Sweet Trouble. Susan Mallery

a while to develop.”

      “Uncle Bill helped me,” Gabe said as he took the milk.

      Who the hell was Uncle Bill? Matt might not have any big interest in the kid, but he wasn’t happy about Jesse’s boyfriends hanging around him. Or was he more than a boyfriend? He dropped his gaze to her left hand.

      “You married?” he asked.

      Jesse choked on her coffee. “No.” She cleared her throat, then laughed. “Married. That’s a good one. I don’t have time to get to the dry cleaners, let alone date. If only.”

      Was she telling the truth about dating? He would know soon enough. She’d always had guys around. She was that kind of woman. Men found her sexy and attractive. Even now, angry and looking for ways to punish her, he noticed how the light played on her skin and the easy way she smiled. If he let himself, he could remember how sexy he’d always found everything about her. Childbirth hadn’t changed her body in any way that he could tell.

      Jesse without a man? Impossible to imagine. So she was lying about that, too.

      An older woman in a suit walked into the play area. Matt had never seen her before, but she looked official and out of place, so he waved her over.

      “Mr. Fenner?” she asked. “I’m from the lab.”

      “DNA test,” Matt said when Jesse raised her eyebrows.

      She blinked at him. “Oh, right. Okay. Sure. What do you need?”

      “A cheek swab. It doesn’t hurt.”

      Jesse looked doubtful. “Can you do me first?” she asked. “I know you don’t need it, but it would make Gabe feel better.”

      “I’ll be doing it as well,” Matt told her. “Is that good enough?”

      She hesitated long enough to annoy him, then nodded. She called over her son.

      “This nice lady needs to do a special test on you,” she began, then held up her hands. “No needles. Look, Matt is going to show you what’s involved so you can see you don’t have to be scared.”

      Gabe looked doubtful, but stayed in place. The woman put on plastic gloves, then removed a swab from sterile packaging and asked him to open his mouth. Seconds later, she was finished.

      “That looks easy,” Jesse said cheerfully. “Did it hurt?”

      “Not at all,” Matt told her, feeling like an idiot. It was a swab. How could it hurt?

      Gabe swallowed, then opened his mouth. When the test was done, he grinned. “I was brave.”

      “Yes, you were,” Jesse told him. “This is to make sure Matt’s really your daddy.”

      “But you said he was.”

      “I know, but this makes it official. Just to be sure.”

      Gabe obviously wasn’t used to having his mother’s word questioned. Give it time, Matt thought.

      The woman from the lab left.

      The boy slid close to Jesse. “When he’s sure, will he like me?” he asked in a loud whisper.

      Jesse shot Matt a look, then hugged Gabe. “He likes you now, honey. But the test will make everyone feel better.”

      Matt had the feeling of being judged, which didn’t make sense. What had he done wrong?

      Jesse picked up the kid and set him on her lap. “You’re getting big,” she said. “Some days I can actually see you growing.”

      Gabe laughed and turned to him. “When I reach the mark on the wall I get to have a real bike.”

      Jesse sighed. “Something I agreed to in a moment of weakness. A two-wheeler, but with training wheels.”

      Gabe sighed. “Yes, Mommy. But when Uncle Bill teaches me how to ride, I don’t have to use them anymore.”

      Who was this Uncle Bill? This was the second time his name had come up. Matt made a note to make sure the investigator found out everything about him.

      “Give me a break,” she told her son, hugging him close. “Don’t grow up so fast. I like you small.”

      “But I want to be big!”

      Jesse laughed and her long hair swung forward. She turned to him then, happy and beautiful and so full of life.

      He’d seen her like that a hundred times. He’d seen her smile turn wicked as she reached for him. He’d seen her tired and sleepy and shaking with passion. He knew her body, or he had. He knew her scent and the feel of her skin. He’d once said he could find her blindfolded in a room full of women.

      He’d loved her years ago; when he’d been young and stupid and thought everything would work out. But it hadn’t. She’d betrayed him and now, still angry, he knew taking Gabe away from her wasn’t enough revenge. There had to be more. But what?

      “Do you like my mommy?” Gabe asked.

      The unexpected question surprised Matt. “Of course,” he said quickly, knowing he couldn’t speak the truth. That he hated her with a passion that could burn through steel.

      “Do you love her?” the boy asked.

      “Shh,” Jesse said quickly as color stained her cheeks. “That’s one of those not-polite questions we’ve talked about.”

      “But why?”

      “It just is.”

      She was embarrassed. Why? Out of guilt? Or did she still have feelings for him? As long as there was some kind of weakness, he wanted to exploit it. But how? There was no way to make up for what she’d done unless he did it to her. Get her to care about him, get her to expose her heart so he could crush her.

      Was that the answer? Steal her heart and her child? That would leave her with nothing.

      It was a ruthless and cruel plan, which made him like every part of it. He’d spent the past five years honing his skills with women. If he put his mind to it, Jesse wouldn’t stand a chance. Then he would walk away without looking back.