What the hell was he doing there? He'd kissed her silly and then totally disappeared from her life, and now he'd decided to show up, at her home and place of business, and she was supposed to what, swoon? Throw herself in his arms? Giggle and faint because he decided she was worthy of his attention after all?
Apparently, she'd been a little angrier over his silence than she'd realized, which made the whole thing a really bad idea. Scratch that. Having him there was like a bad idea on steroids. Her hands practically itched to trace the hard planes of his body. It had been weeks and she still couldn't resist his pull. The man was like smooth whiskey, dipped in chocolate, sprinkled with coffee, and rolled in a fountain of sugar. All the unbelievably delicious things she craved and couldn't have.
She ignored him and opened the rear door to gather the bags on the backseat. Maybe if she didn't acknowledge his presence, he'd go away. She didn't have time for the emotional and physical rodeo she'd been going through since the christening trip, not to mention the bucking bronco in her gut every time she was within fifty feet of the man.
She should have known ignoring him wouldn't work. Brooks didn't seem the type to take rejection. He was far too aware of his appeal for his own good.
Leah slung her garment bag over one shoulder, then grabbed the nearest box from the trunk and hefted it up.
"Let me carry that," Brooks said, hot on her heels.
She glanced down at his empty arms. "This would go a lot faster if you'd carry the other boxes instead of worrying about me carrying this one. I'm fine."
"It's heavy. You should let me carry it for you. In fact, you should have just hired someone to move all this stuff for you."
Leah snorted. "Right. I'm going to spend a few hundred dollars I don't have for a few boxes? It's not that far. I'm fine."
He made a swipe for the box and she yanked it away. Before he could try again, she turned left through the arched entryway to the corridor that contained her quarters and came to a stop in front of the first door.
"See. We're already there. Open the door, will you?"
He frowned, but opened the door, pushing it wide so she could go in. She marched the box straight to the coffee table in her small living room and dropped it. She didn't want Brooks to see, but carrying that box had winded her a little. Or maybe it had been their game of keep away. No matter. She was perfectly capable of carrying the rest. She wasn't stupid enough to risk injuring herself or the baby to prove a point, but the boxes really weren't that heavy.
"You're stubborn, you know that?"
"And you're a borderline stalker," she said.
"Am not."
She bit her lip, resisting the urge to join in with the "Am not, am too" game.
"What are you doing here, Brooks?"
He shrugged. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Why now? I haven't heard from you since the trip, and now you want to talk to me so badly you show up here instead of calling?"
"I would have, but I wasn't all that sure you'd answer."
"I wouldn't have."
She so would have, but he sure as hell didn't need to know that. The amused grin he aimed at her made it clear he already knew it.
She glared at him and spun on her heel back out the door.
"I'll get the rest," Brooks said, heading her off.
She stopped and planted her hands on her hips. "I can get them myself. Seriously, why are you here? You didn't come to say hi or carry my boxes for me. How did you know I'd be here today anyway?"
"Kiersten told Cole. Cole told me."
Leah frowned. "Traitors."
Brooks stepped closer and she stood her ground, though the effort it took sent a fine tremor through her legs.
"Are you really so pissed that I'm here?"
"Yes," she said, though the word barely made it out of her throat.
Brooks gave her that slow, sexy grin that made her knees melt into a pile of goo.
"I don't believe you." He leaned down and brushed his lips just at the corner of her lips.
Her mouth dropped open in a little sigh and he cupped her face in his hands, going in for something deeper.
"No." She pushed him away and held up a hand to keep him back. If he kissed her, she was a goner. She was trying to keep her job at the school, not get kicked out for making out in the corridors.
He held his hands up in surrender though his gaze burned into hers. He knew exactly the effect he had on her.
"I have to get the rest of the things."
"I told you, I'll get them," he said, easily overtaking her.
She followed him, jogging a little to keep up with his long stride. She made it to the car half a second behind him.
He gave her an exasperated grimace.
"Oh, relax," she said, reaching into the car for another box. "There's only two left and this way we'll be done in one trip."
"I could carry them both and we'd still be done in one trip."
She hefted it to her hip and took off. "Too late," she called over her shoulder.
She laughed at his muffled curse and sped up.
"Leah," he said, catching up with almost no effort at all. Maybe she was a little more winded than she realized. "This is ridiculous."
"Yes, it is." She turned into her corridor. "We are already at the apartment so there's no point in you harping on this. What is the big deal with me carrying a couple boxes? I'm not dying I'm just preg … "
She turned into her apartment and froze at the sight of the headmistress, Mother Genevieve, standing there. " … nant," she finished, the rest of the word nearly choking her.
"Right, and pregnant women shouldn't be-" Brooks entered the room and stopped short at the woman standing there. "Carrying boxes."
He put down his box and then took Leah's from her. She didn't take her eyes from the nun in front of her. Well … she'd needed to tell her eventually. Sooner was probably better than later.
"Mother Genevieve … " Leah started.
"Is this true?" the headmistress asked. "Are you pregnant?"
Leah took a deep breath, trying to calm the roiling of her stomach. "Yes, but … "
"You've broken the moral code of your contract before it's even begun? That is a record, I must say."
"No, I didn't. Really."
"Then you lied in your interview when you assured us there were no impediments to your being hired."
"No. I never lied."
Mother Genevieve frowned. "I don't see how you can possibly have it both ways. Which is it?"
Leah straightened her back, refusing to flinch away from the judgment in the woman's eyes. "I became pregnant before you hired me and I signed the morality agreement, but I had not yet discovered my condition when you interviewed me. I would not knowingly lie about such a thing, Mother Genevieve. Even if I wanted to, it would be pointless. It isn't something I can exactly hide."
Brooks moved closer to her. Not touching her, but enough that she could feel his presence at her back. Interestingly enough, it buoyed her courage in the face of the holy condemnation currently raining down on her.
"Yes, you are right on that point. And that is precisely where our problem lies. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave the premises immediately. We rescind our offer of employment."
Leah's stomach dropped, all her worst fears barreling toward her at once. "Mother Genevieve, please-"
"I'm sorry, Miss Andrews, but you knew the conditions of this position when it was offered to you."
"I know. I did. And like I said, I wouldn't knowingly deceive you … "
"You couldn't possibly believe that we'd allow this to go unchallenged."
"Well, no, but I'd hoped … I need this job, Mother."
The old nun sighed. "I'm sorry, my hands are tied. We cannot have an unwed mother teach here. What kind of example would that set for our students?"
"But Mother-"
"She's not unwed. She's married," Brooks said, wrapping his arm around her waist. "To me."
Chapter Five
The looks of shock on both Leah's and the nun's faces were nothing compared to what was going on inside Brooks's own head. What the hell had possessed him to say that?
The only defense he had was that he couldn't stand Leah's distress or the judgmental disdain with which the old headmistress had looked at her. So he'd said the first thing that came to his head, the only thing that would fix the problem. Leah needed a husband. Now she had one. Sort of.
"You are her husband?" Mother Genevieve asked, looking him up and down. "Then why didn't she mention you before? And why did she require single unit housing? I'm afraid a divorced pregnant teacher isn't much better … "
"We aren't divorced," Leah started, obviously heading straight for the truth.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," the headmistress said, her aggravation mounting.
"We aren't married yet," Brooks said. "We will be shortly. Does that change things?" He drew Leah closer to him, squeezing her waist and willing her to be quiet.