Читать книгу Desire Collection: October 2017 Books 1 - 4 - Джанис Мейнард, Maureen Child - Страница 16

Seven

Nathaniel smiled, his expression deliberately bland. “Maybe yes, maybe no. I won’t be long.”

In his office, he spread a blanket on the floor. He’d grabbed it up from the pile on Dani’s bed. “Play with your rattle, little one. I’ve got to wrap a package.”

Reggie had proved to be quite accommodating when Nathaniel explained the situation. The overnight delivery had been signed for, and the doorman had sent up Christmas paper and tape. Unfortunately, turning out eye-catching packages was not in Nathaniel’s skill set. He’d been a Boy Scout, but tying knots was a long way from handling thick, glossy paper and recalcitrant ribbon.

At last, he was satisfied. He held up the large rectangle and examined it. “What do you think, Peaches? I’m counting on this to win points with a certain prickly woman.”

The baby gummed a pink-and-green teether from the drugstore enthusiastically, but didn’t endorse Nathaniel’s efforts. “I know,” he said glumly. “It’s probably too little, too late, but she deserves a merry Christmas, even if I am a Scrooge.”

Since Peaches was in a mood to be cooperative, Nathaniel did a quick check of email, looking over his shoulder guiltily. There was more to life than work. He knew that. Trouble was, up until this particular odd Christmas, work was all he’d ever had on a day like today.

Half an hour later, Dani showed up, flushed and bright-eyed. “Everything’s on the table,” she said. “Come and eat.”

Fortunately, he’d hidden the box behind a tall wooden file cabinet. Even when Dani crouched to pick up the baby, the gift was out of sight. Timing was everything.

In the kitchen, Dani had opted for casual, preparing two places at the granite counter island instead of in the dining room. The room smelled of cinnamon and yeast. “Wow,” he said, inhaling with enjoyment. “You went to a lot of trouble.” The mimosas were especially tempting, particularly since no one had to go anywhere.

On the other hand, he needed a clear head to negotiate a peace treaty with his beautiful houseguest. He took a stool and held out his hands. “I’ll hold her while you eat.”

Dani shook her head. “We can both eat. I think she’ll be happy in her carrier for a little bit.”

Either Dani was a gourmet cook or Nathaniel was starving or both. The streusel-topped coffee cake was warm and fragrant and tasted like heaven on a plate. He was on his third piece before he noticed Dani watching him with a grin.

He stopped dead, his fork halfway to his mouth. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I did leave some for you.”

Her sunny smile was the first open, uncomplicated one he’d gotten from her since their encounter in the middle of the night. “It’s quite all right. A cook likes to know her efforts are appreciated.”

Deliberately finishing the last bite on his plate, he wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin, drained his glass and reached across the small space separating them to stroke his thumb across her cheek. “I appreciate the hell out of you, my little Christmas elf.”

Dani turned bright red and busied herself with the baby. “A simple thank-you will suffice,” she muttered.

“What shall we do between now and lunch?” he asked in his most genial Christmas host voice. “When Peaches takes a nap, all sorts of things come to mind.” He was treading a line between forcing Dani to remember the good parts of last night and hoping like hell she would overlook the bad ones.

“I really need to talk to my parents,” she said, not taking the bait. “To see what the plans are for Tuesday. Perhaps you could entertain the baby while I do that. Afterward, I’ll feed her and put her down.”

“Of course.”

To his disappointment and dismay, Dani handed off the kid and disappeared into her bedroom. Had Nathaniel spooked her, or was the excuse a genuine one?

He couldn’t exactly listen at the door. Since he was too jumpy to sit down for any length of time, he cleared the breakfast dishes with one hand and loaded the dishwasher. Fortunately, there was no one around to reprimand him when he sneaked a few more bites of cake.

By the time Dani finally reappeared forty-five minutes later, the baby was getting fussy. Instead of handing her over, Nathaniel decided it was time for him to step up his game. “Let’s go to the den,” he said. “We don’t want to waste that world-class tree. I’ll feed the baby, and you can pick a movie. How’s that?”

Dani seemed dubious, but she followed his lead. Nathaniel didn’t bother with the sofa. He picked the recliner and got comfortable with Peaches in his lap. The baby, as always, guzzled her bottle and conked out.

Dani flipped through his Blu-ray collection and finally settled on one of the original Star Wars movies. He didn’t have a single one of the romantic comedies that most women liked, so it was a good thing his guest seemed to share his taste in classic sci-fi/fantasy.

The opening credits had barely finished rolling before the second female in the room fell asleep. Nathaniel grinned wryly. So much for being a stimulating companion. He rubbed the baby’s head. “Were you awake a lot during the night, little scamp? Or is Dani tired for another reason?”

His body tightened and his breath caught as lust roared in uninvited. His den was a far different place in the middle of the day than in the dark of night, but it was difficult not to remember holding a naked Dani in his arms and making love to her like a madman.

Hell. Why hadn’t he stayed in the kitchen where the atmosphere was far less charged?

He watched the movie, but he’d seen it half a dozen times. It was far more satisfying to study the woman sleeping a few feet away. To a stranger, this scene would have seemed perfectly normal. Only Nathaniel and Dani knew how very abnormal it was.

She had made no bones about her plans to leave him. If memory served, Dani was using vacation days this week to spend time with her family. They certainly wouldn’t understand if, at the last minute, New Century Tech demanded her attention.

No, work wasn’t the answer. If he were going to keep Dani here, he’d have to try something risky. Maybe tell the truth. He didn’t want to be alone this week. Not after he’d had a taste of what the holidays could be like.

In the meantime, he’d be content with the status quo.

Dani slept for half an hour and woke with a start. Her cheek was creased from the trim on the sofa arm, and her hair was mussed. “Sorry,” she said, adorably flustered. “What did I miss?”

He laughed softly, careful not to wake Peaches. “Nothing you haven’t seen before.” He picked up the remote and hit Pause. He and Dani had known each other forever. They didn’t need a movie for distraction, did they?

“Do you want me to take her?” Dani asked. “I’ve had a nap. It’s your turn.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“If you say so.”

An awkward silence fell. Maybe he was wrong about the movie.

He debated his options. The next move could make things better or worse. It surprised him that he couldn’t predict the outcome. In a business negotiation, he would have known. But not now.

“Dani?”

“Hmm?” She stared at the fireplace, her expression pensive.

“Do you mind grabbing something from my office? I don’t want to move and wake her.”

“Of course.” She hopped to her feet. “What am I looking for?”

“A large box on the far side of the wooden file cabinet.”

“Got it. Back in a flash.”

When she returned, she was carrying the package he had tried so hard to wrap artistically. The result looked even more amateurish now. “Thanks,” he said.

“What did you do, Nathaniel? Buy her a four-foot teddy bear? This is heavy.”

He shrugged. “It’s for you. Merry Christmas, Dani.”

She froze, her gaze panicked. “Oh, no. I have nothing for you. This is entirely inappropriate. I appreciate the gesture, but I can’t accept.”

“You don’t even know what it is,” he said, his tone mild. He knew if he pushed too hard, she might grow even more stubborn in her refusal.

Her hand smoothed the bright red paper, almost a caress. “It doesn’t matter what it is,” she said. “You gave me a Christmas bonus at the party Friday.”

“It’s not a present from your boss,” he said, losing patience. “Open the box.”

“So it’s not from you?”

Was she deliberately misunderstanding him, or were they fighting some war he wasn’t prepared to engage in? “Yes,” he said, jaw clenched. “It is from me. To you. Man to woman. Not boss to assistant.”

Dani set the box on the floor and curled her legs beneath her. “Did you get whatever this is before we had sex last night?”

“Well, of course, I did,” he said unable to hide his irritation. “We’ve both been a little busy since then.”

She studied his face, her expression earnest. What did she want from him?

“I don’t think I can accept a present from you, Nathaniel.” Her tone was apologetic. “It’s a lovely thought, but under these circumstances, I think it would muddy the waters.”

He counted to ten and then to fifteen. “Dani...”

“Yes?”

Why did she have to look at him like he was an ogre? What did she think he was going to do to her? Lock her up in a harem?

“Open the damned box. Or you’re fired.”

“Fat chance,” she muttered. “No one else would put up with you.”

Apparently losing his temper had convinced her. Strange woman.

She picked at the paper like a Depression-era housewife planning to reuse every scrap of paper and tape and ribbon. The whole process was so slow, he wanted to bellow at her to hurry. It took a great deal of self-control to keep his mouth shut and let her finish.

When she finally removed the box lid and lifted the tissue, her mouth opened in a cute little O of surprise. “Nathaniel. What is all of this?”

* * *

Dani didn’t know what she had expected. Truthfully, she had handled the gift with all the finesse of a bomb squad technician defusing a dangerous device. She didn’t want gifts from Nathaniel. Not when their current situation was so remarkably out of control.

Once she had folded back the tissue, she simply stared at the contents, lifting one thing and the next in amazement. Nothing in the box raised any red flags. If anything, the individual items were extremely practical and thoughtful.

Nathaniel watched her, eagle-eyed, making her uneasy. “Well,” he said gruffly. “What do you think? It’s not the most exciting present in the world, but you strike me as a very practical woman. Who knows if you’ll be able to get back to your apartment before you go to see your family. I tried to think of everything.”

Everything was not an exaggeration. Inside the large, deep gift box was a collection of the most elegant clothing and toiletries Dani had ever owned. Dressy black pants in warm wool crepe. A red cashmere V-necked sweater. Two bras and several matching panties, more on the practical than sexy side, but very expensive.

Beneath that were designer jeans, casual tops, elegant sets of flats in black and taupe. Tennis shoes. Socks. A whisper-soft nightgown and matching robe in the palest ivory.

And then the cosmetics, glory be. Cleanser and lotion and mascara and everything else a woman might need to dress herself up for the holidays.

“How on earth did you manage this, Nathaniel?” She stared at him in amazement. “I know you work magic in the business world but this is incredible, even for you.”

He shrugged, but she could tell her reaction pleased him. “I have a business associate whose wife works at Neiman Marcus. I called her first thing yesterday morning and told her what had happened with the blizzard and being stranded. I explained in general terms what I wanted to give you. She made it all happen.”

“In the snow.”

“Yep. I was very persuasive.”

“This must have cost a fortune.” She frowned slightly. “The snow was going to melt eventually. You know this wasn’t necessary.”

“It was necessary,” he said forcefully. “Your holiday plans were wrecked. You’ve had to help care for a baby who is not yours. You’ve worked out grocery lists and prepared wonderful meals. This was the least I could do.”

Dani set the heavy box aside and went to crouch beside his chair. “Thank you, Nathaniel,” she whispered, her throat tight with emotion. Clearly he had gone to a great deal of trouble. The sizes were all correct, too. “For a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Scrooge, you’ve done a lovely job with this Christmas surprise.” She kissed him softly on the cheek. “I don’t know what to say. I’m touched.”

He grumbled beneath his breath. “Babies sure as hell cramp a guy’s style.”

She grinned. “You were hoping my gratitude would translate to sex?”

“Nothing quite so crude.” He winced. “But I did hope you wouldn’t be mad at me anymore. I want you to be happy, Dani.”

She noted that he didn’t add the words with me. Maybe she was being too picky. “I am happy,” she said quietly, brushing a lock of his hair from his forehead. He was holding the baby and couldn’t respond physically, but his gaze seared her with its intensity. “Do you mind if I go take a shower and try on some of these things? I can’t wait. Not that I don’t appreciate the loan of your wardrobe,” she said hastily.

He chuckled softly, caressing her visually, giving her goose bumps. “You look fine to me just like you are, but sure. Knock yourself out.”

Dani practically danced down the hall. After two whole days of feeling grubby and unsophisticated, she was finally going to be able to meet Nathaniel on level ground. After a super quick shower during which she kept her hair dry, she put on the new undies and tried the red sweater and black pants. Everything fit perfectly.

Instead of twisting her hair up in a messy knot, she took the time to brush it over and over again until it swung thick and shiny at her shoulders. Too much makeup seemed like overkill at this point, but she used the mascara, and she added berry-red lip gloss to match her sweater. In the mirror, her reflection wasn’t half-bad.

When she returned to the den, Peaches was awake and playing happily with a teething ring. Nathaniel’s eyes widened when he saw Dani. “You look stunning,” he said quietly. “Red is a great color on you.”

“Nothing like new clothes to give a woman a boost. Thanks again.”

“It was the least I could do.”

“Are you getting hungry?”

“I could eat.”

The stilted conversation was at odds with the almost palpable hunger coursing between them. Dani trembled. “I’ll put Christmas dinner together. It will end up being a midafternoon meal, but we can snack later if we get hungry. Do you mind if I open a bottle of wine?”

“Mi casa es su casa,” Nathaniel said. “Whatever you want.” His words were warm, caressing.

In the kitchen, Dani was torn. Last night she had made use of the dining room for their dinner, and Nathaniel had freaked out. It didn’t seem right, though, to have Christmas lunch at the kitchen counter. So no matter how skittish her boss was, she went right ahead with her holiday preparations the same way she would have if this were an ordinary situation.

She whisked together brown gravy. When it was warm and bubbling, she sliced the leftover roast beef in small pieces and added the meat to the pot. Peeling potatoes gave her too much time to think. Tonight the baby would fall asleep, and Dani would find herself alone with Nathaniel again. What was she going to do if he wanted sex? Could she hold him off? Did she want to say no?

Maybe she wanted to enjoy whatever time they had left in this odd and emotionally charged situation.

In less than an hour, she managed to put together a respectable meal—nothing too fancy, but far better than the peanut butter they had dined on the first night. Open-faced roast beef sandwiches on sourdough toast. Fluffy mashed potatoes. Cranberry salad and, of course, plenty of leftover pecan pie for dessert.

The end result was gratifying.

Nathaniel and Peaches appeared just as she was putting the finishing touches on the dinner table. Her boss frowned.

“What now?” Dani sighed. “I left the tree in the den. Nothing holidayish, I swear.”

“It’s not that,” he said. “I just realized I’m going to owe you half a dozen fancy dinners at four-star restaurants to repay you for all you’ve done.”

“Sit down and don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I like eating as much as the next person. If I’d been at my parents’ house, I would have worked even harder. My mom puts on quite a spread.”

Nathaniel consumed most of his meal without speaking. It was impossible to read his mood. Once again, Dani was glad to have the baby as a diversion. Breaking bread together was actually a very intimate thing to do. This time, Nathaniel was the one holding the child and eating one-handed.

At last, Dani couldn’t bear the silence any longer. “What are your plans for tomorrow?” she asked. “Assuming the weather does what they say it will.”

He stood abruptly. “I’m going to grab some pie. You want yours now or later?”

“Later,” she said. Was he in that much of a hurry for dessert, or did he not want to answer her question?

When Nathaniel returned, he held Peaches in one arm and a generous serving of gooey pie in the other hand.

Dani raised an eyebrow. “You’ll make yourself sick,” she warned.

His smile was wicked. “What a way to go.”

While she appreciated the fact that her boss enjoyed her cooking, bigger issues loomed on the horizon. Sex. The baby. Dani’s imminent departure.

“I talked to my mom on speakerphone while I was cooking,” she said.

Nathaniel swallowed a bite of pie. “Oh?”

“They thought about postponing our family Christmas until Wednesday, but my siblings can’t be off work that day. So we’re definitely celebrating Tuesday. I’ve promised to be there by ten in the morning.”

“Sounds good.”

Such a bullheaded, frustrating man. “Look at me, Nathaniel.”

He lifted his head and eyed her with a deceptively mild expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Not exactly. But I’m worried about leaving you alone with the baby. Single parenting is hard for anybody.”

“Especially a clueless male like me?”

“I didn’t say that. Peaches is getting very comfortable with you and vice versa.” She shook her head, wondering why she was obsessing about this. Peaches wasn’t her problem. Still, it knotted her stomach to think about leaving man and baby to fend for themselves. “The trip from here to home is an hour and a half, give or take. Normally, I would simply drive up Tuesday morning. But first of all, we don’t know how much snow and ice will melt tomorrow, and second of all, any standing water will probably refreeze tomorrow night.”

“I’d say you’re right.”

“So I’ll have to go tomorrow afternoon.”

“Whatever you need to do.”

“Do you even care that I’m leaving?” she cried.

He stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair. Her statement echoed in the small dining room.

“This was never supposed to happen.” He waved a hand. “I get it. You want to be with your family. I won’t stand in your way. You have no obligation whatsoever to me or even to Peaches.”

He was saying all the right words, but he was breaking her heart. He was so very much alone. Dani took a deep breath and gambled. “Come with me to visit my parents,” she begged. “You and Peaches. I can’t bear the thought of leaving you here alone.”