Snowbound with the Boss

by Maureen Child

  When she complained to Sean, he only smiled and shrugged, brushing off her anger as if it didn’t bother him a bit. And that only made her more furious.

  Molly, of course, was fascinated. While Kate stood beneath a stand of pines at the edge of the lake, she turned her face into the wind and listened to her friend’s voice bubbling over the phone.

  “I mean, he’s even more spectacular in person than he is in all those paparazzi photos.” She took a breath and heaved a dramatic sigh. “That’s the kind of guy who makes women dissolve into puddles at his feet.”

  Kate scowled and watched two magpies swoop over the lake to disappear into the trees. “That must be why he keeps expecting me to fall in line.”

  “Well, why wouldn’t you?” Molly asked. “He’s gorgeous, rich, you’re carrying his baby and he wants to be involved.” Before Kate could say anything, Molly rushed on. “And let’s not forget, you already confessed that the sex was the best you’ve ever had.”

  Now Kate winced. She had said that, in spite of feeling disloyal to Sam’s memory. Her late husband hadn’t been the best lover, but he’d had other, more important qualities that Sean lacked.

  Sean was pushy, dictatorial, arrogant—and those were his good points. Okay, yes, he had beautiful eyes and talented hands and a wicked sense of humor that often made Kate laugh even when she didn’t want to. But none of that—even including the amazing sex—was enough to build a life on. And he might not have mentioned marriage yet, but he wanted their baby so she was pretty sure he would mention it, sooner or later.

  And she would never get married again. Too much opportunity for pain.

  “Sex isn’t everything,” Kate muttered.

  A deep voice behind her said, “People who say that aren’t doing it right.”

  Kate inhaled sharply as her heart gave a hard thump. Just hearing his voice set her nerves jangling and her pulse racing—in spite of how hard she tried to rein them in. Blast it, she thought, she’d come out here to get away from Sean for a while. She’d thought she had escaped the hotel cleanly. Hadn’t she waited until Sean was in the kitchen with the crew before she slipped out for a little privacy? But no, he’d managed to track her down anyway.

  “I heard that,” Molly said, laughing. “I’m really starting to like him.”

  “That makes one of us,” Kate muttered. “I’ve gotta go.”

  “Fine, but I’ll need a full report later. Spare no details.”

  Kate shook her head and hung up, then turned to face Sean. “Why are you following me?”

  He shrugged and the movement stretched his black T-shirt across a chest she had reason to know was a broad expanse of muscle. “Don’t think of it as following you. Think of it more like I’m walking my property. Get an idea what the land looks like when it’s not buried under a hundred feet of snow.”

  She didn’t believe him, even though what he said made sense. Because instead of checking out the scenery, his gaze was fixed on her. Heat blossomed in the center of her chest and sent tendrils of warmth rippling through her. His eyes were as blue as the lake behind her and the wind ruffled his black hair across his forehead. It looked like he hadn’t bothered to shave that morning, so a beard shadow covered his jaw and only made him look even sexier—and she wouldn’t have thought that possible.

  Having him here again, on her turf, was unsettling. When Sean was several hundred miles away, she could focus on her life, her baby, and almost convince herself that Sean wasn’t a part of it at all. And that, she told herself, was how she wanted it. What she felt for Sean was a tangle of emotions. The desire was still there, of course, but mixed in was annoyance and an affection she couldn’t completely deny.

  “Well, take a look around,” she said, waving one arm to encompass the wide spill of lake behind them and the forest that ringed the lake and stretched out for miles on either side of the hotel. When his gaze shifted to the view, Kate watched him and softened at his reaction to the beauty around him.

  He looked back at her and smiled. “It’s a great spot. Beautiful, really. It’s amazing how big the sky looks out here. Seems a lot smaller somehow in California. You know, up until now, I’ve always been a beach guy. Love surfing, taking a boat out.” His gaze shifted back to the calm surface of the sapphire-blue lake that mirrored the white clouds overhead and the pines that stood as guardians at the edge.

  She had to smile. “Boats have been known to go on lakes, too.”

  He grinned, and she felt the jolt of it clutch at her heart.

  “Good point,” he said. “Maybe we could look into getting some boats here for guests. And paddleboards would probably go over well.”

  She imagined they would, but said, “Not exactly in line with the theme of ancient warriors and evil creatures.”

  He laughed easily and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Even gamers take time out for a little reality now and then. And we could paint scenes from the game on them.”

  Kate sighed. It was so hard to resist when he poured on that charm. Even knowing she should be hardening her heart, keeping her distance, she was drawn to him like she’d never been drawn to anyone else. And when he smiled at her, as he did now, everything inside her softened, yielded.

  He turned to scan the forest area then looked back at Kate. “Why don’t you show me where you’re going to position the cabins?”

  “Okay.” Good. This was good. Keep the conversation away from the personal. They were being calm, reasonable and talking about the job. She swallowed down the knot of emotion in her throat and pretended it hadn’t been there at all. Reminding herself that he was her boss might be enough to keep her thoughts on the here and now rather than on a distant future that seemed too nebulous to negotiate at the moment.

  Pointing to the closest stand of trees, she said, “You can see where we’ve already laid out the foundation slabs for the first two cabins.” She took a few steps and stopped again. “The others complete a half circle around the hotel. While they’re tucked into the forest enough to be private, they’ll still be close enough to the hotel that guests can easily walk up for the restaurant or gift shops. The septics are in, so that job’s done and we’ll get started on putting up the cabin frames in the next week or so. Just waiting on the final plans from the architect.”

  He was walking right beside her, and she swore she could feel heat pumping from his body into hers.

  “Sounds good. But why didn’t you put a couple of them closer to the lake?”

  “Risky,” she said. “In a hard winter, the spring runoff could raise the water level, so you don’t want to be too close to the edge or you’ve got flooding worries.”

  “Good point,” he said, shifting his gaze to study the proposed layout of the cabins. “When we get a hard storm surf in Long Beach, people are out sandbagging the sea wall to keep the shore houses from flooding.”

  Sometimes, it felt as if they were completely in synch. For some reason it seemed that as their personal issues got more complicated, their working relationship improved. Talking about the job, answering questions, making plans, they felt like a team. But that was an illusion. She worked for him, and it was best that she remember that. This was her biggest construction project ever and no matter what else happened between her and Sean, Kate was determined to make the most of this huge opportunity.

  “Most of the cabins will have lake views,” she said, walking again. The toe of her boot caught on a thick tree root, and she stumbled but caught herself. An instant later, Sean took her elbow to steady her on the uneven forest floor. Heat, raw and undiluted, roared into her body from the simple touch of his hand on her arm. Now she was more unsteady than ever but didn’t want to let him know it. “I’m perfectly fine, Sean. I don’t need help. I didn’t fall.”

  He shrugged. “Shoot me. My mother raised a gentleman.”

  “I apprec
iate it, but I can walk by myself.” She tried to pull free, but his grip shifted from velvet to iron in a heartbeat. And being reminded of his strength set up a flutter of nerves in the pit of her stomach.

  Sean pulled her around to face him. “Look, I get that you’re not used to anyone taking care of you. But you’re pregnant with my baby now. And I’m going to take care of you—and her—whether you like it or not.”

  And there went the closeness, the sensation of teamwork. He couldn’t seem to help himself from that arrogant, I-know-best attitude.

  “You can’t just show up out of nowhere and start throwing your weight around,” Kate told him. “You are not in charge.”

  “Wrong.” The word snapped from him and the heat in his eyes flashed dangerously. “From here on out, Kate, I’m giving the orders.”

  “Are you serious?” She matched his fury with that of her own. “I’ve been on my own for a long time now. I don’t need you, Sean.”

  Something dark and pain-filled flashed briefly in his eyes but was gone again in seconds. “Need me or not, I’m here, and you’re not shaking me loose so get used to it.”

  They glared at each other, neither of them willing to back down. All around them, the wind whispered in the trees, birds shrieked and in the lake, a fish shot from the water to dive back in with a soft splash.

  Then Sean muttered, “Damn it, what is it about you anyway?”

  He dragged her in tight and kissed her hard. She thought about resisting on principle, but she couldn’t hold out against him. Her mouth softened against his as her blood pumped fast and thick in her veins. God, she’d missed this. The rising need, the tingles of anticipation and excitement that were bubbling through her. She held on to him, loving the feel of his strong arms wrapping around her, holding her close.

  It was crazy, and all too quickly it was over.

  When she opened her eyes, Kate saw Sean staring down at her and smug satisfaction shining in his eyes. “Don’t need me, huh?”

  Like ice water had been dumped on her head, coldness swamped her, putting out the fire she’d felt only seconds before.

  “You kiss me then throw my reaction in my face?” Kate was practically vibrating with frustration and a simmering anger that burned so brightly she was surprised her skin wasn’t glowing with it.

  “Just reminding you of what’s between us,” he said tightly, and she had some satisfaction knowing that the kiss had affected him just as it had her.

  “I know exactly what’s between us,” Kate said and slapped one hand to her belly.

  He covered her hand with his. “Now I do, too. And I promise you, I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Am I interrupting something?”

  At the sound of the deep voice, both of them turned to face the older man approaching.

  “Dad?” Kate looked at her father in surprise. She’d been so caught up in Sean, she hadn’t heard anything beyond the thundering beat of her own heart. “What’re you doing here?”

  Harry Baker was a tall man, with steel-gray hair, piercing blue eyes, a barrel chest and heavily muscled arms from years of working construction. Normally easygoing and friendly, at the moment Harry’s features were tight and grim.

  “Raul called,” he said, answering Kate while keeping his gaze on Sean. “Asked me to come help him install the new windows on the third floor.”

  Kate nearly groaned. She’d forgotten that her father would be on the job site today. Frankly, with Sean around, it was hard to concentrate on anything else. If she’d remembered, she could have prepared Sean. Heck, prepared herself for a confrontation that had been building for months.

  She took a breath to steady herself. Her father had been after her for months to tell Sean the truth and to stop working. Ever since her mother had died, when Kate was twelve, Harry had been everything to Kate. He’d raised her, taught her, loved her and worried about her. Having her pregnant and unmarried chipped at something inside him, and Kate knew it had taken every ounce of his self-control not to call Sean himself and tell him what was going on.

  “That’s right. I forgot.” There was too much going on, she told herself. But with most of the crew busy finishing off the main kitchen and digging out the basement to make room for the large utility ramp they’d be installing, Raul did need the help.

  Her father was glaring at Sean, and she knew he’d come looking for them deliberately so he could have a talk with the man who’d impregnated his daughter. God, she felt as though she was living in a nineteenth century romance. The men in her life were suddenly becoming cavemen, and there were definite signs of testosterone poisoning.

  “Well, Dad,” she said, keeping her voice light and a smile on her face, “this is Sean Ryan.”

  “I guessed as much.” He didn’t smile in return.

  Sean offered his hand. “Good to meet you.”

  Kate watched as the two men took each other’s measure during the space of a handshake that looked more like a contest of wills than a polite greeting. This was so not a female moment.

  As if agreeing with her, Sean said tightly, “Kate, why don’t you go on back to the hotel while your dad and I have a talk?”

  Exactly what she’d been planning to do until Sean suggested it. “Stop telling me what to do.”

  “Kate, go away.”

  She looked at her father. “You, too, Dad?”

  Neither of the men was looking at her, and that only infuriated her well beyond what little patience she had left. She might as well be at the hotel. These two had already dismissed her. “Fine. I’m going back to work.”

  “Be careful,” Sean warned.

  “For heaven’s sake...” Her mutter carried even while she walked away.

  Sean spared her a single glance, then turned his focus back to the man staring at him. Awkward, he told himself, but no getting around it.

  “I didn’t know she was pregnant,” Sean said, once Kate was out of earshot.

  “I know.” Harry’s eyes were narrowed on him. “I disagreed with her on that, wanted her to tell you, but she’s a strong woman. Hardheaded, too.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Sean said. “I like that about her.”

  Harry snorted and relaxed his stance enough that Sean was pretty sure he wasn’t about to be punched. Funny how facing down the father of the woman you’re sleeping with could make a man feel like a teenager caught breaking curfew.

  “Kate’s a grown woman and her decisions are her own, no matter how I’d like to think different.”

  Sean thought he could see the man’s point of view and now that he knew he was also going to be the father of a daughter, he had to wonder if he’d be as reasonable as Harry Baker was in the same situation. Of course, Sean’s daughter would never be in this situation because he was never going to let a man near his girl. But for now, he had to reassure Kate’s father.

  “She’s not alone in this,” Sean told the other man quietly. “Now that I know about the baby, I’m in this and she’s not going to shake me loose.”

  Harry tipped his head to one side and studied Sean. His eyes were sharp, and Sean thought he probably didn’t miss much. Made him uncomfortable having that steady gaze fixed on him, but he stood his ground and waited.

  “Good to know,” Harry said with a nod. “But I’m thinking it’s my daughter that brought you here.”

  Sean frowned. He had come to see Kate. To see if he had imagined the connection between them—which he hadn’t. Hell, his mouth was still burning, his body still sizzling just from that one short, furious kiss they’d shared. He didn’t know what the hell was between him and Kate, but he did know they had to figure it out before he talked to her father about all of this.

  Instead, he said only, “It’s my hotel, Mr. Baker. I’ve got to keep an eye on the progress.”

  Shaking his he
ad, Harry mused, “You check out every hotel with a kiss?”

  Sean scowled and rubbed one hand across the back of his neck. “Yeah, you saw that.”

  “I did. Look, what’s between you is private.” Harry folded beefy arms across his wide chest and stood like a man braced for a fight. “But I’ll say I want my pregnant daughter married.”

  Married? Amazing how that one small word could hit a man like a bucket of rocks. Nobody had said anything about getting married, Sean thought. He could understand how Harry felt, but marriage was something that seemed so...forever. But so, his mind whispered, is a baby. A child. Linking him and Kate always.

  Hell, he hadn’t had enough time to think things through. To make a plan. To figure out what his response should be. There was too much going on in his head right now to make sense of much of it. But he did know he wanted his kid. He wanted the chance to prove—if only to himself—that he wasn’t the same man he once was. That he’d grown and changed.

  Harry was still talking, though, so Sean listened.

  “This is the first real sign of life I’ve seen in my girl since she lost her husband.”

  “Husband?”

  Harry’s eyebrows lifted. “Didn’t know about Sam, eh? Well, not surprising. My girl isn’t what you’d call a big sharer.” He frowned to himself. “Losing Sam threw her hard. She doesn’t really talk about it, but I can see it. She changed after Sam. Locked herself down.” He paused and gave Sean another long look. “Until you, that is.”

  Sean didn’t know what to say to that. She’d never mentioned being married. Being widowed. Why the news hit him so hard was beyond him. But just knowing she’d once been another man’s wife was hard to deal with. What was he like, the mystery husband? As he wondered, he remembered their conversation last winter and how she’d only been with one other man.