“You’re scowling. Did your computer hard drive crash? Or come up with a particularly nasty virus? Maybe someone didn’t pay rent on their office space? I’ll check with my assistant about that.” Sloan looked at her empty chair. “When she gets back from lunch.”
“That’s not why I’m here. Can we talk? In your office? Where it’s private?”
Sloan glanced around the obviously empty room. “What’s wrong with this?”
“Trust me. You’re going to want to have this conversation behind closed doors.”
This had to be about Maggie. First her mother and now this. Sloan recognized the protective-big-brother look that was all over the other man, from the tension in his body to the hostility in his eyes.
“Okay.” He walked into his office and shut the door after the other man followed. It was probably a good idea to put the desk between them, just in case. Sloan moved around it and sat in his chair. “It might save time if you knew that your mother already gave me the ‘I’ll hurt you if you hurt my daughter’ talk.”
Brady looked surprised. “When?”
“A little while ago. She invited me over for lunch. It was enlightening.”
“So you’re going to back off my sister?”
Sloan leaned forward and rested his forearms on the desk. “Again, in the interest of time, you should know that I don’t respond well to threats.”
Brady’s eyes narrowed. “Since we’re baring our souls here, you should know that I don’t respond well when a publicity-obsessed playboy uses my niece. Clearly stepping in like a conquering hero was your attempt to get on my sister’s good side in order to seduce her.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong.”
“So you didn’t babysit Danielle until Maggie got home when Josie had to leave?”
“No. I did.”
“So you admit you’re trying to get my sister in your bed?” Brady braced his feet wide apart and folded his arms over his chest.
Sloan wanted Maggie in his bed, but he hadn’t watched Danielle to manipulate the situation in his favor. Still, he knew Brady didn’t want an answer quite that blunt. Every woman could be a guy’s sister, and being protective was just what brothers did. But there was no fighting the chemistry between women and men, and if your sister wanted to sleep with a guy, she would do it whether you approved of her actions or not. Sloan knew about these things.
“I will admit that I like Maggie. A lot,” he added emphatically.
“If you like her, then leave her alone.”
Sloan blew out a long breath. “Look, I’m not the heartless bastard the tabloids make me out to be.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I’m photographed with a lot of women and the facts get twisted and embellished to sell magazines. If I’d really been serious about even half the women they say...”
“What?” Brady prodded.
“Let’s just say I don’t have that much stamina.”
“I’m only concerned about one woman. Are you in love with my sister?” Brady moved closer to the desk and settled his palms flat on top of it, his eyes flashing angrily.
“I’ve never been in love,” Sloan answered honestly. “I’ve never experienced it. I admire and respect Maggie—raising a child and building a business without help.”
“No help? What am I? Chopped liver? I built her new website.”
“I’m aware that she’s got you and Maureen as backup. And Josie is there. Lucy is her partner. But she’s a single mother and doing a great job. At the same time, her business is growing. She’s an amazing woman. I can tell you without a doubt that I want to get to know her better. I look forward to finding out what makes her tick.”
Sloan had never met anyone like her. He’d dated actresses and models who all had “people” to help them. Maggie was a superwoman and made it look easy. He meant every single word he’d just said, and the truth of it was even more clear to him now that her family was on his case to leave her alone.
“Why should I believe you?” Brady demanded.
“I could give you a PowerPoint presentation, but you know as well as I do that talk is cheap.” He met the other man’s gaze. “But you can take what I’m about to tell you to the bank. I won’t say anything to her that I don’t mean. I will never make a promise that I don’t intend to keep, then walk away. I understand that she has an impressionable child, and whatever affects Maggie impacts her daughter.”
“Very true.” The other man nodded, then straightened away from the desk. “Danielle is little now, but she’ll be affected even more when she gets older.”
“I know.” The idea of that little girl being used by a guy to get to her mom made Sloan really angry. “Look, Brady, I don’t have any clue where this is going with Maggie. Maybe nowhere, because your sister is as stubborn as they come.”
“Tell me about it.” Brady sat in one of the chairs facing the desk. “I’m the guy she didn’t come to for a business loan.”
“Maggie has a mind of her own, so your guess is as good as mine about her. Probably better since she’s your sister and you grew up with her.” Sloan met the other man’s gaze. “I can’t promise she won’t get hurt, but you can count on this. I will never lie to her or treat her with less than the utmost respect.”
Brady nodded his understanding, then said, “Damn you.”
“Excuse me? Now what’s your problem?” Sloan didn’t know what else to say. “So you want me to cut my wrist and sign something in blood?”
“As appealing as that sounds...” Brady grinned. “No. I’m ticked off because you were honest.”
“What?” Sloan shook his head. “Now you’ve lost me.”
“Okay, then, let me explain. If you were a low-down, lying, cheating, shallow bastard, it would give me an excuse to beat you up.”
“Ah. Understood.” Sloan smiled slowly. “Well, if it’s any consolation, your mother made me eat salad and quiche for lunch.”
“Dude—” Brady shook his head sympathetically. “Girl food. That’s harsh.”
“I’ll survive.”
“But that’s going to leave a scar on your man card.”
Sloan shrugged. “Chicks dig scars.”
“I’ve heard that rumor.” The other man stood. “I’ll have to ask Olivia, my significant other and so much better half, whether or not that’s true.”
“Let me know the verdict.”
“Will do.” Brady headed for the door and opened it, then hesitated before leaving. “I hope you’re not offended that I interfered. Another guy might—”
“I have three sisters.”
“Dude,” he said again in that sympathetic tone. “Tell me they’re married.”
Sloan shook his head. “All single.”
“Harsh.”
“Well said.” He grinned. “And don’t worry. We’re good. I’d have done the same thing if I were in your shoes.”
“Okay. And now I’m going to call my mother and give her a stern lecture about keeping me up-to-date so that I don’t pile on when not absolutely necessary.”
“Give Maureen my best.”
Brady nodded. “Will do.”
Alone in his office, Sloan thought about the conversations with Maggie’s mother and brother. Commendable loyalty. There was a lot to admire about her whole family. If any of his sisters were in a situation like Maggie’s, he would have done exactly what Maureen and Brady O’Keefe had done.
The thing was, he’d meant every single word he’d said to both of them. And that brought him to the law of unintended consequences. They’d forced him to put his intentions into words, made him really think about him and Maggie and the price of his actions. Not only for him and Maggie, but Danielle, too.
His life would be much less complicated if he
’d agreed to back off, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He thought about her, dreamed about her, ached to kiss her again and touch her everywhere.
When he gave his word, he kept it and took great pride in that. If he’d promised not to get personal with Maggie, it would have been a lie. Oh, he’d have tried his best, but the forces drawing them together seemed to have other ideas. So he couldn’t tell her family that she was off-limits to him.
He really hoped he didn’t come to regret that decision.
* * *
Maggie had just turned on her office computer and opened a business spreadsheet when she heard her cell phone. It was Josie’s ring and she answered.
“Hey, Josie. I just left you. Is my little angel driving you crazy already?”
“I’m so sorry to call, Maggie. But I can’t watch her today. There’s an emergency. It’s Hank Fletcher.”
“The sheriff?” This was almost unbelievable; the man was barely sixty and in great physical shape. “What’s wrong?”
“He was taken to Mercy Medical Clinic here in town. Adam thinks he had a heart attack.”
“Oh, my God.”
“He’s being taken to the hospital in Copper Hill. I’m going to drive his daughter, Kim, there. She’s pretty upset.”
Maggie knew the trauma center was an hour away. She was supposed to have given birth to Danielle there but had gone into labor a little earlier than expected and Adam had delivered her. “I can imagine how she feels.”
“She called her brother, Will. You remember him, he’s a detective with Chicago PD now.” Josie was normally unflappable, but she was rambling and sounded really shaken.
“I’ve heard about him.”
“Anyway, I don’t know how long I’ll be. They’re going to do tests and Kim will need support until her brother can get here.”
“Of course she will. I’ll come home right now—”
“I can drop Danielle off on my way to pick up Kim. That will be faster.”
“If you’re sure. That would be great.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
“Josie, don’t worry about this. I’ll manage.”
“I know you will, sweetheart. ’Bye, Maggie.”
“’Bye.” She hit the off button and set her phone on the desk.
The spreadsheet on the computer monitor caught her eye and she sighed. There was no point in starting anything because as soon as her daughter got here there would be no work. This whole office would become fodder for exploration. There was nothing Danielle liked more than investigating, aka getting into everything.
Maggie shut off the computer and decided to go down to the café for a cup of coffee. Maybe she could be of help until Josie dropped off Danielle. After taking the rear stairs and walking through the kitchen, she found Lucy circulating around the few tables that were occupied, topping off coffee and making sure no one needed anything.
Her partner saw her and walked over, the empty glass coffeepot in hand. “Hey, I thought you were going to be up to your eyeballs in numbers and budget projections.”
“That was the plan. It changed.” She looked at Lucy. “Josie called. The sheriff may have had a heart attack. She’s going to drive his daughter to the hospital and stay with her.”
“Oh, no. I hope he’ll be okay.” As the situation sank in, Lucy’s blue eyes widened. “What are you going to do with Danielle?”
“Good question. I thought I’d have a cup of coffee and contemplate my options while I wait for Josie to drop her off here.”
“Have a seat over there by the window,” Lucy said. “The breakfast crowd has run its course. Now there are just a few moms who dropped kids at school and came in to eat. They’re all taken care of, so I think I’ll join you.”
“That would be great. An unexpected treat. When life gives you lemons.”
“Be right back.”
Maggie sat by the window and watched the activity on Main Street. The grocery store was across the way. She’d be willing to bet that after breakfast the moms in here would head over there. Four tables were occupied, two ladies at each of them. She felt a pang of guilt sprinkled with envy about having to work and not be a stay-at-home mom.
The reality was that if Danny had made it back from the war, she would still be a working mom. The difference was that her work time would be more flexible with two people to run the business.
Lucy walked toward her with a steaming mug of coffee in each hand. She put one in front of Maggie then sat across from her. “So this is a good chance to catch up. How are things?”
There was a slight emphasis on the last word, just enough that Maggie knew she wanted to know about Sloan. That was difficult to put into words. The night she’d come home and found him watching Danielle, it was all she could do not to... What? Swoon? Melt into a puddle at his feet? Throw her panties at him?
She didn’t know how to reconcile the man who went through beautiful women like tissues with the one who had volunteered to watch her daughter. She would have thought ten minutes with a toddler would make him curl into the fetal position, but he hadn’t done that. He’d actually seemed to enjoy it.
She hadn’t known what to make of him and had talked to her mom for the maternal perspective and her brother for the male point of view. Both had said not to worry, but neither knew she was teetering on the edge of throwing her panties at him.
She blew on her coffee and finally said, “Things are fine.”
“Really? That’s all you’ve got?”
“If you’re talking about Sloan, there’s really nothing interesting.” When did she get to be such a good liar?
“Too bad.” Lucy sipped her coffee. “He’s got that pretty face, great butt and seems very nice.”
He was nice, Maggie thought. The other two things were true, too. But between them there were so many reasons not to get involved it was best to ignore all his appealing qualities. It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest again that Lucy chat him up if she had the chance. Again that idea put a knot in her tummy, so she kept her mouth shut.
“So are you seeing anyone?” she asked instead. Best to take the spotlight off herself.
“Oh, no.” Lucy seemed more adamant about that than was necessary.
“Wow, that was emphatic.” Maggie glanced out the window and saw a Range Rover stop at the curb and park. “Do you want to explain?”
“I know I asked if you’d mind if I flirted with Sloan, but you know better than anyone that I talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. And mostly I was testing you out, to see if you were interested. Which, by the way, you are. But suffice it to say, I’m taking a break from men.”
“Taking a break or sworn off?”
“Both.”
Before she could ask more, Maggie saw Sloan get out of the car that had just pulled up. She’d thought it looked familiar but had been distracted. Her heart stuttered and thumped the way it always did when she saw him, but this time the sighting was unexpected. There hadn’t been time to brace herself. He moved to the sidewalk and opened the rear passenger door.
“Speaking of the devil,” Lucy said. “There he is now.”
“Yeah.” Maggie watched him bend over to lean into the backseat.
“Nice butt,” her partner observed.
Then he lifted something out of the car and she realized it was a child. Her child.
“What in the world...” She started to get up, but her partner stopped her.
“Wait. Let’s see what he does.”
“Josie must have asked him to drop her off.”
Before she could get up, he walked to the back of the SUV, pressed a button on the key fob and the rear door went up. He pulled out the familiar pink stroller and unfolded it until the thing locked in the open position. He was still holding Daniell
e when an older couple stopped. Norm and Diane Schurr were regular customers at the ice cream parlor. They stood there for a few moments, smiling and chatting.
Then Sloan started for the café door and Mayor Goodson-McKnight paused beside him to say hello. Danielle had her little arm around his neck and he seemed comfortable, confident and completely unselfconscious.
Maggie noticed that conversation in the café had grown louder. She caught snippets of “how cute” and “so adorable.” The ladies were smiling as they watched the handsome man holding her little girl. A chorus of “aw” drifted to her and she understood the sentiment. She felt the same way.
“There’s a sight that could almost change a girl’s mind about swearing off men.” Lucy was practically drooling.
Maggie knew how she felt. That thought pushed her into action and she stood. “I have to go.”
“Me, too.” Her partner sighed. “When these women in here come to their senses, they’re going to want their checks.”
Paying a check would be easy compared to Maggie’s problem. She hurried over to the door just as Sloan was walking inside, pushing the empty stroller. Danielle seemed very comfortable in his arms.
She spotted Maggie and held out her arms. “Mama!”
“Hey, baby girl.” Maggie took her and hugged her close for a moment, breathing in the sweet, little-girl scent of her. “Did you go for a ride?”
“Car,” she said, pointing to the one at the curb. “Go bye-bye.”
“Yes, you did.” She looked at Sloan. “I guess Josie asked you to bring her?”
“I volunteered,” he said. “I overheard her telling you about what happened to the sheriff and I could see she was in a hurry to get on the road.”
“Yeah, I got that feeling, too.”
“So here’s Danielle,” he said. “What are you going to do with her?”
“Call Grandma.”
“Gamma?” the toddler said.
“Yes, love. Thank you for bringing her here, Sloan. Hopefully, Grandma is free today.” She looked at the man in front of her, whose reputation was completely at odds with his behavior. “And don’t worry. I won’t tell her about your good deed.”
The Widow's Bachelor Bargain Page 14