Accidentally Yours by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page A

morals, and he’d felt nothing. But when some corn-fed, blond hairdresser looked at him like he was slime, he felt…guilty.
    What the hell was up with that?
    He felt awkward and uncomfortable—emotions he didn’t allow himself. This was his meeting. He was in charge. Who did she think she was?
    “Kerri, you’re asking a lot,” Jason said. “Maybe if there was—”
    “Do it,” Nathan told him.
    Kerri’s eyes widened. “Just like that?”
    “Like you said, I’ll assign some secretary to take care of it. What do I care?” He made it a point to never care. That’s why he was the best.
    “Okay. Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
    She frowned slightly, as if not sure what was up with him or what he had in mind. Good. He liked her off balance.
    “Then we have a deal,” Jason said.
    Kerri nodded and reached for the pen. She added the “Wonder Mom” clause to her list, then started to sign the documents already prepared.
    Jason grabbed them. “You have to read them first.”
    “Why?” she asked, taking them back and signing them. “We all know I don’t have a choice. Mr. King gets what he wants and I get what I want.”
    Nathan still wasn’t sure he liked her, but he was beginning to respect her. “Still not a deal with the devil?”
    “Still not.”
    “Then maybe you should call me Nathan. What with us doing business together.”
    Her eyes widened, as if she remembered their conversation from a few days ago during which she’d told him to call her by her first name because sleeping together otherwise would be awkward. Only he wasn’t going to sleep with her.
    Yet as she stood, he found himself looking her over, taking in the curves underneath her loose dress.
    She shook hands with Jason, then looked at him. “I guess I’ll go find Tim.”
    “I’ll walk you down.”
    She smiled. “Still don’t trust me?”
    “I want to keep an eye on you.”
    “Because I might run off with a stapler? It’s a law office, Nathan. What possible trouble could I make here?”
    “You’d be surprised.”
    He led her to the elevator, then pushed the Down button. “Jason will mail you a copy of the documents you signed.”
    “I know he will. He seems very efficient. And nice. I didn’t expect that from a lawyer.”
    “Have a lot of experience with them?”
    “Not really. Is he married?”
    Annoyance exploded hard and hot inside of Nathan. “Is that the game? You can’t get me, so you want Jason? He makes a lot of money, but unfortunately he does have a wife. They just had a baby.”
    Kerri patted his arm. “You have quite the temper. Do you know what all that built-up anger is doing to your cardiovascular system? It’s not healthy.”
    The elevator arrived. She stepped on, then looked expectant. He put out a hand to hold the door.
    “You didn’t answer the question.”
    “That’s because I thought it was rude.” She sighed. “I saw a sign in one of the big corner offices on the way in—It’s A Boy. I wondered if it was his. I was going to send a card. Nothing more.”
    Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like an idiot. He was confident he’d been a lot younger and somehow his father had been involved.
    He got on the elevator. “I’m sorry,” he said, the words unfamiliar and hard to form.
    “You should be.”
    “That’s gracious.”
    “You assume the worst about me.”
    How was this his fault?
    He was a master of negotiation. He didn’t get flustered or confused or run out of things to say. But this woman made him crazy.
    He turned to tell her that, then realized he couldn’t admit the weakness. She looked up at him expectantly, so he did the only thing he could think of.
    He kissed her.

CHAPTER FOUR
    N ATHAN’S MOUTH WAS warm and firm, but not demanding, which surprised Kerri. She’d expected to be ravished, not kissed. He didn’t grab her. Instead he let his lips handle all the action, and they did a fine job.
    Her eyes fluttered shut as she gave herself up to the