A Man for All Seasons (7 page)

M
ARLIE CLASPED HER HANDS
over her mouth. Oh, no, he didn't.

But there was Tyler, talking to a reporter, after he'd dropped a bundle at the auction.

For her. Or rather for Axelle, who was basking in the limelight with him as he stroked her naked back.

Right. “A few nights out on the town.” He'd bought that package for himself—to get Marlie out of the house.

What, he didn't trust her to find somebody to date by herself?

Then again, she'd found Eric.

Still. She picked up her cell phone to text him her refusal but stopped. He looked so happy. Axelle looked happy. The dating dudes looked glad to get out of the spotlight. The reporter was getting a twist on the usual charity auction story, so she was happy.

And Marlie was…embarrassed. But twelve men, including the drummer who was bashfully cute. Twelve chances to find someone, someone other than Ty. And these men all had friends they could introduce her to if they didn't personally click with her, so this could be a shortcut to a new relationship.

She could act all offended and refuse, or she could accept the gift and enjoy herself, especially with the drummer, Mr. Milk, and the swan guy. Partridge in a Pear tree wasn't bad, either.

Oooo. Axelle's brother was Three French Hens. Marlie grinned. This was going to be good.

 

T
YLER CAME BACK DOWN TO
earth after Axelle's enthusiastic and prolonged thank-you kisses. Part of him was keenly aware that the auction was in a hotel and that there were rooms with beds just a short elevator ride away. But answering Axelle's exuberant gratitude with “Shall I get us a room?” seemed cheesy. And so here he was, back in Marlie's garage, without Axelle. Even worse, he had to face Marlie.

No way had she missed him making the biggest auction bid of the night, so he'd been expecting a call or a text, but his phone had been silent. He had no idea what that meant. Probably nothing good.

Had he hurt her feelings? That hadn't been his intent.

All right, then. Time to go inside and face the music.

The garage door opened into a hallway that led to her office, which he had to pass to go upstairs. He was tempted to sneak by, if he could, but he'd no more turned the key in the deadbolt when Marlie came skipping down the hall and flung her arms around his neck.

“Oh, thank you, Ty! That was such a sweet and generous thing to do!”

Of all the scenarios he'd imagined, a thrilled Marlie was not one of them.

She hugged him tightly and his arms automatically encircled her. She was soft everywhere and there was more of her than there was of Axelle. Not a bad thing, but different. Her ponytail tickled his nose as she turned her head and kissed his cheek. Twice.

He drew her closer. Reflex, he told himself. Her head fit just below his shoulder and his hands fell naturally in the small of her back. She felt so comfortable and she smelled like fabric softener.

Tension left his body. Why had he been tense, anyway?

Resting his chin on the top of her head, he felt as though he'd come home. Well, he had. Her home, at least. Imagine walking in the door to this every night. He could leave the world behind and lose himself in—

Whoa. Marlie could be every bit as seductive as Axelle. For a minute there, she had him seeing hearts and flowers and butterflies as birds chirped in the background.

He raised his head and loosened his hold to find her looking at him questioningly.

“Everything okay?” she asked, pulling back a bit more.

He reluctantly let his arms slip away, disappointed that the world's greatest hug had ended. “I thought you might be a little mad at me.”

“Mad?” She did a pretty good fake astonishment. “No, I'm not mad. I was surprised and embarrassed and my first impulse was to refuse to go out with any of them. But then I got to thinking.” She turned and he followed her back to her office. “This is dating sink or swim. I'm rusty and what a great way to practice. If I mess up, big deal. Tomorrow is another man.”

“Good. Great!” She was taking this awfully well. “Because that's what I was thinking.”

Marlie gave him a look. It was the same expression Axelle wore when he told her a little sugar wouldn't hurt her.

“That is not what you were thinking,” Marlie said. “You wanted to rescue your girlfriend's auction and impress her, hoping that she would show her gratitude in ways you'd both find mutually enjoyable. And she'd be able to show them here
because I would be out dating my way through a Christmas carol.”

It was exactly what he'd thought, but summed up much better. Marlie didn't seem upset by it.

She shut down her computer. “Not only that, but it was all for charity. Ty, you are brilliant.”

Well, that's kind of what he'd thought, but he knew everyone might not agree. “Thank you. I hope you enjoy yourself.”

“That's the plan. You've given me an opportunity and I intend to make the most of it.”

This was working out
really
well.

She moved to her printer and removed some papers. “I've got to hurry up and buy a bed.”

Ty had a little trouble following the conversation trail and when he did, he didn't like where it was leading. Her first act, when learning she would be going out with a dozen different men, was to buy a bed?

Tyler didn't feel quite so brilliant anymore. “Marlie, be careful. I know it's been a while, but don't…overcompensate.” He didn't want her sleeping her way through all twelve verses.

“Overcompensate for what? I've been sleeping on a loveseat for three days.”

“Right. But don't buy the first bed you see. Take your time. Check them out. Bounce on the mattress before you sleep on it. Don't get distracted by fluffy pillows and pretty sheets and blankets. Remember that it's what's inside the mattress that counts. Once you buy it, you'll be sleeping on it for years.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “I have bought a bed before.”

“But it didn't work out, did it?”

She held up the printouts. “That's why I've spent the last three days researching online.”

“Online is one thing,” Ty told her. “In person is completely different.”

“Which is why I'm going bed shopping tomorrow.” She looked at him strangely.

“And that's good,” he told her. “Because buying a bed is a big decision. And when you make a
big decision,
you should give it a lot of thought before you…decide.”

“Are we still talking about beds?”

“They're complicated,” Ty said.

They stared at each other. A few beats went by before Marlie changed the subject.

“I got a text from your reporter friend.”

“I don't have a reporter friend.”

Marlie ignored him. “Alicia Hartson wants to interview me and possibly show up on some of the dates. You're about to become a romantic legend.”

Ty grinned. “I don't see a down side to that.”

“Maybe not for you, but I don't need to look pitiful and have this turn into a ‘Marlie's Quest for Love' series. So heads up, I'm not saying anything about Eric. I may tell stories about you as a little kid, parts of which may even be true.”

“Hey!”

“Oh, please. Nobody cares. They just want a good story. You'll come out looking good.”

“I'm already looking good,” Ty said. “I just spent five grand on your Christmas present.”

Marlie gave him a wicked grin. “And I'm just your roomie. I can hardly wait to see what you get for Axelle.”

She had a point. “Neither can I.”

 

M
ARLIE HAD EXPECTED MORE TIME
before A Partridge in a Pear Tree called for his date, but the morning after the auction, Jason Fairgood asked her to dinner at the Flaming Pear restaurant. When she hung up the phone, she saw Ty scowling at her from the doorway.

“You told that guy where you live?” he asked.

“He's going to pick me up.”

Ty shook his head. “It's a first date. You live in the big city now. You don't go telling a strange guy where you live. You meet him somewhere.”

“Jason is not a strange man. He's a mentor and Axelle knows him. In fact, I imagine she screened everybody she auctioned off for dates, even if they'd already been vetted to work with kids. If anything bad happens, there will be horrible publicity.”

“Which you'll find comforting in your hospital bed.”

He was going to be a stinker about this. “Okay, I get your point. When I'm dating outside the auction men, I'll be more cautious.”

“Thank you,” Ty said.

Marlie expected him to leave for his jog since he was dressed for it, but he lingered. “Where are you going tonight?”

“The Flaming Pear. They have partridge on the menu.”

“That's not very original” was Ty's comment.

He didn't seem very enthusiastic about the dates, considering he was the one who'd bought them for her.

As they spoke, Marlie was checking out the restaurant's website. Lots of cutesie flash which quickly grew old and annoying when she had to wait for a cactus to burn every time she tried to navigate to a different page. Apparently the “pear” referred to a pear cactus. “I'm not complaining,” she said. “It's a nice restaurant. Other than lunch at Axelle's, I haven't been to a fancy restaurant since Eric and I broke up.” Marlie decided that was the way she'd refer to her onetime engagement. It sounded better than “He dumped me out of the blue right before the wedding invitations went out.”

Ty still hadn't left, but he wasn't saying anything. She looked up at him.

“I'm sorry, Marlie.” His face was serious.

That was unexpected. “For what?”

“I should have taken you out.”

“Why?”

“Well, we're living together.”

“But we're not
live
living together.”

“No, but it's not unheard of for roommates to socialize.” He gave her a lopsided smile.

“You mean, spend time with me on purpose?” She cocked her head at him. “Did your mom call and give you a ‘be nice to Marlie' lecture?”

“No.” He straightened, looking affronted. “I thought of that on my own. I'm not a kid anymore, Marlie. I did mature.”

Oh, she knew. “I'm sorry, but—”

“It's okay.” He waved off the rest of her apology, opened the front door, and jogged down the steps.

Ty had been acting very different lately. She had to admit that after years of him ignoring her or wishing she wasn't around, his sudden interest was weird.

But not unwelcome.

Marlie closed her eyes. She was going to miss him when he moved out. Just knowing he was home made her sleep easier at night, even if it was on the loveseat in her office.

If his house had been completed in time and he'd moved out last year, it wouldn't have been so bad. But now she was used to him being there. She'd even told him about Eric, and he'd been nice to her—in his way, but still. And fixing her up with all those guys was a unique way to solve the problem of Marlie meeting men and…

She might as well admit it. Marlie had an extremely inconvenient crush on him. It was the crush she should have had years ago, but never did.

But it was going to stay a crush and she'd outgrow it the same as she would have as an adolescent. All she had to do was find someone to take his place. And she was starting tonight.

Ty had accused her of turning into a hermit. She hadn't been that bad, but she was sure out of touch with trends and styles. Unless an event made headlines, she didn't know about it. And she hadn't watched much TV or seen a movie in months.

What was she going to talk to her partridge date about? Website design? If that's what he was into, then not a problem. Anything else, well, it would be a problem. This was not good. Even she'd be bored if she had to date herself.

Marlie had planned to go looking at beds today, but it was going to take her hours to prepare for her first date, post Eric, because she was really out of practice. When
was
the last time she'd been on a date with somebody other than Eric? College. Seven years ago?
Seven?
She hadn't been on a first date in seven years and now she was getting ready to go on a dozen of them?

Marlie was hit with a bad case of nerves. What was she going to wear? And what about her
hair?

She turned off her computer, something she
never
did during waking hours, and headed upstairs to explore the depths of her closet.

Way too much time later, she emerged with three candidates, all purchased for what earlier generations called a trousseau.

First, she eliminated one of her choices because it no longer zipped. Tragic. She'd bought it to wear to a wedding shower her neighbors were giving her back home in California. The shower never happened and Marlie had never worn the dress. While she decided between the other two, she washed her hair and blew it dry for the first time since she'd gone home last Christmas.

It looked less frizzy, but she'd forgotten to use the defrizzer Axelle had given her, so Marlie rewet her hair and tried again. Definitely less frizzy this time, but it lay flat against her head and the ends looked scraggly. Not only that, it was dark to
just above her shoulders then grew lighter where the ancient highlights kicked in.

No, no way was she shopping for a bed today. She was going to have to get her hair cut. As a walk-in. At a strange salon. On a Saturday. The only stylist not booked on a Saturday was a bad stylist. But could her hair look worse than it did now? Maybe if color was involved, but surely she could chance a trim. Just an inch or so, until she could get an actual appointment.

 

“S
O WHAT DO YOU KNOW
about this Jason guy?” Ty asked Axelle. He'd called her after he'd returned from his run.