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Not just once, or twice, but every single time.
Climbing into bed she resolved to be more cautious and if need be, keep Cormac at arm’s length.
Not because she wanted him there, but she had to keep him there. Cormac was her kryptonite.
*
Despite being up past midnight, Whitney arrived promptly at her desk in her Graff office by eight the next morning.
It was going to be a busy day today and she wanted to answer some emails and respond to a crisis surrounding an upcoming issue of Big Sky Bride before meeting Heath and his electricians and cable technicians at the Crookshank Building at ten. They were working with a blueprint of where all the desks would go, but Heath wanted Whitney to double-check the layout and make sure each desk had the right outlets in the right location.
Today was all about work and getting things done. She wasn’t going to be distracted and she wasn’t going to obsess about Cormac and she most definitely wasn’t going to spend more time with him than—
A knock sounded on the closed door and the door abruptly opened. Cormac gave her a wry smile. “Figure I owe you some coffee after keeping you out late last night.”
And just like that all her good intentions fell away.
She was happy to see him. Too happy.
How could danger look so good?
His cheeks were dusky red from being outside in the cold and the color in his cheekbones made his eyes look intensely green this morning.
“Tall nonfat latte, extra foam,” he said, handing her a cup.
“You remember.” She was touched, and then annoyed with herself for being touched. She honestly needed more backbone when it came to him.
*
“I also wanted to thank you for your thoughts last night. You said some wise things.”
“I’m glad. Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“I’m going to hold off saying anything about Shane and his book until after the holidays. Christmas is just a few weeks away and Trey and McKenna’s first wedding anniversary is on New Year’s Day. They haven’t even been married a year yet, and the news would ruin the holidays for everyone. It doesn’t make sense to do that, not right now.”
“I like your plan.”
“It’s based on your advice.” He smiled faintly. “Were you always this smart?”
She smiled back. “Yes.”
“Why did I let you go again?”
Her smile faded. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe there was another hot girl on your radar—?”
“No.”
“Or maybe you just got scared.”
“Scared?”
She tried to keep her tone light. “Love is something you can’t control. And you need control.”
“Not true. I don’t always need to be in control.”
“Fine. Not always. Just ninety-nine percent of the time.”
*
She might be right again, Cormac thought, leaving her office for his. He was accustomed to having control. He liked having the control. It made him feel more secure.
Funny, but Whitney also made him feel more secure, despite constantly challenging his authority and questioning his decisions.
Maybe it’s because she was so damn good at her job. He trusted her professionally. Respected her immensely. He knew the magazines wouldn’t be the success they were if Whitney hadn’t worked her magic on them.
And just like that he felt a wave of guilt.
She deserved better. She did.
In his office he stripped off his coat and settled down at the desk.
She would have made a great mother for Daisy. He knew that. But he didn’t know how to make it work two years ago. How was he supposed to include Whitney in his and Daisy’s life without making her permanent? How to share Daisy with someone he cared for, but didn’t romantically love? Because that was the real issue. He’d cared for Whitney but he hadn’t loved her, not the way she’d loved him, and it’d been overwhelming…the guilt that he wasn’t where she was, that he couldn’t feel what she felt, that he couldn’t be what she wanted him to be.
She’d never hinted that she wanted a big white wedding and the honeymoon, but what woman didn’t? And he certainly didn’t do romance and weddings, never mind long term. He enjoyed female companionship but had no desire to ever settle down.
His passion was his work. And he was never lonely as there were plenty of women happy to be the flavor of the month…or the week, or day.
Whitney was to have been a flavor-of-something. Purely temporary. No permanence involved. But he’d enjoyed her company so much that they’d continued on, their relationship stretching from days to weeks, and then weeks to months, before reaching the one year milestone. It was the one year milestone (“anniversary” she’d called it) that shook him awake.
If she hadn’t called it an anniversary…
If others hadn’t made their little jabs and jokes and digs…Going to put a ring on it, Cormac? When’s the wedding, Sheenan? You finally going the distance?
But the jabs and digs woke him up. And Whitney’s reference to the one year mark made him think.
Was Whitney silently hoping for more? Was she waiting for a proposal? Was she anticipating their relationship turning into something…more?
He ended it within the week.
And it had been abrupt. He hadn’t known how to break the news to her, and so he’d just told her bluntly that it wasn’t working for him anymore and he’d enjoyed the past year but he was ready to move on.
Ready for someone new.
He winced now, remembering.
He’d been a shit. He had. And he’d level the guy that broke his Daisy’s heart, but back then…
Cormac shook his head, uncomfortable. He wasn’t proud of who he was. He knew he’d made a lot of big mistakes. But Daisy was changing him, softening him…giving him a change of heart.
Or maybe it was a heart.
Was it too late to try again with Whitney? Could he possibly convince her to give him a second chance? Now that they were all in Marietta, could he keep her here long enough to try to win her back?
*
After the meeting with Heath and his sub-contractors at the off
ice building, Whitney pulled Heath aside to let him know that she’d be taking over project management on Cormac’s house on Copper Mountain Lane.
“Cormac beat you to it,” Heath said. “He sent me a text last night that you were handling it now.”
“You’re good with that?”
“I couldn’t be happier. He’s been a bear to work with and I could use a buffer right now and it seems like you know how to handle him.
“He’s just got a lot on his plate.”
“We all do. And we’re all busting our butts to make these two jobs come in on time, but he’s not helping. He and one of my guys just got into it last week and the guy quit. Josie was near tears when Cormac told her to grow a pair.”
Whitney didn’t find it funny but she wasn’t shocked. Cormac could be tough, but it wasn’t usually personal. She hesitated. “Do you need me to talk to him?
“No. But just keep him off the job sites for the rest of the week and let everyone work. And this isn’t personal. Cormac and I go way back, but if we lose any more guys…”
“Got it.”
*
Leaving Marietta, Whitney drove to Paradise Valley to do a walk-through of Cormac’s big new house on her own, making a million notes of everything that needed to be done. The house was actually in great shape. All the important things had been done. It was really a matter of giving the interior some character and love.
With a judicious use of color, the right curtains at the massive windows, and the right rugs on the dark wood floors, the house would immediately come to life. Everything would feel warmer and inviting, and she intended to mix it up, creating a home that had a sense of history and place.
Josie had told Whitney about her favorite antique store in Livingston. The store had the good stuff, genuine antiques, solid, beautifully crafted furniture from the last two centuries, along with carpets, paintings, and more. Nearly everything in the Livingston antique gallery had a tie to Montana history, either traveling here by covered wagon with an early settler, or shipped in by a wealthy copper baron.
Those were the kinds of pieces Whitney wanted to see in Cormac’s house. She wanted the interior to feel as if it were a mix of old and new, family heirlooms side by side with Cormac’s bold art collection. She’d go easy on Native American patterns—that was almost cliché in the modern Montana log cabin—and would focus on antique Persian carpets in teal, crimson, and cream and then she had a very special plan for Daisy’s room, and it would take a bit of finessing, but it was also the room she was most excited about doing.
