The Single Dad's Second Chance (13 page)

She didn’t want to get ahead of herself, to expect too much. She was only here because it was Maura’s birthday....

Follow your heart
.

As she heard the echo of Phoebe’s urging in the back of her mind, she acknowledged that she was also here because her heart wouldn’t let her be anywhere else.

Maura had been sitting across from her father with her back to the entrance, but she turned now, and the smile that spread across her face went a long way toward healing Rachel’s bruised emotions. Then she slid out of her chair to wrap her arms around Rachel and hug her tight. “I’m so glad you came.”

“Me, too,” she said, and meant it. “Happy Birthday, Maura.”

The little girl accepted the brightly wrapped package. “Can I open it?”

“It is your birthday, isn’t it?”

Andrew had stood up, too, and he pulled back Rachel’s chair for her to sit. “Thank you,” he whispered, close to her ear, as she lowered herself into the chair.

She didn’t know what to say and wasn’t sure she wouldn’t end up regretting the decision to come here, so she just nodded.

Maura climbed back onto her chair and tore at the paper that covered her gift. “Daddy—look. It’s the second Harry Potter book.”

“I thought you must be getting close to the end of the first one.”

“Just six more chapters,” Maura told her. “Daddy said he would take me to the bookstore to get the next one when we were done, but now he doesn’t have to.”

When the pizza came out, it had Happy Birthday spelled out in green pepper and a smiley face made out of pepperoni in the middle. Of course, when Maura saw that, she didn’t want to eat it, so Andrew took out his cell phone to snap a photo of it for her.

After the pizza had been devoured, there was cake for the birthday girl. Andrew and Rachel both declined dessert but had coffee while Maura enjoyed her chocolate truffle cake.

“Did you have a good birthday?” Rachel asked as they were leaving the restaurant.

“I had four birthdays,” the little girl told her, and proceeded to count them out on her fingers. “One at Buster Bear’s, one with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Ed, a big party at Grandma Jane and Grandpa Dave’s house, with all my aunts and uncles and cousins, and then tonight.”

“You’re a lucky girl.”

Maura nodded. “But I liked this one best, ’cuz it had you.”

* * *

Andrew knew that he was lucky to be given a second chance with Rachel, and he wasn’t about to blow it. He’d put his heart on the line and told her how he felt, but she’d remained closemouthed about her own feelings. And he told himself that was okay. Right now, he should just enjoy being with her and not push for more than she was ready to give.

But he talked to her every day, sometimes more than once a day, and he saw her as often as he could. And slowly, over the next several days, her resistance began to melt. She let him hold her hand in the dark of the movie theater, and kiss her good-night if Maura was already tucked into bed. He really liked kissing her. He liked doing a lot of other things with her, too, but he reminded himself that he was trying to take things slower this time.

And then, on the Friday night ten days after Maura’s birthday, she was invited to a sleepover at Kristy’s house. He decided to invite Rachel to his place for dinner, deliberately neglecting to mention that his daughter wouldn’t be there.

Of course, the first question she asked when she arrived was, “Where’s Maura?”

“At Kristy’s.”

She looked at him, obviously waiting for an explanation.

“I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you might not come if you knew,” he admitted. “Not that I invited you with the expectation of anything more than sharing a meal and some time alone with you.”

She seemed to consider his response for a minute before she asked, “What’s for dinner?”

“I have potatoes baking in the oven, a green salad in the fridge, and steaks ready to go on the grill.”

“You’re actually cooking?”

“Grilling,” he clarified.

She smiled as she stepped out of her shoes, and he exhaled a quiet sigh of relief at the realization that she was going to stay.

He took her hands and gently drew her toward him. She didn’t resist. Not even when he slipped his arms around her waist and lowered his head to kiss her. And the way she kissed him back gave him hope that she may have finally, truly, forgiven him.

“I’ve really missed you.” He whispered the words against her lips.

“I missed you, too,” she admitted.

He wanted to ask her to stay the night, but he’d promised her that he didn’t have any expectations—and it was true. But he was desperately holding on to hope that she’d forgiven him sufficiently to get naked with him again.

Instead he said, “I should start the barbecue and get those steaks on.”

“I don’t mind eating later.”

“How much later?”

“After,” she told him, and brought his mouth down to hers again.

He swept her into his arms and carried her upstairs to his bed.

Chapter Thirteen

T
here was another fireplace in his bedroom.

Of course, Rachel hadn’t noticed it when he first carried her into the master suite. She hadn’t been aware of anything but the massive bed in the center of the room and the man who lowered her onto it.

But now that her body was sated and her heart rate was almost back to normal, she took a minute to look around.

The mission-style furniture had strong, masculine lines that suited the man and the room. The walls were taupe, the hardwood floors had an espresso finish, and she suspected the sheets tangled around her were the finest Egyptian cotton.

“I bet this room could be the feature spread in a home-decorating magazine.”

He grinned. “Right now, with you sprawled naked on my bed, I’m thinking it looks like a different kind of magazine spread.”

She picked up one of the pillows and swung it at him.

He caught the pillow—and her—and in one quick move, pinned her beneath him. He looked into her eyes, and his expression turned serious. “Are we okay?”

Her brows lifted. “I’d say that what just happened here is a few notches up the scale from okay.”

“What just happened here was off the scale,” he told her. “But you know that’s not what I’m asking.”

She nodded.

“Yes, you know, or yes, we’re okay?”

“Both.”

He lowered his head to kiss her gently then drew back when her stomach growled hungrily.

“I guess it’s later,” he acknowledged.

He opened a bottle of pinot noir to accompany their meal and poured two glasses. When he went outside to grill the steaks, she took her glass of wine to keep him company.

He’d told her that he’d hired Sharlene because he couldn’t cook. Rachel didn’t know how true that was, but when she took her first bite of the steak, she knew that he could grill. The baked potatoes were a little overcooked, because neither of them had thought to take them out of the oven before they went upstairs, but she didn’t mind. And Andrew covered his with sour cream and chives and grated cheese and crumbled bacon so that he probably didn’t even realize it.

When the meal was finished, she pushed back her chair and rose from the table.

“Where are you going?” he asked her.

“To clear the table.”

“Leave it for later.”

Her brows lifted. “Later?”

He grinned and tugged her hand, so that she tumbled onto his lap. “I’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

“It doesn’t all have to be in one night,” she told him.

“I know.” He nuzzled her throat, and the rasp of stubble on her tender skin made her shiver. “I want to make love with you again.”

She wanted that, too. Because when she was with Andrew, she felt as if they really were making love.

And she did love him, but she hadn’t yet been able to say the words. She didn’t know what was holding her back. She didn’t think she was punishing him for hurting her—at least not consciously. But for some reason, she felt compelled to keep the depth of her feelings to herself. It was as if she’d given him so much of her heart and herself that she was afraid if she gave him the words, she wouldn’t have anything left.

* * *

Maura liked having sleepovers at Kristy’s house, because Kristy’s mom let them stay up really late and she didn’t care what they ate. She said that sleepovers were all about pigging out and
not
sleeping. But now that she was really tired, Maura didn’t think the buttered popcorn and ice cream with chocolate sauce and an entire bag of gummy bears had been such a good idea.

Or maybe it was the zombie movie they’d watched that was keeping her awake.

She couldn’t see her friend in the dark, so she whispered. “Kristy?”

“Yeah?”

“Are zombies real?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Are you scared?”

“Nuh-uh. We’re in the attic—if anyone comes in, they’ll get Tiffany first.”

Maura didn’t find that thought very reassuring.

“Besides, Greg’s here. He’d protect us.”

That made her feel better. Greg was almost Kristy’s daddy, and Maura always felt safe when her daddy was around.

Still, she snuggled a little deeper in the mattress and pulled the covers up a little higher.

“So what’s going on with your dad and his girlfriend?” Kristy asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Are they together or broken up?”

“They’re together again,” she said, happy that it was true.

“Are they gonna get married?”

“I don’t know.”

“My mom’s getting married next month.”

Maura nodded, because it was practically all her friend talked about.

“My dad got married, too.”

“When?”

“A couple years ago.”

Maura was surprised ’cuz Kristy didn’t talk much about her dad.

“And now I’ve got a baby brother,” Kristy told her.

“Wow. You’re really lucky.”

“He’s fat and cries a lot.”

She didn’t know what to say to that.

“And now my dad never comes to see me,” Kristy said. “’Cuz he’s too busy with the baby.”

“Oh.”

“Tiffany says it’s not the baby’s fault...it’s my stepmonster’s—that’s what she calls my stepmother.”

“Why?”

“’Cuz she’s mean.”

“I thought you liked her.”

“That was before she married my dad.” Kristy yawned. “I’m going to sleep now.”

“Okay.” Maura rolled over, trying to get more comfortable, but the popcorn, ice cream and gummy bears felt like a hard lump in her belly.

* * *

Being a single father with a young daughter meant that Andrew had to be circumspect in his behavior. Rachel stayed over the night that Maura was at Kristy’s, but they both knew that waking up together was going to be the exception rather than the rule.

So he found himself looking forward to the first weekend in May, when his daughter would be with her maternal grandparents and he could have two nights with Rachel.

But on the Monday before that weekend, he got called out of town on business. Work-related emergencies were one of the reasons he’d hired Sharlene. Although she wasn’t technically a live-in housekeeper, she had indicated a willingness to work flexible hours—arriving early and staying late and even spending the night, as required. Unfortunately this emergency meeting happened to be called when his housekeeper was in Cleveland because her son’s wife had just given birth to Sharlene’s first grandbaby.

He was fortunate in that he had a couple of other options. He knew that Maura could stay with either set of grandparents and both would be thrilled to have her. Instead, he decided to ask Rachel to stay with her so that his daughter could remain at home.

Rachel seemed surprised by his request, and a little hesitant. He understood that she had her own life, but he wanted to know that they could figure out a way to merge their respective responsibilities and make it work. And, in the end, she agreed.

Andrew didn’t really mind the meetings. They’d never been his favorite part of the job, but he understood that they were an essential aspect of it. What he minded was being away from Maura, and whenever he had to be gone overnight, he always made sure to talk to her before she went to bed. But this time, he was missing Rachel, too.

He’d told her that she could sleep in his bed, because he liked to think of her tucked between his sheets, preferably naked. But she’d opted for the spare bedroom beside Maura’s, insisting that it wouldn’t be any less weird for his daughter to find Rachel in his bed just because he wasn’t in it.

She was probably right, and he was looking forward to the day when, instead of being something out of the ordinary, it would be the norm for all of them.

* * *

Rachel had worried that she wouldn’t be able to mesh the demands of her job with the needs of Andrew’s daughter. But she found with a little extra planning and some juggling of schedules, it wasn’t all that difficult.

Andrew got Maura off to school Monday morning before he left, so Rachel only had to make sure she was at the house when the little girl got off the bus at 3:50 p.m. In the mornings, she was picked up at eight-twenty, so Rachel would have plenty of time to get to the shop before nine and open as usual. Tuesday was a bit trickier, because of the delivery that came at seven, but Holly agreed—with minimal grumbling—to be on hand for that.

After the first twenty-four hours, Rachel started to believe that she could actually do this.

The one snag came at dinnertime on Tuesday. Rachel had gone through the cupboards and found everything she needed to make chicken cacciatore for dinner—but she forgot to take the package of chicken out of the freezer. As a result, they ended up eating grilled cheese, with a side of green beans to ensure that Maura got her daily quotient of vegetables. Because despite the little girl’s determined efforts, she did not succeed in convincing Rachel that ketchup was a vegetable.

She was just finishing up her sandwich when Carol Wakefield walked in.

Her entry wasn’t preceded by a knock or the bell, she just came right in. Obviously Andrew’s former mother-in-law had a key, because Rachel knew she’d locked the door. Maybe this was Forrest Hill, but she lived downtown and old habits were hard to break.

“Hi, Grandma,” Maura said, dunking her last triangle of sandwich into her ketchup.

Carol scowled at her plate. “What’s this?”

“We’re having dinner,” Rachel said, reassuring herself that there was nothing unhealthy about grilled cheese sandwiches.

The older woman ignored Rachel’s response to focus on her granddaughter. “Where’s your daddy?” she demanded.

“Baltimore?” She looked to Rachel, who nodded in confirmation.

“Where’s Sharlene?”

“Ohio.” Rachel answered this question when Maura only shrugged.

“Are you telling me that Andrew left my granddaughter in your care?”

She bit back the pithy reply that sprang to her lips and forced a smile. “And we’re having a good time, aren’t we, Maura?”

“The best,” she confirmed.

“I’m sorry,” Carol said, not sounding sorry at all. “But this situation is completely unacceptable.”

“What situation is that?” a familiar male voice asked from behind her.

“Daddy!” Maura’s enthusiastic greeting saved Carol from having to respond.

He caught the little girl in his arms and hugged her tight. She pulled back and noisily kissed each of his cheeks.

“I missed you, baby,” he told her.

“I missed you, too, Daddy, but Rachel and I made cookies and painted our toenails and she taught me how to French braid—but I can’t do my own hair so good—and we’re up to chapter five in the second Harry Potter book!”

“Chapter five already? Doesn’t sound like you had much time to miss me,” he noted with a wry grin.

“I had fun with Rachel.”

“I knew you would.” He shifted his daughter in his arms to face his former mother-in-law. “Was there a reason you stopped by?”

“I wanted to talk to you about our weekend plans with Maura.”

If Carol had really wanted to talk about weekend plans, she would have called. The fact that she’d stopped by led him to believe that she’d done so impulsively upon seeing Rachel’s car in the driveway and the absence of his own.

“What about them?” he asked mildly.

“Since Maura doesn’t have school on Friday, Ed and I have decided to take her to the beach,” she said, referring to their house in South Carolina, about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Charisma. “She loves it there, and the Emmersons are going for the weekend, too, so she’ll have other kids to play with.”

“That’s Steffy and Cody,” he reminded Maura.

“Yay!”

He smiled. “Apparently she’s good with that plan.”

“You’re welcome to join us,” Carol said to him.

Maura clapped her hands together. “Say yes, Daddy. I want you to come to the beach with us. You, too, Rachel. We can look for seashells and—”

“I’m sorry, Maura,” Carol interjected. “But we don’t have an extra bedroom for Daddy’s...friend.”

Maura frowned, and he could see her mentally counting the number of empty bedrooms in the Wakefields’ beach house.

“I appreciate the invitation,” he said. “But there’s a lot going on at work right now that I’ll have to catch up on after being away the last couple of days.”

Carol looked as if she wanted to say something more, but then she nodded. “We’ll pick Maura up after school on Thursday.”

“I’ll make sure she’s packed,” he promised.

“I’m gonna start packing now,” Maura said, and raced off to her room.

“She hates me,” Rachel said when Carol had gone.

“She wouldn’t like anyone who she perceived as taking her daughter’s place,” Andrew told her.

She understood that—she just wished the other woman felt differently. After all, she was Maura’s grandmother, and since Rachel was hoping to spend a lot of time with the little girl, she didn’t want to be in constant conflict with the older woman.

“But
I
like you,” he said, and wrapped his arms around her. “And I missed you.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Did you miss me?”

“Maura kept me so busy, I didn’t even realize you were gone,” she teased.

His mouth skimmed over her jaw.

“You didn’t miss me—”

Down her throat.

“—even a little?”

She swallowed. “Maybe...a little.”

He nibbled on her collarbone.

“Maybe—” her breath caught “—a lot.”

“Maybe’s not good enough,” he reminded her.

“Maybe I’ll show you how much I missed you after Maura’s asleep.”

“That’s a
maybe
I’ll take.”

* * *

After Maura was asleep and Rachel had very thoroughly assured Andrew that he’d been missed, she slid out of his bed and began gathering her clothes.

“I wish you’d stay,” he said, although he knew she wouldn’t be persuaded.

“I wish I could,” she admitted. “But I need to get home.”

“You’ve slept here the past two nights,” he reminded her.

“That’s different.”

“Why?”

She leaned over the bed to kiss him. “Because you weren’t here.”

He caught her hand as she reached to put something on the bedside table. “What’s that?”