“Where’s Ridley? I mean, Miss Raina?”

Chris leaned over and whispered loudly, “She told us her real name is Ridley. She has two names. Like Spiderman! His real name is Peter Parker except no one knows it’s him.”

“That’s right. It’s too bad she can’t climb buildings and shoot that cool stuff from her hands. Did she go upstairs?”

Chris shrugged.

Jackson almost hoped she didn’t come down. There was no reason she should have to suffer through the meal also. He hadn’t even taken a bite yet and he already felt light-headed.

Well, at least she said it was beef. How bad could it be?

He picked up his fork, speared a small piece and swiped it through the heavy gravy on the plate.

“Jackson Alexander! Did you say grace?” Miss Bessie’s face was the picture of shocked outrage.

The boys giggled as he dropped the fork.

“No, ma’am. Sorry. I was just… really hungry.” He closed his eyes and prayed for strength. He opened them again to see Miss Bessie hurriedly gathering up her belongings.

“You can’t stay?” He tried not to sound too optimistic.

If this first meal was any indication of her cooking skill, he feared to think of what they had to endure in the future. Images of sharing dinner with Ridley over the weekend brought a smile to his face. Even though he didn’t want her to have to suffer through the meal, he couldn’t help wishing she was sitting across from him making faces. He knew she’d get the humor in the situation.

“Actually, I hate to do this but I won’t be able to work for you this summer after all. I’m so sorry, but keeping up with two active little boys is more taxing than I thought. I think I’m getting too old for this.”

She was inching toward the door, smiling apologetically. “Your boys are really very,” she grimaced, “sweet.”

Jackson bit his lip to keep from laughing. He knew his boys were a handful, especially for an older person who couldn’t chase after them to keep them out of trouble.

“It’s no problem. I understand—” His reply was interrupted by the sound of the front door swinging shut behind her as she rushed out.

O-kay then.

“Is she gone?” Chris whispered.

Jackson laughed out loud. “Yes, she’s gone. I guess we can go back to our caveman ways now.”

Truthfully, he was glad he didn’t have to hurt her feelings by firing her. However, he had to admit his situation was getting desperate. He needed to devote his attention to producing Divine. He was so close to getting back on top.

If he got this close and failed, he wasn’t sure he’d have it in him to try again.

He looked up to see Chris and Jase watching him. Chris poked the meat on his plate with the tip of his fork, dispiritedly. Jackson dropped his own fork.

“Who wants pizza?”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

AFTER TEN MINUTES of searching without finding her, Jackson started to wonder if Ridley was angry with him. He’d expected things to be awkward the next day but he hadn’t expected her to avoid him completely. She hadn’t seemed mad that morning, though she could have just been distracted by Matt.

He scowled. She’d definitely been distracted by Matt.

Just the thought of it made him feel, well, he wasn’t exactly sure. Matt was a good guy and they’d seemed to get along really well at the party. Should he really be surprised if Ridley liked him? The whole point of their one-night rule was to get it out of their systems so they could move on. It was really none of his business if she liked someone else. The thought certainly shouldn’t make him want to punch his friend in the face.

Hell.

“Ridley? Are you in here?” He stuck his head in the guest room after a quick knock. The door was partially open so he could only hope he wasn’t catching her napping or god forbid, undressing. His hormones were already in overdrive around her. Another glimpse of her naked would probably send him so far into caveman territory that he’d just club her over the head and drag her to his bedroom.

Luckily the room was empty.

He didn’t find her in the boys’ room or outside in the backyard. He wanted to thank her for helping the boys clean the house. Even before Chris had told him, he’d known they had help. He could always tell when the boys cleaned up; anything higher than four feet was left untouched. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw her with the dust rag and can of furniture polish in her hand as he entered his office.

Funny how the last place you look is always where you find what you’re looking for.

“Hey, there you are.”

She looked up and grinned. “Jackson! You’re home.”

His breath caught. The thought that she might have missed him was such an unexpected pleasure. He wanted her to miss him and enjoy being with him. He wanted things he had no right to want.

She raised her hand in greeting and accidentally knocked over one of the books on the edge of the desk. A puff of dust billowed up. She sneezed delicately and wrinkled her nose at the layers of dirt on the table.

Jackson was almost embarrassed at the state of his office. He never let the maids come up there because he didn’t like anyone else in his space. It didn’t surprise him that having Ridley in his office didn’t bother him. Everything about her calmed him.

“I was wondering where you were.” He felt like an idiot. Did his hands have to sweat like a teenager’s every time she was around? He wiped his palms on his slacks.