A Man Like Mike (3 page)

Mike probably should have been insulted by her transparent aversion to the idea. He felt sure he could, if required, rustle up a few women who didn’t find the idea of cohabiting with him so abhorrent. But he wasn’t suggesting
that
kind of cohabitation. Far from it.

Eve was the last woman he would be interested in romantically, even if she weren’t so openly disapproving of his lifestyle. Not that she didn’t have her feminine attractions. He had just never considered her his type. If he were ever pressed to name a preference, Mike would probably pick a cute and curvy blonde over a woman like Eve any day.

“An old friend has helped me line up some work at a place called
The Rusty Marlin
. It’s not too far from here—”

“I know it,” she interrupted him, and he couldn’t hide his surprise. It was difficult to imagine Eve in a place named after a game fish, rusty or not.

She cocked a brow at his expression. “I went there a few times with Jacinta.”

“Right. Well… I thought I could help you out with Bailey for a week or two.”

“What makes you think I need help with Bailey?”

“Come on Eve, you just said you’ve been busy—too busy to take him to visit his grandparents.”

“So they have complained to you about that? Darn it, it’s not the easiest thing in the world you know, looking after a baby. Time is at a premium.”

Mike ground his teeth. She sure was a prickly woman. “I know,” he enunciated, “You’re just proving the point I was trying to make. You need help, Eve.”

If anything, his attempt to gentle his tone only heightened her anger. She crossed her arms over her chest, an action that pushed her breasts together. The merest hint of cleavage caught his eye before Mike could stop the involuntary glance. Like he had downstairs, he couldn’t help but notice the small amount of extra weight on her frame that filled out her slender curves.

When he looked up again her expression was adamant, her mouth pursed so her bottom lip plumped out in a near pout, looking moist and inviting. A perverse description, considering her mood. “I don’t need help,” she stated unequivocally. “I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not,” Mike shot back, annoyed with himself for noticing Eve physically at a time when it was the last thing he should be doing. He wanted to help Eve, not ogle her. Surely she didn’t want to struggle here all on her own? As far as he could see. his moving in here was a win-win situation. “I need a place to stay close to work. My parents live over half an hour away, and my mother’s driving me nuts. And, as you said,” he couldn’t help but point out, “this
is
my house.”

Just then, Bailey started to cry as he sat on the floor looking up at the two of them. Eve bent to scoop him into her arms. “There, there little man,” she cooed. “Let’s organise you some dinner. Would you like that?” Bailey’s whining stopped as he looked up at her, and his little olive-skinned hand reached out to touch her fair cheek.

Mike had to admit, there had been moments when he had wondered at Jacinta’s wish that Eve raise her son. She didn’t immediately seem like the mother-hen type, but there was no mistaking the need in Bailey’s eyes, his dependence on her. He had no desire to break the bond that had started to develop between them. What he did want was in. He wanted to be a part of Bailey’s life, as he hadn’t been a part of Derek’s in many long years.

Maybe it was his way of making up for the fact he and his brother hadn’t had a close relationship in going on a decade. Derek’s open scorn of what he saw as Mike’s lack of ambition had always kept Mike from taking steps to repair what had started as a small rift and had grown wider with time and inattention. They had really seen each other only at Christmas, and at important family events, such as Derek’s wedding and, after the birth of his nephew, when he had flown home for what was, in retrospect, a too-brief visit.

Derek had been happy with Jacinta. The man had been deliriously in love, so much so that Mike had sensed a softening in his older brother’s attitude toward him and, after that visit home, he’d dared to hope that one day they could have a real relationship.

But that one day, as fate would have it, had never come.

With efficient movements, Eve settled Bailey in his high chair and pulled a jar of baby food from the pantry. Mike took a sip of his coffee, but almost choked on it when Eve matter-of-factly announced, “Then we’ll move out until you get yourself organised.”

Mike felt his moment of triumph dissipate. “
What?
”

“I don’t want to put you out, Mike. I’m sure we’d be in each other’s way here.”

Speechless for several moments, Mike watched in amazement as Eve went about calmly feeding Bailey his dinner, letting him hold the big plastic spoon every few bites so he could attempt to feed himself the bright orange goo. His forehead wore much of it.

At length, Mike asked, “Why are you being such a pain in the—” he cut off what he had been about to say, took a breath, and started again. “Why are you making this so difficult, Eve?”

“
I’m
being difficult? I’m not the one who shows up here, out of the blue, expecting to use this place as a halfway house. Bailey has a routine, you can’t just expect me to change everything around for you at a moment’s notice.”

“And you moving out wouldn’t upset Bailey’s routine?”

She pushed out a sigh and swiped the hair from her face, leaving a trace of mashed pumpkin on her forehead. “I just don’t feel comfortable with the idea of someone looking over my shoulder.”

“Is that what you think I want to do?”

“Didn’t your mother send you to check up on me?”

“The day has long passed that my mother
sends
me anywhere.” Mike’s annoyance gathered momentum. “Did it ever occur to you that I might just want to spend some time with my nephew? He’s not just Jacinta’s son, you know. He’s also my brother’s.”

He saw her shoulders tense, contradicting the pleasant tone she used with Bailey. “All finished B. Good job!” She gently pinched his cheek before standing and brushing past Mike to deposit the spoon and empty food jar in the sink. In low tones, she said, “I know that. Bailey’s your nephew, and I would never want to do anything to keep you from him, but … do you really have to
move in
?”

If she kept saying it like that, like he was proposing putting a sewage treatment plant in the back yard, Mike thought he might start developing a complex. “I’ve explained to you my reasons, and it would only be temporary. If you’re worried I might make moves on you, let me assure you it won’t happen.”

He almost regretted the brusque promise when her cheeks filled with fiery colour. He hadn’t meant to belittle her feminine appeal, only to reassure her she wouldn’t have any problems with him trying to sneak a peek at her in her underwear or anything else untoward.

Eve, he reminded himself, was not his type. Aside from the physical aspects, she was way too complicated, giving an impression of fragility one minute, one of dogged strength the next. She had an ability to fire bullets of acid wit that could fell a man at the knees if he dared give her opinion any weight. Their discourse at his brother’s wedding two years ago had been superficial; something about Eve’s steel-rod-for-a-spine carriage had precluded anything else, and Mike had conducted himself accordingly. As a result, he had learned next to nothing about what made Eve O’Brien tick and had been left with the impression he wasn’t missing anything he couldn’t live without.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t a pretty, intriguing woman, with those big brown eyes and hair the unlikely hue of summer-ripe cherries. He hadn’t meant to insult her.

His momentary urge to apologise was quickly dispelled by Eve’s haughty comment, “Let me assure
you
, I wouldn’t be interested in any case.”

“Like I said…” Mike smiled through his teeth, hating himself for feeling the need to engage in such a childish game of one-upmanship, of who’s-less-attracted-to-whom. “It’s not something you need to be concerned about.”

“What about other women?”

Eve’s own question astounded her. The last thing she wanted to know about was Mike’s love life, but she’d been too desperate to deflect attention from her own humiliation to come up with a better thing to say. So Mike didn’t find her in the least attractive. It wasn’t something she should take to heart, especially as she had already suspected as much, long before he ever promised he wouldn’t be tempted to make a pass at her. Yet the blow to her feminine ego felt like a palpable thing to her, as obvious in the charged atmosphere as the smell of fresh-brewed coffee.

Mike appeared as surprised at her question as she was. “What do you mean, other women?”

Having no choice but to push on with the line of inquiry, Eve forced a cool expression to cover her discomfort. “I don’t think it would be good for Bailey to see a parade of women coming and going, and if that’s going to put a crimp in your style you might want to reconsider staying here.”

“Contrary to what you seem to think, Eve,” he began, speaking very carefully as though he were just barely holding on to his temper, “I
can
manage without female company for a couple of weeks. And I can stay downstairs in the studio, if that makes you feel better. Are there any other potential problems you might want to address, while you’re at it?”

Oh, there were sure to be plenty of problems, but for the life of her Eve couldn’t think of a single one that might deter him. And his mention of the downstairs studio relieved some of the tension in her shoulders. Once used for nothing more than underground storage, the previous owner had enclosed the lower level of the cottage, installing a second bathroom and converting it to a separate living space. The temperature downstairs was always a few degrees lower than it was on the main level, but with winter still a couple of months away that shouldn’t pose a problem for Mike.

And if Mike posed a problem for
her
, she would have to deal with it. She wasn’t used to sharing space with another person, especially not a man. She was just now getting used to sharing space with Bailey. She just hoped she could learn to manage with Mike here as well.

“I don’t need help,” Eve began, the words feeling dragged out of her, “but I suppose I can hardly tell you not to stay in your own house.”

“Your enthusiasm is underwhelming,” Mike drawled. “I promise I’ll try my best to be agreeable.”

Eve didn’t want to admit that it wasn’t
his
ability to be agreeable that she was unsure of. Mike possessed a naturally easy-going grace that enabled him to get on with just about anyone. She had no such gift. He’d been here no longer than an hour and already there was friction, largely of her making.

“And I promise I’ll try, too.” Eve hoped she could succeed at such a venture as getting along swimmingly with Mike Wilcox.

He gave her a dubious look but said nothing more about the subject. Instead he walked over to where Bailey sat in his high chair. He rubbed a hand over the little boy’s hair, and Eve detected the slightest uncertainty in the action, an uncertainty she hadn’t noticed earlier. Was he, like her, unsure how exactly to act around a small child?

She felt a pang of empathy for Mike and found herself saying, “You can get him out of his high chair, if you want.” Afterward, she nearly kicked herself. Of course he could do whatever he wanted with his own nephew. His blood connection to Bailey gave him that right.

Mike said nothing derisive about her suggestion, though, unbuckling Bailey from his high chair in silence. When he would have pulled the baby to his chest, he instead held him out and away from his body, screwing up his nose. “Aw, Jeez, is that smell what I think it is?”

Already breaking her vow to get along with Mike, Eve took a singular glee in the offended expression on Mike’s face. She turned and sent him a sweet as saccharine smile. “Oh, I’ve been expecting that. Would you mind cleaning him up while I run his bath?”

Mike was still holding Bailey away from his body as though he were a time bomb about to go off. The horrified expression on his face at her request was priceless, but Eve took no pity on him. “You said you wanted to help me with Bailey. Now is as good a time as any to start, don’t you think?”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

She couldn’t help the smile that spread. “Definitely. Come on, I’ll show you where everything is.”

Eve gave Mike a quick tour of Bailey’s nursery, pointing out the items on the change table he would need before heading to the bathroom, leaving him looking like he was preparing for battle, one for which he’d received no training. She just managed to hold in the satisfied laugh that threatened to bubble up.

She couldn’t hold in the laughter a minute later as she was testing the temperature of Bailey’s bath water and Mike’s appalled exclamation resounded off the walls. “Bloody hell, Eve, what are you feeding this kid?”

The laughter burst forth. Sounded like Uncle Mike hadn’t really thought through what ‘helping her out’ would mean.

Eve reached to turn off the running tap, then pressed her damp hands to her cheeks, already sore from that short burst of hilarity, her merriment muscles not having had a workout in recent weeks. Immediately, she sobered, all amusement dying as quickly as it had taken a breath. There was nothing funny about any of this. Mike didn’t have a clue what it took to look after a baby, yet he was determined to move in with her, at least for now, and offer this ‘help’ he thought she needed. Eve still didn’t like the idea, not one bit. She feared that if Mike hung around long enough, he would figure out that she knew little more about taking care of a baby than he did.

“Bailey, leave those on please,” Eve instructed as she rushed by the playpen on her way to the kitchen. Hopped by was more like it, as she tried to pull on her black pumps on the fly. Bailey was doing a dishearteningly good job of pulling
his
shoes off, after she’d just spent a frustrating few minutes slipping his wildly kicking feet into them. “Eve might scream if she has to go through the agony of putting those back on you. And we’ll be late for childcare,” she told him, wondering vaguely when she had started conversing with the baby as though he were capable of conversing back.