скачать книгу бесплатно
So much for his desire to explore. Anyone foolish enough to go out at this moment would end up flat on his or her back after the first step. Patience, Leo. Patience. His doctor, who also happened to be his racquetball partner on the weekends, had counseled him repeatedly to take it easy, but Leo wasn’t sure he could adapt. Already, he felt itchy, needing a project to tackle, a problem to solve.
“You’re up early.”
Phoebe’s voice startled him so badly he spun around and managed to slosh hot coffee over the fingers of his right hand. “Ouch, damn it.”
He saw her wince as he crossed to the sink and ran cold water over his stinging skin.
“Sorry,” she said. “I thought you heard me.”
Leo had been lost in thought, but he was plenty alert now. Phoebe wore simple knit pj’s that clung to her body in all the right places. The opaque, waffle-weave fabric was pale pink with darker pink rosebuds. It faithfully outlined firm high breasts, a rounded ass and long, long legs.
Despite his single-minded libido, he realized in an instant that she looked somewhat the worse for wear. Her long braid had frayed into wispy tendrils and dark smudges underscored her eyes.
“Tough night with the baby?” he asked.
She shook her head, yawning and reaching for a mug in the cabinet. When she did, her top rode up, exposing an inch or two of smooth golden skin. He looked away, feeling like a voyeur, though the image was impossible to erase from his brain.
After pouring herself coffee and taking a long sip, Phoebe sank into a leather-covered recliner and pulled an afghan over her lap. “It wasn’t the baby this time,” she muttered. “It was me. I couldn’t sleep for thinking about what a headache this reconstruction is going to be, especially keeping track of all the subcontractors.”
“I could pitch in with that,” he said. The words popped out of his mouth, uncensored. Apparently old habits were hard to break. But after all, wasn’t helping out a fellow human being at least as important as inhaling the scent of some imaginary rose that surely wouldn’t bloom in the dead of winter anyway? Fortunately, his sister-in-law wasn’t around to chastise him for his impertinence. She had, in her sweet way, given him a very earnest lecture about the importance of not making work his entire life.
Of course, Hattie was married to Luc, who had miraculously managed to find a balance between enjoying his wife and his growing family and at the same time carrying his weight overseeing the R & D department. Luc’s innovations, both in fabric content and in design, had kept their company competitive in the changing world of the twenty-first century. Worldwide designers wanted Cavallo textiles for their best and most expensive lines.
Leo was happy to oblige them. For a price.
Phoebe sighed loudly, her expression glum. “I couldn’t ask that of you. It’s my problem, and besides, you’re on vacation.”
“Not a vacation exactly,” he clarified. “More like an involuntary time-out.”
She grinned. “Has Leo been a naughty boy?”
Heat pooled in his groin and he felt his cheeks redden. He really had to get a handle on this urge to kiss her senseless. Since he was fairly sure that her taunt was nothing more than fun repartee, he refrained from saying what he really thought. “Not naughty,” he clarified. “More like too much work and not enough play.”
Phoebe swung her legs over the arm of the chair, her coffee mug resting on her stomach. For the first time he noticed that she wore large, pink Hello Kitty slippers on her feet. A less seductive female ensemble would be difficult to find. And yet Leo was fascinated.
She pursed her lips. “I’m guessing executive-level burnout?”
Her perspicacity was spot-on. “You could say that.” Although it wasn’t the whole story. “I’m doing penance here in the woods, so I can see the error of my ways.”
“And who talked you into this getaway? You don’t seem like a man who lets other people dictate his schedule.”
He refilled his cup and sat down across from her. “True enough,” he conceded. “But my baby brother, who happens to be part of a disgustingly happy married couple, thinks I need a break.”
“And you listened?”
“Reluctantly.”
She studied his face as though trying to sift through his half-truths. “What did you think you would do for two months?”
“That remains to be seen. I have a large collection of detective novels packed in the backseat of my car, a year of New York Times crossword puzzles on my iPad and a brand-new digital camera not even out of the box yet.”
“I’m impressed.”
“But you’ll concede that I surely have time to interview prospective handymen.”
“Why would you want to?”
“I like keeping busy.”
“Isn’t that why you’re here? To be not busy? I’d hate to think I was causing you to fall off the wagon in the first week.”
“Believe me, Phoebe. Juggling schedules and workmen for your cabin repair is something I could do in my sleep. And since it’s not my cabin, there’s no stress involved.”
Still not convinced, she frowned. “If it weren’t for the baby, I’d never consider this.”
“Understood.”
“And if you get tired of dealing with it, you’ll be honest.”
He held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
“In that case,” she sighed, “how can I say no?”
* * *
Leo experienced a rush of jubilation far exceeding the appropriate response to Phoebe’s consent. Only at that moment did he realize how much he had been dreading the long parade of unstructured days. With the cabin renovation to give him focus each morning, perhaps this rehabilitative exile wouldn’t be so bad.
Guiltily, he wondered what his brother would say about this new turn of events. Leo was pretty sure Luc pictured him sitting by a fire in a flannel robe and slippers reading a John Grisham novel. While Leo enjoyed fiction on occasion, and though Grisham was a phenomenal author, a man could only read so many hours of the day without going bonkers.
Already, the idleness enforced by his recent illness had made the days and nights far too long. The doctor had cleared him for his usual exercise routine, but with no gym nearby, and sporting equipment that was useless in this environment, it was going to require ingenuity on his part to stay fit and active, especially given that it was winter.
Suddenly, from down the hall echoed the distinct sound of a baby who was awake and unhappy.
Phoebe jumped to her feet, nearly spilling her coffee in the process. “Oh, shoot. I forgot to bring the monitor in here.” She clunked her mug in the sink and disappeared in a flash of pink fur.
Leo had barely drained his first cup and gone to the coffeepot for a refill when Phoebe reappeared, this time with baby Teddy on her hip. The little one was red-faced from crying. Phoebe smoothed his hair from his forehead. “Poor thing must be so confused not seeing his mom and dad every morning when he wakes up.”
“But he knows you, right?”
Phoebe sighed. “He does. Still, I worry about him day and night. I’ve never been the sole caregiver for a baby, and it’s scary as heck.”
“I’d say you’re doing an excellent job. He looks healthy and happy.”
Phoebe grimaced, though the little worried frown between her eyes disappeared. “I hope you’re right.”
She held Teddy out at arm’s length. “Do you mind giving him his bottle while I shower and get dressed?”
Leo backed up half a step before he caught himself. It was his turn to frown. “I don’t think either Teddy or I would like that. I’m too big. I scare children.”
Phoebe gaped. Then her eyes flashed. “That’s absurd. Wasn’t it you, just last night, who was volunteering to help with the baby in return for your keep?”
Leo shrugged, feeling guilty but determined not to show it. “I was thinking more in terms of carrying dirty diapers out to the trash. Or if you’re talking on the phone, listening to the monitor to let you know when he wakes up. My hands are too large and clumsy to do little baby things.”
“You’ve never been around an infant?”
“My brother has two small children, a boy and a girl. I see them several times a month, but those visits are more about kissing cheeks and spouting kudos as to how much they’ve grown. I might even bounce one on my knee if necessary, but not often. Not everyone is good with babies.”
Little Teddy still dangled in midair, his chubby legs kicking restlessly. Phoebe closed the distance between herself and Leo and forced the wiggly child to Leo’s chest. “Well, you’re going to learn, because we had a deal.”
Leo’s arms came up reflexively, enclosing Teddy in a firm grip. The wee body was warm and solid. The kid smelled of baby lotion and some indefinable nursery scent that was endemic to babies everywhere. “I thought becoming your renovation overseer got me off the hook with Teddy.”
Phoebe crossed her arms over her chest, managing to emphasize the fullness of her apparently unconfined breasts. “It. Did. Not. A deal is a deal. Or do I need a written contract?”
Leo knew when he was beaten. He’d pegged Phoebe as an easygoing, Earth Mother type, but suddenly he was confronted with a steely-eyed negotiator who would as soon kick him to the curb as look at him. “I’d raise my hands in surrender if I were able,” he said, smiling, “But I doubt your nephew would like it.”
Phoebe’s nonverbal response sounded a lot like humph. As Leo watched, grinning inwardly, she quickly prepared a serving of formula and brought it to the sofa where Leo sat with Teddy. She handed over the bottle. “He likes it sitting up. Burp him halfway through.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Phoebe put her hands on her hips. “Don’t mock me. You’re walking on thin ice, mister.”
Leo tried to look penitent, and also tried not to take note of the fact that her pert nipples were at eye level. He cleared his throat. “Go take your shower,” he said. “I’ve got this under control. You can trust me.”
Phoebe nibbled her bottom lip. “Yell at my bedroom door if you need me.”
Something about the juxtaposition of yell and bedroom door and need rekindled Leo’s simmering libido. About the only thing that could have slowed him down was the reality of a third person in the cabin. Teddy. Little innocent, about-to-get-really-hungry Teddy.
“Go,” Leo said, taking the bottle and offering it to the child in his lap. “We’re fine.”
As Phoebe left the room, Leo scooted Teddy to a more comfortable position, tucking the baby in his left arm so he could offer the bottle with his right hand. It was clear that the kid was almost capable of feeding himself. But if he dropped the bottle, he would be helpless.
Leo leaned back on the comfy couch and put his feet on the matching ottoman, feeling the warmth and weight of the child, who rested so comfortably in his embrace. Teddy seemed content to hang out with a stranger. Presumably as long as the food kept coming, the tyke would be happy. He did not, however, approve when Leo withdrew the bottle for a few moments and put him on his shoulder to burp him.
Despite Teddy’s pique, the new position coaxed the desired result. Afterward, Leo managed to help the kid finish the last of his breakfast. When Teddy sucked on nothing but air, Leo set aside the bottle and picked up a small, round teething ring from the end table flanking the sofa. Teddy chomped down on it with alacrity, giving Leo the opportunity to examine his surroundings in detail.
He liked the way Phoebe had furnished the place. The cabin had a cozy feel that still managed to seem sophisticated and modern. The appliances and furniture were top-of-the-line, built to last for many years, and no doubt expensive because of that. The flooring was high-end, as well.
The pale amber granite countertops showcased what looked to be handcrafted cabinetry done in honey maple. He saw touches of Phoebe’s personality in the beautiful green-and-gold glazed canister set and in the picture of Phoebe, her sister and Teddy tacked to the front of the fridge with a magnet.
Leo looked down at Teddy. The boy’s big blue eyes stared up at him gravely as if to say, What’s your game? Leo chuckled. “Your auntie Phoebe is one beautiful woman, my little man. Don’t get me in trouble with her and you and I will get along just fine.”
Teddy’s gaze shifted back to his tiny hands covered in drool.
Leo was not so easily entertained. He felt the pull of Atlanta, of wondering what was going on at work, of needing to feel in control...at the helm. But something about cuddling a warm baby helped to freeze time. As though any considerations outside of this particular moment were less than urgent.
As he’d told Phoebe, he wasn’t a complete novice when it came to being around kids. Luc and Hattie adopted Hattie’s niece after they married last year. The little girl was almost two years old now. And last Valentine’s Day, Hattie gave birth to the first “blood” Cavallo of the new generation, a dark-haired, dark-eyed little boy.
Leo appreciated children. They were the world’s most concrete promise that the globe would keep on spinning. But in truth, he had no real desire to father any of his own. His lifestyle was complicated, regimented, full. Children deserved a healthy measure of their parents’ love and attention. The Cavallo empire was Leo’s baby. He knew on any given day what the financial bottom line was. During hard financial times, he wrestled the beast that was their investment and sales strategy and demanded returns instead of losses.
He was aware that some people called him hard...unfeeling. But he did what he did knowing how many employees around the world depended on the Cavallos for their livelihoods. It irked the hell out of him to think that another man was temporarily sitting in his metaphorical chair. The vice president Luc had chosen to keep tabs on the money in Leo’s absence was solid and capable.
But that didn’t make Leo feel any less sidelined.
He glanced at his watch. God in heaven. It was only ten-thirty in the morning. How was he going to survive being on the back burner for two months? Did he even want to try becoming the man his family thought he could be? A balanced, laid-back, easygoing guy?
He rested his free arm across the back of the sofa and closed his eyes, reaching for something Zen. Something peaceful.
Damn it, he didn’t want to change. He wanted to go home. At least he had until he met Phoebe. Now he wasn’t sure what he wanted.
Hoping that the boy wasn’t picking up on his frustration and malcontent thoughts, Leo focused on the only thing capable of diverting him from his problems. Phoebe. Tall, long-legged Phoebe. A dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty with an attitude.
If Phoebe could be lured into an intimate relationship, then this whole recuperative escape from reality had definite possibilities. Leo sensed a spark between them. And he was seldom wrong about things like that. When a man had money, power and reasonably good looks, the female sex swarmed like mosquitoes. That wasn’t ego speaking. Merely the truth.
As young men in Italy, he and Luc had racked up a number of conquests until they realized the emptiness of being wanted for superficial reasons. Luc had finally found his soul mate in college. But things hadn’t worked out, and it had been ten years before he achieved happiness with the same woman.
Leo had never even made it that far. Not once in his life had he met a female who really cared about who he was as a person. Would-be “Mrs. Cavallos” saw the external trappings of wealth and authority and wanted wedding rings. And the real women, the uncomplicated, good-hearted ones, steered clear of men like Leo for fear of having their hearts broken.
He wasn’t sure which category might include Phoebe Kemper. But he was willing to find out.
Four
Phoebe took her time showering, drying her hair and dressing. If Leo wasn’t going to live up to his end of the bargain, she wanted to know it now. Leaving Teddy in his temporary care was no risk while she enjoyed a brief respite from the demands of surrogate parenthood. Despite Leo’s protestations to the contrary, he was a man who could handle difficult situations.
It was hard to imagine that he had been ill. He seemed impervious to the things that lesser mortals faced. She envied him his confidence. Hers had taken a serious knock three years ago, and she wasn’t sure if she had ever truly regained it. A younger Phoebe had taken the world by storm, never doubting her own ability to craft outcomes to her satisfaction.
But she had paid dearly for her hubris. Her entire world had crumbled. Afterward, she had chosen to hide from life, and only in the past few months had she finally begun to understand who she was and what she wanted. The lessons had been painful and slow in coming.
Unfortunately, her awakening had also made her face her own cowardice. Once upon a time she had taken great pleasure in blazing trails where no other women had gone. Back then, she would have seen a man like Leo as a challenge, both in business and in her personal life.
Smart and confident, she had cruised through life, never realizing that on any given day, she—like any other human being—was subject to the whims of fate. Her perfect life had disintegrated in the way of a comet shattering into a million pieces.
Things would never be as they were. But could they be equally good in another very different way?
She took more care in dressing than she did normally. Instead of jeans, she pulled out a pair of cream corduroy pants and paired them with a cheery red scoop-necked sweater. Christmas was on the way, and the color always lifted her mood.
Wryly acknowledging her vanity, she left her hair loose on her shoulders. It was thick and straight as a plumb line. With the baby demanding much of her time, a braid was easier. Nevertheless, today she wanted to look nice for her guest.
When she finally returned to the living room, Teddy was asleep on Leo’s chest, and Leo’s eyes were closed, as well. She lingered for a moment in the doorway, enjoying the picture they made. The big, strong man and the tiny, defenseless baby.
Her chest hurt. She rubbed it absently, wondering if she would always grieve for what she had lost. Sequestering herself like a nun the past few years had given her a sort of numb peace. But that peace was an illusion, because it was the product of not living.
Living hurt. If Phoebe were ever going to rejoin the human race, she would have to accept being vulnerable. The thought was terrifying. The flip side of great love and joy was immense pain. She wasn’t sure the first was worth risking the prospect of the last.
Quietly she approached the sofa and laid a hand on Leo’s arm. His eyes opened at once as if he had perhaps only been lost in thought rather than dozing. She held out her arms for the baby, but Leo shook his head.
“Show me where to take him,” he whispered. “No point in waking him up.”
She led the way through her bedroom and bathroom to a much smaller bedroom that adjoined on the opposite side. Before Teddy’s arrival she had used this space as a junk room, filled with the things she was too dispirited to sort through when she’d moved in.
