Unforgettable (9 page)

She covered her mouth. Crap. She’d left
him mid-date and spilled the beans about her son. Well, it had to
end sometime. Looked like she’d been right. That had been the last
date and she hadn’t gotten to ride in the car.

* * *

“
Yes, I want a full
background check. I don’t need any more surprises,” Neil demanded
as he clutched his fists and rocked in his office chair.

“
All right, sir. I’ll see
what I can find out.”

“
Do it quickly.” Neil ended
the call and set the phone down on his desk. He raked his hands
through his hair and then buried his face in his palms.

Krista had a child.
A child.
Why hadn’t she
said anything? Why would she keep something like that a secret?
He’d been in her home and seen the pictures of the child on the
wall. He’d just assumed it was a nephew. Any other evidence of a
child had obviously been hidden.

He sat down on the black leather couch.
It was all beginning to make sense now. Her reluctance to be with
him. Why she had been so stubborn about her life and his being so
different. But why hadn’t she just told him about the
kid?

Had he come across as someone who
didn’t like children? He didn’t think so. He liked them. Just
didn’t have any. At this point he was too old to do the diapers
thing. But he had no problem with her having a kid.

Neil needed to take a step back from
the desire to get her in bed and take the time to get to know her.
As much as he hated to admit it, Krista was someone he wanted to be
with. Spend time with in other ways besides between the
sheets.

She wasn’t someone to play with. He’d
known that after his first date—and yet he still sought her. Which
only meant one thing, he liked her—like, liked, liked her. And it
had been a long time since his heart had opened up.

He had two options. Walk away from her
right now and use this kid as the perfect excuse. Or go at this
with everything he had and pray he didn’t end up with a broken
heart. Deep down, he already knew the answer. He already had two
feet in. He was going all the way.

Fuck!
Hopefully this didn’t turn out badly.

His cell phone rang from his desk.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself up and went to see who it
was.

“
Hey, Ian.”

“
I have a proposition for
you.” His friend got straight to the point.

“
All right.” Maybe whatever
it was, it would get his mind off Krista and her secret.

“
You have a hotel near the
club. I’d like to sit down and discuss a partnership between the
club and your hotel.”

Neil grinned. He knew where this was
going. “Sure.”

“
With this being a Saturday
night, we’re packed. But if you come down I’m sure we can talk
some.”

His schedule was free, but going to The
Gentlemans’ Club wasn’t the place he wanted to be tonight. “I’ll
see if I can make it.”

“
Cool. By the way, what
happened the other night? You were there and then gone. I have your
money here from the game you won.”

“
Yeah, something came up
unexpectedly. I hope Beth wasn’t too heartbroken.” Not that he
really cared.

Ian laughed. “She found her ticket for
the night.”

Neil wasn’t surprised by that either.
“All right. Well, let me see what I can work out. If I can’t make
it tonight, maybe we can meet during the day one day this
week.”

“
Awesome. We’ll be in
touch.”

“
See ya, man.”

Business almost always came first, but
at the moment he needed to know about Krista and how her son was.
He couldn’t imagine what she was going through right now. If he
knew what hospital the kid was at, he’d go there, but this was a
big city.

Phone in hand, he scrolled to her
number, deciding a call would be the best. The phone rang and
finally her voicemail came on. She was probably busy.

“
Krista, it’s Neil. I wanted
to check in on your son and see if he was okay. If there is
anything I can do, please let me know. You’re both in my thoughts,
please call me soon.”

He placed the phone into the holster on
his hip. His evening was free and he didn’t feel much like staying
in. However, going to the club wasn’t a good idea. He’d meet with
Ian sometime this week so they could have a proper sit-down and get
the details worked out.

For now he was going to spend his
evening alone.

* * *

Krista dashed out of the
bathroom naked in search of the ringing phone. She’d hate to miss a
call from EJ if he needed her. The ringing stopped.
Damn it!

She threw a few things around on her
bed and finally found the stupid thing. After she unlocked the
screen she saw it had been Neil who’d called. She stared at the
notification and then the phone beeped from a new
voicemail.

She was shocked to see he’d called. Her
heart raced as she debated listening to the message. Was he calling
to tell her he never wanted to see her again? Surely not. Neil
didn’t come across as that type of man. Then again, she’d kept
quite a big secret from him when he’d made it clear he didn’t want
kids.

Taking a seat on the bed, she decided
to go ahead and get it over with.

Krista, it’s Neil. I wanted
to check in on your son and see if he was okay. If there is
anything I can do, please let me know. You’re both in my thoughts,
please call me soon.

After listening to the message, she
played it again. She hadn’t been expecting him to show concern, but
this man continued to surprise her. That seemed to be Neil. She
just couldn’t quite figure him out.

Now she had to decide if she
wanted to call him or not. She really did. Neil had been incredibly
sweet on their date. He’d shown her a whole other side of himself.
Not the flashy
I’m rich
side, but the down to earth side.

Anytime she was with him, her heart
melted. He made her smile and gave her the butterfly feeling. If
she continued to spend time with him, she knew where it was going
to lead. To a broken heart. But maybe that wasn’t so bad. Perhaps
it was time to stop being in control all the time and
live.

Krista laughed. Jamie would be thrilled
that she was even having such a thought.

Without second guessing herself, she
called him back and was surprised he answered so
quickly.

“
Good evening,
Krista.”

Her heart fluttered from the sound her
name. “Hi. How are you?”

“
The question isn’t about
how I am. How is your son?”

It was so strange to actually talk
about EJ to him. Then again, it felt so right. “He’s fine. Thank
you. It was just a small fender-bender and his father took him to
the hospital for precautions.”

“
I’m glad he’s okay and his
father too.”

“
We’re divorc-ced,” she
stuttered. “I don’t want you to think I was keeping that from you
too.”

Neil chuckled, putting her at ease. “I
hate that you didn’t feel comfortable telling me about your son,
but then again I understand as well.” He paused. “And I’m very
happy to learn that you’re not married to him anymore.”

Her face practically hurt from the grin
that had spread across it.

“
Is your son home now
resting?”

“
No. EJ’s at his dad’s. I
wanted him to come home after, but he’s seven and wasn’t having it.
He wanted to go back to his dad’s.”

“
EJ, is that short for
anything?”

This was so strange talking about it,
but it felt wonderful to finally have it truth out. “Elijah
Jonathan.”

“
I like Elijah. It’s a nice
name.”

“
Thanks.” She took a breath
before speaking again. “This is weird.”

“
Why?”

She pulled a towel around her still
naked body. “Up until a few hours ago you didn’t know about him and
now you do and you’re not upset with me for not telling you. I
kinda figured me having a kid was a deal-breaker. And now that the
cat’s out of the bag, it isn’t feeling that way.”

Neil laughed. “Knowing about EJ
actually explains a lot about your reluctance. So, if you’re alone
and I am too, would you like to continue our date?”

Yes! Yes! Yes!
“Uh, I—”

“
No pressure.”

“
I’d love to.” Krista
cleared her throat. “I’d love it if you picked me up in your car
and brought me back to your place.”

It was forward and she didn’t
care.

“
Sounds perfect. Given the
hour, go ahead and pack an overnight bag just in case you might
want to stay the night.”

She nodded. Why was she nodding? He
couldn’t see her. “Okay.”

“
I’ll see you
soon.”

Oh God, what had she gotten herself
into?

Neil parked the car in his driveway by a lavish fountain.
Krista stared out at the gorgeous colonial-style house. This was
one of those homes you saw in a magazine or on TV. Not the kind
that she ever thought she’d be visiting.

It was tall, white, and
professionally landscaped. Spotlights were nestled on the side of
the home, making sure this house was noticed at all hours.
I can’t wait to see the inside.

Neil reached over and squeezed her
knee. “I’m happy to have you here. I don’t have guests
often.”

Did that mean he didn’t usually bring
women to his house? “Thanks for having me over.”

“
Anytime.”

He removed his hand and exited the
vehicle. She followed suit. After closing the door to the car that
had driven so smooth and quiet, she made her way along the stone
path to the double front doors. Neil typed a code into the lock and
opened the door. He pushed it open, stepped back, and let her enter
first. She walked in, her heels echoing on the marble
floor.

“
Oh my gosh,” she said,
unable to believe how magnificent it looked. The foyer was two
stories high, filled with paintings. He’d obviously hired a
designer to tie it all together. The walls were a crème color, and
funky art pieces were placed throughout. Yes, this was definitely
like a page out of a magazine. “It’s beautiful in here. You live
alone?”

“
Yup.” A slight sadness in
his eyes when he said it.

“
It’s so big.” She was
certain her place would fit in the foyer alone.

He grinned and placed a hand on her
back, leading her toward a doorway. “Have a seat. Want anything to
drink? Wine?”

Alcohol for sure. She needed to get her
nerves down a notch. “Wine would be great.”

“
Preference on
color?”

Hopefully he didn’t ask her what kind
next. Typically she grabbed whatever was cheapest. “White,
please.”

He left the room. She glanced around a
moment and slowly strolled around the large room. This was a
sitting room, she presumed. It was arranged with an assortment of
chairs and small side tables. Gorgeous wall art and very light
décor was tastefully situated throughout. There was no theme—unless
fancy counted. This was definitely a room she’d never leave a child
in alone.

She took a seat on one of the
loveseats, wondering if she’d made the right choice. But before she
could think about it anymore, Neil returned with two glasses of
wine. He handed her one and took a seat next to her.

Krista took a sip of the drink then set
the glass down on the table next to her.

“
I really have no idea why
you’re interested in me. We are so opposite.”

He smirked and she wished she knew what
was going through his head. “It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t look
at a person for what they have. And to be honest, it’s a nice
change to have a woman who isn’t after me for my money. You’ve been
quite the challenge.”

She giggled. “Sorry.”

“
It’s a good thing. Men like
a challenge.”