Книга - A Mum For Amy

A Mum For Amy
Ann Evans


United by their childHe was the love of Maggie Tillman’s life. But when she and Will Stewart broke up, she was forced to make a decision that cost her far too dearly. Eight years later, she’s forced to work with Will. How can they possibly keep their relationship professional?Working together reignites the fiery attraction that always got them into trouble. But now there’s much more at stake than their hearts. Will’s hiding his own secret. Could this one cost him his daughter and a second chance with Maggie?













“I never thought I’d be the kind of person who would have regrets, but I do.”



Maggie stopped looking away from him. “I was foolish to run away from everything, Will. To run away from you.”



He reached out, stroking his fingers along the underside of her jaw. “Then don’t run away any more. Stay. Stay here tonight. You realise, don’t you, that all the old attraction is still there between us? Let’s do something about it.”



“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. As you pointed out very clearly, we’re completely unsuited for one another.”



He swayed forward until a kiss, like a cool little snowflake, floated against her cheek. “Opposites attract, remember? And we’re about as opposite as two people can get.”




Available in July 2009

from Mills & Boon


Superromance


A Mum For Amy

by Ann Evans



Because of a Boy

by Anna DeStefano



The Rancher and the Girl Next Door

by Jeannie Watt



Doctor in Her House

by Amy Knupp




ABOUT THE AUTHOR


ANN EVANS has been writing since she was a teenager, but it wasn’t until she joined Romance Writers of America that she actually sent anything to a publisher. Eventually, with the help of a very good critique group, she honed her skills and won a Golden Heart Award from Romance Writers of America for Best Short Contemporary Romance of 1989. Since then she’s happy to have found a home at Superromance.

A native Floridian, Ann enjoys travelling, hot fudge sundaes and collecting antique postcards. She loves hearing from readers and invites them to visit her website at www.aboutannevans.com.




A Mum For Amy

ANN EVANS





www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)




CHAPTER ONE


ON A TERRIFIC Florida morning like this, there was only one place Maggie Tillman wanted to be.

The beach. And she knew just who she wanted to be there with.

She hopped out of bed, dressed quickly in her usual T-shirt and shorts, then galloped downstairs. The house lay silent. Since her older sister, Alaina, had married a big-deal doctor last year, Maggie had lived with her parents in this rambling two-story Victorian that sat on a deadly dull cul-de-sac on the stuffy side of North Miami Beach.

She skidded to a halt just inside the kitchen. “Good morning,” she called out to her parents. “Have I missed anything?”

Her mother was at the stove, making pancakes. When she glanced up, one brow went as high as it could go. Her father stood at the counter, engaging in his usual impatient staring contest with the coffeemaker. He made a point of looking at the clock. Both James and Connie Tillman were early risers. Maggie knew that the fact she’d dared to sleep until nearly nine o’clock wouldn’t sit well with either of them.

“The morning’s half gone,” her father said before turning his attention back to the coffee.

“Well, it’s still beautiful,” Maggie said in her brightest tone. She threw her arms wide, nearly knocking over one of her mother’s carefully constructed flower arrangements from atop the baker’s rack. “I feel like I could be in one of those old movies, where the woman wakes up and breaks into song.”

“Spare us, dear,” Connie Tillman said, adjusting the blooms so that they were perfect once more. “We’ve all heard you sing.”

Her father said nothing.

Maggie resisted a sigh. Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn’t her parents accept that she would always be different from Alaina? She didn’t have her sister’s clever tongue and vivacious good looks. She knew she was clumsy, spoke too fast, laughed too loud. She might never set the world on fire.

But Maggie didn’t think she was completely the impulsive, irresponsible slacker they often accused her of being.

Last night at the dinner table, Mom’s best meat loaf had gone stone-cold while their weekly disagreement played out. Some boring junk about her unwillingness to change her college major and get her mind wrapped around the idea of heading back to school. But she was nineteen, for Pete’s sake, and she was achingly aware that spring break was nearly over.

There was plenty of time to think about the degree in marine biology she wanted. Later.

Determined not to allow that unpleasantness to spoil this morning’s lovely possibilities, Maggie swept past her parents, giving them both a kiss on the cheek as she made her way to the fridge. She rummaged through its contents, eager to get out of the house and head for the beach. She grinned when she found a carton of orange juice hiding behind the milk.

“Do you want pancakes?” her mother asked, then frowned at Maggie. “Use a glass, for heaven’s sake. You weren’t brought up in a barn.”

Maggie returned the juice to the refrigerator. Yep, the beach was looking better and better, and right there and then she decided neither of them needed to know where she was going. “No pancakes for me, thanks. I’ve gotta run. Lots of business to take care of.”

Her father looked up from his cup, letting his eyes travel slowly over Maggie from her sandaled feet to the ponytail that held back her pale blond hair. “Dressed like that? Why don’t you spend a whole dollar on your outfit next time?”

James Tillman might be comptroller for one of the largest corporations in the Greater Miami area, but he had the communication skills of a drill sergeant—at least when it came to Maggie.

“Don’t start, Dad,” she said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She didn’t want to fight. She wanted to feel warm salt air on her cheeks and the tide tickling her toes. “I’ve got three Go Fish calls to make, and then—”

“Go Fish,” her father said with a look of such disdain that Maggie wished she had simply walked out the front door and never stopped for a sip of juice. “What kind of silly name is that for a business? Like I said last night—”

“James…” her mother cautioned. “Come eat your pancakes.”

Maggie watched him concede to his wife, but she felt her own resentment swell. She refused to be bullied about the decisions she’d made, and he really was ruining this beautiful day.

She looked her father right in the eye. “Give it up, Dad. I’m never going to change my major to accounting. I hate math, and I don’t want any career that puts me behind a desk forty hours a week. I need a creative outlet for my talent.”

“What talent? You never do a task long enough to develop any.” He lifted his hand, spreading his fingers. “You gave up tennis after three lessons. The art classes we spent thousands of dollars on supplies for, you ditched after a month.” He ticked off each item. “Fencing. Kayak camp. You think those are careers?”

“No, but with a degree in marine biology, I think I can morph Go Fish into one.”

Her father made a face. “Oh, ridiculous. You think something called Go Fish is going to support you?”

“Actually, Dad, by the end of this year, Go Fish is going to put enough money in my pocket to get me out of this house. Permanently. So I don’t think it’s very silly or ridiculous at all.”

The beginnings of a blustering response came from the kitchen table, but Maggie had already turned and marched out of the room, smiling to herself. She didn’t often get the last word with her father.

She drove her beat-up convertible down A1A. She loved this strip. It had so many moods as it wound past the faded glory of hotels that had been built in the sixties and through canyonlike corridors of condominiums that hugged some of the most expensive beachfront property in Florida. Every so often she caught a glimpse of the Atlantic, shining like a sliver of mirror behind the buildings, and her heart quickened, so eager was she to get there.

Finally she turned into Will Stewart’s driveway. Her bad mood evaporated, replaced by the usual regret that she couldn’t seem to get along with her parents, couldn’t seem to be the daughter they wanted. But replaced, too, by a solid resolve to have some fun today, no matter what.

The service calls she needed to make for Go Fish could wait. Tomorrow was soon enough to get back into harness and be responsible, wasn’t it? After all, she was her own boss and set her own hours.

Sometimes she was still amazed that her love of exotic fish had turned her summer job into a viable enterprise. Go Fish, her home aquarium service company, only existed because of the determination and hard work she’d poured into it over the past year, all while trying to get used to freshman routines at the University of Miami.

The rich might enjoy the look and luxury of having large tropical tanks in their homes, but they certainly didn’t want to take care of them. That’s where she had found a niche. Customers all along the coast paid her fifty dollars an hour just to scrape algae and change water, and whether her father wanted to admit it or not, business was good. Nearly every day she fielded calls from prospective clients. By year’s end, she intended to turn a profit. A hefty one.

So there, Dad. Why isn’t that good enough for you?

The front door opened as she hit the stoop, and Will Stewart was suddenly there, looking drop-dead gorgeous in a dark suit. She’d met him six months ago at a local trade show where she’d been passing out business cards. He didn’t own an aquarium, but he was the only one who’d come back to ask questions about Go Fish. They’d been together ever since.

Maggie went into his arms eagerly. “Kiss me,” she said, nuzzling his neck and inhaling expensive aftershave. “I need to know someone cares.”

He laughed at that and pulled her close. He kissed her with such great and tender skill that she felt as if she were going to die.

But when she brought her hands up to his chest, he caught her fingers. “Don’t play with my tie,” he ordered. “I just got it the way I want.”

She looked down at it, wrinkling her nose at the bland, dark blue material. Last month, she’d bought him one with iguanas painted on it by an artist friend of hers, but she’d yet to see him wear it. “Too conservative.”

“Then it’s perfect,” he said with a smile.

She loved having Will for a boyfriend. Full of charm and confidence, he was as handsome as any woman could want, but blessed with absolutely no arrogance about his looks. Just out of school, he’d recently been hired by one of Miami’s most prestigious architectural firms. He wasn’t the kind of man Maggie would have expected to be attracted to, but right now she thought she was one lucky girl to have him in her life. And every day she found herself wanting more.

She longed to sink deeper into his embrace, but Will pulled away, letting his hands rest on Maggie’s hips. She caught movement in the background and realized that Lisa, his thirteen-year-old sister, also stood in the foyer.

“Hi, there,” Maggie said with a waving ruffle of fingers. “What are you up to today?”

“Chores,” Lisa complained. She pointed to her brother. “Make him stop being mean to me.”

Will kept his back to his sister and seemed immune to her claim of abuse. “Say hello, Lisa. Then get busy cleaning your room.”

After their parents had died in a car accident three years ago, Will had assumed responsibility for Lisa. Maggie knew there had been mutiny brewing in the girl lately but she felt a little sorry for her. Lisa was at a tough age, and didn’t like being ordered around by her big brother, but sometimes Will just didn’t seem to understand.

Instead of responding, Lisa snorted, crossed her arms and remained where she was.

Deciding it was best not to be dragged into whatever beef Lisa had with her brother, Maggie turned her attention back to Will. “Play hooky today,” she begged him. “Come to the beach with me.”

“Can’t. I’ve got a big presentation to make for Watkins and Company.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m supposed to be in Pompano Beach in twenty minutes.”

Maggie frowned. Will would be a fine architect someday, but so far, he was still interning and considered strictly second-tier. “You’re presenting?”

“Don’t sound so shocked. I’m doing part of it, anyway. Jacobson thinks I can connect with Watkins because he and my father were both Yale grads.”

That didn’t sound promising beachwise, and there was something unbendable in Will’s manner. But Maggie was nothing if not inventive. With one fingertip, she played with the edge of his mouth. “So can’t you slip away after a while? Meet me at our usual spot? You know which one I mean?”

She lifted her brow, reminding him of the quiet, secluded section of the beach she had in mind. The place they’d discovered just last week, in fact.

Will caught her finger and touched his lips to it. “Yes, I do, but the answer is still no. I can’t go today. I have to play nice with Jacobson. And don’t you have service calls to make?”

“I do. But fish aren’t as particular as stuffy businessmen. They’ll wait.”

“Blowing off customers. That’s not the way to get rich.”

Maggie scowled. “Why are you so uncomfortable with self-indulgence? You sound like my father. And anyway, who said anything about wanting to get rich?”

“If Will can’t go, can I come with you instead?” Lisa said behind them.

They both turned to look at the girl. “Sure,” Maggie said, at exactly the same time that Will said, “No.”

“Why not?” Lisa whined to her brother.

“Yeah. Why not?” Maggie chimed in. She liked Lisa, and the girl was very low maintenance.

She realized immediately that she should have kept quiet. Will, wearing a harassed look, tossed her a quelling glance before he turned to his sister. “You know why not. Because I’ve spent good money to have a math tutor come to the house today to help you get your grade up. She’ll be here any minute.”

“But it’s spring break!” Lisa complained. “Nobody studies at spring break.”

“You do. And even if this woman wasn’t coming, I’ve already told you that I want your room cleaned up. It’s a pigsty in there.”

“I know where everything is.”

“That’s not the point.”

Maggie could see that Will wasn’t likely to give on this. He was in full parental mode. She knew that he often worried about whether he was making the right decisions, doing what his mother and father would have wanted. Maggie had once pointed out that his parents would never have given him custody if they’d had any doubts. But she wasn’t sure he’d ever be completely convinced of that.

She touched his shoulder, eager to avert a budding argument. “Will, if it helps any—”

He shook his head so quickly that her lips parted in surprise. “Don’t help anymore. I’m sorry to be the bad guy, but Lisa can’t go to the beach today and neither can I and that’s that.” There was a momentary deafening silence, then Will sighed, clearly feeling contrite already. “Maybe we’ll all go this weekend, but not today.”

“I don’t want to wait until the weekend,” Lisa cried. “You’re the meanest brother ever!”

On that angry outburst, she stormed off. A few moments later, they heard a bedroom door slam shut.

Will raked a hand through his hair. “Thanks a lot. Lisa and I have been going at one another all morning about her responsibilities, and you just made it worse.” He sounded calm, but the muscles in his jaw betrayed him. They pulsed the way they always did when he was tense.

“Sorry,” Maggie said. She offered an apologetic smile, but couldn’t help feeling a little stung. “It wasn’t intentional, you know. I just felt like going to the beach, and I really didn’t think about anything else.”

Her father might have added that she didn’t think, period, but thankfully Will made no such comment. He merely looked down at his watch again.

“I have to go,” he said. He scooped his car keys out of a bowl on the foyer table. “Let’s order pizza tonight. Then the three of us can make plans for the beach. All right?”

She nodded, and he gave her a quick kiss as he closed the front door behind them. Together they walked toward their cars. Morning sunlight bounced brightly off the vehicles, but the fun had gone out of the day as far as Maggie was concerned.

“Stop sulking,” Will said as he unlocked his car door. “The weekend will be here before you know it.”

Maggie made a face at him. “I hate delayed gratification.”

“It’s good for you,” Will said. “It builds character.”

And with that, he roared out of the driveway.



THREE HOURS LATER, Maggie had already completed two of the three service calls she’d originally scheduled for today. After Will’s unwillingness to play, she’d considered going to the beach alone simply on principle, but, really, what fun was that? Better just to accept the fates that had aligned against her and make some money.

She was just heading for the last job on her list when her cell phone rang. It was Will’s house number, but it was his sister on the line.

“What are you doing?” Lisa asked.

“Working.” Maggie felt sorry for the girl, stuck inside at home on a pretty spring day like today. “How’s the math tutoring going?”

“It’s not. Right after you and Will left, my tutor called and said she had to cancel until tomorrow.”

“Uh-oh.” From experience Maggie knew that Will had two pet peeves in life—people who were chronically late, and people who canceled appointments at the last minute. “Your brother’s not going to like that.”

“He doesn’t know because I didn’t call him,” Lisa said. “But I think he’ll be happy. I cleaned my room and the kitchen and even put away the laundry. I’ve done everything that was on the stupid list he gave me, and now I deserve a reward. Can I go to the beach with you?”

“I’m not going to the beach. I told you, I’m working.”

“But we could go later, couldn’t we? After you finish.”

Maggie shifted a strand of hair out of her eyes. She’d put the top down on her convertible because she loved the feel of the breeze and that seemed to be the closest she was going to get to really enjoying the day. “Will was pretty clear, Lisa. No beach today.”

“But that was before everything worked out the way it did. It’s not my fault my math tutor didn’t come. And I’ve done what I’m supposed to do. If I stay here the rest of the day by myself, I’ll just get into trouble.”

Maggie laughed. “You know that for a fact, do you?”

“I thought you wanted to be my friend,” Lisa said, and her unhappiness came through loud and clear. “Can’t we do stuff together today? Even if it’s work. I’d be a good helper, I swear.”

“I don’t know…. Your—”

“Please. I promise to do whatever you want. Pleeeeeeease.”

Maggie thought a moment while Lisa waited. Since she’d been dating Will, she’d come to understand how important his sister was to him, and Maggie had wanted to become a friend to the girl. If she and Will had any hope of forming a long-term relationship, didn’t she need to get to know Lisa better? And wasn’t it preferable for Lisa to be with Maggie than home alone, doing stuff she shouldn’t?

“All right,” Maggie said, making a U-turn at a gas station. “I’ll pick you up in ten minutes. In the meantime, call your brother and let him know where you’ll be.”

Lisa agreed with a whoop of pleasure.

Because of traffic, it took Maggie twenty minutes to get back to the Stewart house, and she’d no sooner pulled into the driveway than Lisa came running out the door.

The girl jumped into the passenger seat, all smiles, then threw a small duffel bag in the back.

“What’s that?” Maggie asked.

“My bathing suit,” she replied with a mischievous look. “Just in case we get done with work early.”

Maggie grinned. The kid was as opportunistic as she was. “Did you call Will and tell him where’d you’d be?”

“I had to leave a message with his office. He’s still in Pompano Beach.”

“I suppose we can try him later,” Maggie said as she backed out of the driveway.

“Where are we going?” Lisa asked excitedly.

“I’m going to work your butt off. You’ll wish you’d stayed home and watched the soaps.”

“And then maybe the beach?”

“Maybe.”

Maggie caught the interstate, then took the crosstown back roads that led to Key Biscayne, one of the most desirable, exclusive parts of south Florida. Just across the bridge were at least a dozen clients of Go Fish, but they weren’t Maggie’s favorites.

In the sprawling mansions and high-tech condos along the beach there were four-and five-hundred-gallon custom-designed tanks filled with angel rays and harlequin rasboras, living coral and rainbow-colored dottie-backs.

Maggie almost felt sorry for these beauties. Their owners hadn’t purchased them for personal enjoyment. They’d been bought to impress guests and business associates. To make statements about wealth and power. Or maybe just because they were a pretty backdrop for the right furniture. Maggie much preferred dealing with a ten-gallon tank housing a handful of guppies that had all been individually named by the kid who owned them. But she couldn’t deny the reality that the wealthy provided a lot of her income.

Her last stop was for a bi-weekly cleaning of a four-hundred-and-forty-gallon crescent tank that separated a huge foyer from its adjacent living room. True to her word, Lisa helped Maggie cart equipment out of the car to the front door of the ridiculously large Mediterranean villa. They were met by the housekeeper.

“Hi, Mrs. Walker,” Maggie said as she and Lisa entered the house. “Brought a helper today.”

The woman smiled a welcome and disappeared, leaving Maggie to her own devices. Maggie didn’t mind. One thing about service calls to these huge showplaces—the owners were seldom around to get in her way and ask a bunch of silly questions. Besides, she didn’t really like this particular client—a middle-aged guy named Huckabee, with teeth that were too shiny, a tan that looked as if it went all the way to the bone, and a smirky, smoke-frayed laugh that always set her teeth on edge.

“Wow,” Lisa said, as she stared at the enormous aquarium. “They’ve got a lot of fish.”

“Too many,” Maggie remarked as she began to lay towels out on the floor in case she spilled any water on the expensive parquet.

On previous house calls, she’d told Huckabee that he needed to stop buying more exotic fish. She’d explained to him that the fish he had were social creatures, community dwellers, and that in spite of the tank’s size, they were displaying signs of stress from overcrowding. But the man had just laughed. Huckabee was clearly not the kind of guy to take direction from a nineteen year-old woman.

She and Lisa worked for almost an hour. Maggie showed the girl how to check pH levels, how to scrape algae without scratching the acrylic, the best way to move rocks but keep from creating a muddy cloud in the water.

Lisa proved to be a surprisingly quick learner and best of all, she actually seemed to enjoy the tasks Maggie assigned her. She peppered Maggie with questions. She didn’t turn her nose up at the more unpleasant duties, and she didn’t complain. The time went fast, and Maggie felt as though they were really bonding.

“Can you get me about a quart of tap water?” Maggie asked, handing the girl a small bucket. She pointed toward the back of the house. “The kitchen is through that door.”

Lisa nodded and disappeared down the long hallway. Maggie, whose right arm was immersed up to her shoulder in the aquarium, kept mounding rocks in one corner, intent on making a natural hiding place for some of the smaller fish. An inquisitive brown-striped kuhli loach came up to investigate one of her fingers, and Maggie noticed that a tiny portion of its caudal fin was missing.

“Poor little guy,” Maggie crooned to the fish. “Are those big boys beating up on you?”

The fish didn’t let her stroke it—by nature the breed was too shy for that—but she thought it was actually listening to her. It was a funny little creature, one of her favorites in spite of the fact that it looked more like a worm. Long ago, she’d become convinced that some fish really did have distinct personalities, that they could connect with their owners. They weren’t just pretty pieces of living art as Huckabee seemed to think. They needed love and attention. Just like people.

She was glad Lisa had come with her on this call. From some of the things the girl had said, Maggie suspected that she might need an older female in her life. She wasn’t a child anymore. She was a teenager discovering so many new things about her body, feeling her way through the baffling intricacies of womanhood. Maybe tonight, Maggie thought, she should spend a few minutes trying to explain that to Will.

But right now, where was Lisa with that water? Frowning, Maggie slipped her hand out of the tank and dried her arm with a towel. The girl should have been back by now.

She hoped Lisa wasn’t pestering the housekeeper. And had Maggie told Lisa that she mustn’t ever venture farther into a client’s home? The room holding the aquarium, the kitchen or bathroom were fine, but everything else was off-limits. She couldn’t afford any accidents in one of these homes.

Maggie hurried to the kitchen. The room was techno-shiny with stainless steel equipment, but empty.

“Lisa,” Maggie called in a half whisper.

No one answered, and a premonition of trouble flared at the edge of Maggie’s mind. If the girl had been foolish enough to explore, Maggie would make her sit in the car once she found her. And definitely no beach. Even if Lisa hadn’t been told the rules, she ought to know better….

Maggie left the kitchen and went into the formal dining room. Nothing. She walked into the next room, obviously Huckabee’s domain since it was dominated by a huge home theater setup and enormous workout equipment that made the space look like a torture chamber from some medieval castle.

The room led off to the back deck and pool, and Maggie caught movement there. It was Lisa, all right. Standing beside a patio table, chatting with a barefoot man in a white terry-cloth robe who had his back to Maggie. She recognized him as Huckabee—no mistaking that slick blond haircut—and the girl had obviously disturbed him during his sunbathing. He had his hands on his hips, and Maggie wondered if he was annoyed. She knew she was. God, she was going to kill Lisa for bothering a customer—even a jerk like Huckabee.

She made a move toward the French doors, not understanding why in that moment goose bumps rose along her arms. Halfway there, Maggie stopped. She realized suddenly that Lisa wasn’t talking at all, she was listening. And the look on her face was so wary, so anxious, that Maggie immediately knew something was wrong.

And in the next moment Maggie discovered what it was. While she watched, stunned, Huckabee slipped the knot from his robe and pulled apart the edges to expose himself to Lisa.

The air left Maggie’s lungs in a rush as a wave of nausea rippled at the back of her throat. Even as she strode toward the door, galvanized by an anger so deep and strong that she could hardly see the handle for the red haze in front of her eyes, she knew that everything was about to change. Everything.

Nothing would ever be the same again.

Not in her world.

Not in Lisa’s.




CHAPTER TWO


Eight years later

MAGGIE WAS on her computer, creating a six-hundred-gallon wave tank on her AutoCad program, when Zack Davidson strode into her small office. He must have come directly from his workshop behind the building, because a paper face mask still dangled from the string around his neck and bits of sawdust clung to his brown hair like a sprinkling of snow.

He was a tall, good-looking man with impressive biceps from years of carpentry work. He’d been Maggie’s partner in Sapphire Seas Designs for four years, and right now, he didn’t look happy.

“I just got off the phone with Lou Myers,” he said. “Did you tell him he could have cherry instead of oak cabinets?”

“I did,” Maggie replied absently. She used her mouse to erase an errant line from her computer design. “He wants the cabinets to match the waiting room furniture he bought yesterday.”

“Damn it, Mags,” Zack said as he shook a tiny shaving out from underneath the collar of his shirt. “Why didn’t you tell him it was too late to change his mind? You know I’ve already cut the wood.”

Maggie tilted back in her chair. She smiled up at Zack, though she couldn’t really see his features because the Key West afternoon sunlight coming through the window cast his face in shadows. “I know. But remember customer service?”

“We won’t have any customers to service if you drive us out of business by wasting inventory. What am I supposed to do now with a bunch of oak cut for cabinets we haven’t sold?”

“Zack, do you know what Lou Myers does for a living?”

“Dentist?”

She shook her head at him in playful disgust. They’d been friends since high school, even when he was making moon eyes at her sister, Alaina, and getting the brush-off. After he’d moved down here to Key West, she hadn’t seen much of him, but eight years ago, when she’d had no place else to go, he’d been there for her. She owed him a debt of gratitude she could never repay, but he drove her crazy sometimes.

“This is why you’re still back in the workshop, you know.” She saved her design in the computer, then shut it down. “Because you won’t take an interest in the customer side of the business.”

He came to her desk, letting his weight settle against the edge so that one jean-clad leg could dangle as he crossed his arms and stared at her. “I’m back in the workshop because I like to build things. What’s your point, partner?”

“Lou isn’t just any dentist. He’s head of the Pediatric Orthodontia Society of America. That means he talks to thousands of kiddie dentists all over the country. The guy’s excited about the Atlantis theme we’re building for his front office. Really excited.”

“So?”

Maggie sighed heavily. “So once he has pictures of the finished product, he’s going to be showing them off at every convention he goes to.” She tapped her monitor for emphasis. “And he goes to a lot, according to the research I did on him. Some of his colleagues may want aquariums for their own offices. And I want Lou referring them to Sapphire Seas. He’ll do that if we go this extra mile for him.” She offered her friend a consoling look. “Cut the cherry, Zack. We can always save the oak for another project.”

Zack remained thoughtful for a long moment. Then he cocked his head at her. “Do you ever stop hustling for business?”

“No, and neither should you. Not if we’re going to put Sapphire Seas on the map this year.”

“Do you know who you sound like?”

“Who?”

“Your sister.”

That surprised her a little. Alaina’s name rarely came up between them. Partly because Maggie so seldom saw her family anymore, even though they were only hours away in Miami Beach. But mostly she avoided talking about Alaina for Zack’s sake. Her sister had broken his heart years ago, and he could pretend all he wanted, but Maggie knew he was still in love with her. He just wasn’t willing to do anything about it. Of course, Alaina was married, so maybe that was just as well.

Maggie shuffled the latest stack of bills on her desk. “Good,” she said in a deliberate tone. “It’s taken me twenty-seven years to turn into Alaina. Too bad Mom and Dad aren’t here to see it. Like they’d ever bother to come down for a visit.”

“Like you’d ever invite them.” Zack snorted. “Hell, no. You’re not bitter.”

He was right, and Maggie knew it. The fiasco of eight years ago was like a scar that wouldn’t fade. Just to be civil, she kept in contact with her parents. But it wasn’t much of a relationship, and none of them tried very hard to change it.

She stopped fiddling and stared up at him. “I’m trying to grow this business. To stick with the game plan. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” Zack said with a shrug. “If it’s the right game plan. If it doesn’t keep you from enjoying yourself.”

Lately Zack had been giving her grief about her social life—or the fact that she didn’t have much of one. But after what had happened in Miami so long ago, after she’d had to depend on someone else’s kindness just to keep from ending up on the streets, Maggie had learned that there were a lot of different ways life could beat the crap out of you. What was wrong with being…cautious?

“I am enjoying myself,” she shot back. “Now stop pestering me. I’ve got work to do.”

“I liked you better when you were Alaina’s wild and crazy kid sister. You were a lot more fun.”

“Wild and crazy and fun doesn’t put food on your table or money in the bank. It only gets you into trouble.”

She suddenly realized she sounded like her father. Wow. Maybe you really could mature.

“You need to lighten up, Mags. You’ve been pushing hard for months now—”

Before she could cut him off, the phone did the job for her. She looked at Zack to see which one of them was going to answer it.

“Let it go to the machine,” Zack said.

She shook her head at him again as she snatched up the receiver. Really, sometimes Zack was the least motivated businessman she’d ever met. “Sapphire Seas Designs. This is Maggie Tillman.”

It was Teddy LaCrosse’s office up in Miami—a call she’d been holding her breath for. An entrepreneur with the attitude of Jimmy Buffett and more money than Midas, Teddy had loved the aquarium designs she’d pitched for his new South Beach project. He’d even come down to check out their studio and workshop. Maggie was ninety-five percent certain Sapphire Seas would get the job. The bid had been fair, and her designs innovative.

She crossed her fingers and raised them to Zack, mouthing who was on the line. It wasn’t LaCrosse, but his assistant, Susan. Close enough, Maggie figured. As long as the answer was yes.

They exchanged pleasantries, then Susan said, “Miss Tillman, Mr. LaCrosse asked me to call. He’d like to schedule a time when the two of you could talk. It’s about the designs you submitted for the South Beach property….”

Maggie felt her heart drop. Right then and there, she knew the answer was going to be no. She had a gut instinct about this sort of thing. Maybe because she’d been hearing the word an awful lot lately. She couldn’t control her disappointment and shock. “Oh, hell,” she said. “He went with someone else, didn’t he? I can tell by your voice.”

“Miss Tillman, I’m not at liberty to discuss this matter with you. I’m only—”

“Just tell me, Susan. I know the kind of assistant you are. There isn’t a thing that goes on in Teddy LaCrosse’s office that you don’t know about. Who did he go with? Was it Coastal Communities?”

“I’m sorry. I really can’t give you that information. Please…”

“Okay, you’re right,” Maggie said in a quick, conciliatory tone. “I’m sorry I put you on the spot. It’s just that getting this job is very important to me.”

Maggie spent the next few minutes being professional and polite with the woman—when all she really wanted to do was yell or throw something. She’d spent weeks coming up with those designs. She’d furnished LaCrosse with enough testimonials from happy clients to choke a horse. She’d practically had to take out a bank loan in order to wine and dine him properly. She’d done everything to get this job except sleep with the man, and she’d be lying if she said the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. And now, she knew it. It was all going to be for nothing.

“Then it’s set,” Susan said. “Mr. LaCrosse will be in touch with you tomorrow at two.”

Maggie shook her head at Zack, indicating failure. “There’s no way I can speak to him today?” This minute, she wanted to add.

“I’m afraid not. Right now, he’s holding a press conference regarding his plans for the resort.”

By the time Maggie tossed the telephone receiver back in its cradle, she could hardly contain her disappointment. She cupped her face in her hands and swore softly.

“You don’t know it’s a bust,” Zack said.

“In all the years we’ve been doing this, have I ever been wrong about whether or not we got a job?”

“No.”

“I can read between the lines. I got lots of practice when I lived with my folks, trying to guess when and where the next argument was going to come from.”

Zack stood, settling his tool belt on his hips. “So we don’t get the contract. We’ve been shut out before.”

“This was big, Zack. We could have bought the new oven. We could have stopped subcontracting to that toad Jefferson.”

The commercial-sized oven they needed to heat acrylic so they could seal joint seams properly was a particularly sore spot for Maggie. Although the equipment was horribly expensive, no aquarium design firm worth its salt relied on outside help for that sort of thing.

But ever since their ancient, secondhand oven had bitten the dust a year ago, Sapphire Seas had been contracting out the work. To a squinty-eyed jerk up in Marathon who thought that every bit of oven time he sold Maggie ought to come with a free overnight stay in her bed. So far she’d been holding him off, but purchasing an oven of their own would have stopped that nonsense forever.

Oh, well. Goodbye to that dream. For now.

She flung a disgusted glance around the office. “Why didn’t I try to clean this place up before Teddy came down here? Everything looks so shabby. The remodeling needs remodeling, for pity’s sake.”

“Mags, stop.”

Maggie rubbed her fingers along her jaw. “Who do you think he went with? Coastal’s the only outfit in the state that could handle a job that big.” She sat up straighter suddenly. “Wait a minute! Susan said he was holding a press conference today. You know what that means?”

“Media coverage.”

Maggie nodded. “Whatever decisions have been made could be on the Miami paper’s Web site by tonight.”

Zack headed back to his workshop and Maggie spent the rest of the day watching the clock. By six that evening she could check the Internet. LaCrosse’s press conference probably wouldn’t divulge who’d gotten the green light for the resort aquariums—too small a job in the grand scheme of things—but Maggie was hoping for something, anything that might tell her what to expect from Teddy’s conversation with her tomorrow.

By the time she closed the office, the first streaks of a pink and purple sunset were sifting over the palms that lined the short driveway to Sapphire Seas. Back at her desk, she paged through the top news stories of the day on her computer. It took very little time to find what she was looking for, and when she did, Maggie’s mouth parted in surprise. Then absolute, flat-out shock. She settled back in her chair, staring at the screen and feeling nothing but…numb.

Zack came into the office. “Find out anything, Sherlock?”

Maggie jerked her chin toward the monitor. “Take a look.”

There was a good-sized picture of Teddy LaCrosse smiling out at them from behind a podium. Although he was backed by a wall of three-piece-suit types, he wore a Hawaiian shirt and his hair clearly hadn’t been trimmed since the last time Maggie had seen him.

Zack quickly scanned the article below the picture, then looked at Maggie. “It doesn’t say anything about specific contractors. Nothing to indicate we lost out.”

“We’re not getting the job, Zack.”

“How do you know that?”

Maggie ran a finger gingerly across the screen, then let her fingertip rest on one of the men standing behind and to the left of Teddy. Oh God, she still couldn’t believe it.

Zack frowned. “Who’s the bean counter?”

Maggie hardly heard him. She couldn’t take her eyes off the man’s face. Could barely allow her finger to make contact with the image, as though it might burn her right through the glass. “He’s not a bean counter,” she said. “He’s Teddy LaCrosse’s chief architect. From Jacobson and Duquette Associates. His name is Will Stewart.”

“Will Stewart,” Zack repeated thoughtfully. “Why do I know that name? Will—” He shot a quick glance her way. “Your Will Stewart? The guy who—”

“One and the same.”

Zack blew air through his lips. “Oh, damn. You think he advised LaCrosse to go with another company because you two—”

“I think advised might be too polite a word. You know architects work closely with all the contractors. If he found out I was behind the Sapphire Seas bid, I’ll bet he threw a fit at the thought of coming within a hundred miles of me.”

“Are you going to ask LaCrosse when you talk to him tomorrow?”

Maggie moved suddenly, snapping off the computer. She rose, pulled her purse out of the bottom drawer of the desk and grabbed her car keys. “Nope. I’m going to find out right now. Tonight.”



IN THE END, Maggie didn’t make the four-hour drive up to Miami that evening. Even if she’d known where to find Teddy LaCrosse, tracking him down, forcing him into a midnight conversation, would look unprofessional and probably wouldn’t win her any points. She’d spent years trying to get a handle on her impulsive nature. No sense letting her emotions get the best of her now.

But early the next morning, as she drove up the long stretch of US-1 that connected the mainland to the Keys, it wasn’t how to win over Teddy that ate at her nerves.

It was the thought of Will Stewart.

All Maggie could think about was how her gut had kicked to see his face again.

Eight years seemed like a long time, and yet she could recall every detail of that bright spring afternoon as though it had happened yesterday. Huckabee’s arrest. Lisa, white-faced and trembling as they sat together at the police station. Someone handing Maggie a cup of coffee that spilled and burned her fingers because she, too, was shaking so badly.

Most of all, she remembered Will striding into the detective’s office, rigid with anger and fear. He had pulled his sister into a hug so tight that Maggie imagined she could hear bones creak. She felt as if she were in a dream, the kind where a person can only watch, not move or speak. She saw Will enfold Lisa, saw his head bending. It almost made her weep to witness the exquisite tenderness with which his fingers traced her face as he crooned comfort to her.

“What the hell happened?” he had demanded at last, and even his voice was white-hot.

Oh, those words. In the pit of Maggie’s stomach, something twisted even tighter. He hadn’t addressed the detective. He swung to face her, fixing her with a stare that would have scattered some men like petals on the wind. Right then, in that moment, she knew it was over between them. She felt as though some support in the pit of her stomach had been abruptly ripped away.

It took a little while, of course. There were charges to be filed and court appearances to make. It could have been worse, she supposed. Huckabee turned out to be a repeat offender. His attorney tried to persuade him to throw himself on the mercy of the court. Instead, thinking money could fix almost anything, the fool made the mistake of attempting to bribe the judge. He found himself in jail in record time.

Lisa weathered all of it surprisingly well, thank God. After three sessions with a child psychologist who pronounced her very resilient, she seemed none the worse for what had happened.

But for Will and Maggie…there was no hope.

It was clear that Will held her responsible for everything. He didn’t say it. At least, not at first. But their time together took on a new unnatural formality, a masquerade performance for Lisa’s benefit. Words between them marched and maneuvered like tense soldiers. When Maggie tried to find a way to make it right again, she was met only with Will’s cast-iron composure, so that eventually, she, too, was forced to take refuge in blank-faced complacency.

And then one night a month after the incident, everything just erupted. They opened a door between them that was impossible to shut. The argument was quick, hot and horrible. They stepped on each other’s sentences without waiting for responses. Will’s dark, fenced-in manner gave way to harsh accusations, until Maggie felt bludgeoned and desperate and the healthy instincts of self-defense rose up in her.

But his anger was fully unleashed at last, and he would hear no explanations, no excuses. They were like stars separated by unimaginable distances and would never see eye to eye. Her impulsive, immature behavior had put Lisa in danger. Maggie was the adult. She should not have given in to his sister that day, knowing how he felt.

In the end, every nugget of hope was extracted from their relationship, and there was nothing left to do but finish it. Nothing in her life had been easier than loving Will, and nothing about leaving him could have been harder. They traded one last, searing look. Operating on numb disbelief and adrenaline, Maggie walked out of Will’s house and did not glance back.

She went home, weighed down with a misery she could barely comprehend. Deep inside where it counted, she felt withered and betrayed. Grief made her unapproachable for days. She stayed in her room over the objections of her parents, who begged her to come out. She cried a flood of tears, got angry and resentful all over again, then wept into her pillow for hours. It had been unbearable to be nineteen and heartbroken, and when Maggie finally did emerge, she had thought she would never be the same again.

She was right.

A week after that final argument, she learned she was pregnant with Will’s child.

The green interstate sign announcing her approach to Miami brought Maggie back to the present. Just as well. She didn’t need to think about the mess her life had been eight years ago. She needed to stay focused on getting the LaCrosse contract. There had to be some new way to persuade Teddy to go with Sapphire Seas.

Since the South Beach project was en route to Teddy’s office, Maggie stopped there first. She saw his sleek, red Lamborghini with the vanity plates parked just outside the main construction trailer and pulled to a halt nearby. Drawing a decisive deep breath, she reapplied lipstick, swept the wrinkles as best she could from her mauve skirt and tucked her bid file under one arm.

The site hummed with activity. The LaCrosse Restoration Project—a massive resort, condo, shopping and dining complex—spanned an entire city block and seemed to be moving ahead quickly. Months ago, the land had been cleared and concrete poured. The hotel section, nearly complete, towered impressively, and Maggie glimpsed the guts of the lobby shaping up beneath it. Now, if only Sapphire Seas could be part of the excitement.

Maggie entered the trailer. Because of the strong morning light, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Then she spotted Teddy, lounging in a high-backed office chair behind a desk laden with blueprints, tools and a storm of paperwork that probably kept some construction boss up late at night.

He raised his head, looking surprised to see her. “Maggie,” he said in his usual affable way. “What an unexpected pleasure! What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

A person could make the mistake of underestimating Teddy’s laid-back, aging surfer-boy demeanor, but Maggie knew that LaCrosse was a tough negotiator and nobody’s fool. She reached across the desk to firmly shake his hand. “Good to see you again, Teddy.”

“I thought we were going to be talking later today.”

“I was in town anyway,” Maggie lied. “Could we chat now?”

“Sure, sure. I assume this is a business visit.”

“It is.”

He nodded toward the rear of the office. “Then you won’t mind if Will sits in.”

Maggie turned to see Will Stewart at the small kitchen counter, pouring a cup of coffee from a battered-looking pot.

She felt a jolt like an electric current turn her insides over. She hadn’t been expecting Will to be here, and considering her suspicions, she certainly wasn’t eager to speak to LaCrosse in front of him. She barely heard Teddy introduce Will as the project’s chief architect, a fact she’d already learned from the Internet.

Will inclined his head. His quick, assessing gaze played over her face, but his eyes were without depth, like polished windows with the blinds down behind them. The smile he gave her, though. She remembered that. It was no more than a tight line of acknowledgment. “We’ve met,” he said.

She wished she could think that he’d aged horribly in eight years, that somehow an overachieving lifestyle and corporate stress had whittled him down. But the truth was, the picture on her computer hadn’t done him justice. He still had that vigorous, youthful strength about him. Not a touch of gray in his dark hair. Not one inch of flab at the waistline. His clothes only accentuated his power and grace, making Maggie wish she’d opted for her best suit instead of this too-casual skirt and blouse.

She turned back to Teddy. “If I’ve interrupted anything, perhaps we could—”

Teddy waved away the suggestion and motioned for her to take one of the vinyl-covered chairs in front of the desk. “No, no. You’re here now. Sit.”

He indicated Will should do the same. That put him awfully close to Maggie, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. She lifted her chin a little. No way was she going to let him know his proximity bothered her.

“Will is involved in every phase of the project, of course, so there’s nothing he can’t hear,” Teddy said. He gave Maggie a sharp look. “Tell me what’s on your mind. You look a little flustered.”

That was the last thing she wanted either man to think. “No,” she said firmly. “I’m…I just drove up this morning. I’d like to find out where Sapphire Seas stands with this contract. Do we have it or not?”

Teddy tilted his head at her. “You don’t waste any time, huh? Okay. Not.”

Her heart swooped. Just as she’d feared. “You’ve signed with someone else?”

“Not yet, but you’re out of the running, I’m afraid. I’m sorry. It’s just a business decision. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Of course. If that’s what it really was. A business decision.”

Teddy’s brow puckered. “What are you getting at?”

Maggie’s eyes flicked toward Will. He sat utterly still, but distant, as though he could hardly expend the energy to listen. It only strengthened her resolve. “I’m a businesswoman,” she said, leaning slightly forward in her chair. “I can take bad news, Teddy. But I think I deserve complete honesty. I thought my bid on this project was fair—”

“Your bid was fine.”

“Then my designs, perhaps. Did you want something different? You seemed to like what I showed you.”

“I did.”

“Then why isn’t Sapphire Seas getting this job?”

Will spoke up for the first time. “Miss Tillman, this project isn’t right for your company.”

Maggie turned her head to give him a frank but carefully civil look. “I’d like to know why. And I’d like to hear that reason from Mr. LaCrosse, if you don’t mind.”

Teddy laughed, a loud, genuine sound of amusement that drew her attention. “That’s one of the things I admire about you, Maggie. You’re not afraid to speak up.” He shook his head. “But it’s not enough.”

“Then what is?”

There was a moment’s pause. She saw Teddy’s glance cut to Will for an instant, but she refused to check his reaction or what signals he might be sending. Then Teddy crossed his arms, a silent indication that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “I need a company with deeper pockets and a full-time crew,” he told her. “Your guys are strictly job-to-job. You have equipment issues. That can create inconsistencies in production and quality.”

Maggie shifted in frustration. “I told you what the company situation was when we first met and the measures I take to overcome challenges like that. That didn’t seem to be a problem then. In fact, you said you admired my entrepreneurial efforts because that’s how you’d gotten your start.”

“Sapphire Seas is young. Too young for a job this size.”

“What we lack in experience, we more than make up for in—”

“Maggie, this project is a huge investment for me, and I have to believe that an older, more experienced outfit like Coastal Communities will meet our needs more effectively.”

“Why must you believe that?” Maggie asked, running out of patience. She jerked her hand out to indicate Will seated beside her. “Because this man advised you to go with Coastal?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Will admitted quietly.

That nearly took Maggie’s breath away. She hated that he sounded so sure of himself, so superior. Inside, her blood seethed, but she’d never let him see just how much he’d upset her. “I knew you would,” she told him. “As soon as I saw your name attached to this, I knew you’d do everything you could to keep me from being involved. This isn’t a business decision. This is your personal, petty revenge.” She shook her head slowly. “It’s not worthy of you, Will. In the old days, you’d never have done something so underhanded.”

The solid power of her anger left her unable to go on. They stared at one another. At least until Teddy cleared his throat and spoke up. “Would one of you like to tell me what’s going on here?”

Will looked at Teddy. “Miss Tillman and I—”

Maggie, her heart cold and hard as a jewel, couldn’t take any more. “For God’s sake,” she snapped. “Considering the fact that we slept together for almost a year, you’d think you could call me Maggie.”

She felt her cheeks go hot, but frankly, she was pleased to see that Will was momentarily speechless. Obviously annoyed as hell, but speechless.

Teddy raised a hand to catch their attention. “Hold on, you two. I love a good tussle, but let’s keep the gloves on.”

Maggie wasn’t sure Will was listening. And she didn’t much care, because she was perfectly willing to go toe-to-toe with him now, even though she could hear her own heartbeats drumming in her ears. Will swung toward her, clearly intending to…

Well, she didn’t know what he intended, and she never found out.

At that moment, the construction trailer door was thrown wide, and a small, bustling tornado that turned into a little girl came barreling in. She headed straight for Will. When she got to his chair, she threw herself into his arms. The hard hat she wore, too big for her head, went flying, and a cascade of brown curls fell down her back.

“Daddy!” she cried. “Look! I got scared, and so did my arms.”

Maggie stared, transfixed not by the fact that the girl’s thin arms were covered in goose bumps, but by the realization that this child was evidently Will’s daughter.

In all the scenarios she’d ever imagined for his future, a house bright and noisy with children had never been a consideration. Perhaps not even a wife. Silly, really, because Will, a handsome, successful man in his thirties, must surely have caught many a woman’s eye.

She watched father and daughter interact, her mind straying into new and disturbing channels. A child. Family. Something she’d longed for once upon a time.

Some queer pang stabbed her heart, and for the life of her, Maggie couldn’t explain it.

Or make it go away.




CHAPTER THREE


JOHN DENVER, rest his soul, had once recorded a song about some days being diamonds and some being stone. Will Stewart thought this was definitely a stone day.

Most definitely.

The week had started out well enough. His sister, Lisa, seemed in a great mood lately, having met a new guy in her college English class. Quarterly returns on his investments were up. Yesterday, Jacobson had taken him to lunch and actually used the word partner when talking about Will’s future at the firm. This morning he’d turned on the computer to find an e-mail from his stockbroker. And Amy, the one unpredictable component of his life, had managed to eat breakfast today without spilling a single drop on her clothes. Now there was a genuine miracle.

Then he’d made the mistake of stopping by the LaCrosse site, catching Teddy in the trailer as he spoke with his construction supervisor. Will should never have taken that offer of a cup of coffee, never stopped long enough to discuss how yesterday’s press conference had gone.

If he hadn’t, he might never have come face-to-face with Maggie Tillman.

A John Denver stone day for sure. And if things had gone downhill from that moment, they showed every indication of heading even further south right now.

He had to work hard not to stare at Maggie.

He couldn’t argue that over the years he’d grown more curious about her rather than less. He knew the basics of her life—still living in Key West, unmarried, working. When he chose to use them, he had connections enough to find out that sort of thing.

But was she happy? What kind of woman had she turned into? Did she ever think of him? You couldn’t get answers to those kinds of questions without digging a little deeper, and he had always refused to do that.

He mistrusted those rambling thoughts and was sometimes quite annoyed by them, as well. Old lovers weren’t supposed to stick around and blight your mental landscape. He had wanted the end of his relationship with Maggie to be like a heavy door closing behind him, firmly locked and impenetrable.

Instead, here she was again, popping back into his life with all the fire and fury that was pure Maggie. Aware of her sitting stiffly beside him as he listened to his daughter chatter, Will didn’t think for a minute she was done with arguing yet. Tenacious. Passionate. That had been Maggie, too, and she didn’t look like she’d changed much over the years. He needed to keep that fact uppermost in his mind.

He needed not to panic.

But, most of all, he had to find the quickest way possible to get Amy out of this trailer.

Amy’s words ran down to nothing as her interest was drawn to the stuffing peeking out of his chair arm. He loved her so much. Being a father was tough, time-consuming. But every moment he was with his daughter, Will felt as though he had trapped sunlight in his hands. How could you ever let anything mess with that?

He touched her cheek, drawing her gaze up. “So you liked the tour Aunt Lisa gave you?”

The child nodded. “It was kind of scary, though. My stomach felt funny when we went up in the elevator with no walls. Aunt Lisa says nobody ever fell out and got squished on the ground, but I said I bet it happens sometimes. I didn’t like that part.”

He smiled at her with tender amusement. His fault, probably, but Amy sometimes tended to be more fearful and cautious than the average seven-year-old. Lisa said he was overprotective, too restrictive with the child, but what was really wrong with that? The world was a tough place, and you had to look out for the people you loved.

The trailer door opened again, and this time it was his sister. They were going to have lunch today, but first, Will had wanted to talk to Teddy. Lisa had volunteered to keep Amy occupied while he was busy.

“Aunt Lisa shouldn’t have taken you up in the elevator,” he said.

Hearing Will’s admonition as she came in, Lisa grimaced at him. “Really, Will. Don’t you know that going up in an open elevator is the best part of visiting any construction site? Did you think she wanted to watch them pour concrete?”

As she approached, she removed the hard hat she wore so she could shake out her hair. His sister was going to be twenty-one in a few weeks, and Will couldn’t believe so much time had passed. She’d been ten when their parents had died. He could still clearly recall the fear that had clenched his gut when Ernie Becker, a family friend and the executor of the estate, had told him he was legally responsible for her. The same fear that had gripped him the day Amy had been placed into his arms.

Lisa, remembering her manners, gave Maggie a vague smile. “Hello. I’m sorry to interrupt.” Then she did a double take. “Oh, my gosh! Maggie. Is it you?”

Maggie turned farther in her chair. “Lisa?” Her eyes traveled up and down his sister. “I can’t believe it. Look how big you’ve grown!”

Lisa laughed. “Not too big, I hope. It’s so good to see you again. What have you been up to all these years? Where have you been?”

“I live in Key West now. But we must get together and catch up. I’d love to hear all about what you’ve been doing.”

Will felt Amy lean into him. She was always hesitant around strangers. The movement caught Maggie’s attention, and she smiled down at Amy. “And who are you?”

Nerve centers within Will had begun to register swift alarm when Amy had come into the trailer. Now they went into overdrive. He didn’t want Maggie interacting with her. The woman could be mad at him, come up here to fight whatever battle she chose for the sake of her business. But he didn’t want her within a hundred miles of his daughter.

“I’m Amy,” the child said shyly.

“My daughter,” Will added, though he supposed it was quite obvious.

“You’re such a pretty girl.” Maggie reached out to touch one of Amy’s dangling curls. “Your hair’s like mine. Just wavy enough to be a challenge. I’ll bet your mommy has her hands full trying to get it to behave.”

Amy wiggled against Will. “Aunt Lisa does my hair every morning.”

“Does she?”

Maggie’s eyes seemed glued to Amy’s face, and Will felt a sudden tightness in his chest and a vague feeling of vulnerability. His fingers clumsily straightened the collar on his daughter’s blouse. Then, fighting off panic, he stood and set the child away from him, guiding her toward Lisa. “Ladies, I hate to interrupt,” he said in his calmest tone. “But Mr. LaCrosse and I still have business to discuss. Lisa, will you and Amy meet me at the restaurant at noon?”

Lisa agreed immediately and offered Maggie a quick goodbye. Much to Will’s displeasure and chagrin, they made promises to be in touch. He suddenly wished that Lisa had not turned out to be such a good-natured, friendly young woman.

He watched them leave, and felt enough relief to melt his bones. No disaster in the making here. No danger.

He leaned against a beat-up file cabinet. Teddy was looking at him curiously, but Will managed something like a smile. “So. Where were we?” He turned toward Maggie. “Ah yes, I believe you were in the middle of an accusation.”

A dangerous light kindled in Maggie’s eyes again. Good, he thought. He wanted her mad and concentrating on him. Angry enough to keep her distance. So much safer that way.

She tapped the edge of the file she carried, and he saw her bite her lip, possibly trying to make up her mind as to the best approach. “Teddy, I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I’m not trying to be difficult. I just want to be sure that the reasons you’re going to sign with Coastal are legitimate. Not based unfairly on the history Will and I share.”

Will opened his mouth to object, but Teddy cut him off with a raised hand. “Hold on, Willy-boy. Let her finish.”

In a voice full of quiet, precise anger, Maggie said, “Eight years ago, Will and I…had a relationship. It ended badly and we haven’t spoken since. Now I discover that you’re going with Coastal Communities. I can’t help but think that—on some level—the decision was made in their favor due to circumstances that are unrelated to my ability to carry out the job.”

Teddy’s eyes were guarded, but not hostile. “I would be very foolish to ignore the opinion of my chief architect.”

Will spoke up. “I advised him against you for specific reasons that have nothing to do with our past. We’ve already talked about your lack of experience and that of your construction team. Frankly, knowing you as I do, I was also concerned about maturity. My firm can’t afford to take chances—”

Maggie had gone rigid. Will knew he’d struck a nerve.

“How dare you talk to me about maturity?” she flashed out. “How mature is it to judge me after an eight-year gap? I was nineteen when we were together. You don’t know me at all now. I’ve worked hard to develop Sapphire Seas into a respected operation I can be proud of.” She swung a glance back to Teddy. “I’m not asking for a handout.”

“Good, because you won’t get one,” Teddy replied.

As though sensing some small window of opportunity, Maggie leaned forward again. “If you’ll reconsider, I can promise you results that will knock your socks off. I’m not talking about a few pretty aquarium backdrops, Teddy. I’m talking about living works of art. If you’re not one hundred percent satisfied…” She opened her folder on the desk, turned it upside down so he could see it and jabbed a finger at the bottom of the page where a column of figures ended. “I’ll eat my costs. Every one of them.”

Will barely disguised a sharp breath. He knew Teddy, and saving money always got him to sit up and take notice. Damage control was in order. He said quickly, “That’s a ridiculous promise to make, and even suggesting it shows—”

“I like it,” Teddy said.

Maggie blinked and then smiled, clearly thinking she’d won. “I’ll even—”

Teddy held up a hand again. “Stop. Remember the salesman’s creed. Once you get your yes, stop talking. You’ve made your point and caught my interest.” He lifted a brow at Will, who managed to stifle any hint of emotion. “I don’t know if what Maggie says is true or not, but as long as we’ve done business together, I’ve never known you to be unethical.” He grinned. “But I’ve also never seen you this agitated, and that makes me curious as hell. So I’m asking you to reconsider your advice. Make sure your motives are legit. I’ll abide by your decision, but I liked Maggie’s designs a lot, and I want her to have a fair shot at this. Will you agree?”

The moment stretched interminable and a few seconds beyond. Finally, Will made a sound full of disgust. “This is a foolish waste of time. I’ll admit it occurred to me that working with Maggie would be difficult given our history. But I advised you to go with Coastal for the right reasons. I don’t reach conclusions based on personal prejudices.”

Teddy laughed and gave him a smile that was wide and full of sly humor. “Son, take my word for it. Whatever happens in the bedroom always messes with what goes on in the brain.”




CHAPTER FOUR


AS SOON AS Maggie left the construction trailer, she called Zack. Her nerves still sang with tension from her confrontation with Will in front of Teddy LaCrosse, but at least she felt some small measure of relief that she hadn’t been completely shot down. Sapphire Seas had a chance—a slim one, especially if Will refused to be fair and found fault at every turn, but a chance all the same.

She asked Zack to start lining up the oven team who would be responsible for pouring acrylic molds for the tanks. He might be terrible with paperwork, but her business partner had a real knack for handling her part-time construction crew.

“I heard Dick Iverson moved back to Wisconsin after the last hurricane, so he’s out,” Zack told her as she sat at one of the constant stream of traffic lights on Collins Avenue. “Are you coming back tonight? We can have dinner and talk about who else might be available.”

“I think I’ll stay a couple of days. There’s a huge homebuilders’ convention in town. Maybe I can drum up some business. Since you’re coming up tomorrow to do the installation on the Blue Reef job, we could talk then.”

“Okay,” Zack said. “But if you show up at the Blue Reef, I’m putting you to work.”

The Blue Reef Bar and Grill was one of their latest clients, an upscale watering hole that had contracted for a large bi-view tank that would separate the restaurant from the bar area. Nothing too difficult or exotic, and on those kinds of jobs Maggie seldom got involved in setting the end product in place.

“Fine,” Maggie teased back. “I’ll show you boys how it’s supposed to be done.”

Zack laughed. “Just don’t run up a big hotel bill while you’re there. No room service.”

“I know what the budget will tolerate. I’m going to ask Alaina if I can stay at her place. In that big house of hers, she’s bound to have room.”

There was the slight hesitation that Maggie always got from Zack at the mention of her sister’s name. Then he said easily, “All right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.”

Although Zack couldn’t see her, Maggie shook her head in disgust. Ten years had passed since he and Alaina had broken up—too long to let the heated, passionate turmoil of those young days still bother him. Alaina had been married for ages, presumably for keeps. Zack, on the other hand…He dated, but he never seemed interested in settling down.

What was he waiting for? Did he think Alaina would change her mind? It seemed silly for a great guy like Zack Davidson to let an old love continue to affect him.

But as Maggie hung up from Zack and dialed her sister’s number, she scolded herself. Who was she to tell people how they ought to deal with their emotions? Sometimes, didn’t those early relationships do enough damage to last a lifetime? After all these years, coming face-to-face with Will Stewart had certainly set her blood on fire, hadn’t it? Thank goodness, though, it had been for an entirely different reason than unrequited love.

Maggie was relieved when Alaina seemed delighted at the idea of having an unexpected visitor. It had been at least a year since they’d last seen one another, two since she’d visited her parents.

Years ago, when Maggie had left Miami for Key West, she’d been furious with all three of them, but she hadn’t been able to stay angry at her sister for long. Alaina could seldom stand up to their parents, but she didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She would have done anything for her younger sister, including raise Maggie’s illegitimate baby as her own—an idea Connie and James Tillman had unbelievably considered the best solution for everyone.

A solution that Maggie had hotly refused to consider.

The moment Alaina opened the front door of her huge home in North Miami, Maggie found herself swallowed in a tight, welcoming hug. It surprised her a little. Alaina was reserved and not much of a “hugger.”

Alaina had always been delicately beautiful, articulate and poised, everything that Maggie had never been and never would be. Just shy of thirty, she had an elegant sophistication now. She looked trim and spotless in white shorts, with long, bare legs that were sun-gilded to a rosy gold. There wasn’t a blond hair out of place, in spite of the fact that she looked like she’d just come off the tennis court.

Maggie had to hide a secret grimace. Any time she had played tennis, it had strictly been baggy pants and sweat marks at the armpits of her T-shirt.

Alaina drew back, still holding Maggie’s arms. “I’ve missed you so much!”

“You have?” Maggie replied in a stunned tone, without thinking. She wasn’t used to this kind of effusive greeting from Alaina. Her sister tended to welcome you like a queen inviting a television crew into the palace.

“Of course,” Alaina said. “Come on, I have your room all ready. It’s Delia’s day off, so the place is a mess, but a little clutter never used to bother you much. Close your eyes if you can’t bear it.”

Maggie kept her eyes open as she followed her sister through the house. She made a mental note to look up the word clutter in the dictionary when she got home. Alaina’s definition must be an iced tea glass sweating on the coffee table without a coaster and a tennis racket tossed onto a chair. Everything else looked model-home perfect and boring—from the impressive baby grand piano placed artfully by the floor-to-ceiling windows, to a massive piece of modern sculpture that soared skyward in the foyer.

Maggie thought suddenly of her lumpy but comfortable couch at home, snagged at a neighbor’s garage sale, and her mismatched dining chairs. Her apartment boasted the kind of decor that came from seldom having guests and never seeing your own home with fresh eyes. Compared to this place, it was a disaster.

Honestly, it was amazing that she and Alaina were actually sisters.

“Same old dump, I see,” Maggie remarked.

Alaina smiled back over one shoulder. “It’s awfully bland, isn’t it? But Gil insisted we use a professional designer for the common areas. He feels a certain impression has to be maintained. The house has to say something about who he is.”

“Oh, it does,” Maggie replied.

She clamped her tongue between her teeth to keep from divulging more. She didn’t like Alaina’s husband, Gil. He might be a brilliant, prominent pediatric surgeon, but Maggie thought him overbearing and a complete snob. And the few times she’d been around him, he’d been so bossy with Alaina. Of course, that hardly differed from the way her parents had always treated her sister, but it seemed a little unfair that Alaina should have gone from one domineering household to another.

But…maybe Alaina, never much for taking chances or bucking authority, liked it that way.

She led Maggie down a long hallway. Finally, she came to a door, opened it, and stepped aside. “I redecorated the back bedrooms a few months ago. I hope you like yours. I don’t care if it is all last year’s colors.”

Maggie had been about to make a playfully snarky remark about being stuck with “last year’s colors,” but when she stepped into the room, the beauty of it took her breath away. The furniture didn’t match, but actually worked together instead of looking like a hodgepodge. Cream and rose hues, with a touch of green for accent. All the soft colors of a Victorian garden party. The curtains at the tall windows were real lace, billowing an invitation in the soft breeze.

Noting Maggie’s silence, Alaina said, “Do you think it’s too girly? Gil refuses to put any of his relatives in here.”

Maggie turned to face her sister. “Al, it’s gorgeous. You really did miss your calling. You shouldn’t have let Mom and Dad talk you out of a degree in interior design.”

Alaina shook her head. “That was just a silly dream. I didn’t really have enough imagination to sustain that kind of career. So now I’m exactly who I should be.”

Maggie frowned a little. And who was that?

She didn’t know her sister all that well anymore. They had always been very different people, but as the years had gone by, the gap had widened. They certainly didn’t have mutual friends and interests, or kids or husbands. Just their parents.

And Alaina knew better than to encourage that particular point of connection.

Maggie turned back to the room, feeling a tightness in her chest, regretting that she and her sister had become so distant. She made the sudden, impassioned decision that from now on she would try to rectify that, try harder to be a real friend to Alaina.

She rolled her weekender to the bed and hefted it on top. Alaina went into hostess mode, pointing out the bathroom and a basket of high-end toiletries that put Maggie’s hotel freebies to shame. She promised to bring more hangers if Maggie needed them. Would she like scented ones?

Maggie had to laugh. “I don’t think I’ll need more. I usually drape my good clothes over a chair and ball up everything else in a corner.”

“Even after all these years?” Alaina asked. “Mom would be horrified.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve shocked her. Or Dad, either.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way.”

Maggie gave her sister a wry smile. “Don’t start. That’s just the way it is. We’re pleasant to one another. I still love them. Didn’t I come up for Dad’s retirement party? We’re just not destined to be close.”

Alaina went to the windows and fiddled with the curtains while Maggie unzipped her bag. Somewhere in the distance she could hear wind chimes tinkling sweet notes.

“Are you going to stop by to see them?” Alaina asked, still intent on the drapes.

“I doubt it. I only need to stay a couple of days.”

“Mom would probably like to see you. Since Dad’s retired he doesn’t have enough to do, and she says he drives her crazy.”

“I can imagine,” Maggie replied. It wasn’t hard to picture her father trying to rearrange her mother’s household chores or deciding on the spur of the moment to remodel the family room. “Maybe I’ll swing by for an hour or two on my way out of town.”

Maggie visited Connie and James Tillman mostly out of obligation now. She still considered herself a dutiful daughter. But when she came up to see them, their time together was deliberately brief. Her parents were better taken in small doses, and there was a coolness to all of their interactions, as though they were guests she’d only just met at a party and not the people who’d raised her.

She pulled a blouse out of her suitcase, shaking out the wrinkles. From the corner of her eye, she was aware of her sister turning from the window.

“I wish things could have been different,” Alaina said suddenly.

“Different how?”

“You know. About the baby.”

Maggie looked up. Alaina, never comfortable talking about unpleasant family history, seldom mentioned those early days when Maggie had discovered she was pregnant.

Her sister grimaced. “I wish I’d tried harder to make them see how wrong they were back then. It’s true Gil and I were eager for kids, but letting Mom and Dad persuade me to take your baby wasn’t the answer. I should have told them no right away instead of allowing them to browbeat you for days.”

Maggie let the blouse drop from her hands. She could hear the sudden anguish in her sister’s voice. How long had Alaina been wanting to say this?

In dismay, Maggie said, “It wouldn’t have mattered if they had gone on at me for a month. There was just no way I could bear to end up being Aunt Maggie, living on the outskirts of my own child’s life. But I don’t blame you, Al. At the time, they thought it was a perfectly sensible solution, and you couldn’t have refused.”

Their eyes met, and immediately Alaina’s looked elsewhere, leaving a brief burn of barely concealed shame. “I know they hurt you,” she said. “I should have taken your side. But I’m not a fighter and never have been. I don’t like…confrontation. Arguing is so…”

“Fight phobia.”

Alaina’s gaze swung back to her. “What?”

Maggie gave her a small smile of understanding, hoping to lighten the mood. “Back in high school. That’s what Zack used to call it when I’d complain because you wouldn’t take a stand with me against Mom and Dad. Fight phobia.”

Maggie came around the bed to go to her sister’s side. Gently, she squeezed Alaina’s arm and drew her closer. “It’s all right. Everything worked out for the best.”

“Did it?” Alaina asked, looking uncertain. “I want a child so badly. I don’t know how you reached that point where you could—” She colored suddenly. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I’m not judging you.”

“You couldn’t possibly judge me more harshly than I do myself sometimes.” Maggie felt a sudden, tight thickness at the back of her throat. Talking about children—particularly the fact that she didn’t have any—always made things difficult. Maybe it was time to change the subject. She touched Alaina’s cheek. “Are you and Gil still trying for a baby?” she asked quickly, hoping that her sister wouldn’t notice anything wrong with her voice.

“Not so much anymore. We’ve done everything the doctors say. But after nine years, you start to think…”

“Maybe you need to spice things up a bit. I hear the Internet has all kinds of Web sites where you can buy—”

“Mag!”

“Oh, good grief. How can sex make you blush after nine years of marriage?”

“There are some things that are just too personal to discuss.”

Maggie waved that away. If she was really going to try to strengthen her relationship with Alaina, she might as well start now. “Between sisters? Nonsense. Ask me anything. I guarantee I’m long past the blushing stage, and very few things make me uncomfortable anymore.”

Alaina gave her a searching look. “Do you ever think about your baby?”

Maggie blinked rapidly. She could not hold Alaina’s gaze, not even for a second. Something inside her just couldn’t manage it.

She had the quick vision of her daughter’s face as the clinic’s midwife had placed the baby in her arms. All red and unhappy and helpless as she wailed. And then gone, so suddenly. It had only been a moment. How could she explain to Alaina that such a tiny fragment of time still made her brain and her heart burn like brimstone?

“Every day of my life,” Maggie said carefully. “I’ve second-guessed that decision from the moment I made it and wondered what my life would be like if I hadn’t. What she might look like now, as a little girl.”

The silence between them thickened, then Maggie straightened her spine, determined to be brisk. “But it’s easier to find solutions when your stomach is full and you aren’t sleeping in your car. When I showed up on Zack’s doorstep, I honestly didn’t know how I could manage with a baby. They need so much.” She grimaced. “So I just made the best choice for her that I could. At least what I thought would be best.”

“You should have gone to Will,” Alaina said softly. “I always liked him. I think he would have helped you.”

Maggie stepped away abruptly, returning to her suitcase. “Really, Al. You’re too romantic to be believed. Will told me flat out that he hoped he’d never see me again. That the danger I exposed Lisa to was unforgivable. Do you honestly think he would have been thrilled by the idea of having a baby with a woman he despised? First he would have accused me of getting pregnant on purpose—which I didn’t—”

“You were always so careless about keeping track—”

Maggie made a face at her, more comfortable to return to this testy camaraderie. “You don’t have to point that out. I know. But I’m much better about it now, I assure you.”

“Sorry.”

“And then he would have been furious. Forced to share custody for the rest of his life with someone he hates? Never able to file me away in some compartment of his tidy little mind labeled Finished Business? Trust me, that definitely wasn’t an option back then.”

“I suppose we’ll never know,” Alaina said. “Isn’t it funny how both of us, in our own way, always give in to fear?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m always afraid of doing something that will disappoint someone. Mom and Dad. Gil. And you’re frightened that people will think you can’t manage your own life. That somehow they’ll think you’re weak. Too much pride, Maggie.”

She didn’t want to talk about this. She let Alaina take the blouse from her hands and slip it onto a padded hanger. Then she kicked off the heels she’d worn for the meeting with Teddy and began massaging one instep.

“What do you want to do about dinner?” she asked. “I feel like steak. Should I make a reservation for three at Maldanado’s? Or is Gil still boycotting red meat?”

Alaina emerged from the closet, then headed for the door. “Gil’s in Boston this week. He’s giving a couple of speeches at a pediatricians’ conference.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t go with him,” Maggie said with a frown. “You love Boston.”

Alaina shrugged. “Not this time. Now I’m going to fix us some lunch.”

“Al…”

Alaina turned back.

“Why haven’t you asked me about Zack? I’ve mentioned him twice now. Don’t you want to know how he is?”

Her sister didn’t miss a beat. “Okay. How is he?”

“He’s great. Still the best friend a girl could ever have. And he’s really my right arm when it comes to the business. I’m afraid I’m going to lose him next year.”

“Lose him?” Alaina’s brows rose. “Why?”

“He keeps talking about opening up his own shop. Nothing to do with aquariums, so I don’t have to worry about competition. But his cabinetry work is so remarkable. I’m sure his talent has had a lot to do with the success of Sapphire Seas.” She gave Alaina a curious glance. “Don’t you want to know if he ever talks about you?”

Alaina bit her lower lip, and Maggie wondered if that was the only way she could keep it from trembling. Then she tilted her head back a little, all trace of discomfort gone. “No,” she claimed succinctly. “Why would I? What we were in high school…what might have been…what difference does all that make now?”

Maggie grimaced. “Mom and Dad really did a number on both of us, didn’t they? Trying to convince me that you could raise my child, until I just got fed up and ran away. Brainwashing you into thinking that Zack wasn’t good enough. That you weren’t head over heels in love with him.”

“Maybe I wasn’t.” She sighed a little. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter now. Eventually you have to leave behind all that foolishness.”

“So you can become exactly who you’re supposed to be,” Maggie said, reciting Alaina’s earlier words.

“That’s right,” Alaina replied. Then she frowned a little. “This is who I am now. I’m a married woman with a very successful husband who loves me. I have a beautiful home. Lots of friends. And parents who, unlike you, I get along with. What more do I need?”

“Sounds fantastic.”

“It is. Now let me go fix lunch.”

“Al?”

Again Alaina stopped, but this time there was a touch of exasperation in the look she gave Maggie. “What now?”

“You just said you were a married woman. How come you didn’t preface that with the word happily?”

Alaina looked surprised and, for just a moment, Maggie thought her sister might actually give her hell for that question. Instead, she paused then shook her head. “Honestly, Maggie,” she said softly. “Now who’s being a silly romantic?”




CHAPTER FIVE


BY TEN THE NEXT MORNING, Will had finally tracked down the Sapphire Seas crew at their current project—a bar and grill near Coconut Grove called the Blue Reef.

It had taken him the better part of an hour to get a name and address. The flunky in Key West who had answered the phone knew almost nothing and provided even less—until Will had told him that Sapphire Seas stood to lose a huge contract if he didn’t get in touch with someone immediately.

Relieved that he wouldn’t have to travel half the state to see Maggie’s team in action, Will parked on the street and headed toward Blue Reef’s front entrance. The place was closed, but he noted two large trucks parked near the wide double doors. He assumed they were rentals since neither of them carried the Sapphire Seas logo. The company bank account had probably never been flush enough to allow for that kind of heavy-duty equipment purchase. Understandable, but another clear sign that the infrastructure of Sapphire Seas didn’t go very deep.





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