“Is that crazy?” he asked, looking as if he honestly wasn’t sure.
“Not crazy, but logistically I’m not sure how it’s going to work, because you’re not allowed to date me. I’m off-limits, remember? And until you have my father’s full support on that treaty, you’ll be taking a huge chance. If we start seeing each other in social settings, it will get back to him eventually. And what are you going to do? Move to Los Angeles?”
“I could, temporarily.”
“And then what? You mentioned a security job. Where would that be?”
“My friend has offices in London and New York.”
“All Dylan’s doctors and therapists are here. Do you see how complicated it could be?” And all for a few more months of good sex, because when all was said and done, it would still end. “Do you see what I mean?”
He sighed and sat on the sofa. “You’re right. Logistically it would be a nightmare.”
“What would be even more complicated is hiding it from Dylan. He’s already very attached to you. He kept mentioning you all week.”
“Did he?”
“Are you ready for that kind of responsibility?”
She could see from his expression that he wasn’t.
She sat down beside him. “This is why you don’t date single moms. Too much baggage. And I’ve got more than most.”
“I wish I was ready for that, or at least knew when I would be ready,” he said.
“You know, I think for a while I’d like to be on my own. Completely on my own. So I’ll have time to settle into independence, taking care of myself.”
“You’re going to do great.”
She was beginning to think so, too. And though she did want to be independent, she could very easily see herself falling in love with Colin. In fact, she was probably a little in love with him already. He was the first man she’d ever met who really seemed to get her. But she and Dylan were a package deal. Now if Colin were to come to her and say he loved her and was ready to be a dad, that would be a different story entirely. But only if he really meant it. But she had the feeling Colin didn’t say things he didn’t mean.
“I forgot to tell you,” he said. “I got a call today from a Hayden Black. I understand that he’s a rather famous criminal investigator.”
“The name does found familiar.”
“Well, it seems that he’s been hired to investigate the ANS hacking, and will interview the victims in Montana where the president and his ex grew up. He heard that I had an interest in the investigation and wondered if I had any information to share.”
“Did you?”
“Nothing that he didn’t already know. But the senator gave him the CD. It’s just a relief to know that they have a professional investigator working the case. Hopefully things will move faster.”
“We’ve had some excitement around here while you were gone,” she said. At his puzzled look, she nodded to him to follow her. “You’ll see.”
They walked to Dylan’s room and stopped in the hall just outside. The new gate was in place in the doorway, and the light from the hall cast a dim glow inside, just enough for them to make out Dylan curled up on his new big-boy bed—a twin mattress on the floor.
“You got it,” Colin whispered.
“You should have seen how excited he was. He loves it. He brags to everyone at day care that he’s a big boy now. We went shopping and I let him pick out sheets and a comforter. Race cars, of course.”
“So it’s working out well?” Colin asked, slipping his arm around her shoulders.
She wished he wouldn’t do things like that. It just felt so…domesticated. And he smelled so good she wanted to eat him up.
“It’s perfect,” she said. “I’ll keep the mattress on the floor for a while and see how he does, and when he’s ready we’ll pick out a frame.”
“You know, there’s another bed across the hall that I’d like to see.” He dipped his head and kissed the side of her neck. “And I wouldn’t mind trying it out either. Since I’m already here.”
“When will my father be home?”
He nibbled the shell of her ear. “Not until tomorrow. And if you think about it, it would be safer for me to leave in the middle of the night, when everyone is asleep.”
She turned, pushing up onto her toes to kiss him, and could practically feel the neurons in her brain misfiring.
And by the sizzling grin, the hungry look in his eyes as he pulled her toward her bedroom, she had the feeling that her mattress was in for one heck of a workout.
*
Colin woke the next morning with the eerie feeling that someone was watching him. He opened his eyes and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw, just inches from his face, Dylan at the side of the bed, smiling.