Free Marrying The Boss by Judi Nolan Page A

door to a silent house. Weariness weighed down heavily on
every one of his limbs.
    The night had been very long with Alexia
fighting him all the way. And she'd come close to winning. His aunt
had been more resistant to remaining in hospital that he'd
expected. It had taken a great deal of precious time to convince
her to stay and allow herself be taken care of. It had also taken
all his energy.
    Thankfully the x-rays of her hip had shown
no evidence of fractures. But there was severe bruising and she'd
also sustained a mild concussion from hitting her head.
    He was aware it was now well after four in
the morning. He hoped Kate had enough sense to put Jamie to bed and
get some sleep herself. The thought that she could still be out of
bed—waiting for him to come home—stirred something within him he
was not going to acknowledge, let alone identify.
    He reminded himself that theirs
needed to be a professional relationship . Pure and simple. It was safer that
way.
    Any personal relationship was
the last thing he needed to get involved in. Even if it had been
over three years since he'd been out on a date. Been close to a woman in
any truly intimate sense, shared his innermost thoughts or
feelings.
    " Don't even go there." He blew a long sigh
towards the ceiling. "It wouldn't work."
    He still had Jamie to consider. His son
must come first in his life, always. But the boy also needed a
mother, a woman much younger than Alexia who could care for him as
he grew into a man. But no woman he knew would want a marriage that
Spencer needed, one kept strictly on a business footing instead of
a warm intimate joining of two people who would share
everything.
    A woman who would want a
relationship like that simply didn't exist. But the need remained
like an unanswered question in the back of his mind. What if…
    His mouth thinned as he
considered Kate's unusual facial likeness to his ex-wife. He'd
loved Katerina once with all his heart. Past tense , but forgetting what they'd had
together wasn't easy. Maybe the faded memory of that love explained
his new state of turmoil, this odd need to seek out Kate Martin's
company and care what she thought of him. The temptation to mold
their mutual awareness into something they could work on together
was a disruptive distraction.
    His past was stirring to life every time
he looked at Kate and felt something he didn't want to acknowledge.
She stirred his body in disturbing ways he had thought were long
dormant.
    " Or maybe you're too tired to make sense of
anything right now." Flexing his shoulders, he decided on strong
black coffee. Opening the door to the kitchen, he crossed the room,
switching on the light above the sink, before reaching for the
kettle.
    Something out of the ordinary caught and
arrested his attention. The room was filled with the mouth-watering
scents of fresh baking. He inhaled deeply, savoring the delicious
smell.
    He looked around the room. His aunt took
fierce pride in keeping her kitchen in strictly regimented order.
Everything had its assigned place.
    Now, the sweetly scented room possessed the
rakish air of general disorder and upheaval. Things had been moved
and three trays of freshly baked cookies took pride of place on the
large island dominating the middle of the room.
    " What on earth...?" He felt his jaw
loosen.
    The cookies looked dark and rich.
Chocolate chip, his favorite and Jamie's. Someone had been very
busy. His lips snapped shut. It didn't take a rocket scientist to
work out exactly who.
    Turning away, he filled the kettle and
plugged it in. He cast another glance at the trays of tempting
cookies. His stomach felt hollow. Realizing he hadn't eaten his
evening meal, he reached for one biscuit, ate it quickly, before
snagging a second.
    Biting into it, he closed his
eyes. Any
woman who could cook like this… Kate's baking was sinful and heavenly.
    The kettle boiled and switched itself off.
He made the coffee one handed, while devouring another two cookies
with