Single, Sexy...And Sold!

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “Okay.” Jonah sighed. He couldn’t fight both women, and apparently Natalie no longer wanted to be alone with him. Maybe his first assessment was right, and she was crazy, after all. Most normal women couldn’t be fiery hot one minute and cool as a cucumber the next. If that was the case with Natalie, he’d better use some caution tonight. “We’d love to have dinner at your place.”

  6

  MRS. RUGGERELO REMINDED Natalie of her mother, although the two women looked nothing alike. The minute she stepped into the Ruggerelo’s apartment, she understood. They shared the same attitude—benevolent bossiness. Natalie’s decision to bid on Jonah had brought back her mother’s familiar meddling behavior, replacing the hopeless inactivity of depression.

  The Ruggerelos’ apartment was as cozy as her parents’ place used to be, making her nostalgic for the days when her father had been alive. People who could stick out a marriage for thirty-plus years should be rewarded by being allowed to grow old together, she thought. She missed her father terribly.

  “Look who we have here, Leo!” Mrs. Ruggerelo announced as she breezed into the apartment and set her lasagna on top of the television cabinet.

  Leo Ruggerelo looked up from his program with a start, and his recliner footrest came down with a thump as he hauled himself to his feet. “Jonah? What the hell? Oh, excuse me, ma’am.” He peered at Natalie over the tops of his glasses. “Well, damned if it’s not the puppy woman!”

  “In the flesh. Miss Natalie LeBlanc.” Mrs. Ruggerelo sounded as if she was introducing royalty. With practiced ease she scooped up the remote and flicked off the television. “I’ve invited them for dinner.”

  Leo looked confused. “But we already had—”

  “We’ll sit with them and make pleasant conversation.” She gave her husband a commanding look that made Natalie smile. Her mother had sent her father that sort of look more times than Natalie could count. Although her father had dominated in intellectual matters, Alice had been in charge of the social graces.

  “Oh. Sure, sure.” Leo glanced at Jonah. “Say, now that you’re here, maybe you could give me a hand moving the recliner. Spilled some soup today.”

  “Be glad to.”

  “Natalie and I will take care of things in the kitchen while you two handle that little chore.” Mrs. Ruggerelo picked up her casserole again. “You know where the stain remover is, Leo. Come on, Natalie.”

  A moment later Natalie was spreading sliced bread with garlic butter while Mrs. Ruggerelo made the antipasto.

  “Everybody’s been curious about you,” Mrs. Ruggerelo said. “We all think Jonah’s wonderful, of course, but that was a lot of money you paid.”

  “I guess it seems frivolous to you.” Natalie was having more and more trouble with the role of capricious rich girl. She decided to trust this woman with at least part of the truth. “I did it for my mother.”

  Mrs. Ruggerelo whirled, her hand on her heart. “You bought him for your mother?”

  Natalie flushed. “Not the way you’re thinking. You see, she’s been depressed ever since my father died, but she was so taken with the image of Jonah rescuing Bobo. I thought if I—”

  “Say no more.” Mrs. Ruggerelo reached over and patted Natalie’s arm. “You thought if she saw you with a fine young man on your arm, she’d take more interest in the future.” Mrs. Ruggerelo’s dark eyes glowed. “What a considerate daughter you are, thinking of your mother like that.” She went back to chopping.

  Natalie felt a little better.

  “My two girls, they would do that for me, bless their hearts, although they don’t have your kind of money, of course. Fortunately they both have nice young men, and last year I became the grandmother of a perfect little boy.”

  “I’ll bet you love that.”

  Mrs. Ruggerelo nodded. “So will your mother. The only way you can cheat death of its hold is to think about birth.”

  Natalie wasn’t sure how they’d leaped from dating to pregnancy. “I wasn’t really planning that far ahead. I mean, Jonah and I barely know each other.”

  The round little woman began to quiver with laughter.

  “What?”

  “I think you know each other well enough. When I opened the door, Jonah—well, I don’t think he was smuggling zucchini, if you know what I mean.”

  Natalie figured she’d just turned the color of her dress.

  Mrs. Ruggerelo pretended not to notice Natalie’s embarrassment as she continued assembling the antipasto. “Did you come here for dinner to stall him off?”

  Natalie opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

  “Maybe you want to keep him guessing, and I can understand that. Paying all that money puts a girl in an awkward position. She looks pretty desperate.”

  Natalie managed a small murmur of agreement.

  Mrs. Ruggerelo glanced up from her work. “But if I were you, I wouldn’t play too many games with this boy. You want him, you just go get him. Make lots of babies and give your mother joy.”

  Natalie swallowed. “I…hadn’t even considered…babies.”

  The older woman’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, of course you have. You might not know it yet, because of all the commotion.” She waved both hands in the air. “Such elaborate schemes young people cook up these days. Video dating, singles bars, bachelor auctions. It all boils down to one thing—finding a mate and making babies.”

  “But not everyone—”

  “Of course not everyone has babies, and some shouldn’t have them. But that’s what the equipment was designed for, when you get right down to it.”

  “What equipment?” Jonah asked, coming into the kitchen. He glanced at Natalie. “Are you okay?”

  She took a deep breath and made a conscious effort not to let her gaze wander lower than his face. “I’m fine.”

  “Girl talk,” Mrs. Ruggerelo said, flashing her gold tooth. “And now the food is ready!”

  JONAH ENJOYED the meal, but he couldn’t help watching the clock. This whole weekend had a Cinderella feel to it, and any minute he expected Natalie to disappear into the night, never to be seen again. He should be relieved to see her go, with all her unpredictable behavior and wild spending habits, not to mention whatever kinky request she planned to make of him.

  Yet the longer he was with her, alone or in the company of other people, the more fascinated he became. The Ruggerelos treated her like one of their daughters, and she seemed to soak up the easy affection. He liked watching her laugh and have a good time. He just thought they could be having a much better time by themselves.

  Funny how he and Cynthia had broken up because she resented how close he was to his neighbors. Now the tables were turned and Natalie seemed to love that closeness, while he was the one who wanted more privacy.

  Of course the situation was completely different with Natalie. He’d been thinking of asking Cynthia to marry him, so her reaction to his neighbors was important. In this case, Natalie’s reaction didn’t matter, because he couldn’t imagine having a serious relationship with someone who’d spend thirty-three thousand dollars at a bachelor auction. Still, he wouldn’t mind being alone with her for the rest of the night. If nothing else, he was dying of curiosity about her mysterious request. But she seemed to prefer schmoozing with the neighbors.

  “I can’t imagine a better meal than this at the Plaza,” Natalie said, polishing off her second helping of lasagna.

  “Well, there is something about home-cooked,” Mrs. Ruggerelo said, beaming.

  Jonah figured Natalie was now an honorary member of the family after praising Mrs. R.’s cooking like that. In fact, he’d better say something nice or risk being in the doghouse. “It was great,” he said.

  Mrs. Ruggerelo arched her eyebrows. “Better than pizza in a cardboard box?”

  “Much better,” Jonah said. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “I do,” she said with a tiny smile.

  A ringing phone saved Jonah from making any comment, but he was
sure he was blushing as Leo excused himself to go answer the phone.

  While Leo was gone, Natalie lobbed in another sure-fire compliment. “Do you ever give out your recipes?” she asked.

  “Only to certain people.” Her expression filled with pride, Mrs. Ruggerelo adjusted the alignment of the empty lasagna dish on a decorative hot pad. “I would give it to you.” She paused. “And you could share it with your mother, if you want.”

  “That would be fantastic. But I don’t cook much. You might have to coach me the first time.”

  “Just call.”

  Jonah watched the give-and-take between the two women with great interest. They’d formed a friendship, one that seemed likely to last beyond this weekend. Hell, he hadn’t even crossed that particular bridge, and Mrs. R. was already standing happily on the other side.

  Leo came back, his tone full of apology. “Jonah, that was Mrs. Sanchez. I’m afraid you’re the only one who can help her.”

  Jonah got to his feet immediately, a stab of fear going through him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing terrible. She was doing fine tonight until she got one of her dizzy spells and had to sit in her easy chair. She doesn’t want to spend the night in the chair, but every time she stands up she gets dizzy again, and she’s afraid she might fall.”

  “Should we call the paramedics?”

  “I don’t think so.” Leo smiled. “If you want to know the truth, I think she heard you were back in the building and she’s dying to find out what happened with your weekend. She mentioned that Pete Hornacek saw you come in and gave her a call. She tried your apartment and then called here when you didn’t answer.”

  “Just go carry her into her bedroom and make sure she’s taken her pills,” said Mrs. Ruggerelo. “That will make her happy as a lark. Then you can come back here for zabaglione.”

  Jonah recognized a bribe when he heard one. Mrs. R. knew good and well that the sweet Italian pudding, especially her version, had become his favorite dessert. But it wasn’t as tempting as being alone again with Natalie.

  Natalie pushed back her chair. “I’ll go with you to see Mrs. Sanchez.”

  Jonah started to tell her to stay here, but thought better of it. This interruption of Mrs. Sanchez’s could be their ticket out of the Ruggerelos’ friendly apartment. With the way Natalie was settling in here, if they came back for dessert, they might end up staying until midnight playing cribbage or some damn thing.

  “You make the best zabaglione on the planet, Mrs. R.,” he said, “but I’m stuffed. Could we take a rain check?” He glanced at Natalie to see if she’d back him on this move.

  “I’m pretty full, too,” Natalie said, her color high. “Although it does sound wonderful.”

  Hot damn, Jonah thought.

  “I’ll send it with you, then,” said Mrs. Ruggerelo. She winked at Natalie. “You might have more of an appetite later.”

  “I’ll clear some dishes while you package it up,” Natalie said, suddenly very busy avoiding Jonah’s gaze. Then she whisked into the kitchen after Mrs. Ruggerelo, leaving Jonah standing in the dining room with Leo.

  Leo watched Natalie until she was out of sight before turning to Jonah. He motioned him into the living room, and when they got there he lowered his voice. “Did you find out if anything’s wrong with her or not?”

  “Such as?”

  “You know.” Leo twirled his finger beside his temple. “Nuts.”

  Jonah wasn’t about to tell Leo about his suspicions regarding Natalie’s special request, so he shrugged. “She seems pretty normal to me.”

  “Jonah, the woman’s wearing deck shoes with a cocktail dress. Doesn’t that give you a clue?”

  Jonah grinned. “I told her to do that so we could escape from the Plaza. I think it looks kind of cute.”

  “You like her, don’tcha? I’ve been watching you, and you like her.”

  “Well, so far, yeah. I mean, what’s not to like?” And there was a hell of a lot to like, he added to himself.

  “Okay, she’s a looker, and polite and all. I can see how you’d be attracted, but you gotta be careful.”

  It was reasonable advice, Jonah knew, the sort of thing he’d been telling himself ever since the night of the bachelor auction. He just had trouble following it whenever Natalie came within kissing distance.

  “No offense,” Leo continued, “but would a normal woman pay thirty-three grand to go out with a guy, even a stud like you? I can understand a few hundred bucks, seein’ as how it was for a good cause, maybe even a thousand if you needed the income-tax deduction. But this is some deduction.”

  “I know.” Jonah rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t figure it out, either. She doesn’t act like someone who throws money around for no reason.”

  “Did she make a pass?”

  Jonah smiled grimly. “Nope. But I did.”

  “Well, I can’t blame you, but the whole thing makes me nervous. What happened?”

  “Mrs. R. showed up.”

  That made Leo chuckle. “She has a sixth sense about things like that. Used to drive the girls crazy. They’d be making out with some guy on the couch, trying to be quiet. Me, I’d be dead to the world, but she’d wake up and go out there with milk and cookies.” He glanced toward the kitchen. “She likes Natalie.”

  “I noticed.”

  “That’s another strange thing. She’s usually a pretty good judge of character.”

  “After all, she agreed to marry you,” Jonah said with a grin.

  “Damn straight.”

  Jonah hesitated. “How long did you know Mrs. R. before you decided she was the one?”

  Leo’s gaze was steady. “I didn’t know her at all. I just saw her at a party, and something clicked. Oh, we went through all the motions—dating, meeting the families, talking about the future, but I’d pretty much made up my mind the first time I laid eyes on her.” He paused. “I wasn’t wrong.”

  “Obviously not.”

  Leo rubbed his chin as he studied Jonah. “You told me that you saw Natalie in the park lots of times before her dog went in the drink. You were going to ask her out, you said. Did something click for you, too?”

  “I thought so. But then after the auction, I figured I was wrong. Like you said, what normal woman would pay out thirty-three grand like that?”

  Leo nodded. “Yeah, that would throw up the yellow caution flags for me, too. I’d hate to see you get into some fatal-attraction thing where somebody boiled your bunny in a soup pot.”

  “I don’t have a bunny.”

  Leo clapped him on the back. “Good point. But keep your eyes open, okay? There’s something fishy going on. I don’t know what it is yet, but that Natalie doesn’t have all her cards on the table.”

  NATALIE HELD the zabaglione as they stood outside Mrs. Sanchez’s door, and Jonah rapped softly. They’d decided not to make a trip back to the apartment to drop off the dessert when Mrs. Sanchez might need Jonah right away.

  For sure Natalie needed him. The time spent with the Ruggerelos hadn’t helped one darn bit to control her fascination with him. In fact, it seemed to have made things worse. His voice, his low chuckle and his teasing glance had all sharpened her hunger almost past enduring.

  But it was plain old-fashioned lust, not some subliminal desire to mate and have babies. She’d be willing to bet on that. Someday she might think about marrying. After she and her husband had a chance to settle in, they might consider a baby. But that was years away. Mrs. Ruggerelo didn’t understand that times had changed, and women didn’t feel the same biological rush they used to back in her day.

  “She might have fallen asleep,” Jonah said. He rapped a little harder.

  “Come in, Jonah,” called a gentle voice from the other side of the door.

  Jonah used his key to open the door. “Mrs. Sanchez? I brought a friend.”

  “How wonderful. Come right in, mihito, and introduce your friend.”

  Natalie followed Jonah into the apartm
ent, where the exotic scent of peppers spiced the air.

  “Mrs. Sanchez,” Jonah said, “may I present Natalie LeBlanc.”

  “The puppy lady?” A frail-looking woman with gray hair sat in a huge easy chair that dwarfed her. “Come closer,” she said, beckoning with both hands. “I can’t remember where I put my glasses, and my eyes, they aren’t so good anymore. Let me see you, Natalie LeBlanc.”

  Natalie walked up to the chair. “I’m glad to meet you, Mrs. Sanchez.” She cradled the container of zabaglione against her body so she could reach down and shake the woman’s hand. The lid slipped, and before she knew it, she’d slopped the pale yellow dessert down the side of her dress. “Aw, shoot!” She held the container away from her and ran her finger up the sides to catch the drips before they ended up on Mrs. Sanchez or the carpet.

  “Give me the dish,” Jonah said, taking it out of her hand. “And don’t move. I’ll get something to clean that with.” He headed toward the back of the apartment.

  “Too bad,” Mrs. Sanchez said. “And your dress is muy bonita. Is that Mrs. Ruggerelo’s zabaglione?”

  “Yep.” Natalie started licking the dessert off her fingers. “And it’s delicious.”

  “Will your dress be all right?”

  “I hope so.” She wondered if the cleaners would be able to salvage it. She’d spent hours going through the sales racks to find it and had been proud of her guerrilla-shopping techniques. Besides that, the dress would always be linked with thoughts of Jonah. No matter what happened between them, she wanted to be able to savor the memories the garment had already collected.

  Jonah returned while Natalie was still licking her fingers. She hadn’t meant the action to be provocative, but judging from Jonah’s intense glance as he handed her the damp dishcloth, it was extremely provocative. “Do you need…” He stopped to clear his throat. “Any help?”