Free Tempting by Susan Mallery Page B

seventeen and tiptoeing in after curfew. Except he wasn’t a kid and he didn’t live here anymore. Still, kissing Dani? What had he been thinking?
    He hadn’t, he reminded himself. That was the problem. He’d been reacting—to her, to circumstances. The kiss hadn’t meant anything. How could it? She was a complication in all their lives.
    Yet his sexual reaction to her hadn’t faded. He still hungered for her with a powerful need that shocked him.
    He ignored the desire and the memories, then lightly knocked on the closed study door.
    â€œCome in.”
    He stepped into the small cozy room and smiled at his mother. “You’re still up.”
    She rose and stepped around her desk to kiss him on the cheek. “I said I would be.” She took his hand and led him to the small sofa by the window. “I suddenly have reports due on all my charities. It always happens this time of year and I’m always surprised. I wish I were one of those organized women who go through life with a plan.”
    â€œYou have eight children. You get slack.”
    She smiled as she angled toward him on the couch. “You and Julie are both living on your own. Ian is more independent by the day.”
    Alex smiled. “So you’re only worrying about five children, then. You’re right. You should do better.”
    She laughed. “I see your point. I can make excuses if I want and people will understand. Honestly, I’d prefer to be more together, but I’ll take what I can get.”
    And she would do it all because duty came first. She believed that and she’d raised him to believe it, too.
    Alex remembered the first time he’d seen Katherine Canfield. He remembered her eyes—how blue they’d been and how kind. She’d touched him as they’d spoken. Her hand on his, her fingers on his shoulder. No adults ever touched him, except to hit him. The other boys had tried to beat him up, but he’d been tough.
    She’d been pretty and gentle and when she’d smiled he’d known he would do anything for her if only she would take him home and adopt him.
    She had. She’d loved him with a fierceness that had made him feel safe for the first time in his life. She had a heart that gave and gave. Sometimes, when he saw her with his father, he wondered if she gave too much…to all of them.
    Now, he took her hand and gently squeezed her fingers.
    â€œMom,” he began, only to have her shake her head.
    â€œDon’t worry about speeches,” she said quietly, her gaze meeting his. “I already know. Dani is Mark’s daughter.”
    â€œHow did you guess?”
    She shrugged. “I sensed it the moment I saw her. There’s plenty of Mark in her appearance—the way she holds her head, the shape of her chin. Your father will be delighted.”
    â€œWhat about you?” he asked.
    She leaned toward him. “That’s my question for you. How are you handling all this?”
    â€œFinding out he has a biological daughter?”
    Katherine nodded. “It doesn’t mean anything. You know that, right? It doesn’t change how he feels about you.”
    That’s what Alex had told Ian. Neither of them had believed it then and Alex didn’t believe it now.
    â€œEverything changes,” he told his mother. “The family dynamic has fundamentally shifted. Am I questioning my place in the universe? No.”
    â€œI’m more concerned about your place in this family and how you think this will affect your relationship with your father.”
    Alex didn’t know if it would. Mark wasn’t like Katherine. He loved his children, but there was always a distance. Would that be there for Dani or not?
    â€œYou’re his wife,” he said. “Are you okay with this?”
    Katherine leaned back in the sofa and sighed. “Do I get a choice?” she asked.
    â€œHe didn’t cheat on you. You were