on a couch and wake up looking devilishly handsome was beyond her. She’d felt like night of the living dead last night. At least this morning, she’d had a chance to shower, put on some makeup and brush her hair before facing him.
His black hair was tousled. His clothes wrinkled and his shirt stained over his heart from Amber’s drool. And all Maggie wanted to do was sit in his lap and feed him pancakes.
“I think they’re done.” Brady’s voice shook her out of her fantasy.
She flushed as she plated the dark pancakes onto her plate. Thankfully, syrup fixed everything. She’d choke them down if she had to. She took her seat at the table across from Brady with Amber in between them.
“What do you think, Mommy?” Amber said around a bite of pancake.
Maggie was too distracted to chastise her about talking with her mouth full. “About what?”
“Coming with us, silly.”
“Yeah, Maggie. Come with us.”
Two sets of blue eyes were fixed on her. Amber’s were wide and pleading; Brady’s had crinkles in the corners as if he knew exactly what she had been thinking about and found it amusing. Give him a chance, he’d asked, and she’d agreed to it.
“Should I bring a picnic basket?” Maggie focused on Amber. It was a whole lot less confusing. Amber’s eyes, while similar to Brady’s, were still the eyes of her daughter. Looking at Brady stirred something within her and if he kept this new act up, she’d be in some deep doo-doo by the end of the day.
“I love picnics,” Amber exclaimed.
“Me, too,” Brady said, and without meaning to, Maggie looked at him. His face showed his pleasure. Yup, deep doo-doo.
Four hours later, Maggie found a shaded spot under an old oak tree to put out the blanket for their picnic while Brady pushed Amber on the swings. Amber had been swinging by herself for the past two years, but Brady didn’t know that. Maggie shook her head as she set down the basket and drew out the blanket.
The air had a hint of nip to it, but it was pretty warm for a fall day. While there were plenty of leaves on the ground, the trees had held on to most of them. In a few weeks the trees would be bare. A good day to come to the park.
“Let me help you with that.”
Maggie turned at Brady’s voice. She glanced beyond him at Amber happily swinging away. “Did she have you fooled for even a moment?”
His carefree smile tugged at her heart. “Not a chance. Which is why I only pushed her a little, so she’d be done with me quickly.”
He reached for an end of the blanket. She quickly passed it before he was able to touch her. She was having enough trouble breathing when he was around. If he touched her, she was fairly sure she’d forget how to breathe at all. And he being the Boy Scout he’d always been would be forced to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Her heart skipped a beat.
They backed away from each other to spread out the blanket. The whole morning he’d been thoughtful and attentive. A girl could get used to this if she weren’t careful. Maggie tried to keep New York Brady in her mind, but even when he was angry at her over something, he turned her on and challenged her. The way he was acting today stirred the memories of the Brady she’d had a crush on since middle school.
Her heart still raced when he was near. The same way as it had back then. Even her skin prickled, waiting for an accidental brush or the touch of his hand. She wasn’t a teenager anymore. This was ridiculous. The man turns on a little charm and suddenly she feels like putty? Just waiting for him to mold her.
She snapped the blanket to straighten it and lowered it to the ground. It wasn’t as if she was innocent, or that he was all that great of a catch. She sat on the edge of the blanket.
“How’s work dealing with you gone?” Maggie asked as she turned to dig out the picnic gear.
“Getting by.” Brady’s voice was near.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw that he’d stretched out on the blanket. All six-feet-something of him displayed like temptation itself. She needed to find something to remind herself that this Brady wasn’t the real Brady. Fast-paced, selfcentered, know-it-all was Brady now.
“I saw that you were talking to Jules when Amber got hurt…” Take the bait. C’mon, you know you want to talk about work.
“Yeah, one of the contractors was being a dick. Something about only wanting to deal with me.” He didn’t twitch a muscle.
“Aren’t you worried she wasn’t able to fix it?” Maggie set the plates next to the bowls of food she’d pulled out.
“Jules is a pretty competent woman. I’m sure she was able to handle herself.” Brady finally rolled onto his side and looked at her. “Why are you suddenly worried about my work?”
She could feel the heat in her cheeks but kept getting things out and ready for lunch. “You’ve been without a phone for nearly two days and you haven’t burst into flames yet.”
He chuckled and the sound flowed through her. “Like I said, they are competent.”
“And what brought you to that conclusion?” She lifted her gaze to his and wished she hadn’t. His eyes were soft in the shade of the tree. A pretty deep shade of blue that should seem wrong on a man like Brady, instead sent a pulse of heat through her.
“I’d rather be here with Amber.” He glanced toward the swings. The chains creaked as Amber went back and forth. When he returned his gaze to hers, she inhaled. “And you.”
Every unfulfilled wish came rushing back to her. How Brady would come sweeping into their lives at any moment and make things better. How her mother would have been cured and alive today. How Brady would love her.
But this wasn’t wish time. She needed to remind herself of that and make him show her the truth. She dropped her attention to the food. “I bet you can’t wait to go back to New York and your life.”
“New York is good.” There was hesitancy in his voice as though he was waiting for her to spring a trap.
“And your friends.”
“Sure.” Brady sat up and his attention on her made her wish for things that weren’t real.
“And your girlfriends.”
Only the sound of the creaking swing chains and rustle of leaves filled the void after her statement. Her breath caught in her throat, but she forced herself to continue with getting their lunch ready while waiting for his reply.
“Wow, that’s one big land mine you placed right there.”
“Excuse me?” She finally lifted her eyes.
There was a hint of anger in his eyes and God help her, if she didn’t relax a little bit, even as her breathing hitched. Charming Brady might be difficult to manage, but she was used to angry Brady.
“I already told you that Jules and I aren’t dating,” Brady said carefully, probably negotiating the supposed land mine she’d put out.
“I know.” She turned to watch Amber happily swinging. Hopefully, now he would tell her that there was someone in New York. That this was all fake and he was going to leave them.
“I don’t have a girlfriend, nor would I want one in New York. I have enough women in my life currently.” He moved. She didn’t see him move, but her body was in tune with what his did. His warmth drew closer to her. In the coolness of the shade, she longed to relax into him.
“I’m sure women are ready to toss themselves at you when you return.” She managed to keep her spine straight and her tone even.
“What about you, Maggie?” His breath tickled the hair at the nape of her neck. Why had she put it up this morning?
“What