Strangers When We Married Page 9

  David, who’d sent her a gorgeous arrangement of flowers. She’d taken a cooking class with the man, prepared a home-cooked meal for him.

  Had she also slept with him? Had she perfected her skill as a lover with the man now sitting at the kitchen table? The thought twisted in Seth’s gut in spite of the fact he knew he had no right to speculate on her love life.

  David had a job that Meghan would consider suitable for husband material…a job that would have him home for supper every night, where the only danger he faced was a paper cut.

  Seth returned to the living room, his frown deepening as he heard Meghan’s musical laughter wafting from the kitchen. When was the last time he’d made her laugh like that?

  It didn’t take Seth long to fix the shelf. When he was finished, his first desire was to return to the kitchen, break up the little family scene that seemed to be going on.

  Instead, he sat down on the sofa, trying to ignore the sounds of Meghan’s laughter, David’s low rumble and Kirk’s uninhibited chatter.

  He hadn’t come back here to interfere in her personal life. He’d run back here because he’d needed her professional help, nothing more, nothing less.

  So, why did he hate the idea of David sitting in his kitchen, laughing with his son…perhaps kissing his wife? Stroking those evocative freckles?

  He could only hope that David’s kiss was as boring as his job. As this thought crossed his mind, Seth instantly felt mean-spirited and small. Why should he begrudge Meghan a chance at happiness? Why should he resent a man who could make her happy where he had failed?

  He had no answer.

  It was nearly two hours later that David finally left. “Did you have a nice visit?” Seth asked as she closed the door behind the tall accountant. He shut off the television he’d been watching and got up from the sofa.

  “He’s a very nice man,” she said. She placed Kirk on the living room floor, then straightened.

  “I noticed his hairline was getting pretty thin. He’ll probably be bald within the next five years.” Seth had the feeling his mouth had been possessed by a spoiled adolescent male.

  Meghan smiled. “I’ve always found bald men rather sexy.”

  “Since when?” he challenged her statement.

  “Since you mentioned it.” Her gaze swept toward the bookcase. “Thanks for fixing the shelf.”

  “You’re welcome.” He studied her features, noting the flush of color that dotted her cheeks. Had David’s presence created that attractive blush?

  He shoved his hands in his pockets, afraid if he didn’t do something with them, they would be all over her. “Don’t forget, we’re supposed to go next door this evening,” he said.

  What he wanted to say was that he was sorry for his words the night before, that he wished they could replay last night and the outcome would be far different.

  He wished he could take her in his arms, capture her lips with his, stroke fire into her veins. He wanted to caress her until she made those throaty little moans that drove him wild. He wanted to ease into her warmth and feel her hands clutch his back as he carried them both to the brink of shattering.

  He stared at her, knew his hunger was in his eyes for her to see. And she stared back at him, her eyes widening as she unconsciously wet her lips with the tip of her tongue.

  Seth took a step toward her, wanting to cover those lips with his own, needing her to need him. He recognized at that moment that although he’d left Meghan, although they’d agreed to part and had divorced, he’d never really gotten her out of his system.

  She was an itch he had to scratch, a sore that hadn’t healed, a piece of his past that refused to release him.

  He stepped closer, close enough to see the brilliant green and gold flecks of her eyes. He was close enough now that if he reached out, he could touch her…caress her soft skin.

  He had the feeling that if he could just hold her in his arms one last time, make love to her once more, then he’d be able to get her out of his head. The last time they’d made love, neither of them had been aware that it was an experience they’d never share again.

  She took a step toward him, and in his peripheral vision, Seth saw the Christmas tree tilt precariously to the right.

  For just a brief moment, he wondered if perhaps his need to hold Meghan had made him dizzy. Then he realized what was happening.

  “Kirk!” he exclaimed, louder than he’d intended. The moment between Seth and Meghan was broken as Seth darted forward to stop the little boy before he upended the whole tree.

  Kirk froze, his chubby hand filled with tree limb. As Seth grabbed his hand from the tree and snatched him up into his arms, Kirk let out a yowl.

  “You frightened him,” Meghan exclaimed as she took the crying child from his arms. She patted Kirk’s back and glared at Seth.

  “He frightened me,” Seth replied defensively. “I was afraid he was going to bring the tree down on top of his head.”

  Kirk cried louder, as if aware of the tension that suddenly rippled the air between the two adults.

  “You didn’t have to be so harsh.” Her eyes sparkled with anger, and Seth wondered if she were really that angry for him yelling at Kirk, or angry because for just a moment she’d wanted him with the same intensity that he’d wanted her.

  “I didn’t mean to be harsh,” Seth said softly.

  Meghan kissed Kirk’s forehead, then nodded at Seth. “Okay. Sorry I overreacted. He needs a diaper change and maybe a nap.” She turned and left the room.

  Within minutes Kirk’s crying had stopped and Seth heard Meghan leave the nursery and go into her office. He knew what she was doing…working…seeking Simon…attempting to find the information that would remove Seth from her life. The problem was…Seth wasn’t so sure he wanted to be removed.

  Chapter 8

  “This is so nice.” Rose Columbus beamed at Meghan and Seth as they seated themselves at her kitchen table. She’d greeted them at the door, clad in a red and green duster, a brilliant smile wreathing her face. As she’d led them through the cluttered living room, they’d been enveloped by the warm, sweet scents of cinnamon and spices.

  “Now, what can I get you both to drink? I have eggnog and punch. The punch has a little extra kick to it.”

  “Eggnog sounds lovely,” Meghan said, her attention torn between the plump older woman and Kirk, who careened around the kitchen obviously looking for something to get into.

  “I’ll try some of that holiday punch with the kick,” Seth said with a devilish wink at Rose.

  She giggled girlishly. “Somehow I knew that’s what you’d choose.” She poured the drinks and set them on the table. “I’m so pleased you all decided to accept my invitation. I don’t get much company anymore.” Her plump cheeks were flushed with pleasure as she joined them at the table.

  “No, no, Kirk,” Meghan exclaimed as Kirk opened one of the cabinet doors.

  “He’s all right,” Rose assured her. “That’s my pots and pans cabinet. I’ve never known a little tot who didn’t love to play with pots and pans.”

  Meghan nodded and tried to relax, but relaxation was impossible…had been impossible since that moment earlier in the day with Seth in the living room.

  As Seth and Rose talked about Christmas and the weather, Meghan thought of that moment, when Seth’s eyes had been filled with a hunger that had left her breathless…almost senseless.

  If he didn’t really want her, then why did he look at her as if she were the last morsel of food left on the planet and he was a starving survivor?

  He confused her, and she didn’t like it one single bit. She also didn’t like the way her senses were intensely heightened and she felt as if she might jump out of her own skin at any minute.

  He had to go. The three days she’d promised him were up and she couldn’t stand feeling the way she did. It was time for him to go.

  “Please, help yourself to the goodies,” Rose said, gesturing to a platter of cookies in the center of th
e table.

  Meghan reached for one at the same time Seth did. Their hands met, fingers touching. Meghan jerked hers back as electrical currents raced through her hand, traveled the length of her arm and lodged in a ball of heat in the pit of her stomach.

  “Sorry,” she muttered and felt the heat of a blush sweep across her cheeks. She waited until he had a cookie, then took one for herself.

  “You mentioned the other day that the two of you are cousins…on which side?” Rose asked curiously.

  “Mother’s,” Meghan said.

  “Father’s,” Seth replied at the same time.

  “Indeed.” Rose’s gray eyebrows danced up on her broad forehead.

  “It’s actually rather complicated,” Seth said with a forced laugh. “We aren’t first cousins and we have a rather tangled family tree.”

  “It sounds more than tangled,” Rose exclaimed with a short bark of laughter. “It sounds like a regular jungle.” She eyed them in speculation, and Meghan had a feeling she didn’t believe them at all.

  Kirk carried a small saucepan toward Seth. “Da…” he said and handed it to Seth.

  Seth leaned down and took the pan, his eyes lit with intense love. “Pan,” Seth said to the little boy.

  Kirk grinned. “Pa…” He took it back from Seth, then returned to his seat on the floor in front of the cabinet and pulled out another pan.

  “He’s taken to you,” Rose observed.

  Seth smiled, looking as handsome as Meghan had ever seen him. “I’ve definitely taken to him,” he replied. “He’s a pretty special little guy.”

  “That’s good.” Rose nodded her head, her gray curls dancing with the motion. “A boy needs a man’s influence in his life. Of course, a father’s influence would be best, but I guess that’s out of the question where Kirk is concerned. According to Meghan, Kirk’s daddy was nothing more than an irresponsible sperm donor.”

  Again Meghan felt her cheeks flush hotly and she kept her gaze carefully averted from Seth. She’d said lots of things to Rose about her ex-husband when Rose had first moved in. It had only been a few months since the divorce and Meghan was still reeling from bitterness and pain.

  “I’d say Meghan’s characterization of her ex-husband might be a bit biased,” Seth replied dryly.

  “Oh, you know him?” Rose leaned forward eagerly.

  “He’s one of my closest friends.”

  Rose inched closer to Seth, her eyes lit with the thrill of discovery. “Is he really as handsome as Meghan described him to me?”

  “Rose,” Meghan squeaked in faint protest.

  “Dear Meghan, I’m an old woman. I live vicariously.” Rose directed her attention back to Seth. “Well? Is he?”

  Seth grinned, obviously enjoying the topic of conversation while Meghan fought her need to scream in utter frustration.

  “Why don’t you tell me exactly what Meghan has told you about her ex husband, and I’ll tell you if it’s really true,” Seth replied with a lazy grin.

  “Bedroom eyes.” Rose looked at Meghan for confirmation. “You remember you told me he has eyes that make a woman forget everything except falling into bed with him. She said looking into his eyes could make a woman forget her own name, or what day of the week it was.”

  Seth looked at Meghan. “You said that?”

  “Is this really necessary?” Meghan protested, refusing to answer his question.

  She wasn’t sure who she wanted to strangle… Rose for having a big mouth, or herself for having an even bigger one in spilling such things to Rose at one time.

  “Probably not, but it’s lots of fun,” Seth replied, his eyes green seas of mischief. “I’ll tell you what, we’ll gossip about your ex, then we can gossip about mine.”

  “You’re divorced, too, Steve?” Rose leaned back in her chair and sighed mournfully. “You young folks marry at the drop of a hat and divorce just as quickly. Doesn’t anyone work at staying married anymore?”

  Her question hung in the air. It wasn’t answered, not by Seth, who downed the last of his punch, nor by Meghan, who focused her attention on the cookie in her hand.

  Seth set his glass back on the table and raked a hand through his hair, his cocky smile gone. “Sometimes, in a marriage, there’s just nothing to work with. Sometimes the expectations of one person in the relationship are too high, too unrealistic. Sometimes one of the people in the relationship just wants too much.”

  His gaze locked with Meghan’s. She was surprised to see a flicker of hurt and the dark vestiges of anger in the depths of his eyes. She averted her gaze from his.

  “And sometimes a marriage is built on lust and when the lust fades, there’s nothing left to build on.” Meghan truly believed in her heart that’s what had happened to her marriage where Seth was concerned.

  He’d wanted her…he’d lusted for her, but when the lust had waned, he hadn’t been willing to make the kind of commitment, the kind of concession that would assure them a real marriage.

  At that moment, Kirk began to fuss. He crawled toward Meghan, who scooped him up in her arms and offered him a cookie. She was aware of Rose watching both her and Seth speculatively.

  “So, have you two gotten your Christmas shopping finished?” Rose asked.

  “I didn’t do much shopping,” Meghan said, grateful for the change in topic. “Kirk is still small enough that he’s more interested in the wrapping paper than what lies beneath it. I picked him up a couple of educational toys that I thought he might enjoy.”

  “What about you, Steve? Have you finished your shopping?”

  “Not yet,” Seth replied. “Kirk will be easy to buy for, but Meghan may prove a problem.” He grinned easily. “What do you buy for a self-sufficient woman who has everything she wants?”

  I don’t have everything I want. I don’t have you. The words in her brain horrified her. She didn’t want to want Seth, not ever again. “You don’t have to buy me anything,” she protested. “After all, you won’t even be here for Christmas. You said you’d only be here for three days. Today is your last day, isn’t it?” Seth’s eyes narrowed at her words.

  “Surely you can see your way to stay until after Christmas,” Rose protested.

  Seth shrugged and grabbed another cookie from the plate. “It’s really up to Meghan. I’m here strictly because of her hospitality.”

  Rose smiled. “And of course she wouldn’t want you to spend the holidays all alone.” Rose turned her attention to Meghan, who was wrestling a fussy Kirk in her lap. “Meghan is the sweetest woman I know. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you extended your stay.”

  Meghan wasn’t sweet, and she was growing less sweet by the moment. She’d made up her mind. Tonight was Seth’s last night in her house. She couldn’t handle his presence any longer. He made her weak, made her think of things she shouldn’t dwell on, stirred emotions she refused to entertain.

  As Seth and Rose continued a conversation about favorite Christmas movies, Meghan struggled with Kirk, who continued to fuss, not wanting the cookie she’d given him and wiggling with discontent on her lap. He’d been rather cranky all day. Probably cutting more teeth, she thought.

  Kirk finally settled against her and calmed down. Meghan stroked his hair and found her gaze once again on Seth.

  He was wearing another of the sweaters from the spare room closet, this one a deep forest green that intensified the color of his eyes.

  Bedroom eyes. Intense green, with thick, long dark lashes, Seth’s eyes definitely made Meghan think of twisted sheets, languid caresses and hot sex.

  She’d bought him that sweater when she’d been in the first throes of a love so intense it had ached inside her. And that was an emotion she never wanted to feel again…an emotion that threatened to return the longer he remained in her world.

  He had to leave tomorrow, despite the fact that she hadn’t been able to give him the information he needed to find Simon. She just couldn’t risk loving him again.

  Kirk stirred, whining pit
ifully and leaning his head against her chest.

  “I’ve never seen that baby so fussy,” Rose said.

  “It is unusual,” Meghan agreed. “He must be teething.” Meghan stood, with Kirk in her arms. “If you will excuse me for a moment, maybe he needs a diaper change.” She grabbed the diaper bag they’d brought with them and left the kitchen.

  She laid Kirk down on the living room floor and set to changing his diaper. When she took off his wet one, she frowned as she saw a red rash on his stom ach. She put a fresh diaper on him, then pulled up his shirt, noticing that the rash also covered his chest and under his arms. She also realized he felt unusually warm.

  She redressed him, then carried him back into the kitchen. “He has a rash,” she said worriedly. “And I think he’s running a fever.”

  Rose stood, as did Seth. “Let me see that baby,” Rose exclaimed. Rose took the fussy boy from Meghan’s arms and sat back down with him on her lap. She pulled up his shirt, then checked his face and neck. “It’s nothing to be too concerned about, this little munchkin has chicken pox.”

  Meghan stared at Rose in horror, unsure whether to laugh or to cry.

  “Meghan, this is not the time to throw me out,” Seth exclaimed. They had just returned from Rose’s place and Meghan was pacing the living room with a fussing Kirk in her arms.

  “Seth, I gave you three days and the three days are up.” Meghan stopped her pacing and sat on the sofa, trying to soothe Kirk.

  Seth sat down next to her. “Meghan, please think about what you’re doing.”

  “I have thought about it,” she countered. “You can take a motel room. I’ll continue to try to find the information you need.”

  “And how are you going to do that?” he asked gently.

  She shifted Kirk’s position on her lap and looked at Seth curiously. “What do you mean, how am I going to do that? I’ll keep looking.”

  “So, you’re going to take Kirk into day care tomorrow?”

  He could tell she hadn’t thought that far ahead by the look of horror that crossed her face. “I…I can’t do that,” she said, worry etching a crease in her forehead. “They won’t take him with chicken pox.”