For the Love of Pete (6 page)

"Any particular reason?"

"Let's just say he spent the wedding chatting up

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FOR THE LOVE OF PETE

every other woman in the room. Since most of them were members of Jo's family and married themselves, it seemed to me the handwriting was on the wall. He even put a couple of less-than-subtle moves on my wife. If I hadn't walked up when I did, I think Ashley would have decked him."

"Why the hell didn't she warn her sister?"

"I think she tried, but Jo didn't want to hear it. She was convinced Ashley had misread the man's intentions. She was sure he was just being friendly, hoping to get the family to warm up to him. The D'Angelos are a tightknit clan."

Pete regarded him intently. "Any chance Jo was right, that it was innocent?"

Josh laughed. "You know my wife. Does she strike you as someone who'd misread that kind of situation? No, she got it exactly right, and remember, I heard most of it, too." He shrugged. "But you know how people are when they're in love. They have to figure outtheir mistakes for themselves. And there's not a more loyal, trusting woman around than Jo. She didn't want to believe the worst."

"I suppose," Pete said, his guilt stirring all over again. Jo had trusted him once, and look what he'd done. She was probably convinced now that her judgment about men sucked. That meant it was going to be a whole lot harder for him to convince her otherwise.

Josh regarded him curiously. "You seem awfully interested."

"You know me. I'm a sucker for a woman in distress."

"I doubt she'd want your pity."

Pete laughed. "No kidding. I do have a few function-

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ing brain cells. There hasn't been a woman born who wants a man coming around out of pity." He studied Josh curiously. "Why'd you tell me all this? Just so I'd keep an eye out for her?"

Josh rolled his eyes, "Come on, Catlett, get serious. Everyone in town knows your reputation. Since your divorce, you date a lot, but you don't get serious. Let's just consider this conversation fair warning. Jo's vulnerable. A lot of people will be upset if you hurt her."

Little did he know, Pete thought wryly.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Pete promised. "I'll try not to jump her bones first chance I get."

Josh scowled at him, clearly taking the comment at face value. "I'm trusting you to keep that promise."

He was gone before Pete could reply. Of course, the truth was that he hadn't needed Josh's warning to know to take things slowly with Jo. She had warning signs posted around her that all but shouted her vulnerability.

And even if she hadn't, she'd made it abundantly clear that she was strictly off-limits to Pete in particular.

Of course, he admitted to himself, that only made things interesting. There was nothing on earth that Pete liked better than a challenge. That it happened to be provided by a woman he'd once loved just made it that much more fascinating.

Jo managed to hide out till dusk, certain that once the light died Pete would be forced to quit for the day.

Now she stood in the front yard and gaped at what had once been the porch. It was a yawning, empty space that stretched out between where she was and the door. Four-by-four posts propped up the porch roof.

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Thanks to the dimming light and shadows, getting inside suddenly seemed treacherous. The only alternative was to go around back, but she wasn't even sure if her key worked in that lock, which raised something of a quandary. How the devil was she supposed to get inside without crawling over the threshold in some awkward spectacle?

She was still pondering her choices when the front door opened, startling her so badly, she dropped the bags she was carrying. Thankfully, nothing she'd bought on her shopping spree was breakable.

"There you are," Pete called out from inside. "I was wondering when you'd be back. I didn't want to leave till you turned up."

Jo frowned. His presence was precisely why she'd stayed away so long. She'd hoped to outwait him. She should have guessed he'd stay put just to be perverse.

"Where's your truck? Did you deliberately hide it?"

He grinned. "Took it home and walked back," he admitted. "I figured you'd turn right around and leave if you saw it parked out here."

"Damn straight," she muttered.

His grin broadened. "Still stubborn as a mule, I see. Come on, Jo. What's the big deal? I thought you might have some trouble getting inside, so I stuck around. End of story. I didn't stay just to annoy you."

He glanced at the bags now scattered at her feet. "Did you buy out the stores?"

"Only a few of them," she said, regarding him warily. "Since you're here, make yourself useful and open the back door."

"Why haul all that stuff around back when you can come in this way?"

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"How do you suggest I step up and into the house?"

"You always have me to help," he suggested. "That's why I'm here, after all."

Jo couldn't see his eyes at this distance and in this light, but she suspected there was a wicked glint in them. "You?" she asked skeptically.

He leaped down, then came toward her. When he was closer, she could spot the amusement glittering in his eyes. She backed up a step, bent over and grabbed haphazardly for the bags, holding them in front of her as if they would somehow ward him off.

He just kept coming. "Hope none of that stuff you're carrying weighs too much," he joked as he scooped her up, then shifted her till she was snuggled securely against his chest. "Nope. Light as a feather."

"Pete, put me down this instant," Jo grumbled, even though the faint scent of his aftershave and the masculine scent that was as familiar to her as salt air made her feel vaguely weak with a sudden, unwanted longing.

He stopped in his tracks and gazed into her eyes. "Now, the way I see it, you have two choices. You can let me give you a litde boost inside or you can face the indignity of trying to scramble up there on your own while I stand here and watch." He grinned. "I imagine it'll be quite a show. You always did have the cutest little butt around."

"You're a pig!"

"You're not the first to suggest that," he noted calmly. "So, what's it going to be?"

"Just get me into the damn house and then go away," she said.

"You'd send me away even after I got dinner all ready for the two of us?"

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"I would send you away if you'd spent your last dime on it," she said firmly.

"Heartless," he said mildly. "I'd never have guessed it."

"Some traits develop over time," she commented wryly as he stepped onto a precarious arrangement of cinder blocks she hadn't even noticed, then stepped inside the house as easily as if there were actual steps.

"Why didn't you just tell me you'd rigged up some temporary steps? I could have gotten in here on my own," she noted, punching him in the chest.

"True," he agreed, his grin unrepentant. "But this was more fun."

"Not for me," she said, scrambling out of his arms and snatching away her packages. "Go away."

"Not till you eat."

"I told you you weren't invited to stay for dinner," she said, even as she sniffed the air and noticed the appealing aroma of baking chicken.

"That's fine, but I don't intend to leave until I see you put a few forkfuls of food into your mouth."

"Do I look as if I need coaxing to eat?"

"Yes," he said readily. "You're too skinny. It was the first thing I noticed when I saw you last night."

"Now you're just being insulting."

"That's me, known far and wide for my complete lack of charm. Dinner's in five minutes, if you want to put this stuff away and wash up."

Jo sighed and accepted the fact that she wasn't getting rid of him. She didn't pretend to understand why he was insinuating himself into her life like this. Maybe Ashley had hired him to do more than fix the porch and look good while he was at it. Maybe he was an under-

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cover babysitter. Whatever was keeping him around, he seemed to be serious about it. She knew from bitter experience that he wouldn't be shaken off till he was good and ready. That's why it had hurt so much when he'd simply vanished without a word seven years ago. It had told her he was ready, if not eager, to be rid of her and move on to his new life.

"If you're staying, you may as well eat," she finally said grudgingly.

"Thank you," he said solemnly.

To her surprise, the table was set. He'd even lit a couple of candles and plunked a bouquet of flowers in a water glass in the center of the table. It had all the trappings of romance to it. and a tiny little shiver of anticipation danced along her spine.

"What's all this?" she asked suspiciously, as if it weren't plain as day.

"Ambience," he said, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "I hear women are fond of it."

"Maybe when they're being courted, but the circumstances are a bit different with us."

"Are they?" he asked in a tone clearly intended to have her blood humming.

She regarded him with frustration. "Pete, you can't say stuff like that."

"Why not?"

"It's not appropriate."

"Because we parted a long time ago?"

"No, idiot. Because you're married and have at least one child. What is wrong with you? You can't start hitting on me. I am not going to have a fling with a married man just for old time's sake."

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Something dark and painful flashed in his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence about my morals," he said tightly. "Just to set the record straight, I have a son who lives in Richmond with his mother. I'm no longer married."

Jo had picked up a glass of water, but her hand shook so badly she had to set it down again. His news was the last thing she'd expected. It changed everything. It made her nervous in ways she hadn't been before. His marriage had been like a safety net, the only thing keeping her from forgetting about all the anguish he'd caused her.

"You're divorced, not separated?" she asked, just to be sure she'd gotten it right.

'Two years now. I can bring the divorce papers by for you, if you don't believe me," he said, his expression bleak.

"What happened?" she asked instinctively.

He gave her a shuttered look. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But?"

Now he was the one on the defensive. "Look, I fixed you a little dinner and stuck around to make sure you ate it. No big deal. It doesn't give you the right to start poking around in my personal life."

"You tried to poke around in mine," she reminded him.

"And you told me to butt out. Now I see your point. Let's stick to safe, neutral topics."

Jo nodded, but somewhere deep inside, where Pete's announcement had lit a ridiculous spark of hope, she realized that things would never be entirely safe or neutral between her and this man.

She swallowed a whole litany of questions and searched frantically for something they could talk about.

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"The chicken looks good," she said eventually. "When did you learn to cook?"

"After the divorce," he said, his gaze avoiding hers.

So, not even dinner was a safe topic, apparently. Jo regarded him with frustration. "You could help me out here. Say something."

An unwilling smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was obvious he was fighting it. "There never was much that was safe or simple between us, was there?"

"Not much," she admitted.

"There's always the weather," he said. "I hear it might snow again."

She went along with him. "Really? When?"

He did grin then. "Sometime this winter."

Jo laughed and the tension was broken. "You made that up, didn't you?"

"Hey, it's as accurate a forecast as any we're likely to get on the news," he protested.

"I suppose so." She grinned back at him. "Think it will rain this spring?"

"Pretty certain," he said.

"If we work at this, we could carve out whole new careers for ourselves."

"Personally I like the one I have," Pete said. "You can go for it if you want to."

She shook her head. "Not me. I like landscape design."

Pete's eyes lit up. "That's what you do?"

"Yes," she said, surprised by his apparent enthusiasm. "Why?"

"I don't suppose you're looking for any work while you're here, are you?"

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"Mike said he might have some jobs for me," she admitted. "We haven't discussed the specifics, though."

He nodded slowly. "You could work through him," he said. "Or work directly for me. I've been on his waiting list for weeks for a couple of houses I just built. He told me the other day he might have help soon. I imagine that's you."

Jo swallowed hard. So there really was more work around than Mike could handle, but working for Pete? Could she do it? Wasn't that just asking for disaster? She needed more information on just how closely she'd have to work with him. It might be smarter to keep Mike as a buffer.

"Are you making the decisions?" she asked. "Or are the new owners of the houses?"

"I'm making the decisions for now. I've built these places on spec. I want the grounds in good shape by spring when the real estate market kicks into high gear around here." He studied her intendy. "Is that a problem?"

She put her fork down and met his gaze. "I don't know. Is it, Pete?"

"What are you asking me?"

"It's been a long time. I was a girl when you knew me. Now, not only am I a woman, but I'm a professional. Can you treat me with the respect I deserve and trust my judgment? Or will our personal history constantly be getting in the way?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he reminded her.

Her lips curved. "But I asked first."

His gaze never wavered. "I always trusted you. I'm the one who blew it, Jo, not you. I may not have shown you the respect you deserved at the end, but the whole

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mess was caused by my stupidity. It had nothing to do with the way I felt about you. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, since you were the one who got hurt."