LITMIR.BIZ

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Luce, what a mess we were.

      Maggie turned as he did. Her cheeks were flushed with the warmth of the kitchen and she offered him a quick smile.

      “Dinner’s almost ready. I just need to mash the potatoes. Cody’s washing up.” She lifted a steaming colander out of the sink and dumped it in a mixing bowl.

      He walked up behind her, not too close, but enough to catch the scent of lavender off her hair. “Smells wonderful in here.” God help him, he didn’t mean just the food.

      She tossed him a quick grin and scooted around him to the stand mixer. “Thanks. It’s nothing fancy.”

      He headed to the powder room off the kitchen to wash up and get his unwelcome emotions back under control. Cram them back into the little box he imagined held all the things he didn’t want to deal with.

      Lately, the damned lid wouldn’t stay closed.

      When he reentered the kitchen, Cody was seated at the table. The little boy brightened and slid off his chair when he saw Josh. “Daddy!”

      “Hey, big guy.” Josh bent and pulled his son to him. The boy’s skinny arms went around his neck and squeezed. Josh closed his eyes. He made the choices he did for Cody. It’d serve him well to remember that. “When we sit down, you can tell me all about your day, okay?”

      Maggie set a plate at Cody’s spot. “You’re all set, Cody. I’ll bring you some milk in a second. Josh, I’ll get your plate now.” She turned to go back into the kitchen.

      He couldn’t let her do that. He caught her wrist, felt the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her navy turtleneck. God, her bones were small. His fingers circled her wrist. She looked up at him, surprise on her face. “I’ll get my own,” he said, his voice a little rough in his throat.

      “Um, well. Okay. I don’t mind, though.” She glanced down at her arm, still in his hand. He let go quickly, aware he’d held on to her a little too long.

      Damn.

      He filled a plate and sat down across from Cody, Maggie at his right. Not close enough to touch, but near enough that he was very aware of her presence. As he picked up his fork, one more thought in the guilt brigade hit him.

      More often than not, he and Lucy hadn’t eaten together. Other than holidays, he couldn’t think of a single meal they’d shared with Cody that first year. He’d been too busy, or she’d been too angry. His appetite vanished.

      “Josh? Is something wrong with the food?” Maggie’s voice cut into his pity party. He looked up to see the concern on her face. He immediately felt bad. It wasn’t fair to her for him to vanish down the mine-filled road of his past. He shook his head.

      “No. Not at all. It smells amazing.” He took a bite. Tasted that way, too. “So, Cody, what did you do today?”

      Cody filled Josh in on his day. It seemed to him Maggie and his son had done all right. It took the little boy a while to warm up to people, but once he did he was a completely different child. Josh had a feeling Maggie would be seeing that kid soon.

      “C’n I be ’scused?” Cody asked.

      “Sure,” Josh said. “Take your plate into the kitchen first. Be very careful.”

      “I will,” Cody promised. Josh hid a grin as his son walked slowly around the table, his concentration on the plate and the utensils on it. A few seconds later he heard the clatter of the plate going in the sink. Maggie’s eyes widened.

      “I did it, Daddy!” Cody called. “C’n I go play now?”

      Josh grinned at Maggie, who smiled back. “Yep.”

      “Yes!” And Cody was gone, all pumping legs and thumping stairs.

      “We’ve got the clear-the-table part down pretty good,” Josh said as he rose from his chair. “It’s the delivery to the sink that we need to work on.”

      Maggie laughed. The clear, light sound floated over him, an unexpected balm to his frazzled emotions. “So I see.” She pushed her chair back. “I’ll take care of this.”

      He went to lay a hand on her arm, changed his mind. Better not to touch her. “I’ll clean it up, Maggie,” he said, but she shook her head. “Then let me help,” he insisted as he gathered up dishes. “It’s the least I can do. You rinse, I load.”

      She worried her lower lip for a second, then he saw her cave. “All right. Thank you. As long as you know it’s not necessary.”

      “No thanks needed. It’s the least I can do,” he repeated.

      In the kitchen, he rolled up his shirtsleeves and held out his hand for the first item. She handed him a plate.

      “Cody seemed to have a good day,” he said.

      She nodded as she scraped the next dish. “Oh, he did. He’s not too sure of me yet, but he’s very sweet and wants to please. We’ll get there. I’m not worried.”

      Josh slid a bowl into place. Something in her tone said she thought otherwise. “He can be shy. He’ll come around.”

      “Of course he will. We didn’t go out much today because I was trying to give him a little space. You know, to get used to me being in Mrs. Herman’s place.”

      Worry zinged through him. “Was there something you needed that you couldn’t get? You could have called me.”

      Her head came up, surprise in her blue eyes. Their color was nearly the same as Cody’s. “Oh, no, Josh. We were fine. And your mom checked in on us, too, just in case. I won’t bother you at work unless it’s an emergency. I know how busy you are.”

      A bit of the scene with Julie flashed through his mind, only this time Maggie sat on the exam table in a short skirt and a come-hither look. His groin tightened at the possibilities.

      For that, he’d have locked the door.

      “Josh?” Amusement in her voice sliced across his fantasy, and he cleared his throat.

      “I am busy. Most days are pretty crazy. But not so much so that if you guys are stuck somehow you can’t call me.” Why was it so important that she know she could get him if she needed him? Because Lucy had complained so often that he was constantly unavailable when she needed something?

      Because he wanted Maggie to think better of him than his wife ever had?

      Maggie held out the last pan. “Don’t worry, Josh. If I need you, I’ll call.” Her words and their double meaning hung in the air as her fingers touched his when he took the pan. Heat arced between them with the intensity of a live wire. His gaze caught hers for a heartbeat, before alarm sprang into her eyes. She quickly backed up, grabbed a washcloth and started swabbing the counter. He concentrated on fitting the last pan into place and closed the dishwasher, wondering how to break the suddenly awkward silence. What the hell was going on with him?

      Maggie rinsed and folded the cloth, then draped it on the faucet. Not looking at him, she said, “If you don’t need anything, I think I’ll head upstairs. Do you need me to put Cody to bed?”

      Josh shook his head. “As long as I don’t get called, I’ll do it.”

      She nodded. “Okay, then. Good night.”

      She turned and moved toward the stairs, her back perfectly straight. He doubted she’d take it too kindly if he swept her off her feet and carried her upstairs.

      Tonight, anyway.

      * * *

      Shoving Josh and the kitchen weirdness out of her mind, Maggie paused in Cody’s doorway. He didn’t see her. With his back to her and his attention on his Matchbox cars, she figured she could drive a train through there and he wouldn’t notice.

      “Cody.” He whipped his head around so hard his curls lifted and

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