My Only Wish

by Janelle Daniels

  “Not really wrong, but I’ve been called in to work today.”

  “To watch the kids? I thought they were out of town.” He didn’t look upset, which she was grateful for, just curious.

  “Yes. Their parents are lawyers and get called in for last minute meetings sometimes. Apparently this was important enough to fly in for.”

  “I see. When do you have to go?”

  “I need to be there in an hour.” She held up her hands before letting them fall back down. “I’m sorry about this. I got their call only a few minutes before you arrived. I’m sorry you wasted your time driving here.”

  “It’s no problem.” He shrugged her concern away, and she felt more at ease. A part of her had been worried about his reaction. Some men she had dated had hated it when something like this happened, and while they did their best to veil their reactions, she could tell they resented it. “I understand when work pops up like this. It’s actually quite common in my field.”

  “I can imagine.” Traditional working hours didn’t apply to PI work either. “I love the kids, but I’m disappointed we won’t be spending the day together.”

  “What had you planned?”

  “A day at the pier. I thought it would be fun to wander around and have a casual lunch at the beach.”

  “Sounds great. Is there a reason we can’t still go?”

  “Well, yes. I have to work.” She laughed, but looked at him in question. She had already told him that.

  “You said you needed to watch the kids. But from what I’ve seen of children, I think they’d enjoy the day out. Aren’t you allowed to take them with you?”

  “Yes, but… Are you saying that you want to spend the day with the kids and me?”

  “That was the general idea.” He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  She looked up into his eyes, startled by the sincerity she saw there. He really wanted to. “No. I’m just surprised. Not a lot of guys would want to take kids on a second date.”

  “I’m not most guys,” he said quietly, almost like he was imparting a secret.

  “I can see that.” But she looked at him skeptically. “Do you have any idea what you’re in for?”

  He smiled. “I have an idea. I was once a kid myself.”

  She laughed. “All right then. This should be interesting.” She brushed a soft kiss against his lips. “Thank you for this.” Regardless of how the day turned out, she had learned something important about his character. He cared. And he didn’t mind being inconvenienced. His patience and attitude spoke volumes about him. She couldn’t help feeling more drawn to him.

  “It’s my pleasure.” He smiled reassuringly, stepping away to take her hand. “Will it be a problem if we take my car?”

  “The Ferrari?” She heard the edge in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. She knew what kind of mess Jenna and Jason could create. Her own car had been the victim of one too many spills.

  “Anything the kids do can be fixed or cleaned,” he said reassuringly, but laughed at some memory. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to have work done.”

  “If you’re sure.” she agreed, but she was still nervous about it.

  “It will be fine.”

  Everything settled, he followed her directions to the Shaws’ house.

  She unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’ll be just a minute. Would you mind waiting out here?”

  “Not at all. Take your time.”

  Slipping on his sunglasses, Dylan watched her enter the mansion. The offer to spend the day with her and the kids had surprised him, but he didn’t regret it.

  This sort of situation usually wasn’t his style. Too messy. Too complicated.

  But the thought of not being with her today had sounded so unappealing that he didn’t mind having the kids along.

  When was the last time he had been around kids? He mulled over the answer as he opened a stick of gum. He honestly couldn’t remember.

  The women he tended to date either didn’t want children, or had them cloistered away like some dirty secret.

  What did that say about him?

  There’s nothing wrong with not wanting complications. But part of him wondered if he was missing out on something.

  Perhaps complications were sometimes all right, even exciting.

  All he knew now was that he looked forward to today more than he had anything else in some time. Seeing how she behaved, reacted around the kids, would tell him more about her than any background check could.

  Seeing two kids racing out the door, he couldn’t help but grin. While the girl’s sandy blond hair was neatly done in pigtails, the boy’s matching hair was in complete disarray, spiking out in different directions from his head as if it had been the victim of a tornado. But their clothes, more geared toward heavy playing than impressing people, let him know a lot about their home life.

  The Shaws may have money and influence, but it was obvious that they let their children be kids.

  Stepping out of the car, he was pleased to see the kids flash him a smile.

  “Abby said that we’re going to the pier today and that we get to ride in your car.” The boy glanced at the black Ferrari, eyes gleaming as he said the words.

  Tongue in cheek, Dylan knelt down in front of the motley pair. “That’s right. Do you like cars?”

  “Yeah!” The boy shouted as he fist-pumped the air, but Dylan wasn’t sure if that was an answer to his question, or the boy’s reaction to riding in the sports car.

  Turning to the girl, he gave her a friendly smile that she returned, showing off her missing front tooth. “What about you? Do you like cars too?”

  “Not as much as Jason does. But yours is pretty.”

  “Thank you,” he said with a straight face, but he had to work not to laugh. He didn’t think his car had ever been described as ‘pretty’ before. “What’s your name?”

  “Jenna. This is my brother, Jason.”

  Hearing his name, Jason’s head whipped to Dylan. “Can I sit in the driver’s seat?”

  “Sure.”

  “Jason.”

  Hearing the drawn out length of his name, the boy winced. “Yes, Abby?” He turned to his nanny with a bright smile.

  Abby closed the distance before asking, “Do you remember what I told you inside?”

  “That we aren’t to pester Mr. Thane,” Jenna chirped a reply for her brother.

  “Exactly.”

  “He wasn’t,” Dylan said, taking sympathy on him. “He’s excited about the car. And I can’t blame him. I usually feel the same way when I see it too.” The hero-worship grin that Jason sent him had Dylan reeling. It wasn’t often that someone looked up to him, and the level of admiration that was pouring out of the boy from one small thing astonished him.

  “So, I can sit in the driver’s seat then?”

  “We’ll save that for later, Jason.” Abby’s voice was firm, but gentle. “We need to get going if we’re going to be there before lunch.”

  Jenna gasped, taking Abby’s hand. “Are we going to the peanut place?” Her eyes lit with excitement.

  “The peanut place?” Dylan couldn’t help but ask when Abby laughed.

  “It’s the coolest place ever!” Jenna moved closer to him as Jason climbed into the back seat of the car. “There’s a huge barrel of peanuts at the door and you can take handfuls to your table. As much as you want. When you eat them, you just throw the shells on the floor!”

  The excited rant pulled another laugh from deep in Dylan’s chest. She was adorable. “That sounds amazing.”

  “It is.” She began to climb into the car before turning back to Abby. “Can we take him there?”

  “Sure.” She smiled at the girl before looking up at him in question. “Is that ok? It’s low key, but they have great food.”

  “Absolutely. I can’t pass up the chance to throw shells on the floor. Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”


  Abby chuckled before she checked both of the kids’ seatbelts. Abby and Dylan remained quiet as the kids filled the drive with their happy chatter.

  “There’s parking in front of the restaurant on the pier,” Abby said. “It’s the best place to park.” He nodded, pulling onto the wooden structure, the slats beneath the car playing a thumping rhythm. “I should have asked earlier, have you been here before?”

  “Not in a long time. I don’t remember much of it.” He had come once as a child with a foster family, but it was so long ago that he couldn’t remember which one.

  “Then you’re in for a treat.” She smiled at him as he parked.

  When the kids were let out of the car they ran toward a restaurant with a blue whale painted on the side of the wall. “Stay close,” she called to them and they immediately slowed down.

  Impressed, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, catching the scent of spiced apples on her skin. The desire to place a kiss on her neck overwhelmed him, but he held it in check. “You were right. You do have them well trained.” He felt, more than saw her shiver, and wanted to grin. Part of him wondered if the passion that they had shared over the weekend was a fluke. He was glad to see that it wasn’t. “Shall we?” He took her hand and led her in to the restaurant.

  His heart clenched as Jenna held onto his arm while he carried a heaping pile of peanuts to their table.

  “Abby can never carry that many,” she said shyly.

  “I have bigger hands.” She giggled and nodded as he held them up for her to inspect.

  Seated with menus, Jason voiced his order to Abby. “I want a chocolate milkshake with a burger and extra fries.” At Abby’s raised eyebrow, he looked down at his menu to escape her gaze. “How about carrots instead of fries?” He dared another glance at her.

  “How about you share the milkshake with Jenna too?”

  “All right.” He grinned at her, and it was obvious to Dylan that the boy thought he had gotten a good bargain.

  With full windows looking out over the ocean, the kids spent the rest of lunch commenting on the seagulls and boats that moved around the pier, and Dylan took the opportunity to watch Abby interact with the kids.

  Over the last hour, he was impressed how she managed to wrangle the kids without raising her voice or speaking sternly with them. It was obvious that she loved them and that they loved her in return.

  She showed her affection to them with her attention. Like when she had taken a moment to smoothe out Jason’s hair as he chattered happily, managing to swallow bites of his cheeseburger in between comments. Or when she had helped shell peanuts ahead of Jenna’s desire for them.

  They were a unit, he realized. And while not blood related, these kids were, in a way, part of her family.

  He admired that. With his past in the foster system, he knew that there weren’t enough people like her willing to take on children that weren’t their own.

  For a split second he imagined her holding a child. His child. The warmth that spread through him was enough to startle the image away.

  With a shaky hand, he reached for his water. Where had that thought come from?

  He chugged the icy drink down, hoping the cold would completely erase the image.

  They barely knew each other. And besides, he wasn’t the father type.

  But for a moment, the thought had been tempting.

  “Can we go to the aquarium?” Jenna asked as they slipped out of their booth, finished with lunch.

  “I don’t know. This is Mr. Thane’s first time here. Why don’t we let him decide?” Abby smiled over the girl’s head into his eyes. “What do you think?”

  “I think it sounds fun.”

  “All right!” the kids said in unison.

  “You’ll love it.” Jenna smiled, standing next to him. “There are all sorts of animals to touch, but you have to be gentle, and you can’t take them out of the water.” Her little hand moved to hold his, and his heart melted.

  “Is that right? That sounds like something I can’t miss.”

  The day whirled by in sunny warmth as they moved from the aquarium to the ice cream parlor before haunting the shops.

  Both Jenna and Jason had agreed that Abby needed a shell necklace that boasted five mussel shells in between blue beading.

  Seeming to mull it over, Dylan firmly nodded. “I think you’re right. She needs to have it.” Holding his hand out for the necklace, he moved to purchase the shells before placing it over Abby’s head.

  “There.” He smiled into her laughing eyes. “She looks like a mermaid princess. What do you two think?”

  “It’s perfect. Just like we said,” Jenna said, both of the kids laughing before looking at their own treasures.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, leaning up to kiss him.

  He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer, giving her a more heated kiss before pulling away. “Now you have something to remember today.” And he wanted her to, because deep down, he knew that it would be a day that he would never forget.

  “Do we really have to leave now?” Jason asked, interrupting the moment.

  “Yes. We’ve been here most of the day. But we can come back soon.”

  Her words pacified the kids as they piled back into the car.

  The drive back was filled with long lulls of silence, all of them content to watch the sun set over the ocean and reflect on all they had done.

  And all he would remember, he thought. Something had happened to him today; something that had changed things with Abby. What that something was, he didn’t know. He just felt closer to her, and felt the urge to learn more, to dig deeper, to grow closer.

  The feeling was both unsettling and yet… right.

  “I had a really great time today,” Abby said after the kids had run back into the house.

  He leaned on the hood, enjoying her in the twilight. “I did too. Those kids are really amazing.”

  She snorted before glancing in the car. “They’re also a handful. That sticky smudge should clean off the leather easily enough.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  “Well, I should probably head inside.” But Abby hesitated, looking as unwilling to leave as he.

  “I’ll call you later,” he promised, gently pulling her close.

  With the sun finally set, he took her lips softly, making certain to keep the kiss light. He knew the kids had to be watching. But that didn’t stop him from wanting more, from feeling the rush that coursed through his body at her closeness.

  “I keep thinking it will go away,” she whispered when the kiss ended.

  He knew exactly what she meant. “Me too. But I have a feeling it won’t.”

  “I hope not.” She leaned in for another kiss before heading back toward the house.

  The engine started up, but he waited to leave until she was inside. It was then that he noticed an ache in the pit of his stomach.

  He missed her already.

  “This is a good idea,” Abby told herself in the rearview mirror as she pulled into the parking structure at Platinum Security. “I was just in the area.” Which was true.

  With the Shaws back on their vacation, Abby had more free time than she knew what to do with. So when her mother had asked her to swing by the caterer to confirm the menu for their Christmas party, Abby hadn’t thought too much about stopping by the building she had looked up last weekend.

  When Dylan had told her his company’s name, she had been curious. Anyone would be. And since she was in the area, it seemed rude not to stop by and say hello to him, perhaps catch him for a lunch date.

  But as she stepped out of her car onto the roof of the parking garage, she eyed the towering structure with growing unease. Modern in its design, clean lines and gleaming glass dominated the ten-story building.

  Considering its size, it was likely that their company only took up one of the floors and not the entire building, but it was still intimidating.

  Dylan, while it was obvious
that he enjoyed money, seemed down to earth and not like someone that spent his days in an executive high-rise.

  Taking a deep breath, her chin notching up, she walked across the sky bridge into the bitingly cool building.

  Spying a directory, she found that Platinum Security was located on the tenth floor. The penthouse.

  Obviously, the company wasn’t hurting for clients.

  Her low-slung heels tapped on the large marble tiles in the hallway, announcing her presence to anyone nearby. The interior of the building reminded her of a bank. Large, open areas, shiny marble, classical décor, and bright lights. It wasn’t a place where she felt at ease, but it felt familiar enough to not throw her into a full out panic.

  Is it weird that I’m dropping by? she asked herself for the twentieth time. She hadn’t thought so at the time. It seemed friendly, comfortable. But as she reached the large oak doors that led into Platinum Security, she wasn’t sure if she had made the right choice.

  Pushing open the doors, she was surprised to find herself in an office decorated much as the building was, but with added warmth. It looked wealthy, even smelled expensive.

  The lobby was furnished with sumptuous couches of heavily studded, butter-soft leather. Instead of a gleaming crystal chandelier, she was enchanted by the large, wrought-iron-framed fixture which teemed with small amber crystals, mimicking flames. Marble still abounded in here, the neutral tones soothed, but she felt more. Felt a comfortable power.

  No wonder they were so successful. Any customer wanting security would instantly know that this was a company that could handle any situation.

  “May I help you?” The young receptionist smiled politely.

  “Yes. Well, maybe. I’m here to see Dylan Thane.”

  “Do you have an appointment?”

  “No. I’m a friend of his. I was just dropping by.”

  “Let me see if he’s available.” She gestured to the sofas. “Please, take a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee while you wait?”

  “No. Thank you.” Abby sat in a plush chair, almost moaning at the comfortable fit.

  “May I have your name?”

  “Abby Carter.”