“Miranda did all the hard work,” she deflected, and gathered her hair back from her face just to give herself something to do. “A painting is only as pretty as the artist. So. Um. How was the interview? Are you officially employed?”
“I am.” Tony’s grin was tinged with regret. “And for more money than last time.”
“Good.” Rebecca laced her hands together in her lap and gave Tony a stern look. “So you’d agree your life is looking up, hm?”
“Another lecture already?”
“Were you expecting a congratulatory kiss?”
That grin turned roguish. “You said it, not me.”
Miranda watched them, her mouth set in a puzzled little moue. “Daddy? If you kiss Becca, will she stay?”
Tense silence fell. Tony stared at Miranda. Rebecca stared anywhere but.
“Baby, why would you ask that?” Tony said.
“She’s leaving soon,” Miranda mumbled. “She said so. I don’t want her to go. I like her.”
“I…” Tony sighed heavily. “She can’t stay. She has to work, and her job means she has to leave soon.”
“Becca?”
The quaver in Miranda’s voice forced Rebecca to look back. She wished she hadn’t. Those big, heartbroken eyes unraveled her. She tried a smile, but it felt stiff. “Yes, sweetie?”
“Do you really have to go?”
Rebecca fumbled. Helpless, she met Tony’s eyes over Rebecca’s head, but he was no help. He watched her, waiting, tension stark in the line of his jaw. His thoughts were clouded, dark. Too dark for her to dare delve deeper.
She looked from Tony to Miranda, and felt herself crumbling inside. She knotted her hands together until her nails bit into her knuckles. This, too, was part of her test. Learning to love the people she helped, and having to let them go.
“I really have to go, Miranda,” she said thickly. “But not yet. Not yet.”
Rebecca stood and practically fled for the kitchen. Lunch. She was only going to make lunch; Miranda would be hungry soon. That was all. She wasn’t running.
She wasn’t running away before Tony could see her cry.
She wiped at her blurry eyes and yanked the fridge open so hard the door banged against the cabinets, loud enough to drown out the noise of the TV turning on. Fingers clumsy, she tossed deli turkey and sliced cheese and bread onto the counter.
“Mayo,” she muttered, glaring at the shelves inside the door. “Where’s the fu—stupid mayonnaise?” Why couldn’t men ever leave things in their proper place? Why did they have to keep making messes everywhere and shoving things where they didn’t belong?
“So you’re one step closer to leaving us.” Behind her, Tony’s voice was clipped and cold. “One step closer to never seeing us again. You must be ecstatic.”
Rebecca stiffened. Her fingers clenched tight against the edge of the refrigerator door. “I’m happy to be earning my wings,” she said, forcing each word out carefully. Every one choked her. “Am I supposed to be happy that I’m leaving you? Leaving Miranda?”
“You were so emphatic about it.”
“It’s my job. Anything else would be inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate.” His low laugh was bitter, ugly. “And angels can’t do anything inappropriate.”
Inhale. Exhale. Keep control. Rebecca closed the fridge, squared her shoulders, and turned to face Tony. She’d been expecting the hard mask of anger on his face.
She hadn’t been expecting the pain in his eyes.
“What do you want from me, Tony?” she asked. “You don’t even know me. But I see the thoughts you have. They’re—they’re not right.”
“You think I don’t know that?” He stalked closer, his eyes blazing. “You think I’m not confused? You just thrust your way into my life, and you changed everything. Everything. Miranda’s so happy now, just because you’re here. And now you’re going to leave her.”
He couldn’t have hurt her more if he’d struck her. “That’s what I’m supposed to do. I’m like a contractor. I do the job and when it’s fixed, I leave.”
“Even if it means crushing a little girl’s heart?”
She searched his eyes. What she saw there frightened her. She wanted to retreat, to run away, but the refrigerator was at her back and he was so close, looming over her.
“This isn’t about Miranda at all,” she whispered, mouth dry. “It’s about you.”
His fingers curled against her chin. His skin grazed against hers with electric friction. He tipped her chin up. “Maybe it is. You make me happy, Rebecca. I haven’t been happy in a long time. When you’re in the room, I forget to be angry and I just…laugh. That means more to me than years of history or awkward dates to get to know each other. Seeing my little girl happy, too? Means more than even that.” His mouth creased. “But that’s inappropriate, isn’t it?”
Her heart slammed rapidly in her chest. She thought it might burst through her ribs and tumble into his hands. He already had a tight grip on it, when she knew it was wrong. Why did he have to say these things? Why did he have to tempt her?
And why was it so wrong for her to need this?
Rebecca pulled free from his grip and turned her face away, trying to calm her erratic breaths. “You’re confused. That’s all it is. I’m supposed to help you find the path to happiness. You’re confusing that with romantic feelings. I guess this happens to angels a lot.”
“You’re not an angel yet.” He leaned down, bowing over her. His lips caressed the air just a breath away from hers. Each exhalation curled over her cheeks, teasing and sensitizing her skin until her knees weakened and her shallow breaths quickened. “How much would you hate me if I kissed you right now?”
“A lot,” she whispered. “Not nearly enough.”
His fingertip stroked down her cheek, leaving a sizzling trail in its wake. “You aren’t making any sense. Does that mean you do want me to kiss you, or you don’t?”
“Yes. No. What? I—” She jerked back and flattened herself against the fridge. Closing her eyes, she tried to gather her scattered thoughts. “Don’t touch me. It’s not a good idea.”
He sighed. She felt his warmth retreat, but it didn’t cool the heat in her body. The brushed-steel refrigerator was like ice against her back, and she shivered. At least he wasn’t touching her anymore—but the growling rumble in his voice wasn’t much better. In the darkness of her closed eyes she felt his voice like a physical touch, making a shivering heat curl in her belly.