But that meant nothing to her. She was here to do a job and she would do it to the best of her ability and then be on her way.

“I guess the project will take anywhere from three to six months,” he was saying, “but you’re the writer. You know best. I’m relying on you to work out an appropriate schedule.”

“No problem,” she said, her tone brisk. “Before I start writing anything I’ll have to do a series of detailed interviews then I’ll compile my notes and get started.” She pointed to the desk calendar. “If you just hand that to me I can set up the interview dates right now.”

He slid it over to her and this time she made sure their hands didn’t touch. That would be too much to handle. Right then, all she wanted to do was deal with the business at hand and then get the heck out of that office. In that space she was too close to Drake for comfort.

He looked at the dates she’d highlighted. “So we start next week?”

She nodded. “Monday afternoon, before the week gets on the way.”

“What about this week?” he asked. “I want to get started as soon as possible.”

She shook her head. “No can do. I need this week to arrange my business so that once I get started I can just focus. I need to arrange for a babysitter for those days when I need to be here.”

“You…have children?” A stricken look crossed his face then in a flash it was gone.

Meg frowned. So what if she had children? Would that be an issue? It certainly wouldn’t affect the quality of her work. “I have a five year old,” she said, her tone slightly defensive. “My daughter, Jessie.”

“Oh,” he said. “That’s…nice.”

His words were appropriate but Meg could see that her having a child had affected him in some way. His face had gone still and his voice quiet. Now he seemed to be deep in thought.

“Is that a problem?”

His eyes snapped back to her face. “Excuse me?”

“Is it a problem that I have a child? You don’t seem too happy about it.”

“No, not at all.” He had the grace to look ashamed. “I guess I’m just getting used to the idea of you having a family.”

Meg almost laughed. It had been ten years since she’d last seen or spoken to this man. Did he expect her to believe that she’d actually crossed his mind even once over those ten years?

On the other hand, he’d crossed her mind a lot. She couldn’t count the number of nights she’d cried herself to sleep, thinking about Drake and how he’d stolen her heart only to then turn around and stomp it into the dust. And now he had the audacity to pretend as if he’d spent any time thinking about her. As she thought about it she felt the anger build inside.

She glared at him. “Well, I’m glad my daughter is not a concern for you. I assure you, my dealings with you will be quite professional so you have no need to worry about Jessie getting in the way of your project.”

He frowned, seeming perturbed. “I wasn’t thinking that at all,” he said, his tone leaving her in no doubt that he was annoyed. “I have no question about your professionalism, Mrs. Gracey. I know you're the best.”

There he went again, addressing her in that formal tone. And, to her chagrin, instead of feeling triumphant she only felt depressed. Get a grip, Meg. You’re far too emotional today.

He stood up, his brow furrowed, his face cloudy with an emotion that looked like a cross between anger and pain. “I’m sure you’re not only a great writer but an excellent mother as well.” He shoved his fists deep into his pocket. “Your husband is a lucky man.”