Seaspun Magic (15 page)

"Arianne, close your mouth, you look like a fly-trap!" He grinned, his pale-green eyes devouring her tight denims and the plain white shirt rolled up to her elbows... and the open neck of the shirt where only the subtlest shadow of her voluptuous cleavage was revealed. "Arianne..."

She would have been in his arms an instant later, but her hands were white with flour and she didn't want to get powder all over this utterly divine male, and anyway, he had a suitcase in either hand.

"Arianne, honey, you look surprised. I told you I was coming back."

Her delighted gaze clung to his. "But—" She was speechless with happiness.

"May I stay, Arianne?"

The way he said her name had her bones melting. She swallowed, trying to get a grip on herself. "Uh-huh..."

Already he was hanging up his jacket and sliding out of his boots, filling her hallway with his presence. And she would have been in his arms then, flour or not, had the back door not slammed and her kitchen suddenly not noisily erupted with the sound of wailing babies and a four-year-old temper tantrum.

"Jill's come with Lucy and Erin," Arianne just had time to explain, before the kitchen door burst open.

Jill eyed Leo in astonishment from the doorway, her eyebrows peaking.

"Hi, Jill," Leo greeted her cheerily and, without further ado, picked up his suitcases and took off up the stairs.

Arianne, smiling, went to join her neighbor, and the kitchen door swung shut behind them. They had to quiet the children before they could talk. Of course Rae was crying now, too, in sympathy.

"What's he doing here?" Jill exclaimed when she could be heard.

"I guess his headaches are back," Arianne invented, biting down on her radiant smile. "His doctor probably suggested a few more days by the sea."

"Here you are running a B-and-B house, after all! What did I tell you! But, Arianne, he seems a bit too... well, too friendly to me. You be careful. Remember what I told you. Like I always say, he seems to be the kind that likes to sample the cooking, but never stays for breakfast."

"I'll be right back, Jill. I'm just going to get the playpen for Lucy and Rae. Why don't you give Erin a cookie?"

Going into the living room for the playpen, Arianne saw that Leo's jacket and boots were gone from the hall. He must have left again. Looking out the front window she saw his car, several years old and beginning to rust, parked beside hers, and it made her heart sing. She had thought never to see it again. Wait—it wasn't the same car, but another similar one. That was curious, but Arianne didn't give it much thought, for she saw Leo disappearing down through the blackberry briars.

How very strange! He'd come back, and headed straight for that old fort. At least she assumed that was where he went, but why? What did he do on the beach after dark? She could see most of the fort, yet could see no lights on down there. But, then, maybe he walked into town…

Why was he back? To see her? It had to be. She curled her floury hands into fists in the fervid hope he had come because he couldn't stay away from her.

Still wrapped in her conjecture, she hurried back to Jill and the stollen. She must have been concentrating on her inner thoughts to such an extent that she missed a portion of the stream of conversation. When she surfaced it was to hear Jill say, "You know, I told you my ex fooled around and was no good, but I didn't tell the whole truth exactly."

Arianne stifled a sigh. So Jill was back on that dreary subject. She wished her friend could forget about her ex—one had to forget to survive—but she said nothing. If Jill got things off her chest perhaps she would finally leave the past alone.

"He used to be in the navy, which I neglected to mention. And it was the navy he stole from, not a company, like I said. He used to steal all kinds of things. Whatever he could lay his hands on. Anything from screwdrivers to jeeps. That was partly why he was so successful. Well, it went on for a long time, and he made a ton of money on the sly. He was smart, Arianne! For example, to account for all the extra cash he had, he fabricated a wealthy family. A small detail, but a very important one."

"Yes, I—I suppose so…"

"Well, eventually, he got caught, naturally."

"Naturally.'' Arianne gave the smooth buttery mound of stollen dough, pricked with candied cherries and slivered almonds, a final pat and drew a tea towel over it in the big bowl. She carried the bowl over to the stove and placed it on the shelf above. Jill had sunk back into her story.

"I mean, he got caught, but not really. It was a blanket, one lousy blanket that he was caught with. Hardly incriminating. He'd been so careful and so wily they hadn't an inkling of what he'd been getting away with. Well, he was up for a promotion. The navy decided to use him as an example, and because of that one blanket, he lost his promotion."

"Sounds severe on the face of it, but it's not, is it?"

"Hardly. Considering he'd been stealing everything from guns and ammunition to cases of food regularly, and for years! He had a nice little stockpile of the proceeds stashed somewhere. Of course I never saw any. He always had to have the best of everything, but me and Erin, pooh. Who were we to take up his time, let alone his money?"

"It's hard to believe!" Arianne shook her head sadly, providing just enough encouragement for Jill to continue. If the only way she could help was to listen, then she would listen.

"Oh, he certainly had expensive tastes. Would you believe he had cashmere and angora sweaters? I sure as hell didn't. That's the sort of guy he was! I don't know why I put up with it. And I was scared stiff, expecting a court martial any minute. I mean, there I would be, cleaning up Erin's drawers, and what would I find but a box of ammunition! I kicked him out again and again, and he kept coming back!''

"And you kept letting him in!"

"Yeah, but he always had such good excuses! Like about the box of ammo. He said—after I'd kicked him out—he said that they were special bullets that splashed red dye on impact, and were used in their war games. That he was showing special initiative in stealing them— the more bullets, the more men he could nab and his team would win their mock war. Well? They do do that sort of thing! Practice, I guess. I bought it. And he'd just talk his way right back in every time. And I'd feel like a big idiot for being so mean to him. Later I'd find out it was all a lie, and then I'd really feel like an idiot." Jill sighed lengthily.

"You're rid of him now, thank heaven."

"Hm? What? Oh, yes... I'm... rid of him now...."

Arianne didn't think she sounded at all convinced. "When was your divorce?"

"About the same time as yours. About two years ago."

"I think I'm over it. But are you, Jill?" Jill kept chopping dates and didn't answer, not right away. "I... don't think so. I guess not. No."

"And Don isn't helping?"

Jill shrugged in reply, adding nothing more.

"Maybe Don's the wrong fellow for the job."

"How do you mean?"

"We-ell, Larry's wonderful, but it's not like I'm particularly interested in him. And you two seem to get along so well. Why don't you... well, ask him out for a date? Or flutter a few eyelashes if you won't be so daring." She laughed.

"Not interested? How can you not be interested? What's the matter with you, Arianne?"

Arianne had expected a little relief, if anything. She had hardly expected Jill to get more upset than she already was. "All I meant was, if you like Larry and are holding back because of me, don't. You seem to like him a lot more than I do. You're always defending him to me. You see, you just did it again. So if you like him, go for it."

Jill was looking at her with a peculiar sort of dismay.

Arianne smiled back. "Okay, we've got the dates, the raisins, the currants, the blanched almonds. What's next?"

***

Arianne didn't want to admit she was all keyed up for bedtime. Would he come to her room? Should she go to his? She was unsure as to the proper etiquette—if any applied.

After inviting Jill over, and seeing how she was in need of a friend, Arianne felt shabby for wanting her to disappear quickly. So to make up for it, she kept her late. They got a lot of baking done that night, and a lot of talking, too. Then Arianne did a bit of stalling without Jill being any the wiser. She didn't want to seem too available—she didn't want it to look as if she'd been waiting up for Leo to come home—and she wanted Jill to be present when he did.

It worked out perfectly. Leo came in shortly before Jill left. He went straight upstairs. Making the rounds to close up for the night, Arianne didn't know what to expect next. Was he waiting for her upstairs? She felt the rising tide of shivery anticipation spread through her veins.

What an anticlimax, therefore, to get to the top of the stairs and look across the landing, only to see he was in his room and the door was shut. Arianne didn't know what to think. This was confusing! She wasn't even hurt. Baffled more than anything. In this mood she had her bath, brushed her hair one hundred times and, when there was no reason to linger further, went to her room and shut the door.

Leaning against it, she loosened the sash of her robe. What was happening? Was this the pattern for their relationship from here on in? When he had first come she could have sworn he was going to take her in his arms and kiss her. Now his door was shut. This smarted badly. It was obvious he hadn't come back to see her.

Arianne wandered dejectedly around her bedroom. She slid out of her robe, chose a nightgown from the bureau, and was about to put it on, when it occurred to her she could delay going to bed just yet by checking on Rae one more time. She put her pink robe back on again and wiggled her toes into her slippers. Picking up the sash, she held her robe shut and slipped out of her bedroom. Out on the landing only the dim night-light was on.

Rae was just fine, of course. She straightened his blanket and smoothed the black curls off his brow. She tucked his green crocodile more comfortably under his arm. There was nothing more to be done. Back she went to her room. Her door was almost shut, when Leo's door opened.

"Arianne? Wait!" he called, keeping his voice down.

Slowly Arianne opened her door. If he wasn't going to make love to her she wished he would wear something offering more cover than just thin cotton pajama bottoms! And he could tie them a little higher up, too. His male body was beautiful, sleek and supple and solid, his muscles not too obvious and no spare tires.

"Ye-es?" she whispered shakily, breathlessly, her hands curling into fists. Then she regathered the front of her robe, for she still hadn't tied the sash, which had slipped out of her hand. Her tresses were a tousled black cloud that she shook back over her shoulders.

"I want to talk to you, Arianne...." He came to a stop in front of her, putting a gentle hand on either arm, holding her still, but not against him. He paused, studying her upturned face in the semidarkness. "This is really hard for me to say." His soft voice washed over her.

Arianne was glad he was there, glad to be so close to him. "What is it, Leo?"

"I know what you want from a man. You told me down on the beach, remember? I can't give it to you. And I think too much of you to take advantage of the situation. I won't have you hurt. So I think it's better this way."

"Oh... " she said faintly. That this would happen had never crossed her mind. So this is what it felt like to be respected. Well, frankly, she'd prefer to be respected and swept up in his arms at one and the same time!

He ran a tense hand through his silky honey-blond hair. Arianne remembered what it felt like to run her hands through the soft thickness of it, and her whole body began to ache. She knew what it was to plant kisses all along his jaw and she knew the taste of his skin beneath her lips. She knew his individual male scent that filled her head with dreams of torrid lovemaking. And he didn't want to hurt her? Dear God, she was in agony!

"I suppose you think me crazy for staying here when... the last time... But I just couldn't stay in a hotel. And I sure didn't want to stay at Jill's, even though it is right next door. But I promise I won't touch you—" he dropped his hand from her arm quickly "—I promise solemnly I won't touch you again."

Arianne gazed vacantly up into his face and couldn't believe this was happening to her. What a time for him to turn chivalrous! She wanted to tell him he was being an idiot, that she wanted him so much—she skirted carefully around the word "love"—that she was running over with raw desire. That she adored him and he made her happier than she'd ever been before in her whole life.

Instead she expelled a long quivery breath. She had to think this over. She couldn't blurt out something that might embarrass them both terribly. And she liked him too much to force the issue. If he didn't want to make love to her, then she didn't want him to. "Maybe you should have breakfast in the dining room from now on." She took a little step backward, putting more distance between them.

"Oh, that's going too far!" he hastened.

"Do you want lunch and dinner as before?"

"Uh-huh."

He was staring at her. She wished he would stop. She wondered how on earth he expected this bizarre arrangement to work, and moistened her lips. "Good night, Leo."

Closing her bedroom door on him she walked to her bed, fell down on it and started to cry. At this point it was all she had left to do. The release she had hoped for in his arms had to be found in this lonely way. It was only too plain he hadn't come back to see her.

***

Rae's noisy exuberance and messy eating habits helped get them through a breakfast that might otherwise have been awkward. Rae was glad to see his old friend, Arianne realized somewhat sourly. At least the menfolk enjoyed the meal.

When Leo politely handed her the customary envelope before he went out that morning she took it without a murmur. Inside there was one full week's pay, room and board. Further disheartened, she longed desperately to be able to throw it in his face and tell him to get the hell out. But she was too eager for his company to lose him, pride be damned.