The Boss's Surprise Son by Teresa Carpenter

felt closer to Rick than ever before.They talked about everything and nothing. He made her laugh, he made her want, and when he talked of his father, he nearly made her cry.
    “We went fishing and he played ball with us. He came to our games when he could. I thought he was the best dad in the world.”
    “Sure sounds like it.” It made her remember the early days, when her own father made time to be with the family.
    “Yeah, I only learned the truth about the business failing when I watched Gram pick up the pieces after he and my mom died. If she weren’t such a cagey old gal, we would have lost everything.”
    “So you’re complaining because he spent time with you?”
    “He should have taken care of business instead. Sure, it was fun to play catch. It wouldn’t have been fun to lose our house.” He released her to grab them two glasses of champagne. “We were two payments behind on the mortgage payments when he died. We went to live with Gram and she sold the house, put the money into the business. It saved us.”
    And changed him forever. At the age of nine or ten he’d lost the man he’d worshipped and learned that he’d been a dreamer rather than a businessman. The worst of all possible sins to Rick. No wonder he worked so hard. It was in compensation for the damage done by his father, and a tribute to the sacrifices made by his grandmother.
    “He loved you. Chose you and your brothers over his job.” She laid a hand over his. “That says a lot.”
    “It says he was weak.”
    “No,” she said softly, “it says you were more important to him than a store.”
    “It was our livelihood. And the store had been in my family for over seventy years. Built on the sweat of my father’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather.” He turned his hand over to lace his fingers with hers. “You’re too easy to talk to, and I’ve revealed too much. No one knows about the late mortgage but Gram and I.”
    “Your secret is safe with me.” She focused on her wineglass, circling the rim with a fingertip. “Divided loyalties—that’s a hard lesson to learn so young. Have you never wanted more from life then? Never believed you could fall in love and run a successful business?”
    Rick took the question on the chin. He should have known when he took the conversation to a personal level that Savannah would draw more from him than he found comfortable. For some reason he felt compelled to know more about her, to ferret out her secrets. It was only fair to give up some of his own in return.
    He knew love; his family abounded in it. Yet he’d always felt apart from the closeness that held them all together. Perhaps his resentment for their father had something to do with it. Or maybe he just feared losing anyone else.
    “No. I haven’t always been so resistant to relationships. In college a pretty little blonde from Bostoncaught my attention enough that I asked her to marry me. She accepted, but in the end she missed her family and chose to return east.”
    Savannah turned in his arms to look up at him. He saw a hundred more questions in her eyes and braced himself.
    “Did you consider going after her?”
    “I thought about it. But it came down to this—she didn’t love me enough to stay. I didn’t love her enough to follow. The breakup still hurt, though.”
    “I’m sure it did. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you, Rick, it’s that you feel things deeper than you let on.”
    How could she possibly know that? It was something he’d buried long ago. Feelings were messy and distracting. He preferred things simple and straightforward and that’s how he’d built his life.
    “I’m sorry you gave up on love. I think you have a lot to offer.”
    “Sir.” The attendant stood a few feet away. “The flight will be docking in a few minutes. We’ll need you to be ready to exit.”
    Rick nodded and the man returned to his station. They’d been so intent on each other, they hadn’t noticed the