“We?” Miranda asked between bites.
“Yes, we. I think if we all work together, for say an hour first thing each morning, the yard should be cleaned up and beautiful in a week or so. Then it will just be a matter of keeping things under control,” Foster said.
And that was how their morning routines began. That first day, after Harper disappeared to her office, he and Miranda put together lists of chores that needed to be done. They then made up schedules for daily and weekly cleaning, yardwork, and fun. They even made up a list of chores appropriate for Miranda to do, the first of which was matching the pile of socks that half-filled the laundry basket sitting on top of the dryer.
Days quickly fell into a pattern, which all three seemed comfortable with. They all spent the first hour after breakfast each morning in the yard. They worked together cleaning up the overgrown gardens and planning changes that would be made over the next few months.
When his phone alarm rang to signal that work hour was up, they retreated from the growing heat and humidity. After a snack of jelly toast and juice, Harper disappeared to her office and Foster got to work with Miranda overseeing him, and helping where she could.
Their first stop was the pantry where the chore lists Foster had devised and Harper had approved hung. After gathering supplies, he set to work. Miranda surprised him by how much she wanted to help. As they accomplished each item on that day’s list, Miranda used the red pen he’d hung on a string with the lists to cross it out before they moved to the next one.
By lunchtime, the chores were finished and after checking with Harper, they ate lunch and spent an hour “resting,” which allowed Foster a few minutes to relax and catch his breath. Keeping up with the active little girl was exhausting. More often than not, Miranda fell asleep, though some afternoons, she simply lay on her bed chattering with Henry, her stuffed best friend. When that hour was up, Miranda and Foster settled in the living room for what Miranda called “school and take over the world time.” They worked in workbooks on her letters and numbers and colors while they talked about how best to conquer the world and run it to the benefit of everyone.
By the time Miranda grew bored with learning, Harper would appear, having finished her work for the day. She would take over and spend the rest of the afternoon with Miranda while Foster made dinner.
After cleaning up the kitchen, Foster tried to retreat to his room to give Harper and her daughter privacy, but Miranda knocked on his door and demanded he join them to watch her favorite movie. Foster couldn’t say no to the little girl and found himself laughing as Miranda danced and tried to sing along with the movie that she had obviously seen more than a few times.
After that, evenings were spent watching Miranda-appropriate television until bedtime when the fairy princess had her bath and a story or two before falling into the sleep of the innocent. Once she was asleep, Harper and Foster would sit at either end of the couch to watch a movie or a mutually agreed upon television show. Talk was on superficial subjects only, mostly about Foster’s take on his day with Miranda, and what Harper had accomplished.
By ten o’clock when the television went off, Foster was yawning. He would walk Harper to the bottom of the stairs, wishing her a soft good night before making the rounds to double-check security and turning off lights. Then he retreated to his room. Once there, he took a quick shower where he released his tension with a good hand job from being close to Harper without touching her. After his shower, he dressed in a pair of boxer-briefs and a t-shirt, set his alarm, and fell into bed.
Spending the day keeping up with a smart, inquisitive five-year-old was exhausting. He didn’t know how Harper had done it alone.
****
As his third week as the Ellis family mafe came to a close, Foster’s attraction to and respect for Harper had grown to a point he wasn’t sure he could keep it a secret much longer. His hunger for her body had grown to where even after pleasuring himself in the shower each night, he still had a hard time sleeping for dreams of that one night they had spent together, as well as all the things he wanted to do with her. He just wasn’t sure what she felt for him, if she felt anything for him, though he found her eyes on him more often than not.
That night, when he walked her to the bottom of the stairs, instead of simply saying good night as he normally did, he took her hand and noted that she shivered at the contact. Suddenly, he had hope that maybe it was time to take the step from a purely professional to an intensely personal relationship.
He whispered, “I’m sorry,” before leaning closer, intending to brush a kiss on her cheek. At the last second, Harper surprised him by turning her head so his lips landed on hers instead.
He froze, sure she would pull back and slap him. But she didn’t. Instead, her lips softened and parted slightly as she slid a hand up his chest and around the back of his neck. Her fingers felt cool against skin that he thought might burst into flames at any seconds.
Though he wanted to behave, he couldn’t. He needed more. He needed this woman in his arms, in his life, in his bed. Foster found himself mirroring her hand around the neck hold, while his other arm slid around her body just above her jeans. As he pulled her closer, she sighed as their bodies pressed together until only their clothes separated their skin. In the next second, he was leaning against the wall and she was resting heavily against him.
The kiss slowly heated up, their lips parting and tongues meeting and touching, then dancing back and forth. Control of the embrace shifted back and forth as Foster tried not to come on too strong but prayed he would end up her bed in the next few minutes.
Then she turned her head and broke the kiss. He allowed it because he needed a minute to catch his breath and try to regain some control over his body before he stripped them both and took her right there against the stairs.
Looking down at the woman who was both his boss and his greatest desire, Foster smiled. “Well, now that changes things, doesn’t it?”
Harper’s gaze met his squarely. She blinked and pulled in a slow, deep breath before slowly moving her head up and down.
“I’d prefer Miranda not know,” she whispered as her gaze dropped from his eyes to the middle of his chest. “At least, not yet.”
Sliding his hand from around the back of her neck, Foster used two fingers to raise her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes once more. “That’s fine. But know that, at some point, she will need to know. She’ll also need to know that I’m here to stay. I don’t plan on leaving any time soon, and not without a fight. So, get used to me being here, okay?”
She nodded again, this time with a little smile starting to grow on her pinkened lips. “Okay,” she said softly. “But for tonight, I think it’s time for bed.”
He wasn’t sure what to expect, so when she took his hand in hers and started up the stairs, he followed like a kitten chasing after a red laser beam.
Chapter Eleven
By day, Harper worked to balance production in the three divisions of her business, accomplishing more in much less time than she had in the months before Foster came into their lives. Being able to fill orders faster more than paid Foster’s salary, and she found herself actually spending some time designing new dresses, both for her human customers as well as the doll and stuffie line.
As her hands worked, stitching beads, cutting cloth into pieces that would become dresses for girls or dolls, and sewing the parts into whole dresses, Foster remained in the front of her thoughts.
Finally, she sewed the last bead onto the bodice of the bridal gown. The final fitting and delivery appointment was scheduled for two days hence, and she hoped the bride would be as happy with the dress as she was.
Once this commission was delivered and paid for, she would focus on finishing the orders for the stuffed animals and doll clothing to try to get ahead for the upcoming holidays. She also had to finish the dresses for the fashion show that was rapidly approaching.
Each night as Harper lay in bed, she remembered and
replayed the single night she had spent with Foster in her bed. Those memories then bled into her dreams before morphing into more. So much more. She woke needing … something, though she hesitated to put a name to the achy want that had settled in her soul.
That night, after finishing the wedding dress and finding orders and prepayment for a dozen doll dresses in her email, she needed a way to celebrate. And though she had a feeling Foster only meant to kiss her cheek as a step up from simply saying good night, at that moment, she desired more. So much more.
The kiss that grew more heated by the second burned away every argument for restraint she had come up with during the past twenty days. She moved by instinct, asking to keep the change in their relationship from her daughter before leading the man to her bedroom. Closing the door, she pushed the lock in the knob to keep Miranda from interrupting them as she had that first night, that only night, they’d had.
The night that haunted her every moment, waking and sleeping. She would use this night to celebrate the dress and to thank the man for his help without actually saying the words. The final payment for the dress would be enough to live on for a few months while she finished the dresses for the fashion show. From that show, she hoped to gain either a job as a designer with a bigger company or a partner to grow her one-woman shop into more.
Flipping the switch that turned on the lights by the bed, she turned and froze. The next few minutes would forever change the relationship she now had with this man. This man who was big and beautiful and supportive without even knowing exactly what all she was doing when she was locked up in her room.
Her gaze locked on his, she took one step, and then another and another, not stopping until she was able to wrap her arms around his middle and snuggle against his body. His arms came around her and she sighed and leaned even further into his big, muscle-covered body.
“Feels so good,” she murmured as she brushed her cheek against the super-soft t-shirt he wore.
“Yes, it does,” he murmured as he brushed a kiss on the top of her head. “And if this is all you want to do tonight, I’d be a happy, happy man.”
Dropping her head back, she looked up at him, meeting eyes that held a fire she’d never seen in a man’s gaze before. “Will you stay the night, even if we don’t have … you know, sex. Despite what happened a few minutes ago, I’d like to sleep with you without … that complicating things. Yet.”
He gave her a devilish grin before winking. “I’d be honored to spend the night snuggling with you, if that’s what you want. I’m here for whatever you need from me. Use your mafe.”
****
The rattling of the hall door jolted Harper awake. Looking around in a panic, she found herself alone in the bed. Stroking her hand over the side of the bed where Foster had been when they’d fallen asleep the night before, she found that the sheets were cold. A glance across the room showed her that the sun was up, and by the angle of the light streaming through the window, it had been for a while.
In the next second, the door flew open and Miranda bounced into the room, much as she did every morning. “Good morning, Mommy,” her daughter said as she climbed onto the bed and crawled toward her.
“Good morning, baby girl. How did you sleep last night?” Harper shifted to the center of the mattress so her daughter could lay beside her. Though she knew it would only bring up questions and conversations she didn’t want to have, she wished for a moment that Foster was still in the bed with them.
“I sleeped good. But Henry snores,” Miranda said as she flopped down and snuggled close.
Harper couldn’t hold her smile back. “Maybe if you rolled him over onto his side, he would stop snoring,” she suggested as she wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her.
Miranda stopped wiggling for a moment as she seemed to think about her mother’s words. Shrugging, she said, “I’ll try that tonight. Right now, Henry is in time out so he can snore all he wants. What are we doing today?”
Before Harper could think of something, a knock sounded at the open doorway. “Good morning,” Foster said with a smile that set Harper’s nerves to tingling as he leaned one shoulder against the door jamb.
“Good morning, Mr. Mafe,” Miranda said, sitting up just as quickly as she’d lain down just seconds before. “How did you sleep last night?”
“I slept very well, Empress, thank you for asking.” Though he spoke to her daughter, his gaze never left Harper’s.
Her stomach doing a free fall, Harper sat up and shifted to lean against the headboard. “So, we all slept well last night. Miranda and I were just about to discuss what we would be doing today. Would you like to join us?”
Foster straightened and took a step into the room. Then he took another and another, crossing to the foot of the bed where he sat down, still facing them. “What were you thinking?”
“I finished the dress yesterday, and my meeting with the bride isn’t until tomorrow. Since I have a free day, I thought we could go to the zoo, if that would be okay with you,” Harper prepared herself for her daughter’s reaction.
“Yes!” the little girl screamed, her high-pitched tone causing both Harper and Foster to wince. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
Miranda rolled off the bed and began dancing around the room. Her body wiggled in opposition to her feet, and eventually, she lost her balance and ended up falling on her butt. But that did little to dampen her excitement.
“Come on, Mommy, get up. We have to get dressed and eat breakfast and fix a picnic before we can go to the zoo. Get up, get up, get up. Let’s go!”
Foster nodded his agreement. “I can put off today’s chores for a trip to the zoo.”
Harper found herself smiling as her head moved up and down in response. “Then let’s get ready to go to the zoo.”
Chapter Twelve
Late that afternoon, a tired Foster followed a drooping Harper into the house. Miranda was asleep in his arms, and had been since shortly after they’d started the drive home from the zoo. Without consulting Harper, he carried the child straight upstairs and tucked her into her bed. When he didn’t see Henry, her go-to protector stuffie, he shrugged and tucked the stuffed giraffe that was lying on her pillow into her arms. He knew she hadn’t taken Henry with them, but he didn’t know where the green and purple monster was without asking her, and there was no way he was waking a sleeping child. Even he had more sense than that.
Returning to the living room, he collapsed on the couch next to Harper with a sigh. The woman turned her head and watched him, but didn’t move when he sat down, which told him she was growing more accustomed to his presence.
“Today was fun,” he said, keeping his voice soft.
“Yes, it was. Thank you for going with us. Being able to show you all her favorite animals made Miranda’s day,” Harper reached over and laid her hand on his.
Without thinking about what he was doing, Foster turned his hand over and laced their fingers together. “Should I worry about making dinner or just throw together some sandwiches when she wakes up?”
“Sandwiches, cereal, cheese and crackers, whatever. We ate so much at the zoo I doubt she’ll be very hungry when she wakes up. If she wakes up. She might sleep straight through until morning.”
Harper sounded half-asleep herself, and he felt that way as well. Switching on the television, he turned the volume down and changed to a family-friendly movie channel. He smiled when Harper mumbled something and shifted to lean against him. Stretching his legs out, he toed off his sneakers. He then rearranged them so they were lying on the long, wide couch with his back against the cushions. He spooned her in front of him with her head resting on his arm while he rested his head on the arm of the couch.
Once in position, Harper took a deep breath and released it on a sigh, relaxing further back into his body. He watched television for about a minute and a half before his eyelids drifted shut as well.
Life was good. His heart whispered that if he would just admit he wa
s falling in love with Harper, and Miranda, he could have a good, or even great, rest of his life.
Foster had no idea how long he’d been asleep when something tickled his nose, pulling him from the depths of sleep and back toward full consciousness. He twitched his nose, but a moment later, whatever it was returned and the tickling began again. This time it was accompanied by a soft giggle.
A Miranda-size giggle.
Opening his eyes, Foster growled as he surged from a lying position to sitting up, only to yelp in pain when a hank of hair got pulled. Falling back to his side, he raised one hand to where his scalp protested losing a clump of hairs. At the same time, he slammed his eyes closed again to keep the tears from rolling out of his eyes. Damn, that hurt.
“Oh, no. Are you all right, Mr. Mafe?” A small hand gently patted his cheek. “I’m sorry I pulled your hair, I didn’t mean to.”
Foster rubbed the spot for another few seconds until the worst of the pain eased before opening his eyes and looking up at the little girl who had captured his heart. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she stared back at him, obviously distraught at having caused him pain.
He had to blink twice and swallow before he said, “I’m all right, Empress. But next time maybe use a feather or your own hair, okay?”
She nodded silently as a tear rolled out of one eye and down her cheek. “I’m hungry. Can we have pudding for dinner?”
Foster thought about what he had in the kitchen to make pudding as he sat up. “Why don’t we go see if we have anything I can use to make pudding?”
“Really?” Miranda asked, her eyes going wide as she stepped back to allow him to stand up.
Bending over, he lifted her into his arms and gave her a hug. “Yes, really.”
Though he didn’t know where Harper was, he had a feeling she had retreated to her office to make absolutely certain the dress to be delivered the next day was perfect.
An hour later, after they had nibbled on cheese and crackers and cut up fruit, Foster heeded the call of the stove timer and pulled a bowl of rice pudding from the oven. By that point, Harper had rejoined them so he filled three bowls with the pudding. After a few minutes to allow it to cool, he carried the bowls and spoons, and glasses of milk into the living room so they could eat dessert while watching a movie.
Help Wanted: Mafe Page 6