Smitten (9 page)
“She won’t get it,” he said. “Tell me you don’t still believe her.”
She poked at her Mexican rice with her fork and didn’t look at him. “She’s just like our mother. Easily deceived by men and always making the same mistakes.”
“I
wasn’t
a mistake she made. I never even knew her outside of high school glee club, Natalie.” He put down his fork. “I thought you knew me better now. Recognized the kind of man I am.”
She looked up then, and her eyes were haunted. “What kind of woman would accuse a man of something so bad if it were all a lie? And why would she contact a lawyer if she weren’t sure of her proof?”
“You think all men are deceivers and hiding who they really are?”
She put down her fork. “I don’t know. Maybe there are good men out there. And it’s just not in my genes to weed them out.”
He should have been offended, but he found himself intrigued by experiences that had affected her so dramatically. “Your mom died when?”
“I was ten. My aunts took in the three of us.” Her brother, Paul, had left town for college and gone on to be a top architect.
“What do you remember about your mom that affected you so much?”
She looked down at her hands. “The front door was a revolving one of man after man. She was married five times before she died.”
“And Lisa is just like her?”
She nodded. “I don’t want to be like them. Every day I ask God to help me see things more clearly than Mom and Lisa.
To open the eyes of my heart.”
“Yet you fail to trust him to do just that,” he said softly.
Her cheeks reddened as though she’d been slapped. She said nothing as she rose and turned back to her paint pan.
“Prove you trust him and go out to dinner with me this weekend,” Carson said. “Give me the benefit of the doubt.”
He’d moved from the thought of “someday” going on a date to actually asking her out this weekend. Roller in hand, she stared at him, biting her lip ferociously.
“I’ll pick you up Friday at seven.”
“You’re on.” She turned back to her work.
He picked up a paint roller and joined her. Maybe he’d given her food for thought.
N
atalie watched Julia lean on the counter and stare at the pastries on display. “Try the peanut butter cookies. They’re fabulous.”
Julia straightened and shook her head. “I need to lose three pounds.”
Natalie knew better than to object. Julia maintained her weight like a drill sergeant. “I have a date with Carson,” she announced. She’d been dying to tell her friends.
Shelby nearly choked on her latte. “A real date?”
Natalie nodded. “Dinner and everything.”
“What about Mia?” Julia asked. “Who’s watching her?”
“I thought I’d ask Zoe.”
Julia shook her head. “Let me. I’d like to do it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Mia and I are buds. I’m in the mood to watch
Finding Nemo
again.”
“I need help with what to wear.”
“That’s Julia’s forte too,” Reese said. “You don’t believe Carson’s Mia’s father anymore?” Her voice rose over the sound of the beans Natalie was grinding.
Natalie’s elation faded. “I still don’t know what to think about that. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt as I get to know him.” Zoe came in from the back room then, and Natalie froze. Surely she hadn’t heard them talking. While her cousin wasn’t a gossip, she was blunt and often said things without thinking of the consequences. “I’ll let you take over, Zoe,” she said, shooting a warning glance at her friends.
Julia shoved items of clothing aside in Natalie’s closet. “What do you mean you didn’t tell him Friday was your birthday?” She wore slim-fitting slacks and a bright green sweater that showed her figure to advantage.
“I didn’t want him to make a big deal of it.” Natalie pulled a box from the top shelf and opened the lid. She lifted out a black snakeskin heel. “How about these Pliners that you got me last year for Christmas?”
Julia glanced at them. “I love those on you. They make your legs look fabulous. You need a short skirt.”
“Not short!”
“Trust me on this—men love short skirts.” Julia held up a black skirt that had a flirty ruffle on the bottom. “This is perfect.”
“I’ve never worn it. Don’t you think it’s a little, well, daring for me? Maybe even too young?”
“You’re thirty, not fifty. You’re young enough to wear anything. Let’s figure out the top.” Julia rummaged again until she found a red lace top with a V-neck. “I’ve never seen you wear this either. It still has the tags on it. Hey, wait a minute.
I bought this for you last year for your birthday.”
“I hate to remind you, but I’ll be thirty-one on Friday.
And yes, you got me the top.”
Julia put her hands on her hips. “I bet I got the skirt too.”
Natalie suppressed a smile. “You have a good memory.”
“Well, you’re wearing it on Friday. He’ll be speechless.”
She perched on the rose coverlet on the bed. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Nat.”
Natalie’s smile faded at the serious expression on Julia’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“I was in the bank today and overheard two women talking about Carson being Mia’s father.”
The strength went out of Natalie’s legs, and she sank onto the bed beside Julia. “Zoe must have overheard us.”
Julia nodded. “It’s probably all over town by now.”
“I hope Mia doesn’t hear about it.”
“You probably ought to warn Carson.”
The thought of telling Carson made Natalie spring to her feet and pace the lavender carpet. “He’s going to think I was gossiping.”
“It’s not like you’re a couple. Not yet anyway.”
“We might be heading that way.” Natalie settled on the carpet with her legs crossed. “I don’t know what’s happening between us.”
“Do you trust him?”
“I want to. I’m trying to. Working together has made me see he’s got integrity. How could a man of integrity ignore his daughter?”
“You know what I think.”
“That Lisa lied. I’m beginning to wonder myself.” She decided to change the subject. “At least the town project is moving along. I think we’re going to do this!”
Julia’s expression turned thoughtful. “You know what would be great? If Sawyer would write a song to go with the town.”
Natalie gaped when the suggestion took hold. “That’s a
great
idea! Can’t you just see what kind of attention that would bring us? I wonder if he would do it.”
“Carson could ask him. He might make it a song about his fiancée and how smitten with her he was when he first laid eyes on her.” Julia sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel that kind of overwhelming attraction. Men are pigs.”
Natalie laughed. “You haven’t dated the right one yet.”
“And I’m not likely to in this hick town,” Julia said gloomily. She sprang to her feet. “I’d better run. We’ll come to the coffee shop for our birthday cake and party before the big dinner.”
“You
will
be gone before he comes, right?” Natalie gave an inward shudder at the thought of the girls being there when she left with Carson.
“We’ll be perfect ladies. Shelby has been coaching us.”
Natalie walked Julia to the door. “That wasn’t a promise.”
Julia’s smile was impish as she opened the door—and ran smack into Carson. He caught her before she could fall.
“Sorry,” Julia said, laughing. “Hi, Carson. Bye, Carson!”
Natalie’s stomach fluttered at the warmth in his gaze. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” she said, stepping aside for him to enter. How on earth could she tell him that she and the girls had inadvertently started a terrible rumor?
“I’m on my way to work, so I can’t stay,” he said. “I found this under my door.” He showed her a note from the school that had been colored in crayon.
Dear Mr. Smitten, You are invited to Smitten Elementary for a tea to honor our girls and their fathers on May 2 at 2:00 p.m. We hope you can come. Love, Mia
The
Mr. Smitten
and Mia’s signature had been written in block letters.
Something kicked in Natalie’s chest. “Oh dear,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry, Carson. I never meant . . .”
“You told her I was her father?” His eyes showed hurt.
Natalie shook her head violently. “No! The girls and I were discussing it at the coffee shop. We didn’t know anyone could overhear, but I think—”
“Someone did,” he finished for her.
She could barely force herself to look him in the eye. “I think so. I’m so sorry. Truly.”
His lips flattened. “It’s a little late for an apology.”
He stared down at her. “You still don’t trust me, do you, Natalie?”
“I-I want to,” she whispered. “I’m trying. Lisa is my sister, so it’s hard for me.”
“It wasn’t easy for me to trust you either. Did you think about that at all? It would have been easy for me to think you’re just like her, since you’re sisters.”
She shuddered at the bleakness in his face. “I’m sorry, Carson. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“You’re one of the few people who can,” he said. He held up the note. “What do I do about this?”
“If you show up to the tea . . .”
“People will assume even more that the rumors are true,” he said. “I know, but I can’t let Mia feel she has no one who would come with her.”
Her earlier doubts resurged. Would a man care like this if he weren’t Mia’s father? “I can’t let you do that, though,” she said. “You know how a small town is. It’s going to be bad enough for you without this. I’ll talk to Mia. Maybe I can get my brother to come from Boston and go with her.” She doubted Paul would be able to come, though. He often traveled with his job, and chances were he was out of town.
He turned toward the door. “Maybe.”
She didn’t want him to go with the tension between them.
“Before you go, Julia had a great idea. What if Sawyer wrote a song called ‘Smitten’? And sang it for the first time at the wedding?”
He turned back toward her, but his expression was guarded. “It would be good for his career and good for us too.
A win-win situation. I’ll give him a call tonight and ask him.”
“We thought so too, but I don’t know how long it takes to write a song and get it produced and ready for distribution.”
“I don’t know either, but Sawyer will do what he can, I think. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
He hesitated, and she thought for a moment that he was going to say something about what she’d done. Then he twisted the doorknob and stepped back into the sunshine.
“See you Friday,” he said.
“See you,” she echoed. Should she even go?
The work on the cabins was coming along, and the hardware store was busy with customers. Carson had been asked to order material for the new fudge shop going in next to Mountain Perks as well as the remodel of the bookstore down the street.
He stuck the cloth he’d been using to wash the front window into his pocket when he saw Mia and Natalie crossing the street in his direction. When it was clear they were coming to the hardware store, he stepped out onto the sidewalk to greet them.