LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Thirteen

      Brady walked out into the night after helping put Amber to bed. His feet felt glued with each step. Thankfully, Penny had decided to keep Flicker.

      What Brady needed was some time alone to think about what being someone’s daddy really meant. Did that mean seeing her for two weeks in the summer? Or trying to figure out how to watch a child during an entire semester of schooling in New York? Or spending the holidays in Tawnee Valley with Amber?

      And Maggie.

      He slid into his rental car and glanced at the two-story Victorian house. How many times had he driven down this street when he was young and never thought anything of this house? Now it housed one of the most important people in Brady’s life. His daughter.

      His career had always come first, but he could make room in his life for Amber.

      Work…He checked his pockets for his phone, but came up empty-handed. He’d been on it with Jules when Amber got hurt. Damn, he’d forgotten about Jules on the phone.

      But what did he do with his phone? He must have left it inside somewhere. He pushed open the door and trudged back to the front door of Maggie’s house. Knocking softly so he wouldn’t wake Amber, he peeked in the window and saw Maggie crossing the kitchen. She probably couldn’t even hear him knocking.

      He checked the door and found it unlocked.

      “Maggie?” he said softly as he walked in.

      It had taken both of them to get Amber to bed. Only Brady promising that he was leaving right away and coming back tomorrow had finally convinced her to go to sleep. He didn’t want to risk waking her. Besides, Maggie had seemed as worn-out as he felt.

      He crossed the threshold into the kitchen and found Maggie sitting at the table with her head in her hands. He froze at the sight of her.

      Her hair fell like silk around her face, softening her and making her seem ageless. Her eyes were closed and her fingers were massaging her temples in slow, steady circles. His fingers flexed and his heart sped. The heaviness lifted slightly.

      She’d given him a daughter. A beautiful, intelligent daughter that she’d had to raise on her own because of Sam. He should have been here the entire time. Amber shouldn’t have had to learn about him like this, to wonder all this time if her father loved her.

      “Maggie?” he said softly.

      The chair scraped against the linoleum as she scrambled to face whoever was in the room. Her wide eyes connected with his and realizing it was him, she relaxed.

      “Brady? I thought you’d left.” She grabbed a towel from the sink. Always busy cleaning something.

      “I did, but I think I left my phone. I wanted to let you know before I started searching.”

      She’d dropped her gaze from his almost immediately. She glanced at him quickly before turning away. Maybe she was still angry about what had happened with Amber.

      “I meant what I said earlier.” He stepped into the room and walked over to where she stood wiping the counter in a circular motion. He settled his hand on hers. She jerked her hand away, dropping the towel.

      “I know you’re angry with me, but I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” He draped the towel over the bar and finally met her gaze. Instead of anger in her hazel eyes, he saw vulnerability and wariness. It made him stop in his tracks. Did she fear him?

      She cleared her throat. Her eyes hid her feelings from him once again. “It’s late, Brady.”

      “You know I’d never do anything intentional to hurt Amber?”

      “Of course.” But there was a hint of skepticism behind her agreement. She moved to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed the broom.

      He closed in on her one step at a time. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep her from feeling the pain you felt as a child, Maggie.”

      Her lips set firmly together and her chin got that stubborn tilt. It made him want to kiss her until she softened beneath his touch. He stood there, debating whether to close the distance between them or retreat. The emotional roller coaster of the past few hours had him warring with himself. She’d clearly stated that she wanted to keep things as friends between them. But when she was this close, his fingers itched to bury themselves in her hair. His gut tightened and his pulse pounded every time she was in the room.

      The few tastes he’d had of her hadn’t been enough. He wanted to feel the curves of her body and explore all those hidden spots that would make her sigh with pleasure. He wanted to nibble along her jawline until the hardness left her face and she sighed his name.

      He closed the distance between them. No longer thinking of the consequences. His thumb traced her jawline and her lips parted. Their eyes were locked, but neither of them said a word. All he had to do was lean down and kiss her. He knew she felt it, too.

      The noise of the vibration of his phone filtered through the haze his thoughts had left him in. Maggie jumped as if something had bitten her. The broom clattered to the floor. Her head bumped against his chin and he instinctively moved back.

      The buzzing continued. Brady looked around the kitchen trying to pinpoint the source until his gaze returned to Maggie’s red cheeks and downturned face.

      “Is that your phone?” Brady stood within touching distance of her and much as he wanted to touch her, he felt as if he was missing something important.

      She shook her head, but finally lifted her eyes to meet his and that stubborn jaw was set again. Her blush deepened, but she didn’t drop her gaze.

      “Is that my phone?” Brady asked. Maggie drew in a breath. “Yes.”

      He waited, expecting her to do something. Either return it or explain herself. But she just stood there, defiant and beautiful.

      “May I have it?”

      “I’ll give it back if you tell me you can separate your work life and your home life.”

      “I don’t have a home life.” Brady ran his hand over his hair.

      “You do now.” She shoved away from the wall and brushed past him.

      His gaze caught the lump of his phone in her back pocket, but that wasn’t what caused his heart to send blood rushing through his body. Her jeans hugged her hips and accented her bottom nicely. He had every intention of getting his hands on those hips again.

      She spun around and he barely had the sense to pull his gaze to her eyes. She narrowed her eyes on him. “You have Amber. What’s it going to take before you realize that work is only a distraction to what life is really about? Does Amber have to get hit by a car because of your inattention? What if she comes to stay with you in New York? Who’s going to watch her while you work? What’s the point of her even going if all you are going to do is work? One weekend morning isn’t going to be sufficient time to spend with her.”

      “Fine. I’ll leave work at work.”

      Maggie pulled the phone out of her back pocket and held it out to him. “How can I be sure of that? You already broke that promise to me once.”

      “I’ll leave it at Sam’s tomorrow.” He closed his hand over the phone, but didn’t let go of her hand. “You can’t tell me you haven’t made any mistakes, Maggie.”

      “Of course I’ve made mistakes.” Maggie threw her free hand in the air. “But I’ve learned from them.”

      She stared pointedly at her hand engulfed by his.

      “I see.” He released her hand

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