a son with the CEO

‘I ASSUME YOU know why you’re both here,’ the solicitor said, looking at Emmy

and then at Dylan.

Of course Emmy knew. Ally and Pete had asked her to be their son Tyler’s

guardian, if the unthinkable should ever happen.

If. She swallowed hard. That was the whole point of her being here. Because

the unthinkable had happened. And Emmy still couldn’t quite believe that she’d

never see her best friend again.

She lifted her chin. Obviously today was about making things all official

legally. And as for Dylan Harper—the only man she’d ever met who could make

wearing a T-shirt and jeans feel as if they were a formal business suit—he was

obviously here because he was Pete’s best friend and Pete and Ally had asked

him to be the executor of their will. ‘Yes,’ she said.

‘Yes,’ Dylan echoed.

‘Good.’ The solicitor tapped his pen against his blotter. ‘So, Miss Jacobs, Mr

Harper, can you confirm that you’re both prepared to be Tyler’s guardians?’

Emmy froze for a moment. Both? What was the man talking about? No way

would Ally and Pete have asked them both to be Tyler’s guardian. There had to

be some mistake.

She glanced at Dylan, to find him looking straight back at her. And his

expression was just as stunned as her own must be.

Or maybe they’d misheard. Misunderstood. ‘Both of us, Tyler’s guardians?’

she asked.

For the first time, the solicitor’s face showed an expression other than smooth

neutrality. ‘Did you not know they’d named you as Tyler’s guardian in the will,

Ms Jacobs?’

Emmy blew out a breath. ‘Well, yes. Ally asked me before she and Pete

revised their wills.’ And she’d assumed that Ally had meant just her.

‘Pete asked me,’ Dylan said.

Which almost made Emmy wonder if Ally and Pete hadn’t spoken to each

other about it. Though obviously they must’ve done. They’d both signed the

will, so they’d clearly known that both of their best friends had agreed to be

there for Tyler. They just hadn’t shared that particular piece of information with

either Dylan or herself, by the looks of things.

‘Is there a problem?’ the solicitor asked.

‘Is there a problem?’ the solicitor asked.

Apart from the fact that she and Dylan disliked each other intensely and

usually avoided each other? Or the fact that Dylan was married—and Emmy was

pretty sure that his wife couldn’t be too pleased that her husband had been

named co-guardian with another woman, one who was single? ‘No,’ she said

quickly, and looked at Dylan. This was his cue to explain that no, he couldn’t do

it.

‘No problem,’ Dylan confirmed, to her shock.

‘Good.’

Good? No, it just made everything much more complicated, Emmy thought.

Or maybe it meant he intended to fight her for custody of the baby: family man

versus single mum, so it was obvious who’d win. But she didn’t have a chance

to protest because the solicitor went on with the reading of the will. ‘Now,

obviously Ally and Pete left financial provisions for Tyler. I have all the details

here.’

‘I’ll deal with it,’ Dylan said.

Immediately assuming that a flaky, airheaded jewellery designer wouldn’t

have a clue what to do? Emmy knew that was how Dylan saw her—she’d

overheard him say it to Pete, on more than one occasion—and it rankled. She’d

been her own boss for ten years. She was perfectly capable of dealing with

things. Whereas he was so uptight and stuffy, she couldn’t even begin to imagine

him looking after a baby or a toddler. Given that Ally had always been

diplomatic about Dylan’s wife, merely saying that she worked with Pete, Emmy

was pretty sure that Nadine Harper was from the same mould as Dylan. A cold

workaholic who wouldn’t know what fun was if it jumped out in front of him

and yelled, ‘Boo!’ And not the sort that Ally would’ve wanted caring for her

son.

But the solicitor was off again, going through the details of the arrangements

made in the will. Emmy had to ignore her feelings and listen to what the man

was telling her before she got completely lost. This was important.

And then at last it was all over.

Leaving her and Dylan to pick up the pieces. Together. Unthinkably.

She gave the solicitor a polite smile, shook his hand, and walked out of the

office. On the doorstep of the building, she came to a halt and faced Dylan.

‘I think,’ she said, ‘we need to talk. Like now.’

He nodded. ‘And I could do with some coffee.’

There were shadows under his cornflower-blue eyes, and lines at the corners

betraying that he hadn’t slept properly since the crash; for the first time ever,

betraying that he hadn’t slept properly since the crash; for the first time ever,

Dylan actually looked vulnerable—and as if he hurt as much as she did, right

now. It stopped her from uttering the kind of snippy remarks they usually made

to each other.

‘Make that two of us,’ she said. On the sleep front, as well as the need for

coffee. Vulnerability, no way would she admit to. Especially not to Dylan

Harper. No way was she giving him an excuse to take Tyler from her. He and

Nadine were