A Little Slice of Heaven (19 page)

Rachel’s face changed from florid purple to beet-red.

Point, me
.

But she quickly recovered and volleyed back. “I assume you got the approvals for the daycare center you wanted to start? How exciting for you. When does the center open? And where on earth did you get that kind of cash?” She laughed, a sound full of malice and spite, and then placed her head on Frank’s shoulder, suggesting ownership. “Don’t tell me you won the lottery. Lucky Gianna. Just like those cats you rescue, always landing on your feet.”

Pain seared her ribcage. Her daycare center. The mortal wound. The one dream she hadn’t been able to make come true. Smelling blood in the water, Rachel had honed in for the kill.

Surrender. Admit defeat and move on.
“Actually, I—”

“
We
haven’t completed the renovations yet,” Kyle interrupted. “Isn’t that right, darling?”

“
Y-yes, of course,” she managed, but she stared at Kyle’s grinning face with wonder. How had he known?

“
Forgive me,” he said to Frank and Rachel, hand outstretched. “We haven’t been properly introduced. Kyle Hayden. Congratulations on the occasion of your marriage.”

“
Thank you,” Frank mumbled, confusion swinging from Kyle’s face to Gianna’s and back again.

No doubt her own surprise mirrored back.

“
Sweetheart,” Kyle said to Gianna, his voice husky with promised sensuality. “We’re holding up the line of well-wishers. Perhaps we should find our table.”

Despite feeling adrift, she forced a carefree smile. “Yes, I think you’re right, honey.”

His warm hand against the small of her back led her away from slack-jawed Frank and his equally stunned bride.

Out of their earshot, she leaned closer to Kyle. “Thank you.”

“
That’s what I’m here for, remember? To steer you through the rocky parts.”

Knees knocking, she paused in the reception area beneath a rose-filled bower. “But how did you know about the daycare center?”

In an almost careless gesture, he shrugged. “Hayley told me.”

“
She did?”
How? When? Why?
“What exactly did she tell you?”

“
Dr. Weber’s old office had a perfect location and examining rooms that could be converted into classrooms fairly easily,” he replied. “She also said you couldn’t afford the place, but you were hoping to get some kind of grant from the state since the center would be for lower income families.”

The accuracy of his knowledge unnerved her, spilling her confidence, leaving her a fragile shell. “Wh-when did Hayley tell you all this?”

“
Last week. When you picked up your parents at the airport, Hayley treated me to lunch at the Inn on the Sound.”

The Inn on the Sound, one of the most romantic restaurants on all of Long Island. Hayley sure could pick ‘em. Something slithered into her belly, the green-eyed monster. “Funny. Hayley never mentioned your lunch date.”

Kyle’s expression remained impassive, and she gulped several breaths to remove the jealousy monster. She didn’t own exclusive rights to him. They were friends, nothing more. And if he and Hayley hit it off, well, good. Hayley deserved some happiness in her love life, considering her mother’s serial marriage record.

Besides, Hayley and Kyle would make a perfect couple. Candy-box Hayley who never took anything seriously and oh, so proper Kyle who took everything seriously. Still, she would have appreciated a heads-up regarding their romantic interests. Best friends didn’t bushwhack one another.

“
You know, it wouldn’t be difficult to do.”

Kyle’s smooth voice broke into her troubled thoughts.

“
Huh?” It? What it? Someone should throw her a life preserver before she drowned in confusion. “What’s that?”

“
If you want to fund a daycare center, all you have to do is hit up the right people for generous donations.”

“
Uh-huh.” Acid laced her tongue, dripping from each word. “And who are these ‘right people?’ Mrs. Melendez, who can barely make ends meet on the pittance she earns every week? The ROMEOs who scrape by on Social Security and whatever IRA money they squirreled away? Or Bethany and her gaggle of friends who spend every spare dime they have on video games, pizza, and beer?”

“
No, I mean wealthy people. Influential people.”

“
Yes, well, I don’t know any wealthy people.” Not even anyone attending this lavish affair. Regardless of what they flashed in glitz and glamour, no one here had the kind of money she needed. Or even knew anyone who did.

“
I do.”

“
You?” Bitter laughter erupted.

He shrugged. “I still have contacts in my old world.”

Oh, sure. Tell me another one. “You couldn’t find a person to give you a place to live when you were about to become homeless. What makes you think you can get any of your so-called friends to pry open their wallets for a bunch of dirty-faced, snot-nosed brats on Long Island?”

“
Because, unlike helping out an acquaintance, helping out a bunch of dirty-faced, snot-nosed brats on Long Island is tax deductible.”

He had a point. Maybe she was being unfair. And maybe, just maybe, she was taking out her frustrations on the wrong man. But aside from a slight tightening around his mouth, Kyle gave no indication her comment fazed him. He must have known she was insulting him with the “snot-nosed brat” bit, yet he had the grace to take her verbal slap in stride. She stared at the floor, seeking a vortex to suck her into another dimension. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled at last. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“
Forget it. Besides, you’re right. If someone approached me about a daycare center a few months ago, I’d say exactly what you expected. But I know better now.”

“
Oh? Why?”

His fingertips grazed the underside of her chin, and he tilted her head to meet his burning gaze.

Trapped. His eyes held her as firmly as if cement encased her from the calves down. When his index finger drew a lazy line from her chin to her ear, her lips instinctively parted to draw his exhaled breath into her own mouth.

“
Because an incredibly magnanimous woman showed me the error of my ways. And I want to pay back her generosity.”

Screeeeech! In zero-point-two seconds flat, her interior engine went from revved to stone cold dead. He was so solicitous because he wanted to “pay her back?” Or worse, did Hayley have to convince him?

“
I appreciate the offer,” she said, jerking her chin from his grip. “But I have to take care of this on my own.”

“
Why?”

A chasm opened between them. In two backward steps, she widened the gap. “Because my problems are no one else’s business.”

He folded his arms over his chest and lowered his voice to a whisper more dangerous than a shout. “You know, Gianna, I’ve noticed something. You go out of your way to help everybody you know—hell, even people you don’t know. But the minute someone tries to help you, or even makes the offer, you bolt in the opposite direction.”

“
I do not!”

“
Yes, you do. I’ve seen you pull away from Mrs. Melendez, from Hayley, from Tony Garibaldi. Now me. Why don’t you accept the fact you’re not Superwoman and admit you might need a little help every once in a while?”

The sting in his words pierced her flesh, and she sucked in a breath. “Because I don’t need help. And even if I did, I doubt you’d know how to help me. Who set you up to be my caretaker? To make judgments on what I do with my life? You don’t know anything about me.”

“
I know you’re trying to do something noble. Is it stubborn pride that makes you turn down every offer of assistance?” His eyebrows pleated. “Or maybe you get some perverse satisfaction out of being the Queen of Beneficence. Maybe you think yourself above the rest of us mortals—too good to need the help of lowly creatures who aren’t fit to be a part of your self-sacrificing existence.”

Hurt stole the volume from her voice, but not the indignation. “How dare you! That’s not true at all. How could you even say such a thing? I’ve never been anything but nice to you—”

“
Why was that, anyway?” Stance resembling an attorney on cross-examination, he leaned closer. “And don’t give me some crap about a stray cat. Why did I matter to you? Anyone else would have left me in the garbage. But not the perfect Gianna Randazzo. Not the Mother Teresa of Setquott Beach.”

Each word pinged with the sharpness of a BB shot. “Is that what you think of me? I’m some frustrated martyr or something?”

“
No.” He sighed, sending the bad humors scattering with his expulsion of air. The wave of some invisible magic wand relaxed his posture and smoothed the tight lines around his lips.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into the Kyle she’d brought with her, leaving the self-righteous, angry preacher behind.

“
Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. Your business is your business, and I have no right to interfere, even if my intentions were pure. Am I forgiven?”

Soreness eased. Resentment deflated like air from a leaky balloon. “Of course, you’re forgiven.”

“
Good.” He squeezed her hand for a brief moment, and a fresh tingle skittered from her wrist to her shoulder. “Why don’t you take a minute to get your bearings while I find out where we’re seated for tonight’s fiasco?”

When he turned away, her mind reran their conversation. Was he right? Oh, not about comparing her to Mother Teresa. Did she think of herself as Superwoman? Did stubborn pride keep her from asking for help? Maybe. But there was more to her reticence than pride.

After placing her faith in that weasel, Frank, and his perfect soulless mate, Rachel…

After surviving their public betrayal…

After facing the fact she’d been lied to for months…

Why on earth would she ever trust anyone else again? What was the old saying?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Well, this fool had learned her lesson the first time. There could never be a second time. She couldn’t survive a fall like that again. The episode at Madison Elementary taught her one valuable lesson. Rely on no one but yourself and you’ll never be disappointed.

Her conscience simmered and stewed, but her gaze bored into Kyle’s back as he bent to the lace-covered stand to study the small cards scattered over the surface. Still…

Eons of difference stood between the two men. Kyle had honor, integrity, and truthfulness on his side. So far, anyway. Could she dare to place her trust in him? She’d rather not find out. Better to leave things as they were—she and Kyle were friends. In friendship, he couldn’t break her heart. Besides, he was obviously attracted to Hayley.

The moment he turned, place card in hand, she pasted on a more serene expression. No way would she allow him to see how his bitterness affected her.

“
We’re at Table Eleven,” he said, waving the folded cardboard as he came near. “Social Siberia. One step away from the street, no doubt.”

Good. When she’d had enough of this circus, their proximity to the exit would make a quick getaway easy. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like the victorious princess anymore. She felt like…

Like a doormat
.

Chapter Fourteen

“
How about a drink?” Kyle gripped her elbow and steered her toward their table. “A little champagne maybe? Might help soothe your nerves a bit.”

Wasn’t his presence here supposed to do that? Once again, her mind tripped over questions. Why had he come with her tonight? Had Hayley promised some bedroom gymnastics to get him to agree to be seen in public with her? Was this his effort to pay her back? What was worse—his dating her out of pity or out of responsibility? He stared until the serpent of unease slithered down her spine.

Maybe if she sent him on an errand, she’d gain a chance to sort through all the jumbled emotions bouncing around in her stomach. “Y-yes, thank you. That would be nice.” If he noticed her sudden change in attitude, he didn’t mention it.

He pulled a chair away from the table and gestured for her to sit. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” With a gentle squeeze of her shoulder, he disappeared into the glittering crowd.

When a familiar couple approached the table, her disposition didn’t improve. Mark and Adrienne Palmer. Adrienne was another kindergarten teacher at Madison Elementary. Apparently, Rachel had gone out of her way to stack the deck against her, right down to the seating arrangements.

“
Gianna, hi!” Adrienne exclaimed as she lowered her very pregnant body into the nearest chair. “I haven’t seen you in ages. How are you?”

“
I’m fine,” she replied automatically. “How are you?”

“
Tired.” Adrienne placed her hands on the mound of her black velvet-clad stomach. “And fat.”

She smiled. “Not fat. You look beautiful, Adrienne.”

“
I agree,” Mark interjected, leaning to kiss his wife’s head.

Adrienne preened under his obvious affection, but kept her gaze on Gianna. “Thanks. But you’re the one who looks beautiful, Gi. Where did you get that dress? It’s absolutely stunning.”

“
It’s just something I picked up at Bergdorf’s.” As Adrienne’s eyes narrowed in envy, a sparkle of satisfaction filled her. But the feeling didn’t last. With a sigh she hoped would be mistaken for boredom, she turned to look out over the crowd.

Was this what her life had become? Sitting at a table making small talk with people she didn’t like? Attending the wedding of a couple who’d made a fool of her? Waiting for the return of a man who only came out of sympathy?

Lord, she was pathetic.

With a mixture of relief and anxiety she watched Kyle elbow his way through the crowd, two glasses in hand and an apologetic smile on his face. “Sorry, but all they have is sparkling wine. Domestic, no less. I hope you can stomach this sludge.” As he handed her a glass, he nodded to the Palmers. “Hello.”