There was another unmistakable hesitation before her mother said, “You just let us know when you’re coming, Jeanette.”
This time Jeanette didn’t even try to stop her sigh. Just once she’d hoped for some warmth, some sign that her parents missed her and wanted to see her. Instead, her mother sounded more as if she needed to be warned if her daughter was about to appear on the doorstep. Or maybe Jeanette had simply grown too sensitive to the nuances in her mother’s voice. She’d come to expect rejection and found it in every word.
“I’ll let you know, Mom,” she said, resigned to ending another disappointing call. “Good to talk to you.”
“You, too,” her mother said.
It was only after she’d hung up that she realized her mother hadn’t asked a single question about how she was doing or what was going on in her life. The lack of interest stung, even after all these years. She still recalled a time when she’d run in the backdoor after school, filled with news of her day, and her mother had put cookies and milk on the table and listened to every word. She’d seemed to treasure those afternoon talks as much as Jeanette had. Now they could barely manage a five-minute conversation and most of that one-sided.
“If I sit here one more minute, I’ll start wallowing in selfpity,” she muttered aloud, grabbing her purse and heading for the door.
Two hours later she was sitting in a Charleston multiplex with a giant box of buttered popcorn, a diet soda and a box of Junior Mints. The movie, a heavily promoted action flick, barely held her interest. Even so, it was an improvement on sitting at home all alone on a Sunday afternoon thinking about her dysfunctional relationship with her parents, a relationship she had no idea how to mend. As she was exiting the theater, she heard a familiar voice and turned to see Maddie’s son Kyle and several of his friends, accompanied by Cal.
“Wasn’t the movie awesome?” Kyle asked her enthusiastically. Cal interceded before she was forced to reply. “Something tells me Jeanette might have preferred a romantic comedy.”
Kyle looked puzzled. “Then why did she go to see this movie?”
Cal met her gaze. “I don’t know. Why did you go to see this movie?”
She shrugged. “I figured it would be fast-paced and exciting.”
He gave her a knowing look. “Which appealed because it would keep your mind off other things?”
She frowned at him. “You realize, don’t you, your intuitive questions are sometimes almost as annoying as your wife’s.”
Cal laughed. “What can I say? Maddie’s rubbing off on me. By the way, we’re going for pizza at Rosalina’s on the way home. Maddie’s meeting us. Want to come along? It’ll kill a little more time, if that was your goal.”
The idea held some appeal, but the drawbacks outweighed the benfits. “And subject myself to further interrogation? I don’t think so.”
“Hey, are you kidding? With this gang, plus Jessica Lynn and Cole, the adults will be lucky to be heard. Come on, Jeanette. No questions allowed. I’ll make sure of it.”
She grinned. “When Maddie’s on a mission, there’s no stopping her. And lately she seems to be determined to pry into my life.”
“Obviously you’re not aware of the toddler effect. Maddie is too busy chasing after Jessica Lynn to have time for much else. Mealtimes are no longer the serene part of the day you may recall, especially with Kyle’s friends along.” Jeanette noted that Cal seemed perfectly happy with that, content even. He’d taken to being a stepfather and then father to his own two little ones without missing a beat. Based on his promise and a memory of the amount of chaos Jessica Lynn had created on her last visit to the spa, Jeanette relented, partly because the popcorn had hardly been a substantial meal and partly because the prospect of good company was a vast improvement over staring at the TV and rehashing the unrewarding conversation she’d had with her mother.
“In that case, I’ll meet you there. Pizza sounds good.”
Cal gave her a considering look. “It’s a long drive, lots of time for second thoughts. Do I need to have Kyle and a buddy ride along with you to make sure you show up? Once I’ve told Maddie you’re joining us, I don’t want to have you renege.”
She frowned. “I won’t change my mind. You don’t need to send an escort.”
He nodded, satisfied. “See you there, then.”
Jeanette watched as he strode off with the teenage boys, then went to her car. Outside the parking garage, she lowered the convertible top, popped in a CD and let the music blast. By the time she hit the outskirts of Serenity, she was windblown, but her mood had improved by leaps and bounds. Good thing, too, because the first person she spotted when she entered Rosalina’s was the sexy stranger who’d been on the porch at The Corner Spa…and he was seated with Maddie. Tom was holding the doll Jessica Lynn Maddox had shoved into his arms when he looked up and saw his mystery woman standing just inside the door. She was staring across the room directly at him, and for just an instant he had the distinct impression she was about to bolt. Instead, Maddie Maddox was out of her seat across from his and charging across the room, Jessica Lynn on her heels, screaming, “Jeanette, Jeanette,” as if they were long-lost friends. He was left to warily eye the baby sleeping in his carrier next to him. He had plenty of experience with his sister’s kids, but mostly after they were past the diaper stage. He’d never bought the idea that infants weren’t as fragile as they looked.
By the time Maddie returned to the table, her hand clamped rather firmly around the other woman’s wrist, Tom was on his feet.
“Jeanette, I’d like you to meet Tom McDonald, the new Serenity town manager,” Maddie said, almost shoving Jeanette’s hand toward his. He clasped it instinctively.
“Tom, this is Jeanette Brioche, who runs the spa operations at The Corner Spa.”
“Hello again,” he said, holding her soft hand just a little too long. Her smooth skin was a walking advertisement for the spa’s treatments.
Though her dark eyes were wary, she smiled and said,
“Nice to know my first impression wasn’t too far off the mark.”
He blinked. “Oh?”
“I told Elliot, our personal trainer, that you looked trustworthy,” she explained. “Even though you’d been peering in the windows of the spa alarming the women.”
Maddie regarded him with shock. “You did what?”
Tom winced. “It wasn’t the way it appeared. I was looking for a place to have a good workout. I was told the spa was only for women, but I wanted to see for myself if I could join. Jeanette intercepted me outside and made it very clear that I couldn’t.”
“Sorry,” Jeanette said, though her voice lacked sincerity.
“Just enforcing the rules.”
“Maybe you and Cal can team up and get something similar going for the men in town,” Maddie suggested.
“That way I won’t have to pretend I don’t know he sneaks in there late at night.”
“I don’t suppose you’d let me sneak in with him, would you?” Tom asked wistfully.
“Not a chance,” Jeanette said sharply, drawing a look from Maddie. “I just mean, Cal’s one thing. He’s married to an owner. But if we let you sneak in, then someone else will ask, and the next thing you know we won’t have a special place for women.”
He grinned at her rapid-fire explanation. “For a minute there, I thought maybe you had something against me personally.”
“How could I?” she said. “I don’t even know you.”
“We could change that,” he suggested, and had the satisfaction of seeing her blush.
“I don’t think so,” she said tightly, though yet another sharp glance from Maddie had her adding, “Thanks, anyway.”
He just stared at her for a moment before pulling out the chair next to his. Before Jeanette could sit down as he’d hoped, Jessica Lynn scrambled onto it and tugged on his arm. “I’m hungry,” she announced. “Where’s my doll?”
“Right here,” he said, picking it up off the seat of his own chair and handing it to her. Conceding the fact that Jeanette would be sitting elsewhere—probably as far from him as possible—he leaned down and confided to Jessica Lynn,
“I’m starving, too.”
“Count me among the starving,” Jeanette chimed in, surprising him.
“Then let’s order,” Maddie said. “Cal should be here any minute with the boys.”
“Where’s Katie?” Jeanette asked.
“At a friend’s house, in theory doing homework. I have my doubts—the Grahams have a pool.”
Tom regarded Maddie with curiosity. He’d already digested that there was an unmistakable age difference between Maddie and her husband—probably a good ten years—but it also sounded as if they had a large family. And Cal was only around his age—early to midthirties. “How many children do you have?”
“I have five,” Maddie told him. She gestured at Jessica Lynn and Cole. “These two are mine with Cal, but I have three from my first marriage. Ty’s a sophomore at Duke. Katie, as I mentioned, is with a friend tonight, and Kyle will be here any minute with Cal.”
“And you manage the spa full-time?” Tom asked, impressed.
“And does an amazing job of it,” Jeanette added.
“Women are great multitaskers.”
Tom frowned at the note of censure in her voice. “I’m aware of that. I’m just trying to learn who does what in Serenity.”
After shooting a bewildered look in Jeanette’s direction, which suggested there would be questions for her later, Maddie said, “Well, you’ll be happy to know that Jeanette is an organizational wizard herself. She’ll be our representative on the Christmas festival committee. Will you be chairing that?”
“Yes,” Tom said. Suddenly the prospect of planning the town’s holiday celebration didn’t seem as dismal as he’d anticipated. He still thought there were better uses of his time, but if it threw him together with Jeanette, it couldn’t be all bad. Right now, though, she was regarding him with undisguised suspicion.
“Since you and Maddie clearly don’t really know each other, what are you doing here?” Jeanette asked as if he’d crashed the party.
Maddie’s expression went from bewildered to dismayed at Jeanette’s rudeness. “I invited him,” she said. “And before you ask, it was Cal’s suggestion. He called on his way home and said he’d run into you at the movies and invited you to join us. He thought it would be nice for Tom to get to know a few people in town.”
Jeanette didn’t look entirely satisfied with the answer, but she sat back and hid behind her menu. The continued high color in her cheeks was the only thing that gave away her embarrassment.
Once Cal arrived with the boys, the tension at the table dissolved, primarily because there was no way Tom and Jeanette could be expected to communicate with each other. It wasn’t until they were on their way out to the parking lot that he had a chance to speak to her privately. As the others drove off, he deliberately lingered beside her.
“I’m sorry if my being here tonight was a problem,” he said, studying her intently. “Have I offended you in some way? When Maddie called, I had no idea who else would be here. I was just tired of staring at the four walls of my room at the Serenity Inn, so I seized on the chance to get out for a meal and some conversation.”
She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve behaved like an idiot, but you don’t know Maddie that well yet, or her partners. They…meddle.”
Ah, the picture was getting clearer. “Inveterate matchmakers, huh?”
“You have no idea. It was amusing when they were focused on each other, but now they seem to be turning their attention to me. It’s humiliating, to say nothing of unwelcome. And it’s really embarrassing to see you put on the spot the way you were tonight.”
“I wasn’t embarrassed. It made my day when I looked up and saw you crossing the restaurant. I’d been hoping to run into you again.”
His response only seemed to aggravate her. “I don’t date,” she said emphatically.
Tom wasn’t half as put off as she’d clearly intended for him to be. She’d inadvertently created a fascinating challenge for him. He’d always excelled when told that something was beyond his reach.
“I imagine there’s a story behind that,” he said, holding her gaze until she looked away.
“Several of them, unfortunately.”
She started to walk away, but he stayed in step with her.
“We’ll have to get together sometime so you can tell me about it.”
Her lips twitched. “Wouldn’t that constitute a date?”
“Not if we don’t want it to,” he said seriously. “Two friends commiserating over a good dinner and a bottle of wine could be perfectly innocent.”
“Not if one of those ‘friends’ is you,” she said. “I may be wrong, but somehow I don’t think there’s anything innocent about you.”
Tom didn’t even try to deny it. “It’s the dimple, isn’t it?”
he said with exaggerated dismay.
“You, Mr. McDonald, are entirely too full of yourself. Something tells me you’re a player.”
“I was always told that self-confidence is a good trait. Did I get that wrong?” he asked worriedly.
“You say self-confidence,” she teased. “I say arrogance.”
“I’ll work on that,” he promised.
“We’ll see.”
“Hey, I’m all for self-improvement, especially if it means you’ll eventually say yes to having dinner with me.”