She was exactly what she wanted to be without apology. Michael admired and appreciated such women, as they were too far and few between. But something about Maggie pulled him to look closer and scratch beneath the surface. Some lingering pain and need glimmered deep within those green eyes, daring a man to slay the dragon and claim her.
His sudden thought startled him. He mocked the ridiculous image, but his pants still tightened around his erection. God, that’s all he needed—some misrepresented damsel-in-distress fantasy. He’d never be a prince and didn’t want the job. Especially against a woman who’d probably steal his horse and rescue herself.
Still, for a while, he needed her. He just had to convince her to take the part.
“Hmm, I wonder what put that expression on your face. Or rather, who.”
He looked up from his chair and met a pair of laughing blue eyes. His heart warmed at Alexa’s smile, and he stood up to give her a brief hug. “Buon giorno, signora bella. Did you enjoy your party?”
Corkscrew curls slipped out of her ponytail and lay against her cheek. Happiness radiated around her figure. “Loved it. I told Nick I didn’t want a party, but you know how he gets.”
“That’s the reason he’s good at his job.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, good for business but a pain in the ass at home.” She grinned naughtily. “Sometimes.”
Michael laughed. “What do you Americans like to say? TMI—too much info?” Color flushed her cheeks and he tugged on one of her curls. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I got you a present.”
She frowned. “Michael, the cake was enough. You almost killed me it was so delicious.”
“It’s a small one. You have meant a lot to me this past year, and I love seeing you happy.” He pulled a tiny box from his jacket pocket. “Open.”
She sighed and looked half-torn. Curiosity won out and she unwrapped the gift. The simple baby booty charm with a gleaming emerald stone lay on the fluffy cotton. She sucked in her breath and pleasure filled him at her expression.
“It’s Lily’s birthstone,” he said. “Nick told me he bought you a new gold chain, so this would go perfectly with it. Do you like?”
Alexa bit her lower lip and she blinked. “I love it,” she said huskily. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, and he clasped her hands within his. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
“Prego, cara.”
A strong wave of admiration and love washed over him. The moment he’d met her at a business dinner, he knew she was an exceptional woman. Fortunately, since he discovered her marriage, there was never any sexual chemistry between them. Nick was the other half of her heart. But Michael believed he and Alexa were old soul mates—meant to be good friends but never lovers. Nick initially resented their friendship but even he had become both a friend and a business partner. When Lily was born, Michael enjoyed the status of honorary uncle, which soothed the occasional burst of homesickness for his own family.
Maggie, however, disapproved.
Suddenly, she materialized by their side, as if able to sniff out whenever Alexa neared him. She raked him with a sharp look. “Presents, Al?” she asked. “How thoughtful.”
Her tone dripped with icicles and he caught an immediate chill. Her protectiveness and loyalty toward Alexa always fascinated him. How could someone who had the potential to love be so alone? Unless she had a steady lover hidden in the background? She never brought a male companion to any of the functions. Michael studied her figure but caught no softness or satisfaction, just the usual low hum of energy she always exuded.
His thoughts flashed to their first date almost a year ago. Alexa begged him to meet Maggie, citing some strange female instinct that they’d be perfect together. The moment their gazes locked, Michael knew sexual chemistry would never be their problem. She seemed just as startled by their instant connection but played it off with an expert ease until he realized she was a contradictory bundle of emotions—a tigress caught without her roar. The stimulating, edgy conversation only heightened his desire for her, but he knew she’d never be a one-night stand, as badly as she wanted to pretend that was all they could have.
He’d briefly ached to be the man to challenge her limitations and offer more. But his close relationship with Alexa and the threat of a messy breakup kept him from extending the evening to another date. He sought a woman who would fit in with his close-knit family and not keep herself distant. Maggie was the opposite of everything he believed he needed in a mate. Boring, no. But a mass of contradictions, emotions, and work, yes. If they tore each other apart, Alexa and Nick would become the victims, and since he viewed them as family, he never put anyone he cared about at risk. Not because of his own selfish needs.
He’d practiced that move most of his life.
Still, he’d screwed up. Her almost shy offer of the possibility of another date incited a fear he’d never experienced from a woman.
The raw vulnerability on her face from his rejection startled him. But there would never be a second chance with Maggie Ryan. She’d never allow herself to be put in such a position again, and she loved to remind him of it constantly.
Alexa lifted the baby charm up. “Isn’t it beautiful, Maggie?”
“Charming.”
Michael smothered a laugh at Alexa’s warning look. Like a sulky child, Maggie backed off. “I have to get going, babe,” she said. “I have to leave for Milan soon and still have tons to do.”
Alexa groaned. “God, what I’d do to go to Milan and get a new wardrobe.” She looked down at her fashionable dress and wrinkled her face.
“Lily was worth a couple of pounds,” Maggie said firmly. “I’ll bring you back a pair of sexy heels that’ll drive Nick mad.” Her gaze veered directly to Michael’s face as if to prove a point. “Not that it takes much the way you two go at it.”
“Go at what?” Nick appeared and slipped his arms around his wife’s hips.
“Never mind,” Alexa said sharply.
“Sex,” Maggie stated. “I’m going to Milan and bringing back Alexa some sexy shoes.”
Nick looked intrigued. “How about one of those silky nightie things, too?”