“Sis,” Luke countered, “I think you should talk to someone about this unrealistic romantic streak of yours.”
She pointed at him. “I’ll talk to you at your wedding to Maddie. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I have to get back to my children and my bookstore.” She glanced at Joe and Alex, who nodded. “I think our work here is done.”
Luke grinned at them. “I promise to think about everything you said.”
“What we said about the job? Or Maddie?” Joe asked.
“Both,” Luke promised. Then he hugged each of his siblings in turn and watched them as they walked to the car. Just before climbing in the front seat, Rosie looked at him and ran back.
“There’s one more thing, Luke.”
“What?”
“Dad was going to come with us today. Then he changed his mind. He said this was a sibling thing. But he wanted me to tell you that he’ll talk to you soon. When you’re ready.”
Luke nodded, not sure how he felt about that. “Okay.”
She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
Then she ran back to the car and slid into the front seat. As they honked and drove away, Luke returned their wave.
Remembering his promise to think about Maddie and the job, he decided thinking about her was easier, as simple as falling off a log. Never had a woman so profoundly and thoroughly captured his mind. The thought caught him up short.
Okay, he would admit that she popped into his mind more than he was comfortable with. But capture his heart? No woman ever had. So how could Maddie accomplish that impossible feat? Especially when he wasn’t altogether certain he could trust her?
After a Saturday shopping trip, Madison pulled into her garage and saw Luke beside it. Was he waiting for her? God help her, she was happy to see him. Then she remembered that as of the day before, he lived next door. It wasn’t a stretch for her to run into him. Oddly enough, since he’d dropped by to borrow sugar after moving, she hadn’t been able to work up more than a token mad at him for his aggressive high-handedness.
Why?
Together she and Luke had created this “accident” she was carrying. So she could understand an unplanned pregnancy. But attitude about the blessed event made all the difference. Unlike her mother and father, she found she desperately wanted this child. But she didn’t think either that or hormones explained why she had cut Luke some slack for his overly aggressive behavior.
She’d accused him of spying on her. But he’d also proposed marriage. When she turned him down, he’d taken up residence next door to watch over her and the baby. That amounted to more commitment than she’d ever felt from her parents. Which was probably why she hadn’t been able to sustain any sincere anger toward him.
It had always seemed to her that her mother and father just couldn’t be bothered with a little girl they hadn’t wanted. As long as there was breath in her body, this baby would never feel like a nonessential entity. But she was afraid Luke’s actions were more about acting out his feelings concerning not knowing his own biological father. He needed to feel he was in control.
His spontaneous kindness could never be about tender, reciprocal feelings toward her. She refused to waste time and energy on hope that Luke could be different. If her own flesh and blood couldn’t love her, why should he?
She opened her car door and got out, walking over to him. “Waiting for me? Don’t even bother to tell me you just arrived.”
His lips curved into a small smile, unleashing dimples that should be registered with the love police as a dangerous weapon. “Okay, I won’t tell you that. Even though it’s the truth. Let’s just say I’m here to pay up on our bet.”
“What bet?”
“The one where you wagered that my siblings wouldn’t let me go quietly.” He reached in his pocket, pulled out some folded bills and handed her a twenty.
She took it, carefully avoiding the warmth of his fingers. “What happened?”
“Joe, Alex and Rosie came to see me. And now I need you to put on your attorney hat.”
She put her key in her trunk and opened it. Then she tipped her head to the side. “I think this whole neighbor thing is less about borrowing sugar and more about a cup of free legal advice.”
“You can bill me if you want.”
“Okay. I’ll save a stamp and slip it under your door.”
He peeked in her trunk. “You’ve been shopping.”
Was that disapproval in his tone? “Before you start in on me, buying a crib is technically not a decision about the baby that I felt warranted input from the baby’s father.”
“You’re still trying to keep me at arm’s length.”
“I fail to see how or why you would be miffed. Most men would kiss my feet for letting them off the hook on a shopping trip.”
“I’m not most men. And while I would gladly kiss your feet, or any and all other parts of you, you’re deliberately missing my point. Picking out a baby’s bed is an experience intimate to prospective parents. It’s something that brings them closer. You intentionally left me out. Why, Maddie? What are you afraid of?”
She was too busy reeling from his admission that he wanted to kiss her all over. The seductive visual sent a surge of heat rushing through her. It took several beats for her to register the fact that he was demanding to know her reasons for not including him.
“Why would you want to be involved in baby furniture, Luke? You said you didn’t want children. I’m just trying to be sensitive to your feelings.”
It was only half a lie. She was trying to be sensitive. But her feelings for Luke were growing too big, too fast. And he had her dead to rights. She was doing her darnedest to keep him at arm’s length. Even though he wasn’t making it easy.
“It doesn’t matter what I want or don’t want,” he said carefully. “There’s just what is. This is my child, too. I’d appreciate it if you would consult me in the future. About everything.”
“Okay. The disposable diaper aisle is pretty daunting. Some input on absorbency would be helpful. Not to mention wipes, in terms of scented or fragrance free,” she said, starting to lift the long, awkwardly shaped box from the back of her SUV. The rear seat folded down, extending the trunk so it would accommodate the crib and mattress.
“What are you doing?” he asked sharply.
“I have to figure out how to get this inside.”
“Stand back. This is man’s work. Marchetti’s my name, fetching and carrying’s my game.”
She was looking directly at him when he said that, and she studied him. He didn’t look tense at all, not the way he had recently when mentioning his last name.
“What happened?” she asked. “I sense a thaw in the cold war.”
“Really?”
He hefted the box from the car and rested it on his strong shoulder. It was such an inherently masculine movement that it made her mouth go dry.
“I know you, Luke,” she said, a slightly breathless note in her voice. That was so true. Later she would wrestle with how, why and what a problem it was that she knew him so well. “Have you come to terms with your situation?”
He carried the crib into her condo and set it in her empty third bedroom. He returned to the kitchen, not even out of breath or having worked up a sweat, she thought with mild annoyance as she handed him the cold can of soda she’d just taken from the refrigerator.
He took a long swig, then met her gaze. “I just told you my siblings came to see me today.”
“I love being right,” she said. “The twenty bucks is nice, too.”
His only comment was a quick grin. Then he turned serious again. “They wanted to let me know that their feelings haven’t changed. Rosie told me that Dad has kept his distance until I’m ready to talk.”
She nodded. “Smart man.” Studying his thoughtful expression, she added, “So what did you want to discuss with me that comes under the heading of billable hours?”
“My options with my biological father’s business. Th
e Marchettis are willing to give me all the time I need to make a decision, but it’s not fair to them, or especially good for Marchetti’s Incorporated, to drag this out.”
Madison leaned back against the counter and folded her arms at her waist.
He looked at her. “As I see it I have three options—sell the accounting business, let someone else run it and remain as the majority stockholder and work for Marchetti’s—” he hesitated a moment then said “—or take over the company that my biological father passed on to me.”
“You don’t need my advice,” she said.
“But I’d like your opinion. What do you think I should do?”
“My money is on plan B. It’s a win-win situation for you. It’s a large, fiscally sound, profitable company. Income from that, along with your financial interest in Marchetti’s would be nothing to sneeze at.”
“Not to mention keeping the business open so as not to contribute to the unemployment rate,” he said dryly.
She nodded, then shrugged. “Call me a softie, but it’s certainly something to take into consideration.”
She studied him as he stood across from her and leaned back against the counter, crossing one ankle over the other. He set his soda can beside him and folded muscular arms over the masculine expanse of his chest. The blatantly male pose made her mouth go dry again and her heart go a gazillion miles a minute. Everything he did was so marvelously male. Why should it continue to surprise her? Or affect her, as in reaching out to her femininity?
“So are you going to keep me in suspense?” she asked, taking a deep breath to draw air into lungs suddenly empty of oxygen.
“I’m leaning toward plan C,” he admitted.
“Leaving Marchetti’s and running the accounting business,” she clarified, to make sure they were discussing the same plan.
He nodded. “As you said, it’s a large, lucrative company.” A gleam stole into his eyes, as if he’d suddenly thought of a plan to end world hunger.
She shook her head. “What, Luke?”
“Handling the account would be quite a feather in your cap,” he said. “Who takes care of legal matters for the accounting firm?”
She shrugged. “Jim Mallery said that your father had established legal counsel somewhere else. Jim drew up the will because of the sensitive nature of the situation with Flo and Tom and your father. Why?”
“Having the account would undoubtedly go a long way toward helping you reach your career goal.”
Madison stared at him. “I can see the wheel spinning, but I’m not entirely certain that the hamster’s still alive. What’s going on in that brain of yours?”
“If I take over the accounting business, I can choose my own legal counsel.”
“Even if you merely retain controlling interest, you could do that. But the real question is whether or not you would trust me with it.” As much as his actions showed concern about her, she wouldn’t delude herself into believing that that had been his primary motive. “Moving next door to watch over me is not the behavior of a man given to leaps of faith where I’m concerned.”
He put his hands on his hips. “I know I’ve been acting a little over the top lately, Maddie. But a lot has happened,” he said.
That was the biggest understatement she’d ever heard. “I’ll grant you that. But this discussion still begs the question—why would you do anything to further my career?”
“To help you meet your personal goal of becoming a partner. I would insist that you handle just that account from home while you take care of the baby. And marry me.”
Chapter Nine
Luke watched Maddie’s eyes grow wide with surprise. He also computed the exact shade of green that told him she’d reached her maximum anger quotient, and her volcano was about to erupt.
She straightened and put her hands on her hips. “I cut you some slack about moving in next door. Don’t ever make the mistake of believing that I don’t have a backbone.”
“Nothing could be farther from the truth.”
“I’m willing to concede that I need to contact you about everything regarding the baby, including the furniture. Never again will I assume anything and make up your mind for you.” She took a deep breath. “But you need to back off. Baby decisions are one thing, but this crosses the line.”
“Joe told me to do it,” he said.
“Your brother doesn’t get a vote.”
“I think it’s a solution.”
“For who? It seems to me that you’re the one who benefits,” she accused.
“How do you figure?”
“You’re in control.”
“How so?”
“Keep me at home. Throw me a crumb of legal work. I’ll be under your thumb.”
“Why do you assume that’s my motive?”
“What else could it be? It’s obvious you don’t have deep feelings for me. If I wasn’t carrying your baby, would you have asked me to marry you?”
Would he? He’d been convinced he would never have deep feelings for any woman and had almost been willing to settle. Then there was Maddie, and now she was pregnant. Everything had changed. He wasn’t sure what he would have done. And he didn’t think that was the issue. “The objection is overruled.”
“Who made you the judge?” she demanded.
“I’m thinking about you and the baby. You’ve said you don’t want hired help raising the child. How do you expect to go to the office every day unless you employ someone? Something tells me that Addison, Abernathy and Cooke won’t be very sympathetic about an unhappy, outspoken infant sharing office space with you.”
“You’re using my words against me.”
“I’m just being practical, Maddie. If you insist on remaining a single mother, you can’t have it both ways. An unmarried mother carries all the responsibility.”
“Some married mothers do that, too,” she snapped.
“Not if they were married to me. I’m offering you the option of sharing the load.”
“And what do you get out of it?”
The expectant look on her face made him feel like he was on a game show. Right answer and he won a million bucks. Wrong one and the buzzer blasted him into losing-contestant oblivion.
“I get to do the right thing,” he finally said.
He could almost hear that buzzer when her shoulders slumped and the light went out of her eyes.
“Be still my heart,” she said, fluttering a hand over her chest. “Words like that could turn a girl’s head.”
“I’m trying to be honest with you. What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.” She glared at him. “I have assured you that I will never deny you your child. In time you’ll see that I’m telling the truth. In the meantime, the fact that we share this baby doesn’t give you the right to steamroll me.”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“If you truly believe that, then you’re CFO of fantasyland. Face it, Luke. You moved in next door to watch me, not watch over me. Then you have the nerve to accuse me of trying to keep you at a distance. If I am, do you blame me?”
“I’m just trying to do the right thing,” he said again.
“And taking it to the next level,” she said. “The truth is that I’m paying the price because your parents lied to you. I was just trying to do the right thing, but you refuse to give me the benefit of the doubt. Your parents acted out of love, and you won’t even speak to them.”
Her accusation hit a little too close to the mark. It pricked his conscience, now that he’d had time to assimilate what had happened. “Have you ever been lied to?” he asked defensively.
“Probably. But I can’t give you specifics because I don’t keep a running tally.”
This wasn’t about him or her. It was about their unborn child. “I mean lied to in the most basic and elemental way possible.”
“No.” She looked at the ceiling for a moment, then back at him. “But everyone has issues, Luke. Including me. I was an unwanted
accident. I know firsthand what it feels like to be discarded.”
“Then you should appreciate what I’m trying to do.”
“I would if I thought you could ever—”
“What?”
“Forget it.” She shook her head. “No one is perfect, which makes raising perfect children an impossible task. That scares me to death,” she said, putting her hands over her abdomen in an unconsciously protective gesture. “But I resent the fact that you’re trying to use that fear against me to get your way and then stoop to calling it helping.”
“I was just trying to give you the opportunity to stay at home with our child and still keep a hand in your career. I was trying to give you the best of all possible worlds.”
“That’s what it looks like on the surface. An offer like that should earn you wings and a halo from feminists everywhere. But I know it isn’t about me and the baby. It’s about you.”
How could it be about him? She was the mother of his child. He had to take care of them both. What else did she want from him? “You’re wrong, Maddie.”
“Then we need to agree to disagree.” She sighed. “Normally I would like nothing better than a good philosophical argument. After all, that’s what I do for a living. But I’m tired, Luke. Please leave.”
Anger surged through him. He wanted to convince her that he had her best interests at heart. But when he saw the weary look in her eyes, the dark circles beneath, his anger drained away. The same heart that wanted her best interests went out to her. He wanted to pull her against him and hold her. No woman had ever stirred his blood like Maddie. And the way she’d gone on the attack…
He’d come close to telling her she was breathtaking—so beautiful when she was angry. But somehow he knew if he’d said that, instead of just asking him to leave, she’d be physically bouncing him out the door. He made a mental note to never underestimate the adrenaline pump of a pregnant redhead. But he had bigger problems than that. Like how to convince her to let him take care of her.
But he knew she was right about having her own issues. He sensed that she wanted something more from him. And he wasn’t certain what it was or if he was capable of it.
The Last Marchetti Bachelor Page 11