“Senile? Me? That would be the day.” Mrs. Hayes chuckled as she spread mayo and mustard on two slices of bread. “The doctor asked me to prepare a picnic basket.”
“Picnic?” Michelle’s happy bubble erupted. Erik hadn’t mentioned a picnic last night. Her mind began to reel as she recalled the unwelcome phone call while she, Erik, and Precious were cleaning up after their snacks. She’d taken a quick glance at the LCD and felt a pang in her heart when she’d seen Dr. Ashley’s name flashing in front of her. She’d been certain Erik would ignore it, but he’d picked it up, excused himself, and taken the call in his study.
Michelle wondered now if his chat with Dr. Ashley was the reason he’d sent her to bed instead of giving in to the desires that were so evident in his eyes. If that were the case, she was grateful for his remarkable power of restraint. She would have felt like a bigger fool if she’d allowed him to make love to her last night when he was clearly in a relationship with another woman. She could kick herself for opening up her heart, for allowing it to engage in silly hopeless fantasies.
Her mind flashed back to the day in his office when she’d told him that Dr. Ashley wasn’t his type and that he needed a real woman. He’d neither confirmed nor denied it. Real woman or not, Michelle wasn’t Erik’s type either. He’d made that clear the first time he laid eyes on her. Even though he’d kissed her with a hunger and passion that superseded anything she’d ever experienced, she had to remember that men like Erik LaCrosse did not fall in love with women like her. They got curious about them, and depending on the level of interest, they either satisfied it or backed away from it. His level of his curiosity about her was obviously low.
She was the nanny, not the mother, the wife, nor the girlfriend, and she needed to remember her place in his house.
Michelle watched Mrs. Hayes wrap up the sandwiches and place them, along with three servings of homemade brownies, into a wicker basket. She got bottles of apple juice and lemonade from the refrigerator and put them in a small cooler. Fruit followed—grapes, apples, strawberries...
Feeling the tears about to burst, Michelle spun out of the kitchen. As she turned the corner from the dining room, she collided with the cause of her frustrations. “Excuse me,” she said, earnestly avoiding his eyes as she shrugged his steadying hands from her shoulders.
“I was looking for you,” Erik said, smiling down at her.
“You found me. What can I do for you, Dr. LaCrosse? Would you like me to get Precious up and dressed?”
Erik frowned at her wooden tone, confused at her cold behavior, especially after last night—the movie, the snack, the fun, putting Precious to bed—the way it used to be when Cassie was alive. The only difference was that he and Cassie would end the night making love before falling asleep in each other’s arms. He’d been so close last night, so close to scooping skinny Michelle up and taking her to his bed. He’d had to call on everything decent inside him to resist the sweet temptation in her sexy black eyes, to control his ferocious craving for her.
“Did I do something to upset you, Michelle?” He tried to read her face, but she turned and hurried away from him. Lost in a sea of confusion, Erik threw his hands in the air and continued in the opposite direction.
“The basket’s ready, Doctor,” Mrs. Hayes said as he entered the kitchen.
Erik picked up the basket and cooler from the counter. A rueful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Did you tell Michelle about the trip, Mrs. Hayes?”
“No, Sir. But she seemed a little nettled when I mentioned the picnic. Guess you didn’t tell her she was invited.”#p#分页标题#e#
So that’s what it was, Erik thought, grinning as he left the kitchen. She cared. She really did care for him. He placed the basket and cooler on the dining table and hurried after Michelle who was halfway up the stairs by now. “Wait, Michelle.” He grabbed her upper arm and felt her tense under his palm.
She was livid. And he was hard.
“What do you want?” she muttered.
“To talk with you.” He spun her around and felt an instant squeezing in his chest when he saw the tears shimmering in her eyes.
“So talk.” She narrowed her eyes in the same way Precious did when she was angry with him.
Females, Erik thought with fascination. Just when a man thought he’d figured one out, she proved him a fool. And yes, he was on a one-way street to Fooldom for this particular female, so tough and streetwise on the outside, but a delicate little wildflower on the inside. He liked that about her. He liked it a lot. She needed protection, a large dose of TLC, and he felt honored to be the man to provide it, even if she was totally unaware of his self-appointed post to be her knight in shining armor. “What’s the matter with you? You on your period or something?”