“Don’t worry about it—” he starts to say, but I interrupt him.
Who even knows if he wants to be my boss after this display. “I’m so sorry,” I add again, cutting over him. “I’m an idiot.”
His frown deepens. “You don’t have a car?”
I hesitate, embarrassed. Then shake my head.
He blinks. “Why on earth not? Do you have your license?”
I grimace. “Of course I do,” I retort, a little annoyed. Then I rub my temples. “I can’t afford a car. Not with the insurance, and repairs and gas and everything…”
“You take buses everywhere?”
I bob my head. “But they won’t be running this late, so I’ll have to call a cab… Which is fine, I just, I didn’t expect—”
He’s already shaking his head, so hard I’m afraid he’s going to drop Luca. Of course, he’s got better hand-eye coordination than me, so he doesn’t. “Just stay here for the night.”
My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. “What? No – I couldn’t – I mean, the twins need their beds, and…”
“I have a spare room,” he says. “There’s a crib in there already. Plus a twin bed for you. Stay.” His eyes bore into mine. Who could say no to a gaze like that? “I insist.”
A little shiver of desire races down my spine. I remember my dream, too little too late. The hot tub, his strong, warm body pressed hard against mine, his hands taking control of me, pulling down my swimsuit and tracing the outline of my pussy, his fingertips just barely brushing my lips…
I shiver again. “Really, it’s too much,” I try to protest, but it sounds weak. Fragile.
He’s already walking away, carrying Luca into the apartment. I pick up Lucie carefully, making sure not to wake her from her sleep. Together, he and I tiptoe across the penthouse, to a small door at the opposite end.
He wasn’t lying. He has a whole spare room, made up and tidy, the bed neat, and a crib beside it. Extra wide, too, just like the one I have them in at home.
Why does he have all this stuff here? Does he have kids too?
That would explain why he’s so good with them. He holds Luca like an experienced father, not a first timer just encountering their first baby.
He lays Luca in the crib, and I notice my son is already snoring faintly. He fell asleep while Cassius was carrying him, and somehow, magically, he doesn’t wake up when Cassius lays him down. I place Lucie beside him, and we stand side-by-side next to the crib for a moment, watching them wrap their tiny hands around one another’s and sigh in their sleep, content.
Then, without a word, we tiptoe out of the room together, as one, easing the door closed behind us.
“Are you really sure about this?” I ask him in the hallway.
“Trust me, Manila.” He glances over at me. His eyes travel up and down my body, and for a sudden startled second, I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing that I am. About the space between us – or lack thereof right now. About how easy it would be for me to take one step closer to him, wrap my arms around his neck and lean into his body. He’s staring at me almost hungrily, like he wants me as badly as I want him.
For the first time since long before I had the kids – since before my last string of shitty exes, one guy who told me I wasn’t hot enough for him after the next – I suddenly feel attractive. No, more than attractive.
I feel sexy as hell, the way he’s undressing me with his eyes.
“Okay,” I respond, belatedly. Surely he’s noticed how out of breath I am, how long it took me to reply. How intently I’m staring at his chest. He’s watching me the same way, taking in my body. We want each other. I can feel it, taste it…
He leans closer, and my lips part, my eyes dropping to study his mouth. His three-day stubble stands out, dark against his tan jaw, and his mouth parts slightly too, like he’s about to close the last few inches between us…
“Sleep well,” he says. Then he brushes past me up the hallway.
I stand there, frozen, staring after him. Until I hear the distant slam of a door, and realize he’s gone into his own bedroom suite.
What the hell was that? I wonder, gazing down the empty hallway.
I shake my head. Doesn’t matter. He’s giving me a job, and a place to stay for the night to boot. That’s all I need to know for now.
5
Cassius’s strange spare room not only has a crib in it, but also a full wardrobe of spare clothes. There are a few women’s clothes mingled in, and I feel a little guilty when I pull out a spare T-shirt and pajama shorts to wear. But it’s either this or put my work dress back on to deal with babies, and frankly, this seems like the lesser of two evils. I’m Cassius’s girlfriend won’t mind me borrowing this shirt as long as I wash it after. It looks pretty worn-out.