Marrying The Boss Read Online Free PDF Page B

obviously thinking. I’ve been
divorced for more than three years. During that time my ex-wife
Katerina has preferred not to take any part in my son’s life. It’s
better that way for both of us. Certainly since I gained full
custody."
    " Oh, I see." Kate swallowed tightly against
the numbing sense she’d somehow seriously misjudged the man. "I’m
sorry, I didn’t realize."
    Heavens! Now she felt completely stupid.
Fresh heat invaded her cheeks as her heart tightened over the cool
remoteness of his voice as he spoke of his ex-wife.
    Her chest tightened. She worried for
Jamie, a little boy living without his mother. No wonder he’d been
so keen to visit her. But she couldn’t allow herself to drift into
the role of surrogate mother, however tempting it would be to
create the very thing she’d once most wanted in the
world.
    The Stelanos men would be much
better off without her. It wouldn’t be fair to let the little
boy—obviously starved of a mother’s love — to become too closely
attached to her. She would hate to break his small
heart.
    " Why should you be sorry?" Spencer asked
tersely. "It’s old history; an unfortunate mistake on my part. But
I won’t allow my son to suffer for it."
    There was a taut moment of silence. Kate
finally said, "If that’s the case, then why do you still wear your
wedding ring?"
    She froze, dragging in a deep
embarrassed breath. What folly prompted her to ask such an intimate
question? She didn’t wish to get close to this man. What is wrong with
me this morning ?
    Spencer raised one dark eyebrow. "Let's
just say I've never found a good enough reason to take it off," he
replied cryptically, turning away to hold the door of the kitchen
open for her to pass through before him. "It has its
uses."
    Kate slipped past him, her eyes
averted. "I'm
sorry, that was unforgivably rude. It's certainly none of my
business what you do in your own life."
    Knowing the man was free and
acting on that knowledge were two very different things. It still
didn 't change
her resolve to have as little as possible to do with him and his
small son. However tempting they might be.
    Professionally she would get by. She could
handle the working side of things. The fact she was his tenant was
making her feel acutely uncomfortable. Perhaps it would be best if
she looked for a new place to live as soon as possible. But the old
cottage was charming, and she didn't want to leave it so quickly
after arriving. Besides, it was the only house on the market within
her price range, without using her savings ear-marked for buying a
place of her own.
    " It's ancient history." Spencer's deep
voice startled her from her thoughts as he followed her into the
room.
    The door swung shut behind him. The kitchen
was unoccupied, so they were alone. She turned and looked up. His
narrowed gaze traveled over her face, testing each of her features.
Time seemed to stall.
    " Ending any relationship is never easy,"
she finally replied, in a tight voice.
    His dark head slanted in question. "You
make it sound almost as if you're speaking from personal
experience."
    " No! " she gasped, then moderated her sharp tone and
said, "No, Dr. Stelanos, just personal observation. I've seen the
inevitable consequences many times in the course of my
work."
    She looked away, forcing herself
to relax. His private life was none of her concern. And she wasn't
about to discuss hers. Not now, not ever. It was certainly none of his
business.
    Spencer watched her for the space of
several heartbeats. "Well, the coffee's hot. Help yourself." As he
spoke, he made a deliberate point of moving away and finally saw
her rigid shoulders begin to relax, the frowning wariness receding
slowly from her eyes. He drew a deep breath and debated his next
move.
    But how could he tell Kate
Martin what he saw? That her close facial likeness to his ex-wife was
extraordinary? She'd just begun to lose her odd look of wariness
and he couldn't afford to risk that.
    Right now some