Kids wake up much?
Another innocent question. Another narrowing of Evans eyes.
Id let Arnie Garrett or anybody else have them, if only because I know thats what your father wanted.
That is what my father wanted, Evan agreed, waving her back down when Claire sprang from her chair as if to storm out of the room. I apologize for questioning you, but I had to know whose side you were on.
Who says there are sides? she demanded, furious. Youre the only person I see making trouble. Everybody else seems perfectly happy with this situation.
I dont agree with you. I dont think Arnie Garrett is happy with this situation. I dont think hes done trying for the kids. And I want the kids. If theres a war, Ms. Wilson, let me assure you I plan to win it.
I dont doubt it, Claire agreed quietly. But you keep talking about those kids as if they are exclusively yours and theyre not. You have two brothers and the triplets need to be raised by all three of you, not just one of you.
Grant owns a construction company in Savannah. Chas has an interview with a law firm in Philadelphia in a few weeks. But I could and did leave my job, and my life. Just like that, he said, snapping his fingers. Im here to stay. In the end, those kids will be raised by me. Probably exclusively. And nobodys going to keep me from doing that.
You saw me as that much of a threat? she asked.
Cool, dignified, he caught her gaze. I didnt know what to think about you. Thats why I decided to confront you. Now that I see how loyal to my father you are, I sincerely doubt you could help Arnie do something my father wouldnt have wanted.
Stupefied, Claire stared at him. He wore a gray suit, a white shirt and a moss-green tie that brought out the verdant color of his eyes. Those eyes held a determined spark, but his perfect mouth tipped upward, just a fraction, as if he was relieved and couldnt quite hide it. He looked innocent and sweet, and positively gorgeous. Not nervous. Not confused. Absolutely normal.
In a wave of understanding, she realized this conversation answered the question about why he behaved so oddly around her. He thought she was in cahoots with Arnie Garrett. He hadnt been getting the same peculiar sensations shed been getting for the past two days.
Not only was her body constantly on red alert, but she continually experienced a strange intuition that they were made for each other. That wasnt just preposterous, it was premature. She didnt even know the man, for petes sake. True, he was gorgeous, beautifully built and had a smile that could charm the angels, but it took much, much more than that to be made for each other.
And now she knew he wasnt attracted to her. But, in fairness, she didnt want to be attracted to him either. She couldnt afford to be attracted to him. He was older. He was her boss. And he was way, way out of her social circle.
Its been a really difficult two days for all of us, she said, though she wouldnt meet his eyes. She couldnt. Something completely wrong was happening to her, and unless or until she was sure she could manage it, she wasnt going to take any chances. I have some things I need to do this morning. If youre going to pick up where your father left off, those contracts she pointed at the corner of his fathers desk need to be renegotiated. Id start there, if I were you.
Evan nodded. Claire let herself out of his office and closed the door, since her desk was right outside and she didnt want him watching her every move any more than she wanted to be reminded of him.
She didnt need privacy or time to think about this. Her mothers involvement with an older, more sophisticatedricher man had cost Claire her father.
Staying away from Evan Brewster should be a nobrainer.
Chapter Three
And he wasnt. He had even begun to seriously doubt his attraction to her, in spite of the way it seemed to get worse as the day went on. Huddled together in two rooms, cocooned from the rest of the lumber mill, they were in their own private world. He was
sure most of what he was feeling was nothing more than a response to being so close all the time.
As he pulled into the driveway, Evan wasnt concerned about having to spend extra hours with Claire, since nobody would have time to be attracted to anyone while trying to feed, bathe and put to bed three children. If anything, these next few hours would probably nip the attraction in the bud.
He waited for her by the front door while she parked her car. When she met him at the entryway, he smiled. Are you sure youre ready for this?
She laughed. It was the first time shed laughed all day, and though Evan wished the sound hadnt pleased him so much, he took it as a sign that shed forgiven him for mistrusting her.
I said I didnt mind helping you guys get adjusted to parenting, and I dont, she said cheerily.
Youre sure?
Are you trying to get rid of me?
Wondering if that wasnt exactly what he was trying to do, Evan opened the door. Welcome to paradise.
Crying was the music that greeted them. Evan could see Grant running back and forth in the kitchen. A glance to the right showed Chas had all three sobbing kids corralled in the living roomon the white rug, white sofa and white wing chair.