Page 31
I look pointedly down at my chest, where her hand rests.
She blushes even harder and yanks her hand away, then raises her chin, her gaze boring into me. “I’m not getting paid enough for this kind of nonsense.”
“Fine, then I’ll triple it.”
Maeve blinks several times. “Triple… what?”
“Triple what I’m already paying you. It was five hundred thousand, right? That brings it up to one and a half million, I believe.”
She goes a bit pale, and then flushes harder than I’ve ever seen her. I wonder if that flush goes all the way down her chest…
“Just like that?” she stutters. “I know you’re rich, Ford, but one and a half million dollars? Just like that?”
“It’s what you’re worth.”
“Don’t flatter me.”
“I’m not. Maybe it’s time that you learned to appreciate yourself and know just what you’re worth.”
Maeve stares up at me, flushed, shocked, eyes bright. My entire body aches to take her and show her just how much she really is worth. She should have demanded a million dollars from the first. She should walk into a room with confidence and never let a man like Liam get to her.
Then Maeve’s gaze drops away and I take a small step back, breathing deeply. I can’t muddy the waters here. And I sure as hell can’t give her what she really wants. I’m not going to mess with her head by having a one-night stand with her just because I can’t keep it in my pants like an adult.
“The rest of the family will be waiting for us. We should go and greet them.”
I’m sure my mother has plans already. Not a single moment goes unplanned by her, especially around the holidays. Going on vacations always felt like a military operation.
When we get out into the hall, Gabriel and Hayden are also stepping out of their rooms, changed into slightly more casual clothing. Gabriel’s in one of his luxurious form-fitting sweaters and Hayden has changed into a different button-up with the top few buttons undone.
I’ve left on my suit. I think it’s best when it comes to my father that I remain as professional looking as possible.
“All settled in?” Gabriel asks as we head downstairs, his eyes glinting with amusement, as if he knows how Maeve reacted when she saw the bed.
“Great, thanks,” Maeve replies, her cheeks going slightly pink.
I exchange a knowing look with Gabriel. She really is far too much fun to rile up. I never would’ve dared to do this to her in the office, but in this setting, where we’re pretending to be engaged, it feels more than appropriate to tap-dance on that line, just a little.
My sister, Lydia, and my father, Charles, are in the living room, where a fire is roaring. Lydia is reading one of her historical romance novels, curled up and cozy under a throw blanket, while my father is reading the paper.
As we approach, I put my hand on the small of her back to guide her. Maeve shoots me a sharp look.
I lean in. “Try to act like you love me, and not like you hate my guts, okay kitten?”
“Call me kitten again and I’ll bite you,” she hisses. “And it’s not you, anyway.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Just…” Maeve smooths her clothes down and glances up at the warm lights that brighten up the room. “Nothing. The lighting, that’s all.”
Huh. Interesting.
“There you are!” Lydia spies us and flings her book aside, getting to her feet. “Oh, it’s so good to see you all!”
She hugs Hayden and Gabriel hello, teasing Gabriel that she’ll steal his comfy sweater if he’s not careful, and telling Hayden that if she catches him on his phone she’ll bury it in the snow and he won’t find it until spring.
“We are still technically working,” Hayden grumbles as Lydia moves on to me.
I give her a tight hug. Lydia decided long ago that if I viewed these two men as brothers, then she was going to view them as brothers, too, and I can’t think of a better example of her welcoming heart.
