Catch of a Lifetime: A Cricket Creek Novel (9 page)

“Well, I’m glad you arrived safely,” Jessica commented as they all took a step back. She shook her head when Bella handed her the pink bag. “Oh, thank you, but you shouldn’t have.”

“Bella, I said no gifts,” Madison added with a shake of her head. “Um, and casual attire.”

Bella gave her a deadpan look.

“Okay. I guess that slinky dress is casual attire for you.”

“I’m still a clotheshorse. This is tame for me.” She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Jessica. “Mom and I wanted you to have this gift, even though I’m still mad at you both for moving.”

Jessica accepted the gift but said, “Let’s go out on the back deck, where it’s not so noisy. I want to hear all about the crazy chef at Chicago Blue.”

“Okay.” Bella exchanged a look with Ty that didn’t go unnoticed by Jessica.
Ah . . . a spark of jealousy.
She suppressed a smile and put her hand on Ty’s forearm. “Come
on out with us. You’ll want to hear the dirt I’m going to dish,” she said, even though he already knew her sad tale.

“Do you mind, Jessica?” Ty asked. “I’d like to hear all about it.”

For a moment, Bella thought Jessica was going to protest, but she shrugged her slim shoulders. “I guess not. After all, you were a fixture there.”

Ty grinned. “Ah, so you did notice me.”

“You made sure that everyone noticed you,” Jessica shot back. “I’m surprised that there’s anything to gossip about now that you’re gone.”

“I sure missed you, Mr. Triple Threat,” Bella said, and looked at him with adoring eyes. “Who wouldn’t?” she cooed, and got a questioning look from Madison.

“How’s David?” Madison asked in a tone that told Bella she had better let her know what she was trying to accomplish.

“We broke up,” Bella replied glumly. “I’m feeling pretty low and could use a shoulder to cry on.” She thought about batting her eyes, but didn’t think she could pull it off without laughing. “A big, strong shoulder.”

Jessica’s eyes widened a fraction. “Um, Madison, why don’t you take Bella to meet Jason and then come out onto the back deck in a few minutes? I’ll wait to open your gift. Ty, would you mind coming with me?”

“Sure,” Ty answered.

“Great,” Jessica replied sweetly, but her smile was tight.

As soon as they walked away, Madison grabbed Bella’s arm and all but dragged her into the ladies’ room. She leaned her hip against the sink and folded her arms across her chest. “Girl, are you going to tell me what
that
was all about?”

“You promise not to tell?” Bella asked.

“No!”

“You have to promise, Madison!”

“Oh . . . okay. Geez, do I have to pinky swear?” Madison rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Excellent idea,” Bella said, and thrust her pinky finger at Madison.

Madison hooked her finger and tugged. “I swear. Spill!”

“I was coming to Ty’s aid and making your mother jealous.”

“Oh . . .” Madison gave the word about ten syllables, and then smiled.

Bella nodded. “Yeah, but I love Jess, so I didn’t want to get her mad at me, so in a flash of inspiration I decided to play all sad and vulnerable. And Jess can’t really call Ty out on it, since she’s got her own little cougar thing going on with Hannigan.”

“Lannigan.” Madison leaned back and gave her legs a little kick. “Brilliant! You did a bang-up job.”

“Not really,” Bella admitted.

Madison raised her shoulders and palms upward. “What are you talking about? Mom bought it hook, line, and sinker. And those two have been tiptoeing around their attraction since last summer, when Ty came into town. My matchmaking radar has been on full alert.”

Bella grinned. “Since when do you have matchmaking radar?”

“I don’t know. Guess it’s always been there. It seems it’s a Southern thing that bubbled to the surface with a little help from my friend Olivia. She and Noah Falcon starred in my play last summer. I knew they were meant for each other way before they ever did. Boy, oh, boy, did they fight it!”

Bella nodded. “You do really know how to read people. I guess that’s why you’re such a great writer. I hated to miss your play, but I couldn’t get away from work.”

“Well, I’m glad that you were able to get off work for the party.”

“Um, yeah . . . about that . . .”

Madison’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Did you quit?”

She scrunched up her nose. “Mmmm, more like fired.”

“Fired?” Madison squeaked.

“Yep, shit-canned.”

Madison leaned forward. “No way.”

“Yes, way.” Bella pressed her lips together and nodded grimly.

“Wait. So was the sad-and-vulnerable thing really an act?”

“Not so much.”

“Oh, Bella.”

“David cheated.”

Madison sucked in a breath. “That scum-sucking, low-life rat bastard!”

Bella swallowed hard and fanned her suddenly hot face. “Yep, I’m jobless and homeless. Dateless. Clueless.”

“Hey,” Madison said firmly, “this isn’t the feisty Arabella Diamante that I know and love talking. Add
fearless
to that list!”

Bella dug deep for a smile, but it wobbled at the corners. “I’m trying, but the truly scary part is that I never saw it coming. Am I that stupid? Really?”

“No!” Madison shook her head. “You’re that loving and trusting and would never suspect something that would never occur to you to do. Don’t you dare beat yourself up over his fucking bad behavior,” Madison said fiercely.

“God, I’ve missed you and Jess.”

Madison gave her a hug and then placed her hands on Bella’s shoulders. “Mom needs a hostess at Wine and Diner. You should take it.”

Bella swiped at the corner of her eyes and nodded. “That’s what Ty said.” She inhaled a deep breath. “Madison, no offense, but I don’t think I could live in a small town. I just wouldn’t fit in.”

“That’s what I thought too. But I was wrong.”

“Right . . . you fell in love. Speaking of, when do I get to meet this hometown hottie?” She cleared her throat and forced another smile.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“No.” She inhaled another deep breath, and once again squared her shoulders. “But I’m gonna be, or my mother will drive me bonkers until I am.”

Madison laughed. “I just adore your mom.”

“And I adore yours.”

Madison raised her hands upward. “Hey, move her here too!” she joked, but then her eyes widened. “Ohmigod, there are some amazing boutiques on the riverfront that Jason is finishing. One of those would be perfect for a jewelry store!”

Bella’s heart beat faster at the notion, and she once again got a tingling feeling that tonight was somehow going to be life altering. But she arched one eyebrow at Madison. “Nicolina Diamante in Cricket Creek, Kentucky? This town would never be the same.”

“Hey, we’re doing our best to shake things up around here. Bring it on!” Madison gave Bella’s shoulders one last squeeze. “Listen, I’ll show you around tomorrow and you can give it some thought. But right now, let’s go find Jason. I’m dying to introduce you.”

J
essica pasted a smile on her face as she made her way through the crowd toward the back door, but she was trying to keep her simmering anger from going to a full boil. Confrontations brought back the horrific memory of the day she gave the news to her shocked parents that their sixteen-year-old daughter was not only pregnant, but also carrying the child of Clayton Massey, the classic boy from the wrong side of the tracks whom she had been forbidden to see. Young, forbidden love had been a heady escape from the cold environment of her parents’ strained marriage, but she hadn’t been prepared for her father’s rage, her mother’s desertion, or Clayton’s disappearance. She could have tried harder to find him or asked for child support, but if he cared so little for her welfare, then she had opted to simply forget that he existed. Of course, it was possible that her father either scared him or paid him off, or both.

But she hadn’t cried . . . Well, at least not in front of them, and she would certainly stand her ground with Ty McKenna now. That didn’t mean it was going to be easy, but she had learned a long time ago to hold her own, and she was going to let Ty McKenna have it! If she hadn’t stood up to the
wrath of her father that fateful day, she would have crumpled like a rag doll, and so she had developed a spine made of steel. To Jessica, bending meant breaking, and so she never waffled, and she wasn’t about to now. After walking out of ear- and eye shot, she whipped around to face him.

“Let me make myself perfectly clear. Arabella Diamante is like a daughter to me. Stay the hell away from her.” Jessica tried not to flinch when Ty’s eyes widened at her harsh words, but in her experience, getting to the point instead of beating around the bush was the way to get an important message across.

“Bella has been my friend for a long time,” he answered quietly. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”

“Really?” Jessica inhaled a deep breath of the crisp night air to clear the alcohol and anger from her brain. “Taking advantage of her infatuation would hurt her.”

“Jessica, listen. About that . . .” Ty reached an imploring hand in her direction, but she pushed it away.

“No,
you
listen.” She took a step closer and tapped his chest, wishing she were taller so she could look at him eye to eye. “Don’t use your superstar-bullshit charm on her. It’s the last thing she needs right now.”

Ty flinched at her direct hit, but after a heartbeat of silence said, “Look, I understand your concern. But this isn’t what it seems.”

“Ha. How many times have you used that one?” She flipped her ponytail and waited. The fact that he was being so calm for some reason only fueled her anger, and so she tapped his chest again. “Too many to count?” His chest felt rock hard and warm, and despite her anger, she felt a pull of attraction. She swallowed and would have snatched her hand away, but he caught her fist and trapped it against his shirt. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart, and something flashed in his eyes that made her wonder if she was dead wrong. Dear God . . . what was she doing? She opened her mouth and thought perhaps she should apologize or at
the very least hear him out, but the look in his eyes shifted, making her take a step backward.

Oh, boy. He was pissed.

Jessica came up against the wall and shivered when the cool cement seeped through her thin blouse. Ty inched closer, crowding her space, and she wanted to tell him to back off . . . except despite his anger, she really didn’t want him to. He placed his palms on either side of her head in a masculine show of power that both infuriated and excited her at the same time.

“Let
me
make
myself
perfectly clear. Both Bella and her mother are my friends. I would kick anybody’s ever-loving ass who even
tried
to hurt either one of them. No matter what low opinion you’ve formed of me, I promise you that Bella could come to me stark naked, and I wouldn’t touch her.”

Jessica swallowed hard but didn’t know how to respond, so she remained silent. She wanted to believe him, to trust him, but it made her feel as if she were on a cliff ready to jump into deep water. She looked into his unwavering gaze and knew she would be safe, and yet couldn’t take the plunge. Some of what she was thinking must have shown in her expression, because, although anger still flashed in his eyes, he gently trailed his fingertip down her cheek.

“Funny thing is that Bella was trying to make you jealous on my behalf,” he said softly.

Jessica’s heart took a nosedive in her chest. “Oh . . .”

“Yeah, but you’ve got your sights set on Lannigan, the very reason for Bella’s little misguided charade,” he added just as softly, but with a sad edge.

Jessica wanted to open her mouth to protest, but as Ty continued to run a gentle fingertip down her cheek, words failed her.

“But while you’re kissing the
kid
, let me give you a little something to remember,” he said gruffly, and before Jessica could protest, he lowered his head and captured her mouth with his.

At the mere touch of his lips, a heady jolt of desire coursed through her veins like warm, thick honey. Jessica put her hands on his chest to push him away, but she melted into the kiss and instead fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling him even closer. When their tongues tangled, Jessica’s heart thudded. She slanted her mouth, giving more, taking more. . . .

Needing more.

With a soft moan in the back of her throat, she let go of his shirt and threaded her fingers through his thick hair, sinking deeper and deeper into the hot, demanding kiss.

When he finally pulled back, she felt light-headed and breathless, yet wanted an instant replay. But when she reached for him, he pushed away from the wall with one swift move.

“Happy birthday, Jessica,” he said gruffly, and then turned away. But instead of going inside, he headed for the steps. Jessica tried to get her scrambled emotions under control, but by the time she found her voice, he was already gone.

With a sigh, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, reliving the kiss. God, it had been forever since she had kissed like that, and it left her shaken and yet longing for more. She touched her fingertips to lips that still tingled and inhaled a trembling breath of night air. She shivered, wishing he were still there, keeping her warm with another amazing, bone-melting kiss.

But he was gone, leaving her with an immediate sense of loss.

“Damn,” she whispered, when unwanted emotion suddenly bubbled up in her throat. Ty McKenna was handsome, smart, and sexy as hell, and made no bones about the fact that he wanted her. “What in the world am I doing?” There were women who would kill to be in her shoes, and she had just pushed him away! Oh, she used the excuse that he was a not-to-be-trusted player, but in truth she believed that just like with Noah, those days were over. For almost a
year he had been coming into Wine and Diner, exhausted from his daily work helping to design the stadium, and now with team tryouts. During that time, she hadn’t seen him with a woman, and her heart always kicked into high gear the moment she spotted him in the restaurant.