use, to corrupt, to imprison in a world of pleasure that she never wanted to be free of.
His to cast aside when he was finished.
She sucked in a breath, the truth of that slamming into her like a solid punch.
Because he would do it. Just as he hadn’t asked her to stay three years ago or come after her. Just as his arrangement already wore a predetermined expiration date.
Ross Edmond might be able to make her burn hotter than the sun, but he wasn’t dependable. He wasn’t a man for the long haul.
He wasn’t her man.
“Mama!”
Her son’s cry yanked her from her sobering thoughts, and when she lowered the cup to the railing and smiled, the warmth in the gesture was real despite the heaviness of her reality. Ben perched on Ross’s shoulders, his chubby, short legs wrapped around his father’s neck, his hands spread like little starfish on Ross’s cheeks.
“Me!” Ben shouted, which she interpreted as “Look at me!” He patted Ross’s face, ordering, “Daddy, go!”
Ross smiled, and cupping Ben’s arms, he started slowly spinning around. The way their son screamed in glee, he might as well as have been on a roller coaster. Charlotte laughed at Ben’s antics, but the warm joy lighting Ross’s face? She pressed her hands to her chest and exhaled a long, shaky breath. Telling Ben that Ross was his “daddy” had been a spontaneous decision for her this morning. And in the face of Ross’s happiness at being claimed—and ordered around—by his son, she could set any doubts aside that she’d made the right decision.
On that, at least.
“Are you hungry?” Ross called up to her.
When Ben yelled, “Eat!” in reply, his grin widened and softened at once.
“Ben cast his vote. How about you?”
“I could eat.” She picked up her cup and jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Let me go see what’s in the refrigerator, and I can cook us something.”
“No need.” Ross tumbled Ben down into his arms, earning another delighted squeal of approval from their son. “This is supposed to be a rest for you, too. I already had dishes prepared. I got it.”
And he certainly did.
A half hour later, she sat at the huge marble island in the middle of a kitchen that made her chef’s soul weep with its top-of-the-line appliances. But could she expect less from a place with five bedrooms and bathrooms, a media room, a library, enough windows that a person could enjoy stellar views from each room and an elevator? An elevator, for God’s sake. She shook her head.
“What?” Ross glanced at her over his shoulder, a glass baking dish in one hand and the other curled around the open stove door. “I think I can handle warming up a precooked meal,” he drawled, eyebrow arched high.
She held up her hands, palms out. “I didn’t say a word about your culinary skills,” she swore. “Actually, I was thinking, how many TVs are needed in a place like this? I get having the theater-sized one in the living room and in the bedrooms. But there’s one out by the hot tub and in each bathroom. The. Bathroom.”
He snorted. “That you even have to ask that question has me questioning your reasoning. Seriously, Charlotte. What happens when nature calls and the Rangers are playing the Mariners? Am I supposed to just miss out on an important play? I think not.”
“No.” She smirked. “You just pause the game on one of your fifty DVRs and go like a big boy.”
Ross chuckled. “Touché.” He slid the dish in the oven and closed the door. “Ben is having a good time,” he murmured, his gaze shifting to the toddler, who sat in front of the huge, dark brown sectional couch. Ben babbled to himself as he happily played with the mountain of toys that’d been waiting for him when they arrived at the cabin.
“How could he not?” she drawled. “It’s like Christmas came early.”
A corner of Ross’s mouth kicked up as he shrugged a shoulder. “I might’ve gone a little overboard.” At her snort, he held up his hands. “Fine. A lot overboard. But I have birthdays, Christmases and all the other gift-giving holidays to make up for.” He paused and cocked his head to the side, studying her. “Do your parents know that you two are here with me?”
She shook her head. “I told them I was going on a business trip and that my manager’s husband was coming along to watch Ben and their kids.”
He nodded but his