All Night Woman: A Contemporary Romance (8 page)

“So Holly,” his mother was saying, “when is your next Highlander novel coming out?”

Miles choked on his pot roast.  “Mom!  You read that ...
stuff
?”  He had only stopped himself from saying the word “garbage” just in time.

Unsurprisingly, Adam shot him a warning look.  He ignored it.

“Of course I do,” Beverly Grayson sniffed.  “I’m old, not dead.”

Miles looked at his father for support, but the older man kept his attention fully focused on his dinner.  Smart man.

“I’ve got the first draft finished,” Holly answered, looking only slightly uncomfortable.  “I haven’t sent it to the beta readers yet.”

“What’s a beta reader?”

“Someone who reads through the story and gives you initial feedback, like whether or not the story made sense, flowed smoothly, left anything unresolved - things like that.  Sometimes I’m so close to it, I can’t see the forest for the trees.”

Beverly nodded.  “I know exactly what you mean.  I used to write a little myself.”

Both Miles’ and Adam’s heads snapped up.  “You never told us that.”

Their mother blushed a little.  “Yes.  Well, you know I have a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in European history, which is probably why I’m partial to the historical romances.  What you don’t know is that when we were first married, I used to write for a few romance magazines.  It was something I could do from home while you children were little, and it paid quite well.”

“Why did you stop?” Holly asked.

“People weren’t as accepting then about that kind of thing as they are now.  I was part of the PTA, and secretary of our church’s Auxiliary...”

“Mrs. Grayson, would you consider being a beta reader?”

Miles stopped chewing.  Beside him, Adam did the same.  Only their father didn’t seem at all fazed by the question.  “Go on, Bev,” he encouraged around a mouthful of buttery roll.  “You know you want to.”

“I would be honored,” Beverly said, her blue eyes beaming.  “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Holly said, looking equally pleased. 

Damn it,
Miles inwardly lamented.  Weren’t mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law supposed to hate each other on sight?  His mother had never smiled at his ex-wife, Mandy, like she was smiling at Holly, even after Mandy had given her her first grandchild.

Miles turned his gaze away from the snowy mountain vista and tucked his hands farther into his pockets.  For as cold as it was, the lack of wind made it fairly comfortable.  Unable to keep his mind on the conversation inside, he had sought refuge on the wrap-around porch.  At least this way, he could allow his thoughts to wander without schooling his expression and having to deal with the concerned looks his brother had been shooting him all day.

“Sure.”  So far he had avoided any direct one-on-ones with Holly, but it was bound to happen eventually.  Might as well get it over with.

“You don’t like me very much, do you?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t deny it.  “It’s nothing personal.” 

“But you think Adam is making a mistake.”

She was the second woman in two days to say as much.  Was it that obvious?  Clearly he had to make a better effort to conceal his personal feelings on the subject.

Miles didn’t say anything.  There really was no good way to answer that.  If he said no, it would be an outright lie, and Holly was too sharp not to pick up on it.  If he said yes, he came off as the bad guy.

“I guess I can understand that,” Holly said after a couple of minutes passed by in heavy silence.  “You’re his brother and you care about him.  But I love Adam, Miles, and Adam loves me.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Miles said carefully, “but you two barely know each other.”

“Sometimes you just know.”

“Is that the woman talking, or the romance writer?”

Rather than take offense, Holly laughed.  “You know, until I met Adam, I was the world’s biggest cynic when it came to things like true love and soul mates.”

“And five minute men?” he added.

She had the good sense to blush.  “You’ve been talking to Liz, I see.”

He shrugged.  He’d been doing a hell of lot more than that.  Five minute man, indeed.  Though he hadn’t been looking at a clock, he was fairly certain he’d done better than that.  Which just went to show that as far as being a measure of true love, such a notion was complete and absolute nonsense.

“It’s more than that, Miles,” she said softly.  “You have to know that.  Or maybe you don’t.  All I can say is, I love Adam, and I’m going to do my damnedest to make him happy.  Whether or not you can accept that is up to you.”

Again, he said nothing.  Maybe things would work out, maybe they wouldn’t.  He didn’t have a crystal ball, but at least for now, she seemed sincere.  He could respect that.  And, in truth, he had never seen Adam happier.  Brandon seemed to like her, too, but that didn’t really tell him anything.  Miles had yet to hear his son say a bad word about anyone. 

“Miles, did anything happen last night that I should know about?”

Holly’s question blindsided him.  He turned to look down at her – she really was a short little thing – to find that soft, love-struck look she wore when talking about his brother had changed.  Her brows were furrowed, her green eyes concerned.  If there was ever a time to practice his poker face, it was now.

“Such as?” 

“I don’t know.  Liz hasn’t been answering her phone today.”

“Maybe she is still recovering.”

“How was she when you left her?”

Boneless.  Sated.  Ashamed.  No way was he getting into that.  “She seemed fine.”

“What does that mean, she seemed fine?” she asked suspiciously.

Miles exhaled.  “It means that I walked her to her door, she thanked me, and said she was going to bed.”

That was all true.  He had just omitted some details in between the walk to her door and her profession of gratitude.

“Oh.  That’s all?”

“What else would there be?” he challenged.

“Nothing.  I just thought...”  As if on cue, her phone chimed softly.  She took it out and checked the screen, then typed back a quick message before shoving the small device back in her pocket.

“That was Liz.  I’m sorry, I just worry about her, you know?”

Given the look of relief that softened Holly’s expression, Liz’s text hadn’t included or alluded to any of the prior night’s events.  Thank God.  The last thing he needed was Adam getting pissed off now when they were just starting to connect again.

“She is a grown woman, Holly.”

“Liz is my best friend.  I don’t want to see her get hurt.”

“And how does me giving her a ride home fit into that?”

Holly stared at him for several long moments, assessing him, before shaking her head.  “I guess it doesn’t.  My spidey senses must be off.  I’m sorry, Miles.”

And with that, Holly slipped back into the house, leaving Miles alone with his thoughts once again.

“O
h, come on, Holly,” Liz said, eyeing the dark circles under her best friend’s eyes across the chipped, faux-marble laminated tabletop several weeks later.  “It can’t be that bad.”

Holly grunted.  “You have no idea.  I’m telling you, Liz, money is not the source of all evil.  Planning a wedding is.  It makes people crazy.”

Liz ran her thumb up and down the outside of the dimpled red translucent drinking glass, catching the condensation.  Holly was definitely looking strained, and the fact that she’d asked Liz to meet her in this out-of-the-way roadside diner on a Sunday afternoon was telling. 

As if on cue, the server slid two oblong white ceramic plates the size of platters in front of them.  “Youz good?” she asked, cracking her gum.  The bright fluorescent lights glinted off piercings in her eyebrows, nose, and lips; the heavy liner surrounding her eyes made her look almost raccoon-like.

“Yeah, thanks,” Holly said.

“Was she even sixteen?” Liz asked, doubtfully eyeing the seven-inch high club sandwich and mound of batter-dipped fries spilling over the massive plate. 

Holly shrugged.  “They all look young at our age.  I saw a kid driving into the CVS lot yesterday, I swear he wasn’t a day over twelve.” 

“Buying a pregnancy test?” Liz fished.

Holly choked on her French fry.  “I am not pregnant, Liz.”

Liz raised a skeptical eyebrow and stared her down.  Holly had been acting strangely ever since Adam spirited her away for a long weekend at one of the Poconos lover’s resorts over Valentine’s Day. 

“Oh, alright!” Holly said breaking under Liz’s glare.  “I thought I might be, so I bought one of those pee-on-a-stick kits, but it came out negative.  Happy?”

“I thought you were on the pill.”

“I was, but I was on antibiotics for ten days at the end of January, remember?”

“So?”

“So, antibiotics can lessen the effectiveness of birth control.  And things have been kind of
off
, if you know what I mean.”

“But you’re not pregnant.”

“Apparently not,” Holly exhaled.  “It’s probably just stress.  My mother is driving me crazy.”

Was that a look of disappointment Liz saw flash in her friend’s eyes?  “Do you want to be?”

Holly shrugged and averted her eyes.  “I’m thirty.  Adam’s thirty-two.  Do the math.”

“You’ve got time, Holly,” Liz assured her.  After all, Holly still had a couple of years before she saw the gothic sign post. 

“What if it takes a while?” 

“The way you two go at it?  I’ll bet you’re preggers within a month if you want to be.”

Holly smirked, but there was genuine hope in her eyes.

“Besides,” Liz continued, “I know it seems kind of old-fashioned, but you really should be married first before you start bringing kids into the mix.”

“Which is going to take
forever
,” Holly said, her face darkening again.  “My mom insists on a June wedding.  Would you believe that every church and reception hall within fifty miles is already booked?”

“It’s March, Holly.  You can’t expect to find a place in three months.”

“Not this year, Liz. 
Next
year.”

“Oh.”  Liz held the triple-decker club quarter with both hands, turning it at various angles while trying to figure out exactly how to take a bite without unhinging her jaw.  She finally gave up and just peeled off the top layer.  She was going to have to put in an extra hour or two at the gym for the next couple of days, but what the hell.  She’d been in kind of a funk lately herself, and could use a little carb-laden comfort.

“What’s the big deal about a June wedding anyway?”

Holly removed the toothpick on her own sandwich quarter, then pressed her palm down hard to condense it into a more manageable size.  “I don’t know.  My mother insists.”

Liz frowned.  Holly typically scoffed at her mother’s preconceived notions and ideals; the fact that she was being so resigned now was both uncharacteristic and worrisome.  “Since when do you listen to your mother?”

The look on Holly’s face was one of pure misery.  “What do I know about planning a wedding?  My mother loves them.  She handled both of my sisters’, and played a major role in my brothers’.  And they were
beautiful
.”

“So?”

“So, I only plan on doing this once, Liz.  I want to do it right, you know?”  Holly exhaled heavily.  “Can we just please talk about something else?  That’s why I wanted to come all the way out here.  I need to get away from all this wedding crap for a little while.”

Liz nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich to keep from saying what she really wanted to.  That Holly’s wedding should be just that –
Holly’s
wedding, not her mother’s.  Under normal circumstances, she would have, but Holly looked like she really did need a break.  At the first opportune moment, though, she was going to say something, because there was no way in
hell
she was going to wear one of those fairy-like pink and green bridesmaid’s gowns Holly’s mom and sisters had been squealing over.

“And what about Adam’s mom?  Are you getting pressure from her, too?”

“Not at all,” Holly said on an exhale.  “I swear, Adam’s mom is the most down-to-earth, supportive woman I’ve ever met.  Next to you, that is,” Holly amended quickly.  “She is even beta reading my stuff now.”

Liz paused, mouth open.  “Seriously?  You’re letting her read your books?”

“Yeah.  Turns out she wrote romance for a little while, too.  She’s catching things I never would have thought of.  And she taught English for years, so that’s been a tremendous help.  Ironic, isn’t it, how that was always my worst subject?  My high-school English teacher would probably bust a gut laughing if she knew what I do for a living.”

“You’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“I suppose.  If we were smart we would just elope, you know?  Forget all this fancy stuff.”

Holly’s words immediately sent Liz into a fantasy that had them impulsively flying off to Las Vegas to do just that.  She included herself (she was maid of honor, after all) and Miles (the best man), of course.  After standing for the happy couple, she and Miles would find some creative ways to pass the time, the thoughts of which made her insides tingle and heat blossom just under the surface of her skin. 

The Vegas setting was new, but the fantasy of her and Miles being thrust together by circumstance was a familiar one by now; the man had been occupying more than his fair share of her dreams – both sleeping and awake – lately. 

Which was absolutely ridiculous.  It had been a one-time thing.  A pity hook-up.  Six weeks ago.  And nothing since.

That was the great thing about fantasies, though.  They didn’t have to be realistic.  And no one had to know how absolutely pathetic she was, secretly mooning over a guy who probably hadn’t given
her
a second thought.

“Enough about me,” Holly said, slipping a piece of bacon from the sandwich.  “What’s going on with you?  Any news on the Troy front?”

It took Liz a moment to wrangle her mind back from Vegas, where Miles was naked and ready and
begging
.  Liz chewed carefully, willing herself to switch gears before answering.  “We’ve gone out a few times.”