Nobody's Fool (21 page)

“Is she back?”

“Apparently. I don't know who was more surprised.”

“I sense a story.” Lucy bumped shoulders with her.

Holly's face heated.

Lucy crowed triumphantly.

“Do you get on with Donna?” It was easier to focus on Donna rather than the jumble of confused impressions and emotions fighting for space around Josh.

“Oh, yeah.” Lucy smiled fondly. “I adore Donna, but I virtually grew up with her. I'm closer to Donna than I am to my own mother.”

“Hmph.”

“Now you're going to have to tell me the rest of the story.” Lucy turned to look at her. “You can't open with a leading question and leave me hanging. It's plain cruel, and after I gave you my water.” Lucy raised her eyebrows to add weight to her statement. “A pregnant woman gives you her water.”

Damn, the other woman was good. “All right.”

Lucy gave a smug smile and settled herself comfortably. “Even if you're not much of a talker. I'll get the story from Donna or Josh anyway.” She patted Holly on the arm.

“I didn't make the best impression.” She could still see Donna's face in her bedroom doorway. She gave Lucy the abridged version, and still her face got hot.

Lucy threw back her head and laughed.

After a few minutes, Holly managed a weak smile. It
was
kind of funny.

Lucy listened carefully when she glossed lightly over the kitchen this morning.

“There are three boys in the family,” Lucy said after a pause. “Donna is a great mother to all three of them, but I think there's a special place for Josh in her heart. Richard was always his dad's son and Thomas is—” Lucy shrugged. “Thomas is his own man through and through. I don't think anyone has told Thomas what to do since he was two years old.”

Lucy took a hefty swig of her water. “Josh was always Donna's little ally. And there's the fact that he's ridiculously beautiful.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Girls are always hanging on to Josh. I think Donna is more territorial with him than she is with the other two. Give her time. She'll come around. At the end of the day, she loves her boys and only wants what makes them happy.”

“It doesn't matter.” Holly's chest tightened. “I won't be here that long.”

Lucy turned those glowing green eyes on her. “Really?”

It was as if Lucy could see right through to the soul of her. She certainly hoped not. It was a pretty dark and dismal place for the most part. Holly avoided it at all costs.

“Really.” She dropped her eyes to her legs. “I have to get back to my life.”

“What a pity.” Lucy squeezed her arm. “Then we'll have to enjoy you while you're here.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Donna put down her book. She'd read the same line four times and still had no idea what was on the page. She lifted her glass to her mouth and watched the sunlight dance across the top of Lake Michigan. The large windows of the loft condo framed the serenity like a painting, and she paused a moment to appreciate the beauty. The condo was quiet around her, everything neat and in its place and about as welcoming as a hotel room.

She worried about Joshua and this curious detachment of his. He was everybody's favorite guy, especially the women. Even the ones he broke up with stayed in his life as friends. Josh always knew the right thing to say, the best form of comfort. He got the chocolate thing, he listened, and he was always ready with a timely rescue. He was everything to everyone and yet nothing to anyone special.

It didn't matter how many times she talked to Josh about Des, and how his father would have forgiven him within moments of the fight ending. Josh carried that scar on his conscience. Mostly, it was a good thing that kept him from hurting anyone else.

Since Laura and the subsequent argument with Des, Josh guarded his feelings so carefully he'd virtually embalmed his own heart.

Until Holly Partridge reappeared in his life.

Over the years, the women had come in all shapes and sizes. Josh didn't have a type because he genuinely enjoyed women. Of all of them, why did he have to choose this one?

Donna snorted and took another sip of her wine.

Okay, she was always going to be hard on whoever got her Josh.

Holly Partridge. She hadn't immediately recognized the woman who stared at her from Joshua's bed, but Donna remembered them now. The family had kept to themselves, but speculation had run rife through the neighborhood. Willow Park was a small neighborhood, and like most small neighborhoods, they knew each other's business. It was a point of pride.

Things had gone on in the Partridge house that had the mothers of the community clustered together and clucking over those four innocent chicks.

Holly Partridge, all hair and secrets in a tiny bundle of determination. Her eyes were what stuck with Donna the most. They had been the eyes of a woman twice her age in the face of a teenager. The eyes hadn't changed; the shadows still lurked in their depths.

Of course Josh had ridden to the rescue like the knight he was. Responding to some intangible call to rescue the damsel.

Women had spoiled Josh since the day he first batted those indigo eyes in his chubby baby face. They fell over themselves to make Josh's life a nicer place to be. He'd taken Holly's brush-off, all those years ago, as an affront to his considerable teenage ego.

Donna had heard the story of the Valentine's Day dance from a variety of different sources. It was one of the harshest lectures she'd ever given her middle son.

The family disappeared after the mother died.

Until now. Now, they were camped out in her home, dripping complications all over her floors, and Josh was determined to make himself indispensable to them.

And she, Donna, was jealous. Pitifully jealous.

She'd never had to share her boy with another serious contender. She'd always been number-one woman in his life, and she was truthful enough with herself to own that she didn't want to share.

The play of light across the water soothed her.

Richard was happily settled with his Lucy, and now it looked like Josh had found his
one
. Whether she liked her or not, Donna had the strongest feeling Holly Partridge would be part of her life from here onward.

Josh wasn't happy with his mother. His anger in the kitchen and then the car had been unwelcome and unexpected. He had taken her to task for her treatment of Holly.

Another first.

Donna sipped her wine. She hadn't behaved well. Her reaction had been 90 percent shock at the situation and 10 percent mama bear. All right, maybe 50/50 was a little more accurate. She'd been tired and jetlagged, and the surprises had taken her by storm.

When pressed, Josh had been cagey about how matters stood between them. According to her son, it was Holly who wasn't keen on taking things any further.

And mama bear had come clawing out of the cage again.
My boy not good enough for you?
she'd wanted to yell. They never got much older than three in your mother's heart. The instinct to protect and swaddle was hardwired all the way to the bone.

Lucy had been easy. Donna adored Lucy, and she'd assumed she would love whoever her other sons brought home. Holly, a small woman with a huge attitude who took crap from nobody, reminded Donna of someone.

Donna, baby, they don't come much tougher than you; you're my warrior.
Des's voice resonated in her head.

Donna almost spat the Sancerre across the room. Holly reminded her of herself before life had softened the edges.

The doorbell peeled loudly in the silent condo, a welcome relief from the direction her thoughts were taking. She got to her feet and stretched.

The doorbell pealed again.

Whoever waited on the other side sounded like they were in a hurry.

Donna yanked the door open. “Yes?”

A young woman stared back at her uncertainly.

Of course there would be a woman at the door. This was her son's condo after all.

“Er . . . Hello?” The woman studied the address plate on the wall beside the door. She looked back at Donna. “Um, I thought—”

“Who were you looking for?” Donna placed the woman's age at late twenties. She scrolled through the women in Josh's life she'd met. It didn't take long. Despite his reputation and his past behavior, Josh played his private life close to his chest.

“I have the number right.” The woman consulted an iPhone. “I'm terribly sorry, I think I might have the wrong address. I drove in from the airport, and the streets in this part of the city are confusing.”

“It's the one ways,” Donna said.

Her visitor was attractive without being pretty, the sort of face that would come to life in front of a camera. Flawless peach skin sculpted around high cheekbones and a pair of large hazel eyes. Her lustrous tortoiseshell hair moved from honey to brown and remained neatly confined to her nape.

“Who are you looking for?” A suspicion popped its head up in Donna's mind. The woman's exquisitely tailored suit draped her body perfectly, despite her claim to have been traveling, and Donna smelled a designer label worthy of Joshua.

“I was looking for Joshua Hunter.” The woman confirmed Donna's growing certainty. “I have the right building, I checked with the doorman.” The young woman frowned.

Donna had a feeling it was a habitual expression, like the weight on the girl's shoulders never let up. She had a sudden, completely inexplicable rush of maternal protectiveness. “Were you looking for Josh or Holly?”

The woman's face cleared and she smiled. It changed her from attractive to lovely in an instant. “I
am
at the right place, then?”

“You are.” Donna nodded. “And you aren't. This is Joshua's condo, but they aren't here.”

The visitor's face dropped.

“But you are lucky.” Donna stepped back and opened the door. She motioned the woman to enter. “I am Joshua's mother, Donna, and they are at my house in Willow Park.”

“They are?”

“They are.” There had been four girls in the Partridge family. “Now I am guessing you are the other sister, right?”

“I'm Grace.” She stepped through the doorway, wheeling a small, compact suitcase behind her.

“You had better get settled.” Donna motioned toward the sofa. “Because we have a lot to talk about.” She made for the kitchen. “I'll get you a glass of wine. You're going to need it.”

His mother sitting on the front porch wasn't the last thing Josh would have expected this evening; however, it was unusual enough for him to get that prickling sensation at the back of his neck. He raised a hand in greeting as he approached.

She got to her feet and waited for him.

“Hey, Ma. How did you get here?”

“I got a lift. You look good.” She gave him the maternal hawkeye.

“It's this insane training I'm doing.” Holly would probably scoff at him, but he wasn't doing this to look good. Actually, he wasn't really sure why he was doing this anymore. Fuck. Richard was right. The only reason he'd signed up was to kick his brother's ass.

“You are still going through with this race?” Donna put her hands on her hips.

“I'm committed now.” His mother had raised boys, but she still didn't get the male need to climb a mountain just because it was there. To be honest, it sounded dumb to him right now, too. “It's happening in a couple of days.”

Donna made a rude noise. “You are entered and you paid your admission. That is not committed.”

“I undertook this and now I have to finish it.” Or Richard would never let him hear the end of it.

Donna gave him a hard stare. “I am your mother, Joshua, and you should never try to lie to me. You are doing this because Richard did it before you.”

Busted!
She was brutally accurate, and he should know better than to try to dance around the truth with her.

“And you are probably going to do it faster than he did and never let him forget it.”

He grinned back and drank his water. “So, what brings you here? Here to fight with my girl again?”

“I did not fight with her.” Donna blushed under his steady regard. She gave a Gallic shrug, as if her statement explained everything. “You are my son.”

“I'm going to see her through this, Ma.”

Donna kept her eyes locked on his. “I know that, Joshua. I would expect no less from you. But this is not the sort of thing you can fix with some charm and a big smile.”

He dropped his head. “I know that.”

“And I am not sure there is any space in her life right now for romantic complications,” Donna said.

“You came to warn me I might get my heart broken?” Josh raised his eyebrows at his mother. Once a mother, always a mother. “There are some who might argue I'm due my fair share of heartbreak.”

“They would be wrong,” Donna said. “Laura was different.”

Josh finished off the water. The guilt made it difficult to swallow. “Dad—”

“Your father spoke in anger. His words were harsh and I know he regretted them.” Donna touched his arm.

Her touch seared like a brand. “He was ashamed of me.”

“He was angry.” She gave him a pat. “And you did not always treat girls as I would like when you were younger, but you are not that way anymore.”

“No, I'm not that way now.” He tapped the toe of his running shoe against the bottom step of the three stairs leading onto the front porch. He didn't want to hurt his mother, but they had to air this. “And what if Holly is my choice?”

Donna smacked his arm. “Do you think I am blind and stupid?”

Relief washed over him in a wave. He didn't need her permission, but it would be nice to have it anyway. “Anyway, like you say, she has enough to worry about with her sisters.”

“Will you accept that?” She cocked her head like a bird.

Josh's gut tightened. Holly walking away from this thing between them was looking more and more possible. “I might not have a choice.”

A worried frown puckered her brow.

“But I'm going to try to change her mind,” he said with a forced bit of confidence that convinced neither of them.

“We will see.” She gave him a small smile. “I am not here this evening to talk to you. I brought you a surprise.”

“What is it?”

“Not a what.” Donna drew the moment out with relish. “A who.”

“Who?”

“Exactly.”

He glared at her repressively. He wasn't in the mood to play Abbott and Costello. “Who is it?”

“I hope you are sure about this Holly because there just got to be more of her to love.” She raised her eyebrow.

He shook his head at her.

She grinned back unrepentantly. “Your surprise is in the kitchen.”

Josh took the stairs slowly. Any more surprises like Portia and he might toss in the towel. Oh, who was he kidding?

“Josh?”

The seriousness of her tone stopped him.
“Oui?”

“I am.”

 

 

“Grace?” Holly couldn't believe she was here. Bloody hell, it was good to see Grace.

She looked phenomenal, but then Grace always did. She wore one of her power suits in a crisp mint with a pair of shoes even Holly coveted. It was like looking at a grown-up version of herself. “What are you doing here?”