Maid for the Single Dad Page 11

  “I…um…” Ellie stammered, unable to think of anything to say.

  Luckily, Ava picked up the ball. “Ellie and I are in charge of a Labor Day picnic for the woman at a charity we work for. I told her we wouldn’t have to worry about finding a place even though it’s late and everything’s already booked.”

  “That’s why I hope she’s right,” Ellie jumped in, glad for Ava’s perfect cover story. “We don’t want to have to cancel the picnic just because we were a little slow on the uptake.”

  Mac set his briefcase on the counter. “How many attendees?”

  “Counting workers, we have about thirty.”

  “This place can accommodate thirty people.”

  Ava’s eyes widened in surprise. Ellie gasped. “You’d let us have a picnic here?”

  “Sure. I have a pool, a big yard and a gazebo with a huge grill. I think this place is perfect for a picnic.”

  Ellie shook her head in dismay. “We can make quite a mess.”

  “I’ll hire Happy Maids to do the clean up the next day.”

  Ava pulled a pen from her purse and a small notebook. “Sounds good to me. I’ll call Ayleen and tell her we can stop looking. We’re having our Labor Day picnic here.” She smiled at Ellie.

  Ellie faced Mac, so flabbergasted by his generosity she was surprised she could speak. “Thanks. You don’t know how much we appreciate this.”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “I think that gazebo was built for parties, yet I’ve only grilled hot dogs for the kids. It’ll be good to see the house get some use.”

  “True,” Ellie agreed, loving the fact that he was coming out of his shell because of her.

  “Besides, Lacy will enjoy it.”

  “Exactly. Plus, we won’t be here all day. Most of the guests will arrive around four. We usually clear out around nine or ten,” Ava said, obviously not about to let Mac change his mind. She faced Ellie again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Ellie walked on air the rest of the afternoon as Mac worked in his office. He let her serve dinner and clean up while he played with the kids, and took charge of getting Lacy and Henry ready for bed. He even stepped back when she came into the bedroom to kiss Lacy good-night. Then he said good-night to her and headed for his own room without so much as a hint that he might kiss her.

  Relief rippled through her. Then she wondered why. She wanted this. She wanted to be romantically involved with him. She knew Mac was a good man. His light kiss might have been his way of telling her he wouldn’t push. And tonight’s behavior might have been his way of reinforcing that. So, why was she so worried?

  She made her way to her suite, undressed and got into bed. Thoughts of Mac again filled her head. And she did something she hadn’t done in years. She discounted her intuition and really thought about him. She thought about his life, his bad marriage, the way he behaved with his kids. She thought about how he’d strong-armed her into taking this job then apologized. She considered how well he treated her and even how he’d changed his mind about letting Ava come to the house as a show of trust.

  That was the one that pushed her over the top. He wasn’t just fair; he treated her like an equal. Even though she was his employee and he didn’t owe her any explanations or apologies, he admitted his mistake in yelling at her, and eventually gave her her own way on the situation, telling her Ava could come to the house to do the daily reports for Happy Maids.

  Sam would have never done that.

  For a few seconds she also thought about Sam, but they were very important seconds. Not because she once again realized how different Mac was than Sam, but because she realized how different she was.

  It might have taken her three years to get beyond the emotional hurts enough that she could mature into the person she was supposed to be, but she’d done it. Thanks to Liz. Thanks to A Friend Indeed. She was normal. Finally.

  The next morning she awoke feeling totally different. She was a strong, vital woman, who had gotten beyond a bad past. She was different. She was ready.

  This time when Mac came into the kitchen and asked for French toast as a way to celebrate Lacy’s second day of sleeping until almost seven, she didn’t wonder about her place in his home. She didn’t burst into tears with fear over losing this little family. She told herself she had choices. She’d take them one at a time and see where they led.

  She set the plate of French toast on the table, along with syrup and fresh fruit.

  Mac glanced up at her, his blue eyes soft and appreciative. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” She turned to go, but stopped herself and pivoted around again. “You know what? I’m kind of hungry myself.”

  She took a plate from the stack Mac had brought to the table. She’d thought it was a mistake that he’d brought three plates, but what if it wasn’t? What if he wanted her to have breakfast with them?

  “I think I’ll have some French toast, too.”

  Lacy said, “All right!” as Ellie sat, snagged two slices of French toast and slathered them with syrup.

  “I’m taking the helicopter to Atlanta this morning,” Mac said, for the first time ever telling her his plans for the day, really making her feel like part of the family.

  Instead of second guessing why he’d done that, instead of panicking over what she “should” say, Ellie simply said the first thing that popped into her head. “That sounds like fun.”

  “Well, it is and it isn’t. I have to attend a meeting of the executive board.”

  “Who’s on your executive board?” Ellie asked, taking Ava’s advice that she needed to get to know him. This was his world. The more she knew, the more she’d be able to ascertain if she wanted to be in it.

  “My parents retired last year and we replaced them with two cousins.” He grinned at her. “You’d be proud of us. One’s a woman.”

  “I’m not that much of a feminist.”

  “No, but you like to make sure the men in your life aren’t chauvinists.”

  Because it was true, she couldn’t deny it. But his observation lightened her heart as much as the third plate had. He was noticing her. Thinking about her. He wasn’t going into this mindlessly, either.

  After another fifteen minutes of eating and chatting, Mac rose from the table. “Okay. I’ve got to go now.” He kissed Lacy, kissed Henry and faced Ellie, who had risen from the table when he had.

  Her heart thundered in her chest. Would he kiss her? First the baby, then the child, then his…girlfriend? Good Lord, she didn’t even know how to categorize herself.

  But he didn’t kiss her. He didn’t even make a move to get any closer. He simply smiled. “I’ll see you tonight. If all goes well, I won’t be late. If I’m not here before six, have dinner with Lacy.”

  “Okay.”

  He held her gaze a few seconds longer. He wanted to kiss her, she could see it in his eyes. But he wasn’t making any kind of move and she couldn’t tell if she was supposed to. And even if he was waiting for some kind of sign from her, what kind of sign would she give him?

  She had absolutely no idea. Worse, she’d be mortified if she guessed wrong. So she stepped away. “If you’re late, Lacy and I will eat without you.”

  When he left, Ellie collapsed on her chair. Lacy said, “Are we going to swim before it gets too hot?” bringing Ellie back to the real world.

  But she was grateful to be back. As Ava had said, she did need time to adjust. Time to get to know him. Time to adjust to this relationship. And smaller steps were better.

  Mac arrived home exhausted. His two cousins were idiots. They were only on the executive board thanks to the good will of Mac’s parents, yet they had attacked him, attacked his business practices, attacked his overprotective attitude with their employees, especially abroad, insinuating that the money spent on security was wasted.

  The money they spent on security was a pittance compared to some of their other expenses. And his cousins’ attacking that small sum only proved how little they knew abo
ut running a business.

  He’d called his parents, asked them to remove the cousins, but they’d refused, telling Mac he would have to help them learn the ropes. They were family and Carmichael Incorporated was run by family. Because Mac was their only child, if something happened to him, someone in the family had to be properly trained to take over.

  Fabulous. So now he had months if not years of tolerating their attitude, while trying to show them the important things they should be focused on.

  He walked through the butler’s pantry into the kitchen, expecting to see Lacy at the table or Ellie bustling around, only to find the room was empty. He looked at his watch and groaned. It was nearly ten. Lacy should be sound asleep. Ellie was probably in her room.

  Disappointed, he dropped his briefcase on the table and went in search of leftovers. He found roast beef and mashed potatoes and carrots and took them to the counter. He got a plate so he could divvy out a portion and microwave it, just as Ellie raced into the room.

  “I’m sorry! I’ll get that,” she said, scrambling to the counter and bumping him out of the way.

  He bumped her back. “I’m fine.”

  She tried to take the spoon from his hand. “I know. But this is my job.”

  Resisting the urge to laugh, he held on to the spoon. “It’s nearly ten. Your workday is done.”

  Looking confused, she said, “Okay,” and stepped out of his way, but she didn’t leave the room.

  Mac’s heart rate sped up. Maybe she didn’t want to leave the room? That morning she’d had breakfast with them and chatted with him about his day.

  Maybe he could entice her into staying while he ate. There was nothing worse than eating dinner alone, but more than that, he enjoyed her company. Plus, it was another step toward them getting to know each other. Another step toward her, hopefully, making a romantic move.

  “My cousins turned out to be pains in the butt.”

  A laugh escaped her. “Really?”

  He winced. “Maybe I shouldn’t call them pains as much as I should say they don’t have any experience.”

  “So they asked a lot of questions.”

  He slid his supper into the microwave. “All the wrong questions. Which means that maybe my parents promoted them prematurely.”

  “Ouch.”

  He set the timer and shrugged out of his suit jacket and hung it across the back of an available chair before leaning against the countertop. “I asked them to remove them from the board and they asked me to train them.”

  She casually took a seat at the table. “And what did you say?”

  “I said I’d train them.”

  “That’s very nice of you.”

  The microwave buzzer beeped and he turned to retrieve his dinner. “Not really. It’s what my parents want and I always try to please them.”

  She laughed. “So you’re not the family rebel?”

  He set his dish down at the place across from her. “No. Just your garden variety family grouch.”

  She chortled merrily. “You’re not a grouch. You just like things done a certain way. Ava tells me Cain is the same way.”

  He filled his fork with mashed potatoes. “Have you heard from the newlyweds?”

  “Ava got a call last week. I think they’re ignoring us.”

  “Wonder why?”

  Ellie laughed again and Mac’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. He loved to hear her laugh, but he loved even better that he was the one making her laugh. He shoved the mashed potatoes into his mouth to cover the fact that he was staring at her. When the buttery mixture hit his tongue, he groaned in ecstasy.

  “These are fabulous.”

  “I know! I love them. The secret is tons of butter.”

  “Whatever the secret, I’m glad you know it.”

  “Me too.”

  The conversation died, and silence stretched out. Mac could have thought of a hundred questions to ask, a hundred things to say, but he was hungry. Besides, he wanted her to be a part of this learning process. He wanted her to talk to him, not just answer his questions.

  She drew an imaginary line on the table, focusing her attention on that, Mac believed, so she didn’t have to look at him when she said, “I missed out on things like family recipes, holiday traditions, so I sort of make up my own.”

  “Nothing wrong with that.”

  She glanced up at him. “Really?”

  “I think it’s a great idea. My family has traditions like going to the Bahamas for Christmas. But I’d rather have an old fashioned Christmas…up north. Maybe in Vermont.” He caught her gaze. “Someday I’m going to do that for my kids.”

  She smiled at him. “That’s very nice.”

  “And a little selfish. I’d like to spend Christmas somewhere that it snows. I want to see snow-covered lights twinkling on Christmas trees.”

  “I grew up in Wisconsin.” She turned her attention to the table again. He wondered if she was debating what to tell him, how much to tell him, and silently begged her to tell him everything.

  “I’ve seen lots of snow.”

  When she fell silent he decided to nudge her. She’d told him the beginnings of plenty of things, enough that he could question her without her realizing he already knew most of what she would say. “What happened to your parents?”

  “I don’t know. The story is my mom left me in the vestibule of a church. No one knew who she was. So, obviously, no one knows who my dad is either.” She caught his gaze. “Everybody thought I’d be adopted…since I was only about six weeks when I was dropped. But somehow or another I fell through the cracks.”

  He almost cursed. Her story should have saddened him; instead he was angry. He knew the pain of being abandoned if only because he’d watched Lacy live through it. But Lacy had him and Mrs. Pomeroy. Ellie had had no one. Everybody had let her down.

  Again, the intense urge to protect her rose up in him. But he squelched it. She didn’t want protecting. She wanted normalcy. And, for them, normalcy was acting on the sexual attraction that pulsed between them. If he really wanted to do the right thing for her, he would create such a wonderful future for her that she’d never again think about the past.

  That almost caused him to drop his fork. Already he was thinking about a future with her. He wasn’t sure if they were right for each other. But he did know it felt right. He absolutely couldn’t say that he loved her. But he did know he was falling.

  Still, it all hinged on her and he couldn’t rush her. This had to be done on her timetable. Unless she told him she wanted a future with him, he couldn’t make assumptions.

  He finished his dinner and helped her clear the kitchen. When she turned to go up the stairs, he debated walking with her. He was bone tired and ready for bed, but he didn’t want to scare her or push her.

  At the same time, he needed to behave normally and he was tired. He should be on his way to bed. Maybe the thing to do would be stop overthinking and simply do what came naturally?

  “I’m coming too.”

  They walked up the stairs together silently. At the top of the steps, instead of opening her door, or even grabbing the knob, Ellie simply stopped.

  Mac froze. Was this the sign he kept looking for from her? She’d obviously waited up for him…but she could have waited up to fulfill her responsibility as his maid by warming his dinner. Even her talking to him while he ate could be ascribed to her only wanting to do her job by needing to wait to clean up the kitchen after he was done eating.

  Damn. He had forgotten how nerve-racking dating could be.

  She pulled in a breath. Mac struggled not to watch her chest rise and fall with it.

  “So, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Yeah.”

  She put her hand on the knob, turned it slowly, but still didn’t make any move to go inside.

  But just when Mac got the courage to take a step toward her, she turned and disappeared behind the door.

  Damn it. This was not going to be easy.
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br />   “Maybe he doesn’t like me?”

  Ava laughed. “Just because he didn’t kiss you good-night?”

  “The mood was set. The time was right. Yet he backed away.”

  Ava harrumphed as she rose from the table and gathered the papers Ellie had just signed. “He’s a wealthy man, potentially falling in love with his maid…plus, he had a fairly crappy marriage. You don’t think he has a right to be cautious?”

  Ellie grimaced. “I see your point.”

  “Or maybe he’s waiting for you?”

  “For me? For me to what?”

  “For you to kiss him this time.”

  “Oh, no. No. No. No. I have to be sure this is what he wants and the only way I know that is if he makes all the moves.”

  “Well, he’s been burned once. So he wouldn’t want to enter into a relationship that he wasn’t at least reasonably sure of. Plus, you’re the help. Technically, you’re a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.” She headed for the butler’s panty. “You can’t just come right out and say, ‘I won’t sue you if you kiss me,’ but I’m guessing you’re going to have to give him some kind of sign.”

  With that Ava opened the garage door. She said, “See you tomorrow,” and was gone.

  Ellie sat at the table pondering what Ava had said. She’d already realized she’d have to give him some kind of sign. But kiss him? That was too scary for her to contemplate. What would she do? Stand on her tiptoes and just press her lips to his? That would take so long that he’d realize her intention and have time enough to back away if she’d read this whole situation wrong.

  Oh, God! That would be so embarrassing!

  She wouldn’t risk it.

  She had to think of a way to get her point across without actually saying or doing anything.

  Yeah. Like that would be possible!

  Still, she was a creative woman. Surely, she could think of a way to say, “I think I’m falling in love with you” without actually saying those very words.

  Perusing the cookbook Ava had given her, she found a recipe for lemon garlic chicken and remembered how much he’d liked the roast beef. He hadn’t kissed her after the roast beef, but they had had their most personal conversation as he’d eaten it. So maybe the way to a man’s heart really was his stomach?