Chapter Three

She turned to see Joe leaning against one of the gleaming stainless-steel counters, examining her. His arms were crossed loosely across his large upper body and despite herself, she remembered what it had been like to have those arms around her. She looked away.

“So.” Joe was fighting to stay calm. “What did you want to talk about?”

Those amazing green eyes met his. They were cool and distant, and he ached when he remembered how they used to look at him. There was a time when they’d sparkled at him in laughter, and when he’d seen animal lust and hunger in them, and when they’d gazed up at him, warm and sated, from his bed. This chilly appraisal hurt him, but he hid it well.

Your fault, man. You made her look at you like a stranger.

“About the commission.” Her voice was as cold as her eyes. “Is that still on the table?”

“Yeah.”

“Fine.” She cocked her head at him, and her long hair spilled over one shoulder. “I haven’t appreciated you calling my friends about this, by the way. That was way out of line.”

“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

A bitter smile appeared on her face. Right. He’s sorry for calling Reena, but fucking other women while we were together was just fine, wasn’t it? “Uh-huh. So, tell me about what you need, the timeline you’re working in, and the f*e.”

“Wait, Maggie.” He shook his head. “Are you saying that you’ll do it?”

She looked at Joe, and for the life of him he had no idea what was going through her head. There was a time when he’d been able to read her every thought, her every emotion, but this woman in front of him was a total mystery.

I don’t get it… what’s she doing here now, after all this time?

“Maybe.” She forced herself to sound disinterested, like she could take this or leave it. Maggie knew that if he sensed one iota of her intense need, he’d be like a shark circling a bleeding victim in the water. Letting Joe Carlisle see her weak or desperate was the fastest way to getting screwed over – in any and every sense of that word.

“Really?” he said.

“Yeah.”

They stared at each other. Maggie saw the dark circles under his blue eyes, and she found herself worrying that maybe he wasn’t getting enough sleep.

For crying out loud, Maggie. He’s probably fucking a different woman every night. That’s why he looks like hell.

“OK,” Joe said. “I need four sculptures.”

“How large?”

“Five feet tall.”

She nodded.

“I’d need them within six months.”

Wow. That’s tight. But I’ll pull it off somehow. Mom needs me to.

“OK,” she said.

“And I want them to be apsaras.”

That interested her, he saw, and his heart gave a small kick of hope. Maybe, just maybe, she’d do it. He knew the subject matter was right up her street, and this was yet another reason why he’d favored her for the commission from the beginning.

“What kind?” she asked.

“I really want the inspiration to be the apsaras in Angkor Wat.”

“What material do you want them to be in?”

“Sandstone. A really golden sandstone, like a gentle sunset resting on them at all times.” He took out his phone again. “I have several photos, I can show you…”

“Not until you tell me the f*e you’re offering.”

“One hundred and fifty thousand,” Joe said. “Including all your costs and materials.”

“No.”

He paused. “Just… no?”

“Yes. Just no.” She started to walk out of the kitchen, praying to God that he didn’t call her bluff, hoping he wanted her to do this as badly as she thought he did. “Thanks for your time.”

“Wait! Maggie, wait!” He knew that he was fucking up this negotiation big-time, but he needed her to do this project. Without her, this whole thing was dead in the water, and he knew it. The fact that she was even standing there talking to him was nothing short of a miracle, and no way he was letting her get away. “One-fifty, plus all costs and materials.”

That stopped her. She narrowed her eyes. “Costs and materials paid up-front?”

“Yeah.”

“And fifty percent of my f*e paid up-front too.”

“Twenty.”

“Forty. Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Fine.”

Relieved, disbelieving, he extended his hand to her. “You’ve got a deal, baby.”

Her eyes flashed. “Don’t fucking call me that. Not ever again.”

“I’m sorry.” Joe dropped his hand.

Again with the ‘I’m sorry’ for all the wrong reasons. Yeah, I did the right thing when I walked away from him.

“So have legal draw up the contract and send it to me at home,” she said. “You still have all my business details? My address?”

Joe nodded. “You’ll get it this afternoon.”

“Great.” She walked past him now. “I’ll come back here tomorrow morning at ten o’clock and we can talk about the sculptures in detail then.”

“OK,” Joe said. “And Maggie…”

She turned to look at him, as disinterested and distant as a stranger.

“…it’s nice to see you again.”

Maggie regarded him. “You think?” And she walked away.

He stood in the kitchen door, watching her leave him, watching her move farther and farther away from him with every passing second. She went up the stairs, opened the door, and with a flash of bright, warm sunlight, she was gone. And Joe was left standing there, wondering just why the hell he felt so alone and upset when he’d gotten what he wanted.