Marrying the Millionaire (10 page)

CJ nodded. “Okay, Mommy.”

She lowered CJ to the floor next to
the tub and turned the nozzle. Water poured from the sprout and
began filling the tub. Crouching beside the tub in front of CJ,
wild, lusty thoughts of Richmond entered her mind. She could still
feel the warm grip of his firm handshake, causing tingles to now
spiral through her system.

Broad shoulders, rock solid chest, and
pert nose, Richmond’s body had looked solid, and oh so masculine.
Dashing brown eyes, black hair cut close to his scalp, every time
his sexy mouth had moved today, her labia had fluttered between her
legs. Her nipples had tingled. Butterflies had twirled her stomach
like a high school aged girl. No man, not even her ex-husband
Carson, had ever made her feel so hot and bothered while in his
presence like that.

Imagining Richmond trailing a finger
over her lips, Kayla closed her eyes and let her mind drift to
Richmond.

I bet he makes good, good
loving. Bet he’s tender and gentle when he makes love to a woman.
Takes his time sucking sweetly on her breasts. He probably flicks
her clitoris with the tip of his tongue, like a soft
caress.

“
Wake up, Mommy.” CJ shook
her shoulder.

Kayla’s eyes sprang wide
open.
I can’t get my boss off my mind.
Ooo, Lordy.
Aroused, she turned off the
faucet and stood. The doorbell rang.
I
wonder who that could be.
“Take off your
clothes, CJ, and get in the tub.”

Wearing her light pink lounge shirt
with matching bottoms, Kayla walked barefoot through the living
room and headed toward the front door. Wondering who in the world
would be visiting her so late in the evening, she placed an eye
over the peephole.

What is he doing here? How
does he know where I stay?

Blue-eyed Jason stood on her front
porch, wearing a red checkered shirt and navy denim
jeans.

“
Who is it?” she asked,
wondering why on Earth Richmond’s employee would be coming to her
home this time of night.

“
It’s me, Jason. You
accidentally left your cell phone in my car when I took you to pick
up your car earlier.” Apprehensive, Kayla cracked open the door.
Standing tall on the other side of the screen door, Jason held her
cell up to his chest level, his mouth easing into a grin. “Hope it
was okay to stop by without calling. But if you’re anything like
me, you feel lost without your cell.” A buzzing wasp flew in
circles around the porch light in the ceiling.

This could’ve waited until
tomorrow
, Kayla thought, pushing open the
creaking screen door.

Just as she reached for the phone, a
loud wail resounded throughout her home. She gasped and took off
running for CJ’s room.

“
Mommy! Mommy!” Scurrying
down the hallway, CJ’s boisterous screams caused Kayla’s heart to
thunder like a bad storm inside her beating chest.

Alarmed, she ran inside the
bathroom to find CJ lying on the floor, writhing in pain, gripping
his arm. The radius bone in his arm pushed hard against his red,
bruised skin, looking broken.
Ohmygod.
Ohmygod.

“
What happened, CJ?”
Gathering him in her arms, tears slowly made their way down her
cheeks.

“
Whaaa! Whaaa!” CJ’s feet
kicked wildly on the tile floor.

Jason rushed inside the bathroom,
dropped down next to CJ, and examined his arm. “I think he
fractured his arm. Did you jump or fall?” Crying, CJ nodded. “We
need to get him to the emergency room.” Jason hefted CJ in his arms
and hustled outside, with Kayla running behind him.

Fifteen minutes later, Jason sped his
Camaro up to Hilton Head Regional emergency room. He threw the gear
in park, hopped out of the car, and jogged around the rear of the
vehicle.

Kayla sat in the back seat, cuddling
CJ to her chest, crying her eyes out. “It’s going to be okay,
CJ.”

CJ’s brown face had turned a dark
crimson. “It hurt,” he cried.

Kayla rocked her son. “I know. Mommy
knows it hurt. The doctor will give you some medicine to make it
feel better.”

Jason flung open the back door, hefted
CJ from her arms, and hastened inside the emergency room up to the
registration circulation desk. CJ’s boisterous screams infiltrated
the spacious area packed with sick patients.

“
Come this way,” the nurse
said, leading them through a set of double doors, down a long
hallway, then into an empty room. Jason lowered a wailing CJ to the
hospital bed. “The doctor will be with you shortly.”

Kayla climbed on top of the hospital
bed next to CJ to hold him. “Shortly. How long?”

The nurse tilted her head. “Someone
just had a heart attack. But it shouldn’t be too long. I’ll be
right back with some ice and pain medicine.”

Guilt spread through Kayla’s bones as
she sat on the bed, holding her sobbing son. She should’ve never
left him alone. “This is my fault.”

“
No, Kayla. This is my
fault. I should’ve never showed up to your house so late in the
evening, especially without calling first.” Jason sat on the other
side of CJ, draped an arm around her shoulder, and squeezed. “I’m
going to somehow, some way make this up to you and CJ. Best believe
it.”

Holding her as if he’d known her his
entire life, Jason lay his head on top of Kayla’s. Discomfort rose
in the pit of her stomach and roiled.

Putting his head on mine
like he’s known me his entire life, something about him makes me so
uncomfortable.

DEWY WHITE FOG SWIRLED OVER the
herbaceous plants of the marsh behind Richmond’s home. Birds
flapped their wings overhead, flying past the estate. The early
morning sun nestled behind an ancient oak slowly rose, its rays
bouncing off wet leaves as they dangled from curved
branches.

Promptly at seven-fifteen, Kayla stood
on Richmond’s front porch, with CJ perched on her hip.

“
Make sure you smile when
you meet Mr. Spaulding. Okay?”

CJ nodded.

Oh God, here
goes
, she thought, pressing the
doorbell.

Short seconds later, the front door
cracked open. One look at handsome Richmond, and Kayla’s heart
squeezed. Her belly fluttered. Suppressing the hot, robust sigh at
the back of her throat, Richmond glanced at CJ, then back at
her.

“
Good…morning.” Looking
just like the guy named Russell in the photo she’d accidentally
stumbled upon at her house, Richmond’s deep, throaty voice rolled
over her, stirred her female senses.

On the verge of tingling
while stressed, she offered him a nervous smile. “Good morning.
This is my son, CJ. He broke his arm last night, and I had to take
him to the hospital. If it’s okay with you, may I please bring him
to work with me today?”
And tomorrow? And
the next day? And the day after that?

His voice was resigned as he said,
“Why, this has completely caught me off guard. Ummm. Come in.”
Richmond stepped to the side, letting her pass him by. As she
crossed over the threshold, his ember fragrance sailed up her nose,
enticing her.

Kayla entered the living
room and sat CJ on the sofa. “I can understand if you’re not
comfortable with me bringing my son to work with me.” Pressure
built inside her head as she awaited his answer. Stone-faced, his
eyes flashed a familiar display of impatience. “Richmond, I’m
sorry, but I failed to tell you if I accepted this job, then I’ll
have to bring my son to work with me for a while. I’m in a jam. I
can’t afford daycare; however, if you let me bring CJ to work with
me, I promise not to neglect Isabelle while he’s here. I can ensure
you she’ll get the best care possible.”
Please say yes
.

Richmond’s brows hiked. He curled his
finger over his mustache. “Why can’t you afford daycare? Don’t you
get child support for the kid?”

“
Sometimes.”

Bestowing her with a concerned look,
his brows furrowed. “Sometimes.”

Tearing her gaze from CJ,
her eyes moved upward along his broad chest to his gorgeous face.
“His father only pays child support when he feels like it. Some
months I get money, some months I don’t get a single dime. Or a
single penny.”
I know he thinks I’m a big
dummy for letting Carson treat CJ and me this way.

“
Kayla, please excuse my
frankness, but nothing irks me more than a sorry ass man.” His eyes
traveled to CJ. “I don’t know what happened between you and your
ex, but I do know that your son shouldn’t have to suffer because of
it. His father should be taking care of him on a regular basis, not
whenever he feels like it.”

“
I agree.
Thanks.”

“
I tell you what…you can
bring CJ to work with you as long as you ensure his being here
doesn’t take away from Isabelle’s learning.”

Kayla’s heart rejoiced. She smiled so
hard until her face hurt. “I promise CJ’s being here will not
interfere with what you want for Isabelle. Thank you so much,
Richmond.”

Richmond smiled in return.
“You’re quite welcome. Isabelle is still sleeping. Her daily
schedule is on the counter. Please don’t deter from it without my
permission. Today, she has a ballet lesson at noon. Shortly
thereafter, she has horseback riding lessons at the equestrian.
Jason is her instructor.”
Ohgodno
.
Not his creepy behind.
“If you have
any questions, please feel free to call me on my cell. Plug the
emergency numbers written on the blackboard inside the kitchen into
your cell.”

“
Okay, I will.”

Speaking of cell phone, if Jason
hadn’t showed up at her home after nine last night to drop off her
cell phone, she wouldn’t have left CJ alone inside the bathroom,
and he wouldn’t have jumped off the toilet and injured his arm.
Guilt stirred up inside her when she looked at the blue cast on
CJ’s arm.

Then again, who was she kidding? CJ
was a boy, and he could be hardheaded at times. Instead of blaming
Jason, she needed to learn how to better discipline CJ. Being that
this was her first child, she was still learning in the whole
discipline area.

Jason is not at fault for
what happened to CJ. I should be grateful he thought enough to
bring me my phone. But looking up my address on the Internet creeps
me out. The look in Jason’s eyes when he looks at me petrifies
me.

Richmond glanced at the watch on his
wrist. “I’ll be leaving shortly. Make yourself at home.” His voice
deepened as he reminded her, “Remember…Salina’s room is off limits.
No one but me is allowed in her room.” When he spoke of Salina’s
room, his eyes were full of remorse.

Her room?
“I understand. Have a great day.”

“
I will. You, too,
Kayla.”

Kayla lifted CJ in her arms, and as
she clambered up the stairs to the second floor, she felt the heat
of Richmond’s gaze burning a hole in her backside. Mounting the
staircase with CJ on her hip, Kayla’s gaze fell to the first floor
to catch him staring up at her, just like she’d suspected.
Thrusting his hands in his pants pockets, his burning eyes made her
breath still before he turned and stalked away.

Working for a stallion like Richmond
wasn’t going to be easy. She reached the top of the staircase,
walked the short distance of the hallway to her left, and quietly
entered Isabelle’s bedroom.

Walking over to Isabelle’s white
canopy bed as she slept like a beautiful princess, a warm feeling
enveloped Kayla. Thankful Richmond had agreed to let her bring CJ
to work with her every day, she lowered him to the foot of the
bed.

“
Isabelle,” her name eased
out of Kayla’s mouth like a sweet caress. In an effort to awaken
the darling little girl, she gently shook her shoulder. “Wake up,
sweetie. It’s time to start your day.”

Lying on her side, clenching the linen
to her chin, Isabelle yawned. Her eyes slowly peeled open. As if
trying to adjust her vision, she blinked repeatedly, then gave
Kayla a peculiar stare. Kayla caressed her spine, trying to
stimulate the cute little child.

“
Good morning.”

“
Good morning.”

Isabelle rubbed her eyeballs with her
knuckles. She sat upright in bed, turned her legs sideways. Kayla
grabbed her small hand, gestured her toward the bathroom. It didn’t
take too long for Isabelle to use the restroom, brush her teeth,
and wash her face.

Knowing they had a busy schedule
today, Kayla quickly applied moisturizer to Isabelle’s face,
brushed her long, curly hair into a high ponytail, and after she
dressed her, she introduced her to CJ. For long moments, the two
kids stood inside Isabelle’s bedroom, staring at one another, when
finally Kayla grabbed their hands and took them
downstairs.

“
Daddy. You’re still here.”
Isabelle entered the kitchen and hurried over to her father as he
sat at the table reading the newspaper.

Kayla’s pulse perked at the
mere sight of him.
I thought he’d
left.