 
Turn My Head

by Patricia Holden

Published by Susan Sampson at SmashWords

Copyright 2015 Susan Sampson

Cover Photo by Julienochek via Dreamstime.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter 1

Mae Jones stood before the stately yellow stucco and brick accented mansion, and looked up slowly. That's a lot of windows, she thought to herself looking across the façade and down to the inlaid flagstone terrace that ran the length of the front of the house. Five French doors opened onto it, with a row of five nine pane over nine pane long casements above them. Neglected window boxes graced the second floor ledges. The slate roof was pitched in the deep style, with the same nine pane by nine pane dormer windows indicating a third floor.

She took a deep breath and walked to the, well, she supposed it was the "front" door being under a room built over an old fashioned carriage drive. There did not appear to be any other way into the house from this side. At least not other than the French doors that lined the terrace.

At the portal, a huge door of carved and polished cherry wood with inlaid beveled glass sheltered from the elements, Mae rang the bell, and waited.

She stood back to survey the situation, and read over the employment ad she was answering. "Family of seven bachelors looking for a Household Manager. Must know how to perform wife-type household duties not including intimate relations. Negotiating capability required. Room, board and benefits part of compensation package."

So these guys, the Pernoud brothers as it turned out when she researched the job further than that cryptic ad, were looking for what amounted to a housekeeper. It might not be politically correct right now for a college educated woman to look for work as a housekeeper, but she could do this, she thought. She could do this with her eyes closed.

Just then, the gigantic door with the beveled glass opened. Mae wasn't sure what she expected, but the tall, broad-shouldered, dark haired, dark eyed man with the piercing gaze, white shirtsleeves, suit trousers, and dark blue tie was not it.

He was downright beautiful, she thought, with a long, angular, shaven face, chiseled jaw and lips, perfectly straight nose, and lifted brows. His hair was cut in a perfectly classical style, and not a single one was out of place. From the pictures she saw on the internet before heading out for her interview with him this morning, this was Adam Pernoud, one of the richest men in the world, and head of the Pernoud empire.

She tried not to stare.

He smiled tightly, and said, "Ms. Jones?"

Mae nodded. "Yes."

"Ah, good," he smiled a little more broadly before putting his hand out for her to shake. His grip was firm and warm. And it felt so right. "I'm Adam, and you are right on time." He opened the door wider. "Come in, and we'll get started." He stepped aside for her to walk past him into a small, dark paneled foyer with a black and white checkered marble tile floor, and a crystal chandelier in bad need of dusting. The entryway stepped up into a much wider two story hallway running through the center of the house, inlaid hardwood floors with a dark stain, a deep red Persian rug that had seen better days, and more dark paneling greeted her there.

As she looked up to the second floor balcony, Mae saw yet another crystal chandelier in bad need of cleaning, and a curved staircase to her left - one graceful curve going up, another going down - and spindles supporting a banister just right for sliding. An archway opened to her right revealing what could only be called a parlor, complete with country house furnishings – an overstuffed floral sofa and a ten foot, black grand piano.

Mae felt the first shivers of apprehension creep through her midsection. What was she about to get herself into?

"If you'll just walk this way," came from the velvety deep dark voice behind her. Mae turned her head to her left to see her host indicating she was to follow him through yet another archway to the left of the stairs that she had missed in her first glance across the house. She smiled a little and nodded, preceding him into what was unmistakably the dining room – a rectangle of walls with more dark paneling, another Persian rug, and yet another chandelier that needed dusting. The early morning sun pouring through the lead pane glass windows facing the drive made that perfectly clear.

"Go ahead through the butler's pantry into the kitchen," Adam said from behind her.

Mae walked through the butler's pantry, a galley with floor to ceiling glass cabinet doors that sat next to the dining room and led into a starkly white room with steel chrome appliances, and no curtains. Dark blue kitchen towels were folded neatly on a granite counter next to the largest non-commercial coffee maker she had ever seen. The glass and chrome table on the edge of the room, just the right distance from the butcher's block, sported eight rather Spartan chairs with nothing but fingerprints on the table glass to show that anyone lived in the place.

To her left, Adam opened the cabinet over the coffee maker, and said, "The coffee maker is here with the cups above. If you rearrange the kitchen, this needs to stay in place. Want some?" She looked over to him where he stood with an empty coffee cup in one hand, and raised eyebrows.

That was when she smelled it. Burnt turpentine. "If I may ask...what time was that coffee made?"

Adam shrugged. "Whenever Ben got up. I don't know. Five-thirty maybe? These days he's on the job site at dawn since the bridge is almost done."

Five-thirty? It was almost eight. That coffee was at least two hours old. And burned.

Mae demurred. "Uh, no thanks on the coffee."

"You sure? There's a lot of day left."

Mae looked up into his deep, dark brown eyes, and tried not to stare. The man really did think he was offering her something like gold.

"Positive," she nodded.

"Suit yourself," Adam shrugged again pouring himself a cup of what had to be sludge at this point. He took a sip, grimaced, and said, "Man, he got it too strong again."

Mae tried not to show any expression, and said, "Mr. Pernoud, maybe if we could, uh,-"

"Oh, right. Let's go to my office," he said, walking briskly through the kitchen which flowed into a gigantic hearth room with banks of more lead pane glass windows behind roll-down blinds, and a fireplace on an outside wall. Black conversation pit furniture filled the room across from a massive entertainment center. In leather. All of it.

As she followed him into a small hallway that separated the hearth room from his office, he started a running commentary, "First off, call me Adam. Normally, I'm out of here by now, and the only one around is my brother Damien. But, he's looking into a potential contract out of town, and won't be back until this afternoon. I usually hit seven o'clock Mass at the monastery before heading to the office or breakfast meetings, which is part of why this had to be at eight. You probably have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done." They walked across the far end of the center hall, and into Adam's office in the front of the house, another room with dark paneling that reeked of old money. More lead pane windows were behind his desk, as well as a set of French doors that would open onto the terrace at the front of the house. "At some point today, I'll have my assistant, Gayle, send over the paperwork to get you signing privileges on the household checking account. Here's the credit card." He handed her the plastic. "That should get you started on whatever you need. The cook resigned last week, so one of those will have to be hired. The maids that come in a couple times a week get paid on Thursdays, and the lawn people usually come on Fridays. I think. My brother Francis was taking care of that. Supervision of all of that will be part of your job duties." He picked up a sheet of paper from his desk. "Here are all of our cell phone numbers. Don't give them out." He handed it to her. "Gayle's number is there, too. I'd try her first when I'm at the office since my schedule tends to be tight. In fact, I have a meeting at nine." He glanced at his watch. Gold Rolex, Mae noticed. "Since the weather is getting warmer, it's coming up on time to clean out the pool. I'll get the guy's name that we use from my brother Ed. Some friend of his who does a great job." Adam reached to his desk chair to pick up his suit jacket and slip it on. Naturally, the chair was Moroccan leather just like the two chairs in front of his massive mahogany desk. Of course, his suit jacket fit like a dream. She tried not to stare at the gorgeous vision of man in front of her. "We're generally all home by seven, so that's a good time to schedule dinner. We're meat and potatoes sorts, but I'll leave that up to you and whoever you hire to cook."

Still a little shell-shocked since she was under the impression this was an interview, Mae finally said, "A cook that I hire? You want me to do the hiring?"

"Well, yeah," Adam said picking up his coffee cup and briefcase before striding around his desk ,and back to the kitchen with her trailing. "That's why I need a household manager." Mae felt her jaw drop as he lifted a dark top coat from a peg on the wall next to the French door that opened onto a deck. "I know you probably didn't bring your belongings yet. Feel free to go home and get enough for the week, and make arrangements to have the rest of your stuff moved here. Set it up with the household account. The guest suite on the second floor, the third floor rooms across from the boys' office, and the apartment over the garage are all available. Take your pick."

"Wait," said Mae as he opened the door to leave. He turned back, those dark orbs settling on her, and she said, "You're not even going to ask me anything? Just drop the household in my lap and leave?"

He halfway smiled, chuckled and said, "I think you'll be fine." He pointed to a key rack next to the door. "House keys are here. Don't worry about the front gate combination. We never close it." He pulled his keys out of a pocket. "And Mae," she snapped her eyes to his. "Don't forget to go bring back your social security card, passport, and all the other ID stuff when you go home for clothes today. For some stupid reason the federal government thinks I need all of that to hire someone."

Mae stood rooted to the floor of the kitchen. "Mr. Pernoud, how do you know I am going to take this job?" She asked.

"Because, Ms. Jones, your cover letter said you could start immediately. And...I get the impression from your application materials you would rather not work in an office since you stressed personal experience in running a household over professional achievements," he answered. "See you tonight."

Amazing how he was able to cut to the chase, she thought.

Mae watched Adam walk out onto the deck, and down the steps on the far end. She ran to the windows as the far garage doors opened – one set of six on the lower level of what looked like was once a stable and carriage house in the same brick and stone accented stucco with a slate roof as the house. She watched a blue convertible pull out, and head around the house toward the carriage drive that covered the front entrance.

No, really, what in the hell had she gotten herself into?

Adam shifted his custom Maserati Granturino convertible into the next gear, and coasted through the hills and valleys that made up the roads of Ladue, a very old and very monied suburb of St. Louis where property lots were estates, and the houses were as far apart as possible. Street lights and yard signs were verboten. And the police were paid hush money to follow the drunks home from the country clubs on Friday and Saturday nights.

What in the hell was wrong with him? He thought. No questions. No trying to figure out if the woman who wrote of having eight younger siblings, and knowing how to care for a household was on the level. No watching for tells. No discussing previous work experience that caught his eye on her resume. None of it. Just one look into aqua blue eyes the color of the Caribbean shelf, and he couldn't think.

He knew Mae Jones had to be close to the end of her resources. It wasn't cheap to be out on one's own. There was a huge gap in her work experience. No employment mentions on her LinkedIn page for quite a while, either. She had to be good at what she did, though. She had worked for some of the biggest names in the city before dropping out of the workforce months ago. She had just disappeared from what he could tell. He'd heard from Gayle that her former bosses were resigned that she wasn't coming back, one of them telling her Mae was one of the best assistants he'd ever met. He had never actually met Mae, but Gayle had worked with her on a number of occasions, and told him he was insane if he didn't at least interview her for the job of trying to manage his life outside of work. It was a nearly impossible task, he had to admit.

Damn, he thought, tamping down the frustration he felt as he looked back at her that last time when he all but ran out the door. Really, he wasn't exactly happy about having to hire help at home, but since the last cook quit, there was no edible food in the house, and the maids seriously weren't doing jack squat.

He just didn't have time to deal with it.

But, seriously, did the most qualified person to apply for his household manager just have to be Mae Jones? Earnest, beautiful, blue eyes, and dark blonde hair twisted up all prim and proper, roses in her cheeks from the March wind, dressed in a boxy black power suit that no woman should have to own.... He'd have to be careful around her or his head would be turned, the Pernoud brothers' term for falling in love at first sight, something they were all destined to do sooner or later. He really wasn't ready for that.

Dammit.

A bit later, after the biggest waste of two hours of a meeting he had sat through in a long time, Adam pulled into the parking lot at Pernoud Brothers Engineering and Construction, the company that he and his brothers had inherited from their father. Well, the one that they took over when their parents disappeared twelve years ago. It wasn't exactly easy, but they managed to turn a fairly simple road engineering contractor into the premier bridge, sewage, and storm water run-off engineering firm in the American Midwest.

Adam stopped to ponder what his dad would think about his precious road construction company now. The old man would be rolling in his grave, he thought, where ever that happened to be. If he was really dead. They honestly had no idea. Their parents had disappeared in India, and the brothers were forced to have them declared legally dead some years earlier in order to fully take control. Roads were his dad's thing, and as a geophysical engineer he had built a company to add to the family empire that had more than a few old world roots and produced mostly luxury goods, and other infrastructure components. Although the current crop of Pernoud brothers, All-American boys through and through, didn't usually like to talk about that. They were professional civil and structural engineers. They thought it was much more fun to build big stuff with cables and girders than just roads.

Adam backed his Maz into his spot at the rear of the fenced in parking lot, and picked up his briefcase. Telling his brothers he actually hired Mae was going to be a disaster, he thought as he got out the car. The daily lunch pow-wow was upon them. It was a ritual they didn't miss as it was the only time during the day they could compare notes as to what was on the company agenda, and...so he could address problems as they cropped up.

Built to his specifications when he decided that the company needed to relocate closer to downtown St. Louis, the building his brother Damien designed had a certain modern austere look to it, perfect for a family of engineers, unlike the generations old family house that their mother insisted on living in in Ladue. His father tolerated the house, and since it was all they had left of what their mother took pride in, and was family history as far back as the eighteenth century, he and the boys still lived there.

Okay, so maybe deep down he loved it.

He walked through the front doors, and spotted his brother Francis, the structural monitoring systems engineer who doubled as the company's tech guru, manning the reception desk.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Adam asked.

Adam told himself it didn't really rankle that Francis did not appear insulted at all by his big brother's tone or attitude. Francis didn't even bother to look up from the monitor of the computer he was studying when he said, "Sherry had to use the ladies room, and it looks like there's a virus on her computer."

Adam felt his face contort. "And you have to be the one to fix this?"

At that, Francis did raise lighter brown eyes up to meet Adam's gaze, and said, "Well, since the cheap bastard who runs this place won't hire a real computer tech, yeah." He bent his milk chocolate curls to the monitor again. "Besides, it gets me out of my cubicle."

"Out of your cubicle," Adam scoffed. "As if you're ever in it if there isn't food involved. When I need you, I buzz the lab. And that last computer tech worked out fine."

"He was a contractor who wired the building." Francis rose. At just over six feet, he looked at Adam's chin. He stabbed a finger in Adam's direction. "Adam, don't you dare tell me we can't afford a real techie. Not when you gave everybody that massive bonus at Christmas."

"Insolent little shit," Adam shook his head. "You want one, you hire him. Or better yet, use that human resources person you, Ed, and Damien thought was a good idea, and do a search."

"Can I have that in writing?" Francis raised a brow.

"Ha ha, very funny," said Adam. "Be in my conference room in ten. Is Damien back yet?"

"Last I heard, no. His flight hadn't landed."

"Alright, what's for lunch?"

"Ask your assistant who seems to think it's her job to guard your office when you aren't here."

"It is her job to guard my office when I'm not here."

"So much for the surprise we have in store for your birthday."

"What, balloons filled with shaving cream on my office chair? Yeah, thanks, I'll pass."

Adam left his little brother to debug the receptionist's computer, and walked through the frosted glass doors to the executive suite.

Adam gave a fleeting thought to Mae, and what he had dumped in her lap as his eyes met those of Gayle, his assistant. She had been the one to push Mae's resume, and qualifications at him insisting that she would be a good employee to have around. That endorsement alone got Mae in the door.

"Morning, Gayle," he said, walking toward his office.

"Morning, yourself. It's almost noon." Why did she always sound like a drill sergeant?

"Yeah, I know," he said with resignation, picking up the stack of message sheets from the gigantic paper clip on the end of her desk. "Do any of these need to be returned right away?"

"Well," Gayle said, leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms under an ample bosom framed by a deep V in black. As always, her dress was accessorized with reading glasses hanging from a beaded lanyard. She raised perfectly kempt brows over piercing and intelligent green eyes framed by a fringe of dyed brown bangs. The rest of her hair was wrapped in her usual bun. "You might start with Mae. She called a bit ago wanting to know what time the courier would be there with the signature card for the household checking account."

"Did you send it to her?" he asked absently, flipping through the stack of messages. The director of transportation in Iowa, the Army Corps of Engineers Southern Watershed Director...and Mae came....

"No, I didn't send it to her," Gayle exclaimed. "I didn't know she was going to need it until she called. I thought you were just going to interview her today-"

"I did." Adam looked at his assistant.

"Really? That's not the way she told it. She said you told her her job duties, pointed to the house keys, and left. And by the way, I told her to plan meals thinking that each of you would eat like a lumberjack."

"Thanks," he said. He looked back down, absently read a message from the Jefferson County Manager, and turned toward his office. "Hey," he looked over his shoulder. "Have you got Mae's cell?"

"Oh, for God's sake, Adam, she's at your house. Call THAT number." Gayle retorted.

"Right," he said walking into his office, and plopping his briefcase on his desk before taking off his top coat, and suit jacket. He had to meet with the mayor later in the day, so the tie couldn't go just yet.

He sat in the desk chair, a copy of the one in his office at home, and reached for the land line. The device buzzed. "Adam," came Gayle's voice through the intercom. "Mae is on line three."

"Thanks," he said, picking up the phone, and punching the line in one easy motion.

"Mae?"

"Yes, it's Mae," came her voice through the receiver. "The maids were here."

Huh? "Yeah, so?"

"Yeah, so? They are worthless. I told them that we need to find a ladder to clean the chandeliers, and they suddenly developed a fear of heights."

Adam closed his eyes. "Mae, I think we can take care of that. The boys don't mind being on ladders." The boys might not be too happy about dusting chandeliers, but he'd deal with that later.

"Really? Well then, after what the maids called 'dusting', we went to do the floors, and neither of them made an effort to roll up the rugs to clean the hardwood. They wouldn't even change the sheets on the beds."

She was bugging him about housework? "Mae, if you want to hire different maids, hire different maids."

"Great, thank you. Now about your dry cleaner. Do they take plastic? And where are the current tickets of anything you may have out?"

"Dry cleaner?"

"Yes. I'm quite certain you didn't iron your shirts yourself."

"No. I didn't, but uh, how do you know my shirts are ironed?"

"I had to go up to what I assume is your room, and get the laundry, which incidentally, I'm doing one room at a time."

"Look, Mae, I really don't care how it all gets done. Just so that it does, alright?" Did he sound exasperated? He usually did get pissy when people were bugging him with tactical details, but since she sounded so frustrated he didn't think he should be. After all, it was only her first day.

"Alright, but I'm warning you now, if your steak is not cooked the way you like it, it's not my fault."

With that, she hung up on him.

Adam looked at the phone with something akin to wonder as his brother Ben - not quite a carbon copy of Adam wearing work khakis, a dark red flannel shirt, and work boots - walked into his office.

"You expecting it to bite you?" Ben asked.

"No," Adam shook his head. "But our new household manager sure is bossy."

"New household manager?" Ben asked, sitting in one of the chairs facing Adam's desk with narrowed eyes. "I thought you were just interviewing her."

"Yeah, well," Adam said punching on his computer, and not meeting his closest sibling's eyes. "She knows what she's doing. She already wants to fire the maids."

Silence came from the other side of his desk. Adam looked up and into the dark chocolate eyes of his brother Ben and said, "What?" a little too defensively.

Ben smirked, and shook his head. "Not a darn thing. Just one question."

"What?"

"Is she a head turner?"

Adam jolted a bit before staring at the smug-

"Hey, what's for lunch?" came from the doorway. Christian, third in the family, sporting a short cut beard over the Pernoud features with curly hair a shade lighter than his older brothers, and just a bit shorter and stockier than the elders, sauntered through it.

"Food? Who knows. But we can add a new item to the agenda. The new household manager turned Adam's head this morning."

"She did not turn my head," Adam retorted.

"Wait, the man who has private background snoops on speed dial that he sics on all employees, business associates, and potential clients hired her already?" Christian asked. "Adam, that was just supposed to be an interview today."

"Yeah, well, you said she was the most qualified applicant and that everything in her letter, and resume checked out. Even Gayle gave her a thumbs up." Did he sound defensive again?

"Don't bite my head off. I was just asking," Christian said with a smirk of his own.

Dammit.

Chapter 2

Mae stood in the doorway of the "apartment" over the garage, and exhaled deeply. What a morning.

Right after Adam had left, as she had the place to herself, Mae did a quick walk through the first floor of the house, just to see what she was up against. As she went from unbelievably masculine room to masculine room - other than the parlor, which was really more of a woman's room - she had time to calm her nerves and consider the gorgeous man who just handed her the keys to his castle a few hours ago, and drove away. Of all the wealthy and available bachelors in town, Adam Pernoud was known to be the most elusive. Even his brothers were more accessible, and that wasn't saying much, since they were all notorious about not showing up at functions, and never seemed to date. All the same, he was amazingly handsome.... Before she knew how, or why, she was daydreaming about her boss.

She had shaken herself out of the trance Adam induced, and had gone out to her car to get her gym bag for a change of clothes. She had planned on going to go work out after her "interview" this morning, but since she suddenly had a job to do, it seemed more prudent to use housecleaning to tone her body.

After she changed, and thought about where to begin, things got surreal.

She had started by calling Gayle at the office to find out when she should be in the house to accept the courier package with all the paperwork she was going to have to sign. Gayle, of course, had no idea what she was talking about even if she framed it differently, but assured Mae that she would talk to Adam the second he was in the office – and she did mean the second he was there. Gayle also told her to not stint on food – the boys liked to eat. Gayle said she had no idea on the dry cleaning or about any of the services the boys used, but would remind her boss that Mae was new in the job, and would need some guidance in that regard. From previous experience, Mae knew Gayle would pass on her message, so she had gone about finding a paper tablet, and something to write with.

After taking inventory of the refrigerator and pantry – there was nothing truly edible in the house if one didn't count beer and coffee – Mae was in the process of writing out a grocery list when the maids arrived. Maids...what a joke. Neither girl had any idea of how to clean a house. Once Adam gave her permission to fire them, she had called the number they provided, and did just that despite the predictable protests, and begging that this was the only job they had and how they needed the money. Mae was sure they needed the money, but they weren't going to make it in the Pernoud household while she was running it. After a quick call to Gayle to find out if she knew of any really good residential cleaning services that could do a one-time deep clean, Mae had made the arrangements for day after tomorrow. If Adam didn't like it, he could find someone else to do this job....

Mae stopped herself from actually meaning that. She needed this job. Adam was right about that.

Once the maids were dispensed with, and she was alone again, she headed back up the stairs to explore the living spaces Adam had offered. More dark paneling and another Persian runner graced the hall, along with one big, dusty chandelier, and wall sconces that sported more cobwebs than the Munsters' house.

Mae had taken stock of the bedrooms as long as she was there. Not all of them were on that floor, she concluded, as there were five or seven depending on what was counted as a bedroom. There was both a master suite, where an office with computers was set up including an old-fashioned drafting table complete with engineering tools in the second room, and a guest suite. The master suite, and the three other bedrooms appeared to be lived in. The guest suite, on the other hand, was more of a storage facility with an unused luxury bath.

It was the first of the living quarters Adam offered that she visited, and the one she decided on the spot was too close to him for comfort.

At the other end of the hall, hat she assumed was Adam's room was the epitome of old money elegance. Old world ceiling to floor burgundy drapes flanked the window. The carpet was a navy oriental. A heavy and dark, carved antique rosewood armoire contained some essentials. Nightstands flanked the king sized bed, which had a turned rosewood bed frame. If she wasn't mistaken, she had seen a woman's chest of drawers, mirrored dresser, and vanity of the same design in the guest suite. There was plenty of space for the pieces to fit in his room with Adam's other furniture if he ever sought to take a bride. Dread had filled her heart at the thought, even if it was none of her business. She was there to work, not really be the man's wife. She completed her inventory noting that the bedroom set was completed with a blanket chest at the foot of the bed. And, of course, there was the requisite dusty chandelier.

Firmly putting thoughts of Adam's future out of her mind, she had headed up to the third floor to check out the available suite up there. It was serviceable, she supposed, two rooms – a bedroom and a sitting room with a full bath and a cable outlet - but it was across the hall from three doorways that were missing the doors. She had poked her head through one, and had seen where dividing walls had been removed to create one big room resembling the study dormer of a frat house. Desks with computers lined it. Cords were duct taped to the floor. A whiteboard with math functions scribbled on it was propped against a wall. Blueprints covered a couple tables. A bookshelf was loaded with engineering texts. And, just for good measure, a refrigerator stood in the corner. When she opened it, and saw four cases of microbrew beer, Mae knew she not was living up there. No way, Jose.

As she completed her self-guided tour, she discovered that the remaining boys' bedrooms were in the basement at the base of the curved staircase. With no windows. Another full luxury bath with a steam shower and a tub was down there, just like the one in the master suite, and similar to the one in the second floor hall, a laundry room, the utilities, another rather large den with a wet bar, wall mounted flat screen TV, conversation pit done in dark brown, a pool table, and a walkout to a patio that led to the outdoor pool and hot tub. That didn't count the weight room, sauna, the indoor resistance wave pool or the lap pool which was in what was once most likely a laundry porch.

Just add a fussball table and it would be a frat boy's paradise, she had thought.

She had climbed back up to the second floor, and walked back into what appeared to be the master suite, Adam's room, she assumed. It did look like the white Egyptian cotton sheets had been changed sometime recently, even if the bed was in disarray with the navy duvet falling on the floor. In his closet, she had found laundered shirts with the name of the best dry cleaner in town on the plastic covering them. She had looked around to see how he had things organized. His closet was downright anal with t-shirts in neat stacks, suits facing the same direction on the hangers, and ties arranged by color. Interestingly, it was only half full. The other side had twice the pole space and shoe racks than the side he was using did. There were multiple shelves that did not even have a coat of dust. That would be the wife's side, if he ever had one, she figured. She had walked into the ensuite. His bathroom was done in white tile, and was the only one with a gray tile floor. White towels littered the room, and the toilet seat was up.

Yep, a man's man lived here. He wasn't even using the wife's side of the closet, and the bathroom could be cleaned with bleach.

Mae had started with his room, gathering up his dirty clothes which were in a gigantic pile in the closet, to get the laundry going. After taking his clothes to the basement, she had discovered that there was no detergent, no fabric softener, no dryer sheets – nothing. She had shaken her head, and headed up to the kitchen to add that to her shopping list.

That was when she had looked out the back door, and saw the garage with new eyes. It was no longer just the building where Adam and his brothers parked their cars. The apartment over it was her last chance at finding a peaceful place to be in this over-grown frat house and be far enough away from Adam and his broodingly dark eyes, chiseled mouth, wide shoulders, and tapered waist...she was going to need the distance if they were going to make a business relationship work. The man was a threat to her equilibrium.

Her insides had fluttered. She had thought a lot about keeping a distance between them as the day had dragged on. Something had happened this morning between them. Something momentous. She just wished she knew what it was.

As she had climbed the steps up the side of the garage, and looked at the balcony that seemed to serve as a porch, Mae had felt her insides clench again. What if there was more junk in this space than the guest room? Then she would have to take the guest suite. After she cleaned it out. If that was okay. And she would be sleeping on the same floor as Adam....

With a deep breath she had opened the door. Now, she stood on the threshold of a definite possibility.

The living space of the apartment seemed to be all one room – dinette set to her left, small kitchenette under a dormer with a butcher's block to her right, dark blue conversation pit facing a wide, flat screen TV, French doors leading to the porch, and a computer desk against the back wall. The floors were hardwood with a steely blue area rug under the conversation pit. Typical of this place. Done without much thought or creativity, and all in manly colors. The room was a bit big for the furniture, but it was far more livable than the guest suite, or the third floor.

She walked across the room to the door that appeared to open into a bathroom. She pushed it open and stared at, well, heaven. Just as luxurious as Adam's bathroom, this one was huge, and sported a large steam shower with a spray hose and sitting bench, a mounted tub with jets, a woman's vanity next to the sink with a continuous mirror and Hollywood lights, a commode and a real European-style bidet.

That's it, she thought, no matter what the bedroom looks like, I'm taking this space just for the tub, she thought. I can bring the bed from my apartment if I have to.

She turned to the door that would lead into the bedroom, and found herself in a huge walk-through closet with towels in one set of shelves, and nothing else. Drawers were stacked under the towels. There were shoe racks on that side, and one long pole on the other. At the other end of the closet was a door leading into the bedroom. It was under a dormer eave. The windows were smaller, and only six paned. It was decorated much the same as the main room with white walls, and a daybed with a new mattress. There was a wide chest of drawers, a dressing table, and a full length mirror with a coat rack in one corner.

Yep, Mae thought, this is it. She headed back to the house to get her purse so she could run errands, and be back in time to cook dinner.

What a friggin' day, Adam thought as he backed his Maz into the bay on the end of the Pernoud estate garage. Judging from the number of cars in there, nine altogether including his Explorer and the red Mercedes Ben and Chris shared when they wanted something other than their trucks to drive, it looked like everybody was home. The little Focus on the other end in Ben's usual slot must be Mae's, he thought to himself. So that's why Ben's truck was in the driveway. He'd have to remember to suggest Mae use his Explorer. That Focus wasn't big enough to protect her in a crash. The Explorer had a roll bar at least.

Adam walked out of the garage, and toward the house where the kitchen was aglow, and the den lights shone in the darkness. Maybe the boys were watching the Blues play. The game started early tonight since The Note was on the east coast. That would be a welcome mental breather from the afternoon, he thought.

As he climbed the steps, Adam rolled his neck a little, and tried not to think about all the ass kissing he had to do in the mayor's office. It would be one thing to have to kiss the mayor's backside, but, no, he was forced to be nice to a "consumer advocate" who objected to Pernoud Brothers closing a highway overpass in order to replace it. Professional busybody was more like it, he thought. How the hell a highway overpass was going to get torn down, and rebuilt with cars driving on it was a mystery to him. They were going to have to find other routes for the residents. That was a given, and an option the consumer advocate was not willing to entertain.

Adam opened the back door leading to the kitchen, and the aroma of cooked steak met his nostrils. He inhaled deeply as he walked through the door.

"Mmmm," he said, looking around, and finding Mae bent over at the oven, her sweetly rounded bottom facing him as she flipped the steaks she was cooking under the broiler. "That smells good," he said watching her twirl around. She had changed out of the black power suit from this morning, and instead was wearing black athletic leggings, and a fitted pink t-shirt that showed off the luscious curves the black power suit hid from him this morning. Her hair was pulled back, and lots of tendrils were framing her face which was flushed from the heat of the stove. Adam felt his gut clench. He was right. No woman should hide that kind of femininity behind a black power suit. It was like denying the pope was Catholic.

"Hi," she said, reaching for a carton of sour cream that was on the counter. He could see she was trying not to look at him. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes." She turned to scoop sour cream out into two bowls she had waiting on the counter.

"Okay," he said, dropping his briefcase to take off his coat. "I'm going to go upstairs, and change." He turned to look at her as she stirred horseradish into one of the bowls of sour cream. As she stirred, her hands were roughly at breast height. They were round, buxom, uh, well, they bounced a bit and looked...oh, wow, full and soft. Handfuls of squeezable.... His mouth went dry.

"Alright," she said, looking up at him with overly bright eyes. He stared into them feeling a pull almost like a tractor beam as her mouth sagged a little. "Uh," she started before swallowing and turning back to the counter to put some kind of veined, crumbly cheese in the other bowl of sour cream to stir. "Your afternoon courier package from Gayle arrived. It's on your desk."

"Thanks," he said, turning toward the dining room, and walking slowly past her to get a better look at the rest of her encased in workout clothes. Oh, the curves, he thought as he walked into the next room. Adam found himself turned on as he had not been in a long, long time. Not just squeezable breasts, but a nicely rounded rear, shapely calves with just a hint of definition, strong thighs that could grip....

Mae took deep breaths to calm her racing heart while she turned back to the task of getting dinner on the table.

The boys had started trickling home late in the afternoon. Ben had come in first, then Christian and Ed with Damien arriving close on their heels. They were each very gentlemanly, shaking her hand, and welcoming her to the household. Not knowing what to do with her car, she had parked it by the stairs to the garage apartment in order to carry up her essentials after dinner. Ben had suggested that she use his spot in the garage since he usually left first. It would be no problem for him to leave his truck in the driveway. She had smiled and thanked him, and explained about needing to move her stuff at which point, all four of the boys who were there insisted on carrying it up for her. They had walked out the back door with her keys, and she had watched from the back door as the first load of her belongings was carried up to her new home.

They were remarkably efficient about it, and in less than ten minutes returned with Francis and Gabriel, the two youngest by a few years, unless Mae missed her guess. While not quite as tall as she remembered Adam being, all six had the same longer faces, and varying degrees of dark black or brown hair. Damien's was the blackest, Ed's the lightest, and Christian's, Francis' and Gabriel's was downright curly. Among them, the family resemblance was perfectly clear.

Mae thanked them for their help as Ed and Francis started sniffing at the steak warming on the counter.

"Any idea when Adam will be home?" Damien had asked. He had opened the refrigerator, and was tossing beer bottles to his brothers. Even just back from a business trip, he was the most formally dressed of the lot in dark charcoal trousers, and an icy, manly purple long sleeved button down oxford that complemented his coloring.

"No," Mae had said, hoping she wouldn't be mopping beer off the floor as each of them twisted the caps off. "But, I'm aiming to have dinner ready at seven."

"Fabulous," Christian had said as he headed for the conversation pit in the hearth room the boys called a den, and grabbed the remote. "The Blues start at six."

They had settled in to watch the first period of the hockey game with all the enthusiasm, and banter of guys who used to play. Mae had stood in the kitchen tearing lettuce, chopping veggies, mashing potatoes, and adding milk and sour cream to them while she listened to the brothers' conversation.

This is what she missed so much about her family all moving away, she had thought. The easy company and camaraderie of the people who know you best. No faking liking each other. No holding back on the teasing. Cheap shots were not taken seriously. Just like her own siblings when they weren't fighting to the death, or actually meaning the nasty things said.

As she listened, Mae had learned as much as she could about the boys. Ben's rail bridge project was moving along ahead of schedule. Christian was in the midst of assessment before Damien could start the bidding process to renovate one of the historic buildings downtown, and Christian wasn't happy that it looked like one of the other contractors would be his nemesis from high school even if Sarah Jane, whoever she was, was still working for him. Damien had been in New York consulting on a renovation of the sewer system which was decades overdue for an upgrade. He was going to work up the bid in the next few days to actually be able to design the renovation, and have a New York company do the constructing. Ed had been surveying in the city to replace a handful of overpass bridges that Adam was at City Hall this afternoon to talk about. Francis was in talks with the Missouri Department of Transportation regarding putting street sensors in various vintage roads which should have been better tended over the winter except that the Department of Transportation didn't know that they were in danger of freezing as badly as they did. Gabriel was studying for his medical board exams. Funny that the youngest would be in medical school, and not in the family business, she thought.

And, as she suspected, it seemed that they all played hockey in college. At Michigan.

Well, that put a new spin on things.

She was reaching for the plates just as the period ended, and the boys all got up to head further into the house. Left to herself, Mae was able to set the table in peace on the new navy blue placemats she had bought this afternoon while the steak was under the broiler.

She had just finished flipping the meat when Adam walked in with his hair hanging over his brow and an impatient air about him, looking just on the sane side of dangerous. She had started stirring the steak dip just to keep from staring at those magnetically erotic black eyes. The urge go to him to ask how his day went was palpable. She had just met him that morning, she thought. Where the hell had that come from?

She was just putting dinner on the table when all seven of them filed into the kitchen wearing jeans and sweatshirts, and proceeded to plop down in the chairs around the table. They barely waited for Adam, and didn't wait to say grace before passing the dishes and scooping and forking piles of food on their plates. It was a good thing she planned double portions per person.

Adam, who had changed into jeans and a navy long sleeved t-shirt with "University of Michigan Alumni" on the front looked at her and said, "Aren't you going to eat?"

Mae found herself looking at seven expectant faces before nodding. She took the open seat at the end of the table, across from Adam, and said. "Hang on," to Damien when he tried to pass her the salad.

"What?" Adam said scooping mashed potatoes on his plate.

"Do you all say grace?" she asked. His face whipped up, and his eyes met hers. She felt an eyebrow lift.

"Sorry," he said, putting the bowl on the table. "It's just been a while since we've had real homemade food, and not some chef's idea of what looks pretty on a plate."

"That's okay," she said. "I just didn't know." The boys all put the serving dishes on the table. "Do you all do the standard table prayer?"

"That'll work," Adam said.

Mae nodded, and led them in giving thanks. Afterwards, the passing and scooping and forking continued, but at a much quieter tempo.

Chapter 3

After dinner, Adam ordered the boys to do the dishes while he and Mae went to his office to get all the necessary employment paperwork signed. He didn't bother to sit down, but towered next to her as she sat in the chair in front of his desk. "Okay, this is the I-9," he said handing her the first of the forms, spice and musk filling the air as he moved.

She inhaled the heady combination, and filled out and signed the form where he indicated. Her head was swimming. "You know, Adam, I used to do this sort of thing, and could have printed out all of this earlier, and faxed or emailed it to your office," she said as another form landed in front of her.

"Yeah, I know, but since we had a whole HR packet ready, it was just as easy to grab one from the HR nazi's office," he said putting yet another form in front of her. "I'd just put you on the company payroll, but that gets messy with auditors." She signed the form, and handed it back.

Yet another form appeared in front of her. "So, how do you propose to pay me?" she asked.

"By direct deposit," he said picking up the form she had just signed, and putting another in its place. "The household has its own payroll account."

"Ahh," she said as the direct deposit form appeared along with another waft of his intoxicating blend of manly scent. She was starting to tingle in the places the nuns warned them about in high school.

"Gayle will take care of all of the payroll stuff through the office, but I do need you to balance the household accounts. We have online checking." He rattled off the password. "Here's the signature card for the account. We'll have to get you added to the health insurance, and 401k group. The human resources person was out today, and she has those forms under lock and key. Gayle will courier that packet out tomorrow." He sat down in the chair next to her to organize the papers she had just finished filling out. Mae watched long, strong fingers straighten the packet, and paper clip it together, before he tossed it in the briefcase.

She looked up at him and found herself staring into his eyes – alluring bottomless pools of obsidian in just the light of the desk lamp. She blinked as her breathing shallowed, and her mouth opened a little. More of his primal essence invaded her senses. Her mind stopped. What, uh, yeah, there was something....

"Uh," she started.

His eyebrows rose.

"I, uh, arranged for a cleaning service to come in day after tomorrow to do a heavy once over." The brows lowered. "It's just a one-time thing to get the house at least dusted and the floors done." He didn't say anything. "It's too big of a job for just me, and with the maids-"

"Mae, I told you I don't care how it gets done." Did he sound impatient?

"I know, but this is going to be expensive-"

He waved her off with the flick of a wrist. "Did you schedule a professional rug cleaning, too?"

Mae blinked. "Uh, no."

"Well, if you're going to have the whole house done, my mother's Persian runners could use a cleaning. They're pretty old, and haven't been touched other than vacuuming in a while. She used a company that's been around forever."

Mae named the oldest, most prestigious, and expensive floor company in town. "Yeah, that's it."

"You don't want bids?"

He shrugged, and said, "Money is no object for the house." He stood, and closed his briefcase. "It's all we have left of our parents."

Mae watched his quick and efficient moves feeling the sudden pain surrounding him.

"I think we're done here," he said, reaching for her hand to help her up. She looked up into the fathomless pools of his eyes, put her hand in his, let him pull her to her feet toward him, and fell into the beam of spice and musk and as she got closer some kind of soap- Her lids fluttered down as she leaned in.

"Hey, Adam," came from the back of the house. "Come on, it's your turn tonight."

Adam's hand squeezed hers. Her eyes popped open. He smiled ruefully. "Sorry," he said wincing. "There's a building at the back of the property."

Mae nodded a little still in a daze. "I've heard of it."

"You and the rest of the city," he grimaced as he turned to go to the back of the house pulling her behind him with one hand. "It's kind of our passion. We go out there as many evenings as we can."

"Really?" she asked as they walked through the den and into the kitchen. Both were deserted.

"Yeah," he said, releasing her, and reaching for the only remaining jacket by his topcoat on the pegs next to the door. "Don't wait up." With that he disappeared into the night.

She slumped into a kitchen chair, and willed her pulse to slow. After several deep breaths, she was far less dizzy, but really no more in control of her reaction to Adam. She was honestly going to have to keep her distance or lose her head. She needed this job, she reminded herself.

Mae had one task left to complete before she headed to her apartment for the night. As she set the coffee maker for the morning, and penned a note with instructions for Ben, she realized she forgot to ask what the building at the back of the property was all about.

A bit later, Mae sank into the hot water swirling around the huge tub with the jets in her apartment, and felt her face split into a smile. She leaned back, and let the water beat at her. What a day, she thought. Sad thing was, it didn't end when Adam left her - and his delicious scent - in the kitchen.

She shook her head against the spa pillow cradling her shoulders, and tried not to think about the conversation she had just ended before slipping into the bath. Just because she was going to have to let her know that her address would be changing, Mae had called her mother to give her an update. And she got an earful.

"Mae Louise Jones," her mother had started. "What on earth are you thinking? You need a real job with real benefits making real money, not some part time thing playing wife to someone who is out there." Mae could see her mother absently gesturing, her hand waving in the air above her head at nothing in particular. "You are not in those guys' league. They're rich and-"

"And they can afford to pay me, and give me a place to live and benefits while I do it."

"You're living WITH them?" Censure had come through the cell tower.

"No, I'm not living with them," Mae had said. "There's a really nice apartment over the garage-"

"Oh, I'm sure there is." Sarcasm was her mother's specialty.

"It's part of the compensation package, Mom."

"I don't care." Mother Jones was not amused. "It just doesn't look right."

Mae had rolled her eyes knowing her mother couldn't see her since she wouldn't use video chat. "I am not going back to working in an office."

"We all have to do things we don't like." There was the mantra Mae hated.

Mae had felt her voice raise to almost shrill. "You don't get it. You've never gotten it. All you've worked has been retail. Offices are a completely different kettle of fish."

"Mae, your brother Connor has an opening-"

"No, Mom. I am not moving." What was it about Connor that her mother was constantly pushing working for him, and his father-in-law's dinky adhesives business?

"Why are you being so stubborn about this? None of us are in St. Louis anymore."

"I know. Believe me, I know. You all abandoned me."

Silence had come through the other end.

"You think that's what your siblings and I did?" her mother had asked, voice deadly controlled.

"I know that's what you did," Mae had said knowing the conversation was over. Her mother never did want to admit that.

"Mae Loui-"

"Now, if you will excuse me," she had cut off further protests from Florida, "my private, luxury tub with jets is calling my name."

Mae had ended the call, and turned off the phone, just to have some peace.

She rolled her head a little against the spa pillow, and willed herself to relax.

This job might not be the sort of thing her mother could brag about to her friends who thought office work was all that, she thought, but it definitely had its perks.

Adam skated to the open Zamboni doors before stepping onto the rubber mats that skirted the rink in the infamous Pernoud building. He and his brothers had just finished fifty minutes of spirited, and halfway dirty hockey where the loser of the straw grab – Ben tonight – reffed a scrimmage between the other six. After it was over, there was always a race out the door to leave whoever had to do the ice to the task.

This evening, it was his turn, and his brothers were hurrying to change, and get the heck out of there.

Adam sat down on the bench that ran along in front of their gear stalls, and started to unlace his skates.

"Hey, Adam," Christian leaned over, and looked him in the eye. "Is Mae going to do something about your sunny disposition? You've been distracted all night."

Before he knew what he was doing, Adam was on his feet with two fistfuls of Christian's shoulder pads in his hands, holding the slightly smaller man up to his height.

"Hey, hey," said Ben, stepping in to stop the confrontation.

"Ben, we're off the ice," said Adam threateningly.

"All the more reason to cut it out," Ben said as he finally got between them. "You, too, Chris," he said, turning to their smirking sibling who was having more fun than he should be.

"Aww, come on, Ben," Christian said, his eyes twinkling at Adam. "We've never actually seen this before."

"Seen what?" Adam asked yanking his shoulder pads off, and hanging them on the peg in his stall.

"You with your head turned."

"It is not," Adam denied impatiently.

"Oh, really?" Damien chimed in, down to his t-shirt, and unlacing his skates. "You stopped serving yourself those fabulous mashed potatoes, and let her say grace."

Francis dropped his pants, and said, "At the lunch meeting today you told us to be nice to her. That's never happened."

Ed picked up two pairs of skates, and walked toward the skate sharpener. "You offered her the apartment over the garage," he said over his shoulder.

"So?" Adam asked, rather defensively.

"You know," said Gabriel. "The apartment you had designed for yourself just in case Mom and Dad came back, and wanted their bedroom."

"The one with the steam shower you put in," said Ben, down to his unmentionables and toweling off. "Just like the one in your bathroom that you never let us use."

"You all have your own," Adam retorted.

"You get your own private schvitz, and we have to share a steam bath?" asked Christian, yanking on his jeans. "Oh, yeah, that's fair."

"Whatever," said Adam, handing his skates to Ed. "You guys have been on me forever about finding a housekeeper-"

"Oh, and 'household manager' sounds so much more professional," sniggered Damien air fingering the title.

"Yes, household manager. So, I hired one," Adam dropped a garment, and mooned his brothers. "And now you're all giving me trouble about it."

"Hey man," said Francis. "If dinner is any indication of her qualifications as housekeeper, I'm not complaining. Although, she really should be the cook." He pulled his shirt over his head. "You guys meet me in the basement bar. I'll have the pool board set up."

"Pool board?" Adam's glare snapped to Francis. "What are you all betting on?"

Francis smirked. "How long before you end up married to her."

Adam threw the sock he had just pulled off his foot at Francis. "Are you nuts?" Francis danced away toward the door.

"Save me six months," Ben yelled after him as he was tying his shoes.

"Six months?" Adam all but shouted.

"I'd take two, but knowing you, you'll take your time deciding if you should give up bachelorhood," said Christian.

"Unless he knocks her up," said Ed using an old towel to dry somebody's blades.

"What?!" Adam exclaimed.

"He won't do that," said Damien rather sure of his assessment.

"Think I don't know how?" Adam stared at his younger brother.

"I'm sure you know the basics, but you won't do it," Damien stood, and pulled on his leather jacket.

"Why not?" Adam asked.

"Because there's no way you're confessing that to Father Mahoney. Seriously, who wants him in the middle of your sex life?"

"He's got a point, Bro," said Christian nodding.

"You'd never hear the end of it," said Ben as he and Christian headed out.

Adam pinned Damien with a stare, "Father Mahoney is not the only priest out there."

"No," said Gabriel. "But he always seems to be in the confessional when you go, and that's all we hear about." With that Gabriel sprinted for the door.

Damien shook his head and said, "It's hopeless, Adam. You're toast."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are," came from Ed as he fired up the skate sharpener and put a blade to it. "Been there. Done that. We all know what it looks like."

Damien patted Adam on the shoulder before heading to the door himself. "Quit trying to deny it, and go with it for once."

Adam finished tying his shoes, and walked onto the ice surface to get the nets off of it. Damn brothers, he thought. As if he didn't know he was in trouble with Mae. She was saucy, soft, and smelled really sweet even when she was sweaty. He yanked a net off the pegs, and walked it off the ice. She also hadn't come on to him even if the desire was in her eyes when they were alone this evening. For some reason, he took that as a challenge.

The big reason he avoided women in his own social level was that they were, for the most part, scheming model wannabes who had no idea how to manage a manicure calendar, let alone a life. They might throw themselves at him, but he wasn't interested. Plus, none of them could distract him from hockey enough to be really interesting. At least not before now. He deliberately chose an older woman for an executive assistant, just so that he could have some peace in that regard at the office. He went to Mass at the monastery because there were hardly any women there. One very competent if bossy female who happens to be a good cook, and was all a woman should be under a black power suit, comes to the door offering to do everything but share his bed...and he lets her do it no questions asked when he routinely had background checks run on everyone, including his barber.

Dammit. Was his head turned, just like the family legend said would happen?

After he had both nets off the ice, Adam climbed up to the driver's seat on the Zamboni, and started it as his mind wandered to dangerous territory.

What would happen if he knocked Mae up?

That thought stopped him short. Yeah, he was in trouble all right.

Chapter 4

The next morning, just as the sun was starting to clear the eastern horizon, Mae made her way down the stairs from her apartment, and across the driveway to the house. Ben's truck had left at five fifteen, waking her from a dream where she was walking across a bridge, and Adam was on the other side, hand extended to her. She woke up right as she reached him, and put her hand in his.

Just as well. She didn't really want to analyze what those symbols might signify.

She looked up to see if there was any indication of who was awake in the house. Adam's room was aglow as were the kitchen, den, and the basement where one of the boys was walking across it wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. She started up the stairs from the patio under the deck, and when she got to the top, saw that somebody in a work shirt and pants was at the stove. Uh-oh, she thought. Was she supposed to make breakfast?

She opened the door, and Christian looked over his shoulder from the stove where he was cooking scrambled eggs. "Morning, Mae," he said rather cheerfully.

"Morning," she said, puzzled. "Christian, was I supposed to be here..."

"Oh, no, you're fine," he said scraping his eggs onto a plate. "I usually stop at one of the diners in the city for breakfast, but they all use institutional eggs, and since you have a couple dozen real ones in the fridge, I figured I'd just eat here."

Mae felt herself staring.

"I'll clean up my mess, Mae," he assured her.

Her eyes snapped to his. "Oh, no, it's not that," she said quickly.

"Then, what's wrong?" he asked picking up his plate, and coffee cup to sit at the table.

"I just thought that since I'm the household...uh, whatever, that I probably should be up before all of you and-"

"No," Christian shook his head. "We all have different schedules. The only one who regularly eats here in the morning is Damien, and that's just because he's a desk jockey, and not in the field. Adam usually has breakfast meetings after Mass, and the rest of us have to be on site pretty early."

"But I could have made your eggs for you," she protested, taking off her jacket and hanging it on a peg.

"You can make some for me," said Ed walking into the room carrying untied work boots, wearing jeans, a thermal shirt, and a safety vest. He went straight to the coffee maker, and poured himself some in a commuter mug before reaching in the refrigerator for the half and half. "I'm running late. And eggs between two slices of bread will hit the spot."

Mae went about making Ed's eggs as his brother Christian said, "Oh, for God's sake, Ed, you know how to make eggs."

"Yeah, but if she's offering-" he gestured toward the stove where Mae had his eggs going.

"You don't have to take advantage of it," said Adam walking into the kitchen in white shirt-sleeves, and a red tie, with his dark suit jacket in one hand which he draped over a chair. He walked to the coffee maker, got himself a cup, and poured it black. "We don't want to scare her off."

"If she was going to be scared off, that would have happened yesterday," Ed said stomping his feet into his work boots, and bending to tie them.

Mae saw Adam shake his head as he sat down, and grabbed the newspaper off the middle of the table. Somebody must have brought it in earlier, she thought.

"By the way, Adam, are we good to go on that overpass on the north side? I want to get up there, and get going if it's going to happen," Ed asked tying his boots.

"I'd say yes, but after the ass kissing session yesterday, I get the idea that the mayor is trying to keep mass protests from happening."

"Dammit," said Ed. "That overpass almost flunked at its last inspection."

"I know, but the people of the 'hood don't want to be inconvenienced." Adam folded the paper back, and took a sip of coffee.

"Well," Ed said, rising with his commuter mug, and walking toward Mae where she was wrapping his egg sandwich in some waxed paper, "it's going to be real inconvenient when it fails, and costs twice as much to excavate rather than take down." He took the sandwich from her and kissed her on the cheek, "Thanks, Mae" and walked out the back door into the dawn.

Mae looked toward the table, and locked eyes with Adam. "What are you doing up this early?" he asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Uh," she started before Christian started in.

"Is that any way to talk to your brand new household manager?" he asked Adam with a raised brow. "She only started yesterday."

"I guess I just wasn't expecting to see her up since the coffee maker was set before we all went to bed last night," Adam said.

Christian was in the middle of a biteful of eggs, so Mae said, "I thought maybe you all needed breakfast or something. I mean, since I haven't hired a cook-."

"After dinner last night, you're going to have her hire a cook?" Christian asked Adam who hadn't taken his eyes off of Mae. "Adam, what the-"

"Don't you have a job site to be on?" Adam asked.

Christian looked between Adam, and her with a quirked a brow. "Yes, sir, Mr. Boss Big Brother." He got up, carried his egg plate to the sink to rinse it off, and pour his coffee in a commuter mug while Adam stared daggers at him.

"Don't worry about the dishes, Christian, I'll take care of it," Mae said. Couldn't let Christian get in the middle of this, she thought.

"Thanks, Mae," he said leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. "You're a peach," before he grabbed his jacket, and left with a smirk on his face.

Mae put her hands on her hips, and turned to Adam. "Do you need breakfast?"

"Nope," he said, leaning back with the sports page in his hand. "I have a breakfast meeting before I get to the office." He picked up his cup again. "But thanks."

He wasn't avoiding her that easily.

"By the way," she started walking over to the sink to soak the egg pan, and put water in the tea kettle to boil. "I need to get into the household computer that in the office behind you. At least that's what I assume that little cubby is with the mail slots labelled in alphabetical order."

She saw him look over his shoulder out of the corner of her eye. 'Yeah, that's what it is." He put the cup on the table to refold the newspaper to an inside page. "Francis should be able to get you in."

"Adam, all I need is the password. I know how to use a computer." She crossed her arms, and leaned a hip against the stove.

"I know you do, but Francis set all that up, not me. He's the techie."

"If I'm adding that to my job duties, are you going to give me a raise?" Francis asked walking into the room on his way to the coffee maker. He winked at Mae as he reached into the cabinet to get a commuter mug. "The password is Blue Note all one word, cap the B and the N. I'd help you get in, but I have to be in a city road department meeting at seven thirty. Text me if you get stuck." He reached into the fridge for half and half. "I'll walk you through the network after work. We're all on it. If you have a computer with wireless, there's a list of passwords on that hard drive somewhere. Help yourself." He walked to the back door, grabbed his jacket, and left.

Mae was still staring after him when Adam said, "Well, that settles that." He turned another page. "Mae, we all know how to make breakfast. Mom made sure we knew that much. You don't have to make it for us. Just as long as there's eggs, butter, and bacon in the fridge, we're good." She looked at Adam. He had one hand curled around his coffee cup, and was trying to convince her he was more interested in the sports page than talking to her. Not that she could think of a topic at the moment that they needed to discuss.

"Although, now that I think about it," he looked at his watch, "Friday is day after tomorrow, and it's Lent.... Ben's in charge of finding a fish fry with carry out on Fridays for dinner. I'll have him get an extra order for you."

"Thanks," she said as the kettle started to whistle. She turned to make herself a cup of tea.

"Not a coffee drinker?" Adam asked from the table.

Mae smiled a little before turning to him. "Not this early in the morning," she said, picking up her mug, and carrying it to the table to sit across from him. "I usually don't eat this early, either."

Adam chuckled, lifting his coffee cup. "But you thought we all might?"

Mae shrugged her shoulders. "I have brothers. Men seem to be able to eat any time, anywhere. Besides, I can't be nice in this job?" she asked as innocently as possible.

"Sure, but that doesn't mean you have to get up before dawn to make my brothers breakfast." His eyes were warm.

"It doesn't go under 'other duties as assigned'?"

"I didn't assign it." He lifted the mug to his lips not breaking eye contact.

"True, but considering there weren't any leftovers last night, I figured you all have been starving for a while."

Adam muffled a laugh. "I said we were meat and potatoes sorts. And what you put on the table last night was better than anything the last four chefs we tried out made."

Mae turned that over in her head before she said, "Would you rather me just cook than hire one?"

Adam shrugged his shoulders, "Fine with me if it is with you." He took another sip of his coffee. "Just so long as those mashed potatoes are on the menu at least twice a week." His eyes turned intense.

Mae tried not to read anything into that. "You did take at least three servings."

"Yeah, well," he threw back the rest of his coffee, "like I said, mashed potatoes, twice a week." He stood to slip into his suit jacket. "And that does go under other duties as assigned."

"I think I can handle that," she said feeling rather than seeing him pick up his briefcase, and walk up behind her.

"Great," he said, leaning down to put his face next to hers, that spicy musk invading her head again. "We'll talk more tonight." He kissed her temple, straightened, and said, "The Zamboni threw a rod last night, so we won't be playing after dinner."

"Zamboni?" What the heck would they need a Zamboni for? She turned to look at him. His eyes twinkled with intrigue. Realization struck Mae between the eyes, and she felt her face open. "Your mystery building is a hockey rink?"

The grin on Adam's face as he put on his topcoat was devilishly beautiful. "It's a family secret," he said with a wink. "So I guess you'll just have to stay."

Mae opened the oven door to baste the two chickens that had been roasting for the last three hours. It wasn't quite as aromatic as steak, but who said the guys had to have red meat every night? At least mashed potatoes went with it. Really, she hoped she had cooked enough.

The boys had been trickling into the house for the last hour. Each of them, upon finding out that the Zamboni was not available - Ben had taped a note to the beer shelf in the refrigerator - had passed on a beer, and disappeared into the house. Christian and Francis had reappeared in running clothes and shoes, and had promptly taken off to get in a few miles before dinner. Ben had headed out to the rink to try to figure out what was wrong with the Zamboni.

Damien had pulled out his cell phone, and called Jeff, the Zamboni guy, warning him that he was sure at least one of his brothers would try to "fix" the damn thing before having him call to get someone out there to do it right.

It was a run of the mill night at home they all assured her.

Mae was just draining the potatoes when Adam came through the back door. She looked over her shoulder, and tried not to stare. Unlike last night, he did not look all that dangerous. In fact, the hair flopping over his brow looked positively dashing...not that dashing would ever be a word she's use to describe Adam Pernoud. Princely, he wasn't. More like a rogue pirate wannabe model for Brooks Brothers. Not that he shopped there, she thought. All the suits in his closet said "Made in Milan" on the label. He put his briefcase on the floor to take off his topcoat, and asked, "How was your day?"

Mae looked at his cocked eyebrow, and snorted with a quick laugh. "You're laundry's done, and if you play your cards right, your mashed potatoes will be before the chicken comes out of the oven." She picked up the colander with the cooked potatoes, and dumped them back into the pot before going to the stove to add the cream and butter.

"Mmm," he said walking up behind her, and putting his head over her shoulder as she worked. "I know I said mashed potatoes twice a week, but two days in a row?"

Mae looked up from mashing, inhaled a gulp of his spicey musk, and looked right into his eyes. She felt her breath catch, leaned back a little to get a better view of his face, and got a much deeper whiff of his pheromones. His eyes started to search hers, and his breathing labored a little. She felt his hand slide across her lower back to her hip pulling her closer to him. Her eyes were drifting closed when, "You going to let her finish dinner, or are we on our own tonight?" came from the back door.

The moment broken, Mae felt Adam move away, and turn toward Ben who stepped over the threshold, and into the kitchen. "You look at the Zamboni?"

"Yeah," Ben said walking to the refrigerator, and getting himself a beer. "There's a cylinder that needs to be replaced. And if I know Damien, he already called, and Jeff will be out here in the morning. We should probably warn him what he needs to bring."

"Alright." Adam leaned back on the counter, and looked at his brother. "Who's going to work from home tomorrow, and let him in?"

"The last steel shipment arrives tomorrow morning, so I'm out. What do you have going?"

"After Mass? Port Authority at 8:30."

"We're out," Ben said emphatically. Mae opened the oven to check the chicken, and she heard Ben say, "Know anything about Zambonis, Mae?"

She looked over her shoulder at the dark, handsome, and amazingly tall duo and said, "Sorry. That didn't come up in my travels."

"Okay," Ben said. He took a deep breath. "I'll see what the boys are up to in the a.m."

Adam crossed his arms over his chest, and his feet at the ankles. "Count Gabriel out. He's spending the night with a friend in the Central West End since they have a test in the morning."

Ben blew out a breath. "That probably leaves Francis since Damien's bound to have some sort of conference call."

"Don't think so." Adam shook his head. "He can deal with it if there's nothing in person on his calendar."

"Great. Can't wait to break this to him," Ben walked out of the room with the beer bottle at his lips.

Mae closed the oven door, and looked at Adam. "And the reason Christian, Ed and Francis can't meet the Zamboni guy is?"

He looked at her. "They all have to be on job sites early. Francis is the only one who isn't crucial out there at the moment short of being in the hospital, but he has work to do for the Department of Transportation. It's a partnership we need to foster. Damien's our resident desk jockey. Besides, the Zamboni guy is a friend of his. He can take care of it."

"Ahh," she said. She lifted the lid on a pot of veggies that were steaming on the stove. "Thought maybe he was in the doghouse or something."

"Not today." Adam turned to her. "He actually got a proposal out the door this afternoon after working late last night."

Mae put a hand on a hip, and cocked her head. "Damien's the proposal guy, too?"

Adam shrugged. "More or less. After he finished his Ph.D., that was a better spot for him."

The distinctive buzzing of a cell phone came from the counter behind him.

Damn. "Umm, that's mine," Mae said as she reached behind him to grab her phone. She looked at the caller ID, and sent the call straight to voicemail. Damn. Did her mother have all of her siblings on a phone tree calling her?

"Who's Finn?" Adam asked from above her head.

"Excuse me?" She looked up at him wondering at his hard tone.

"Who's Finn?" he asked again very deliberately.

There was a sudden tension about him that disturbed Mae. His face gave away nothing, but the easy company chemistry they had been sharing was gone.

She swallowed before saying, "One of my brothers." When Adam lifted a brow, she continued, "They've been calling all afternoon, one after the other." She plopped the phone back on the counter, and turned back to the oven to pull the chickens out, and put them on the butcher's block to rest a bit before she carved them. "I think my mom must have put them up to it."

"Put them up to what?" he asked, the tension about him undiminished, his tone gently unyielding.

She concentrated on the chickens. "Trying to talk me into leaving St. Louis and moving in with one of them. Maybe even going to work for my brother Connor who owns an adhesives business in Arkansas."

"And you don't want to do that?"

Mae looked into his eyes, and said, "No, I don't."

She went back to the refrigerator, and pulled a container of cleaned lettuce out to dump into the salad bowl waiting on the counter.

"Any particular reason why not?" Adam asked, more tension coiling around him like a rattlesnake.

She shrugged. "I hate offices. I think you know that."

"So you said, but if you were working for your brother-"

"No." Even she heard the finality in her voice. "It just is not a good idea."

She watched Adam consider her with narrowed eyes. "How much conflict is there in your family?"

Wow. That was fast for an engineer to catch. Mae thought about how to explain the Jones clan to this man who led a pack of brothers who moved together, worked together, and played together like they were one body. "I wouldn't call it conflict."

"Then what would you call it?"

She looked into his compelling eyes and tried not to sound bitter. "I'd call it running from home." That was honest at least.

"Why?" The question rang like a shot.

"Because that's what they all did," she said pulling a knife from the block, and whacking at the first chicken. She forced herself not to hack it into pieces. Adam didn't move. "Every last one of them, including my mother, left town like there was a pack of hyenas on their heels." She took a swing at the joint holding the drumstick to the carcas. "And they used every excuse out there to escape, too." She started slicing breast meat, forcing herself to calm down.

"Why do you think they did that?" he asked, his voice unyielding. But...was that interest she heard in the inflection?

She looked up into his compelling eyes, and said, "Because she encouraged it."

"Who encouraged what?" he asked much more gently.

"My mother." Mae faced the chicken, turned the carcass around, and started on the other side. "She is convinced that the world is Kansas, and we all really belong in Oz, climbing corporate ladders, and pleasing customers and clients as if we were men behind a curtain granting wishes." As she sliced, she felt Adam's gaze bore into her. "For me, there's no place like home." She started in on the second chicken. "I guess I should be grateful that at least she isn't here to badger me anymore, but all my siblings, my nieces and nephews, all of them are somewhere else." She hoped that didn't sound as pathetic to his ears as it did to hers. She finished slicing the meat off the bones, and tried to ignore the big, disturbing man who drew her to him like a moth to a flame. She really didn't want to burden him with her family problems.

She knew he was still looking at her when she took the roasting pan to the stove. "While I'm working on the gravy, would you let the boys know dinner is ready?"

He didn't move for a few moments. She felt him watch her stir flour into the pan drippings. "Sure." He moved behind her, slid an arm around her middle, kissed her temple and said, "I'll do that," before disappearing into the house.

A few hours later, Adam leaned back on the bench in his personal steam shower in his very own custom bathroom, and breathed in the water vapor as deeply as his lungs would allow. He closed his eyes, and let the deep, intense, and inevitable feeling he'd been avoiding for the past two days wash over him.

Mae turned his head.

Dammit.

Really turned his head.

Dammit.

Not only had she turned his head, but he wanted to actually hear about her problems with her family.

Dammit.

If he was really honest about it, he didn't really want to deal with the problems with his own family let alone someone else's, and yet he stood and listened while she told him of her family's abandoning her for greener pastures.

Adam took another deep breath and blew it out. He thought about the possessive, jealous tension that seized him when he saw another man's name on her caller ID. Finn. Her brother. Since they hadn't exactly swapped family histories just yet, he didn't know that all of her siblings' names were Irish.

He did now. He had to ask her what her siblings' names were. Drag them out of her was more like it. But they were all Irish - and one he recognized after he started researching who they were. Her brother Quin worked with the brewery in distribution. And he was good at it, too.

All the same, he really didn't like the instinctive jealousy that came over him when he saw Finn's name on her phone.

Dammit.

Adam shifted a little on the bench.

What he did like, though, now that he was taking the time to analyze it, was how his brothers accepted her as a member of the household, even if she was an employee... Employee? Get real, Pernoud, he thought. She wasn't just an employee, and you know it. And yet.... She'd only been with them for two days. Why did it feel like so much more?

Maybe because he knew she would be there when he got home, a beautiful, open partner who cared enough to ask why Christian, Ed, or Francis couldn't wait for the Zamboni guy rather than Damien tomorrow morning. No one else would have dared asked him that. Everyone knew he was head of the family. Directives were not questioned. Only Ben ever made moves before passing them by him.

Maybe it was because she challenged him to pay more attention to his home life. After dinner, she told him she had spent the day detailing a budget based on last year's expenses that he didn't even know how they got paid all the time. She seemed rather proud of that. She should be if she managed to actually make sense of the mess in that office. He promised to go over it in the next week after she got all the payments untangled, and some sort of a spreadsheet put together.

Maybe she felt more like a member of the family since she reminded all the brothers present at dinner that tomorrow the house was going to be cleaned by a professional team, and that they needed to pick up their rooms before morning. No one since their mother disappeared had done that. Not even him. It unleashed a flurry of cursing, and a whole lot of after dinner pre-cleaning cleaning, and laundry carrying before the boys crashed, which was quite entertaining. At least for him.

Since their mother had insisted they learn, they all knew the basics of household chores, and none of them complained. Well, at least not too much. Adam smiled to himself when he found out Mae had picked up his room during the day. She just hadn't gotten to any of the others. Ha. Being the oldest did have some benefits.

After all that had transpired in the last two days, what he wasn't sure he liked was that the boys picked up on his attraction to her before he did. Or that it happened so fast. Well, at all, really. He wasn't exactly ready to give up the life he loved to be besotted and ruled by his manhood, even if it was the Pernoud male destiny, and he had been expecting it for years.

After college, when all the women in his circle just saw his address and nothing more, he basically quit paying attention, and gave up watching for the one who would turn his head knowing that the lady in question would eventually surface. After their parents disappeared and suddenly he had a lot more responsibility, he didn't even bother to think about it.

Mae was not what he was expecting, exactly. Body hidden by power clothes, and a saucy attitude. Oh, well. She turned his head. Done deal. After he got close enough to feel her curves this evening, he knew the wait was over.

She really didn't expect anything from him other than a paycheck for a job well done - she made that clear \- but she didn't slap him or claim harassment before Ben interrupted them, either.

Adam shifted on the bench again as his body reacted to the memory.

Now what to do about it....

Chapter 5

The next evening, Mae ladled a bowl of homemade baked potato soup for herself and wearily made her way to the kitchen table where Adam and the boys were waiting for her to sit before they started to eat. She took her seat at the end of the table and looked up. Adam's eyes were on her. He wasn't exactly happy, and it seemed to be directed at her. Although, she couldn't imagine why. The house was clean. She put in just as many hours as they did today. She knew she looked just as whipped as she felt. At that point, she really didn't care. She did her job.

The day had gone like clockwork, sort of, starting at the crack of dawn yet again, as the cleaning service people were due at seven, and she had wanted to be at the door when they arrived. The boys had pretty much cleaned out all the eggs this morning, and someone had eaten the leftover chicken from last night for breakfast, so she had had to go out to the grocery store leaving Damien in charge as he worked from home waiting for Jeff to get there with the parts for the Zamboni, which still wasn't fixed since Jeff found more parts that needed replacing.

Since she had primarily worked for others, Mae never realized how exhausting supervising really was. She had walked up and down the stairs countless times directing traffic, at one point having to stop the cleaning crew from reassembling all the furniture in the guest suite. She needed to talk to Adam before making any decisions in that regard. Now that the cleaning was done, the house sparkled and all of Mrs. Pernoud's Persian rugs were rolled up in the parlor waiting for the carpet cleaners to pick them up early next week, and for some reason Adam wasn't happy. She really wondered if she should be worried about that.

Right now, though, all Mae wanted was dinner and her bed.

Of course, it wasn't that simple.

After grace, Ben broke the bad news. "They're talking freezing rain for the morning." He shoved a spoonful of chili in his mouth.

Adam dunked his own spoon in the bowl in front of him, moving worried eyes from her to his brother. "Have you tuned into the local weather guys? The national people have been missing lately," he asked.

"The local guys ARE the ones saying freezing rain," Christian chimed in. "Turning to snow tomorrow. I've already contacted my crew. Will start the phone chain at six depending on conditions."

"May as well just call it." Adam turned back to Ben and asked, "Ben?"

"Already called it. We can't work over the river if it's going to rain, and the radar is a solid blob from the middle of the state to Montana. Looks like the weekend is shot, too."

Adam's mouth tightened. "How far ahead are you?"

"A couple weeks. We'll be fine." Ben kept eating.

"Ed?" Adam looked at Ed who was shoveling his second bowl of soup in his mouth as quickly as he could.

When Ed swallowed, he looked up, and said, "I just handed Damien the four surveys we finished today."

"And just like that," Damien snapped his fingers, "I'm behind again."

Adam flicked his eyes to Damien, and said to Ed, "How many do you have to go?

"Three if you don't count those big ones on the north side that you've been talking to the mayor about."

Adam didn't hesitate. "Alright, your crew is off tomorrow. Full pay. I'm not risking injuries, and all that equipment when you're ahead. Francis?"

Francis tore a piece of bread from the baguette on the table, and dipped it in his all but empty soup bowl. "Are you kidding? After dinner, I'm headed to the Department of Transportation office to watch the sensors as this freezing rain falls. Somebody may have to rescue me before it starts snowing."

Adam made a face, and dipped his spoon into his baked potato soup. "Gabriel's got another test tomorrow, so he's staying with his buddies in the dorm."

"Buddies in the dorm," scoffed Christian. He pushed his soup bowl to the middle of the table, and started in on the bowl of chili he had waiting. "Try Alicia's place."

Adam stilled. "Alicia?" he asked with raised brows.

Francis and Ed exchanged a look before Francis said, "She works in the library."

Adam's eyes narrowed, and a dangerous air surrounded him. "How long has Gabe been friends with this Alicia?"

A lot of fast eating ensued. Ben said, "You might want to ask Gabe that."

Mae almost felt sorry for Gabriel when Adam said, "I'll do that," in an ominous tone.

She looked into her half empty soup bowl, and her stomach almost heaved. Yes, she was nauseous from being tired, but-

"Mae, have some bread before you throw up into your bowl, and wreck a perfectly delicious dinner," Adam ordered from the other end of the table. Francis tore off a bit of baguette, and handed it to her.

She put a bite in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Sorry, I'm just a bit wiped tonight," she said trying very hard not to sound pathetic in front of men who worked more hours in a day than half the people she knew did in a week.

"That's alright, today's been long for you," Adam said. "The house is sparkling, and we haven't eaten this well in years."

She leaned back in her chair, and let the bread settle a little before tearing off another piece. Looking around the table at six expectant faces, she asked, "So what do you all do on snow days?" She plopped a piece in her mouth, and sound erupted.

"We put the snow plow on Ben's truck-"

"-the Maz doesn't leave the garage, and Adam takes the Explorer-"

"Francis disappears-"

"We lock ourselves upstairs in the office-"

"Pizza-"

Mae looked across the table. Adam put another spoonful of chili in his mouth. He winked at her, and just kept eating.

"Man, this means I have to find a fish fry close. And St. Ferdinand's is tomorrow night, too," came from Ben. "Damn."

"There's one at St. Mary Magdalene every week," said Christian.

"What about Holy Redeemer?" asked Ed.

"Good fish fries, you morons." Ben got up to get himself another bowl of soup. "I'll find something."

"Ben's a little particular about his fish frys," Adam said from across the table, his beautiful, dark probing eyes holding hers.

"Particular?" Christian curled a lip. "Try anal."

"Hey, man," started Ben, pointing his spoon at Christian, "You have zero taste. Seriously." He plopped in his chair, and looked at Mae. "Some of the parishes around here have no idea how long to fry the stuff, AND they use institutionally breaded fish, not homemade."

"I do like a good fish fry," Mae said.

"Ever been to St. Ferdinand's?" Ben asked.

"No, haven't had the chance," Mae said, sneaking a look at Adam. He was watching the exchange with barely veiled interest.

"Then, I'll just have to go up there and get carry out," Ben declared.

Adam chuckled before saying, "As if you needed an excuse."

Ben looked at him, and said, "It's not your Maz that'll be out in the freezing rain and snow."

"Yeah, well it is my Explorer that will be unless you plan on taking your work truck, or the Mercedes, and somehow I doubt that's going to happen," Adam put his napkin on the table, stood, and said, "Mae, come on, I'll walk you to the apartment. You're done for the day." Mae stared a little before looking around at the boys whose faces ranged from sporting smirks to mouths dropping open as they looked at their big brother. "The boys will clean up."

Christian put another spoonful of chili in his mouth, and said with glee, "Go ahead, Mae. Don't worry, we'll clean up."

She looked back to Adam who nodded to the back door with his head. There was nothing for it. Mae rose, went to the counter by the sink, retrieved her cell phone, and walked to the back door Adam held open for her. She ducked under his arm, and into the night. When he closed the door behind them, she said, "This is so embarrassing," before walking as quickly as she could to the stairs.

She heard Adam behind her, and at the bottom of the steps he said, "Whatever you do, don't turn around. We've got an audience."

"How do you know we have an audience?" she asked turning back toward the house. He put an arm around her, and started walking them toward the garage.

"Because I know my brothers, and they are standing at the windows with their noses pressed to the glass."

"All of them?" she asked with alarm.

"Well, maybe not Ben and Christian, but the other three are."

"Oh," she said as they reached the stairs up to the apartment. She started to turn to him to thank him for walking her across the yard when his hand slid to the small of her back to push her up the steps.

"We'll finish this upstairs," he said firmly.

Genuinely confused, Mae looked at him from the first step and said, "Finish what?"

"Talking about what happens around here on snow days," he said looking into her eyes. "And I want to do it without the peanut gallery in the kitchen listening in." With that, he turned her around on the steps, and gave her a gentle push up them.

Mae took a deep breath, sighed, and slowly walked up the steps. She opened the door, flipped on the lights, and kicked off her shoes only to have one of Adam's arms surround her as he shut the door with the other. Before she could think, protest or otherwise move, Adam turned her toward him, and his mouth crashed onto hers. Without a thought, Mae closed her eyes, slid her hands up his arms to cradle the back of his head, and kiss him back. His lips were firm and soft at the same time. They moved with gentle abandon and a light suction over hers.

His arms held her securely when he lifted his head, and put their foreheads together. "I've been dying to do that for two days," he said, sounding not at all repentant.

Mae leaned back, and looked into his uncharacteristically open and yearning eyes before saying, "Is that what you do when it snows?" with as much seriousness as she could muster.

Adam started laughing, and kissed her again, breaking their embrace to lead her to the sofa. He sat at the back of the U, and pulled her down next to him.

"No, that's not what we do, although it would be a pleasant way to pass the time." He looked at her mouth. "Especially with you."

"So, what is it you do on snow days?" she asked turning to face him.

Adam shrugged, and put his arm around her. "After the driveway is cleared off, and if the roads are decent we all usually head to work."

"Really," she said pulling her legs up under her, and shifting close to him. Wow, that musk coming from him was spicy tonight. "I got the impression that there was something other than work going on."

"Well," he said plopping his feet on the ottoman, "it depends on what day of the week the snow strikes. Since this one's coming on a Friday night, there will be a fight to get to the hot tub as soon as all the work we can do from home gets done. The big issue for tomorrow, though, is the ice. No one's going anywhere until the roads are at least passable - and that includes you." He ordered.

Mae looked up at him. "You sit in the hot tub while it snows?"

"Sure, why not?" His big, strong warm hand on her hip settled her more firmly against his side. "We've got a canopy we put up over it. So long as there is no lightning, we're good."

She rested her weight against him. "And the snow isn't too heavy for the canopy?"

Adam looked at her, and crooked a brow. "We're engineers. That was taken into account when we built it."

"Right," she said somehow understanding that she should know that. "So why did you come up here with me, and don't say it was to talk about what happens on snow days."

Adam's eyes narrowed, and he slid that big, warm hand up and down her side. "Let's just say, I wanted to talk to you about something other than the house."

"You do?" Mae asked with surprise. "I mean you hired me-"

"I know what I did," Adam said. His hand on her side flinched. "I also know that there is a lot more to your story than you've said, or what was on your resume and LinkedIn page."

Mae leaned back as much as his arm would allow. She swallowed before saying, "I can do this job."

Adam didn't hesitate. "You've proven that already in spades. But that isn't what I want to know."

"Then what?" she asked, confused. "I'm your employee-"

"And I'm grateful for you not slapping a sexual harassment suit on me," he said.

Mae felt her eyes narrow. Harassment? Was it harassment when she was enjoying the attentions? "I'm not sure what to say to that."

Adam moved his hand down to her hip to knead some more. "I'm not going to take advantage of you."

"And yet you're sitting on my couch, halfway giving me a massage." Adam's brow cocked at her. "Alright it's your couch, but this is the space you offered me," she said. Really, he was invading the space she wanted to use to keep distance between them. Not that she felt like complaining at the moment. Uh-oh.

"Yes, it is," he nodded, "and I've already heard it from the boys since this apartment has a better bathroom than both of theirs."

Huh? "What do you mean a better bathroom?" The boys wanted her tub?

Adam sighed, and leaned back taking her with him. "I actually had this apartment outfitted for myself when it looked like we were close to finding our parents a few years ago. The steam shower was built from the same blueprints as mine was."

Mae bit her lip while she digested that. No mention of her beloved tub with the jets, and the toilet with a heated seat. Guys just have different priorities, she thought. "You obviously never found your parents."

"No, we never did," he said, absently rubbing circles on her hip. "The trail went cold in India."

"What were they doing in India?" She plopped an elbow on his chest, and leaned her chin on her hand.

"Every so many years my dad needed to tour the family businesses. I do it now, but not all at once like he did." He stopped talking, and reached to take her hand resting on his chest in his free one. "There's a couple enterprises in India that are left from the French colonial period."

"Ahh," she said.

"There were also some other little companies in the Far East that I've since sold off. Somewhere on the tour between them, Mom and Dad disappeared."

She slumped onto him some more. "How long ago was that?"

"About thirteen years. Gabriel was just finishing sixth grade."

"And so you were left to raise him through high school?"

"Yep. It put a serious cramp in my style, too." Adam laced their fingers together. "Ben had just finished his masters at Michigan, and Christian and Damien were still up in Ann Arbor. Ed started that fall. Francis was going into high school." He squeezed her hand. "I had the boys, and the company, and no legal right to lead any of it. Our lawyers' fees to deal with all of the paperwork were outrageous."

Mae let that sink in. Wow. "That's a lot of responsibility to be dumped in your lap."

"Yep," Adam agreed. "Dumped is the right word." He shook his head. "We had to wait years to have Mom and Dad declared legally dead. In the meantime, I had to get guardianship of Francis and Gabriel, and control of Dad's main American company even if he did leave me with power of attorney and signing privileges on the bank accounts. The old family holding firm, Savoy International, was going to vote in another chairman, but since I managed to get controlling interest of stock, that didn't happen."

"If your dad had multiple companies, though, wouldn't you need to get control over all of them?"

He looked at their joined hands. "Yes and no. The ones not in the United States were not an issue. Other governments are not nearly so restrictive, especially since my name was on the board, and I am the first heir."

"So do you still own them?"

"Almost all, yes," he nodded. "And my good American brothers have a hard time remembering that."

Mae smiled a little. Wow. He was far more loaded than she thought. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Adam looked her in the eye and said, "Your brothers and sisters."

Mae inhaled and held her breath. "What do you want to know about them?"

"Why they really all left St. Louis." Well, that was direct.

"I told you. They left largely because our mother is convinced our fortunes are to be made elsewhere."

Adam narrowed his eyes, and didn't say anything.

Mae felt compelled to try to explain again. "My mother worked for the May Company on the retail floors. She made her living by commission." Adam remained silent. "After our father walked away-"

"Your father walked out, and left a wife and nine kids behind?" he exclaimed, clearly horrified.

Mae looked into his outraged face, and said, "More or less." She looked down at their linked hands, and continued, "They married young, and both worked a lot of hours to keep us all together." Adam's thumb started to move on the back of her hand. "Dad wanted to step out a bit after so many years of sacrifice." She felt the old resentment start to surface, and forcibly tamped it down. "One night, he had been to the bars, and had too much...and stepped in front of a bus."

She felt his hand flex. "Go on," he said.

Mae wasn't sure what he wanted from her, but she picked up the story. "I was a senior in high school at the time. Mom was working a lot of hours since Dad hadn't been around to make any more of us." She looked into his eyes. "He always said it was what they did when they got bored."

Adam's look was hard. "No offense, Mae, but it sounds like your father was an ass."

"Oh, he was." Mae nodded a little. "As a kid, you learn to get over it and survive," she said point blank.

"So, you were a senior in high school, and-"

"And I went to work at one of the universities for the tuition benefit. Dad was union, and my parents had saved cash as they went along, so with scholarship help, Mom was able to put everyone through Catholic high school." She leaned into his shoulder, and the arm around her pulled her tighter. "Just about everybody, but me left town during college if they went to college. Quin went to Chicago, and didn't look back. Connor went to Arkansas, and started working for his girlfriend's dad's shop which he now runs, and owns a majority stake."

"Did he marry the girlfriend?"

"Yes, and not happily. It was a 'have to' situation."

"Ahh."

"They fight constantly."

"My brothers and I fight constantly."

"Yeah, but you and the boys love each other. Connor and his wife don't exactly. There's a difference."

She felt Adam take a deep breath and blow it out. "That's only two siblings."

Mae looked up at him, "Do you really want to hear the whole list? I mean, we're scattered everywhere."

Adam looked into her eyes, and said, "Not if you don't want to go into it."

Suddenly Mae felt incredibly tired. "Not tonight, if you don't mind. My sister Siobhan tried to guilt me into moving in with her to raise her twins for her this afternoon, and I'm feeling less than charitable since the snake oil salesman who sired them thinks marriage is beneath him, and the kids are his accessories."

She felt him shake his head. "I take it she needs help." His hand started caressing her hip.

"It's her own fault she's overwhelmed. She and the snake oil salesman are in Seattle, and not one member of the family is anywhere close."

"Seattle?"

"Don't ask."

"They can't afford domestic help?"

"With a three thousand square foot house, and a pool, probably not."

Adam shook his head again. "Is everyone out of college or working at least?"

"Everybody but Aiden and Brianna. They're in St. Augustine with Mom."

"And she wants you to move down there with them."

"And give up world class culture, pork steaks, and all the things I love to do other than the beach? Yes."

She felt Adam's head shake yet again. "Did you tell her about working for me?"

"Yes, and I got an earful."

"An earful of what?"

"She thinks I can - you'll love this - do better."

"How?" came the incredulous question. On him, it was more honest than arrogant.

Mae screwed up her face and started in a nasal impression of the grating St. Louis accent. "You need a full-time job with benefits, and a retirement plan. And it doesn't look right that you're living with them."

"You didn't tell her what I'm paying you, did you?"

"You haven't told me what you're paying me," she retorted.

"Oh, sorry about that." He named a figure far larger than anything she ever made in any job in an office.

"Is that the going rate?" she asked.

"No idea," he said. "But with you having been an executive assistant, and understanding how to do real budget financials, and not having to pay a cook, it's worth it." He kissed her temple. "Plus, the chandeliers are finally dust free."

Mae pulled away a bit to look him in the eye. His face didn't give away his thoughts, but she knew there had to be more going on behind those fathomless pools of black than just questions about her family.

"To be honest," she said. "I think there are some ways the household budget can be trimmed."

Adam grinned, and said, "Mae you don't have to make this household fit into a combined sales clerk and laborer's salary. We're the definition of filthy rich."

She sat up straighter. "My dad was a plumber," she said. "It is a decent trade."

His hand moved on her side again. "No need to be indignant about it. Plumbers have knowledge that regular people just don't."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts," Adam said covering her mouth with a hand. "You mentioned that you like culture. Have you seen the new exhibit at the art museum yet?"

The topic switch jarred her. He seemed genuinely curious. "Just like that you change topics?" she asked snapping her fingers.

"Since you are off the clock at the moment, yes," he said. "If we're stuck here with ice tomorrow, we'll talk about the household then. Now, have you seen the new exhibit at the art museum?" He cocked a brow.

Mae watched his face as she said, "The one on futuristic early 20th century art?"

His eyes lit. "Yes," he said with enthusiasm.

She felt her face smile before she said, "I haven't had the chance."

"Ahh, good," he pulled her back into his side. "They've been after me to donate for a bit. I'll have Gayle set up a private tour for us."

"Us?" She looked up at his face from against his chest.

"Yes, us. You and me. After the rest of your stuff is moved next week." He linked their hands together again.

"Why after?"

"Because all I've seen you wear has been a power suit and workout clothes, and you need something other than that to wear on a private tour of the art museum."

"Oh," she said, a little disappointed.

"This apartment also needs more of you in it. Right now there's too much of me, and it's a bit stark."

He turned his head, and laid his lips on hers again, exploring, searching, with just a little suction. She slid her arms up his, and clung to his neck as he moved his mouth on hers, gently opening her lips, and softly touching them with his tongue. She reached out to his tongue with hers, and his arms tightened as their mouths fused, entwined with a deep kiss that sent fire to her veiled femininity. Her fingers threaded into his hair when he moved a hand to her lower back to pull her even closer. Her head fell back. Adam slid an open mouth down the side of her cheek to her neck and began nibbling. Mae felt her legs begin to open on their own accord. The throbbing between them threatened to undo her. She turned her face into his neck, inhaled the spicy, musky scent of his skin and a breathless "Adam," slipped from between her lips.

"Mmmm," he moaned, biting a little harder.

"Adam, we need to-" Mae quit talking when his tongue touched a particularly sensitive place behind her ear.

"We need to what?" he asked, moving so that she could sit astride him.

Mae felt the heat between her legs, and a power she could not name as he pulled the scrunchie out of her hair, and spread it over her shoulders. His eyes smoldered as she felt them devour her. His hands cradled her neck. His fingers threaded along her scalp. Mae's eye lids were heavy as she leaned forward, and touched her lips to his for a soft, sweet moment.

Gently, he cradled her back, and put some distance between them, breathing a little heavily. "You were saying we need to?"

Mae sighed and closed her eyes. She didn't want to end this. She really didn't. The sensations were too delicious, but...

She opened her eyes to see the crooked smile, and flopping piece of hair that gave him that rakish look she already loved.

"You really want to stop?" he asked softly.

"No," she said before she could stop herself. "But, um...."

Adam smiled in silent laughter she could feel with him between her thighs.

"But we need to," he said.

Mae blinked and nodded, miserable.

Adam did start laughing then, and pulled her to him for a quick, hard kiss. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, standing and letting her body slide down his to the floor. On the way down, Mae felt things on his body no unmarried woman should. He took her hand, and headed for the door, turning to her when he reached it, "For now." He put an arm around her and pulled her close for another kiss. "Good night. Lock the door behind me."

With that, he walked out into the night.

Chapter 6

Adam woke to the sound of ice pellets hitting his window. He threw an arm over his eyes, and thought about the sleet and freezing rain that woke him a few hours earlier. At two in the morning, knowing there was not a darn thing he could do about it, he had done the great Midwestern rollover, and went back to sleep.

At the moment, though, it was not quite six, and he needed to contact the office staff and tell them to stay home. Nothing was so important that his people needed to risk driving on ice. Not today.

Rather reluctantly, since it was warm under his comforter, and he had been enjoying a lovely dream where he was exploring Mae in ways he couldn't last night, he reached an arm out from under the covers, and turned on the bedside lamp before getting up, and padding to his bathroom in his boxers and an undershirt. He went through his morning duties and routine, and marveled at clean bath towels, a clean bathroom rug, and the fresh scent of some kind of antiseptic that assured him the thousands he spent yesterday to have the house all but fumigated was money well spent.

Adam was glad Mae had arranged it.

No sooner did her name cross his mind, and his body reacted again with the memory of her in his arms last night. Painfully, but a good type of pain. He stuck a toothpaste laden brush in his mouth, and started to gently scrub.

Mae had looked so fragile and tired sitting at the kitchen table trying to eat last night. His heart constricted as he thought about how long the day was for her and that his brothers - who had all put in ten to twelve hours at work, but they did that all the time - had done nothing domestic all day. The dishes would not hurt them even if they did complain about it when he came back into the house last night.

The truth was, Adam had intended on taking Mae up to the apartment, and just saying goodnight, but the sight of sleepy blue eyes, her slightly askew ponytail, and clinging work-out clothes that hugged every curve she possessed was just too overwhelming. He had to touch her. And those lips.... The longer he knew her the more soft and lush and plump and inviting they became. Once he discovered her eyes could dance with laughter, he wanted so badly to make them dance, not struggle with fatigue like they did yesterday. And so Adam stayed with her for a while last night, and asked questions about the one topic that still confused him - her family.

Adam spit out spent toothpaste, and rinsed his mouth before splashing water in his face and washing it, forgoing a shave for the day. He thought about how much of a muddle his head was when he walked from the garage to the house last night. He was more than a little aroused from their kisses, and at the same time, he had wanted to find her father's grave, dig him up and put a fist through what was left of him for putting his wife and children through the double hells of life with him and without him. He had opened the basement door, spotted Damien parked on the couch reading an engineering journal, and without thinking barked at him to serve as lifeguard while he worked off his frustration in the resistance wave pool – hence, no need to take a shower this morning. His hair was still damp.

Adam walked back into his bedroom, and stole a look out the window to the apartment. Perfectly dark. Good. Mae should sleep in, and they could go over whatever household issues they needed to discuss later. She had been up at dawn every day this week. Whatever she had could wait. Not like anyone was actually going to brave the elements today. Driving on ice.... Yeah, no.

He opened his closet door to grab clothes, and for once noticed all the empty space on the side he wasn't using. The closet had been designed when his parents were the occupants of the room, and the extra shelves and drawers had held his mother's wardrobe. Wonder if Mae's belongings would fit in here, he thought.

That stopped him. Mae move in with him? Yeah, his brothers teased him about her turning his head, which he now freely admitted had happened, and, yeah, their kisses last night were more than fantastic, but give up being a bachelor and not answering to anybody?

Ben was right. He'd have to seriously get used to the idea of sharing not just kisses, but his entire life.

That was the one thing he knew would be difficult to accomplish, even if he knew he had already fallen for her.

Adam thrust his legs into the first pair of cargo pants he could find, and grabbed a long sleeved polo from a hanger. He was in the process of pulling it over his head when he noticed the pop up laundry hampers lined up against the back wall of the closet. Each had a label: underwear, dress shirts, reds, colored t-shirts, and "everything else." Adam chuckled to himself. Mae was organized alright. The engineer in him had to appreciate her having him presort his laundry. He played along, took the pile of clothes from yesterday, and sorted them according to her scheme. May as well help her out when he could.

After he put on a pair of old, comfy driving mocs, Adam walked down the stairs, and turned toward the kitchen by way of the dining room. He smelled coffee before he reached the end of the butler's pantry, and wondered if Mae had actually gotten up since he knew she hadn't set the pot last night. Anticipation clenched somewhere around his solar plexus.

Disappointment hit him smack on his breast bone when he walked through the doorway to find Ben sitting at the kitchen table sporting bed head in navy plaid flannel pajama pants, an old Cardinals long-sleeved t-shirt, and socks. He was staring at his laptop with a cup of coffee cradled in one hand, and his feet crossed on a chair.

"Who made the coffee?" Adam asked as he reached for a cup.

"Good morning to you, too," said Ben without lifting his eyes from the computer.

Adam poured himself a cup, and took a sip. Mmm.... Just like Mae made it.

"Mae showed me how much to put in," Ben said taking a slurp himself.

"Ahh," Adam said, looking at his brother. "I'm going to go call Gayle, and the HR people. Office is closed today. There's no sense in inviting trouble."

"Great," Ben said. "Once I'm done approving time sheets, what do we have on tap?"

"Well," Adam sipped some more coffee, "we could help Damien catch up, although I've got Savoy stuff to do. Mae's been after me to look at the household stuff, I guess we can do that."

A corner of Ben's mouth lifted with a silent laugh, "Have you admitted you're toast yet?"

Adam felt an eyebrow go up. "No," was his emphatic answer even if he knew deep down he was toasted like a marshmallow on a s'more.

Ben just shook his head with a smile on his face and said, "You don't need me to talk to Mae about the household. Just let me know what my share of the expenses is when she figures it out."

Adam topped off his coffee cup. "Have you turned on the sidewalk heaters? It's slick out there."

Ben looked up and said, "Slipped my mind." Adam saw him grin out of the corner of his eye when he strode to the back door, opened a control panel, and flipped on all the sidewalk heaters from the house to the garage. Couldn't have Mae falling on the ice her first week.

Adam turned back to the room, scowled at his brother's smirk, and walked in the direction of his sanctuary. "I'll be in my office if any of you heathens need me."

Mae stood at the kitchen table carefully sorting all the household paperwork she could find. What a mess, she thought. So far as she could tell, no one had paid any attention to the details of household expenses for at least five years. She put a bank statement in the correct pile among the dozen or so she had in front of her. Someone along the line had set up online banking with automated utility payments, and cash was going into the household checking account from at least five of the boys' personal accounts. Whoever set it up had just left it. Fortunately, the last year's bills were on top of the pile of paper. She had taken care of all of that on Wednesday. Now, she was into the historical stuff.

She sighed as she picked up the closest pile of paper, and sat down to put the stack in chronological order.

This morning, when she woke, daylight had broken, but there was no sun with the storm over head. She had looked out her French door windows leading to the balcony, saw Ben's truck and no sign that anyone had left the house. There was a glaze of ice covering every surface in sight. At that point, she knew once she made it to the house today, there was not going to be any easy crossing back and forth over to the apartment for short trips like she had done most of the week. She was going to have to plan to spend the day over there. She had crossed her arms, and had started to consider what the day would bring with all of them under one roof.

Since Adam had assured her the boys did not need her to make breakfast, and she was positive they would all take advantage of not working today and sleep in, Mae had gone over to her kitchenette, made herself a cup of tea and her own breakfast before padding to the computer desk, and reading through the morning news. It was all about the storm, the ice, ice turning to snow, stay off the roads, et cetera, et cetera. The usual winter storm drill.

Since she had the household office to tackle today, and quite a bit of laundry still to do, Mae took her tea to her bedroom, and got ready to go to "work." What to wear...she had thought about what Adam had said about her wardrobe the night before - that he'd only seen her in workout clothes - so she chose a long, heavy denim skirt to layer over leggings with a teal blue cowl necked sweater over a cami. Last night, Adam had taken down her ponytail, and run his fingers through her hair, so she brushed it out and left it long secured only with a thin, black headband. She had put on simple street makeup, and a pair of silver tear-drop earrings.

Better than workout clothes. Not so conspicuous, or ostentatious as actual flirt clothes, but casual. Real casual. And decently feminine. For what it was worth working for a filthy rich confirmed bachelor who kissed with all his heart, and all his soul. Right this second, she couldn't decide if she should care just in case it was simply a heat of the moment thing last night. Sure, he was attractive and attentive, but was this all real? It was too soon to tell.

She had donned her squall jacket from the peg beside the door, and once she was wearing gloves to protect her hands in case she fell, and a pair of shoes with treads that should help her stay on her feet as she made her way across to the house, she opened her door, and found the ice from the apartment across the basement patio melted with no sign of salt or other chemicals. Nothing else was clear of ice, just the path from door to door.

Pulling herself back to the present, Mae sighed as she remembered that this house was full of surprises. Heated sidewalks should have been a given. She put down the stack of bank statements which were now reasonably in order, and picked up the stack of natural gas bills.

Once she had crossed over from the apartment and was in the basement, she had stopped in the laundry room to start a load before heading up to the office. Earlier in the week, she had bought each of the boys a set of hampers in different colors so she could tell them apart. A load of somebody's work pants was filling with water when she walked smack into Ed as she left the room to get her coat off the sofa. He was in workout clothes, and had stopped to investigate the sound of water running before going into the weight room to lift. After apologizing profusely, he and Christian, who was waiting in the basement den, disappeared.

Once the gas bills were in order, Mae started on electric. Wow, there was a lot of paper to organize.

She had reached the deserted kitchen to find the coffee pot pretty much empty, and the burner still hot. As usual. That had produced a noxious smell that still somewhat permeated the room. What was it about these guys who could not turn off a coffee burner when the pot was empty? Just in case, she made half a pot of fresh, and was rewarded when Ed showed up for a cup followed by Christian, Damien and Ben.

Adam, though, hadn't come into the kitchen the entire time she was sorting the bills.

Mae tried to tamp down the disappointment. She put down the electric bills, and picked up water. Oh my, were those bills high, she thought. And somehow, they got paid on time. Every time. Must be nice to have the money to be able to afford all the basics and four pools, and not think twice. She stopped herself from thinking that way. The reality was these guys didn't really have to think about saving money where they could. It was something, though, that was a reality in her life for her entire life. Just another reminder of how different she and Adam were.

Mae sighed. What was she doing, dressing casually in something sort of feminine during an ice storm that could knock out electricity to most of the neighborhood given the number of trees in this town? Argh! Just because her incredibly gorgeous boss mentioned that he had never seen her in anything other than workout clothes, she dolled up? Even if it was just a long denim skirt and a sweater?

She shook her head, put down the water bills, got up, and refilled her water glass. She was nuts if she thought anything serious would happen between her and Adam. He was the epitome of confirmed bachelor, and the entire city knew it – including her. He hadn't publicly sworn off marriage, but the word on the street and in the executive assistant circles was he was impossible to pin down. Mae wasn't going to change that. At least she didn't think she would. He was too comfortable being a bachelor, and change like settling down into married life, that serious, that fundamental, had to come from inside.

Whatever. At this point, she didn't know what to make of all of it, but at least she had a job, a roof over her head, and benefits.

Mae rolled her head a little, and headed to the basement to change the laundry loads. As long as she was living at the Pernouds, and couldn't make it into the city to her other apartment to get more clothes, she was just going to have to wash what she had with her in order to have clean underwear at the very least. At the moment, her delicates were in the washer, and needed to be hung to dry.

She was pinning one of the last pairs of panties to the new drying rack she bought for the house when she felt a presence behind her. Whirling around, and clutching a pair of pink lace boy shorts to her bust, Mae stopped dead. Adam was in the doorway, more gorgeous than usual with a sexy shadow of beard, and just as comfortable in his casual way. He gaped at the garment in her hands with his mouth hanging open.

Uh-oh.

Adam stood in the doorway of the laundry room and could not help but stare. He was used to the boys' clothes hanging in the room - haphazardly - but not a woman's unmentionables, and certainly not lace panties, and, uh, bras. And most assuredly not sheer, wispy garments that made a man's mouth water.

He felt his manhood stir.

He took in the sight of Mae with her beautiful, long hair flowing down her shoulders, and wearing something other than workout clothes. Lovely didn't quite say it. Sweet didn't either, although the skirt and top were too modest and casual to be called stunning. They were far less revealing than workout clothes. It didn't change the allure for him. She could be wearing a set of that lacy, sexy lingerie encasing those lovely curves under it, he thought. His tongue automatically going to his lower lip. That she took care with her appearance today struck him. When they would all be stuck together during a winter storm, she wore something other than comfy leisure or work-out clothes.

He'd have to mull that over later.

"Uh, sorry about this, Adam," she stammered drawing his attention to her face, "but with the storm, I can't go back to my place to-"

Seriously, Adam thought, was she wearing a pair of those nice, feminine panties under that skirt? Were they pink, like that lacy pair? Or sheer charcoal like the ones hanging from the drying rack? Black, maybe? He shuddered and noticed that her mouth was moving. What was she babbling about? "Mae, relax," he said, trying not to let his thoughts stray past what underwear was her favorite. "I just came looking to see if you were ready to go over the household stuff. I need a break from company financials, and Savoy proposals." Her hands were wringing those really intriguing pink panties. Dammit. He just had his body under control.

"Oh," she said, visibly relieved. She turned to pin the garment to the drying rack, and said, "I know I shouldn't be so presumptuous using your washer and dryer-"

"Why not?" he asked, genuinely confused. She lived here didn't she?

Mae peeked over her shoulder and said, "Well, I'm your employee, and room and board doesn't mean-"

Adam felt his head shake and said, "Mae, so long as you are with us, whatever is here in the house is yours to use. I'll give you access to my computer at some point, and probably the vault. The only thing I ask is that you don't swim in any of the pools alone, or lift weights without a spotter. We have strict rules about that. Don't want any accidents." Especially not with her. He had been waiting a long time.

Her hands stilled as she put the last clothespin in place. "I can understand that." She bent to pick up the clothes basket at her feet and gave him a view that he would remember in his dreams. Yep, the curves were still under that skirt. He groaned silently to himself.

"Great," he said, needing desperately to take his mind off what might be and definitely was under that skirt. "I noticed that you have been working on the household office-"

She turned to face him with her hands on her hips. "It was a mess."

He felt that recrimination to his toes, and rocked back on his heels. She might be a pretty termagant, but she was still a termagant. Didn't change the appeal for him. "It looked neat enough."

"Neat is one thing. All that paper in the right files is something else," she informed him in a no nonsense tone. "That's what I've been working on. I still need to reconcile the last couple years, too."

Thank God for her having been an executive assistant, he thought to himself. Not that he really cared about household finances, but it did need attention. "Okay, do you think you can get that done sometime today?"

"Maybe," she said shrugging. "There's a lot of movement in that checking account. And according to the most recent bank statement, there's quite a bit of cash in it even after paying for the house cleaning yesterday."

Adam didn't see that as a problem since he had picked up that most recent bank statement from the top of the pile and saw the figure. Most of the month's excess would be taken up with her salary, and pool maintenance when they got the outdoor pool ready for summer.

"Tell you what," he said, trying not to look at her sheer and lacy panties hanging from the drying rack, so that she would not be embarrassed by what his little friend thought of her underwear, "I have a few other emails to catch up on, and another set of financials from one of the overseas companies to go through. Come grab me when you're ready to go through the household stuff."

"And hire a couple of maids," she reminded him.

Adam felt his face split into a smile. "That one's up to you." Hiring maids was not his thing. Obviously. She fired his choices.

"Just a couple of days a week," she said quickly. "Well, for now anyway. Ideally, at least one live in would be helpful."

He visibly shuddered at the thought of live-in domestics, and felt his face harden.

Mae's eyes narrowed. "I don't think you really want a live-in maid."

"You got that right. I'll live with it if I have to, but you can always get the service to come back."

She shook her head. "Maybe in the fall before the holidays, but more than twice a year is a bit much, don't you think?"

Adam shrugged. "This estate used to have a cook, a housekeeper, two maids and a butler all living in the main house. That doesn't count the horse grooms, drivers, and gardeners who used to live over the garage. Anything less than that is a bargain." He turned to escape before he gave into the temptation to check and see what she was wearing under her skirt and sweater. "I'll be in my office. Come get me when you're ready." With that he fled, taking the steps to the first floor two at a time.

Chapter 7

Mae stood at the stove stirring homemade tomato soup, and tried to make sense of the man she called boss. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear he ran from her when they were in the laundry room. That was not what she envisioned happening when had dolled up this morning.

She picked up a spatula, flipped over the second batch of grilled cheese sandwiches she was making for lunch, and contemplated the conversation that left her unsettled. So long as she was there, whatever was in the house was hers to use. So long as she was there.... Did that mean he anticipated she would be there a while? A long while or a short while? Weeks? Months? Years, maybe? Her gut clenched. How could she survive living under his roof with this attraction, and his attentions knowing she would be leaving at some point in the future?

Taking a deep breath, she opened the oven door, carefully added the newly golden brown grilled cheese sandwiches to the pile already made, and seriously considered making more since the boys ate as if they were still in teenage growth spurts. Maybe later, she thought. For now, they would start with this. For today, the guys could eat soup, salad, and a couple sandwiches a piece for lunch, and be happy. She opened the refrigerator, pulled out a cucumber for the salad, and grabbed a peeler from the drawer before returning to her contemplation of Adam.

Thinking about him seemed to be about all she did since walking into the house on Tuesday. But today...something spooked him. She was convinced.

This morning, for some odd reason, when he had popped into the laundry room, he seemed to be fascinated with her underwear. Hadn't he seen women's bras and panties before? The Pernoud brothers all went to college. Sowing wild oats was a part of that. Usually. These guys seemed fairly straight laced by just about any standard, but young men, at least, are known to experiment a little. Like Gabriel was doing with the mysterious Alicia. That thought brought a smile to her face as she recalled Adam's reaction last night to finding out Gabriel's study friend was really a girl - and a girl who was more than a study partner. He really wasn't happy about that. She almost laughed out loud when she considered the big brother, pseudo-dad, and all boss being outraged at the thought that maybe, just maybe his little charge would be doing anything other than studying for an exam. Soft footsteps sounded in the room.

"What's so funny?" came from Adam's voice a few feet behind her.

Mae twisted, pausing as she sliced the cucumber, and noted his lifted brow and barely leashed curiosity. She tamped down a smile. He did like to be in control, she thought.

"Nothing too interesting," she said, turning back to the task of making a salad. "And really rather personal." She felt him walk up next her. "I am allowed to have private thoughts on the job, aren't I?" she asked, looking up to see a relatively faux shuttered look on his face.

"So long as it wasn't about me." He feigned offense.

Mae put a hand on her hip and faced him, "And what if it was? Everyone has private thoughts about other people at some point or another." Really. Now that she looked into his eyes, curiosity radiated from him.

"True," he said reaching past her to pluck a cucumber slice from the top of the salad. "I see soup and salad for lunch?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Mae watched him chew for a few seconds before saying, "And grilled cheese," she deadpanned.

Adam chuckled. "Spoken like a true Catholic."

She moved to the sink to rinse off the peeler. "At least I didn't make tuna."

"Thank the good Lord," Adam said plucking another cucumber slice off the salad. "After so many years, it's lost its luster."

"That's thinking on a grand scale," she said, handing him the salad bowl loaded with vegetables before moving to the oven to get the sandwiches. "It's a simple mixture that involves a bit of chopping, and has mayo. No actual cooking involved." She closed the oven door before heading to the table. "Therefore, we all learned how to make it."

"And hate it," Adam finished for her.

"That, truth be told, is a function of familiarity. Too much of a good thing and all that."

He laughed a little as she put the platter of sandwiches down, and heard him pick up the house phone. He hit the intercom with the boys' offices to let them know lunch was ready. He put the salad on the table, and took the plates from her when she got them out of the cabinet. They were laying place settings when the boys filed into the kithen in various sweatshirts, jeans, and all wearing moccasins with no socks.

Mae saw Christian elbow Damien, "Are my eyes working?" he asked indicating Adam. "Is Adam setting a dinner table?"

Damien grinned, and said, "Miracles do happen you know."

"Yeah, yeah, can it," Adam threw a napkin at Christian. "Just for that, you can pour everybody a bowl of soup."

Ed gave Christian a push in the direction of the stove and said, "Don't you love it when he plays boss at home?"

"Only when you're the one getting it," Ben said walking to the stove to help Christian carry filled soup bowls to the table.

Everyone sat in their usual seats and they were just finished with grace when the sound of a car engine came around the house. Ben stood, and walked to the back door to investigate. "Francis, don't you dare hit my truck," Ben said under his breath. They all heard the engine stop over held breath.

"Well?" Adam asked.

Ben turned around with a head shake, and said, "He slid into the drain depression."

"Time to turn on the driveway heaters?" Christian asked looking at Adam.

Adam shrugged. "Since nobody is going anywhere, and there will be something falling from the sky for the next 24 hours, no."

Ben quirked a brow. "No St. Ferdinand's fish tonight?"

Adam's fork, complete with speared cucumber, stopped in midair. "Let me think about it."

Damien looked at Mae, and said, "That's Adam-speak for yes, but not until four o'clock."

"If, and only if St. Ferdinand's Fish Fry is on tonight since we're in the middle of an ice storm," said Ed as he scooped salad onto his plate. "Not that that has ever stopped St. Ferdinand's before."

Ben sat down, looked at Adam and asked, "Tell us again why we can't take a family field trip to Spring Training?" before taking a grilled cheese sandwich, and passing the platter.

"Aside from the number of projects we've got going?" Adam asked, obviously not expecting an answer.

"Damn work-a-holic," said Christian before taking a healthy bite out of his sandwich.

Francis sauntered into the kitchen from the dining room, saw lunch on the table, and plopped into his chair before looking up with bleary eyes.

Mae looked down the table at Adam. His fork was stalled in mid-air.

"How'd the sensors do?" he asked.

Francis filled his plate, and said, "Great. The night crew, on the other hand, is beat. It was really tense until dawn when the temps went up enough for the chemicals on the roads finally start working." He dug into lunch with gusto, and the meal continued with the guys exchanging information on where they were with their workloads, since no one could remember where the snow plow was.

Once they were finished eating, Adam sent Francis to his room to get some sleep. Mae rose, and started clearing the dishes. She heard the guys get up, and filter out of the room as they got the last of their instructions from Adam for the remainder of the day. Nothing difficult, just clearing off the week's work so that they could spend some serious time shoveling snow in the coming days.

Mae was just finished loading the plates in the dishwasher when Adam appeared at her elbow, and handed her the stack of dirty soup bowls. She rinsed them off, and asked, "Forgive me for being so forward, but why exactly do you not take a family field trip to Spring Training?" as he went back to the table to get more dishes.

He handed her the formerly grilled cheese platter stacked with flatware, and said, "Not until Gabriel is done with med school, at least. That's this year if he doesn't blow it hanging out with a girlfriend. I'll think about it for his spring break next year."

Mae looked at him with confusion. "But if he's done with medical school this year, wouldn't that mean there won't be a spring break next year?" Once Gabriel graduated, wouldn't he be getting a job?

Adam walked to the back door. "That would be if he was going to practice medicine, but he's not. He's going into lab medicine, and that requires more time to get a Ph.D. The dissertation research starts next year. Oh, man, Francis really did slide into the drain," he said looking out the window.

Mae put the platter on the counter, and walked over beside him to peek out. Francis' Jeep was turned at an odd angle in the driveway with the front wheels over the drain that ran across it. She felt Adam's hand at the small of her back as he said, "We're lucky he didn't hit anything when he came down the incline."

Mae didn't voice the real fear she heard in Adam's voice - how he had managed not to kill himself on the back roads getting home. If one wasn't careful on ice, Ladue was a slalom course in winter weather four wheel drive or not. "Maybe it's a good thing Gabriel stayed in town," she said.

Adam's arm slid all the way around her. "Normally, I would not be inclined to agree with you, but in this case..." He kissed the top of her head, and said, "Ben better be careful when he goes out for fish tonight."

Mae pulled herself out of his embrace, and went back to the dishwasher to finish loading it. Now he was back to displays of affection, and here she thought daylight hours would be strictly professional. Adam brought her the rest of the dishes from the table and said, "Are you ready?"

Mae's head snapped up from the sink, and to his eyes. "Ready for what?" All he did was kiss her head, after all.

He handed her the salad bowl. "The household checking account," he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, that," Mae rinsed out the salad bowl, calmed her racing heart, and picked up a dish towel to dry it. "Yes, if you don't mind getting the laptop out of the office."

"You got it," he said going to her office to get the computer, and the paperwork she had been assembling.

He set up a workspace for them at the table, and settled in a chair while she made herself a cup of tea.

When she sat next to him, he was perusing the printed spreadsheet that was on the top of the stack of bills. "Wow," he said. "This is impressive. Budget, actuals, totals, split into revenue and expenses, just like real financials."

"Well, since this household is a complex spending machine, I thought I'd do it right," she said, watching him read while the wheels turned behind all that black hair.

"Fantastic," he said without looking up, perfectly engrossed in the numbers.

Mae opened the computer, and found the appropriate spreadsheet book to show him the rest of the budget, and the ledger. She felt his arm slide across the back of her chair as she scrolled through the last five years, and found the seasonal budget, that included pool maintenance. "Now, I assumed that the budget for this year will reflect last year's with the new price for water."

"New price for water?" he asked quietly at her ear.

"Yes, it went up per gallon." She turned to him. His face was inches from hers. "There was a rate hike in November," she said huskily, her eyes dropping to his lips.

"Right," He looked back to her budget.

She sighed to herself, and turned back to the computer. "So, that's what I calculated based on what the pool guys invoice said is the volume." She found the appropriate month on the spreadsheet, and pointed to a specific cell. "That's why this number is so much higher."

She felt him exhale. "Can't do anything for it. At least it won't be a shock when we fill the darn thing."

"Right," she said trying not to lean into his warmth. "Based on last year, the pool guys were here at the end of April and in early May. I called and made the appointments for the same time frame." She paused as she scrolled to that entry on the spreadsheet. "Their prices went up."

She felt Adam shrug. "Everybody's prices are going up."

"Right," Mae said. "The lawn guys are supposed to start next week. If we are under any amount of snow, that will be postponed, of course." She fished her note pad out of the pile and looked for her notes from the conversation. "They asked about the driving range and putting green." She looked at Adam, and sucked in a breath when his eyes found hers. "What do you want me to tell them?"

His eyes were dark pools of desire as he considered her question. "About?" his hand slid from the back of her chair to just under her shoulder blade.

She drifted a little closer to him. "The driving range-"

His eyes dropped to her lips, "The putting green is more important," he said leaning in toward her mouth.

"No it isn't," came from the butler's pantry doorway. Both of their heads snapped up. Adam sank back into his chair when Damien walked in, and opened the refrigerator to pull out a beer. "You don't schmooze on the golf course. I do. I need the driving range up and going as soon as the snow melts. Need to work on the slice problem that surfaced last week when I was in California." He twisted off the cap of his beer bottle.

Adam's hand moved on Mae's back. "You heard the man. He needs the driving range ASAP."

Mae looked at Adam. Damien said, "By the way, somebody needs to test out the golf cart, too. I'm betting the battery is dead."

Mae began to write notes. Adam asked his brother, "And you can't do this because...."

Damien looked at him with narrowed eyes, and quirked brow. "Am I cleared to move on to spring and summer sports? Seriously. Don't want to disrupt the work around here," he said, gesturing toward them with his beer bottle.

Mae watched Adam look around for something to throw at him.

Damien just grinned, and took a long pull on the bottle in his hand. "Mae, good luck with him." He walked toward the dining room. "You're going to need it."

Mae stared after Damien and wondered just what he meant by that.

Adam got up, went to the refrigerator, got a beer, twisted off the cap and said, "Put it all away, Mae. The weekend has officially started."

She watched him take a deep pull of the microbrew, and stared as his adam's apple worked. "But, there's still maintenance to talk about. And the maids."

He walked back to the table, started stacking the paperwork back in the order she had it, and said, "The maids are your prerogative. We covered all the maintenance other than the rink, which doesn't need to be done until May."

She stared at him. "No talking about menus?"

He lifted that brow again, and said, "We talked about that the other night. Mashed potatoes twice a week." That's it? He had to be kidding.

"What about household budget issues?" That was where it was going to get dicey. She needed to know what he expected.

"For next week's meeting, let me know about how much this year's total expenses is going to be complete with your salary and benefits, and we'll figure out each of the boys' share. Unless I miss my guess, even with the increase in costs, we can all throw in about the same, maybe a little more, get a little from Francis now that he's making decent money, and that should take care of it."

"And if it's not enough?" she asked as he sat down beside her to close the computer.

He shrugged, and took a pull from the bottle. "Then I'll cover it." He put his arm around her and said, "Did you bring a bathing suit with you when you brought clothes this week?"

Mae looked at him with a dropped jaw and said, "That's it? Meeting over?"

"What do you mean, that's it? The weekend has started." As if she should know that.

"But it's barely three o'clock," she said.

"Oh, yeah," he said. He got up, walked to the back door, and opened a panel she didn't even know was there. He started flipping switches. "The roads may have chemicals for ice, but we have heaters. Can't risk the Explorer when Ben goes for fish this evening." He turned, and walked back toward her.

"Adam, it's not five," she said, trying to sound reasonable.

"Yeah, so?" he asked coming around the table to pull her out of her chair. "We quit on Friday when the work is done. Your work's done. My work's done." He leaned down to kiss her nose. "And we need to talk some more about what's not on your resumé and LinkedIn page."

Mae let him lead her into the den where he let go of her hand, and went to the windows to roll up the blinds. Normally, the view from that room was a rolling lawn dotted with trees. Today, it was grayish white with trees weighed down with ice. Mae folded her arms across her chest. What is he up to? she thought.

"Want a beer?" he asked with an inclined head.

"Uh, no thanks," she said.

"What's your poison?" he went to the entertainment center, and opened the cabinet to the right of the television exposing a wet bar with a lot of bottles.

She should have known. "Something Irish, if you've got it," she said. "On the rocks."

She walked around the edge of the sofa U and sat, facing the open windows still not sure where this was going.

That had to have been the fastest one on one meeting with a boss she had ever had. Adam didn't waste much time with the sort of small talk other CEOs did. He didn't bother with plans, and needing her to do any advance work, either.

He sat beside her, and handed her a tumbler with whiskey and ice. Another just like it was cradled in his other hand. She took a sip. Mmm, smooth and silky. And very expensive.

He put an arm around her shoulders, and leaned them back. Mae inhaled his dark, musky scent, and let her head fall back onto his shoulder. May as well play along for now, she thought. "What do you want to know about what's not on my LinkedIn page? I thought I covered quite a bit last night." She lifted the glass to her lips.

"You did," he said, massaging her shoulder. "But I want to know why you left Joe Price's shop." He took a sip of his drink. "You've got better organizational skills than a lot of executive assistants out there. That budget you did is proof. You'd be an asset in any office. You can't tell me finding a job was that difficult."

Mae looked at her lap and tried to decide how to answer that. "Joe retired."

"I remember." His hand massaged her arm with just enough pressure for it to be anything but medicinal.

"Sam Warder brought his own assistant when he came," she said with sadness.

"So? You were in that seat for what, six years? You had more knowledge than the twit he has answering the phone has ever had." He sounded genuinely puzzled.

"Yeah, but Sam wanted her there, not me." She felt her weight drain into his side as the whiskey started to run through her veins. "So I was reassigned to J. J. Denning."

His hand stopped moving. "Denning?" Incredulity dripped with disdain came with his words. "You're kidding. He's all talk, no action."

"Exactly," she said taking a sip of her drink. "And his office is a black hole. You should see the stacks of files and old newspapers." She shook her head against the shoulder supporting it.

"I've heard that, actually."

"On top of it, Sam loves J. J., and no matter how many times J.J. double crossed people, or was last minute with scheduling and getting reports in, it was my job to make J.J. look good." She took a sip of her drink. "I couldn't complain since I at least had a job."

"And, if I know Sam, with a pay cut," Adam said with complete disgust.

"That too," she bit out before taking another sip. "On top of it, there's a queen's court of assistants in that place that was ruled by the supervisor in the sales department. I never did fit in that group. Most of them would stab each other in the back to get ahead, and then kiss and make-up the next morning."

She felt Adam shake his head. "There's a reason we haven't hired any assistants in our office other than Gayle. Too much drama."

"You can say that again," she agreed.

"But that doesn't explain why you left." His hand moved on her upper arm again. This time more gently.

She sipped at her drink. "I got tired of being left out, and crapped on. No one can take being the odd man out for long. Especially when the others whisper about you behind your back. I got demoted, what could I do about it?" she shrugged.

She saw Adam lift his glass to take a sip of his own drink, and he said, "You didn't really get demoted. You got thrown over."

"Yeah, well, that wasn't the first time." The hand on her shoulder stilled, and tightened. "Joe was a great boss to work for. He was patient with the learning curve, and never got upset if something had to be reprinted even if it was more than once." She looked down into her drink and took a deep breath. "He let me do projects on my own, trusted my judgements. Mistakes weren't magnified, especially when he didn't give complete instructions. He understood human nature. He didn't demand perfection the first time like a few of the other bosses I've had over the years did."

"Like the HR gal my brothers hired." Adam said taking another sip.

"Really?" she looked up at him.

He looked into her eyes and kissed the end of her nose. "Uh-huh. She's not very nice to the people around her when they get something wrong. She also doesn't get that if the mistake has nothing to do with life or death engineering specs, it's just not that important. Kissing up to me, that's another story." He drew on his drink. "I don't think she understands that I see it, and don't approve."

Mae had a suspicion that wasn't all. "And I would lay money Gayle tells you a lot more about what goes in the office when you're not there than a lot of bosses hear."

A corner of Adam's mouth lifted, "That, too."

She took another deep breath, and continued her story. "So, anyway, I pretty much decided I don't really want to work in an office right now." She rolled the tumbler between her hands. "Every place I've worked it's been the same." She shrugged. "I don't fit in office culture, even if I have the skills."

Adam lifted his drink to his lips, and started massaging her shoulder again. "Is that why you left Steve Fuller's shop? He's a good guy, but I've heard the company has a really toxic environment."

"Does the phrase 'workplace paranoia' mean anything to you?" She looked up into his eyes.

He raised his brows. "Since I work for myself, no."

"Well, when you aren't one of the cool ones or the teacher's pet or favorite or whatever, you get paranoid. Plus, there was a lot of spinning the truth coming from the president of the company, and I can't deal with that."

"Steve spinning? He's always been honest with me." Adam seemed genuinely puzzled.

"Not all businesses are engineering firms where a reputation hangs on whether or not a bridge doesn't collapse. Plus, Steve knows he can't fool everyone."

"True," he said nodding. "I guess I just wondered about your work history since you were able to whip up professional financials without any trouble."

Mae smiled. "That's a by-product of working for so many different companies over the years. I've been dealing with budgets, ledgers, and financials since I started working. So far as I can tell, you don't use any accounting software, so I improvised." She shrugged and sipped at her drink. "I still have to figure out check printing from the online banking site, but it can't be that hard."

Adam laughed a little. "It isn't. I take it you've been hand-writing the checks?"

"Yes," she said.

"I'll show you how to do it next time you need to write a few. Unless something comes up, we may as well keep our meetings on Friday after lunch. I usually take off from the office for the weekend about then anyway."

"Works for me." She took another sip of whiskey.

"Ben is in charge of Friday dinner during Lent. The rest of the year, everybody is on their own from Friday until Sunday evening. Okay with you?"

Mae leaned forward, and looked him in the eye. "I'm the employee. You're supposed to be telling me what you want, not the other way around."

Adam started laughing, and pulled her to him for a kiss.

Chapter 8

As his lips met hers, Adam knew for darn sure that Mae wasn't simply an employee. Not at this stage. Not since she walked in the door Tuesday morning if he was deadly honest about it. She never would be, either. He knew that to the depth of his being. His arm tightened, and he slid his tongue across the seam of her lips. She opened just enough so that he could taste the sweetness of her mouth despite the tang of whiskey. Through her sweater, his hand on her back ran over the telltale hooks of her bra, and the thought of her creamy, pale skin encased in one of those sheer black garments that were hanging in the laundry room earlier sent fire to his loins. His arm tightened, and a groan escaped him.

He put his other arm around her as much as he could with a half full rocks glass in it, and sank deeper into the couch. As their tongues fenced, Adam felt his body react with more fire, and his arousal started to border on pain. She was so soft in all the right places. The fingers of his hand on her back started to reach for her side, toward the swell of breast that he itched to cup and hold. Blood pooled below his waist, and he felt himself hardening, and growing against his cargo pants. Adam savored that feeling, one he hadn't experienced all that often until she walked into his life. As he surrendered to wanting her, feeling even more blood fill his manhood than he ever thought possible, he pulled away from her lips, and threw back the rest of his drink. He put the glass on the floor while she finished hers. He took her in his arms for more sweet torture.

Her arms circled his neck, and her mouth opened under his while he pulled her into his lap. Her skirt was slim enough that she couldn't straddle him. Just as well, he thought with what few brain cells were working. They couldn't finish this today even if their bodies were straining to join. He felt his manhood reach full length and start to ache against his pants hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. He moved a hand to her waist, and under her sweater. More material.

"It's just a cami," came from her on a breathless whisper. "You can get under it."

No sweeter words had ever reached his ears. He felt around, moved the shirt until his hand was under it, and ran an open hand up the smooth flesh of her back, and under the hooks that so intrigued him. He slid his hand under the band until his fingertips reached the wire outlining one breast, and the soft, so soft tissue beyond.

She leaned back, and he looked down into blue eyes aflame with desire, her dark blonde hair loose and inviting, and her lips swollen from his kisses. Her bosom, full and round, rising and falling with every breath she took. She shifted a little on his lap, brushing the proof of his desire with her hip. She looked down, and smiled at the telltale bulge. "Did I do that?" she asked with just a hint of coy innocence, and a twinkle in those beautiful aqua eyes.

Adam felt himself grin. "Yes you did." He swooped in for another deep kiss with her pressed against his chest, the little nubs of her nipples poking through her sweater. He broke off, and looked down at them, his free fingers searching through the thick yarn. "And I did this."

Mae smiled a sensual smile full of joy, and said, "Yes." Adam pulled her closer and kissed the side of her neck below the ear. "Just you." She ran her fingers through his hair. "Only you."

He felt his engorged manhood jump, and one thought seared across his desire laden brain: plant his seed inside of her. Now.

Just as he moved to strip the skirt from her hips, a vibration came from it. Then another.

"Damn," Mae said, sitting back on his lap. "I forgot my phone was in the pocket." She started fishing in her skirt for the pocket where the vibrations were pulsing.

Adam flopped back on the sofa, and tried to get his breathing and completely aroused body under control. He watched her look at the face of the phone. Her troubled eyes met his sending angst to his solar plexus. "I have to take this," she said, sliding the phone on, and putting it to her ear. "Hi, Mom." She put a hand to his chest to steady herself as he felt the sudden tension lean into his body. "It's still sleeting. It's supposed to turn to snow in about an hour." Adam covered her hand with one of his, and willed the throbbing in his groin to stop. She had him so hot. No woman had ever had him that hot. "No, I'm out in Ladue." He closed his eyes while he listened to one side of the conversation. "Of course I'm spending the night. I live here now." Adam opened his eyes and looked into hers. She smiled a little as she pulled the phone away from her ear until her mother quit yelling. "Mom, they've been perfect gentlemen." Mae rolled her eyes as she said, "I'm sure they are not all interested in just having easy sex in the house. Besides, you know I don't do that." Really? Adam thought. She was sitting on his lap in the den after a serious make out session where she gave him blue balls, and she didn't "do that." Maybe not before she met him, but she "did that" now. He felt a self-satisfied smirk steal across his face.

He settled her a little more comfortably on his lap, and heard her say, "Mom, there is no reason to leave the house." She sank against him, and he gathered her close, loving the softness in his arms. "We have plenty of food...no, there won't be an orgy...I don't know...well, actually I pretty much have run of the house...no, I am not going to quit, and I am not going to find a regular office job...Adam is paying me well...yes, it's Adam...would you like to talk to him? He's right here...Mom, I don't think you need to worry about that...of course his intentions are honorable." She looked up at him with a question in her eyes. He smiled, and winked in return. Of course his intentions were honorable...so long as they could mate as soon as possible. "Okay, I'll check it out when I have the chance...yeah, bye." Mae ended the call, and threw her phone on the ottoman. "Sorry about that," she said, settling more firmly in his arms.

"That's alright," he said breathing in her spicy, flowery scent. "I need to be reminded that my intentions are honorable."

"You got that right," came Christian's voice from behind them. Adam and Mae looked up in unison to see Ben and Christian standing right behind the couch dressed for the outdoors.

"Chris is coming with me just to be on the safe side," Ben said pulling a blue anorak over his head. "I called and ordered carry out. We should be back in about an hour."

"And we'll make sure the food is still hot," said Christian with barely restrained glee.

"Great," Adam said, trying to be embarrassed for being under Mae. The effort failed. "Be careful."

Mae settled her head on his shoulder when they heard, "Damn Chris, I should have taken two months in the pool," from Ben as he and Christian headed for the basement stairs.

Adam moaned, and ran a hand over his face.

"What did they mean by that?" Mae asked poking him.

Adam looked into blue eyes that hadn't quite lost the glaze of desire, picked up one of her hands, and laced their fingers. "It means that I need to get my head screwed on straight." He tightened his grip, and said, "So, do you have a bathing suit with you?"

"So, then Adam, being Adam, walks right out into the middle of the driving range in an Italian suit wearing the silk tie he bought the last time he was in Milan, and gets beaned in the forehead with my shot because he couldn't believe I took advantage of a perfect morning to break in my new graphite driver before going to work," Damien stopped in the middle of his latest Adam story to take a swig of the brew in his hand. "Since high school, I've spent every spare minute working on my game so that I can negotiate contracts with people who prefer to do that on the golf course, and not look like an idiot."

"And I was supposed to know that," Adam said from the bench beside her, looking over with an exasperated look. "Seriously, he claims it's all about work, not an addiction to following a little white ball around a golf course."

Damien just grinned as he drank.

They were all in the Pernoud family hot tub, a custom designed outdoor pool with lots of benches around the perimeter, water jets, and an airplane hanger for a canopy over them to keep the snow and ice off their heads. Once they were finished devouring fried fish, onion rings, French fries, and a whole lot more food that tasted better than the nutritional content, the boys made a beeline for the hot tub. Ed had set up a cooler next to it along with a portable bar, which materialized from somewhere. Mae still wasn't sure where.

She was sitting on a step that allowed her head to stay above water. Adam sat next to her on the bench. Fortunately, her gym bag always had at least one tank suit in it, so she was able to join them. A bathing suit made for lap swimming was not the sexiest thing, but no one could see her form under the water with all the bubbles anyway, not that she really cared what any of them other than Adam saw. Plus, the bubbles were hiding the fact that Adam had laced his fingers with hers, and would not let go. Given the tales the boys were telling on him, that would invite entirely too much of the wrong sort of attention.

Once Damien was done, Ed launched into a story about going to a tree farm to cut down a Christmas tree one year - and the disaster that ensued. Mae was beginning to get the idea that the real reason for the story fest was her. The boys were actively gaging how she was dealing with the reality of Adam being Adam. Since he was pretty much in charge all the time, the tales and accounts were one embarrassing episode after another. Fortunately, Adam was being a good sport about it.

"So, after the fifth time the tree fell off the top of the car," Ed said.

"It didn't fall off five times," Adam retorted without much heat.

"You're right," Ed said, taking a swig of his beer. "It fell off a total of seven, and one of those was after we bungee corded the damn thing to the bike rack."

Mae tried not to laugh as the boys added details to the story. "The worst part," Ben chimed in, "is that the car in question was Dad's old Bentley. The roof was bigger than just about any other car we ever had other than my Suburban, and the bike rack didn't exactly fit on it."

"Dad let us drive it since he had a new Jag, and he wasn't getting any of us a new car since teenage boys are accident prone and all," Christian added. "The tree scratched the hell out of the paint, and the back bumper."

"And I took the heat for it," Adam finished the story with a sip of the Irish whiskey he and Mae were sharing. "Not like any of you morons stuck around for the lecture."

"Your parents were still here then?" Mae asked him.

"Yes, this all happened when we were in college. We were home on break."

"Speak for yourself, man," said Damien. "Ed and I had to serve Midnight Mass that year. I still had pine tar in my hair."

"Damien would have a problem with that," Adam told her.

"Pine tar in his hair or serving Midnight Mass?" Mae asked as she took the whiskey glass from him, and sipped.

"I really didn't mind either one, but I couldn't get my hair clean." Damien gave a look of mock disgust as Francis took up the theme.

"At least you guys didn't have him driving you to church to serve."

"Quit complaining, Francis," Christian reached into the cooler for another beer. "You didn't have to serve WITH him."

"Oh, come on, I wasn't that bad," Adam protested.

Ben started imitating Adam's sonorous drawl, "Now when you ring the bells, count one Mississippi, two Mississippi-"

Adam swatted water at him.

"And when you're swinging the incensor, give it a thirty degree angle," Christian got a mouthful of water.

Mae laughed in spite of herself. "And was the Sign of the Cross exactly on the correct body parts?" She handed the glass of whiskey they were sharing to Adam.

"You better believe it," Adam said as he took the whiskey tumbler from her.

"Yeah, well, Gabe and I got critiqued," said Francis. "Just imagine how Gabe felt when he didn't get the cross all the way in the stand on Palm Sunday-"

"He was careless," said Adam without much humor.

Mae looked at him. "So you're telling me you never dripped candle wax on an altar cloth?"

"Mr. Professional Altar Boy over there?" Damien said with just a little too much glee, pointing his bottle at Adam. "He set Father Herrmann's cassock on fire."

"At the Easter Vigil, too," said Ben with a grin.

"Good thing the water hadn't been blessed yet," said Christian. He deked Adam's water slap.

"No kidding?" Mae quirked a brow at Adam.

"Let's just say Father Herrmann got rebaptized that night with non-holy water," Ed told her.

"Yeah, yeah," said Adam. "Remember the Easter Sunday when you got into the chocolate eggs before Mass, and threw up all over the Sacristy during Offertory?"

"You guys are worse than my brothers," Mae laughed taking the whiskey tumbler from Adam and draining it. Ed immediately took it, and put a couple fingers neat in the glass.

"And we haven't started on the hockey stories, yet," said Christian with a grin.

"Do I want to know this?" she asked Adam.

"Probably not," Adam admitted. "Besides serving Mass is something we can all relate to. Even you"

"Mmm, not all of us," she said taking a sip of the whiskey.

"You never served at Mass, Mae?" Ben asked. "It's not like girls weren't serving despite the ban."

"No," she said, handing the glass to Adam. "I was in the choir."

"Really?" asked Adam. "You sing?"

"Yes," she looked around at the boys who were in various open mouthed poses. "I'm a trained soprano." She shrugged. "Right now, I'm doing all those screechy descants that amateurs think they can sing."

"Where are you singing?" Adam asked with genuine interest, squeezing her hand under the water.

"I'm in the choir at Our Lady of the Presentation. They do the good stuff, not the crap we grew up with."

"No kidding?" said Damien taking a swig of his beer. "So do you know John McCormack? Last I heard he was in that choir."

"He's moved on to the cathedral," Mae said. "We used to sing together in the city chorus." She took a sip of whiskey.

"So, do you have to sing on Sunday?" Adam asked.

"Depends on weather and road conditions. The old ladies in the choir will not venture out on any sort of ice."

"Ahh," he said before taking a sip of the whiskey.

"Rehearsal was cancelled this week, so it's not like we have anything special prepared. The church can live one week without music."

"A lot of churches have gone years without music," said Damien slamming the last of his brew, and signaling to Ed for another. "Guitar strumming, and half shouting into a microphone through the rests doesn't count."

That started a lively debate on the merits of late twentieth century church schlock. Mae drifted closer to Adam. He disengaged their hands, and put his arm around her middle, pulling her closer. She let her head fall back against him as the boys railed against felt banners, albs, guitars and all the other post Vatican II fads that were foisted on unsuspecting congregations everywhere.

Adam didn't say much other than the occasional comment on how one priest or another changed everything all over again when he was assigned to their parish. Mae just listened, and marveled at engineers being passionate about church.

Eventually, they moved on to other topics, and after a fierce discussion on the Cardinals' spring training game that day, and the Blues' draft needs, one by one the boys got out of the hot tub, and went into the house to watch the Blues game.

Left alone with Adam in the steamy and pulsing water, he put the rocks glass on the deck, and pulled her fully into his lap for a kiss. His lips massaged hers as his arms held her. Nothing as torrid as that afternoon, but a sweet, possessive embrace that had her moving closer to him in the water, and her heart pounding.

He broke it off and leaned back, putting some distance between their bodies. Mae looked at him as he closed his eyes, and the arm around her back started massaging her side in circles.

She bit her lip, and wondered what to say. Was her kissing that bad that he didn't want to do it anymore? She really wasn't all that experienced, but she got the impression that he enjoyed what they were doing. She took a closer look at him. He almost looked like he was in pain.

"Adam," his eyelids lifted heavily. "Are you okay?"

A corner of his mouth rose, and his free hand came up to cup her cheek. He ran his thumb over her lips. "Just trying to remember my honorable intentions."

Mae's heart clenched. "Those are important to you?" she asked quietly.

His eyes bored into hers. "Yes."

"Why?"

A dark eyebrow went up. "What do you mean why? Wouldn't you rather my intentions be honorable?"

"Well...." Would she? "Yes, but this afternoon-"

"This afternoon I let my instincts take over."

That hit her in the chest.

"And letting your instincts take over is a bad thing?" she asked. "I got the idea you were enjoying yourself."

"Oh, I was," he said, sliding his hand down her back to pull her closer. "Too much." He touched his lips to hers in that sweet, possessive way again. "So much so that it's going to be difficult to keep my hands to myself when you are in the same room."

"Oh," Mae said trying to scoot off his lap. Adam held her firmly.

"No, you don't need to try to escape. I won't do anything else tonight other than walk you up to the apartment."

Mae bit her lip a little, and stared into the night where snow was steadily falling from the sky. It really was a beautiful sight, to be sitting in a steaming pool, and see the driveway, trees, and so much more blanketed in white. It was beautiful and quiet without the chatter of the boys to keep her entertained. She felt Adam's hands massaging her body even as the peace of the snow storm.

His intentions were honorable. She had to remember that. Whatever he meant by it, his intentions were honorable.

She supposed it meant that he would not take advantage of her, no matter how much his brothers were keen on the idea.

Or something.

She sank against him in the water, more relaxed and content than she could remember being in a long time. He tightened his arm around her and said, "Ready for another drink?"

She shook her head against his chest and said, "No, I've had plenty, thanks."

He took a deep breath that she felt to her soul.

Chapter 9

As Adam sat in his hot tub with the most intriguing woman he had met in ages on his lap, he desperately wanted to finish what they had started this afternoon. He felt her settle in around him, and he inhaled heavily. She felt so good, so right, in his arms.

Turn his head. Forget that. His whole being was turned. He just had to let that sink in, and get used to it.

He moved a hand on the curves that he itched to touch flesh to flesh, not through fabric, and certainly not through the nylon of a tank suit. He knew without any prompting that Ben was right far more than he realized. He was toast. This woman was it for him.

Adam settled her more firmly in his embrace, and closed his eyes. It was not often that he just let himself feel, but he did tonight with hot bubbles swirling around them. Her bottom nestled nicely on his lap. The weight of her in his arms was delicious. The feel of her breath, soft and sweet, brushed his neck. Even through the pool chemicals he could smell the slight perfume in her hair. He could feel his blood head to his groin, and he willed it to stop. He still hadn't really recovered from this afternoon's arousal.

He looked out at the snow falling and wondered at how fast the boys vacated the hot tub to leave him alone with Mae. Almost as if it was by design. He could have done without the story fest this evening, but in a way he was glad it happened. It gave him time to watch Mae's reactions to his quirks and compulsions. He was just as human as any other man, and she needed to understand that.

Adam knew he was not the easiest to live with sometimes. His brothers put up with him because, well, they were his brothers – not that he ever made objectionable decisions. He was still head of the family, and none of them challenged that. Not even Ben who usually managed to sidestep him on major stuff when he either did object, or Ben knew something he didn't. They played along even if he knew that they knew most of the "boss" was pretty much just for show. All seven of them knew that without the others, they were pretty much alone until they all paired off with their head turners.

Adam adjusted his grip on Mae and put his lips to her temple.

In so many ways, he and Mae had quite a bit in common. Both were the oldest. Both had to take on a lot of responsibility very young due to their parents not being around. Neither of them liked to work for someone else.

At least he didn't think he'd like to work for anyone else. He went into the business being fostered as a boss, and never looked back. Mae, on the other hand, had suffered in office situations, something that would not happen to anyone in his business if he could help it.

Mae had great instincts for what needed to be done, even in a household of confirmed bachelors. She didn't push when she shouldn't - at least she hadn't so far - and waited until they were alone to question his decisions.

Funny that he didn't mind her doing that. Questioning his decisions. Very few people got away with it, especially about his family. How many times had he thought about that this week?

He'd have to think about that some more. But not with her in his lap. There was no thinking about much other than her. He just let her weight sink into him so he could feel her. Just her.

They sat like that for a bit, not talking, not kissing, not caressing, just looking out into the night, and absorbing each other's being.

After a time, Mae lifted her head and looked him in the eye. "My hands are pruning," she said lifting one out of the water for him to inspect.

He took it in one of his, and kissed the palm. "Yeah, I guess we better get out." He stood, and let her body slide down his, looping an arm around her back, pulling her to him for a kiss. "Wouldn't want you to shrivel up on me." He winked at her, and put a hand at the small of her back to push her up the steps and onto the deck which was considerably colder than the air over the hot tub. He covered her with a huge towel before wrapping himself with one, and leading her into the downstairs sitting area.

Once they were inside, and before her lips could turn blue, Adam started rubbing her with the towel. "Do you need to warm up in the steam shower?" he asked. He looked into the aqua blue eyes that pulled at his soul, and relished the smile that came his way.

"No thanks," she said, rolling up on her toes to kiss him before grabbing her sweatshirt off the sofa and pulling it over her head. "Besides, I still have to walk across the driveway, and would just have to warm up again."

"Right," he said feeling the disappointment seep into his gut. Someday, they were going to take a steam bath together, and.... No, no thinking about that tonight. "I'll be right back." He walked into the weight room, and grabbed an old swim team parka and a pair of rubber flip flops to walk her over to the apartment. At least there was a hood on the parka, he thought. Not that he would use it. Probably. He walked into the family room to find that she had put on her sweat bottoms, and wrapped her hair in a towel. "Ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," she said shoving her feet in fleece lined boots. He held the door for her, and took her hand as they made their way across the pool deck and driveway to the apartment. Her apartment now, he reminded himself. She was staying in the sanctuary he had set up for himself. Adam smiled as he thought about her being the first person to inhabit it. He probably wouldn't have given it up to anyone else. They climbed the stairs, and at the top just stepped over the threshold when he pulled her into his arms to kiss her good night.

"When is morning?" he asked when he put her on her feet.

"When the sun comes up," Mae said, eyes and dimples twinkling. "You know, tomorrow, the day we are going to go through all the furniture in the guest suite."

"Right," he said. "Looking forward to it." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Liar," she said as their lips met. "But I really need to know-"

"Tomorrow, Mae," he said reaching for the doorknob. "For now, go warm up."

She saluted, and said, "Yessir, Boss. See you in the morning."

As he started down the stairs and heard the door close and lock, Adam felt the snow surround his feet. Strange that he really didn't feel the cold as he walked back to the house. Once he had stomped it off on the tile inside the basement door, he headed toward his room, and found Ben in the first floor hall.

"Just coming in?" Ben asked.

"Yeah," Adam said in a tone he hoped conveyed that he wasn't really ready to talk about it yet. Besides, what happened between him and Mae was none of Ben's business. "How'd the Blues do?" He started up the stairs.

"They won," Ben followed him. "Have you proposed yet?"

Adam spun on the stairs ready for a fight he didn't know was brewing. "Who do you think you are? Christian?"

Ben chuckled. "Adam, you have to admit you spending an hour alone in the hot tub with a woman is not the usual way things go around here."

"Shut-up," Adam said without much heat as he turned to continue up the steps.

"I don't know, this is kind of fun," came from behind him.

"Fun for you maybe," Adam said as he stalked to his room.

"Look, Adam," Ben followed him into his bathroom where Adam made a beeline to turn on his steam shower. "You know we all are pulling for her."

"Her?" Adam said taking off the parka, and hanging it on a hook behind the door. "Her? I'm your brother."

"Yes, you are." Ben crossed his arms over his University of Michigan sweatshirt. "And she's the first woman you've shown interest in in years."

"So?" Adam yanked off his swim trunks. If Ben was offended at seeing so much of him, he didn't care.

"So, we want you to be happy, and move on from mourning."

"Look, Ben, thanks for being concerned, but-"

"But, I don't think you get it. You need to get used to the idea of not sleeping alone anymore. Of having someone to help you make decisions on what to do about Gabriel's girlfriend, and how to tell Francis it's time to start paying rent. And it can't be me doing it."

Adam ran a hand over his face. "Ben, I know what the stakes are, okay? I also know that I'm in this...this...relationship, or whatever it is and you aren't, and I haven't quite figured out how to-"

"Over analyse it?"

Adam snapped his gaze to Ben's. He watched Ben narrow his eyes as he said, "Adam, for once in your life, just go with it. She's the real deal."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm not in love with her."

Adam was taken aback. Those words hit him in the chest. "And I am?"

"You know you are," Ben said before turning to leave Adam to his schvitz. "And you're not sure that you want to be. By the way, when we clean out the guest suite tomorrow, I get dibs on Dad's drafting table." With that, Ben disappeared, leaving Adam to his thoughts.

Before he got into the steam shower, Adam got a clean towel and wrapped it around his waist. Not sure he wanted to be in a relationship with Mae, he said to himself sitting down on the bench. What the hell did Ben know? He took a deep breath of steam, closed his eyes and leaned back against the side of the shower.

What did Ben know? More than Adam wanted to admit.

Chapter 10

Mae stood in the doorway of the guest suite sitting room, and admired the fruits of a day spent cleaning out the junk, and arranging furniture.

The furniture that now graced the room was from the boys' mothers' sitting and sewing room. Originally that had been part of the master suite that Adam now inhabited. It turned out the rosewood bedroom set that now occupied the space on the other side of the guest suite bathroom had been Etienne and Manon Pernoud's, the boys' parents. It had been part of the estate since Ramona's day, some great, great grandmother long past, a woman about whom none of the boys had much good to say.

More or less, when Etienne and Manon disappeared, the boys had piled up all their parents' stuff in what was now the guest suite, and tried their best to forget about it.

Much easier said than done when there was a gigantic rock, paper, scissors contest going on among them to determine who got to put the antique grandfather clock still standing in the corner in his room.

In the end, Adam settled the argument by saying the clock would go back where it was when they were kids. In the hall downstairs by the parlor doorway.

As the morning wore on, several lamps, tables, knick-knacks, shelves, and the like were unearthed. Each had a story - and each led to six memories of where it had been before their parents disappeared. When the memories matched, Mae would look at Adam, his eyes would meet hers, and she would suggest that the item be returned to its original location. And so it was that the den next to kitchen suddenly sported authentic Tiffany floor lamps, and their father's Remington now hung over the door to the hall in Adam's office. A linen press was returned to the upstairs hall along with their mother's cedar chest. Beautiful mahogany corner shelves were hung in the parlor with some antique Hummels and Meissen porcelain. Their mother's French copper collection was back on the walls of the kitchen. Their dad's humidor was returned to the butler's pantry, albeit empty of cigars at the moment. Adam said he would remedy that as soon as somebody could get to Cuba. And Ben put the old drafting table in the "office" on the second floor that he shared with Christian. That the office was really their mother's old sitting room, now part of Adam's suite, was incidental.

In all, it was a very successful day.

"Hey, Adam," Christian started. "Since this bathroom has a steam shower, what do you say you let Ben, Damien and me use it? It's not like any guests are on the horizon."

Mae looked at Adam who was fidgeting with the cheval mirror in the bedroom. He didn't seem to hear.

"Adam-" she started.

"I heard him," he said without turning around.

Her eyes met his in the mirror glass. He lifted an eyebrow. She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head at him in response. At this point, they were practically holding a conversation without words. Mae wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

His lips compressed a little before he said, "Oh what the hell. May as well use the damn thing."

"Hot damn!" Christian exclaimed, sharing a high five with Damien.

"That just made my day," Damien said.

"Thanks Mae," Ben said turning her by the shoulders to kiss her on the cheek. "We won't forget this." He turned toward his room. "Dibs."

"Dibs my ass!" Christian sprinted toward his own door. "I asked."

Damien shook his head, and said to no one in particular, "That's one of the advantages of being the family desk jockey."

"What's that," said Ed emerging from the sitting room with his tool belt.

"I can use said steam shower before work, while those two are not here."

"And I still have to share with Ed," Francis stopped in the doorway from the sitting room, and leaned on the frame. "Do Gabe and I get compensated for that, Adam?"

Adam walked into the small hallway that joined the guest suite rooms to stand next to Mae, looked at Francis and said, "You guys don't have to walk two flights of stairs to get the indoor pools or the weight room - and now you want another steam shower?"

"He has a point, Francis," said Ed as he headed out the door. "The sauna is down by us, too."

"Speak for yourself, you who work outside," Francis called after him. He looked at Mae, and said, "Maybe he'll start using the sauna now instead of hogging the steam shower for hours every night."

"And why can't you use the sauna?" Mae asked Francis.

"The dry air makes it hard to breathe."

"Cry me a river," Adam said. Mae felt his hand steal around hers. "You guys are spoiled rotten."

"Even Mae has her own steam shower," Damien commented as Adam pulled her out of the doorway of the suite. Ben walked by with just a towel around his waist into the bathroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it just ahead of Christian who was headed for the shower practically at a run.

The five of them stared at the closed door for a moment before Christian looked at Francis and said, "Little brother, I need the resistance pool. Your turn to lifeguard."

"Why me?" said Francis with indignation.

"Because it's the closest thing you're going to get to another steam shower downstairs, and Ed probably commandeered the real one."

Damien chuckled as he walked out into the hall.

"And why not Damien?" Francis demanded.

Damien turned his head back to look at Francis. "Because it's my turn on the Steinway, and I haven't played in over a week. Later." He disappeared down the hall steps.

"Dammit," said Francis as he walked past. "I hate being at the younger end."

Christian smirked a little before starting to follow him. "Christian," Adam said quietly, squeezing Mae's hand. "Knock it off."

Christian turned to look at them. "Oh, come on, Adam, I'm just having fun."

Piano music drifted up the stairs.

Adam started, "First you pick on his keyboard selections then you tease him about-"

"You could just put in another steam shower."

"Where would we put it?" Adam said with exasperation. "It's not like each one of you wanted to use the one you have every night. Ed's not always in it no matter what you say. There's room on the bench in the one downstairs for three people. You could have come up with a schedule or shared or something."

Mae looked between them. This was the closest thing to a fight she had ever seen in this house.

Christian put his hands on his hips. "You know, Adam, this playing boss all the time-"

"Boss?" Adam's eyebrows went up. "Christian, you do remember that it's my name on the irrevocable living trust, and thus the deed to the house, all the equipment, the articles of incorporation in both companies here, and most of those abroad, right? And that I was the one to get guardianship-"

"That was years ago."

"And that I let you do your rehab business through the company."

"Let me?" Christian's eyes were suddenly large.

"You could always incorporate on your own." Adam countered.

Christian shook his head. "You know I'm no good at the sales end."

"Yes, I do," Adam said. "I know it damn well and good which is why Damien does it when I can't. Now, if I were you, I'd go downstairs and work off that steam that's coming out of your ears before you say something you regret." Adam's quiet tone had a finality to it that shook Mae to the core.

Christian drew up a little, narrowed his eyes, and stalked into his room slamming the door behind him.

Through the entire exchange, Adam's grip on Mae's hand gradually increased, and she was starting to lose circulation in it. She put her other palm on his bicep, and said, "Adam, my hand, can I have it back?"

He looked down at her with confusion as she tugged her aching limb. "Oh, sorry." He immediately let go, and took her squished hand in both of his to rub some feeling back into it. "It's just that every now and then Christian pisses me off."

"That was obvious." She pulled her hand from between both of his, and walked into the sitting room to check on...well, something. She wasn't sure what, but she needed to flee the anger in his bearing.

She watched as Adam followed her. He shut the door to the sitting room before leaning against it, and crossing his arms, his worn jeans and dark casual pullover straining in all the right spots.

Mae walked over to the French doors that led to the porch over Adam's office, and looked out at the white landscape that was getting whiter by the minute. So pure and peaceful out there, she thought. And quiet. No tenseness or anxiety. The snow was untouched, a solid blanket of unadulterated canvas. Mae felt her soul start to calm.

Funny. She hadn't exactly realized she was tense.

"Did that little exchange bother you?" Adam asked from his place against the door.

Mae wrapped her arms around her middle. "Bother me?" she said over a shoulder. "I'd say no, but for some reason I'm feeling much better for it being over."

She felt his eyes on her back. "You and your siblings never had disagreements?"

Mae smiled a little to herself, and said, "All the time."

"So why would that little tiff bother you?" Adam asked sounding confused.

Mae walked to the long window in the front of the house rubbing her arms. "I guess it just seemed that you and your brothers get along so well."

She heard him laugh some from behind her. "Sometimes."

Family fights were a source of amusement for him? That exchange seemed like it was charged with something more, she thought.

"You said Christian pisses you off?"

"Yes," he said wearily. She heard him push away from the door. Seconds later he appeared at her elbow. "The smart ass forgets that there are limits to that sort of thing."

"Ahh," Mae took a deep breath. "Is he really that bad at sales?" she asked.

Adam made a noise. "Worse. He's absolutely clueless at it. No charm, no finesse, no patience, just fastballs." He paused for a moment. "You can't sell anyone that way."

Mae didn't say anything to that. She wasn't really a negotiator, but she understood his point.

"He's like a bull in a china shop sometimes." Mae turned to look up at Adam. His voice had gotten eerily quiet. He was standing next to her staring out the front windows with his hands on his hips. "He says what he means, and goes after what he wants without thinking through the consequences." Mae watched him take a deep breath. "Chris is the only one of us like that, too. Even Ed isn't that bad."

She thought about that for a moment. "Any particular reason why?"

Adam looked down at her before turning from the window and throwing himself in a 1920's style gold armchair that desperately needed reupholstering. He crossed his feet at the ankles, encased as always at home in driving mocs, and said, "I guess you could say it's always been there, but got worse when he was rejected last year." He stopped, and seemed to consider that. "Maybe it was closer to two years ago. I'm not sure. At any rate, he got much worse after that, and it hasn't let up." He laced his fingers behind his head while Mae sat on the ottoman in front of him.

"Do you know who the-...I assume it was a woman."

"Oh, yeah," he said with a nod.

"Do you know who she is?"

He shrugged. "Sure. An employee of one of the contractors."

Mae narrowed her eyes a little. "So he sees her from time to time?"

"I'd say so. She's the interior decorator who finds all the antique accents that give his renovation projects authentic charm and character. She's one of the best."

"I see." Mae bit her lip. This was really a family matter, she thought. No need for me to get involved.

Adam, though, kept talking. "He was impossible to live with for weeks. Wouldn't get out of the resistance pool, even when he really needed sleep - and so did whoever was lifeguarding. He played Beethoven for hours on end. I mean, I like a good Beethoven piece from time to time, but every night? It's not like we all didn't learn a much wider repertoire."

He shook his head. "And I don't know who got it worse, Francis or Gabriel. The teasing and crap just wouldn't stop. Chris didn't let up until Ben and I cornered him one night, and told him to knock it off."

Mae looked into his pained features, and her heart twisted.

Adam scrubbed his hands over his face. "Seriously, your family didn't argue like this?"

Mae studied Adam's face. His shoulders seemed to drop. Some kind of weariness was settling into his form, and he really seemed like he wanted to know about her family.

"I didn't necessarily argue, but my siblings all did," she replied. "Still do."

"About what?"

"Name it."

He cocked an eyebrow. "The Cardinals pitching rotation?"

Mae laughed quietly. "Nothing that benign. Try who's fake ID are we going to use to get booze tonight, or who took the car to go out partying when somebody else needed to go to work." Mae shook her head as the memories flooded. "My sisters would fight over junk jewelry and time in the bathroom. The boys - it depended on whether or not Quin was around."

"Why was that?"

She shrugged. "Because he was the main shit disturber. And it was dumb crap, too. Like setting up Connor against Finn with a half-truth. Connor was always in trouble when it was Quin who set him up, and he would disappear before Mom could get to whoever Connor was fighting."

"You never fought with them?"

"I was the peacemaker. Sort of." She stopped talking to gather a few thoughts. "I was the one who listened to Connor and Finn and Siobhan and Maeve and Aiden bitch about each other. Quin didn't consider me worth his time."

"Ahh," Adam looked at her. She could see the wheels turning behind those beautiful black eyes. They narrowed some before he said, "Did your dad spend more time with you or Quin?"

"All the boys got more time with Dad than the girls," she said trying not to sound bitter.

Adam's face hardened. Just a bit. If she wasn't watching closely, Mae would have missed it. "And he let Quin get away with more than the others because he was the oldest boy."

Mae tilted her head. He was pretty perceptive for an engineer. "Yes and no. Quin got to do things that the rest of us didn't, like take an extra ticket to a ballgame or skip school on the opening day of trout season. He also did a lot of dumb stuff, and Dad was forever getting him out of trouble and then making him pay later." She could hear her own voice get quiet. "Quin was also an athlete. He played the outfield in high school, and was really good. Dad was gone before he graduated, and I swear he only stayed in school because the scouts told him to."

Those black eyes got curious.

"Did he play anywhere in the minors?"

Mae felt herself nod. "For the Cubs organization."

Adam snorted. "Talk about treason."

"Yeah, well, it was worse than that. The Cubs front office has no idea how to run a farm system. Quin was out of baseball before two seasons were finished, and you know how that works. It was the end of playing. He worked for the White Sox front office for a while, but by then he had figured out that to be the slacker he wanted to be, and keep a halfway monied roof over his head, his better bet was in beer distribution. He now runs a big distributorship up in Cicero."

Adam seemed to consider that. "There's worse things to do than run beer distributorships."

"Yeah, I know." She shook her head again. "But he blows all his cash on new, flashy cars, jewelry, party cruises - stuff that I haven't heard any of you mention, and you're Richie Rich rich."

Adam snorted a laugh, and said. "Richer than that, actually," with a quiet smile.

"And none of you drive a Cadillac Escalade, or are dripping with gold and diamonds just because you can."

Adam crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess you could say that at a certain level of old money, we're taught not to show it off. A lot of what we have is passed down. We didn't earn it. And yeah, a lot of it is in my name, but the boys' trust funds aren't. Neither are their individual stock portfolios, and I didn't choose most of their board interests. Ben, Christian, Damien, and Ed all have board seats for our companies among others they've invested in on their own. I need to get Francis seated in the next couple years aside from his techie ventures. He's making a bundle playing venture capitalist. Gabe wants to hold off doing any of it until he's thirty.... Really, this wealth didn't happen overnight, and we have to work to keep it there."

"And you don't maintain it by indiscriminately spending on baubles."

"That's true." He agreed, nodding his head.

"Says the man who drives a Maserati."

A corner of his mouth lifted. "Hey, even we have to keep up appearances. I only take it on days when I have meetings."

"Right." She felt her brows lower, and her lips twist.

"Besides, the Ferrari would be way too conspicuous."

"THE Ferrari?" Her brows went up.

Adam shifted in the chair. "It's up in Newport."

"Uh-huh." She sounded unimpressed even to his own ears.

He shrugged. "The house is an old family one from a few generations back when my great-great grandfather married Ramona. She was from an east coast clan with no heirs. The house is on a lot that backs up to the bay."

"Uh-huh." She crossed her arms. Why was he justifying a family house in Newport to her? She wasn't family, and never would be.

"Look, Mae," he took a deep breath. "The thing about having money - any kind of money above just surviving - is that you've got it, yes, to spend on what seems like frivilous stuff and services, but that spending keeps a lot of people employed, and in business. On top of it, a whole lot of us rich people believe in providing some amount of capital for the public good. Some guys do venture capital for entrepreneurs. Some people write checks to universities. The archbishop knows he can call me if he has a special project, and I will consider it. The art museum, and the symphony have my office on speed dial, I swear." He shook his head. "It's not just all about pricey toys and flashy cars." Indignance laced his words.

She considered that. "Adam, I've seen that garage. Your car is the only one that can be called flashy. The Mercedes is too functional."

"Classy, if you please, and like I said, the Ferrari is in Newport where it blends in."

"How often do you go to Newport?" she asked, trying to sound neutrally curious.

He shrugged, "Ben and I go a few weeks in the summer. We like to sail, and be close to the water every now and then. Ben and I stagger weeks up there so that the business keeps going."

"The boys don't go?"

"Oh, they go, but they usually would rather travel than just unwind. Like I said, none of us are there altogether. We stagger. A week here and there. Fortunately, since nothing much happens in St. Louis between the middle of June and late August on the executive circuit, I can take the time and relax."

That didn't explain his tan as it was currently March. "So no island hopping in the Caribbean?"

"Not in the summer." He added, "We've got an old plantation on St. Kitts. and a house on St. Barts. Both are left over from a long time ago, before the French crown fell."

TWO places in the Caribbean? These guys were way beyond Richie Rich rich. "Isn't St. Kitts British?"

"Very good." Adam nodded. "Some one of our ancestors was hedging bets a long time ago. He bought a sugar plantation to get in on a cash crop."

"I see."

Mae got up, and walked around to the windows behind him. Out of her league was an understatement.

But it did explain a few things. That didn't mean she wasn't still curious.

"I take it the Explorer Ben took for fish last night is yours?" she asked.

"Yes, and that reminds me, get yourself listed as a driver on the insurance, and use it for household errands. There's a gas speed card in it."

Mae smiled to herself at how easy he made that sound. And how much the boss was always there. Right under the surface, even when he was relating family history.

And then he said, "If you don't like driving it, I'll call the dealer, and you can go test drive what he's got, and pick something out."

Mae shook her head to herself. "You make it sound so easy."

"With as much money as I have, it is easy," he returned with no apologies.

She turned around to find him staring at her. "You're being awfully generous with me."

He shrugged with the confidence of someone who inherited generations of wealth. "I can."

Before Mae could say anything to that, there was a knock on the door. "Hey, Adam, you in there?" came Damien's voice.

"Yeah," he called over a shoulder.

The door opened, Damien stuck his head in, and held out a mobile phone. "Gabe's on the line. He wants to talk to you."

Mae watched Adam get up, and take the phone from Damien turning to the front windows to talk.

Enough for one day, she thought. He was out of her league in so many ways it was not even funny. And she needed to get used to it. She started for the door with her head down, passing Damien on the way out. Neither man stopped her.

Chapter 11

The next morning, after a whole lot of snow had been shoveled, and everyone had managed to make it out of the driveway to get to the Mass of their choice, Adam sat in the gothic white marble chapel at the monastery soaking in the peace. It was the one place he could go to be alone with God and just be. No disruptions. No brothers. No boards. No demands.... No women. And today he needed that peace. His week had been a turbulent mess. His carefully ordered world was turned upside down.

Yesterday, after Mae escaped - and it was an escape, Adam was convinced, now that he had a chance to think about it - he had dealt with Gabe deciding that it would serve him better to have his own place in the Central West End closer to the medical school, Ed needing to talk over board of directors duties for one of the companies in France that had a meeting next week, Ben wanting his opinion on an investment vehicle, Damien's chat regarding a deal pending with the Army Corps of Engineers in Iowa, Christian not speaking to him, Francis needing some cheering up, and Mae...all of a sudden she was making every attempt to avoid him.

And that, more than any of the challenges with his brothers or business, was making him some bizarre combination of anxious and angry.

In five days, what she was thinking and feeling became more important to him than dealing with his brothers and their problems. He told himself it wasn't unsettling.

But it was.

"Hey there, stranger," came from a deep, quiet voice to his left.

Adam looked up and grinned, "Paulie!" he said no louder than a whisper before rising and putting out a hand to shake that of his old grade school classmate who was now a priest of the order at the monastery. "I didn't know you were assigned here." Adam turned to face him as much as the distance between the pews allowed.

"Well," started Paul, who looked Adam in the eye with cool gray irises under shortly trimmed blonde hair in fair skin, wearing a dark brown cowl, and a rope belt, "I'm actually researching a cause for canonization in this archdiocese at the moment."

"Ah, I see." Paul was on loan for official business.

"What brings you to monk central?" Paul asked. "Last time I saw you, you had a thing for the ladies. Not that you were inclined to do anything about it."

Adam smiled. "Mass, actually. I usually attend here to stay away from said ladies."

"Don't tell me you've-" Paul raised a hand and moved it back and forth.

"No, not me," said Adam firmly. "I just wasn't meeting all that high class a woman in our parish."

Paul threw back his head and laughed, earning him dirty looks from the small number of people who had stayed after Mass to pray. "And you stayed late after Mass because...."

"Because my life has taken a strange turn, and I'm not sure what to do about it." Adam admitted.

Paul's eyes narrowed, and his lips pursed. "God hasn't sent you any signals?"

"Oh, God's sent plenty. It's someone else who's sending mixed ones." He could hear the frustration in his own voice.

Knowing eyes studied him. "I take it this has to do with a woman not from your parish."

"I thought I had a better poker face than that." Adam did his best to sound insulted.

"I taught you to play, remember? Every man who falls for a woman who isn't interested or jilts him gets a faraway glance in his eyes. It's just a matter of knowing how to read it."

Adam took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Come on, Pernoud," Paul said turning him toward the aisle. "Let's get some coffee, and you can tell me all about it."

An hour later, sitting with Paul in the monks' dining hall, an empty coffee cup in front of him, Adam was pouring out the entire story to one of the few people outside the family who knew him well enough to be trusted with great secrets. "So after she left the room while I was talking to Gabriel, she went down to the kitchen, and starts to make homemade pizza."

"Homemade pizza is a problem?" Paul asked with a raised brow.

"No. But she didn't hear the conversation with Gabriel, so I went to find her to tell her what he said, and get her input and she just listened. Nothing else. No communication verbal or non. Nothing. Her face was blank. No sidelong glances, no telling me I'm worrying about nothing. No encouragement. We sat down to eat and rather than the foot of the table, where she belongs, she sat in Gabe's spot, didn't look up, didn't say a word unless someone talked directly to her, and don't forget Christian wasn't speaking to me, either." Was that bitterness, and fear coming out? he asked himself silently.

Paul picked up the coffee carafe on the table, and said, "Adam, do you think maybe telling her about the extent of your wealth may have something to do with her sudden withdrawal? It's one thing for her to think that you are just rich, but you are closer to Warren Buffett territory. That's a completely different realm." He poured more coffee into Adam's cup before serving himself.

"Collectively, we brothers are past that, but why should it matter?" he asked impatiently. "It's just money."

"I know that," Paul said patiently. "And I know you know that. And I know you see wealth as a means to an end, and that you try desperately not to be proud of your generosity, and simple living compared to so many other wealthy people, or paying top dollar for having work done, but for someone who grew up without all the trappings, the thought of Richie Rich rich can be intimidating."

"Mae's not intimidated by that sort of thing," Adam said with conviction. "She's worked for the monied crowd for too long to be put off by wealth."

"Okay, but she may well see that she is not from the same class as you having worked for people with money rather than being one of us from the beginning."

"Paul-" Adam shook his head.

"Hear me out, Adam." Paul put a gentle hand on his arm. "Remember when we were in high school, and the kids from the south side used to wonder out loud just how moral our dads were because they were rich?"

"Yeah."

"And they used to have their little groups that made it a point to bring canned goods to school rather than cash or a check from home when we were raising money, and collecting food for one cause or another?"

"Yeah."

"And how the nuns who used to come in as guest lecturers used to try to guilt us wealthy kids into giving up our inheritances?"

Adam felt his head shake. "Yeah. It was all ignorance. All of it. They have no clue of the responsibilities that come with wealth."

"To an extent, yes. To them, we were more things than people with emotions, and feelings just like they were," Paul stressed.

"Paul, Mae knows my brothers and I are a tight knit family that loves, and that the boys come before cash," Adam insisted.

"Yes, but does she understand that she can fit in, just as she did in her own family?"

"But she didn't fit in in her own family." Adam protested. "And her siblings who are in relationships or marriages are all miserable or in really unhealthy ones."

Paul appeared to think about that. "Maybe it's just happening too fast."

"I thought about that," Adam admitted.

"Does she know that Pernoud men's heads are only turned once?"

Adam took a sip of coffee. "I haven't told her. I doubt any of my brothers have, either."

Paul narrowed his eyes. "Does she know that Pernoud men rarely marry within their social stratum?"

"Probably not," Adam admitted. "That's not something many people know."

Paul sat back, and took a deep breath before saying, "You do realize that your head's been turned."

"Oh, yeah, I do. More than you can possibly imagine." Adam pursed his lips.

"Well, then, Adam, maybe you should just give it some time. You've only known her a week." Paul advised.

"Won't make a difference." He shook his head. "We're going to end up together."

"I know that. But you might want to be a little patient about making it happen. After all you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with her." Paul smiled a little. "Want me to have my brother check her out?"

"And REALLY piss her off? No thanks." Paul's brother ran one of the country's major security firms that Adam regularly used to check out employees, clients, and the competition. Funny he hadn't even thought about having Mae checked out. "Is he still contracted with the NSA?"

"Yes. And before you ask, he has ownership of my trust fund."

"So, you didn't just give it to the order?" Adam teased.

"And have Abbot Karl take it to the homeless, and hand it out so that they can go and buy drugs? No."

Adam tried not to laugh.

Paul continued, "The order does get a stipend from it every year. I have no idea how much. God only knows what Karl is spending it on."

"Glad to see you trust human nature." Adam tried not to snicker.

"I trust in God, you know that. Humans don't usually know what's good for them."

"Yeah, true." Adam drew himself up. "Thanks for listening, Paul. I've kept you too long."

"Oh, no you haven't," Paul said with conviction. "I'm a guest here doing a service for this community. I have no official duties other than saying a couple Masses a weekend at a parish close by, and hearing confessions."

Adam smiled. "Still, I need to get home. Taking off for Washington on Tuesday and need to be sure all is in order at home."

"You mean be sure Mae doesn't bolt on you," Paul said. "Somehow, I doubt that will happen."

Adam wished he could be so sure. "Anything is possible."

"Pray over it, Adam."

"I will."

Chapter 12

Thursday afternoon, Mae pulled in front of the garage at the estate, as she had started calling Adam's house thanks to his prompting, and put the Explorer in park. If she didn't like driving it he'd buy her something else, Adam had said. Not like driving it...with satellite radio, heated seats, USB drives, and a whole lot more, she loved driving it.

Adam was just going to have to get himself another SUV if he didn't want to take the Maz, she said to herself. If she told herself that often enough, she's start to believe it rather than the fantasy she wanted to believe was hers for the taking.

There I go again, she thought. Talking to myself as if I am going to stay here forever. That was just not going to happen even if Adam was still treating her like a wife rather than an employee.

She sighed as she got out of the vehicle, and lifted her face to the sun. As usual with late winter storms in the Lou, within two days of the nine inch blanket of snow covering them, a warm front came through, and they were now enjoying sunshine and massively messy lawns as the piles of snow had melted down to icy patches.

It's a good thing something is normal around here, Mae thought.

She went around to the back of the vehicle, and started to unload groceries, including tonight's dinner. Steak and her special mashed potatoes, since Adam should be home in the next three hours. It was the one thing she could do to please him considering she was cutting off the kissing as soon as he got home. If she was going to survive this job, she was going to have to quit living like she was the heroine in a romance novel.

Mae's mouth went dry at the thought of Adam being at the head of the dinner table again, and she at the foot, as if they really were family. She wasn't sure if she was dreading it or looking forward to it.

She didn't even try to analyze the concept of pleasing Adam with food.

After Mass on Sunday, she had gone to her apartment in the city to pick up another load of clothes, and take pictures of the furniture she wasn't moving out to the estate. Only heirlooms were coming with her, and since Adam was paying her what he was, and they got along okay at least for now, she figured she could sell the rest on Craig's List, work for him for a few years, maybe in the office instead of the house since he wouldn't tolerate workplace drama, pay off her debts, and eventually save up enough to be able to start over.

That's when she would move on...if she didn't have to earlier for her own survival.

Mae's heart started pounding, and aching at the thought of moving on and leaving the Pernouds, the best and most welcoming home she had ever known even if she had only lived there a little over a week. But there was nothing for it. Adam was so far beyond her league it wasn't even funny. If he had just owned the one company - not several - and had only the Maz, and just one vacation house, like in North Carolina or something, it wouldn't be so big a deal. But the Ferrari is in Newport, there's houses on St. Kitts, and St. Barts, and thanks to the boys talking freely around her, she now knew there were also apartments in Paris, London, Venice, Madrid and Rome, among other places, their grandmother's villa in Milan, and family jets that were currently being used by their commuter company.

They were wealthy beyond her dreams. Not that she didn't already know it, but all of these guys were WAY out of her league, not just Adam. She just hoped that she could keep working for them.

She trudged up the stairs to the deck and kitchen, and opened the back door to find the devil himself sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop open, and a glass of water in front of him.

Adam's eyes rose to hers, and she stopped breathing.

"Is there more?" he asked, that dark and velvety voice washing over her.

"More?" she parroted. More what?

"More groceries," he said nodding to the bags in her hands.

Mae felt her face flame. "A few." She nodded.

Adam rose to his full height in suit pants, a white dress shirt with no tie, sleeves rolled up and the top button undone, and walked around the table. Mae moved to get out of his way. Before she could do that, he put an arm around her, and drew her to his side for a kiss. A sweet, and soft, but firm and possessive kiss that had her melting into him. She felt her lips soften under his even as she put a hand on his chest to push him away. When he lifted his head, she looked into dark pools of soft obsidian before he said, "I missed you." He kissed the end of her nose. "I'll get the rest." He disappeared out the back door, and left her to prop herself against the butcher's block to keep from melting into the floor.

Mae put the grocery bags on the counter, and tried not to cry. What was he doing here? He wasn't supposed to be back until dinner. She needed the extra time to brace herself for being in his presence again. She started putting things away, and before too long Adam came through the door with the rest of what she had bought. Without speaking, she opened the refrigerator, and started moving food around to fit the new acquisitions inside.

She could feel Adam watching her as he pulled food out of the bags. An ache started building in the region of her heart. This is what she would be leaving behind, she thought. The intimacy of everyday living with Adam, not just the boss-employee relationship. The ache around her heart started to hurt. Don't let him see it, Mae. Don't let him see that staying away from him is painful. Don't let on. He'll take advantage of it.

Adam's hands closed on her shoulders. She shut the refrigerator door, closed her eyes, and tried not to cry. He slid her all-purpose parka from her body, and walked away with it. Mae turned her head to see him carry it to the coat rack by the back door. "I thought you weren't going to be here until dinner," she ventured, her voice a little gravelly.

"The hearing this morning was cancelled, so I took an earlier flight rather than having the Gulfstream burn all that fuel to come back and get me." He turned around. She felt his eyes look into her soul. "Air traffic is just about back to normal after the storm, so finding a seat wasn't a problem. Even in first class."

"Oh," she took the pile of empty grocery bags, and stuffed them all into one to go back to the store to be recycled. "Did the trip go well?"

Adam made a face, and walked to her, "About as well as I expected. The people in Congress don't want to spend money on infrastructure unless it's in their district, and then half the time they want stuff that doesn't need to be replaced." He took her hand, and pulled her to the kitchen table, seating her in one of the boys' seats. He sat in the one next to her. "Several of our representatives are not going to be convinced the lock and dam we were discussing has fatigue issues until the damn thing fails." He laced their fingers. "But I don't want to talk about that," he said searching her face.

Mae tried to pull her hand away. "No?"

"No, and I don't want to talk about household issues, either, so don't try to fob me off with it like you did every time I called you this week. You're doing a spectacular job. You know that."

Mae bit her lip, and said, "What else is there for us to talk about?" She stole a look into his angry eyes.

"What else is there?" he said a little louder. "A whole lot and you know it."

Mae felt the tears start to build as she shook her head. "Adam, I'm your household manager, not-"

He cut her off before she could say it. "You're who I want you to be," he said, his soft tone dangerously emphatic.

She swallowed, and tugged at her hand. "But what if I don't want to be that person."

He tightened his grip, and said, "What if you really do want to be that person, and all the voices of your childhood, and some really stupid social lies are telling you that it's not possible. That for some reason it won't work. That rich guys don't go for women who don't look a certain way, or aren't rich themselves."

"Adam," she heard the pleading in her voice. "I'm...you're...we..." She gestured frantically with her free hand before pleading, "Look, you're a great guy-"

"Uh-uh," said Adam shaking his head. "This is about my money, and don't try to tell me it isn't." His eyes went a little cold.

Mae quit breathing. How the heck did.... "Adam, people like me work for people like you."

His grip on her hand tightened painfully. "People like me?" He sounded offended.

She tried to be reasonable. "Wealthy people. From different worlds-"

"Oh no, you're not going there." He shook his head.

"What do you mean I'm not going there?" She gestured again with her free hand. "Your family has been rich for hundreds of years. Mine is barely not white trash."

"So what? You think my family doesn't have its fair share of trashy people?"

"So far I haven't seen any."

Adam released her, got up, and started to pace. "Look, the real reason we have so damn many businesses all over the world is to keep a whole lot of distant cousins employed. Alright? Yeah, we've been in the St. Louis area since Pierre Laclede set up a fur trading post, and the Pernoud men usually find their brides from different places around the western world, but they generally aren't from any kind of monied pool. My mother's father is still a fisherman on Corsica. He owns a tourist resort he built himself, but really he's a fisherman." Mae wasn't sure where he was going with this, but that was an interesting tidbit. "My dad's mother was a dressmaker in Milan. She still designs women's clothing. My great-grandmother's father was a silk merchant who had a talent for pissing off his customers." Adam put his hands on his hips, and stared daggers at her. "To make matters far worse, in the old days, before we Americans went all puritan all the time, there were any number of children sired in every outpost where there was a family enterprise. Fortunately, most of the descendants don't make a big deal of it, but it's hammered into all of us who are the oldest of the legitimate descendants that we have to take care of our own no matter who they are. In this generation, that's me." He gestured to his chest with his thumb. "It's not easy, especially when one of my dad's cousins should have a wing named for him at Betty Ford - and trust me, I have a couple first cousins who would make your brother Quin look like a Brooks Brothers ad."

Mae could hear the anger in his voice.

"Every damn one of them was given every chance and every opportunity to succeed, and just about all of them blew it." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Of course, my Aunt Suzanne marrying a playboy who likes to live large, and not put anything back in the kitty didn't help. Even his father has given up on him."

She looked down at the table.

"We're the first generation that has more than two legitimate kids per family in about three hundred years if you don't count the ones who all died of childhood disease way back when. It was considered really unmodern or unfashionable or something when Christian was born, let alone Francis and Gabriel so much later than the rest of us – and that doesn't count the miscarriages my mother had in between. She was shunned by the rest of the clan for being a good Catholic, and not cutting off my dad at an heir and a spare."

Mae interrupted him. "You know that's the prevailing social paradigm."

"Yes, but in my family for a lot longer than the last sixty years, too many legitimate kids meant spreading all the cash thin, thus less cash for jewelry, travel, and partying. And there have been quite a few who have liked to party over the years. Not every line is loaded with dawn to dusk work-a-holics like we are."

Or honorable men who looked out for the clan whether they deserved it or not, she thought to herself. "And they just expect you to provide for them?"

"Yes," he spat.

"That's pretty despicable."

"Oh, yeah," he agreed. "And when I told Aunt Suzanne that she, her husband, daughter, and their two boys were no longer welcome in the house in Newport after they trashed it one weekend, and totaled an antique Corvette that had been my grandfather Pernoud's, they quit speaking to me, so I cut them off."

Mae licked at her lower lip. "I know this isn't exactly my place to ask this, but who is your Aunt Suzanne related to."

Adam put his hands on his hips. "Mae, anything about me is your place to ask, and she's my father's spoiled rotten little sister."

Mae took a deep breath. She had to set him straight, before he had them married with three kids of their own. "No, Adam, it isn't my place. I'm your employee. I'm here to keep your house, cook your meals, and make sure the bills get paid on time. I work with Gayle to keep your life as smooth as possible. Which incidentally-"

Adam exploded. "Shit, Mae, stop it. You are not just an employee, alright? From the minute I opened the front door last Tuesday you have been a hell of a lot more than that in this house. For whatever reason, when we were talking on Saturday in the guest suite, something changed. What?"

Mae cringed. He'd never understand. "You won't understand."

He raised his arms in a shrug. "You're damn right I don't understand. What? What did I do?"

"Nothing."

He put his hands back on his hips. "What do you mean, nothing? I had to have done something. You just clammed up."

Mae looked at her hands. "Adam, we're from different-"

"No, no, you're not pulling that."

She looked up at him. "Pulling what?"

"The 'we come from different worlds' or 'social planes' or 'places in life' crap. That's a cop out." She looked into his hurt eyes. "I'm not accepting that."

"But we do," Mae protested, getting up, and walking to the far end of the table. "You have houses and apartments all over the world, and I rent one side of a two family flat."

His brows lowered. "At the risk of repeating myself, so what?"

"Guys like you-"

"Nope." He shook his head grimly. "Try again."

Mae swallowed. "Life isn't a fairy tale-"

"You think my life is a fairy tale?" Outrage dripped from the words. "I have not just six brothers dependent on me and my decisions, but when it comes down to it, thousands of employees, multiple boards of directors, several convents and churches around the world, clients who do not tolerate failure, and the lives of the public who drive over structures my business engineers and constructs every year. You're damn right life isn't a fairy tale, and it's far less of one that you might imagine," he finished with a crescendo.

Mae felt every word penetrate to her soul. She sat in her usual kitchen chair with a thud. "What do you want from me?" Her voice was stark.

She watched Adam take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. His voice was barely leashed when he said, "I want an admission that you felt it. The spark when we met. That you felt something more than just 'This is the latest rich guy I am going to work for.' Like I'm some sort of lord of the manor. It doesn't work that way with me."

Mae closed her eyes. He was really hurt. She felt his pain from across the room. And she did that. How could she have done that? "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Well, sweetheart, you did." His voice dripped with truth.

She folded her hands on the table. "I...I guess since I've only been here a week, I thought..."

"You thought what?" he asked sharply.

"To...that the pain wouldn't be as bad if-"

"If you cut us off before things could go too far, or whatever the saying is these days? Too late." His mouth was grim. "Pernoud men's heads are only turned once. You turned mine, and that's the end of it. You're stuck with me."

Mae's mouth dropped open, and she felt her eyes go wide. "Your heads are only turned once? That's a great line. How many women have you tried it on?"

Adam recoiled as if she had hit him. He shook his head and sat down. "You don't get it. It's not a line or a ruse or any sort of trick. It's a fact. All it takes is one meeting." Hurt was the least of it. He looked cut to the bone.

But, really, she wasn't buying it. At least she shouldn't be. "And with all the exposure you have to women, you expect me to believe that-"

"You're it? Yes." He was rather emphatic about that.

"Why?"

"Why? What do you mean why?" The outrage was back.

"I mean why did I turn your head? There has to be something other than just attraction." She crossed her arms.

Adam sighed, and scrubbed his hands over his face. "I couldn't tell you. I really couldn't. You just know it when it happens."

"That's it?" Mae felt her eyebrows go up. "You dump in my lap that I, how did you put it, turned your head, and that I'm some sort of it, and you just know it when it happens, you can't explain it...and it's supposed to mean what, exactly?" And she had been feeling bad about cutting this off?

His eyes began to plead. "That you need to give us a chance."

She felt her eyes narrow. "More cliches?"

"Look, Mae, I need you, okay?" He got up and started to pace again. "Not just to cook and do laundry and make sure the mail gets sorted, but to help me figure out what to do about Gabriel-"

"Gabriel?" Huh? "What does Gabriel have to do with this?"

"He wants to get an apartment in the city, closer to school remember?" He stopped, and put his hands back on his hips.

"And what does this have to do with me? He's of age, and if he really does have a stock portfolio and some kind of income on his own, he should be able to afford something in that part of town." Why didn't he discuss that with Ben or someone else in the family? Where Gabriel chose to live wasn't any of her business.

"What does it have to do with you?" He was a bit incredulous. "Nobody else would dare tell me that Gabriel should be using his own resources to finance housing."

"Why shouldn't he if he has it? You said you don't own the stock portfolios. Do you even know how much your brothers are worth?"

"No. Not exactly," Adam admitted. "And I don't even know if any of them are getting income from their investments. Well, other than Damien, and Francis, but that's mostly from the venture capital groups, and they pass business ideas by me all the time. Ben doesn't do that anymore. What else they've got going, I just know an outline. That goes for the rest of the boys, too."

Mae uncrossed her arms. "And yet you all live together."

"That's more a matter of convenience for all of us."

Right. "You mean having easy company that you don't have to fake liking."

He mulled that for a moment. "That, too \- and quit trying to distract me from the original topic." His voice was sharp.

"Adam, I'm not trying to distract you," she said shaking her head. "I'm trying to make sense of all this."

"It seems pretty simple to me." He was quite sure of himself.

Her eyes narrowed again. "Love at first sight?"

"Something like that," he nodded, a little more calm, as if the initial explosion took most of his fight.

Mae took a deep breath. "I'm not sure I believe in that."

Adam scrubbed his hands over his face again, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, then, I'm just going to have to convince you."

Mae got up, and went to the refrigerator.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked. "We're not done."

"Maybe not," she said opening the door, and pulling out a package in butcher paper. "But your steak needs to warm up before I cook it."

He cocked a brow. "You think food, even if it is your cooking, is going to make this go away?"

Mae looked over her shoulder and met his gaze. "No." She shook her head, and started to unwrap the meat. "I just want to be sure I don't wreck your dinner. It's part of my job here."

"Part of your job," Adam scoffed. "You really seriously think that's all you are in this house? That you see yourself as a servant, a hired hand or something like that?"

Mae turned to stare at him, and crossed her arms. "Adam, you hired me to manage your house. Last Tuesday, you didn't say anything about-"

"I didn't know at the time." His voice was quiet, more vulnerable.

"Didn't know what?" She put her fists on her hips, and stopped herself from tapping a foot.

"That you had turned my head."

"Really? How'd you find out if you don't mind my asking."

He looked a little sheepish. "Well...maybe I thought about it that morning on my way to work, but my brothers noticed it, and started ribbing me." It sounded like he was in confessional. "By dinner the next night I knew I was in trouble. I tried to deny it, but on one level I knew."

In trouble? Did he have any idea what he was saying? "Why would my turning your head be trouble?"

Adam started to pace again. He got to the back door and stared out. "I had given up even trying to find the right woman to do the head turning. Too many gold-diggers out there, and not one was appealing. Falling for a woman is not supposed to be full of guile, or even painful. Two of my brothers, now three, I assume, since Gabriel is with this Alicia, whoever she is, got their heads turned. I told you about Christian. Ed...it's a Romeo and Juliet thing. Her name is Beth, and they eloped about four years ago. No one outside the family knows. She's alright, but there's bad blood with her father. Some left over conflict from our dads' day. For all of them, it just happened. No wrangling or worrying. No trying to figure it out."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

He looked at her. "Since you've come into my life, I finally understand. I fell hard and fast, and it was easy. There's something about you that screams 'I'm honest and you can trust me.' Your work has proven that out. Plus...I...you, uh, are on my mind all the time, and I find myself thinking about you in a far more primal sense day and night."

Mae let that sink in. "And this is turning your head?"

"Yes."

She looked into his honest and earnest eyes. He really believes it, she thought. He really believes....

Without any warning, the back door opened and Ben walked in the kitchen. He looked between the two of them since they were more or less squared off, and asked, "Am I interrupting something?"

Mae turned away to put the dinner potatoes on to boil.

Adam answered his brother behind her, "Yes, and what are you doing home so early?"

"Me?" Ben said, surprise in his voice. "It's after three-thirty, and what are you doing here? As far as we all knew, including your executive assistant, you were supposed to be in at six o'clock."

Silence was the answer behind her.

"Ah, I see," came from Ben. "Later," he said before grabbing a beer out of the fridge, and leaving the room.

Mae turned to see Adam staring after his brother with his brows lowered. "You didn't tell anyone you were coming home early?" she asked.

"If they had known where I was, we wouldn't have been able to have this conversation," he said.

"I see," she said, turning away from him, and putting a lid on the potato pot.

"Do you?" he asked. "And do we have the concept of not letting this happen due to my wealth put to rest?"

Mae but her lip. "My family-"

"Doesn't have a damn thing to do with us." Finality rang in his voice.

Her breath caught. She turned, and looked into his eyes. The mixture of anger, desire, and intensity there pierced her soul. "Can I have some time to think about all this? I mean, it's a lot to take in."

His face betrayed nothing, but he said, "Of course," in a neutral tone. He came to her side and continued, "And after dinner-"

"I have rehearsal," she said quickly. "Last week was cancelled. A few members of the choir go out afterwards, so I'll be late. No need to wait up."

Adam stopped halfway to her, and cocked his head. "I didn't know that."

"Yes, well, that's my Thursdays, so..." She shrugged, walked to the refrigerator, and smiled over her shoulder. "I'll have dinner for you all at seven, but I can't stay because-"

"You're escaping again."

She looked into eyes that ached with emotion, and quietly said, "Rehearsal starts at seven thirty. I'll grab something at the bar afterwards."

His eyes searched hers. He really did believe all that nonsense about head turning, she thought. He truly thought it was more than just attraction that would fade away someday. He leaned down, and touched his lips to hers, gently at first, then with more pressure, moving closer until she was pressed up against him, and sliding her hands up his arms to push him away. He pulled himself out of their almost embrace, and said, "I'll be in my office. Send Gabriel back if he shows up." With that, he turned on his heel, snatched up his laptop, and disappeared toward his office leaving his suit coat, luggage, and briefcase behind.

Chapter 13

"And then he says - get this - I've turned his head." Mae started sawing at a potato skin on the plate in front of her.

As was their custom after they were done rehearsing, she, two other singers from the choir and the organist went out for a drink at the dive bar down the street from church. Normally, she just had one whiskey on the rocks, and a basket of house made chips, but tonight she was chowing down on bacon and chive laden potato skins since she hadn't had dinner. She plopped a bite in her mouth, and started to chew.

"So, this guy, Adam Pernoud, is he related to a Christian Pernoud?" Mariana, an alto with bobbed dark brown hair, four kids, and a husband at home, asked.

Mae nodded as she picked up her drink. "Christian is his younger brother. You know him?"

"No, but a friend of mine who is an antiquities scrounger works for a company that contracts with Pernoud Brothers. She claims the one named Christian said the same thing to her."

"Christian said what?" Mae asked with interest.

"That Sarah Jane turned his head." Marianna air quoted.

"Oh," Mae took a sip of her drink. "She must be the one Adam told me about. He said Christian took it really badly when she rejected him."

"Adam Pernoud talked to you about his brother's love life?" Cassie, a fellow soprano, lifted her brows, and shook her head. "I heard he was, like, incredibly quiet and really a private kind of person. Almost a recluse."

"Well, he's really not. He's pretty athletic, and a work-a-holic, actually. He's constantly in meetings," Mae made a face, and speared another bite of potato skin, "He is quite closed mouthed to people who aren't family, though. He thinks of me as family. He's made that plain." She bit down on the bacon and cheese, and tried to ignore the warm feeling spreading through her middle at the thought of being a member of Adam's family in spite their conversation that afternoon.

Marissa, the organist, who was leaning back in her chair, and sipping a glass of red wine, piped up, "So have you been adopted, then?"

"No," Mae shook her head. "I think he's serious about me turning his head. He really believes in love at first sight, and he claims it happens to Pernoud men only once." She sipped her drink. "The worst part...." she looked all of her friends in the eye one at a time. "He kisses like there's no tomorrow."

"He does what?" "Oh, my God," came from Cassie and Mariana. Marissa just chuckled and sipped her wine.

"You let him kiss you?" Mariana exclaimed.

"Let isn't exactly the right word." Mae admitted, spearing a bite of potato skin.

"Mae!" Cassie held her hand to her face. "You willingly kissed your boss?"

"Well," Mae sighed. "I didn't fight him, but-"

"But nothing," said mommy Mariana. "He could just be playing with your head."

"Oh, I doubt that." If Mae knew nothing else about Adam, she knew he was serious about this. "He doesn't play about family, and love. Those are serious issues for him."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Cassie who appeared genuinely alarmed.

"He came home early from a business trip to have it out with me." Mariana and Cassie looked unconvinced. "He really believes this," Mae insisted.

"And you don't," asked Marissa.

Mae thought about that. "I don't know that it's love, exactly. I mean, the attraction is there, and was from the beginning, just like he said, and he's amazingly generous, and treats me better than any man ever has...but-"

"But nothing," Mariana was most emphatic. "He's using the same line as his brother."

Mae took a deep breath, and blew it out. "Yeah, I know."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Mae, when it all gets to be too much, you come to your senses, and you need a place to crash, I've got room. In the meantime, be careful, alright?" She reached into her purse, and pulled out some cash. "I've got to run. Seven thirty meeting in the morning."

"Yeah, me too," Mariana said getting her keys out of her purse, and taking a gulp of her water - the only thing she ever ordered. "Mae, really, it sounds like a line."

"I know," Mae said, deflated from the reality check. "See you Sunday."

Once they were gone, Mae cut another piece of potato skin, and put it in her mouth. She looked up at Marissa who was watching her.

"You going to tell me to get out of the Pernoud house, too?" she asked a bit defensively.

"Nope," Marissa took a sip of her wine. "But I am wondering if you have any clue what that building is that the brothers built on the back field of their property a few years ago."

Mae cocked her head. "How do you know about that? Or that what it is is a secret?"

Marissa shrugged. "My church job before this one was the Pernoud's home parish. By the time I landed there, Adam was attending Mass somewhere else, but the rest of the boys were around quite a bit. When they started that building, there was all sorts of speculation on what it was going to be."

"Like what were people thinking it is?"

"Like since Etienne and Manon were gone, and they were pretty strict with the boys when they were young, maybe it was a gigantic go cart track, or maybe a black magic ritual shop. I heard Eastern European sex trafficking auction house-"

"Some people have vivid imaginations," Mae said shaking her head, and swallowing some of her drink.

"Then there was the rumor of the child porn studio."

Mae felt her face screw into incredulity. "Are you kidding?"

"No," Marissa looked her in the eye. "Any idea what it really is?"

"Yes, and before you ask, it has nothing to do with sex. At least, I doubt it does. I don't think those guys even do that."

"Really?" Marissa was a bit incredulous herself.

"Yes, really," Mae said emphatically. "There's no sign that any of them are even trying to meet women, either, for all of them being hot, gorgeous, smart guys with plenty of testosterone."

"Adam really did push your buttons. Huh." Marissa took another sip of wine. "So, have you been in the building, yet?"

Mae nodded, "For a few minutes the other day. Part of my Household Manager duties."

Marissa chuckled. "You're going to fall back on that until the day he proposes, aren't you."

"What? I am the Household Manager. At least for now. I let the Zamboni repair guy inside so Damien could finish a conference call that was running over."

"Zamboni?"

Mae nodded. "It threw a rod. Or something."

Marissa's eyes lit, and she started laughing. "They built themselves a hockey rink."

Mae picked up her drink again. "It's always hockey night at the Pernouds. Found that out on Sunday evening."

Marissa chuckled behind her wine glass. "No kidding."

"Yes. It goes with the driving range, the putting green, the industrial sized hot tub, resistance wave pool, lap pool, weight room-"

Marissa stopped her. "I get the idea."

"And the fights over the steam showers... " Mae speared another bite of potato skin. "Marissa, it's a friggin' frat house."

"Steam showers?" Marissa cocked her head. "It sounds like the Pernouds are more loaded than most of us thought."

Mae nodded. "You could say that. I told Adam he made it sound like they were Richie Rich rich, and he said, and I quote, richer than that."

"No shit." Marissa's eyebrows went up.

"No shit."

Mae watched her friend take a deep breath. "Well, I'm going to buck the trend. Go for it. There's worse things than being the wife of somebody with more money than Richie Rich. And turning his head might not be just a line. Anyone that wealthy can't be hard up for women."

Mae sipped at her drink. "I can't believe I'm comparing Adam to a cartoon character."

Marissa laughed. "At least you're not calling him Beavis or Butthead."

Adam reached over the rink boards, and grabbed the hanging goal practice stop. He did not say a word to any of his brothers as they left the ice. He knew they were watching him carefully while he hung the stop over one of the goals, and skated back to the dasher board where he had left his stick.

"Hey, Adam, I've gotta be on a call early. You going to be a while?" came from Damien. It was his turn to do the ice tonight.

"Don't worry about the ice," Adam said reaching over the board to grab the bucket of pucks they used for target practice. "I'll take care of it."

Adam skated back to the end of the rink where he had hung the target board, and emptied the pucks on the ice. He ignored the low tones behind him as his brothers changed, and talked quietly amongst themselves.

He was in a rotten mood tonight. He knew it. He knew the boys knew it. And he was pretty sure they knew the cause, too, since it wasn't any of them. He unbuckled his helmet, and picked a puck out with the blade of his stick, wristing a shot to the target board. It hit with a loud thud.

He should have listened to Paul. Mae wasn't ready to accept him, the concept of his head being turned, and his money all at the same time.

Dammit.

He spread the pucks out a bit farther, and started shooting at the net.

It was not all that often that Adam made a severe tactical mistake, but when he did they were doozies. This one qualified.

He wristed a shot through the hole in the target board that would have been over a goalkeeper's stick side.

He managed to make the woman who finally turned his head think he was crazy.

He picked out a puck and skated around the back of the zone to shoot. BANG! The shot slammed on the target board.

Well, maybe not crazy, but she definitely didn't think that one look was all it took.

He selected another puck, and wristed it through a hole in the board.

She actually believed the "different world" meme, as if people with money didn't shit, shower, and shave just like everyone else albeit in a nicer bathroom.

He sent another shot through a hole on the practice board.

She honestly thought that cars and houses were more than just there to serve a purpose even if the ones inhabited by wealthy people were sizable and expensive.

He took another puck to the blue line, and sent a slap shot through the five hole.

She didn't get that being rich was not about fun and games. It was about being sure that dependents were provided for. At least for him. There were other people out there stockpiling cash for no other reason than to say they were rich and powerful, yes, but that was not his problem. That was not proof of being a man.

Not that her dad had shown her all that decent of an example of what being a man was all about. Employing thousands of people, and providing health insurance, and retirement investments wasn't the same as being a parent even if the guy was bad at it, but that was what the job of being a wealthy man entailed. At least for him.

He sent another wrist shot through a hole on the board.

Adam knew she was smart enough to understand if she stopped to think about it.

The problem was getting her to stop and think about it.

He skated to the net and fished out all the pucks scattered around. Once he had them lined up about fifteen feet from the goal, he started quick firing slap shots, listening to the pucks bounce off the board with satisfying cracks among the few that made it through the strategically placed holes in the goal target. Didn't do much to improve his aim, but the sound was satisfying.

Once he was finished with the line of pucks, he skated back to the net to fish out the shots that made it in along with all the ones that didn't, and sent them back to the middle of the rink.

At a certain point, he felt rather than heard somebody behind him. "What? If you haven't noticed I'm not in a great mood tonight." He turned to find Gabriel standing on the closest blue line in jeans and a brown leather bomber jacket over a white button down shirt. His not quite black curls were a mess.

Gabe swallowed a bit before asking, "I was just wondering if you'd had a chance to think about me moving closer to school."

Adam looked at his little brother. Really looked at him for once. His little brother who was his charge, his responsibility - and pretty much only his - for most of the kid's life. That Adam was more or less his acting parent wasn't either brother's fault. Neither was the stripping down Gabriel had to do to ask permission to grow up. Adam knew how he felt. At one time, he had wanted to move out, too. He needed to remember that. May as well find out what this was all about. "Why the sudden need to be on your own?" he asked moving the pucks around on the ice for better shooting position.

"Well, to be honest, driving back and forth to the city takes time. More than you realize. And gas. Especially at rush hour. You drive back and forth on either side of it." Gabe shifted on his feet. "I've been talking to my dissertation advisor, and what I want to research is going to take a lot of hours in the lab. That's going to be a lot more driving if I'm living out here." Adam kept silent. Gabe didn't usually talk this much about his studies other than an overview. "Not that I don't love hockey night, but it's going to have to take a back seat to school other than the weekends until I graduate, and right now, that's about the only reason I come out here during the week." School. He wanted to move into the city because of school. It was a good excuse that Gabe knew Adam would respect. Yeah, right, Adam thought.

"And Alicia?" Adam watched a pained look cross Gabriel's face followed by a shrug.

"She's in a mood right now. Her parents just announced that they are selling their house out here, getting a loft in the city, and a condo in south Florida and she's not happy about it. Their house is the only home she's known." He didn't answer the question. Yep. They'll be together more than not, Adam thought.

"Does she live with them?" Adam fiddled with the pucks around his skates.

"No. She's in an apartment near school with a couple other girls. She's also one of a brood, and their parents are sprinting for an empty nest now that her youngest sister moved out of town." And they need a place to go to be alone, Adam finished for him silently.

Adam considered his little brother's expression. He had the look. His heart softened like it wouldn't have before he met Mae. "She turned your head, didn't she?"

"Yes," Gabriel's expression shifted, "and before you ask, she didn't take it well."

Adam barked a laugh. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"Ahh.... So, that's what happened," Gabriel said with wonder.

"Don't repeat that," Adam pointed his stick, blade first, at his brother. "There's too much speculation going on as it is."

Gabriel pulled a disgusted face. "It's not like any of us have had a raging success in our love lives. Today's women just don't want to believe it happens. And Ed's situation...well, Romeo nights are not for me."

"Too true," Adam went back to organizing the pucks.

"So, have you thought about me moving out?" Gabe pressed.

Adam stilled. Mae was right. He didn't know enough to make a decision – and Gabe deserved the chance to do this, at least. "It's really none of my business to ask, but what's your income situation? Have you set up anything with your stock portfolio?"

Gabriel brightened. "More with the trust fund, actually, and really the cash I was going to use for living expenses until I can get a research position is sitting in a combination of money market and savings accounts. It's all that money I earned learning to invest when you taught me. Actually, I'm still pulling a decent profit from most of it."

He's thought this through, Adam thought. "What about a car? The one you're driving is part of my fleet."

Gabriel put his hands in his pockets, rocked back on his heels and said, "Well, if you want it back, I'll go buy the Range Rover I really want."

Adam looked him in the eye and said, "Wait until after tornado season. One dimple and the dealers drop the price by thousands."

Hope lit Gabriel's eyes. "So, I have your approval?"

Adam shrugged. "You've got your own money. I can't stop you." He pointed the blade of his stick at Gabe again. "Just be sure you don't fuck it up."

"Oh, I won't," Gabriel said with a grin. "You, on the other hand...." He put his hands on his hips. "How badly did she take it?"

Adam felt his gut clench, and confessed, "People like her work for people like me."

Gabriel groaned. "That's worse than when Sarah Jane told Christian he was a con man. Seriously. There's no type of person that works for anyone else."

Adam turned around, and wristed a shot through the glove side of the target. "Don't I know it. At least she hasn't quit on me yet."

After a few seconds, Gabriel said, "Yeah," rather quietly. Adam heard him turn to leave. "Good night."

Once Gabriel was gone, Adam went back to shooting at the target board. How do I get myself out of this one? he thought.

Chapter 14

At mid-morning the next day, Mae opened the door of a coffee shop at the crossroads of Ladue, Frontenac and Huntleigh, the triumvirate of municipalities that were home to some of the wealthiest people in the St. Louis region. That the location just happened to be where a major interstate, and a major state highway crossed, and was home to all sorts of shops and a mall was incidental.

She was there to meet her brother Quin. He had called out of the blue, just happened to be in town, and wanted to meet for coffee.

When pigs had wings, she thought. Quin would never call her just because he happened to be in town. That thought would never cross his mind. She was sure of that.

Mae looked around. Quin should stick out in the middle of all the meetings that were underway among refined, suited, and coifed people sitting behind laptops and portfolios making deals and networking. She spotted him in the back of the room, iPad on the table in front of him, and his hand wrapped around the largest coffee available sitting on the table beside it. He didn't stick out too badly, she thought. At least his black hair was clean, he was wearing trousers rather than jeans, a black shirt, and a dark sport coat. The diamonds in the ears were down to just one in the left. The beard around his goatee was shaved. He looked halfway clean cut.

Hmm. Something was up.

She walked over, slid into the open seat in front of him without unbuttoning her trench coat, and watched him look up.

"Hey," he said with a hint of a smile. "I was beginning to think you had gotten lost."

"No," Mae shook her head, put her purse on her lap, and crossed her hands over it. "You caught me in the middle of errands. I was at the dry cleaner on my way back from getting the last load of my clothes from my apartment in the city."

"Dry cleaner?" A black brow lifted.

"Uh, yeah, two of the boys have board meetings out of town next week, and they needed suits cleaned. Adam likes his shirts the way this cleaner does them, so I'm making runs once a week-"

"Adam?"

"My boss."

"Right," Quin lifted his coffee, and sipped at it. Dark blue eyes studying her. "And who are the boys?"

"His brothers. The Pernouds. You know, the people I work for. I'm assuming Mom told you about this."

"Your housekeeping gig? Yeah, I heard about it," he said skeptically.

"It's more along the lines of managing a frat house, but it's a job."

Quin's eyes narrowed as if he was sending thought patterns her way. "You can't be happy with this."

Mae tried not to laugh. "Jedi mind tricks don't work on me."

Quin's brows lifted. "I'm serious, Mae. You've been to college, and you're happier in a job for which you are overqualified-"

"Yes, I am, and you can tell Mom that all those little mantras came off better when she had Connor preach them." Unbelievable.

"I'm sure they did," Quin sighed, and sat back. "That doesn't mean Mom isn't still guilting me over going into baseball rather than getting a degree. Now she's trying to use me to bring you to your senses."

"Mom has a one track mind." Mae made a face. "Besides, who cares about a degree? You're making a lot of money without it."

"Yeah, I know, that's what I keep trying to tell her," Quin sighed.

"So why come down here to pass on her guilt trips that I've already heard from everybody else? Especially if you know she's just using you?"

"I'm here on business, actually." His eyes rolled. "Distributorship meetings. The management at the brewery seems to think they can't just send an email, and they have to tell us all the bullshit in person." That explained the outfit, she thought. Figures.

"And you just happened to call me when you got the chance?"

"No, I didn't just happen to call you." Impatient sarcasm. Ahh. That was more like it. That was the Quin she loved to hate. He lifted his coffee. "You had it right. Mom put me up to it. Although, I did ask her what the big deal was you working for the Pernoud Brothers. I mean, they're the big time."

"I'm getting that idea," she admitted.

"They paying you alright?" He actually sounded concerned. Imagine that.

"Better than my last three jobs with full benefits, and room and board," she shot back.

Quin shook his head, and took a sip of his coffee. "Then why is Mom complaining?"

"If I were to guess," Mae started, "I'd say bragging rights."

Quin's brows lowered. "Who the hell is she bragging to?"

"I don't know." Mae gestured with her hands. "I don't live around her anymore. But you know the same as I do that she'll tell anyone she sees about her kids living all over the country, and how successful we are or aren't."

Quin's face contorted into concentration. "Let me get this straight, you take a housekeeping job-"

"Household manager." Mae corrected him.

"Whatever, that pays really well and gives you a roof over your head, benefits-"

"And an SUV, and access to all the household amenities," she added.

Quin shook his head. "And Mom's complaining?" Incredulity dripped from his voice.

"According to Mom, the big problem is they're all bachelors," she said with a heavy heart.

Quin eyed her knowingly. "Which one made a move?"

Mae sat up straighter. "None of them made a move."

"Deny it all you want, but one of them did, and my guess is you being you, you turned him down flat." Quin took another sip of his coffee.

"He didn't make a move." Did she sound defensive? Given the smirk on Quin's face she was sure she did. She looked down at her hands folded on her purse. "He told me I turned his head."

Quin's eyebrows went to his hairline as he sipped his coffee with a smile. "That one's pretty good. I may have to use it."

"The sad thing is, he believes it."

Quin held her eyes with his. "Do you?"

She sighed. "I know there's attraction between us. It's pretty potent. He's holding back from going too far. But he's still my boss. He's still filthy rich. And I'm still the little Irish girl from the south side."

Quin shook with laughter. "You've already kissed him, huh."

"Quin!"

"What?" Her brother shook his head. "Mae, you're a goner. I can see it in your eyes. Do yourself a favor, and let him knock you up. Don't worry about the rest of it. It will work out."

Mae tried to slay him with her eyes. "I can't believe Mom sent you to do this."

"Hey, I never told her I'd help." He was obviously enjoying himself.

"Then why did you bother to call?" she asked impatiently.

"To see if it was true," he said. "Mom swears you are making it all up."

"Do you think I'm making it all up?" Quin was such a prick sometimes.

He shook his head. "No, I think you're in love with your boss, and are doing your damndest to keep from admitting it."

Mae cocked her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "How do you know it's Adam?"

"He's the only one you've mentioned by name." He sipped his coffee. "Plus, I have sources around town who tell me he's been acting weird lately."

"Really?" She uncrossed her arms. "Do tell."

"I don't think so. Not right now. You're a little raw about him even if you're ready to jump his bones."

"Why not? I thought you blew the city like a popsicle stand or whatever. Your sources shouldn't matter if you're not around."

"I didn't exactly just blow town." He took another swig of coffee. "I'm here on business a lot, and I still keep in touch with a few friends from high school. One of them works for Ed Pernoud as a surveyor."

Her mouth twisted. "So, you're getting information third hand now? I thought your spies were closer to the vest than that."

"Being successful at business is all about what, and who you know. I keep tabs where I think I'll benefit."

She thought about that. "And how will keeping tabs on Adam and his brothers benefit you?"

Quin's smile reminded her of a shark. "He's on the executive committee at the brewery."

And now that he's in love with your sister, you'll use that too, she thought to herself. She cocked her head. "So I take it you don't want me to mention the bit about hearing the bullshit in person to him?"

"Nah," Quin shrugged. "You can tell him. Most of us in distribution think that way, and we're the ones making sure the product gets to market in a timely manner."

"Mmm-hmm," Mae picked up her purse. "Are we about done here? I need to get back to the estate for my weekly meeting with Adam, and have to stop for another gallon of milk before I get there."

"Weekly meeting?" That brow was sure getting a workout.

"We go over the household financials and talk about personnel."

"Personnel?"

"The maids. I hired new ones this week. So far, they're doing fine, but if he wants that house maintained correctly, they may have to move in."

"You're bossing around maids?" He started laughing.

"About time I get to boss somebody around, don't you think?"

Quin grinned. "Just so long as it's not me."

"Yep." Mae got to her feet. "Tell Mom to back off, will you?"

"Sure. Right after I tell her you've fallen for your filthy rich boss." He looked back to his iPad.

Mae narrowed her eyes, and put a hand on a hip. "Is there a reason why you insist on being a prick?"

He lifted his head, and a light Mae hadn't seen since they were teenagers hit his eyes. "I can."

Chapter 15

Adam drove around the house in his Maz with the top down. Finally. It was the perfect day for it, he thought. Spring seemed to have sprung. Maybe. After all, it was the American Midwest. Weather happened whenever it wanted to.

He rounded the outer dining room wall and was on the decline to the garage when he spotted his Explorer backed to the apartment stairs with the hatch up, and the door to Mae's apartment open. Crap, he thought. I was hoping she'd be in the kitchen. So much easier to have encounters there. It was more like neutral ground without a couch to distract him. She'd argue that it was all his house and property. However, he had decided the kitchen was her domain in his house. It was a distinction he intended to make perfectly clear in the coming days. Today's meeting had a different purpose, though.

Adam hit the garage door button to open the bay he used for the Maz, and turned the car around to back it in. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mae walking down the steps from the apartment empty handed. Good, he thought. At least she isn't moving out. He'd been somewhat worried about that this morning when he started to analyze avenues for attacking her resistance. He had come to the conclusion he had to give this problem his complete attention. At least for the weekend. It was getting in the way of too many other parts of his life and worse, his brothers were avoiding him. For everyone's sake, it needed to be settled.

Since the Maz was in the garage, and it would be there for a while, Adam left the top down and got out, snagging his suit jacket, tie, and briefcase out of the back seat. As usual for him, he left the office on Friday for a business lunch and headed home afterwards. If he was going to sit and daydream after a full week on Friday afternoons, he may as well do it here. That he now had a standing meeting on Friday after lunch before the weekend really got started...at least it was Mae he was meeting with, and it was in the comfort of their kitchen. Gayle could just send him anything that came up in the afternoon packet.

Adam walked out of the garage, and onto the driveway to find Mae with her head and shoulders in the back end of the Explorer. "Need some help?" he called out.

She straightened out of the vehicle, and his breath caught. Today, her hair was down and held back by cheap, plastic sunglasses. She was wearing a purely pink turtleneck under some sort of colorful purple and blue scarf, and an open taupe trench. The silver hoops in her ears were just long enough to scrape the bottom of her jawline. Her beautifully made up eyes looked at him with relief. "If you don't mind. Yes. Um, I've got a couple boxes of the knick-knacks that I'm not selling, and they're kind of heavy."

She stepped back with an armful of hanging clothes and started up the steps. Adam didn't even try to hide watching her move. Her trench may have covered the back of her dark, slim, knee-length skirt, but he could still see her bottom go from side to side...and wonder which of those lacy panties she was wearing underneath. He took a silent, and very deep breath willing his body to behave, put down his coat, tie and briefcase, and easily hefted one of the boxes with her knick-knacks to carry them up to the apartment.

Once he was inside, he looked around and saw the little Mae touches she had added since their kissing session last week. A faux Tiffany lamp sat on the computer desk. A book lay on an end table, face down, and open to where she had stopped reading. The kitchenette table now had a doily in the middle with a fruit bowl on it. There were colorful decorative pillows on the sofa. Nothing on the walls, though.

Mae came through the bedroom door, and their eyes met. His heart and stomach clenched. He really didn't want her here, he thought. What he really wanted was to be moving her into his bedroom, not what used to be the servants' quarters. He wasn't about to tell her that at this juncture, though.

"Where do you want this?" he asked lifting the box in his hands a little higher.

She looked around the room indecisively. "In the corner by the computer desk, I guess. I'm not sure where I'm going to put everything."

Adam obediently carried the box over to the indicated corner, and carefully placed it on the floor there. When he stood and turned around, he noticed the stack of boxes in another corner of the room all marked "books." He looked around the room. No shelves. Something he forgot when he furnished the place. He made a mental note to remedy that.

Mae had gone back down to the car to get more of her belongings, so Adam followed to carry up her last box of knick-knacks. He was halfway down the stairs when she rounded the back of the car with an armload of blankets and sheets that were definitely not on the bachelor "must have" color palette. At the bottom of the steps, he said, "I thought you were going to hire movers," before he thought about how it would sound.

Mae stopped, and looked up at him. "I did and we had a snowstorm, so that appointment got cancelled, and since I already gave notice on the apartment, I had to get everything out by the end of the month." She walked around him to the steps, and kept talking as he followed her with the last box. "Plus, I'm not bringing furniture other than a few heirlooms. I can get the rocking chair and the depression sewing cabinet in the Explorer, and a friend is meeting me with his truck on Monday to bring the cedar chest, and my grandmother's game table. The rest is going on Craig's List, which is my project for the weekend."

A friend is meeting her with his truck? "Mae, three of my brothers drive trucks-"

She whirled around to look at him, her arms still full of bedding. "And they are at work all day."

Adam felt his eyes narrow. "They can help you."

"Thanks, but I'm good," she said spinning on the ball of her foot, and heading for the bedroom.

Adam sighed. She was going to make this as difficult as possible, he thought. He carried the last box to the corner where he had put the first, and stacked it on top. He turned around to find Mae walking in his direction.

"Are you ready for our meeting?" she asked, her face professionally schooled.

He felt his eyes narrow. "Yes, I got the agenda." Frustration welled inside him. She was quite specific about what they needed to "discuss." She emailed him a freaking agenda as if they didn't live together. Well, more or less.

"So, emailing it works for you?" she asked expectantly.

So I can be ready to answer your questions in two minutes, and we can finish our talk from yesterday? he thought to himself. "For now," he said aloud.

She walked to the doorway. "Shall we meet in your office?" she asked over a shoulder.

"No," he said almost bumping into her when she stopped, and spun toward him, mouth open to talk back. "The kitchen table will do." He watched her swallow.

"Okay." She turned around on the ball of a foot, headed out the door, and stalked down the steps without looking back. He closed the door to the apartment behind them, and followed. When he reached her, she was pulling dry cleaner bags full of what looked like men's suits out of the back seat. She reached back into the car, and pulled out dress shirts.

"You made the rounds today," he said, taking the shirts from her.

"Ben and Ed needed their suits cleaned, so I figured I'd take your shirts and their stuff at the same time. I know Ed's headed out of the country, but Ben didn't say where he's going."

"San Francisco. He's leaving Sunday afternoon and will be back Wednesday."

"Ahh," she smiled, "okay, that helps me plan meals for next week. Thanks."

After retrieving his suit jacket, tie, and briefcase, Adam closed the back of the Explorer, and followed her up the steps to the kitchen door.

She was avoiding talking about being a real member of the household, he thought. Too bad. "Ben's picking up fish tonight. He said he'd get you an order."

"Oh, thanks," she flashed a quick smile over her shoulder before she reached the back door, and put her key in the lock. She pushed through the opening before he could open it for her, and went straight for the coat pegs. She hung the suits, her trench, and scarf before he could stop her. Her purse and keys landed on the kitchen table as she passed it, and headed for the household office as if her life depended on it.

Adam sighed to himself, and hung the shirts on the same pegs by the back door before draping his suit coat and tie over a kitchen chair, and putting his briefcase on it. He got himself a glass of water while Mae set up the computer, and made neat stacks of the printouts she had prepared for today.

"Okay, first up on the agenda is the maids," she looked up to where he was still standing by the refrigerator. "Do you want to sit down? The agenda goes through-"

"I know what the agenda goes through," he said, hearing the impatience in his own voice. He walked to his usual seat at the table, and sat with a thud. Mae jumped a little in her chair. "First up is the maids. Your employees your prerogative. If, as your agenda says, they may need to move in, let me know and we'll put them on the third floor, and convert some other room in the house to the boys' office. Since Gabriel is moving to the Central West End in a few weeks, maybe we'll use his room."

"Alright." Mae bent to take notes.

He barreled on. "Next on your list is the lawn guys and the driving range. Damien said he needed it. Maybe so, but since the ground here is saturated, any shot he takes is going to make a mess. He's going to have to use his country club membership, and go practice there. No need to tear up the lawn when the club has the right kind of grass, an actual drainage system, and turf management."

Mae blinked at him.

"As for the other landscaping you want to do in the flower beds, decide if you want to design it yourself or hire a landscape architect. The rose garden is Damien's baby, so leave that alone. Before ground breaks, I would like to see a budget and plans. And don't you dare email it to me." He wagged a finger at her. "We'll talk about it after dinner some evening when you don't have rehearsal," he demanded.

"Okay," she stammered. Her hand shook when she started to write.

"You are correct. The piano needs to be tuned. I don't care who you use, and I have no idea who tuned it last. It's been years. Ask around, pick out someone who specializes in Steinways. The symphony might be able to help there. I can put you in contact with just about everyone higher up down there."

"Adam-" No, she wasn't stopping him before he was done.

"Furthermore, if we're not here - and even if we are - it is no problem for you to practice anything vocal. I told you what's in this house is yours to use." Didn't she understand that?

Mae slunk back in her chair.

He kept going. "Yes, the travel schedule for the next few weeks is going to be intense. No we don't have a master calendar or whiteboard or anything that tells when people are, or are not going to be around. If you want one, get one. And no, I don't care if you arrange the boys' travel when the jets aren't available. That would help Gayle, actually. As it is, between us, we're going to have to remind Ed to wear a tie when he gets to France next week."

If anything, it looked to Adam that Mae was trying to make herself appear smaller.

"Now, we're not going to worry about the pools today, or the rink, or even whether or not you want a new Explorer."

She sat up a little straighter. "I like the one I'm driving."

"So do I, which means one of us has to get a new one."

"Why?" Her eyebrows scrunched.

"Because the Maz has to go in for maintenance in a few weeks, and I need a vehicle without a flatbed."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. Now, since we have the household discussion finished-"

"Adam," Mae all but shouted. "We didn't discuss anything. You gave orders."

"Like a boss would." he said using his patented voice of authority that he had never exercised with her, and God willing never would again.

Mae stared at him.

"You said you wanted me to be your boss," he reminded her softening his tone.

He watched her fight tears, and his heart twisted again. "That's not what I meant and you know it," she protested.

"No, I don't." He shook his head. "The only thing I do know is that other than having to go buy another car, I've told you a couple big family secrets, and you're not getting the hint."

She crossed her arms. "What hint?"

"That you are now a member of the family."

Mae rolled her eyes, and sighed. "I am not."

"Yes, you are." Man, was she stubborn. "And if this resistance to letting the attraction between us flourish is really about some stupid moral thing having to do with wealth-"

"I understand, Adam," she quietly stopped him.

"You understand what?" It obviously wasn't that she was now his family.

"That you think your wealth comes with a lot of responsibility."

He felt his brows stretch upward. "Think?" Was she kidding?

"Okay, for you it does." He watched her shift on her seat. "I guess it's just...I mean if all there was to it was the business here, and maybe a couple others, and one summer house somewhere-"

Adam raked a hand through his hair impatience eating at his temper. Really? Was she kidding? "So, it's not the money and the houses, it's how much there is of it?"

She squirmed a little. "I know to you it sounds a little ridiculous."

"A little? Darling to me it sounds downright ludicrous." He picked up his water and took a swig. That couldn't be all though. Something about the clichés told him she was fighting it. There had to be more. "Why do I have a feeling that these sentiments are not completely yours."

She opened and recrossed her arms. "To be honest, the last two people I've talked to about this situation were both on your side."

"Really?" Great. His love life was now public knowledge.

She squirmed again. "Well, my brother Quin maybe not so much considering he recommended doing something rather immoral-"

"This is the brother who doesn't speak to you? When did you talk to him?" And why was he just now hearing about it?

She stilled. "He was in town because the brewery makes the distributors appear in person to hear the bullshit rather than sending emails. And that's a quote."

Adam made a face, and sighed. "They get to appear here in person because the majority don't read their emails."

"Well, you can take that up with him. By the way, he has a network of informants here. He tells me one of them works for Ed."

"Yes," Adam said. "Dominic Penroth."

Her brows raised. "You know about this?"

"Of course I know about it. All of our employees are background checked. Except for you. Didn't even bother calling any of your references."

He watched her purse her lips. "I'm supposed to be flattered by this, I guess."

"No," Adam shook his head. "Just sayin'."

Mae rolled her eyes. "Adam, I get it. I really do. Okay? You want me to be as enthusiastic about all this, this-" she gestured looking for the right word.

"Heat."

"What?" Her head snapped up.

"The word you are looking for is heat. That's what the sparks, and attraction between us ignite."

"Alright, heat." She pulled the shades off of her head, and covered her face with her hands for a moment. "I know you want this, but..."

"But, what?" What was wrong with her? Why all the resistance to what was obviously so good?

"But I have a helluva lot to lose-"

Adam couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And I don't?" he all but shouted.

Mae looked at him with haunted eyes. "What do you have to lose? My guess is somebody who looks like you has no trouble attracting women. And as smart as you are your assets have to be diversified-"

That set him off like nothing else she could have said would. "Why is it everything to American women boils down to money and looks?" he exploded.

"Pardon me?" He looked at her confused face, and charged headlong into what he REALLY thought.

"Look, money is a means to an ends, okay? It has nothing to do with the sort of person any man or woman is. It's just there." Didn't she see that?

Mae looked at him. "Adam, I know this is all incidental to you, and that what's more important is your commitment to providing for your family and employees, but-"

"But what?" He gestured with a hand. "Would I rather be living on some island resort with servants constantly hovering around? Hell no. There's a reason we had no household staff before you. My mother couldn't stand it, and other than basic cleaning and cooking, neither can I."

Her brows went up, and she shrank into her chair.

He rose and started to pace, frustration oozing from every pore. "Ever since I was old enough to understand just what being the heir to the Pernoud empire meant, I've had a love-hate relationship with all the trappings. In one way, having apartments and properties in strategic places all over the world is fantastic. You don't have to worry about hotel reservations, or having to vacate a property at a certain time. On the other hand, you've constantly got somebody wanting to use all those said properties. Family, the seven of us brothers, is one thing. All the cousins in India and Mom's whole side...they don't always get that hospitality is a two way street. Staying for free doesn't mean making a mess." He looked back to Mae. "And don't get me started on Aunt Suzanne-"

"You told me about her yesterday," she said with a neutral look.

"I only told you about the Newport disaster, not that half the staff on St. Kitts quit the last time she and her husband were there."

She tilted her head. "I thought you didn't like household staff," she countered.

"Here, no. But if you need live-in maids, I'll deal," he shrugged.

"But on St. Kitts? It's okay to have staff there?"

"Those people have been working for Pernouds since they escaped the pirates that used to roam the Caribbean. Can't just kick them off the estate."

"Do you go there often?"

Adam stopped pacing, and looked at her. Her voice had gotten quiet. Her eyes were curious. "A few times a year, usually." He shrugged. "It's too far to go just for a weekend, but in the winter, it's nice to go and warm up for a few days."

"Oh," she dropped her hands to her lap, and her eyes to her hands before looking back up to him.

He sensed an opening. "Ever been?" he asked watching her closely.

"Me?" she shook her head with a closed expression. She couldn't hide the wistfulness in her eyes, though. "I've done a couple cruises to the western Caribbean, but never that far south."

"What about Europe?" Oh, wow. Did he just stumble on the right lure? Did she like to travel?

Her body opened. "I went to Rome on a pilgrimage a couple years ago, but-"

"Good." He nodded.

"Why good?" One of her eyebrows quirked.

"You have a passport. As soon as this gets settled, we're taking off for a few weeks. Just you and I-"

She threw her arms up, and started to explode. "Adam, I can't go anywhere-"

"Why not?" He put his hands on his hips. She worked for him, even if his goal was marriage. If he wanted to take her on vacation, they were going on vacation.

Her mouth dropped open. She looked up at the ceiling as if the answer to why she shouldn't just take off with one of the richest men on earth was there.

She went the logical route. "Easter is coming up and I have to sing-"

Adam shrugged. "So we take off right after. We'll spend a couple weeks in Europe around a couple meetings I have over there. I already have the apartments reserved, so its not like we'd be putting anyone out. We just won't come home between them. I've only got one civic meeting here at the end of the month, and they can do without me for once."

Mae stared up at him with stunned eyes. "Just like that," she snapped her fingers.

"No, not just like that." He countered. "Now that I think about it, there's three meetings over there. We may have to stay three weeks."

She slumped in her chair. "What about the boys? Nobody will be here to cook."

Huh? He cocked a brow. "You're kidding, right?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I didn't hire a cook because-"

He stopped her. "Aren't there chef services?"

She looked at him, her face closed. "It's all so easy for you."

"Yes, it is. Get used to it." He hoped that would settle the matter since the fight seemed to be going out of her. "And by the way, I forgot to tell you that we have a suite at the ballpark for the Cardinals' opening day. You're on the list of attendees. You have something red to wear, right?"

Mae sighed, and shot him an exasperated expression, "Doesn't everybody?"

"Good." At least she wasn't going to fight him on that.

"Adam," she said in a tone that projected reason. "You grew up with this. I didn't. At this point, I just want to drive the Explorer, and play with the whirlpool bathtub in my apartment."

He stared at her. "You're easy to please," he said with a hint of irony. At least she wasn't saying no, but if he had to guess, there was more to it than just her reluctance to giving into their attraction. He had a pretty good idea what was behind her refusals, too. "Mae, does all this resistance have to do with your family being likely to mooch off of me?"

She bit her lip. Bingo.

That calmed him more than anything she could have said. Troublesome family he could deal with. He'd had a lot of practice.

"Why don't you let me worry about that?" He asked a bit more quietly.

Hope lit her beautiful blue eyes. "It would be a lot easier if they didn't know about it. Or better yet, that-"

Sensing victory, Adam pressed the advantage. "You let me take care of them," he said with a gentle, quiet and final ring to his voice.

Mae took a really deep breath and blew it out. "It's not just that." Despite the hope, she looked at him with eyes of prey being hunted by big game. "All this is all happening so fast-"

"And it's making you uncomfortable?" he guessed.

"I guess you could say that." Her face took on a pleading quality. "Why does it have to be this fast?"

He considered her for a moment. He never thought that his very pretty, very sure of herself head turner who took command of his house like she had been doing it for years would have such a cautious streak. Something else might be going on. "Did some idiot break your heart?"

She blushed a little, and smiled almost to herself. "Other than the one sitting in front of me who is trying to put months' worth of getting to know you into two weeks, no."

"Me?" He put a hand to his chest. "I've broken your heart?"

She looked exasperated. "I'm just feeling rushed." There it was. Surrender.

A weight left his chest, and his shoulders. "Ahh. Now that I can work with."

Mae made a face. "I knew I shouldn't have opened that can of worms. Now you're never going to give up."

Adam felt his face split into a grin. He walked to her and pulled her out of her chair. "I wouldn't have given up anyway." He took her into his arms and gave her a sweet, possessive kiss. "You turned my head. I'll slow down if I have to, but consider yourself off the market."

She rolled her eyes at him.

Chapter 16

Mae leaned back in the tub in her apartment, water jets pounding muscles that were just a little tight from the tension of sitting next to Adam all afternoon and evening. That unbelievably wonderful stress sank into the core of her being, and meshed with the excitement of being Adam's head turner. All of it warred with the pleasure of soaking in a whirlpool bath. But still....

Adam wasn't going to give up.

Deep down, before their meeting this afternoon, she knew he was serious about wanting to be with her, at least in the primal sense, but she didn't quite realize that he would stake a masculine claim in such a way that his brothers other than Ed who was off on a Romeo night with Beth would quit teasing him about their relationship in front of her, and openly discuss family business that had nothing to do with the family business. At least in the United States. She knew the empire was fairly vast, but not all the details or that the businesses overseas mostly entailed luxury products - French perfumes, silk production, fur trading, an interest in diamonds that Damien was seriously thinking about dumping, vineyards, caviar - all publicity surrounding their involvement in the businesses was firmly under wraps, as if they really didn't want anyone to know about it. They would rather invest in sports franchises than rich people products, as one of them put it. Adam reminded them that the lion's share of the objectionable load, if it was so objectionable, was on his shoulders. Besides, wealthy clients buying such products meant a whole lot of people all over the world were employed. That the products were unnecessary, unlike the roads, bridges, dams and buildings the boys built every day, was incidental. And, since they all had control of their own trust funds and assets, they could spend their money as they damn well pleased. If that meant any of the boys throwing their wealth away on sports franchises, it was none of his business.

At least that's the way Adam played it. Right before Ben reminded him that he owned a stake in an English Premier League soccer team. To which Adam responded that the luxuries companies had healthy profit margins. Plus, being on those boards was family tradition. Since they owned the companies and all. The American holdings were more of the infrastructure, and cheap consumer goods variety. Other than the railroads, of course. And steel. And importing.

Mae rolled her neck a little on the spa pillow under her head. It was a complicated web of money and power.

And, if Adam held true to his word from this afternoon, it was a world she was about to enter feet first with no training. Adam didn't seem to be too worried about that. In fact, when she brought it up when he walked her out to the apartment for the night, he just smiled. "You're a smart cookie, Mae," he said. "You'll catch on pretty quickly. When you're rich enough, there is no right or wrong way. Everyone does their own thing. About all I need to teach you is French." He had winked at her, and taken her in his arms for a goodnight kiss that still tingled her lips.

Mae moved in the water as her body continued to remind her of just how it felt to be held in Adam's arms. For a man who dressed in a coat and tie every day, his strength was impressive. The forearms circling her back felt like banded steel. His chest was expansive without being bulky. The shoulders that made up the circle were straight and broad. He lifted her easily, effortlessly cradling her as if she was the most precious crystal or china.

For the first time, she understood what it meant to be treasured. When he was done with her lips this evening, he put her lightly back on her feet reminding her that he would be "taking it slow."

Of course, his idea of taking it slow included three weeks alone together in Europe. Oh yeah, snail's pace, she thought.

Mae shifted a bit in the water, and tried not to think about the series of phone calls she fielded between the time Adam declared her off the market, and when he dropped her at her door before he and the boys headed down to the rink to play some hockey. First, her mother had called to tell her that Quin would be in town this weekend, and that he wanted to talk to her, to which Mae had told her that she had already seen Quin, and the motherly advice pass through her brothers trick worked better coming from Connor. Mae just happened to be in Adam's office coaching him through a document format issue at the time. He had pulled her into his lap, and looped his arms around her back while she talked...and listened when she pulled the phone away from her ear when her mother yelled at her for five straight minutes. She knew he heard the plea for her to move to Florida, or to go to Arkansas to work for Connor, or at least go to Seattle to help Siobhan with her twins. She had rolled her eyes, and told her mother she was very happy where she was, it just took some getting used to, to which her mother exploded that Mae was not the country club sort, he'll never be interested in her, and get her head out of the clouds. At that point, Adam took the phone from Mae, put it to his ear, and quite calmly said, "Ms. Jones, be nice to your daughter or you might not be invited to our wedding," and ended the call.

"Wedding?" Mae had asked looking him in the eyes.

Adam had winced and said, "We have to do the paperwork, but it's coming. We just have to decide where we want it."

"Why are you wincing?" she had asked trying not to grin at the same time.

"Because at this time in history, it's no longer a simple matter of making a donation to the Church and getting the damn banns waived. The state, as in the government in any country we choose for the event, has decided marriage is just a simple contract rather than a social covenant, and they want in on it for the revenue." He had looked more than a little sheepish. "I meant to bring that up with a little more grace."

She could laugh about that now that he had said as much, and she was soaking in the tub by herself.

"Any country we choose?" She had put her arms around his neck.

He had nodded eyeing her lips. "That's part of our field trip after Easter. Scouting out some of the old family churches in the old countries. See if any of those appeal to you." He had kissed her nose as butterflies floated through her midsection.

She had looked into his dark, beautiful, velvety eyes and said, "It's that simple?" not quite believing it.

A gleam had appeared as one corner of his mouth lifted. "Maybe we'll swing down to our grandparents' place on Corsica. Getting married there would make a few of the old ancestors roll in their graves." He had bent to kiss her more thoroughly, and her phone rang again. He had picked it up. "Your brother Connor. Put him on speaker." Mae did as he asked.

"Hi, Conn-"

"What in the hell did you tell Mom?" He had all but yelled into the phone. "She called me all in a fluster and-"

"Connor," Adam had said, his voice reverberating the command authority he had used on her earlier in the afternoon. "I told your mother be nice to your sister, or she is not invited to our wedding. That goes double for you, and-"

Connor sputtered into the receiver. "Who in the hell is this and how dare-"

"This is Adam Pernoud."

"THE Adam Pernoud? The one on the richest men in the world list? Yeah, right." Connor had scoffed.

"Yes, the Adam Pernoud. The one who could pay cash for your father in law's little adhesives business, and replace you as president before Monday morning."

"Now, why would you do that?" Connor's voice had held a note of disbelief.

Adam had winked at her. "To stop all this family nonsense that's making Mae crazy. Mae is not to be made crazy by any of you ever again. Is that understood?"

"Excuse me?" Outrage had come through the phone line.

"Apparently not." Adam had winked at her again. "Let me put it this way, Mae is now a member of MY family, over which I am the head," he had said, his voice reverberating with authority.

"Mae are you there? Who-"

Mae had smiled at Adam while she talked. "Connor, I would listen to Adam or he might get your wife on the TSA no-fly list, and then you'd be stuck with her over the summer."

She had felt Adam laughing silently under her as he kissed her temple.

"Mae, even the Pernouds don't have that kind of power." Conner had sputtered.

"Are you willing to risk it?" Adam had asked.

"Why are you playing hardball with me, man? I'm her brother."

"I can. Plus, since I'm serious about marrying her, I want this tag team piss-poor persuasion attempt to stop. The Jones clan needs to understand that she is not to be unduly disturbed by all of you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Oh, crystal." Disdain had come through the phone.

"Good. Now, do us a favor and let the rest of the gang know while we pick a destination for our wedding." Adam had ended the call, and kissed the end of her nose. "That, sweetheart, is why you need to leave your family to me."

Mae shook her head at the memory, and settled more firmly into the tub's water jets. Adam did know how to handle troublesome family. After her mother and Connor were dealt with, her sister Siobhan called, and Adam not so politely told her that she and her "boyfriend" were not welcome on any of his properties overnight in the same room unless they were married to which her sister replied, "Who do you think we are? Peasants?"

Adam hadn't answered that, but lifted a brow that only Mae could see, and reiterated that Mae was not to be disturbed.

The same scene played out over dinner with her brother Quin, and her mother. Again. Mae certainly hoped they were getting the point, especially since the boys started laughing when Adam told Quin his being on the executive committee at the brewery was not going to get him a distributorship in a warmer climate. All of Chicago was another matter, though. Maybe.

Christian had dipped a hush puppy in cocktail sauce, and said, "Maybe you two should have eloped."

"Don't think it didn't cross my mind," Adam had said winking at her when he plopped a piece of onion ring in her mouth.

Mae closed her eyes and sank a little deeper into the spa pillow. She pulled up the image emblazoned in her brain of Adam's eyes as he fed her deep fried onions, fish, and pressed corn meal. The black pools had morphed into twinkling orbs of lightness and a tenderness that only she saw when he looked at her. It was a softness that Mae was willing to bet didn't surface very often outside the family.

She was now a member of his family.

Her whole body shivered, and she moved against the water jets again while a bone deep contentment settled into her body, and he was defending her against her family.

She wasn't just working for Adam Pernoud. She turned his head. It was all she could do to keep from grinning like an idiot.

Chapter 17

Three hours later, as promised by the professional weather forecasters - the highest paid prognosticators on the planet - a huge gulf moisture warm front collided with a blast of cold air from the north touching off a gigantic electrical thunderstorm right over the estate.

At least that's what it sounded like to Mae. The flashes from the lightning and kabooms from thunder too close for comfort woke her from a sound sleep. She laid in bed and watched the room light up over and over. The nightlight in the corner of her bedroom flickered, a sure sign that power was fluctuating. Had she turned off her computer? Better make sure, she thought. Couldn't afford to lose it due to a power surge even if she was going to marry Adam Pernoud someday.

She threw back the covers, got up, didn't bother to put on her slippers, and walked to the main room. There wasn't much wind with this storm, at least not at the surface, but, man, was there a downpour. It was pounding the roof. No hail, though, which was a good thing. The lightning, on the other hand, was everywhere. After getting through her passwords and pressing "Shut Down" she straightened, and the brightest light yet lit the room, accompanied by what sounded to her like battleship cannons hitting thousands of tons of bricks. The sound wave forced her to the floor where she heard a low, deep crack, followed by cascading crashes, and tinkling glass. She looked up to see a tree branch coming at her through the ceiling....

Adam threw an arm over his eyes. Damn thunderstorm. Why do the big ones always hit in the middle of the night? And why when his dreams finally include a woman? Mae was now with him even when he slept even if she wasn't actually in bed with him. It frustrated him to no end that he couldn't just shut his eyes and go back to dreaming about her. He thought back to the afternoon, and relived the relief of finding out Mae's hang-up to their marriage was really rather easy for him to fix. That had been a definite load off his shoulders.

And then there was the real mystery to which he still didn't have an answer: was Mae wearing that pink lacy bra beneath her turtleneck today? What about panties? He shifted in his bed. Her skirt was dark...those sheer black ones-.

Ka-BOOM. It sounded like a war zone out there, he thought. Did the fronts collide over the house?

Light flashed through his room. Adam got up, and walked to the window to look out at the storm. Man, that was something. He could hardly see across the driveway for the rain. No lights were on over at the apartment.

The sky lit again.

He hoped Mae was alright. There was no way she could possibly be sleeping through this. They could wait it out together, he thought. Maybe they could sit in the sofa, and cuddle with her warm, and soft body draped around him.... He started turning toward his closet to pull on some clothes so he could go to Mae, when the room lit brighter than before, accompanied by a crack of thunder so loud it knocked him on his heels and shook the window casing. The chandelier was tinkling when he looked out the window, and watched a bolt of lightning strike the old weeping willow tree next to the garage, splitting it in two, and sending half of it onto the slate roof.

Adam didn't stop to think, didn't even notice that the tree was burning, or that he was wearing no shoes and only his skivvies when he ran full tilt out of his bedroom and into the hall yelling for the boys on that floor to get up. He took the stairs to the basement two at a time, hearing only the roaring in his own ears.

Half of the old willow tree fell right on Mae's bedroom.

As he reached the bottom of the second flight of stairs and rounded the corner toward the patio doors, he knew Ben was behind him shouting to Francis and Gabriel to get up so he didn't hesitate. He had to get to Mae. What if the roof was on top of her. What if a tree limb had-

He slammed open the door, and kept running toward the garage, rain soaking through what little he was wearing before he left the shelter of the patio under the deck. The sky lit, and across the walkway, at the bottom of the stairs leading up to her apartment, was the most beautiful sight he had ever beheld: Mae in her dark flannel pajamas and long-sleeved t-shirt, soaked to the skin, but very much alive. She ran straight to him, just as he was running to her, and right into his arms. He lifted her to his chest, and buried his face in the sodden hair plastered to her neck. She clung to him, with arms clamped around his shoulders, and harsh breathing in his ear.

"Adam!" came from the direction of the house. They turned to look at the house where Ben stood in the doorway to the basement in his own flannel PJ pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. "Hurry up! You're going to get yourselves killed."

Adam looked into Mae's face, and took in her wide, scared eyes surrounded by sodden lashes and said, "You ready?" She nodded. He let her slide down his body, took her hand, and walked quickly to the basement doorway where his brothers stood. Adam pushed Mae through the door first where Christian was waiting with a gigantic white bath sheet. He watched his brother wrap her in it when another was draped around him. Whoever had it was rubbing his muscles raw through the terrycloth.

"Is the fire out yet?" Damien asked from behind him.

Francis was looking out the door.

"I don't see any flames, but that doesn't mean anything. This rain should be enough to put it out, though."

"Maybe, maybe not," Damien quit rubbing Adam, and walked over to the door. "Depends on if it was just the tree or not." He turned around, and headed for the stairs wearing his own old t-shirt and flannels. "I'll be in the kitchen. If it flares after the rain dies down, I'll call for the fire department."

"You two okay?" Ben asked.

Adam looked at Mae. She was a mess. Drowned rat was not entirely an accurate assessment. Soggy princess, sodden beauty...even with her hair plastered to her face, dark wet pajamas plastered to her body, and no make-up, she was gorgeous. At least to him. He opened his arms with the towel draped around him, and she walked right into his embrace.

Chapter 18

Mae snuggled into the wet heat of Adam's body and felt her skin warm. His heart was not racing as quickly as it had been when she launched herself at him a minute ago, and his grip was not as tight as it was outside in the rain, but it was still possessive, and she still cherished the sensation. She felt the steel bands of his arms pull her closer as his lips touched her forehead. He laid his head on hers and said, "Ben, how bad is it?"

She looked to the door where Ben, Francis and Gabriel stood in their skivvies with bed head. "Can't say until the rain dies down. We won't know for sure till first light anyway." Ben shrugged. "May as well go back to bed and get some sleep."

Christian had been standing back from the rest of them watching. "I'll stay up and keep Damien company. We'll switch off in a couple hours."

"Yeah," said Francis headed for his room. "Get us next, right Gabe?"

"Sure, and you can help me study for boards while we babysit the garage," Gabe walked straight to his bedroom, and shut the door a little forcefully.

"Well, that settles that," Christian said walking toward the stairs in old shorts, and a t-shirt that had seen better days.

Mae burrowed further into Adam's chest. "We need to get you warmed up and in something dry," he said from above her. "We'll look in my closet-"

Mae leaned back, looked him in the eye and smiled. "You're bound and determined to rush this aren't you?"

For once, Adam had the grace to look a little sheepish. "All your clothes are under a gigantic tree, and are most likely wet and ruined," he said.

That hit her in the heart. She really hadn't started to think about what the tree on the roof meant. But it did present an opportunity no woman could resist. "Well, then I guess I have an excuse to go shopping."

Adam started laughing. "Really, though," she said. "I have a basket of clean clothes in the laundry room. If I'm not mistaken, there's pajamas in there at the very least."

"Great," came from Ben who was trying not to listen as he headed in that direction. "Adam, I'll carry her basket upstairs. You get her in the shower."

"Can't I get into the tub instead?" she asked.

"Not in a thunderstorm," Adam declared shaking his head. "Even the shower is risky with the lightning, but since the worst of it seems to have passed, a hot shower it is." He turned them, and headed to the steps with her under an arm. "Ben just put her stuff in my room," he said over a shoulder.

"Sure thing," came from the laundry.

Once they were on the stairs, Mae looked up at Adam and said, "Um, Adam, I can sleep in the guest suite."

"Uh-uh," he shook his head. "Nope. From now on you're in with me. That tree could have landed on you. In fact, why didn't it?" His arm around her tightened.

They rounded the landing at the first floor, and trailed water droplets along the hardwood. "I got up to make sure my computer was turned off."

"Was it?" he asked guiding her up the steps.

"No. And that was why I was in the big room when-" she shuddered. His arm around her shoulders squeezed as they reached the second floor.

"When what?" he demanded.

"When the tree came through the roof." He ushered her into his bedroom and straight to the bath.

"So, the tree did do damage." Mae watched his face shutter as he turned on the steam in the shower. He turned to look at her. "How close?"

Mae blinked a few times, staring at the wide muscular chest clearly outlined under the wet undershirt. She pulled the towel tighter around her. "Close enough that I ran out the door, and didn't look back." She looked down at her hands which still trembled a little. "I fell on the floor when the bolt of lightning hit, and I looked up and a branch was coming toward me-" Adam's arms went around her, and he lifted her until her eyes even with his.

"Are you telling me that the tree came through the roof, and you could have been-" Adam started to yell.

Mae covered his mouth with her hands. "Don't say it, Adam. Don't even think it. I'm here with you, and that's all that matters."

He pulled her hands away, holding her in place with one arm. "Damn straight that's all that matters," he said before he laid his lips squarely on hers. "And you're not going anywhere, either. I've waited my entire life for you, the one who would turn my head." He kissed her again. "I fell pretty hard when I opened the front door last week."

"Mmm-hmm," Mae said, tracing his lips with an index finger as she let those delicious words wash over her. "Tell me more."

He arched a brow. "I don't get any sort of reciprocation?"

Mae felt her face break into a grin. "I wouldn't be in your bathroom in the middle of the night without a dry stitch on if I wasn't absolutely sure that this head-turning thing was for real."

Adam growled deeply, leaning into her. "And?"

"You first."

His mouth twisted, and he said the words with complete Adam-like conviction.

"I. Love. You."

Mae felt her face split into a grin. "Was that so hard?"

His eyes narrowed as his lips twitched. "Not as bad as I thought it would be." He kissed her with the possession she loved already, and let her body slide down his. She felt his desire through his wet boxers, and blood started to pool in her feminine folds.

Adam broke the kiss when he picked her up carried her to the steam shower. He let her body slide down his again. She reveled in the contact. "Not that I don't think the wet t-shirt look suits you perfectly, sweetheart, but you are turning blue. Time to warm up."

Mae looked down at herself. The cold had puckered her nipples.... It was the cold right? "Uhh," she started as she tried to cover herself.

Adam just laughed, and opened the shower door. "You first. I'll be back in a minute."

Mae went into the shower, and Adam closed the door behind her. She turned away from him to strip out of her sodden pajamas, and walk under the spray. She should be embarrassed that he could see her naked, but since her appearance tonight left little to the imagination, she was sure he'd just laugh some more. It wasn't like they weren't closing in on being married. After all, he was pretty well outlined in just plaid boxers, and an undershirt. Besides, she felt his arousal. Twice. Mae shivered at the thought of what could happen tonight....

After she bathed, and wrapped her hair in a towel, and her body in a fresh bath sheet, she sat on the bench in the steam shower, and breathed in marveling at the warmth the steam provided. No wonder Adam loved this, she thought. The door opened, and she looked over when he stepped in wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Mmm. She felt her womanhood swell. All that tan skin, and dark hair.... He lifted her to her feet, kissed her soundly, and said, "Go on and get in bed. I'll be there in a minute."

She leaned back against his arm and said, "That sounds so decadent."

Adam grinned. "More like we'll be acting like an old married couple before the vows are said." He kissed her forehead. "I grabbed that basket of personal stuff you left in the guest suite."

Mae grinned back at him. "Great. There's a comb in there." She left his arms, and went to the door. After air kissing in his direction, she sat at the unused vanity in the bathroom to tackle the tangles in her hair. When she was done, and while Adam was still lost in the steam, she went to inspect what was in the basket of clothes Ben pretty much dropped right inside Adam's bedroom door. Skirts, socks, sweaters, pajama pants, panties, bras...no tops. Mae shrugged as she pulled on a pair of pajama pants commando. Adam did offer something in his closet, she thought walking toward it with the basket in her arms against her bare bust. She picked out a long-sleeved Blues t-shirt from the stack of his casual shirts, and put it over her head, all but drowning in it. Who cares, she thought. All I'm doing is sleeping in it. Besides, it smells like him. Her folds started to throb. Again.

She went to the window to peer out. There was no real light to be able to see across the driveway, but somewhere out there, she almost got crushed by a tree tonight. That thought snapped her out of her arousal. Mae shuddered and crossed her arms, rubbing them. Don't think about it, Mae, she thought, turning from the window, and walking to the bed. Don't think about it. You're safe, you're dry, and you are going to spend the night in Adam's bed. That warmed her in all those places the nuns warned girls to ignore, but were very much alive tonight. Again.

Mae crawled into the already mussed sheets, and inhaled more of Adam. All Adam. Pine and musk with a hint of sandalwood. She sighed deeply, contentment seeping through her, and had just settled into the pillows when the bathroom door opened and Adam walked into the room in fresh boxers, and a dry undershirt. "Uh, Mae," he said walking to the bed, and sounding apologetic. "This might be our first fight. But, uh, that's my side of the bed."

She looked up at him. "Really?"

"Yes," he said. "It's closer to all the doors." He indicated the trio of doors at the corner opposite the bed.

Mae knew enough about relationships to know not to fight about something as stupid as which side of the bed to sleep on. "Alright," she said scooting over so he could slide in beside her, "but that's going to last until the first baby comes, and then you won't want me crawling over you in the middle of the night."

"Mae, don't say things like that," he demanded leaning up to turn off the lamp.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm desperately trying to behave, and you say things like 'first baby' and all I want to do is put one in you." He flopped onto the pillow, and pulled her into his arms, draping her over his chest.

"Ahh," she said, chuckling, and propping her forearms on his chest. "Is this a big deal to you?"

"What, behaving or babies?" He tucked her a little closer.

"Behaving. I get the gut feeling babies are welcome anytime." Oh, and making them...there was that throbbing again.

Adam let out a low, long breath, and ran a hand up and down her back. "Do you really want to tackle this now?"

"May as well," she said shrugging. "I admire your restraint, but why wait on babies?"

"No reason other than we haven't said vows yet," he admitted. "I figured you'd rather wait until we made it official."

Mae looked him in the eyes, and said, "My brother Quin told me to let you knock me up."

Adam's hand stilled on her back. "Seriously?" Wow those raven brows were sexy when he lifted them.

"Mmm-hmm," she said tracing circles on his chest with the other. "Should I?" She cocked her own brow.

Before she knew what hit her, Mae was on her back with her hands pinned to the pillows, and his big hard body pressing hers to the mattress. She looked up into earnest, and pleading black pools of desire. "Don't even tease me about this, Mae," Adam said, his voice low and serious. "We do this tonight, and there is no turning back. No other way but picking out rings tomorrow."

Mae's breath held. She bit her lip, looked deeply into his eyes, and before she could say a word, Adam's mouth crashed onto hers. His arms circled her back. He lifted her against the pillows, and settled on top of her with his weight on his forearms. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips and she eagerly opened them for his invasion....

Later, once Adam was drained, and she was more than satisfied, and their covenant was consummated, he dropped to his side of the bed, breathing hard. He gathered her to him and said, "Why didn't you tell me I'm your first?" he kissed her temple and laid his cheek against it.

She traced a pattern on his bare chest, adjusting to no longer being a virgin. "It matters?"

"Oh, yeah, it matters," he said. "More than you can possibly know, it matters."

"Why?"

He rose up on an elbow. "Because you trusted me." He leaned down and gave her a possessive kiss that stirred her to her toes. "No one else." He covered her body with his. "As long as you've held on to being a virgin, it must have been precious to you."

"Oh, it was. Now you have to marry me." He grinned and lowered his mouth to hers.

They kissed long and deep again. "I like my clothes on you," he said as he pulled the last garment either of them were wearing from her body. "Feel free to sleep in my shirts anytime." He settled back on top of her. "By the way, what happened to all those pretty lace panties? I was really looking forward to seeing you in them," he asked looking at her with what she swore was disappointment.

"I don't wear them to sleep, silly," she said running her fingers through the hair on his chest. "But I promise I will wear some tomorrow."

"Mmm. And to bed tomorrow night... a plain, old nightshirt over them. Or just one of my long sleeved t's. Even my dress shirts will look great on you."

She put her hands on either side of his beloved face. "So much for taking it slow," she said.

He started laughing.

###

Thank you so much for enjoying Adam and Mae's story. Please, take the time to give an honest review at the retailer where you purchased this book.

Believe it or not Ben's head is about to be turned by local television reporter Darcy Platt who has some serious secrets. Before they can get to the altar, though, somehow Ben has to find a way to Break Through her past. For more information about the Pernoud Brothers and their brides, visit www.facebook.com/PatriciaHoldenAuthor.

Author's Note

For those who know classic musicals, the basic premise of seven brothers being named in alphabetical order will sound very familiar. This writer knows every chord of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" by heart. Beyond that, though, the names and dispositions of the characters have been changed, and are purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual families or people living or dead is completely accidental. Several of the locations and cultural aspects of living in my beloved St. Louis, on the other hand, are real.
