The SEAL's Christmas Twins Page 21
* * *
TIME TO GROVEL, Eve thought, setting her briefcase on the seat of the armchair beside her. Not her favorite thing, but in this case, extremely necessary if she was to make good on her promise to her mother. Eve noted the spacious office matched him well. Done in varying shades of gray, with large masculine furniture befitting a man of his physical stature, the executive suite had a beautiful view of downtown Dallas.
Gathering her courage, she looked into Derek McCabe’s vivid blue eyes. “Let’s just say it was an all-around bad day.” Bad time of year, actually. Christmas always made her feel out of sync and vaguely depressed. “I took my frustrations out on you,” she admitted, “and that was definitely not the right thing to do.” She lifted her palms apologetically. “I wasn’t brought up that way, and as a real estate agent, I certainly wasn’t trained to behave like that.”
Derek looked her up and down, then paused, his broad shoulders relaxing slightly. “I wasn’t brought up that way, either.” An awkward silence ensued, and then he slid her a long, thoughtful look. “I probably shouldn’t have kept you waiting outside your office for a good half hour while I handled other calls.”
Understanding flowed between them, as tangible as their previous frustration. Eve easily met him halfway. “Thanks for acknowledging that.”
His eyes twinkled. “So maybe we were both at fault yesterday?”
“Maybe.” And there it was, she thought as his rueful smile broadened, the legendary McCabe charm.
“Well, good.” He came forward and briefly shook her hand to seal the truce. “Then we have something in common.”
Eve’s skin tingled as they broke contact and politely stepped away from each other. He inclined his head. “So what’s next?” he murmured.
She drew a deep, bolstering breath, then took a seat in the armchair and opened her briefcase. “I’m ready to meet your demands.”
His phone chimed. He peered down at it, then set it aside. His full attention on Eve once again, he asked, “What stopped you yesterday?”
Watching him take a seat behind his desk, Eve sensed sugarcoating the situation would get her nowhere with the accomplished businessman. “I didn’t want to proceed because I felt selecting a property for you, without knowing anything about you or your specific needs, would be a disservice to us both.”
He pressed his fingertips together. “In what way?”
“If you end up purchasing a home you’re unhappy with, that dissatisfaction will eventually be heaped on Loughlin Realty. And more specifically, me.” Hesitating for a moment, Eve crossed her legs and discreetly tugged her skirt a little lower over her knees. “My reputation depends on being able to find the exact right home for my clients. If I can’t do that, I may as well not continue as an agent.”
His dark brows furrowed. “That’s why you wanted me to fill out the forms?”
Finally, they were getting somewhere! “I don’t even know how old your daughter is. Or if she lives with you full-time or part-time, or simply visits.”
“Tiffany lives with me fifty percent of the time. My ex and I share custody.”
“Do you want her to go to public or private school?”
“Probably public, if we’re in the Highland Park district, but we’re not there yet. She’s just turned one.”
What was it about this man that had Eve losing her equilibrium? Usually, she was much better at maintaining a casual, inscrutable demeanor. Blowing out a breath, she attempted to rein in her reaction. “You must be very recently divorced.”
“It was final last summer. We were separated for a year and a half before that,” he related mildly.
And his child was one now, Eve thought, doing some quick calculations.
* * *
“AREN’T YOU GOING to say it?” Derek asked, something akin to disappointment on his handsome face. He studied her bluntly. “What a terrible person I must have been to have left a pregnant wife?”
This felt like some kind of a test. Deliberately, she held his gaze. “I’m sure you had your reasons.” Her manner matter-of-fact, she continued, “In any case, it’s none of my business.”
He appeared to be mulling that over. “So when did you want to get started?” he finally said, after a long, awkward pause.
Glad he had decided to use their firm for his home search, after all, Eve smiled. “I’m available anytime.”
“Right now?”
Another test. Eve inhaled and smiled again. “Absolutely.”
Derek stood and reached for his coat, all McCabe determination once again. “Then let’s go.”
Copyright © 2013 by Cathy Gillen Thacker
ISBN-13: 9781460323212
THE SEAL’S CHRISTMAS TWINS
Copyright © 2013 by Laura Marie Altom
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