“Don’t know how you can get so worked up over a piece of furniture,” his father groused. “When are we going to eat? I’m starving.”
Tom tried not to let his father’s attitude get under his skin. “If you don’t mind a little exercise, we can walk to Sullivan’s from here,” he told his parents. “There’s no point in moving the car.”
“Whatever you say,” his mother said, then cast one last approving look around the room. “You know, dear, it would be so much lighter in here with new drapes. What do you think? I’d love to do that for you. Something bright, but tasteful, of course.”
“I’m not sure I could accept that,” Tom said.
“You can’t accept a gift from your own mother? That’s ridiculous. It’s not as if I’m expecting special treatment in return. I don’t even live here.”
He smiled at that. “Okay, perhaps I’m being too much of a stickler for the rules. First let me see if anyone would object to new drapes for the town manager’s office. I’ll let you know.”
Back outside, they set off for Sullivan’s, his father striding ahead, even though he didn’t have the slightest idea where they were headed. He finally paused at the corner and glanced back. “Right, left or straight?”
“Straight ahead. It’s two blocks up on the left,” Tom told him.
His father gave a curt nod of acknowledgment and walked on.
“I don’t know what gets into him,” his mother commented with a rueful shake of her head. “He was looking forward to this, but he’s not going to admit that to you.”
“I wouldn’t expect him to,” Tom said dryly. Anything less than a suite in the congressional office building in Washington wouldn’t meet with his father’s approval. His mother fell silent, her expression perplexed. “I still can’t get over the feeling that I’ve seen that young woman before. How odd, since I’ve never been to Serenity.” She brightened. “Oh, well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.”
Tom hoped not. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to have some preconceived impression of Jeanette that she couldn’t get past. Then again, it was already plain as day that Jeanette held her own impression of his mother, and it most definitely wasn’t a good one.
“That woman all but accused me of deliberately scarring her for life!” Jeanette said to Maddie, still steaming from her near miss with Tom’s mother. “And to think that Tom is that awful woman’s son!”
“You’re not going to blame him for what his mother did, are you?” Dana Sue asked as she put the finishing touches on a huge bowl of fresh fruit.
“No, of course not, but can you imagine what would have happened if she’d seen the two of us together? She’d probably have skewered me with whatever sharp object she could find in her purse.”
“I don’t think rich society matrons from Charleston carry a lot of sharp objects,” Helen said wryly.
“You never met Mrs. McDonald,” Jeanette grumbled.
“Actually I have,” Helen reminded her. “Years ago at a charity event.”
Jeanette waved off the comment. “I’ll just bet she carries some kind of weapon around in that Gucci bag of hers.” She leveled a look at each of her friends in turn. “I hope this puts an end to any matchmaking ideas you all have. Clearly there is no way I can date the spawn of a woman like that.”
Helen laughed, but then swallowed it guiltily. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it. Spawn? Who says that about a man, especially one as gorgeous as Tom?”
“You know what I mean,” Jeanette retorted. “I cannot possibly date him, not when I want to stab his mother in the heart.”
“You seem a little obsessed with the whole sharpobjects thing,” Maddie said. “Here, have a margarita. You’ll feel better.”
“And you’ll be more mellow when Tom gets here,” Dana Sue added. “It’s probably not wise to let him see you like this, especially when the person you’re so worked up over is his mother.”
Jeanette took a gulp of the very strong drink, but it did nothing to settle her nerves. Struck by a thought, she turned to Dana Sue. “They were having lunch at Sullivan’s. You worked today. Did you see them?”
Dana Sue nodded reluctantly. “Tom introduced us.”
“And?”
She shrugged. “They raved about the food.”
“Well, of course they raved about the food,” Jeanette said. “It’s fabulous. Watch your back, though. If her stomach gets the least bit queasy in the next twenty-four hours, she’ll probably sue you, too.”
Maddie patted her shoulder. “You’re not getting mellow. Have some more of your margarita.”
Jeanette took another swallow of the icy, tart drink and waited for the alcohol to kick in. “I should have confronted her, that’s what I should have done. Instead, I ran off like a scared rabbit.”
“You were trying to avoid a scene that would embarrass Tom,” Dana Sue said. “There’s nothing cowardly about that.”
“Besides, the lawsuit incident is behind you. Bella backed you up, so no harm was done,” Helen said. “Of course, if you want me to file a suit against her for defamation of character, I can probably do that.”
Jeanette stared at her. “I can sue her?”
“Well, you could have at the time,” Helen said. “I’d have to check the statute of limitations.”
Maddie scowled at Helen. “Would you stop stirring the pot? Nobody’s suing anybody. The whole thing is over and done with.”
Jeanette was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol at last. She sighed. “You’re probably right.”
“Of course I am,” Maddie said. “Besides, a lawsuit would be bad publicity for The Corner Spa.”
Helen winced. “I should have thought of that. What’s wrong with me? I’m spending way too much time at home playing mommy and not nearly enough in a courtroom ripping apart the bad guys. My head for business is turning to mush.”
“We love the new, more serene you,” Maddie soothed.
“You finally have some balance in your life.”
As if on cue, Sarah Beth’s cries could be heard from the baby monitor on the kitchen counter.
“I’ll get her,” Jeanette offered, wobbling just a little as she stood. “Boy, I really do need to move around.”
She grew steadier as she walked down the hall to the baby’s nursery, which was as lavishly decorated as anything ever seen in a decorating magazine or designer showcase. Helen might have waited until her forties to have her first child, but she’d gone all out once she’d had Sarah Beth. Every piece of pristine white furniture was top-of-the-line. Every pink accessory had been chosen from the fanciest boutiques in Charleston. A dresser was filled with designer clothes that the six-monthold girl would outgrow in no time. And, like her mother, she already had an assortment of shoes for every occasion, from mary janes to tiny sneakers in every color of the rainbow. The baby had pulled herself to a sitting position, her blue eyes filled with tears. Her soft curls were in a tangle, her diaper sodden. Jeanette’s heart melted at the pitiful sight.
“Hey, angel, looks to me as if you could use a diaper change and some fancy duds for the party,” she said. Sarah Beth held out her arms to be picked up, a tearful smile breaking across her face.
Jeanette made quick work of changing her, then put her into the ruffled pink gingham dress that Helen had laid out. She added lace-trimmed socks and shiny pink shoes, then ran a soft brush through her curls.
The interlude calmed her nerves and pushed the near miss with Mrs. McDonald to the back of her mind.
“Okay, baby girl, let’s go to a party,” she said, picking Sarah Beth up and holding her close just to breathe in the powdery scent of her. The powerful emotions that swept through her whenever she held Sarah Beth, Jessica Lynn or baby Cole scared the daylights out of her. She wanted this. She really did.
Just not enough to risk her heart.
It was after dinner before Tom was able to corner Jeanette alone in the kitchen. She’d been very adept at avoiding him and now he called her on it.
“I have not been avoiding you,” she claimed defensively.
“I’ve been helping Helen and Erik.”
“The table’s been wiped clean, the dishes are in the dishwasher and everyone has an after-dinner drink,” he said. “I think they can spare you for a few minutes.”
“Okay, fine. What do you want to talk about?”
He gave her a wry look. “Gee, what do you think? The weather?”
“I am not discussing your mother with you.”
“Do you want me to get the story from her?”
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard her version already.”
“She didn’t recognize you,” he said.
“Of course not,” Jeanette scoffed. “I was just some little nobody who ruined her life, at least for the day or two it took for the hives to go away.”
Tom’s lips twitched.
“It wasn’t funny,” Jeanette said.
“No, I’m sure she didn’t think so,” he agreed.
“I wasn’t exactly roaring with laughter myself. She could have ruined my career, Tom. Baseless accusations or not, Bella could have fired me and word would have spread about what happened and not one single reputable spa would have risked hiring me. Women talk. They spread the word about stuff like that, and pretty soon, there wouldn’t have been a spa in the state that would have wanted me anywhere near their clients.”
“But none of that happened,” he reminded her.
“Not the point,” she said, her tone unyielding. He studied her hard expression. “Bottom line—is this going to be a problem for us?”
She frowned at that. “There is no us. There never will be.”
“Really?” he said, trying not to smile.
“Absolutely not.”
“I could prove you wrong.” he said, and watched indignation stir in her eyes.
“Really?” she mimicked.
He backed her up until she was trapped between him and Erik’s professional-grade Sub-Zero refrigerator. “Really,”
he said, his gaze locked with hers. “Want me to tell you how, or should I just show you?”
She swallowed hard and alarm flared in her dark eyes.
“Don’t do this,” she whispered.
“What? This?” he asked, lowering his mouth to hover over hers. He waited as she sucked in a nervous breath, then covered her mouth, plunging his tongue inside, tasting her, taunting her. With one hand braced on either side of her and nothing touching except their lips, he kissed her until she melted against him, her fingers digging into his shoulders, her hips swaying into his.
Then, when he least expected it, she shoved him away.
“No,” she said, all but quivering with outrage. “No more. This can’t happen.”
He held up his hands and backed off. “Jeanette, you were as into that kiss as I was.”
“A gentleman wouldn’t remind me of that.”
“Darlin’, I never claimed to be a gentleman.”
She studied him with a perplexed expression. “Why are you doing this? You hardly know me.”
“I’ve been trying to change that,” he reminded her.
“Why?” she asked, looking mystified.
He thought about it. “You intrigue me,” he said eventually. “You’re strong and stubborn, smart and beautiful. I have to be on my toes around you.”
“In other words, I’m a challenge—especially since I keep rejecting you.”
“It’s not just that,” he insisted. “I want to know everything about you. I can’t explain it any better than that.”
“Well, you’re going about it all wrong. Getting me into your bed is about sex. People getting to know each other start by dating.”
Tom struggled to hide his amusement. “You vetoed that idea, remember? So I had no alternative but to go at this from another direction.”
“By trying to seduce me?”
“It was a kiss, not a seduction.”
“Well, it felt like more than a kiss,” she retorted.
“If you want, I could go for a full-fledged seduction so you can do a comparison,” he offered.
“Absolutely not!”
He grinned. “Oh, well, it was worth a shot. I’m trying to be cooperative.”
“Cooperative?” She chuckled despite herself. “I suppose that’s one word for it.” She shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I have a list,” he told her. “And a head full of some pretty provocative ideas.”
“I’m sure you do, but I doubt I’d approve of most of the things you’re thinking.”
He saw an opening he doubted she’d been aware of.
“Most? Does that mean there might be one or two things I could get away with trying?”
“Tom!” Again, she regarded him with bewilderment.
“Why are you pushing this? And no flip answers this time. I really want to know.”
His expression sobered at once. He wasn’t entirely sure he could explain it himself, but he could see that he needed to try.
“Because from the very first time I saw you, I was drawn to you,” he began. “And every encounter since then has raised more questions than have been answered.” He touched a finger to her cheek, brushed back a curl of dark brown hair. “I’ll be honest with you. Finding a woman was not in my plans when I came to Serenity. I wanted to spend a few years here being the best town manager possible, and then I wanted to move on.”
She froze at that. “I see,” she said stiffly. “So I’m supposed to provide a convenient diversion for however long you choose to stick around and then wave goodbye when you take off? I don’t think so.”