July 2, 2010 by admin
Filed under Contemporary Romance, Looking for Home, Nan Donahue
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He tossed her a glance as he walked by and went to lean against the far side of his desk. Out of sight of the doorway.
Apparently he threw some sort of invisible lasso along with that glance, because despite wanting to stand firm and hold her ground, she found herself meekly following.
“You know, for someone who needs a place to stay, you’re always quick with the offer to pack your bags and leave.”
She stuck her chin out at him. “Yeah, well, I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better than sticking around until someone forces you to leave.”
“Sounds like an interesting story. Care to share?”
“No.”
He shrugged. “Okay. So, Em…ployee, why are you ready to run out on us again?”
“My name is not Employee.”
“So what it?”
“M.”
“Uh huh. Well, since you won’t tell me your full name, and I don’t want to call you Em, you’ll just have to put up with whatever I call you. Now again, why are you forever ready to take off on us?”
He made her sound like some sort of coward, or someone who couldn’t commit.
“I don’t want to go. But I messed up. I shouldn’t be looking after a child. I wasn’t even thinking about her safety around the pool. I should have known better.”
“Then I guess we’ll both have to leave her high and dry.”
M gasped. “What?”
“Well, based on your rationale, the only people who should be taking care of a child are those that have all the answers and always know what to do. That counts me out. I’m still learning and still making mistakes. Hey, two days ago I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to hit a choking person on the back. I could have hurt her if I’d done that.”
Rendered speechless, she could only stare at him. She’d thought for sure he’d want to toss her out for endangering Alicia.
“And up until just now, I’ve always sent her to her room as discipline. As you so charmingly pointed out your first day here, playing in her room with her toys isn’t going to teach her much of a lesson. Maybe I should cut out and leave you here with her. You seem to have a handle on more things than I do.”
“Stop it. Just stop it! What if she can hear you? You’ll never leave her, and we both know it. You’ve made your point.”
She covered her face with her hands, refusing to let him see she hovered on tears yet again. But these were a different kind of tears. For months now her life had been nothing more than a seething ball of anguish that she desperately tried to overcome. Yet every time she felt as if she’d finally pulled herself out of the pit of despair, something new threatened to bury her.
This current development blindsided her. Jonathan Davenport, a.k.a. richy rich, living in this cold, ice castle so far out of her realm, in a rather round about, not to mention insulting way, had just offered her a hand out of the pit.
While others who’d claimed to know her, to love her, had been quick to level charges against her, he absolved her.
She felt him grasp her wrists and pull her hands away from her face. “Why are you so upset? Do you think I can’t see you’ve been protecting her in one way or another since you got here? I know this wasn’t deliberate, and I know you’ll be insanely vigilant in the future.”
Jonathan didn’t let go of her hands. Instead, while his better judgement screamed don’t do it in his mind, he pulled her closer.
For the last few days she’d drifted around the house like a wraith, and it bothered him. In the short time he’d known her she hadn’t backed down from anything. Something had sapped the spirit from her.
Oh, she’d been pleasant and polite. He’d watched her with Alicia, doing her best to mend the damage Summer caused. So gentle, so tentative, in her treatment of his baby sister. But her fire, her spark, had diminished, if not died.
He’d waited for her to come to him about her business. She hadn’t. Could that be the problem?
He refused to let go when she tried to pull her hands free.
“Please, let me go. I shouldn’t be here. I should never have come to Toronto in the first place. I should just go back ho…go somewhere else.”
“Why? Why shouldn’t you be here?”
She pulled in such a deep breath her whole body expanded with it.
“Because now I fell like I’m living here under false pretences and taking advantage of you. I didn’t really think this through. At least not any father than thinking I could stay with Summer and start my own business. I needed to get away from Edmonton, so I just latched onto the first idea that popped into my head. But now…now I’ve done some research and I know I can’t do this. At least not under these circumstances. Staying here was just supposed to be temporary. Until I got my business going and I could afford something else. That’s never going to happen. I have to accept that.”
By the time she finished talking the top of her head filled Jonathan’s line of sight. He had to relax his spine and slouch a bit so he could hear the words she mumbled into her chest.
He liked it better when she yelled at him. His lips twitched and he had to squelch a grin and yank his thoughts away from where thinking of her yelling at him led.
“So… what? You’re telling me you’re just going to quit without even giving it a shot first?”
Her head whipped up so fast he nearly didn’t have time to react and pull his chin out of the line of fire.
Eyes blazing, she said, “I am not a quitter!”
Need overcame logic. He released one of her hands and reached up to stroke away the lone tear already evaporating on her cheek.
He wanted to say something in reply, but for some reason his entire universe suddenly consisted of the patch of skin under his finger. And just as the known universe expanded, so did his. Of its own volition, his finger moved. His eyes followed as it cruised down across her cheek. His lips twitched with envy as it brushed over her slightly open mouth and caught the tip of her tongue. His finger lingered, compelled beyond reason to stay…right…there.
“Jonny? Can I get down now? Pwease?”
The moment shattered, and they both jerked back. Thank God for his sister. What kind of insanity was this?
“Not yet. I’ll tell you when.”
Thankful Em hadn’t bolted—although she had gone exceedingly pale—he returned to their conversation. Maybe if he pretended the moment had never happened…? “Then don’t quit without giving this your best shot.”
He needed to put some distance between them. Pointing to the chair opposite his desk, he said, “Have a seat, and tell me why you think you can’t do this.”
She hesitated, clearly not wanting too, then moved to comply.
Positioning his chair in such away so that his little chaperone—ah, little sister—was visible just behind Em, he waited.
Waited.
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Thanks to Nan Donahue for sharing one of her manuscripts.
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