Chapter Two

Joe Carlisle glared around his restaurant. Six months until the planned opening, and nothing was fucking coming together. It was still a goddamned construction site, he was having trouble finding staff, he was struggling to finalize the menu and worst of all, he had nobody competent to handle the sculptures he so desperately wanted. In his original vision of the restaurant, he’d imagined the sculptures being a talking-point of his place; a highlight that would set his restaurant apart from any other in Denver.

Of course, that plan had assumed a lot of things. Mostly, it had assumed that she’d accept the commission. Without her, the whole fucking thing had fallen apart pretty fast, and despite almost a year of asking her to reconsider, the stubborn woman just refused to do the job.

Joe had tried everything he could think of. The year before, he’d gone to a conference he knew she’d be at – though he had no earthly reason to be there, since he was a chef and the conference was for artists – and he’d begged her in person. When that failed dismally, he’d started sending her e-mails and texts, which she’d pointedly ignored. Flowers and gifts were returned without comment. In desperation, Joe had started calling her friends, asking them to please get her to call him back, but even that hadn’t panned out.

Goddammit, Maggie. Why can’t you just let all that shit between us go, and come and do the job?

He ran his large hands through his dark hair and sighed heavily. Time was running out, and he was at the point where he had to face facts: she wasn’t going to get on board. No matter how much money he threw at her, she was sticking to her guns. There had been a time when he’d admired her guts, but now, not so much.

Fuck. I guess I’ll have to work with that Angela woman… not even close to my first choice, but she’ll do.

Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. He scrolled through the phone book, looking for Angela’s number. Her portfolio wasn’t bad, after all, it just wasn’t what he wanted. Her work didn’t have Maggie’s grace combined with power, that amazing talent she had for making her female sculptures seem both delicate and strong.

Just like Maggie.

And there they were again, those thoughts. The ones that kept Joe up at night, the ones that, as time had passed, more and more resembled regret.

I should never have let her go. It was a mistake. I was stupid. I should have tried harder with her. I should have been different.

Forcing his mind away from the memory of Maggie moaning under him, her curvy thighs wrapped around his waist, pulling him in tight, he focused on his phone again. That was when the restaurant door opened, and Joe blinked in total shock. Maggie was standing there.

She was wearing jeans, those brown boots that he knew she loved, and an oversized white shirt with three-quarter sleeves. Her dark brown hair was loose and shining, tumbling down her back in wild curls, her nose was as adorably freckled as he remembered, and she was wearing no makeup at all. She was simply the most beautiful, breathtaking thing he’d ever seen, and he stared at her, wondering if he was just imagining her.

Maggie saw Joe across the room, and she closed her eyes for a second. He was in a suit, and she’d always found him sexiest when he wore one. Yeah, the man looked great in jeans and tight t-shirts; God, he even made his chef’s whites look hot as hell. But Joe in a suit was a whole other breed of animal: tough, in control, uncompromising.

She was suddenly totally terrified of being here. If he’d been in jeans, she’d have been able to handle this whole thing, she thought. But Joe in a suit, looking so gorgeous and commanding? She wasn’t so sure anymore.

They stared at each other. Joe put his cell back in his jacket pocket and walked over to Maggie. She steeled herself and walked down the steps to meet him.

“Maggie,” he said in that husky voice. “You’re here.”

“I am,” she said, trying to stay detached. “I was wondering if we could talk.”

“Yeah, of course.” He glanced around at the workmen. “The kitchen is the quietest place.”

“OK.”

He led her through the massive space and despite herself, she looked around with curiosity. Her friend Mia Ferris had told her that the budget for Joe’s new restaurant was in the millions, and now she believed it. The space was huge, the ceilings were high and the entire roof was glass. She looked up at the clear blue May sky above and took a deep breath.

He opened the kitchen door for her and she entered. It was the largest kitchen she’d ever seen, and again she saw where the money must have gone. It did indeed appear that Joe wasn’t hurting for investment on this project, and she stiffened her resolve in asking for a high f*e.

OK, Maggie. This is for Mom. Get as much cold, hard cash as you can out of this cheating asshole, and get the hell out of here and get to work.