A Date With the Other Side (19 page)

He’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing a shirt. “Hang on, I’ll get one.”

“Do we have time to grab a latte?” she called after him.

He wished. “Not since grabbing one would be an hour round trip.”

Shelby waved her American flag at the Shriners in their little cars riding down Main Street and tried not to wonder where Boston was.

She should have gone to him this morning and asked him to come to the parade. Heck, she should have gone to him last night. No, she should have never left him in the first place.

Except that going home with him would have meant admitting that she was falling for him, and the night before, she hadn’t been ready to admit it.

This morning, after a long frustrating night alone in her twin bed, she was ready to fess up. And if she was all prepared to be honest with herself, she could sleep with Boston and be alright when it was time for him to leave. Because she knew she had feelings for him and it wouldn’t be a sucker-punch surprise, so therefore she could deal with it as she went along, sleeping with him while fully understanding she cared about him and he was leaving.

It all made sense. Sort of.

Not really. But she was running out of options.

Danny touched her elbow. “Look, there’s your mom.”

That wasn’t something to improve her mood. Her mother was riding triumphantly in a Chrysler Sebring convertible with her boyfriend, Dave Henchen, mayor of Cuttersville. Giving a queen’s wave, her mother beamed beneath her bleached hair, and thrust her always-burgeoning breasts out at the crowd.

“Hi, Shelby, honey!” her mom called out.

Shelby loved her mother. She just wasn’t entirely certain she hadn’t been adopted. Given the territorial satisfaction on Dave’s face, her mother didn’t have any trouble having orgasms. Or giving them.

Fighting a shudder, she smiled and waved back. It really wasn’t a good idea to think that through when it wasn’t even ten in the morning yet and coffee was a distant memory.

“You know, your mom’s held up pretty good,” Danny said thoughtfully.

Shelby rolled her eyes, but he missed the effect. He was nudging her again. “Look over by the hardware store, in the crowd. Jesus, look at that blonde with Boston. She’s… tall.”

Given the tone of awe in Danny’s voice, that wasn’t all he was thinking. But Shelby didn’t give a care what Danny thought, not when Leggy Blonde was with Boston. Her Boston. Not her Boston, dammit. She had
known
that woman was here for him and she’d rolled in the straw with him anyway.

It didn’t make her feel any better when she followed Danny’s gaze and was visually reminded that Boston came from a world of beautiful women, who dieted and worked out and waxed and chemical peeled. Including that beautiful woman, who was standing way too close to him on the sidewalk as they watched the parade.

The crowd had shifted away from them, as if they were afraid to wrinkle the city folk’s expensive clothes with their John Deere T-shirts and jeans.

“Aren’t you going to say hello?” Danny asked.

“I don’t know her,” she answered testily. And didn’t want to.

“I meant say hello to him.”

“Oh.” Shelby thought about it. Shelby watched Boston whisper something in Blondie’s ear. Shelby looked down at her voluminous American flag T-shirt and dingy white shorts. “No.”

“That’s rude, Shelby. See, he’s looking right at you.” Danny nudged her again, until she wanted to nudge him flat on his ass.

What was his obsession with having her chat up Boston? Before the question even finished forming, or the drool stopped puddling in the corner of Danny’s mouth, she realized the answer. Duh. He wanted to meet Sex and the City over there.

Which infuriated her. Geez Louise, she couldn’t even count on Danny anymore. One minute he was suggesting they remarry, the next he was gawking at a blond wig on a stick.

Men. Annoying creatures.

Danny was right, though. Boston was staring at her. He gave her a smile—a hot, promise-filled smile that about seared her shorts right off even clear across the road. Bastard.

She gave something that could pass for a wave or a flick of her bangs and turned resolutely in the other direction. The parade had come to a stop fifty feet back due to a Cuttersville Marching Cougar Band member dropping his tuba. Three flag bearers were trying to hoist it back over him with little success.

“Let’s cut across the street,” Danny said.

“No!”

Resistance was futile in the face of Danny’s enthusiastic tug of her arm. Manual labor had made him strong as an ox, and he dragged her across the street like a dog with a toy sock.

Boston felt like he and Amanda were getting as much attention as Siegfried and Roy strolling through the supermarket in full sequined costume.

Jaws were dropping in their wake and people were giving them a wide berth. He could only be grateful Amanda had taken off the heels.

“So what do we do?” Amanda asked, leaning a little closer to him as if she realized they were garnering more attention than the parade.

“We stand by the street and watch the stuff go by.”

“Oh, okay. I can do that.” Amanda stood with her hands digging into her pockets. “Who are those men in those little cars? I’ve never seen anything like that.”

It was odd, to say the least. Men wearing fez hats were driving around in little go-carts, whipping back and forth in circles and honking their horns. Boston just shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me.”

“I’m seeing America, Boston, and it’s freaking me out.” Amanda pried her sunglasses off to study the scene more closely.

Boston didn’t answer. He’d caught sight of Shelby across the street from him, and dammit if she wasn’t with Farmer Ted, Danny Tucker, ex-husband extraordinaire. The guy didn’t seem to realize that once two people filed divorce papers, they weren’t supposed to spend every waking moment together.

Shelby waved to a woman in a convertible heading down the parade route, then she caught his eye. And immediately looked away.

What the hell was that all about? When he’d left her the night before, he’d gotten the distinct impression that something was wrong. That despite the positive outcome, she was regretting having rolled in the straw with him. Her skittering gaze today confirmed it.

“Boston, look at that, some kid dropped his tuba. You know, this is kind of entertaining after all.” Amanda tilted her head, then jumped when a young girl in the parade shoved a little American flag into her hand.

Her pony tailed friend tossed one to Boston with a giggle. He caught it and he and Amanda stood there, both uncertain. “Is she giving these to us?”

“I think so.” Amanda waved hers back and forth experimentally. “Here, I’ve got it. You just wave it like everyone else. Now we’ll blend.”

That didn’t seem likely, especially when Amanda tucked the flag in the waistband of her miniskirt.

“My, oh, my, they do grow them big here,” Amanda said, eyes peering out from over her sunglasses.

Boston stopped fiddling with his flag, and looked up. It was Danny Tucker, who he could do without, but he was dragging Shelby with him through the break in the parade, and for that Boston was grateful. He wanted to talk to her. “That’s Shelby. And she’s not big, she’s got a fabulous body.”

The image of her staring up at him from the straw rose in his mind, her beautiful naked body tense with anticipation. Boston shifted on the sidewalk, wishing he had worn shorts instead of jeans. Things were getting hot.

Amanda laughed. “I meant the guy, you geek. And I’m guessing Shelby is the local attraction, hmm?”

He nodded, preoccupied with trying to get Shelby’s attention, but she was staring at the ground.

Something hit him in the head. “What the hell?”

Amanda bent over and retrieved a plastic-wrapped oval from the ground. “It’s candy.” She jerked when a Tootsie Roll clipped her in the shoulder. “Why are they throwing candy at us?”

Shelby snorted quite distinctly right in front of them. Danny Tucker cleared his throat and looked down at Amanda, giving her his friendly farmer smile. “It’s part of the parade. Everyone throws candy.”

Amanda stood up and pelted Danny in the chest with the Tootsie Roll. The chocolate hit, bounced, and dropped to the ground.

Boston bit back a grin. Shelby scowled. Danny looked astonished. “What’d you do that for?”

Amanda looked partially confused, partially amused. “You said everyone throws candy. I’m participating. I’m trying to get into the spirit of things.”

“Oh, dear God,” Shelby said, and shot Boston an accusing glance, as if he were personally responsible for Amanda and everything she wore and said.

Danny laughed. “No, that’s not what I meant. The people in the parade throw candy to the crowd, and the crowd just keeps it.” He pointed to a little boy on the curb, his T-shirt tail bursting with a cache of candy. “See? It’s just tradition, fun for the kids.”

“Oh. Well, sorry then.” Amanda turned back to the parade, flip-flopped foot tapping in time with the Cuttersville marching band.

Boston took the opportunity to touch Shelby’s arm. “Hey. How are you?”

“Fine.”

She didn’t look fine. She looked pissed off, and there was something that burned in her eyes a lot like jealousy. Jealousy he liked. It meant she felt something for him. But he didn’t want her to get the wrong impression. “Shelby, let me introduce you to Amanda Delmar, my boss’s daughter.”

Her eyes narrowed further. She didn’t look appeased. “Uh, Amanda’s just here for a little visit from Chicago.”

Nothing but mean little slits were staring back at him now.

“How nice for you,” she said, jaw locking, arms crossed over her T-shirt.

“Amanda’s just an acquaintance,” he said, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

Shelby whirled to face him, hitting him in the chest with her shoulder. “Oh, please, like she’s going to haul her skinny little butt all the way to Cuttersville to see a man who is just an acquaintance. I may not be book smart, but I can still add two plus two. And in this case they equal you’re a big fat liar.”

“I’m telling you the truth,” he said, locking his jaw and feeling annoyed. “And this isn’t the place to discuss it anyway.”

“Where’s the proper place to have an argument?” Her words cracked out at him like a whip.

“Shelby, you’ve just got to trust me. There’s nothing between Amanda and me. She’s just come here to irritate her father.” He kissed the tip of her ear, staying close to her even when she slapped back at him. “Come to the White House tonight and I’ll prove to you you’re the only woman I’m interested in.”

Now
. Shelby could almost hear the disclaimer tacked on to the end of his sentence. Boston only wanted her now, because she was a novelty, and eventually he’d tire of her.

And what exactly was the problem with that? That was nothing less than she had expected right from the get-go, and nothing less than what she wanted anyway.

There was no future with Boston, and she didn’t want one. She couldn’t picture him staying in Cuttersville, and she could never leave. She’d known all of that when she’d dropped her drawers for him in the Bigleys’ barn.

So why was she acting like a jealous girlfriend?

Because she was starting to care about him, damn him, and she needed to get her priorities adjusted before she went and made a total fool out of herself. She needed to remember that she’d made a decision to remarry Danny one way or the other at the end of the summer.

She could have her fling with Boston, or not, but either way she was settling back down with Danny to live the rest of her life. The question was whether she could restrain her emotions enough to enjoy Boston Macnamara in the short term.

“I don’t know, Boston.” But the words sounded weak.

He must have sensed her capitulation. Boston held her at the waist, stroking with his thumbs, and he nuzzled in her hair with his mouth and nose. “Please, Shelby. I want to see you spread out on that big bed, and I want to be inside you.”

Apparently she wanted that too, if her restless body was any indication. Her panties were damp and her nipples were standing at attention.

“It’s disturbing staying in a haunted house, Shelby. You’ll be keeping me from getting scared.”

She snorted and looked up at his teasing face. “Oh, right. You look just terrified.”

“Terrified you’ll say no.” His fingers had worked under her shirt and the feel of his warm flesh on hers was tantalizing.

Spared from answering by Amanda turning around, Shelby struggled to dredge up some resistance, but found she didn’t have any. Not a single stinking drop.

“Boston, aren’t you going to introduce me to your
cher amie!
I want to meet the woman who has you basking in small-town life.” Amanda flipped back that long blond hair that Shelby wanted to strangle her with, and laughed. “I mean, look at you. PDA-ing at a parade at ten a.m., who would have ever thought that of you?”

While she was sure Amanda was nice in a rich, bitchy kind of way, Shelby couldn’t help but hate her on sight. She was the kind of woman Boston should be with—thin, educated, stylish—and the irony of Shelby’s finally finding a man who could stir her passionate side, while being all wrong for her, wasn’t the least bit amusing. And Amanda was the living, breathing example of reality butting into Shelby’s lust-filled thoughts.

If Boston thought anything of Amanda’s comments, he was too city-smooth to say anything. He gave a bland smile, left his hands on Shelby’s waist, and spoke. “Amanda Delmar, Shelby Tucker and Danny Tucker.”

Shelby murmured a “Nice to meet you,” trying not to sound like she was lying, which she was. Women like Amanda Delmar just drove home all her insecurities and that annoyed the spit out of her.

She’d never been one to worry about appearance, and she didn’t want to start now just because Blondie was blessed with good DNA and wealth. At the end of the day, Shelby had the sneaking suspicion she was happier anyway. Amanda looked malcontent behind her expensive pink sunglasses.

But she couldn’t stop herself from thinking she shouldn’t have eaten three doughnuts for breakfast.