Special Deliveries Collection. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ left her with Sam?” The accusatory tone in Maggie’s voice couldn’t distract Brady from a dressed-up Maggie. Her red dress wasn’t particularly fancy, but it hugged her in just the right places, making his thoughts less than pure.

      “Sam promised her Dairy Queen, a movie and chores in the morning. Besides, Sam owes me a lot more than one night.” Brady offered her his arm. “Are you ready to go?”

      She hesitated for a moment, almost as if she wanted to bolt up the stairs and hide in her bedroom. Instead, she gave herself a slight shake, which made her dress dance around her knees. “I’m ready.”

      He led her to his rental car and opened her door. All afternoon he’d worked on the logistics of how to get her to New York. He’d even put together a presentation. More for himself than her. It was the way he worked through things. It was comfortable.

      He climbed in and started the car, turning the music to a soft volume. Now that he was with her, all the preparation flew out the window with one look at that dress. The soft floral scent that emanated from her didn’t help the tightness in his pants. He’d be lucky if he could get through dinner—let alone the important conversation they needed to have—before he kissed her.

      They had fifteen minutes to drive to the restaurant, an hour to eat, then the drive back before he could kiss her. When he kissed her tonight, unless she objected, he had no intentions of stopping.

      “Did Amber enjoy the farm?” The thought of his daughter cooled him.

      “She fed the lambs, and Sam let her try milking a cow.” Brady pulled away from the curb as he told Maggie all about the “pet” cow that Amber spent the better part of an hour trying to milk. By the time they reached the restaurant, he was completely in control.

      The hostess sat them in a booth toward the back. Very few people were in the restaurant.

      “I think last time I was in here it was a barbecue joint,” Maggie said from behind her menu.

      “Looks like they decided fried chicken might work better.”

      “Until next week.” Her smiling eyes peeked over the menu.

      He couldn’t resist returning the smile. The waitress came over and took their order. When she left, she removed the menu Maggie had been hiding behind.

      Maggie smiled at him and it seemed as though she wasn’t hiding anything like she normally did. Her makeup was subtle, but her hazel eyes seemed even more intense than normal, and a slight blush touched her cheeks. Almost the same flush she had after they kissed.

      “You wanted to talk?” Maggie closed her hands on top of the table.

      “We need to figure out where we are headed and what situation would be best for Amber.” This was what Brady was good at, presenting a solid plan to corporate for a new venture. He never felt nervous about it anymore, but now his stomach twisted slightly.

      “We’re both adults, Brady. I think we can come up with some arrangement that makes sense.” Maggie leaned forward. “I’m glad you want to spend time with her.”

      “I hope I’ll always be part of her life.”

      “Of course. We could probably come out to see you for a few weeks in the summer. Maybe you could come here for holidays. Since Sam is here. We usually have holidays with Penny.”

      “I was hoping for more than that.” Brady interrupted her flow, which seemed to throw her off balance for a moment.

      “More?” Maggie sat against the booth back and grabbed the locket around her neck. “You mean like a month in the summer?”

      “No, Maggie, I mean—”

      “Here we go.” The waitress put down the plates, oblivious to the fact that she’d interrupted them. “Can I get you anything else?”

      “Not for me,” Maggie said.

      “Thank you.” Brady waited until the waitress was gone.

      Maggie picked at her food. Tears hovered in her eyes when she lifted her gaze. “I can’t let you have her for half the year. It’s not going to happen. She’s my life. I know that’s not fair to you, but I can’t.”

      He reached across and grabbed her hand. “I’m not asking you to, Maggie. I would never take Amber away from you.”

      Her chest rose and fell as she searched his eyes. She drew in a deep breath and nodded. “I’m sorry. I assumed that’s what you were building up to.”

      “You have every reason to want Amber with you. I can’t imagine missing one more day of her life.” Brady took a bite of his chicken, trying to figure out the easiest way to propose his suggestion. She wasn’t a CEO. She was a woman who had an emotional attachment to what he wanted. If he had some way to convince her that if they went through with his plan everything would be fine, he would tell her. But it might fall flat. He didn’t think it would, but there was a small chance it could.

      She watched him warily as she nudged her mashed potatoes around her plate.

      “Remember at Luke’s party, I couldn’t find a way to tell Sam that I wanted to take the internship in London?”

      Confusion lit her face. “Haven’t we been through this—”

      “Bear with me.” He smiled to reassure her. “You approached me when everyone else at the party ignored me.”

      “Nobody was ignoring you.”

      “Okay, avoided me.” He winked at her to try to put her at ease, but his heart warmed from her rising to his defense. “I wasn’t exactly good company that night, but you sat and listened. I’d barely acknowledged your presence in high school, but you listened to me. Instead of telling me my dreams were ridiculous, you encouraged me to follow them.”

      “Everyone knew you were going places, Brady. You didn’t need me to tell you that.” Maggie tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

      “But I did that night.” Brady took in a deep breath. “I needed someone to tell me it was okay. That running away from my brothers didn’t make me a bad person. Not that I asked you that, but you made me feel like I was making the right decision. Even if it was for the wrong reasons.”

      “What is wrong about wanting to go to college?” Maggie had stopped the pretense of eating and intently listened to him.

      “It wasn’t just the opportunity that I wanted.” He swallowed. “Only Sam knew the truth of it.”

      Her brow furrowed, but she reached out a hand to him.

      He accepted her offer and tangled his fingers in hers. She gave him strength. She deserved the truth. “I was running away, Maggie. I couldn’t stay in Tawnee Valley after my parents were gone. Everywhere I went they were there, but they weren’t anymore. The constant reminder was driving me nuts. I was weak. I couldn’t have Sam and Luke relying on me.”

      “They did okay.” Maggie squeezed his hand.

      “Luke had a rough time of it and Sam was too controlling for his own good. СКАЧАТЬ