Flirting With Temptation (27 page)

“Well, the Love Doctor, of course.”

“Still getting paid with cooking lessons?”

She held up the tray filled with quiches again, and he took another. “What do you think?”

He grinned. “You’re really good at this Love Doctor thing, aren’t you?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it.

“What?” he asked.

“I suppose if I’m really good, then you’ll be talking to Kitty in a few days.” She waited, as though wanting him to say something, then she frowned.

“Babette!” one of the seniors called, and she turned.

“Wait.” His word was more of a command than that of the other person merely screaming her name, and she pivoted, her eyes focused on him.

“What?”

The words, the possibilities of what was the right thing to say, what was the wrong thing to say, tripped across his brain with the rapid beats of the music. And none of them came out.

“What is it?” she repeated, then she jumped slightly and glanced at her hip. “Oh, hold this.” She handed him the tray and fished her cell phone out of her pocket. “Hello?”

She gave Jeff a knowing nod, and something about it told him he knew exactly who was on the other end of that phone.

“Yes, Kitty, everything is going great. Yeah, I’m at a party.” She covered her other ear when the music picked back up so she could hear what Kitty was saying, and then she said, “Actually, that’s why I’m at the party; he is here. And yes, we
were
just talking about you.”

Jeff wanted to hit something. He put the tray on a table nearby. No way was he going to stand here and listen to the woman he wanted tell the one he didn’t that she was totally willing to deliver him to her on a silver platter. Wasn’t going to happen anyway. If Babette managed to keep from flirting for the remainder of the time, which he had to admit now she might, then he’d talk to Kitty. He’d keep his word. But talking was it. And then he’d send her on her way, just like Babette would head on her way in five days, without looking back. She may be committed, but to her job, not him, which meant she was also committed to getting him back with Kitty.

“You want to talk to him?” Babette said into the phone.

“Sorry, I’m leaving.” He turned, exited, and didn’t worry when the sound of the slamming door overpowered the music. He had to do something about this Kitty situation, and he was going to put that in motion right now. And he wouldn’t converse via a Dear John, the way she had. He’d do it in person, face to face. So yes, he would talk to Kitty when he had to, but it certainly wouldn’t be the conversation she wanted.

Babette should’ve been on cloud nine as she cleaned up after the party. There were five new elderly couples at Sunny Beaches, and they’d all gotten together courtesy of the Love Doctor. Meanwhile, she now knew how to make four different meals, spaghetti with meatballs, chicken fettuccine, beef stew and seven-layer casserole. Granted, they were all kind of old-fashioned meals and nothing that would give her Rachael Ray status, but they were edible. She hadn’t made any of them on her own yet, but she truly thought she could. Granny Gert had sounded so excited when Babette told her how much she’d learned already, and how much she was looking forward to Granny Gert helping her learn to cook even more meals when she returned home. When Babette asked about Rowdy, Granny had said that things hadn’t worked out as planned, and that she would explain later. That would’ve concerned Babette, but Granny had sounded so happy, ecstatic even, that she didn’t question it. If things hadn’t worked out, it sure hadn’t seemed to bother her, and as she said, she’d explain everything to Babette when she returned home to Birmingham.

She swallowed. Returning home meant leaving all of her friends at Sunny Beaches, and it meant leaving Jeff. Fortunately, all of her time spent with the seniors today had kept her mind off him and off all the feelings he’d brought to the surface during their walk on the beach yesterday. But then he’d shown up at the party, and they’d all come crashing back over her, a tidal wave of emotion. She thought she’d held it all together pretty well, even keeping an upbeat tone when she talked to Kitty. But then Jeff had stormed out, and she’d known that she’d evidently messed up, again.

Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the caller ID. Amazingly, it wasn’t Kitty. She grinned at the name on display and answered. “Hey, Granny. You’re up late, aren’t you?”

“Ten o’clock,” Granny said. “And I couldn’t sleep. I had you on my mind, so I decided to call.”

“I’m fine,” Babette lied.

“No, you’re not. I heard it this afternoon when I called, and I hear it even more now. And I’m afraid I was so wrapped up in everything here that I didn’t pick up on it until I wound down for the night and started pondering my day. Honey, what happened?”

Babette should’ve known Granny would be able to tell she was upset. And unfortunately, hearing Granny Gert ask brought it to the surface. Tears leaked free, and all the thoughts and feelings she’d been fighting all day pushed forward. “Oh, Granny, I finally found out why Jeff never called me back last year, and why he got so hooked on Kitty so fast, and why he doesn’t trust any women to commit now,” she blurted. “He wanted more from me back then, and I was too stupid to realize it. And then he wanted more with Kitty, and she was even more stupid, knowing he wanted her and leaving him. Now he’s not willing to give anyone another chance.”

Granny was quiet for a moment, then she said, “You’re not talking about him giving Kitty another chance, are you? You want him for yourself.”

Babette swiped at her tears. “I don’t know. I mean, yes, I do know. I want him, but not the way we were back then. I want more, I want what he wanted when we ended things. But he doesn’t think I can commit to anything, and he doesn’t want a woman who can’t commit.”

“Oh, honey, then you just need to prove to him that you can,” Granny soothed.

“But that’s just it. The one thing he says that he can tell I’m committed to is my job. He’s been impressed with that,” she said, sniffing through her words. “But if I’m truly committed to my job, then I have to try and get him and Kitty back together. And if I tell him I still want him, then he’ll have proof that I can’t commit.”

“Babette, a job isn’t anywhere near the same as love,” Granny said, as a loud knock echoed on Babette’s door.

“I’ve got to let you go,” Babette said, quickly drying her tears. That knock sounded very masculine, very Jeff.

She said goodbye to Granny Gert, snapped the phone closed and dropped it on the table. Then she wiped her face again and checked it in the mirror before finally heading toward the door. She opened it, but unfortunately couldn’t control the disappointment when she found Otis and Rose on the other side. More tears dripped free.

“Have mercy, what happened after we left?” Rose asked, peering past her as though she’d find the source of Babette’s splotchy, wet face.

“Rose forgot her shawl, and I didn’t want her to walk back this late by herself,” Otis said, moving past the two women to search for the shawl, and probably just wanting to put some distance between himself and the weepy female.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Babette said. “The party went great, and I should be very happy.”

“Your man left in the middle of it,” Rose said. “Why should you be happy about that?”

“He’s not my man.”

“And there’s your problem. Honey, you’re so good at fixing everybody else up, mending old fences, and all of that, but you’re damn clueless about fixing your own.”

Otis’s head jerked toward them at Rose’s colorful language.

“Well, it’s true,” she said toward him, then she turned back to Babette. “Okay, let’s pretend I’m the Love Doctor and you’re the client, just for fun.”

Babette gave her a watery smile. Rose really was trying to help.

“Now, I get what you’re saying about showing him you can commit to something, in your case, your job.”

“It’s the first thing I’ve ever been committed to, and if I blow it, then to him, I haven’t changed.”

“And you want him to see that you’ve changed.”

Babette nodded. “Which means I’ve got to go through with getting him back with Kitty.”

“You do realize, child, that even if he talks to Kitty, which he probably will, since you’re batting a thousand on that no-flirting thing, that doesn’t mean he’ll take her back.”

Babette knew that, but she was trying to take this process one step at a time, and she’d never had a Love Doctor assignment when the two parties didn’t mend fences once they got together and talked things out. Of course, she’d never had one where she couldn’t read the guy’s body language either.

“So, let’s say you go through with your no-flirting thing, and he talks to her, but there’s no connection anymore. There’s no love left, and he tells the poodle to vamoose. Then, in my book, you’ve done your part, attempting to get them together. He chose not to get together with her, which means he’s still available for you. And you never lost the commitment battle, because you remained committed to the job until they talked.”

Babette was drawn to the intensity of Rose’s pale blue eyes, and then Rose lowered her voice and leaned closer, as though she was back in the world of elderly espionage and delivering her young protégé’s first assignment.

“And then, here’s what you’ll do. You’ll tell him that you’ve proven that you’ve been committed to the job, and now, you’re going to prove you can be committed to him, if he’ll give you another chance. Then you beg him for that chance, if necessary, but you get it. And you get—your—man.”

“I don’t know everything she’s telling you, but from the sound of her voice, I’d say you should listen to her,” Otis said, grinning as he moved toward Rose with her pale pink shawl in his hand.

“She should listen to me,” Rose said, turning while he draped her with the shawl. “You will, won’t you?”

Babette couldn’t deny that it sounded like a decent plan. True, her record wouldn’t be a hundred percent anymore, but she’d have done her part toward getting them back together.

The thought of that last student loan niggled her brain, but Babette no longer cared. It’d take a while longer to pay the thing off, but if that’s what it took, that’s what it took. If Jeff would give their relationship another chance, give Babette another chance to show him she could stick to something long-term, then it’d be worth it.

Kitty will ruin you in Birmingham if you don’t pull this off
, her mind whispered.

Babette thought of Jeff, thought of how much she wanted to be the woman in his world, for life. And then she realized, if Kitty halted her progress in Birmingham, well, there were other cities that could use Love Doctors too. Destin, for one. She glanced at Otis and Rose, not the typical Love Doctor clients, since they hadn’t needed a fence mended; they’d merely needed a nudge in the right direction. But she had helped them tonight, and she’d helped several other elderly couples too.

“Babette?” Rose questioned.

“Yeah?”

“What do you think of that? My idea?”

Babette grinned. “I’m thinking you’re a perfect candidate for a love doctor, Rose.”

Rose beamed. “Perfect. Then everything’s settled here.” She looked at Otis. “My work is done. Ready to go back?”

“Sure,” Otis said, then he inhaled thickly and glanced toward the kitchen. “You still cooking something?”

Babette had nearly forgotten. “I’m giving Hannah’s cinnamon roll recipe a shot. That’s the dough in the bread maker.”

Rose’s eyes went wide. “You’re trying them on your own? Want me to stay?”

“No, I wrote everything down and watched her do it, so I’m good to go. Besides, you can’t stand over my shoulder every time I’m in the kitchen. The whole point is for me to learn how to do it on my own.”

“Okay, but if you need me, call me, even if it’s late. Cinnamon rolls can be kind of tricky.”

Babette couldn’t fathom how, since she’d watched Hannah simply follow the recipe and then they’d turned out great, but she agreed.

Rose hugged her. “We’ll check on you in the morning and see how your cinnamon rolls turn out.”

A solid, rapping knock echoed from Babette’s door. “You expecting company?” Rose asked.

“No,” Babette whispered, but she had a strong suspicion that she knew who was on the other side of the door this time.

The knock continued.

Rose smiled. “Maybe you should go let him in.” Then she and Otis walked behind her to the door, and Babette opened it to find that this time, it was exactly who she’d hoped it’d be.

“Hello, Jeff,” Rose said, easing past him with Otis at her heels.

“We came back for Rose’s shawl,” Otis explained to Jeff as they left.

Then they were gone, and she was left standing there alone with the guy who had dominated her thoughts all day. No, he’d dominated them for a large portion of the last four years, the three they were together and the one that they were apart. Why she ever thought she could convince him to be with someone else was beyond her. She didn’t want him with Kitty; she wanted him with her.

But first, she had to prove to him that she had changed, that she could commit. Just a few more days. Then she’d follow Rose’s advice, and go for the man she wanted. She moistened her lips, and took him all in, the guy who understood her better than anyone, who had the ability to make her laugh and to make her dream. Dream about being with him for something long-term, more than what they’d had before, much more. A guy who’d, at one point, considered her as the woman to be with him forever.

If he’d consider that again, she wouldn’t bat an eye. She was ready.

“Babette, can I come in? I need to talk to you.”

“Oh,” she gasped, realizing that he was still in the doorway, and that she was gawking. “Sorry, yes. Come on in.”

He stepped inside, and Babette caught herself leaning toward him, breathing in the scent of him, all male and perfect. And she recognized that, thanks to Rose, she now had a new dilemma. Now that she’d made the decision to let him know how she felt and to attempt to get him back, she was yearning to get started on the process. Right here, right now. But proving herself to him, proving her ability to commit to him, meant maintaining her distance, for five more days.