“Are you sure you’re up to making a trip like that?” Genae couldn’t help asking.
His reply was tinged with exasperation. “Give me a break. A minor burn is hardly going to keep me bedridden. Despite your concerns--and Jonathan’s and Jason’s--I’m perfectly capable of doing my job.”
She knew that, of course. Even if he did tend to downplay his injuries, and to deny the discomfort he must still be feeling, there was no reason Brian couldn’t handle a routine business trip. And his being gone for a few days would give her a chance to get her feelings about him under control. She had trouble thinking clearly when he was too close.
“Take care of yourself,” she said simply.
“You, too. And Genae...”
“Yes?”
“Promise me you won’t try to ditch the security detail while I’m gone.”
She groaned. “You’re going to have me watched the whole time you’re out of town?”
“Watched over,” he corrected her. “It will be public knowledge that I’ll be in Seattle for the next couple of days. I’m not leaving you completely unprotected while I’m gone.”
“I’ll be perfectly safe. I’ve been watching over myself for years.”
“Yes, but that was before I came along to complicate your life,” he reminded her. His cheerful tone didn’t hide the fact that he had no intention of allowing her to change his mind.
“You got that right,” she muttered.
“I’ll miss you, Gen.”
She frowned at the telephone, not sure if he was still teasing. He’d sounded serious that time. But he was a very talented actor, she reminded herself. “Well...um...have a good trip.”
He sighed heavily, the humor back now. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you’d miss me, too. But that’s okay. I’m not one to give up easily once I set my mind to something.”
Now he was making her nervous. “Goodbye, Brian.”
“Bye, darling.”
She hung up before he could add whatever blarney he came up with next. And, dammit, she was going to miss him.
“I hope Brian gets here in time for the party.” Evelyn Landon looked out her living room window for the seventh time in the past hour.
“He said he would do his best,” Genae reminded her from a doily-decorated wing chair across the room. She glanced at her watch. “He still has nearly and hour to get here before we need to leave, and I gave him directions to the club if he misses us here.”
“I’m sure he’s trying his best.” Patting her spray-stiffened silvery hair, Evelyn stepped away from the window. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything, honey? Don’t you want a drink before you change for the party?”
Genae shook her head. “There will be plenty to eat and drink once we get there.”
A mixture of voices preceded three people into the room. Raylene, Jonathan and Daniel Landon had been out in the back yard to examine Daniel’s prized new bass boat, which Genae had already seen and dutifully admired.
“Brian hasn’t called?” Jonathan asked Genae.
“No. I guess he’s running a little late.”
“I hope he hasn’t been detained by a business problem,” Raylene frowned.
The seemingly casual remark fell rather heavily into the room. Genae imagined the others were remembering the same thing she was. The last time Brian had been detained on a business trip, he’d asked Jonathan to give Raylene a lift to his vacation resort. Before Brian had been able to join them there, Raylene and Jonathan had been kidnapped.
Realizing what unpleasant memories she had unintentionally invoked, Raylene spoke again quickly. “I’d better go change.”
Genae stood. “Yeah, me, too.”
Leaving Justin and Bob to close the shop, they had left early that afternoon, bringing their party clothes with them. Jonathan’s things had been stashed in Raylene’s old room; Raylene and Genae would dress in Genae’s former bedroom.
Genae and Raylene and both brought cool and casual dresses for the party. It was nice to be able to dress comfortably for a change, Genae reflected as she buckled the strap of one kitten-heeled sandal. Her feet were particularly relieved.
“You’re sure you’re okay about tonight?” Raylene asked as she stood in front of the mirror, fastening her silver hoop earrings. “I know it will be awkward for you, having to pretend in front of everyone that you and Brian are a couple.”
“We’ve been participating in that pretense for several weeks now.”
“Yes, but that was for strangers. This is different.”
Since Genae had just been thinking very much along the same lines, she couldn’t argue. “I’ll get through it. We don’t have to lie, really. Brian and I have been dating--we don’t have to explain why. We’ve never implied to anyone that we’re engaged or even discussing long-term relationships. All we have to do this evening is act like very good friends and answer any questions politely but vaguely.”
“You and Brian have become friends, haven’t you? I’ve noticed that you seem to enjoy being together.”
“Raylene...”
Her sister gave her an innocent look. “I’m not matchmaking. It was only an observation.”
“Huumph.” Unconvinced, Genae stood and stepped to the mirror, and picked up the hairbrush that had been lying on the dresser top.
There was an eerie sense of déjà vu to getting dressed in her old bedroom with Raylene. Evelyn had changed the décor of the room during the past 7 years since Genae moved out, transforming it from a teenager’s room to a guest room, but the furniture was the same. It didn’t take much imagination for Genae to see the room as it once had been, decorated with beads and stuffed animals and posters or singers. Raylene’s room had been “prissier”--lace and porcelain and Degas prints. The twins had always made an effort to express their individuality, and yet the bond between them had always been strong.
Things were changing, Genae mused wistfully. Not so long ago, she had been the most important person in her sister’s life. She was fully aware that she had now taken second place. When Raylene and Jonathan had children--and Raye wanted them soon--Genae would slip even further down the priority scale. As it should be, of course. She and Raylene would always be close, but Raylene’s first loyalty must be to her own family.
Evelyn’s voice cut through Genae’s temporarily melancholy, “Genae, honey, there’s a call for you. It’s Brian.”
Raylene frowned. “I hope he isn’t calling to say he can’t make it. Jonathan and I really want him to be with us this evening.”
Genae didn’t mention that she felt much the same way. As awkward as it would be for her to try to deceive her old friends and neighbors, she suspected that it would be even more problematic going to the party without Brian. There would be questions about him to field, speculation about whether they’d broken up, concerned reminders about how quickly time passed for a single woman approaching her thirtieth birthday. This was still an old-fashioned community in some ways. Women Genae’s age were expected to be married--or at least putting a great deal of effort into attaining that goal.
She walked to the kitchen to take the call, since there was no extension in her old room. “Brian?” she said while her mother hovered in the background, quietly unloading the dishwasher. “Is something wrong?”
“My plane was delayed a couple of hours in Dallas. I’m in Little Rock now, just leaving for Searcy. Do you want to wait for me there at your parents’ house or should I join you at the party?”
Because she knew what her mother would want her to do, Genae answered, “You can meet us there. Don’t rush. There’s no need to risk your safety trying to get here too quickly.”
“Okay. Sorry about the hold-up.”
“It isn’t your fault. Are you having someone drive you?”
“I’m driving myself. My arm is much better, hardly even sore now. Jason picked me up at the airport and dropped me off at my place, so I’ve got the car.”
Genae had convinced Jonathan to return the Beamer to Brian’s house while Brian was away, telling him--and herself--that there was no need for her to keep it any longer. “Be careful,” she urged again.
“I will. See you soon, gorgeous.”
For some stupid reason, she was blushing a little when she hung up the phone--and she was quite sure her sharp-eyed mother noticed. “Brian’s going to be a little late. He’ll join us at the club.”
“I’m glad he’ll be able to come. How is his arm?”
“He said it’s much better. It’s probably still more sore than he’ll admit, but he seems to be healing quickly.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Evelyn studied Genae’s black-and-white color-blocked sleeveless dress. “I like that outfit. Is it new?”
Genae lifted her arms and made an exaggerated runway model’s turn. “Found it on a clearance rack.”
“It’s very flattering. I’m sure Brian will like it.”
Uh-oh. Not her mother, too. “Mom, don’t forget Brian and I are simply putting on an act to draw gossip away from Jonathan and Raye.”
Genae knew now where Raylene had gotten that innocent-little-me expression she’d used earlier.
Her hazel eyes wide, Evelyn said sweetly, “I know, honey. I was just making a comment about how pretty you look this evening.”
“Right.” Genae didn’t believe her mother any more than she had her sister earlier. What was with her family today? Was the imaginary scent of orange blossoms clouding their thinking?
Surely they understood that she and Brian were completely wrong for each other. Genae had no interest in sharing his social fishbowl, watching everything she said or did in case it appeared in a gossip column the next day. And Brian was undoubtedly looking for someone more patient and biddable, more gracious and tactful than Genae. Someone like Raylene.
Daniel marched into the kitchen, frowning at his watch. “Shouldn’t we be going? We’ll be late. Genae, where’s your sister?”
Struck by nostalgia again--her compulsively punctual father had spent most of her life hurrying the family to one event or another--she smiled and said, “I bet she sneaked into Jonathan’s room.”
Daniel scowled, “Well, go tell them to hurry up. Folks are waiting for us.”
She kissed his weathered cheek as she passed him. “Yes, Daddy.”
There was already a good-sized crowd at the country club when they arrived, Genae following the others in her own car.
“See?” Daniel muttered when they gathered outside the entrance door. “I told you we’d be late.”
“We weren’t expected to be the first ones here,” Evelyn replied mildly. “Everyone will want to greet Jonathan and Raylene when they enter.”
Daniel tugged at the tie his wife had made him wear. “Let’s get this over with.”
Jonathan looked almost as enthusiastic as Daniel at the prospect of the evening ahead. Genae sympathized with both men.
The ballroom had been decorated in white gauze and gold lamé. Gold and white balloons floated serenely above the floor. Creamy candles and magnolia blossoms filled nearly every available surface. Genae could see the hand of Cassie Barnum in the decorations. It had been Cassie who had decorated for every dance and homecoming party when they’d been in high school together. Since graduation, Cassie, now a florist and mother of three, had decorated numerous weddings, parties, pageants, proms and other local festivities.
Cassie rushed forward to greet them first. She had gained forty pounds or so since high school, but her smile was still bubbly and infectious. “Raylene!” she squealed, hugging her old classmate. “You look beautiful!”
Raylene returned the warm squeeze, the motioned toward her fiancé. “Cassie Barnum, this is Jonathan Lawver.”
Genae almost laughed at Jonathan’s expression when Cassie promptly threw her arms around him. She hoped Raylene had warned him that their old friends tended to be a “huggy” bunch. He was going to be embraced by total strangers and welcomed like a long-lost son. For a reserved, undemonstrative man like Jonathan, it was going to be a long evening.
While the rest of the family was surrounded by friends, Genae became the point of Cassie’s attention. After the customary hug, Cassie asked, “Isn’t Mr. Littrell going to be here this evening?”
“Brian’s been delayed. He’ll be joining us shortly.”
“Oh, good. I can’t wait to meet him.” Cassie leaned closer and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Is he really as handsome as he looks in photographs?”
“Better,” Genae answered candidly, thinking of the impact of his beautiful blue eyes when see up close and personal.
Cassie sighed, “Oh, my goodness. I just hope I don’t embarrass myself by stammering when I meet him.”
Genae’s response was dry. “I’m sure he’s used to it.”
Within the next fifteen minutes, it seemed that everyone in the room had asked her where Brian was. There was plenty of attention given to Raylene and Jonathan, of course, but Brian was considered the real celebrity. It wasn’t every day that a man who had been discussed in People, Forbes and Newsweek mingled among them. A man who had dated supermodels, dined at the White House and hobnobbed with captains of industry. Not only that, he was a real-life hero who rescued small children in his free time.
She stayed close to her parents as they worked the room, after discovering that people were less likely to get too personal about her relationship with Brian when her mother and father were standing beside her. There were several comments about Raylene’s new short hairstyle and how much easier it was to tell them apart now.
“You girls still look just alike, though,” he mother’s old friend Elsie Carpenter remarked, “It’s no wonder all those gossip columnists got the two of you mixed up.”
It made it easier for Genae to keep playing the part of Brian’s “frequent companion” when she had such validation that the plan had been successful. Among their friends, at least, it seemed to be taken for granted that the media had been wrong, and that the couples had been paired off this way all along.
She was chatting with her old history teacher, Mrs. Kinnelly, when a stir from the other side of the room caught her attention. Unless she was mistaken, her date had just arrived.
A moment later, she spotted him being escorted across the room by her mother. Evelyn clung to Brian’s right arm, looking so comfortable with him that one would have thought she’d known him forever rather than having met him only recently, “Look who finally made it,” Evelyn sang out cheerily.
Her pulse racing through her veins, Genae cleared her throat in an attempt to make her voice sound normal when she greeted him. She could only assume that her sudden attack of nerves was due to the knowledge that everyone in the big room was watching them. It surely wasn’t only excitement at seeing Brian again--even if he did look spectacular in his pale grey jacket, charcoal slacks and crisp white shirt. His bandages were hidden, and he looked completely healthy. His satin tie was a geometric print of greys and white, and had probably cost more than Genae’s clearance-rack dress.
Cassie wasn’t the only one who was in danger of stammering at the sight of him.
She was pleased when her voice came out steadily, “Hi, Brian...”
She should have been prepared for his next move--but she hadn’t been. She was in his arms with his mouth on hers before she could brace herself for the impact.
The kiss didn’t last long, but it still turned her knees to gelatin. She had to cling to his right arm for support when he finally drew back. She knew her cheeks were flaming. He’d kissed her right there in front of everyone--including her mother and her old history teacher!
She could tell from his wicked smile that he knew full well what he had done to her. “Hi, darling. Miss me?”
“Of course.” She lifted her chin and gave him a look that ordered him to behave. “How was your trip?”
“Much too long.” He turned his high-voltage smile on Mrs. Kinnelly, who was watching them avidly, “Hello. I’m Brian Littrell.”
Proving that even seventy-year-old women weren’t immune to his charms, the retired teacher tittered a little as she replied, “I know who you are, of course. And I’m Helen Kinnelly.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
Mrs. Kinnelly smiled at Genae’s mother. “Both of your daughters have found such polite young men, Evelyn. But I knew they would. You raised them well--even if Genae did raise a few eyebrows when she was a teenager.”
His arm around Genae’s shoulders, Brian chuckled. “I’ve always admired women with spirit. I bet you raised a few eyebrows in your day, as well.”
Mrs. Kinnelly blushed like one of the hundreds of schoolgirls she had taught during her career. “I got into my share of mischief.”
Brian winked at her then turned to greet someone else who was trying to get his attention, leaving the older woman smiling and fanning her face with one had.
“Can you believe this guy?” Genae asked her sister a short while later. “All he has to do is walk into a roomful of strangers and he suddenly has everyone eating out of his hands.”
Raylene looked across the room to the refreshments table where Brian and Jonathan had gone to fetch drinks. “He really is amazing.”
Following her sister’s gaze, Genae studied the two men. They made an impressive sight as they crossed the room. Brian so sleek and polished, Jonathan so solid and powerful. She doubted that many would have the courage to take them on.
There was no mistaking, in her opinion, who was the leader and who the second in command. Jonathan seemed to walk a half-step behind Brian, as if constantly guarding his back. Genae had never thought of herself as particularly drawn to powerful men--but she was definitely drawn to Brian.
She wasn’t the only one.
Cassie Barnum clutched her arm from behind. “Oh. My. God,” she murmured, staring at the men who had been delayed by conversation. “You were right. The photos don’t do him justice.”
Genae smiled. “I know.”
“And he’s obviously just crazy about you. You’re so lucky.”
Genae’s smile faded. Brian was a very talented actor, she could have said--but, of course, she didn’t. Brian joined them before she had to come up with a reply. “You aren’t talking about me, are you, love?”
Genae shrugged, “Actually we were talking about balloons and other things that are filled with hot air. I think your name might have come up in the conversation."
Cassie gasped, then giggled.
Knowing full well that he’d just been insulted, Brian grinned and lifted his punch cup in an implied “touché.” He turned then to Cassie, whom he’d met earlier. “Someone told me you’re responsible for the lovely decorations.”
She beamed, then said modestly. “Of course it’s nothing like you’re used to seeing.”
Brian assured her that he much preferred simplicity to ostentatiousness. Genae simply stood back and watched in resignation as he made another fan for life.
The more Brian impressed Genae’s friends, the more they seemed to become convinced that she should make sure she didn’t let him get away. Jonathan was unanimously approved as a mate for Raylene; and everyone seemed to agree that Brian suited Genae.
She lost count of the number of times she was asked if Brian had proposed to her yet. She found it especially ironic that many seemed convinced they were waiting to announced their engagement because they didn’t want to draw attention away from Raylene and Jonathan. She wondered what those same people would have said if she informed them that she and Brian were together specifically to draw attention away from the other couple.
The trapped feeling was growing in her again--trapped in a lie, and in a future that seemed to hold little excitement. It became more of an effort to keep socializing, to keep smiling and chatting and blithely deflecting personal questions.
She thought she was doing a pretty good job of hiding her real emotions. Though she didn’t try to convince herself she was as good at that sort of thing as Brian, everyone appeared convinced that she was having a lovely time at the party. Even her family seemed unconcerned. She should have known it wouldn’t be so easy to deceive a master deceiver.
“Need to get out of here for a while?” Brian asked in her ear.
She turned her head to find him standing very close to her, his expression entirely too knowing. “I don’t think we can leave yet,” she whispered. “There are going to be some speeches made for Raylene and Jonathan later and it will be rude if we leave before hearing them.”
“We could step outside for a few minutes. You can show me the gardens--maybe even scream a little, if you need to.”
She laughed at the thought of the attention a loud, unexpected scream would attract. “That would liven things up.”
“At least your smile is real now,” he observed, eyeing her in satisfaction. “Come show me the gardens.”
The temptation to get out of this room, if only for a few minutes, was simply too great. She turned to her mother. “Brian and I are going to step outside for some fresh air. We won’t be long, but send someone for us if the speeches start before we get back, okay?”
Evelyn smiled. “I wondered how long it would be before you would have to escape.”
So apparently she hadn’t fooled her mother very well, either. Was she really fooling anybody?
Genae was aware of the eyes that followed their path toward the exit doors. Everyone probably thought she and Brian wanted to be alone because he had been out of town for a couple of days. They would be surreptitiously checking out her hair and makeup when she returned, imagining invisible handprints all over her body.
She didn’t care what they thought. She had to get out. She was suddenly having trouble breathing in here.
They passed a crowd of older men swapping fishing lies in the lobby--Genae spotted her father among them--and then walked through the outside doors into the warm August evening. A group of smokers clustered under the awning just outside the door. Genae held her breath as she walked quickly through the cloud of smoke, merely nodding in response to their greetings.
Softly lit paths crisscrossed the gardens behind the club building. Planted with ornamental trees, rose bushes and a variety of other blooming plants, the gardens lay between the club and the golf course. Moonlight washed the landscape in a soft glow, glittering off the small lake in the center of the golf course. The scent of roses surrounded them, pleasantly replacing the smell of cigarette smoke.
A night for romance, Genae mused. And the perfect companion to share it with, she added with a sideways glance at Brian.
Be very careful, Genae.
Brian led her to a small bench set in a shadowy grotto formed by two spreading, lacy-leafed Japanese maples. The bench was just large enough to hold them both; he sat on her left so that his good arm was next to her. “This is nice, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I needed to get away from the crowd for a few minutes.”
“I could tell.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Was I that obvious about it?”
“Not to everyone else, perhaps. But I must admit I was watching you rather closely.”
Because that comment made her self-conscious, she looked away from him. “I’m glad you were able to make it tonight. Raylene would have been disappointed if you couldn’t come.”
He ran his fingertips lightly down her bare arm. “Is Raylene the only one who would have been disappointed?”
Genae cleared her throat. “I’m sure Jonathan is glad you’re here, so he isn’t the only one having to deal with so many strangers.”
A faintly reproving note entered his voice. “You mean you wouldn’t have missed me at all?”
“I’m glad you’re here,” she admitted. Then, when his hand closed over hers, she backtracked quickly. “It’s nice to have an excuse to escape the crowd.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment--whether it was intended as one or not.”
His fingers were intertwined with hers now, their hands resting on his knee. Holding her hand in a moonlit rose garden. Creating a memory of a perfect romantic moment. She might never forgive him for this.
