Maid for the Single Dad (14 page)

“I heard your guy say that he checked us out,” Ava said, sounding angry now. “And there are six guards here. If
you're really that afraid of us, leave while we're here and lock your house. All we need is your pool and gazebo anyway.”

Realizing how ridiculous he seemed, Mac sighed. He did have six guards. And this was a charity. And it was Ava he was talking with, not Ellie.

He swallowed, wondering why he'd harbored the hope that she'd come. That he'd get to see her. At least he didn't have to worry that he'd see her and melt into a puddle of need at her feet.

“Okay.”

Snapping his phone closed, he turned to see Blanche smiling at him. “Okay, what?”

“A friend works for a charity. I promised her that she and some of the kids from the charity could swim in the pool.”

Lacy's eyes widened. “Ellie?”

“No, Ellie isn't coming, but Ava is.”

Lacy's pretty face fell again. “Oh.”

“Hey,” Mac said, walking over to her. “You get to swim with some kids. They're going to barbecue. Ava specifically asked to see you.”

Lacy nodded. Mac sucked in a breath. He knew exactly what Lacy was feeling but worse. She might adore Ellie, but Mac had loved her. He'd had the promise of a whole new life with her and he'd had to walk away from it.

The sound of cars pulling up the driveway filled the kitchen. The garage door opened and Phil walked up the butler's pantry. They exchanged a look and Mac turned to Blanche. “Why don't you take the kids upstairs? Lacy can get into her swimsuit.”

When Blanche and the kids were gone, Phil said, “Seriously, Mac, they're fine. As Ava pointed out I have six guards. We'll be discreet. The kids will have a good time.”

Mac said, “Okay,” then dismissed Phil. He didn't really want to be a bad host, but, then again, he wasn't really the host of this party. A Friend Indeed was. He could disappear and let Blanche stay with Lacy at the pool.

Lacy came skipping into the kitchen with Blanche on her heels. She was happy because she was finally going to see people other than him and Henry. How could he not let her enjoy this?

He stooped to her height. “All set to have some fun?”

“Yes.”

“I'm not going to swim, but I'll watch from the sidelines.”

Lacy nodded eagerly and Mac rose and led them to the French doors.

They walked outside to a yard full of people. As Ava introduced Mac to a string of adults who carried coolers and bags of groceries past them to his gazebo, Lacy jumped into the pool with the kids who must have gone straight from the van to the water.

Their noisy laughter filled the air and something inside of Mac shifted, relaxed. He loved that his property was getting some real use. Loved that Lacy was finally smiling. He could handle this.

Then he saw Ellie.

Dressed in white shorts and a pink T-shirt, with her long blond hair floating around her, and wearing big black sunglasses, she made her way from the driveway, carrying a green cooler. She looked soft, happy, so touchable, so kissable.

When she reached him, she stopped. “Hey.”

Desire stuttered through him. He couldn't see her eyes, but the smile she gave him was genuine and something tripped in his heart. He wanted to swing her into his arms and welcome her home, but he couldn't do that. He might have relaxed his regulations enough to keep a promise and let a charity hold a party on his grounds. But his life was a trap. A prison. She deserved better.

“Hey.”

“So how have you been?”

Miserable. Sad. Lonely. Desperate for you.

“Okay.”

“Me too.”

She shuffled the cooler she was holding and Mac immediately took it from her hands. “Let me take that to the gazebo.”

He expected her to argue, remembered the day she arrived when she'd told him she wanted to carry her own suitcase, but he wouldn't let her. Even then he'd known she was special.

They started walking toward the gazebo. “How are the kids doing?”

“Better.”

She pulled the sunglasses down her nose and peeked over the top at him. “They were bad at some point?”

“They don't like the new situation.”

“Really? I'm shocked.”

He stopped. “Don't. Don't make fun of what I think I have to do.”

“Is that what you think I'm doing?” She shook her head. “Don't be ridiculous. I know you need a certain amount of protection. The protection isn't the issue. It's how you handle it that is. You've got bodyguards. Big deal. Lots of
people do. You have a fence. So what? Most people do. I'll bet you have alarms and cameras too. Again, what does it matter? A person can't go into a convenience store these days or stop at an ATM without getting his picture taken.” She met his gaze. “Precautions aren't the issue. It's accepting them. And being realistic.”

Her answer unexpectedly angered him and when she would have turned and walked away, he dropped the cooler and caught her arm. “And you're the expert?”

But rather than be angry that he'd confronted her, she smiled her brilliant smile again and Mac's heart melted. “I am. I had to learn how to stop being overprotective. How to live.” She met his gaze with a world of love shining out of her eyes. “If you'd let me, I'd help you.”

He swallowed. Everything inside of him screamed that he should take her help. Instead, he stood frozen. Torn between what was good for her and what was good for him.

She picked up the cooler. “In fact, I think you know that I could help you navigate this part of your life. I think the truth is you ran scared. Your ex-wife did such a number on you that you're afraid to try again. I think seeing her on TV reminded you of that, and the bomb scare gave you a legitimate excuse to push me away.”

With that she walked away, disappearing into the gazebo, and though Mac wanted to sputter protests that she was wrong—he
was
protecting her from his life, not afraid—he glanced around, actually considering what she'd said. He had bodyguards. But they were discreet. His yard was fenced in. There were alarms and cameras everywhere. But, again, a person couldn't go to an ATM without getting his face on a camera.

Dear God. Was she right? Had he panicked not because of the bomb scare but because seeing Pamela scared him?

Was he punishing Ellie for sins Pamela had committed?

 

Ellie watched Mac walk away, back to the house, and her spirit deflated. She hadn't intended to harbor the hope that when he saw her he'd realize what he'd lost—what they'd lost—and change his mind.

But she had.

When that hope hadn't materialized, she'd tried shaming him into admitting he'd made a mistake. She'd prayed that his pride would bluster to the surface, and as he argued that he wasn't running scared he'd admit he loved her and wanted her back before his common sense could kick in.

That hadn't happened either.

Now he was leaving. He opened the French doors and in a few seconds was gone from sight. Ellie stared at the door.

She couldn't believe he'd forgotten everything they had. Yet, no matter how strong their feelings, they weren't strong enough for him to take a risk with her.

“Ms. Swanson?”

Ellie glanced to the right to see Phil standing at attention in front of her, wire in his ear, sunglasses reflecting her surprised expression back at her.

He caught her arm. “Would you come with me please?”

“He's kicking me off his property?” Ellie sputtered, remembering how Phil guided her out of the hotel.

Phil said nothing, simply directed her up the steps to the kitchen and from the kitchen back to a hall and from the hall up a set of stairs.

“Everybody at that party saw you take me,” Ellie said. “In a few minutes everybody's going to wonder where I am—”

“Then let me suggest you hurry so you can get back out before they do.”

Ellie whipped her head around to see Mac following them. “Why? What do you want?”

Mac laughed. “A little privacy.”

As if he'd just heard a secret word or code, Phil dropped her arm and walked away. Mac opened the door to an office and motioned her inside.

“After you.”

Her heart stuttered then leaped into overdrive. Privacy could mean that he'd thought about what she'd said and agreed with her and didn't want to kiss her in front of thirty strangers. Still, she wouldn't let herself get her hopes up. Not only had he passed on two really good opportunities to tell her he was sorry out by the pool, but his methods for getting her into his house were a bit high-handed.

“You can't keep me here.”

“That's been my point all along with us.” He sucked in a breath, closing the door behind them. “I wanted to keep you here.” He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “Hell, I did a great job of actually keeping you here for over two months.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

“I'm saying that you're right. I panicked.”

He looked too calm, too normal, to be accepting what she'd said. “Panicked?”

“As long as we were playing boss and maid, I sort of had you locked in.”

She frowned. “You let me leave anytime I wanted to. How did you have me locked in?”

“Because I knew you'd come back.” He sighed heavily. “But when we really got serious and my life sort of imploded, I realized I loved you and there was absolutely no reason for you to stay.”

She gaped at him. “You think I had more reason to stay as a maid than a woman who loved you?”

“So I asked you to leave before you could leave me.”

“You are a silly man.”

Suddenly Mac's face changed. His expression shifted. His eyes narrowed. “Did you just say you loved me?”

“Of course, I did.”

“But you hardly had time to know me. I have a crazy ex-wife, two kids who need a mother, a house that will probably be perpetually surrounded by bodyguards.”

“Which makes you really lucky that you found someone who can handle it.”

He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?”

She shook her head. “You have really got to work on your romantic lines. Right about now, you should be saying, ‘I love you too' and sweeping me off my feet.”

He quietly said, “I love you too.” Then he smiled. “I really love you. I really missed you.”

“Better.”

He took a step toward her. “I want to kiss you senseless.”

She took a step toward him. “I'm listening.”

“And make love until we're exhausted.”

She laughed. “With two kids who are going to be wearing us out every day, that's not very ambitious.”

He put his arms around her waist and she raised his to his neck. “Ah, but those two kids have a grandmother in Atlanta who wants to take them for two weeks in November.”

“Sounds like a honeymoon.”

He kissed her. “Exactly.”

They stared into each other's eyes for several seconds, then his head lowered slowly and he kissed her again. His lips caressed hers with a tenderness that told her a million times over how much he had missed her.

When the kiss ended, he bumped his forehead to hers. “I'm sorry.”

“For?”

“For taking so long to think it all through.”

“That's okay. That only makes you human.”

“You see, that's one of the things I love about you. You let me be me.”

She smiled into his eyes. “And you let me be me.”

He laughed. There was a light tap at the door and Phil said, “Everything okay in there?”

Mac opened his mouth, but Ellie pressed a finger to his lips. “Let me handle this one.” She glanced over Mac's shoulder at the door. “Get lost, Phil.”

A loud clearing of Phil's throat let them know he hadn't gotten lost. “Excuse me?”

“You heard the lady. She said, get lost, Phil.”

“But—”

Ellie laughed and said, “Go check the perimeter.”

“Very good, sir… Um, ma'am.”

They waited a few seconds and when Phil didn't say anything else, they broke into gales of laughter.

Mac hugged her and said, “I think you're going to be very good at this.”

“There are a lot of other things that I'm actually a lot better at.” She pressed a kiss to his neck, then ran her tongue to his ear and whispered a delightful suggestion.

Mac pulled away. “Here? Now?”

The anticipation in his voice made her laugh again. “This might be the one perk of having a live-in nanny and six bodyguards. Not to mention a yard full of friends. I'm pretty sure they can occupy the kids for an hour.”

Mac laughed, scooped her off her feet and headed for the master suite.

She stopped him. “I'm guessing one of the guest rooms is prettier than your master suite.”

He considered that. “Probably.”

“I don't want the first time we make love to be in that ugly red-and-gold thing you call a bedroom.”

He changed directions. “Agreed.”

Ellie smiled. They did agree. About nearly everything. And disagreed about enough to keep life interesting.

That was the real bottom line. She'd love this guy for the rest of her life because she knew there'd never be a dull moment.