He looked startled by her sarcastic tone. “I thought you loved your job.”
“I loved you, you idiot! And I did the job exceedingly well to try to get your attention.”
“Well, you have it now. I want you to come back to work for me, Carrie. I need you. There, I said it. Does that make you happy, knowing I can’t function without you? I was foolish to let you leave, especially over some schoolgirl crush you thought you had on me.”
She regarded him with shock. “That’s what you think it was, a schoolgirl crush?” She sighed and shook her head. “That certainly explains a lot.”
“Meaning?”
“It tells me the kind of man you are. You took advantage of a woman you thought had a silly, meaningless crush simply to make your life easier.” She shook her head. “How could I possibly have been so blind?”
He winced at the scathing note in her voice. He finally seemed to realize she wasn’t going to fall into line quite so readily and changed tactics. “Okay, I admit it. I didn’t treat you well. I was careless with your feelings. It won’t happen again, Carrie.”
She sighed at his pitiful attempt to appear contrite. “As apologies go, that one lacked a certain amount of sincerity,” she said. “But you are right about one thing. It won’t happen again, because I’m not coming back, Marc.”
He waved off the statement. “Of course you are. I’m prepared to make a very generous offer, much more than you were making before. It’s certainly more than you’ll ever make as a babysitter.”
“Marc, there’s not enough money in the world to persuade me to come back and be one of the minor planets orbiting around you,” she said, standing. “I hope you take the time to look around town while you’re here. It’s a great place and it’s filled with people who know what’s important in life. Goodbye, Marc.”
She turned on her heel and walked away. This time she didn’t look back. Nor did she have a single regret. She could hardly wait to find Sam and make good on her promise. Kissing him senseless would wipe this depressing encounter right out of her head.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” Connor told Mack as they sat on the deck at Brady’s. The first crisp hint of fall was in the air and the warmth of the sun felt good.
“Why are we here instead of in your office?” Mack asked. “Or at the pub or Sally’s?”
“Because I wanted this conversation to be private. If you’d stopped by the office, someone might have gotten wind of it, and if we’d met at the pub or the café, word would have spread in a nanosecond. Even more likely, someone in the family would have joined us.”
Mack studied him intently. “You’re sounding awfully mysterious. What’s going on?”
“I have news,” Connor said. “And I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it, much less how Susie will react.”
Mack saw exactly where this was heading. “Another adoption? Susie’s definitely not ready to consider that, Connor. She’s better, but she’s still reeling from last time.”
“It’s not exactly another adoption,” Connor said. He drew in a deep breath. “Let me just get this out. The mother changed her mind again. Things didn’t work out with the boyfriend, and once again, she’s decided she’s not cut out for motherhood. She called my former law office and said she wanted to go through with the adoption.”
Jaw dropping, Mack simply stared at him. When he could finally gather his thoughts, his temper kicked in. “Are you kidding me? Why in heaven’s name would we take another chance with her? She clearly has no idea what she wants. I can’t ask Susie to agree to this, maybe even to bring that baby girl home, and have this woman change her mind yet again. Having that baby literally ripped out of her arms this time would be the final straw for Susie.”
“I know,” Connor agreed, his tone quietly reasonable, a sharp contrast to Mack’s incensed reaction. “It’s a terrible risk, and there are no guarantees. There could very well be maneuvering room in the law for her to decide again that she wants to keep her baby.” He leveled a look into Mack’s eyes. “But here’s the thing—this baby is real. It’s available. It needs the sort of loving home you and Susie could provide.”
“For the moment,” Mack said direly.
“Yes, for the moment,” Connor agreed.
“Let somebody else face the prospect of heartbreak,” Mack said heatedly. “We can’t do that to Susie again.”
“Are you sure? Are you 100 percent certain the risk isn’t worth it?” Connor sighed. “I’m really not trying to sell you on this. It has to be your decision, Mack. You know Susie better than any of us.”