“I’m being concerned, Jenny,” he said, pulling her to a stop just inside the stairwell. “I care about you. About our baby.”
Care was such a pale word. It was pastel when what she wanted was bold, primary colors.
“I appreciate it, but we’re both fine and I’ve got to get downstairs to finish the main-floor elevator doors. We’re one artist short now.” She started for the stairs, but Mike was too quick for her. He scooped her up into his arms and Jenny huffed out a breath of exasperation.
He was smiling at her, holding her, and though she wanted nothing more than to hook her arms around his neck and hold on, she knew she couldn’t. “You’re not playing fair, Mike.”
“Damn right, I’m not,” he agreed, walking down the stairs with her held close to his chest. “I’ve told you how it’s going to be between us, Jenny. I’m just giving you time to get used to the idea.”
Later that night, the construction crew was gone for the day and most everyone else had headed into Laughlin for dinner and some fun. In the quiet darkness, Jenny went out onto the pool deck by herself, eager for a little solitude. It had been days now since Mike showed up at the hotel and it looked as though he had no intention of leaving anytime soon. Didn’t he know that by staying, he was making this whole situation so much harder on her?
“Of course he does,” she whispered wryly. “That’s his plan, Jenny. He’s trying to make you crazy enough that you’ll agree to marry him, even though you know it would be a mistake.”
Oh, God, she was so tempted to make that mistake.
Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Jenny sat down on the edge of the pool, took off her shoes and dangled her feet in the warm water. It was still cool in the desert at night, so she enjoyed the mix of a cold wind brushing over her arms and the warm water lapping at her legs. Lazily kicking her feet through the water, she leaned back on her hands and stared up at the night sky.
“Beautiful,” she said to no one. With no light pollution here, the stars were brilliant and there were so many of them. It was like a painting, she thought and instantly, her mind drifted to just how she would capture that scene on canvas, though she knew she would never be able to do it justice.
“It is, isn’t it?”
Jenny sighed and tipped her head down to watch Mike come toward her. Her time alone was over and though she knew that spending time with Mike was only prolonging the inevitable, she relished the hard thump of her heart at the sight of him. She’d thought he went into town with the others, but she should have known better, she told herself now.
He took a seat beside her, dropped his bare feet into the water and looked up at the sky. “Being in the city, you never see this many stars,” he said, voice low, deep, intimate. “You forget how big the sky really is.”
Jenny knew he hadn’t come out here to talk about the stars. “Mike...”
He looked at her and in the shadowy moon and starlight, his blue eyes looked dark, mysterious. “I talked to Dave today,” he said, surprising her. “He says you quit your job as of this project’s completion.”
Jenny had hoped he wouldn’t find out so quickly. Turning in her resignation had cut at her. She loved her job and would miss everyone there, but she’d felt obligated to give Dave as much time as he might need to cover her absence. “I had to.”
“No, you didn’t,” he mused quietly, sliding his bare foot along her leg, giving her chills that had nothing to do with the cool night air. “Dave also said you recommended he hire Christa full-time.”
She shrugged. “He’ll need someone to fill in for me when I’m gone. Christa’s good. Talented, but willing to take direction.”
“If you think she’ll work out, that’s good enough for me.”
Pleased that he thought so highly of her suggestion, she smiled briefly. “Thanks for that.”
“You could have stayed with the company, you know.” He tossed a quick glance at the sky, then shifted his gaze to hers again. “Could have pulled the the-boss-is-my-baby’s-father card.”
She stared at him, shocked. “I would never do that.”
His gaze moved over her face as he slowly nodded. “Yeah, I’m getting that. I’m beginning to get a lot of things.”
“Mike,” she said, hoping to make the situation perfectly clear between them. “Quitting my job was the right thing to do. For both of us. Working together every day would just be too hard. Besides, I don’t need your money to take care of my baby. I don’t need the Ryan name to make sure my future’s secure—”