The Baby Arrangement (6 page)

“That’s good,” he said, his eyes still on the baby.  It seemed like an eternity before he moved away and headed for the kitchen. 

Before he could even ask Kayleigh called out, “There’s a plate for you in the refrigerator.”  Derek smiled without turning around.  So she had remembered that he was coming home.  That thought pleased him immensely. 

Within minutes, he was seated across from her in the living room inhaling the wonderful aroma of grilled salmon Florentine.  Kayleigh was equally pleased that he seemed to enjoy this one little thing that she did for him.  “Thank you,” he said before taking a taste.  “You seem to enjoy cooking.  Did your mother teach you?” he asked.  Kayleigh knew there’d come a time when they’d talk about themselves and now that it was here, she wasn’t quite sure how she felt.  She’d wanted Derek Sloan for so long and getting to know him was a good thing – well, that and living in his home – but she still found herself to be shy around him.

“I come from a pretty large family, as you know.  I’m the youngest of four and mom was always in need of an extra hand in the kitchen.  Since that was where everyone usually was, that’s where I wanted to be.  I’ve been concocting recipes since I was around six years old.  It’s really not fun cooking for only one person, though, so this has been a treat to have someone else to cook for.”

Oh, God!  Did that just sound like a desperate attempt at getting him to ask her to cook for him permanently? 
Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“You’re very talented.  I can’t remember the last time I had real home-cooking.  Since my grandparents retired, I don’t see them much.  But then again,” he added with a chuckle, “my
grandmother wasn’t all that into cooking.  She was as invested in the business as my grandfather was and we always had a housekeeper who prepared meals for us.” 

Kayleigh felt sad for him and even more so for Emery again.  The more she learned about the Sloan’s the sadder it made her.  “My grandmother was always in the kitchen.  She was baking pies and cooking huge Sunday dinners up until the day she died,” Kayleigh said with a sigh.  “I am so thankful for all that she taught me.  Every little girl should have that kind of influence in her life.”

As soon as the words were out, she regretted them.  She didn’t mean to imply anything about his family or Emery’s future, but something inside of her just couldn’t seem to help it.  Her mind raced as she thought of something intelligent to say to cover up her blunder.  “I mean …um…”

“It’s okay, Kayleigh,” Derek assured.  “You were very fortunate to have those influences in your life.  I can only hope that someday Emery has a mother figure who’ll guide her.”  Not
the
mother, just a mother figure. 
Hmm, interesting
.

They sat in silence while Derek finished his meal.  As he sat back to relax, he focused on Kayleigh again, eager to learn more about her even at this late hour.  “When you’re not saving helpless bachelors and abandoned infants, what do you like to do with your spare time?”

Had he phrased it any other way, she might have stumbled on a reply, but worded so playfully, she couldn’t help but chuckle.  “Well, when my red-cape is safely packed away,” she said cheekily, “I enjoy spending time with my family and babysitting my nieces and nephews.  They seem to take up most of my spare time, come to think of it; probably because I’m a free babysitter.”  She paused and thought about her family with a smile.  “I don’t mind, really.” 

“What do you do for fun?  Do you have friends that you go out with or a boyfriend?” 

Ah, now we’re getting deep
.  “I go to an occasional movie with friends or shopping at the outlets and as for a boyfriend,” she glanced up at him shyly, “not at the moment.”

He made a non-committal sound and Kayleigh hoped that this part of the conversation was over.  Emery was sound asleep in her arms and Kayleigh was ready to put her back in her crib.  Standing carefully she looked down at Derek in the chair.  “I hope that you enjoyed your dinner.  I’m going to put Emery down and head back to sleep myself.”

He made that sound again, but said no more.  As she walked away Derek noticed tonight’s sleeping attire – a faded Whitesnake concert t-shirt and silk pajama pants.  There was nothing sexy about the ensemble and yet it had his mind racing more than any lingerie model ever had.

Upstairs, Kayleigh put Emery down and kissed the top of her cute little head.  Little wisps of blonde hair were starting to emerge.  Soon she’d be able to put bows in
it and cute little headbands… no, she thought sadly, someone else would get to do that.  Kayleigh wouldn’t be around that much longer.  With a sigh, she turned to leave the room and bumped into the very solid frame of Derek Sloan.

He wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her and Kayleigh felt all of the breath leave her body. 

Oh, my. 

“Sorry,” she whispered, slowly raising her eyes to see his face.  His expression was cast in shadows and from what she could see, he looked very serious and as his eyes scanned her face, she watched his expression change to one of wonder and desire. 

Oh, my.

Kayleigh tried to find something to say to that would enlighten her on what was about to happen but she was too afraid of breaking the spell.  Memories of the kiss that they’d shared on that fateful first afternoon together flashed through her mind.  She had dreamt about it countless times and never thought she’d have the opportunity to experience it again.  But as Derek’s head began its slow descent, she thanked her creator for making it possible.

“Kayleigh,” he whispered raggedly before his lips touched hers.  They were firm at first, but when Kayleigh sagged against him with a sigh and opened for him, his desire unleashed. 

Derek wasn’t sure of exactly why he’d followed her up the stairs.  It hadn’t been his intention to come up here and kiss her, but something happened when her body made contact with his and it was all he could do to hold back as long as he did.  Since the moment he’d first noticed her in his office he had thought about touching her, kissing her.  Even after their brief kiss the day of Emery’s arrival, he’d wanted to explore his attraction to her further. 

By this point, Kayleigh had wound her arms around his neck and with Derek’s arms banded around her tiny waist; he had her pulled tightly against his body.  She felt so good against him that he wanted to carry her out of the nursery and to the nearest horizontal surface. 

Over and over he nipped at her mouth, his tongue mating with hers – imitating what his body wanted to be doing with hers.  She met his every passionate response and clearly wanted this as much as he did.  Moving one hand away from her waist, it journeyed slowly up her ribcage to gently cup one glorious breast.  It felt exquisite in his hand – he knew it would.  Kayleigh had a fantastic figure, he admitted to himself, one that he’d love to be touching all over this very moment. 

Just as that thought was registering, he felt her begin to pull away.  “Derek,” she said breathlessly, “I can’t.”

Her words slowly sank in. 
Can’t?  Can’t what? 
He raised his head and looked down into her flushed face.  Her lips were moist and swollen from his kisses and her breathing was still a little erratic.  He liked that. 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, “but this shouldn’t have happened.”

He gently took her hand in his and led her out of the nursery and into the dimly lit hallway.  “Why?”

She expected him to
be angry, but his softly spoken question had her asking herself exactly the same question. 
Why? 
With a fortifying breath she said, “It’s just that…you’re my boss and I’m here to take care of Emery.  I don’t even want to think about what everyone back at the office must be thinking of this set up and I certainly don’t want to prove them right.  I don’t
do
casual affairs, Derek.  It’s just not who I am.  I’m sorry.”

He had to admire her in that moment.  Most women would jump at a chance to sleep with the boss in hopes of furthering their own career.  But not Kayleigh.  Leave it to him to find himself attracted to the one woman he’d ever met to declare herself off limits.  It was a definite first.  He silently observed her and noticed the wide-eyed wonder in her gaze.  Was she expecting him to rant and rave?  To demand that she finish what they started?

As much as he wanted to, he’d never force himself on a woman.  He thought about that for a moment.  He may not force himself on her but he knew without a doubt that he wanted her in his bed.  A slow seduction was what was called for here.  He’d give her time – although he was unsure just how much of it they would have before it was time for her to leave.  He didn’t want to think that far ahead.  One way or another, Kayleigh Mitchell would be his
and
on his terms. 

Reaching out and caressing her face he said, “I’m sorry, Kayleigh.  I didn’t mean to get so carried away.  I’ve thought about kissing you ever since that very first day and when I saw you in the nursery with the soft lighting, you just looked so incredibly beautiful that I had to kiss you.”  Every word was truth
, but Derek had never had to use the ‘sweet-talk’ approach to seduce a woman; he was usually the one being pursued.  He kind of liked it this way and knew that no matter how much time they had left together, he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

Something changed that night, but for the life of her, Kayleigh couldn’t quite figure out what it was.  Derek made no attempts to touch her again
, but they settled into a simple domestic bliss that she never thought possible. 

Derek began to leave for the office a little bit later in the morning – after they shared a cup of coffee – and came home earlier so that they actually ate dinner together.  The first time that it happened and he came strolling through the door at six-thirty, Kayleigh was pleasantly surprised.  They were so at ease with one another and the conversation never lulled.  He finally began to interact with the baby that could be his.  Whether it was holding her while Kayleigh was busy at another task or talking and cooing at her while she sat in her infant swing.  She took it as a good sign that Derek could quite possibly be coming to grips with the situation.

At midnight, when she woke with Emery for that one bottle that the infant couldn’t seem to do without, she found Derek sitting on the sofa with reports spread out in front of him on the coffee table. 

“What exactly is it that has you working all hours of the day and night like this?” she asked as she nodded towards the mass of paperwork.
  She knew that Derek normally worked long hours and that even though he was home more, that didn’t mean that the work had miraculously gone away.

Reclining slightly and running his hands through his hair in frustration, he replied, “We’ve grown tremendously in the last five years.  But our marketing is showing its age and most of my designers have been with the company for too long to count and are out of touch with today’s market.”  With a sigh, he stood and stretched.  Kayleigh’s eyes caught a brief glimpse of a well muscled torso before he turned and walked towards the windows to look out at the lake.

“They’re all good designers, don’t get me wrong, and I don’t want to let any of them go, but at the same time, I’m ready to do something big.  I want to expand beyond the commercial wall coverings and fabrics that we do and move into the residential realm, but I can’t seem to get my ideas across to anyone.  They’re a little set in their ways.”

Kayleigh remained silent as she fed the baby.  His idea excited her because it was exactly the type of thing that she had wanted to do with her life but without leaving Sloan’s.  Finding Emery done with her bottle and back to sleep, Kayleigh quietly excused herself and placed the infant back in the nursery before returning to the living room.

Derek was a little puzzled at Kayleigh’s quick and quiet departure and was even more confused by her sudden reappearance.  Sitting down on the sofa, she began shuffling though his papers.

“Um, Kayleigh…”

Finding a sketch pad at the bottom of the heap, Kayleigh began sketching like a woman possessed.  “Oh, wait,” she said before bolting up the stairs and then back down again with a small case in her hands.  Derek stood back and watched her work.  The case held a mass of colored pencils and soon the drawing came to life – colors, patterns, accessories, it was as if she had seen into his mind and was able to put it all down on paper.

Minutes passed before she finally seemed to breathe.  Placing the last of the pencils back down on the coffee table, she handed the paper to Derek silently and waited. 

“This is good,” Derek murmured as he came around to sit beside Kayleigh on the sofa.  “This is exactly what I’ve been talking about.”  He tossed the pad on to the coffee table and stared at her, puzzlement written all over his face.  “What are you doing wasting your time answering phones in customer service when you have talent like this?”

Awkward. 
How could she possibly explain to him that
he
was the reason that she was withering away in that cubicle?  It would be incredibly embarrassing to turn to him and admit that she’d had this enormous crush on him for years and stayed in a job that was technically beneath her just so that she could stare at him in the mornings on his way to the office.  Worse yet would be to go on and remind him of how he had never even glanced her way or knew of her existence.  This would all, inevitably, lead to his assuming that she took this job as Emery’s caretaker just so that she could be close to him and then, knowing Derek as she had come to, he would think her to be some crazy stalker-chick.  There would of course be a lot of apologizing as she would be forced to pack up her things in the middle of the night and then she’d be forced to look for another job which – in the grand scheme of things – might be a good thing.  Maybe then she’d finally…