The Playboy and the Single Mum (Vintage Love Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

call me Lexy. People I don’t like call me Alexandra.”
    “And you like me?”
    She tilted her head to one side. “The jury’s still out on that one. But in the meantime, I prefer to be called Lexy.”
    “Well, Lexy.” He tried the diminutive, but it lacked the richness of her full name. “We’re bound to discover things about each other that the other would rather keep private. I want you to know that I’m very good at keeping secrets. And I’ve had extensive media training. So I’m not likely to blurt out things about your personal life in public. You can trust me.” He stared into her eyes to see the effect his speech had on her.
    She gazed back as though she could see through to his soul. “All right.” She drew out the reply like she was saying what he expected to hear rather than what she truly meant. “The same goes for me. I won’t divulge your secrets either. So you can tell me what you were doing with Jacqueline Lefebre the other night.” Offer someone a branch and they hit you over the head with the rest of the tree.
    He rose from the sofa so suddenly her tea sloshed over into the saucer. “That isn’t my secret to tell. You’ll have to ask Jacqueline when you meet her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have emails to answer. Pull the cord next to the mantel when you’re done, and Marie or Bertrand will show you to your room.”
    But rather than head to the home office, he made his way to the library. It was his hideout, and only Marie knew how many hours he’d spent in there as a child, reading and making imaginary friends. But today even his favorite book, The Great Gatsby , couldn’t hold his attention. His mind kept drifting to Lexy. She was one hell of a distraction. One he couldn’t afford at this point in his life.
    Damn woman. Why’d she have to be so … real?

Chapter 3
    Good thing I’m not a psychologist yet. With that kind of “open up to me” patter, my patients would mow down new arrivals in their haste to get away.
    So far, it was a crap start to their eight weeks together. Daniel clearly had abandonment issues. And she’d just left her three-year-old son in order to gallivant around the globe. There was a huge difference between keeping secrets and accepting them. If Mr. “I don’t need anyone” discovered she had a child, his cooperation would cease and she’d be out of a job and risk losing her son altogether.
    Except Max had been so excited about an extended sleep-over with Andrew that he’d barely said good-bye to her before bounding back into the blanket fort Sonia had made so the boys could sleep together. It’d broken her heart that Max would rather sleep on the floor than snuggled up in his bed in the corner of her room where she could hear him breathing at night. A soft, gentle sound that had kept her going during her darkest days. Sheesh, now who needed counseling?
    Her phone binged with an incoming message.
    Sonia: Just wanted to let you know that Max is fine. He says he’s going to miss you, but he’s going to be very brave and not cry because that would make you sad and he wants you to be happy.
    Lexy : Tell him I love him and miss him, too. And it’s okay to cry sometimes.
    Like I’m perilously close to doing now.
    Sonia : No one is going to cry. Have an adventure! You deserve it.
    What did they say about the road to hell?
    Lexy : I’ll try.
    Sonia : You HAVE to. I’m now living vicariously through you. Do it for me.
    Lexy : Of the two of us, I think you’ve been having fun more recently than me.
    Sonia : Sigh. Baby bellies don’t lie. Use protection.
    Lexy : This is a business trip.
    Sonia : You keep telling yourself that, honey. Maybe one of us will believe it.
    Lexy : I’m going now. Chat with you later. And thanks again.
    She blinked back the tears. Max would be fine. They’d promised to Skype every night at bedtime. She’d left him with someone who loved him almost as much as she did herself. And the money she was able to pay Sonia would