She rattled off the location of her apartment and they got into the limo. She secured Bella in the car seat and just as she had in her first limo ride, Bella fell asleep.
Claire shifted uncomfortably. “So…” Obviously searching for something to say, she finally settled on, “This is a beautiful car.”
Matt squelched a sigh. He already liked her. He already experienced waves of attraction just looking at her. He didn’t want them…communicating.
He snorted in derision. “Most limos are beautiful.”
“Okay.” Clearly getting the message he’d intended to send that he didn’t want to make conversation, she turned away, pretending great interest in the scene outside her window.
He looked out the opposite window.
Still, though they rode in silence, his gaze fell to her legs, which were primly crossed at the ankles. With a little flick of a few eye muscles, his gaze could travel from those ankles the whole way past her knees because her skirt had bunched a bit—
Damn it! He wasn’t just imagining letting his gaze take a trip up her legs—he had taken the trip!
“She’s such an angel.”
He jerked his gaze up to Claire’s face. She hadn’t noticed him gawking at her legs because she stared lovingly at Bella. His gut twisted again. His feelings for Bella were getting tangled up in his feelings for Claire, and strange emotions and yearnings pumped through him. Like desire interwoven with…something. He’d call it contentment but what the hell did contentment have to do with having a baby? She’d been nothing but trouble… .
Except now she was sleeping. Her long black lashes sat on her puffy pink cheeks and her sweet mouth curved upward, filling his heart with the warmth of satisfaction.
He cleared his throat and gruffly said, “Yes, she’s an angel,” just as Jimmy pulled the limo to a curb and faced them.
“You’re not thinking about letting that angel sleep in her seat while you go do whatever it is you have to do here?”
Claire laughed. “Not much of a baby fan, are you?”
“No, ma’am.”
But instead of getting angry with the cheeky driver, Claire laughed again. Her pretty brown eyes shone with delight. “At least you’re honest.”
Matt glanced from Claire to Jimmy and back to Claire again.
Were they flirting?
A surge of jealousy caught him off guard. Since when did he get jealous?
As if only now realizing the limo had stopped, Bella woke and began to cry. Annoyed with himself for being jealous, he reached for the tummy snap, the leg strap and had the round padded thing lifted before Claire could make a move to help him.
“I see you’ve done this before.”
“No thanks to you.”
She slid across the seat. “I’m helping you a heck of a lot here. A little appreciation would be nice.” Outside the limo, she faced him. “Or maybe we should just go back to your house and I’ll get my car so I can come home for real.”
Matt’s stomach plummeted to his toes. And it wasn’t just because he worried about being alone with Bella. He suddenly realized if she left him now, he’d probably never see her again and his heart squeezed.
Good God! He’d known this woman a couple of hours. How could he be jealous, and, worse, afraid of not seeing her again?
He passed Bella to Claire and started across the seat. When he got out of the limo, Claire was halfway up the walk.
Holding the door, Jimmy chuckled. “Better be nice to her unless you want to hear this kid screaming all night.”
As Matt entered the building, Claire patiently waited at the old iron freight elevator of the factory converted to apartments that she called home. She almost wished the thing would have come before he reached her so she could leave him behind. But no. He ambled toward her, looking rich, sophisticated and sexy.
She nervously tried not to notice the exposed brick and pipes that provided a bit of “chic” to the supermodern condos. But every detail popped out at her like objects in a three-dimensional movie. Ben had hated this place. He’d made fun of the pipes, asking if the contractor had run out of money before he could buy materials to cover them. He’d hated the exposed bricks because they were old. He couldn’t believe anybody found anything about a factory appropriate to be seen in a residence.
And supersexy, superrich, supersophisticated Matt probably would snub his nose at her condo, too.
She just hoped he had more tact than Ben and wouldn’t say his thoughts out loud.
The elevator arrived, she stepped inside and so did Matt.
He didn’t say a word as they rose to her floor, but her relief was short-lived when she realized he was probably angry with her for threatening to leave him. Well, she didn’t care. Let him stew a bit. She wasn’t about to let him talk down to her. After Ben, she’d promised herself she’d never go through that again. And that was one promise she intended to keep.
The old metal doors opened noisily. She stepped out into the hall, once more seeing the brick walls, exposed pipes and hardwood floors. Her resolve strengthened. She loved this building. Loved her home. Let him hate it if he wanted. Let him make fun of it. She didn’t care. His feelings meant nothing to her.
Still quiet, Matt followed her down the hall. She held Bella on one arm as she marched to her door, fishing her keys out of her coat pocket. Before he reached her, she had the door open and was inside.
The exposed brick walls and hardwood floors continued throughout her open-plan apartment. Her kitchen was new, dark cabinets with slim silver handles and stainless-steel appliances. The chic dining area, including a table and trim buffet, flowed into her living room space, which had red sofas facing each other and an overstuffed red print chair with matching ottoman.
“Wow.”
She spun to face him. “Wow?”
“Your apartment.” He glanced around. “It’s so modern.” He looked around some more. “I really like it.”
Nerves prickled her skin. Her breath whooshed out. She hadn’t wanted his opinion to matter, but it had and that bothered her. He might be a nice guy with Bella, but he was also blunt and self-important. Guessing he was only trying to make nice after being rude to her, she grudgingly said, “Thanks.”
“I had a similar condo for a while.” He smiled as if remembering. “Right after I got my first job. Thought I’d hit the big-time because I started off earning six figures.”
She gaped at him. “How does somebody ‘start off’ earning six figures?”
He strolled around the room. “I went to my interview with two five-year plans. One was for the company interviewing me. The other for their competitor.”
She frowned. “So?”
“So, it never hurts to understand what the other guy is probably thinking.” He chuckled. “They said I showed initiative.”
“It sounds like initiative but I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been a businessperson, never even thought about wanting to be one.”
He strolled over. “You’re more of the sensitive type.” He took a step that brought them so close she could almost feel the heat from his body. “But we’ve already discussed this.”
“Yes…” She hated the tremble in her voice. He was just so damned good-looking. “We have.”
“But we’re really not even, you know.”
“Even?”
“About what