All I Want For Christmas (6 page)

As they entered the living room, the older woman shot them a sly look. Did she somehow know what had happened?

“The dishes are done and the kitchen is clean,” Tina said, smoothing down her pullover. She turned her attention to Maggie. “You're a good reader, Maggie, but it's getting late and G. G. needs her rest.”

G. G. didn't argue. She looked exhausted and alarmingly pale. Tina tried to hide her concern. She wanted Ryan gone.

Once he and Maggie were out the door she'd deal with G. G., including taking her temperature. If it was normal, she'd put her to bed. If not…

Tina didn't want to think about that. She hoped and prayed that after a good night's rest, G. G. would feel better, and that she would, too.

R
AIN PUMMELED
the roof, the rhythmic noise filling Ryan's bedroom. If he'd been asleep, the sound would've awakened him. But he wasn't. How could he be, after he'd made the worst mistake possible tonight—he'd kissed Tina.

Lucky for him, she'd accepted his apology.

Trouble was, he'd lied. He wasn't sorry at all. She tasted better than he'd ever imagined. She'd kissed him back, too, with plenty of enthusiasm, her soft curves pressing against him. It had been sweet torture, and not nearly enough.

Now he wanted more, a whole lot more. And he figured she did, too.

Muttering, he flipped onto his side. Then onto his back. He couldn't get comfortable—he was too damn mad at himself. What had he been thinking?

He imagined Tina in his bed right now, her thighs gripping his waist and her head thrashing on his pillow. Driving him higher and higher with her frantic need.

A certain part of him throbbed and stood at attention. Ryan groaned. He couldn't go there, not with Tina. Work was the most important thing in her life, and God knew, he'd had more than his fill of career-oriented women. They never stuck around.

Getting tangled up with her would be bad news, with his daughter getting the short end of the deal. Maggie needed stability, and Ryan intended to give her that.

In other words, Tina was out of the picture.

What a relief she was leaving after Thanksgiving. Between now and then, he'd steer clear of her. Except that she was coming over Monday night to meet Maggie's hamster. Ryan swore. After that, then.

And he'd make sure Maggie understood that Tina only visited the island a few times a year.

Maggie. How in hell was he supposed to convince her that his happiness was
his
problem, and not hers?

Clueless and feeling all mixed up, he gave up on sleep. At the moment he was anything but happy. He needed sex. The next best thing was exercise, followed by a long, cold shower.

A midnight run in the rain ought to do the trick. But with Maggie asleep, leaving the house was out. He'd lift the weights he kept in a corner of the basement.

He threw on a T-shirt and gym shorts, laced up his sneakers and headed downstairs.

Sunday night after G. G. was asleep, Tina sat at the kitchen table with her laptop, sketch pad and pencils spread out around her.

Except for the steady
tick, tick
of the wall clock in the living room and the hum of the refrigerator, the house was quiet. Perfect for catching up on all the work she'd neglected over the past few days. And there were piles of it. She'd been out of the office since Wednesday, and already she was woefully behind. Forget catching the interest of Peter Woods, the CEO of the Captain's Catch restaurant chain. She could barely stay on top of her regular responsibilities.

She was barely averaging six hours' sleep, but she was used to that. Besides, it was better to work late than toss and turn in bed, feeling sorry for herself. G. G. had raised her to focus on the positive, and Tina preferred not to think about loneliness or the fact that her life was sorely lacking in joy.

She prided herself on keeping her negative feelings well hidden. Yet somehow last night, Ryan had seen beneath the surface.

“You're not happy, either,” he'd said.

The man was too darned astute. Tina fervently hoped that G. G. and the rest of the neighbors never realized how she felt. They wanted her to be successful, and her aim was to please them. That was what mattered.

Nothing to do but put on a convincing upbeat face and have a spring in her step every time she saw Ryan. Starting tomorrow night, when she stopped over to meet Maggie's hamster. Fooling him wouldn't be so difficult, as long as she focused on Maggie and her pet. And didn't think about wanting to kiss her daddy again.

Last night's kisses were still with her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel Ryan's lips moving restlessly over hers, hinting at untold pleasures and making her want much more. She thought about him lifting her and holding her tight against the hard planes of his body…

Her nerves began to thrum and sing. Ryan was so big and solid. Not much extra fat on his frame, as far as she could tell. She wouldn't mind finding out for sure, though.

Ryan without a shirt. At the very thought, her breath caught. Of course she would never see his bare chest, or even kiss him a second time. According to Ryan, it had all been a mistake.

No other man had ever apologized for a kiss. The laugh that broke from Tina's chest felt more like a cry. “I have sunk to new depths of humiliation,” she murmured to herself.

She wished she hadn't agreed to come over tomorrow night. But she had, and Maggie expected her. To avoid being rude, she'd stay fifteen minutes, meet the hamster and then leave, wearing a huge smile on her face the entire time.

That settled, she focused on work. She was deep into an ad campaign for a microbrewery when her cell phone rang. The LED read, Kate and Jack Burrows. As busy as she and Kate both were, they still tried to talk every day.

Tina answered. “Hey, you.”

“You sound sleepy. Am I calling too late?”

“Are you kidding? I was working. I'll be up for hours.”

“Then I won't keep you long. How's G. G.?”

“Not great. But she did agree to see her doctor in the morning.” Which was a huge relief.

“I sure hope you'll be able to come to Sam's party.”

“You know G. G. She wants me to go, regardless, but I'd better wait until we see Dr. Dove. Can I let you know in a day or two?”

“No problem.”

“I did sneak away during G. G.' s afternoon nap and bought Sam's Nerf tetherball set.” It was a gift that Kate had mentioned her daughter wanted.

“She'll love it. Any news from work?”

“Yes, and it's infuriating.” Though it was Sunday, Tina and June had talked a bit earlier, discussing ad campaigns and paperwork. “Wait until you hear what Kendra's been saying about me.” Even talking about it upset Tina. Her stomach began to burn, and she fished the antacid bottle from her purse and popped a tablet. “According to her, now is no time to take my ‘vacation.' She says I could easily hire someone to take care of G. G., and if I truly wanted the creative director job I'd be at the office, lobbying for it. In other words, she's spreading rumors that I'm not at all interested in the position.”

“That bitch! What are you going to do?”

“I had planned to call Jim Sperling tomorrow morning and assure him that I definitely want the job. But instead,
he
called
me
.” Right before G. G. had gone to bed. “He always says that family comes first. But I'm starting to wonder, since he set up my interview for
this
Thursday, instead of after Thanksgiving. Apparently, he wants to choose the right person before the holiday.”

Tina's interview was four days from now.
Four days
, and she had yet to put together a proposal for the restaurant chain. The antacids weren't working, so she chewed another.

“Calling you on a Sunday? Making you come back and interview while G. G.' s sick and you're supposedly on vacation? Some family man. What are you going to do?”

“Go, of course.” Tina sighed. “I don't want to leave G. G., but she insists. I'm thinking I'll fly over and back, as you suggested, to save time.”

“Do you want me to stay with her while you're gone?”

Kate was so busy that Tina hated to bother her. “Let me check with the neighbors first, but thanks.”

“Any time. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but there's really no need to. No matter what garbage Kendra's spreading, that job will be yours.”

Maybe I don't want it.
Given what Tina had just told Kate and what her loved ones wanted for her, it was a traitorous thought that she had no business entertaining. She shoved it away. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

“Confidence, schmonfidence, you've earned the promotion. How was dinner last night?”

Tina wished she hadn't mentioned that to Kate, and wasn't about to share what had happened between her and Ryan. “It was okay, if you don't count G. G.' s obvious pain and Ryan's misguided concerns. He's worried that Maggie will get too attached to me and that she'll be hurt when I leave.”

“That doesn't sound misguided to me.”

“Come on, Kate, she knows I'm leaving after Thanksgiving. How attached can a child get in two weeks?”

“Good point—I guess.”

“She did invite me to meet her hamster tomorrow night.”

“How cute. I wonder if her father put her up to that.”

Doubtful. “Ryan isn't interested, remember? And neither am I. I simply don't have time,” Tina said, hoping she could convince both Kate and herself. “I should get back to work now, but I'll call you after G. G.' s appointment in the morning.”

“I'd rather talk to you when you get back from the Chases' tomorrow night,” Kate said. “Unless you're over there really late.”

Tina dismissed her friend's suggestive comments by shaking her head at the ceiling. Which, of course, Kate couldn't see. “All right, but since I won't be there longer than fifteen minutes, you're going to be disappointed.”

R
YAN WASN'T
in the best mood as he put away dinner leftovers on Monday night. Thanks to Maggie's nightmares, he was exhausted. And deeply troubled because throughout the day, even when they'd bought Sam's birthday gift, his daughter had talked nonstop about Tina.

She'd known the woman barely a week, but already she was way too attached. Not that Ryan blamed his daughter. He liked Tina, too. He'd sure enjoyed kissing her. In fact, since the other night, he'd thought about little else, and had fantasized about doing a whole lot more than just kissing her. Even dreamed about her—erotic things that left him frustrated and hungry.

Tough, because he wasn't doing a thing about it. Tonight, he'd be civil and nothing more.

If that wasn't enough, tomorrow was the first day of his bank's month-long promotion to bring in new deposits and loans. Without support from Corporate, keeping his staff pumped would be no easy feat, and Ryan dreaded what lay ahead.

While he loaded the dishwasher, he thought about the Island Banking Corporation. Cheap bastards. The thing was, he loved banking. Just not
this
banking job. What he wouldn't give to start a new one and show them how a well-run bank operated.

But Maggie came first, and Ryan refused to waste any more time thinking about that challenge. It was either hold on to this job or find some other low-level position.

Dishes done, he riffled through the paper for the sports section, which he hadn't read yet. With Tina due any minute, he probably wouldn't be able to read much of it just now.

He owed her for pointing out that Maggie felt responsible for making him happy. All day he'd tried to joke around and pretend things were great, but lack of sleep and his mixed-up feelings for Tina had gotten in the way, and he'd done a lousy job. Lucky for him, today his daughter hadn't noticed his crappy mood. She was too excited about Sam's parties and Tina coming over tonight.

Suddenly Maggie showed up in the kitchen.

“Eggwhite wanted her cage to look pretty for Tina, so I cleaned it all by myself,” she proudly announced.

“You did, huh?”

The cage was on the bookcase in her room, and Ryan's head filled with visions of wood chips and shredded news-print littering the carpet. Tina would think he was a lousy housekeeper, though why he cared what she thought was beyond him. He eyed his daughter. “What did you do with the dirty shavings?”

She sighed like an adult answering a tiresome question. “Put it in the garbage can in the garage, just like always.” She headed toward the refrigerator and opened it.

“Still hungry?”

“No, Daddy, I need lettuce for Eggwhite.” She all but disappeared inside the appliance.

“Help yourself,” he said, smiling to himself, since she already had.

When Maggie had her lettuce, she headed for the stairs. Newspaper in hand, Ryan trailed her as far as the living room. The doorbell rang, and she wheeled toward it.

“That's her! Tina's here, Daddy!” She shoved lettuce leaves at him, then raced for the door. Jumping up and down, she opened it. “Hi, Tina! Come in.”

“Thanks.”

Tina stepped inside, bringing a rush of cold and the scent of fresh air with her. She'd probably been outside all of a minute, but her cheeks were pink and she was slightly breathless. Her unpainted lips opened a fraction, the bottom one looking slightly chapped.

Nothing remotely sexy in that. But Ryan knew the taste of those lips. For all his resolve, he wanted to kiss her again. And more. Setting his jaw—he would be civil, period—he gave a terse nod. “Tina.”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. She must've been doing that a lot lately. “Hello, Ryan.”

Maggie stared up at her, too distracted to remember to close the door. Tina shut it, then slid a quizzical glance toward the lettuce in his hands.

“A treat for Eggwhite,” he said, handing the greens to Maggie.

“Ah.”

While Maggie carefully tucked the lettuce into the kangaroo pocket of her sweater and Ryan wiped his hands on his jeans, Tina glanced around the living room.

“I
knew
the walls wouldn't be pink anymore.”

“First thing I changed after we bought the place.”

“What an improvement. I like that shade of green.”

She pulled a spike of hair through her fingers, then fiddled with another, and Ryan could see that she was as uncomfortable as he was. For some reason, that only made him want her more.

Neither of them spoke until Maggie pulled on Tina's sleeve. “Don't you want to take off your coat?”

“I can't stay long.”

That jibed perfectly with Ryan's plans, but he helped her out of her coat and hung it up anyway. “How's G. G. doing?”

“We saw Dr. Dove today.” She bit on her lip again. “He says she's doing too much and should cut back, even with the physical therapy. He also wants her to follow up with her surgeon in Seattle, too, but she refuses to go all the way back there. She got Dr. Dove to call the surgeon and ask for the name of a doctor she could see in Anacortes. As soon as he calls with the information, I'll schedule an appointment.”

Ryan studied his daughter, whose face had lost all traces of excitement. Not wanting her to worry, he ruffled her hair. “G. G.'ll be all right, Sunshine. Sometimes it just takes a while.”

Tina nodded at Maggie and her face brightened.

“She's in bed now, but she promised to call if she needs help,” Tina said. “How was your day, sweetie?”

“Awesome. We bought Sam's present. C'mon, I'll show you. But it's a surprise and you can't tell, okay?”

Tina's mouth twitched. “Girl Scouts' honor.”

“We're keeping it in Daddy's study. This way.”