“You do have the right to speak your mind, Eden,” he said. “I hired you to help me, and you’re doing that in more ways than one. The wound is nothing, but I’ll get it looked at. And I’ll think about what you’ve said about finding a partner. It might be a challenge finding a man or woman as discreet as you who’s also up to the task.”
Eden’s breath caught for a second. A woman? Well, why not a woman?
There wasn’t a single good reason for her to object to that possibility, she admitted, except that the taste of Jeremy was still on her lips and she had spent so much time watching him walk away with other women. She had no right to covet him now. And yet she did.
“So what are you going to do about that?” she asked herself after he had gone.
But she already knew the answer. She was going to follow Jeremy’s lead and run. Getting tangled up with Jeremy wasn’t an option. She had to keep her distance as much as possible.
Surely that wouldn’t be too difficult given the fact that for now her duties were largely confined to doing research. She could easily stay away.
CHAPTER SEVEN
EDEN was seated beside Jeremy, clipboard in hand, and at his request this time, he acknowledged. She seemed uneasy.
That was probably his fault. He’d kissed her again and made her uncomfortable. That wasn’t right. He needed to try to get things back onto a business plane.
“The other day when Barry was here,” he said, wading in. “You talked about looking at things from a different perspective and you struck a chord with me.” In fact, she’d hit a nerve. All this time he’d been thinking in terms of his own guilt and responsibility, but…
“If you had gone to a sperm bank eight years ago and someone came to you now and you heard that the donor was looking for you, what would you think?” he asked.
He leaned back in his chair, a casual pose, but there was nothing casual about his feelings as he waited for Eden’s response. He could sense the intensity swirling through her. But, of course, she had always been serious and intense. Maybe that was part of the reason he’d been reluctant to hire her at first. She felt things so deeply that a man like him could harm her. People had hurt her: her uncle, Miriam, her ex-husband, possibly even him. And now? He hadn’t been lying before. He had to stop touching her, and yet…
She drew him. He remembered the taste of those warm, wild-berry lips, and every cell in his body ignited and burned. Pleasure and desire coursed through him.
“Eden?” he managed to say, hoping his voice sounded something near normal, not like a man who was lusting after her badly.
“Well,” she said, softly. “If I had been in need of a sperm bank, that could mean several things. Maybe I didn’t want a man or I couldn’t find the right man, but there had probably been some sort of issue with the opposite sex. So, if a man approached me years after the fact and asked me about my child, I’d probably suspect his motives or be frightened, even if he told me there was a medical reason for contacting me.”
“So, how would I convince the person that there is a real medical reason?”
Eden became even more intense, more still. “You might have to put yourself out there as proof,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jeremy felt himself blanch. That was what he had wanted to avoid all along. To have to be an example, to willingly open up to someone and demonstrate his flaws…he never did that.
“But you might not have to do anything so extreme,” Eden said. “Barry told me that he’s located a couple of Internet sites where sperm donors and recipients can find each other, if both are willing. He thinks that if I became a presence on them rather than him or you, I might be able to make more headway. With my background as a teacher and the knowledge I’ve gleaned through research I could at least stress the benefits of contact if anyone knows of any potential candidates. It’s a bit of a shot in the dark. The parent would have to either know of the site or know someone who knows of it, but we’re going to try.”
“You’re comfortable doing that?” Jeremy asked. “This wasn’t in your job description.”
“Well, now that I’m not observing you anymore,” she said with a smile, “I’m not sure what to do with all my free time.”
He grinned and leaned forward. “Go out and enjoy yourself? Get into the city? Visit a museum? Drive the Aston? Take up skateboarding?” he teased.
She laughed. “I might do some of those things, but I really came here to work.”
“You are working. You’re doing more than I expected. I don’t think I’m paying you enough.”
A muffled, choked sound slipped from her. “You’re talking to a schoolteacher. I’m not used to being well paid.”
He thought about that. “And you came here because you needed the work and the money. I’m sure that if I paid you more…”
She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and sat up taller, leaning closer. “I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t need the money when you know I do, but—”
“You want children,” he reminded her and himself. “You’ll need funds.” An idea began to form in the back of Jeremy’s mind. He rose and circled the desk until he was standing next to Eden.
She raised her chin and looked up at him. Even blurry, she seemed lovely and proud. “No matter what my circumstances are, you’re not offering me more money,” she said determinedly. And then she rose to face him. She was closer, near enough to touch, near enough to kiss.
Jeremy ordered himself to control his wayward thoughts.
“It could mean that you could have the things you want,” he suggested. “The school, the girls you want to help, the babies of your own…”
“Are you trying to seduce me by offering me children?”
Instantly, his world went cold. “You know I’m not.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. You know I didn’t. But you’re offering me seed money to raise children and to start a school. Money I haven’t earned. That feels like seduction.”
“You could earn it,” he said.
A gasp slipped from her lips. Without even thinking, he leaned forward and placed a hard, quick kiss on that wonderful, plump mouth. She was soft and warm and she swayed toward him. He caught her against him. “Don’t think what you’re thinking. Despite all the good advice I give myself about being smart and keeping my distance, I love kissing you,” he said, “but I would never offer you the indignity of paying you to sleep with me.”
“I know that,” she said, placing her palms on his chest but not pushing away. “You don’t need to pay women to sleep with you. You have to beat them off. Donald tells me that the woman who delivers the groceries has offered herself up if you’re interested.”
He chuckled. “I’m not.” He kissed her again, and the sensation of her soft lips beneath his only made him want her more…which told him he had crossed a line. “I shouldn’t keep touching you,” he said as he pulled back slightly.
“I know. I like it too much, too.”
A groan escaped him. “You’ve been hurt before, Eden.”
“Yes.” Now she pushed back.
“Your husband had to have been a jerk. More of a jerk than even I am.”
“You’re not a jerk.”
He smiled. “There are plenty of women who would say otherwise.”
He heard rather than saw Eden blow out an impatient breath. “If that’s true, and I’m not sure it is, then it’s because those women expected something you never promised. You were never permanent. That was always clear, even when we were young, and any woman who gets involved with you has to know that there won’t be any promises. She shouldn’t have expectations.”
“Did you have expectations? Of your husband?”
“Yes. Of course. Because we were married. Promises were made.”
“And now you don’t want any more promises.”
“No. They’re too unreliable. Between my father who promised my mother he’d be there and wasn’t, my uncle who promised me a
home but thought of me as an unwelcome obligation, and my husband who promised me forever but who eventually didn’t want me at all, I’m through.”
“And you don’t want my money even though you could use it.”
“Not if I haven’t earned it.”
“So, we’re back to that again. What if you did earn it?”
She leaned back. “Doing what? Is there more that needs doing? Something we haven’t thought of? Maybe you do have some of that paperwork we told Miriam about?”
“Sorry, no paperwork, but…someone suggested that I could use a partner…”
“Excuse me?”
He frowned. He knew she wasn’t going to like this. He didn’t really like it, either, and he didn’t want to ask her. Heck, he didn’t even want to admit that he really did have to ask her, but…
“The other day when I fell…I didn’t see that rock in the road. Not even the outline, and…” He turned away. He hated having to say the next part. “I know I really am going to need a partner when I go out because I can’t stop testing my limits. I don’t want to take on a stranger yet.”
He waited, giving her time to digest what he was saying.
“Are you saying—Do you want—”
“I want you. To do all the physical things that I’m doing. To be my eyes in the places where my eyes don’t function. Can you do that?”
Seconds of silence followed. “No. I’m sorry. No. Please. I don’t think so. I’m…not experienced. I don’t do…the things you do. Even with two good eyes, I don’t and never did. I wouldn’t be good at those kinds of things. I’m not the right person.”
He nodded tersely. “All right. I won’t push.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ll find someone.” Even though he didn’t want to and absolutely hated revealing his weakness to even one more person. “Don’t worry. It won’t be a problem. Money can buy discretion.”
But he could still feel her distress. “Is that all?”
Jeremy shook his head. “We were talking about more work for you, and there’s one more possibility, something I’ve realized I really need. Most of my business I can do from home, and I have capable employees who can handle most of the rest. It’s a rare day when I actually have to go out in public, which is good. It means I don’t have to pretend or reveal my weakness to the world, but in the next few weeks, I have potential new clients coming to town. A bigger account than usual. The company is wining and dining them, and I’m the face of the company. There’ll be social events, and I’ll have to be there whether I can find my way around in unfamiliar territory or not. If I have to appear in public, I want to be seen as relatively normal, because in business, power and appearance can be everything at times. Eden…”
“Yes,” she said immediately. “Yes. That I can do.”
Relief and something warmer flowed through him, and yet there was something else, something dark that nudged at him.
“And your reason for agreeing so readily?” he couldn’t help asking. She couldn’t say money, could she? She’d already turned him down for that. Please don’t let it be pity, he thought, even though he was very afraid that it might be pity.
She hesitated. “Will I get to wear a Cinderella dress?” she finally asked.
Jeremy blinked. “The finest.”
“Well, then. Why ask? When I was a little girl, I wanted to be Cinderella so badly, but I never got to be the princess, never got to wear the pretty dress or dance with the prince. Opportunities like this just don’t fall into the laps of humble schoolteachers. You’re asking me to appear in public on the arm of a man women want to kill for and wear a dress that…”
“Women want to kill for,” he supplied with a grin.
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“And none of this has anything to do with the fact that I played on your emotions?” he asked.
“Of course some of it does. I’m your employee, and I definitely have a personal stake. I know what it is to walk into a crowd and worry about how people will react to me. More than you know. So I really want you to win.”
Jeremy couldn’t help smiling. “I’ll do my best to cross the finish line in the lead.” He turned to leave.
“Jeremy, the other stuff. The biking and skateboarding…I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem, Eden. It was just a thought,” he said as he continued to move. Even though it had been more than that. So far he hadn’t let any strangers in on his secret. Everyone who knew of his condition was someone he’d known before and trusted implicitly. The issue could wait a little longer.
Or so he thought.
Later that day, Eden watched Jeremy running across the grass and held her breath as he swung by a tree.
“He knows what he’s doing,” she assured herself. He did. He was in excellent physical condition. Much more so than she had ever been or ever would be. If it were up to Jeremy, he would be climbing mountains and skiing down hills. He’d probably done both of those things. And she never had.
Why?
Eden took a deep breath. It wasn’t something she’d ever lied to herself about. She’d spent her childhood raising her siblings and hadn’t had time for physical endeavors. That was partly true. She hadn’t had money for skiing or golfing or a lot of other things. That was true, too.
“But even if I had…”
I hated being conspicuous. I abhorred having people see me mess up. And she had always felt awkward and clumsy running or jumping or pushing physical limits. She wasn’t even remotely good at athletics. She ran funny. She threw funny. Those activities drew attention to her, and she’d spent a lifetime trying to avoid attention. Especially when she was younger. Being the center of attention only reminded everyone of how different she was, of how her clothes were secondhand and ill fitting, of how she was an outsider trespassing in the ranks of the local elite.
That was why she had told Jeremy no.
And that was why he was going to have to look for a stranger to help him expand his physical regimen when she knew darn well that he hated being the center of attention these days.
“So you can continue to be a coward and force the man into doing something he doesn’t want to do or…”
Eden stared out the window, waiting. When Jeremy finally appeared in the distance, she studied him. He was tall and broad-shouldered and tempting. And totally off-limits. She had promised herself just last week that she would maintain some distance. But he was paying her well, and she had just discovered this morning that he had increased her wages.
“For the extra work with my business contacts,” he’d said.
His actions would clear her debts. They would give her back the piece of her soul that she’d lost in the divorce, and they would enable her to start thinking seriously about her dreams, her school. She would have what she wanted when she left here.
Because he’d taken a chance on her.
She closed her eyes for a while, digesting that. Then swiftly, without allowing herself to think, Eden moved outside. She waited until Jeremy was close.
“Jeremy, can we talk?”
He pulled up short, his muscles tensing, his hair falling over his forehead.
Temptation. The word slipped into her consciousness.
“What can I do for you, Eden?” he asked, running one hand over his glistening chest.
Touch me. The unexpected thought almost made her gasp. “I was thinking,” she said. “About those activities you wanted me to take part in. Bicycling and skating and things like that…”
He shook his head. “I told you not to worry.”
“I know, but—”
“Eden,” Jeremy drawled with a small smile. “You don’t have to be the perpetual good student, always volunteering even when you don’t want to.”
She frowned. Okay, he was making her angry. “I’m not. I wasn’t.”
He lifted an eyebrow and she blushed. “Okay, maybe I was, but that’s not what I’m doing now.”
And now he smiled. �
�What are you doing now, Eden?”
“I’m…I’m trying something new. I’m being adventurous. If I’m going to run a school I have to be daring now and then.”
His incredulous smile grew. “Really?”
She hoped her blush wasn’t deepening. “Yes. I think so.”
“And what do you propose to do?”
“I’m going to…do what you said. I’m going to be your partner. I’m going to learn how to do all those things you want to do. Okay?”
“I’m not arguing with you, Eden.”
“You’re sure I’ll do?”
“I’m not looking for a teacher.”
“I’m…I really hate looking clumsy and I’ll probably be clumsy at most of this stuff.”
“Then you won’t have to worry. I can’t see you all that well.”
“All right, then,” she said. “Is it agreed?”
“Was there ever a question that I would agree? Where do you want to start? What activity?”
“I…I don’t know. I hadn’t thought. I thought you would know.”
“But you’re the one doing me the favor.”
“Then, can we start out slowly?”
He tilted his head. “I’ll take it as slowly as you like, Eden.” And for a moment she thought he was talking about something other than riding a bike.
She nodded. “Good. There’s just one thing.”
“Tell me.”
“I can—I’ll try to do it all, except…please…not the climbing wall,” she said. “I fell from the roof of the house when I was young and—” her voice grew weaker “—I totally panic when I get higher than the first rung on a ladder.”
“Then I would never ask that of you,” he promised.
She took his hand and put it over her mouth. “I know you can see me some but just in case you can’t see how big my smile is, I’m grinning a thank-you for that concession. See?”
Her lips curved upward. He laughed out loud. “No wall,” he said again. “But the other stuff…you might surprise yourself. I’ll bet you’ve never experienced the rush of flying down a hill while the trees zip past.”
Her Millionaire, His Miracle Page 7
