The Marriage Contract (28 page)

Maggie
chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter.  He liked the
sound of her laugh, musical and sweet. 

“Every day
people come into my shop.”

Nodding, he
said, “I see your point.  These days you can never be too careful.”

“Exactly. 
Thank you for the offer.  That’s really sweet of you.  But the bus will be here
shortly.”

Jonah turned
and started toward the limousine, then abruptly stopped and angled back.  He
didn't know why this should mean so much to him.  It wasn’t just her kindness
that had him making the extra effort.  He’d met many selfless people working
with the Foundation for Young Wanderers.  Something told him Maggie was a woman
with a heart of gold and perhaps saw little back.

Now that he
knew she'd been working directly across the street from him, he knew he could
see her at the coffee shop again.  He would see her.  Something inside him told
him it was a certainty. 

He wasn't a
gambling man by nature, but he decided to go for broke.

“Still, it is
August and I hear the busses don't always run on schedule.  The limo is air
conditioned.”

Maggie eyed him
speculatively, but didn't say a word.

“I promise to
be a perfect gentleman and sit tight on my side of the seat.  Scout's honor.” 

She pursed her
lips, grinning as she had before, making his heart hammer in his chest. 

“You were never
a boy scout.”

“Correct, but
one good deed does deserves another, wouldn't you say?”

“I suppose,”
she said quietly, glancing back at the limo, then at her coffee shop.

“If you accept
my offer, you'll be home in no time.  Or you could spend the next fifteen
minutes to however long it takes for the bus to arrive roasting in this heat. 
And then of course, because the busses are usually crowded, another fifteen or
more minutes standing with aching feet on a sweaty bus after a long day of--”

She tossed him
a wry grin.  “You're pulling out all the stops, aren’t you.  All this for a
lousy cup of coffee and a piece of pie?”

“Air
conditioning,” he said, smiling devilishly, knowing that would be the catalyst
to push her over the edge to accepting.

She heaved a
sigh and then laughed, pointing a finger at him.  “If my feet weren't killing
me so much...  You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Wallace.”

He gestured to
the car with both hands, a grin of satisfaction stretching across his face. 
“Right this way.”

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