That Reckless Night

Otter smiled and went on his way, leaving Jeremiah to wonder why Miranda cared where he slept at night. She obviously had gone out of her way to find him a place to live, which suggested that she cared about his welfare on some level, right? He shook his head with a chuckle at his own internal blathering. Why was he reading more into this than the situation warranted? He didn’t need to guess how Miranda felt about him. He already knew: he was an unfortunate one-night stand that was proving to be a thorn in her side.

Let’s not overthink things, he warned himself. Besides, he was totally fine with how Miranda felt because it wasn’t as if he were hoping and pining for a relationship with the difficult woman. Even if he weren’t her superior and the way was free and clear to bed her every night, the fact remained that she had a personality as soft and cuddly as a hungry bear emerging for the spring.

Heaven help the man who set his sights on Miranda Sinclair for anything more than a few hours of fun. And he was not that man.

Fact was, no matter if she was the sweetest, most caring and kind and amiable sort of woman who could cook as well as his mother and was otherwise the perfect person to be around, Jeremiah couldn’t bring himself to take things further with Miranda Sinclair for one reason: her son.

He hated that he was that sort of coward who would backpedal at the mere idea of having a child in his life again but he couldn’t run from the truth. He was a coward. The thought of putting himself in an emotionally vulnerable place like that gave him an instant case of the shakes, and as much as he liked to think of himself as a strong person, he just couldn’t go there with Miranda, because with a woman like her, he could see himself wanting more than a coworkers-with-benefits deal. He’d want everything she had to offer and then some.

Thankfully, Miranda wasn’t the type to make the offer.

Crisis averted.

Sort of.

CHAPTER TWELVE

MIRANDA TOLD HERSELF her interest in Jeremiah’s living situation was purely casual, but she hated to admit that she had a hard time knowing that Jeremiah was going to be stuck at the local equivalent of a roadside motel if someone didn’t intervene on his behalf. The man looked as if he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since he arrived, and if she seemed concerned, it was simply human nature to care about someone’s well-being.

“So I hear our boss took Otter’s offer and moved into that studio apartment he has for rent,” Miranda said, making casual conversation ostensibly while running a few copies. Mary’s desk was located close enough to the copy machine to chitchat while the machine did its job.

Mary turned and smiled. “Yes! He sure did. I’m so glad you mentioned it. Of course, all you’d have to do is say the word and Otter would make it happen because he thinks the sun and stars rise in your eyes,” Mary teased, causing Miranda to roll her eyes.

She’d tried to gently tell Otter it was never going to happen between them but he was a determined sort and simply took her rejections as future opportunity to try again. He was “wearing her down,” as he put it.

“Anyway, he took the day to get settled,” Mary added. Miranda nodded. So that was why he wasn’t in the office, she mused. Suddenly Mary frowned in thought. “Do you ever wonder why a good-looking guy like Jeremiah is still single? Seems to me that either he’s gay or there’s something terribly wrong with him.”

“Maybe he has a wife somewhere,” Miranda said.

“Where?” Mary blinked. “You mean back in Montana?”

“Wyoming,” Miranda absently corrected, then shrugged. “Or at least that’s where I think he’s from.”

“Wyoming. That sounds right, now that I think about it. Well, if you ask me, long-distance marriages rarely work out. The whole point of getting married is to have someone to cuddle with at night.”

“Cuddling is overrated.” Miranda deliberately chose to ignore the fact that she had, indeed, cuddled with Jeremiah and found the experience...tolerable. No, better than tolerable, she admitted grudgingly. It’d been amazing. Best night of sleep she’d ever had. “I prefer the bed all to myself.”

“Not me. I like to snuggle in real tight,” Mary said, giggling. “Plus, when it’s cold outside, there’s nothing better than a nice warm body to heat you up.”

That was what Mamu said, too. “Not everyone is cut out for that kind of commitment,” she said.

“Oh, pooh to that. You just haven’t found the right person to cuddle with. When you do, you’ll wonder why you waited so long.”