Tempted by Her Boss Read Online Free PDF

late, Matty was tired and whiny about it too, but Paige kept on him. Her sweet, lilting voice never filled with anger, was always encouraging and kind as she helped him along.
    Matteo heard smacking noises come from within his son’s bedroom a few moments later and he knew Paige was smothering Matty with kisses, the sound of his son giggling with joy touching Matteo’s heart. He stopped in the doorway, watching as Paige tucked Matty into bed. The scene was quaintly domestic. He could almost imagine Paige as the mother of his child. Sweet and loving, indulging their son in his every whim, she would always be gracious, always with a smile on her face.
    But Paige wasn’t his son’s mother. The greedy, never-happy bitch he’d married was forever Matty’s mother, though she’d hardly looked twice at their son when she’d been alive.
    Thinking of Lucia made his chest hurt. Thinking of the way Lucia neglected their son filled him with inconsolable rage. He wondered what she’d be like now, if she were still here. Would she have finally come around? Or would she still be locked up in her room, doped up on prescription medication? Or out shopping with her bitchy friends, spending all of his money on useless crap?
    Guilt swamped him. She was dead. He thought of her as a cold, unfeeling bitch, and the poor woman was dead. He was a complete ass for thinking of her this way.
    “Do you want to say goodnight to Matty?”
    He breathed deep, pulled himself from his thoughts. Paige stood by Matty’s bed, her expression unreadable as she watched him. “Of course,” he answered as he slowly entered the room.
    Approaching the bed, he bent over where Matty lay, dropping a soft kiss to his son’s forehead and ruffling his hair. “Goodnight, son.”
    “’Night, Daddy.” Matty reached up, looping his arms around Matteo’s neck and they embraced, Paige standing to the side of the bed close by.
    Again with the realization of how domestic this moment was. If Matteo didn’t know any better, he’d think he actually wanted to be domesticated by Paige. After swearing he would never marry again, the idea of coming home to this woman day in and day out held a certain—if not forbidden—appeal.
    They left the room together, walking down the hall side by side toward the living area, both of them silent. His thoughts were a jumble. He needed to figure out how to best approach her with his suggestion. Would she think he was being too forward, asking her to accompany them on such a trip? He had no lewd intentions behind wanting her there. Not really. Matty needed a nanny. He couldn’t do it all alone considering this was a working vacation, and he didn’t expect his mother to step in completely either, though she would be glad to.
    Damn it, if he was being honest with himself, he needed to admit he wanted Paige there. Not to be a nanny to his son, but because he liked having her around.
    Paige exhaled loudly as she stopped in the living room, turning to face him dead on. “What is it that you wish to tell me?”
    He was surprised by her abrupt candor. Rather unlike the Paige he’d spent time with these last few months. Her spine was stiff, her expression void of any emotion, and he realized she must be nervous. After all the talk at the restaurant after dinner, she most likely thought he was demoting her or worse—firing her.
    Hell, he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing, no matter how much he knew he should. Having her in his home was a temptation he found harder to resist as each day went by. But Matty loved her…
    And Matteo wasn’t ready to let her go.
    “It’s not a bad thing,” he reassured, noting the subtle fall of her shoulders when he said that. “I wanted to ask you to accompany us on a special trip.”
    That got her attention. “A trip? Where to?”
    “Sit down.” He indicated toward the couch. “I’ll tell you all about it.”
    She slowly shook her head. “I’d rather stand, if you don’t mind.”
    Huh.