dramatic streak. “It’s a mile or two, Maddie. Not the Boston Marathon. Or the Bataan Death March.”
But Maddie, stubborn as always, shook her head as if amazed he’d be worried about their daughter’s mental and physical health. “Just when I thought you couldn’t stoop any lower, you prove me wrong.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that Bree doesn’t need a personal trainer. And she sure as hell doesn’t need you. Go back to Seattle, Neil. Leave us alone.”
A roaring filled his head, muted the hum of the air conditioner, amplified the sound of his own breathing. Before he knew his intention, he’d closed the distance between them, trapping her between the table and his body. He didn’t touch her, though. Didn’t trust himself, not when his emotions were roiling, anger building. “You’re not keeping me from my daughter.”
“You must’ve forgotten who you’re dealing with.” Looking him up and down with an expression that would have cut a weaker man off at the knees, she smiled thinly, a bring-it-on grin that promised he’d have one hell of a fight if he did. “You don’t scare me, Neil, and I’m sure as hell not intimidated by the size of your ego, your checkbook or what you carry around between your legs.”
She leaned closer, her eyes locked on his, her voice vibrating with rage, heat emanating off of her. “Bree is my world, my entire world. I’m the one who’s been here, every day. Every. Single. Day. Taking care of her. Protecting her. Loving her. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure nothing and no one ever hurts her. Are we clear on that?”
“Crystal.”
“Good.”
She tried to get past him, her smug expression sliding away when he blocked her escape.
“Now let me make something clear to you,” he said, not letting any of his own bitterness coat his words. “I came here hoping you and I could work together and do what’s best for Bree. I don’t want to fight you. But if you try to keep me from my daughter, you and I will do battle.” He edged closer until her scent filled his nostrils. “And I will win.”
“Threats?” She snorted and tossed her head. “That’s beneath you.”
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought.”
From her expression, that idea didn’t sit too well. “I know that Saturday you’ll get on a plane and fly back to your real life, the one you chose. That this time next week, you’ll be too busy with your career and your skinny blonde models to remember you even have a daughter, let alone call her or want to see her.”
“Wrong again,” he told her and had the satisfaction of seeing her swallow visibly. “I’m not going back to Seattle. I’m staying in Shady Grove.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“FOR HOW LONG?” Maddie asked, not caring that she sounded scared and freaked out.
She was scared and freaked out.
“A few weeks. And I’d like to spend the majority of that time with my daughter.”
“What about the commercial for the sports drink?”
He lifted a shoulder. “It’ll have to wait.”
Maddie’s throat got tight. Her skin hot. Neil wasn’t leaving Saturday.
Oh, God.
And he still hadn’t backed up. He was too close, so close she couldn’t even take a breath without inhaling his scent. She couldn’t think. Damn it, she needed to be reasonable and rational. To rely on good sense. Instead, panic built inside of her, prodding her to make decisions based on her emotions. Her fears.
Just like when she’d been sixteen.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, her voice a croak.
He watched her steadily, all calm and confident. She wanted to shove him, push and push and push him until he showed some real emotion. To prove she wasn’t the only one at a loss, fumbling between the past and the present.
“That’s not what you said last night,” he said.
“Last night I was just trying to...to...”
He raised his eyebrows, his blue eyes knowing. “To lay out my flaws?”
“Pretty much. I didn’t really expect you to listen.” Or that her words would get him to change his plans and stick around town longer. Not when they’d never mattered to him before.
Crap. What had she done?
More important, how could she get out of this? When backed into a corner, there was only thing to do. A full-fledged frontal assault.
“No,” she said, firming her mouth and her resolve.
“No?”
“No, you can’t spend time with my daughter. Not when all you want is to browbeat and nag her about her weight.”