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The heat in Maeve’s cheeks took forever to calm down. She hadn’t meant to tell her parents about eating breakfast with Ethan. She was afraid of giving anyone the wrong idea... Instead, she’d really given everyone the wrong idea.
I need a guardian angel to slap a hand over my mouth sometimes, she lamented.
“He’s coming over in about a half hour,” Ethan said, his fork resting in his hand. “Is that alright?”
“Who’s coming over?” Maeve blurted out before she could think better of it.
The whole table turned to look at her.
ANGEL! she screamed internally. Where in the world are you?
“My boss from the construction crew,” Ethan answered calmly, though his lips were twitching in amusement. “He’s gonna look at the house with me so we can figure out the best plan for an addition.”
Maeve nodded. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
Her parents went back to their dinners and Maeve released a breath, until Ethan leaned into her ear.
“Whatcha daydreaming about over there, Little Mae?” he whispered.
The goosebumps running over her skin couldn’t be helped, though Maeve prayed Ethan couldn’t see them. Had she just recently decided she wanted to give him a chance? How could she do that when she couldn’t even control herself around him? She wasn’t ready to jump into a relationship with both feet. Right now all she wanted was to test the waters with her toe...but if he didn’t stop being so...Ethan...she wasn’t going to be able to help herself.
Maeve feigned indifference, though she knew she wasn’t fooling anybody. “Sorry. I was going over shop numbers in my head.”
“Really?” Ethan continued. His finger trailed up her arm where it was hidden under the table, keeping her parents in the dark about their little conversation. “The redness in your cheeks says otherwise.”
Maeve jerked her arm away, bumping the table and making the blush on her face triple. She groaned and covered her face with her hands when her parents gave her another quizzable look.
“Are you alright, sweetie?” her mother asked. “You look flushed.”
“Fine, Mom,” Maeve said, kicking Ethan’s foot when she realized he was chuckling. “Just embarrassed about hitting the table.” When another voice of soft laughter joined Ethan’s, Maeve peeked between her fingers to glare at her father.
Her dad immediately stopped and widened his dark brown eyes. “What?” he asked.
Maeve narrowed her gaze even more. “Traitor,” she mouthed.
“I think I’m ready for dessert,” her father announced, completely ignoring Maeve’s distress.
“You’ve hardly eaten dinner!” Maeve’s mom scolded.
Her dad shrugged and grabbed his wife’s hand. “Life’s short,” he said, kissing the back of her fingers. “It’s a night to eat dessert first. Besides...” He gave her a look that kept the heat in Maeve’s cheeks even longer. “Who wouldn’t want to be fed something sweet by a beautiful woman?”
Maeve couldn’t look...but she also couldn’t not look. Her head was ducked, but somehow her eyes just kept going back to her parents. Why was it so sweet and so disgusting all at the same time?
Her mother’s cheeks heated, the same way Maeve’s were and she shook her head in a scold. “You’re a flatterer. You’ve always been a flatterer.”
Her dad shrugged. “It got me you. Why change my ways now?”
Her mother giggled. Giggled! Maeve didn’t know whether to join in or gag a little. A hushed chuckling came from beside her and she turned to glare at Ethan for interrupting her voyeurism.
“Think you can handle that?” her dad asked.
Maeve’s head jerked back. “What?” After a beat she realized he was talking to Ethan.
Ethan coughed. “Excuse me?”
Maeve’s dad’s eyebrow rose high. “Always pay attention to those who have conquered before,” he said with a smirk. “You’ll learn something.”
When Maeve finally realized what her father was saying, all the blood drained from her head and her jaw followed. “Dad!” she screeched. “Are you kidding me?”
“Are we kidding who?” Estelle asked as she walked inside. “Whew!” She plopped in the seat next to their mother. “I’m exhausted.” Either Maeve’s older sister was oblivious to the tension in the room, or she simply didn’t care because she began filling an empty plate high with food.
“Ethan?” her father pressed.
Maeve groaned and covered her face again. Why was her family so embarrassing?
“Got it, sir,” Ethan said. Even without looking, Maeve could tell he was laughing. How he could laugh at a time like this was beyond her.
Maeve wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor. This was beyond embarrassing and she had no way of fixing it. And how did she scold her father? Not only was Ethan still sitting right next to her, but her dad was sick! How do you scold a sick man?
Life isn’t fair...
“Come on, Little Mae,” Ethan said, teasing her with her childhood nickname again. “I think your parents are great.”
“I don’t have parents,” she said, though the words were muffled behind her hands. “I’m an orphan.”
Laughter grew around the table.
“Apparently, I missed something,” Estelle inserted. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing,” their mother sang. “Just your father sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.” She smiled at Maeve.
“She’s my daughter, and she inherited her nose from my side of the family. Apparently, it does belong there.”
“Why doesn’t the earth just swallow us when we want it to?” Maeve asked no one in particular. “That would be a really useful skill to have right now.”
“If you had that power, you’d be a superhero and I wouldn’t have the pleasure of sitting next to you,” Ethan offered.
“Very good!” Maeve’s dad said in triumph. “Soon the student will be the master.”
“Oh my gosh...” Maeve scooted her chair back and stood up. “Excuse me, I have a date with a calculator.”
Ethan grabbed her hand and stood up as well. “Actually...I was hoping—” The doorbell rang, cutting off his words. He grinned. “I’m guessing that’s Matt. Want to walk the house with us? That way you can keep us within budget.”
Maeve sighed, trying to push her embarrassment to the side, but it refused to budge. She’d never been so humiliated in her life and to have it happen with her parents and the guy she loved? Life was about as low as it got at the moment. “Fine,” she huffed, not wanting to admit just how much she wanted to stay close to Ethan.
His grin said he knew. “Great. Let’s go let him in.” He took her hand and led Maeve toward the front door.
Maeve tried not to grin as she tripped in his wake, but there was nothing for it. Her hormones had completely taken over and if she wasn’t careful, she’d be drowning in all things Ethan Markle by this time tomorrow.
*****
“HEY, MATT!” ETHAN SAID as he pulled open the front door. “Glad you could make it.” Ethan tried to pretend like holding Maeve’s hand wasn’t a big deal, but he had never been so conscious of another person’s touch before. His skin burned, in the best way possible, from her palm resting against his.
The situation at the table a few minutes ago had been as funny as it had been humiliating, but there was no denying just how open the door had become in letting him pursue Maeve. He had parental permission and everything. Now all he needed was Maeve’s.
From the fact that she’s not pulling away...I’m gonna guess I’m making progress on that too.
“Good to see ya, son,” Matt boomed. He grinned at Maeve. “Ms. Harrison.” He nodded in greeting. “Now which sister are you? Are you the one that makes all those amazing cakes?”
Maeve smiled shyly and shook her head. “Nope. That’s my sister, Aspen. She’s married and doesn’t live here anymore.” Maeve shrugged. “I’m the youngest.”
Matt’s eyes darted to their combined hands. “Doesn’t seem to be deterring you any,” he teased.
“Okay!” Ethan said a little louder than necessary. The last thing he needed was a stranger teasing Maeve and causing her to pull back. Her family had done that well enough. “Where do you want to start?”
Matt immediately went into work mode. “How about a tour? And I’d like to meet Mr. Harrison. That way we can see what newfangled things are on the market to help someone with his needs.”
Ethan nodded. “Right.” He nodded toward the dining room. “The family’s in here. Let’s go there first.” He led the way, Maeve being pulled behind him. “Mama Em, Tony, Estelle...this is Matt. He’s my boss during the cold months and one of the finest men I know.”
Matt laughed loudly, but walked over to shake Tony’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Harrison, Mrs. Harrison. I understand we’re going to help fix up a place for you to take it easy?”
Tony smiled. “I’ve always enjoyed being catered to. Thought I might push my luck a little.”
Ethan saw Maeve’s face fall. He couldn’t exactly blame her, though he thought Tony was taking the whole thing in commendable stride. Not many men would be okay admitting that they couldn’t handle certain tasks anymore. Physical therapy clinics were a testament to the fact that people always seemed to underestimate their capabilities. He squeezed her fingers and tugged her in a little closer. “Let him have his pride,” Ethan whispered next to her ear.
He knew he didn’t need to get quite that close, but who could blame him? When he drew her in to whisper, he could smell her sweet shampoo and enjoyed when he saw goosebumps run down the side of her neck. She couldn’t hide her reaction and it only strengthened his determination.
“Ethan?”
He jerked away from Maeve’s neck. “Hm?” Tony’s smirk made Ethan feel like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Good thing he knew Maeve’s dad wanted Ethan to make a move.
“You’re comfortable showing Mr. Peters around?”
Ethan nodded. “Yep. Plus, Maeve’s gonna keep us in line, right?” He looked down.
Maeve rolled her eyes. “If I must.”
“Oh, you must,” Estelle said, rising to her feet and walking quickly toward the kitchen. “If we’re not careful, Ethan’ll have Mr. Peters build one of the land surfing machines in the back of the house.”
Everyone laughed, but Ethan made a considering face. “Now that you gave me the idea...”
“Ugh!” Maeve groaned. “Come on, let’s get this party started.”
“Wow...I hadn’t planned on it being that big of a celebration,” Ethan teased. “Do I get cake afterwards?”
The table laughed again and Ethan grinned as he and Maeve walked out of the dining room, Matt following in their wake.
The next forty five minutes were spent going over dimensions, accessibility, cost and working with the foundational structure of the house. Ethan was positive that it was boring Maeve out of her mind, but the way she listened, then jumped in with intelligent questions...a person would never tell.
“I’m meeting with the architect tomorrow,” Matt boomed. “If I need to bring him by, is there a time that’s best for that?”
Ethan turned the question over to Maeve.
Maeve shrugged. “Unless Dad has a doctor’s appointment, they’re usually here all day. If you want to send a warning text, I can make sure someone’s here to let you in.”
“Perfect.” Matt grabbed the doorknob. “I’ll get your number from Ethan when we talk tomorrow.” He nodded. “Night, folks!”
Ethan turned to Maeve now that they were alone in the entryway. “What do you think?”
“I think you can hear that guy from one end of a football field to the other,” Maeve said with a laugh.
Ethan chuckled. “Probably. He did play football when he was younger. Was on the second string in college, I think.”
Maeve nodded. “I believe it.”
“But about the house?”
Maeve grew serious. “I think it’s a lot,” she said more softly. “But I also think Dad’s worth it.”
Ethan hesitated only a moment before pulling her into his chest. When she wrapped her arms around him and burrowed in, he knew he’d made the right choice. Her dad’s illness was eating her up inside. “Tony’s tough,” Ethan said into her hair. “Don’t give up on him just yet.”
Maeve nodded. “I know. But it’s so hard.” She sniffed and Ethan rubbed his hand up and down her back.
He’d been longing to comfort her for so long. What a tragedy that it took a terminal illness to make it happen.
“I know who he used to be,” she continued. “And this isn’t the man I remember.”
Ethan had no words for that. It was going to be hard and odds were, it would only get harder. Instead of speaking, he just pulled her tighter. “Will you go to dinner with me?”
Well, that hadn’t exactly been how he’d planned to ask her out, but now that the words were out there...
Maeve stepped back, breaking their connection.
Or perhaps I should have waited for better timing.
“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” she whispered.
Ethan nodded. “I am.”
“And you don’t care that I’ve been pushing you away all this time?”
That’s a loaded question. He reached out, letting his fingers trail along her jawline. “Do I care? Of course, I do. It’s been horrible. But answer me honestly.” He stepped a little closer. “Has your pull to me waned at all during that time? Even though you didn’t want anything to do with me?” His voice was low and husky, though he hadn’t meant for it to be. Still...it only added to the tension brewing between them.
He kept his eyes on hers. He wanted a real answer. Not her default when she was trying to weasel away from her feelings. Her eyes told him exactly what he needed to know, but he wanted to hear her say it.
Her chest began to rise erratically and her breathing became audible, the longer they looked into each other’s eyes. Finally, after Ethan thought he might explode with waiting, her head began to slowly shake. “No.”
A slow smile pulled on his lips. Someday, he was going to kiss that mouth, but tonight...he’d simply let the anticipation build. “Then I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven.” He bent just slightly closer. “Wear something nice.”