“Hack will be taught a lesson without a criminal record and the club won’t suffer further scandal,” she guessed.
“That’s it. He’s seventeen and would have probably been charged as an adult. This way he’ll get the chance to clean up his act without the stigma of having been in trouble with the law.” When they stopped at the day care center’s door, he took her into his arms. “Thank you for catching him for us.”
“I really didn’t do anything but eavesdrop.” She smiled. “But now that the mystery is solved, I’m glad I won’t have to worry about coming in to work one morning and finding the place destroyed again.”
He gave her a long, deep kiss. “Now that I have that meeting, I won’t be able to see you until sometime tomorrow.”
“Are you planning on attending the children’s Christmas program tomorrow afternoon?” she asked, feeling the familiar flutter of desire begin deep in the pit of her belly.
“Of course.” His deep chuckle caused the fluttering inside of her to go berserk. “I wouldn’t think of missing the pony princess’s singing debut.”
Kiley’s chest swelled with emotion. “She’s going to be thrilled to see you there.”
“I think Gil said the program is in the main ballroom?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He nodded and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll call you this evening and let you know the outcome of the board’s vote.”
As she watched Josh walk away, Kiley caught her lower lip between her teeth to keep it from trembling. Any doubts she had about him accepting Emmie as his daughter had just been erased. Very few men would make sure they attended a toddler’s Christmas program if they didn’t care a great deal for the child. And once he learned he was Emmie’s father, Kiley believed he would be the loving daddy that her daughter had always deserved.
But where did she fit into the equation?
Kiley knew that he liked kissing her and there was no doubt he desired her. But could he ever love her?
Her heart stalled and it suddenly became difficult to draw her next breath. She had known the night they made love that she was in danger of doing it, but had she actually fallen for him?
Knowing in her heart that was exactly what had happened, she slowly opened the door to the day care center. She wasn’t comfortable with it and it certainly added another wrinkle to an already complicated situation. But there was no denying it, either.
Whether she liked it or not, she had fallen head over heels in love with Josh Gordon.
Nine
The next afternoon, Josh stopped his SUV at the TCC clubhouse entrance, got out and tossed the keys to one of the valets. He had just enough time to find himself a seat in the Grand Ballroom before the day care center’s Christmas program started.
If anyone had told him a few weeks ago that he would be rushing to attend something put on by a bunch of little kids, he would have questioned their sanity. But now? He’d walk through hell if he had to in order to keep from disappointing one cute little girl and her beautiful mother.
He frowned as a woman standing by the door to the ballroom handed him a program with a brightly colored holiday design. When had Kiley and Emmie become so important to him? And how had it happened so quickly?
His mouth went as dry as a wad of cotton as he entered the ballroom and found himself a seat. Surely he hadn’t fallen in love with Kiley. He knew he liked her a lot and the chemistry between them was nothing short of amazing. But love?
Giving himself a mental shake, he almost laughed out loud at his own foolishness. He had to be losing it. There wasn’t any question that he was in lust with the woman. But that didn’t mean he was in love with her.
And he could even understand his feelings for Emmie. She was a cute, friendly little girl and it would take a heartless bastard not to find her completely adorable.
He sat down next to an older couple close to the front of the portable stage that had been set up next to the Christmas tree. Seeing the decorated tree, he couldn’t help but think about dancing with Kiley the night of the ball. That one dance had been all it took for them to decide to leave the gala and go back to his place for the most incredible night he’d spent in the past three years.
“We’re here to see our grandson,” the woman said, smiling. “And you?”
Before he could tell the beaming grandmother he was a friend of the day care center’s director and her little girl, Christmas music filled the room and the kids began to take their places on the stage. When he spotted Emmie in her red velvet dress, pigtails bobbing as she skipped along, he couldn’t stop grinning. She had to be the cutest kid ever.