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“She’s a good kid,” I agree.
Rachel insists on going with us to help, so I decide to take the bigger Range Rover. When we turn the corner, and Maeve’s house comes into view, Rachel gasps.
“Holy crap,” my daughter mutters.
“It looks worse in the light of day,” Maeve agrees. “How did you guys get those tarps up there in the rain and the dark?”
It was a bitch and a half.
“We’re men,” I say and pull to a stop in the driveway. “We have our ways.”
“Well, thank God for your ways because there’s no way I could have done that on my own.”
We get out of the car, and Rachel and I follow Maeve up onto the porch and then inside the house. There’s water all over the floors, and when we get upstairs, the hole in the ceiling of the master bedroom is gaping and still dripping.
There’s a green blob of material on the floor beneath it that I assume used to be a dress.
“This must have been scary,” Rachel says and reaches for Maeve’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“Scared the hell out of me,” Maeve agrees. “Okay, I’m just going to pack a couple of suitcases with most of my clothes and some toiletries. I don’t think the bathroom was flooded too badly.”
She pulls some luggage out of a hall closet, and we all get to work helping her fill them with sopping clothes after stuffing them into trash bags.
“Oh, my jewelry box, too,” Maeve adds and tugs it out of the closet. “And my important papers. I have them all in one filing box. I’m sure they’d be safe here, but I’d feel better if the important stuff was with me.”
“Understandable,” I reply and start to haul things out to the Rover. Less than an hour after we walked into the house, Maeve is locking it up again, and we’re headed back to my place.
“You only have four suitcases of clothes,” Rachel says as we begin to haul everything up to the apartment. “How is that possible?”
Maeve laughs. “I’m not really a collector of things. I’m definitely not a clothes horse. I have nice things, and when I’m done with them, I donate them. My wardrobe is always evolving, and I don’t hang on to much.”
“I still have clothes that I wore in junior high,” my daughter replies.
“I’m so glad there’s a washer and dryer up here,” Maeve says as she begins opening her cases and tossing items into piles. “It’ll make it easier. When do we leave tomorrow?”
“You’re going?” Rachel asks, excitement on her young face.
“We’re going,” I confirm. “We’ll drop Rach off at my parents’ by nine and meet the plane at ten. We have to be on the red carpet by six.”
“Well, then, I’d better get busy.”
“This is fancy.” Maeve runs her hands over the soft leather of her seat and looks out the window at the view. We’re somewhere over central California. She’s sitting across from me, facing forward. I’m in the seat directly across from her so I can look at her. “You own a private plane?”
I grin. “No. I charter it.”
“You know, you didn’t have to do all of this just for me. You don’t have to impress me.”
“I usually travel like this. It’s easier.” I tip my head to the side and take her in. “Does my money make you uncomfortable?”
“I just don’t want you to think that you have to do expensive things for me to make me like you. I’m not like that.”
No. She’s not. And that’s why she’s here with me.
Well, one of the reasons.
“And I’m not trying to impress you with money.” I lean forward and brace my elbows on my knees. “Maeve, I know you don’t look things up on the internet, which is actually kind of endearing and nice, but it also means that I have to spell some things out for you. I have more money than I could ever spend in my lifetime.”
Her eyes go wide for a moment, and then she blinks and looks down.
I move onto my knees, closer to her, and tip that chin up so she’s looking at me with those stunning green eyes.
“I’ve never really done it in the past, but it turns out that I enjoy spoiling someone. Spoiling you.”
“Has there really been no one in your life since Rachel’s mom?” The question is quiet and completely without judgment.
“No one important,” I reply. “There’s been no time and no desire for it. Until you.”
“Why me?”
She swallows hard and licks her lips.
God, I fucking want her more than I want my next breath.
“Because the second I saw you, I knew my life was about to change.”
Her lips twitch into a smile, and she reaches out to brush her fingers through my hair. “It turns out, Hunter Meyers is charming.”
“Not usually, no.” I take that hand and kiss her palm. “Are you telling me you didn’t feel the chemistry?”
