His Last Chance at Redemption. Michelle Conder

but I did not reject my son.’

      ‘Oh? What would you call it?’

      ‘Since he was born I have paid for every single thing he needs and I have six monthly reports carried out to ensure that he is safe and well cared for.’

      ‘Reports that failed to inform you that his mother travels so often that his grandmother was his main carer until her death a fortnight ago.’

      He had the grace to look uncomfortable, pulling at the collar on his shirt in a telling movement.

      ‘And,’ he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, ‘I fully intend to have a relationship with him when he’s older.’

      Of all the …

      ‘Older and less work?’ she scoffed. ‘He needs you now. A boy looks to his father as he grows up to figure out what it means to be a man. What kind of a man will he grow up to be with an absent father who never cared enough to spend time with him?’ Lexi stopped, aware that her impassioned speech was about to get out of hand. But damn it, that was exactly what had happened to her brother, Joe, who had become lost and angry in his teenage years, even though Lexi and her mother had done their best to shield him from feeling rejected by his father.

      ‘By all means say what you think, Miss Somers.’

      Lexi shook her head. ‘I don’t believe in wasting time on empty words.’

      ‘Rare for your sex, I have to say.’

      ‘Oh—’ Lexi shook her head ‘—I’ll add chauvinist to your list of personal attributes, shall I?’

      ‘I meant it as a compliment.’

      ‘That’s even worse!’

      He leaned his hip against the edge of the sofa and cocked his head. ‘Will I like any of the other things on your list?’

      Lexi shot him a fulminating glare, feeling a little spent after her tirade. ‘What do you think?’

      He laughed and Lexi felt a tug of awareness low in her pelvis as he studied her, his casual stance and insolent regard making her aware of her femininity—her womanliness—in a way she hated. Making her think of sex—of all things!

      She swallowed heavily and his eyes dropped to her throat and Lexi nearly raised her hand to cover it. What was he thinking about? Heat crept up her neck and she was afraid she might know.

      ‘I think you’re a woman with exacting standards that not many men manage to live up to.’

      Lexi blinked. ‘I think you’d fail to live up to most people’s standards,’ she retorted, stung a little by his assessment of her.

      ‘You’d be surprised.’

      ‘I’m not talking about the hundreds of women you go through like disposable razors.’

      He smiled at that. ‘Neither was I. And for your information, I use an electric.’

      ‘Well, you didn’t use it today,’ she said hotly and then wished she hadn’t when a sexy smile crossed his face. Damn. Now he probably thought she liked his stubble. Wanted to touch it, even. Huh! As if.

      She tightened her hold on her bag, aware that the conversation was taking a dangerous turn. ‘This is irrelevant.’

      ‘I agree.’ He pushed off from the sofa and sat down on it, his arms spread wide along the back like a sultan surveying his kingdom. ‘So tell me, what is it going to take to get you to agree to take care of Ty this weekend?’

      ‘Surely you have someone else who can help you out. A girlfriend, perhaps?’

      ‘Is that your way of asking if I’m available, Miss Somers?’

      Lexi glared at him. ‘That’s my way of asking if you have someone else to help you out. I would ask if you had a mother but I’m not sure you weren’t hatched from an egg.’

      Leo laughed, a deep, husky sound that sent tingles tracking down her spine. ‘I’m single. But, even if I wasn’t, bringing a girlfriend in at this late stage isn’t really the answer, is it?’

      It wasn’t really a question and, worst of all, she knew he was right. Lexi glanced outside at the endless view of the night sky and felt oddly cornered. ‘I can’t just drop everything in my life to help you.’

      ‘Think of it as helping Ty. You might find that more palatable,’ he drawled.

      Lexi made a derisive sound in the back of her throat and thought that if she wasn’t such a nice person—and the thought of touching him didn’t scare her so much—she’d smack him. ‘Oh, you’re good.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      ‘It wasn’t a compliment.’

      ‘I know.’