Maid for the Single Dad (12 page)

He wasn't even as concerned about the release of his ex-wife's picture as he had been. The plan was in place. He and the kids weren't at the family compound in Atlanta. They weren't exactly “hiding” but no one really knew where they were. Plus, he had discreet bodyguards and a state-of-the-art security system. He could give Ellie the reasonably normal life she wanted and have a reasonably normal life himself.

That part was perfect.

The only possible hitch was Pamela herself. Tonight she had her first interview scheduled to promote her movie on a late-night talk show. If she focused on her project, Mac, Ellie and the kids would breeze into the next phase of their lives. If she badmouthed him, gave the kids' names or worse held up their pictures on national television, then there would be trouble.

But he couldn't see any reason she'd bring up the kids. She had a movie to promote. Plus, she was trying to get back on track as a Hollywood sex symbol. Kids shouldn't even come up in her conversations.

He entered his suite and slumped into one of the white leather chairs in front of the big-screen TV. He didn't want to have to watch this. Phil had actually volunteered to view the show to see what Pamela would say, but Mac couldn't leave this to Phil. Yes, Phil knew the whole story. But Mac knew Pamela. He could spot one of her lead-ins to trouble a mile away.

He sat through fifteen minutes of monologue and a guest who'd wowed the world with a YouTube video and finally it came time for Pamela.

The host introduced her and she popped from behind a curtain, making her entrance funny. Her long sandy-brown hair swayed around her short sparkly black dress. Mac settled into the chair with a sigh. Ellie ran rings around Pamela any day of the week. He wouldn't deny that his ex-wife was beautiful, but even the way she mugged for the camera so clearly showed that deep down she was an actress, always working the room, always vying for everyone's attention. If she'd ever loved him, it had been only for what he could do for her. He had been a fool for not seeing it.

“So, you have a movie out?” the host said, leading Pam into the discussion that had gotten her onto the very popular show.

“Yes.” Her face lit with excitement. “It's a story of a woman who gets involved with a charming man who seems perfect for her. But he's really a serial killer.”

Pam again mugged for the camera. Mac rolled his eyes. Phil was right. He didn't need to watch this.

They talked for a few more minutes about the movie. Mac leaned an elbow on the arm of the white leather chair and propped up his head, enduring the inane chitchat.

He was just about to turn off the TV and go to bed when the talk show host said, “I understand you're divorced now.”

Mac sat at attention as Pamela's pretty blue eyes drooped with sadness.

“Yes.”

“Want to talk about that?”

She pulled in a breath as if considering it, and Mac said a silent prayer that she'd say no. She was on the show to talk about her movie, but Mac knew there was another side to fame. Part of getting people to go to her movies was getting people to like her. He couldn't see how she'd
spin their divorce in her favor. The smart thing for her to do would be to simply avoid the topic. Or say something about being back on the market, looking for fun. She was, after all, supposed to be a sex symbol. She shouldn't want to talk about her failure.

He leaned forward, held his breath, said a prayer that she'd simply say no.
Say no. I don't want to talk about my divorce.

“I loved my husband…”

He slumped back in his chair.
Yeah, right.

“But sometimes things don't work out.”

“Hey, look who you're talking to,” the host said, pointing at his chest. “Divorced three times.”

Her face fell into sympathetic lines. “Then you know the drill.”

“Honey, I invented the drill.”

The audience laughed.

Mac breathed a sigh of relief. This really was going okay.

“But I had no kids,” the host said, “I understand there was an issue with yours.”

Mac's face fell. An issue? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Pam sat back, laid her hands demurely on her lap and looked for all the world like somebody who didn't want to talk about it. But Mac was familiar with this pose. This was her bid for sympathy pose.

Once again, he leaned forward and prepared himself for the worst.

Pam sighed. “I don't really like to talk about this.”

Huh! He was right. She damn well better not want to talk about this. How could she spin giving up her own kids?

“But I don't have the kids.” She glanced down at her hands again.

Mac stared at the screen. She was admitting she didn't have the kids?

“I was shocked when my husband took them from me.”

What?

Damn her!

Memories of other lies, other deceit came tumbling back, suffocating him. Years of living with her selfishness, years of watching her ignore Lacy, years of feeling like a fool for falling for her so hard, so fast, years of regretting that he'd married her so quickly, all flashed in his head.

He grabbed his cell phone from his jeans pocket, and almost pushed the number for Phil until he realized he had nothing to say. This wasn't a security issue. This was a truth issue. He couldn't do a damned thing about her lie beyond suing her for slander, which would accomplish nothing.

“That is sad,” the host said, bringing Mac's attention back to the TV.

“Yes, but I don't want to talk about it.”

The host changed the subject and Mac sat back in his chair again, trying to calm himself down, trying to think logically.

All right. So she'd lied. She'd lied before. To him. To his face. At least this time he understood. She'd lied to protect her reputation. It would be foolish to try to do anything about it. Hell, it would be stupid to even get upset. He couldn't expect her to admit she'd walked out on her kids.

He sucked in a breath. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen her for what she was before he married her, but he'd been overwhelmed by her beauty. Almost the way he was
being overwhelmed by Ellie's. He stopped his thoughts. There was no comparing Pam and Ellie. None. No way. No how. They were too different. But
he
wasn't. He was the same guy. Prone to the same mistakes. No matter how slowly he thought he was going with Ellie, as Cain had said, they were living together. Already joining their lives. She'd given up the job she loved. He was letting her into his kids' lives.

What if he was making another mistake?

On a growl, he stopped that train of thought too, turned off the TV and went to his room, focusing on Pam, her deceit. The fallout from this might be a few questions from his friends. His parents might want him to sue her for slander. But he could handle them. His kids were safe. Hell,
he
was safe. She hadn't even used his name.

Life could go on.

And what a good life it might turn out to be.

Ellie liked him. She trusted him.

He
trusted her.

 

The next morning he woke late and raced around to get dressed. Because of a board meeting, he barely had time for a cup of coffee, but when he walked into the kitchen and saw Ellie at the table sitting beside Lacy and feeding Henry, his heart turned over in his chest.

It seemed as if his entire world had righted itself the night before. His ex-wife, though she'd lied, hadn't done the damage she could have done. And the woman he was coming to adore was in his kitchen, smiling at him.

“Good morning.”

Her voice was soft, sexy, and everything inside of Mac responded. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd really be free. It wasn't so much the worry of Pam and what she might do, but his own internal fears that had kept him
trapped, but Ellie had opened the doors of his heart. She made him feel young, rational, handsome and worthy of love. After the number Pamela had done on him, he almost couldn't believe it.

He walked over to the table and bent down and kissed her. On the mouth, in front of the kids. Lacy giggled. But Mac's heart rate tripled, his pulse scrambled and everything inside him turned to gold.

When he pulled away, Ellie smiled up at him. “Now, that's a good morning.”

Lacy laughed in earnest. “Daddy's Ellie's prince.”

He held her gaze. He hoped he was her prince. Though she liked him and he liked her, there was so much they hadn't talked about. So much to get to know about each other.

But instead of being afraid, he was excited. Getting to know her would be wonderful.

He pulled away at the same time that his cell phone rang and the roar of cars bounding up his driveway filled the kitchen. He glanced at Ellie, whose eyes had gone round with confusion.

He grabbed his cell phone, saw it was Phil. “What's up?”

“Is everyone in the house?”

“We're all in the kitchen.”

“Stay there. We're coming in.”

“What's going on?”

“Just stay there. I'm two steps away from the garage.”

Phil burst into the butler's pantry and was in the kitchen in seconds. He adjusted a microphone at his mouth. “All clear in the kitchen.”

“Did we have a threat?”

Phil held up a hand as he apparently listened to someone speaking through the headset.

Lacy grabbed Mac's leg. Henry began to cry. Ellie jumped up and lifted him from the highchair.

Phil blew his breath out on a sigh. “I got the all clear from the guys outside, but you're all going to have to come outside while they search the rest of the house. Then I'm afraid you're going to have to leave.”

Mac's face turned to stone. “Leave?”

“You got an e-mail threat this morning.”

“What kind of threat?”

Phil glanced at Ellie and the kids just as one of Phil's top guys, Tom Zunich, stepped into the kitchen. “How about if we talk after Tom takes Ellie and the kids outside to one of our vans?”

Mac turned to Ellie. He knew Phil wouldn't ask him to leave the house if the threat to his life wasn't viable. He was keeping fury and terror at bay by only the barest thread. He needed to talk to Phil to sort this out and Phil was right: he didn't want Ellie and the kids to hear.

“Can you go with Tom?”

She didn't even hesitate. Holding his gaze, letting him know that the words of trust she'd spoken still held, she said, “Sure.” She tugged Lacy's hand off Mac's leg. “Come on, sweetie.”

Phil and Mac followed Tom and Ellie out of the house. But Tom led Ellie and the kids to a van, while Phil and Mac walked toward the grass.

The second Ellie and the kids were out of earshot, Mac spun on Phil. “What the hell is going on?”

“Did you watch your ex on TV last night?”

“Yes. She lied about the kids, but other than that I didn't hear anything worth worrying about.”

“Her lie might have seemed small to you but one of her crazed fans doesn't like the fact that you took her children from her. The e-mail to your private account was very
explicit. There will be a bomb. We don't know if it'll be in your house, your car or at Carmichael Incorporated headquarters, but she was serious.”

Mac stifled a groan. “Pam didn't even mention my name. How the hell did somebody get to me so quickly?”

“It was common knowledge that your ex was married to you during the time she wasn't making movies. We don't know that the e-mailer found
this
house, but your corporate headquarters and family home are well-known. Plus, the skill level of this person is a variable. A really good hacker can find all of your family's properties.”

“But Pam
lied
. She only said that I took the kids to protect her image.”

“Yeah, well, she protected it so well that lots of people are standing up for her. You're a hot topic on Twitter. Her Facebook page has gone down twice from too many hits. Her fans are on her side. She was America's sweetheart and you took her kids.”

He rubbed his hand across his forehead.

“And one of them was crazy enough to take action.” Phil caught Mac's arm, making sure he had his undivided attention. “As a precaution, you can't take any of your cars. You can't go to any of your homes. You're going to have to check into a hotel until our bomb squad can sweep everything.” He pulled his BlackBerry out of his jacket pocket. “I've taken the liberty of booking the penthouse suite for you at a hotel in Miami.”

Mac smiled ruefully. “You're not going to tell me the name of the hotel?”

“Not until we get there.”

 

The penthouse suite turned out to be the most beautiful place Ellie had ever seen. Green club chairs sat in front of a fireplace with a mahogany mantle trimmed in gold.
Gold and burgundy accent pillows dotted a sofa beside the chairs. An armoire hid a flat-screen TV. A mahogany dining room table was set up just beyond the seating arrangement. A kitchen sat behind that.

Gold trimmed mahogany doors led to three bedrooms. Heavy burgundy drapes on the wall of windows in the main seating area were open to reveal a breathtaking view of the ocean and a tropical storm that was moving in. The waves roared below them, reminding Ellie of Mac's mood.

After they put the children down for a nap, she sat beside him on the sofa.

She took his hand and said, “This too shall pass.”

He snorted a laugh, bounced from the sofa and paced to the window. “Really?”

“I have some experience dealing with really bad exes.”

He turned and faced her. “Don't tell me…from the A Friend Indeed people.”

“And my own experience.”

That seemed to stop him cold. He said nothing, merely waited.

She blew out a breath. “I lived with a guy named Sam who seemed like the most wonderful guy in the world until about three weeks after I moved in with him.”