” Ah. Right. “I want to do right by you and Jasper. I want you to have your vacation, if it can still be arranged. But I have an obligation to my brothers, too. I can’t hurry through the job if it means risking the company.”

  “No,” she said. “I wouldn’t want you to risk the company.”

  All the same, the meaning behind his words echoed through her mind like the beating of a drum. He couldn’t hurry. He had to take his time. And that meant there was no telling how long they’d be living just down the hall from where this man went to sleep at night and kicked off the covers to expose the glorious body beneath, because of course he slept shirtless…

  Charlie clapped his hands, and Stephanie started. “What do you say? Should we go and get your things?”

  4

  Charlie didn’t waste any time. He came back to the rental to help move their things to his place, dealt with the rental reservation himself, and had them settled into the guest suite inside of three hours. Every time Stephanie blinked, he had a new plan. It would be easy to get swept away by him. Almost too easy. That thought occurred to her in full force two days later as they walked into the local baseball stadium a full hour before game time.

  The baseball game had been Charlie’s idea—an outing to have a little fun and show her what the town had to offer. That’s what he’d told Stephanie. But something about the set of his shoulders and the intensely excited expression on his face told her he was shooting for the moon.

  She didn’t know how to remind him that sho
oting for the moon by impressing a five-year-old was as hit or miss as actually shooting something toward the moon. When Jasper was four, he’d played on a T-ball team for a couple of weeks. That was his only experience with team sports. It had been fun, and then it had been over.

  And now they stood in the center of the field, shaking hands with all the players on the minor league team.

  One of them, a muscled man with a dark beard, shook hands with Charlie as if the two were old friends. “Preston,” he said. “It’s been a long time since you came to a game.”

  “I’ve been busy. Glad to see you didn’t forget about me.”

  “How could we forget? You’re our biggest fan.”

  Charlie laughed. “It was one sponsorship, Luke.”

  “This guy.” Luke slapped Charlie on the back and winked at Stephanie. “This guy acts like buying a new scoreboard is no big deal.”

  Stephanie looked over their heads at the massive scoreboard flanked by two large screens, the name of his company across the top. She raised her eyebrows at Charlie. His cheeks darkened. “What? It was hard for people to see the gameplay from certain seats in the stadium.”

  It was impressive, but it also gave her a prickle of fear. This was a man who changed stadiums to have things in his preferred order. How long would it be before he tried to change things with Jasper?

  She pushed that fear to the back of her mind and focused on the moment. Jasper blinked up at the baseball players. One by one, they signed the ball that Charlie had bought for her little boy. When the meet and greet was over, the team jogged toward the dugout, leaving the three of them alone in the center of the field.

  “You want to run the bases, Jasper?” Charlie asked, eyes bright. “Now’s your chance.”

  Jasper took one look at the bases and shook his head.

  Charlie frowned. “You sure?”

  Jasper shook his head again. “What now? Are we done?”

  “No, buddy. The game’s starting soon.” Stephanie tried to calm her own nerves. There was really nothing to be nervous about. It was just a baseball game, and if Jasper didn’t like it, then it was nothing for Charlie to take personally.

  “You could take one loop around the outfield,” Charlie pressed.

  Jasper looked at his shoes, clearly pretending not to hear.

  Charlie’s forehead wrinkled.

  “Should we find our seats?” Stephanie said, flooding her tone with as much optimism as she could muster. “Are we sitting close to the action?” Jasper took her hand, and she gave it a squeeze.

  Charlie’s frown deepened. “Not exactly.”

  They weren’t close to the action because Charlie had a luxury box. Jasper took one look at the snack table and sprinted over, eyes wide. He came back to the sofa at the center of the box with his arms full of cookies and snacks, all in single-serving packages. He’d eaten his way through one batch before the game even started, and Stephanie knew they were headed for a train wreck if she didn’t intervene.

  She swept up the wrappers from Jasper’s lap and tipped them into a nearby wastebasket. “All right. All done.”

  “There’s plenty more,” Charlie said from his spot on the end of the sofa. “And even if we run out—”

  “No,” she said firmly. “Jasper, that’s it for now. Have some water.”

  “But they have soda.” Jasper pointed.

  “I know they do, but we’re not going to have soda.” Stephanie grabbed a miniature bottle of water from the fridge at the back of the box and twisted the top open. “Here you go.”

  Jasper stared her down, eyes narrowed. She didn’t let her nerves show on her face. That was a sure way to invite an argument. Instead, she kept her expression mild, with a hint of steel.

  Finally, Jasper sighed. “Okay.” He took the water bottle, perched on the edge of the sofa, and drained it. “I want more cookies.”

  “Not now. Let’s watch the game.”

  Stephanie did her best to draw his attention to the game, with Charlie pitching in, but Jasper wasn’t having it. They made it through one inning and then another. By the third, he was swinging his legs sulkily over the side of the couch. By the fourth, he was lying flat on the sofa with his head in Stephanie’s lap. Charlie said less and less, his frustration sucking the air out of the room.

  She didn’t know what to say. They’d spent all of two days together, and already they were coming up against the more complicated aspects of…

  Being a family. That’s what it was, but Stephanie couldn’t count on that. Not yet, if ever.

  Charlie stood up at the end of the fourth inning. “Time to head out.”

  She kept stroking Jasper’s hair. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’ve got the car waiting for us outside.”

  It was obviously the right move, but Stephanie wished he’d at least consulted her about it. She pressed her lips together, hoisted Jasper into her arms, and followed Charlie out to the car.

  In the back of the limo Charlie had hired to bring them to the game, Jasper leaned his head back and fell asleep. Charlie looked out the window, fingertips drumming on the armrest.

  “Hey.”

  He turned to face her, a smile dancing across his lips and disappearing. “Hi.”

  “I’m sorry Jasper wasn’t into the game,” she said. “He’s a little young for it yet, and he doesn’t know all the rules.”

  Charlie’s eyes fixed on hers with an intensity she hadn’t expected. “It’s not Jasper I’m frustrated with. I couldn’t sit through the games when I was a kid, either. It’s me.”

  “You?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know how to be a father. I don’t know…I don’t know enough about him to make sure he has a great time. And it frustrates me.”

  “It’ll take time,” she said gently. “It takes time to get to know a person for who they are.”

  “I know. And I guess…” He put a hand to his forehead. “I’m angry in retrospect for missing out on so much. That’s not how I would have planned things.” He took a deep breath. “I believe in making the best possible plans with the best information available to me. I want to help plan Jasper’s life so he has the best shot at being happy.”

  Stephanie couldn’t help but chuckle. “You can’t plan kids’ lives, Charlie. Today of all things should have been proof of that.”

  “I know. Maybe if I’d had more of a chance, in the beginning…I’d know more about being a dad. And you’d know more about who I am.”

  “You’re right. It’s hard to get the real measure of a person when you only know them for one night.” Stephanie felt like she was skating slowly across thin ice. “And if we’re going to have anything to do with each other, we should be sure about the other person.”

  “I’m sure that I want you to stay in my life.” Charlie’s voice rang with a confidence that made her eyes fly open and lock on his. “That’s what I wanted to ask you. If you’ll let me spend more time with you and Jasper. Let me learn to be a dad.”

  Stephanie thought about this. Jasper shifted in the booster seat next to her, his head tilted back, obviously dreaming. “We can spend more time together if you agree to take things slow with Jasper.” If there was ever a time for honesty, now was it. “There were times today when you came on too strong. You’ve got to take your cues from him. And from me.”

  Charlie nodded solemnly. “Of course I agree to that.”

  “I’m glad.”

  It was a relief, even in the midst of this stress, to have another adult in Jasper’s life. There had been many times during his babyhood and toddlerhood that she’d wished for a partner to bounce things off of—and not just strangers on Internet forums, which was where she found most of her comfort. A real person, who was there day to day.

  Charlie wasn’t there yet. It was too soon, and he had yet to prove himself. But she was glad he was there anyway.

  That night Stephanie pulled up the covers in the guest bed and stared at the ceiling. It had been a Sa
turday—the kind of Saturday she could expect if Charlie was in her life.

  On the one hand, it had been a welcome break from planning every hour of the day by herself. On the other hand, his expectations had been too high—and some of his ideas about parenting were obviously those of a person who didn’t have children. Charlie, she could tell, would have let Jasper eat the entire snack table.

  And then there was the way he’d wanted to do better.

  She turned onto her side. It was too soon to make any decisions, though Stephanie was used to making decisions quickly and then forging ahead, for better or for worse. She had always steered her own ship.

  Would it be so bad to let Charlie steer sometimes?

  5

  One week.

  One week they’d been in his life, and it was like they’d never been there and had always been there. Charlie’s opinion changed by the hour. The minute. Sometimes he would look across the makeshift office at Stephanie and wonder how he’d ever survived a single day without her in arm’s reach. Other times, when Jasper ran wild through his apartment, all his silliness at the surface, Charlie wondered how he’d ever learn to roll with the high-octane energy of a young boy.

  It only seemed natural to invite them to the family beach day at Charlie’s mother’s house the next weekend…even if it meant jostling the family peace a bit.

  They made their way across the sand to the beach deck, which had been built around a massive stone firepit.

  “I’m not sure about this,” said Stephanie through a brilliant smile.

  “I’m sure about it. You’re staying with me.” He hesitated to say living with me, even though Stephanie and Jasper had already left their mark on his home. “And it’s time they knew.”

  “Are you sure about that?” They’d talked about it every day since Wednesday, when his mother had called with the invitation.

  “I’m ashamed of how my mother reacted to the information,” he said firmly. “Not that I have a son.”