Page 37 of The CEO Alpha’s Substitute Mate

Once he’s gone, I stare blankly at the wall. “What the hell was that?”

I get a hand on the metal banister and haul myself up on legs that have stopped answering to me. He never said one word about dating. He can’t do that to me, and he absolutely can’t lean down to say you come to me before strolling off to sit in a car.

That man is dangerous. I have to stay away from him.

He says nothing when I get in the car and sit as far from him as the space allows. Neither of us speaks for the whole car ride to Luca’s school. If I thought the silence would continue, I was wrong. My son is six, curious, and has an incredible nose.

He sniffs at me. “You smell funny.”

“I’m fine, Luca.”

“Really?” He keeps sniffing at me, and I shove him back lightly.

“Stop that. What are you, a dog?”

Beside him, Callum stiffens, and Petrov clears his throat.

“No.” Luca sounds offended. “But you do smell weird. I don’t like it.”

“Then stop sniffing me. I’ll shower when we get home.”

“Tomorrow’s the weekend.” He’s already on to the next thing. “Can we go to the park again?”

“You’re coming to the office with me tomorrow,” Callum informs him.

Luca’s face falls. “What am I going to do in the office all day?”

“You’re going to watch me work. You’re going to start learning the business.”

“He’s six.” I lean forward around the headrest. “He’s just started on basic math. What are you going to teach him?”

“He’s going to watch me talk to people and deal with them.”

I sink back into the seat. “What a waste of a day.”

“What was that?”

I give him an insincere smile. “Nothing.”

He catches my eye in the mirror, so I change the subject. “What about Sunday?”

“This Sunday, Luca is going to accompany me to meet the family.”

I sit up. “What family?”

“My family.”

“Should I come along?”

“No, it’s better you don’t. We’ll be gone for a couple of hours.”

I consider that. I really don’t want to be left alone in the mansion. “Can I take your car and head out for the day, if you’ll both be gone?”

He looks at me long enough that I think he’s going to say yes. “Why?”

“I want to go meet a friend at a bar.”

“Are you sure you want to meet a friend, or is it your new beau?”