One Night Baby - A Romance Compilation

by Tia Siren

  “Is that normal? Is that why you have all this security?” she asked, her voice going up an octave.

  I shrugged. “It isn’t normal, but I have had people try to talk to me. I’ve had security for quite some time but have more now. The show brought some unwanted attention, and there are a few women and men who have this idea we are meant to be together.”

  She rolled her eyes. “This place isn’t any safer than mine.”

  “It is. I have a security staff, fences, and cameras. The guy didn’t get in.”

  “Sir, you can go in now. It’s all clear,” the guard said, leaning down to talk to me through the driver’s side window. “We got him on camera. You can take a look and see if you recognize him.”

  Emily slowly drove through the gate and around the huge circular drive, parking her car in front of the six-car garage.

  “I’m going to talk with my security. Are you okay getting him inside?” I asked Emily.

  “Yes. I’ll take him to play for a bit. I don’t want him to sleep too long or he’ll never go to bed tonight,” she said in her motherly tone.

  I helped her get him out of the car, walking behind her as she carried him inside. She went left, and I went right once we were inside. I headed for the small security office off the foyer.

  Inside, the head of my security was watching several screens.

  “Do you have the pictures?” I asked.

  He clicked a few buttons and pulled up an image of a man wearing a dark hoodie, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. I had no idea who it was.

  “Could it have been paparazzi?” I asked.

  “Could be. I can’t say for sure,” the man said, his eyes still moving over the screens.

  “Can you print that out? I want to show it to Emily.”

  Another click of a button and within a few seconds I was holding a copy of the picture. “Thank you. Let me know if there are any other issues.”

  I took the picture and headed to the sitting room. I motioned for her to come to the doorway. Tommy was leaning back on the couch, looking at a book.

  “Is this him?” I asked, showing her the picture.

  She took the picture and studied it. “I don’t know. I mean, it looks a lot like his build and his face, but it is hard to say for sure with the sunglasses and hat pulled low.”

  I nodded. “We’re going to a hotel.”

  “What?” she gasped. “Why?”

  “He knows where you are. I don’t want to risk him getting to you or Tommy,” I said in a low voice, pissed the man was invading my territory.

  “It might not be him,” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “I’ll feel safer somewhere else. I’m going to make a call and then we go. Take what you have.”

  She sighed. “Fine.”

  Within ten minutes, I had one of my security guys driving us to a hotel. I had rented the penthouse suite under a fake name. With the key in hand, we were ushered into an elevator and taken to the room.

  “This is really unnecessary,” Emily said again.

  I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know if it was him or a stalker that wants to get close because of that stupid show. This is the safest thing to do. Let me do this,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders and forcing her to look at me.

  “Fine. Thank you,” she muttered, turning to check on Tommy.

  I knew being cooped up in a hotel was only a short-term solution with a three-year-old, but it was just until I knew for sure what was going on.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Emily

  I yawned and carefully moved Tommy’s hand from around my neck where it had landed sometime in the middle of the night. Sleeping with a three-year-old was a lot like sleeping with an octopus. It seemed like he had twelve arms and legs that kicked and flopped around all night long.

  After disentangling myself from him, I quietly got out of the huge bed. It was a queen-size bed, but Tommy had clung to me all night, making it feel like we had been on a tiny cot. I took a minute to stretch before walking to the adjoining bathroom to splash cold water on my face.

  There was a complimentary toothbrush, which I took advantage of. It seemed a little silly that you got all kinds of free stuff when you paid an exorbitant amount of money for a room and clearly had the means to buy your own personal hygiene products. The free stuff should have been in the rooms people could barely afford in my own humble opinion.

  I curled my toes in the plush carpet of the expensive hotel suite, taking a brief moment to enjoy the luxury. I looked at Tommy sprawled out in the bed and immediately felt guilty. The poor kid had been in two different beds the past two nights. I had put him in danger—not intentionally, but I still felt horrible about it.

  I smiled at his sleeping figure. I loved the little guy so much it hurt. Instead of crawling back in the bed and snuggling him close, I opened the door and headed into the main living area. I could definitely smell coffee and something else, maybe bacon and something sweet.

  “Holy cow!” I said, startled to see the table covered with a variety of silver domes.

  Tyler came out of the small kitchen area, carrying a cup of coffee and holding a newspaper. “I wasn’t sure how hungry you would be and ordered a little of everything from the breakfast menu. There’s coffee in the carafe. It’s really good. I need to find out what brand this is,” he mused aloud.

  I stared at the table and mentally tallied up the cost of this one room-service order. It had to have cost more than what I made in a week. Tyler was always so extravagant and generous.

  “You went a bit overboard,” I mumbled. “We’ll never be able to eat all this.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “Have a seat. There has to be something here you like. I’m sure we can make a huge dent in this.”

  “Did you eat?” I asked, not wanting to eat alone.

  “Nope. Not yet.”

  Together we sat down and lifted lids, ogling the meals that were under each and making comments about how delicious it all looked. I wanted it all. I finally settled on strawberry and cream-cheese stuffed French toast and some bacon.

  “This is amazing. I have to learn how to make this,” I mumbled, wiping my mouth. “Never mind. I don’t want to. I’d never stop eating it.”

  Tyler was shoveling in food, nodding his head in enthusiastic agreement. “I will,” he murmured. “I’ll make it for you.”

  “Thank you for this, and for everything. It really is over the top,” I told him.

  He put down his fork, took a drink of orange juice, and leaned forward, his eyes holding mine. “I’m sorry I put you and Tommy at risk by bringing you to my house. I wasn’t expecting anything that crazy to happen.”

  “Tyler, I don’t blame you. If it was Leo and we had been at my house, it would have been far scarier. You’re going above and beyond for us, and I truly do appreciate it—all of it,” I told him, reaching out and putting my hand on his.

  He turned his wrist, grasping my hand in his. We sat that way for several long seconds, staring at each other, completely lost in each other’s eyes. It was the look that stripped away my defenses and made me want to crawl into his lap.

  “Mommy.” Tommy’s little voice broke the trance in the nick of time. I had been so close to kissing Tyler, and that would have been a mistake. I could never seem to stop myself at one kiss with him.

  “Hey, buddy,” I said, getting up from the table and going to greet him. “Dad ordered all kinds of breakfast.”

  He smiled and walked toward the table, rubbing his eyes.

  “I can dish him up,” Tyler said, grabbing a plate from the stack.

  I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He wanted to do it. It was sweet and endearing. I watched as Tyler removed each lid, asking if Tommy wanted whatever treasure was hidden beneath. As Tommy sat down, a heaping plate of food I knew he would never eat in front of him, Tyler and I moved to the living area and sat down on the overstuffed couch.

  “Good job,” I whispered.

&
nbsp; He chuckled. “I know I got him too much.”

  I shrugged. “It’s good for him to try new foods.”

  “I want the two of you to stay here for a couple days, until I’m convinced my security has got everything in hand,” he said.

  My mouth dropped open. “What? Tyler, I can’t do that. I have to work.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know that it’s safe.”

  “I can handle Leo,” I assured him.

  “What if it isn’t Leo?” he asked.

  “It’s fine. I work in a busy restaurant. Tyler, I have to work.”

  He shook his head. “Let me pay you the wages you’d lose out on. Please, Emily. I can’t risk you or our son.”

  The way he said it pulled at my heartstrings. I knew he was scared. I wasn’t convinced it was that serious of a threat, but he was.

  “What about you?” I asked, realizing he didn’t mention him staying in the hotel room.

  He looked away. “I’m going home today.”

  I leaned back against the couch and sucked in a long breath. “So it’s safe for you to go to your house but it isn’t safe for me to go to my house? Which, by the way, isn’t the place where someone tried to break in.”

  “I have security. I’ll be fine,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  I had to bite back the tongue-lashing I felt bubbling to the surface. He was dumping us in a hotel where he knew exactly where we were. I felt like he was seriously imprisoning us while he took off to do whatever he wanted. My head whipped around, taking in the smug look on his face.

  “You’re going home? You’re just going to leave us here? Do you have plans?” I hissed.

  He smirked. “No, I don’t have plans. We can’t keep playing house. It’ll confuse Tommy. He’s going to think we’re a family. I don’t want to do that to him.”

  Heat flooded my cheeks as rage ran through my system. “You’re right. We’d hate to confuse the kid,” I said, heaping on the sarcasm. “We are definitely not a family.”

  “Stop. You know that’s not what I meant.”

  I stood up and walked away, going back to the table to sit with Tommy, doing my best to forget the man was even in the room. Tommy was far better company. Once he’d eaten all he could, I took him to the bathroom and cleaned him up.

  “Are we going home today?” he asked.

  I sighed. “I don’t know.”

  He didn’t seem too upset by that fact. I was glad he was okay with it. I wasn’t looking forward to hanging out in the penthouse all day. I had a feeling he would be complaining he was bored before long. Tyler had no idea what it was like to be cooped up with a kid in a space that didn’t have his creature comforts.

  “You and Mom are going to hang out here today,” Tyler said, coming to stand outside the door of the bathroom.

  I looked up from wiping syrup from Tommy’s hands and shot him a glare. “We’ll watch TV and maybe head down to the pool.” I turned back to Tommy and smiled before turning back to shoot another glare at Tyler. “If that’s acceptable to you?” I sneered.

  He grimaced, and I shook my head, daring him to try to stop me. “I’ll have someone go with you.”

  “I haven’t needed a babysitter for a long time.”

  “I’m going to get my stuff together,” he said and walked away in the direction of the master bedroom.

  I wanted to slap him. I just knew he was sequestering us. It gave him complete freedom to galivant around without fear of me seeing him or getting in the way of his womanizing. He probably had a hot date waiting for him at his house or some fancy restaurant.

  After dressing Tommy in a clean outfit, I headed back to the living room to see if there was anything we could watch on TV. I didn’t have my laptop, and the few toys I had managed to toss into the bag were going to get old really soon.

  Tyler came out of the room, carrying his small overnight bag. “I’m going now,” he said in a soft voice.

  I didn’t bother looking at him. I was too pissed.

  Tommy walked over to him and gave him a quick hug.

  “I’ll check in with you later,” he said.

  I kept my back to him, focusing my gaze on the TV, staring at what, I didn’t know.

  “Emily.” He said my name, making me draw in a breath.

  “Good-bye. Enjoy your weekend. We’ll be here, unless I decide I don’t want to be. In that case, I’ll leave,” I said, feeling a little childish.

  “I just want you to be safe. Please, just let me keep you safe.”

  I ignored him. Thankfully, he didn’t try to talk to me again. I heard the door shut and let out the breath I had been holding. He was gone. Once again, I wanted to kick myself in the ass for getting caught up in his world. The man was too damn smooth. He knew the way to my heart was straight through my son—our son.

  I leaned my head back, pulling Tommy into my side for a good snuggle. Screw it. I was going to enjoy the penthouse suite in one of the best hotels in the city. It was probably the only time I would ever find myself in such opulent digs.

  “I want to watch SpongeBob,” Tommy announced as I flipped through the channels.

  I sighed. “Of course you do. I’m sure we’ll find something.”

  When I finally found something that seemed to capture his attention, I leaned back to relax. I wondered what Tyler was doing. More like who he was doing. I had to cut the tie between us. It would be a little tough with the little man snuggling into my side, but I could find a way to keep it civil and not let my emotions get involved. No emotions and no sex.

  I wondered if they still sold chastity belts. That was about the only way I was going to be able to stay out of the man’s bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Tyler

  I was eager to see Emily and Tommy. She had been dodging my calls since yesterday. I knew she was pissed. It was for her own good. It was the safest alternative. I had put my PI on Leo. I wanted to know where Leo was, and then I was going to tell the man to stay the hell away from Emily and Tommy. I would threaten him if I had to.

  “Thanks, Alex. I’ll get an Uber home,” I told him.

  As I was making my way into the hotel lobby, mentally preparing for the battle I knew I was about to encounter, my phone rang. I looked at the number, turned around, and walked back outside.

  “This is Tyler Case,” I answered.

  “Tyler, it’s Mitch. I found your guy,” he said, but I could tell by the tone of his voice it wasn’t good news.

  “And?” I said, pacing in front of the hotel’s front entrance.

  “He skipped out. I don’t think he figured out I was tracking him, but he’s gone. I tracked him to a cheap motel outside town. When I got into the room, he was gone. He’s out there somewhere. Do you want me to keep tracking him?” he asked.

  “Yes. If he reappears, call me right away,” I ordered and hung up.

  I glanced around, wondering if he was out there even now. He could have been following me, and I was inadvertently leading him right to Tommy.

  I walked inside and used my key to head up to the penthouse.

  “Hello?” I called out, already knowing the room was empty.

  Fear like I couldn’t remember experiencing before made me feel a combination of hot and cold at the same time.

  “Emily! Tommy!” I called out.

  Leo couldn’t have gotten up here. There was no way. My mind raced with various possibilities about where they could be. I went to the room Tommy had been using and saw his clothes folded neatly on top of the dresser.

  She wouldn’t have left those behind.

  “Calm down,” I whispered. “Think.”

  I dragged in a long, deep breath.

  “Pool,” I said, smiling at how ridiculous I had been.

  Leo had me jumping at my own shadow. Of course they were at the pool. I headed toward the indoor pool area, expecting to see Emily lounging on a chair while Tommy splashed around in the kiddie pool. The moment I walked through the door, I knew sh
e wasn’t there.

  I felt the same fear I had experienced in the room. I walked through the hotel gift shop and then made my way to the restaurant. With a sixth sense I didn’t even know I had, I honed in on them. They were sitting at a table eating ice cream. I felt the constriction that had been making it difficult to breathe relax.

  As I walked to their table, Emily looked up and shot me a dirty look.

  “Hi, guys! Did I miss dinner?” I asked cheerfully.

  Tommy grinned. “Yep, and because I ate all my dinner, I get to have ice cream.”

  I pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat down with them.

  “Gee, are you free for the night, or is this a quick stop-off?” Emily said, her voice filled with animosity.

  I smiled. “I wanted to stop by and see how things were going.”

  With the way she looked at me, I was grateful Tommy was sitting at the table. I had a feeling she would have shredded me otherwise.

  “We’re about done. Just getting ready to go back to our cell,” she quipped.

  “Good. I need to talk to you.”

  “I’m going home tomorrow,” she hissed.

  I smiled and nodded. “We need to talk,” I said, doing my best to sound completely casual while trying to relay the potential danger.

  She looked at me, and I hoped she read my subtle message. She didn’t snap out a nasty retort, so I was going to assume she understood I had something important to say.

  “Let’s take that upstairs,” she said with a smile.

  I gave her a gentle nod, grateful she was leaving the busy restaurant. I felt exposed and vulnerable. Picking up Tommy, I placed my hand over his back as if I could protect him. Emily walked alongside me, and we were both silent as we scanned the hall. I could feel the tension radiating off her. Once inside the elevator, I relaxed a little. It was a straight shot up to the penthouse.

  I put Tommy down, relaxing a little as we climbed the last few floors.

  “Are you okay?” Emily whispered.

  “Fine.”

  We stepped inside the suite, and I flipped the door lock. Emily eyed the lock, then me before telling Tommy to go watch TV for a bit.