Bedroom Diplomacy

by Michelle Celmer

  “Do I honestly strike you as the type to play fair?” he said, pulling her into his lap.

  “Okay, but this is definitely the last time.”

  Six

  Colin cupped Rowena’s face in his hands and kissed her…and kissed her…and kissed her. But just like last night, he kept his hands in the safe zones, and so did she. The shoulders, the face. The middle of the back. And now she was thinking, if this was going to be the last time, maybe they could do a little more touching. Nothing too racy of course, just some on-top-of-the-clothes stuff.

  Thinking that maybe she could get the ball rolling, she let her hand very casually slide from his shoulder down to his chest. His body heat seeped through his nylon shirt and she could feel the heavy thud of his heart.

  Colin’s hand, which had been resting on her back just above her hip, suddenly went missing in action. Thinking he had taken the hint, she waited, heart pounding in anticipation, breath coming faster…then shuddering to an abrupt halt when his hand settled over hers, lifted it from his chest and set it back on his shoulder.

  Okay, so maybe he hadn’t gotten the hint.

  She waited a minute or so, so as not to appear too forward or, for that matter, desperate. But this time she only got as far as caressing the top of his pec before he intercepted her hand and he stopped kissing her.

  Well, shoot.

  “Not a good idea,” he said, wrapping his hand around hers and holding it.

  “What if I think it is?”

  “I’m exercising a tremendous amount of self-control. You ought not to tempt me.”

  The look in his eyes said he wasn’t exaggerating. She just assumed that like her, he was content with kissing, but clearly he wanted more. Which made her even hotter for him.

  If he wasn’t going to play fair, then neither was she.

  With her eyes locked on his, using her free hand, she slid her index finger down the center of his chest, over his rock hard abs, all the way to the waist of his pants. She started back up, but barely made it halfway before he pulled a ninja move on her again. One second she was in his lap, then next she was flat on her back on the sofa cushions, Colin grinning down at her.

  “I warned you.”

  She slid her arms around his neck, pulled him down and kissed him. He settled on top of her and slightly to the left, and—well, hello there. There was definitely no denying that he wanted her, too.

  She forgot how much she loved this, the steady pressure of a man’s weight pressing her into the mattress—or in this case, the sofa. It was one of a thousand little things about sex that she loved, but had completely forgotten.

  “Can I take off your shirt?” she said.

  He grinned down at her. “I don’t know, can you?”

  She grabbed the bottom edge and pulled it up, and Colin helped her pull it over his head.

  “I love looking at you,” she said, flattening her palms against his chest. “And touching you.” She pulled his head back down. “And kissing you.”

  Her cell phone started to ring and she ignored it.

  “Should you answer that?” Colin asked.

  Hell no. She was fooling around for the first time in more than three years. Nothing was going to interrupt them. “They can leave a message. Kiss me.”

  With a grin he kissed her, and eventually the ringing stopped. Then started right back up again. Seriously? It had to be right now? They couldn’t call her back later?

  “Maybe you should get that,” Colin said. “It could be important.”

  The only thing worth stopping for would be Dylan, and he was asleep, safe and sound in his crib. “They can call back later.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded, pulling him back down. “Just keep kissing me.”

  She tuned out the ringing, blocked out everything but Colin. The feel of his mouth…on her lips and her neck. The taste of his skin and mingling scents of soap and sweat.

  When her damned phone started to ring again, Colin stopped kissing her and said, “I really think you should answer that.”

  She mumbled a curse and dug her phone out of her back pocket. It was Tricia. “Somebody had better be dead.”

  “I’m sorry to bother you. I just thought you might like to know that the senator is coming to see you.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He came down here to talk to you and one of the girls told him what happened to Dylan. He’s on his way up to see if he’s okay.”

  Damn, damn, damn. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  “So,” Tricia said, in a tone dripping with innuendo. “How’s it going?”

  The fact that Rowena hadn’t answered her phone should have been a clue. “I’ll call you later.”

  Muttering a word that was very unladylike, she hung up and tossed her phone on the coffee table. Pushing on Colin’s chest, she said, “Up, up, up. Time to get up.”

  He pushed himself off her. “What’s wrong?”

  She bolted up from the sofa. “My father heard what happened and is on his way up to check on Dylan.”

  “Are you serious?”

  She grabbed his shirt off the floor and tossed it to him. “I’m assuming you probably don’t want to be here when he shows up.”

  He pulled it on. “Preferably not.”

  She wondered how long they had before he got there. Her answer came about ten seconds later when he knocked.

  “Okay, now what?” Colin said.

  “My bedroom,” she said, pushing him in that direction. “I’ll call you when the coast is clear.”

  Her father knocked again. The second Colin closed the bedroom door, she opened the suite door, pretending to be surprised to see him. “Hello, Father.”

  He muscled his way inside and demanded, “Where’s Dylan?”

  Deep breaths, in and out. “He’s napping.”

  “Why didn’t you call me and tell me what happened?”

  “Dylan falling, you mean?” She shrugged. “He’s fine.”

  “They told me he was bleeding,” he said, looking around suspiciously, obviously not for his grandson, since she had just told him Dylan was in bed.

  “He hit his head, but he is fine,” she told him.

  “And Colin?” her father asked.

  She feigned confusion. “What about him?”

  “They said he came back to the house with you.”

  “Dylan wanted Colin to tuck him in.”

  “And?”

  “And…he did.”

  “Why was he even at the day-care center?”

  “He was jogging past and stopped when he heard Dylan crying. He thought he could help. He said something about being a medic in the navy.”

  “Royal army,” the senator corrected her.

  She shrugged, as if it made no difference to her one way or the other. “He fixed Dylan up, then walked us home.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “I don’t know. As soon as Dylan was down for his nap, Colin left.” She paused and asked, “Why? Were you expecting me to entertain him for the rest of the afternoon?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Did you want me to call you when Dylan wakes up?”

  “I’ll be out for the evening. I’ll see him tomorrow at breakfast.”

  Which meant he was less concerned about his grandson than if Colin was in her room. Great to know.

  She walked him to the door.

  “Did you fill out an accident report?” he asked.

  “Are you worried that I’m going to sue you?”

  He gave her the look. Maybe he was worried. Maybe he should be.

  “I’ll fill one out tomorrow.”

  He left and she shut the door, leaning against it. She waited another minute or so, then said, “Coast is clear.”

  Colin stepped out of her bedroom.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “That’s all right. I kept myself busy going through your things.”

  She shot him a look.

  �
�I was actually listening at the door. Very nice save when he asked why I was at the day care, by the way.”

  She collapsed on the couch, suddenly exhausted. “I thought it was more plausible than you getting a glass of water.”

  Colin sat down beside her, a good foot away. “He sounded suspicious.”

  “Yeah, well, he pretty much always sounds like that. With me, anyway. If he really thought you were here, he would have searched the entire apartment. I’d say you have nothing to worry about.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  She looked over at the clock. “Dylan should be waking up soon.”

  He nodded. “So I guess that’s it.”

  “I guess so. This is probably going to sound juvenile, but thank you for this. It really meant a lot to me. And not just in a sexual way. For a really long time, I haven’t felt like myself. The truth is, I completely lost track of who I even am. But now, after this…I kinda feel a little bit like my old self again. I’ve needed to make some changes in my life, and now, I think I’m ready.”

  “I’m not sure what I did, but I’m glad I could help.”

  She walked to the door and he followed her. “I guess I’ll probably see you around.”

  “I’m sure you will.”

  She pushed up on her toes to kiss his cheek, because if she kissed his lips, even for a second, she wouldn’t want to stop. Then she opened the door and he walked out. Simple, uncomplicated and dignified. If every break-up could be so easy. But after two days and a little bit of passionate kissing, what did she expect? That sort of thing probably happened to Colin all the time.

  She grabbed her laptop from the kitchen on her way back to the sofa, and sat with her legs curled beneath her.

  Feeling truly brave for the first time in ages, she opened her computer, clicked on the browser and typed in the address for the Los Angeles Department of Health Services.

  This, she decided, would be the official first day of her new life.

  *

  The following Monday, Rowena welcomed a new addition to the day-care family. Matt was an adorable blond-haired, blue-eyed six-week-old whose mother had just finished her maternity leave. It was always exciting to have a new baby around, especially one so young, and for the first hour he was a total angel. Then he began to scream, and hadn’t stopped for more than five minutes all day. Everyone took turns rocking, changing, feeding and burping him, but no matter what they tried, he wouldn’t settle.

  It wasn’t uncommon for a baby to be upset his first day away from his mommy, so Rowena figured the next day would be easier. It wasn’t. The poor little guy was inconsolable, and by afternoon everyone had reached the limit of their patience. At quiet time, when the bigger kids did their homework and the smaller ones napped, Rowena locked herself in her office with Matt so the near-constant howling wouldn’t agitate the other children.

  Quiet time was only half over when Tricia knocked on her office door and poked her head in. “Hey, you’ve got a guest.”

  Since her father was the only “guest” she ever had, she assumed it was him. With a sigh, she said, “Send him in.”

  She quit the solitaire game she had been playing on her computer, since trying to concentrate on anything with an infant screaming in her ear was impossible, and when she heard the door open again, looked up, expecting the senator. “Colin?”

  “Hello,” he said, with a smile that made her go instantly gooey, like the smooth caramel center of her favorite candy bar. “Have you got a minute?”

  She’d spent the past four days doing her best not to think about him. And not very successfully.

  “Um…sure,” she said. “Just shut the door behind you.”

  He shot her a questioning look.

  “So Matt here doesn’t disrupt quiet time.”

  “Ahhh,” he said. He stepped inside and closed the door.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I wanted to check in and see how Dylan was healing,” he said, loud enough to be heard over Matt’s screams.

  “Great! He’s been telling everyone who will listen how you saved him from the evil hospital.”

  “How have you been?” he asked.

  “Good,” she said, wondering if she was the only one who noticed how stilted and awkward this conversation sounded. She really wished that he would stay on his own side of the fence. But she didn’t want to be rude. “And yourself?”

  “Busy. We’ve made quite a bit of progress. Though we still have a long way to go.”

  “I’m glad to hear that it’s going well.” The sooner he went back to England, the better off she would be. In a God-my-life-is-pathetically-boring way. But for now that was about all she could handle.

  Matt let out a particularly high-pitched shriek, and Colin cringed. “Is he all right?”

  “He’s new to the day care and missing his mommy. With any luck he’ll calm down after a day or two. Although sometimes it takes weeks. We all take turns holding him.”

  “It’s your turn?”

  “Just while the others are resting.” Her arm was getting tired, so she moved Matt to the opposite shoulder. She heard a loud, juicy belch, then felt something warm and wet down her back. Then Matt went right back to crying.

  “Sounds like someone left you a present,” Colin said.

  Felt like it, too. She rose from the chair and turned. “How bad is it?”

  “Well, have you got another shirt to change into?”

  She did. She kept a few spares, for occasions such as this. She looked around for a good place to temporarily lay Matt down, but there didn’t seem to be one.

  “Shall I have a go at it while you change?” he said, holding out his arms.

  He seriously did not look like the type to handle a crying infant. “Are you sure? It’s ear piercing.”

  “Have you ever heard a mortar detonate at close range?” he asked.

  Good point. She handed Matt over, her fingers brushing Colin’s in the process. Amazing how the simplest touch could get her pulse jumping.

  Colin turned Matt a bit awkwardly until the baby was propped comfortably on his shoulder. Matt hiccupped out one more pathetic cry, exhaled a shuddering breath, then went silent.

  What the hell?

  “What did you do?” Rowena asked.

  Colin stood stock still, as if the slightest movement might jinx it. “I don’t know. Is he still breathing?”

  She took a look. “He’s fine, just sleeping.”

  Honestly, it probably had more to do with that burp than anything Colin was doing, but hey, whatever worked.

  “I’ll be back in a minute.” She grabbed one of the spare shirts from her bottom desk drawer and darted off to the bathroom. When she got back to her office a few minutes later, Matt was still sleeping.

  “Thanks,” she said, taking him, but the second the baby was back in her arms he started to cry. It was probably just a coincidence, but she asked Colin, “Let’s try that again.”

  Colin took Matt and the crying stopped. She took him back, and he fussed.

  Okay, no way was that a coincidence.

  “I think he likes me,” Colin said.

  “So do I.”

  One brow tipped up. “You like me, too?”

  “I meant—” She shook her head and laughed. “Never mind. Most infants prefer a woman’s touch, but there are some who seem to respond better to men.”

  “Would you like me to hold him for a while? Give your employees a break?”

  She had not expected that. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “I’ve nothing to do between now and dinner.”

  “And if my father should make a surprise visit?”

  “Covered. He thanked me the other day for helping, and I mentioned stopping by to see Dylan.”

  “So you’ve been planning this for days?”

  “It never hurts to be prepared.”

  “I do have to get the payroll information sent out today by five, or come next Friday I’m
going to have some very unhappy employees. Technically, since you don’t work here, I shouldn’t let you, but I doubt Matt’s mother would mind.” Hell, one look at him holding Matt and she would probably melt.

  He gave the baby a stiff sideways glance, as if he feared the slightest movement might jostle Matt awake. “What should I do? Just stand here?”

  She certainly didn’t want him hovering there looking over her shoulder while she worked. Even while cuddling an infant, he radiated too much pure testosterone, was too much man for the small office. “Why don’t you try sitting in the rocker in the infants’ room and see how that goes?”

  “I’ll give it a shot,” he said, easing his way out the door.

  She listened for several minutes, but could only hear the sounds of the other children waking up from their naps and preparing for the afternoon snack. No infant screams or fussing.

  She finished her paperwork, and after emailing everything to the payroll company, she made her way into the playroom. It had been a while, so she wouldn’t have been surprised to find that Colin had grown bored and had probably passed Matt off to one of the girls, but as she walked into the infant room, there he was in the rocker, Matt limp against his chest. If that wasn’t adorable enough, Dylan sat on his lap, cuddling close to both Colin and the baby. In Colin’s hand was a beat-up copy of The Velveteen Rabbit that one of the parents had donated, and he was reading it in a low and steady voice.

  It was such a touching scene, and so exactly what Dylan needed, that for a full two or three minutes she just stood there watching with a pinch in her heart so intense it was difficult to breathe. For all the love she had given Dylan and the attention she’d lavished on him, it could never make up for the hole his father had left in his life.

  “It melts your heart, doesn’t it?” Tricia whispered from behind her.

  Without taking her eyes off them, Rowena nodded.

  “Dylan has really taken to Colin, and Colin is so good with him. They’re like best buds.”

  Rowena turned to her. “Don’t do that.”

  “What?” Tricia said, shrugging innocently, when she knew damn well what Rowena meant.

  “He’s not the settling-down type.”

  “Statistically speaking, he will settle down at some point. It could be with you.”