Joe shook his head. “I think it’s too late for those sentiments. You, lady, already are involved.”
He was right, damn him. But she couldn’t allow herself to give in. She’d lose sight of her goals if she did. Her parents had gotten mired in a marriage and it had destroyed them. If they had once loved each other, all traces of that love had vanished in the face of their conflicts. Promises of love never lasted. Only rejection did. And she had had that.
“Sullivan, try to understand this. I have already raised children.” She saw him start to say something and held her hand up, as if to physically stop the words. “Granted, they weren’t mine in the strictest sense, but I did raise them.” She remained firm. “I don’t want to go back to that.”
Did she really hear what she was saying? “Seems to me that you never left it.”
“Excuse me?” What was he talking about? She wasn’t raising children anymore. That was a long time in the past.
She looked bewildered, but he thought it was just denial. “You know what I’m talking about. That ‘iron hand in the velvet glove’ bit that you do so well.”
She shook her head, as if the words were bouncing off. “Now you’ve really lost me.”
He laughed to himself. “I’d like to, McGuire, but I can’t. You’re like a fever in my blood—” He reached for her.
Maggie pulled away. If he touched her, she was afraid her resolve would dissipate. She hated him for the power he seemed to have over her. “Fevers go down.”
“Some of them don’t.” He knew his desire for her would never fade. It wasn’t lust that was at play here. He was attracted to the complete, complex woman, not just to legs that wouldn’t quit and a mouth made for loving. He wanted all of her, body and soul. “As for what I said, if you were through raising your brothers, you’d let them fly out of the nest instead of surrounding it with crash pads and pillows to break their falls.”
She thought she knew what was coming, but pretended not to. He had no right to say this. “You’re not making any sense.”
But Joe wouldn’t let the subject drop. She had to give up one before she could pick up the other. She had to stop living her brothers’ lives for them before she could live her own.
“Aren’t I? I’ve watched you with them. Why do you always have to have the last word? Why do you always have to be in control?”
“I don’t—” She sighed. This was useless to argue. She wasn’t going to win. Besides, maybe there was a germ of truth in what he said. “Is it wrong to be involved with them? They’re my family.”
He knew she meant well. Very gently, he took her into his arms. “It’s wrong when you get in the way of their finding their own path. Making their own decisions.” He remembered what she had told him about letting go. She’d been fighting their battles for so long, taking the heat, it was difficult for her to step back. “They’re not the little boys you entertained by making cookies in the trailer.”
Her mouth fell open. “Who told you that?”
“Ethan.”
She might have guessed. He was the most sentimental of her brothers. Maggie frowned, wondering what else he’d said to Joe. “Ethan talks too much.”
“Apparently not around you.” If he had, Ethan would have told Maggie how he felt. It wasn’t that difficult to see. Joe had picked up on some of his frustration during his interview. And Adam had said as much during the taping. “No one stands a chance around you.”
She had had just about enough of this. Her brows narrowed as she pushed him away from her. “If I’m so terribly overbearing and domineering, what do you want with me?”
A thousand and one things, Maggie. “I want you to let go of what you know and risk something. Risk being with me. And if you want to nurture somebody, the girls could use it, not your brothers.”
Was he asking for her help in taking care of his nieces? Maggie frowned. “Is that what this is about? The girls?”
“No, it’s about us, but they’re going to be part of my life for a long time. Having you there for them would be an added bonus, like the ribbon on a Christmas present.” He looked at her pointedly. “A very precious Christmas present. I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing. They need a strong, loving hand to guide them. And you, whether you admit it or not, need someone to guide. See?” He kissed her lips again softly, gently, savoring the taste. “The best of all worlds.”
“It won’t work,” she insisted. She moved, but he suddenly had her cornered. Her back was to the wall, and he was bracketing her on either side with his hands.
“It will if you give it a chance.” God, she smelled good. Like a man’s first brush with heaven. “I’ve always wanted the best. Besides,” he added, humor glinting the corners of his eyes, “this way I have a lifetime supply of cookies for the girls.”
When he looked like that, she had absolutely no defenses against him. Maggie felt her lips curving in a smile despite all her best intentions. “An ulterior motive.”
He nuzzled her, inhaling the heady fragrance he discovered in her hair. “Yeah. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m very devious.”
She had to concentrate to keep her head from falling back as hot sensations poured through her. “I’ve noticed.”
God, he wanted her. “So? Your place?” He played with a strand of her hair, his fingers lightly brushing against her cheek. “Or a hotel suite for the night?”
She could feel her breath backing up in her lungs again. But what he was suggesting, what it would ultimately lead to, was against everything she had planned for herself. “I’m not into casual affairs, Sullivan. You’re moving too fast.”
“There’s nothing casual about this.” He grinned at her. “And it’s all relative. You’re not moving at all.”
Maggie swallowed, trying desperately to collect herself. She couldn’t let him wear her down. She’d only regret it if he did. “But I will. And it’ll be out of the way.”
To illustrate, she tried to push past him. He remained steadfast, like a rock that couldn’t be surmounted or circumvented. She sighed, frustrated. “Look, can’t we just keep this on a friendship basis?”
But Joe shook his head. That would take more willpower than he had. “I don’t want to be your friend, McGuire. At least, not only your friend.”
She looked away. “Sorry, that’s all I’ve got to offer.”
She was lying, to both of them. He raised her chin until their eyes met. “Your opinion.”
The determination that had seen her up from a mind-melting poverty surfaced to preserve her. “Yes, my opinion.”
Joe saw things in her eyes that he still didn’t understand. Things that were going to take time to unravel. But he had time. He had nothing but time, if it meant getting what he wanted. “Used to getting things on your terms, aren’t you?”
He made it sound as if she were a spoiled brat. “In the last few years, yes. It makes things simpler.”
The label didn’t fit. “This isn’t simple, Maggie. Not by a long shot.” She thought she could just shrug off what he was offering. He saw things differently. “For instance, I’ve seen you with the girls. You really care about them.”
If he thought he had her, he was wrong. “Yes, I do. But not on a full-time basis.” She attempted to wrap her feelings up in a neat, antiseptic explanation. “That’s why people like being grandparents. So they can enjoy the best parts.”
She was trying to sound disinterested. Who did she think she was kidding? “Like cleaning them up after they’ve been sick, or helping them through difficult times? Those best parts?”
She blew out a breath. “You’re twisting things.”
He wasn’t twisting things—he was trying to make her face her feelings. Her true feelings. He felt a slight edge to his temper. “I’m a journalist, remember? That’s my job. At least, that’s what you accused me of doing.”
She’d been wrong then, but she didn’t want to be wrong now. “This isn’t getting us anywhere.”
He knew th
e value of retreat over defeat. “No, it’s not. So I’ll let you run now.” He looked at her pointedly. “But you can’t run forever.”
Was he telling her that he was her destiny? “Wanna bet?”
When she raised her chin like that, he had an urge to clip her one. He suppressed it, channeling the emotion in another direction.
“Yeah.” Joe took hold of her shoulders and kissed her hard, his mouth crushing hers, his determination crushing hers. He managed to rattle his own cage a little, as well. Joe released her, his mouth bruised from hers. “I wanna bet.”
The one thing she couldn’t deny was the physical effect he had on her. But physical attractions faded. She looked at him defiantly. “Just because you can melt me to mush doesn’t prove anything.”
The anger faded. Joe grinned. She would have made one hell of an opponent. But he wanted her on his side. “Your opinion,” he echoed again.
Joe took her hand. When he began to lead her out of the room, Maggie looked at him warily. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not dragging you into my lair. I thought maybe you might want to stay for dinner.” She started to refuse, but he was already ahead of her. He knew she had no classes to teach. “It isn’t a school night.”
“I know, but I’ve got a meeting in the morning to prepare for.” She had already spent too much time here, too much time with him and the girls. How could she possibly remain unentangled in their lives when he persisted in drawing her in like this?
Her excuse carried no weight, and he had a feeling that she wanted to be talked out of it. “Maggie, you were born prepared.” He tilted his head back and called out, “Maggie’s staying for dinner,” then confided to her, “Mrs. Phelps is a terrific cook.” He saw the uncertain look in Maggie’s eyes. “I’ve decided to raise her pay and make her our housekeeper, as well.”
She didn’t want details. She wanted to leave. “I’m sure she’s a great cook, but—”
There was no room for a “but.” The next moment, Maggie found herself surrounded by all three girls, talking at once. She looked at Joe accusingly. “You play dirty.”
If she thought she was insulting him, she wasn’t. He looked rather pleased with himself. “Yeah, I know. I play to win.”
Two could do that. “So do I.” She had to raise her voice to be heard.
Then, Maggie McGuire, you’ve met your match. Joe merely smiled at her as he went to ask Mrs. Phelps to set an extra plate at the table.
All things considered, Maggie didn’t expect to see Joe in class on Thursday. After all, he had gotten what he was after. She’d given him his interview. And she had emphatically turned down his invitation to become his bed partner.
Well, maybe not emphatically, but she had turned it down. Men’s egos were frail things and she knew she had bruised his. So there was no reason for him to continue pretending that he was interested in what she had to say in class.
Still, when his desk remained empty after everyone else had taken their seat, there was this morose feeling growing in the pit of her stomach that refused to be reasoned away. It grew to enormous proportions by the time she opened her folder and began her lecture.
She felt the way she had waking up on Christmas morning, knowing that there would be no presents, no tree.
The door squeaked as it opened, catching her attention. Suddenly hope coursed through her veins as if she were an expectant schoolgirl, waiting for her first crush to walk in. It annoyed the hell out of her, but she couldn’t help herself.
It felt as if her heart had leapt up into her throat. The little piece of anatomic reorganization blocked any rational thought from continuing on its course through her brain. She was left standing wordless in front of a packed classroom.
Joe saw the stunned expression on her face. Had she thought he wasn’t coming? Obviously he hadn’t driven home his message about his feelings nearly forcefully enough. He flashed her an apologetic smile. “Traffic.”
Maggie noted the way the other women looked at Joe as he took his seat. She wasn’t the only one who had missed his presence.
Attempting to maintain a professional decorum, she nodded at his excuse. “We’d just about given up on you, Mr. Sullivan. Glad to see you could join us. Maybe now we can proceed.”
He merely grinned at her, as if he could see through her distant manner as easily as if it had been spun out of cellophane.
With effort, Maggie turned her attention to the lesson plan she’d drawn up during lunch. There were only two classes to go and she wanted to give the women who sat in her class their money’s worth.
But it wasn’t easy.
The number of students who crowded around her desk with questions after class was fewer than usual. She answered them as she tried to gather her notes together and deposit the loose papers into her briefcase. As the last one left, the case slipped off her desk. The papers perversely fluttered out, delaying her exit.
Joe joined her on the floor. “Trying for a quick getaway?” His hands mingling with hers, he scooped up the scattered pages and offered them to her.
She accepted them stiffly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve just got a lot of work waiting for me at home.”
Joe took her hand and drew her up to her feet beside him. He felt the slight tremble and smiled. Annoyed at the smirk, Maggie pulled her hand away. “Don’t you ever get tired of working, McGuire?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t you ever get tired of asking questions?”
He raised his brows innocently. “No.”
She knew he was trying to goad her, so she struck a calm pose. “I guess it’s the same for me.”
He leaned his hip against the desk, impeding her progress. “Actually, I’m here on a mission.”
She should have known better than to think he’d give up so easily. He was here to try to talk her into changing her mind. Maggie was flattered, aroused and worried at the same time. She wasn’t certain just how long she could stick to her principles.
She just knew she had to. “Yes, I know.”
Funny how at times he could read her like an open book. “No, not that kind of mission.” He saw the faint blush rise to her cheeks and found it endearing. “The girls want to know when their commercial is going to air.”
Some of the indignation coursing through her veins was siphoned off. She felt a little foolish. He’d probably orchestrated it to get that effect.
“Oh.” On familiar territory, she momentarily relaxed. “Actually, that turned out rather well. It’s going to be shown Saturday, during ‘One Big, Happy Family.’”
It was a popular half-hour sitcom that was a favorite for the under-fifteen set. His nieces had coerced him into watching the show with them in the name of family togetherness. The program was syrupy, but rather cute and completely innocuous. “How did you manage to get it scheduled so fast?”
She had wanted the commercial on as quickly as possible, to gauge Sandy’s appeal and marketability. But the accomplishment hadn’t been hers.
“I didn’t. Adam did. He pulled a few strings.” Maggie smiled as pride bloomed within her. “Seems he once went out with the station manager’s daughter. She put in a good word with Daddy.”
Joe placed a hand over his chest, stunned. “He did this all without you?”
She raised her briefcase as if she was going to swing it at him. She didn’t particularly like being the source of his amusement.
“Look, Sullivan—” Joe was laughing. He had the sexiest laugh she had ever heard. Her annoyance subsided. “All right,” she relented. “Maybe I deserved that.”
He laid an arm around her shoulders. “Actually, you deserve a lot of credit.” He liked the fact that she was backing off a little. It gave him hope. “You’re just not superhuman, that’s all.”
She looked at him smugly. “You haven’t seen my crime-fighting cape, have you?”
“No, but I’d like to.” He ran the back of his hand along the hollow of her cheek. “Say, possibly the morning after?”
She laughed. The man just didn’t give up. They had that in common. Except their goals were completely opposite. “Dream on.”
“I do.” Their eyes met for a moment and she knew that he was serious. And what he dreamed of. She told herself that she wasn’t aroused, but she was lying. “Until that time, what say you come over and watch the commercial with us?”
“I—” Maggie felt the ground beneath her turning to sand. Slanted sand. And it was all pouring in his direction.
He saw another excuse in the making. An excuse probably steeped in the truth. “Don’t tell me you’re working on Saturday night at eight-thirty.”
“I’m not?” Saturdays were no different to her than any other day. There were reports to read, new markets to break into, new avenues to consider. There weren’t enough hours in the week to do it all.
She was incredible. “You know that line about all work and no play making Jack a dull boy?”
“I’m not a boy.”
His eyes, pure mischief, teased her. “Yes, I know. But the adage still applies.”
She wasn’t certain she knew where he was going with this. “You think of me as dull?”
With the soul of patience, Joe placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes holding hers. “No, that’s just the trouble—I don’t.” If anything, he thought of her as too exciting. “But I wouldn’t want to see it happen.”
Very deliberately, Maggie removed first one hand and then the other from her shoulders. “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.”
“But I do.” He leaned in closer toward her. “Is it a date? I’ll even supply the popcorn.”
She didn’t want to say yes. She knew she was going to, despite all the complications that reared their heads. “I’ll think about it.”
He kissed her temple. “You do that. You think real hard.” With that, he crossed to the doorway.
He was walking out, she realized. Without her. She should have been relieved, but what she was was surprised. “You’re leaving?”
He wasn’t quite sure if that was dismay in her eyes. But he could hope. Joe nodded. “I have to. I promised to turn my article in to the magazine by ten tonight.” The crew always worked well past midnight just before they went to press.
The Women in Joe Sullivan's Life Page 14