Andrea laughed. Kate was a wedding planner and had been a romantic for as long as Andrea had known her. "You're crazy. This is just a job. And I'm sure the man has a girlfriend, probably more than one."
"Well, you never know. I can't wait to hear how it goes. Call me tonight. Or if it's too late, first thing in the morning, and don't forget brunch on Sunday. If you're not there, I will come and find you."
"I honestly can't promise I'll be there. It depends on where this story goes."
"Fine. If you're in bed with Alexander Donovan, you get a pass. Otherwise, you better be there."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not dating him; I'm interviewing him."
"We'll see."
"You have love on the brain."
Kate laughed. "I do. How can I help it? I'm surrounded every day with joyous brides. I want us all to have that same feeling one day."
"Well, Laurel has it," Andrea said, thinking of how happy her sister was to be in love and engaged. She couldn't even imagine getting to that point. Right now, a great date would be a welcome surprise. Her track record with men the last few years was not impressive. "I'll talk to you later. I have to get ready."
"Wear something sexy."
"Goodbye, Kate," she said with laugh. As she set down her phone, she picked up the photo of Alexander Donovan again. His sexy, laughing gaze made butterflies dance through her stomach. "Just an assignment," she told herself again. A story she needed to do well if she wanted to keep her job.
"You cannot escape the Raven's deadly shot." Alexander Donovan said the words with greedy intensity as he skillfully outmaneuvered the approaching monstrous villain known as Gaya.
"Gaya can outjump Raven." Thirteen-year-old Tyler Parker sent his warrior jumping into space with a quick maneuver.
"Not bad, but you made one mistake."
Tyler groaned as Alex's character turned the carpet into a missile that destroyed Gaya into a shattering kaleidoscope of color. "That's not fair."
"It's fair. I introduced the missile two levels ago," Alex said, sitting back in his chair as he watched the game calculate his award points on the sixty-inch flat screen television that hung on the wall of his office.
While he made video games and apps, he still loved computer games the best. He could add so many more complications, so many more opportunities to change plays with a variety of keystrokes. He pushed the keyboard away and smiled at the frustrated kid next to him. Tyler's competitive spirit would reemerge within seconds. He just needed a second to regroup.
As he studied Tyler's face, he realized that the boy was starting to change into a man. He'd grown two inches in the last month and he now seemed all arms and legs, with teeth a little too big for his face. Soon his voice would change, and he'd grow into his size eleven shoes. With those changes would probably come more attitude, but Alex could handle it. He'd never forgotten how hard the teen years could be, especially for a kid like Tyler, a kid who was growing up in the same harsh system Alex had lived through—foster care.
He'd met Tyler two years earlier when he'd volunteered to be a Big Brother. At the time, Tyler had been living with his mother, but she'd died of cancer a year later and with no other relatives available to take care of him, Tyler had gone into the system.
"Let's play again," Tyler said.
"Sorry, I can't," he said, checking his watch. "I have a meeting in a few minutes."
"On Friday night? Shouldn't you have a date or something?"
He grinned. "As a matter of fact, I do have a date. So you need to go home."
Tyler let out a heavy sigh. "I guess."
Alex frowned. "Is everything okay with the Monroes? Are they treating you right?"
Tyler shrugged his shoulders as he stood up and dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "They make me go to church on Sunday."
"It's good to be exposed to religion."
"And they want to see my report cards," Tyler said with another heavy sigh.
"Imagine that."
"I'll be happy when I'm done with school," Tyler added.
"School is important."
"You didn't go to college."
"No, but I wish I'd had the chance," he said, getting to his feet. "I told you that if you make it through four years of college, you have a job waiting for you here."
"That's in a million years," Tyler said with a roll of his eyes.
Alex laughed. "Time goes faster when you get older."
"Do you want me to come by tomorrow and help you with more game research?"
"On Saturday? Don't you have something better to do?"
"The Monroes are going to visit some old lady. They don't need me around."
Alex sat down behind his desk and sent Tyler a thoughtful look, worried by the undercurrents in his tone. "Did they tell you that?"
"No, but it's not like I'm their real kid." He kicked at a spot on the carpet. "It's okay. I don't really care. They're better than some of the people I've lived with."
Alex nodded in agreement, wishing he could tell Tyler that everything would be fine. But would it? He knew firsthand how tough life could be, especially for a kid on his own. "I've got some things to do this weekend. Why don't you come by Monday after school? I'm going to test a new game that's still in early development. I could use your opinion." He liked to involve Tyler in the games for two reasons: one, to keep the kid engaged in life, and, two, because teenage boys were his target demographic.
Tyler's face lit up. "Awesome. Can I run the train once before I go?"
Alex smiled. In addition to his game business, his company constructed some of the most sophisticated model trains in the world, and one of those trains wound its way around his office on sleek silver tracks.
Alex pushed the controller over to Tyler. "Go ahead."
While Tyler started the train, Alex checked his
