Home at Rose Cottage (11 page)

Mike’s gaze never wavered. He never even flinched under the harsh accusation.

“You’re probably right,” he said at last. “If I hold on to the anger, if I remember every minute of the day and night what it was like to watch Linda self-destruct and abandon Jessie and me, even when she was still right there in the same room, then I won’t ever make that mistake again.”

“That’s sad,” Melanie said.

“Are you any better?” he challenged her. “Are you ready to plunge right in and take another chance on love?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Sure,” he agreed. “Because I’m a safe bet. I’ve made it plain I’m not looking for anything more than right here and right now and, for tonight, anyway, that suits you. You’re as much of a coward as I am, Melanie.” He gave her a sad look. “Worse, you won’t even talk about why.”

She shivered as the truth hit home. “Because I’m ashamed of what happened,” she suddenly told him. “The man I was involved with, the man I thought I knew so
well, the man I loved, turned out to be married with two kids.”

Mike stared at her incredulously. “Turned out to be? You didn’t know?”

“I had no idea,” she admitted. “There were probably a million signs, but I either didn’t recognize them or ignored them because I didn’t want to know the truth. So now you know. I’m an idiot.”

He touched her cheek. “You trusted him and he lied to you.
He’s
the idiot.”

“At least now you know why my sisters were so determined to ask all those questions when they found out about you. They didn’t trust me to get it right this time, either.”

“I’ve been honest with you from the beginning,” he said. “I might not elaborate too much, but I’ve told you the basics.”

“So, what now?” she asked. “Are we just using each other for sex?”

“Nobody’s using anybody,” Mike said fiercely. “We’re just clearing up the ground rules, deciding if we want to go on.”

“If we have to think this much, maybe it’s the wrong thing to do,” she admitted reluctantly, then moaned. “I can’t believe I’m in bed, half-naked with a gorgeous man, and suggesting that we call the whole thing off.”

“Frankly, that goes double for me.” He glanced sideways at her. “Now that everything’s crystal clear, we could pick up where we left off.”

Melanie poked him in the ribs. “Not a chance. Honesty has thoroughly spoiled the mood.”

He leaned over her, his mouth just above hers. “Bet we could recapture it in a heartbeat.”

Her heart skipped a beat, and renewed heat spread through her. “Think so?”

“I know so,” he said, right before he claimed her mouth and kissed her until she was writhing beneath him.

“Hmm,” she murmured, when she finally caught her breath. “I guess I was wrong.”

“Wrong about what?”

“Honesty’s one heck of a turn-on, after all.” She had no idea why she’d waited so long to tell Mike the truth. Now there were no secrets left to bite either of them in the butt.

When morning came, Mike rolled out of bed, grabbed his pants and headed for the shower. He hadn’t felt this alive in a long, long time. There was something about energetic sex that set the blood to humming in a way that nothing else on earth could do.

When he emerged from the bathroom, Melanie was sprawled across the whole bed, the sheet twisted around her in a way that revealed far more than it concealed. His body responded at once, and his plan to get to work early and pretend this was just an ordinary day promptly fell by the wayside.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and smoothed his hand over her rounded backside. The little whimpering sound that emerged from low in her throat reminded him of all the other sexy little moans she’d uttered when they’d made love.

“Wake up, darlin’,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the hollow at the base of her spine.

“Is it morning?” she asked sleepily.

“It is by my standards.”

“You leaving?”

“That was the plan,” he said.

She rolled over and squinted at him. “Was?” she echoed, sounding intrigued by the possibilities.

“Unless you’re interested in having me stay,” he said.

“For breakfast?” she taunted.

“Maybe later.”

“Ah.” She reached up and touched the damp curls on his chest. “You’ve already taken a shower.”

“True.”

“And you’re half-dressed.”

“Only half,” he emphasized.

“So it wouldn’t take much to persuade you to get undressed?” she concluded, clearly amused.

“Not much at all,” he agreed. “Maybe a kiss.”

“I can do that,” she said, reaching for him and giving him a chaste peck on the cheek.

Mike laughed. “You’ll have to do better than that. Think you’re up to it?”

She wound her fingers through his hair and kissed him thoroughly until there was no question at all of leaving. The only question was how fast he could get out of his jeans and back inside her.

She was ready for him, her hips arching to meet him, her body already straining toward yet another hard, fast climax that sent shudders sweeping through her right before they triggered his own explosion.

Sweet heaven, he thought, collapsing. How had he missed the fact that urgent, demanding sex could be just as rewarding as long, lingering caresses and a slow buildup of anticipation? The night had been filled with the full range of experiences, each one more satisfying than the one before.

And still it hadn’t been enough. He would want Melanie again in an hour or a day or a month. The realization
slammed into him like a freight train. Panic followed, clawing at him, churning up a fight-or-flight reaction that made him want to leap from the bed and head for the door. Only an awareness that Melanie didn’t deserve that kind of cowardly escape kept him where he was, silent and withdrawn, but at least present. She’d trusted him with her deepest secret last night, told him about the man who’d lied to her and betrayed her. He couldn’t prove that he was just as much of a lowlife in his own way by running out on her now.

Next to him she sighed. “You can go,” she said softly. “I know you want to.”

“No, I…” he began, but the protest died in his throat when he saw the knowing amusement lurking in the depths of her eyes.

“It’s okay, really. Go pick up Jessie. I’ll be fine. No expectations, Mike. That was our agreement.”

“It doesn’t feel right to take off on you like that,” he said.

“I’m not responsible for your conscience,” she told him. “You do have my permission to go, though.”

Because he did need to pick up Jessie and get her to school, because he was terrified of what he was feeling for Melanie right this instant, he crawled from the bed and pulled on his clothes.

“I’ll call you later or stop by,” he said, looking down at her. “Maybe the three of us can do something tonight.”

Melanie shook her head. “Not tonight.”

“Why? Do you have other plans?”

“No. I just think we both need to take a step back and remember what we talked about here last night, not just how it felt to be together. The sex was fabulous, but the words were just as important, Mike. We can’t let ourselves forget them, not for a minute.”

Mike bit back a sigh. She was right. “I will call you later today, though.”

Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That would be nice.”

He turned and left the room, her words echoing in his ears.
Nice.
Wasn’t that just
special,
he thought derisively. They were reducing something incredible to nothing, minimizing it so they could both live with it. What the hell were they thinking?

T
here was a wicked gleam in Pam’s eye when she cornered Mike in the supermarket. Since he was well aware that Jeff’s wife had a tendency to meddle, it was worrisome. So far he’d evaded all of her clever machinations to fix him up, but there was always a first time for her to sneak in under his radar with one of her perfect-for-you dates.

“Well, hello there,” Pam greeted him. “You’re just the man I’ve been looking for.”

Mike regarded her with amusement. “You must not have been looking too hard. I’ve been around, mostly with your husband. You do still keep track of him, don’t you?”

She made a face. “Unfortunately, Jeff has forbidden me to come by the job sites.”

Mike quirked an eyebrow. “He forbade you? That must have gone over well.”

“He said I distract him. That made up for it.” She shrugged. “Besides, I let him give orders from time to time, when it’s not worth arguing over. It’s good for the marriage.”

Mike grinned. “I’ll keep that little pearl of wisdom in mind, should the occasion ever arise.”

“You should. It’s very sound advice. Now, let’s talk about when you’re going to bring Melanie to dinner. I know Jeff invited her.”

He should have guessed Pam was behind that invitation, even though Jeff had given the impression it was his own idea. In fact, since Jeff’s wife had seen him with Melanie weeks ago at the nursery, he was a little surprised it had taken her so long.

“And she said no,” he told her flatly. “I think we’ll leave it like that.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll make too much of it.”

“I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Mike chuckled. “Darlin’, I’ve seen your best behavior. You could give Mike Wallace a run for his money when it comes to asking tough questions.”

“Do the two of you have something to hide?” she inquired, her expression innocent.

“Nothing,” Mike assured her.

“Then I don’t see the problem. Besides, if you want Melanie to stay here, she needs to make friends. Jeff and I are eager to do our part to make her feel welcome, so she won’t be quite so anxious to get back to Boston. She is still planning to go back, isn’t she?” Pam asked sweetly. “How does that make you feel?”

Obviously she’d done her homework. Mike wondered how much information Jeff had passed on to his wife and how much she’d gleaned on her own. Pam had sources all over town.

“I am not having this conversation with you,” he said tightly.

“I just want to help.”

“How gracious and utterly unselfish of you,” he said dryly.

She gave him a bland look. “We’re your friends. It’s the least we can do,” she said magnanimously.

“I’m still not bringing Melanie over.”

“How about if I invite her? Will you come, too?”

Mike saw the trap for what it was. “If she says yes, you bet I’ll be there, but only to make sure you don’t pester her to death.”

Pam grinned, a satisfied glint in her eyes. “I’ll call you with the details.”

“She won’t say yes.”

She gave him a pitying look. “Wanna bet?”

“Twenty bucks.”

“And you throw in the steaks,” she challenged. “Thick New York strip steaks for four.”

“Deal.”

Mike stood there as Pam walked away, her expression triumphant. What had he been thinking? He knew precisely how sneaky and persuasive Pam could be. He might as well buy the blasted steaks now.

“Do you know some pint-size steamroller named Pam?” Melanie asked when Mike called that evening. She was still reeling from her encounter with the stranger who’d appeared on her doorstep earlier and wouldn’t take no for an answer. While Jeff Clayborne had been friendly and persistent, his wife had taken persistence to an art form.

Mike groaned. “I was just calling to warn you she might call.”

“Well, she didn’t call. She came by.”

“And?”

“We’re having dinner there tomorrow night.”

“How did that happen? I thought you were made of sterner stuff.”

“Apparently,” she said, her tone wry. “I heard about the bet. That pretty much clinched it.”

“You wanted her to win?” he asked incredulously.

“No, I wanted to get to know the woman who could get you to agree to something so ridiculous. I think she might have some maneuvers I should know about.”

“You don’t really have to go,” he told her.

Melanie laughed at the hopeful note in his voice. “Nice try, but it’s too late. We’re going. Jessie’s invited, too, by the way.”

“Pam doesn’t miss a trick, does she?” he muttered.

“You should have known that. She’s your friend, after all.”

“I might have to reconsider that. What time?”

“Six. She said with the kids there, it would be better to make it an early night.”

“I’ll pick you up at quarter to six,” he said, sounding resigned.

“
You
could stay home,” Melanie said. “I actually only committed for myself. It’s up to you if you want to honor your bet.”

“Fat chance,” Mike responded.

She laughed. “That’s what Pam said you’d say.”

“Damn straight. I’m not leaving you alone with that woman for a minute. If she’s going to pry all your deep, dark secrets out of you, I want to be there.”

For the first time since she’d agreed to dinner, Melanie had serious second thoughts. She hadn’t been considering Pam’s actual mission when she’d caved in under pressure and accepted the woman’s invitation. She’d merely been curious to see the interaction between Mike and this woman who seemed to know him so well. Besides, once again, days had passed since he’d been by to see her.
To her regret, she’d missed him. Seeing him with other people around seemed like a safe way to satisfy her longing for a glimpse of him.

“You, Jessie and I could go out for pizza instead,” she said wistfully. “In fact, I’ve been craving pizza for days now. One of those great big ones with everything on it.”

“Sounds great, but I’m not sure you’re prepared to have Pam hunt us down,” Mike replied. “It wouldn’t be pretty. Buck up, Melanie. I’m sure she’ll make the inquisition as painless as possible.”

“Maybe Jessie will be having a bad day tomorrow,” Melanie suggested, only partially in jest.

“You would use a little girl to wriggle off the hook?” he asked, feigning shock.

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “Yes, I would.” And she wouldn’t suffer a moment’s guilty conscience.

“So would I,” he admitted. “But my daughter loves going over there. Being around the Claybornes’ daughter, Lyssa, is good for Jessie. I won’t deny her that because the two of us are cowards.”

Melanie heaved a resigned sigh. “Okay, then, I’ll see you at five forty-five.”

She was about to hang up when Mike said, “Hey, Melanie, one more thing you should probably keep in mind.”

“What?”

“No touching. No kissing.”

She laughed. That was a given, especially if they intended to at least maintain the illusion in public that there was absolutely nothing between them. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“Wanna bet?”

She sobered at once at the mischievous tone in his voice. “I think you’ve done enough betting for one day, Mike, don’t you? How’s that working for you?”

How had he let himself get drawn into spending an entire evening with Melanie under the watchful gaze of his two best friends? Mike wondered. All too recently he’d crawled out of her bed and vowed once more to steer clear of her entirely because the complications were getting to be too much for him.

Worse, he’d agreed to bring Jessie along tonight, and his daughter was currently chattering like a little magpie, telling Melanie all about her best friend at school and the accident she’d had with a pot of paste that had necessitated getting her hair cut very, very short.

“I’m glad that didn’t happen to me,” Jessie said. “I’m never getting my hair cut.”

Melanie laughed. “You might reconsider that when it gets so long you’re sitting on it and it takes hours and hours to dry.”

Jessie fell silent, her expression thoughtful as she studied Melanie. “Your hair’s long.”

“Not that long,” Melanie said. “Just long enough for me to braid it or pull it into a ponytail when I don’t have time to do anything else with it.”

“Daddy puts my hair into a ponytail sometimes, but it’s usually crooked,” Jessie said, sounding forlorn. “I never had a braid.”

Melanie chuckled. “Well, fixing hair requires a talent some men don’t have. That’s why they wear theirs so short.”

“Hey,” Mike protested. “I can do anything you can do.”

Melanie regarded him with amusement. “Is that one of those challenges you’re so fond of?”

The memory of another challenge, one she’d issued very recently, slammed into him and made the temperature
in the car climb by several degrees. And he’d foolishly trumped her just last night with that no-kissing, no-touching nonsense. It promised to be a very long evening and with Jessie along, there would be no relief at the end of it.

“I think maybe we ought to call it quits when it comes to making challenges,” he said in a choked voice.

“What’s a challenge?” Jessie asked.

“It’s like a dare,” Melanie told her.

Jessie’s expression brightened. “Like when Kevin Reed dared me to climb to the top of the jungle gym?”

Mike felt his heart drop. “Please tell me you didn’t do it?”

Jessie gave him an unconcerned look. “Kevin’s dumb. I wouldn’t do anything he said.”

“Thank God,” Mike murmured fervently. “Maybe we should change the subject.”

Melanie regarded him knowingly. “Any particular topic you’d find a bit safer?”

“Yeah. Let’s decide how we’re going to get away from here tonight before dessert.”

“Daddy!” Jessie protested. “We have to stay for dessert. It’s the best part.”

“It certainly is,” Melanie agreed.

“But it’s usually accompanied by lots of questions everyone’s been too polite to ask up until then,” Mike reminded her.

Melanie frowned. “You have a point. However, it would be rude to try to duck out. We’ll just have to be evasive.”

“You did say you’d met Pam the steamroller, right?” he inquired.

“I can handle Pam, now that I’ve seen her in action,” Melanie foolishly insisted. “I’m prepared.”

“Ha!”

She gave him one of those superior female looks designed to make men feel like idiots. “Watch and learn.”

Mike barely contained a groan. This was one time he really didn’t want to be right, but he knew Pam. If she was tricky on her own, she was the queen of sneakiness when she had Jeff around for backup. He and Melanie were doomed, no question about it.

The front yard of the Clayborne house was littered with toys. Melanie had to weave her way through bicycles, wagons and an obviously pricey miniature convertible—to say nothing of basketballs and beachballs—to get to the front door, which was already standing open. Pam was waiting on the front steps.

“Sorry about the chaos,” she said, coming forward to give Melanie a hug as if they were old friends. To Mike, Pam offered a smug, told-you-so grin and a peck on the cheek. “The kids aren’t required to put everything away till they come in for the night and, believe me, they always wait till the very last minute.” She leaned down to scoop up Jessie. “How’s my girl?”

“I’m fine,” Jessie said, clinging to Pam’s neck. “Where’s Lyssa?”

“She’s in her room, expecting you. Wait till you see her new dollhouse. Go on up,” Pam said, setting her down at the foot of the stairs. “I’ll call you when the pizza gets here.”

“The kids are having pizza?” Melanie said wistfully.

“It’ll keep ’em out of our hair,” Pam said. “We can get to know each other.”

She grabbed Melanie’s hand as if she feared Melanie might bolt. “You can come in the kitchen and talk to me
while I finish the salad. And Mike, Jeff’s out back waiting for those steaks.”

Mike nodded, then leaned down to whisper in Melanie’s ear as he passed. “Divide and conquer. Told you she was sneaky.”

“I heard that,” Pam said.

“I meant for you to,” he responded happily. “I want you to know we’re on to you.”

Melanie reluctantly followed Pam into a large, bright combination kitchen and family room with a huge island in the middle and windows all around. It was obvious that the family spent a lot of time here. There was a cozy built-in breakfast nook that was big enough for six, and at the opposite end a comfortable sofa sat in front of a fireplace. A giant-screen TV was angled toward the sofa, but could be seen from the kitchen, as well. It was a great setup for having the guys over for football. In the kitchen itself, there were professional-grade stainless-steel appliances that Melanie’s sister would envy.

“You must like to cook,” she said to Pam.

“Actually I hate it,” Pam responded. “But with five of us, I have to do it, so I figured I might as well create a space I’d enjoy.”

“You help Jeff with the nursery?”

Pam’s expression immediately brightened. “That’s how we met. I love plants. When I first came to town—right after I got out of college with a degree in horticulture—his dad hired me.”

“And it was love at first sight?” Melanie asked.

Pam laughed at her assessment. “Hardly. With my fancy degree, Jeff thought I was a know-it-all. He used to tell me book learning wasn’t nearly as important as practical experience. He’d grown up in the business and thought he’d seen just about everything. Then one very
expensive garden died just days after he’d put it in, and he had no idea why.”

“Let me guess. You told him why.”

“Of course not,” Pam said airily. “I let him sweat. He worried and fretted and flatly refused to ask for my help, so I just kept on doing my job and keeping my mouth shut. After about a week the customer came in and started raising a ruckus about throwing all that money down the tubes. She threatened to go to another nursery if we didn’t fix the problem pronto. Jeff was about to offer her a refund, when I took pity on him and stepped in.”

“What did you say?”

“That she’d be making a huge mistake going to anyone else, because she’d just have the same problem all over again. I’m not sure who was more surprised, the customer or Jeff, but he caught on right away.”