Having a mom is the ideal situation.”
A hard look darkened his eyes. “Not if Mom didn’t want you in the first place. Not if your own mother doesn’t care enough to stick around.”
“Is that personal experience talking?”
He shrugged, which neither confirmed nor denied, yet the expression on his face was anything but neutral. It made her curious about him and that was dangerous, another in a long list of reasons why she was right to stick to her time limit.
“It may not seem like a big deal to you, but I never want to go through that again. I’ve found that my time limit works for me. And Ginger has structured a marketing campaign around my skills and restrictions. I’m an expert at assisting inexperienced parents through the transition and adjustment of a new baby.”
“What about my situation?” he asked angrily.
“Ginger has an impressive employee list. Many of them prefer long-term assignments—”
“That’s not good enough.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry you got hurt in the past. That happens when you wear your heart on your sleeve.”
“Not anymore,” she protested.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You still care. Maybe too much, but you can’t help that. It’s one of your most impressive qualifications. But now your caring has a short shelf life to keep you from getting hurt.”
“I’m glad you understand.” She stood. “I have a week left on my contract and then I’m leaving.”
He stood, too, and towered over her. “Fair warning, Maggie. I’ll find a way. Everyone has their price. If you put enough zeros on a check, it takes the sting out of life. However you want to say it, anyone can be convinced.”
At the door, she chanced a look at him and felt a pull on her heart. “Not me.”
Not with money. However, if he showed the slightest interest in her she wasn’t sure the bravado would hold up. She’d walked into his office looking for a fight. Now she realized the reaction was out of proportion to his generous gesture. It was earrings. Big, expensive diamond earrings, but impersonal jewelry nonetheless.
The only reason she could come up with for her meltdown was that she’d half expected to see a ring in the black velvet box. It was stupid and naive, both of which she’d denied being, but that didn’t change the truth.
She’d felt the sting of rejection once before, when she learned of Jeff’s engagement. When she’d seen the earrings, it was even worse. She’d felt a lot like a mistress who was being appeased. And she’d been disappointed.
This was a sign as big as any on the Las Vegas Strip that she would be lucky if another week here with Jason Garrett didn’t cost her as much, or more, than she’d lost in the past.
Maggie had finished packing her clean clothes and had the dirty ones in a laundry bag stashed by the half-opened door. On the tufted-silk bench at the foot of the bed she’d put out a pair of jeans and sweater for when she left in the morning. Ginger had a replacement coming. Jason had met and approved her, however ill-tempered and reluctant his attitude.
Now all she had to do was say goodbye to father and son.
Tears burned the backs of her eyes and her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of leaving. She caught her blurred reflection in the mirror over the dresser. It was going to hurt terribly when she walked out the door for the last time. A sob caught in her throat just before she heard a soft knock on her door.
Jason pushed it wide and stood there. With his tie loosened and the white shirt wrinkled from a long day at the office, he was incredibly appealing. For the last six weeks, it had grown increasingly difficult to keep from saying, “Hi, honey, how was your day?”
Quickly she turned her back to him, hiding the powerful reaction. Oh, God, not now. It was so not the time for her resolve to weaken. Leaving was the right thing for her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, struggling to keep her voice steady. “Brady’s already asleep. He was just worn out.”
“It’s all right. I wanted to talk to you anyway.”
Too much to hope he wouldn’t make one last push to change her mind. A man like him wouldn’t be as successful as he was without a dynamic personality, a stubborn streak as wide as the Grand Canyon. Probably it worked for him with women, too. And she might even have changed her mind if her acute response to him just now hadn’t convinced her she’d be safer away from him and Brady.
The thought of that sweet little boy punched a hole in the dam of her feelings and the tears she’d barely managed to hold back trickled out.
“There’s nothing left to say, Jason.” This time her voice broke.
“Are you crying?” He moved close and put his hands on her arms.
“No.”
“If I haven’t said it already, I will now. You’re a lousy liar.”
“It’s not full-on crying. Just a tear or two.” She sniffled and tried to step away.
His grip tightened and he turned her, pulling her into his arms and against his broad chest. Wrapped in his comforting embrace was probably the safest she’d ever felt in her life. How could that be when the things he made her feel were big and scary? The emotions swimming inside made her want to both run and stay.
He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “Don’t cry, Maggie. Everything will be fine.”
“I know. It’s just—” A giant knot of emotion cut off her words.
“You’re sad.”
She nodded against his chest.
“You want to stay.”
She nodded again.
“So don’t go.”
She shook her head, then permitted herself one last moment to savor the sweet, solid feel of him before stepping away. “I have to. Everything is all arranged.”
“It can be unarranged. I’ll call Ginger and cancel your replacement.”
Brushing the moisture from her cheeks, she blew out a long breath. “Then what?”
“We go back to business as usual.”
“And what happens two months from now if you change your mind? You find Ms. Right and don’t need a nanny and kick me to the curb.” She looked at him, the fiercely determined expression in his eyes. “What about me? That sounds incredibly selfish, but I—”
“I’ll have a contract drawn up for any length of time you want. If my situation changes, I’ll pay it out, no questions asked. I’ll even add a rider for a bonus, proportional to time employed versus the amount of time left on the contract.”
She realized he didn’t get the emotional toll this was taking on her. “You think money can solve any problem?”
Without
