A Clandestine Corporate Affair(19)

“It’s not for me,” Beth said, corking the bottle and putting it back in the fridge. Then she held the glass out for Ana. “It’s for you. You look like you need it.”

She did. She took the glass from Beth. “I take it you weren’t just in the neighborhood.”

“Let’s just say I had a hunch that a phone call wasn’t going to cut it. Too easy to ignore if you’re otherwise occupied. Besides, I’ve always preferred the direct approach.”

Ana took a swallow of wine then set the glass on the counter. “Good idea.”

“If I hadn’t shown up, you would have slept with him, wouldn’t you?”

She had been two seconds from dragging him to her bedroom. Or hell, they may have done it right there on the kitchen counter. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Her look must have said it all, because Beth folded her arms, cocked one hip and said, “Forget Max. You’re the one who needs supervised visits.”

“No, because it’s not going to happen again. We just decided that it would complicate things too much.”

“He says that now—”

“No, he means it. I think that was just his polite way of saying he’s not interested.”

Beth’s brow furrowed. “Then why put the moves on you?”

“He didn’t.”

Beth looked confused, then her eyes went wide. “You seduced him?”

“I tried.” Ana shrugged. “I guess that lean the other day wasn’t a lean after all.”

And the hug had been nothing more than a friendly gesture. He didn’t want her eighteen months ago, and he didn’t want her now.

“Oh, sweetie,” Beth said, pulling her into her arms for a hug. She was getting that a lot today.

“I’m so stupid.”

“No you’re not.” She held Ana at arm’s length. “He’s the stupid one for letting you go in the first place. He doesn’t deserve you.”

“Yet I still love him.” She wished she could turn her feelings off like a spigot, the way her father did. She wished that she were stronger. And she wished this wouldn’t hurt so much. “I’m pathetic.”

“You just want to be happy, and you want your son to have what you missed out on. A complete, cohesive family. There’s nothing pathetic about that.”

Max might never have a mommy and daddy who loved each other, but it was possible that he would at least have two parents who loved him. If that was the best she could do for her son, she could live with that.





Six





Nathan sat in his office Tuesday afternoon, browsing on his phone the photos Ana had emailed him of his visit Sunday. Though he had spent a couple hours with Max Thursday, and nearly the entire day at Ana’s on Sunday, it didn’t really hit home the bond that had begun to form between him and Max until he saw pictures of the two of them together. He hadn’t realized how alike they looked. Not just features, but expressions and mannerisms. And he hadn’t noticed the adoration in Max’s eyes when he gazed up at him. The kid was really taking to him, and Nathan couldn’t deny the tug of parental affection.

Ana, on the other hand, seemed as though she could take Nathan or leave him. He had hoped they might get a chance to talk about what had happened Thursday night, but she’d made herself pretty scarce. Other than snapping a few pictures, she’d spent most of her time in the spare bedroom with her scrapbooking paraphernalia, updating Max’s baby book. A few times when he did try to start a conversation she’d given him the brush-off. Apparently she’d had no trouble whatsoever forgetting that kiss.

He had known that hugging her was probably a bad idea, that he was tempting fate, but she had looked so confused and miserable that he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He knew the instant her body was pressed to his, and her arms wrapped around him, that he had to kiss her, but then she’d slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him first. If Beth hadn’t shown up, he didn’t doubt for a second that they would have wound up in bed together. And it would have been a huge mistake, because as he suspected at the time, Ana was only reacting to the highly emotional situation. When he gave her an out, she gladly took it.

Oh, well, easy come, easy go.

He wasn’t sure what kind of game she was playing with him. He just wished he could shut his feelings off so easily.

Nathan tried to get himself invited to stay for dinner Sunday, but Ana wasn’t biting. She said they had plans for the evening, although she didn’t say what they were. He had hoped they could have a quiet family dinner, he could tuck Max into bed again, then he and Ana could relax with a glass of wine and talk. He had forgotten until recently how much he enjoyed spending time with her. He left her condo at four-thirty wondering what was more disappointing: not being with Max, or not being with her.