Then I handed her and Connor a lunch bag. “I’ll get you boxes or those cooler bag thingies if you want but this will have to do for today.”
Connor smiled and turned to Theo. “Told you she made the best snacks.”
Finally, I handed one to him. “Here you go. I promise it's not just peanut butter and jelly. There's bread and cheese. An apple and I even managed to find some energy bars in the pantry. Those things are filled with sugar, you know. All things you can eat between meetings.”
Hayden nodded. “My mom has a thing about sugar.”
Theo was still staring at the bag I was holding out for him. “You made me lunch?”
I frowned and tilted my head. “I made everyone lunch.”
Just as I pulled my hand with the bag back he grabbed my wrist. “Thank you.”
“No big deal.” I waved my other hand. “I’ve been making lunch for Tiffany for years.”
He raised his brow and repeated. “Thank you.”
I nodded. “You’re welcome.”
Who took care of him. He took care of everyone around him. He ran a multi billion dollar company that employed hundreds. He had all that responsibility. He opened his home to protect me and my children. But who was taking care of him?
My day passed uneventfully. I picked all the kids up from school. Made dinner, tidied up and made sure the kids were doing their homework. Well, my kid at least. I assumed the teenagers knew what was needed from them.
By the time dinner was done I was exhausted. Jaycee decided that she rather wanted to sleep with her brother than me. As much Hayden groaned about it, he would do anything for his sister.
I was loading the dishwasher when Theo walked into the kitchen in sweatpants and an old T-shirt, barefoot.
The night before he sat on the stool and watched as I worked. Maybe he was impatient, maybe he was bored. I’m not sure. But I liked the idea that he chose to help me load the dishwasher. Each time our fingers brushed, heat spread through me.
I loved that he watched me closely enough the night before and tried to mimic my routine. As I scrubbed the big pot I’d used for cooking, he reached over me to get the dish cloth from the sink. Even though he’d showered hours earlier, the scent of his ocean fresh soap tickled my nostrils and goosebumps spread over my skin.
“You know it's my job to do all this, right?” I smiled as I placed the rice pot on the drainer.
He didn’t answer me immediately and I thought he was ignoring me. Eventually, he turned around. “Your job finishes at five. You started at 6 this morning. You made us breakfast, lunch and dinner. You made sure Zoe had breakfast.”
“I didn’t do that because of my job. I care about them… all of you.”
He turned to me, handing the cloth over. “Yes. Exactly.”
“Theo.”
He shook his head. “Maggie, we're friends. Of course, we care about each other.”
“Even when we hate each other?”
“I could never hate you.” He looked at me for another moment. Our gazes locked in each other, both had something to say but neither of us was willing to break the moment. After several seconds of silence, Theo shook his head. “Now, if you're done, I'll set the alarm and make sure everything is secure down here.”
CHAPTER 6
THEO
With a firm handshake,I greeted Nick and opened the separate entrance to my office. “Nick, I don’t want to do this much longer.”
It had been a little under two weeks since Maggie had moved in but I was beginning to resent the fact that I had to hide a part of my business dealings from her.
“Kid, I never expected you to do this for so long.” Nick gripped my shoulder with his other hand. “Let’s finish off this case, and then we can talk. In my office.”
We always did our meetings in my office. Never in public and never in Marina De Ferrier. For one thing I had the secret entrance to my office. But also, it was easier to explain Nick’s presence in the city than we could explain my presence in the Salinger Security building.
