Billionaire on Her Doorstep (21 page)

And now she had a bed, a stereo, a view to die for, a complicated man with whom she had fallen in love, and a new letter from the bank telling her to pay up by the end of that weekend or her mortgage would be foreclosed.

She looked up from the letter to see the piece of flaky wallpaper that had been calling to her the whole time she’d lived there. She reached out and grabbed it with both hands and pulled hard enough for a whole strip to come flopping to the ground, leaving old glue and exposed grey plasterboard beneath. But at least the whole house hadn’t fallen down around her ears. That was something.

“Nice,” she muttered. “Feel better now?”

“Maggie?” a familiar voice called out from below.

Her heart rate doubled and she swore under her breath. She really would have to start locking that front door. All of a sudden Belvedere was Grand Central Station and she couldn’t keep people away.

Maggie stood, haphazardly redid her ponytail and jogged down the stairs to put on a brave, mature, easygoing face for Tom.

Only to meet him already halfway up the stairs.

““Whoa,” she called out, her hands grabbing at his T-shirt to stop herself from tripping backwards and to stop him from barreling into her.

“Maggie,” he said, his hazel eyes flashing and beautiful and brimming with so much energy Maggie could scarcely draw breath.

Tom,” she whispered, clinging tighter still to the soft cotton, while she told herself that she would one day get over him. One day be able to erase the beauty from the night in his arms from her mind. One day far far away…

“You left,” he accused.

“I did. I thought it best. You didn’t owe me breakfast after last night, Tom. Truly. It’s okay. I’m okay. “We’re okay. I just didn’t want you to get the wrong idea that I might think that - “

“Who says I’m okay with you leaving in the middle of the night?”

“Well, I just thought that - “

“Well, you thought wrong.”

“Oh,’Maggie said, struggling to keep up with what he was trying to tell her. She unwrapped her fingers from his T-shirt and ran a quick hand over the bunches and creases she’d made. She felt his muscles contract and tighten beneath her accidental caress and his fierce physical response to her gentle touch gave her just enough confidence to ask, “You wanted me to stay?”

“Of course I did. Maggie, I…” He ran a hand over his face and through his hair as she continued straightening his T-shirt. She didn’t quite know what she was doing; she only knew she couldn’t help herself.

He fin ally re ached down and took her hands in both of his, willing her to lookup into his eyes instead. His wounded eyes. Wounded, but determined.

“Maggie, when you came to my door last night, I thought I was dreaming. When I found out that your divorce had come through, I felt like I’d won the lotto. And when I realized I was the first person you had come to see to share the news…”

He stopped, took a deep breath, and if Maggie’s hands had been free they would have shaken him to get the words out quicker.

You what?’You what? You what?

“Maggie, do you really have no idea how happy that made me? Did nothing we did together last night make it through that tough shield you are trying so hard to assemble around your heart?”

Tom rested her hand against her chest with his above hers. She wished she could slip her hand away so that he could see that, despite the skin and bone and flesh in between his hand and her heart, he was touching it still.

But no. She couldn’t. It was better that they not drag this out and get closer and he discover how much she adored him, for when it all turned to crap, as it inevitably would, she just knew that she would never be able to piece herself together again. Not this time. Not after knowing this man. And, though she might have to move if she couldn’t get the funds together to keep her home, she was done running. Done hiding.

Tom,’she said, her voice a little stronger, “I wasn’t kidding yesterday when I told you I’m broke. I’m in big financial trouble and unless Nina can do something magical with those terrible paintings of mine I’m going to have to sell up and move somewhere cheap and cheerful. And away from here.”

And away from you, she thought, but she couldn’t say the words for fear she might choke on them.

Tom curled his hand around her fingers, brushing lightly against her breast, be fore pulling her hands over to his he art. He took a slow deep breath, seeming to pull strength from every fiber of his being. Then he said, “I know you won’t take my money - “

Maggie shook her head vehemently. “Oh, God, you can’t think that I was ever trying to - “

“So I’m not even going to offer it,”he continued. “But I did get in touch with your agent just now and asked her how much the Blue Smudge Series would be worth on the open market. And, though I think she’s a shark and she saw me coming from a mile away and she sounded quite breathlessly ecstatic to get rid of the m before anyone else had seen them, I paid what she asked for. And I would think that will keep you with this crazy roof over your head for another good year at least.”

Maggie opened her mouth again to protest, but as though he’d known she would, he leant in and silenced her with a kiss. A soft kiss. A tender kiss. A kiss that took her breath away.

“Don’t think of this as some sort of favor,”he said, pulling away at his leisure, his voice now half the volume it had been earlier. And now he was smiling and his hand was stroking her messy hair from her cheek. And Maggie found she was leaning her hips into him. “When had that happened?

“I told you from the beginning I liked your blue period,” he said. “So I bought them. You’ve seen my place; they match perfectly don’t you think?”

Maggie thought. Ridiculous as it seemed, with all that coffee and cream throughout Tom’s beautiful home, her Blue Smudge Series would match perfectly, as if she’d been commissioned to paint them specifically for his home. Such a collection of colors could have been borne of the streets of Sorrento with its cream sandy beaches, brown craggy cliffs and clear blue waters.

“But I’m only just divorced,” she said, searching again for the reasons why she knew she had to pull back first and not get in too deep and not believe that she could possibly have found love the first time in her life she hadn’t gone looking for it.

“Good news,” he said. That means you are single. Available. Well, you were for about five minutes. But now if another guy even looks at you sideways he has me to deal with.”

“He does?”

“He does.”

Tom was still stroking her cheek and it felt so nice, so soothing. Tom, you can’t be somebody’s rebound relationship . You’re better than that.”

“You bet your sweet patooty I’m better than that, Ms Bryce. Which is why I have every intention of treating you so well you’ll never want to leave again.”

Oh, he always knew just the right words to say, this eloquent charmer. He was tempting. So tempting. And temptation had infamously led stronger people than her down the wrong path be fore. “But what if - ?”

“What ifs are absolutely going to occur, and often,”he said, cutting her off. “I may disappoint you every now and then. You may drive me up the wall. In fact, I’m kind of looking forward to that part. But Maggie, all that’ll just be a sideshow to the main event.”

“The main event?”

He looked so deep into her eyes, she swore in that moment she could see a tunnel all the way to his soul. And it was beautiful.

“The sideshow will pass you right on by, Maggie, for I swear you’ll be too caught up basking in the knowledge that I will always love and adore you.”

That was just one thing too much. After their marathon love making session of the night before and being cooped up in her stuffy, skinny, low ceiling staircase for too long, Maggie felt her knees give way. She landed on the midway step with a thud so hard it would leave a bruise.

Tom eased down to sit on the step below. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice so full of concern she wanted to cry. Or laugh. Or throw a party.

“Do you realize you just said that you love me?”

Tom smiled. That beautiful, mellow, beguiling smile that came so effortlessly to him and did such strenuous things to her. “That I did.”

Wow. This was really happening. And now it was her turn to say it. To admit the ridiculous, fantastical truth that she had fallen in love with him right back. She loved him. She loved him. She loved him! She’d admitted it to the girls, she’d admitted it to herself, now all she had to do was admit it to him. Pity the great lug stole her thunder.

“Now I know you love me too,” he said, “so that’s not the issue here. The issue is getting you to stop being so stubborn and realizing that you can be with someone in every sense of the word and that disappointment will be part of the deal and that’s okay.”

“How do you know that I love you?” she blurted out.

“You told me last night just before you fell asleep in my arms. And snored.”

“I don’t snore!”

He’d heard her private whispers? Oh, God. Oh, thank God! The strength returned to Maggie’s knees like a rogue wave and she was up and on his lap before he knew what was coming. She wrapped her arms about his neck and held on tight.

“Something you wanted to say, Maggie?” he asked, and Maggie had to hold back from kissing that sexy crease in his right cheek. It sure seemed as if there was going to be plenty of time for all that later.

“I don’t really snore, do I?”

“Nan,”he said, grinning. “You sleep like an angel.”

And she had. Apart from the times he’d woken her to kiss her and ravage her and worship her body, she’d slept and slept and slept. Ocean sounds, schmocean sounds. All it had taken was for her to be in this man’s arms. Safe. Protected. Loved.

Maggie shuffled until she was in a more comfy position; she looked him dead in the eye and she let the emotion roiling inside her settle and focus.

Then she said, “I love you, Tom Campbell. I love your smile and your heart and your goodness and your taste in art and your taste in women. Especially your taste in women. You, my big sweet guy, are my lifelong dream. A dream I never really thought would come true.”

“Can I kiss you now?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her too.

“You can,” she said. And he did. Like there was no tomorrow.

“Maybe now you’d like to show me around the rest of your house,” he said huskily a few minutes later.

“No way. Not after seeing your place and discovering you’re a bona fide restorer. You’ll have a fainting fit when you see the state of the wallpaper in my bedroom.”

“Why don’t you show me your bedroom anyway?” he asked, lifting himself and her off the step and slowly sneaking upstairs. “I promise I won’t say a thing about the wallpaper.”

An hour later Tom brought Maggie coffee in bed.

He sat on the edge of her bed, his weight rolling her towards him. “Your daily bread, madam.”

She sat up, took the drink and had a great sip. It was bitter, hot and delicious. “Perfect,”she said, smiling up at him.

“So are you going to loll about in bed all day, or are we going to take that walk down to your little beach as promised?”

“The beach! “Maggie shoved her coffee into Tom’s hands and leapt out of bed, dressing again in super-quick time. “I’d totally forgotten about the beach! “What are we waiting for?”

“Right,”Tom said, leaving the coffee on her bedside table. “I see where I’m going to come in the grand scheme of things. Coffee. Beach - “

“Smiley!” Maggie called out. “We’re going for a walk!”

“Smiley, then me,”Tom grumbled. As she bounced about the room, pulling on her jeans two legs at a time, she saw Tom staring at the huge strip of wallpaper which had been torn from the wall.

“Unless of course you want to ditch this white elephant once and for all and move in with me.”

Maggie stopped bouncing. “We can’t sell Belvedere. They’ll knock it down for sure.”

The look in Tom’s eyes showed that even he, the great renovator, seemed to think that might be for the best. She poked out her bottom lip and whimpered for all she was worth.

“Fine,” he finally said, sighing dramatically. “We can live here and keep my place as a weekender. I’m sure there are a thousand other jobs we can find for me to do on this place to keep me out of trouble.”

Live here? He wanted to live here? With her and Smiley and the paint fumes and…

Maggie was in his arms again, slamming him back on to the bed before she could even finish that thought.

Another hour later, they walked across the lumpy backyard with its weed-infested rocky ground.

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” Maggie said. It really was amazing. Where the brambles had once been king there was now naught but open air.

Together they traversed the haphazard path made out of flat rocks implanted into the already rocky slope, Tom going first and holding Maggie’s hand the whole time. He stopped every now and then to take her around the waist to make sure she didn’t slip, though she was fairly sure he was copping a feel half the time.

She told him so, and he only let his hands slip higher. And she didn’t mind in the least.