He woke up with his arms still around her.

Damn, she smelled so good. The scent of her shampoo still lingered, and he gently brushed a stray lock of her auburn hair out of her face. He’d fantasized about taking the pins out, and had gotten to do just that. And more.

Simon groaned; memories of what they’d done earlier made him hard again. Usually after he was with a woman, his desire to be with her again vanished. Most women didn’t hold his attention for very long. But Heather was different. He wanted her again. In every way possible.

She stirred beside him and her eyes fluttered open. She sat up suddenly. “How long have we been asleep?”

With a shrug of his shoulder he said, “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, though. Work’s over for today and we can stay right here.” He grinned. “You did say we were off the clock.”

“No, we can’t.” She reached for her bag on the floor and retrieved her cell phone to look at it. “Oh, shit. It’s almost eight o’clock. We slept for a couple hours. Shit!”

“If you’re worried about your car, I can drive you home.” He leaned on his elbow. She looked so friggin’ sexy naked and half bent over the bed.

They’d come to the conference at the Highcastle Hotel in his car, but he didn’t mind driving her back to Dover, Inc. for her car. Hell, he didn’t mind driving her directly home tonight if she wanted. He could always send a car for her tomorrow to get her to work. Money wasn’t an issue. He might was well spend some of it on her. There was nothing he couldn’t afford. Especially if it made Heather more comfortable. And took the look of worry of her face right now.

Swearing under her breath Heather jumped out of bed, the sheet falling away from her, exposing her nakedness. Her body was so perfect. Absolutely mouthwatering. She was slender, fragile, with long legs and breasts that fit perfectly in his hand. Sometime before they had slept she had taken off her high heels, but she was still wearing her stockings. The sight of her was already driving him crazy.

He knew what they had done was beyond wrong, but what was done was done. Simon wanted her again and if the only thing keeping them apart tonight was Heather finding a way home, he’d sort that out.

“It’s not the car.” She rushed around the room, snatching up her clothes and quickly putting them back on. “I’m sorry, Simon, but this was a mistake. My job means more than this.”

“More than what?” he asked.

“More than what we just did,” she said, her voice suddenly cold.

“And what did we just do?” he demanded.

“We had our fun,” she replied. “Now it’s over.”

He sat up and narrowed his eyes. “So, you regret it. I thought you said you were sure this is what you wanted.”

“It was,” she said. “But it’s done now. We have to go back to our lives.”

“You mean we have to pretend this never happened,” he muttered. So much for round two.

“Yes,” she said. “It’s for the best.”

“You’ve gotten very good at pretending,” he said, unable to hide the accusation in his tone. “At hiding. At keeping secrets and keeping parts of yourself closed off.”

“You’re my boss,” she hissed. “You aren’t entitled to seeing that side of me.”

“You’re right. I’m not.” Simon sighed. “I know I’m your boss, but I was also your friend. And as your friend, I want you to know that you can trust me. You can open up to me.” He wasn’t the kind of man who got close to people. But Heather was at the very least his friend. The years between them wouldn’t change that. “I won’t tell anyone what happened if that’s what you’re worried about.” He tilted his head as he watched her. He was the billionaire boss—shouldn’t he technically be the one worried that she might tell others?

She grabbed her bag from off the floor. “I’m not doing this. I’m not having this conversation right now.”

Frustrated, he reached his hand out to her, determined to get her to stay. “Look, I know today has been crazy. Let’s just talk.”

“Oh, so now you want to talk?” She ran her hand through her disheveled hair, suddenly flustered.

He frowned, and pulled his hand back from her. “What does that mean?”

“It means you don’t get to be out of my life for ten years and then come charging back in like you know me.” Heather grabbed hair pins from off the floor and began putting her hair up in a bun.

“You won’t give me a chance to know you,” he said bitterly. “You’ve been pretending to be someone else ever since your interview.”

“We’re not doing this now. I need to get out of here,” she snapped.

“What’s the rush? I’ve already offered to drive you back to the office.”

“I have to get my son from his grandparents’ house,” she said coldly, grabbing her blouse off the floor in a frustrated swipe. “That’s the rush.”

Her son.

That was what was agitating her.

“Were you supposed to pick him up or something?” he asked.

She laughed humorlessly as she slipped her bra on. “Yes. It’s kind of a thing that parents do. Pick their kids up. After school my mom or dad picks him up, and he stays with my parents until I pick him up to take him home. He doesn’t like being at our house unless I’m there with him. It reminds him too much that his father and I aren’t together anymore if one of us isn’t there with him. And I haven’t done that today. Because I’ve been here for hours with you.”

His chest tightened. Heather was already regretting what they had done. There was no chance of her staying in his room tonight. No chance of them having a real conversation. Not if she was worried about something as important as her son. “Just call your parents.”

“Oh, damn it!” She reached into her bag again and yanked out her cell phone to check it. “Finn hasn’t called. Neither have my parents. They call when something like this happens. If I’m even a minute late they get in touch with me. Why haven’t they called?” She started dialing a number and held the cell phone to her ear. After a few moments she cursed under her breath again and shoved the phone back into her bag. “No answer. This isn’t like them. What if something has happened?”

Simon held his hands up. “Just take a deep breath, Heather. We’ll fix this. I’ll go...put my clothes on and I can drive you to your parents. We’ll pick your son up, okay? Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry?” She shook her head. “You clearly don’t have children, Simon. That phrase doesn’t exist once you do.”

He rushed to get dressed while Heather kept calling her parents, with no answer. She managed to get a few buttons of her blouse connected and pulled a cardigan out of her bag, buttoning that up. She tried again and swore under her breath.

With his clothes back on, he walked over to her and pulled her close. “I won’t leave you until you get to your son.”

“Thank you.” Her body stiffened at his touch, but she put her head on his shoulder. “I hope everything is okay. Because I’ll never forgive myself if something has happened to him.”

~~*~~

SIMON THROUGH THE STREETS but it still wasn’t fast enough for her.

Night had fallen, and that only set her more on edge. Usually as soon as work was over she headed down to her parents’ house to pick up Finn. The routine was new since her divorce was recent, and she’d only just started working at Dover, Inc., but Finn needed consistency. Especially now. The divorce had been hard on her son, and he needed to know that she would always be there for him.

“Anything?” Simon asked as she checked her phone for the hundredth time.

She shook her head and shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat beside him. Nothing. Her heart squeezed painfully. What if something had happened to Finnley? Or her parents?

They were always in touch with each other. She was so close to her family that she couldn’t remember a day going by when she didn’t send a text to her parents or get a call from them. That was one thing the divorce hadn’t taken from her. Her relationship with her parents. Neither of her parents had liked Gary, but they never held her mistake against her. Heather couldn’t stand to think about something bad happening to them.

“Is there anyone else you can try calling?” Simon asked.

“No. It’s too late to get in touch with Finn’s school. Ordinarily I’d call my ex-husband, but he won’t be coming back into town until tomorrow,” she replied. “I don’t want to ruin what’s left of his vacation. It’s best if I figure out what’s going on before I call him and freak him out.”

After the hell she had given Gary over constantly missing chances to spend time with their son, she had gone and screwed up royally. Not that she could tell Simon that.

The thought of Gary made her groan inwardly. She had lied to Simon and told him that Gary was her brother. Shit, she couldn’t confront how deep her lies had gone tonight. If Simon ended up seeing her family, there might be some very uncomfortable conversations and revelations. Like why she had taken so long to pick up Finnley.

“This is all my fault,” she continued, staring out the passenger window as the city rolled by.

“No, it’s not,” Simon said firmly. “These things happen. Mistakes happen.”

The certainty in his tone irritated her. More than irritated her. “I forgot my son,” she said harshly. “I forgot him because I was with you.”

“You’re allowed to take time for yourself, Heather,” he murmured. His voice was so calm she wanted to start yelling.

Instead, she took a deep breath before she said something they’d both end up regretting. “I have never forgotten Finnley. Ever. For almost three hours I forgot about my son while I was doing things. With you.” Her face heated and she squirmed in her seat. “Things we should never have done.”

“So, you do regret it?”

“No. That’s the problem,” she said. “I don’t regret being with you. And if I had any sense at all I would.” The fact that she had found more pleasure with Simon than she had with any other man terrified her. Made her feel completely out of control.

And control was the one thing she needed now. Her marriage to Gary had brought so much heartache. The only way to protect it now was to focus on work and her son. Entertaining the idea of a relationship with Simon was out of the question. She had to lock up her heart. Lock it up so tight that no man ever got close to it again. Her bruised and battered heart couldn’t survive another heartbreak.

When they got to her parents’ house, the place was dark. Their car wasn’t in the driveway, either. Her heart sank at the sight of the dark house. She had a key, so she opened the front door and turned on some lights.

“I can wait here with you.”

Simon’s voice made her whirl around in the passageway near the house’s entrance. She winced. Heather had been so preoccupied with getting inside the house to find her son that she had just left Simon in the car.

“Do you think it’s wise to just wait here?” she asked. “What if something has happened to them and they’re out there in trouble?”

“Well, if neither of your parents is home, I suspect they’re somewhere together,” he replied. “Which probably means they aren’t in too much danger.”

“And what about Finnley?” She bit her lip, unable to hold her anxiety inside.

He approached her, took her hand, and squeezed it gently. “Whatever is going on, I won’t leave you until he’s safe with you, okay?”

“Okay,” she said softly. Simon was being so strong and reassuring. So kind and attentive. Guilt over her argument with him washed over her, but she pushed the guilt aside. All that mattered was finding her son.

“Do you have any way to get in touch with his teacher or something?” Simon asked. “The school is closed, but maybe his teacher might have some more information.”

She pulled her hand away to open her bag and grab her cell phone. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You were stressed,” he replied. “Sometimes that makes it harder to think clearly. But that’s what I’m here for. To help you find him.”

With shaking hands she searched through her contacts and called her son’s teacher. When Finn’s teacher answered, it was impossible to keep the panic out of her voice as she pressed her for information. After his teacher informed her about Finn’s injury she quickly hung up and turned to Simon.

He frowned. “What is it?”

“Finn’s teacher says he fell off the slide and my parents picked him up,” she said.

“Is he okay?”

She felt the tears prick the back of her eyes. “I don’t know. His teacher sounded calm, but I can’t stand thinking that he might have hurt himself and I wasn’t there for him.”

The sound of a car engine outside grabbed her attention, and before she could think she ran out of the house. Her parents’ beat-up old station wagon had just pulled up, and she watched as her father helped Finn limp towards her.

“Mommy!”

“Finn!” At the sight of her son, Heather ran towards Finnley and wrapped her arms around him. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine, Mommy,” Finn said.

She pulled back to get a good look at him. There was a bewildered expression on her son’s round face.

“Your teacher said you hurt yourself falling off the slide,” she said as she noticed the bandages around his lower leg.

“He sprained his ankle a tiny bit, that’s all,” her father said. “When we picked him up he was crying and howling up a storm.”

Her mother stepped out of the car. “But he was so brave when the doctor had a look at him.”

“So, he’s okay?” Heather demanded.

“I’m fine, Mommy.” Her son flashed her a smile. “The doctor says I get to miss P.E. for the next week! I got a note and everything.”

She almost laughed. He was still missing some of his front teeth, and a smile from Finnley was rare these days. Heather patted his head gently. “That’s nice. I’m glad to see that you’re okay, pumpkin. Why don’t you go inside with Grandpa?”

Finn nodded, and her father guided him up the driveway and inside the house. Inside the house. She almost groaned. Simon was still inside. Which meant he’d end up talking to her father. And her son would meet him.

Her professional life and her personal life were about to get tangled up in a way she hadn’t foreseen.

Leaving her mother staring after her, Heather rushed back into the house and found Simon shaking her father’s hand.

“I knew I recognized you!” Her father turned to her. “Hey, Heather, it’s your old buddy, Simon.”

She forced herself to keep from rolling her eyes. “I know, Dad. He’s my boss now. I told you all of this last week.”

Her father scratched his graying beard thoughtfully. “Simon Diesel in the flesh. You know, nobody at work ever believes me when I tell them you grew up next door. Granted, we’ve moved now, but we lived at the old place for years. And still, nobody believes me. Ah, well.”

“Dad, could you please take Finn upstairs?” Heather bit back an exasperated sigh. If she hoped to avoid awkwardly introducing Simon to her son, she had to keep the drama to a minimum.

“Sure thing, hon.” Her father grinned at Simon. “Nice to see you again after all these years, Simon. One of these days we ought to talk. Catch up on old times.”

“That would be my pleasure, sir,” Simon said stiffly.

As her father took Finn upstairs and out of sight, her mother wandered in.

“Simon! I knew I recognized your voice.” Her mother’s face lit up. “Goodness, you’re still as handsome as ever.”

Simon gave a faint smile.

“Mother.”

Her mother frowned. “What is it, sweetie?”

“Why didn’t you guys call me when you found out that Finn got hurt?” Heather asked, trying to steer her mother’s attention away from Simon. All it would take to reveal her scandalous behavior with her boss were a few awkward questions Heather couldn’t answer.

“Well, you explained how important today was,” her mother replied. “We assumed that your conference would run late, and since it was so important we didn’t want to call you and worry you. Not to mention, we couldn’t have our cell phones on in the doctor’s office. Your father and I had everything under control. Finn is totally fine, as you can see. It’s just a sprain.”

Heather frowned, knowing all too well that her parents had probably decided not to call because they didn’t think she could handle it. After the divorce, they had taken to treating her like she was made of glass. Keeping bad news from her. Bending over backwards to help all the time. Heather appreciated their efforts, but it was so stifling sometimes.

Thankfully, Finn’s injury was just a sprain. Heather’s thoughts were still racing, but her anxiety was subsiding somewhat. At least Finn wasn’t seriously hurt and her parents were okay.

“How about a cup of tea, Simon?” her mother asked.

“That sounds great, Mrs. Monroe,” he said. “Thank you.”

Her mother slipped off towards the kitchen, leaving them alone together.

“You’re not staying for tea,” Heather said over her shoulder as she marched out of the house.

He walked behind her, the length of his strides so long he was already walking ahead of her by the time she got to his sleek electric car.

“Why not?” he asked.

“You hate social interactions,” she reminded him.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. There was something so oddly endearing about him outside of work, which only made her even more annoyed. “Not if they include you.”

“Stop with the flattery,” she snapped. “I appreciate you helping me, but it’s time for you to leave.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” He paused. “Since you left your car at the office, how about I pick you up tomorrow morning?”

“Why?”

“We can talk. About what we did,” he replied. “Figure out where we stand.”

“With my son in the car?” she asked. “If you’re going to be picking me up tomorrow, you’ll also have to pick up Finn. And I don’t think we need to be having that kind of conversation around my son.”

“I don’t mind picking both of you up—”

“That’s enough,” she said, coldly cutting him off. This had to stop now. He was going to break her heart all over again. They both knew that. It would only end disastrously for her. She had Finn to think about. “We’ve had our fun. It’s time for things to get back to normal.”

“At least let me send you a driver,” he murmured. “If you don’t want to talk, let me at least help you since this situation is my fault anyway.”

“It’s not your fault.” She sighed heavily. “We both let the moment get the best of us. Now that moment has passed.”

“You don’t want me around your family, do you?”

She didn’t reply. What could she say? If she explained that she didn’t want to bring a romantic partner around her son, it would probably insult Simon. But after her divorce, her son needed stability.

Bringing a fleeting office romance home was only going to confuse her son, and that was the last thing they needed. Right now she had to focus on proving that she was a good mom, even if she was single. Especially since the divorce had been Gary’s idea. He had cast her aside to finally live the exciting life he had always wanted. The best way to move past the divorce was to show Gary and her family that she was doing just fine without her ex.

Simon straightened and his face became unreadable. “Fine. Have it your way,” he said. “I’ll be on my way home now. Thank your mother for the tea.” He got inside his car and turned on the ignition. “And Heather, don’t worry about what happened today. We can put it behind us. We can act like professionals and get past this minor mistake.” Without another glance at her Simon pulled out of the driveway and drove off, leaving her standing on the pavement.

Heather ignored the pain knifing through her heart. Simon had released her. They could go back to what they were and act like nothing had happened.

Now all she had to do was shake off her attraction to him once and for all. Easier said than done, but as long as she avoided being alone with her handsome boss everything would be fine.