her yet, and for one more fleeting moment, she thought about turning and running away. He would never have to know she had been here and she would never have to experience the look of anger and maybe pain in his eyes. And he would never know to what extent she’d been willing to risk humiliating herself. But it was too late for all that. She had been running from her mistakes ever since she first left Connor, and it was time to stop.
“Hello, Connor,” she said at long last, hoping he couldn’t hear the nerves jangling in her voice.
He looked up and stared at her for a long moment. Had she changed so much that he didn’t even recognize her? But then one of his eyebrows quirked up, and not in a “happy to see you” kind of way.
He pushed his chair away from the desk and folded his arms across his muscular chest. After another lengthy, highly charged moment, during which he never broke eye contact with her, he finally drawled, “Hello, Mary Margaret.”
The sound of his deep voice made the hairs on her arms stand at attention. Amazingly, he still retained a hint of a Scottish accent, even though he’d lived in Northern California since he was in grade school.
Anxious, but determined not to show it, she took a few steps forward. “How are you?” Her voice cracked again and she wanted to sink into the carpet, but she powered forward with a determined smile.
“I’m busy.” He made a show of checking his watch, then stood. “I’m about to go into a meeting, so I’m afraid I don’t have time to talk right now. But thanks for stopping by, Maggie.”
She deserved that, deserved to have him blow her off, but it hurt anyway. She took slow, even breaths in an effort to maintain her dignity, for she had no intention of leaving. “Your meeting is with me, Connor.”
He smiled patiently, as though she were a recalcitrant five-year-old. “No, it’s not. Believe me, I would never have agreed to meet with you.”
She said nothing as she watched him study her for several long seconds until she saw the moment when realization struck.
“Ah, I get it,” he said evenly. “So you’re Taylor James. Inventive name.”
“Thank you,” Maggie murmured, even though she could tell by his tone that he wasn’t the least bit impressed by her cleverness. She’d managed to use part of her real last name and had come up with a first name that could be male or female. She tugged her jacket closer. Had the temperature dropped in here? Probably not, but she felt a chill right down to her bones.
“Why the subterfuge, Maggie?”
She kept her tone as casual as she could manage. “I wanted to see if I could make it in the business without leaning on my family name.” It was the same lie she’d been telling herself for the past three years she’d been back in Point Cairn. The truth was too embarrassing to admit.
“How intrepid of you,” he said dryly.
She watched for a smile or even a scowl, but Connor revealed nothing but indifference. No real emotion at all. She had anticipated something more from him. Hurt. Anger. Rage, even. She could’ve accepted that. But Connor didn’t appear to be fazed one way or the other by anything she said or did.
That’s where the chill came from. She shivered again.
But honestly, what did she expect? Happy hugs? Not likely since she’d found out that he’d considered her departure such a betrayal. But if his current mood was any indication, he had obviously moved on long ago.
And so did you, she reminded herself.
He circled his desk and leaned his hip against the smooth wood edge. “I heard you’ve been back in town for a while now. Funny how we’ve never run into each other.”
“I keep a low profile,” she said, smiling briefly. The fact was, she’d spotted him a number of times on the streets of their small hometown of Point Cairn. Each time, she’d taken off running in the opposite direction. It was self-protection, plain and simple, as well as her usual risk aversion.
She’d returned to Point Cairn three years ago in a low state, her heart and her self-confidence battered and bruised. There was no way she would’ve been strong enough to confront Connor on his home turf. Not back then. She was barely able to do so right this minute. In fact, she could feel her thin facade beginning to crack and wondered how much longer she could be in his presence without melting down.
“How’s your grandfather?” he asked, changing the subject. “I haven’t seen him in a few weeks.”
She smiled appreciatively. He and his brothers had always had a soft spot for Angus Campbell, and the feeling was mutual. “Grandpa is...well, he’s part of the reason I’ve come to see you today.”
He straightened. “What’s wrong? Is he ill?”
Maggie hesitated. “Well, let’s just say he’s not getting any younger.”
Connor chuckled. “He’ll outlive us all.”
“I hope so.”
He folded his arms again, as if to erect an extra barrier between them. “What is it you want, Maggie?”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a thick folder. “I want to discuss your offer.”
He reached for the folder, opened it and riffled through the stack of papers. They were all letters and copies of emails sent to someone named Taylor James. Many had been signed by Connor, himself, but there were offers from others in there, too. He looked at Maggie. “These were sent to Taylor James.”
“And that’s me.”
“But I was unaware of that fact when I made those offers. If I’d known Taylor James was you, Maggie, I never would’ve tried to make contact.” He closed the folder and handed it back to her. “My offer is rescinded.”
“No.” She took a hasty step backward, as though the folder were on fire. “You can’t do that.”
For the first time, his smile reached his eyes. In fact, they fairly twinkled with perverse glee as he took a step closer. “Yes, I can. I just did.”
“No, Connor. No. I need you to—”
In a heartbeat, his gaze turned to frost. “I’m not interested in what you need, Maggie. It’s too late for that.”
“But—”
“Meeting’s over. It’s time for you to go.”
For the briefest second, her shoulders slumped. But just as quickly, she reminded herself that she was stronger now and giving up was not an option. She used her old trick of mentally counting from one to five as she made one last effort to draw from that sturdy well of self-confidence she’d fought so hard to reconstruct.
Defiantly she lifted her chin and stared him in the eyes. “I’m not leaving this office until you hear what I have to say.”
Two
He had to admire her persistence.
Still, there was no
