Page 98 of Big Bad Wolfe

Mrs. Stevens made a notation on the legal pad in her lap. “Zane, according to your profile, you’ve lived alone for a long time. How are you adjusting to being part of this family?”

He cleared his throat. “I’d be lying if I said it was easy, but we make more headway every day.”

“And you have no resentment about suddenly being thrust into the role of Casey’s father?”

Beside Jillian, he swallowed hard. “He’s my responsibility.”

The caseworker’s cool gray eyes sharpened. “And that unsettles you.”

He swallowed again. “A little. But I won’t let him down. I’ll do whatever is necessary to ensure he’s happy and safe.”

Jillian read the double meaning behind his words, and her heart ached. He still thought he couldn’t make his own son happy or safe and planned to leave the moment they established custody.

Mrs. Stevens made another notation. Though Jillian surreptitiously strained to see, she couldn’t decipher the scribbled comments.

Time dragged. Jillian tucked her hair behind her ear and fiddled with her cuticles as she and Zane carefully answered question after question.

Without warning, his big, warm hand captured one of hers and drew it over to rest on his hard thigh. Heat radiated from his muscular leg through the soft denim. Enclosed in his strong but gentle grasp, her fingers tingled. The warm, feathery sensation spread up her arm and rippled down her spine.

She tried to hide her shiver of reaction by taking a drink of tea. He wasn’t trying to put the moves on her. He’d done it to stop her telltale fidgeting, and perhaps assure Mrs. Stevens they were intimate. As a real married couple should be.

As Jillian wished they truly were.

She choked on her tea, inhaling a piece of ice. Panicked, she flailed her hands.

Concern darkening his eyes, Zane scooped the sloshing glass from her hand to the coffee table. “Hey, you okay?”

She swallowed hard, and the ice burned down her windpipe and into her stomach. She sputtered and coughed. Involuntary tears spilled down her cheeks.

He patted her back. “Easy. Take a nice, slow breath.”

Shaking, she clutched his shirt, and his arms closed around her. “Relax, sweetheart. You’re all right.”

Jillian rested her cheek on Zane’s wide chest and closed her eyes. Yes, she was all right. Now. For one sweet moment, she forgot everything but the safe haven of being held in his arms. His body heat warmed her face comfortingly through the soft cotton. She listened to the strong thud of his heart and wanted to stay right there, forever.

“Jillian?” Mrs. Steven’s worried voice dragged her back to reality. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she managed to croak, her throat still raw. “I accidentally swallowed some ice.”

Mrs. Stevens frowned. “Oh dear, that smarts.”

“You’re telling me.” She reluctantly pulled away from Zane and wiped her streaming eyes with her hand.

Keeping one arm around her, Zane handed her a napkin from the coffee table. “Here.”

“Thank you.” She blinked away the remaining tears and turned to face the caseworker. “Where were we?”

“We’re all done. I’d like to speak to Casey now.”

In response to Jillian’s summons, Casey skipped into the room. He climbed onto Zane’s lap without hesitation, as if he sat there every day. Zane shifted to accommodate the child’s slight weight. He didn’t tense up, and his free arm slid easily around Casey’s waist. She smiled inwardly. More progress. Apparently, the day hadn’t been quite as disastrous as the ravaged kitchen implied.

They gave the illusion of a cozy family, and she wished again with all her heart it was real.

“Case, this is Mrs. Stevens.” Jillian patted the little bony knee. “She wants to ask you some questions.”

Mrs. Stevens smiled at Casey. “Sorry to disturb you when you look so comfortable, but I’m finished with Zane, so he needs to go in the other room.”

Casey’s eyes, so much like his father’s, squinted in suspicion. “Why?” His expression was a tiny mirror image of the man who held him, making Jillian’s heart turn over.

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