Matters of the Heart (8 page)

Stop it.

But he
couldn’t.

And now
Presley was crying.

Brad stood
and headed up the stairs ready to head to his daughter’s room but on the way
there, the bathroom door opened and out shot Lucy wrapped in just a towel that
hardly covered her body. She held it in place as she looked at him.

“Was that
Presley?” she asked.

“I thought I
heard her but now I can’t.”

“I’ll go
check,” said Lucy.

“No, go back
into the bathroom this minute. I can do it.”

He’d almost
shouted that as an order but he couldn’t risk being this close to her with her
just wearing a towel and a smile.

“No, it’s
perfectly okay. It’s what you’re paying me for.”

They both
headed to her room at the same time and bumped arms and thighs.

“What did I
just say about going back into the bathroom?”

I sound like a pompous asshole.

“I’m sorry
I…”

She looked
hurt, offended, and he didn’t want her to be. She also looked gorgeous with her
hair piled up on the top of her head.

Hell, she was
too much for any man to resist.

Brad pulled
her in close, wrapping his arms around her. She might slap his face, file a
sexual harassment charge against him first thing in the morning, but he was
willing to take his chances just for the pleasure of putting his lips on hers
and giving her the kiss he’d longed to since she’d entered his office that day.

Surprisingly
he wasn’t slapped and she seemed to melt into him as she pushed toward him and
then wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Lucy even opened her mouth for him,
to slide his tongue along her lower lip. He’d never experienced a kiss quite
like this and he’d kissed his fair share of women.

The room
seemed to swirl around him. Was it, or was he imagining the whole thing? He
slid his hand under the towel and was about to touch her breast when Presley
began crying at the top of her lungs.

They both
pulled away.

“I’ll get
this, you go back into the bathroom and get some clothes on,” said Brad.

She didn’t
say anything; didn’t argue, but turned and suddenly he was looking at the
closed door. He leaned his forehead against it, hearing his daughter’s sobbing
getting louder.

Yeah Presley,
Daddy was wrong. He doesn’t have any of this under control.

Chapter Six

Sadie smiled.
She’d just settled down to watch a movie and her witch’s intuition, that she
might add had never, ever, been wrong, told her that magical things were
starting to happen at the Ryan household.

The two
lovebirds had just experienced their first kiss.
 
But that same intuition also told her that
guilt now hung heavily in the air. Maybe having Lucy work for Ryan hadn’t been
a smart move on Sadie’s part. Workplace romances were sometimes the hardest to
move into first gear, but she’d had no other choice in trying to bring this
perfect pair together.

She tapped
the remote control. Sadie had believed that this one would play out all by
itself and that she wouldn’t need to intercept. Well, besides giving them
tickets to the play where magical things would happen, but now she wasn’t so
sure.

In her heart
she sensed that they were both already regretting the kiss. Lucy even
considering moving out and heading back to
Helena
in the morning…but that wasn’t going
to happen.

****

Lucy opened
the closet, pulled out her bag and sat it on the bed. Luckily she didn’t have a
lot to pack. While it wouldn’t take her too long in the morning to get all her
stuff together, she’d rather have it all done now so she could leave as soon as
it was light.

She’d hand in
her notice to Brad and apologize for not giving him more warning about the need
to find a replacement nanny. Lucy felt bad about it and she knew she’d miss
Presley. However, she couldn’t stay under Brad’s roof a day longer without
getting involved with him. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but if things
didn’t work out between them, not only would it be heartbreaking, but she’d be
out of a job. Bottom line was it was easier to go and look for another opening
before her life got too complicated.

She pulled
down the sweaters from the top shelf and placed them at the bottom of her bag.
She threw some scarves in on top of them. Then the first of her tears slid down
her face. Why was she always in the wrong situation where men were concerned?

First of all,
there was Bryce and she’d been too chicken to tell him she didn’t want to just
be his friend any more. And now Brad, who she was falling for and he was her
boss of all things.

She’d hadn’t
wanted sex as much as she had tonight when they’d kissed out in the hallway. If
Presley hadn’t cried she knew they probably would have made love right on the
floor in front of the bathroom.

Her pussy had
been aching, her breasts pleading for him to touch her, kiss her body and then
pound away inside her until her toes curled.

It wasn’t to
be.

Lucy turned
and walked over to the dresser where she opened a drawer to get her underwear.
She lifted out some bras and panties and headed over to her bag but then
stopped in her tracks.

The bag
wasn’t there and the closet doors were closed.

She knew they
were open when she’d turned her back. Lucy marched over to it and pulled on
both doors.
 
She had to be going crazy or
something. Maybe the kiss and the stress were starting to get to her. The bag
that she knew she’d placed on the bed was back in its original spot on the
floor of the closet. The sweaters still neatly stacked on the top shelf.

Okay, we’ll
try this one more time.

She tugged on
the bag, unzipped it and loaded the sweaters and scarves into it again, this
time not worrying about neatness. She turned to pick up the bras and panties
but now they were gone too.

Shit, I am losing my mind.

She marched
over to the dresser, pulled out the drawer and saw her panties and bras sitting
back in their original spot. And now the two tickets that Sadie Sutton had
given to her sat on top of her pink panties.

She and Brad
wouldn’t be using them now so she might as well toss them. She lifted them out
of the drawer and threw them in the wastepaper basket. Lucy looked over her
shoulder when she heard a rustling noise and saw the two tickets now sitting on
top of the dresser.

She rushed
over to them, grabbed and ripped them into tiny shreds just to convince herself
she wasn’t going out of her mind. She let the pieces float down in the bin and
then decided to get ready for bed. She’d just have to get up an hour earlier
and make another effort to pack her belongings in the morning.

Lucy glanced
at the wastepaper basket. It was empty. The torn tickets were no longer there.
But it couldn’t be.

Something
told her to look on the bed and there sitting on the pillow were the two
tickets back in pristine condition.

She picked
them up and studied them. Yes, definitely the ones Sadie had given her.
Definitely the ones she’d torn up. She marched over to the bin and placed it on
the bed, tearing the tickets into smaller pieces and letting them drift into
the bin before putting a heavy book over the top and placing both on the floor.

After she got
undressed, she slipped into bed and then turned off the lights. She rolled onto
her side and could see a full moon shining brightly through the slight gap
where she hadn’t pulled the drapes properly closed. There was a rustling noise
and then she felt something flick by her face. Something was being pushed under
her cheek.

Lucy shot up;
her heart beating thinking something very strange was going on tonight. She
flicked on the light and saw the two tickets sitting on the pillow both in one
piece again, no evidence of even a slight tear on either of them.

She flopped
down on top of them. Was someone trying to tell her something or what?

Chapter Seven

Brad had
overslept, and for the first time since he’d been elected sheriff, he was going
to be late for work. He rubbed both his hands over his face and realized that
last night had really happened. He hadn’t been dreaming. He’d actually kissed
Lucy. It had been wonderful and he’d had every intention of not stopping there.
Had it not been for his daughter’s sudden outburst he’d planned to lift Lucy up
in his arms and carry her to his bedroom where they’d make love all night long.

The whole
thing had worked up his libido like never before. At midnight he’d retreated to
the bathroom with the intention of taking a cold shower, but knew it would wake
Lucy, and probably Presley too, so he’d resorted to jerking off.

That
usually made him feel
better. Last night it had only made things
worse.

He got up and
decided to eat breakfast first and then shower. He’d call in and say he was
feeling a little under the weather and would be in later.

Brad pulled
on his sweatpants and t-shirt and headed downstairs where the wonderful smell
of coffee and bacon hung in the air. He turned the corner to see Presley
sitting in the high chair watching with great interest as Lucy turned a slice
of bacon in the frying pan.

He coughed to
let her know he was standing in the doorway. She turned and oh boy, he was a
goner. No make-up, her face looking prettier than ever, with her hair tied up
in a ponytail with some loose tendrils framing her plump cheeks.

“Good
morning. I wondered if you weren’t feeling good or you were just tired,” she
said.

“Overslept so
I thought I’d eat before I showered.”

“I’m frying
some bacon and there are some scrambled eggs too if you want some.”

“Sounds
great.”

He kissed
Presley before walking over to the coffee maker and pouring himself a mug. He
sat at the table and tickled Presley’s bare foot as she kicked her legs against
the chair.

Lucy turned
around and put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

He dived into
them, not realizing just how hungry he was.

The chili had
been good but the eggs were…too great to describe.

“What’s in
the scrambled eggs?” he asked grabbing a slice of toast.

“Cream
cheese.
Another one of my grandmother’s secrets.”

Pretty face,
great cook…

“About last
night,” he said.

She turned
and yeah, she was already blushing.

“Let’s just
put it down to a spur of the moment thing and move on,” she said before he
could say a word.

He nodded.
Maybe she wanted to but he wasn’t so sure he could.

****

Presley sat
in the playpen watching Lucy with great interest as she folded the laundry.
She’d offered to do it when Brad had left for work earlier that day
. Am I even blushing because I’m folding his
underwear?

She’d had
every intention of handing in her notice but when she woke up this morning she
had this feeling that it would be selfish because Presley needed her more than
anything else.
 
She casually told Brad
they’d move on from the kiss and she’d intended to do just that, planning to
keep her distance from him as much as she could. However, right before he’d
headed out the door he’d reminded her about the Nature program they’d planned
to watch together. It was on tonight. She couldn’t be rude and it would be the
perfect opportunity to prove to
herself
just how much
willpower she possessed.

Lucy put the
last of Brad’s underwear on top of the pile of laundry as the phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Lucy?”

“Yes.”

“
It’s
 
Sadie
.”

“Hi
Ms. Sutton.
I mean Sadie.”

“I just
wanted to know what time you’d like me to come by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”
“
Yes,
I promised I’d babysit when you and the sheriff go to the play.”

Lucy sat
down. She’d done her best to tear up those damn tickets but she’d use it as
another test for herself.

“How
about six-thirty?”

“Perfect
for me.
And are things still going okay with everything at the house?”

She wanted to
tell Sadie about what had happened but stopped
herself
just in time.