SEVEN

 

As the meeting broke up, I grabbed Olivia’s arm. “If Gregory doesn’t mind, can you stay for a few minutes? I want to get your opinion about something. I’ll drive you back to Mystic Dream.”

“Sure.” She turned to Gregory.

Before she could say anything, he smiled and nodded. “You ladies take as much time as you need to catch up.”

Once everyone had left, I curled up in an oversized club chair and grinned to see Olivia had done the same thing in the matching chair facing mine.

“So, what’s up?”

“I have a date tonight.”

“That’s great!” She leaned over the arm of the chair. “Who with?”

“T.J.”

“Oh, really? So he finally got up enough courage to ask you.”

“Well, actually, I asked him.” I looked down and pushed a cuticle up off the nail. If I didn’t stop, I’d go back to tearing the blasted hanging tabs and be a bloody mess. “In fact I was the one who went to see him at his store. He sure wasn’t seeking me out.”

“You went to his bookstore?” Her eyes widened. “This isn’t like you, Miranda, not at all. You’ve never been the aggressor in a romance.”

“I know, but I’ve never had to be either. That’s why I feel off-kilter. I mean, the first couple of times I talked to this man, he acted like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I was beginning to wonder, was it B.O., dandruff, or some other strange habit I had of which I wasn’t aware.”

“You know perfect well you don’t have any those issues. Although, you are smart and that bugs some men. But I can’t see your brainpower being a turn off for either one of those guys in your class.”

I nodded. “That’s what I thought, but if I’d waited around for T.J. to ask me out I’d be back ready to go in a nursing home.”

Olivia straightened her legs and turned her chair so she could see me better. “So why did you make the first move? And then, pray tell, what made you make the second one?”

“It was all very rational, actually.” Why did I feel like I was on the defensive with everyone all of a sudden? “You see, when Hazel and I went over the clues, she mentioned the shells and how Wal-Mart didn’t move into a large shell of a building a few years ago. That made us think we needed to find a small shell, or building for pearls of wisdom, as in bookstore.”

“So you thought of T.J.’s bookstore. Isn’t that convenient?” Olivia smiled.

“Rational, logical.” I nodded in sharp, jerky movements.

Olivia started laughing. “You’re too funny when you’re caught ‘rationalizing’ how to get what you want. What makes you believe you think any differently than I do?”

I closed my eyes and prayed it wasn’t so, then swallowed hard and said, “We may be more alike than I thought.”

“Aha! Thank you for that one. So, how did you manage to ask T.J. out?”

“He told me this beautiful legend.” I told the story. “I have the conch shell upstairs.”

Olivia drummed her fingers on the side of the chair. “Hmmm.” I think with my finger tapping the side of my nose. She drums her fingers. “Sounds almost like what happened to you at Salem.”

“I know,” I said. “But he doesn’t know anything about that.”

“He does if he’s Jared.”

“No way.” I shook my head and stood, pacing back and forth. “I’d recognize him in a blink of an eye. I also wouldn’t react to him like I do T.J. Nope. I may have loved Jared once, but that love died when I left Earth in a blaze followed by ashes.”

“Whatever you say. So, what’s got you so nervous you’re jumping out of your skin?”

“I can’t cook worth a lick. And today he asked me where I kept the shell he gave me, and I said it was on my desk in my bedroom.” I shoved my fingers through my hair. “He said there shouldn’t be a desk in my bedroom. Bedrooms are for sleeping and making love.”

“Well, he’s right about that. The first time Gregory made love to me it was at his house, and I was more than seven months pregnant. He had the room decorated as a pleasure palace. There were rose petals all over the bed. We didn’t have intercourse in the strictest of terms, but boy oh boy, he introduced me to a lot of other ways that leave you wanting and moaning. It was there I found one of my lifelong friends.”

“Who’s that—Gregory?”

“Well, of course, he’s my lifelong friend and soul mate. But in this case, I was talking about Nipple Nuzzler.”

I liked the sound of it, believe me. “What’s that?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring you a jar. Later. I doubt you’ll need it tonight. It’s too early.”

“What about dinner? Or should I have Pokey make it?”

She grinned. “Give Pokey the night off. I think Gregory can help you with dinner. The man does know his food.”

* * * *

 

That evening, I had the house to myself, with the exception of Merle. Pokey was at her daughter’s house and Uncle Paddy had gone for a late night card game. He’s quick on the uptake where hints are concerned.

“Stop acting like you’ve got mice in your belfry,” Merle said. “Don’t worry. He’s just a tom. Be coy, and he’ll follow you around like a bowl of cream just waiting for him to lap up.”

“I really don’t need you to hang around and give me lessons.” I set the appetizers out on the kitchen island, just as Gregory had instructed.

“Don’t mind me,” she purred. “I have a ‘don’t look, don’t tell’ policy.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Listen, I’ll just stay around for introductions and then make myself scarce. In fact, I’ll teleport out for a little frivolity of my own. However, I will be checking in on you. No demons allowed in this house.”

She started licking that same damned paw. I was going to have to warn her she was going to wear the fur right off it. “Thanks, sweetie, that’s mighty nice of you.”

“Just remember that later when I need a rubdown.”

I glanced in the oven at my grilled shrimp, satisfied they had just the right amount of butter for dipping. The white asparagus was on ice, and so was the caviar along with the toast points. A bottle of white and one of red sat out, the white one in an iced bucket. Of course, everything had been cooked by Gregory, but T.J. didn’t need to know that.

The doorbell rang as if on cue. Merle ran over and lay down on the hearth while I answered the door. There was T.J., holding one lone Sebidium orchid.

“Hi,” he said, in a voice deeper than I remembered. “I thought I’d bring you something to float as a centerpiece.”

I knew then that wasn’t the only thing that was going to float tonight. “That’s so thoughtful. Come on in and make yourself at home. If you want, join me in the kitchen.”

Merle meowed and came up to T.J. To my surprise, she wound her way around his legs.

“Hi there, beauty.” He leaned down and looked into her eyes as he scratched her chin. “Have we met before? You look familiar.”

She meowed. I was surprised by her comment: “I also never forget a face, handsome.” What did that mean? Good thing he didn’t understand. True to her word, she ambled away.

T.J. made a short muffled laugh as he straightened from scratching Merle and looked around the foyer. I gestured for him to follow me. “This is a very impressive home. Does a relative own it?”

“No. I do,” I said, as Merle waved her paw at me from behind T.J. and vanished.

His face got red. “Sorry, that was presumptive of me.”

“Not really. I am very young to have a house like this. Actually, I inherited it from my grandmother.”

“I see. Wish I had a grandmother like that.”

Well, he knew about the money and seemed to be taking it okay. We walked back into the kitchen and I fished a tulip-shaped vase with a large mouth out of the cabinet. Filling it half full of water, I carefully floated the blossom. “It’s beautiful.”

“So are you.”

I looked up to see his eyes trained on me like twin lasers. My whole body flamed. If I’d been twenty years older, I’d have sworn it was a hot flash. Something told me if I pulled off this little food seduction it’d be a miracle. “Thank you. You look great yourself. Wine?”

“I see you’ve opened a bottle of both.” He read the label of each. Raising his twinkling gaze to mine, he said, “Great vintages. I’ll have whatever you are.”

“White it is.” I went through Gregory’s little description in my head, as I poured his glass and handed it to him. Only after he’d sniffed and tasted it and declared it superb did I pour my own. “I really like this particular wine. She’s effervescent and sensual, exhibiting the freshness of spring and the aroma of fresh fruit, crisp at first sip but with a soft finish. She’s the kind of wine that makes your tongue want to dance.”

He arched an eyebrow with surprise. “She is, eh? Sounds like a wine I could really love.” He took a sip and licked his lips.

I swallowed hard.

He grinned. “What have you got here?” he asked, looking at the appetizers.

“Caviar.”

He scooped some up and put it on a toast point. “Wow. This is the good stuff.”

“I don’t like whitefish roe, thank you very much. Beluga is full of zinc, and very good for your health…in every way.”

“Like virility?” His eyes twinkled. “So I’ve heard.”

“Then there’s the asparagus.” I speared one, and thumped it with my finger. “It’s so tender and still not limp.” I licked the end, then bit off the tip and chewed. He may’ve been unaffected, but I wasn’t.

“How about some shrimp?”

I lifted the platter from the warning tray. “Would you like to sit at the table out back?”

“Sure, let me help you. I’ll carry the shrimp.”

“Great, I’ll get the bread and wine.” I pulled the garlic bread from the oven. After arranging everything on the serving tray, I followed him out onto the veranda where he took the tray, set it on the table, pulled out my chair, and helped me to the table.

Lifting a shrimp, I put it between my teeth and sucked as I pulled it free of its shell. Just a drop of butter fell on my chin. He swiped it off with the tip of his linen napkin. Frustration ate at me. I’d so wanted everything to be perfect. Okay, I’d really wanted T.J. to devour me. And it didn’t look like that was happening any time soon.

He leaned toward me and looked into my eyes, his own closing slightly in a dreamy blur of emerald. “Miranda?”

“Yes?” I whispered.

“You know, I love the way you planned the whole thing here. You went out of your way. It’s very romantic.”

“I just wanted to—”

He put his fingers to my lips. “Shhh. You don’t have to try so hard. You had me when you opened the wine.” He bent and his lips covered mine with a tenderness I’d only vaguely remembered. It hardened for a moment as he explored farther inside and tickled my tongue. I melted faster than my butter did in the microwave.

He pulled back. “I’d like to take what’s between us nice and slow.”

I nodded and sighed. I wondered if my slow and his slow were the same thing.

He grasped my hand gently in his. “How about a walk on the beach?”

T.J. and I meandered hand in hand, on the hard-packed sand, waves swirling around our feet. A half moon, partially obscured by clouds and stars sparkled down at us as they played hide and seek in the hazy sky.

“Do you know much about the constellations?”

“I studied them some in school, but never quite got down their locations.” I looked up into those eyes and almost lost my train of thought. “All I remember is a spotty legend here and there.”

“Well, look up here. Can you see the Big and Little Dippers?”

I nodded. “Those I know. I also know they’re always facing each other, as if you could pour water from one to the other.”

“That’s right.” He ran his hand along my lower back, setting my nerve endings tingling. “The last star in the little dipper handle is Polaris. If you trace an imaginary line out from there, you arrive at the top of Cepheus. See the house object, triangle on top of a square?”

“Yes.”

“Next to Cepheus is Cassiopeia. West of her is her daughter, Andromeda.” He looked over at me and grinned. “Legend has it King Cepheus chained Andromeda to a rock to appease Cetus, the Sea Monster after Cassiopeia bragged that her daughter was the finest lady on Earth. But before Cetus could kill and eat her, Perseus, Zeus’ son, mounted his charge, Pegasus, swooped down and saved Andromeda. They were married then and there.”

“Well it must not have worked out.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”

I shrugged. “Why else would Andromeda still be with her mother? She’s not too smart either. I’d never be near my father if he’d tried to sacrifice me to a sea monster.”

He started to laugh, another of those deep ones of his that told of pure joy and transformed his face. “I love how you look at things.”

“Call me a realist. I’ve long since lost any illusions I might’ve had.”

“One thing I know. You’re realistically funny.”

He leaned close to me, and for a second, I thought he was going to kiss me again. Then he stopped, like he’d remembered something. A shield seemed to fall over his eyes and the lost their twinkle leaving only an empty smile as he dropped my hand. “How long have you lived here?”

“Most of my life, on and off. The family always wintered here, so I’d come during school breaks. Then after Yale, I came down here for nine months a year. How about you? Have you lived in Northern Florida all your life?”

“No, I’ve traveled.” He exhaled. “But I’m tired of moving from one location to the next. I’ve been ‘King of the Road’ for too many years. That’s why I took part of my savings and bought a bookstore.”

“What did you do for a living when you were traveling?” I asked.

“Acting.”

“Really?” I stopped, cupped his face and studied it. “Would I have seen anything you were in?”

“They were primarily road shows. Some bit parts, some leads. Then, before you know it, it’s on to another character.”

“I know exactly what you mean. Many of my friends have done the same thing.” And how! I grabbed his hand. He squeezed it for a minute then dropped it. I stepped back from him. “Okay, what did I do wrong?”

“Wrong? What do you mean?” he asked, worry in his voice, as if he was afraid he’d insulted me or turned me off. Fat chance, this hard to get part he was playing was making me hotter.

“I mean, why do I feel like a pariah when I’m with you? The first time we met, I was surprised you didn’t trip trying to get away from me. Tonight you kissed me.” I caught myself unconsciously licking my bottom lip. “I liked it. A lot, yet you stopped. What’s going on? If you aren’t attracted to me, or there’s someone else, even a guy, I’ll understand.”

“Goddess in heaven, I’ve really screwed things up if you could even think that for a second. You are the most wonderful woman I’ve met in years.”

“Then why the hot one minute cold the next routine?”

“Come on, let’s sit over on the boardwalk and talk.” We settled ourselves on the walk. I sat legs crossed Indian style, facing him, okay his side, because he stared out at the sea. “I used to be a bit of a player. You know, flirt with a girl, take her to bed, then dump her. A while back, one woman captivated me. I couldn’t get enough of her. But she died. It took me a long time to get her out from under my skin, and I refuse to rush into another relationship until I know it’s the one I’m going to be in for the rest of my life.”

He shot me a speaking glance, one that told me to listen up and really hear what he was saying. “I refuse to have sex and call it making love just to get my rocks off. The woman I sleep with will be in love with me and I will with her. We’ll admit it to each other. I’m looking for the real thing, not just another fling.”

Never in my wildest dreams had I expected a man to say that, especially the one who had me envisioning lustful X-rated sex scenes. No question about it. I really knew how to pick them.