From Boss to Bridegroom by Victoria Pade

his coloring. “Now I’m gonna be a pail-intologer. That’s the guy who works at the mooseum putting the dinosaurs’ bones together. And some of the times I’m gonna sing songs with a guitar.”
    â€œA paleontologist and a rock star, huh?” Lucy mused.
    â€œHe sang us a song, too,” Sadie contributed. Then, barely suppressing a laugh, she added, “Maybe later he can perform again. I think you ought to see it.”
    â€œLast Saturday he was enthralled with an old Elvis Presley movie on TV. Don’t tell me I’m raising a little Elvis impersonator.”
    â€œForget the college fund. You’d better start savingfor the sparkling suits, big belt buckles and wig,” her aunt advised. “Max does ’Blue Suede Shoes’ like a pro. He had every teacher and aide rolling in the aisles. And if you think he’s shy, think again.”
    Max was listening to this exchange even though he still hadn’t stopped coloring, and a grin stretched from ear to ear at his reviews.
    Lucy was about to ask to see him sing when the doorbell rang.
    â€œOur other guest,” Sadie said as she wiped her hands on a dish towel and headed for the door.
    â€œI didn’t know there was going to be another guest, did you?” Lucy asked Max.
    He nodded his head. “I helped Aunt Sadie set the dining room table.”
    Not that Lucy minded that someone else would be joining them. She was always happy to meet new people, especially now that she needed to cultivate a Washington circle of friends.
    But then she heard a man’s voice and froze.
    It wasn’t just any man’s voice. It was the deep tones of a voice she recognized instantly—Rand Colton.
    And panic replaced the pleasant prospect of meeting someone new.
    Lucy hadn’t told her aunt about Rand’s no-kids dictate. Or that she hadn’t confessed that she had Max. It just hadn’t come up.
    No, that wasn’t exactly true.
    The truth was, Lucy hadn’t brought it up because she was so chagrined at having kept Max a secret.And since the job was only temporary, she’d just chosen to keep that under wraps when it came to her aunt.
    It hadn’t occurred to her that it would backfire by Sadie getting them all together.
    â€œHere they are,” Sadie was saying as she led the way into the warm kitchen, redolent with the scent of roasting chicken. “My two darlings. Lucy and Max. I don’t suppose you’ve met Max yet, have you, Rand?”
    There wasn’t time to make a run for it. There wasn’t even time to think of a face-saving excuse or some glib quip. Instead Lucy looked up from the salad she was dressing to find her handsome boss taking in the whole domestic scene, his expression confused as his gaze went to Max while Sadie made the introduction.
    And what was even worse, Max seemed to fall in love at first sight with the big man. The little boy’s blue eyes sparkled and his smile showed pure delight.
    â€œI’m coloring a Tyrannosaurus. He ate other dinosaurs.”
    â€œDid he? I didn’t know that,” Rand answered amiably enough. But then he turned a much more cloudy expression to Lucy as he added, “But then there are a lot of things I don’t know.”
    Sadie seemed to pick up on the tension between Lucy and Rand but she kept up a good front. “I’veopened a bottle of wine. Will you have a glass?” she asked Rand then. “Dinner is just about ready.”
    â€œI think a glass of wine might be a good idea. Maybe it’ll have a calming effect,” he said pointedly, still letting his gaze bore into Lucy with the heat of ten lasers.
    She drew herself up, pulling back her shoulders, straightening her spine, holding her head high. Just as Rand had his own life that was none of her business, her life was none of his. And she was not going to cower or sulk or try to deny the fact that yes, she did have a son. A son she