His concern for her son put her at ease, and she flashed him a faint smile of gratitude. She headed into the bathroom to freshen up and put on a robe. Then she opened the bedroom door slowly, keenly aware that Finn could get up at any moment to come look for her. Her son wasn’t as afraid of the dark as he had been now that he was older, but she wanted to be as quiet as possible on her way to the kitchen.
As she shut the door behind her, she stole one last glance at Simon.
He smiled at her when he caught her looking. Heart racing, she padded down the hall to the kitchen, the usual twinge of guilt she felt after having sex with Simon now replaced by a sense of hope and possibility.
AFTER HEATHER BROUGHT their refreshments, they spent almost an hour talking and reminiscing about their childhoods. It must have been well past midnight when she finally drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
Her eyes cracked open at the sound of a door slamming shut. Bolting upright, she reached for the clock beside her bed. Without her glasses and with sleep still in her eyes she had to focus extra hard on reading the time. Almost seven in the morning.
Simon was still fast asleep beside her, his dark hair falling over his eyes. His nearly naked frame was dressed in nothing but boxer briefs, his bare chest rising and falling with each breath. Even asleep he looked sinfully gorgeous.
“Hey, Heather! You up yet?”
Oh crap.
Gary.
Her ex-husband was in the house.
Panic made her leap out of bed, toss on her robe, and race towards the door. What the hell was Gary doing here? If he saw her in bed with her boss, there was no telling how bad things were going to get. If Gary discovered their secret, they were done for.
She opened the door a crack and dashed out of the room, running right into Gary’s chest.
No. No. Please no.
“Hey, you’re wearing your sexy robe.” Gary waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “How’d you know I was coming over?”
The panic welling up inside her threatened to turn into a full-blown meltdown. She grabbed the doorknob to try to shut the door but Gary’s long arm reached forward, and he pressed his hand against the door.
“What do we have here?” Gary muttered. “Is that...Heather do you have a guy over here?”
She heard Simon groan loudly behind her and suddenly she wished she could sink into the floor.
“It’s not what it looks like,” she muttered lamely as she turned around and discovered Simon getting out of bed. Half-naked. With a scowl on his gorgeous face.
“Wait a minute...I know this guy,” Gary said.
Horror gripped her, and a cold sweat slid down her spine. Nausea came right behind. “Gary, let’s go into the living room and talk.”
Gary narrowed his eyes. “What’s to talk about? You’ve brought some guy to the house where our son lives.”
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I’m taking Finn for the weekend,” Gary replied.
“No. You were supposed to have him last weekend,” she said. “But you bailed on him. Again.”
“Well, I’m here now,” her ex said sharply. “I’m here today and I want my kid away from this joker.”
“What’s the problem here?” Simon’s deep baritone came in loud and clear behind her. He was standing so close behind her that she felt the heat of his body. Felt his towering presence.
“Nothing. Just go back into the room and I’ll take care of this,” she pleaded.
Gary’s eyes went wide. “You’re the guy from her job. Holy crap, you’re her boss.”
“Gary, please.” She balled up her fists, sensing her famous control start to slip away from her. “Let’s go sit in the living room—”
“You’ve been screwing my wife,” Gary said loudly. “And you’re fucking your boss?”
“Keep your voice down, you’ll wake Finn,” she hissed. “And I’m your ex-wife.”
Gary sized up Simon, rage turning his face bright red. “Who the hell do you think you are? You come into my house and screw my wife. Is this what she had to do to get the job? Sleep with the boss?”
“No.” She pressed her hands against Gary’s solid chest, trying to get him to calm down. “That’s not what happened.”