“The nickel tour,” Matthew told him. “Don’t worry. I’m not out to steal your girl.”
Rick grinned. “As if you could, old man.”
“Now don’t be uttering dares,” Matthew scolded. “There’s some fire left in me yet.”
Maggie laughed. “Okay, you two. I’m the one who gets to choose. You keep bickering and you’ll both be out of the running.”
Sally laughed. “Good for you.”
Outside, Matthew walked her around to the front of the white clapboard house with its neat black trim. “If you take a good look at that part in the middle, it was built by my granddaddy around 1870, right after he got married. Not much more than a box, but it’s stood the test of time. My daddy’s the one who added on just after the turn of the century. Put that wing over there so the house would accommodate me and my brothers and sisters. There were eight of us in all. Only two of us left now. I was the youngest. My sister Jane is still living over in Reedville. She’s eighty-five and feisty as the dickens. She can’t get around the way she used to, but her mind’s sharp as a tack. We keep trying to get her to come live with us now that she’s a widow, but she likes her little home over there. Says she wants to die in her own bed.”
“I suppose a person can’t ask for a more peaceful passing than that,” Maggie said.
Matthew gave her an approving look. “True enough, but I’m beginning to think Sally and I have a few adventures left in us. We stayed put all these years. Between the kids and all the work there is to do around here, there was no time for anything else. I’d like to see some more of the world, maybe live where we can have some grandkids underfoot. This place is getting to be too much for us.”
“Have you thought of selling it?”
He nodded. “Sally’s the one who balks. She says I’ll regret it. She could be right. There’s nothing easy about turning your back on your own history.” His expression brightened. “But there’s a lot to be said for change, too. Keeps the blood flowing, don’t you think?”
Maggie thought of how her blood had been flowing—practically sizzling, in fact—since she’d come to Rose Cottage. “I think you’re a very smart man, Mr. Keller.”
“Call me Matthew. We don’t hold much with formality around here.”
“I’d be honored,” Maggie said.
Matthew linked her arm through his and led her around back. “Now you take a look out there,” he encouraged, gesturing with a sweep of his arm. “Apple trees as far as the eye can see. It’s a picture in the spring, I’ll tell you that. And the air is filled with the scent of all those blossoms. Sweetest smell in the world. I used to lie awake nights when I was a kid and listen to the crickets and the hum of the bees. That scent would drift in my bedroom window. Folks these days turn on an air conditioner and miss all that.” He shook his head sadly. “Seems like a damn shame to me.”
It did to Maggie, too, though she tended to be the queen of air-conditioning back home.
Matthew gave her shoulder a pat. “I’ve bored you long enough,” he said. “Let’s go see what those two are up to inside.” He glanced at his watch. “The first of the pies ought to be coming out of the oven about now. If I know that man of yours, he’ll be wanting to take a break so he can have the first slice.”
Maggie chuckled. She was pretty sure Matthew had it exactly right. “Then let’s go beat him to it.”
Maggie hadn’t said much since they’d left the orchard. In fact she hadn’t said much after she and Matthew had gone off on that mysterious tour of theirs. Rick studied her out of the corner of his eye. He thought she looked a little sad.
“Something wrong?” he asked eventually.
“Do you know they’re thinking of selling?” she asked him.
Rick wasn’t surprised. Matthew had said as much to him the day before. “It’s a lot for them to keep up with,” he told her.
“I know, but it seems so sad. They’ve spent their whole marriage there. Matthew grew up there.”
“Isn’t he the one who wants to move?” Rick asked. “He hinted at it yesterday.”
Maggie nodded. “I still think it’s sad that none of their kids have stuck around.”
“This area is beautiful, but it probably has limited opportunities for young people,” Rick said pragmatically.
“That orchard’s an opportunity,” Maggie retorted. “Sally and Matthew have made a livelihood from it. Even now, they’ve found a way to keep it going without having to do more work than they can handle.”
He gave her a curious look. “You almost sound as if it’s something you’d like to do.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said derisively. “What would I do with an orchard?”
“Good question.”
“It’s just sad, that’s all.” She forced an obviously feigned smile. It was no more believable than those she’d tried out earlier to convince him she was thrilled about her sister’s arrival. “Let’s not talk about that anymore. We have more pressing fish to fry.”
“Your sister and her questions,” Rick guessed.
“Exactly. Maybe we should consider staying out really, really late and avoiding the whole inquisition,” she suggested.
“Or you could sneak into my room at the B and B,” Rick said. “That could be fun.”
To his disappointment, Maggie shook her head. “Too obvious. She’ll think to look there.”
He laughed. “Where would you suggest we hide?”
“Richmond, maybe.” Her expression turned wistful. “Alaska.”
He chuckled, even though it was plain she wasn’t entirely joking. “What are you really worried about, Maggie? That she’ll ask a question we can’t answer or that I’ll get tired of all the questions and take off?”
She gave him a surprised look, as if she hadn’t expected him to be so intuitive. “A little of both, I suppose.”
“Then you’re forgetting something. I’m a pretty jaded guy. I’ve been interrogated by tougher people than your sister. She doesn’t scare me. And you and I have a deal. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You could change your mind.”
“Not because of Ashley,” he reassured her. “You’re the only one who could get me to leave and only if you kick me to the curb and mean it. I’m not running just because things get a little sticky.”
His claim seemed to startle her. “Why not? Isn’t that what you do?”
The accusation stung, despite its accuracy. “Yes,” he admitted.
“Then what’s different now?”
“You,” he said simply. “You make the difference.”
She looked perplexed, rather than pleased. “How?”
Because she was so obviously struggling to believe him, Rick tried to find an answer that she would understand.
“For one thing, I have had more stimulating conversations with you than I’ve had with all those other women combined. Then there’s the work we’re doing right now. I’m enjoying that.”
“So am I, but it won’t last forever.”
“Okay, but there’s more. We have fun together, Maggie. And for another thing, being with you is easy.” He grinned. “At least when I’m not having to fend off your fiercely protective sisters.”
“But that’s precisely my point—” she began.
Rick cut her off. “Do I need to go on with all the other things that are keeping me here? Trust me, the list far outweighs the inconvenience of having to deal with Melanie and Ashley.” He studied her intently. “Are you really worried about me not being able to come up with the answers to pacify Ashley, or are you worried that you don’t have the right answers?”
“Me?”
He nodded. “I’m not the only one on the hot seat, you know. She’s bound to ask you if you’ve thought this through, if you’ve weighed the risks of getting involved with a guy with my reputation. Heck, she knows that’s why you took off in the first place.”
“I didn’t take off because of your reputation, at least not exactly,” she retort
ed. “I ran because of my own track record.”
“Which is?”
“I’ve told you,” she said impatiently. “I fall too hard, too fast. I can’t sustain a relationship. Add that to your track record, and it’s pretty much a sure bet that we’re headed for disaster.”
Rick nodded slowly. “Could be,” he admitted and saw the instant hurt in her eyes. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “It hasn’t happened so far, though. Would you rather not have any of this just to prevent some possible heartache in the future?”
She sighed at that. “I honestly don’t know.”
Rick felt his stomach clench. “If you’re not sure, then maybe we should forget about this. I’m a live-in-the-moment kind of a man, Maggie. It’s the way I grew up, the way I had to be to survive. I can’t promise you anything beyond right here, right now. If you don’t think that’s going to be enough to appease your sister, if it’s not enough for you, then I’ll finish this photo shoot tomorrow and take off.”
Alarm flared in her eyes. “No,” she said at once.
The quick and heartfelt response wasn’t enough to reassure him. “Are you sure?” he persisted.
“Yes,” she said, then shook her head. “No. It’s gotten very confusing.”
Rick had a feeling he should stop tormenting her and take the decision out of her hands, but he couldn’t seem to make himself do it. He had an undeniable weakness for Maggie that he didn’t understand and couldn’t explain. Every time he kissed her, every time he touched her, the need for her grew stronger. He knew that for as long as she was willing to have him underfoot, there was no place else on earth he’d rather be.
That could change tomorrow or the day after that, but for now this little nowhere town on the Chesapeake Bay was where he needed to be as long as Maggie D’Angelo was here, as well.
Chapter Ten
As soon as Maggie and Rick walked back into Rose Cottage, Maggie could feel the decided chill in the air, and it wasn’t due to the new central air-conditioning she’d purchased running on high. Ashley was waiting for them, her expression hard and unyielding, the way it was in the courtroom whenever she faced down a prosecutor. Maggie shivered, even though it was her own sister. She knew what Ashley could be like when she was in this mood. Something told her Ashley was disturbed about a whole lot more than discovering Rick in Maggie’s bed when she’d arrived that morning.
“Did you get any rest?” Maggie asked her sister.
“No.”
“Maybe I should send Rick home so you and I can have a long talk. Obviously there’s something serious going on with you.”
“Forget about me,” Ashley said. Her gaze shifted to Rick. “I think you should hang around for this.”
“Sure,” Rick said easily, sprawling in a chair opposite her as if that hard glint in Ashley’s eyes wasn’t the least bit worrisome.
“I’ll make some tea,” Maggie said. “Rick, maybe you should help me.”
Her sister’s lips quirked at the ploy. “Don’t even think about trying to hustle him out the back door. Let’s just get this out of the way.”
Rick leveled a calm look at her. “What’s on your mind? Is this about finding me here earlier?”
“No, that’s a whole other topic. Since then, you’ve had a phone call,” Ashley said.
Rick looked puzzled. “No one I know has this number.”
“Actually it was on your cell phone, which you’d apparently tossed aside at some point last night.” She paused as if to allow the significance of that to sink in, then added, “I picked it up by mistake, thinking it was mine.”
He shrugged. “Obviously, I forgot all about it this morning. I’ve gotten out of the habit of checking to make sure I have it since the reception’s so lousy.”
Ashley gave him a wry look. “It wasn’t lousy this morning. In fact the call came in quite clearly.”
Rick finally frowned at her. “So, you intercepted a call of mine by mistake and something about it has you all worked up. Am I with you so far?”
“You’re very astute,” Ashley confirmed. It didn’t sound like a compliment.
“Are you sure you weren’t deliberately spying on me?” Rick asked mildly.
He was one step ahead of Maggie. She’d been about to utter the same question. She didn’t like the way this conversation was going. She’d kept her mouth shut till now, but enough was enough.
“Back off, Ashley,” she ordered. “Rick’s phone calls are none of your business.”
“Sorry. I can’t pretend I didn’t take this one.” She gave Maggie a commiserating look. “Are you aware that this man is supposed to be in Greece right now?”
Rick chuckled. “Actually, I’m not. I turned the assignment down. Is that what this is about? Did my agent call and go on and on about how your sister is interfering in my career?”
Ashley looked startled. “No, but that’s an interesting take on things. Actually this was your very good friend, Laurina. If she has a last name, she didn’t mention it. She seemed to think Laurina would be sufficient.”
Maggie knew the name even if her sister didn’t. Laurina was one of the top international models whose face Rick had immortalized on more than one fashion magazine cover. They’d definitely been an item a few months back. Just hearing the name was enough to send a chill down Maggie’s spine. She should have guessed the women from his past wouldn’t all be content to remain in the background. If she’d concluded he was worth fighting for, some of the other women might have, as well.
Rick didn’t seem to be rising to Ashley’s bait, though. He merely shrugged. “So? We are friends. We do talk from time to time.”
“Apparently you’ve done quite a bit more than talking,” Ashley said coldly. “She’s apparently expecting a little bambino. She thought you should know.”
Maggie felt sick to her stomach, but before she could bolt from the room, Rick laughed.
“You think this is funny?” Maggie demanded incredulously, waving off whatever comment was on the tip of her sister’s tongue. She could handle this part. “This woman is having your baby and you’re laughing about it?”
Rick returned her heated gaze without so much as a flicker of an eyelash. “If she’s having my baby, then it must be by artificial insemination,” he declared calmly. He almost sounded believable.
“You expect us to buy that?” Ashley demanded, obviously unable to keep quiet despite Maggie’s warning look.
“I don’t expect you to do anything, except maybe to listen to both sides of the story rather than jumping to all sorts of wild conclusions,” Rick said mildly. “Shouldn’t an attorney, of all people, understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty?”
Before Ashley could respond, Maggie stepped in again. If she and Rick were ever to have a chance, she had to deal with this herself. Ashley would never be able to sit silently by while she tried, so she turned to her sister and said, “Ashley, I think you should go and pay Melanie a visit. I’m sure she’s anxious to see you.”
“But—”
“Go,” Maggie repeated. “I can handle this.”
“You can’t simply believe whatever story he decides to tell you,” Ashley warned. “I talked to this woman. She was very convincing.”
“About the fact that she was pregnant or about the baby being mine?” Rick asked.
Maggie waited as anxiously for the response as Rick did. Maybe even more so. For an instant, her big sister looked thoroughly flustered. Maggie seized on that. “You didn’t really ask, did you? You jumped to a conclusion.” The same way she had, in fact. “Let me deal with this, Ashley.”
Her sister nodded finally, then looked at Rick. “I’m very sorry if I got it all wrong, but if I find out later that I didn’t, there will be hell to pay.”
“Fair enough. You did get it wrong, but I can understand you wanting to look out for Maggie. Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing remotely like this that’s going to come along to hurt her.”
�
�I hope not,” Ashley said, then left.
Maggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then faced Rick.
“You are telling me the truth, aren’t you? Laurina’s baby isn’t yours?”
“There’s not a chance of that,” he insisted.
“But you were together,” she stated flatly.
“We were seen together,” he corrected. “Often, in fact. Laurina’s been wildly in love with a man in Italy for a very long time. He’s very publicity shy. He wouldn’t commit to marriage to someone who’s always being trailed by the paparazzi, so she used me to make him jealous. We purposely got our picture taken all over the place for a few weeks. The tactic worked. He realized a few unwanted snapshots weren’t important enough to cost him the woman he loved. They were married, very quietly, two months ago. There wasn’t a paparazzi in sight.” He grinned. “And now she’s pregnant. I’m thrilled for her, for both of them.”
It all sounded so plausible, but could she believe him? Maggie wished she could be sure. She’d seen those pictures, too. They’d been very convincing.
Rick held out his cell phone. “Call her, if that’s what it will take to convince you,” he offered. “She won’t mind. I had to do my share of fast-talking to get her off the hook with Antonio. He wanted to carve me up when Laurina insisted I come to the wedding.”
“Did you go?”
“Yes.”
And he’d survived this Antonio’s scrutiny. That had to mean something. Maggie made a decision. If they were ever to have a real chance, trust had to begin sometime. It might as well be now. “No. I don’t need to call her. I trust you.”
Rick regarded her with approval. “You can, you know. I won’t ever lie to you and I won’t sugarcoat the truth. Not every time I’ve been seen with a woman was as innocent as the times I was spotted with Laurina. We all have a romantic history of one sort or another, Maggie.”
She thought of her own less-than-stellar past. Her relationships might not have been as well documented as some of Rick’s, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t happened. He wasn’t cross-examining her about those.
She recalled what he’d said earlier about living in the moment. It had always gotten her in trouble before, but there really wasn’t any other way to live life. If she filled her head with regrets about the past or worries about the future, she would have nothing in the present.
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