The Good Father

Chapter Thirteen

Max reached into Sara’s Tupperware, grabbed a stuffed mushroom, and popped it into his mouth.

“Hey, let me at least get them onto a platter.” They were setting up refreshments on the Dragonfly in preparation for the first Remington Agency party. Carol was already there, and the others-his two account executives, Jane and Reece-would arrive soon. Cooper and Allie were readying the boat for a leisurely cruise around the bay.

“These are good.” Max reached for another mushroom, but Sara batted his hand away.

“No more. Give the guests a chance at the food, please. You know, Reece claims that when you were kids and you stayed at his house, if there was something on his dinner plate he didn’t like, he would slip it to you or the dog.”

He laughed, feeling happy and relaxed for the first time in a good while. “True. I’ll eat anything.”

A movement on the Princess II next door caught his eye, and his heart did a flip-flop as it always did whenever he saw Jane. She opened the hatch and stood in the doorway, barefoot but otherwise still in her work clothes.

Max stepped to the railing and waved. “C’mon over. We can start the party any time now.” He’d hardly seen her all day. He’d been taking around his new account exec, introducing her to clients he’d assigned her to, so he was looking forward to a few relaxing hours away from phones.

Not that he could touch Jane or kiss her or do any of the things he’d been constantly thinking about. But just having her near would be better than no Jane at all.

“I can’t come,” she said.

“What?”

“I couldn’t get a babysitter.”

Sara came to the railing. “You have to come. Why don’t you bring Kaylee with you?”

Jane shook her head. “That’s not a good idea. This is a grown-up party.”

Now Allie joined the conversation. “C’mon, Jane. You know Kaylee’s welcome. If you’re worried about her safety, she’ll have several worrywarts watching over her. I even have a safety line we can attach to her life jacket-”

“No, it’s not that. I appreciate the offer, but I think we better just stay home tonight.”

Max knew why she didn’t want to bring Kaylee, so he didn’t try to cajole her into coming, though he would feel her absence every moment.

Getting together with her was going to be something of a problem, he realized. Babysitters were expensive and unreliable, and he knew Jane wanted to spend her evenings with her daughter.

Maybe later, after the party and after Kaylee went to bed, he and Jane could go up on deck…and what? Would he forever be limited to clandestine meetings in the dark, stolen kisses, an occasional lunchtime tryst? That wasn’t what he wanted.

He wanted to shout from the rooftops that Jane was his, which was ridiculous.

Now Carol joined in the conversation. “Jane, I’m coming over there to get you. You better be changed into your sailing clothes when I get there, too.”

Ten minutes later, Carol had succeeded in dragging Jane and Kaylee to the Dragonfly. Jane looked incredibly sexy in her little white shorts and flowered T-shirt, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, though Max didn’t think she had intentionally dressed to seduce him.

Kaylee made the rounds, hugging every adult who showed her any interest. Max attempted to stay in the background, which wasn’t easy on a small boat, and when she inevitably saw him she ran toward him with arms outstretched.

“Max!”

What could he do? He wasn’t going to snub the child. “Hey, Flipper.” He gave Kaylee a brief hug, which was hard to do given her bulky life jacket. So he ruffled her blond curls, too.

Max expected Kaylee to move on, but she grabbed on to his hand. “I want to sit at the front.”

Jane had joined them, looking troubled. “Kaylee, I bet Allie would let you sit up on the bridge with her.”

“No, I want to sit in the front. Max, you come with me.”

“Max has things to do, sweetie,” Jane said. “This is his party, and he has to take care of his guests.”

Kaylee pulled on Max’s hand. “Come on, Max.”

Max shrugged helplessly, and Jane looked resigned. “Fine.”

The rest of the guests arrived, and Max greeted them all and invited them to eat and drink and make themselves at home. But as the Dragonfly got underway, he took Kaylee to the bow as she wanted. He enjoyed watching the little girl stand with the wind in her face, so filled with passion for life and that live-in-the-moment joy that only kids seemed to have.

Jane was watching, too, making sure Max had a firm grip on her little girl’s life jacket. But she didn’t seem worried. Kaylee knew her way around boats and wasn’t about to do anything risky.

“I’m glad you came,” he said to Jane. “I’d have missed you.”

Jane offered a small smile. “I confess, when I thought I was staying home tonight, I felt really left out.”

“Sorry about…” He tilted his head toward Kaylee. “I know this is exactly what you don’t want to happen.”

Jane sighed. “I can’t control how she feels about you.”

“Or how I feel about her, for that matter.” At her worried look he added, “It’ll be okay, Jane.”

She nodded without much enthusiasm. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“Can I see you later?”

She shook her head. “No babysitter, remember?” She laughed. “There’s a reason you don’t date single moms.”

“You know that’s not the reason. After Kaylee goes to bed. We could sit out on the deck and just talk.”

She looked surprised. “You’d be happy with that?”

“I like talking to you. I’d be happy.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Of course, the whole time I’d be thinking about making love to you. But sex is only a part of it. I’m not that shallow, despite appearances.”

Jane blushed to the roots of her hair. “I never thought you were shallow.”

Carol appeared with two pink, icy drinks. “Here you go, strawberry daiquiris. For the lovebirds,” she added in an exaggerated whisper. Then she giggled and disappeared again.

“Did you tell her?” Max asked. It wasn’t an accusation, but he’d known since yesterday that Carol somehow knew. “It’s okay if you did. I’d rather her know the situation than speculate.”

“She knew without me telling her anything. Apparently it shows on our faces.”

“Oh.” Max supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. He always felt a little out-of-control in Jane’s presence.

“We may not be able to keep it private, you know. Lots of people have office…secrets, but everybody knows. At least, that’s what Scott once told me.”

“I don’t care, Jane.” And he realized he didn’t. “If people want to criticize me for…well, you know, they can just go right ahead.”

“But what if it hurts your business?”

“How could it?”

“Mommy!” Kaylee broke in. “Look, dolphins!”

Sure enough, a pod of dolphins swam beside the boat so close he could almost reach out and touch them. They looked like they were playing tag, jumping in and out of the water, sometimes becoming completely airborne.

“Wow!” Max was almost as excited as Kaylee. He’d never seen them so close before. “I think they’re putting on a show for us, Kaylee.”

She nodded, her eyes bright, and Max felt a lump in his throat that was becoming familiar. How could Scott have just walked away from such an amazing little person? Even as he thought this, he knew it was too late to stop the bond forming between himself and Kaylee.

Not unless he kept away from Jane altogether, and how was he going to do that? He’d been with her one time, but now she felt as essential as life itself.

JANE WAS GLAD she’d come to the party. A spectacular sunset had led into a dark, moonless night, perfect for stargazing, and Kaylee’s delight at spotting Saturn’s rings as she looked through Cooper’s big telescope had been such a pleasure to watch.

Observing her little girl interact with Max had warmed Jane’s heart, too. Although she’d been abandoned by her real father, Kaylee seemed happier than she had in months, and Max was one of the reasons.

Was it fair to keep them apart? Or would she be punishing both of them because of some nebulous fear about what might happen in the future?

She took a sip of her bottled water and gazed up at the starry sky. It was a night for lovers.

“Kaylee’s gone to sleep,” Allie said, claiming a deck chair next to Jane. “I read her a story, but she conked out after only a couple of pages. I put her in the V-berth.”

“Thanks, Allie.”

“No charge. I never realized how much I like kids until I started babysitting for Kaylee. It’s good practice for the future, too.”

Jane’s jaw dropped. “Allie, you’re not expecting, too, are you?”

Allie grinned. “Not that I know of.” She dropped her voice. “But Cooper and I decided to try. I don’t know how it will work, with the charter business and all, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Jane grasped both of her friend’s hands. “Oh, Allie, I’m so excited for you. Work should never stand in the way of having a family, if that’s what you really want.”

“Hey, if we have a kid, at least you, me and Sara can trade off babysitting.”

“It’s a definite plus, having friends who are so generous as you and Sara have been.”

“So you want to leave Kaylee here for the night?”

The possibility had never occurred to Jane, and she must have looked confused, because Allie hastened to explain.

“Cooper and I decided since it’s a late night, we would sleep on the boat like we did in the old days. We could watch Kaylee for you, too-that way you won’t have to wake her up when we get back to port.”

Jane was undeniably tempted. Not that she ever begrudged spending time with Kaylee, but she also occasionally needed grown-up time.

But then a thought occurred to her. “Did Max put you up to this?”

“Max?” Allie looked puzzled. “Why would he…” Then she gasped. “You and Max?”

Oh, hell. She’d given it away, and so easily.

“Uh…well…”

“I knew there was something going on with you two.” Allie bounced up and down like a little kid. “That cinches the deal. Cooper and I will take care of Kaylee tonight, and you and Max can be alone.”

“That’s not…I mean, we haven’t-”

“Cooper is going to be so happy. Now that he and Reece have discovered the joys of matrimony, they both think Max-”

“Whoa, stop right there. Slow down, Allie. I’ll admit, Max and I have become more than friends. But you can’t tell anyone. It’s touchy-he’s my boss. And Kaylee-we don’t want Kaylee to know.”

Allie looked puzzled. “Why not? The two of them are priceless together.”

“That’s just it. If they get too close and it doesn’t work out-”

“Why wouldn’t it work out?”

Jane let out an exasperated breath. “So many reasons. Neither of us want Max to become a father figure to Kaylee because we don’t want her hurt. Please, Allie, trust me on this one.”

“Okay, sweetie.” Allie gave her a hug. “But leave Kaylee with us for the night. At least take a night off for yourself. You work so hard. Have you found a place to live yet?”

“Yes, but I can’t move in until October.”

“You can stay in our spare bedroom…for as long as you need.”

Jane was so lucky to have such good friends. Sara and Carol had both offered, too. “Thanks, Allie. All right, keep Kaylee for the night.”

Allie clapped her hands. “Yes, I get to keep Flipper!”

“Be sure and lock the hatch-and take the key. She’s very good with doors and latches.”

Allie held up her hand. “I will, promise. Now, go find your guy and invite him over. He’s yours for the night.”

They reached the harbor a few minutes later. Max was helping Sara pack up the leftovers; Carol was picking up a few remaining plastic cups and empty beer cans.

“Your party was an unqualified success,” Jane said to Carol, who beamed with pride.

“I told you it would work out. And I hardly went over budget at all.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about that later,” Max said, but his voice held more teasing than warning. It was good to see him so happy. Maybe the agency had turned a corner, and that worry line between his eyebrows would disappear for good.

“I can get the rest of this, Max,” Sara said. “You should go home and get some sleep.”

Not if Jane could help it.

The brazenness of her thoughts surprised her, but Allie was right-she did need a grown-up night, away from kids, some place where she could forget budgets and deadlines, where she could stop worrying about the future and live in the now.

Max must have sensed something was up, because he stopped in the middle of tying the top of a garbage bag and looked straight at Jane. “Where’s Kaylee?”

“Asleep in the V-berth. Allie and Cooper have kidnapped her for the night.”

He nodded. “Ah. Ahh.” He leaned closer and whispered, “Do they know, too?”

Jane sighed. “Everybody knows, Max. And they all think it’s just so cute.” She rolled her eyes. Didn’t Allie and Cooper remember how complicated it was for them to get together? And Sara and Reece-he had to change his whole life to be with her. But, no, both of her best friends were in newlywed la-la land.

Just because two people “looked cute” together didn’t mean they could just live happily ever after.

“Stop obsessing,” he said firmly. “So they know. That means we don’t have to be secretive anymore.”

“It also means Kaylee knows, or she will shortly.”

“Kaylee? She’s just a baby.”

“A baby who picks up on everything. If everyone around us has sensed it, she has, too. Which might explain her attachment to you.”

The Dragonfly had docked, and everyone was getting off. Max grabbed the garbage bag and quickly finished tying it closed. Reece and Sara were negotiating the gangway with Sara’s many containers of food and utensils.

“My purse is below deck,” Jane said. Then added cautiously, “See you in a few?”

He gave her a look that nearly ignited her on the spot. “Absolutely.”

Struggling for breath, she went below to grab her purse. Allie was straightening up the galley.

“Thanks again,” Jane said.

“My pleasure. But tomorrow I want details.”

“Allie…don’t say anything to Kaylee about me and Max. Okay?”

Allie smiled. “She already knows.”

That was what Jane was afraid of.

The evening had cooled off, and she shivered slightly as she made her way down Cooper and Allie’s dock to her own, wondering how long before Max returned to her. She could hear voices from the parking lot as people said their last good-nights.

As she turned the key to open the Princess II’s hatch, something moved in the shadows on deck. She gasped-until she realized it was Max. “You scared me.”

“That’s not the reaction in you I’m looking for.” He pressed her shoulders against the still-closed hatch and claimed her mouth with his, after which nothing else seemed to matter. The keys dropped from Jane’s limp hand, and she wrapped her arms around Max’s firm body and gave in completely.

As Allie had said, Max was her man…for this night, anyway.

Max cupped her bottom with one hand while the other slid inside her shirt at her waist, caressing the bare skin on her back and sending delicious shivers reverberating through her body like ripples from a stone dropped into a still pond.

He tore his mouth from hers, breathing heavily. “Maybe we better take this inside.”

“I dropped the keys.” She almost sobbed.

“I’ll find them.” He lowered himself slowly to the deck, skimming her body with his hands as he went down, tracing his fingers down her bare legs and placing a soft kiss on her thigh before feeling around on the deck.

What if they’d bounced into the water?

“Got ’em.”

Relieved, she stood aside and let him open the hatch. She walked down the three steps, her legs shaking. The hatch had scarcely latched behind them when she was in his arms again.

They started toward her cabin, leaving a trail of clothing as they kissed and caressed one step at a time, but they never actually made it there. Jane found herself on the sofa in the salon, but that proved too small and they ended up on the carpet.

She couldn’t get enough of the feel of his skin and his hair, long enough that she could grab handfuls of it. He smelled like citrus and his skin tasted faintly of salt from being out on the ocean.

She tasted his ear, delighting in the way he squirmed. But when he kissed her breast, circling her sensitive nipple with his tongue until it peaked, she was the one driven nearly out of her mind with wanting.

“Birth control?” she managed to squeak.

“Got it.”

In the back of her mind she wondered why he was so well prepared when he’d had no idea they would be together tonight. Was he just optimistic that an opportunity would present itself? Or if things hadn’t worked out in their favor, would he right now be at Old Salt’s trying to seduce some other woman?

But she pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Tonight was about living in the moment, not worrying, and the moment was pretty darn good.

By the time Max entered her she was incapable of thinking about much else, anyway. She wanted to scream with passion and excitement and sheer exuberance, but because she didn’t want to alarm anyone who happened to be out for an evening stroll on the dock, she limited herself to heartfelt moans.

When her feelings threatened to overwhelm her self-control, she pressed her face against Max’s shoulder and cried out one last time as the intense pleasure reached its peak.

As she rode out the waves of sensation, reveling in the simple physical release, Max thrust inside her harder and faster until he, too, found release.

A few minutes later, the air conditioner kicking on brought Jane back to the real world, and the fact she was lying on the salon floor with a delicious man on top of her.

This was crazy. She laughed, because what else could she do when she realized they were complete lunatics?

Max rolled over and pulled her on top of him. “What’s so funny?”

“Us. We couldn’t even make it to the bedroom.”

“I don’t know about you, but I had a lot of suppressed lust built up. Watching you parading around in those little shorts-”

“I do not ‘parade.’”

“You can’t help it. Everything about you turns me on. Your smile, your knees, your collarbone. Even your fingernails.” His smile faded. “Jane, I think…I mean, I don’t know much about these things, but…”

“But what?”

“Oh, hell, nothing. I never used to worry about anything, and lately I’ve been one big tension knot.”

She wanted to know what he was worried about. But she sensed whatever it was, pressuring him wouldn’t get results. He would tell her if and when he really wanted her to know.

She pressed two fingers into each of his temples and gently swirled. “Tonight isn’t about worry, okay? I’ve been doing my best not to think about the future. Not even tomorrow morning.”

“I have to get up early.”

“Me, too. Allie will probably bring Kaylee home around 7:30.”

“I’ll be gone by then. But that gives us-” he raised his left arm and pressed a button on his watch. A cool blue-green light briefly illuminated his face “-nine hours.”

“Nine hours! That sounds like a lot.”

“Unless you factor in sleep.”

“Who needs to sleep?”

“Not me. But I wouldn’t mind a bed.”

Reluctantly, Jane eased her body off Max’s and got to her knees, then her feet. She offered a hand to Max. “Bedroom’s this way. But don’t expect much. Everything’s smaller on a boat.”

Jane had always found the main cabin on the Princess II to be adequate for her needs. But when Max entered, his presence filled it so thoroughly she felt like they’d entered a hobbit house.

“Good thing I don’t mind cuddling up with you.”

Jane pulled back the covers and slid between the sheets, and Max joined her. He couldn’t even stretch out all the way, but he didn’t complain. He tucked her against him and idly caressed her breast, and she sighed.

She’d never known a human being could feel such contentment.

It was just sex, she reminded herself. But she’d never felt this way with Scott, who by comparison had been a rough and insensitive lover, more interested in conquering her than pleasing her.

Tentatively she touched Max, pleased that he responded instantly and amazed that she could want him again, already. At this rate, in nine hours they could make love nine or ten times. She suppressed a giggle.

He probably hadn’t come that prepared.