Catering to the Italian Playboy (12 page)

A spark of disappointment flared in his eyes then he nodded. “Let’s go.”

** NINE **

“Did you see this week’s paper?” The bell jingled against the glass door as Felicity strolled into A Touch of Spice the following Monday morning.

Sophie, bent over the island counter, kept her eye trained on sides of the three-tiered white wedding cake gracing it and squeezed red icing through a tube to carefully form each miniature rose petal around the edge of the bottom layer. Achieving the desired design required uninterrupted concentration so she didn’t look up to see Felicity’s expression, but by her friend’s subdued tone, she knew it couldn’t be good. “No. Why?”

“Let’s just say you’ve earned your fifteen minutes of fame,” came the dry response. “Here. See for yourself.” She tossed the paper onto the cerulean-tiled counter beside the cake and plopped onto the bar stool across from Sophie.

Sophie finished the rose, set the icing tube down and wiped her hands on a dishrag before picking up the paper. “Oh, crap.”

The headline glared back at her with bold black letters:
Local Entrepreneur Caters to Playboy Tycoon’s Latest Whim
.

Sophie’s chest tightened as her eyes drank in the accompanying picture. Max held Alex in one arm while his other one was casually draped across her shoulders. All three of them were relaxed and smiling.

Like a family.

Her insides looped and the picture brought a lump to her throat.

A family.

Something they would never be.

Sophie shoved the lump back down. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but this one was way off the mark. Max was
not
the type of man she wanted or needed to morph into her golden years with
and
he’d made it perfectly clear marriage wasn’t on his agenda either.

So why did looking at the picture make her feel like a piece of her life was missing?

“You okay?” The concern lacing Felicity’s tone snapped Sophie back to the real problem at hand. The media.

Sophie nodded as she traced the picture with her index finger. “The zoo. This was taken the day we met Max at the zoo.” She clenched her fist to keep from slinging the paper across the room and forced herself to read the rest of the article. Frustration churned in her stomach as the condemning words blurred before her eyes. The author not only had the audacity to hint at an inappropriate fling but demeaned her services as a caterer while insinuating she was Max’s latest passing fancy, even going so far as to call her “the flavor of the month.”

“Ugh!” Sophie flung the newspaper back on the counter toward Felicity. “How could they?”

“They even managed to dig into your past and find out your family history.” Felicity cleared her throat then began to read. “
Sophia Eleanor Westbrook, proprietor of A Touch of Spice Catering in New York and daughter of the infamous advertising guru, Miles Joseph Westbrook, seems to be adding a little spice to her own life
–
”

“Stop!” Sophie squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to hear any more.” Just the sound of her father’s name put her nerves on edge. Not to mention the way her name and business was smeared through the tabloid.

“Not exactly the kind of publicity you wanted for A Touch of Spice, huh?” Felicity arched a brow sympathetically.

“No it’s not. But what really gets my goat is the fact the reporter had the nerve to smear Alex in the article. He’s just little kid. They didn’t mention him by name of course, but still the article is hateful.”

“Smut sells, Soph. You know that as well as I do. Nobody wants to read about a person’s good fortune. They’d rather read a juicy scandal any day. Just be thankful they didn’t get any pictures of you and McSexy getting horizontal.”

Sophie hissed a gasp and jerked her eyes to her friend. “What makes you think we did any such thing?”

“Well, I’m just taking a stab in the dark here, but considering the four-alarm fire now burning a hole your cheeks I’d say I’m spot on.” Felicity laughed as another wave of heat climbed Sophie’s face. “So how was it?”

How was it? Incredible. Unbelievable. Too spectacular for words. These were the first thoughts tumbling through her mind, but she would rather lie and tell Felicity nothing had happened than admit it. Sophie swallowed a sigh. What was the point? Her assistant knew her too well. She’d just drag it out of her eventually anyway. May as well come clean now.

Sophie propped her hip against the counter and sucked in a ragged breath. “It was wonderful.”

“Just wonderful?”

“Okay, it was out-of-this-world fantastic.”

“I knew it!” Felicity squealed with delight, slapping the counter with the palm of her hand. “McSexy is the just the type of man who can curl a woman’s toes.” Then her lips twitched. “Did he curl yours, boss?”

Sophie grabbed the dishrag and furiously scrubbed the counter. “Among other things.”

“Get out of town!” Felicity’s infectious laugh peppered the air. “It’s about time you had a little fun for a change. You’ve been so wrapped up in raising Alex and making a go of this business, I worried you had forgotten how to let loose and just have fun.”

“I have fun,” Sophie muttered, grinding the dishrag into the grout.

“Puh-lease!” Felicity expelled an exaggerated sigh. “Building Lego cities and reading bedtime stories is not the kind of fun I’m talking about.” Before Sophie could work up a proper indignant expression, Felicity added hastily, “Don’t get me wrong, Soph. Alex is a sweetheart and I love him dearly – he’s my godson for crying out loud – but just because you’re a single mom doesn’t mean you’re dead. It’s high time you got back out there.”

Out there.

The two words curdled her stomach. Sophie knew what she meant, of course. The dreaded dating pool. Still, Felicity was right. She probably
should
get back out there. It had been a long time and, as her friend had put it, she wasn’t dead.

Sophie shuddered inwardly. She didn’t relish the idea of jumping back into those shark-infested waters, but it was probably time to at least put her big toe in and give it a whirl. Ease herself back into it. Goosebumps sprinkled her arms. Unfortunately, sleeping with Max hadn’t exactly been easing herself back into it. It had been like jumping head first into the deep end without a life preserver.

“Have you seen him since the party?”

“No. He phoned Saturday morning and said he’d be out of town for a few days. Business or something.” Tentacles of doubt wrapped around her stomach. What kind of business did one do on the weekend? The tentacles squeezed for good measure. She knew what kind. The same kind of business her father had on the weekends. Female business.

“So, when are you seeing him again?”

“I’m not. At least not in the biblical sense.”

Felicity’s jaw dropped. “Why on earth not? You just said it was out of this world.”

Sophie blew a sigh between her lips and scrubbed the imaginary grime on the counter a little harder. “It’s complicated.”

How could she explain it? It wasn’t like she hadn’t known what she was getting into. Max had made it clear their little tryst was just temporary. And she’d accepted that. Or so she thought. But, now … now she wasn’t so sure.

“What’s complicated about it? You’re a woman. He’s a man. You’re both adults. Sounds like a delicious combination to me.” Felicity rested her elbows on the counter and cast a speculative look at Sophie. “What’s the problem?”

“Alex.” Sophie’s hand stilled on the dishrag as she chanced a look at Felicity. Unfortunately, her friend didn’t seem the least bit convinced. She tried again. “I can’t risk it. When this thing – whatever it is – ends, Alex could be the one who’s hurt.” She tossed the dishrag to the edge of counter and sank onto the stool across from her assistant. “I can’t let that happen. Max will be a part of Alex’s life of course, but anything more than that could be disastrous.”

“And McSexy is okay with this?”

Sophie shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. He made it crystal clear he doesn’t want a relationship either. Not that it matters,” she added hastily. “Max is too much like my father for me to even consider such a thing. Besides, look what damage the media has already created.” She nodded toward the paper. “I can’t subject Alex to this … this kind of slander. I can just imagine what the heartless buzzards would print if they found out Max and I were sleeping together. Their insinuations are bad enough as it is.” And the sooner she explained her reservations to Max the better. Chances are he just wanted the one night too. Actually, he was probably already moved on to the next willing body. Why else would he have left town for the weekend?

A sliver of disappointment washed over her. She quickly brushed it aside and assured herself, firmly, it was for the best.

“I see.” Felicity’s brows furrowed into a straight line, then her eyes softened. She reached across the counter and squeezed Sophie’s hand. “Are you sure you’re not afraid it might be
you
who gets hurt?”

Sophie swallowed hard, her practical mind rejecting the notion outright. No, it was Alex she was concerned about. Not herself.

Wasn’t it?

* * *

She didn’t hear from Max again until Thursday when he phoned to tell her he was back in town and wanted to see Alex that evening. Disappointment pooled in her stomach when he didn’t mention wanting to see her too. Since she had no intention of sleeping with him again, she knew she really shouldn’t feel miffed.

Yet she did.

At precisely six o’clock the doorbell chimed. Sophie’s heart ping-ponged against her chest as she crossed the living room to answer the door.
Get a grip, girl. He’s not here for you.

“I’m right on time.” Max greeted her with a lazy grin, his blue-jeaned thigh leaning against the doorframe. “I thought you’d be pleased since you have that time fetish.”

“I do not have a time fetish,” Sophie returned sharply. “I’m just responsible, that’s all.” She stepped aside so he could enter.
Time fetish indeed!

“Actually you do.” Max dropped a firm kiss on her lips and brushed past her. “But I think it’s adorable. Annoying sometimes, but adorable.”

Sophie’s stomach dipped. Why the devil did he kiss her? He was here to see Alex, nothing more.

Her stomach performed another somersault. This had to stop. Kissing her at will. Dropping in when the mood struck him. Charming the pants off of her. These things weren’t setting well with her and it would be best if she set him straight on a few ground rules before she fetched their son from his bedroom.

“I think we need a schedule.” Sophie followed him to the couch and sat down beside him, careful not to touch his thigh with hers. It didn’t seem to matter. She could still feel his body heat wrapping around her like a soft blanket. One she didn’t want to unwrap.

“Schedule?”

“For Alex. You can’t continue dropping in at your leisure. Alex needs structure. I’m sure we can come up with a suitable arrangement.”

Max stiffened beside her. “You want me to schedule visits with my own son?”

“That’s the way it usually works when … when the parents aren’t together.”

A flash of pain flickered across his features, then his eyes shuttered. His voice, threaded with a heavy accent, took on a note of steel. “I didn’t realize it was such an inconvenience for you.”

Sophie smoothed an imaginary wrinkle from her mint green Capri pants. “It’s not really, but it might be in the future. I mean if I have a date or something it could be a problem.”

“You are dating?”

A rush of heat flooded her cheeks. “Yes … no. I mean I might be sometime.”

“Which is it? Yes or no?” Max’s voiced hardened, his gray eyes boring into hers with disapproval.

Sophie’s pulse galloped under his intense stare. “N–not at the moment, no.”

“But you are thinking about it?”

“I don’t know.” Why did he have to make her feel so inadequate? What difference did it make to him what she did in her free time?
He
certainly didn’t want to date her. Sophie lifted her chin. “It’s really none of your concern who I date or don’t date.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,
cara
.” Max’s voice grew deadly soft. “Everything you do concerns me. You are raising my son. That makes it my business.”

Sophie’s eyes widened. Was he for real? God, he’d been a father for what? Two seconds? And now he thought he knew what’s best for
her
son? Not! “What are you saying?”

“If you choose to date someone I don’t approve of, then I’ll have no choice except to take Alex.”

“You’ll what!” Sophie sputtered with indignation, her voice hitting an octave. “Are you saying I have to get your
approval
before I go out with someone?”

He had to be joking. She would
not
seek his approval for anything, much less her choice of companions. If she’d wanted that, she’d have stayed in L.A. where her father could have been the puppet master of her life like he had been her mother’s. This was what she’d run away from in the first place, and if Max thought for one second he could waltz into her life and start dictating he had another think coming.

“I will not have my son subjected to questionable … cohorts.”

Sophie’s blood boiled. How dare he suggest she would put Alex in any sort of danger? “Cohorts? You think I’d let anyone near my son who could harm him?”

“I really don’t know what you’d do,” Max said coolly. “You picked me up in a hotel bar after knowing me for ten minutes.”

Sophie recoiled as if slapped. The warm fuzzy feeling she’d had a few minutes earlier dissipated to ice. Her stomach churned as she felt the color drain from her face. “You
know
why I did that,” she whispered hoarsely. “I’ve never done anything like that before or since. It was a mistake. One I’ll obviously be paying for the rest of my life.”

“How do I know you won’t make the same mistake again?”

“Because the only questionable person I’ve subjected my son to is you,” Sophie snapped, balling her fist. “Now, I think you’d better leave.”