Say You'll Never Love Me (27 page)

HEAD POUNDING FROM
a tequila hangover, Raynie slid behind the wheel of the Lexus. After her school run, she’d get a double mocha latte and be back to normal.

Silbie popped a grape into her mouth. “Did you have fun last night?”

Fruit eased Raynie’s guilt for the cupcake she’d fed Silbie for breakfast. “Yeah.” Raynie squirmed in her seat to make sure her pants didn’t catch fire. “We should do something this weekend. Check into a hotel. Swim in a pool. Order room service. You call that a stay-cation.”

“That’s funny.”

“Yeah. It means you spend the night away from home, but don’t leave town.”

“But I’m invited to Lindsay’s birthday party on Sunday.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten. We could still spend tonight and tomorrow night. I’ll check for reservations and see what’s available.” Raynie turned into the school’s circle drive, came to a stop, and leaned over to kiss Silbie on the cheek. “Here we are. Have a good day.”

Ten minutes later, while in line at J and B coffee house’s drive-thru, Raynie pulled a bottle of ibuprofen from her purse. Her phone chimed a text.
Jared.

Please let me fix this. I’ll do anything to make it up to you.

She moved forward, placed her order and stared at the cell. Delete. She pretended to hate him because he deserved it.

Another chime.

Please let me keep my promise to Silbie. Take you to prairie dog town and the drive-in tomorrow. It would mean a lot. J

Chimed again.

Okay. It isn’t about keeping a promise. I want to see you.

Damn him. She pitched the cell onto the passenger seat and headed home. She wasn’t about to answer. Not yet. Maybe never. For the first time in days, her street was empty. Not a single car parked on the curb. Just as she thought, the silver Chevy had belonged to a visitor. Thank goodness she’d not bought into the cat man’s paranoia. He probably believed in UFO’s and Big Foot, too.

As she stepped inside the house, another text. Crap. Was he going to keep this up all day?

Raynie turned her phone off, laid it on the counter, and trudged down the hallway to make beds. When done, she returned to the kitchen and used the land line to call Quinn. She’d be more helpful than the kittens.

Once she finished telling the story, her friend started “We—ll. You didn’t say he compared your lie to his, so I’ll give him points.”

Raynie didn’t like Quinn’s tone when she drew out the word. “What are you talking about? What lie?”

“You know. My lie to Dak. And how you were a partner in crime. He told Jared the story, so I’m surprised he didn’t use it for ammunition. To justify his.”

“Why did Dak do that?”

“Jared asked. Apparently you mentioned we had an odd beginning, so he was curious.”

As she talked, Raynie picked up a cup towel and moved around the room dusting the tops of picture frames. ”So I should forgive him?”

“The fact you called me for advice tells me he’s important to you. Right? And don’t give me the crap about how gorgeous he is. It goes deeper than that. A lot deeper. Look how happy I am, and to think I almost threw it all away. You’re on the verge of doing the same thing. Don’t mess this up.”

Before Raynie argued, someone knocked. “Hold on a second.”

She tossed the dusting cloth onto the counter. At the door, a man stood holding a long, white box. A van from Affairs to Remember idled in the drive.

“Miss Starr?”

“Yes.”

He handed her the package. “Have a great day.”

“Thank you.”

She spoke into the phone again. “I got flowers.”

“What does the card say?”

“They’re from Jared. This is the same company he used for our sunset picnic.”

“Duh. I didn’t asked who sent them. I want to know what the message says.”

“He is driving me crazy.” Raynie opened the envelope.

“Good God. Read it already.”

“It says. ‘I wanted to be the first.’”

“What does that mean?”

“I told him I’d never gotten flowers from a man.”

“Hang up and call me back on your cell, so you can put me on Face-time.”

It only took a few minutes to reconnect and Raynie rotated the screen to show the sunflowers.

“Is that another note?”

Raynie took a deep breath and angled the card toward the phone.

Quinn read aloud. “‘In another month, the field will be in full bloom. I want to share that with you. Holy crap, Raynie. He’s asking you to stay.’”

“No, he isn’t.”

“Subtle, but yes, he is. Don’t be stupid. Answer his texts. Accept the date. Screw his brains out. And marry him before someone else does.”

That got a laugh from her. “Yeah, like he’ll ask. Dream on. He wants to get me into bed before I leave, and he’s working hard for it.”

“Yes he is, and you should reward him.”

T
here is nothing safe about sex. There never will be.

~Norman Mailer

WAITING IN THE CARPOOL
pick-up lane, Raynie read over the texts again. They kept coming, each more explicit than the last. Her soft skin, lips, the way she fit against him, her moans, and the effect she had on his penis. He’d gone into detail about what he wanted to do to her. Everything from burying deep inside her to licking her rosebud until she screamed his name.
Rosebud?
God help her. He was killing her. It was a miracle she’d not dragged a stranger into her car for a quickie.

Turned out, flowers and dirty talk from a clean-cut man was something she liked—a lot. So far, she’d not acknowledged any of them, but her resistance was wearing thin. His lie paled compared to some she’d gotten over the years, and he’d confessed before taking her to bed. He was right. That had to count for something.

By the time she got home, helped Silbie change into her leotard, and took her to gymnastics, Raynie’s nerves were wound tight, so much so, she’d taken the time to look up Jared’s office address. It wasn’t too far from Silbie’s lesson. Raynie should let him make good on some of those promises.

THE LAST PERSON
Jared wanted to see was Beth, but Cheryl warned him the psycho was in the parking lot. At the sound of her heels in the hallway, he laid his phone aside, and braced himself. With her, he never knew what to expect.

She leaned her head around the doorjamb and smiled. At least she didn’t have that wild gaze like before. “Come in.”

“I can only stay a minute, but have some great news. I’ve taken a job in Albuquerque. Pueblo Designs. Are you familiar with them?”

“Yeah. Architecture Digest featured them this month. Congratulations.”

“I know, right? I couldn’t believe it. My first client, who had horrible taste, recommended me. I apologize for acting so awful the last time I was here.”

“Apology accepted, and I wish you the best.”

She walked to the door and faced him again. “Strange how things work out. With this new opportunity, we would have broken up anyway. I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Jared didn’t care why it happened, just that it did. Until Beth, he’d never had a woman fixated on him. The experience had been scary and enlightening. If he bought into things happening for a reason, that made him more determined than ever to get Raynie to forgive him.

AS RAYNIE ROUNDED
the corner Sloan and Sloan’s building came into view. She checked her watch. Almost five.

Jared’s truck sat in the lot. She parked next to it, got out, smoothed her skirt in place, and took a deep breath. When she pushed the entry open, the woman behind the desk glanced up and eyed Raynie from head to toe. Probably hadn’t seen many clients with rainbow hair.

“May I help you?”

She smiled. “If Jared has a minute, tell him Raynie is here to see him.”

The receptionist picked up the phone, pressed it to her ear and announced her. Then she widened her eyes. “Yes, sir.” She pointed down the hall. “Second door on the left.”

HEARING HER NAME
caused Jared’s heart to stop. She’d had enough. Intended to tell him to leave her the hell alone. Why else come to his office? He didn’t want to give up, but no need to keep pursuing someone who wasn’t interested. Beth reminded of that.

He fidgeted in his seat. Leaned back, then forward. Put his hands on the desk. Looked too fake. Dropped them into his lap. Too relaxed. He straightened papers. Decided to hell with it and shouldered back in his chair.

When she reached the doorway, she stopped. “You look flushed, padre. What’s wrong, surprised to see me?”

By calling him that, how mad could she be? Or maybe that was her way of leading into what a liar he’d been using the cover to get close to her. She grabbed the door knob, swung it around and pushed it closed with her hip and locked it. Holy shit. She might plan to throw things. He put on his poker face. “A little.”

She strolled to the blueprints laid out. “So, this is your drafting table?”

“Yeah.”

She trailed her fingers across the wooden top. “I bet you
satisfy
a lot of clients with the plans you draw here.”