What's Cooking? by Sherryl Woods Page A
Authors: Sherryl Woods
Tags: United States, Romance, Literature & Fiction, Contemporary, series, Contemporary Fiction, Harlequin Special Edition
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measure.
"Then you don't care if I spend a lot of late nights with Mordecai?" she asked, looking innocent as a lamb.
He studied her with a narrowed gaze and concluded she was having way too much fun at his expense. He knew precisely how to put a stop to that.
"No more than you care if I spend a lot of late nights
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WHAT'S COOKING?
with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models," he retorted just as innocently.
As Rick had expected, her amusement instantly vanished. "Mordecai is very sweet and very sexy," she repeated, then added, "for a seventy-year-old man."
Rick felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. "Ah, I see."
She gave him a hard look. "Now's the part where you tell me you're only doing landscape photography for the rest of your life."
He had a hunch she wasn't entirely joking. "I can't do that, Maggie."
She sighed with undisguised disappointment. "No, I suppose not."
"My work isn't really going to be a problem, is it?"
"I wish I could say it won't be, but I honestly don't know," she admitted. "It's not very enlightened of me, is it? I'm sorry."
"Forget about being enlightened," Rick said with a trace of impatience. "Tell me what I have to do to prove to you that you have nothing to worry about."
"I don't think you can prove it," Maggie told him. "I think this is something I have to work out for myself. It won't happen overnight, either. It'll take time."
Rick had no idea where this low self-esteem of hers came from. From the instant they'd met, he would have bet money that Maggie had more confidence than any ten women, but maybe that was just in the professional arena. He studied her intently.
"Would it help if I hauled you up to bed right this instant and showed you just how much you excite me?"
She frowned at him. "You are such a guy," she ac-
105 105
cused. "You think everything can be solved with sex. I know we're fantastic together in bed."
Rick bit back a sigh. He'd gotten it exactly wrong, after all. "Maggie, you're going to have to help me out here. lama. guy. And you're sending out a million signals, but they're getting garbled."
She whirled on him, looking! as if she might explode, but then all the steam went out of her. "You're right," she said at last.
She looked so forlorn, he couldn't help reaching for her. She resisted at first, her body still and filled with tension. "Come on, sweetheart. I'm not hitting on you, at least not right this second. I just want to hold you. I want you to talk to me," he urged. "Tell me what you want, what kind of reassurance you need for this to work."
"I need to know this thing between us is about more than sex," she said simply.
"Of course, it is," Rick said, then realized there was no of course about it. He tried to find the right words to reassure her. "When I agreed to stay here and keep my hands to myself, it was because you matter to me. You, Maggie, not just your body. Otherwise I would have hit the road. I'm not sure where this is going or why it's so important to me that we give it a try. I just know that I couldn't walk away from you the way I have every other woman I've been with." He searched her face. "Is that enough for you for now?"
To his astonishment, tears were welling up in her eyes. She nodded. "More than enough."
Because he didn't want to make another mistake, he asked, "Does that mean I can forget about sleeping here tonight?"
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WHAT'S COOKING1?
Even as the tears spilled down her cheeks, she laughed. "No, you're staying, Flannery. I'm getting tired of going to bed all alone when you're right across town. And every time you touch me, I'm reminded of how much I've been missing by being so stubborn."
"Really?" She sounded so eager, he risked pushing for more. "Does that mean I can pack up and move over here?"
For an instant he thought she was going to say yes, but he could see the internal war she was waging over the question. Before she could reply, he touched a finger to her lips. "Never mind," he said,
"Then you don't care if I spend a lot of late nights with Mordecai?" she asked, looking innocent as a lamb.
He studied her with a narrowed gaze and concluded she was having way too much fun at his expense. He knew precisely how to put a stop to that.
"No more than you care if I spend a lot of late nights
104
WHAT'S COOKING?
with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models," he retorted just as innocently.
As Rick had expected, her amusement instantly vanished. "Mordecai is very sweet and very sexy," she repeated, then added, "for a seventy-year-old man."
Rick felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. "Ah, I see."
She gave him a hard look. "Now's the part where you tell me you're only doing landscape photography for the rest of your life."
He had a hunch she wasn't entirely joking. "I can't do that, Maggie."
She sighed with undisguised disappointment. "No, I suppose not."
"My work isn't really going to be a problem, is it?"
"I wish I could say it won't be, but I honestly don't know," she admitted. "It's not very enlightened of me, is it? I'm sorry."
"Forget about being enlightened," Rick said with a trace of impatience. "Tell me what I have to do to prove to you that you have nothing to worry about."
"I don't think you can prove it," Maggie told him. "I think this is something I have to work out for myself. It won't happen overnight, either. It'll take time."
Rick had no idea where this low self-esteem of hers came from. From the instant they'd met, he would have bet money that Maggie had more confidence than any ten women, but maybe that was just in the professional arena. He studied her intently.
"Would it help if I hauled you up to bed right this instant and showed you just how much you excite me?"
She frowned at him. "You are such a guy," she ac-
105 105
cused. "You think everything can be solved with sex. I know we're fantastic together in bed."
Rick bit back a sigh. He'd gotten it exactly wrong, after all. "Maggie, you're going to have to help me out here. lama. guy. And you're sending out a million signals, but they're getting garbled."
She whirled on him, looking! as if she might explode, but then all the steam went out of her. "You're right," she said at last.
She looked so forlorn, he couldn't help reaching for her. She resisted at first, her body still and filled with tension. "Come on, sweetheart. I'm not hitting on you, at least not right this second. I just want to hold you. I want you to talk to me," he urged. "Tell me what you want, what kind of reassurance you need for this to work."
"I need to know this thing between us is about more than sex," she said simply.
"Of course, it is," Rick said, then realized there was no of course about it. He tried to find the right words to reassure her. "When I agreed to stay here and keep my hands to myself, it was because you matter to me. You, Maggie, not just your body. Otherwise I would have hit the road. I'm not sure where this is going or why it's so important to me that we give it a try. I just know that I couldn't walk away from you the way I have every other woman I've been with." He searched her face. "Is that enough for you for now?"
To his astonishment, tears were welling up in her eyes. She nodded. "More than enough."
Because he didn't want to make another mistake, he asked, "Does that mean I can forget about sleeping here tonight?"
106
WHAT'S COOKING1?
Even as the tears spilled down her cheeks, she laughed. "No, you're staying, Flannery. I'm getting tired of going to bed all alone when you're right across town. And every time you touch me, I'm reminded of how much I've been missing by being so stubborn."
"Really?" She sounded so eager, he risked pushing for more. "Does that mean I can pack up and move over here?"
For an instant he thought she was going to say yes, but he could see the internal war she was waging over the question. Before she could reply, he touched a finger to her lips. "Never mind," he said,
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