are the only ones who don’t drink it black.” He shrugged one broad shoulder as he reached into the refrigerator to take out a dairy carton. “Will milk be okay? It’s the closest thing I have to cream.”
“That’s fine.” She’d known he watched her whenever they were together, but she hadn’t taken into consideration that he might have actually paid attention to mundane things like how she took her coffee.
“Would you like something to eat?” he asked as he set the cup in front of her. “I can make you some toast, but that’s about it. I haven’t hired a housekeeper and I’m not much of a cook.”
“No, thank you. I don’t usually eat breakfast.” She stared at him as he sat back down at the table. There was no easy way to bring up what he was trying to sidestep. And knowing him the way she did, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he would try to avoid discussing the shift in their relationship if he could. “We need to talk about last night,” she finally stated.
He eyed her warily for a moment before he asked, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, frowning. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Until last night, you had never made love.” His dark blue gaze caught and held hers for several seconds before he added, “I know I hurt you. I’m sorry.”
“That’s it?” she asked incredulously. “You gave me the most incredible experience of my life and all you can say is you’re sorry?”
“What do you want me to say, Mariah?” His even tone and calm demeanor infuriated her.
So angry she found it impossible to sit still, Mariah rose from the chair to pace the length of the kitchen. “How about admitting that our lovemaking meant as much to you as it did to me?” She stopped to glare at him. “And don’t you dare give me the excuse of being too old for me, because we both know it would be a total lie.”
A fleeting shadow in his dark blue eyes was the only indication that he wasn’t as removed from the situation as he would like her to believe. “Last night shouldn’t have happened,” he said, his stubborn calm irritating her as little else could. “I took something from you that I had no right to take, Mariah.”
“My virginity.” When he nodded, she shook her head. “You didn’t take anything,” she stated flatly. “It was my call to make. I chose to give that to you.”
“Last night was a mistake,” he insisted.
“No, it wasn’t. A mistake is taking it for granted that your roommate isn’t going to move out without telling you and leave you owing the entire month’s rent. Or believing that you have job security and then suddenly finding yourself out of work,” she shot back. “And we won’t even go into how big a mistake it is to believe that your car is reliable when it’s ten years old and makes more odd noises than you can count.” Mariah shook her head. “Last night was the only good thing that happened to me yesterday, and I’m not going to let you dismiss it as if it meant nothing.”
Jaron frowned as he got up and walked over to stand in front of her. “You lost your job?”
“Yes, but that’s not the issue here.” She refused to allow him to divert the conversation. “We’re not talking about my work situation. We’re discussing what happened between us.”
“There is no us, Mariah,” he said quietly as he rested his hands on her shoulders. The heat from his palms felt absolutely wonderful, but she did her best to ignore it. “I told you I wasn’t promising anything past last night,” he continued. He shook his head. “That hasn’t changed, darlin’.”
Staring up at him, she could see the determination in his eyes and the stubborn set of his jaw. She would have about as much luck convincing elephants to roost in trees as she would getting him to admit that what they’d shared was special. It simply wasn’t going to happen.
Resigned, she walked over to slip on her high heels and gather her jacket and purse. “I don’t suppose your men had a chance to see about my car?”
He dug into the front pocket of his jeans and, producing the keys to her car, handed them to her. “All you needed was a new battery.”
When he placed the keys in her hand, his fingers brushed her palm and a streak of electricity zinged straight up her arm. She could tell by the slight tightening of his jaw that he felt it, as well.
“I’ll pay you for the repair as soon as I get a new job,” she said, walking toward the door.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, following her. “It didn’t cost that much.”
“I most certainly will pay you back for the battery. I may be out of a job right now, but I do have my pride,” Mariah said, turning back to glare at him. “I’m not a charity case.”
“I never thought you were,” he said, looking a little bewildered. “I’m just trying to help you out.”
“I don’t need your help,” she said pointedly. “The only thing I need from you is an explanation of what changed between us and why you’re wanting to go back to the way things were. But you refuse to talk to me about it.”
She knew she was probably overreacting to the situation. But she was frustrated beyond reason and besides, if she didn’t vent in some way, she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t bop him on top of his stubborn head with her purse.
“Do you have any prospects of finding another job?” Jaron asked, following her out the door. “Do you need help making the rent since your roommate moved out? I could loan you—”
“Don’t you dare offer me money,” she warned, her anger rising to the boiling point. “After last night, you would be the last person I—”
“I’d like to do something to help,” he interrupted, reaching up to run his hand through his dark brown hair as if he was trying to think of a way to help her out. He hesitated for a moment before he offered, “I still need a housekeeper who cooks. And the job comes with free room and board. You could work here until something better comes along.” He didn’t sound all that encouraging, and she knew it was nothing more than a token gesture. He didn’t want her to take the job and had only offered it to her because he felt guilty.
“You’re offering me a job and a place to live?” she asked incredulously. She didn’t know whether to laugh out loud at his erroneous assumption that she could cook or be highly insulted that he thought she was so desperate she would accept his offer.
“The job is yours if you want it,” he said, looking less than enthusiastic about having her around all the time. She had no doubt he expected her to turn it down and that was exactly what she intended to do.
“No, thank you,” Mariah answered as she carefully descended the steps. If her mother hadn’t taught her to be a lady, she’d gladly tell him what he could do with that job.
As she navigated her way across the yard to the driveway, hoping that she could keep from breaking an ankle or at the very least one of the expensive four-inch heels, she thought about the opportunity Jaron had inadvertently handed her. It would be poetic justice if she did accept the job. By living under the same roof with him, he certainly wouldn’t be able to avoid her, nor would she let him forget the special night they had shared. And as for making his
