“Want some wine?” Ryker asks.

“Sure.” I know it will ease my nerves.

While Ryker busies himself with my wine, an awkward silence fills the room. Kate stirs some pasta boiling and checks a red sauce in another pot. Zack stares at me and I stare at Ryker. I can faintly hear the kids upstairs.

“Am I the only one that finds this a little weird?” Zack finally asks.

Kate turns her head over her shoulder. “What’s weird?”

“That our boss, Gray Brannon, is standing in our kitchen. Having a secret affair with our buddy Ryker,” he tells his fiancée, then turns to look at me. “Because I have to say, I’m a little intimidated.”

I steal a glance at Ryker, who is struggling not to laugh.

“Well, I’m not intimidated,” Kate says as she turns toward us, wiping her hands on a towel. “Gray’s just a person like us. Right, Gray?”

“Right,” I agree confidently. “Just a person. Tonight just a friend.”

“And secret lover,” Ryker tacks on probably just to embarrass both Zack and me.

My cheeks do burn a little over that, but I tell Zack, “I swear I don’t bite, nor will I discuss business. I just want to hang out with some people who are willing to front for us so Ryker and I can feel a bit normal for a change.”

Zack’s eyes immediately soften. “I imagine it’s tough.”

“You have no idea,” I tell him as Ryker leans over and gives me a glass of wine. “But you don’t get to choose who you fall for.”

He smiles at me and laughs. “You know, Ryker told me that same exact thing that day we busted you two over at his house.”

“Well, let’s just forget all about the outside world and have a nice evening,” Kate says as she turns off the burners under the pasta and sauce. “Ryker…want to go get the kids?”

“Sure,” he says, and jerks his head over his shoulders toward the staircase that separates the living room from the kitchen. “Come on, Gray. They can be a little wild to wrangle so I could use your help.”

My pulse starts hammering again, more nerves over talking to children. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I let an F-bomb slip? What if Ruby and Violet hate me?

I set my wineglass down, wishing I could just slam its contents back, and follow Ryker up the stairs.

When we get halfway up, I can hear the kids’ voices more clearly, which ratchets up my nervousness, but before I know it, Ryker has me pinned up against the wall. He presses his body into mine, caging me in with his palms resting on either side of my head. He kisses me quickly but doesn’t pull away. I can feel his mouth form into a smile against my own. With his lips still touching mine, he murmurs, “I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”

I want to just melt right into him. His words are low and sexy, the heat off his body calling out to me. And it does seem like forever. It’s been two weeks since Valentine’s Day and we’ve managed to see each other a grand total of three times, one of which was just Ryker popping into a yoga class with Max.

It’s been tough the last two weeks, either because of my work schedule, the hockey schedule, or Ryker’s obligations to the girls. All of our intimacy has come in the form of late-night phone calls where we’ll talk forever, sometimes about dirty stuff, but most often it’s just our own deep interest in the other person getting assuaged as we learn each other’s histories.

“The girls are going to sleep over here tonight,” he says with his lips still resting against mine. “Come home with me?”

I lean in, press my mouth to his harder, and he accepts a deep kiss from me. But I pull away just as quickly because I don’t want to take the chance of the girls seeing us like this.

“Okay,” I tell him on a breathy sigh.

He drops his hands, leans back from me, and gives me the most charming smile he’s ever bestowed upon me. It makes the dim staircase seem to sizzle with brightness and I feel my heart tugging toward him in a way that it never has. I want to freeze this moment…this look he’s giving me like he’s a man who just realized that all was right in his world. It’s a humbling feeling knowing that I think I just gave that to him, and makes me feel truly needed for the first time in my life outside of my father.

Ryker turns and heads up the stairs. I follow behind, repeating silently to myself, Do not cuss, do not cuss, do not cuss.

At the top of the stairs, we turn left and head down to what appears to be a bonus room over the garage…at least from what I can remember of the layout of the house from where I parked. Inside, Violet and Ruby are sitting at a little table that appears to be where Ben does art projects. They’re pretending to have a tea party, but because this is Ben’s playroom and not the girls’, they don’t have the necessary implements. Instead, they’re holding imaginary cups in their hands as they talk. Ben is sitting in the corner, playing with Legos.

“You kids about ready for some spaghetti?” Ryker says, and they all three turn their heads toward us. Ben jumps up and yells, “Yay! Pah-sketti…my favorite.”

He jets by both of us and I can hear the echo of his feet as he tramples down the stairs.

Ruby jumps up from the table, surprisingly nimble despite the big splint still on her arm. She runs over to me and my heart gives a tiny knock inside my chest when I see she’s carrying the little teddy bear I had given her. “I brought my teddy bear that you gave me. See?”