Brides and Grooms Box Set: Marriage Wanted\Bride Wanted\Groom Wanted (55 page)

“We were? Oh, right, I did say I’d call you, didn’t I? I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance. Oh, Les, you’ll never guess what happened. Larry asked me to marry him!” She let out a scream that sounded as though she were being strangled.

“Lori!”

“I know, I’ve got to stop doing that, but every time I think of Larry and me together, I get so excited I can hardly stand it.”

“You haven’t been dating him that long, have you?”

“Long enough. I’m crazy about this guy, Lesley, and for once in my life I’ve found a man who feels the same way about me.”

“Congratulations!” Lesley put as much punch into the word as she could. She
was
thrilled for Lori, and wished her fellow teacher and Larry every happiness.
But in the same breath, in the same heartbeat, she was so jealous she wanted to weep.

Truth demanded a price and being honest with herself had taken its toll on Lesley all week. First, she’d been forced to admit she still loved Tony, despite all her efforts to put him out of her life. It was hopeless, useless and masochistic. She didn’t need Daisy to tell her she was setting herself up for heartache. Not when she could see it herself.

Despite the temptation, she hadn’t returned Tony’s calls. However, it wasn’t her sense of honor that had prompted her forbearance, nor had it been her sense of right and wrong.

Good old-fashioned fear was what kept her away from the phone. Fear of what she might do if Tony admitted he’d made a mistake and wanted her back in his life. Fear of what she might become if he came to her, claiming he loved her, needed her.

On the heels of this painful insight came the news of Lori’s engagement. Now she and Jo Ann were the only two single women left at the school. And Jo Ann didn’t count, not technically.

Jo Ann had separated from her husband a year earlier and she’d taken back her maiden name. But recently they’d been talking. It wouldn’t surprise Lesley if the two of them decided to make another go of their marriage.

Now Lori was engaged.

“Larry wants a short engagement, which is fine with me,” she was saying. “I’d like it if we could have the wedding before school starts this fall, and he’s agreed. You’ll be one of my bridesmaids, won’t you?”

“I’d be honored.” That would make six times now that Lesley had stood up for friends. What was that old saying? Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. It certainly applied in her case.

In the fall she’d be returning to the same school, the same classroom, the one directly down from Tony’s. April’s class was on the other side of the building. They’d all return, enthusiastic about the new school year, eager to get started after the long break.

Tony would glance at her with that special look in his eyes and she wouldn’t be able to glance away. He’d know in a heartbeat that she still loved him, and worse, so would April and everyone else on staff. That humiliation far outweighed the likelihood of being the only unmarried faculty member.

Lesley knew she never should’ve let Tony talk her out of transferring to another school. Perhaps she’d asked for another assignment just so he’d beg her to stay; she didn’t know anymore, didn’t trust herself or her motives.

“Larry talked to my dad and formally asked for my hand in marriage,” Lori was saying when Lesley pulled her thoughts back to her friend. “He’s so traditional and sweet. It’s funny, Les, but when it’s right, it’s right, and you know it in your gut. It wouldn’t have mattered if we’d dated three months or three years.”

“Hadn’t you met Larry a while ago?”

“Yeah. Apparently. He’s a friend of my brother’s, but I don’t
remember
meeting him until this spring, although he claims I did. He pretends to be insulted that I’ve forgotten.”

Lesley smiled. Lori’s happiness sang through the wire
like a melodious love song, full of spirit and joy. They spoke for a few minutes longer, of getting together with three of Lori’s other friends and choosing the dresses, but it was all rather vague.

Jealous. That was how Lesley felt. Jealous of one of her best friends. She hated admitting it, but there was no other way to explain the hard knot in her stomach. It wasn’t that she wished Lori and Larry anything but the best.

But her feelings were wrapped around memories of the past, of standing alone, helpless and lost. Abandoned.

When she finished talking to Lori, Lesley called a florist friend and had a congratulatory bouquet sent to Lori and Larry with her warmest wishes.

Housework, Lesley decided. That was what a woman did when she suffered from guilt. It was either that or bury herself in a gallon of gourmet ice cream. She stripped her bed, stuffed the sheets in the washer and was hanging them on the line when Eric and Kevin found her.

“Is Chase coming over today?” Eric wanted to know.

“He didn’t say,” she answered as noncommittally as she could. She didn’t want to disappoint them, or encourage them, either.

“Can you call him and ask?”

Lesley shoved a clothespin onto a sheet, anchoring it. “I don’t have his phone number,” she said, realizing it for the first time.

“He’ll be calling you, won’t he?”

“I…don’t know.” She’d asked him to and he’d said
he would, but that wasn’t any guarantee. He’d been annoyed with her when they parted, convinced she’d contact Tony despite her shaky reassurance otherwise.

Chase was an intelligent and sensitive man; he knew better than to involve himself in a dead-end relationship. It wouldn’t surprise her if he never contacted her again.

The thought struck her hard and fast. The pain it produced shocked her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to treasure their brief time together.

“What do you
mean
you don’t know if he’ll call you again?” Eric demanded. “You
have
to see him again because Kevin and me wrote him a letter to thank him for taking us fishing.”

“Mom made us,” Kevin volunteered. His front tooth was missing and Lesley noticed its absence for the first time.

She caught the younger boy by the chin and angled his head toward the light, although he squirmed. “Kevin, you lost your tooth. When did this happen?”

“Last night.”

“Congratulations,” she said, releasing him. “Did you leave it out for the Tooth Fairy?”

The boy rolled his eyes. “I don’t believe in that silly stuff anymore and neither does Eric.”

“What do you expect when they’ve got me for a mother?” Daisy said, stepping out the back porch, her hands on her hips. “I never did believe in feeding kids all that garbage about Santa Claus and the Easter bunny. Life’s hard enough without their own mother filling their heads with that kind of nonsense.”

“We get gifts and candy and other stuff,” Kevin felt
obliged to inform Lesley, “but we know who gave them to us. Mom gave me a dollar for the tooth.”

“He already spent it, too, on gum and candy.”

“I shared, didn’t I?”

“Boys, why don’t you run along,” Daisy said.

“What about the letter?”

“Give it to Lesley and let her worry about it.” With that, her neighbor returned to the house.

What Lesley had told the boys about not knowing Chase’s phone number was a half-truth. There was always the number on the billboard. If she hadn’t heard from him by that evening, she’d leave a message for him through the answering service, although she doubted it would ever reach him.

* * *

After a polite knock, Sandra let herself into Chase’s makeshift office in the suite he’d rented. He’d interviewed ten more women that morning and was scheduled to meet another fifteen that afternoon and evening.

He hadn’t talked to or seen Lesley in two days and the temptation to call her or even drive over to see her was gaining momentum. He was trying, really trying, to meet a woman he liked as much as Lesley. Thus far he hadn’t succeeded. Hadn’t come anywhere
close
to succeeding.

“Does the name Lesley Campbell mean anything to you?” Sandra asked unexpectedly.

Chase straightened as a chill shot through him. “Yes, why?”

“She left a message with the answering service. Apparently she explained that she wasn’t responding to
your billboard ad. She wanted it understood that the two of you know each other.”

“She left a message?”

“Yes.” Sandra handed him the pink slip. “I thought it might be a trick. Some of the applicants have tried various methods to get your attention.”

Chase didn’t need to be reminded of that. Flowers arrived almost daily, along with elaborately wrapped presents. A few of the gifts had shocked him. He hadn’t accepted any of them. The floral bouquets he had delivered to a nearby nursing home and the gifts were dispensed with quickly. He left their disposal in Sandra’s capable hands.

One woman, a day earlier, had shown up in full winter garb, carrying a long-barreled shotgun as though that would prove she was ready, willing and able to withstand the harsh winters of the Arctic. He wasn’t sure what the gun was meant to signify.

Chase supposed she’d rented the outfit from a costume store. She resembled Daniel Boone more than she did a prospective wife. Chase had lost patience with her and sent her on her way.

He glanced down at the message slip in his hand and tried to decide what to do. Returning Lesley’s call could just prolong the inevitable. He wondered if she’d spoken to Tony and what had come of their conversation. The minute he learned she had, it would be over for them. Possibly it was already over.

Objectivity was beyond him at this point. As far as he was concerned, Tony was bad news. All the man represented for Lesley was heartache and grief. If she
wasn’t smart enough to figure that out for herself, then he couldn’t help her.

He waited until Sandra had left the room before he called Lesley. She answered on the second ring. The sound of her voice produced an empty, achy feeling that surprised him; he’d been unaware she had such power to hurt him. He had no one to blame but himself. If Lesley hurt him, it was because
he’d
allowed it.

“It’s Chase.”

“Chase…” she said breathlessly. “Thank you for returning my call. I wasn’t sure you’d get my message.”

“How are you?” He’d never been a brilliant conversationalist, but he was generally more adept than this.

“Fine. How about you?”

“Busy.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

Silence. Chase didn’t know if he should break it by saying something or wait for her to do it. They hadn’t fought, hadn’t spoken so much as a cross word to each other. He couldn’t even say they’d disagreed, but there was a gap between them that had appeared after Tony’s first call and widened with the second one.

“Eric and Kevin were asking about you,” Lesley said before the silence threatened to go on forever. “I didn’t know what to tell them.”

“I see.”

“They wrote you a letter and asked me to give it to you.”

“That was thoughtful. They’re good kids,” he said carefully.

The ball was in her court. If she wanted to see him, she was going to have to ask.

“I could mail it.”

His back straightened. “Fine.” He rattled off his address and was about to make an excuse to get off the phone when she spoke again.

“I’d rather you came for it yourself.”

Finally. Chase hoped she couldn’t hear his sigh of relief. “When?”

“Whenever it’s convenient for you.” She sounded unsure of herself, as though she already regretted the invitation.

“If you want, you could leave it on your porch and I could pick it up sometime.”

“No.” Her objection came fast enough to lend him hope. “Tomorrow,” she suggested. “Or tonight, whichever you prefer.”

“I’ll have to check my schedule.” He didn’t know why he felt it was necessary to continue this pretense but he felt obliged to do so.

“I can wait.”

He pressed the receiver to his chest and silently counted to ten, feeling like the biggest fool who’d ever roamed the earth.

“This afternoon looks like it would be the best. Say an hour?”

“That would be fine. I’ll look for you then.”

Chase waited until he heard the click of the receiver before he tossed the phone in the air and deftly caught it with one hand behind his back. “Hot damn,” he shouted loudly enough to send Sandra running into the room.

“Is everything all right?”

“Everything, my dear Sandra, is just fine.” He waltzed
her across the room, planting a kiss on her cheek before hurrying out of the suite.

* * *

For the second time, Lesley fluffed up the decorator pillows at the end of her sofa. Holding one to her stomach, she exhaled slowly, praying she was doing the right thing.

The doorbell chimed and she must have leapt a good five inches off the ground. It was early, too early for Chase. She opened the door to find Daisy standing on the other side.

“He’s coming?”

“Yes, how’d you know?”

Daisy laughed. “You wouldn’t dress up like that for me.”

“It’s too much, isn’t it?” She’d carefully gone through her wardrobe, choosing beige silk pants, a cream-colored top and a soft coral blazer. Her silver earrings were crescent-shaped and the pendant dangling from her gold chain was a gold-edged magnifying glass.

“You look fabulous, darling,” Daisy commented in a lazy drawl. “Just fab-u-lous.”

“Am I being too obvious?”

“Honey, compared to me, you’re extremely subtle. Just be yourself and you’ll do fine.” She walked around the coffee table and eyed the cheese-and-cracker tray.

“What do you think?”

Daisy shrugged. “It’s a nice touch.”

“I’ve got wine cooling in the kitchen. I don’t look too eager, do I?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?” Lesley had never been less certain
of anything. Her nerves were shattered, her composure crumbling and her self-confidence was at its lowest ebb.

“There must be something in the air,” Daisy said, reaching for a cracker. She was about to dip it in the nut-rolled cheddar cheese ball when Lesley slapped her hand.

“That’s for Chase.”

“Okay, okay.” But Daisy ate the cracker anyway. “Didn’t you tell me your friend Lori is getting married?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Daisy relaxed on the sofa and crossed her legs, swinging one foot dangerously close to the cheese. “You’ll never guess who’s been calling.”