Debbi Rawlins - To Love An Older Man

She blinked and then her eyes narrowed as she drew back.

He reached into his pocket and withdrew his wallet. “See?” He showed her his driver’s license, and impulsively placed his thumb over his birth date.

She wrinkled her nose. “I believed you. It’s just that you’re not that old.”

“Pardon me?”

She quickly averted her eyes, her cheeks flushing a deep pink, and she jabbed at the elevator button again.

“At this time of night security shuts down all but one elevator. It’s going to be a while.”

She said nothing, only stared down at her battered pink tennis shoes.

“Beth?”

Her gaze flew back to him. “How do you know my name?”

“I heard you and Tom arguing.” He hated that he made her uncomfortable, had put humiliation in her face, but there was no getting around it. “Where are you staying tonight?”

She briefly closed her eyes and swayed slightly. He squashed the urge to steady her. “Please, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

“You haven’t. From what I heard, Tom was being…” A total ass. “…less than honorable. Is he still here?”

Beth shook her head, wishing the darn elevator doors would open and swallow her up. She should never have come here. What had she hoped to accomplish? Tommy wasn’t going to budge. All she’d done was totally humiliate herself in front of a stranger.

“I’ll be fine, really. Thank you for asking.” She turned her back on his dark penetrating eyes, and faced the elevator.

“Beth? May I call you that?” he asked, and she jumped when he touched her arm.

“Sure.” She shrugged, and shifted away. His voice was gentle, concerned, and she struggled to hold herself together.

“I know you must be embarrassed and a little frightened.” He paused when she refused to acknowledge him. “I know I would be in your shoes. But you do have to think about the baby.”

A sob caught in her throat. She couldn’t speak even if she wanted to. Not that she had anything to say. He was right, but she felt so darn helpless.

“I have a large house with three guest rooms. You’re welcome to stay the night.”

Of course she couldn’t accept his offer but she still couldn’t speak either. If she did, she feared the floodgates would open.

He pushed a rough hand through his short dark hair, and she realized he wasn’t as calm as he seemed. “I assure you this offer is on the up-and-up. My mother has a suite of rooms on the third floor. Our housekeeper has an apartment over the garage.”

Beth relaxed a little. He was being awfully kind. But surely she’d find a shelter that could take her in for the night. She opened her mouth to refuse, but before she could say a word, her stomach rumbled. She groaned at the loud, obnoxious sound, and muttered, “Must be the baby.”

He smiled. “Let the little guy know I have a fully stocked kitchen.”

“It might be a girl.”

“Of course.”

“It’s too early. I haven’t found out yet.” Oh, God, she was babbling.

He didn’t seem put off, but smiled again. “Just for tonight. Tomorrow you’ll be better rested, the baby’s belly will be full and you can decide what you want to do.”

She shook her head. “Thank you, but—”

“Beth, you have your baby to think about.” His words were quiet, gentle but they cut through her like a butcher’s knife.

She wrapped her arms around herself, recalling the cold damp fog that had started to roll in an hour ago. Foolishly she’d hoped she’d have a nice warm room by now. She sighed and rubbed the slight swell of her tummy. Mr. Matthews was right. This wasn’t only about her anymore. She had the baby to worry about.

Still, it was difficult to bring herself to accept charity. It was a new experience. Even after her parents had died ten years ago, and her brother took charge of both her and the farm, she’d always been self-sufficient.

But she hadn’t had a baby to worry about, she reminded herself. She took a deep breath. “Thank you, Mr. Matthews. We—I’ll accept your kind offer. On one condition.”

His left brow went up.

“I pay you back when I’m able.” She knew he meant nothing by it, but his patronizing expression annoyed her. “That’s how it has to be.”

His forehead creased in thought and he pursed his lips. They were nice lips, not too thin, not too full. Perfect, really. “The thing is, I’ve got to pay my mortgage whether you stay tonight or not.”

She saw the amused glint in his eyes, and folded her arms across her chest and sat down on the upholstered bench between the elevator doors. Fine. If she had to wait all night for the darn elevator at least she’d be warm and dry.

A short startled laugh made her look up. He put on a straight face, but a smile lurked at the corners of his mouth. “Come on, Beth.” He offered her a hand. “Let’s discuss it in the car.”

Her stomach growled again. She tried sucking it in to stop the noise. No luck. “All right, Mr. Matthews, but you know my terms.”

He took the bag from her hand. “I have a condition, as well. Call me David. I may be old enough to be your father but—”

“You are not. I’m twenty-five.” She’d fudged only a little. Her birthday was in a month.

He looked surprised.

She studied the faint smile lines at the corners of his eyes. “How old are you?”

He frowned and cleared his throat. “Let’s get on the road. I’ll call Ida to keep dinner warm.”

“Don’t let her go to any trouble.” She didn’t understand why he left the elevator and headed in the opposite direction, but she followed him through double mahogany doors.

“Don’t worry. She’s going to love fussing over you,” he said over his shoulder. “So will my mother.”

Beth slowed down as soon as she realized she was in his office. Although it didn’t look like any office she’d ever seen. The room was massive, two sides of it was all windows overlooking the city lights. A wet bar with gold-framed mirrors occupied one corner, an elaborate stereo system the other.

One entire wall was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf filled with texts. They weren’t all law books either. She spotted a couple of current works of fiction she’d just read herself.

A treadmill was off to the side, hidden behind an Oriental screen. A television and two plump sofas and a pair of leather armchairs were arranged in a surprisingly cozy setting. Her gaze drew to his large desk, but settled on him when she realized he was staring at her.

She gave him a small smile. “Wow! This is some office.”

His gaze flickered across the room and he frowned slightly. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

Behind him came a low beep. She gaped at the polished brown oak door sliding open. “You have your own private elevator?”

One side of his mouth lifted. “So it seems. Are you coming?”

He motioned her past him and she scurried inside, and then waited for him to join her. He pressed the garage button and then silently faced the door for their ride down.

Beth tried not to be obvious as she eyed his clean-shaven jaw. At this late hour, she didn’t know how he could have no stubble…unless he’d shaved in the afternoon again. His hair was perfectly cut, a dark rich brown with no sign of gray. He wasn’t nearly as old or stern as Tommy had said.

He was obviously a very nice man to take in a total stranger like this. Back in Rock Falls, that sort of kindness was taken for granted, but she hadn’t encountered anything like it in the city yet. That it was Tommy’s boss who’d come to her rescue filled her with a perverse pleasure that Grandma Anderson would have threatened to take a switch to her for.

Beth smiled. Not that Grand had ever laid a hand, or switch, on her. But Grand was such a tiny and good-hearted woman, Beth figured she needed the bluff to keep her grandkids in line. Especially Junior and his horrendous temper.