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Chapter 12
Gigi had stared intoMax’sbourbon-colored eyes, wondering whatwasgoingthrough hishead. He wasbeing an irresponsiblefool.Whywould hewaittwoweeksjustsoshecould babysitErinfor him?Surelyhe’d beabletofind someonetofill the positionof nannyinthattime. Therewere hundreds of peopleouttherelooking for live-in nannypositions,sowhywasheoffering ittoher when shedidn’tevenwantitin thefirstplace?
I alwaysgetwhatIwantintheend,Gigi. Youshould knowthat.
Shesatbackdownbehindhisdesk,unconsciouslysnugglingintothesuitjacket hanging onthe back.Itsmelledlike Max—partwoodsy,partearthy and onehundredpercent masculine.Shepicked up hertextbookand found the spot whereshe’d stopped reading. Pulling hernotebookcloser,she started making notes.Timeslippedbylikeitalwaysdidwhenshewasstudying,andshelookedupwhen therewasaknock on the office door.
Shestoodupandopenedit.Ayoungguywasstandingtherewitha large brownpaper bag in hishand. “Gigi?”heasked.
“Yes?”
“I’mJeremy.Maxasked metogetyousomefood.Iwasn’tsurewhatyou’dlikesoIgotasteak, friesand steamedvegetables. There’salsoatiramisu in therefor dessert.”
Gigitookthebagfromhim.Shewasn’texpectingsomethingsoelaborate. “Ithoughthewould havetoldyoujusttograbsomefastfood fromsomewhere,”shemuttered.
“Hespecificallysaidnotto getyoushitfood.”Jeremy shrugged. “Ihavetogetbacktowork,but enjoyit.”Hesmiledandleft.Sheshutthedoor behindhimandreturnedtothedesk.Pushing hernotebookoutoftheway,sheopened up the bag.
Onceshe’dlaidoutthefeast,sheatequickly,unawareofhowtrulyhungryshewas.Shewas scraping thebottomof thetiramisucontainerwith a spoonwhenMaxstepped intotheroom.
Hiseyesseemtodevourherforasecondbeforehisexpressionslidbacktoindifference.“How wasdinner?”
Sheplacedthespoonbackintothecontainerandleanedbackinthechair.“Delicious.Thank you.”
Henodded,foldinghisarmsoverhischestandleaningupagainstthewall.Inthatposition,his shirtstrainedagainsthismusculararmsandbroadchest.Gigicouldn’thelpbutadmiretheviewin thesefewminutesof peace. “HasErin been anytrouble?”
“No,”shesaid, making surehereyeswere on hisface. “Shehasn’tstirred,butI thinkthathasto dowiththesoundproofingin thisroommorethananything.”
HelookedathisdaughterthenreturnedhisgazetoGigi.“Iknowit’snotidealhavingherhere.I had absolutelynochoicethough.”
“You don’t havetojustify yourselfto me,Max.You did whatyou hadto dotocareforErin.”
“Iknow,”hesaidquietly.“Itdoesn’tmeanIdon’tfeellikeshitfordoingit.She’sababy.A nightclub isnoplacefor her. Shedeserves tobeathome.”
Thewords“withhermom”hadremainedunspoken,butGigiheardtheminthelonginginhis voice.“Max?”sheasked,thequestionshe’dwantedtoknowtheanswertosinceshe’dmethim poised on thetip ofhertongue. “Where’syourwife?”He’d shuther outbefore. Perhapsnowthat theykneweachotheralittlebetter,he’dtellhersomethingmore.“Yousaidbeforethatyouwere nolonger together.”
Hisexpressiondarkened,andshewas surehewasgoingtotell herto mindher own businessagain. Instead,heuncrossedhisarmsandshovedthemintothepocketsofhisslacksandlookeddown. “She’sdead.”Hiswordswereuninflected,which wasstrange.Herdeathhadtohavebeeninthelast seven months.EitherthiswashowMaxdealtwith grief, ortheyweren’tthatclosetobeginwith.
“I’msorry.”
Helooked ather. “Metoo,”hesaid. “Ishould go.Do you need anything else?”
“CanIhavethekeytoyour apartment?”Oneofhisbrowsrose.“SoIcantakeherhomewhen…if shewakesup beforeyou shutthedoors,”Gigi explained. “Sheneedstobeat home.”
“You’ll staywith her?”
“OfcourseIwill,”sherepliedquickly,wonderingwhetherheactuallybelievedshe’djustdrop Erin off and leave.
Bothoftheirheadsturnedwhenthelittlegirlletoutasmallcry.Maxwas overthereina heartbeat,picking herup and cradling her tohischest. Gigi stood backand watched him,seeing how muchheloved hisdaughter,andseeing whatashittysituation he’dfoundhimselfin.Maxturned around and looked ather.
“Here,strapherintoherstrollerwhileIpackupwhatyoucantakehomewithyou,”hesaid. Whenhewasdone,hepressedhisapartmentkeyintoherhand, his hand lingering.Forasecond, Gigicouldn’tbreathe. She knew she shouldn’tbe attractedtoMax.Hewas hardanddemandingandpotentiallyhernewboss,butshecouldn’tdeny theshort,sharp burst ofelectricitythatsparked between themwhenthey’dtouched.
“You should getgoing,”heeventuallyrasped, clearly as affected as she had been.
Gigiforcedherheadtobobupanddownthenworkedongettingherbrainand legs to startfunctioningtogetheragain. A few secondspassedbeforethey did,thenshewas wheeling thestrollerdownthehallwaytothedoorshe had comein through at the start of the night.
“Notthat way,”Maxsaidtoocloselybehindher.Shestiffenedwhenshefelthis warmthagainst her. “I’lltake yououtthebackdoorso you don’t havetodealwith all theassholes outthere.”
“Youmeanyourcustomers?”sheaskedwith a smile.
