Melanie held her breath. Was she finally going to find out something about Sherry Morgan and her life with Zack?
“She was one of those women who loved to get dressed up in a suit and high heels every day and bring home take-out for supper,” Ted went on.
“She had a career?”
“Oh, yeah. A high-powered one. She was an executive in a cosmetics company. She was almost as driven as Zack to succeed.”
“Do you think that’s why they married? They were so much alike?”
Vigorously Ted shook his head. “I’m not sure how alike they were. Sherry came from a divorced home. Her mother always worked. Zack, on the other hand, knew what it was like to have his mom waiting for him when he got home.”
“Most couples need both incomes nowadays,” Melanie offered.
“Yeah, I guess. But with Sherry, work was more than a job. I think it meant more than Zack and even Amy. After Amy was born, she went into a real funk.”
“Postpartum depression?”
“I don’t know what it was called. She loved Amy. She just didn’t want to be with her all day.”
“And Zack knew that?”
“He couldn’t help but know it. They made an agreement. When Amy was six months old, Sherry was going to go back to work and they were going to hire a nanny. A nanny,” Ted scoffed.
“Flo is very good with Amy.”
“Sure she is, like her grandmama. But no housekeeper or nanny is Amy’s mother.” He took a few swallows of coffee, and his cup rattled as he set it in the saucer. “You’re good with Amy, too.”
“Amy’s a wonderful little girl. I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t just want to cuddle her and love her anytime they’re around her.”
“Are you going to stay with Zack until his offices open up?”
“That seems to be the most time efficient thing to do. I’ll look for an apartment in Santa Rosa between Christmas and New Year’s.”
“I bet Zack will miss you when you leave.”
Hopefully she’d be confiding in Zack before she left. Hopefully he would understand why she’d come to him this way and they’d still be friends when she moved into an apartment.
Friends? Maybe a lot more.
It was almost midnight. Zack sat in his office, the computer on, papers fanned out across his desk. He was having trouble concentrating. He was thinking about the day and how Melanie had turned Thanksgiving into something special with her pies. Last Thanksgiving had been terrible with his dad treading on eggshells, both of them not bringing up Sherry’s name.
Today before they’d left, his father had said, “I like Melanie. She’s something special. It’s a shame she’ll be moving out come January.”
He’d responded, “She has her own life. This is only temporary.” Then Ted Morgan had looked at Zack with questions in his eyes, and Zack didn’t have any of the answers.
Finally Zack studied the figures on the monitor and made himself concentrate on entering information into the computer. He’d been at it a few minutes when he heard Amy’s cry.
Now and then she had bad dreams, and he always went to her to hold her and rock her back to sleep again. Pushing himself away from his desk, he stood and hurried to his daughter’s room. But as he entered the hall, he saw a flash of pink and realized Melanie must have heard Amy, too. As he reached the doorway, he saw Melanie switch on the light and hurry to the crib. Her expression was worried—as if she knew what it was like for a child to have bad dreams. She wasn’t aware of him on the threshold as she approached his baby.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Melanie asked with so much gentleness and compassion in her voice that it gripped Zack and tightened his throat.
Amy pushed herself up with her little arms and then reached for Melanie. “Mommy!”
Melanie’s face went white.
Zack stepped into the room, his heart aching and pounding at the same time. Melanie wasn’t his daughter’s mommy. Sherry was. But Sherry wasn’t here.
He watched Melanie gather Amy into her arms, his mind racing. He didn’t think Amy could possibly remember Sherry. Had she picked up the word mommy from having someone read to her…from watching TV? Was that possible at nineteen months?
And why did Melanie seem so shaken?
Chapter Seven
When Zack crossed the room to Melanie, she seemed startled to see him. She was still pale, but she gave him a small smile and said, “I heard Amy cry out.”
Melanie wasn’t wearing a robe. Her pale pink nightgown was edged in lace, the three-quarter-length sleeves full and feminine. The nightgown was gathered above her breasts, but he could still see the outline of them. Except for the dip of the V-neckline, there was nothing immodest about the gown. Yet he knew she probably wore nothing underneath. He felt himself growing hard, and the tension straining his body reminded him how long it had been since he’d touched a woman intimately, since he’d found satisfaction in sexual pleasure.
Amy had curled up against Melanie’s shoulder and had closed her eyes, dozing off again. It took him aback because sometimes he had to rock her for an hour before she went back to sleep.
His gaze went from his daughter back to Melanie. He found the paleness in her cheeks was gone and now they were a rosy red, as if she’d known what he was thinking as he looked at her.
“I just jumped out of bed and came right over when I heard her,” she added softly.
“I heard her, too.” He gently ran his forefinger down Amy’s cheek. “It looks as if she’s forgotten whatever troubled her dreams.” Inhaling Melanie’s sweet scent along with Amy’s baby lotion, he suspected Melanie had taken a shower right before turning in. Her hair was tousled, soft and fluffy, and he wanted to feel it between his fingers. Maybe Amy’s troubled dreams had passed, but he suspected his were just starting.
“Do you want me to put her back in her crib?” Melanie’s blue eyes were filled with an emotion he didn’t understand. Embarrassment because she was in her nightgown? Concern because Amy had called her mommy? No, something more than that. Something deeper than that.
“Go ahead and lay her down. Maybe she’ll stay asleep.”
When Melanie did as he suggested, his daughter curled up into a little ball, looking content and peaceful again.
He placed BoBo in the proper corner so Amy could find him easily if she awakened and wanted him. Then he kissed her forehead and, on his way out, switched off the light.
Melanie slipped past him into the hall. Before she could escape entirely, he’d eaten up the distance between them and stopped at her bedroom door. “Thanks for going in to her.”
“I forgot you had the monitor in your office.”
“They’re a great invention. Sometimes I almost think I can hear her breathing.”
“When I—” Melanie abruptly stopped.
“When you what?”
“N-nothing,” Melanie stammered.
“Are you all right?” Zack asked. “You looked kind of pale. Maybe you’re catching what I had.”
“I feel fine, Zack. Really. Maybe it was just hopping out of bed so quickly.”
Bed. Her bed…his bed…the two of them in it. Flo gone until tomorrow.
Forget it, Morgan. Blank those pictures right out of your head.
“Go back to bed,” he said gruffly.
In a hurry before, she didn’t move now. “What would you like for breakfast?”
They were standing so close, all he had to do was lean forward, and their arms would brush. Her breasts would be tantalizingly close to his chest. His voice was husky. “You don’t have to make breakfast. I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t mind. I told Flo I’d watch over the two of you.”
Realizing a kiss would take them right into her bedroom, he responded quickly, “We don’t need anyone to watch over us.”
“If you want to work tomorrow, I can keep Amy with me while I write up orders.”
“She’s my daughter, Melanie, and my responsibility. You just take
care of the things you have to take care of and let me know if there are any glitches.”
Looking taken aback by his brusqueness, she moved away from him into her bedroom. “I’ll do that. Good night, Zack.”
She didn’t wait for his return good-night, but shut the door, taking temptation out of his reach…at least for tonight.
On Saturday afternoon Zack was closeted in his office when Melanie and Flo saw the first snowflakes falling. They took Amy to the window to look outside.
Since Thursday night, when Amy had called Melanie mommy, she’d felt an even stronger bond with the little girl. Did Amy know her mommy was somehow with her? Did she know that Melanie and her mommy were intertwined somehow? The knowing she’d seen in Amy’s eyes had shaken Melanie, and she’d been afraid Zack would see how much. He’d glimpsed it, but she’d managed to explain it away. Now as she stood at the huge picture window in the living room where they seemed to be halfway to the sky, she felt such motherly feelings toward Amy, she didn’t know if they were all hers. Whatever they were, she was cherishing them.
Amy pointed to the white flakes, giggled and tried to reach them through the window.
“We should take her outside,” Melanie suggested.
“Oh, I can’t. I have to watch what’s in the oven. But I’m sure Zack wouldn’t mind if you did. Go ahead and get her ready. I’ll let him know.”
“I won’t keep her out long.”
“She’ll be seeing lots more snow after Christmas,” Flo said. “Zack’s planning a ski trip between Christmas and New Year’s. I’m going along, too. While he skis, Amy and I will play in front of the fire.”
Zack hadn’t mentioned anything about the trip to Melanie. “It sounds nice.”
“Do you have plans over Christmas?” the housekeeper asked.
Christmas. Melanie had just tried to get through it last year. She was hoping this year would be different. She hadn’t really thought about it yet because thinking about it brought too much pain.
“No. No plans. I’ll be getting Zack’s offices ready for the grand opening.”
Flo looked outside to see if the snow was still falling. “You’d better get out there before it stops. It might not last long.”
Fifteen minutes later Melanie was outside on a grassy area beside the garage holding Amy while they both lifted their faces up to the sky. The gentle flakes seemed to float down in slow motion. Amy giggled as they landed on her nose and cheeks.
Melanie said, “Stick out your tongue and try to catch them that way.” Then she did it so Amy could see how.
Amy thrust out her little tongue, and a snowflake landed on it. She laughed gleefully, waving her arms at the sky. “More,” she demanded, and then did it again.
Melanie’s heart filled to overflowing with this little bundle of joy in her arms. Then suddenly she was aware that they weren’t alone. A sixth sense where Zack was concerned told her he’d come outside and was watching them. She felt foolish now, tasting the snow.
When Zack stepped outside, he wished he had a camera. The pure enjoyment on Melanie’s and Amy’s faces was something to behold. Melanie was teaching his daughter to enjoy life the way she did…fully, taking pleasure in little things.
Melanie looked over at him, like a little girl who’d been caught doing something foolish. He grinned at her.
“She loves it,” Melanie murmured.
His daughter was trying to catch the snowflakes as they fell. Realizing she had nothing in her hand, but that the ground was turning white, she said, “Down, down, down,” to Melanie, pointing to the dusting of white on the grass.
Melanie looked at Zack to see if it was all right with him. “Sure, let her down. We’re not going to be out here that long.”
As soon as Amy was on the ground, she squatted down, trying to pinch the snow between her fingers. She was fascinated by it, and Zack chuckled. She saw a spot on the grass a few feet away where there was more of the white fluff and scurried over there, hunkering down again.
“Wouldn’t you just like to frame that picture in your mind and never forget how she looks?” Melanie asked.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking when I came outside—about both of you.”
Melanie’s gaze met his and she looked surprised, but then she blushed. “Kind of a childish thing to do.”
“Not so childish. It was more sensual than anything.” Though he’d been thinking it all along, now he realized he’d spoken the words aloud.
Maybe it was the remembrance of the flakes on her tongue, but Melanie ran her tongue over her upper lip, and Zack felt his body respond.
Amy was still occupied with the snow and the blades of grass. Standing there, white floating around them, Zack felt as if he was in one of those snow globes with nothing quite real. But the desire he felt for Melanie was very real. Acting on impulse, he slid his hand to the nape of her neck and into her hair. She stared up at him, her blue eyes wide. He bent his head and kissed her. His lips on hers created such heat, he thought the snow would stop right then and there. As he slid his tongue into her mouth, he felt her gasp of pleasure and took advantage of it.
Then as quickly as he’d begun the kiss, he ended it. “I wanted to taste the snowflakes on your lips.”
“Did you?” she asked, looking a bit dazed.
“I tasted your excitement, your appreciation of something as simple as a snowflake. When I’m with you, I see the world differently.”
“Is that good or bad?” she whispered.
“Neither. Just unsettling. You’re unsettling,” he said honestly.
Amy straightened and ran to a patch of snow that had settled on a cedar. She touched it and turned around to look at Zack as if she’d found the most wondrous treasure.
“I don’t mean to unsettle you,” Melanie said softly.
Again he was caught by the blue of her eyes and the expression in them. “Do I unsettle you?”
“Yes.”
That one-word admission pleased him. Maybe he should stop fighting the idea of enjoying the chemistry between them. They were adults. What could it hurt? “I’m going over to Pop’s tomorrow to put up Christmas lights. He’s going to order a pizza. Would you like to come along?”
She hesitated a moment before asking, “Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?”
“Positive. You can keep Pop occupied so he stays out of my hair while I’m doing it. I’ve put up his lights every year for the past five years, and he still wants to tell me how to do it every step of the way.”
Just then Amy decided to take off toward the corner of the building to explore from a different vantage point. Zack saw her, ran after her, scooped her up and hoisted her onto his shoulders. “See if you can reach the sky and catch a couple of handfuls.”
She did as he suggested, her face turned up, her hands reaching toward heaven.
When he glanced at Melanie, he thought he saw tears in her eyes, but it must have been the cold and the snow.
Proving she must be cold, she said, “I’ll go in and make hot chocolate. It’ll be ready when you and Amy have caught enough snowflakes.”
Before he could look into her eyes again, she’d turned away from him and was walking toward the building. Maybe he’d been wrong to ask her to go along to his dad’s. She fitted into his life too easily. It was almost as if she’d always been a part of it.
Was he thinking about really getting involved again?
No. Sherry had shattered his trust when she’d spoken of an abortion and not wanting their second child. That had been a tear in the fabric of their marriage. If she had lived, they might never have been able to mend it. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to trust a woman to want the same things he did in life.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy Melanie Carlotti’s company without getting involved, without taking the risk of putting his heart on the line again.
Yesterday’s snow had stopped soon after it started. Melanie couldn’t forget the heat of Zack’s lips on
hers in the midst of the cold. She’d felt warm for hours. Was he finally accepting the chemistry between them? Is that why he’d invited her to his father’s today? Or did he just want a buffer between him and Ted Morgan so the tension wouldn’t get out of hand?
Ted looked genuinely glad to see her when she arrived with Zack and Amy. “Aren’t you a sight to pretty up a man’s house!”
“Some women would take that as an insult, Pop,” Zack remarked wryly.
His father looked dismayed, and Melanie was quick to assure him, “I know that was a compliment and I thank you for it.” She lifted the bag in her hand, “And I didn’t come empty-handed. Zack said you were going to order pizza. I have a salad and some cookies Flo made.”
“That’s terrific. Then we won’t have to snitch any of Amy’s applesauce.”
Melanie laughed, but Zack just rolled his eyes. The two men were definitely of different generations and on different wave lengths, but she understood and appreciated both of them and wished Zack could see that his dad meant well.
While Zack found everything he needed in the attic, Melanie told Ted about Amy’s reaction to the snow. When he questioned his granddaughter about the white stuff, she said, “Cold. Wet.”
“That about sums it up,” he agreed with a laugh.
After Zack tested the lights, he took them outside while she and Ted conversed about the age of his house, how long he’d lived in the neighborhood, and 101 other details that had shaped Zack’s life. Ted regaled her with Zack’s exploits as a kid, and she was glad Zack was outside because he certainly would have stopped his father and she wanted to hear everything.
Amy had soon emptied the laundry basket full of toys Ted kept in a corner for her. She was happily playing with a musical top when Ted peered out the window and frowned. “I hope Zack is careful on that ladder. It’s kinda wobbly.”
“I’ll go out and check on how he’s doing. If he’ll let me, I’ll hold it steady.”
“That’s the problem with my son,” Ted said. “He doesn’t let people help him. He’s had a hard time since Sherry died, but he doesn’t want anybody to see it.”
A Husband In Her Eyes Page 10