Risky Business (13 page)

“I’m sorry. Is it bad?”

“Only in that I have to be in his presence on a daily basis. Every time I’m with him, I think of what went wrong between us. And feel guilty and angry all over again.”

“I didn’t know that.” And why would she feel guilty?

“Never mind. And I’m sorry about my tone. I should be
better. I know I have to coexist with him and Opal’s our main concern.”

“How is she?”

“She had a few doctor’s appointments. Blood tests, more ultrasounds. The poor kid. She’s been poked and prodded to kingdom come.”

They spoke longer, of routine things. Finally, Magdalena said, “
Kocham ciebie.
I’m here for you if you need to talk more
.”

“Thanks. I love you, too.”

She hung
up, thinking of Opal, Luke’s kids and Paulina’s and Nia’s boys. After spending the day with Amy and Lexy, Magdalena was beginning to think she’d missed the mark in her life choices. Images assaulted her. Of being pregnant. Of having a dark-haired boy who looked like Logan. The longing to bear his child overwhelmed her. On the heels of that was the realization some other woman had beat her to the punch.
On that depressing thought, she headed to bed.

When Ana turned around, she startled to see Jared behind her. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Creep up on me. Eavesdrop.”

“I wasn’t doing either. I came out here to get Opal a glass of ice water.” His voice was low, that sexy baritone that had swept her off her feet when she’d been a student in his class. Huh. A
leopard never changed his spots, she guessed. At least he hadn’t been married when he hooked up with her
.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”

“That’s okay. Me moving in is hard for both of us.”

She watched him get out a plastic glass and press the ice button on the refrigerator. He was a tall man, perfectly built, one who was easy in his skin. He moved with the grace of the athlete he’d
been. On top of that, he was brilliant, which had led him to a teaching position at Mount Mary’s College at twenty-four
.

After he poured the water, he turned. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. How is she?”

“Scared.” He leaned against the fridge. “She wanted me to read her that book I ordered on preparing kids for surgery.”

Ana wouldn’t fall victim to his piercing green gaze
or his shock of dark blond hair. Nor to the fact that he was a terrific father. He’d searched the Internet until he’d found something to help Opal through this crisis.

To make sure she didn’t, she said coldly, “I’m sure the book helped.”

He angled his head at her. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Turn cold in seconds. We were having a civil conversation and then, boom, the ice
is in your voice again.”

Stepping back, fisting her hands, she said, “If we’re going to start in on how each of us changed in the last few years, I think I’m going to win, Jared.”

“Of course you are. I’m the sinner, after all. Only difference between you and God is that He or She forgives.”

He strode past her and she got a whiff of his aftershave. It was so familiar, Ana had to grab
on to the edge of the counter. He was right. She hadn’t forgiven him. But God had punished her for that sin. Because Ana was still in love with the husband who’d destroyed their life together.

Logan walked into Bailey’s Irish Pub at five on the third day after Magdalena had left for Luke’s. Dylan sat at a corner table, with a computer in front of him. He walked over to the
New York Times
bestselling author and held out his hand. “Hey, Dylan.”

“Logan. Thanks for agreeing to this. I could have come to your office.”

“It’s a down time, in between
deals. We all take some space when we can. I wanted to get out of the building, so an early dinner is great.”

He also needed to do something different because Magdalena wasn’t at work or waiting for him. It had helped to talk with Thomas the other night, and they’d spent yesterday watching sports movies on TV. But Logan was antsy again and couldn’t face going home. He missed Magdalena in the
boardroom and in the gym where they sometimes worked out together. He even went into her office once today, just sat there to feel her presence. Hell, he was losing it.

“Can I get you something?”

“Coffee.”

He signaled someone and she came right over. She turned a bright blue gaze on Logan. Her hair was down to her waist, reminding him of the Ludzecky girls. “I’m Jamie Sullivan.”

“Logan Price. Nice to meet you.”

“We’ll have coffee, Jamie. Thanks.” She left to get their coffee, and Dylan shook his head
.
“That woman practically runs the place now. When we were still in full control of the bar, Patrick hired her as a waitress. She’s now in charge of all the wait staff and does the ordering and the payroll. She got a stake in it from us and Sweeney. She also got married
a few years ago to our cook’s brother.”

“Man, there’s a story behind everybody, isn’t there?”

“Yep.” He pointed to the
TIME
magazine sitting on the table. “What’s the story behind The Power Couple?”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s it like to work with Helen of Troy?”

An apt description. “Hey, somebody’s got to do it.”

Dylan grinned. “When Aidan and C.J, or Caterina as her sisters
call her, were getting together, and we first met the Ludzecky girls, we all tripped over each other trying to talk to Magdalena. She’s stunning and has that charisma about her that…just, say, bees to honey understand.”

Logan did, too. “She’s something.” He nodded to the computer. “So, what’s this book about?”

“It’s a thriller set in the world of private equity. All I know right now is
somebody does something with money that he or she shouldn’t, he gets killed and a detective tries to figure out who done it.”

“Sounds pretty glamorous for our dull business.”

Dylan sat back. “
Is
it dull?”

“There’s a lot of number crunching and analysis, but it’s a thrill making deals. Though we aren’t the kind of company that slices and dices the businesses we buy.”

“C.J. told
me that. I want a bunch of basically decent characters who nobody would expect of dirty dealings. Hence, the suspense angle.”

“I get it.”

“I also want a romance in it. When I saw this cover, I thought maybe you’d have some insight into that, or lack of it.”

Logan hoped he didn’t flush. “It’s not very common for colleagues to fall in love in our world.”

“Most firms don’t have Magdalena
Ludzecky as an employee. I’m going to have two suspects, a woman and her lover from the business.”

“Who ends up the bad guy?”

“How do I know? I haven’t written it yet.” He stared over Logan’s shoulder. “I never understood how an author could plan even a chapter of a fiction book. I have to know what happens in one scene in order to write the next.”

“How can I help?”

“Plot points.
I know how the business runs. I need some nitty-gritty on the day-to-day stuff. And the romance, of course, though you say there’s none there in your office.”

“Sure. I can do that. I have an idea. Magdalena and I will be starting a new project soon. Why don’t you come to Price and Associates and shadow us through it?”

“Would the head honchos allow that?”

“I think so. It could be fun
for us all.”

Lord knew the business could use some lightening up
.

So could his life.

Two whiskies later and a meal of shepherd’s pie that Magdalena would have loved, Logan left the pub. It was freezing out, and a sudden burst of frigid air went through him as he got in the cab he’d called. It was eight o’clock when he walked into his house. He heard the TV in the den, so he shed his
outer clothes and went in there.

Teresa was sitting in the dim light, staring at the screen. When she saw him, she muted the TV. “So, how was dinner?”

“The pub’s food is terrific. Dylan and I discussed his new book.” He sniffed. “Did you eat?”

“Pizza. Delivered.” She fiddled with the ties on her shirt. “Is Dylan O’Neil interesting?”

“Very. He’s writing a book with a private-equity
setting.”

She folded her arms across her waist. “I don’t believe you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I think you were with Magdalena.”

He sighed. “I don’t have to answer to you about where I go or who I see, Teresa. And I’m not twelve. I wouldn’t lie about where I’ve been. But I called and left you a message that I wouldn’t be home for dinner.”

She switched a light on. “I guess. I’m sorry,
Logan. My hormones are so out of whack, I can’t see anything clearly.”

“Maybe you should talk to somebody about that.” He gestured to the house. “About all of this. Your fears of abandonment. Clinging to me. It’s not normal, Teresa.”

Her face tightened. Jesus, she could be Jekyll and Hyde. “How would you know what’s normal in pregnancy?”

“I know what’s normal in life.”

“Maybe.
I’ll think about it.”

“Great.”

“Want to watch this show with me? It’s a docudrama about child rearing.”

She’d compromised, and so could he. “Okay. Let me just get out of these clothes.”

“And into something more comfortable.”

Was that a sexual innuendo? Damn it, he’d made it clear that intimacy was not a part of this equation.

Hours later, after they’d turned in for the
night, Logan awoke from a dream about Magdalena. He was hot and hard for her and couldn’t catch his breath. Then he realized something. Turning over, he saw he wasn’t alone in bed
.

On the fourth day of Magdalena’s week with the kids, Lexy felt better enough to go to the movies with them. Magdalena made sure the girls dressed warmly; the three of them got some lunch and then
went to the new Disney film.

“Mommy says princesses don’t need rescuing by princes,” Lexy said after she eased onto Magdalena’s lap before the show began. “They can rescue themselves.”

Amy munched on her popcorn. “I’d like being rescued.”

Magdalena said, “Maybe they can rescue each other.”

As yet another updated version of Cinderella started, Magdalena thought about what she’d
told them. She’d love to rescue Logan from this situation with Teresa, and he’d love to rescue her from the bizarre circumstances. She wondered if they were ever going to find their happily ever after.

That night, after the girls were asleep, Magdalena found some photo albums Luke and Kelsey kept in the wall unit surrounding the TV. She paged through their early days, how happy he was with
Kelsey. Their wedding, with Joe Stonehouse, his best friend now, and Suzanna, Joe’s wife, the woman closest to Kelsey, smiling beside them. God, they looked happy
.

In another book were family photos, early ones of their father, a stern man with a moustache. Lots with
Matka
. One of Magdalena with braces. But when she came upon the shots of the weddings of Paulina and Donnie, and Nia and Peter,
she took in a breath. Her heart ached for the happiness that emanated right off the pages, happiness that had been lost to them. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she examined every single one of them
.

Life was tenuous at best. You never knew how long you had with someone, and after they were gone, you couldn’t fix anything. She thought of how Paulina and Nia had been stripped of the opportunity
to build happy lives with their husbands
.

And then she thought of Logan, who she still had a chance with.

By Thursday of the week after she left, Logan had made a decision. He couldn’t allow Teresa to stay in his apartment. She’d played innocent the night he awoke and she was in his bed. Said she was cold and lonely and just wanted to be close to him. But since then, there
had been other sexual things that had happened.

Once, she’d walked in on him as he stepped out of the shower. Another time, she left her door open so he’d catch sight of her naked. And she’d bought a book and left it out for him to see.
Pregnancy and Sex
.

So, he told her he’d bring Italian food home for dinner, and he wanted to talk. She seemed happy about that, expecting more concessions,
he guessed. The spicy scent of marinara sauce and the cheesy smell of Alfredo accompanied him as he walked in the door. He went down the corridor to the kitchen. And stopped short. From here, he could see into the dining room, which was set with linen, china and silver. Candlelight created an intimate atmosphere. A bottle of wine was open and on the table
.

“Teresa?” he called out.

She
appeared from that very room. “Hi.” She wore a sexy lounging set, the kind Magdalena favored. As a matter of fact… “Is that Magdalena’s?”

Fingering the lapels of the top, she said, “I don’t know. I found it in the spare room. It fits.”

He drew in a heavy breath. “Come on,” he said, making a quick decision. “Let’s eat.” He knew she would be in no shape after this conversation to take any
nourishment.

The meal was torture. The romantic atmosphere made him queasy, and he found it hard to get down the food. He poured a second glass of wine and watched her finish her ziti. When her plate was empty, she looked up. “You weren’t hungry?”

“No. Are you done?”

“Yes.”

“We have to talk.”

“All right.” She gave him a sexy smile. “I was hoping you’d come around.”

Standing,
he blew out the candles and turned the chandelier lights up. Teresa scowled as he sat back down
.

“I know what you were hoping I’d come around to. But Teresa, no amount of candlelight, sexy outfits or good wine is going to make me change how I feel. I’m not in love with you.”

“Now. But as we go through this pregnancy, have the child, you’ll learn to love me.”

“I’m in love with Magdalena.
I want a life with her.”

Reaching across the table, she took his hand. “You’ll forget her.”

Calmly, he drew his hand back. “I won’t. What’s more, I don’t want to.”