“You what!”
Serena winced at her best friend’s shriek and held the phone away from her ear for a second. Needing someone to talk to, Serena had curled up on her couch and called Lucy as soon as she’d stepped inside her apartment. She returned the receiver to her ear in time to hear Lucy say, “Start over again.”
“The Marine who came to Becky’s school’s Career Day bought my building. And I’m engaged to him.”
“To Bossy Marine Man who scared my little girl?”
“Yeah.” Serena’s voice sounded freaked even to her own ears.
“Is he there right now?”
“No.”
“Then get out the Pistachio Pistachio ice cream, I’m comin’ right over.”
“Thanks, Lulu.” Serena used the nickname she reserved for special occasions, and this one sure qualified.
She and Lucy had become friends as freshman college roommates at UNCW. Lucy had gotten pregnant and married after that first year, but she and Serena had remained very close.
By the time Serena cleared the junk mail from her pine dining table and got the ice cream out of the freezer and the bowls out of the cabinet, Lucy was knocking on her door.
The first thing she did was put her hand on Serena’s forehead. “You don’t feel like you’re running a high fever.”
“I’m not.”
“If you’re not delirious with a high fever then why would you say you were engaged to Bossy Marine Man?”
“His name is Rad Kozlowski.”
“That doesn’t sound like a Marine name to me. The Marines I know have solid, tough American names like Harry or Bud.”
“His name is the least of my worries.” Serena dug the red plastic scooper into the ice cream and dumped a sizable portion into Lucy’s dish and then another huge scoop into her own.
“What did he do to you?”
“He bought my building and then offered to cut my rent in half if I’d help him.”
“The rat buzzard. What did he want you to do? As if I couldn’t guess.”
Serena withdrew the spoon she’d just offered Lucy. “Before I tell you anything else, you have to swear you won’t leak a word of this to anyone.”
“I swear.”
“Not even your husband.” Serena waved the flat-ware for extra emphasis.
“What if we need him to beat up your Marine?”
Lucy’s husband Alec was built like a linebacker, because he was one. He’d played that position in college. “We don’t need Alec to beat up anyone. Now swear, on this carton of Pistachio Pistachio, that you won’t tell a soul what I’m confiding in you.”
Lucy solemnly placed her hand over the Ben & Jerry logo. “I swear. Now tell me what the rat buzzard wants you to do. Wait, let me eat a bite of ice cream first….”
Serena quickly did the same.
“Okay,” Lucy mumbled around the cold dessert. “Tell me.”
“He wants me to pretend to be his fiancée.”
Lucy frowned. “Is he gay?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For thinking the way I do. I thought that was his reason for asking me and he acted like I was crazy instead of it being a reasonable possibility.”
“So is he?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Oh yeah.”
“That’s a very emphatic reply. Care to tell me how you can be so sure?”
“He almost kissed me. This is definitely a guy who likes women. Which is the problem. It seems there’s a general’s daughter who’s been chasing him, and—”
“He’s using a fiancée as an excuse to get rid of her.”
“Something like that, yes.”
“Why you?”
“My name just happened to slip out because the girl confronted him right after I met him at the school and we had a run-in.”
“You didn’t tell me you had a run-in with him.”
After taking a huge bite, Serena dabbed at her chin with a paper napkin. “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”
“Clearly it made an impression on him—you made an impression on him if your name was the first that came to his mind.”
“Do you think I’m really stupid to go along with this?”
“You haven’t told me much about what ‘this’ actually is.”
“Pretending to be his fiancée.”
“For how long?”
“As long as it takes for her to lose interest. Look.” She waved the contract at Lucy. “He even had this drawn up so I would be assured that my rent would be reduced, both for the store and the apartment. It’s all here in writing.” She jabbed the document with her index finger and broke her nail in the process.
Lucy took the paper from her and looked it over. “It also says that this is not a real engagement and does not constitute a proposal of marriage. I’d say the guy was commitment shy.”
“He has nothing to worry about from me in that department.”
“Because you’re commitment shy too.”
“With good reason.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Yeah, maybe. You don’t really give most guys a chance to screw up. You dump them before they dump you.”
“It’s safer that way.”
“Not all guys are like your father.”
“Most aren’t sweet like your Alec.”
“Yet here you are engaged to a bossy military man, your worst nightmare.”
“Yes, but I’m not really engaged. This is just a simple business arrangement.”
“It’s a lie. And you better than anyone should know how messy things can get as a result of a lie.”
“I don’t want to talk about that now.” Serena was upset enough with the present situation. She really couldn’t emotionally afford to dig up her past mistakes at the moment.
“Okay. I’m just saying that things can get complicated.”
“I realize that. But I couldn’t pass this up. The economic reality is that I need this decrease in the rent. Things have been tough.”
“You haven’t said anything.”
“Because I don’t like focusing on the negative.”
“Yeah, you’re just Serena Sunshine.”
Serena stuck her tongue out at her.
Lucy grinned. “Well, you are. You always try to find the good in any situation.”
“That didn’t always come naturally for me. Quite the opposite. But I’ve made a concerted effort to learn to look for the silver lining.”
“Well, you’ve been successful at it. Except where it applies to guys.”
“Hey, I’ve dated several men recently, but none of them really made that big an impression.”
“Because you tend to go for the bland, bookish types.” Lucy brandished her empty spoon at Serena as a reprimand.
“Well, I sure don’t usually go for the dark, brooding Adrian Paul type.”
“Aha, so Bossy Marine Man is a hunk, huh?”
“He’s good-looking in a big, broad-shouldered, sexy-gleam-of-humor-in-his-eyes kind of way.”
“I thought you said he was the dark and brooding type.”
“He is. Then he’ll get this gleam of humor in his eyes and they kind of light up…” Serena paused as a vision of Rad’s face filled her mind.
“Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh what?”
“Your cat is eating your ice cream.”
“Bella, you little squirt!” Serena picked up the sleek, small gray cat and set her on the floor. “Now you know why I call her Bella-That’s-Mine. She thinks everything in this house is hers. Oshi would never dream of stealing my ice cream.” Serena had found the mother cat and her tiny kitten hidden near the Dumpster behind her building. She’d managed to coax the mom inside once she had the kitten in her hands. To her surprise, Oshi had taken one look around the apartment, walking around the perimeter to check things out, and then curled up on Serena’s favorite area rug and started nursing.
Serena had had the two of them for almost a year now, and had gotten both the mom and her kitten spayed. The two of them provided Serena with some much-needed company and plenty of laughs.
Bella licked her chops, her pink tongue swirling over her black whiskers, before jumping onto Serena’s lap where she curled up and started washing herself.
“Just be careful that you don’t fall for this guy. I know how you are about strays.” Lucy pointed at Bella. “Look at that cat. Living in the lap of luxury.”
“Rad isn’t a stray. He’s a completely self-sufficient Marine.”
“If he were that self-sufficient he wouldn’t have needed your help, now would he?”
“Everyone needs a little help now and then.”
“Help him and then get out.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Good. Just be sure you stick to the plan.”
The next morning Serena tried to focus on the fact that her rent was cut in half for the next year and not the fact that she’d agreed to pretend to be Rad’s fiancée for an indefinite period of time.
Focus on the positive. And stay away from the chocolate. After Lucy had left, Serena had eaten half-a-dozen dark chocolate lemon-cream truffles from her hidden cache in the Shakespeare cookie jar. But then it wasn’t every day that a girl got engaged, even if it wasn’t for real.
The young woman walking into The Reader’s Place in the low-riding jeans and skimpy designer T-shirt was for real, however. And she was looking around with the kind of dismissive attitude that immediately put Serena on edge.
Reminding herself that she was good with people, Serena was about to ask if she could help the woman when she spoke first.
“Does Serena Anderson work here?”
“I’m Serena Anderson.”
Instead of introducing herself, the woman frowned at Serena’s simple denim dress and sandals as if she were a fashion dinosaur.
“And you are?” Serena prompted her before reminding herself that getting aggravated with someone because they were younger, prettier and skinnier than you was not a good thing.
“My name is Heidi Burns. My father is General Burns.”
Yeah, I was afraid of that. “Hi, Heidi. Rad told me about you.”
Her face lit up. “Like seriously? He did? What did he say?”
Serena couldn’t tell the truth of course. “Just that you know about our engagement.”
“It’s kind of sudden, isn’t it?”
Serena just shrugged. It gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. She hadn’t expected Heidi to show up so quickly. When had she and Rad said they’d met? Her mind suddenly went blank. Why hadn’t she taken notes during their dinner last night?
“You’re not wearing a ring.”
“It’s being sized.” Serena had planned on stopping by a few stores later that afternoon to find something reasonable.
“So how did you two like meet?”
“Through a mutual friend.” That was right, wasn’t it? Wasn’t that what they’d finally decided? After the falling in love at first sight nonsense?
“A mutual friend?”
Serena nodded. Surely there had to be some advantage in being older than Heidi? Wasn’t she supposed to have more confidence and stuff like that?
Why, oh why had she eaten that carton of ice cream last night? And the chocolate.
Heidi probably never ate ice cream. She nibbled on lettuce to fit into those size zero jeans.
Or maybe, even worse, Heidi was one of those horrible people with a fast metabolism who could eat like a horse and never gain a pound. If that was the case, then Serena granted herself permission to really dislike Heidi.
At least Serena was taller than Heidi. Big deal. Guys didn’t lust after gawky giraffes, they went for the petite little things with big breasts.
And okay, yeah, Serena could hold her own in the bra-cup division—without any artificial assistance from implants or water bras, thank you very much. But her big breasts were matched with a big bottom. And while Jennifer Lopez might make that look appealing, the star was much tinier than Serena.
Okay, stop it. You cannot have a self-image meltdown in front of this girl. Healthy women have curves. You’re a healthy women with lots of curves. So stop with the criticism, Serena ordered herself.
“Who?”
“Who what?” Serena had lost track of the conversation, engrossed as she’d been in her own self-discussion bouncing around in her head.
“Who’s this mutual friend that introduced you to Rad?”
“No one you’d know.”
“How do you know that?”
Serena decided it was time to take control of things here and turn the tables on Heidi. “I’m honored that you’d come all the way out here to my bookstore just to meet me. You must care about Rad a lot.”
“Rad and I have like a very, very special connection.” Heidi’s smile indicated that that connection had been an intimate one.
All I did was smile at her. Serena replayed Rad’s words in her head. Had he lied to her? Was he faking this engagement to get off the hook after having an affair with the general’s daughter? If that was the case, Serena didn’t want any part of this—discounted rent or not.
But a closer look at Heidi revealed the fact that the younger woman couldn’t seem to maintain eye contact with Serena. Of course that could mean that Heidi was lying. Or it could just mean that Heidi was offended by what she clearly perceived to be Serena’s utter lack of fashion sense.
“He’s like never mentioned anything about you before yesterday.” Heidi obviously took great pleasure in pointing out that fact. And this time she met Serena’s gaze head on. Okay, so she was telling the truth with that statement.
“I’m not surprised that he didn’t mention me to you,” Serena replied.
“Why not?”
“Because Rad’s not the kind to go around talking about his private life with other people.”
Heidi’s frown indicated her displeasure over being lumped in with “other people.”
“You are so not his type.”
“What is his type?” Okay, so she was only human and the question slipped out before Serena could stop it.
“Brunettes with blue eyes and great bodies.”
Hah. Heidi had just described herself.
“Feminine girls,” Heidi added. “Not nerdy types who work in a bookstore.”
“I don’t just work here, I happen to own this bookstore.”
Heidi shrugged as if that fact were irrelevant.
Don’t let her get to you. Ignore the fact that she’s a petite size zero and you struggle to stay a size ten. Okay, a size twelve.
“I’m going to own my own business someday,” Heidi announced.
“Really? What kind of business?”
“I don’t know. Like, I haven’t decided that part yet. Something more exciting than a bookstore.”
“Naturally.”
“People don’t always take me seriously just like…just because I’m like beautiful. That doesn’t mean I’m dumb.”
“Of course not.” Shallow maybe. Not necessarily dumb.
“I’m a very ambitious person.”
“I’m sure you are.”
They were interrupted by the arrival of Clay Twitty entering the bookstore. It was only then that Serena realized that a customer could have overheard her conversation with Heidi. Then she had to remind herself that she hadn’t actually said anything unkind to Heidi, she’d just thought it.
“Hello, Clay.” Serena smiled at him, glad for a break.
Clay was her computer expert. Occasionally he helped out in the store, but his field of expertise was maintaining the store’s Web site. He’d just started his freshman year at the local community college. With his pale skin, freckles and red hair, Clay was your typical nerd.
But he was also a male, which meant that his tongue was just about hanging out as he gazed at Heidi in silent adoration.
The object of his desire appeared accustomed to such things and gave no indication that she even noticed Clay after initially dismissing him. “Rad and I have that in common,” Heidi continued as if Clay weren’t there. “We’re both ambitious. We have so much in common. Outsiders can’t understand military life.”
“My father was in the military.”
Heidi gave her another one of those demeaning I-am-so-much-more-fabulous-than-you-are looks. “Enlisted? Army?”
The girl had ESP. The evil side of Serena wanted to lie and say no, her father was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the White House. That same evil side wanted to bury the general’s daughter under a pile of Harry Potter books. The weight alone would squash Heidi. What chance did a size zero have against a nine-hundred page tome? Just one or two books would probably do the trick.
“That doesn’t mean you could like understand what Rad and I share,” Heidi continued. “The Marine Corps is different. When you get to know Rad, I think you’ll understand like how things are.”
“I already understand how things are, Heidi.”
Uh-oh. Heidi frowned at her suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“Just that Rad is my fiancé.” Not that he told me you’re chasing him and he only got engaged to me to fend you off.
“Whatever.” Heidi was clearly not completely convinced.
Great. Serena could see that she was going to have to work hard to earn her discounted rent. But then she should know better than most that lying was never as easy as it seemed.
“Do you need help finding a book?” Clay’s face was almost as red as his hair as he finally screwed up the courage to approach Heidi.
“Like I’d have time to read?” Her attitude made it clear that pretty girls like her weren’t losers like him.
Okay, it was one thing to be rude to her, but no one demeaned Serena’s employees. “Heidi was just leaving,” Serena told Clay with a warm smile in his direction. She even held the door open for her.
Heidi took the hint. “I just came to look at you,” she told Serena as she moseyed past her.
Serena bit her tongue and stopped herself from doing anything she’d regret later. But it was hard. Harder than she’d expected when Rad had first talked her into this stupid plan of his.
Rad had an unexpected visitor of his own to cope with. Wanda Kozlowski, Rad’s Polish grandmother, his Busha, from Chicago had arrived in North Carolina for an extended stay with Rad’s brother Ben and his family. Ben had promised her a tour of the base, but then had been called away so he’d dropped their Busha off with Rad to finish the tour.
It never failed to amaze Rad how petite his Busha was. Despite barely reahing five feet, she had a huge personality, filling the space around her with intelligence, humor, and caring. She had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen and a smile that lit her entire face. Never one to conform to fashion, she wore bright red pants and a colorful T-shirt that said Age Is Mind Over Matter. If You Don’t Mind, It Doesn’t Matter.
Rad leaned way down as she engulfed him in her hug. Busha was never one to do things half-way. She’d always been a toucher, patting the hands of complete strangers. “You look well, Busha.”
“I looked better fifty years ago. You should have seen me then.”
“I’ve seen the photos. I can see why Grandpa fell for you the instant he saw you.”
“I was only seventeen when the war ended. My parents smuggled me out when the Nazis invaded Poland. They died shortly after.” Her blue eyes became shadowed with sad memories.
Rad saw his grandmother’s pain and wished there was something he could do about it. But he’d never been good at handling emotions.
In the Marine Corps he was trained to respond with action. You ditched emotions and just did your job.
Rad knew he was a damned good Marine. His ranking in the grandson department was another matter.
Wanda took a deep breath and continued her story. “I was in England during the war not knowing the language much. That’s where I ran into your grandfather. He was a dashing American soldier named Kozlowski, in his early twenties. He spoke my language and we conversed in Polish. We were married within two weeks of first meeting. He brought me back to Chicago with him. I knew little English, but with so many people from my homeland living in our neighborhood, I felt right at home. Chicago has the largest collection of Poles outside of Warsaw, you know.”
Rad nodded.
“Eventually I did learn English, of course. And I had children. Your father and your two uncles.”
“And dad became a Marine and met a girl and married her.” Rad gave his own thumbnail version.
“Your mother was not just a girl. She was the daughter of a wealthy Texas oilman who did not approve of her marrying a penniless Kozlowski from Chicago. Her father threatened to disown her if she wed my son.”
“You never met Hank King did you?”
Wanda shook her head. “And now he is gone. Like my beloved Chuck. And despite the threats of disowning your mother, Hank King’s money has now come to her and her sons.”
“Thanks to Striker. If he hadn’t obeyed the terms of the will and gone to Texas to take over the helm at King Oil, the entire thing would have gone under. Not that Striker or any of us wanted the money.”
“It would have come in useful all those years your father and mother were struggling.”
Rad nodded his agreement. “Well, at least they’re doing okay now.”
“They certainly are. They are touring New England in the RV, looking at the fall colors. I got a call from them just yesterday from Vermont. I told them to get me some maple syrup. You don’t have maple syrup down here in North Carolina do you?”
“Sure we do. In the supermarket.”
“Oh, you!” She affectionately socked his arm.
“Are you ready for your tour of the base now?”
“First tell me what you do here.”
“I save the world from evil.”
“Oh, you!” She socked his arm again. “I can never tell when you are kidding and when you are not.” She studied him as if just noticing his uniform. “I like your dress blues uniform better than this green one. You and all your brothers all look so handsome in those dress blues.”
“I so totally agree.” Rad didn’t have to turn around to identify the female voice as belonging to Heidi. “I don’t know about his brothers, but Rad is like totally hot.”
“You know this young girl, Rad?”
Before he could reply, Heidi said, “I’m only a few years younger than Rad.”
A few years? She was light years younger than he was. “She’s the general’s daughter and her name is Heidi Burns. If you’ll excuse us, Heidi, I was just about to give my grandmother a tour of the base.”
Rad should have known by the look in Heidi’s eyes that she was up to something. Even so, he didn’t see this particular salvo coming in time. “Don’t you want to hear about my visit with your fiancée?”
“Fiancée?” Wanda was clearly stunned as she drew herself up to her full four-foot-eleven-inch height and glared at Rad in disbelief. “What is this about a fiancée?”