It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Reece to take his guys and leave, but…work needed to be done and he knew it would be completely irresponsible of him to send them away.
“I appreciate it,” he said instead. “If you give me like…fifteen minutes, I’ll come out and go over everything with you. Like I said, I documented it all on my phone.”
“Take your time. There’s some obvious stuff up around the lodge, so we’ll start there. Just meet us up there when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Reece.” They shook hands before Axel shut the door. When he turned around, Maisie was standing in the doorway, fully dressed.
“Good morning,” she said softly. “I um…I made the bed and I was about to make some coffee. Would you like a cup?”
No. What he wanted was to go back to bed, and he was prepared to pout to get his way. He thought about going over and kissing her and maybe seducing her into a morning quickie before he had to go out and join the crew, but her words stopped him.
“I heard your crews outside, so the roads have to be clear,” she began as she made her way around the kitchen. “You have no idea how much I appreciate you giving me a place to stay during the storm. And for the second chance with the interview.” She paused with her back to him. “You gave me Walker’s email, and I’m going to reach out to him later with the contract information.”
“O-kay…”
Now she faced him but would not quite meet his gaze at first. And when she did, he saw sadness in her eyes.
“From this point on, it’s very important to me that we remain…I mean…that we just have a professional relationship.”
Axel stared at her hard but didn’t say a word.
“We both know that it wouldn’t look right if everyone knew we were sleeping together. That’s not a reputation I want to have. So…while this was all wonderful, and I think you’re amazing, we need to chalk this up for what it was.”
“And what was it?” he asked stiffly.
“A fling,” she said quietly. “A wonderful, wonderful fling.”
“What if I want it to be more?” The words were out before he could stop them, and he wanted to curse his weakness.
Maisie’s shoulders sagged. “It can’t be. I’m sorry.”
There was a part of him that knew he should be relieved. After all, he wasn’t looking for a serious relationship, but…normally he was the one who made that decision. And now he had no idea how to respond.
She made their coffee before walking over and handing him his mug. “These last several days were like a break in time,” she reasoned, her voice soft, but he could hear the slight tremble. “Today it’s back to the real world. We both have jobs to do, and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my position here.”
“That wouldn’t happen,” he firmly stated, hating that she even thought such a thing was possible. “I wouldn’t allow it. We all know that you completely nailed what we’re looking for. What you do in your personal time is no one’s business.”
Her shoulders sagged. “It just wouldn’t work, Axel.” Pausing, she shook her head. “My life is a mess right now. It’s all very complicated.”
“I get that, but…”
She surprised him by reaching up and cupping his jaw with her free hand. “These were the best four days of my life. You might not believe it, but it’s true. And getting this job is going to go a long way in making things better for me. That’s why I can’t do anything to risk it.”
“But…”
“I know you think it won’t,” she quickly interrupted. “But it will. Trust me.” Then she stepped away, her hand slowly caressing him before she completely pulled back. After taking a sip of her coffee, she moved to put it down again. “I’m going to pack up my stuff and get going. It sounds like you’ve got a crew here ready to work.”
He wanted to say they could wait, but what would be the point? He wasn’t going to beg her to reconsider. It was clear that she’d made up her mind. He’d spent a lifetime begging for people to give a damn about him, and he swore he’d never do it again. Not for anyone.
Not even Maisie.
A fling.
This had only been a fling.
Oh, wait…correction. A wonderful fling.
That didn’t cushion the blow, but he wasn’t going to focus on it. She wanted things just to be about business? Fine. He could do that. Hell, he could make sure they didn’t have to be around each other whenever she came around to handle the decorating. He’d let Walker or Connor deal with her.
