Betrayed by Love (6 page)

A knock on the door woke me in the morning.

I groaned in protest, rolled onto my back, and reluctantly sat up. “Yes?”

The guest bedroom door opened.

Jen, dressed in a dark pantsuit with a pretty pink silk blouse, waltzed into the room, carrying a tray. “Morning, Lin.”

I felt as if I’d just closed my eyes. I glanced at the bedside clock. 7:08. “Morning, already?” I groaned.

“Yep.” She sat the tray on the nightstand. “I’m off to my job interview.”

“Are things okay, Jen?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“I thought you didn’t need to work.”

“I don’t. I love being a full time Mom, but the twins will be starting kindergarten in the fall. There won’t be any need for me to be home all day while they’re in school.”

“Oh.”

“Jarrod has some errands to run so you’ll be going solo until I return.” She sat on the side of the bed. “So you’ll stay?”

Recalling that erotic fantasy and dream of the previous night, I knew what I had to do, for the sake of my friendship with Jen and for the sake of my self–esteem. But I didn’t want to cast a pall over her job interview. I smiled.

She sighed in relief, clearly misinterpreting my smile.

I felt guilty but remained silent. If she only knew how I lusted for Jarrod, she’d be only too happy to see me go.

She rose. “Great. Then I’ll see you later.” She nodded at the tray. “Eat, have a lazy morning, and we’ll make plans when I return.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Good luck with the interview.”

“Thanks, I’m so nervous I’ll need it.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine, so go impress the hell out of your interviewer.”

“I will.” She flashed me a confident smile before leaving the bedroom.

I ate breakfast before I got up to shower and put on a sleeveless white sheath dress with sandals. After making a few phone calls, I spent the morning lying by the pool. It took an effort, but I refused to allow my thoughts to dwell on Jarrod.

Jen returned just after eleven, looking radiant.

I smiled. “The interview went well?”

She nodded. “It went very well. I got the job.”

“Way to go, girl.”

She smiled, kicked off her heels, and stretched out on the lounger beside mine. “Thanks.”

“Tell me about it,” I said.

“It’s only a part time job, which is all I want. When I got pregnant, Jarrod and I agreed I’d be a stay at home mom until the kids were about ten. My hours will be 10–2, which will allow me to see them off to school and be home when they get out of school.”

“Sounds perfect, Jen.”

“It is.”

“When do you start?”

“In two weeks. Until then I plan to enjoy my last days of laziness.” She unbuttoned her blouse and settled against her lounger. “So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?”

I sighed and sat up. “How about lunch out?”

“You’re on.”

She changed into shorts and a sleeveless top, and we went to the mall to have lunch.

“You know we’ll be heading down to the shore on Friday, but how do you want to spend the next few days until then, Lin?” she asked while we lingered over coffee.

I shrugged. “Don’t feel you have to entertain me. I have my ebook reader loaded with books by my favorite authors. I’ll be perfectly content to lie around the pool reading until Friday.”

“Sounds like a plan. What time do you want to head to the shore on Friday?”

I sipped my coffee before I responded. “I have a flight back to L.A. Friday night.”

She blinked. “What? Why?”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about my fantasy. I shrugged. “I just think it’s best if I leave, Jen.”

“Will it make any difference if I promise not to ask you to tease Jarrod again?”

If I didn’t go, I just might discover I liked the idea of teasing him. And that was not going to happen. I shook my head.

“I didn’t mean to…I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Lin.”

I nodded. “I know that.”

“I wish you’d change your mind.”

“I can’t, Jen.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t.”

She sighed. “Okay. So we’ll just have to make the best of the days we have left.”

Her quick acceptance of my decision surprised and pleased me. Maybe we could enjoy the next few days and we’d still be friends when I returned home.

We spent the rest of the day shopping. I’m a bit of a shoe fanatic. I’ve rarely seen a pair of heels I could resist. I bought two pair of soft leather pumps, one in black and one in dark brown. Jen bought an exquisite pair of three–inch leather heels that made her long legs look even longer and lovelier.

We returned to Jen’s house just before six. Noting Jarrod’s car in the driveway, I steeled myself. The moment Jen opened the door, we were met with a heavenly aroma of simmering beef.

I stared at her. “Holy hell. He can cook?”

“Among other things.” She gave me a knowing wink.

I smiled, but secretly dreaded the thought of another long evening spent trying to make conversation with the two of them. But the evening went surprisingly well. Jen and Jarrod both went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. By the time we settled down to have coffee in the living room, I felt relaxed enough to laugh when Jen talked about some of our college exploits.

After a nightcap, I left them alone, cuddling on the loveseat and went up to the guestroom. I slept well that night and when I woke the next morning, Jarrod had gone to work and Jen and I made breakfast.

I smiled, looking forward to a day of girl talk.

We had a lazy afternoon swimming and talking about old boyfriends as we lay by the pool.

“Do you remember Tommy Conners?”she asked.

A picture of a skinny, shy blond with warm brown eyes danced into my head. I nodded. “Yes. We shared an English class together.”

“You know he had a thing for you, Lin.”

“You think? He never asked me out.”

“I think he was too shy and you were going out with Mark Howard.”

I shrugged. “Well, you snooze, you lose.”

“Would you have gone out with him if he had asked you?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. In high school I’d been more open to dating across racial lines than I later became.

“If you met each other again and he asked you out, would you go?”

What would he look like now? He’d almost certainly be bulkier and would probably be on the hunky side. “What brings on these questions about Tommy?” I sat up, frowning. “Have you seen him?”

“No. I was just wondering if you’d go out with him if he asked.”

I lay back down, closing my eyes. “Probably not,” I said.

“Why not?”

“No offense, Jen, but I’m happy dating black men.”

“So was I—until I met and fell for Jarrod.”

But despite my lust for Jarrod, I still preferred black men. “I say to each his own. Love whoever your heart falls for, but I can’t see settling down with anyone but a tall, dark, well–hung, handsome black man.”

“What if you meet one who is tall, well–hung, handsome, but not so black?”

I opened my eyes and turned to look at her. “As in Caucasian?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s not going to happen, Jen.” I closed my eyes, willing her to drop the subject.

She did, surprising me.

We dozed for awhile, then I started dinner while she spent half an hour on the phone talking to the twins.

When Jarrod came home, we had dinner and drinks on the patio.

The drinks mellowed me. I watched Jen and Jarrod slow dance twice before he asked me to dance to a faster tune.

I agreed. Of course he couldn’t really dance, but no one was perfect.

I had another drink and then went to bed. Thankfully I slept soundly all night.

Chapter Four

By dinner on Wednesday night, I was at the point of reconsidering my decision to return to L.A. early when I came down to dinner and found a fourth place set. An exquisite lace cloth graced the table, along with beautiful candles and sparkling crystal.

Jen, dressed in a simple, but chic, low–cut black dress, looked stunning. She looked up from lighting candles to smile at me. “Lin, you look great.”

I glanced down at the mauve colored, two–piece silk dress I wore. The bodice cupped my breasts while the loose skirt twirled around my calves as I moved in my three–inch black heels. The dress had what I considered a slimming effect. I pivoted. “You like?”

“Yes.” She nodded toward the door where I still stood. “Jarrod has a drink waiting for you in the living room.”

I glanced at the fourth place setting. Recalling our conversation about Tommy Conner, I hesitated. It might be interesting to see what kind of man he’d become. “Who’s joining us?”

“Grant.”

I frowned; almost disappointed it wasn’t Tommy Conner. “Grant? Grant who?”

“Jarrod’s cousin. The one you have to meet.”

The one I had no desire to meet. Great. “I’m not interested in a blind date, Jen. You know that.”

“It’s not a date, blind or otherwise.”

“Isn’t it?” I challenged. I’ve never had a problem landing my own dates and got annoyed when people felt the need to play matchmaker on my behalf.

“He’s here for dinner—period.” She finished lighting the candles before she crossed the room to link an arm through mine. “He’s just here because he loves Jarrod’s cooking.”

I squinted at her. “Really?”

“Okay, that’s not the only reason he’s here, but this is not a date—unless, of course, you want it to be.”

“I don’t.”

“Don’t you? Aren’t you even a little tired of that ‘friends with benefits’ nonsense?”

“No, or I’d do something about it.”

“Oh, come on, Lin. There comes a time in every woman’s life when she wants to know a man wants a serious relationship with her that goes beyond sex.”

“When I reach that point, I’ll do something about it,” I told her again. “I don’t need help landing a man.”

“I know that. Stop overreacting.” She squeezed my arm. “Let’s go meet Grant.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No.” She laughed and tugged at my arm. “I promise you’ll like him.”

I gave her a cool look. This stunt would seal things for me. I was definitely going to be on that plane on Friday night flying back to L.A. But for now, I’d have to meet this Grant.

I pulled my arm from hers. “I don’t like this,” I told her.

“Lin—”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing else to say.”

She sighed and turned away.

I followed her into the living room, seething.

Jarrod and the other man occupying the room rose when we entered.

I cast a quick look at Grant then did a double take. The resemblance between the two men was superficial. Grant was a few inches taller. His hair was a much lighter brown and his eyes were an intense and almost startling blue. I guessed he was about ten years younger than Jarrod. He looked as if he’d be at home on the cover of an upscale men’s magazine. Whereas Jarrod was “interesting,” Grant was handsome with an unmistakable hard–body, but strangely enough, I was hard pressed to keep my gaze from lingering on Jarrod’s face as he introduced Grant.

“Lin, this is my cousin, Grant West. Grant, this is Linea Hills, Jen’s best friend.”

Grant flashed a dazzling white smile my way as his hand closed around mine. “I’m delighted to meet you, Linea. Or may I call you Lin?”

I noted a rather enchanting dimple in his left cheek. He held my hand longer than politeness dictated and he looked directly into my eyes as he spoke.

I swallowed hard, feeling almost as if he were looking directly into my soul and seeing my lustful thoughts. That’s a feeling I didn’t like one bit. “Sure. Everyone calls me Lin.” I flashed him a quick smile and withdrew my hand from his.

“Do they?” Like, Jarrod, he had a warm, deep baritone. “Then maybe I’ll call you Linea.”

“Why?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’ve never liked being lost in a crowd with other men.”

I blinked at him. “Were we talking about men?”