Tempting Fate (45 page)

Maggie didn't want to live her life embittered like her mother had.  Growing up she had watched as her mother struggled alone, rarely dating and never finding happiness in a relationship.  As she'd grown from a child to a woman, Maggie always wondered if her mother would have been different if she'd found comfort and love in a good man's embrace instead of living her life alone. 

Probably so, Maggie decided.  Things would have been drastically different.  Maybe her mother would have married, and Maggie would have had a father to call her own.  Instead, she'd grown up fatherless, just like her baby would.

A lone tear trickled down her warm cheek.  Her emotions were always on edge lately.  She ached for her grandmother's arms, but she always seemed to feel her presence whenever she was blue and that gave her great comfort.  Her grandmother, a devote Christian woman, had a way of buffering her mother's bitterness toward men and allowed Maggie to believe in the power of love.  Love of a man, love of the Lord.  She needed her grandmother now more than ever to help her see the possibilities of life again.

Rummaging through her dresser, she pulled out an oversize college tee shirt and put it on before crawling into bed.  As tired as she was, Maggie didn't think it would take much for sleep to claim her.  But she tossed and turned in the heat, kicking at the blankets at the foot of her bed. 

Give me a sign, Lord, she prayed silently, the way her grandmother had taught her to do when she was feeling lost.  I need to know what to do. 

She reached down and pulled at the fan-designed quilt her grandmother had lovingly stitched for her before she was born.  She drew the blanket to her chest, not caring about the heat, but needing the warmth of having her grandmother close. 

“Give me a sign, Lord,” she whispered, swallowing a sob.  “Should I call him?  Am I being selfish to hold out for a man who'll love me and my baby forever?”

Maggie swiped her cheeks to rid them of her tears.

“And the baby?  How am I going to raise a baby all by myself?  Am I crazy to even consider this?”

With those questions spinning through her brain, she fell asleep with tears clinging to her cheeks and thoughts of Jonah whirling around the recesses of her mind.  She woke in the early hours as the cool morning air filtered into the room through the window fan.  She clung to the worn quilt, mulling the same words over in her mind.  Daylight teased the room, making objects on her dresser stretch in distorted shadows along the wall.

Deep inside, Maggie felt a slight flutter, a tickle that she'd never felt before.  Startled, she sat up with a start and clutched her middle.  There it was again!  It was like a feather brushing against the inside of her skin.  Soft, delicate, but unmistakably real. 

In that instant, Maggie knew exactly what, or rather who, it was.  It was her baby giving her a gentle reminder that she was not alone.  Her baby was with her.

Maggie had prayed for a sign and there it was.  She couldn't just think about herself anymore.  She had a child to think about.  Although the coffee shop was doing well, it required a tremendous amount of her time and energy.  She worried about whether she would be compromising her child by being away for so long.

She didn't have a choice on that front.  Like so many single parents, she had to work to support herself and her baby.  But she could certainly do everything in her power to make her child's life as easy as possible.  And that also meant giving him a father.  Even if it was only for a short time.

She closed her eyes and whispered with trembling lips, “Thank you.”   

* * *

Jonah sat in the stillness of his eighth floor office and tossed the card he'd just received from Catherine on the rich mahogany desk.  His weary sigh sounded much louder than it would have if his staff was present and the normal commotion of the workday was alive and kicking around him to drown his distress. 

But he was alone.  As unsettling as it was at the moment, it was something he was used to.

Catherine's note was to the point.  She apologized profusely for her untimely departure, and included the keys to his Mercedes so he could retrieve the car at the airport.  She'd cashed in the tickets to Australia and was thrilled to inform Jonah that she and Derek had flown to Vegas to elope last night. 

Oh, if it were only that easy for him.

He couldn't really blame Catherine for following her heart.  Deep down, he was truly happy for her.  It had shattered her when Derek had gotten cold feet and walked out on her several months before their wedding.  She'd admitted in her letter that she'd agreed to marry Jonah not for the money, but to force Derek to come to his senses. 

Unfortunately for Jonah, it had. 

But as happy as he was for Catherine, her little scheme made a huge dent in his plans.  He needed a wife.  And he only had one week left.  If he hadn't spent so much time preparing for a wedding with Catherine, maybe he could have developed a relationship with another woman. 

Who was he kidding?  The whole idea was preposterous.  Lord only knew what his grandfather's motives were for insisting he take a wife before inheriting Wiltshire.  The sheer nature of his decision was archaic by today's standards. 

But it was legal, Jonah thought with a groan.  The property, while in the Wallace family for over three hundred years, could be sold without any of the family members' consent.  There wasn't a thing Jonah could do to get around it. 

And while the prospect of buying Wiltshire himself with his own money was an option, his grandfather had made it utterly clear he'd refuse any offer Jonah made.  There was only one way Jonah could keep his family's birthright.  He had to agree to his grandfather's terms and get married. 

He lifted the set of keys that were delivered by courier that morning, and dangled them between his fingers before dropping them on Catherine's letter of resignation.  In her note, she advised she'd taken the liberty of using the tickets to Australia as severance pay.  She wished him luck and hoped she hadn't caused him too much trouble.

And Catherine was very sorry.

Yeah, Jonah was sorry, too.  Not only was he out a much needed wife to complete the agreement with his grandfather, he was now out of a secretary right before one of the biggest fundraising events for his foundation. 

His staff would be back in a few days and they'd be able to whip everything into shape.  But until then, the office was stagnant.  He may as well start looking at the paperwork for the charity dinner he'd pushed aside to plan for the wedding.

He'd reread the same memo twice before an outer office door opening jarred his thoughts.

“Hello?  Is anyone here?”

Jonah’s heart kicked into gear.  She'd actually come here?  He didn't have to hear her speak again to know that it was Maggie.  Maybe he hadn't made such a bumbling idiot of himself after all. 

He'd gone home yesterday convinced Maggie would call the police if he so much as stepped foot in her coffee shop again.  How could the woman take him seriously after such an absurd scene? 

But now she was here.  There was hope of a solution to his problem after all. 

Jonah bolted from his desk, his chair almost tipping over with the quick motion, and quickly strode to the open office door.

Maggie stood near Catherine's neat-as-a-pin desk, her face bewildered as she perused the vacant office.  In her hands, she held a full pie plate with both hands.  From the sweet scent that wafted toward him, he was sure it was still warm.  And most definitely blueberry.

Her gaze finally reached the open doorway where he stood, and she started.  She was wearing a cleaner version of the uniform she'd worn the day before, her dark hair again pulled back into a tight ponytail.  But her eyes as well as her whole face smiled when she looked at him.

She held out the pie plate to him.  “My grandmother always said that a way to a man's thinking is through his stomach.”

“Heart.”

Her brows crinkled, but her eyes smiled up at him just the same.  “Excuse me?”

“I believe the saying is a way to a man's heart--”

“Is through his stomach.  That's right.”  She lifted the pie and then settled it on the desk in front of her.

“Anyway, it's for you.”

Jonah rested his shoulder against the doorjamb and folded his arms across his chest.  He watched her gaze follow his movement.  “You're here to bring me some pie?”

“Yes.  Well, partly,” she said quickly.  “I told Virginia what you said about the pie yesterday and she was tickled pink.  She baked it special for you.”

“I'll have to remember to thank her twice then.”

Maggie glanced around the office until her gaze locked with his.  Her lips were full of color, as if she'd just applied a fresh coating of lipstick before coming over.  He had a small hint of satisfaction that maybe she'd done it for his benefit.  Although, he couldn't imagine why. 

“You work alone in this big office?”

“I gave the staff the day off.  I hadn't planned on being here myself with the wedding yesterday.”  He shrugged.  Nothing more needed to be said about yesterday.

Maggie nibbled on her bottom lip before taking a quick breath.  

“Were you serious?”

“About us getting married?”

She nodded.

“Absolutely.  Although to be quite honest I didn't think I'd ever see you again after the way I behaved yesterday.”

“Yeah, well, I'm just as surprised to be here as you are to see me,” she said, chuckling.

“Have some coffee?”

“Ah, no,” she said, shaking her head.

“Of course, you probably have your fill of it at the shop.  Why don't you come in to my office and we can talk?”  

“Actually, I can't stay.”

Jonah took one long stride through his office door, stopped abruptly, and angled back.  “You mean you really just came by to deliver the pie?”

Maggie thumbed toward the door.  “I have to get back to the coffee shop.  It was a quiet when I left, but Virginia and Kelsey are alone and if it picks up it'll be tough to handle.  Especially for Kelsey since she just started working mornings with Virginia.  Oh, and I know I'm babbling.” 

She covered her face with her hand and laughed.  Her laughter faded almost as quickly as it came.

“Are you still...looking?”

Jonah nodded and smiled.  She was nervous, that much was evident by the way she jiggled the change in her apron and rolled the pencil between her fingers as she stood there.  He could also tell she'd given some serious thought to his inept proposal yesterday.  And maybe, just maybe, she was considering it.

He smiled inwardly, his spirits suddenly lifting a bit higher.

“I've been thinking about what you said yesterday.  And...I think this offer could be good for both of us, but I want us to spend some time together first.  You know?  Something like this should be discussed face to face.”

“I agree completely.” 

“Do you like the Red Sox?”

He'd intended for the two of them to go into his office to talk, but she switched subjects so quickly, Jonah had to stop and think.  “Uh, baseball.  Yes, I enjoy the game.”

“Me, too.  I'll meet you at the front gate of Fenway for the afternoon game.”  Maggie started to turn away.

“I'm sorry, I must have missed something.  I thought you wanted to talk.”

She swung around to face him.  “I like baseball, too.  And if we're going to go completely nuts and get married, even if only for convenience sake, I think we should at least have one or two things in common or we'll drive each other crazy.  Don't you think?”

“I suppose you're right.”

She smiled.  “Good.  I don't want to agree to anything until we know for sure this is something we both can live with.” 

She went to the desk and picked up the pie, handing it to him.  A smile so wide stretched across her face and touched her brilliant sapphire eyes.  There was something about her freckled nose and sunshine face that made Jonah's heart stop.  He reached for the plate and found it warm as the mellow feeling kindling inside him. 

“I'll see you then,” she said.

As Maggie spun through the office door, Jonah couldn't help but feel that luck was finally on his side.  She hadn't said yes, but this was a start.

* * *

 They’d barely talked through the game.  Frustration coupled with impatience tumbled inside Jonah as they walked out of the stadium after the game, into the crowded street toward his parked car.  Maggie hadn't uttered a single word about marrying him and he wondered, with regret, if she'd suddenly changed her mind.  Although he'd enjoyed Maggie's company immensely, perhaps she didn't feel the same. 

They ate dinner at a local restaurant and talked about generalities, the city, and movies they'd seen.  Maggie seemed content just laughing and enjoying the cool summer evening.

It was the first time Jonah had seen her wearing something other than her waitress uniform.  Tonight she'd worn a coral sleeveless sundress that hung loosely to her mid-thigh.  She left her dark hair down, letting it spill across her shoulders.  Every once in a while she'd flip a lock of hair behind her ear, only to have it break free and fall back against her cheek.  Her hair was much longer than what it originally appeared when up in a ponytail.  And infinitely more tempting, making him long to bury his fingers in it.

For the moment, Jonah tried to enjoy just being in Maggie's company.  He didn't want to think about the fact that he had only seven more days to produce a wife to his grandfather.  

When coffee was served after dinner, she said, “I read an article about you in the newspaper.  It was pretty impressive.”

Jonah shrugged.  “So you believe I'm not some deranged person who just fancies asking total strangers to marry him?”

She pursed her lips and teased, “I didn't quite say that.  I still can't believe you want to marry someone you don't even know.”

Her face suddenly grew serious.  Jonah's heart stopped.

“I do think we should talk a little more, though,” she said quietly, nervously flipping a packet of sugar with two fingers onto the linen tablecloth.  “There are some things that need to be said before we can go any further.”