Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) (24 page)

So,
Colby had been held first by a friend and then by her aunt; something Abby had
n’t yet forgiven
Alethea
for,
not even as her happiness with Dominic had spilled outward and given them a second chance at sisterhood.

With motherhood had come the humility to recognize that Abby was not the only flawed member of their tiny family.
Abby had always been there fo
r her
even if it hadn’t been the way
Lil would have liked
, but
Lil
hadn’t returned the favor.
Beneath her tough exterior, Lil acknowledged
that
insecurities
had driven some of her
–
oh, hell, many of her actions.

But wasn’t that what a new day provided?

A chance to begin again?

She
was going to become the sister
she
should have always
been
.
This time she was going to rescue Abby.

Jake Walton in a suit was sexy enough, but the man who had shown up in khaki shorts and a
blue polo
shirt took Lil’s breath away.
His
shorts stopped mid-thigh, long enough to be fashionable, but short enough to remind Lil of
what he had looked like with much less on.

L
il looked away
.

Better decisions could only come from gaining some control over her libido. Seriously, Jake was just another man.
An incredibly gorgeous, sexually talented,
inspiration-for-dreams-you-
don’
t-
wan
t-to-wake-up-
from man,
but that didn’t mean she couldn’t keep a clear head today.

Lil snuck another quick per
u
sal

Damn.

Dressed in a simple
brown
cotton skirt, light
green blouse and sandals,
Lil
was determined
that their day together
would stay
as tame as the clothing she’d chosen.
She
bent
to place
her daughter
in the car seat.
“Come on in,” she said as she collected the necessary supplies for the day. “We’re ready.”

Colby babbled happily as she was secured into her seat
.
Lil swung her diaper bag up onto her shoulder, reaching down to pick up the car seat.

Jake’s hand
beat her to it. “I’ll carry her;
I bet she’s getting heavy.”

He smiled down at Colby who smiled back at him and Lil fought the desire to rip her child out of his hands and run.
Neither of them had any business getting attached to Jake.
Today was not about that.
Tomorrow
, things would go right back to being over.

Lil took a deep breath and reminded herself
that this was for Abby.

“
Thank
you
,” she said and hoped she didn’t sound as stressed as she felt.
He was going to get suspicious if she looked
like a trapped animal the whole day
.
Be cool.
Be casual.
“I couldn’
t find my
stroller,
so hopefully there is one wherever we’re going.”

“I had yours stored in your trunk.”

“Of course.”
Lil smoothed her nervous hands on her skirt and picked up her purse. “Then let’s go.”

At least having Colby with them insured that nothing would happen between them.

Bringing her had been a good idea.

Unless
Jake really is dangerous and now I put
my daughter
in jeopardy, too
.
Oh, shit.

You’re losing it, Lil
.

Jake had never given her a reason to
think
that he would ever hurt her or her child.
She was letting
Alethea’s
paranoi
a
make her nuts.

The
trip down the elevator
was painfully silent as was the wait for the car to be brought out of the parking lot.
Jake
opened the door for
Lil
and handed her the car seat, watching as she secured it.

Not the mannerisms of a madman.

Relax.

Lil jumped when Jake asked,
“Do you want me to drive?”

Since
her legs were ready to b
etray her by shaking, Lil
nodded.
Driving while deceiving was never a safe option
.
Officer, I’m sorry I didn’t see that red light I was too busy thinking about what Jake was going to say if he ever
discovered
why I asked him to come out with me today
.

She gladly handed Jake her keys.

Buckled into the passenger seat, Lil
faced forward, but watched
Jake
out of the corner of her eye
.
He’d secured his own
seat
belt
, but hadn’t started the car.

“
We can’t be friends
, Lil,
”
he announced to the steering wheel.

“Excuse me?”
Lil swallowed nervously.
In the movies, this is where he would tell me that I should have minded my own business
–
that
he had hoped things would go differently, but I knew too much to be allowed to live.

Jake looked across at her, the intensity in his eyes trapping her like a deer in headlights.

“
I don’t think I have to tell you why it’s not possible.”

Because friends don’t bury friends in shallow graves in the woods?

Lil bit back a nervous giggle.

He said,
“I’ve been thinking about
how you called what we’re doing cheap
.
It doesn’t have to be.
I do care about you, Lil, and I’d like for us to start over.”

No, no, no.
Do not even go there.
I like being afraid of you better than this
.
This path only le
a
d
s
to
a tsunami of guilt.
“Jake, please…”

He turned in his seat and took her hand.
“Hear me out.
You took me by surprise and I handled the situation poorly.
Everything you said the other day was spot on right.
We don’t know each other, bu
t we can change that
.
I’m not here because Dominic sent me.
Today, I’m here because I want to be.
I want to give us a chanc
e
–
not as fri
ends, but as whatever this is
–
wherever
this goes. This is a date, Lil
; make no mistake about that.
O
ur first date
, one of many to come,
and hopefully one that you’ll never forget.”

I can
pretty much guarantee that I’ll remember
today.

He was waiting for her to say something.

She removed her hand from his.
I am going to Hell for this. Yep, forge
t about prison, this is the fier
y after-life kind of wrong.
“I can’t promise you anything, Jake.”

H
is eyes smoldered with emotion as if her words only made him want her more. “You don’t have to.”

Lil turned forward in her seat
and clasped her hands in her lap, trying to keep her tone as cheerful as possible. “So, where are we going?”

“I thought I’d surprise you.”

Oh, you did.

Trust me, you did
.

“What are we doing here?” Lil asked as they parked her car in front of the Boston Museum’s School of Fine Arts.

Jake walked around the car to open the door for her before he answered. “
On Thursday mornings the school has an art program for the very young and their mothers.
They make their own paints and sometimes display their creations in the atrium. They have graciously allowed us to join the class today.”

Once Col
by was settled into her
stroller
, Jake tipped a young man who had apparently been hired to park the car for them.
As they walked into the building together, Lil asked, “You really signed us up for an art class?”

“Unless you’d rather do something else?”

“No, this is fine.”

This is perfect
,
actually.
Well, it would be perfect if I weren’t a complete ass.

Lil followed Jake through the halls to a small classroom where four mothers and their babies were gathered around one large round table.
The children ranged in age from near Colby’s age to one that looked l
ike she was almost two
.

A casually dressed, gray-haired woman
in
a large
clear
plastic apron met them as they entered the door.
Her face looked years younger than her hair implied.
“You must be
Miss
Dartley
.” S
he shook Lil’s hand. “And is this
Colby?” She leaned down to smile at the child and then greeted Jake. “Mr. Walton, it is
an honor to have you join
us today. Your donation was more than generous and will allow us to expand this program.”