“She doesn’t care about me or Lara. She’s only doing it to get to Dad,” Davey said.

  Max looked up sharply. “That’s not true and you know it. Davey, she wants to see you. She couldn’t care less about seeing me. She may not visit or call as much as you like, but like Quinn said, she’s still your mother.”

  Davey’s eyes started to fill and Quinn regretted saying what she did. Maybe she shouldn’t have started this right before Mia showed, or in front of Lara.

  “She only calls when she wants. When it works for her,” Davey argued.

  “Yep, you’re right,” Max said. “And that makes her selfish, but she’s still your mother. Why don’t you tell her that? Tell her what you just said to me.”

  “She’ll get mad,” Davey said.

  “Let her get mad then,” Quinn said. “Why should you be the only one to get upset over this situation? If you don’t tell her, then she won’t know.”

  Max looked over at her sharply again, and Quinn wished she’d bitten her tongue. Where was her diplomacy tonight?

  “She doesn’t care,” Davey said again.

  “If you’ve never said it to her, then you don’t know for sure.” Max sighed and Quinn could see he was torn. “Here’s the deal, Davey. Do this for me. Do this for Lara. Go and try to have fun. Talk to your mother. Tell her how you feel. If, when it’s all said and done, if she truly doesn’t care, if she truly doesn’t want to spend time with you, then she and I will have a long talk and decide the next step.”

  “You mean that?” Davey asked, blinking the tears from his eyes.

  “I do. But not until you talk to her. After the next few days, we’ll start making some decisions on what’s best for everyone.”

  Quinn was in the bedroom putting the rest of her clothes away when Mia finally showed up. She didn’t stay longer than three minutes. Not even enough time for Quinn to come out of the room and meet her, let alone see what she looked like. All she heard was Lara saying she loved Max, and Max telling both kids to behave and have a good time.

  “That was fast,” Quinn said walking out.

  “It normally is. Regardless of what Davey thinks, Mia has no desire to spend any time with me. Not unless she wants to complain. She knew I wasn’t happy with her being late, so she didn’t give me a chance to say anything.”

  “How were the kids when they left?”

  “Lara was Lara and Davey seemed a little better. At first I didn’t appreciate what you said to Davey, but then I realized it was long overdue.”

  “I’m sorry, I was afraid to overstep my bounds, but it was starting to get to me. He’s old enough to speak his mind. Thanks for backing me.”

  “If I didn’t agree with you, I wouldn’t have backed you. I wouldn’t have done it in front of the kids, though. I would have talked to you privately. I did agree with you…this time.”

  She was glad to know that he wouldn’t argue or fight with her in front of the kids. Not that she’d have any say if he didn’t like what she did or said to the kids. She was his employee after all. “I’m glad then.”

  “Come here,” he said, pulling her forward and wrapping his arms around her. “Were you hiding in there?”

  “Not really. I got sick of waiting. Lara was making me antsy with all her moving around the suite. Anyway, when I realized Mia was here, I didn’t want to rush out, so I finished up. I didn’t know she was going to walk in and out so fast.”

  “Nothing new there,” he said. “And I’m done talking about Mia right now. The kids are gone, they’ll be fine. It’s just you and me. No worries about anyone seeing us, or interrupting us.”

  “That is a nice thought.”

  “It’s all about us tonight and tomorrow. Starting right now.”

  He bent down and swung her into his arms.

  “Max, what are you doing?”

  “Carrying you to bed. I want to make sure we end up in the same place.”

  “Oh, I have a feeling we will.”

  First Dress

  “Wake up, sleepyhead,” Max said after he’d spent a few minutes watching Quinn sleep next to him.

  There was something about her lying there at peace that pulled at him. She never slowed down and never fully relaxed, not unless she was sleeping.

  She stirred briefly, so he leaned down and kissed her lightly on her mouth, his lips traveling to her ear and whispering, “We can stay in bed all day if you prefer, but I had plans.”

  Blinking her eyes open, she stared at him, then smiled. “What are the plans? The offer to stay in bed is a pretty good one.”

  There was no way she could know the hold she had over him. When he felt the world was on his shoulders, all he had to do was look through those clouds way up and there was the sun. And in the sun, he saw her.

  “I want to take you shopping like I promised, then out to dinner, and when we’re done I’m going to put you right back here and make you shout all sorts of wicked words out of your mouth.”

  “You mean like last night?” she asked playfully.

  Hell yeah. “More than last night.”

  “Promises, promises,” she said, but sat up, pulling the sheet with her. “So the kids made it through the night, I’m guessing?”

  “They have. Lara has already texted me to say they were going to the Statue of Liberty. At least they’re going sightseeing and not just hanging out in the hotel.”

  “Did she say how Davey was?”

  “No, and I didn’t ask. He’ll text me if it’s bad.”

  “Will you go get them early?”

  “Not unless he’s talked to Mia and things get out of hand. Otherwise he has to realize that we can’t always get what we want in life. Sometimes we have to suck it up for a few hours or a few days.”

  She snorted. “Preaching to the choir here. I’ve spent most of my life sucking up the bad times.”

  Which just reminded him of the day he had planned. “Not today. Today is about you. Let’s get up and shower. I’ll take you to breakfast and then we’re going to Saks.”

  “What? Saks Fifth Ave? That’s where you’re taking me shopping? No way. Not happening. Max, don’t waste your money there on one dress. There has to be a mall around here somewhere.”

  Her appalled face was all the more reason he burst out laughing. “My day, my rules. Be glad I didn’t say I was taking you to Barney’s. We can get everything we need for the night at Saks. Then I’ve got reservations for five. An early dinner, so we have the night to ourselves again.”

  “Where are we going to eat?”

  “It’s a surprise. You’re just going to have to wait and find out. Come on, let’s go.” He threw the covers back, then pulled her out of bed and into the bathroom.

  ***

  “Max, I don’t know. Red really isn’t my thing,” she said when he handed her another dress to try on. Now she remembered why she hated shopping so much.

  “You won’t know until you try it on.”

  “I’ve tried on six dresses so far, nothing feels right. I don’t feel comfortable in dresses and skirts.”

  She was trying to be open-minded, but so far everything he’d picked out for her had been too bold, too short, or too clingy. She was starting to have serious doubts about his taste in clothing.

  “Those weren’t dresses I was going to buy you,” he said, confusing her more.

  “Why did you give them to me to try on then?”

  “Because I wanted to see how you looked in them,” he said, grinning at her frown.

  “Seriously? You made me try them on just to model them?”

  “Yep. I guess my fun is over now. Let’s go find you a dress for dinner.”

  She wanted to slap his arm for doing that, even though secretly she thought she looked pretty hot in two of the dresses. Only they were way too tight and short, not to mention one of them plunged down low in the front showing more cleavage than she ever left out in the open.

  “It’s time to get serious now,” she said.

  “You mean time for the boring dresses?” he asked, trying to look serious.

  This time she pinched his arm and laughed. “Fine, if it makes you happy, I’ll wear what you pick out. As long as it’s appropriate. No club wear like those other dresses.”

  “Come on,” he said grabbing her hand. “I saw what I liked when we walked in. Let’s head back this way.”

  She followed him to the women’s department and over to a dress that looked rather plain. Now she felt bad she was picking on him, because it seemed he was going to put a bag over her body.

  “This burgundy one?”

  “Yes. I like the color and I think it will look good on you.”

  Dark jewel-toned colors always did look good on her; he was right there. She watched while he picked out the dress in her size and held it up.

  There was something odd about it, like the material was all scrunched up on one side. “What’s wrong with it?”

  He laughed at her. “Nothing. It’s supposed to cross in the front and be cinched on one side. It will fall into place once you get it on. Just go try it and stop complaining.”

  Grabbing the dress, she went into the dressing room and removed her jeans, shirt and boots once again. She was really getting sick of dressing and undressing and hoped Max liked this dress.

  She pulled it over her head, adjusted the front so that it crossed over perfectly on her breasts where it cinched tighter on one side and over her hips a bit. Then she reached around and zipped up the back making the dress fit her like a glove on the top and lay straight at her hips, ending right at her knees. It was probably meant to be shorter, if she were taller, but it still looked really nice on her.

  More than nice actually. There was nothing really fancy about this dress, nothing that would make a stylish woman run and grab it off the rack, but once it was on her, it was perfect. She really hoped Max liked it, because she was in love with it.

  Until she glanced at the price tag and gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” Max asked. “Do you need another size?”

  “No,” she croaked out. “It fits.”

  “Then let me see it,” he said from outside her dressing room door.

  Oh well, it’s his money. Maybe he wouldn’t like it, even if she did love it. It wasn’t practical. She’d never wear it again. It was almost a week’s salary for her.

  She opened the door tentatively and took a step out, trying not to grimace when he looked down at her black socks that she’d had on under her boots. Talk about styling in New York City.

  “Wow. Turn for me,” he said swiveling his finger in a circle.

  She turned, heard his whistle and wished she could have seen herself from the back. Now she was self-conscious. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “Not a thing. Not a damn thing. Let’s go get you some heels. Black. Definitely black. And stockings and lingerie. Man, we can’t forget that.”

  He was acting the same way Davey did when you brought him to the video game store. “I can handle all the things under the dress just fine. Let me at least try to surprise you tonight with something.”

  “Deal,” he said grinning from ear to ear.

  Who would have thought she’d be standing in Saks Fifth Avenue having this conversation and feeling as wonderful as she did? She’d come a long way from the slums of Chicago.

  ***

  “I just realized I don’t have a coat to wear over this dress,” Quinn said when Max finished tying his tie.

  “You don’t need one. We aren’t going outside.”

  “We’re eating in the suite?” she asked.

  “No, I’ve got reservations for the restaurant downstairs.”

  He had this whole day and night planned, so there was nothing for her to worry about.

  “Okay. Let me get my shoes on and we can go.”

  She walked out of the bedroom fully dressed now. Her hair was down and flowing around her back. He’d asked her to leave it loose tonight, since she always put it up. He was finally going to get his wish to run his fingers through it later.

  There wasn’t another woman who took his breath away as much as she did just now. Long gone was the nanny that he saw everyday with his kids—and in her place was a woman…one that was his for the night. Longer if he had his way.

  Leaning down, he kissed her on the lips and pulled her into his arms. “You look stunning right now.”

  “Really?” she asked, blushing. “This might be the first dress I’ve ever owned.”

  “You’ve never worn a dress before?” he asked, slightly shocked over that. Even Lara wore one now and again.

  “Of course I have. But I’ve never owned one. Usually it was borrowed from someone else in foster care, and even then it was only worn on court dates and such.”

  “You’ve never gone to any school dances? Nothing like that?”

  She put her hand on her hip, and narrowed her eyes. “What do you think, Max?”

  “Yeah, stupid question. Okay, let’s consider this our first ‘dance’ together as a couple.”

  “Are you taking me dancing?” she asked.

  “I hadn’t planned on it, but now I feel like I should.”

  “Please don’t. Maybe another time. I don’t really know how to dance anyway. It’s all good.”

  It wasn’t good to him though, and he was going to have to work fast tonight and make a slight adjustment.

  Seated at their candlelit table ten minutes later, Max ordered them a bottle of wine while they looked over the menu.

  “I don’t know what to get. I think I want to try something I’ve never had before.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because then I can try to replicate it if I like it. Get something you’ve never had before too, something you think you will like though.”

  “You not supposed to be working,” he said, her excitement warming him immensely.

  “I’m not. I mean, I am, but not really. Sorry, ignore me and get whatever you like.”

  In the end he ordered a steak with a spicy honey glaze on top that was out of this world. After Quinn tried it, she said she was sure she knew what was in it and wanted to make it at home.

  He was surprised she got veal marsala. It was a pretty common dish; she had to have made it before, he would have figured.

  “You’ve never had veal marsala before?”

  “I have,” she said. “And I really like it, but I knew it would be better here than anywhere else, so this will help me figure out how to make it. Guess I didn’t try anything new. Did you like it?”

  Of course he tried a bite of it. “I did. I’m not sure if the kids will or not.”

  “We won’t know until I give it a try.” She pushed her plate forward, not even a quarter of it left. “I’m stuffed.”

  “You have to have dessert though,” he said. If she didn’t order anything, he was going to. It was part of his plan.

  “Why don’t we get something to share? I just want a bite or two,” she said.

  “Sounds good. How about chocolate?”

  “Chocolate is always good,” she said, laying a hand on her flat belly.

  When their plates were cleared away, he ordered a triple layer chocolate mousse truffle. The first bite pretty much melted in his mouth. Quinn’s reaction wasn’t much different when she closed her eyes and hummed low in her throat.

  “This is fantastic. What I wouldn’t give to have this recipe. There is no way I could figure this out on my own.”

  “Sure you could,” he said.

  “No, there’s a lot of technique to this. It’s not just the flavors but the lightness of the mousse and the cake. No, there is some definite talent behind this dessert.”

  “Dr. Hamilton, it’s so nice to see you.”

  He turned to see one of his former patients come out in her white jacket and hat, then turned to introduce her to Quinn.

  “Quinn, this is the talent behind your dessert. Nikki, Quinn.”

  Nikki put her hand out to Quinn’s. “It’s nice to meet you, Quinn. I heard you were a baker, too.”

  “I am, but not up to your standards. This was delicious. The best I’ve ever had,” Quinn said, looking a little bit in awe for some reason.

  “You can thank Dr. Hamilton for that. I cut my hand a few years ago, severed a few tendons, and wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold a knife again. While Dr. Hamilton was patching me up, I took up baking and, well, then I found my true love.”

  “Nikki is just being modest. She’s always had a lot of talent, and since she’d often brought food to the office on all her visits, I might have extended her recovery time just a bit.”

  “I knew you were doing that,” Nikki said, then handed over an envelope. “Guard this with your life and enjoy the rest of your night.”

  Quinn watched Nikki walk away and then looked down at the envelope in her hand. “What’s this?”

  “Open it up and see,” he said, encouraging her.

  “Oh my God. Is this what I think it is?”

  “Yes. I’ll gladly eat all your attempts.”

  Something to Remember

  It was by far the best night of Quinn’s life. Nothing could compare. The dress, the food, the dessert, and the recipe. Wow, crazy that he got that for her.

  In her eyes, nothing could make it any better. Only somehow Max did.

  They walked into the suite with the lights down, candles were lit, and there was music playing somewhere. Even the furniture was moved out of the way.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I’m taking you dancing.”

  He’d really pulled out all the stops tonight. “How did you manage this?”

  “A few phone calls were all it took. The night is for us. I wanted to take advantage of it and give you something to remember.”

  “You’ve given me so much to remember already. Not just tonight or this vacation, but the last few months.”

  “Tonight is about us. Every time we’re together it’s so fast and hurried. It’s wonderful, but I want to show you more. I want to make love to you tonight. Show you the way it can be. The way it should be.”