sharply, hating it that he’d forced her to admit what she was still trying to understand herself. Coming here had definitely been a bad idea, she decided before she rose. “As it’s plain you have everything under control, I’ll leave you two—”
“Wait.” He lowered the footrest and stood. “Don’t go. Stay for dinner.”
“I shouldn’t.”
“Why not? It won’t be fancy—I’ll grill a few burgers—but I hate eating alone.”
He looked so hopeful that she hated to disappoint him. And for what? To go home to an empty house where she’d spend the rest of the evening wondering what he was doing? Her plan may have allowed a fifteen-minute visit, but what would another hour matter? Besides, she was hungry and she wasn’t fond of dining alone either…
“A hamburger sounds perfect. While you’re fixing dinner, I’ll wake Breanna.”
He visibly winced. “Do you have to?”
“If she sleeps too long now, she won’t sleep tonight,” she warned.
He shuddered. “In that case, wake her.”
“I thought you’d see things my way.”
“One thing, though,” he said before she headed down the hallway, “if she isn’t happy about having her nap cut short, make sure she knows it was your idea and not mine. I’m already operating at a disadvantage and I don’t need any more points against me.”
Maggie laughed at his droll tone. “Your wish is my command.”
If only that were true. Joe gazed appreciatively at the sight Maggie presented as she walked away. If he’d thought she looked great in jeans, she was positively breathtaking in her knee-length khaki skirt. Her shapely legs with those miles of soft, tanned skin were more than his extremely vivid imagination had conjured up. The urge to tiptoe after her and haul her into his bedroom grew strong, especially when his mental picture included seeing her stretched across his sheets with her lips parted invitingly.
Dammit! He shouldn’t be thinking along those lines. She was his partner, for heaven’s sake, not one of the groupies who hung around the sports bar where he and the rest of theguys went on the weekends! Unfortunately, in spite of his mental scolding, in spite of her being his professional “other half”, he still wanted her in the worst way.
And between Maggie’s honesty and his suspicions, the feeling was mutual.
He was sweating before he went outside to stand in the late afternoon sun to tend the barbecue grill. As he struck the match, he realized his attraction to Maggie had sparked and grown to the flaming stage just as quickly as the wooden stick in his hand.
He hadn’t been celibate over the years, but he certainly wasn’t the Casanova the guys at the station thought he was. He was too picky to be indiscriminate when it came to female companionship. Normally, though, he sought out women who were experienced at the flirtation and seduction game when he needed to scratch that particular itch, but in spite of his selectivity he couldn’t remember a single one by name or face since he’d met Maggie.
She simply outshone them all.
Her smile was genuine; her laugh came easily. She didn’t try to impress him with her words or her actions; everything she said was sincere and open and honest and her actions were an extension of her principles. She possessed a lively mind, was quick to defend those she considered weaker and wasn’t afraid to disagree or challenge him.
If he looked hard enough, he could find similarities between her and Dee, but as comfortable as he’d been with Deanna, Maggie simply made him feel alive .
Which was why seeing Maggie when he’d woken up had been as exhilarating as receiving an unexpected check in the mail. Just as extra funds gave one a bit of financial breathing room, Maggie’s unplanned arrival did the same. Granted, his day hadn’t been all bad, but something had been missing.
It had been Maggie, which was why he’d alternatedbetween counting down the hours until tomorrow and reaching
“Wait.” He lowered the footrest and stood. “Don’t go. Stay for dinner.”
“I shouldn’t.”
“Why not? It won’t be fancy—I’ll grill a few burgers—but I hate eating alone.”
He looked so hopeful that she hated to disappoint him. And for what? To go home to an empty house where she’d spend the rest of the evening wondering what he was doing? Her plan may have allowed a fifteen-minute visit, but what would another hour matter? Besides, she was hungry and she wasn’t fond of dining alone either…
“A hamburger sounds perfect. While you’re fixing dinner, I’ll wake Breanna.”
He visibly winced. “Do you have to?”
“If she sleeps too long now, she won’t sleep tonight,” she warned.
He shuddered. “In that case, wake her.”
“I thought you’d see things my way.”
“One thing, though,” he said before she headed down the hallway, “if she isn’t happy about having her nap cut short, make sure she knows it was your idea and not mine. I’m already operating at a disadvantage and I don’t need any more points against me.”
Maggie laughed at his droll tone. “Your wish is my command.”
If only that were true. Joe gazed appreciatively at the sight Maggie presented as she walked away. If he’d thought she looked great in jeans, she was positively breathtaking in her knee-length khaki skirt. Her shapely legs with those miles of soft, tanned skin were more than his extremely vivid imagination had conjured up. The urge to tiptoe after her and haul her into his bedroom grew strong, especially when his mental picture included seeing her stretched across his sheets with her lips parted invitingly.
Dammit! He shouldn’t be thinking along those lines. She was his partner, for heaven’s sake, not one of the groupies who hung around the sports bar where he and the rest of theguys went on the weekends! Unfortunately, in spite of his mental scolding, in spite of her being his professional “other half”, he still wanted her in the worst way.
And between Maggie’s honesty and his suspicions, the feeling was mutual.
He was sweating before he went outside to stand in the late afternoon sun to tend the barbecue grill. As he struck the match, he realized his attraction to Maggie had sparked and grown to the flaming stage just as quickly as the wooden stick in his hand.
He hadn’t been celibate over the years, but he certainly wasn’t the Casanova the guys at the station thought he was. He was too picky to be indiscriminate when it came to female companionship. Normally, though, he sought out women who were experienced at the flirtation and seduction game when he needed to scratch that particular itch, but in spite of his selectivity he couldn’t remember a single one by name or face since he’d met Maggie.
She simply outshone them all.
Her smile was genuine; her laugh came easily. She didn’t try to impress him with her words or her actions; everything she said was sincere and open and honest and her actions were an extension of her principles. She possessed a lively mind, was quick to defend those she considered weaker and wasn’t afraid to disagree or challenge him.
If he looked hard enough, he could find similarities between her and Dee, but as comfortable as he’d been with Deanna, Maggie simply made him feel alive .
Which was why seeing Maggie when he’d woken up had been as exhilarating as receiving an unexpected check in the mail. Just as extra funds gave one a bit of financial breathing room, Maggie’s unplanned arrival did the same. Granted, his day hadn’t been all bad, but something had been missing.
It had been Maggie, which was why he’d alternatedbetween counting down the hours until tomorrow and reaching
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