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“I’m not trying to insult either one of you.”
“Well, congratulations then,” she said tightly. “You appear to be so gifted with insults you don’t need to try.”
“Damn it, Sadie—”
“I’m not talking about me now, Ethan. This is about Emma. You’ve only had her a little more than a week,” she said, reminding herself as well as him of that fact. Maybe he’d need more time to get used to having Emma in his house. But what kind of excuse was she supposed to make to cover the insult he’d delivered to her? “Give it a chance.”
“I am, aren’t I?”
“Are you?” she countered. “Honestly, I thought you were. You’re really good with Emma, but hearing you now, I don’t know if you’re doing the right thing in keeping her.”
He stared at her, surprised. “What else can I do? I promised her father I’d be her guardian.”
“A guardian is more than a place to live and a housekeeper to make sure the child is fed and clean.” Sadie stared him down. “A decade-old promise isn’t enough reason to keep her, Ethan. Emma needs more than your duty. Heck, she deserves more than that. She deserves to be loved. If you can’t do that, maybe you should consider giving her up for adoption to someone who can.”
Now he looked stunned. “You really think I’d do that?”
“Before the last five minutes, no,” she admitted. “But listening to you complain is pretty convincing.”
“That’s great. Thanks.” He paced behind his desk and she thought he looked like a tiger in a too-small cage. “Good to know I have your support.”
“Like I have yours?” she countered just as hotly. “What was that you said about a quickie?”
He stopped pacing and threw her a look that was both apologetic and irritated. Amazing that he could conflate the two. “You know damn well I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Do I?”
“You sure as hell should,” he snapped. “We’ve known each other too long for you to take one stupid comment and build a case on it.”
There was more going on here than just the baby and the housekeeper and the constant change in a life that had been so rooted in routine that it was more of a rut than a path forward. And maybe it was time he told her what was bothering him.
“What’s going on with you, Ethan?” she asked quietly.
“Nothing.”
“Right.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve barely spoken to me since we were together. You leave every morning without a word, and when you are forced to talk to me at work, you’re cold and distant. And let’s just add, as of today, insulting.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“Well, all better then.” She uncrossed her arms, then set her hands at her hips. “Why are you avoiding me?”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Hey, me, too,” she said, walking toward him. “And I’m also the one who took Emma to the day care. The one who checked on her at lunch, and I’m guessing I will be the one driving her back to the house. You’ve been ignoring both of us, Ethan. Why?”
He glared at her, then looked away. “Because things are different since we had sex.”
Surprised, she asked, “Different how?”
He snapped her a look. “Hell, it changed everything. I’ve thought about it and realized that what we did was a mistake.”
Sadie flushed and felt both rage and embarrassment rise up inside her. Strange, she hadn’t been embarrassed at all while she was laid out in front of him. But hearing him dismiss what they’d shared was enough to color her own memories of it. “Is that right?”
“It is,” he said tightly, and locked his gaze on hers. “There’s too much going on right now and I don’t think we should let that happen again.”
“How long have you been working on that speech?”
“What?”
Sadie was furious. This was why he’d been ignoring her? He had regrets over what they’d done, and like the lord of the manor, he was going to put everything right again. Men were just idiots sometimes. He thought insulting her, ignoring her, would be enough to keep her at a distance. Clearly, he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did.
