Читать книгу His Baby Agenda - Katherine Garbera - Страница 9

Two

Kingsley wasn’t sure if he’d won or lost the battle with Gabi. She’d always had the unique ability to throw him. Even in college before...everything had gone crazy, she’d rattled him. But the past ten years had changed him. And though he’d enjoyed flirting with her—hell, he was a red-blooded male, of course he enjoyed flirting with her—that wasn’t why he was back in California, and he had to stay focused.

He got in his Porsche 911, driving a little over the speed limit as he headed to his new home. The mansion he’d purchased was perched on a cliff above the Pacific with a path to the beach that he intended to use frequently with his son. He’d been working hard—well, running from his past was more like it—since he’d left California. Now he was back and he knew one thing: he couldn’t raise his son in a world where he had had to face that kind of stigma.

It was one thing that Stacia’s death had left Kingsley mired in scandal. But he wouldn’t let it touch Conner.

His phone rang, blasting out “Bad to the Bone.” He hit the answer button on his hands free.

“What’s up, Hunter? Is Conner okay?”

“He’s fine, the little devil. I’m worn-out. I think he’s got the makings of a running back,” Hunter said. “Did she agree?”

Hunter wasn’t the playboy the media made him out to be. Kingsley knew they’d still be best friends even if they hadn’t been linked together in Stacia’s murder. He was closer to Hunter than he was to his own brother.

“Yes, she did. I didn’t mention anything about Stacia. I want to get Gabi out to my house so I can be subtle about the questioning,” he said.

“Hey, it’s your plan. I’m happy enough to let you set the pace. I just want to get some answers,” Hunter said.

Hunter could barely remember the entire night. And that was a little worrying, since his friend hadn’t been a big drinker in college. One theory they had was that someone had put a drug in Stacia’s drink—she and Hunter had been dating—and that Hunter had ingested some of it over the course of the night.

“When will you be home? I’ve got a meeting with Tristan Sabine in forty-five minutes.”

“I’ll be there in twenty,” Kingsley said. Tristan was one of the founders of a chain of nightclubs called Seconds. In fact, Gabi’s cousin Gui was another owner. Hunter had recently purchased a franchise of the club and opened it in San Francisco, to much success.

“Sounds great,” Hunter said. “I’m glad we’re back here. It’s way past time we got some answers and gave Stacia’s ghost some peace.”

And themselves, Kingsley thought. They’d never been able to live with Stacia’s murder or the fact that it had never really been solved.

He disconnected the call and concentrated on the traffic, but his mind wasn’t really on the past or the drive. Gabi dominated his thoughts the same as she had back in college.

She’d changed.

Really, idiot?

But that was the best he could do. She had changed. It wasn’t just maturing—it was more than that. There was a level of confidence that hadn’t been in her at eighteen. A level of self-assurance that enabled her to stand her ground with him.

He admired that.

He wished...hell, there wasn’t a day that had gone by in the past ten years that he hadn’t regretted what he’d said when she’d come to see him in jail. Regretted it only insomuch as he knew he’d hurt her. He didn’t regret that he’d gotten her out of the jailhouse before the press had descended. He’d kept her safe from the scandal that had rained down around him and Hunter.

But now...

The woman she was today could handle things that the girl she’d been hadn’t been able to. That didn’t mean he still wouldn’t protect her. He had to get his revenge and keep Conner and Gabi from being hit with the fallout. That was going to take all of the skills he’d learned on and off the football field. Things such as faking out the rushers, keeping the press from seeing past his smile and definitely winning.

He pulled to a stop in the big circle drive in front of his house. The front door opened just as he shut off his car and stepped out of it.

Conner came running down the steps, laughing.

“Daddy!”

Kingsley scooped up his son and kissed the top of his head. Conner had Kingsley’s own blue eyes, but Jade’s reddish-blond hair.

“Get back here, imp,” Hunter said, skidding to a halt in the doorway.

“Um, why was my son running outside?” Kingsley asked.

“’Cause he’s spoiled,” Hunter said.

“I am,” Conner said.

Kingsley was pretty sure that Conner had no idea what spoiled meant, but he and Hunter were very close and Conner almost always agreed with his favorite “uncle.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Nothing. He’s quick. I turned my back for a second...”

Kingsley laughed. His son had caught him like that as well. Hunter was right; he’d make a good running back one day. But only if Kingsley cleared up this mess with Stacia’s murder. He didn’t want Conner facing questions about his father in the pressroom someday.

Kingsley walked into the house carrying his son. He put him down when they were in the foyer.

“You heading out?” Kingsley asked.

“Yes. I’m going to stay at my place in Malibu for the next few weeks, but if you get any information I’ll come back.”

“Sounds good. I’ll keep you posted. I’ve got Gabi moving in here and I think I should have something to go on soon.”

“Good. The sooner we get to the bottom of the Stacia situation the better.”

Hunter left and Kingsley watched his friend go until Conner tugged on his hand.

“Who’s Stas?”

“An old friend of Daddy’s. Good news, Con, we’ve got a new nanny coming to live with us.”

“Like Peri?”

Nothing like Peri. For one thing, Kingsley had never gotten excited by the prospect of Peri living in his house. He tried to tell himself that he was only feeling that way because he could finally get to work on figuring out the past, but he knew it was lie.

He wanted more than that one night with Gabi. He wanted to know that what he remembered of their embrace had been real, and he wanted in his own mixed-up way to somehow make things up to her for their one-night stand.

* * *

Gabi paced her office for a few minutes after Kingsley left. She wasn’t sure how it had happened but somehow she was back to being a nanny. A live-in nanny to a three-year-old she’d never met in the house of the only man she’d never been able to forget.

Ugh!

“Melissa, please draw up a contract for Mr. Buchanan,” Gabi said as she walked into her assistant’s office.

“I bet you’re glad I let him in,” Melissa said. “He is even hotter in person than he is on TV.”

Yes, he was. There was no way a television could capture the force of his presence. But then, the meeting today hadn’t taught her anything new.

“He did agree to fund the playground I’ve been lobbying for in town. And he wants me to start tonight.”

“You? You don’t work directly for clients anymore,” Melissa said. “What happened in your office?”

This was what came of being too friendly with your staff. Melissa felt comfortable asking her anything she wanted.

“We used to know each other,” Gabi admitted. “He offered to fund the playground if I took charge of his son and worked out of his home. This is going to take a lot of effort between you and me to make this happen. Because for the amount he’s paying—he wants me there today.”

Melissa put her elbows on her desk, leaning forward. “Oh, my God. Did he make you an indecent proposal? Are you going to be his mistress?”

“What? No! Where do you get these ideas?”

“I read a lot and watch a lot of soap operas,” Melissa said with a wink. “So no to the bargaining with your body?”

She shook her head. “Definitely no. Just the playground and the stipulation that I live and work from his house. Which means that you are going to have to run things at this office. Think you can handle it?”

“Yes. You know I can.”

Gabi did know. “It’ll mean a raise for you, and I’m thinking that you will be my assistant manager. We will probably need to hire another assistant for you.”

“Thank you, Gabi. I won’t let you down,” Melissa said.

“I know you won’t.”

“I’m going to call the county commissioners and get an exact figure on the budget for the park. I want you to draw up our regular contract for a live-in nanny service and in place of the fees reference the addendum. I’ll work on that.”

“You said you have to be there tonight?”

Gabi kept her expression serene only after years of training, but inside she grimaced. Kingsley had doubled her workload for the day. “Yes. If I send you the dimensions of my new office, will you order me some furniture?”

“Yes. Are you sure about this?” Melissa asked. “We still have our fund-raising plan to get the play area built. I think we could do it without you having to jump through hoops.”

Gabi was grateful to have Melissa not just as her assistant but also as her friend. “It would take years to raise that kind of money. This is easier. Besides, I could use some new material for my parenting column. All of my experience is several years old now.”

“Always look on the bright side?”

“It’s worked so far,” Gabi said.

She reentered her office and felt a little better about the encounter with Kingsley. Then she got down to business. She left a message for Rupert Green, the county commissioner who was her contact on the playground. Then she texted Kingsley asking for the dimensions of her office, which he immediately texted back, also assuring her that he would furnish the space. She almost told him that she would do it herself, but she still had to pack her office and her personal belongings so she decided to let him handle it.

She managed to stay busy enough the entire day not to allow herself to think until she was driving out to Kingsley’s house. Butterflies danced in her stomach and she had that stupid tingling in her body that she knew was from excitement. How could she be excited?

Kingsley.

She knew it would be useless to deny it. They had unfinished business between them. Ten years might have passed, but when he’d walked into her office today she’d felt like a college freshman again, starstruck by her first sight of the handsome quarterback.

But she’d learned that the golden boy wasn’t untouchable. So why...

She shook her head. Was it possible that she was still crushing on him? That Kingsley Buchanan still had a hold over her despite the way he’d treated her? Not just ten years ago but today, arrogantly waltzing back into her life and making her feel again.

Awakening desires and passions she’d shoved to the darkest part of her soul in an attempt to never be that vulnerable again.

She had to remember that. How exposed he’d made her feel. She was stronger now. She had to be.

And there was little Conner to think about. She knew next to nothing about the boy, only that he was three and that Kingsley had used some of her methods with the toddler.

Great.

She was doing the very thing she’d warned nannies not to do for years. Going in blind.

She could justify it to Melissa by saying Kingsley was funding a playground that an economically disadvantaged community desperately needed. She could justify it to her mom by saying that getting back in the field would give her a better perspective for running her business.

But justifying it to herself just felt hollow. Like a lie. As she pulled to a stop in front of Kingsley’s Spanish-style mansion, she admitted that she was here for one reason and one reason alone.

Kingsley had asked and she’d been unable to say no.

* * *

Kingsley had tried to get furniture that mirrored the stuff he’d seen in Gabi’s office earlier but it turned out some of her pieces, such as the settee, were one of a kind. So he’d had to settle for some substitutions. All in all he was happy with the stuff he’d managed to get here on such short notice.

He was working under the desk connecting the computer and printer cords while his son lay on the floor nearby coloring.

Seven years younger than his older brother, Kingsley had been an “accident.” His parents had gone back to work and sort of moved into a new phase of their lives when he was born. He’d been left in the care of his nanny most of the time. And he wasn’t complaining about that. But he’d never had much of a chance to just hang out with his father. Kingsley did his best to make sure that he and Conner did have plenty of time together.

“Daddy? How’s this?” Conner brought a piece of copy paper that he’d been drawing on with his crayons over to him. The brightly colored scribbles were Conner’s version of the view from their backyard. Kingsley had three of the images framed and hanging on his own office wall.

When he’d brought Conner into the office he was setting up for Gabi, his son had insisted on making her a picture—or rather, a “picter,” as he said it.

“Looks good. I bet she’ll love it.”

Someone cleared her throat and Kingsley glanced up to see Gabi standing in the doorway. “The housekeeper let me in and told me where to find you.”

He let his gaze skim over her from the floor up. She’d changed into a pair of white jeans that hugged her slim legs and a pretty turquoise blouse that was made out of some sort of flowing fabric. She had pulled her long caramel-colored hair back into a ponytail and wore a pair of flat sandals on her feet.

She squatted down, smiling at Conner. “Can I see your picture?”

“Yes.”

He walked over to her with that toddler gait of his, sometimes speedy and a little unsteady. He handed her the photo and then went even closer, putting his hand on Gabi’s knee as he pointed to the picture.

Kingsley swallowed as a rush of emotion he didn’t want to define swamped him. Sometimes he got a punch of joy in the heart just watching Conner.

“This is the ocean and the sky. This is Daddy and Unca Hun.”

“Unca Hun?”

“Hunter,” Kingsley said.

“Of course. I’m Gabi,” she said, turning her attention back to Conner. “I’m here to help your daddy take care of you.”

“Like Peri.”

Gabi glanced over at Kingsley and then turned back to the little boy. “Just like Peri. Did you help your daddy set up my office?”

He nodded and Gabi stood up, holding the paper loosely in her left hand. She held her right hand out to Conner.

Conner wasn’t always good with strangers. There had been only a few people close to him since he’d been born. Pretty much Hunter and Peri. Then there were Kingsley’s parents, who doted on Conner, but Jade’s parents lived in Brazil and only saw Conner for a month each summer when they came to visit.

Kingsley took Gabi’s hand and led her over to the desk. She looked at the surface, arching one eyebrow at him as she came to her monogrammed stationery.

“How did you do all this?”

“I have my ways,” he said. He was pleased with himself because he’d surprised her. It was important to ensure that Gabi was happy here, because he needed her to watch over Conner. He’d even sort of justified it to Hunter by saying that he needed her recollections of the night that Stacia had died. But deep inside he knew he’d gone through all of this effort on her office and in her bedroom because he’d wanted to show off a little.

To let Gabi see the life he’d made for himself. To hopefully dispel the image she might have been carrying of him for all these years—the image of him in handcuffs behind a glass wall.

“Time for dinner, Conner,” Kingsley said. “Let’s go find Mrs. Tillman while Gabi gets settled into her office. I’ll be back shortly to give you the tour.”

She nodded. “I have some boxes in my car that I need to bring in.”

“I’ll help once I get Conner settled.”

“Bye,” Conner said as he and Kingsley left the office. They headed down the hallway, Conner running ahead of Kingsley, as he was wont to do.

And when they entered the kitchen, he found Mrs. Tillman putting Conner’s plate on the large farmhouse-style table in the corner of the breakfast nook. It had a built-in padded bench, which Conner scrambled up onto.

Kingsley usually made it a point to eat with Conner when he was home, but tonight their schedule was slightly messed up. So Conner would be eating alone. Kingsley planned to dine with Gabi tonight to bring her up to speed on all the details of Conner’s schedule. And because he wanted to get to know her again.

“Do you still need me to stay until bedtime?” Mrs. Tillman asked.

“Yes. I want to give Gabi time to settle in. Did you have a chance to introduce yourselves?”

“We did. I put her suitcase in her bedroom and after Conner’s bath I will unpack it.”

“That’s okay, Mrs. Tillman,” Gabi said from the doorway, a large brown box in her arms. “I can do it. Kingsley, do you have a hand truck I can use to bring my other office boxes in?”

“No, but I can help you carry them,” he said.

“I don’t want to disturb you,” she said. “I can make a couple of trips.”

She turned away and he realized it was too late—she’d already disturbed him and there was no coming back from that.

“Go on, Kingsley. I’ll watch the scamp finish his dinner,” Mrs. Tillman said.

“Is that okay, Con?”

“Yes.”

Kingsley ruffled his son’s hair and got to his feet, following after Gabi.