“You cook?” His eyebrow rose as she came toward him.
She was close enough to feel the heat of his body emanating from him which made her remember her dreams of him, naked. She buried her reaction and said, “A little." She hadn't tried in a few years. Carter blinked at her--so cute.
“Suit yourself.” He stepped back and walked away, his butt very fine in his jeans.
“Expect to eat some vegetables tonight," she called to his back. "They’re good for you.”
“I knew you were trouble.” He pushed out the back door.
Her pulse raced though he was now gone.
Jess found the large white galley kitchen with industrial-sized machines in her search for Carter's formula. The baby’s face was bright red so she guessed that he was hungry.
As she shuffled through the shelves and then checked the refrigerator she felt his tummy was tight as she prepared a bottle with the liquid in the fridge. She put the bottle into his mouth, and Carter screamed, turning his head away.
Most babies eat when hungry, right?
She adjusted the bottle but again he screamed. Something was off. She checked the liquid's expiration date and it was fine. However as she tried to put the bottle in his mouth, again, he shook his head.
This wasn’t good. No wonder he was screaming. He must hate this formula.
She realized that her sister used a different brand for her baby. She also remembered Tess telling her other sister, Elizabeth, that this particular formula was the worst for causing stomach aches.
Using the new phone, Jess surfed a shopping sight and realized this phone was still connected to his shopping app, so she bought the formula with one hour delivery.
If he hated this plan, she’d reimburse him, but for now she one-clicked and pocketed the phone.
Done. Now they waited.
So she washed the baby, changed his clothes, played with him and hoped the delivery would arrive by the time she finished. The baby began to cry as she bounced him. “Carter, let’s get you some food. You seem hungry.”
Luckily the chef had the right food now as he was putting away the delivery.
Perfect. She fixed a bottle and Carter, after some coaxing, gave the new formula a try--then ate like he hadn’t eaten in days.
That sure explained the baby's bad mood.
Once Carter napped, she placed him in the bassinet beside her, with one small box of the formula to show Maverick later what she’d done, and now checked her new phone’s internet for word on Brock, her family or her roommates. Reporters were stationed outside her condo building--she didn't seek out their attention as some socialite-wanna-be celebrity, but that didn't stop them from swarming her place. Luckily she left before the news broke.
When she returned, she owed Valentina and Camila for dealing with them.
Jess heard the front door open and she took the sleeping baby with her--her body tingled from the sight of his muscled legs taking off his muddy boots at the door. She glanced at the clock, half-past quitting time.
He put his boots on a shelf with lots of papers on it that must be made to keep dirt from going on the floor. “I had some issues to fix that took longer than I thought.”
She checked on Carter who was sleeping soundly in the living room bassinet as she said, “We’ll, we’re glad you’re back.”
He followed and gave her a grudging nod as he checked out his son, and smiled, like he was proud of his little angel. “How bad was the laundry?”
Alarmed, she swallowed and hoped she hadn’t ruined her chance to stay. “Laundry?”
He widened his stance and stated, “You said you’d handle it.”
Was this a test? If so, she'd failed. Her body tensed with fear that he might toss her out, but she hid that with her ‘I get what I want’ smile she usually saved for flirting.
“Right. I’ll get on that tomorrow. Today I ordered Carter a different formula to calm his belly and ensured he ate. I figured out he hated the food which could explain his constant tears. And his belly felt tight so I remember my sister going through a few kinds before choosing a particular brand to ease stomach pain. And once I gave it to him, his belly was full and he slept.”
"I never thought to check the formula for the reason he'd be upset--I just used what he'd had at the hospital." Maverick pressed his hand on his heart in gratitude. “Your sister sounds like a very good mother. Thank you."
She swore she hummed like a church bell from that glance he gave her. She pocketed her phone and shook off her attraction. “It’s my job to take care of Carter until you find your permanent nanny. He sure likes the taste better of this new one.”
Maverick took the formula container and studied the label. “I’ll be sure the cook knows to add it to the shopping list.”
Her heart began to race. Maverick really cared about his son. She lifted her chin and nodded like she was in charge. “He does.”
He knelt down and kissed his little boy’s forehead, letting him sleep. Then he stepped back and said, “Good. He’s sleeping. We can eat together, without his screaming.”
With him? She touched her lower lip, imagining a kiss that she definitely didn’t, no, probably didn’t--well, maybe she did wish for. Maverick was masculine beauty and nothing like the sleek suits and moneyed men who usually thought it their god-given right to talk to her. Her pulse zipped as she pointed toward the door. “Can we eat on the patio?”
“It’s a nice night.” He motioned with his head. “Why don't you put Carter in his nursery? I'll go clean up and bring the burgers. See you in a few minutes.”
He walked away and his backside was tight and hard beneath the denim. She wanted to reach out and press her hands on those muscles to feel for herself, but that was a fantasy for another life.
Guys did not turn her on like this, from just wearing jeans and smelling of outdoors, and loving their son. She gently picked Carter up and brought him to his room, laying him in his crib. Jess took the monitor off the stand and turned it on, then tip-toed out.
She held the monitor, feeling her borrowed phone in her back pocket.
Her friends weren’t a text away to talk about how her mind kept imagining kisses under the moonlight with a stranger.
She was on her own for this one.
If he kissed like she'd dreamed, she wouldn't want to share. She swayed her hips, dancing to music piped on the back patio and stepped outside. “It is a nice evening.”
The air smelled of burgers and her mouth watered. The sun was setting in the sky already and it made his farm of peach trees gave the air a sweet smell as the trees seem to stretch into the horizon. His brown eyes beckoned her closer. “Bob decided to create a romantic mood so he picked the songs for us. He's been joking all day that he wants us to get married like he advertised.”
That stopped her mid-stride. Her gaze narrowed as she asked, “Why?”
He pulled out a chair for her and motioned for her to join him. The delicious burgers were on brioche buns, slightly toasted, with Swiss cheese that looked organic and a side of sweet potato chips, along with side salads and a bottle of wine in the middle of the table for them to share. This wasn’t what she’d expected. This was better.
She continued to her seat as he said in a booming voice, “As his first and only attempt at matchmaking, he would have a 100% marriage rate in case he decides to quit running my farm for me and become a professional matchmaker.”
“That’s not true, boss,” a voice called out from the house.
She laughed and poured the Syrah wine into two glass goblets at the table. Maverick pointed with both hands to the side door of the home that led to the kitchen as an older man stepped outside, like he’d duck and disappear. “There he is. The devil himself.”
“More like your angel, Maverick.” The older man held the edges of his black vest with pride and his western bolo tie bounced each step. “I’m here to tell you what to do again, since it’s part of my job.”
“What now?” Maverick
asked with a chuckle.
Jess put a glass to the right of his plate and kept one for herself. As she put the bottle down, she heard quite loudly, “You can dance with your new lady here. We both know you like her.”
Maverick bowed like he was some gentleman in an old Western movie and not a farmer, his hand out for her to join him, his brow up in a dare as Bob headed toward the parked pickup truck near the attached garage that currently housed her own car.
If she danced with him, she’d know what it was like to be in his arms.
Perhaps with clothes on and an audience she’d be safe from his charms. She swallowed and accepted his challenge.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his hard, lean, body.
For a farmer, this wasn’t fair.
He was hotter than movie stars or rock stars and she’d met plenty of those in her life as Catherine.
Jess rested her head to his chest and listened to his heart beat as they swayed to a slow country song that had a nice sound.
Her rock and roll brother would probably be interpreting the notes as he listened and ruining more music in his boring analysis of constructing the notes.
But the world faded away and she was just Jess again, not socialite Catherine Morgan who was only famous for her bank account. Here she was just herself, reacting to a guy in jeans.
The music changed to a slightly more upbeat twang of a female country singer, and she glanced up.
He still held her, but as their gazes met, he smiled and said, “I do appreciate you taking care of Carter today. I haven't been able to work for the past week.”
If she could make Maverick happy, she'd count it as a good day. The first where she'd done anything useful in a long time. She held him, not wanting to let go as she said, “I’m glad I could help.”
He winked and tightened his arms around her which made her body tingle. “Maybe Bob is right.”
Her mind buzzed and landed on a possible topic. “About marriage?”
His hand traveled up and down her back as his voice lowered, “Maybe.”
If she wasn’t infamous for a sex tape in the news today, she’d be infamous tomorrow when Brock realized she wasn’t paying, not if she had a say. Talk of marriage would end fast then, even as a joke. Besides, rock hard and steady weren’t her lifestyle, despite how wonderful this moment was. She sighed. “What do you mean?”
He tipped his head at her and those brown eyes of his were hypnotic as he said, “Well, if you hadn’t forgotten the laundry, you’d be perfect.”
“Finding Carter’s food was a victory though.”
“Yeah, it was. It’s why you’re almost perfect. You're resourceful and beautiful.”
Her body buzzed and she ached for staying here with him forever as a possibility. Tonight she’d dream about it. Jess licked her lips and avoided his stare by looking toward the moon that started appearing in the distance. “Your farm house is massive. It’s like a mansion in the middle of nowhere.”
He dipped her, his strong hand on her back. “Farming doesn’t mean we have to live in squalor.”
His home was the opposite of what she’d imagined when she’d seen the stock image that gave away no real feel of his land. As they danced, she ignored all the awareness that grew all over her body as she said, “I didn’t mean to offend. Bob didn’t put any real picture in that ad I saw.”
“He’d have been fired if he had.” Maverick stood taller as they swayed on the patio and he held her hand. “My farms provide enough income where my great-grandchildren will be provided for.”
That was nothing compared to the Morgan wealth that would last for generations, or until the world economy changed. She would never want for anything though she kept that to herself. Tonight she was Jess Taylor and not a Morgan. She smiled. “That’s good to hear.”
The song ended and he stopped dancing. He led her back to the table as he asked, “And what is it you do, Jess?”
The less questions about herself, the better. She ran her hands over her ponytail, tucking loose strands into place. “I’m a trained accountant.”
He held her chair for her. “Passed the CPA?”
“Absolutely.” She sat and let him scoot her in.
As he took the seat across from her, he offered her the salad dressing. “Yet here you are, babysitting for me. The ex-boyfriend was clearly a fool.”
Right. The ex. Brock wanting to extort money was the reason she was hiding here. There was no love lost there. She lifted her glass and held it toward his. “Life is strange.”
He toasted with her. “Jess, you’re cuter than my ex.”
Was he flirting? Maybe she could find out what being Maverick’s woman might be like--a short-term affair while she was here. She winked. “I’m cuter than all your ex’s.”
“Saucy, too. I like that.” He sipped his wine.
She laughed and he did too. Dinner had a magical feel because for once she didn’t have to have her guard up regarding money, which was always below the surface when meeting someone new. Did they like her, for her? Or did they want what the Morgan fortune could buy? Maverick was the first man who stood on his own that she’d met in a long, long time. And for tonight, she was open to whatever happened next.
From across the table, Maverick stared into the prettiest pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen, in a fair face, surrounded by soft, blonde hair. He'd bet that her pink lips would taste better than ice cream on a warm night.
As he sipped his wine, he knew without a doubt three things. Jess Taylor was expensive. She wasn’t meant to be a farmer’s wife. Second, Jess Taylor was temporary, as they'd agreed. And three, she was beautiful, which meant she had the world outside his gates at her feet. Her CPA meant she had beauty and brains. He had to stay far away from her.
His son needed him.
That was a fourth reason to never, ever kiss her. If he did, trouble would probably follow.
However, his arms ached to hold her again, if only to dance.
They finished their glass of wine and burgers when another soft song started on the radio. “So how was eating regular people food?”
“Delicious. I missed a good burger, more than I realized.”
“What do you normally eat?”
“Mostly French when eating in. I miss these.”
In Florida, most of the world would think the night was warm, but without the humidity, the air had a slight chill. She twirled a piece of her hair that fell out of her ponytail and hummed along. The scent of peaches from the grove of trees wafted toward them from across the open field.
Her pink lips made him wonder what flavor of ice cream she’d taste like if he kissed her. He sipped his wine but that didn’t satisfy. He took a deep breath to clear his mind. “Jess, tell me about this ex of yours.”
She straightened and stared at him with unblinking blue eyes before asking, “Why do you want to know?”
He scooted his chair next to her, so they could sit side by side without the table between them. “What kind of guy was he?”
She gave him a bit of a scowl, then sighed and looked at the moon that was now fully showing in the distance. “Not a nice guy really. He cared more about money and material wealth than me.”
His ears buzzed. He hadn’t expected that answer as he expected she’d picked some guy for his bank account. He pressed his shoulder to hers and clinked her glass. “He’d have been perfect for Alicia.”
She turned toward him with wide eyes. “Who?”
He took a drink of red wine before explaining, “Carter’s mom. She didn’t want to be a mother, as a baby is too much work for her modeling career. She only had our baby because I insisted.”
She put her glass down by her feet and shook her head. “That’s so crazy to me. So she just left her son?”
Until he'd held Alicia’s letter in his hand, he hadn’t believed any woman would ever be like that. He put his glass down on the table beside him as he shrugged. “I paid her a salary she’d ha
ve earned for the months she was pregnant in exchange for her to have our boy and then give me custody.”
She crossed her legs and lifted her brow. “I thought he was just dropped here a week ago?”
Carter was six weeks old and until this week he’d been cared for by temporary nurses he’d hired until he found a nanny and then the short-lived laundry lady.
He pressed one of his fists into the other hand, wishing he’d made better choices. “No. He’d been here for weeks, but I was in negotiations since the day I found out he was conceived and she made the nurses all quit fast. Alicia milked every dime she could.”
She placed her hand on his arm and instantly a spark raced through him. “How did you find out?”
“We'd broken up and she came back with the news. When I didn’t want to get back with her, she wanted an abortion. I offered a lucrative alternative.” Carter was all that mattered to him now. “Our lawyers hammered out a contract for her months of non-modeling and her hospital stay. They also worked out the custody agreement where I picked him up at the hospital. She hadn’t wanted to even see our son.”
Jess pressed her hand to her heart, looking at him with empathy. “I could never have left any child of mine.”
“I used to think most women would say that, but I know better now.” For the right price, people did a lot of things that they never thought they’d do. He shrugged and eyed her discreetly. Her black slacks and white shirt had style, and her flats had a red sole. Diamonds flashed in her ears. Nothing about Jess suggested simple. “Actually, your taking the time and figuring out what Carter wanted to eat, surprised me Jess. You’re clearly into fashion and style.”
She tugged on the lace-edged hem of her shirt. “It’s part of my… job title. I grew up in Miami and my father worked in accounting and management--he ran the show behind the scenes. He inspired me to be organized.”
Hmm. A farm was a business and required a lot of organization with an eye always on the bottom line. Could she fit here? Working inside the house while he and his men toiled outdoors? None of his farmhands had her soft breasts--he scooted away and hoped he hadn’t gawked as he asked with a hot face, “Where did Ms. CPA work then?”
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