The rest of the meal passed uneventfully, and the woman who had his full attention managed to remain hidden from his view until the dessert round was being cleared. Then he looked up from feeding Danny the last spoonful of the custard and saw her. She was standing by the entrance doors looking down at a woman in a wheelchair who was speaking animatedly with her. Ev watched as her face bloomed in a smile that made his chest hurt. For some unknown reason, Dani’s smile rose before him. One of the first things he had noticed about the woman he had given his heart to was that smile. It had lit up her whole face every time, and the dimples that had been like headlamps in her cheeks had always made him want to kiss her senseless.
And here he was, watching a woman he should dislike, at the very least, and feeling like he’d been hit by an eighteen-wheeler. She had dimples as well, and they hadn’t disappeared since she had started talking to the woman with her by the door. His attention was riveted to the spot, watching as she leaned in to accept the hug the woman offered, and as she laughed softly at something else the woman said to her. Inexplicably, his eyes burned with tears he hadn’t shed in over a year. He blinked and forced himself to look away. Reaching almost blindly for the glass of water, he gulped it down.
“Daddy, I want to go potty.”
Ev heaved a sigh of relief. “Come on. Let’s go.” He picked up the little boy and headed out to the men’s room, which he remembered his hostess had told him was to his right down a long hallway. As he stepped into the hallway, Carrie appeared out of nowhere.
“Mr. Morgan, may I help you with anything?”
Ev stopped, wondering for a second if his hostess had told her assistant about their encounter and had asked her to look out for him. He looked at the young woman quizzically.
“No, thanks. I’m just taking Danny to the restroom.”
“Oh, I’ll do that for you, sir,” she said. “The speeches and gift giving are about to begin, and we wouldn’t want you to miss out on that.”
She reached for the little boy as she spoke, plucking him right out of Ev’s arms. “Come on, cutie pie, let’s go potty.”
Danny wiggled his fingers at Ev and giggled, and the sound warmed Ev’s heart. He watched them go, shaking his head at how effortlessly Carrie had taken over and at how Danny had been agreeable. Pity he couldn’t hire her as his nanny. He had a feeling that she would be the best thing to happen to his son, next to his own mother. Making his way back to his seat, he caught sight of his hostess again, this time sitting next to an older gentleman, a hand on his arm and a look of intense concentration on her face. She nodded solemnly, and somehow Ev knew she was giving her whole attention to a person most other people would ignore or become impatient with. Obviously, she had to be polite to everyone here, as this was not just a benefit event but also a kind of advance fundraiser. But there was something genuine about the attention she paid to the two people he had seen her interact with that impressed him.
The dishes were all cleared away, the wine glasses refilled, and Carrie had magically reappeared with Danny, whom she set in his seat with another hair ruffle before she disappeared.
“You okay, buddy?” he asked his son.
Danny grinned happily. “Carrie go piggyback.”
Ev’s heart melted a little bit more. He would definitely have to speak to the young woman afterwards as well. Maybe she knew someone like her who needed a job. He smiled at his son, and then his heart sped up at the next sound he heard.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Maxine Cousins. I trust you’ve all enjoyed your meals. It’s my pleasure to host this pre-holiday gala to thank you all for your generous support, both financial and otherwise, over the past year. Hope For All would not have achieved the successes that it has done this year without you all.”
Ev found himself distracted by the way her lips curved around the words, by the faint smile that still managed to leave dimples in her cheeks, by the husky note of her voice, as though she were just beginning to get a sore throat. She was giving a report of some of the bigger success stories of the year, but Ev found he wasn’t interested in anything but the way her eyes roamed over the audience, looking directly at people as she spoke of their particular contribution. He blinked. She had just turned her gaze to him, and spoke his name.
“EM Media has been one of our staunchest supporters over the last five years, and we have its CEO, Mr. Everett Morgan, to thank for that. Mr. Morgan has been unflagging in his support of our youngest clients, with special care for those who identify as LGBTQ. He has funded numerous after-school and work-oriented programs targeting those young people, and has also contributed heavily to the renovation of the second floor of our building, which now boasts a clinic where we can treat abused and neglected young people, and the homeless among our clients. Thank you, Mr. Morgan.”
Ev found himself coloring up at the genuine gratitude he felt coming from her, as well as from the applause that greeted her words. He was used to being thanked for his contributions to causes, but this somehow felt more personal to him, and he hoped it wasn’t her way of apologizing again. She’d done enough of that without even saying the words, and he was done with it. He’d need to tell her that before he left. He refocused on the rest of her speech, and then sat back and watched as she gave each gift to the contributors who had all helped Hope For All that year. The tradition was that the gifts would be opened there so everyone could see what the recipients had received.
In the past, the gifts had been fairly bland, not requiring much forethought. They had been tokens rather than gifts from the heart. But it would seem that his fish wife had upped the ante this year. Her gifts were all much more personal, things that showed she understood what was important to the donors who funded her organization. So far, she had scored brilliantly with each gift. He wondered what she would do for him. She must have known who she was buying a gift for when she got to him, and it must have made shopping for him even more difficult than it should have been. His gift was the last one she presented, and when Carrie came to sit with Danny, he felt his heart tripping over itself as he walked toward the woman waiting for him with a hint of uncertainty in her gaze.
Planting a smile on his face, he stood next to her while she spoke. “Mr. Morgan, I sincerely hope that you will find many hours of joy in the gifts you are about to receive. Happy holidays to you.”
She handed him a largish box covered in beautiful gold paper with a matching bow. He opened it carefully and when he saw what was inside, he was glad he had preserved the paper. Tears threatened again, for some reason he couldn’t fathom. He swallowed them and removed the box with the game and the book that were inside, encased in bubble wrap. He held them up for everyone to see, and then spoke into the microphone.
“Carrie, would you please stand with Danny for me for a moment?”
He waited while the young woman picked up his son and stood. Then he said,
“Ladies and gentlemen, that is my son, Danny. He’s three years old.” He sniffed, swallowed again, and said, “Thank you, Carrie,” and waited until she was seated before continuing. “I asked Carrie to stand with him so you could see who these gifts are for.” He held them up again. “There’s a bedtime story here about families, and a puzzle game. I think it’s safe to say that Dr. Cousins really has me figured out. My son is everything to me. These will indeed provide us both with many hours of enjoyment.”
He turned to her then, looking her in the eyes, and said, “Thank you for the gift, Dr. Cousins. It was very thoughtful of you. But more than that, thank you for having the heart that the neediest members of our fair city require in these difficult times. It has always been a real privilege to support the family of Hope For All, and I am more than happy to continue our partnership.” He looked away to say, “Happy holidays, everyone!” before walking back to his seat, where he carefully rewrapped the gifts and put them at his feet.
He couldn’t wait for the formal part of the evening to be over. He had some things to sa
y to the woman who had managed to unravel his control this evening, and he had some hard thinking to do about how he was going to change the way he did things. Because he knew, as surely as he knew his own name, that Maxine Cousins was someone he needed to keep in his life. He wasn’t ready to say she was the one, but she was much more than any other woman he had ever had even a passing interest in since Dani’s death. And he knew he’d have to bring his A game with her.
Chapter 4: The New Nanny Project
The dance floor had been cleared and people were already happily making use of it as the live band played its first tune of the evening. Max watched from her position by the door as more people swanned onto the dance floor and boogied happily to the lively tune. She smiled, but she admitted that she was nervous. Everett Morgan had said he wanted to see her after the party, and while she had been warmed by his kind words at the end, she still had a faint feeling of trepidation about what it was that he could want with her. She was glad she had scored a hit with the gifts, but she wasn’t foolish enough to assume it meant all was well between them after their rocky start.
“That was quite a party you put together, Dr. Cousins!”
The voice at her side made her turn to see who was speaking, and she smiled at the handsome young man who stood with his partner next to her.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mr. Harrison. Are you leaving so soon?”
“I’m afraid we must,” Jimmy Harrison said, smiling briefly at his partner, an equally handsome man. “We’ve got a flight out very early in the morning. But I’ll come in once we return so we can talk about where best to put the gallery’s donation to use next year.”
Max smiled. “I look forward to it. And it’s nice to see you again, Mr. Harrison.”
Those words were for his husband, whose name he’d taken when they married six months earlier. The other man smiled and nodded. “Same here, Dr. Cousins.” Max loved his Southern accent and she grinned as they walked away. If only everyone could be like those two. If only love could be like theirs. If only she had someone like they had each other…
“Dr. Cousins. Thank you for waiting.”
Max barely managed to keep the gasp of awareness from escaping as she turned to face Everett Morgan. Time to face the music.
“You’re welcome. Shall we go somewhere a little quieter?” She looked around as she escorted him out of the ballroom. “Where’s Danny?”
“Carrie has him,” he said. “She’s quite taken with him, and he with her.” He laughed, and the sound settled inside her like a warm, heavy weight. “It’s a pity she already has a job.”
Max looked at him questioningly. “I’m not sure I understand.”
He smiled, and her knees shook a little. She really needed to rein in her attraction to this man, which had been growing since he had found her in the hallway earlier.
“I mean she’s so good with him she’d be the perfect nanny.”
Max led them into a small office just to the right of the ballroom and turned the door but didn’t close it all the way. She turned to face him and found his unblinking gaze disturbing. She cleared her throat.
“So, you said that there was something I could do for you?” she began. “I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to clear the air first,” he said, and Max tensed.
She hadn’t uttered an actual apology as yet, and there hadn’t seemed to be an ideal time so far to do it. She looked at him expectantly, and he said,
“Last Friday night we got off to a less than stellar start…” he began, and Max interrupted him.
“Yes, I know, and I’m very sorry about that. I’m not really that shrewish fish wife that cursed at you. I’m not even really all that combative a person. I can tell you why I was so out of sorts, but I don’t want to offer excuses that you won’t care about. I just need to apologize for my behavior and to hope that you’ll forgive me for that egregious lapse in judgment.”
Max knew she was running off at the mouth, which was something she did when she was nervous. She managed not to wring her hands together, but held his gaze for only a moment before lowering her eyes. Her embarrassment and humiliation were excruciating to bear, especially as he was still just watching her. She could almost feel his eyes burning into her where she stood.
“Will you look at me, please, Dr. Cousins?”
Max looked up, and caught the impatience in his eyes. “Yes, of course. I’m…”
“If you apologize to me one more time, I’m going to be very unhappy,” he said, and smiled again.
Max locked her knees together. His smile was going to absolutely kill her. “Okay.” She took a deep breath to swallow the apology she had been about to utter yet again and said instead, “So, how may I help you?”
“As you can probably tell, I don’t have a nanny for my son at present,” he said. “I thought that you might be able to help me find someone suitable for the position. It will be a live-in, full time position. I’d rather have someone older, but if you can find someone like your Carrie, I won’t object to younger. My son needs a lot of intellectual stimulation. He’s quite an advanced child for his years, and I want to encourage that as much as possible. So I’ll need someone who will take him to places other than the park, who will read to him and teach him. I’ll also need someone who will look after his physical needs, obviously, so cooking and laundry and bathing as well.”
He paused, as if to give her time to take in everything he had just told her and then he added, “Do you think you can help me?”
Max nodded and smiled. “I’m sure I can,” she said. “It might take me a few days, but I’ll have something for you by the end of the week.” She already had someone in mind to ask who would be perfect for the position, but she’d have to find her first.
His raised brows had Max looking curiously at him. “What?’
“How can you be sure you’ll have someone so soon?”
“I have someone in mind,” she told him. “I’ll just need to find her.”
“Well then, good luck to you,” he said.
Max smiled and then turned to open the door. His voice stopped her again.
“Do you have my contact information?” he asked.
She looked back at him for a moment, and saw a flare of interest come and go in his gray eyes. Her skin tingled with awareness of his nearness, of his masculinity, of his beauty, and she recoiled as though she’d been stung. She wasn’t about to entertain any interest whatsoever in this man. It wasn’t appropriate, to begin with, and it sure as hell wasn’t wise. Even though he seemed like a really good parent, he was a womanizer, and she wasn’t going to become just another notch on his bedpost.
“I’m sure I can find it in my office somewhere,” she said dismissively.
“I’d prefer to be sure,” he said, and walked to her with a card in his outstretched hand. “My cellphone number is on this, as well as my office and home numbers. Call me as soon as you have news.”
“Certainly, Mr. Morgan,” she said and opened the door. “After you,” she added, but when he quirked a brow at her, she blushed and walked ahead of him.
She should have known he would be just the kind of man who never walked ahead of a woman. He seemed to be the sort of man who was more than just polite. He was engaged and interested, as well as thoughtful and intelligent. He was just the sort of man to make her sadly flagging libido sit up and beg. And it so could not happen.
“I’ll just go and find Carrie for you,” she said, trying to hurry away.
“There’s no need. I asked her to wait in the lobby for me.”
He stood as if waiting for her to follow him, so she did, and they found Carrie sitting in a wide armchair in the lobby reading a big, colorful book to Danny. Max had no idea where the book had come from, but he was pleased that the child was so occupied by what was happening that he didn’t even notice his father approach.
“He seems to be a very pleasant little boy,” she
said, meaning it sincerely, and hoping he wouldn’t take it as more sucking up on her part.
Everett Morgan smiled at her again, releasing the full wattage on her beleaguered senses. “Thank you. He is pretty even-tempered, and he loves books. Anyone who reads to him is automatically a friend.”
“I’m even more glad I made the right choice of a gift, then,” Max said. “I was so worried about what to get you, especially because we hadn’t bought one for you and I was out looking on Friday…”
She snapped her mouth shut the minute she found herself about to refer to the circumstances surrounding their unfortunate first meeting. Things were going well…she didn’t need to reverse course at this point.
He turned to look at her with amusement gleaming in his eyes. “Well, I’m very glad you didn’t buy anything from that store. I’m far harder to please than my son is.”
His lips quirked up in a smile that was at once flirtatious and challenging. Max inhaled to fight off the knee-weakening effect of the smile.
“I’ll bear that in mind, Mr. Morgan,” she said, making sure to keep her voice neutral. She didn’t wish to encourage any flirtations…well, she wished it, but she wouldn’t allow it to happen.
“Maybe you can relax enough to call me Ev?” he said, and though it was worded as a statement, his voice made it into a question. “Since we’ll be collaborating on the nanny project?”
Max couldn’t hold it back…she laughed. His eyes were twinkling by the time he stopped speaking, and when she laughed, he chuckled with her. She could see how his charm would win him any woman he wanted.
“I’m happy to do whatever will make you happy, Mr…Ev,” she said, looking up at him from under her lashes. “But I feel it wouldn’t be fair for me to be so familiar with you without reciprocating the gesture. So please, it’s Max.”
“Max, eh?” He studied her for a second, then added, “I can’t imagine anyone looking less like a ‘Max’ than you, but for now, Max it is.”
Part of the Family Page 4