Summer Kisses (91 page)

“He had to quit piano lessons because of his family’s financial situation. His parents felt like they were depriving the world of the next Liberace.”

“If that’s the direction he was headed, he’s lucky he had to quit.” He sipped his orange juice. “It saved him from wearing all those sequins.”

Her breath caught in her throat. He’d made almost the same joke Matt had about it. She poured the water from the carafe into the coffeemaker. “The point is, Tommy’s father was never unhappy.”

“Well, there’s the crux of our argument, isn’t it? You’re citing what your husband felt about it. Why don’t you consider what your son feels?”

She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t like how much time he’s spending at the piano. He hasn’t done anything else in three days. His life shouldn’t revolve around a bunch of little black marks and eighty-eight keys.”

Mac’s eyes narrowed to two slits. “This isn’t simply concern for him, is it? You actually sound
resentful
.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I am. He’s spending all his time with you at that piano. I said you could be a father to him. I didn’t mean you could steal him from me.”

He gathered her close and kissed her hair. “Shhh....I’m not trying to take your son. I just want you to share him with me. Give him time. The novelty will wear off.”

She sobbed into his shoulder. “On top of that, you’ve got Tommy doing everything for himself. He doesn’t need me at all anymore.”

Mac kissed the tears from her eyes. “I understand. I really do. If I’d been the center of Tommy’s universe for the last six years, I wouldn’t want to be pushed to an outer orbit, either.”

“I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes. “I’m being selfish, aren’t I?”

 “No. You’re being a mother. But your son is growing up, Abby. He’s going to need you less and less. As soon as we’re sure about us, I’ll give you half a dozen babies. Then it won’t be so hard to let Tommy go.”

His words shattered her composure like a boulder hurled at a window. She wrenched herself away from him and dashed to her bedroom. Once she locked the door, she threw herself face down on the rumpled bed and sobbed. She hadn’t felt this empty since Tommy was born and all her dreams of a large family died.

After nearly losing her son, she should just be grateful to have him, but she couldn’t accept the empty void in her belly that graciously. Tommy was the only child she’d ever have. Mac could never understand how hard it was to let go of her only baby. And there wasn’t a doubt in her mind Mac would leave as soon as he found out she was only half a woman.

It was a no-win situation. If she told him now, he would undoubtedly leave her. But if she waited, she might fall in love with him. Then when he rejected her, her heart would break.

Or worse yet, what if he fell in love with her? She’d never deceived a man this way before. It wasn’t fair not to tell Mac about herself. She just didn’t know how to do it without scaring him off.

The thought of him walking away was already too painful to even contemplate. And what would it do to Tommy?

~*~

Matt stared at the empty hallway in shock. What had he said wrong? He followed Abby’s sobs to her bedroom and knocked on the locked door, jiggling the knob. “Sweetheart, let me in.”

“Just go away, Mac. Now,
before
you hurt me.”

“Why do you think I’d hurt you? Come on, Babe, open up.” Dead silence followed, broken only by a sniffle. “Abby, please. I don’t understand.”

When she still didn’t answer, he wandered back to the kitchen in a quandary. There had to be more eating her besides her feelings about Tommy and the piano. Other than their dispute over their son’s musical training, everything had been going great.

He picked up the phone’s receiver. Whether Abby liked it or not, he intended to find his son a first-rate music teacher.

~*~

After speaking to the dean at Julliard, Matt called Bernard Heller, an ex-concert pianist who apparently had opened a renowned music academy in Bucks County. When he heard about Tommy’s progress over the past three days, Heller was eager to see him right away—so much so, he’d offered to come to the house that very evening.

Somehow Matt had to find a way to prepare Abby so she didn’t slam the door in the guy’s face. Of course, he had to get her to talk to him, first.

The house needed another few hours to dry out from the previous evening’s rain. So, after calling a piano tuner and leaving messages at the two employment agencies he’d registered with, Matt tromped down to the basement to work.

Shortly before noon, the overhead lights flashed. He turned off the drill and heard Abby calling him to the phone. He trotted up the steps, praying it was about a job. He took the receiver from her and laid a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks, Babe.”

Rob’s voice surprised him. “Hey, Matt, I wanted to call you and thank you for giving me Kate’s number.”

“You called her, already?”

“I not only called her, I also talked her into meeting me for a drink last night.”

Apparently the good doctor was as lonely as Matt suspected.

“You weren’t lying about her legs. We talked until five this morning.” Robert yawned. “I’m so damn tired I’ll be lucky if I don’t pull the wrong tooth and get sued.”

“That’s great. Not about being sued, of course. I had a feeling the two of you would hit it off.”

“Well, I decided your generosity deserves a little quid pro quo. One of the patients I saw this morning was Donald Albright, the director of personnel at TDI Electronics. The cutting-edge technology TDI has developed in the last ten years has made them the Holy Grail for engineers in the biomedical field. You have an appointment to see Albright at two today, if you want it.”

“Are you crazy? Of course, I want it. Did you tell him my memory’s been compromised?” Matt released a cynical snort. “Or were there some sharp instruments involved in persuading him?”

Rob laughed. “He knows all about your situation.”

“And he still wants to see me? Thanks a bunch. I owe you.”

Matt hung up and explained to Abby what Rob had done. “So I guess I’ll have to forget about painting today.”

She slid her arms around his waist. “I’m so happy for you. Go get cleaned up while I put lunch on the table.”

“Thanks.” He kissed her gently and cupped her chin. “What were you so upset over earlier?”

“Nothing. I was just being an unpredictable female.”

Or it was almost that time of the month. At least she was talking to him again.

After planting a kiss on her cheek, he trotted into the bedroom, whistling. He couldn’t get his hopes up too high. His chances of landing a position at such a giant in the industry were slim, at best. The interview was probably just the result of a guy placating his dentist. After all, saying no to someone holding a drill wasn’t wise. Although, even if Rob had threatened to withhold the Novocain, he’d at least gotten Matt a chance to step up to the plate. Now it was up to him to hit one out of the park.

He showered, shaved, and put on his suit. After fishing two copies of his résumé out of the duffel bag, he folded the pages into thirds and slipped them inside his jacket.

Abby smiled at him from the doorway. “Lunch is ready whenever you are.”

He patted his pocket, making sure he had a pen. “Thanks.” He tossed the duffel bag into the closet and followed her to the kitchen. A steaming bowl of vegetable soup and two tuna sandwiches sat at his place. “That doesn’t look like it came out of a can. When did you have time to make soup?”

“I took it out of the freezer while you and Peter were holding your little peace powwow this morning.”

“I’d think you’d be happy your brother and I’ve become friends.”

“I am. I guess I’d simply like to know what you said to make him act so out of character. And to Rob, too, for that matter. Peter’s been acting like an overprotective father since my dad was killed.”

“He feels responsible for you.”

Abby rolled her eyes. “That’s an understatement. You should see the way he behaved when he caught Matt kissing my breast after our first date.

No. It’d been their second date
. Suddenly, the image of Abby hanging on her brother’s arm while Peter attempted to clobber him flashed through Matt’s head. As quickly as the memory took shape, it disappeared like a phantom.

She shook him gently. “Mac, you zoned out on me again.”

“Huh?” He settled into his seat at the table. “You kept Pete from beating the crap out of him, right?”

“How’d you know—”

“It only makes sense.” He took a sip of his soup. “Especially since you obviously liked the guy enough to let him take second base on the first date.”

She stared at him a moment. “Matt called it that, too.”

His big mouth just never quit putting him on the spot.

“All guys do.” He mumbled past a mouthful of sandwich. “Of course, what Matt was doing should probably be classified as leading off of second. Third base is—”

“Okay. I get the gist. Matt told me he considered it our second date since he’d come for dinner the night before.”

Somehow he’d known it hadn’t been their first date.

“I had to ask him to kiss me goodnight. He told me he’d planned to go for second base when he’d asked me out. But I think he fell in love with me that night.”

“Fell
in love
with you?” He sputtered, nearly choking on his soup. “Don’t you think maybe he was giving you a line? Using reverse psychology?

Her forehead puckered. “Reverse—”

“You know, tell a girl he changed his mind about seducing her, and then let her ego do the rest. No woman likes to think a fellow can resist her.”

“No. Matt wouldn’t have done that. Even the night I conceived Tommy, I had to talk him into making love.”

“There you go.” He waved his hand toward her. “That just supports my argument. I’ll wager he didn’t put up much of a fight, did he?”

Tears spilled over the rims of her eyes. “Why are you trying to make me question whether my husband really loved me?”

Was that what he was trying to do? “I’m sorry, Sweetheart, it’s not intentional.”

Maybe he hoped if he destroyed Abby’s fairytale memory of the man she once loved, she’d be able to see him as he really was now when she learned his identity.

“I guess I’m just a little jealous. Come here.” Matt stood, pulled her to her feet, and gently brushed her lips with his, sipping her sweetness. It wasn’t the sensuality of their kiss or even the tiny whimper he elicited from her that got him so worked up. It was the memory of holding Abby naked, feeling her warm breath in his ear, and hearing her gasps of pleasure.

He squeezed her tightly and groaned. “Baby, I’d give anything to stay here and make love to you all afternoon.”

Drawing back, she narrowed her gaze. “So is that your line? Make me think you’d give up getting a job in exchange for an afternoon in my arms? Do you think I’ll be so impressed I’ll change my mind about slowing things down?”

“Is it working?”

She shook her head, wearing a half smile. “Not a chance. Besides, I have a fitting scheduled for this afternoon. Mrs. Dalton will be coming at two.”

“Lucky her.” He wiggled his eyebrows, grinding the beginnings of a hard-on into Abby’s stomach. “Say the word, and I’ll have you
coming
in the next few minutes, too.”

She chuckled and smacked him on the rear. “Go get yourself a job, pervert.”

~*~

Matt steered Abby’s GTO down the long driveway that twisted through the expansive green lawns surrounding TDI’s campus. His stomach did a series of flip-flops. At the security gate, the guard directed Matt to Donald Albright’s building and instructed him to see the director’s secretary, Denise Monroe, who turned out to be a shapely young black woman in her mid-twenties with big brown doe-eyes and a dazzling smile.

While cooling his heels nearly a half hour outside Albright’s office, he listened to Denise answer the phone and joke with the rest of the staff. She seemed to have a great sense of humor—and a naked ring finger. If he got the job there, he’d definitely have to set Leonard up with her. The woman would knock his socks off.

The longer he waited, the more nervous he became.
Please, God, cut me a break on this one
.

Abby’s benefits as his widow would be rescinded any day now, so if he had any hope of supporting his wife and son, he
had
to get this job. If he didn’t, finding the money for Tommy’s piano lessons would be the least of his worries.

When the secretary finally announced Matt at almost two-thirty, the personnel director stood and shook his hand. Albright had apparently already read his résumé.

The director settled in the leather armchair behind his massive desk and motioned for Matt to sit. “Rob told me about your background, so I guess a normal interview won’t reveal much in your case. I can hardly ask you to tell me about yourself, now can I?”

“All I can tell you is what’s on that résumé—or anything you want to know about electrical and mechanical engineering.

“That’s okay. This job has made me pretty good at reading people.”

“Well, I figured you only agreed to interview me because Rob had an electric drill in your mouth.” Matt chuckled. “The fact you’re meeting with me, knowing I have no memory, has me wondering if perhaps a little dental coercion was involved?”

Albright laughed. “Actually, I do have a little pressure on me to give you a chance. However, pain isn’t the motivating factor. Rob was my son Gary’s roommate in college. The hours he spent tutoring Gary is the only reason my son graduated. Rob’s a great guy, and I owe him. This interview is how he wants to be repaid. So when can you start?”

“Is tomorrow too soon?”

“Actually, we like to start our new-hires on Mondays. We have an employee benefit orientation. A week from today at eight o’clock will be fine.”

“You mean I’m hired? Just like that?” Matt snapped his fingers. “Don’t I have to interview with the prospective department manager?”

“Normally, you would. But in your case, we can skip that. We’re not taking much of a risk hiring you, Matt. You seem to have all the right qualifications, and you’ll be on a thirty-day probation just like any other employee. If your supervisor isn’t satisfied with your performance, the company will let you go during the first month. If you want the job, it’s yours.”