Mothers of the Year

by Lori Handeland

  “I don’t know about you,” he whispered huskily, “but I have to do this or go a little mad.”

  His mouth closed over hers. He propelled her back against the door while he coaxed her lips apart. Caught with her guard down, she didn’t have time to think or breathe. There was only this ecstatic sensation whipped up by their hunger for each other.

  She clung to him as one kiss slowly turned into another. Her hands slid up his chest to his shoulders. When that didn’t bring him close enough, she wound her arms around his neck. Without conscious thought, her body melted into his hard-muscled frame.

  This was what she’d been wanting. His touch drove Abby insane. Consumed by needs she’d thought dead after all these years, she realized they’d only been lying dormant until Brittany’s father arrived. A man who didn’t want to like her, but didn’t mind kissing her senseless.

  A moan escaped her. What was she doing kissing him back like this as if her life depended on it?

  “You’re so damn beautiful, you can’t even imagine. I want you, Abby. I’ve never wanted a woman so much in my life. You want me, too, please don’t deny it.”

  “I’m not, but we can’t do this—” she said, trying to escape his mouth.

  “We already are,” he came back fiercely before devouring her once more.

  But they weren’t in any kind of relationship you could put a name to. This was how you got into trouble. No words. No understanding. No commitment. Just sensual fullfillment. Crushed in Rick Jakeman’s arms.

  Wedding or no wedding, Brittany’s mother had flung herself into the same position. Abby could understand the woman. She was on the verge of giving into her feelings…while she still had André’s ring on her finger!

  His cell phone rang and she tore her lips from his.

  He kept her locked against him while he answered it. She was out of breath, but he sounded in perfect control.

  “That was the locksmith,” he said against her lips when he disconnected, before giving her a hard, swift kiss. “He’s outside knocking on the front door. I’ll let him in.” Reluctantly, he let her go and disappeared down the stairs.

  Grateful for the respite to fix her lipstick and get herself under control, she joined them a minute later. Before long the service door and the front locks had been changed.

  “Here’s your new key for both, and a duplicate.”

  Abby shook the man’s hand. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. How much do I owe you?”

  “Your husband’s already paid me. Good night.”

  After he went out the front door Abby saw the devilish blue gleam in Rick’s eyes. Staring pointedly at her ring, he raised his hands, palms facing her.

  She took a deep breath. “About what happened on the stairs—”

  “It was long overdue,” he interrupted her. “I’m not going to apologize for something we both enjoyed so much. If I didn’t have a daughter to get back to, I’d insist on staying for that cup of coffee.”

  He kissed two fingers and pressed them to her swollen lips. “Later, Mrs. Chappuis.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  BEFORE NOON the next day Rick walked over to Brittany’s school. He watched the kids pouring out of the high school. When he saw his daughter, he waved. “Hi, honey!”

  She looked shocked as she ran toward him. “Dad, how come you’re not at work?”

  Who was the parent here? “I thought I’d take time off to be with you.”

  Her face paled. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Buddy…or is it Abby?”

  If Rick hadn’t known before…

  “Actually, this has to do with Chet.”

  Brittany’s expression grew watchful. “What about him?”

  “Last night I went over to the restaurant to make certain Abby got home safely, but Chet didn’t like it, so he quit.”

  “Whoa, Dad—”

  “Since I’m the reason she’s shorthanded, I volunteered to be your assistant washing dishes until she finds a replacement. We need to get there on time.”

  Rick started walking faster. She hurried to keep up with him.

  “You’re going to work with me?”

  “That’s right. Is that okay?”

  “I love it! Did Abby say you could?”

  “I’m pretty sure she’s not going to mind the help. You’ll have to show me the ropes, though. I haven’t washed dishes in a long time.”

  “You mean, since you worked at Shorty’s Diner.” Brittany never forgot anything.

  “Think I can handle it?”

  “Dad.” She laughed. “Who’s going to do your work?”

  “I’ve left Ray in charge until further notice. Abby’s going to need us all week, including evenings and Saturday.”

  His daughter’s quiet smile was telling.

  They made good time and walked around the back to the service entrance. She pushed the red button. In a minute, one of the waitresses let them in. Though the restaurant had just opened for lunch, the place was already humming with activity.

  After introductions were made, he waited while Brittany stowed her backpack and changed into her uniform. Then they walked down the hall to the kitchen.

  The dishwashing area was at the far end, away from the chefs’ work space. Rick was glad there was no sign of Abby yet. He wanted to be hard at work when she noticed there was a new man on the job.

  A lump of pride lodged in his throat to see the professional way his daughter did her work. She had other tasks to fill besides dishwashing. If he didn’t know the truth, he would have thought she’d been an employee here much longer. She was good at this. Almost as good as she was at sailing.

  It wasn’t often a parent could be objective when it came to their children, but this gave Rick a chance to see his daughter through new eyes. Her poise at such a tender age had to be one of the qualities that had impressed Abby enough to hire her in the first place.

  “Okay, Dad. One of your jobs is to clean the forks and the caquelons over at this sink. Turn them facedown to dry on these cloths. Be careful, they’re ceramic.”

  “I’ll treat them like a newborn baby.”

  Her laughter warmed his heart. A month ago, she’d been so upset he didn’t want her to work, he’d wondered if he’d ever hear it again.

  His adrenaline pumping in anticipation of seeing Abby, he rolled up his shirtsleeves and got busy. In between cleaning pots, he helped Brittany load and unload plates and wineglasses. On his fourth trip to the sink he saw a vision in blue with gold hair enter the kitchen.

  Abby came to an abrupt halt, staring at him in disbelief. She clearly hadn’t taken him seriously last night.

  There was no smile of acknowledgment or welcome from her. Had he overstepped his bounds? It was too late to worry about that now. From here on out they were physically and emotionally in each other’s faces.

  She turned to talk to Brittany until one of the waitresses motioned to her from the hall. Once she’d left the kitchen, his daughter hurried over to him.

  “When the lunch crowd leaves, we always get a break. Abby wants us to go upstairs to her apartment.”

  Rick had an idea Abby planned to fire him, in the nicest possible way, of course. In the bright light of day she regretted her lapse of control and would use Brittany as a shield to keep him at bay. She was a past master at protecting herself, but it was a little late for that.

  Last night they’d been too impatient to make it over the threshold of her inner sanctum. Now that he’d discovered the desire wasn’t all on his part, the compulsion to find out what there could be between them wouldn’t let him go.

  At this point it was immaterial whether she’d wanted or meant to get beneath his skin. Neither of them had chosen to go this route willingly, but Rick could see it was going to be a fascinating journey to…wherever they ended up.

  A FEW MINUTES AFTER Abby had gone to her apartment to freshen up, she heard a knock on the door. With pounding heart she hurried across the living room to open it to
the two people who’d become frighteningly important to her in a very short period of time.

  “Come in.” Thankful for Brittany’s presence, she was able to avoid Rick’s eyes without seeming obvious. “Sit down.”

  Rick took the upholstered chair, and Brittany opted for the couch next to Abby. She looked around the room. “It’s funny to think of you living inside a restaurant. I bet you feel safe.”

  Abby didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Memories of last night on the stairs with Rick heated her cheeks. “For the most part I do. That’s one of the reasons I asked you to come up here. I need to talk to you about Chet.”

  “Dad said he quit.”

  “Yes. He was angry when he left. As a precaution your father arranged to have the locks changed at both restaurant doors last night.”

  Brittany’s eyes widened. “You think Chet has his own key?”

  “It happens, honey,” her father said. “The locks were changed as a precaution.”

  “You think he’ll come back when no one else is here, huh.”

  “It’s possible.” Concerned, Rick flashed Abby a glance before looking at his daughter again. “Unfortunately, some men just won’t give up if they’ve been turned down by a woman.”

  Her head swung around to Abby. “I could tell he really liked you.”

  “Well, he’s gone now. I just wanted you to be aware in case he comes in the restaurant to try to talk to you.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll avoid him. Besides, Dad’s going to be here.”

  With that comment Abby got to her feet. “That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. You’ve met Tony who works nights.”

  Brittany nodded. “He’s the one who trained Chet.”

  “I’ve asked him to train a new applicant, Paul, for the rest of this week. If all goes well, Paul will start working with you on Monday. Until then, Tony will come tomorrow to help fill in at noon for the rest of this week.”

  Rick stood, eyeing her directly. “Sounds like a lot of pressure for Tony. Why don’t you let me finish out this week with my daughter? It will ease my guilt for creating this situation in the first place. I didn’t do too badly today, did I, honey?”

  “Dad’s a lot faster than Chet!”

  Abby fought not to smile. She eyed Rick helplessly. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

  “But Dad wants to,” Brittany cried.

  “I confess I like working here better than my other job,” he said.

  Just thinking about being around him for the rest of the week filled her with too much excitement.

  “Dad’s already put Ray in charge of his office,” Brittany implored. “It’ll be fun all three of us working together. You won’t have to pay Tony extra and you won’t have to pay Dad at all!”

  Abby chose the wrong moment to glance at Rick. The dangerous glint in his eyes said there were forms of payment other than money. Her body went weak as she thought about a repeat of last night. If Brittany weren’t involved, Abby would be tempted.

  But Rick’s daughter meant everything to him and to her. She didn’t want Brittany hurt, so she didn’t dare succumb again. The two of them would be going back to Escondido at the end of the summer. Better not to start something that could destroy Abby once they were out of her life. Keep it light.

  “In that case, Rick,” she said, putting a smile on her face, “I’ll be happy to have you on board for the rest of the week. Though I know Brittany could handle it by herself, I’m sure she’ll enjoy working with you. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure. Now, I think Brittany and I better get downstairs and finish our jobs. Come on, kiddo.”

  To Abby’s dismay she didn’t want them to go, but there was nothing for it except to walk them to the door. Just as they started to leave, Brittany turned to her. “Thanks,” she whispered. As natural as breathing Brittany reached out and hugged her. Abby reciprocated, no longer able to withhold her heart from Rick’s daughter.

  Over the teen’s shoulder she felt the pull of his gaze twisting her emotions even more.

  “What do you do with your time between four and six?” he asked in his deep voice.

  “Relax before the next onslaught.”

  His half smile was so sensual, she actually trembled. “How about I treat you and Brittany to a frozen banana before we call it a day?”

  Don’t say yes, Abby. Everything’s growing too complicated.

  “That sounds good.”

  THURSDAY MORNING Rick put in a call to Liz’s law firm. Brittany had just left for class. While he waited for her to come on the line he paced the floor of the terrace thinking about what he would say. Buddy followed him, hoping for a leftover from breakfast.

  On principle Rick didn’t approve of lying in any form. And Liz would be hurt no matter what he told her. He had to tell her the truth.

  “Rick? Forgive me for making you wait. I was in a meeting, but when I heard it was you, I made my excuses. You can’t imagine how much I’m looking forward to Sunday. I’ve missed you horribly.”

  He came to a standstill, unable to tell her the same thing. Since Abby had come into his life, everything had changed. After last night he felt reborn.

  “Liz…I’m afraid I’m going to have to cancel.”

  “Oh, no. Something unavoidable at work?”

  “Not at work, no.” Hell, he hated having to do this.

  “But something is wrong. Wait. I get it. You’ve…met someone else, haven’t you?”

  His breathing felt constricted. “Liz…”

  The pained silence coming from her end made him feel terrible.

  He hesitated. “When I brought Brittany here, I had no idea this was going to happen.”

  More silence.

  Rick cleared his throat. “It’s…serious.”

  He heard her sharp intake of breath. “At least…at least you’re honest. I’ll give you that.”

  “I’m sincerely sorry, Liz. Please believe me when I say that I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together.”

  “But not enough to stay in Escondido,” she said in a tear-filled voice. “Good luck, Rick.” She hung up.

  Slowly he put down his phone. He hated to hurt her this way. But all he could think about was Abby. And he couldn’t feel guilty when he thought about her.

  Since Tuesday, he’d only seen her coming and going. She was very clever the way she managed to avoid being alone with him at the restaurant. The game of hide-and-seek had gone on long enough. With a plan in mind, he got ready for work early.

  “Jennifer?” he called from the front hall. “I’m off. See you around four-thirty. Have a good one.”

  “You, too!”

  I intend to.

  Taking pity on the dog, he gave him half a piece of toast from the kitchen before leaving the condo. Being old and half-blind, eating was about Buddy’s only joy left in life. Except for Brittany, of course.

  After the way he’d seen Abby hug Brittany back at the apartment, Rick suspected her feelings for his daughter were stronger than the normal boss-employee relationship, too. Somehow his little girl had gotten to the owner of Chez André. He’d bet his life she’d never hired anyone that young. Today, while no one else was around, he intended to get to the bottom of her unprecedented job offer.

  Once he reached the pier he was disappointed to discover she hadn’t opened yet. Too impatient to wait, he phoned the restaurant. Frustrated because he was told to leave a message, he walked around to the service entrance and pressed the buzzer. Five minutes later, still no results.

  He frowned. The woman had the right to sleep in. Heaven knows she deserved it. Rick understood what it was like to carry the burden of a business on your shoulders. That’s why he was taking this semivacation for the summer here in Escondido.

  While he stood there pondering what to do next, a car turned down the alley. As it drew closer he spotted Abby at the wheel. He walked over to the driver’s side. Her window was already down.

  He put his hands on th
e opening and leaned forward. “Good morning.”

  “Rick—” She sounded a trifle breathless. Her eyes searched his for an overly long moment. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you before we had an audience. Where’ve you been this early?”

  “I took some clothes to the cleaners for my trip next week.”

  He preferred not to think about that. “Are you in a hurry to open up?”

  She checked her watch. “No. The suppliers won’t be here for another hour.”

  “Good. Let’s go down to the beach.” It was a short walk.

  “All right.” Her voice didn’t sound quite even. “I’ll have to park the car first.”

  “Which garage is yours?” There was a bank of them on the other side of the alley.

  “Number five.”

  “I’ll open it.”

  In another minute, she joined him. They walked down the alley that led to a path to the beach. The air was so warm the mist had all but disappeared. Rick could see a dozen surfers out beyond the breakers. A few people were jogging along the sand, but for the most part they were alone.

  Abby’s hair had been tied back in a scarf, a purple one. She wore a sleeveless white blouse and shorts with purple polka dots. The woman smelled divine and looked good enough to eat. The urge to kiss her made his lower limbs heavy.

  By tacit agreement they took off their sandals. After Rick rolled up his pant legs, they let the water do its worst.

  She spoke first. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Brittany. Why did you really hire her?”

  She slowed down and turned to him. As she shielded her eyes, he caught the glint of her wedding band in the sun. He hated the reminder. “If I tell you, it will betray a confidence.”

  He stiffened. “I’m trying to understand what drove my daughter to get a job. It’s not that I don’t want her to have one, but there’s some kind of disconnect here. She’s the same, yet not the same since our move. Frankly I’m at a loss. It would mean a lot if you could shed some light on it.”

  Abby stood with the foam swirling around her long shapely legs, obviously weighing what he’d said. “Let me ask you a question first. What did she tell you was the reason?”