It Happened One Night

“I know that,” he said, nodding. “But the point I’m trying to make is this—when I take a woman out for the evening, I want her to relax and enjoy herself. I don’t want her having to worry about how she’s going to pay for the dress she’s wearing.”

Before she could argue with him further, Josh lowered his mouth to hers. Unyielding at first, he moved his lips over hers until she melted against him. Then, using his tongue, he sought entry to lightly stroke and tease her inner recesses. No other woman had ever tasted sweeter and he knew without question that if he wasn’t already, he could quickly become addicted to kissing her.

Bringing his hand up under the hem of her sweatshirt, he released the front clasp of her bra to cup her breast with his palm. Caressing the soft, full mound, he grazed the beaded tip with the pad of his thumb, causing a tiny moan to escape her parted lips. His body responded instantly and he didn’t think twice about pressing himself to her. He wanted her to feel what she did to him, how she made him want her.

As he eased away from the kiss, he stared down into her passion-glazed brown eyes. “I’m still angry with you,” she said stubbornly.

“I know, honey.” Nodding, he removed his hand from her shirt. “But please believe me when I tell you it was never my intention to upset you. All I wanted to do was make it easier on you.” He kissed her until they both gasped for breath. “Now, I’m going to go back home because if I don’t, I’m going to take you into the bedroom and spend the rest of the night making love to you.”

She worried her lower lip for a moment before she spoke. “Josh, we need to talk.”

“Is it something that can wait?” he asked, knowing that if he didn’t put distance between them, and damned quick, he wouldn’t have the strength to leave.

“I suppose so,” she said, nodding.

“Good.” He pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss, then, setting her away from him, walked to the door. “Because right now, I have to get back to my place. I have an ice-cold shower waiting on me and a sleepless night ahead.” He laughed in an attempt to release some of the tension gripping him. “I think it’s about time for me to get started on it.”

As Kiley watched Josh close the door behind him, she caught her lower lip between her teeth. She had started to tell him that Emmie was his daughter. But when he stopped her, she had readily gone along with putting off the inevitable for just a bit longer. She couldn’t decide if she was being a coward for not insisting that he listen to her, or just being cautious.

For one thing, she wasn’t quite sure how to start the conversation, nor was she looking forward to his reaction to the news. There was no doubt he would be shocked. But there was also the possibility that he would think she was trying to use her daughter to sway his recommendation to the funding committee. He knew how important her job was to her and how much it meant to be able to be with Emmie while she still made a living to support them.

Unfortunately, time was not on her side. The more he was around Emmie the greater the chance he would realize she not only looked like him, the timeline for her birth supported that he had fathered her.

Kiley took a deep breath as she reached for the garment bag with her new evening gown and walked down the hall to hang it in her closet. The funding committee would be meeting next week and unless something happened to further complicate the matter or the perfect opportunity presented itself, she might do well to wait until the day care center’s fate had been decided.

Then she had every intention of making him listen to her whether he wanted to hear what she had to say or not.

* * *

On Saturday evening when Kiley opened the door, her breath caught. Josh looked utterly devastating in his tailored black tuxedo. But it was the look of appreciation in his blue eyes that caused her heart to skip several beats.

“You look so beautiful, Kiley.” He stepped just inside the door to take her in his arms and give her a soft, lingering kiss. “I’ll be the envy of every man at the ball.”

“I was just thinking something very similar about you and the women attending the ball,” she said, smiling.

They hadn’t seen each other since their argument over the evening gown. He had been busy working up bids for construction jobs, as well as overseeing several Gordon Construction job sites. But that wasn’t to say that they hadn’t had contact. He’d had flowers delivered to her at the day care center the day before, and he’d called her last night to ask about her day and see that she and Emmie were doing all right.