Page 33 of Boss with Benefits

The suggestion was so thoughtful that part of her fell in love with him, the illogical, hopeful part of her. Her heart wished things could be different, but her brain warned her to be smart. If she dove in with both feet, ignoring the danger signs, she would end up with a broken heart.

Worse than that, her kid would probably end up hurt as well.

Nothing was worth the risk of putting her child’s heart on the line.

Chapter Eight

Jessica twisted her fingers in her lap while waiting for her little boy to join them in the living room. He’d insisted on putting the final touches on a small robot he was building with his Lego bricks first. She tried to construct what she was going to say in her mind, but Brady distracted her with his nervous pacing. Neither of them knew how Axl would respond to their current situation. He hadn’t had to share his mom with anyone before. Would he be okay with her sudden marriage?

“Would you please sit down?” she snapped.

Brady scowled. “And wring my hands like you’re doing? How exactly is that helping?”

“What do we say to him?” she asked.

“The truth.”

“But how do we break it to him?”

Brady plopped down beside her. “We aren’t telling him his dog died. This is happy news. We’re giving him a big house with a backyard and—”

“A temporary father?”

His expression darkened. “I was going to say a swimming pool. What kid doesn’t want a pool?”

Axl zoomed into the room with his Lego robot caught between both hands. “Look what I made!”

Brady scooted over to make room for her son to sit between them. He checked the robot from every angle as if it wasthe greatest invention since the television. “This is spectacular work. I don’t know anyone who could do a better job creating a robot from nothing.”

“It’s not made from nothing,” Axl said. “It’s made from Legos.”

Jessica let out a deep breath before launching into what she hoped would be a logical and exciting explanation for their recent move. “Hey, sweetie, do the kids in your class all live with their mommies and daddies?”

He scrunched his face up as if deep in thought. “Tommy lives with his mommy and daddy. Joey lives with his mommy like me, and Doug lives with his grandma, and I think Sara lives with—”

“Okay, sweetie.” She chuckled. “We don’t need to go through every kid in your class. I just wanted to know if you realize most kids live with both of their parents.”

“Yeah,” Brady said. “Until they start hitting the divorce courts.”

She shot him a glare.

Axl offered, “Joey’s mommy and daddy are getting divorce right now.”

“Divorced,” she automatically corrected. “A lot of married people get divorced, and that means they stop living in the same house. Then there are people who get married and move in together.”

“Why don’t you and Daddy and me live in the same house? Are you divorce?”

Brady gave her a look that clearly said he was glad she had to answer the inspired question rather than him.

She smiled down at her son and forced her negative feelings towards Randy down as far as they could go. “I was never married to your daddy, honey. Sometimes people don’t get married. They don’t want—”

Brady sighed in obvious exasperation. “Your mom and I got married a few days ago.”

“Brady!” she shouted.

“You were dragging it out too long,” he muttered. “And we have to go to work in the morning.”

Axl’s curious gaze bounced back and forth between them. “Is this our new house? Is this your house, Brady?”

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