Manny didn’t seem amused, eyes on the road. No reaction to speak of.
Rebecca knitted her brow. “He’s going to be there, right? Aren’t I going to meet your best friend today?”
“Oh yeah, he’ll be there.” He paused and gave her a look she couldn’t read. “We had this thing between us. It’s fine, but shit got kind of weird and…”
“What, like a fight?” She leaned forward. “Over a girl? Over the girl who broke your heart?” Rebecca nodded her head, letting it all take shape in her mind. “Did he steal her away from you?”
“No…not that.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask any more questions. I can already see your nose twitching. Do you know you do that when you get stressed?”
“I’m not stressed.”
“OK, but if we’re spending the weekend with Kyle, you’d better wear mittens, because I think you could scratch that thing right off of your face.”
“I thought we were done talking about Kyle.”
Rebecca pinched her fingers and ran a zipping motion across her lip. Then she pressed the scan button. Deborah Harry of Blondie crooned through the speakers in her signature smoky voice. “Ooh, I love this song! My mom used to play it all the time. Gotta love the eighties!”
Manny shook his head at the silly way her arms undulated like a wave with the music, and Rebecca was happy to see his shoulders come back down from scarecrow level. A mystery rift between friends she could deal with. She just hoped to God the bitch who broke Manny’s heart wasn’t going to be there.
* * *
Manny gave in to that crazy wiggling thing she was doing next to him and laughed out loud. He sang along with her, forgetting how tone deaf he was. She could do that to him—make it OK to just be himself and forget everything else. That wasn’t the only thing she had in common with Kyle Hunter.
As they neared the Hunter estate, nostalgia fell over him in a rush. He had great memories of that sprawling stone house, where he had spent lots of summers before his mother got sick and almost every holiday after she died. Olivia had opened her home to him and his shrinking family with a level of generosity no one would have believed a politician was capable of. Kyle’s family had practically adopted Manny, and Jeanette right along with him.
He was suddenly ashamed for not informing any of them about his Nana’s passing. It was a selfish move, hoping to avoid a face-to-face with Kyle. It had been wrong, and the first thing he’d do when they arrived was apologize for it.
Olivia wouldn’t have had it any other way. “Manny Tescadero! How could you?” She pulled him into a hug even as she chastised him. “I adored that woman.”
“Don’t make him feel any worse, Mom,” Kyle said. As Manny struggled to breathe, Kyle reached his hand out to Rebecca. “And so you must be the woman Manny’s been keeping in his apartment.”
“Well, when you put it like that…” She smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Rebecca Sinclair.”
Olivia left Manny alone to appraise Rebecca. “She’s beautiful, Manny. How did you get so lucky?”
Rebecca blushed, and a shy smile crept onto her pink lips. Manny fell a little more for her in that one moment. Yes, she was beautiful; combined with a wry tongue and the sweetest humility, it all blended to damn near perfection.
Without warning Kyle grabbed him, the way he always had, into a firm bro-hug that ended with a slap on his back. It shouldn’t have felt awkward, but with Rebecca staring, it couldn’t have been anything but.
“So glad you came,” Kyle said.
“I’m so glad you arrived early,” Olivia added, signaling one of the servants waiting discreetly at the door. The man silently took Manny’s and Rebecca’s bags and proceeded up the stairs. “My campaign manager has a few new ads we’re testing, and I’m curious to get the youth voter’s take on them.” She called out down the hall. “Thomas, get the new spots ready. I’ve got a focus group here in my foyer.”
“Mom, Manny and I are almost thirty, and Rebecca…?”
“Not quite, but soon.”
“See, we’re more like responsible adults than the youth vote,” Kyle said.
“Oh, hush. To me, you’re babies.”
“We’ve been to war, Mom.”
She folded her arms and sighed. “Yes, my babies have seen the worst of this world. I’m so happy to have you back, safe. But in this house, you’ll always be my little men.”
Manny shook his head, and Kyle rolled his eyes. Rebecca looked entertained, to say the least.
No one noticed when Samantha Hunter entered the foyer until she spoke. “Hi, Manny.”
“Sam, you snuck up on me.” Manny gave her a big hug, which made her giggle a lot like the pixie-sized teenager that he remembered. “Finally home from your studies abroad?”
“Finally home from that god-awful war?”
“Samantha!” Olivia growled.
Sam huffed and turned to Rebecca, with her hand held out. “I’m Kyle’s sister.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Have you two been dating long?” Samantha’s blond ponytail swung as she turned to give Manny a pointed look. “I mean you only just got back.”
“Still that sweet, soft-spoken girl I knew.”
Samantha rolled her eyes. “Manny, I spent four years in Paris. You don’t survive if you’re soft-spoken. Besides no one would have believed I was American.” She sized up Rebecca, but twisted her lips in Manny’s direction. “OK, spill it.
Rebecca laughed, like only a woman worth her own salt would. “I don’t know, Manny, are we dating?”
He slipped his hand onto her shoulder. “We’ve been on a date. I would say that counts for something.”
“That was only four days ago.”
Manny nodded. “You’re right, less than a week. I guess I’ll leave it up to you to decide, Sam. You seem to be good for making assumptions.”
Sam folded her arms and nodded. “Mmm-hmm. I am.”
Kyle took Sam by the waistband of her designer skinny jeans. “Mom,” he called out. “Sam wants you to go over her wardrobe choices for this afternoon.”
She play punched him in the ribs. He let her go with a snicker.
“I’ll get you for that,” she said to him and then assured Olivia she was coming. One last sneer over her shoulder in Kyle’s direction and she disappeared up the stairs. Same old Sam.
* * *
Once Rebecca finished staring at the massive leaded-glass windows, the grand double staircases of dark walnut, and the twinkling triple-tier chandelier in that first room of the Hunter family home, she realized that all eyes were on her. This may have been Kyle’s family, but Manny fit in like one of their own, and she felt they were all sizing her up. Samantha was downright obvious, while Kyle had been stealing glances at her the entire time. Olivia turned out to be surprisingly warm given her iron-lady reputation. Rebecca saw a glimmer of hope for breaking through to her about funding the special collections department and saving her job.
Kyle Hunter was every bit as handsome in person as she’d expected. “Golden boy” seemed like a good description with his blond wind-tossed hair and even tan. The sleeves of his cotton oxford shirt were folded neatly on his strong forearms and revealed a surprisingly large tattoo that made her second-guess her first impression of this prodigal son of corporate royalty and a US senator. She lingered on the letters marking him in big black block characters: USMC. As they walked through the house, Kyle rolled down his sleeves and buttoned them neatly at the cuffs. Now he truly looked like he’d been born on a golf course. The idea made Rebecca giggle.
They continued into the den, which smelled of oiled leather and faintly of cigars. A large and rather mechanical-sounding man invited them to sit. Olivia’s campaign manager had few words for any of them, even Kyle, whom she was sure he must know very well. They followed instructions, taking the pads handed to them and writing down the first thoughts that came to their mind after viewing the thirty-second ad. Rebecca was in the midst of trying to find a nice word for
stiff
when a tall, slender man in a golf shirt walked into the room, twirling a cigar in his fingers.
“Oh, this is rich. Where am I supposed to watch the tournament?” the man said. He swept the room with his gaze. Rebecca noted a handsome face with fewer wrinkles than his neat, silver hair suggested he should have. His glacier-blue eyes lit up. “Manny! Olivia mentioned you might be coming.”
“Good to see you, Gavin. This is Rebecca.”
Rebecca waved. “You must be Kyle’s dad? Can’t miss the resemblance.”
Both Kyle and Gavin flashed her the same surprised and mildly amused expression.
“I’m better looking.” they said in unison and everyone chuckled, except for Thomas. Rebecca glanced at Olivia’s campaign manager and wondered if he even knew how to laugh.
Gavin’s expression shifted. “I was sorry to hear about Jeanette.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Gavin gave Manny a firm nod and then turned toward the only other person in the room who wasn’t family or an honorary member. “Thomas, I don’t care what my wife told you, I’ll be watching that golf tournament in exactly five minutes and will continue for as long as I can possibly manage before she comes to drag me out for the meet and greet.”
Rebecca detected a sneer forming at the corner of Thomas’s mouth.
“We’ll be finished shortly.” A tight smile appeared, and the sneer never materialized. Practiced perfection.
“Good, I’m getting a beverage,” Gavin said and tapped his cigar on a pile of hardcover mystery novels before heading out.
Kyle raised his eyebrows at Rebecca. “Well, now you’ve met all of us. You sure you want to stay the weekend?” He tucked his lip under his teeth in a way that seemed familiar. She’d seen Manny with the same habit. The habit of biting his lip was just as adorable on Kyle. How many hours had these two spent together that their mannerisms had worn off on each other? Thousands. Tens of thousands. They’d been roommates since boarding school, watched each other’s backs at the borders of hell, and returned in one piece. Suddenly Rebecca was very glad to have met Kyle and his whole family. Saving her job had been the reason she had come, but she suspected she was genuinely going to enjoy herself.
But when people started arriving, Rebecca started to get nervous. Manny was swept up into an endless string of introductions that had no room for a week-old acquaintance. Rebecca stepped over to the bar and wondered if anyone would notice if she asked for a double. Her phone chimed just in time to give her something to do with her hands. It was Wilson texting her another invitation. This time for tennis.
Just want to hang out, no pressure
, it read.
Unless you’re into that kind of thing
.
She texted him back,
Sorry, I’m out of town
. Telling the guy to scram just seemed harsh. What had he ever done but be nice to her? It wasn’t his fault she found him boring and dry. When she got back she’d let him down easy, explain that she only wanted to be friends. But friends played tennis, didn’t they? So that wasn’t really true either. She tapped her finger on her chin, thinking of another way to say take a hike. Beat it? Oh, great. Now that song was stuck in her head.
Samantha joined her, pointing across the yard with a lazy finger in the air. “You might not see Manny again until this little shindig is over.” She took a sip of what looked like an iced tea.
“I was actually hoping to have a chance to talk to your mom.”
“Good luck with that.”
Rebecca sighed and signaled the bartender. “What are you studying in Paris?”
Sam flashed her a genuine smile. “Fashion.”
“That’s exciting! Are you working toward becoming a designer?”
The smile turned conspiratorial. “I design lingerie, the kind that costs a fortune and should come with a warning label.” She cast her eyes in Olivia’s direction, beyond the veranda. “My mother has no idea.”
Rebecca lowered her voice in turn. “So what does she think you’ve been studying?”
“I started out in international law, but it bored me to tears.”
“Oh.”
“I need to break the news to her soon. Can I trust you to keep this to yourself for now?”
“Sure, but I have to say I’m surprised you told me. We just met. How do you know I can be trusted not to say anything?”
“Manny is probably the best character witness a person could have. I get good vibes from you too.” She tilted her head. “If you want, I’ll show you my latest samples. I’d love to know what you think.”
“I’d be honored.” Now Rebecca dipped her head with a secretive smirk. “I love lingerie that needs a warning label.”
“How about now? No one will miss us, believe me, not with the two war heroes around.” She thumbed toward Manny and Kyle as an elderly couple posed for a picture with them. “Besides, Mother prefers not to take the chance I’ll embarrass her by saying something I truly think.”
Rebecca took another glance around the landscape of pastel clad partygoers. No, she wouldn’t be missed and Olivia was far too occupied with making the rounds to listen to anything Rebecca had to say. She’d have to find a moment later to try to plead her case. “Sure, why not?”
They took the back stairs off the kitchen. Sam’s room was still on teenager time, all hot pink and black and white polka dots, like something out of a candy shop.
“Please don’t say it. I don’t really live here anymore.”
Rebecca shrugged. “Cute, for a fifteen-year-old.”
Sam ran to the closet. “These, I assure you, are for no one under twenty-one.” She pulled a Louis Vuitton duffle bag from the back and placed it on her bed. The first piece she arranged on the zebra-print comforter was a navy-blue sheer corset bra with black velvet boning and trim. Two princess-cut rhinestones sparkled from the center of the plunging neckline. The matching thong was little more than three strips of black velvet and a triangle of sheer navy ultrafine mesh. It was one of the most beautiful sexy-girl getups Rebecca had ever seen.
“See, the push-up supports are hidden where the velvet trims the cups,” Sam said, proudly.
“Oh my God, I love this.” Rebecca couldn’t resist running her fingers over the delicate fabric.
Sam pulled out a black lace-and-silk number and a third with champagne-colored boning on chocolate-brown velvet. They were beautiful, but Rebecca found herself holding the navy corset bra up for a closer look.