Chapter 5
Macie stepped out of the shower and sighed with happiness as she grabbed a soft, fluffy towel. It was enormous, completely different from the rough, cheap terrycloth that she had stacked in the closet at her house.
“No longer stacked,” she whispered to herself, remembering that everything she owned was gone.
Rubbing the soft material over her face, she wondered how much a towel like this cost. There was a whole stack of them sitting by the massive shower. And this was just the guest room! What was the rest of the house like?
Macie had known that Edward was wealthy. She’d even been aware that he was a duke. A freaking aristocrat! But knowing that a person was wealthy was different than seeing tangible proof of a person’s wealth. Big, soft, fluffy towels was something that the average person couldn’t afford.
In her world, having been off work for the past three-plus months, the idea of spending money on a towel wasn’t something that crossed her mind. Her financials revolved around buying formula to supplement her nursing efforts. And diapers! Good grief, she’d never realized how expensive diapers were.
And that was barely the beginning of the expenses. She couldn’t imagine how she was going to afford soccer leagues and piano lessons, not to mention college. How much did a year at a good university cost these days? She’d paid her way through university after high school through part time jobs and loans. She was still paying off those student loans. She had about five more years, then she’d be debt free. If it weren’t for inheriting her mother’s family farm, Macie would still be renting an apartment, and not able to put as much money towards her student debt.
Sighing, she quickly dried off, then wrapped the towel around her as she stepped out of the bathroom.
And froze.
Her well-worn jeans, cargo jacket, and tee shirt were gone. Instead, there was a pair of soft leggings and an oversized, green cashmere sweater laid out on the bed. There was also a bag emblazoned with a famous lingerie designer name sitting beside the clothes.
“Edward!” she whispered, padding barefoot over to the bed.
For a moment, she just let her fingers slide over the material. The cashmere was incredibly soft, better than anything she’d be able to afford. Macie earned a very good salary for her computer and management expertise. But she didn’t shop at stores that carried this level of luxury.
“I shouldn’t,” she said to the empty room. But when she looked around for her other clothes, she realized that they were gone. Had Edward taken them?
Without any other choice, she slipped into the leggings and sweater, reveling in how soft both were. Leaving her hair wet, she walked downstairs again, only to find Edward trying desperately to soothe a crying Kyle.
“I think he’s hungry,” Edward replied, handing over the angry bundle.
“It’s time,” she replied, then looked around. “I’ll just go upstairs and…handle it.”
“Why not do it here? The chairs are comfortable. And I can build up a fire.”
She looked over at the fireplace, but Kyle was screaming and grabbing at her sweater, nuzzling around in search of his meal.
“Fine,” she muttered, then settled into the chair that truly was very comfortable. She managed to pull the pretty, non-maternity bra out of the way and Kyle instantly settled in.
“I normally wear a special bra for this kind of thing,” she told Edward as he watched, fascinated. Macie felt awkward as Edward stared at her, but she wasn’t sure how to get him to look away.
“That’s beautiful,” he told her, his voice hoarse.
Macie blushed and looked away. “Stop staring,” she whispered.
Edward blinked and looked up. “Sorry,” he said, then fisted his hands on his hips as he started pacing again. “I spoke to my business partners,” he told her. “They are on their way here to discuss the problem.”
“That’s good,” she replied, then shifted again, trying to get more comfortable. “Can you hand me one of those pillows?”
Edward grabbed one, then brought it over to her. “What do you need it for?”
She lifted her arm and Kyle up. “If you could shove it under my arm, it will help support his head and my arm.”
He did exactly as she instructed, and Macie sighed with relief. Both from Kyle nursing, which eased the pressure in her breast, as well as the relief from her sore, still-tired muscles.
“So, what’s your plan?” she finally asked.
“I’m going to figure out who is messing with my company’s reputation and shipping illegal arms,” he told her.
She nodded, stroking her finger over Kyle’s head. “And how are you going to do that?”
He lowered himself to the ottoman. “I was hoping that you could help me. You know what to look for. You’ve got the entrée into the computer system. And I can protect you from here better than in Philadelphia.”
She smiled, then gazed down at Kyle. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because my car has been vandalized and my house burned down. I won’t put Kyle in danger again.”
“Good. You won’t have to.”
“But you still want me to log in and find the anomalies.”
“Yes,” he replied firmly, his fingers loosely interlaced between his knees. “You’re the only person I can trust. Someone very high up in the company, plus several warehouse staff members, have to be in on the arms shipments. I don’t know who else to trust.”
She looked down at Kyle. “And what about him? Who’s going to take care of Kyle?”
“I’ll hire a nanny for the day. Then you and I can protect him at night.”
She laughed. “Your village is tiny, Edward. I drove through it when I came in from the airport.”
“That just means that I know most of the residents. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“For normal life, yes. Knowing your neighbor is wonderful. But if you’re trying to hide out, which I’m trying to do so that the thugs who burned down my house can’t find me, then being surrounded by villagers who know everything about everyone doesn’t seem like a good solution.”
“Why not?”
“Because if the villagers suddenly discover there is a nanny working on your estate, then they’ll start to talk. Speculation about the village nobleman always runs rampant. They’ll want to know everything. And social media allows gossip to spread fast . You don’t think the people in Philadelphia who are using your company to ship illegal arms won’t be monitoring social media about the company’s owner?” She asked, barely pausing before she continued. “I certainly would. If I wanted to ensure that my boss didn’t know what I was doing, then I’d check out his social media as well as the accounts of his children and wife. Something is bound to come out.”
He nodded, agreeing with her. “You’re right. So, what’s the solution?”
Macie tilted her head to the side. “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier. Can you really protect me and Kyle?”
“With my life, Macie,” he told her, a vehemence in his voice now.
She nodded slowly. “Fine. You take care of Kyle during the day and I’ll get back onto the computer. Once I find the anomalies and figure out the pattern, then you can send your people in to investigate.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “I can’t just stop working, Macie.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have responsibilities, love. I have meetings and people depending on me.”
She nodded, pursing her lips. “You’re right. I have no idea what it’s like to have something, or someone, completely upend one’s routines and job aspirations. I wouldn’t know anything about having one’s life completely change all of a sudden.” She stroked Kyle’s fuzzy head, waiting for Edward to grasp her point.
Slowly, his eyes moved to Kyle. She saw the exact moment when the penny dropped.
“Okay, point taken.” He stood up and looked out the window. He was silent for a long moment, then he turned back to her. “You’re right. You’ve taken on the bulk of Kyle’s care so far.”
“The bulk of his care?” she prompted, her dark eyebrows lifted.
Another chuckle and he looked down at his feet, his fingers looped into the waistband of his jeans. “Right. You’ve taken on all of his care so far.”
“Thank you.”
“So, you’re right. It’s my turn.” He shifted to face her once more. “How long do you think it will take for you to come up with enough evidence to stop whoever it is that’s using my airline as an arms dealer.”
She shrugged, then shifted Kyle so that he could feed from the other side. “I don’t know. I’m not a professional investigator. I’ve never had to dig into data this way, but I have a good start. I have an idea of what I’m looking for now.” She looked at him again. “Do you have people you can trust to check into various crates to find out if the anomalies I’m finding are new crates of weapons?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Yep. I’ve already called Sean Byrne and Antonio del Campo. You remember them from Antonio’s wedding, right?”
She shrugged.“Sure.Nice guys.”
“They’re the best,” he asserted. Then he moved back to her. “What do you need from me?”
“A computer. A monitor.” She smiled softly. “And a lot more sleep.”
“I’ll take care of Kyle during the next few nights for you.”
Macie shook her head. “I’d love to take you up on that, but I nurse Kyle at night. He gets a bottle in the morning and afternoon, so you can take over those feedings.”
“Why a bottle?”
“My pediatrician told me to make sure he knows how to feed from a bottle so that, when I go back to work, he’s okay without nursing all the time.”
“I…uh…hadn’t thought about that.”
She shrugged, then checked to make sure that the movement didn’t bother Kyle. He was already fading off to sleep again. The little fellow was completely off his daily routines.
“There were a lot of things that I hadn’t thought about when I realized I was pregnant.”
“Like contacting me?” he asked, his voice soft.
She looked up at him. “We’ve already talked about that, Edward. I really didn’t think you’d want to know.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I would have thought, Macie.” He turned and walked a bit, then came back. “I’m sorry that you were in a position that you didn’t know. That you felt you had to hide this from me.”
She bit her lower lip, then shifted Kyle again, causing her nipple to slip from his mouth. Macie heard Edward’s hiss and jumped, glancing up at him while pulling the soft cashmere down to cover her breast.
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize,” he countered. “I’ve been dreaming about your breasts, hell, your whole body, for the past year.”
She blushed again and couldn’t maintain eye contact. Especially when the idea of him seeing her breasts caused such intense aching need deep within her.
“We should…uh…?” she stumbled, not sure what to say. Her thoughts kept going down the path of him seeing her breasts again.
“Dinner,” he interrupted. “I’m going to order something for dinner.” He looked down at Kyle. Any dietary restrictions?”
“Nothing with tomato sauce. Nothing too spicy. Nothing with chocolate, strawberries, caffeine…,” she paused, putting a hand to her head. “Is it possible to just have a burger and fries for dinner tonight?’
He laughed, nodding. “Yeah. I think that’s manageable.”
She released a breath. “Good. I’ve been craving a burger for ages.”
“Why haven’t you had a burger?”
She stood up, lifting Kyle with her. “Because the last few weeks of my pregnancy, this little man didn’t let me eat much.” She sighed and placed him on a sofa cushion, then placed other cushions around him so that he would be protected if he rolled over. “And then after he was born, I couldn’t figure out how to get out of the house. Plus, I was so overwhelmed by how much I needed to learn. The idea of getting food that wasn’t already prepared at the grocery store just wasn’t an option.”
“I’m sorry, Macie. I didn’t know that having a baby was so…overwhelming.”
“It’s life changing,” she declared.