Love by Moonlight (A Contemporary Romance)

by Debra Elizabeth

  Dan looked across the table. “You guys like clams casino?”

  Both Caroline and Jim nodded.

  “Great. How about two orders of the clams casino.”

  “Of course, I’ll put the order in and I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

  Elena was whispering with Dan so Caroline took the opportunity to find out more about her date.

  “Jim, what do you do for a living?” she asked.

  “I’m a lawyer, a partner with Lowell, Stanley & Evans.”

  With her water glass halfway to her lips, Caroline stiffened. That was the firm her ex-husband had hired to handle their divorce. His lawyer, Marge Jones, had been ruthless and argued every minute detail. It had been a living nightmare for months.

  Elena swallowed hard and changed the subject immediately. “Did you guys sign up to play in the charity golf tournament at the end of the month?”

  Both men nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it,” Dan added, leaning over to give Elena a peck on the cheek.

  Jim turned toward his date. “Caroline, do you play?”

  “I used to, but I haven’t picked up my clubs in over a year.”

  He flashed another mega watt smile. “I’d be happy to play a round with you; help you get back into the swing of things.”

  Caroline sipped her water so she wouldn’t have to answer.

  Elena laughed at Jim’s lame joke. By the steely gaze Caroline gave her, this date would be the last for Jim and her friend. There would be no getting into the swings of things, golf or otherwise. Caroline would never go out with Jim again now that she knew he was a partner in that law firm. It was bad enough that everyone in their social circle knew about the nasty Fleming divorce, but it was intolerable to think that Jim could look at the horrid details.

  “Would you excuse me, please?” Caroline stood and headed for the ladies room.

  “Be right back. You boys entertain yourselves while we’re gone,” Elena said with a wink and quickly followed Caroline.

  Once inside the ladies room, Caroline turned to Elena. “How could you?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I was as shocked as you. Honestly, I never asked him which firm he worked at. There are so many lawyers in this town. Who would have thought he worked there? All I know is that he’s handsome, successful and available. Couldn’t find any mention of an ex-wife so no baggage either. That was as far as I checked.”

  “Am I going to run into Richard’s shadow at every turn? First, this afternoon, and now this. Sometimes I hate this town.”

  Elena was quick to pick up on Caroline’s distress. “What happened earlier?”

  Caroline went to the sink and began to wash her hands. “You know that young woman, Heather, that works with the burn kids at the hospital?”

  “Yeah, you like her right? She’s good with the kids.”

  “She is, but…” Caroline busied herself drying her hands.

  Elena went to her and put her hand on her friend’s arm. “Caroline, what is it? Why are you so upset? This is more than Jim working at the same firm. Come on, spill it.”

  “Well, Heather is the woman that Richard left me for,” Caroline said.

  Elena gasped. “No way! How do you know?”

  By the time Caroline finished telling Elena about her encounter at the hospital, Elena tried one more attempt at salvaging tonight’s double date.

  “Oh, that’s crappy, but maybe this date is just what you need to take your mind off things. Besides, what are the chances that Jim knows Richard? Lawyers handle hundreds of cases a year. There’s no reason to think Jim even knows Marge Jones.”

  “Oh Elena, think about it. If we started dating, and someone mentioned Richard, don’t you think Jim would get curious and go talk to that bitchy lawyer? What if he asks her to look at the file? I just don’t want that complication, and frankly, I’m a little tired of people knowing my business. Enough is enough.”

  “I think you’re being paranoid,” Elena said, checking her makeup in the mirror.

  “I don’t care. I’m not comfortable with him. I appreciate you trying to find me dates, but I think I’ll find my own from now on. Understood?”

  Elena reluctantly nodded. “Fine. I guess you could have a point about Jim, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up trying to help you in the future. Who knows? Mr. Right might be right around the corner, waiting for you to bump into him.”

  Caroline chuckled and gave Elena a quick hug. “I guess I’ll stay for dinner, but that’s it. No nightcap or dancing or anything, okay?”

  “Deal. Let’s get back out there before they think we’ve fallen in the toilet in here.”

  The two women went back to the table and Caroline put on a pleasant face. The rest of the evening went fine, but it was clear that there was no spark between Jim and Caroline.

  When Dan suggested they hit the nightclub, Caroline begged off.

  “No, not tonight. I’ll grab a cab home, no problem,” she said.

  “Nonsense, we’ll drop you at home,” Dan said. “No trouble at all. Jim, you coming with us?”

  “Actually, no. I see someone at the bar I need to speak to.” He turned to Caroline. “Dinner was great. It was nice meeting you.”

  Before Caroline could respond, Jim stood up, and headed to the bar in the adjoining room.

  “Guess he figured it out too, huh?” Elena blurted out.

  Caroline nodded. “Guess so.”

  Dan glanced between both women, but had the good sense not to say anything further on the subject. He got up from the table. “I’ll get the car. Be right back.”

  Chapter 7

  Caroline was never so relieved when she put her key into the front door lock. The evening had been strained at best. She felt bad for Jim. He was certainly a nice enough guy, and if he hadn’t had that link to her ex-husband, she would have considered going out with him. That’s if, of course, he asked her. As it stood, though, she wouldn’t be seeing him again, and he probably had no idea why.

  She turned the key and pushed open the door. “That’s it, I’m done with men!” she blurted out.

  “Does that include all men?” a voice floated in the outside air.

  Caroline whirled around. The voice had startled her, but she recognized it immediately.

  “Matt?”

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he said, coming around the corner of the house. He bounded up the few stairs and stood on the front porch with her. “Wow, you look amazing.”

  “I was on a date,” Caroline said, knowing it would sting Matt’s ego a bit, but she didn’t care. She’d been waiting for him to call her for two weeks, and like a typical man he just showed up on her porch out of the blue. What did he expect--for her to welcome him with open arms after his disappearing act? Not going to happen. She was frustrated from her day and he happened to be her closest target.

  “Oh, I see,” he answered.

  “What do you want?”

  “I came by to see you. I’ve missed you.”

  “Really? Isn’t that swell, but I’m tired and not in the mood for company tonight. Goodbye, Matt.” She stepped inside the house and slammed the door.

  Matt took a step back, not sure exactly what just happened. Caroline had every right to be upset when he hadn’t called her, but that was why he’d come over tonight – to explain everything. Things weren’t going exactly as planned. There was nothing more he could do tonight. He took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and left it in her mailbox before bounding down her stairs and running down the beach.

  Caroline kicked off her shoes in frustration. What had she done? Hadn’t she been waiting for Matt to come by for the last two weeks and now that he’s here, she slammed the door in his face. Realizing that perhaps she was taking out her aggravation on the wrong person, she rushed back to the door and opened it.

  She stepped out on the porch. “Matt, are you still out here?”

  No answer.

  She walked to the end of the porch and peered
over the side. “Matt?”

  Silence.

  “Damn, I’m such an idiot.”

  With nothing else to do, she went back inside and poured herself a glass of white wine. It was going to be a long night. She doubted if she would sleep at all so she did the next best thing. She went to the video cabinet and pulled out her DVD copy of “Pride and Prejudice.” If she was going to cry tonight, it might as well be from an excellent movie.

  ***

  The sun was streaming in the window, casting shadows along the wall. Caroline rolled over and glanced at the clock on her wicker nightstand.

  10:37 AM.

  After last night’s marathon session of Jane Austen movies, it was no wonder she’d slept later than usual. Three glasses of wine and lots of tears later, she’d finally stumbled into bed around 2AM. This morning she was paying the price for her indulgence. Her head felt like someone was pounding her with a mallet between the eyes, and to top it off her stomach was upset. Last night’s dinner was rich and she wasn’t used to eating that much food.

  “Oh God, what an idiot I am.” She crawled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. She didn’t have the energy to take a shower, at least not now. She splashed some cold water on her face, grabbed her robe and headed out to the kitchen to make coffee.

  With the coffee perking, she went out to the porch to get the mail and the morning paper. She pulled the mail out of the box and a piece of paper fluttered to the porch floor.

  “What?” She bent down and picked it up. Her eyes widened as she read the message.

  Sorry I haven’t been in touch the last couple of weeks. My mother had a stroke and I had to go to Boston.

  Matt

  Caroline turned the paper over hoping for a contact number or address or anything that would allow her to get in touch with him. If she didn’t feel bad enough this morning, this made her realize how unfair she was to slam the door in Matt’s face. Taking out her frustrations on him was plain wrong, and now she had to fix it.

  She groaned and went back inside. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she chastised herself. “What is wrong with me?”

  Without a contact number, she had no choice but to wait and see if he came by again tonight. She wasn’t sure if he’d even want to see her, but she would definitely be out on the beach trying to find him. The dogs should be around, and hopefully Jake would be yipping his little heart out. That was probably the easiest way to find Matt’s house.

  The hours crawled by. She took a shower, stripped her bed, and cleaned the house. She checked the clock every hour and by 4pm she couldn’t stand the wait any longer. She went into her bedroom, ran a comb through her hair, put on a bit on makeup before grabbing her house key and bounding down the deck’s stairs to the beach.

  The wind was blustery and white-capped waves lapped at the beach. It was unseasonably cold for October. Caroline was surprised at the chill in the air and had to go back inside and grab a sweater. While she was in the bedroom, she thought she heard a knock on her door.

  “Hello? Caroline?”

  She rushed out to the kitchen and there standing on her deck was Matt. He looked as good as ever in a t-shirt that stretched across his toned chest, and running shorts. And of course, she was a sucker for those beautiful blue eyes.

  Before she could say a word, he spoke, “I’m sorry I haven’t called. Will you at least listen to what I have to say?”

  She ran to open the sliding door. “Of course, come on in. Listen, I owe you an apology.” Caroline tried to explain, but Matt didn’t give her a chance.

  “Caroline, I know you’re mad, but something came up I had to take care. That night we met on the beach was fantastic. Unfortunately, your last name wasn’t one of the things I bothered to get at the time.”

  Caroline opened her mouth, but Matt rambled on.

  “Because I didn’t know your last name, I couldn’t look up your number. I didn’t have a chance to come down before I left because I had to take care of the dogs and make it in time to grab the last flight to Boston.”

  Caroline’s posture softened and she leaned forward, putting her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry for last night. I had a bad day and took it out on you. It wasn’t right and then I found your note this morning. I feel terrible about the way I treated you, but more importantly, how is your mom? Is everything okay now.”

  Matt nodded and patted her hand. “She had a mild stroke, but the doctors think she’ll make a full recovery. She’s going to rehab for a few weeks to get her strength back.”

  “That’s good. Who’s with her now?”

  “My dad and my sister are there. My sister only lives a few miles away, so she’ll be able to help out my dad more until Mom fully recovers.”

  Caroline sighed. “I feel like such an idiot.”

  Matt held up his hand. “Wait, don’t say another word.” He pulled his phone out of his shorts pocket. “What’s your last name and phone number? I’m not leaving again until I have them stored in my phone.”

  Caroline chuckled and gave him the information. “Would you like to stay and share a glass of wine with me?”

  Matt keyed in her number and looked up flashing her that irresistible smile of his. “Sure, I’d like nothing better.”

  She went to the cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses. She got the wine out of the refrigerator, poured them both a healthy dose and brought them over to the island.

  “Here you go.”

  Caroline sat down next to him and raised her glass. “Here’s to starting over.”

  Matt clinked his glass with hers. “How about continuing instead. I kind of liked the way we started that first night.”

  Caroline felt the blush rise up her neck and burn her cheeks. Matt oozed sex appeal and she was falling under his spell again. She wanted to run her fingers through that curly mop of hair, feel his rock hard abs against her body and have those luscious lips kiss her again.

  “To continuing,” she said.

  They both took a sip of wine.

  Matt never took his eyes off her. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you were going to invite me in tonight, but I had to try again. I’ve missed you. I thought about you the whole time I was in Boston.”

  Caroline chuckled. “I was on my way out to roam the beach, looking for you or the dogs, whichever came first. I knew if I found the dogs, you wouldn’t be far behind.”

  “True, although Jake didn’t seem all that happy when I left him a bit ago.”

  “I bet.” Caroline picked up Matt’s note that was sitting on the island counter. “Would you put your last name and phone number down so I’ll have your contact info as well?”

  “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?”

  Caroline leaned over and let her kiss be his answer. The same thrill shot through her again like the first time they kissed weeks ago.

  Matt stood up and pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply, his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth. It was several moments before they broke apart.

  “Matt, I thought I was merely a passing fancy for you.”

  “Silly, no one would ever call you a passing fancy, especially not me,” he said, his finger stroking her jaw line. “I thought about you the whole time I was in Boston and kicked myself over and over that I didn’t have your last name.”

  He kissed her again and Caroline leaned in, her body pressing against him.

  “I missed you, too,” she said breathlessly. “You cannot imagine how much.”

  “Good. We are the mutual missing club then.”

  Caroline stepped back from his embrace. “Would you like to stay for dinner? There’s steaks in the fridge and I could whip up a salad.”

  Matt nodded. “Sure, I’d like that.”

  “Do you have to go feed the dogs first?”

  “No, they’re fine. I fed them before I left.”

  “Okay. Then it’s time to fire up the grill,” Caroline said. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m starving.”

&nbs
p; Matt leaned over and kissed her again. “Your wish is my command.”

  It didn’t take long to cook the meat. Caroline had set the dishes out on the island, and was finishing up making the salad when Matt brought the sizzling steaks inside.

  “These smell great,” he said, putting the platter down. “Do you need any more help?”

  “No, I’ve got it. Sit down. Want some more wine?”

  “Sure, thanks.”

  Caroline put the salad on the table and grabbed the bottle of wine from the fridge before joining Matt. “Bon appetit!”

  He spent most of the time at dinner telling her about his parents and his sister’s plan for helping all of them.

  “That’s wonderful that your sister is doing that,” she said.

  “I know. Kelly is great. I’ve love for you to meet her sometime.”

  “I’d love too. How did you get two works off from work on such short notice? You must have a flexible boss.”

  Matt threw back his head and laughed. He couldn’t help himself especially seeing the look of concern on Caroline’s face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. Your question just struck me funny. You see, I’m my own boss. I’m a wildlife photographer.”

  “Really? That sounds so exciting.”

  “Yes, sometimes it is, but what most people don’t understand is the hours waiting around hoping for that one perfect shot. I once had to sit for three days before I got the shot I wanted.”

  “How long have you been taking pictures?”

  “Seems like forever. I always loved the camera, even in college, but I didn’t make a career out of it until about ten years ago. I was this hotshot war correspondent. It was such an adrenaline rush at first. Being on the front lines beside our military was a thrill and an honor. You can’t imagine the sacrifices those guys make for us.”

  “No, I don’t think I can. I’m sure even the images on TV probably don’t do justice to everything they’re trying to accomplish over there.”

  “They don’t and the networks only air certain parts of any story. The real story is either too gruesome for TV or it could jeopardize the safety of our troops. Believe me, I’ve seen enough and I became quite jaded and knew I had to get out.”