entire scene was putting a knot in her stomach. “Relax,” she said shortly. “Babies do cry.”
His frown was ferocious. “But if it was bad when the nanny let him cry …”
A scene flashed in her mind. It had been very late and she’d been frantically trying to heat a bottle and get it back to Michelle before Brian completely exploded.
“Can’t you shut her up?” Brian had yelled from the bedroom. “I’ve gotta get some sleep. I’ve got to work in the morning, you know.”
“Just a minute.”
“Cari, if you don’t shut that baby up I’m leaving. I can’t live like this.”
“Brian, just give me a minute …”
A crash came from the bedroom where Brian had thrown the lamp against the wall.
Cari blinked away the memory. She looked up into Max’s face.
“You left him alone,” he said accusingly. “Why did you leave him alone?”
Cari took a deep breath and gathered all her resources. “Max, listen to me carefully. He was asleep when I went to take a shower. He was only alone for a couple of minutes.” She gazed at him earnestly. Surely he was mature enough to understand.
But maybe not. Maybe he was going to be like Brian. Her heart sank. If so, what would she do? She wouldn’t dare leave the baby here with him, and yet how could she stay?
“Max, this is not a major issue. Babies do cry. You don’t leave them alone to cry for hours, but now and then it’s going to happen.”
Fascinated, she watched him visibly begin to relax. He looked down at the baby and ran a hand through his hair, then looked up at her again. “I’m sorry,” he said gruffly. “You’re right, of course. It’s just, I came in and heard him crying and didn’t know where you’d gone.”
A surge of relief that developed quickly into affection rolled through her. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to reach out and run her hand down the side of his face. Instead she challenged him.
“Here’s a question for you. Why does the crying bother you so much?”
He stopped as though that was a new one he hadn’t thought about before. “I guess it’s because I’m afraid something is wrong and I won’t know what to do about it,” he admitted at last.
She smiled, feeling such relief. He wasn’t like Brian. That was becoming clear.
“Good answer,” she murmured. “So it’s not just that the noise drives you crazy?”
“Well, I can’t say I love the noise,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s driving me crazy, exactly.”
“Good.”
She hugged him. It was spontaneous and it was one-handed and it was quick. In fact, it was over before he realized it was happening. And then she was gone again and leading the way out into the living room with Jamie in her arms.
“What all have you got there?” she cried, surveying the piles of packages in exclusive department store bags and boxes.
“You wouldn’t believe it,” he said, coming out behind her. “What I’ve got is presents. Presents for my mother. Presents for the servants at my mother’s house in Venice. Presents for all the people who work for me.” He shook his head, looking at her in bewilderment. “Why the hell do women love presents so much?”
She shrugged and grinned at him. “You’re the one buying them.”
He snarled just a little. “C.J. made me.”
“Of course.” She laughed.
He looked at her sideways. “I wanted to buy you a present. But C.J. wasn’t as enthused about that.”
“No kidding.” Cari laughed again. She shook her head of wet curls. “You don’t have to buy me any presents,” she told him. “Just being here, taking care of Jamie, is enough.”
He smiled as though he enjoyed her laughter. “The whole time, I wanted to be back here with you,” he said softly.
She rolled her eyes. “Right.” She turned away, bouncing Jamie in her arms.
“No, really. You don’t believe that?”
Looking back at him, she flushed. She could see his honesty in his eyes. Yes, she believed it. But still, she didn’t trust it. She sighed, remembering the morning kiss. If she didn’t take care, they would be right back there again. She could see it in his eyes.
“Max, we have to talk.”
“About not getting involved?” he asked gruffly.
She looked at him, marveling. What—did he read her mind?
“Exactly.” She shook her head. “Especially if you’re going to be marrying C.J. for heaven’s sake.”
“Marrying C.J.” Slumping down onto the couch, he groaned, his head in his hands. “It’s not going to be as easy as it seemed from a distance.”
“You don’t seem to like her very much.”
“You can tell, can you?” He looked up, adorably cha-grinned, with his beautiful black hair falling over his eyes. “It’s not really fair to say I don’t like her. She’s okay. For someone.” He chuckled suddenly. “Randy, for instance.”
She agreed, smiling. “He does seem to have a major crush there.”
“Oh, yeah. He can’t take his eyes off her.”
She threw a hand up in the air. “Then let him marry her.”
“Good idea. One flaw. That doesn’t get me the ranch.”
She dropped down beside him on the couch, sitting with her feet up on the coffee table and Jamie propped by her legs. The baby laughed at them both and they played with him for a moment. Then she turned to Max.
“Are you seriously considering marrying her just for her ranch?” It did seem a bit of a stretch.
“Yes, I am.”
That was like a knife through her heart, though she knew it shouldn’t matter to her at all.
“Why?”
He looked at her, his eyes clear and determined. “For my mother’s sake.”
He’d said something along these lines before but she had a hard time buying it. “Your mother tells you whom to marry?”
“No.” He shook his head. “You don’t understand.”
She shrugged. “You got that right.”
“Okay. I will try to explain.”
“Please
