One

      Ayden Stewart stared out at the Austin city skyline from the fiftieth floor of Stewart Investments. It had taken him fifteen years since graduating from Harvard to build his company, but at thirty-six, he’d finally achieved his goal. And he’d done it all on his own. Without the help of his father, Henry Stewart, a rich man who’d never bothered to acknowledge his eldest son’s existence, not after his second wife had given him two heirs for his own company, Stewart Technologies. It was just as well. He’d long ago stopped looking for love and acceptance from his old man.

       Knock. Knock. Knock.

      “Come in.” His office door opened and his assistant, Carolyn Foster, walked in. The statuesque blonde wore pregnancy well; barely a baby bump could be seen in the smart attire she wore.

      “Do you have a minute?”

      “Of course,” Ayden responded, moving away from the window. “What can I do for you?”

      “I have some not so pleasant news to deliver,” Carolyn said.

      “Oh, yeah? Whatever it is, just give it to me straight, no chaser.”

      “Very well...” She paused for several beats. “I won’t be coming back after my maternity leave in a few months.”

      “Excuse me?” This couldn’t be happening to him again.

      “I’m sorry, Ayden—really, I am—but my husband and I have been trying for some time to start a family. And, well, I just want to enjoy the time with our first child because I’m not sure when we might have another.”

      Carolyn would make a fantastic mother because she was already putting her child first. It made Ayden think of the only person who’d ever cared one iota about him, who was gone, taken away too soon. His mother Lillian Stewart-Johnson, God rest her soul, had passed away several years ago from a heart attack. He suspected his mother’s illness had been caused by years of stress and abuse at the hands of his stepfather Jack Johnson. Jack was a habitual smoker and a mean drunk.

      Ayden had focused hard on his studies, so he could get the hell out of the house. And he’d been lucky. In junior high, his teachers recognized his high IQ and had helped Ayden receive a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in the East. From there, his grades helped him get into Harvard and he’d never looked back.

      Growing up, Ayden had developed a thick skin. He’d had to in order to live in the Johnson household, and not just because of the bruises, but because of the lack of love or affection. He’d learned he didn’t need either. If he hadn’t met his roommate, Luke Williams, in boarding school in the ninth grade, who knows how long Ayden would have gone without any real feelings. Ayden’s goal had been to save his mama from working two jobs to support Jack’s pack-and-bottle-a-day habit, but it had been useless. By the time he’d finally started making enough money, his mother was gone and he was all alone in the world except for Luke, his closest friend. Why had his mother let men bully her all her life? First, Henry had intimidated her into a small settlement, cutting her out of her rightful shares in Stewart Technologies. Then, Jack spent the little money she had received. Why hadn’t she fought for the child support she was entitled to?

      “I imagine there’s nothing I could do to change your mind?” Ayden inquired. He knew it was a long shot, but he couldn’t understand why anyone would throw away a good-paying job in order to stay home and change poopy diapers. Carolyn’s departure was going to leave him in quite a pickle. One he hadn’t been in since a certain uptight but beautiful assistant had left him five years ago.

      “No, there isn’t,” Carolyn said, “but we can find a replacement. You always said you never thought you’d find someone as good as Maya and look what happened—you hired me.”

      He would never forget the day, ten years ago, when Maya Richardson had walked through his door looking for a job. She’d been a godsend, helping Ayden grow Stewart Investments into the company it was today. Thinking of her brought a smile to Ayden’s face. How could it not? Not only was she the best assistant he’d ever had, Maya had fascinated him. Utterly and completely. Maya had hidden an exceptional figure beneath professional clothing and kept her hair in a tight bun. But Ayden had often wondered what it would be like to throw her over his desk and muss her up. Five years ago, he hadn’t gone quite that far, but he had crossed a boundary.

      Maya had been devastated over her breakup with her boyfriend. She’d come to him for comfort, and, instead, Ayden had made love to her. Years of wondering what it would be like to be with Maya had erupted into a passionate encounter. Their one night together had been so explosive the next morning Ayden had needed to take a step back to regain his perspective. He’d had to put up his guard; otherwise, he would have hurt her badly. He thought he’d been doing the right thing, but Maya hadn’t thought so. In retrospect, Ayden wished he’d never given in to temptation. But he had, and he’d lost a damn good assistant. Maya had quit, and Ayden hadn’t seen or heard from her since.

      Shaking his head, Ayden strode to his desk and picked up the phone, dialing the recruiter who’d helped him find Carolyn. He wasn’t looking forward to this process. It had taken a long time to find and train Carolyn. Before her, Ayden had dealt with several candidates walking into his office thinking they could ensnare him.

      No, he had someone else in mind. A hardworking, dedicated professional who could read his mind without him saying a word and who knew how to handle a situation in his absence. Someone who knew about the big client he’d always wanted to capture but never could attain. She also had a penchant for numbers and research like no one he’d ever seen, not even Carolyn.

      Ayden knew exactly who he wanted. He just needed to find out where she’d escaped to.

      “Aren’t you tired yet?” Callie Lewis asked Maya Richardson after they’d jogged nearly five miles in the muggy San Antonio weather. They’d met up at 6:00 a.m. after Maya had stumbled out of bed, placed her shoulder-length black hair in a ponytail, and put on her favorite sports tank with built-in bra and running shorts.

      “No. Not yet.” Maya hazarded a glance at Callie. Her friend was five foot two and nearly two hundred pounds, and had been following an intense exercise routine to lose weight. She’d already lost fifty pounds and Maya was trying to encourage her. They’d been best friends ever since Callie had defended Maya from bullies in the fifth grade, so Callie’s well-being was important to her.

      “Well, I need to stop a sec,” Callie paused midstride. She limped over to a nearby bench and began a series of stretches.

      “Okay, no problem.” Maya jogged in place while she stretched.

      “What’s got you all riled up?” Callie asked. “You’ve been on edge for a couple of days.”

      Maya stopped jogging and stood still. She’d been trying to outrun the past, which was impossible, but she was giving it the old college try. “I received an invitation from Raven and Thomas for Nysha’s baptism.”

      “You received what?” Callie’s brown eyes grew large with amazement.

      “You heard me.”

      “I just can’t believe your sister and that sleazy husband of hers had the nerve to send it. Not after what they did to you.”

      Maya shrugged. It had been five long years since she’d felt the sting of Raven’s betrayal with her boyfriend, Thomas. If anyone had told her that her baby sister would steal her man and marry him, she would have called them a liar. Maya and Raven had always been so close. When their father