“What have you been up to all day?” Diana asked, addressing Nick as soon as he and Joy stepped into the parlor that evening.
“I’ve been running a newspaper.” Nick winked at Joy. “Trying to, anyway. I might have done better if your sister hadn’t forced me to eat anchovies at lunch.”
Joy’s smile was forced. She’d been happily keyed up since they’d had lunch together, but now that he was about to tell Diana that he’d finally settled down, Joy’s spirits flattened right out.
“A newspaper?” Diana questioned, confused.
“The East End Journal,“ Nick responded, giving a glance to the fourth party in the room. There was a young man standing on a stepladder closing a paint can. Nick didn’t think Joy was picking up on it, but the painter was giving her a thorough once-over. Every fiber of Nick’s body went on alert.
“Formerly the Greenport News,” Joy said.
“I don’t get it,” Diana said, as the painter got down from the ladder.
“Hey, Joy,” he said, flashing her a look—a look that Nick was clearly reading as predatory. He wasn’t liking this one bit!
“Hey, yourself, Eddie,” Joy said while Nick watched her smile at the painter. To Nick that smile seemed to have come to her easier than the smile she’d given him moments ago.
“I still don’t get it,” Diana said again.
“I haven’t seen you dress this way for a day at the slave den before,” Eddie said, giving Joy a provokingly sexy grin, then a low whistle.
Nick ground his teeth almost to the point of needing emergency dental treatment.
“Yeah…well,” was Joy’s lackadaisical response while she tried not comparing herself to Diana. Even in humdrum textured slacks and a plain white shirt rolled to her elbows, Diana was a knockout. Joy wouldn’t have traded Diana for any other sister in the entire world. But the three inches of height Diana had over her was aggravating Joy right now. Couldn’t Diana have at least one shortcoming?
Forcing her thoughts away from her sister, Joy asked Eddie. “How’s the rock and roll business?”
“Happening, babe. Happening.”
Nick watched “Mr. Happening” drop his eyes to briefly explore, for a second time, the fit of Joy’s turtleneck top across her pert breasts.
Joy finally turned to Nick. “Oh, Nick…this is Eddie DeMarco. Painter by day. Rock and roll singer by night. Eddie, this is Nick Tremain. My new boss and Kevin’s brother.”
“Your new boss?” Diana asked, still bewildered.
Eddie raised a paint-covered palm toward Nick’s face. “I’d shake hands with you, but—”
“No problem.” Nick ground out a casual smile, taking adversarial note of Eddie DeMarco’s cocky physical characteristics. What did Joy know of Eddie DeMarco’s nights? Did she go for guys with ponytails?
“Will someone please answer me?” Diana looked from Nick to Joy, then back to Nick.
Just then Emily Mackey pushed open the door from the kitchen. “Dinner is ready. Hurry up. All of you. There’s nothing worse than a lukewarm roast. Eddie, haven’t you changed and washed up yet?”
“I’m going right now, ‘Mom,’” Eddie bantered.
“I’m just going to change my clothes,” Joy said.
“Need any help?” Eddie teased Joy as Mrs. Mackey stepped back into the kitchen.
“No, thanks,” Joy answered sassily.
Eddie’s advances toward Joy had Nick steaming as he started out behind the two of them. Nick got to the front hall and was about to go upstairs to change out of his suit when Diana waylaid him.
“Nick Tremain, you tell me what is going on.” Diana placed her hands firmly on Nick’s shoulders after moving in front of him.
“I bought the Greenport News,” Nick answered distractedly, his blue eyes following Joy as she went up the stairs with Eddie DeMarco at her side. Nick could tell Eddie was saying something to her, but he couldn’t hear what it was. Whatever it was, it brought another smile to Joy’s lips. Nick ground his teeth again.
“You bought Joy’s newspaper!” Diana exclaimed. “Does that mean you’ve given up being a vagabond?”
Nick inattentively nodded his head while he continued eyeing Eddie and Joy. He’d been congratulating himself since this morning at getting her to stay at the paper. He hadn’t factored in any romantic competition into the picture.
“This is going to be good for you, Nick. I just know it is.” Diana looped her arms around Nick’s neck to give him a hug.
It was that embrace that Joy saw as she turned at the top of the stairs and glanced over the railing.
“See you in five,” Eddie said.
Joy forced her eyes off Diana and Nick down below and waved distractedly to Eddie. Heavyhearted, Joy walked to her bedroom.
“Have you told Kevin?” Diana asked as Nick released himself from her embrace.
“Not yet,” Nick answered, doing some more wrestling with his stupidity. Hell, it wasn’t like Joy had given him any sign of interest since he’d returned.
“Kevin is going to be very relieved,” Diana was saying. “He worries a lot about his baby brother.”
“I worry about him. It’s been just the two of us for years now.” Nick didn’t allow himself to dwell on the car accident that had robbed them of their parents eight years ago. Instead, he pushed as he always did to remember the rich, full happy life his parents had enjoyed together. It was that kind of happy marriage he wanted one day for himself.
“You don’t have to worry about Kevin,” Diana said. “You’d better hurry up and change if you’re changing. Mom does hate serving a roast lukewarm.”
Nick started for the stairs, then stopped and turned back. His hand came down from the tie he’d just started to loosen. “Does Eddie DeMarco have dinner here often?”
“Pretty often. Mom’s sort of adopted him since he’s been working here. I’ve been using him for over a year now with all my clients. He’s got a truly artistic eye for color. I’ve never seen anyone paint the way he paints. He just about makes love to the wall.”
Nick gave the knot of his tie a further pull. “Has he got something going with Joy?”
“Do you mean are they involved?” Diana made a twirling motion with one hand.
Nick nodded his head tightly.
“Joy’s gone out with him. He is great looking, but it’s hard to tell with Joy. Since the guy she went with in college she hasn’t dated anyone more than three times. If I’m counting correctly, Eddie’s had his allotment.”
“Is she carrying a torch for the guy she went with in college?” Nick disquietingly picked out what seemed to be the most salient point.
“If Joy’s still in love with Paul Reeves, she’d tell me. We tell each other everything,” Diana answered. “Now, you’d better hurry up if you’re going to change.”
Up in her bedroom Joy replaced her panty hose with white athletic socks and her skirt with a pair of body-hugging jeans. And she’d left her clingy white-ribbed turtleneck on.
Joy glowered at herself in a full-length mirror after tying her sneakers.
“Idiot!” she scolded her reflection. She’d already shown off her meager attributes to Nick all day long. Diana beat her out there, too, by inches.
Though she’d had a head start, Nick was already in the kitchen when Joy came through the door. She was the last one down. Eddie was kiddingly pestering her mother by making faces into a steamer pot of broccoli. He’d changed from his painting clothes to clean jeans and a T-shirt under a tan flannel shirt that he’d left hanging out and unbuttoned.
Joy’s eyes skidded past Eddie to Nick as he stood involved in a conversation with Diana. He’d swapped his suit and dress shoes for jeans, a navy pullover sweater and boots. He looked loose, casually hip and incredibly sexy. He was sexy no matter what he wore. Or didn’t wear—like last night in the kitchen when he’d been lethally nude from the waist up.
Joy’s mind went to dreamland, where having Nick fall in love with her was wholly achievable. She even added a few inches to her measurements while she was at it.
“You’ve got enough to deal with right now,” Nick was saying to Diana, while meeting Joy’s gaze for a fraction of a second before she turned her head away. He’d been aware of her the instant she’d walked into the room.
“If I concentrate any more on the wedding, I’m going to make myself crazy,” Diana responded. “Let me scout for you. I know your taste.”
Emily Mackey put the roast on a platter. “Everyone to the table.”
Eddie was already seated and waiting.
“Let me get that,” Nick said, moving from Diana to lift the roast off the counter. “I can’t say I haven’t yearned for home cooking, but I wish you hadn’t fussed. My staying here is making extra work for you.”
Joy took in the truly appreciative look on Nick’s face. It was the sweetest look she’d ever seen on a guy.
“I am not fussing. I love having a houseful.” Emily Mackey earnestly dismissed Nick’s concern as she ladled the broccoli into a serving dish. “You could do something for me, though. You could do the carving.”
“Sure,” Nick replied and brought the roast to the table while Joy spooned mashed potatoes from a pot to a bowl and Diana went to the refrigerator for the salad that was already cut up.
Standing, Nick began carving as Joy, Diana and Mrs. Mackey took their seats with all the fixings for dinner on the table.
“What are you going to scout around for?” Joy asked Diana.
“A house for Nick. One he can lease with an option to buy.” Diana looked up at Nick. “Something modern, right?”
“No.” Nick shook his head. “I’m not into modern at all.”
“Something old and with character,” Joy said, reflecting her own taste.
“Exactly,” Nick responded with a smile. He was surprised, but not shocked that they thought alike.
“Do you have any plans for tonight?” Eddie asked Joy, bringing Nick out of his reverie.
“No,” Joy answered listlessly.
“How about coming with me to Gillie’s in Westhampton? I’m going to be singing there for a week starting tomorrow night.”
“Well…”
“Come on,” Eddie coaxed. “I could use your help checking out the acoustics.”
Joy considered the evening ahead, being in the company of Nick and Diana as they talked about houses. “All right,” Joy answered carelessly.
Nick clenched his jaw. What had happened to her three strikes and you’re out?
With a white-knuckled grip on the carving knife, Nick hacked at the next slice of meat.
“I think we have enough meat to start with,” Emily said to Nick.
“Do you have any plans for tonight?” Nick asked Diana as he took his seat. He wasn’t about to be stymied.
“No.” Diana shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t get to see Kevin at all during the week.”
“How about we join Joy and Eddie?” There was one thing Nick was sure about. Eddie DeMarco was all wrong for her.
Joy held her breath. God, he was smooth. Nick was going to have Diana dating him again with barely a crook of his finger. He had innocence down to a science.
Eddie made an unsuccessful attempt not to look vexed at being aced out of his plan to be alone with Joy. Nick had no trouble at all noting Eddie’s irritation.
“Sounds like fun,” Diana replied.
Joy turned to her mother. “Mom, how about coming along?”
“I have my evening all planned out. There’s a movie on TV that I want to see. Besides, I don’t go to places named Gillie’s. You all go along and have fun.”
Fun? Joy thought. Not likely.
The music was blasting as they entered Gillie’s, compliments of a platinum blond female singer with a tinny voice, accompanied by a bass player, synthesizer and guitarist. Nick couldn’t imagine acoustics being any concern. Gillie’s took up no more than two small storefronts in the strip center where it was located. Then again, Nick didn’t think for one minute that acoustics had been on Eddie’s mind when he’d asked Joy out for the night.
They walked to an area of tables set around a stampsized dance floor where a few couples grooved to the beat. Almost all of the tables were empty. The action was at the bar, which took up most of the space.
After everyone had removed their coats Eddie grabbed Joy’s hand before any of them could sit. “Come on, let’s dance.”
“Diana?” Nick invited, instantaneously choosing between sitting at the table watching Joy dance with Eddie from a distance or watching her with Eddie DeMarco at close range. He was rankled either way.
Diana’s eyes lit up. “I’d love to dance.”
Nick fit Diana conservatively in his arms. Over Diana’s shoulder, Nick’s eyes went to Joy and Eddie. There was nothing at all conservative in the way Eddie was maneuvering to hold Joy. Nick saw Joy place a firm hand against Eddie’s chest, staving him off, claiming space for herself. And with that Nick breathed easier.
“It’s funny how things work out,” Diana said, smiling philosophically with her head tipped back to look up at him. “You buy the Greenport News, and I wind up engaged to Kevin.”
“Who would have thought it,” Nick said inconse-quentially, finding it easy enough to lead Diana to the music, though his attention was focused on Joy and Eddie.
“You can take your hand off my chest.” Eddie gave Joy an exasperated look. “I won’t pull you any closer if you don’t want me to. I do understand that some women need a lot more time than others. Right?”
“Right.” Joy presented a quickly fading smile. She did bring the hand in question up from his chest to his shoulder. But she kept her elbow at the ready.
Eddie squeezed Joy’s other hand—the one he had pinned down at her side. “What’s the story with Nick Tremain?”
“What do you mean?” Joy felt Eddie slide the hand he’d had between her shoulder blades just a bit lower.
“Is there something more between the two of you than employer and employee?” Eddie’s hand moved another small inch down Joy’s back.
Joy sucked in her breath. “He’s my boss and his brother is going to marry my sister. That’s all there is between us.”
Eddie’s hand progressed another inch down Joy’s spine. “Call it a vibe but I think he’s interested in you. And I don’t mean just as an employee or friend.”
Joy nearly laughed. “You don’t know how ridiculous that is.”
“How ridiculous is it?”
“He’s in love with someone else.” Joy went from almost laughing to wanting to cry.
“Someone you know?”
“Yes,” Joy answered miserably.
“Diana?”
Joy’s eyes popped. “What made you say Diana?”
“She told me this afternoon about Kevin’s brother showing up and that she’d been engaged to him.” Eddie’s roving hand got closer to the small of her back..
Joy neither denied nor confirmed Eddie’s speculation. She let it hang. Just then Joy caught Nick’s eyes glancing her way, and because he happened to be looking, Joy gave Eddie her flirtiest smile. She wanted Nick to know that there were men who found her attractive. Not that there was any point to his knowing.
Eddie smiled back seductively. “Bet he’s the type to try and get Diana jealous by coming on to you. She goes for his brother. He goes for her sister. Maybe that’s the vibe I’m getting.”
“He is not going to do anything of the sort.” Joy rousingly admonished Eddie’s sophomoric attitude. “He’d never stoop to trying to make Diana jealous with me. Could you bring your hand up a little?” Joy requested in a firm, determined voice as Eddie’s fingers began to spread intimately below her spine.
“I don’t get it, Joy,” Eddie grumbled, bringing his hand up. “You’ve been giving me signals.”
Joy guiltily considered Eddie’s remark. He was absolutely right. She had given him signals. “Didn’t you say yourself that some women need more time?”
Eddie issued a groan. “Is there any chance of anything happening between us in this lifetime?”
Joy gave Eddie a conciliatory “Mona Lisa” smile, which made her feel even more guilty. Playing the game she was playing wasn’t like her. Testily, Joy placed the blame on Nick.
“Most women find me very sexy.” Eddie quirked a sexy corner-of-the-mouth smile. “Especially when I’m on stage singing. I had a woman throw me a pair of panties once. It happens to Mick all the time. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.”
“Mick?” Joy inquired, doing her damnedest to make it seem like she was impressed.
“Jagger…Rolling Stones. He’s my idol.”
“Right. Jagger.”
“Are you going to come and hear me sing?”
“Sure,” Joy answered. “I’ll get a whole group together.”
“How about coming alone? I’m on a real high after I sing.”
Joy’s gaze collided again with Nick’s. “I’ll have to think about it,” she said, guiltily working another superficially vampy smile on Eddie.
“Kevin is going to be wearing a monkey suit and so are you,” Diana insisted. “You are going to be part of the wedding party now that you’re here, even though Kevin couldn’t reach you in time to name you as his best man. He really did want you to be his best man. It would have been great with Joy as my maid of honor and you as Kevin’s best man.”
“Who is Kevin’s best man?” Nick was sorry he wasn’t standing up for his brother. Who was going to be escorting Joy? Had Diana invited Eddie DeMarco to the wedding?
“Rick Farrell. You know Kevin’s partner, don’t you?”
“Yes. Kevin and Rick go all the way back to law school. I remember Kevin being Rick’s best man when Rick got married a few years ago.”
“Rick is divorced now. I’m hoping that Rick and Joy hit it off. I can see Joy with Rick. He’s got a sharp mind. He’s lots of fun and he’s very nice-looking.”
“I can’t see Joy with Rick,” Nick said, doubly frustrated now. “He’s too old for her.”
“Eleven years is not necessarily that much of a spread. I know it won’t bother Joy. Anyway, I’ve added another bridesmaid just for you. Rachel Harmon. She’s Joy’s best friend. Joy and I have mostly the same friends.”
Diana’s voice went up a notch. “I just realized I haven’t told Joy yet that I added Rachel to the wedding party this morning. I was worried that Rachel would be put off that I was asking her to be a bridesmaid at the last moment, but she was fine about it. You’re going to like Rachel. I told her all about you.”
“Forget it! I don’t want to be matched up.”
“Snap out of it, Nick,” Diana said ruefully.
“Snap out of what?” Nick’s frustration peaked. “I’ve had this conversation with Kevin. I’m fine about the two of you.”
“I’m glad you’re fine about us,” Diana replied placatingly, though she didn’t look convinced. “Are Joy and Eddie still dancing?”
“They’re still dancing,” Nick answered tautly, as Diana craned her neck to look for herself. Seeing Joy smile at Eddie again, Nick became even more tense than he already was. He wasn’t consciously aware of himself counting, but that had to have been the sixth time she’d smiled at Eddie.
“I think Joy may be more interested in Eddie than she’s been letting on to me,” Diana commented.
Nick told himself that if Eddie had been at all right for Joy, he’d stop chasing her himself. But Eddie wasn’t at all right for her.
Nick gave a brief thought to letting his hair grow long enough for a ponytail.
“I don’t believe it!” Diana said. “Kevin just came in. He’s looking for us.” Diana and Nick stopped dancing to wave to Kevin.
Seeing Diana and Nick waving to Kevin, Joy stopped in her tracks, bringing Eddie to a halt.
“I called the house,” Kevin said, approaching both couples. “Your mother told me where you’d gone.”
Diana moved from Nick to Kevin. “Did you finish your work?”
“Enough to get me by in court tomorrow.” Kevin put his arm possessively around Diana’s shoulders. “I got off the phone with your mother and I was sitting there thinking of you being out with this brother of mine.” Kevin raised an eyebrow at Nick.
Nick put his hands up and smiled. “I’ve been a perfect gentlemen. You can ask Joy.”
Joy’s gaze darted to Nick. If he was at all bothered by Kevin showing up, he wasn’t revealing it. Sure, he’d been acting proper with Diana since they’d gotten here. But what about the drive over? They’d come in two cars. Nick had insisted on driving. Eddie had insisted on driving. Diana had mediated them into two cars.
“I’ll ask Diana, thank you,” Kevin rejoined.
Diana laughed. “Wait till I tell you what this brother of yours has been up to. And I don’t mean with me.”
“Hey, Eddie.” Gilbert Benson, the forty-nine-year-old, balding proprietor of Gillie’s, called to him from behind the bar. “Come here a minute.”
“Be right back,” Eddie said, speeding off at the summons.
“Can I get you to dance with me?” Diana turned coquettish eyes up at Kevin.
“I’ve promised to dance with you at our wedding.” Kevin smiled lovingly. “Can I get you to sit down with me?”
“Well,” Diana joshed. “Since you’ve promised in the presence of witnesses, I guess you can get me to sit.”
Nick gave some coins in his pocket a restless jingle as he looked at Joy. “What do you say we give these soon-to-be-married folks a little time to themselves? How about dancing with me?”
Joy’s stomach immediately lurched, while her heart began pounding against her ribs. His question had stopped her from following Diana and Kevin as they started for the table.
“Well…I…ah…” Joy stammered.
Nick held on to Joy’s gaze with his eyes. “You can’t put a man through what I went through at lunch, then refuse to dance with him.”
“The anchovies?” Joy asked dumbly, doing what she could to catch her breath. He was giving her the sexiest smile imaginable.
“Damn right! The anchovies.” Nick put his arms around her and brought his body closer to hers, then waited for her to acquiesce.
With her heartbeat driving hard and fast at her throat, Joy brought a hand up to dangle tentatively around his neck. He joined his fingers lightly at the hollow of her spine. Joy placed her other hand on his shoulder. His head dropped down. Hers lifted up.
Keep it slow, Nick mentally telegraphed to the blond singer on the platform.
Don’t let him know how I feel, Joy silently begged, making herself as stiff as she could.
“Did I tell you how much I like the suggestion you gave me to do a series on the new East End economics?” Joy asked in a nervously rapid speech while he started swaying with the sensuous beat of the music. Were their feet moving? Or was it just their bodies? A whole series of heated fantasies were flashing in her head, all of them with Nick Tremain in the leading role, in varying stages of undress.
“I only came up with the suggestion from something you said. That makes it all your idea,” Nick murmured.
“No. It was your idea.” The shoulder of his sweater was wonderfully soft against her chin. “I don’t even remember what I said to give you the thought.” Her fingers were close to his hair. She wanted to touch. Just one quick touch. Could she do it without him knowing?
“You were talking about wineries—that started the ball rolling. I just gave your idea a broad stroke. It wouldn’t be anything without your punchy title… ‘Secrets of the new East End economics—people and families.’ I love it.”
Joy felt Nick’s lips brush up against her cheek. She was certain it was accidental, but in the state he already had her in, it was more than enough to make the small steps she was taking go all haywire. Her foot tangled with his. She had to clutch his shoulder with the hand that was already there and grip his neck with the crook of her arm so as not to lose her balance. For half a second he teetered with her before steadying both of them.
“Okay now?” Nick asked gently, pulling his head back to see her face. He studied the pink, flustered cheeks and the way her eyes self-consciously cast about for someplace to center on other than him.
Joy could have died on the spot. She was that embarrassed. “It’s hard for me to dance this way,” she said, trying to mitigate her klutziness. She’d never tripped over herself this way before.
Nick reached up for the hand behind his neck and changed their position to a more conventional dance pose. From the corner of his eye, Nick saw Eddie leave the bar and head over to them. Was Eddie the reason she’d suddenly protested about the way they’d been dancing?
Joy concentrated her gaze on their meshed hands, wondering if he could feel the riotous jumping of her heart all the way through her fingers.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Eddie said, his voice startling Joy, causing her to nearly trip again before Nick stopped them entirely.
“Gillie asked me to help him out behind the bar tonight,” Eddie said to Joy. “One of his bartenders didn’t show. I tried saying no, but you know how it is. Gillie’s acting like he’s about to change his mind about giving me and the boys this gig. I’ll be done by one, one-thirty at the latest, and then I’ll take you home. You can sit at the bar and wait for me. I could shoot myself for letting Gillie know I’ve bartended before.”
“Don’t worry about Joy,” Nick said, more than happy now that Diana had pushed them into two cars. “I’ll drive her home. This way she can leave when she’s ready to leave.”
Eddie shot Nick a glare that didn’t disturb Nick in the least.
“Hey, Eddie,” Gillie yelled over. “Put a move on it.”
“Come sit at the bar,” Eddie coaxed Joy. “Keep me company.”
“It looks like it’s pretty rushed at the bar right now,” Joy responded, much to Nick’s delight.
“Eddie,” Gillie paged again, even more impatiently.
Eddie put a hand up toward Gillie. “If I don’t get to spend any more time with you tonight, I’ll see you at the house tomorrow when you get home from work. By the way, I’m going to be around for a while. I don’t know if Diana told you, but she’d asked me to paint all the bedrooms in the house after the wedding. Don’t tell your Mom. Diana and Kevin want it to be a surprise.”
Nick groaned under his breath, thinking of Eddie having a ready-made excuse to be around Joy even after the wedding.
“That’s nice of Diana and Kevin, isn’t it?” Joy smiled to Nick after Eddie hurried off.
“Real nice.” Nick spoke through his teeth.
Joy looked toward the tables. “I guess we should go join Diana and Kevin.”
Nick shook his head. “I didn’t get a whole dance. You still owe me.”
“I only made you eat one small taste of anchovies,” Joy said impudently, but already turning into his arms before he changed his mind.
Nick put a testing hand out, palm upward to accept Joy’s hand. It wasn’t the way he wanted to dance with her.
Joy put her hand in his, letting her other hand fall limp at her side, deciding not to let her fingers anywhere near his hair again.
Nick started them both off in an unhurried rhythm.
“Oh, Nicky,” Kevin razzed from the table. “The group just signed off for a break.”
Joy blushed. She hadn’t realized the music had stopped.
Nick raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Just what I need. A brother with a big mouth.”