“Yeah?”
“I’m glad they’re okay.”
She nodded.
“And that they’re girls.”
She was, too. Boys would have been just as great, just as special. But Tucker was Tucker. For now, he was her boy. And she had two little girls coming who’d know his name from the very beginning. They’d grow up learning to love the big brother they’d never met.
They’d know their father, too.
From a distance.
With girls on the way, there was no way she could even think about more than friendship with Braden. If he thought handling Mallory’s emotions was too much, she could just imagine what he’d be like with pubescent twin girls running around.
His frustration with emotional outbursts was one thing she’d protect her girls against. They were never going to be ashamed of who and what they were. Not as long as she was alive and in control.
And if she taught them right, they’d be fine even after she was gone.
Her lips were still tingling, her tongue still tasting Braden, long after she’d left his office. And that was something she’d have to get control over, too.
Immediately.
Praying it was just pregnancy hormones amping up her sex drive, she went to the daycare and put her mind to tasks that mattered.
* * *
Braden couldn’t get her kiss off his mouth. He couldn’t get the feel of her body out of his mind. He couldn’t get rid of his hard-on long enough to think straight.
And he couldn’t get enough of the salty drink to restore his electrolytes and get himself back on an even keel.
So he went to work. It’s what he knew. What he did.
He put Mallory, her babies, their health and especially her kiss out of his mind and focused on making money. Lots of it.
For another hour he sat in his office and made calls, setting up more appointments for the next day. The morning in San Diego, the afternoon in L.A.
He had dinner at a pub with William, discussed accounts, members of his staff and the raise he’d offered the younger man.
He was putting William in charge of the San Diego office in his absence. The announcement would be made at the next staff meeting, but he didn’t expect anyone to be surprised. The man might sit out front—his choice—but he was brilliant when it came to real estate.
Over a second beer, he asked William if he’d be willing to spend time in L.A., as well. William said he’d spend it in Alaska if it meant making money at a company that still put integrity and people at the top of the list.
And then dinner was over. William had a date waiting for him at the bar, a gentleman who’d been at the last holiday party. A boat builder, Braden thought, if he was remembering correctly.
It was a little after eight and he had nowhere to be. Nowhere to go but home. He could stay and drink more, but then he’d have to call a cab and wake up in the morning with the hassle of needing to get back to his car.
Paying the tab, he left, pulled off his tie as he walked to his SUV. He thought a drive down by the pier might clear his head.
He drove through the Gaslamp District and Balboa Park. He’d been in San Diego so long, he’d forgotten how the city had first drawn him.
When he passed by an entrance to the zoo, he thought about Mallory and her daughters. In his mind he saw the three of them laughing as she held their little hands and taught them something important about the animals.
Monkeys, he thought.
Mallory liked the monkeys best.
He ended up at her house. Maybe he’d known all along that was where he was headed. Maybe he’d just been giving himself time to change his mind. To come to his senses.