Read Have Bouquet, Need Boyfriend Online
Authors: Rita Herron
Tags: #Contemporary, #Romance, #Erotica, #Fiction, #General
Just what he wanted to hear, too, Thomas thought, as he raised his
glass. Wasn’t it? And was he attracted to her?
“So, do you have a woman in Sugar Hill?” she asked.
“No one special.” Rebecca’s face flashed into his mind, then the parade
of women with casseroles and desserts. “But there are a lot of
husband-hunting women.”
“Must be rough,” Devon said.
“Yeah, the town’s so small I treat almost every woman there.” Except for
Rebecca, who’d never seen him as a patient.
“I can’t imagine knowing my patients that well,” Devon said.
“Me, neither,” Rob added. “I barely recognize the nurses and remember my
receptionist’s name.”
“They’re just faces in the crowd,” Shawnee said.
Thomas frowned. They sounded so impersonal and detached from their
patients and work. Was that what it would be like to work in a big
medical center? Would it make him immune to the personal side of the job
and the people he treated?
On the way to her uncle Wiley’s, Rebecca passed the bookstore and was
surprised to see Gertrude’s car still parked behind. Curious as to why
the young woman wasn’t at the town celebration, she hurried inside and
found her dusting the shelves, her curly brown hair in a ponytail.
“Goodness, why are you still working?” Rebecca frowned at the sad look
on Gertrude’s face.
Gertrude’s shoulders fell. “I don’t have anything better to do.”
Rebecca’s heart tugged. Hadn’t she felt that way a hundred times this
year? She should have made it a point to befriend the woman.
“Come on with me. I’m going by Uncle Wiley’s to see who wins that truck.
Then we can stop and get a picnic dinner on the square if the weather
holds up.”
A smile burst onto Gertrude’s face and Rebecca jotted a mental note to
invite her to do things more often. It wasn’t as if her own social
calendar was booked solid.
Gertrude brushed off her jeans, her step lighter as she followed Rebecca
outside. A gust of wind swirled around them, rustling trees and
scattering dust. The air smelled crisp, heavy with the scent of
impending rain and storm clouds. If the temperature kept dropping, the
rain might turn to snow.
“It’s only a few blocks so you can ride with me,” Rebecca offered. “I’ll
drive you back for your car afterward.”
Gertrude climbed in and buckled her seat belt. “You think a lot of
people will be there?”
“I imagine so. Everyone’s talking about Uncle Wiley giving away that
pickup truck.” Rebecca steered through the downtown and turned toward
the used car lot. “And he’s filming a commercial. People will probably
show up hoping they’ll get on TV.”
“I put my name in for the giveaway,” Gertrude said, picking at her
sweater. “But I know I won’t win. I’m not very lucky.”
“You never know,” Rebecca said. “Maybe this is your lucky day.” And
maybe it would be hers, too.
Maybe Thomas would show up and they’d end up together.
A glum expression clouded Gertrude’s eyes. “If that was true, Jerry
Ruthers would have asked me out for tonight.”
Jerry? She had no idea her helper had a crush on Jerry. “Maybe he’ll be
there,” she said. “Besides, if you want him, you should pursue him.”
Wasn’t that the same advice her cousins and sister had given her about
Thomas?
Gertrude’s brown eyes lit up. “You really think so?” She rummaged
through her purse for a mirror and grabbed a tube of ruby-red lipstick,
applying it carefully, her spirits brightening.
When Rebecca saw Jerry, she would hint that Gertrude liked him. It might
be the answer for all of them.
A half hour later, she and Gertrude had watched the miniparade of old
model cars her uncle had arranged, laughed at the children having their
faces painted and the residents arguing good-naturedly over who would
win the purple truck. They also laughed at the sequins on Wiley’s orange
suit.
Dark clouds had rolled in, obliterating the dwindling sunshine and
casting shadows across the parking lot full of used-car bargains, but
the looming bad weather hadn’t deterred the crowd. Nearly everyone in
Sugar Hill had turned out. She spotted Mimi and Seth with their baby,
Hannah and Jake, and Alison and Brady, who’d just returned from their
honeymoon.
Thomas was nowhere in sight.
Rebecca fought off disappointment and loneliness as she watched her
cousins with their new husbands and their father. Wiley was boisterous
and loud and might look foolish, but the children who’d shown up loved
his corny jokes, and his daughters loved him. He didn’t seem to act
differently toward any of the girls, either.
She spotted Jerry hitching up his pants as he loped toward the cotton
candy machine.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Gertrude, who’d settled in one of the
folding chairs around a makeshift stage to listen to the
country-and-western band and watch the local doggers.
Jerry’s ruddy face sparked with a grin as she approached.
Just be short, sweet and get it over with, Rebecca silently told herself.
“Hey, Bee.” Jerry licked a hunk of cotton candy into his mouth. “I was
wondering when I’d catch up with ya.”
“Listen, Jerry, I can’t hang out with you tonight,” Rebecca said.
Jerry’s smile fell. “Got somethin’ better to do?”
She could only hope. “I’m sorry, Jerry.” She gestured toward the woman
who was oblivious to her meddling. “But Gertrude isn’t busy. She was
awfully lonely earlier.”
“Do tell.” Jerry snatched another bite of the sticky candy and shrugged.
Quickly recovering from her rejection of him, he walked toward Gertrude.
Feeling marginally better, Rebecca called to him and motioned for him to
wipe the cottony pink stuff off his cheek before he reached her.
Then she turned and saw Thomas drive up in that yellow Mustang.
What had she told Gertrude? Go after what you want. Maybe it was time
she listened to her cousins and took the advice she’d passed on to her
friend.
Thomas had finally grown tired of the business conversation at the
lounge. Then Shawnee had insisted they dance. The music had been
deafening, the smoke suffocating. But the woman he’d held in his arms
had been good-looking, available, interested and she glided across the
dance floor as if she owned it.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t stirred his interests at all.
No, he’d imagined Rebecca Hartwell in his arms with her curves pressed
up against him, and that soft silky blond hair tickling his chin. He had
tried his best to banish the image.
But as he’d driven back to Sugar Hill, an emptiness swelled inside him.
Trouble was, he couldn’t figure out why. He was on the verge of having
the life he wanted, the career he’d dreamed of forever. So, why didn’t
he feel overjoyed?
He must be suffering from exhaustion. And he was still worried about the
Lackey baby.
Then he saw Rebecca standing in the midst of the small-town celebration
with bright streamers draped around the used-car parking lot, country
music blaring in the background and the town people socializing,
laughing as their children took part in some of the games Wiley had
arranged. His mood shifted, the air growing tighter around him. Rebecca
stood out in a sea of women who had made it clear they wanted him.
But Rebecca told her grandmother she was against marriage, he reminded
himself. That was a good thing,
since he didn’t want marriage or life here; he wanted to move onto
bigger and better things.
She wove her way through the crowd toward him, and his senses spun at
the sight of her. Again she’d ditched the baggy dress and wore tight
jeans that hugged her rounded behind, and a soft violet sweater that
stretched across ample breasts that swayed gently when she walked.
“Hey, Thomas.”
“Hi.”
The wind whistled between them in the silence.
“My car’s ready,” he said to break the tension. “So I’m returning
Wiley’s Mustang.”
“Oh.”
Did she sound disappointed?
“Yeah, the Porsche looks like new. It’s at the garage in town.”
“You need a ride to pick it up?”
“I figured one of Wiley’s salespeople could give me a lift.”
Rebecca smiled. “I could drive you.” Then as if she remembered the last
ride they’d taken after she’d wrecked his car, she hesitated. “That is,
if you’re not afraid.”
Her words triggered a knot of anxiety that he felt in his stomach. He
wasn’t afraid to ride in the car with her.
But becoming more involved with her scared the bejammers out of him.
After all, she’d been on his mind all day in Atlanta, even while he’d
danced with that doctor.
Hell, he’d never been so poleaxed by a female before that he’d held one
woman while wanting another.
“Just let me make sure Gertrude has a ride home.”
Thomas nodded and followed her over to her friend. Rebecca smiled; Jerry
and Gertrude seemed to be hitting it off. In fact, Jerry had slung his
arm along the back of her folding chair, and she had leaned into him as
they swayed to a slow country tune. She tapped Gertrude and whispered an
apology.
“I’m going to give Dr. Emerson a ride to his car.”
“Something going on with you two?” Gertrude whispered.
I’m not sure. “I owe him, since I’m the one who wrecked his Porsche in
the first place. Do you think-“
“I’ll give Gertrude a lift,” Jerry offered with a wink.
Rebecca grinned. “Great.”
A flutter of nerves attacked her as Thomas followed her to her station
wagon. Of course, she sensed half the town’s single women giving her the
evil eye. She was sure they all wondered what Thomas Emerson was doing
with her.
Stop that, she ordered herself, remembering the positive talk she’d read
about in the self-help book she’d bought last week. Go after what you want.
And I want Thomas.
“H…” She paused and took a deep breath to keep from stuttering. And to
keep herself from driving like a maniac. “Hannah said you had a seminar
in Atlanta.”
He fastened his seat belt. “Yes, it was really interesting.” He filled
the next five minutes describing some of what he’d learned.
“Wow, it sounds fascinating. I read an article on stem-cell research the
other day and found it amazing.”
They talked for several minutes about the research, then he confided
about visiting the Lackey baby. “He survived the first surgery but only
time will tell about his prognosis.”
Emotions strained his voice, and she instinctively reached out and
squeezed his hand, which sent shards of sensations flitting through her.
He seemed to stiffen, though, and she pulled away, unsure he welcomed
her overture.
“Dr. Zimmerman, one of the leading doctors in fertility treatments,
spoke yesterday,” he said.
This was her moment. She should ask him now about donating sperm. Only,
after that kiss, could she settle for an impersonal donation?
“I don’t understand this trend for single women to have babies on their
own, though. It’s understandable when a spouse dies or there’s a
divorce, but to choose to bring a baby into the world without a
father…” He shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s fair to the child.”
She tightened her fingers around the steering wheel. Maybe he was right.
Maybe it wouldn’t be fair of her to have a fatherless baby. “But not
every woman finds the right man to marry,” Rebecca argued. “Or wants to
get married.”
“That’s true. What do you have against marriage, Rebecca?”
She was shocked by the question. “N-nothing, really. B-but I’m not sure
it’s for me.” What else could she say? I want to get married, Thomas,
and I think you’d make the perfect husband. I have my bride’s book
ready, now all I need is my bridegroom. “A lot
of men today have commitment problems. And look at my father. He’s been
married four times and the last two barely lasted a year.”
He twisted his mouth sideways in thought, then surprised her by changing
the conversation to the weather. It was almost as if they were
strangers. As if he had never shown up at her house that night and bared