Chapter Fourteen
Clara grinned at her reflection.
She couldn’t shake the silly smile as she brushed the bird’s nest that was her hair. A dreamy sigh escaped her as she thought about the night before. Walker had been as ravenous as she was. She’d lost track of the times they’d reached for each other, reveling in their abilities to explore each other in a way they never had before.
Her responsibilities were the last thing on her mind this morning. All she wanted to do was stay in bed. But Hunter had woken up early, and Walker had gone to see to his son, though not before dropping a kiss on her lips and telling her to go back to sleep before he left.
She’d taken extra care with her clothes and idled upstairs longer than normal. Part of her wanted to go see him, but another part worried that the fairytale would be over when she did. If this had been a one-time deal, she wasn’t sure she could slip back into the friendzone so easily if that’s what he wanted.
If Walker thought he was capable of giving a relationship a try, she’d say yes without any hesitation. But if he just wanted them to be friends who occasionally slept together…
The smile faded from her lips. Last night had made it very clear to her she wanted more from him. She wasn’t content to be just one more name on his headboard as he drifted through his life. No, she wanted to be the last name. Ever.
“Hell,” she whispered. This was the worst possible time to be starting a new relationship. Children put seasoned marriages around the ringer, and she thought they’d be able to weather this storm?
Then again, most marriages didn’t have access to deep bank accounts and an on-call nanny.
“You won’t know anything if you stay up here,” she told herself.
Grabbing her purse, she gave her reflection one last look and headed downstairs.
Walker and Hunter were already in the kitchen. The baby was strapped into his high chair while Walker attempted to make him formula.
“Doing okay?” she asked over his shoulder.
“Starting to get it,” he replied, reaching out to her. Clara smiled at his morning kiss of greeting, though she couldn’t help glancing at Hunter when her lover drew back.
“Relax,” he whispered in her ear. “He’s just a baby. He has no idea the scandalous things I want to do with you.”
“Walker,” she hissed, whacking his arm even as she tried to deny the pleasure rushing through her.
“There’s coffee waiting for you on the island,” he said, turning his attention back to the formula.
“My hero,” she said, sliding into the waiting chair. Sipping her drink, she waited for him to finish.
Things don’t feel awkward, she thought. But they also don’t feel different.
Were they going to fall back into old patterns of just being friends? Her fingers tightened on the cup. Losing Walker would be the worst outcome for them, but bottling up her feelings again to just be his buddy might be even more painful.
He tested the formula on his wrist and walked over to Hunter. She watched silently as he hoisted the baby into his arms and tried to start feeding him.
“Not like that,” she said. Slipping from her chair, she helped adjust Hunter’s position so the baby could latch on to the bottle more easily.
“What would I do without you?” he asked, staring down at his son.
Clara smiled as she watched them. “You’ll never have to find out.”
For better or worse, there was no leaving him. If they had to go back to being only friends, then they’d find a way to make it work.
I’ll always have the memory of our one perfect night. It’s better than nothing.
Wasn’t it?
“I should get going,” she said, setting the coffee down.
“Now?” he asked, glancing at the stove clock. “Where do you have to be on a Saturday morning?”
“I thought I’d head back to my place to pick up some more clothes. There’re a few things I’m missing and a few errands I need to run. I’ll probably be gone most of the day.”
“Hey,” he said, stepping into her path when she tried to leave the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she said, looking anywhere but at him.
“Really? Then you’re not wondering where we stand? Because I sure as hell am.”
Her gaze flew to his. “You are?”
“I don’t make a habit with sleeping with my best friends. This is new territory for me too.”
She bit her lower lip. “What do you think?”
His gaze softened. “I think I’d like to have this conversation when I don’t have a hungry baby in my arms. Then I’d brush back your hair and assure you I’d love nothing more than to repeat last night.”
She drifted closer. “I would, too.”
His smile widened. “Then we’re on the same page.”
“No promises, no strings.”
“And no stopping.” He brushed a kiss over her lips. “Is that okay with you?”
She reached up to cup his jaw. “I won’t lie and say I’m not a little nervous about this no commitment thing, but I do get it. A lot is changing right now. Hunter needs to be the priority for both of us.”
She brushed the downy baby hair off Hunter’s forehead before dropping a kiss on his head.
“I’m sorry I can’t—”
“Hush,” she said. “I get it, Walker. Let’s just take this one day at a time.”
“Thank you,” he said, leaning down to join their mouths. The kiss was light and sweet, but it still made her body shiver in remembrance of just how good things could be when they touched.
“Go get your stuff,” he murmured against her lips. “And come home soon. I have so many plans for our weekend.”
She grinned at the suggestion. “All of them lascivious I’m sure. Okay, I’ll try to be fast.”
With a last brush against Hunter’s cheek, she grabbed her bag and headed from the condo.
All the while smiling while she went.
…
“You did it, didn’t you?”
Clara sighed. “Turns out you were right. And don’t worry, I called Todd and let him down easy. It’s not his fault he got involved in all this.”
“Don’t worry about Todd,” Diane said from the phone. “He’s a big boy and it was just one date. I’m more interested in the fact that you and your other half sealed the deal after all these years.”
Clara tugged a strand of hair behind her ear as she wandered the length of her apartment. Had it always been so small? “I can barely believe it myself.”
“Walker’s really on board with this?”
She shrugged. “Seems to be. We’re not making any plans or promises for the moment, but yeah, we’re as close as we’ve ever been to a couple. I’ve never had him pursue me that way before. I wasn’t just his friend when he looked at me. It was more like…”
“He was looking at a woman he wanted,” Diane interjected.
“Exactly. I’ve never been that to him.”
“Or maybe you have and he just didn’t know how to tell you.”
Clara smiled, wrapping her arms around herself. “Maybe.”
“Listen to you,” Diane said. “Must have been a hell of a night.”
“It was,” she said. “I’ve never had a night like that with anyone.”
“Love makes sex different.”
She sighed. “I’ve loved him for years but not romantically. I don’t really know how to move forward with all this. How to feel about it.”
“Honey, you’ve been head over heels for that man for as long as I’ve known you. All this best friend this and companion that. Sometimes I just wanted to shake you and say, ‘Wake up. He’s right in front of your eyes. Figure it out.’”
Clara twisted her fingers together. “Well, looks like we did.”
“Finally. I know you’re trying to keep things on the more casual side, but this is major.”
A real smile curved her lips. “I know. Walker might be…”
“Your last relationship.”
Clara sighed. “Think you can rephrase that in a way that doesn’t make it sound like I’m dying?”
“I just meant this could be the big one. You might be at the start of the rest of your life.”
“A life with Walker.” Her smile grew even bigger. “And Hunter.”
Diane laughed. “Leave it to you to find an already-built family.”
“Everything I’ve ever wanted,” she agreed. She wouldn’t be on the outside anymore. Her boys would open their arms and welcome her home. Excitement bubbled inside her.
“There’s still a lot to sort out,” she hedged. “I don’t want to pin too many of my hopes on this. You know Walker. We might be back to square one in a week.”
“Uh-huh. I get to pick out my own bridesmaid dress. Just saying.”
Clara rolled her eyes. “That’s jumping the gun. Hell, I don’t even know what the game plan here is. I’ve got another couple of weeks with him, but who knows what will happen after. He might not even want more.”
“Or he might not want you to leave.”
She shook her head. “I’ll have to play it by ear. Thanks for letting me take all this time off. I’ll put it to good use.”
“Having hot sex with your hunky billionaire.”
“Taking care of an infant,” Clara corrected.
“Yes, Hunter is the priority.” Then Diane added, “That and the hot sex.”
“I feel like there’s an HR violation happening here.”
“We’re not in the office. It doesn’t count. Besides, you gotta give me something. You’re living every woman’s fantasy here. Prince Charming is sweeping you off your feet. Tell me a tidbit to make me less envious. He’s packing a twinkie in his shorts, isn’t he?”
“Afraid not.”
Diane sighed with a dramatic flourish. “Life is unfair.”
“There’s still a mystery baby mama out there,” Clara pointed out. “And, I’m about as far from a society wife as it’s possible to get.”
“Not an issue. Walker doesn’t seem to realize he’s part of a society.”
“He’s not that bad.”
“To you. To the rest of us he’s annoyingly down to earth. Seriously, couldn’t he sponsor a charity ball every now and then to give our entertainment writers a story to cover?”
“I’ll pitch it to him in the future.”
“That’s right,” Diane said. “You’re the inside girl now.”
“I was always the inside girl.”
“Trust me, there are cards a girlfriend can play that a friend simply can’t. Get us invites to his next tech open house.”
“I do that now.”
“Hmm. Okay, well I’ll think of something.”
She shook her head. “I feel I should point out that I’m not dating him for his connections.”
“No, because you’re also annoyingly honest. The two of you are perfect for each other.”
Yes, we are.
Clara remembered when she’d first seen him. Walker thought they’d met at the party when she’d dumped her drink on him, but the truth was, she’d seen him once before that. It’d been in the common room and he’d walked in, arms filled with tech manuals. The pencil she’d been chewing on had dropped from her mouth as her body froze at the sight of him. She’d never seen a more beautiful man. Never reacted to anyone with the intensity of the feeling he stirred within her.
She’d been debating going over to talk to him when her roommate had skipped along behind him. Clara had been unable to do anything while the other woman came up at his side and kissed his cheek. The smile he’d gifted his partner with had never left her, even after all these years.
And now that smile was all hers.
“Okay, lock in your billionaire and then start looking for one to introduce me to,” Diane said, breaking into her thoughts. “I offered up Todd, after all. Fair is fair.”
She laughed at the suggestion. “I’ll keep my eyes open.”
“Bonus points if he’s a fan of spontaneous getaways to Spain. I’ve got a lot of vacation days stashed up and a passport that needs some stamps.”
“I’d like to point out that you could take yourself.”
“Yes, but it’s not nearly as fun to go skinny-dipping in the Mediterranean alone.”
“With an offer like that, how could anyone refuse you?”
“Beats me and yet I have a bad case of perpetually-single-itis.”
“Ah yes, I had a brush with that myself.”
“Until you found the magic cure. You should go home, take two of him before bed, and definitely call me in the morning.”
“Shockingly, not the worst advice you’ve ever given me.”
“I’m a gem. Now really, go enjoy your weekend. Your assignment is in and I’ve got the rest covered. Enjoy your time off with your new family.”
“They’re not mine yet.”
Diane snorted. “That man’s been yours since you were too young to figure out what to do with him properly. Just relax and enjoy the honeymoon period.”
“Oh, I intend to. Cross my heart.”
Because now that nothing stood in her way, she had years of illicit dreams to make up for.