Katherine’s spine stiffened and she fixed Liam with a glare. “Ms. Peters has been working herself ragged, between night feedings, painting the nursery and running around after these two. It’s about time she had a night off and did something nice. We’ll be fine here, won’t we, girls?”
Jenna wouldn’t have been more surprised if a bird had landed on the windowsill and given that same speech. Katherine had just come out on her side. Katherine, who seemingly still begrudged her presence in this house. Katherine, who’d not said a nice thing to her since she and Meg had arrived.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I have eyes. I’ve watched you work. Now, go,” she said, making shooing gestures. “Go out for dinner somewhere nice.”
Jenna still didn’t move. Was Katherine trying to set this up as a date?
Liam grinned indulgently, then turned to Jenna. “Katherine makes a good point. How about it? I’ll have a quick shower and throw on some clothes.”
Katherine nodded, satisfied. “While you do that, I’ll make you a reservation at George’s place.”
Jenna knew her mouth was gaping but was helpless to do much about it. One minute she was getting babies ready for bed, and the next, people were making plans around her.
Liam turned to Jenna, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Wear something nice. Katherine’s brother is the chef at the hottest restaurant in L.A.”
“That’s assuming he can find you a table,” Katherine said, clearly not willing to appear too kind all at once.
Liam gave Bonnie a kiss and then left, taking the stairs two at a time, and Katherine picked up the phone, leaving Jenna standing as if in the middle of a whirlwind, unsure of how her night had so drastically changed.
She was going out to dinner with Liam.
To the hottest restaurant in L.A.
Most worryingly, even though Katherine had planned it, why did that sound like a date?
* * *
Liam sipped his wine and looked around the restaurant, with its trademark high ceilings and pink marble and chrome interior, bustling with waiters and patrons. Katherine must have twisted her brother’s arm to get this table—Liam knew they were normally booked out months in advance. And with good reason. His meal had been delicious, and if he wasn’t used to Katherine’s excellent cooking skills, he’d have been even more impressed.
A waiter cleared their plates and left the dessert menus.
“Would you like dessert?” he asked Jenna. Their conversation during dinner had been interesting. She was well informed on world affairs and they had discussed several scientific discoveries made in other countries.
Yet even while discussing topics as impersonal as science and world affairs, the insistent pull of attraction for her had lurked, and he’d had to be careful not to let his guard down and say something stupid. Something like, Come back to my room tonight. I want to peel that pink silk blouse off you with my teeth. His blood heated at the thought, and he tried to distract himself by studying the menu.
“I can never go past a cheese platter,” Jenna said. “Would you like to share?”
“Sure.” He indicated to the waiter that they were ready and placed their coffee and dessert order.
“You know,” she said, looking around the restaurant with an expression of happy bewilderment, “I think this is the first night I’ve been out without Meg since she was born.”
He cocked his head to the side, trying to imagine that. “Not once?”
She shrugged as if it were no big deal. Perhaps it wasn’t to the many single mothers across the country. And probably half the married ones too.
“When I worked for Dylan, I took trips for groceries and errands while Meg was in day care, but nothing social. I never went out in the evening.”
He didn’t know how she did it. She seemed so calm and confident about being solely responsible for her daughter whereas he was filled with horror at all the perils that lay waiting for his baby girl out in the world.
He swirled the last of the wine in his glass as he asked a question that had been preying on his mind. “Do you think much about the future with Meg? About how you’ll handle it on your own?”
She was silent for a moment before replying, and he became more aware of the background noise of glasses clinking and the dull murmur of a room full of people. Then she said, “Sometimes. Do you?”
He nodded. “And it scares the hell out of me.”
The waiter returned with their cheese platter and drinks. Jenna spooned sugar into her black coffee and stirred slowly as she regarded him. “I’m sure you’ll find someone to share the parenting with, a stepmother for Bonnie.”
She popped a piece of pear in her mouth and chewed. Liam put a finger in the restrictive collar of his shirt and tried to look anywhere but at her mouth.
“I’m not so sure,” he said, wincing at both his reaction to her and his admission of the truth.
She threw him an ironic glance. “You’re attractive and wealthy. Don’t try to tell me you have trouble getting dates.”
“Getting dates is one thing.” He helped himself to a piece of blue cheese. “Finding a woman I’d be happy to have as Bonnie’s mother is another thing entirely.”
She trapped her bottom lip between her teeth and frowned. “She might not be the next person you date, but surely at some stage you’ll find someone who would be a good fit.”
“I tend to meet rich women, many of them professional socialites.” He cut a piece of triple brie and put it on a cracker. “Or women who want to be,” he said dryly.
“I hate to break it to you,” she said, unable to hide her amusement, “but you’re kinda rich too.”
She was right. But he hadn’t started that way. Maybe to Jenna, the difference wasn’t obvious, but to him it was everything.
He took a sip of his coffee. “I grew up without much—some of the time my parents really struggled—and my brothers and I still have our working-class values. Any woman I’d consider as Bonnie’s mother would have to have those same values, no question.”
She arched an eyebrow. “There are a number of assumptions in your argument.”
He knew that. He didn’t doubt that it was possible for someone to grow up with wealth and privilege and still remain grounded, but he just hadn’t met a woman like that yet. And if he hadn’t met one so far, what were the chances of it happening in the near future, let alone that they’d hit it off and get married?
“Perhaps,” he admitted, “but I’m sure you’ve seen the women Dylan dates. Glamorous and high profile. He attends red carpet events and knows who’s who in the world of the rich and famous.”
Jenna flinched. It was so quick that he would have missed it if he hadn’t been watching her so intently. Then she composed her face into the dignified mask she usually wore for everyone except the babies.
“It’s not a world you want to be a part of.” It was a statement, not a question. She understood.
“I can think of nothing worse than attending events and having to smile and make small talk. Yet, like Dylan, that’s how I meet women socially.” He speared a piece of pear. “I think Bonnie and I will just have to make do on our own. And in the meantime, we have you, so all isn’t lost.”
“Yes,” she said, her voice free of inflection. “All isn’t lost.”
But his gut felt hollow. Jenna was an employee; she wouldn’t stay with them forever. He looked at her again and had an idea. Katherine had been with his family for