too, though she knew she shouldn’t. “And how would I fit in to help you with that?”
“Sue has been doing her best to get everything ready. She’s wonderful in the kitchen, don’t get me wrong, but with twenty houseguests, she’s going to have her hands full with all the meal planning and cooking. She just can’t do everything herself. She and I were talking earlier about hiring someone to help her. As I see it, with your hotel management experience, you’re the ideal candidate.”
“Me?”
“I have a confession here. I called the owner of the Lake Haven Inn after you and Maddie went to sleep.”
“You called Megan?”
“Right. Megan. Hamilton. She seemed nice enough. By the way, she was horrified to find out you were hurt today after you spoke with her. She wanted to rush straight here to fuss over you but I assured her you seemed to be doing all right and we are keeping a careful eye on you. She confirmed my suspicions, that you are just the woman I need.”
His words sent a completely inappropriate little shiver rippling through her. For the job. He was talking about a job. She forced herself to get a grip as she struggled to take in the completely unexpected twist.
“You want me to come work for you here? I was the assistant manager of a small three-star hotel. What do I know about providing luxury hospitality services in a private home?”
“If you knew my family, you would understand the Caines don’t need luxury. You won’t find more down-to-earth people anywhere. I think you’ll like them and I know they’ll like you and Maddie.”
How was she supposed to respond to a job offer extended in the middle of the night when she was wrapped in a blanket, for crying out loud?
“It can’t be that much different from what you would have been doing as the manager at the Lake Haven Inn, just on a smaller scale. As I see it, the goals are the same—making everybody feel welcome and keeping them happy. All you have to do is make sure Pop stays out of the kitchen, find entertainment for the little ones and make sure the teenagers have enough to keep them busy and out of trouble.”
“That’s all?” she said faintly.
“I just want everyone to enjoy the holidays together, whatever it takes.”
“You basically need somebody to play hostess to your family.”
“Wow. In a manner of speaking, I suppose that’s exactly what I need.”
What he needed was a wife. But of course, she could never say that.
“Look, I’m the first to admit, I have many bad habits,” he said. “One of them is a single-minded focus on whatever project I’m working on. I can get a phone call and forget everything else but solving whatever problem is on the other end. If that happens, I would love to know somebody else is here besides Sue to make sure my family doesn’t feel ignored.”
She wanted to suggest he just turn his phone off but, again, it wasn’t her business.
“The job would include room and board for you and Maddie as well as a salary I think you’ll find more than fair,” he said, naming a gulp-worthy sum that made actually made her palms begin to sweat.
“That’s entirely too much.”
“I promise, you will earn every penny of it. My family is great but they’re crazy and wild, too.”
She didn’t know how to answer him. On the one hand, this would be an answer to her prayers. Working and staying at Snow Angel Cove through the holidays would give her a little breathing room, time to send out some feelers about who might be hiring and to really plan out her next step instead of jumping out of desperation into a job that might not be a good fit.
In addition, the compensation he was offering for only a few weeks would provide a much-needed financial cushion to tide them over for several months.
She wasn’t a fool, however. Was Aidan making this offer because he genuinely needed help or was it driven by his guilt over hitting her with his SUV?
Could she really afford to let that matter to her?
“It’s late,” he said after a moment. “You don’t have to make a decision about this right now. Think about it overnight. I do think Maddie would have fun playing with my niece and nephew. Carter is just about her age. He’s a real character but fun. His sister, Faith, is a few years older and one of the sweetest girls you’ll ever meet. The other kids are older but they’re all really decent human beings.”
“I will think about it,” she said, even though she already knew what her answer would be. She wasn’t particularly thrilled about working for anyone connected to Caine Tech, especially not the founder and CEO, but she had to be pragmatic. For room, board and a salary like that—not to mention the chance to give Maddie a safe, comfortable, welcoming place for Christmas—she would be a fool to refuse.
The past three Christmases had been tough, all the way around. Trent had died in November three years earlier. That year the holidays had been a blur of shock and pain and sorrow. The past two years, Maddie had been in the hospital.
The chance to spend the holidays here in this lovely home where her daughter could experience a genuine family Christmas was too choice to pass up.
She climbed up from the window seat, doing her best not to wince at her various and sundry aches and pains. “We both need to try to sleep tonight. Thank you for checking on me. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
He rose as well, his T-shirt clinging again to those unexpected muscles. “I’m glad,” he said with a slow, sexy smile that made her toes tingle.
Oh, for crying out loud, she chided herself. The man was a gazillionaire who probably had his pick of any hot-bodied bimbo he wanted. He would never be interested in someone like her, a frazzled mom wearing pajamas she bought at a big box store and wrapped in a blanket.
Even if he were interested, for some unfathomable reason, she certainly wasn’t. Right? Not in Aidan Caine, who was brilliant and gorgeous and dangerous.
“Good night,” she murmured quickly and hurried to her room before he could even answer.
When she slipped back into the cool covers, her daughter made a tiny sound in her sleep but didn’t awaken. Eliza lay in the darkness while the storm flung snowflakes against the window, listening to the miracle of her daughter’s breathing, as she had done so many times before.
While she might be reluctant to stay at Snow Angel Cove for a plethora of reasons, she would do it for one reason only. Her child.
SHE ACHED IN every single joint and muscle.
Even her eyelids hurt—though she had no idea why. It seemed a good enough excuse to keep them closed, even though her internal biorhythms sensed daylight.
She wanted to roll over and try to go back to sleep but even that seemed like too much effort right now.
With
