A Clandestine Corporate Affair by Michelle Celmer Read Free Book Online Page A

her the right? Max’s well-being? Well, suppose it hadn’t been good for him? What if she had done more harm than good? What if Max grew up with a hole in his life, in his soul?
    She hated that Nathan was making her second-guess herself, that she couldn’t trust her instincts. Then there was that “apology accepted” remark. What was up with that? Did he mean it, or was he just playing some angle? Did hehave ulterior motives? If she were him, she wouldn’t be so quick to let her off the hook.
    You’re giving him too much power, she warned herself.
    Not just that, but what in God’s name had possessed her to touch him? She hadn’t done it consciously. Until he’d asked her to let go, she hadn’t even realized her hand was on his arm. She wanted to find his flaws, but not in bed. Besides, she knew for a fact that sexually, he was about as perfect as a man could be. So perfect that it made her blind to everything else. As evidenced by the fact that when he dumped her it seemed to come out of the clear blue with no warning. They hadn’t even had so much as a disagreement. As far as she knew, everything was fantastic, them bam, it was over. Apparently there had been some problem that she wasn’t seeing.
    All the more reason not to sleep with him.
    Her cell phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket to check the display, half-hoping it was Nathan calling to cancel for tomorrow. It was Beth. Ana was supposed to call her when Nathan left, but apparently Beth was impatient.
    â€œIs he gone yet?” she said when Ana answered.
    â€œHe left a few minutes ago.”
    â€œSo, what did he decide? Does he want to be Max’s daddy?” Beth had been convinced from the time Ana learned she was pregnant that Nathan would want the baby and would slip easily into the role of being a father. She obviously didn’t know Nathan as well as she thought she did.
    â€œHe wants a trial period.”
    â€œWhat?” she shrieked. “What the heck for?”
    â€œLots of reasons. But the gist of it is that he wants what’s best for Max.”
    â€œMax needs his father. That’s what’s best for him.”
    â€œWell, Nathan doesn’t see it that way. He’s not convincedhe’ll be a good father. And he’s concerned about the reaction at work.”
    â€œSo, are you going to let him do it?” she asked.
    â€œWhat else can I do? I can’t force him to want to be Max’s daddy.”
    â€œBut he is Max’s daddy. He needs to be there for his son.”
    â€œI get the feeling there’s more to it than he’s letting on. He said something about having made mistakes in the past.”
    â€œWhat kind of mistakes?”
    â€œI’m not sure. It was very cryptic. I thought maybe you would know what he was talking about. Maybe something that happened in college?”
    â€œNothing comes to mind. The only major mistake I’ve seen him make is leaving you.”
    She twisted the lock, engaged the deadbolt then switched off the porch light. “I think he almost kissed me.”
    Beth made a sound of indignation. “Are you serious?”
    â€œYeah.” She walked into the living room and grabbed the two empty wineglasses. “We were at the front door saying goodbye and he was looking at me.”
    â€œLooking, or looking? ”
    â€œLooking.” She carried the glasses into the kitchen and set them next to the sink. “Then he leaned .”
    â€œHe’s got a lot of nerve. Does he think having a kid together is an open invitation back into your pants?”
    Yeah, about that…she grabbed the bottle of wine and poured herself a second glass. “I sort of…touched him.”
    â€œ What? Where?”
    â€œHis arm. Actually, just the sleeve of his jacket.”
    â€œOh.” Beth sounded disappointed, like maybe she thought it would be something more scandalous, like his fly.
    Ana