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."* * *Sunday morning Maggie carried a load of laundry out of the laundry room and headed toward the stairs.It was her second load that morning, and she was tired.Since returning from Santa Barbara, she'd fallen back into motherhood with a vengeance.Her adventure already seemed like a memory, a distant but beautiful memory.She still couldn't believe Mary Bea had gone through surgery while she'd been away.That guilt would stay with her for a very long time, although Mary Bea didn't seem to hold it against her.In fact, the children had thrived with Lisa and Nick.They'd talked endlessly about their aunt and uncle, as well as their grandparents and Silvia and Carmela.It seemed everyone had rallied to take care of the children in her absence.She was lucky.She might not have a husband, but she did have a lot of people in her life who loved her.And now that she had no more questions about Keith, she'd finally packed away his things.After convincing her parents and Nick that she was not about to go off the deep end again, she'd spent most of Friday going through Keith's clothes and other personal belongings, a task she had never been able to face.Now it was done.They still had pictures of him in the family room.The children each had something of his to keep in their rooms, and Maggie had her wedding ring -- tucked away in her jewelry box.She would keep it always, but she wouldn't wear it again.She set the laundry basket down on the dining room table and bent over to pick up a trail of socks that had somehow escaped from the basket.She tried to concentrate on the mundane task, but her mind drifted to Jeremy.She wondered what he would think if he could see her now, a mother, a housekeeper, a cook, a gardener and everything else that came with the job titled Mom.He'd probably be disappointed, she thought, as she stuffed the socks into the basket.This was the real Maggie, not that woman who'd made love to him with wild abandon in a hotel room.She smiled to herself.She'd surprised herself as much as him, and she would never regret that night of passion.Jeremy had brought out another side of her.He'd made her feel beautiful and sexy and adored.And he'd reminded her that she was a woman who had a lot of life left to live.Although part of her felt guilty about being with a man other than Keith, Maggie knew Keith would have wanted her to be happy.He would have wanted her to love again.And she did.She loved Jeremy.It was too soon, too fast, too much of a fantasy, but deep down in her heart, she knew that she had fallen in love with Jeremy, and it would be a long, long time before she got over him.But she would get over him, she told herself firmly.She had no other choice.The doorbell rang.Maggie groaned.Carmela and Silvia were early, and she was late, as usual.She was supposed to go with them to the cemetery to celebrate the anniversary of Robin's death.This year she would take all the children, including Mary Bea, who already felt well enough to walk slowly around the house, so that her daughter could begin to understand that while people die, they are celebrated forever in the heart.Maggie opened the door."Silvia, I'm sorry, we're not quite ready--" She stopped as she realized the person on the porch was not Silvia."Jeremy.""Hello, Maggie."Maggie shifted the laundry basket to one hip, painfully conscious of how much she looked like a mom.Her hair was a frazzled mess, and she hadn't changed out of her blue jeans or put on any makeup.And Jeremy -- Jeremy looked great in his beige slacks and white polo shirt.His dark hair was neatly combed, his skin tan, his eyes filled with energy, his lips curved into a warm, sexy smile that made her want to melt."What are you doing here?" she asked, finally able to get some words out."Seeing you.And boy, have I missed seeing you."Her body tingled under his intense gaze.Maggie cleared her throat."It's only been a few days.""It feels like a lifetime.Aren't you going to invite me in?""Uh -- we're leaving soon.""You're not gone yet." He took the basket out of her hands."Let me help you with that."Once her hands were free, Maggie had no choice but to step back and invite him in."Where do you want it?" he asked."You can set it down there," she said, pointing to the bottom stair.Jeremy looked around her house, nodding approvingly."Exactly as I pictured it.""When did you picture my house?" Maggie asked."The first day I met you.""The first day you met me you thought I was Crystal," she reminded him."A swinging, single friend of Serena's."He laughed."I never thought of you that way.I'll admit the three kids took me by surprise.Where are they? I'd like to meet them,""Jeremy, you have to leave," Maggie said abruptly."Why? Are you ashamed of me?""No, but you and I -- it's over.I'm a single mother.""So what? I like kids.""You do not.You told me you never wanted kids.""I told you I'd never met the right woman.I think I have, now." He looked at her with sexy, loving eyes that brimmed with tenderness and compassion."In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love you, Maggie.""You can't," she whispered."You're a fantasy."He pinched her and laughed when she said, "Ow.""Does that feel like a fantasy?''She rubbed her arm."No.""Does this?" He covered her mouth with his, persuading her with his lips what he could not do with words."Wow!" she breathed against his mouth."I've still got it?""It's better than I remembered.""So you have been thinking about me.""How could I not?" Maggie asked as she pulled away from him."You were so great, Jeremy.It was the best adventure I ever had.""You think you wrote the end of our story, but I'm convinced there should be a sequel," Jeremy said."Really?" she asked, unable to stop the surge of impossible hope from spreading through her body."What would it be about?""You and me and your kids, learning how to be a family." He touched her face."I'm not letting you go, Maggie."She didn't want him to let her go.She wanted him to hold on to her forever, make love to her, make her laugh, make her be silly, make her feel wanted.But what could she give him but a complicated mess of a life?"Mom," Dylan cried, as he and Sally ran down the hall."Sally found a dead lizard.Look."Sally dropped her offering at Maggie's feet and barked excitedly.Maggie made a face at the mangled bit of lizard lying on her hall floor.She couldn't stand to look at it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]