Friends and Lovers
Chapter Three
Max was staring at the ceiling, wide-awake. He touched his hand to his mouth, still feeling her soft skin as he kissed her cheek. Her intoxicating perfume still had him in her spell. She was warm, loving, beautiful, and so easy to talk to. He'd found himself talking about things he never told anyone, but he could tell her. She understood his pain, and he understood hers. That Sunday morning two years ago had changed both of their lives, left their children with only one parent. He turned over and fluffed his pillow. He needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow the house would be full of children, and he wanted to be able to stay up late to be with her.
Fran woke to the sound of her daughter giggling, and two muffled voices. She put on her robe and walked quietly to her door to listen. She peeked around the corner and could see the boys in Reenie's room. Her son was actually trying to dress his sister, asking her to be quiet so Mommy could sleep. Now wasn't THAT just too precious for words. She quickly tiptoed back to her bed and tossed her robe over her sofa, then climbed back under the covers.
"Hold her hand, B., I'm gonna turn Mom's intercom on."
"What're ya doin' that for?"
"It's a RULE. If we're on another floor, we have to keep the intercom open."
Fran carefully pulled the covers over her face, so her son couldn't see her start to laugh. He pushed the button for the playroom and headed back into the hallway.
"You always follow the rules, don't you?"
"Well, YEAH, don't you?
"I don't think Dad HAS any rules and the nannies just make them up as they get to know us."
"Well, if your dad hangs around my mom too much, THAT'll change."
They laughed as they each took one of Irene's hands and helped her down the stairs. Fran continued listening over the intercom as they entered the playroom.
"You know, A.B., that wouldn't be too bad, my dad and your mom getting together. I mean, I miss my mom a lot. Dad's never paid attention to any women since mom died, but I think he likes your mom."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I kinda miss my dad, too. He wasn't always a jerk. Last night, when your dad was playing with us, it was like we were brothers, and he was my dad, too."
"I know, and did you see the look on their faces when your mom fell on him? And he called her OUR mother. THAT was cool. Dad actually seems happy around her. OK, so now, what do we do? We want to be brothers; Reenie and Grace already think they're sisters. What about Maggie? If we could just get rid of her."
"Why? Maggie's cool! And the girls follow her around and leave us alone. Reenie, take that out of your mouth. Let me have it. Here, play with this." He handed her a large car, and watched her push it around the floor. "It's hard to play when you have to watch a two year old."
"Who has to watch her? WE have a nanny! Nanny Judy can watch her."
"That's just when we're at your house. Wha? You're up to something, B. I KNOW that look. It's the one that usually means you're gonna be in the headmaster's office."
"We need to all live in one house. My house is bigger, but you have the cool playroom."
"If you guys move in here, we won't HAVE the playrooms."
"OK, so we live in my house. You and I share a room, Grace and Irene share; Maggie can have her own room...and your mom moves into my dad's room with him."
"Shouldn't they get married first?"
"Yeah, I guess so. So how're we gonna do this?" The boys stared at each other for a minute. "Niles! We can ask Niles to help us."
"What, we're gonna walk up to your butler and tell him that we want our parents to get married and we want him to help us push them together?"
"Exactly! You know Niles. He's more like our uncle than our butler; I see how he looks at Dad and your mom when they're together. I'm sure he's already got the wedding planned."
Fran got out of bed and pulled on her robe. She moved over to her sofa to hear better. She couldn't believe how sneaky these boys could be. Well, Max had warned her about Brighton. So they were planning to try to push her and Max together. Well, everyone's got to have a hobby. She smiled. She couldn't wait to fill Max in on this plan. She reached over and turned up the volume on the intercom while she got dressed.
"The first thing we need to do is make a list of all the things they like. Mom likes those purple roses, I forget what they're called, silver something, I think. You can get her to do almost anything if you bribe her with Godiva, she loves fresh bagels, any kind of coffee cake, and cheesecake is her favorite dessert."
"Dad's harder, he never shares anything. He likes good cigars, and brandy. He eats boiled eggs for breakfast with toast. He likes Earl Grey tea. OH, Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce."
"Cool, Mom loves ice cream, too, but it's too cold for ice cream right now."
"The main thing, is to get them together as much as possible. Have you SEEN the way they look at each other when they think we aren't looking? And Dad's kissed her TWICE."
"Yeah, on the cheek, big whoop."
Fran laughed and touched her cheek. Yeah, it WAS a big whoop. She could still feel where his lips burned into her.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Uh, oh. Good morning, Ma!" Anthony looked at Brighton and made a face. His mother was listening; he just wondered how much she'd heard.
"G' morning, sweetie. Are the other kids up?"
"Yeah, we got Reenie dressed; she's playing with her dolls."
"OK, Honey, I'm gonna go down and make breakfast. You want waffles or hot cereal?"
"Waffles, please!"
She clicked off her intercom and headed down the stairs, stopping at the playroom door to watch her children play. She saw Irene climbing all over Brighton, and how patient he was with her. The boys simply moved her back to her dolls, played with her for a few seconds, then went back to their trucks. "Oh, hi, Ma. You know, Reenie really needs a sister to play with, she can really be a pest sometimes."
"I know, Honey, sorry. Thanks for keeping an eye on her. As for the sister, she got lucky and got a big brother instead."
"You can borrow Gracie, I'm sure Dad won't mind bringing her over." Fran saw Anthony kick his friend gently.
"Well, guys, we're going over to B's house later today, the girls can play then...so for now, be nice to the baby."
"Why don't you just have another baby, Ma? I mean, Reenie's almost three."
"Because I'm not married, sweetie."
"Well, Dad's not married, and HE has three kids."
Fran took a deep breath. Boy, when these kids play matchmaker, they just jump right in! "Yes, Honey, but he was married to your mom when he had you three kids."
"You don't want any more kids?" Oy, this was one path she did NOT want to walk down.
"Sure she does, B. She just didn't want any more kids with my dad."
"Anthony! Where did THAT come from?"
"Dad and Uncle Steve talked about it, down in the man room. You were upstairs; it was right after you came home from England."
"And you remember that? Oy! Honey, your dad and I never got to talk about having more kids; Reenie was only six months old when Daddy died."
"So why don't you get married to someone else?"
Fran had taken just about enough of this. "Because I already have a wonderful man in my life, and I need to go cook him breakfast."
Brighton snickered. "Oh, Dad's coming for breakfast?"
Fran gave the boys a backwards glance as she headed down the stairs. Could the boys see how she felt about Max?
"She looked mad; ya think we went too far?"
"Oh, yeah, B. That last thing about your dad coming to breakfast...too much. We'd better lay off during breakfast. I know my mother, she'll get so mad, she'll cancel dinner at your house tonight."
"Yeah, and this dinner thing could be good. Pizza and movies in front of a fireplace. We'll make sure Niles takes us to get the movies. He can pick out a good romantic movie for them after the little kids go to bed."
"Romantic movie? Yuck, B.!"
"Geesh, do I have to think of everything? We'll watch the other movie, then, when only the romantic movie is left, we say, oh, yuck, and go upstairs, leaving THEM on the couch to watch the movie, in front of the fireplace."
"This could work. Come on, Reenie, let's go downstairs and see if Mom has the waffles ready yet."
Fran was still thinking about how sneaky her son was being. I can't believe those boys are scheming to get Max and me to fall for each other. She stood stirring the waffle batter, staring out the back window at the snow falling. She actually remembered the first time she'd met him. It was the summer of 1986. Tony had insisted she go to parents' night at Anthony's school with him. He'd met some Donna Reed type mother, and he wanted to introduce them. She didn't have time to be Donna Reed, she was too busy working. She was with her son in the corner of the room, looking at his drawings, when Tony brought them over. This drop dead gorgeous blonde, and her husband. She heard the introduction, but when she shook the man's hand, her world went fuzzy. She heard something about a lot in common, work, Broadway, music. She'd never felt a connection with anyone like that before or since. She saw him a couple more times before she left for Europe that winter. They went to one of his plays, and she saw him briefly, when she picked Anthony up from his play dates with Brighton. Then there was London. She was there for nine months. A month after she arrived, she was at the hotel bar having a drink with a man she'd met that day. The man pointed over to his intoxicated brother. It was Max.
He had just heard from his private investigator, telling him that he'd found evidence that his wife was having an affair. He spent the first half of the day drinking, and the evening planning on how to leave her. Fran had helped him to his room, fought off his advances, and then given in to his pleading that she stay with him. She was shocked to wake up in his arms in the morning. The next six months were filled with romantic nights, passionate kisses, and gentle caresses. She had fallen in love with him, and he assured her that he loved her, and was making plans to leave his wife. When he found out his wife was expecting their third child, they knew they had to stop the relationship. He returned to New York a month before she did, and they promised never to speak of their time together again. The one thing she regretted was that she'd never allowed him to make love to her. She knew she was right, once they were both home, they'd never be able to maintain a casual relationship, had they become lovers. They'd gone on with their lives, him with Sarah, she with Tony, until the accident. The last two years they'd avoided each other. Now that they were pushed together, things were happening quickly. Had she fallen back in love with him already? Oh, come on, Francine, give it up.
"Mother, earth to mom..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Honey, I was daydreaming, what did you say?"
"I said the phone's for you, didn't you hear it?"
"No, I didn't, thanks." She took the phone from her son. "Hello?"
"Good morning, I didn't wake you, did I?"
Only from daydreaming about you! "Good morning, Max. No, you didn't. I was just making waffles for the kids."
"That's exactly what Niles made over here." He laughed gently. "I was thinking, what if you came over right after breakfast. The news said we're supposed to get a big snowstorm this afternoon, and if come over earlier, you can miss it." There really was a storm coming, but the truth was, he couldn't wait to see her.
"That sounds like a good idea. I'll get the kids fed and get everything packed up, and we'll be over soon."
"Great. Brighton's been behaving, hasn't he?"
"He always does when he's over here. I'll see you in an hour or so."
"Sounds wonderful. See you then."
She hung up the phone and turned to the kids. "Well, it looks like we're going to Brighton's earlier than planned, guys. Why don't you boys set the table while I get the waffles made, and we'll head over as soon as we're done?"
The boys ran into the dining room and gave each other high fives. This day was getting better and better.
By the time Fran got the kids packed up and ready the snow had already started to fall more heavily. By the time she reached Madison Avenue, she could barely see the road. She inched the Range Rover down the middle of the road, and then turned up 75th. As she reached the Sheffield house, she breathed a sigh of relief. There was Niles out front, clearing a parking space for her.
"Oy, Niles, the snow is really coming down! Madison is so bad; I could hardly see the road!"
"Here, let me take the baby inside."
"Thanks." She pulled Irene from her car seat and handed the child to the butler, who carried her quickly into the house. The boys each grabbed a backpack and ran inside, leaving Fran to bring the suitcase. She pulled it out with a jerk, and slipped on the snow. As she started to fall, she felt strong arms lift her back up.
"Let me get that for you."
"Thanks, Max. That's twice now you've kept me from falling on my touchas."
"My pleasure. Good thing you got here when you did, you might not have made it had you waited until later."
"I almost didn't make it now. The roads are a mess, and the plows haven't come through yet." She stepped into the entryway of the house and pulled off her hat, shaking the snow from it. "I should call my mother, and let her know where I am so she doesn't worry. She usually calls on the weekend, and if she finds out I'm not home in this blizzard, she'll panic."
"Good idea. Why don't you come sit by the fire, and I'll get you something warm to drink first." He took her hat and coat and hung them in the closet by the front door before leading her into the living room.
"Where did the kids go?"
Max laughed. "They're already upstairs playing. Nanny Martin was heading that way, so she took Reenie up to Grace's room, and the boys are in Brighton's room. Would you like coffee or cocoa? Never mind, that's a silly question."
"Wha?"
"Asking YOU if you want chocolate."
"Very funny, Mister." He remembered! "I'll call my mother while you're in the kitchen." She laughed as she watched him head down the hallway to the kitchen. He was just too adorable. She picked up the portable phone and punched in her mother's number. Max returned with the cocoa while she was still talking to Sylvia, so he placed the cup on the table next to her. Fran reached over, scooped up a bit of the whipped cream with her finger, and stuck it in her mouth. She repeated this several times, absently licking her finger as she listened to her mother. Max sat across the room watching her, holding back the urge to let her use his own fingers for the whipped cream.
"Ma, I gotta go. No, we're not leaving the house until the storm stops. He's upstairs, I'll have him call ya later. OK, Ma, stay warm. I will, I'm in front of the fire right now. Love you more. Bye, Ma." She sat the phone down and picked up her cocoa. "Thanks. Boy, can that woman talk. She's on my case because we didn't go to HER place when the storm started. She's got a two bedroom with one bathroom, no WAY am I taking the kids over there to get snowed in!"
"She's in Queens, isn't she?"
Fran nodded. "Flushing. She wouldn't let me buy her something over here. She's been in Flushing all her life, and she's happy there."
"And you weren't?"
"Oh, yeah, I was. However, I was in Manhattan every day working, and when I had the chance to buy my house…Max, it was a steal, I couldn't pass it up. It was an estate sale, and her family lived in Europe. They recognized me from the ads I was doing there at the time, so they sold it to me. I got it for almost half what it was worth. I wasn't even old enough to sign the contracts. Daddy had to come over and sign everything for me."
"How old were you?"
"Seventeen. I loved the area, all the galleries. Tony was doing shows around there, and he'd come by and visit. I thought I was so head over heels in love with him."
"You weren't?"
She looked around for her children. "You know, I don't think I really ever was. Everyone thought we made such a great couple. The model and her photographer. I'd never dated anyone else; I guess he was just...comfortable. Everybody assumed we'd get married, so we did. He wanted kids, someone to cook and clean for him, wait on him hand and foot. I'd been working since I was 10; I was ready for someone to take care of ME. Then I got pregnant with Anthony on our honeymoon. I thought, GREAT, a break from work. Tony had other things in mind. I didn't show until my seventh month, so I kept working, THEN I did maternity shoots. I was so happy when Anthony was born, I finally got a break!"
"But, you went right back to work, didn't you? After Anthony was born?"
"Not right away. I had just turned twenty; I had a new baby to take care of, and I THOUGHT, an adoring husband. He started getting calls for jobs, but I never saw any payment for them, just more and more money being taken out of our mad money account."
"Mad money account?"
"I opened an account to put extra money in to be used for fun. You know, nice dinners, movies, a new car, whatevah we wanted. That way we never touched the savings or any of the investments. He always had an excuse, actually tried to tell me once that he had his checks going right to our accountant. Please! Our accountant was my Uncle Ira! Tony never took the high paying jobs; he liked the ones that could get him recognition, awards, stuff like that. The money was being spent somewhere, and it wasn't on me."
"So you had to work to pay the bills."
"No, I worked because I'm an overachiever and I like nice things. Remember, I grew up in Flushing, I was determined that my kids were never gonna know what it was like to go to bed hungry, or wish they had nice toys and clothes like their friends. What I forgot, was that even though we didn't have a lot of money, we were rich in love. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love my kids more than anything. I just wasn't a very good mother when Anthony was a baby. I schlepped him around to photo shoots, he had to listen to his father and me scream at each other, finally, I just couldn't take any more yelling, being pressured to have another baby, Tony's running around with other women...and I packed up my son and took him to London. I had a job offer there, was gonna last six months. I hadn't been there a week, when Tony showed up with his parents and took Anthony back to New York. So now, here I was, alone in London."
"You weren't alone when I first saw you there."
Fran laughed. "You actually remember that night? You were in worse shape than I was!"
"Right, right. Someone had told me they saw Sarah with another man at our home, I was sure she was having an affair."
"Exactly, and you were looking to pay her back. I was never so tempted in all my life; you know that, don't you?"
"I could tell."
"As mad as I was at Tony, I knew he'd have an idea about Sarah, so I called him, and he told you there was NO way she was having an affair. You still didn't believe him, and invited me to your room. Believe me, if it was anyone else, the mood I was in that night...I guess it was a good thing it WAS you." She threw back her head and laughed. "You were so cute. You took most of your clothes off, trying to seduce me. It was really sexy the way you tripped trying to get your pants off over your shoes." She put her hand to her mouth and giggled. "Sorry, it's funny NOW, I really felt bad for you then. I helped you up, took off your shoes and socks, then got you some aspirin; because I KNEW you were gonna need it. Then I put you in bed, and you held on to me and begged me to stay, you promised to be a gentleman."
"My GOD! I woke up smelling perfume in the morning, and I was certain that I'd..."
"Nope, you were a good boy. I think I started to fall in love with you that night. Did you ever say anything to anyone?"
"No, I never told anyone about us. Well, Nigel knew. Did you ever tell Tony?"
"Are you kiddin'? Even though nothing happened, he'd have made a big magilla out of it. I'd tried to push the whole thing out of my mind. But recently, I've been trying to think of a way to torture you about that first night." She giggled again, and then looked down into her empty cup.
"Oh, really?" He laughed with her. He loved the way she always could make him laugh. "Ready for another cup? Extra whipped cream this time?" She smiled and nodded. He picked up her cup, returning shortly with two fresh cups, piled high with cream. "You should see the snow coming down now." He reached over and flipped on the television. "Maybe there's something about the storm on the news channel." Max switched the channels until he found the weather. No sign of the snow letting up anytime soon. "I guess sending Niles out for movies is out of the question."
"I brought a couple over, just in case. We can always pull out some games and play with the kids."
"That sounds wonderful...Fran, what's the matter?" She was sitting staring at the television, tears in her eyes. He moved over onto the sofa next to her. "Fran?" He looked at the television again. It was a commercial for Valentine's Day. He knew exactly how she felt, such a romantic day, and she was alone. Maybe they could spend it together this year. He took her face in his hands and gently turned her to face him. "I hate Valentine's Day, too."
"That's not it, and I don't know why it always upsets me. DAMN. Tony and I were married on Valentine's Day. I'm fine most of the time; just some days get to me more than others." Max pulled her to him and she cried on his shoulder for several minutes. When she started to relax, he looked into her reddened eyes, and wanted to cry himself. He reached up and began wiping her tears away, and straightening her smudged make up.
"Maybe you should use waterproof for a few days." She smiled at him. "That's better, that's the smile I love." Even tear stained and smudged, this woman was beautiful. She deserved someone who could appreciate her inner beauty as well as her outward appearance. He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. She reached up and put her hands over his, then moved her face to kiss his palm. That put Maxwell's self-restraint meter right over the top; he pulled her to him and pressed his mouth hard over hers. She moved her hands over his face, behind his head, running her fingers through his dark curls. He felt her tongue move along his lips, and he quickly darted his own out to meet hers. Time felt like it had stopped for Fran. Her last coherent thought was that she'd never been kissed like this in her life, and she was terrified she never would again. When they finally came up for air, Fran laid her head on his chest, trying to catch her breath. She could hear his heart pounding, matching the wild beating of her own. He held her close, stroking her hair gently.
"Max..."
"Are you all right?"
"Oh, yeah. More all right than I've felt in a long time." The sound of snickering came from the staircase. They looked up in time to see their two sons running back up the stairs. "Oh, I'm sure THAT made them happy."
"Do you think they saw us?"
"I'm sure of it. Don't worry, this fits right in with their plan."
"What plan is that?" She filled him in on the conversation she'd overheard on the intercom. "You aren't serious?"
"And they're gonna ask Niles to help them. All three a bunch of yentas, if ya ask me."
"Sir, lunch is ready; would you like me to call the children down?"
"Yes, Niles, thank you. We'll be right in." He stood up and reached for her hand. He led her into the dining room and sat her down next to his place at the head of the table. Nanny Martin arrived with the children and began seating them around their parents. She tried to put the younger girls next to their parents, which wasn't going well at all.
"Want Gracieeeeeee!" Irene began to wail and reach across the table. Grace's lower lip came out and Fran knew she'd better act fast, or they'd have two screaming little girls on their hands. She looked at how the nanny had seated the kids, his on one side, hers on the other. This would never do.
"O.K., let's see, Anthony, you trade places with Grace, and Maggie, would you mind sitting next to Grace, in case she needs help?"
The nanny put her hands on her hips and looked at her employer. "Mr. Sheffield!"
"Yes?"
"This is where the children always sit."
"This is fine, as long as the boys can behave, they can sit together, and the girls will let the rest of us eat in peace as long as they are together." Nanny Martin glared at Fran before stomping out of the room.
"Well, what's her problem? We used to get along fine."
"She's got a thing for Dad." Maggie had her face buried in her plate.
"What did you say, Maggie?" Max put his fork down and stared at his daughter.
"She likes you, Dad. She's made it pretty obvious."
Max rolled his eyes and glanced over at Fran, who was trying not to laugh.
"You're not helping, Fran."
"Sorry. Do you want me to talk to her?"
"No, let's just ignore it for now, maybe once she sees..." He stopped as Fran looked over at him. "Sees that I only see her as the nanny, she'll know there is no chance for anything else."
Fran was ready to talk about something else. "So, what are we going to do this afternoon? I brought a couple of movies, or after the girls are napping, we can play some games."
Maggie smiled at Fran. "All of us? Like a family? We haven't done that since..."
"I know, Sweetheart, and I'm sorry. Fran's a good influence on me, I guess. From now on, things will be different."
"Cool. Thanks, Fran."
Max leaned over and whispered. "Thanks, FRAN?" She reached under the table and squeezed his knee gently. The rest of the meal everyone discussed the plans for the day, what movies they wanted to watch, and what would happen if the storm didn't let up. They boys were thrilled at the prospect of being together all weekend. As Niles cleared the table after the meal, Nanny Martin appeared to take Grace up for her nap.
"Oh, I'll take her, Judy. I always read to Reenie before her nap, so I'll just take care of both of them." She picked up her daughter and took Grace by the hand. "Come on, Ladies, nap time."
"K, Mommy." Gracie looked up at Fran and smiled as Fran escorted them up to Grace's bedroom. She pulled the girls shoes and socks off and settled them under the covers before grabbing a book from the top of the dresser. Before she was done reading, both girls were sleeping. She picked up the toys they'd left on the floor and put them into the toy box, before turning off the light and closing the door. The boys were across the hall, so she stopped in to remind them about the sleeping little ones, and then headed downstairs, where she found Max sitting in his overstuffed chair reading.
"That was fast." He looked up from his magazine and smiled.
"I think the older kids wore them out this morning. They were asleep before I finished the book." She plopped down on the sofa and pulled the blanket around her shoulders.
"How about some tea to warm you up?"
"That would be wonderful. No, don't get up, I can find everything. Niles is in the kitchen, isn't he?"
"I'm sure he is. I can call him."
"No, remember, I'm not used to having a butler. I can get my own tea. Would you like some?"
"You're sure you don't mind?"
She walked past him and ran her hand over his head. "I wouldn't have offered if I minded. Sugar and milk?"
"Perfect. Thanks."
She walked into the kitchen where she found Niles and Judy doing the dishes. "Niles, where do you keep the tea?"
"Would you like me to make you some, Ma'am?"
"Oh, no, I can do it; I just need to find it."
He pointed to the canisters on the kitchen island. "The tea and the sugar are in the canisters."
Judy stood back and watched her heating the water. "You've just taken over, haven't you? You never mentioned you were interested in him."
"I didn't realize I was, Judy. Come on, he's your BOSS."
"Yeah, and I adore these kids. You come along, and he doesn't even need me anymore."
"He's still payin' ya isn't he? Calm down, I'm not movin' in. I would like to pay you extra for helping out with my kids when they're over here, though. I know they're good kids, but Reene's a handful, just because she's so little."
"Isn't Mr. Sheffield already paying you extra for her children?"
"What? Max is paying you to take care of MY kids?"
"Yeah, he is. He's even paying me for today, and YOU'RE doing everything."
The teapot started to whistle, and Fran pulled it off the fire. She assembled the two cups and poured the water in before pulling the milk from the refrigerator. "If you want to earn your money, you can go upstairs and keep an eye on the boys. They can get into trouble pretty quickly." She picked up the cups and returned back to the living room."
"Thanks, Sweetheart."
"You're welcome, Honey." She grinned, realizing he'd never even looked up from his reading. "I offered to pay Judy for watching Anthony and Reenie."
"That's not necessary, Fran, I've already taken care of that."
"I know. I can afford to pay for my own child care, Max."
He put down the book and moved over next to her on the couch. "I know. I just felt that since I was the one that insisted you come here, that I should be the one to pay. Isn't it proper for a man to pay for his date's babysitter?"
"How the hell should I know? I've never had a date since I had kids."
"You haven't dated since Tony died?" He couldn't believe such a beautiful woman hadn't had many offers.
"I never met anyone I wanted to spend any time with."
"What about me?"
"I think I answered that question before lunch." She smiled seductively at him.
"Tell me again. He reached over and pulled her to him, kissing her softly.
She felt her head begin to swim again. "Max, we promised to play with the kids."
He trailed kisses down her throat. "Don't they have to take naps?"
"Mmm...Ahhhh...no, just the little ones."
"Too bad." He pulled back and looked into her eyes. What was that look, panic? Confusion? "I'll go up and fetch the children. The games are in the closet by the door, why don't you go pick a couple."
She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "Any requests?"
"Let's leave Candyland for when the little ones are playing, shall we?"
"Oh, can't we just lose that one all together? If Reenie had her way, we'd play that game from the time she wakes until she goes to sleep."
"Hide it, will you?" He laughed and took her as they walked into the foyer. "I'll be right down." He kissed her cheek before climbing the stairs. She located Candyland and pushed it to the back of the closet, then chose two games and carried them to the living room table.
The children gathered around the table and they all spent an enjoyable afternoon playing games, watching television, and standing in the doorway watching the solid sheet of snow pouring down. Fran's Range Rover was now buried in snow.
"Can we go play in it, Ma?"
"Oh, Honey, I don't know, it's coming down pretty hard." She looked over at Max for help.
"Yeah, Dad, please? Just for a little while?"
Max looked over at Fran and back to the boys. "Go put your boots on, and grab your coats, hats and gloves."
"Max!"
"I'll go out with them; we'll stay right in front."
"Max, cars won't see if they go into the street."
He pulled her into his arms. "Look at me." She looked into his eyes; he could see she was petrified. "I'm not going to let anything happen to them. We'll stay right in front, next to your car. If one of them steps one foot off the curb, I'll drag them both in. Look outside, there are NO cars on the road, it's been snowing too hard. Trust me?"
She sighed and laid her head on his chest. "Yes, I trust you. Max, I almost lost him once..."
"I know you did. Try not to worry, we'll be fine. Why don't you go fix yourself some tea, and go sit by the fire. Better yet, have Niles make some cocoa for everyone, for when we come inside."
She watched her son plodding down the stairs in his snow boots. "Anthony, you listen to Max, and stay out of the street."
"I will, Ma. Don't worry, I know the rules. Stay outta the street, listen to the grown up in charge."
"OK, smarty. Have fun boys." She giggled. "All three of you." She closed the door behind them and watched the boys pummel Max with snowballs. He was gonna be so sorry he volunteered to take them outside.
"Maggie, wanna help me make some cocoa?"
"Yeah! Niles never lets me cook."
"Stick with me, kiddo." She put her arm around the girl, and they headed for the kitchen, where Fran talked Maggie through the cocoa making process. Niles stood back and watched with amusement. Fran was exactly what this shy girl needed. She missed her mother terribly, and Fran was filling that void in her life...just as she was filling the void in his employer's.
"Niles, is there a tray that we can use to bring all this into the living room?"
"Why don't the two of you go into the living room and wait for the men, and I'll bring the tray of cocoa in."
"Can we have some cookies, too, Niles?"
Niles looked over at Fran for an answer. "You're asking ME? I don't know the snack rules here. Maggie, what would your father say?"
"Dad? He's never paid attention to what we do."
"Oy. How long till dinner, Niles?"
"About three hours."
"Go ahead and add the cookies, we'll make sure we tell Max it was MY idea. That won't be a hard sell. Let's go check the fireplace, Mags; the guys will be freezing when they come in."
She giggled. "Yeah, especially Dad. Did you see the boys nail him with snowballs? Too cool!" She followed Fran into the living room and settled herself into the large chair by the fireplace, while Fran tossed two more logs on the fire. As the flames began shooting higher, the front door burst open, revealing three male popsicles.
"Oh, dear. I knew it was too cold outside." She hurried over to the door to help the boys out of their snow gear. "Leave all this out here to dry. All three of you, upstairs and into dry clothes. Anthony, you'll have to put on your pajamas, I didn't bring you any more clothes."
"Brighton, give him something to wear, Son."
"Yes, Sir." The boys ran up the stairs.
"You, too, Mister, get up to your room and put on some dry clothes before you catch cold."
"Care to warm me up?"
"I already took care of that. The fire is roaring, and Maggie made hot chocolate."
"Maggie made it?"
"Yeah, she did a good job, too."
He kissed her softly. "You are wonderful." He climbed the stairs to his room and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a thermal shirt. Not attractive, but very warm. When Max returned to the living room, he stopped and watched the activity at the living room table. Fran, Maggie and the boys were around the table, sipping cocoa, nibbling cookies, laughing and joking. They looked so natural together, like a real family. Tears sprang to his eyes as he watched Maggie lean over and hug Fran. He'd been so blinded by the pain of Sarah's death; he hadn't even noticed that Fran was slowly becoming a surrogate mother, of sorts, to his children. She was the one constant in their lives. He'd buried himself in his work, allowed a string of nannies to raise his children, and all along, she'd been there. He joined his "family" in the living room, and the five of them spent the next couple of hours together, laughing, teasing, and playing games. Max was amazed that Brighton even complimented his sister on her cocoa making prowess, although he was sure it was only to get another cup out of her.
The nanny came down the stairs with the two youngest children in tow. "Look who's up from their naps!" When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the girls broke free from her grasp and ran to their parents.
Grace climbed in to her father's arms. "Love you, Daddy." He hugged her tightly and kissed her head.
"Miss you, Mommy." Irene arms were wrapped tightly around her mother's neck.
"I missed you too, Sweetie, did you have a good nap?" The toddler nodded.
Grace pulled away from her father's embrace and climbed up into Fran's lap next to Irene. "I missed you, too, Mommy." Irene moved over into Max's lap. "Hi, Daddy, love you."
Fran and Max exchanged glances. What was up with these two? Maggie giggled. "I think it's so cute how Reenie calls Dad 'Daddy'."
"She's just imitating Gracie, Honey. She doesn't remember her father."
"What's to remember? He had dark hair, he yelled all the time, and he never let you take me anywhere."
"Anthony, that's enough."
"Why couldn't you marry someone like Max? He never yells at us, he doesn't make you go away and work all the time."
Fran felt the tears building and looked around for an escape route. Max's office…that was the closest hiding place. "Excuse me." She bolted for the office and closed the door behind her.
"Anthony, you owe your mother an apology, Son."
"I didn't mean to make her cry. Should I go now?"
"No, give her a few minutes to calm down; I'll go talk to her."
"OK." He grabbed a chair and moved it against the wall for a time out.
"What are you doing?"
"Dad always made me sit in time out when I was bad."
"Anthony, come here." Max took the boy into his arms. "I never said you were bad, and I'm sure your mother doesn't think so, either. Sometimes it just hurts to talk about someone we miss."
"I just want her to be happy, Max."
"You know what? That's what I want, too. Boys, you watch the little ones, Maggie, why don't you go into the kitchen and ask Nanny Martin to come back until Fran and I are done in the office."
"OK, Daddy."
Max wiped the tears from Anthony's cheeks. "Let me go talk to your mom, are you all right?"
The boy threw his arms around Max's neck. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. I love you, Max."
Max squeezed him tightly. "I love you, too, Son."
Anthony moved back over next to Brighton and watched Max go into the office and close the door. Brighton patted his friend's arm supportively. "She'll be OK, A.B., Dad will take care of her."
"Yeah, I know. Your dad's cool."
Fran was sitting on the sofa crying when Max entered the dark office. "Is it safe to turn a light on?" She didn't answer, so he just sat down next to her and took her into his arms. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed for several minutes. "Talk to me, Fran."
"Is he all right?"
"Anthony? He's just fine, we had a nice talk. How about you? Ready to talk?"
"Max, why didn't I just leave him? All Anthony remembers is that he yelled all the time! God, Max, what did I do to my son? At least Irene doesn't remember, at least I hope she doesn't. The doctor said her nightmares aren't related to that, but I'm not so sure. And Anthony, he sees his dad as this mean man that made his mommy leave him."
"Well, wasn't he? You only went back to him to be with your son. Things must have been better for a while, you had Irene."
"Better? Hardly. I got back in August, and it was clear he'd been seeing someone. He was still seeing her into September, AFTER I came home. He came home one day, I know from seeing her, and demanded we have another baby. I still had three months left on my contract with the "no pregnancy" clause, and tried to use that, but it only bought me a couple of weeks. The next fight was right after Brighton's birthday. It was so bad that Anthony went and hid in the wine cellar. We were all the way in our bedroom on the third floor, and he heard us. I hadn't let him touch me since I came back and found out about the affair. Next thing I knew, he was all over me. It was easier to just give in than try to fight him. I found out just before Thanksgiving that I was pregnant with Reenie. He never touched me again. I told my doctor how he was, and he told him we had to abstain during my pregnancy. After Reenie was born, I told him I was too tired, didn't feel well. I even invented some illness to keep him away from me. No wonder he yelled all the time. What kind of wife was I? We even had a fight that last day. It was so bad, Anthony told him off."
"That was the time out that saved his life, right."
"Yeah. Only Anthony sees it as when he's bad, he loses someone he loves."
"You know, he tried to put himself in time out today."
She started to cry again. "Oh, Max, he didn't! I need to go to him."
"Not right now you don't. He's fine. I told him he was NOT bad, and that you didn't think so either. He was just upset that he made you cry. I DID tell him he owed you an apology. I'm sure you'll get that when we get back out there." He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wet it with the pitcher of water on his desk. "Here, let's get you cleaned up. You've got make up all over your face again." He wiped her face gently and kissed her softly. "I know how he feels; I don't like to see you cry, either. There, a little red and puffy, but...wait, here we go." He opened his office doors and grabbed a handful of snow. He wrapped it into his handkerchief and applied it to her eyes. "How's that feel?"
"Cold...but good. Thanks. What would I do without you?"
"Let's not ever find out." He pulled her close and kissed her passionately, pushing her lips apart with his tongue. She accepted it willingly, meeting his tongue with her own. Could this man kiss or WHAT? She felt his arms pulling her forward as he leaned back, pulling her on top of him.
"Max, who's watching the kids?"
He let out some sort of primitive growl, and rolled her onto her side, still holding her close to him. "Hopefully the nanny. We have to find some time for ourselves, without the children. How about a nice dinner this week, just the two of us? Nanny Martin can watch the children here; we can go to dinner, maybe some dancing."
"I can't remember the last time I went dancing. It sounds wonderful, Max."
"Good, let's say, Monday, or Tuesday? Or both?"
"Both?" She laughed.
"It's good to hear you laugh again. Feeling better?"
"Yeah, I am. Thanks, Max." She kissed him softly. He moved her under him and began kissing her lips, her neck, running kisses down her throat. She raised her head to give him better access, making him a bit bolder. He ran one hand down her side, over her hip to her thigh.
The sound of screams from the living room broke the mood. "Yes, we definitely need to get away from our kids." Max looked down at her and kissed her forehead. "We'd better get in there before they kill each other." He pulled himself off the sofa and helped her up. He straightened her hair, then took her hand and led her into the living room. The children, who had been running around the room chasing each other, stopped at the sight of their parents holding hands and smiling.
"Mom, I'm really sorry for what I said. I didn't mean to upset you." He ran over and threw his arms around his mother's waist.
"I know, Honey. I'm fine, I really am. I love you."
"I love you, too, Ma."
"Why don't you kids get this mess cleaned up, and I'll go check on dinner, how's that?" She turned her son around and patted him lightly on the backside. As she headed for the kitchen, she ran into Niles, who announced dinner was already on the table. She helped the kids clean the living room quickly, and then the family assembled around the dinner table. Dinner was even more fun than lunch, they made plans for the evening, and the children were excited to find out that everyone would be spending the night. After dinner, the family settled down in the living room and started to watch movies. They started with a cartoon, for the younger children, and then moved onto more adventure type movies, for the men. After the second movie, Irene and Grace were almost asleep, so Fran took them upstairs and got them ready for bed. While she was reading their story, Max had the other three children get into their pajamas, so they could be comfortable and warm, and be ready for bed when the next movie was over. As Fran exited the girls' room, Max was waiting for her outside his door with a stack of clothing in his hands.
"Why don't you change out of your jeans and into this?"
"What's that?"
"A pair of my sweats and a thermal shirt like the one I'm wearing."
"Oh, uh, sounds attractive."
He leaned in and placed his lips next to her ear. "Actually, it's very sexy to see a woman dressed in your clothes."
"Mmm, OK." She took the clothes from him. "And where do I change into these?"
"You can use my room; I'm heading downstairs to keep an eye on the children. I asked Nanny Martin to stay upstairs, in case the girls woke up. I don't want Irene having one of her nightmares, while we're downstairs and can't hear her."
Fran laughed. "I'm surprised you don't hear her from here when she has one. Her voice really carries when she wants it to." She looked at him and smiled. "Now, do I need to lock the door, or are you REALLY going downstairs?"
"DAD, Come ON!" Brighton's voice came up the stairs.
"I guess I'm REALLY going downstairs. I'll see you in a few minutes." He kissed her softly and hurried down to see what his son was yelling about. Fran chuckled as she entered his bedroom. It was definitely a man's domain. There was no sign that a woman had ever occupied this room. He must have redecorated it after Sarah died. She tossed the clothes onto the bed and walked around his room. Pictures of Sarah and the kids on the dresser, nice fireplace. She opened his closets and inhaled the scent of pine and Aramis. The next door was his bathroom, with the huge Jacuzzi tub, big enough for two. She loved the reds and golds that decorated the room. Moving back to the bed, she removed her jeans and sweater and pulled on Max's sweat pants. She had to readjust the drawstring so they wouldn't fall off. She pulled on the thermal shirt, then, as an afterthought, pulled her bra off. NOW she was comfortable. She folded her clothes and placed them on the chair near his dressing table. She decided to just wear her socks, and pushed her tennis shoes under the chair. She pulled the clips out of her hair, put them in her jean pockets, and ran her fingers through her long curls. She looked at herself in the mirror. Definitely not sexy. She was terrified of what he said earlier, about her wearing his clothes. Their friendship had definitely taken a turn lately. Were they ready for something more? Would it ruin what they already had together? Or would it make their relationship better?
She headed downstairs, where Max had saved her a seat on the couch next to him. He'd dimmed the lights, and pulled a blanket over his legs. As she sat down next to him, he moved the blanket over her. "Don't you look absolutely adorable?"
She laid her head on his shoulder. "Thanks." He reached under the blanket and found her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. This was nice. They sat watching the movie with their children. Occasionally Max would run his thumb over the back of her hand as he held it tight. About half way through the movie, the power flickered, and then went out.
"What happened, Dad?" The fireplace light illuminated Maggie's worried face.
"It's probably just the storm, Sweetheart. Fran, there's a flashlight in the drawer next to you." She reached into the drawer and pulled out a small flashlight. "Why don't you take the children upstairs to bed, and I'll light some candles for us."
"Ah, Dad!"
"Brighton, it's getting late, and we don't know how long the power will be off."
"Is your heater gas or electric?"
"It's gas, we'll have heat at least."
"OK, you three, let's go. Tell Daddy good night."
Maggie and Brighton hugged their father and headed up the stairs. Fran turned to look at her son, who was standing watching her with a mischievous grin. He walked over to Max and gave him a hug. "G'night, Dad." Max looked over at Fran and smiled, then hugged Anthony and planted a kiss on the top of his head.
"Good night, Son." Anthony beamed as he joined the other children on the stairs. Fran swatted his backside playfully.
"I know what you're doing, Mister."
"Wha?" He looked at Brighton and grinned. "I'm not doing anything. You SAID to tell "Daddy" goodnight." The three children erupted in laughter as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Shhh, you'll wake up the girls. Boys, take the flashlight and go get dressed. Hurry, though, Maggie and I will be standing in the dark."
"I've got candles in my room, Fran. I just don't have any matches to light them."
"Hang on; give me the light, B." She went into Max's room and found matches above his fireplace. "Here we go." She went into Maggie's room and lit her candles, then gave the boys the flashlight. "Don't play around with that. We might need the batteries all night." She waited until Maggie was in bed, and then blew out her candles. "Night, Sweetie."
"Night, Fran. I love you."
"I love you, too, Angel." She went across the hall the check on the boys. "Are you two decent?"
"Yeah, Ma." The boys were both in bed waiting for her. She picked up the flashlight and kissed them both.
"Behave, you two. I love you."
"Love you too, Ma!" She checked on the younger girls, then headed back down the hall, and started down the stairs. Soft music was playing in the living room. As she crossed the foyer, she could see Max standing in front of the fireplace with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"Where's the music coming from? I thought the power was out."
"I have an old Victrola in my office. I thought some music might be nice. I remembered how much you liked Jazz."
She looked at fireplace; he'd brought two blankets in, the wine, the music. Oy was she in trouble. Max poured the two glasses of wine and handed one to her. "Yeah, I adore Jazz." She took a sip of her wine. "Oh, this is good."
He placed his glass on the table, came over, and took her glass from her, setting it next to his. "Come here." He pulled her into his arms and began swaying gently to the music. "I decided that I didn't want to wait until Monday to dance with you."
She laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad."
"The kids get to bed all right?"
The KIDS? "Yeah, they promised to go right to sleep." GOD, his arms felt good around her. She felt his nose touch her ear, and then his hot breath on her neck as his lips touched her. She tilted her head to the side. His lips moved down the side of her neck and around to her throat, before moving up and claiming her mouth.
When he broke the kiss, he looked lovingly into her eyes. "What took us so long, Fran? Why did it take us two years to find our way back to each other?"
"Maybe we weren't ready to let go. I know, for me, every time I felt like I was attracted to you, the guilt alarm in the back of my head would go off. You don't know how many times I was ready to ask you over for dinner, or out for drinks, and the alarm would disable my mouth."
He squeezed her tighter and laughed softly. "Well, how do you disable that thing?"
"The kids are doing a pretty good job of it."
"They see us as a family, you know."
"Isn't that rushing things a bit?"
"I wouldn't call five years rushing, Fran. If things were different, let's say Sarah left me, and I'd asked you to leave Tony and marry me, what would you have said?"
"Five years ago? I would've thought you were insane."
"All right, three, maybe four years ago. We're in London, I'm single. What would have happened?"
"I would have never left your room. I told you before; the only thing that stopped me was Sarah. I knew you'd hate yourself later."
"So, you loved me enough to try to save my marriage." The music stopped, and he took her hand and led her to the fireplace, and helped her sit down on the blanket.
"I never said I loved you."
"Did you?"
"You know I did."
"And now?" He kissed her cheek softly, trailing the kisses down her throat again.
"Ahhhh, God, Max, I can't think when you do that."
"Do you want me to stop?" He pulled back and looked at her.
She looked up into his eyes. "No"
"I'm falling in love with you again, do you realize that? It was easy to fight it when I wasn't around you, but these last couple of weeks, being with you, with the children, has made me see how much I need you in my life."
"Max, I'm so afraid of being in love again; I made such a mess of it last time."
"No, Sweetheart, YOU did just fine. You weren't the one that forgot your wedding vows."
"No, I was the one that walked out."
"And why did you walk out?"
"The fighting, the cheating, I told you all that."
"Fran, it sounds like he walked out a long time before you did. Maybe you were just too young."
She reached over and took a sip of wine. "I think you're right. I met him when I was fifteen. I was already established in the business, he was a hot photographer, and everyone thought we looked great together. I think I was more in love with the idea of being a couple than I was with him. Maybe that's why I was so opposed to having kids right away. I think I knew deep down I wasn't ready for a relationship."
"You're older and wiser now, maybe now you're ready."
"I'm just so afraid of ruining what we have."
"We're not going to ruin anything, Darling. Now, I want to back up just a bit, you said something a few minutes ago. You said you're afraid of being in love again. Does that mean you ARE in love?"
She looked into the fire and swallowed hard. She hadn't been able to admit it to herself, and now he was asking her to admit it to both of them. "I don't think I ever stopped loving you."
He reached over and pulled her to him, and lowered her gently onto her back. He leaned over and kissed her softly at first, then more passionately as she responded. Their hands began to explore and caress each other. When his hand snaked up under her shirt and found her breast for the first time, she thought she'd come out of her skin. His hands felt so soft and gentle on her, with a heat that seemed to burn into her skin. She reached down and pulled his shirt over his head. He pulled back and smiled at her. He reached over and grabbed the second blanket and pulled it over them, then carefully pulled her shirt off, tossing it into a pile with his. This was further than she'd intended to go; he was planning on making love to her right here.
"Max?"
He moved his mouth down her throat and across her chest. "Yes, Darling?"
"We don't have, um, I mean, we can't...we haven't talked about...I told you, I can't think when you do that." She giggled softly. Max understood what she meant. They had no protection, and she had a history of conceiving quickly.
"That can wait; we've got all the time in the world." He continued caressing her breasts with his tongue. He was driving her crazy. She wanted him so badly, more than she'd wanted any man.
"I want you so badly, Max."
"Soon, My Love. I want our first time to be perfect. No worrying about the children or the nanny or our yenta butler walking in on us." He rolled over on his back and pulled her to him. She snuggled into his arms and relaxed a bit. "Are you warm enough?" He pulled the blanket up around her neck.
"I'm fine."
"You're quiet, what's wrong?"
"I want...I need to say this, I'm just working up the courage."
"Say what?"
She took a deep breath and kissed his chest. "I love you, Maxwell."
He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too, My Darling."
They lay in each other's arms and drifted off into a restful sleep. Several hours later, Fran woke with a start. She wasn't sure where she was at first, she just knew that she was cold. She was in a man's arms. Maxwell. She blinked a few times and let her eyes become accustomed to the light in the room. She saw the dying embers of the fireplace, and then realized they were still on the living room floor.
"Max. Max, wake up. We fell asleep." She tried to turn over. "Oy, how do the kids SLEEP on the floor?"
He laughed and pulled her back to him. "I guess we should go upstairs before everyone starts waking up."
"Where's my shirt?"
"Over here with mine." He handed one to her, as he pulled the other one on.
"Mmm, this one's yours."
"They're both mine. How can you tell I was wearing that one?"
"It smells like you." She pulled the shirt up to her nose and inhaled deeply as he pulled his shirt off. "What're ya doin'? I'm keeping this one." She smiled as she pulled the shirt back down. "If I have to sleep in the guest room, at least I can have your shirt with me."
He pulled the shirt back on. It DID smell like her perfume. "What do you mean guest room? You don't want to sleep in my room?"
"Yes, I WANT to, I just think that we shouldn't yet, not with the kids around."
"I suppose you're right. You know how annoying that is?" He stood up and folded the blanket.
"Ooh, I love a man that can admit when he's wrong."
"I didn't say that I was wrong, Fran. I just said that you were right." He tossed the blankets on the sofa. "Niles can clean the rest of this up. Come on, I'll walk you to your room."
They walked up the stairs hand in hand, checking the children in all three bedrooms. Once inside the guest room, Max helped Fran into bed and covered her up, as if she was one of the children. "Sleep well. I'll have Nanny Martin keep the children quiet so you can sleep in tomorrow."
"Max, I've never..."
"I know. They'll be fine. If they need you, we know where you are. I'll wake you at about nine with some coffee, how's that?"
"You spoil me."
"You're due a bit of spoiling, don't you think?" He kissed her softly. "Get some sleep. I love you."
She turned on her side and watched him leave the room. "I love you, too." He smiled one last time then closed her door and headed for his own room. He'd finally done it. He'd admitted he loved her. The children had the right idea, they WERE a family, and they belonged together. He climbed into bed and ran his hand along the opposite side of the bed. He couldn't wait until she was there by his side.