Chapter 6 #3
She wracked her brain for another way out.
There was no way in hell she wanted to admit this lie to Nick, partly because she didn’t want him to know she never really had a date, but mostly because she vividly recalled the night she’d been caught lying to him.
Even though her bottom had been back to normal by the next day, a spanking from Nick was at the top of her list of things to avoid at all costs.
Nick watched, puzzled as Maggie went from trying not to laugh, to worrying her bottom lip.
A shiver went through her, and before he could blink she threw herself into his arms, holding him tightly and resting her head on his chest. His strong arms closed around her, and he kissed the top of her head.
Whatever was wrong with her, he could sure get used to it he thought, breathing in her delicate scent.
“Magpie, what’s wrong, honey? I don’t hold you responsible. Obviously, you would never have agreed to go out with him if you had known he was getting married. I don’t want you worrying about this, baby. I will take care of Morrissey in my own way. I—”
Maggie’s fingers came up to softly cover Nick’s lips.
He kissed and nibbled on them gently, completely robbing her mind of what she wanted to say as his hand soothed her by rubbing up and down her back.
For a few moments she let herself enjoy the security of his embrace, sinking into him completely and sighing.
His heartbeat was strong against her ear, and she wanted nothing more than to go back in time before she’d created this mess.
Good grief. How did she get herself in these predicaments?
Lies, lies, and more lies. Not big whopping ones, but little white ones that were probably going to be the cause of a not so white bottom if she wasn’t careful.
Nick felt her shiver again. Something was not right here, and he could see that he was more than likely going to have to pry it out of her. Putting her away from him, his hands firmly on her arms, he gave her a little shake until she looked up at him.
“Maggie is there something you want to tell me?” he asked softly, not wanting to get tough with her unless he had to.
Maggie looked deeply into his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Not exactly want to tell you, but have to tell you,” she responded backing away slowly until he was no longer holding onto her.
“You see, Nick, it was all a misunderstanding, sort of… I didn’t really have a date tonight with Tim Morrissey.
In fact, I didn’t have any date tonight…
” she continued, putting her hands behind her and very slowly backing up to her bedroom door.
“Nick, I swear to you, I have no idea why I would tell such an outrageous fib but well… sometimes you just make me so mad I don’t even know what I’m saying. ”
Nick’s jaw dropped. His hands were fisted on his hips and he glowered at her.
“Let me get this straight. You lie to me, and then you have the nerve to blame it on me?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Do you know how close I was to socking that jerk right in the nose? He not only would have been perfectly innocent, but completely clueless as to why. I would have been arrested!” Nick ran a hand through his hair, frustrated beyond belief.
As he took a step towards her, her hand closed over the doorknob and she quickly backed into her room and shut the door.
The click of the lock was the last straw.
“Maggie, open this damn door now,” he hissed, testing the lock and wondering how much noise it would make if he just kicked it in. If the kids weren’t in the house he’d…
Maggie huddled on the other side and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Now, Nick,” she spoke firmly through the door, much braver knowing he couldn’t get to her. “Let’s be reasonable about this.”
“Well that would work for me,” he shot back, “But you wouldn’t have any sense if someone handed you a bucket full of it.”
Maggie flinched and felt her face go red at the insult.
“I’m really sorry about fibbing to you Nicky, and I promise I won’t do it again.
” God, now she was regressing, she hadn’t called him Nicky since high school.
Ugh! “Couldn’t we just forget about this little…
misunderstanding and… maybe you should go out for a beer or something,” she suggested, or two or six, she thought.
“Maybe you need to cool down a little. I hate it when you’re mad at me,” she sniffed, suddenly feeling very bad about the whole thing and even sorrier for herself.
Nick’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Geez, now she sounded like she was crying.
“I’m not mad at you honey, just disappointed.
I thought we were getting to a place where we could be honest with each other, even if we disagree.
You know how I feel about you, Maggie,” he whispered through the door, “and how I feel about the kids. You don’t have to make up an imaginary man to get me to keep my distance. ”
“Oh God, Nick, that’s not it at all. I mean yes, I don’t want to get too close but… ” Maggie’s hand was on the handle and she almost opened the door. “Oh, I don’t know what I mean,” she whispered back, tears sliding down her face. “Please can’t we talk about this later?”
“All right Maggie, we’ll do it your way, for now. Call me when you’re ready to discuss it. I’ll lock the doors on my way out.”