Page 25 of Escorting the CEO
She nodded.
“And we have a wedding to plan.”
She nodded again.
Just then, my office door was thrown open. “Uncle Rhodes!” Luke marched through like a tiny general, a determined look in his eye.
“Luke! I told you not to barge in,” Maria, his nanny, ran in after him. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Barrington. Luke, honey, I told you that your uncle was in a meeting.”
The little boy ran behind my desk and hugged me. “Maria said you’re going to play with me soon.”
I was surprised, alarmed, and charmed by his surprise entrance. “Sure, buddy. How’s it going?”
He pulled back and blinked at me. “I miss Daddy. When’s he coming back?”
I winced. “Buddy… I miss him too.”
I hugged him again instead of answering his question.
Rory watched him, sympathy replacing the misery in her eyes.
It was time I introduced them. “Luke, I’d like you to meet someone. This is my fiancé, Rory. Rory, this is my nephew, Luke.”
Luke pulled back from me and inspected her.
“Hi, Luke.” She gave him a doting smile, then turned around and waved at the nanny. “Hi, Maria. I’m Rory. It’s nice to meet you.”
Maria nodded. “You as well.” She turned to her charge. “How about we go get a snack? Chef said he was making muffins…”
Luke shook his head. “No.” He stuck out his lower lip.
Maria wilted a little. “I’m sorry,” she said to me. “He’s having a tough morning.”
I waved her off and faced my nephew. “I’ll make you a deal, okay?”
He didn’t respond. He just watched me. Luke didn’t seem eager to negotiate this morning.
“If you go get a muffin with Maria, I’ll watch that show with you later. You know—the one with the dancing guys?”
He shrugged.
“I had a muffin this morning,” Rory offered. “They were really good. Would you takemeto see Chef so we can get some more?”
Luke looked at her, considering.
“What’s the name of that show?” Rory asked.
When he told her, she nodded. “Oh, my little brother used to watch that all the time. I like the pink character with the spots—the one that kind of looks like a giraffe, but kind of not?”
Luke nodded. “Uniqua.”
“Right.” Rory smiled. “I forgot her name.” She stood up and held out her hand for Luke. “Can you and Maria take me to the kitchen? I haven’t met Chef yet. I want to thank him. And get more muffins.”
Luke left my side and took her hand. Rory looked back at me. “Is that okay with you?”
“Sure.” I was surprised to see how effortlessly she’d connected with the boy. They were holding hands, looking completely natural together. My heart twisted inside my chest—she wasn’t pretending. This wasn’t some sort of act.
“We can finish this later,” I said.
