Package Deal (20 page)

Wh
e
n sh
e
did, th
e
cursor
bounc
e
d
across the screen
. “Oh!”
Her heart raced when
so many letters leapt onto
the
screen
as she pressed the keys
.

“
Be careful now,
”
he cautioned.
He erased the letters she had made.

“L
e
t m
e
do that
again.”
She smiled
. “Can I writ
e
a l
e
tt
e
r to my mom?”

“Y
e
s. Just touch th
e
keys
lightly
, one
finger
at a time,
or
you’ll make more letters than you want
.”

The man
l
e
ft his hands on h
e
r should
e
rs as sh
e
e
xp
e
rim
e
nt
e
d
with th
e
l
e
tt
e
rs that jump
e
d
so fast onto th
e
screen
.Whil
e
sh
e
touched
the keyboard
,
she
hardly noticed
that
he
continued to
rub his hands up and down h
e
r arms.
When she had almost completed a sentence in her letter,
he
lean
ed
forward
so that his chest was pressing against her back
,
mov
e
d
his h
e
ad clos
e
r to h
e
rs
,
and
blew into
h
e
r
e
ar.

Instantly, s
h
e
stopp
e
d
press
ing th
e
k
e
y
s.
“I don’t like that.
”

“Doesn’t it tickle? Girls like to be tickled.”

She
shook her head and
moved away from him. “No, and
y
ou smell
bad
.”

“
C
igarettes
.
”
The man
sat up straighter.
“
Don’t you want to
keep
writ
ing
your mom a l
e
tt
e
r?”

“No. I think I’ll r
e
ad my book
instead
.” Sh
e
slid
away from
him
and
climb
e
d
in
to
th
e
other
chair.

The man
gave her a sidelong glance
and went back to
his own work
.

C
e
c
e
lia watch
e
d
him for s
e
v
e
ral minut
e
s as h
e
typ
e
d
. T
hen
she
l
e
ft th
e
offic
e
and took th
e
e
mpty
juice
bottle
to
Beatrice
. Wh
e
n
her mother
walk
e
d
out of
the conference room
, C
e
c
e
lia was standing n
e
ar
Beatrice
’s d
e
sk, watching h
e
r
work
on h
e
r
computer
and
ask
ing
her questions
.
She didn’t want to be alone with that
man
again
—he did strange things
. But
how could she convince her mother?

O
v
e
r d
e
ss
e
rt and coff
ee
at the marina
,
Marcus
l
e
an
e
d
toward
Amanda, curious to know more about her
.

“Why
isn’t
C
e
c
e
lia’s dad part of h
e
r lif
e
?
I can’t imagin
e
a fath
e
r who wouldn’t want to b
e
.”

“
Dylan
died long before she
was born,
”
she replied w
ithout a hint of emotion
.

“Oh.
That must have been tough.”

He watched her
suck in
her
lower
lip, as if
to prevent herself from saying more.

“
So sh
e
’s n
e
v
e
r known h
e
r
fath
e
r?
”

Amanda shook her head.

Somehow, he was glad
of
that.
“And it hurts to talk about it? To think about him? Cecelia’s father?”

For an instant, her expression seemed to indicate she still grieved, but then she pursed her lips and replied
, her words so matter-of-fact.
“
Wh
e
n I found out I was pr
e
gnant, I finish
e
d
my m
ast
e
r
’
s and mov
e
d
back hom
e
,
n
e
ar
enough
to
satisfy
my mother’s
desire to be a g
randmother
when she wanted to act like one
. Wh
e
n I work
ed
and couldn’t
keep
C
e
c
e
with m
e
, sh
e
watch
ed
h
e
r for m
e
. H
e
r way of h
e
lping
.”

“
Wasn’t
she
happy
to have
a grandchild
,
a granddaughter
,
especially one as cute as Cecelia
?
”

“I wasn’t
married. That she didn’t like
.
Still doesn’t.
”
Amanda
paused. “
C
e
c
e
lia
was an unint
e
nd
e
d
cons
e
qu
e
nc
e
of unthinking b
e
havior, though I’v
e
n
e
v
e
r d
e
scrib
e
d
it that way to h
e
r.”

“Of cours
e
not.” H
e
look
e
d
deeply
into h
e
r
e
y
e
s
, wanting
her to tell him more
. “
You’ve done well by her—and yourself.” He took a quick sip of his coffee.
Keeping his tone light, he asked,
“
So what’s your lif
e
plan?”

“My life plan?
”
She
l
e
an
e
d
back in h
e
r chair and look
e
d
out at th
e
boats, many f
e
stoon
e
d
with tiny whit
e
lights.
“
That’s
a d
ee
p topic. L
e
t’s s
ee
.
Pay off my school loans so I can build a savings account.
I’d lik
e
to
g
e
t mor
e
magazin
e
articl
e
s writt
e
n and publish
e
d
,
e
nough that I am
regularly
asked
to do th
e
m
. Develop
som
e
n
e
w cours
e
s, g
e
t gr
e
at t
e
aching
e
valuations, and obtain t
e
nur
e
…
and mayb
e
even
buy a hous
e
—som
e
thing I can truly call my own. Is that
e
nough?”
She gave him a quick grin.

“E
xcept for buying a house, most of
what you mentio
ned
are
things relating to work
. What about y
our
personal life?
”
Or are you
afraid to talk about
that
, beautiful Amanda
?

“I need to
concentrate on work
in order to have a personal life.”

He decided to take a chance.
“You didn’t m
e
ntion a husband or a family.”
He
re
filled her wineglass.

“I alr
e
ady hav
e
a family, Marcus. C
e
c
e
is my family.”

What was that little catch in
her breath before she answered?

She gave him a sidelong glance.

“I didn’t m
e
an that th
e
way it sound
e
d
, Amanda
.”
He was pleased when
she
r
e
ach
e
d
out
and plac
e
d
h
e
r hand on his
, as if in apology
.