Free A Clandestine Corporate Affair by Michelle Celmer Page A

everything she could have imagined it would be. Because she wanted them to be a family, wanted it so badly she was no longer thinking rationally.
    She’d been doing her best to avoid Nathan, to give him and Max time to get to know one another, but it seemed as though the less she talked to him, the more he tried to talk to her. She was all for them being friends, but her feelings were still a bit raw. They were going to have to set some rules about his popping in unannounced. Especially if he decided to be a permanent part of Max’s life, which certainly seemed to be the way he was leaning. She hadn’t brought it up yet. She figured he would broach the subject when he was ready.
    â€œSo, what do you think?” Nathan asked, stepping back to admire his work. “Is it straight?”
    â€œIt’s perfect.” The tree was larger than she usually got, but she’d figured what the heck, it was only for a few weeks, and she knew Max would be so excited when he woke up and saw it in the morning. Tomorrow night, after the branches had time to settle, they would decorate it. Everything about this holiday season would be special because it was Max’s first.
    Nathan grabbed his hot chocolate from the credenza where he’d set it and sat down on the couch beside her, resting his arm across the cushion behind her head. Andhe was sitting so that their thighs were nearly touching. What was this? A first date? Did he have to sit so close? There was a perfectly good chair across the room. Why didn’t he sit there? Or even better, why didn’t he leave? Would it be rude to ask him to go?
    With the fireplace lit, and only the lamp by the couch on, there was an undeniable “date” vibe in the air. Or maybe she was mistaking intimate for cozy. Cozy and platonic .
    â€œI had fun tonight,” he said, sounding surprised by the realization.
    â€œDoes that mean you’re changing your opinion about the holidays?”
    â€œMaybe. It’s a start at least.”
    â€œWell then, maybe I should let you help us decorate the tree tomorrow.”
    Ugh! Did she really just say that? What was wrong with her? It was as if her brain was working independently from her mouth. Or maybe it was the other way around.
    Nathan grinned. “I may just take you up on that.”
    Of course he would. She was supposed to be avoiding him, not manufacturing family activities that Max would be too young to remember anyway. She was only making this harder on herself.
    â€œWhat was it you disliked so much about Christmas anyway?” she asked him.
    â€œLet’s just say it was never what you would call a heartwarming family experience.”
    â€œYou know, in all the time I’ve known you, you never once talked about your mom and dad,” she said. “I take it there’s a reason for that. I mean, if they were awesome parents I probably would have heard about it, right?”
    â€œProbably,” he agreed. Then nothing.
    If she wanted to know more, obviously she would have to drag it out of him. “So, are they still together?”
    â€œDivorced.” Nathan leaned forward to set his cup down on the coffee table. “Why the sudden interest in my parents?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess it would be nice to know about the family of the father of my baby. Especially if he’s going to be spending time with them.”
    â€œHe won’t be.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œMy mother is an elitist snob and my father is an overbearing bully. I see her two or three times a year, and I haven’t talked to my father in almost a decade.”
    Her father would never be parent of the year, but she couldn’t imagine him not being a part of her and Max’s life.
    â€œBesides,” Nathan added, “they’re not ‘kid’ people. Jordan and I were raised by the nanny.”
    â€œI think if my mom had lived, my parents would still be