Susan Mallery Bundle: The Buchanans

by Susan Mallery

  She smiled at him. “I’ve probably wound down for now,” she said. “How are you? How was your day?”

  “Fine.” He moved them toward the small desk at the front of the foyer. “We have a reservation.”

  She glanced around at the crowded restaurant. It was one of those neighborhood places with great food and plenty of regulars. The food smelled good and Dani liked the mix of clientele. There were families, older couples, several large parties and a group of women laughing in a corner.

  “This is nice,” she said. “I’ve never been here.”

  “The food is excellent. The menu has a lot of variety and everything is good.”

  They followed the hostess to a quiet table in the back.

  “How did you find this place?” she asked.

  Gary held out her chair, then took the seat opposite hers. “I used to work around here.”

  They were in an older part of Seattle. She frowned as she tried to place a college. She couldn’t think of one in the neighborhood. It was mostly residential.

  “Where?” she asked. “At a private school?”

  He hesitated. “I wasn’t always a teacher.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  It was then she remembered she didn’t know very much about her date. She knew he had a sister, that he was kind and a great listener. Embarrassment flooded her body as heat crawled up her cheeks.

  “I’m a horrible person,” she said, with a groan. “Totally disgusting and self-absorbed.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Me. My behavior. How many times have we had coffee together? How many of those conversations have been about my life, my problems, my job search? Me, me, me. It’s awful. Why on earth did you want to have dinner with me?”

  “Because I like you.”

  He must or he wouldn’t have asked. She pushed aside her menu and leaned forward. “I apologize for my lousy behavior and promise that tonight is just about you. I want to know everything. You can skip the being born part—that’s a little too messy for dinner conversation. But feel free to pick up with your first memory after that.”

  He smiled. “You have nothing to apologize for. I enjoy talking about you.”

  “Guys like to talk about themselves.”

  “I’m more comfortable listening. An old habit.”

  Which made him practically perfect boyfriend material. He was smart and funny and kind. A really decent person.

  “So why aren’t you married?” she asked. “We’ve established you’re not gay.”

  He grinned. “But I am thinking of upgrading my wardrobe.”

  She laughed. “I’m serious, Gary. Are you keeping secrets?”

  She’d asked the question lightly, then stiffened when he didn’t chuckle or tease in return.

  “Not secrets so much as information,” he said.

  She knew that whatever it was, she was going to hate it. The knowledge formed deep in her gut and sat there like a rock.

  “You’re married? You killed a man? You used to be a woman? You have a contagious disease and now I have three weeks to live?”

  “No.” His expression was kind. “Nothing like that.”

  A woman in her forties walked by the table, paused and backed up a couple of steps. She looked at Gary, her eyes widening in surprise.

  “Father Halaran?”

  Dani straightened. A thousand thoughts flooded her brain but just one in bright neon letters flashed: Father Halaran? Father Halaran? As in…

  Oh, dear God.

  Gary nodded at the woman. “Hello, Wendy. It’s just Gary now. Remember?”

  “What? Oh, right.” Wendy looked at Dani, then jerked her gaze back to Gary. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “It’s been a couple of years and I’m doing well.”

  “I’m glad. It’s, ah, good to see you, Fa…ah, Gary.”

  The woman walked away.

  Dani blinked several times as her mind slowly cleared. “So,” she said, trying to sound casual when in truth she was in the mood to scream. “That was interesting.”

  “I used to be a priest.”

  “I kind of figured that out.”

  He smiled. “Good. I left two years ago. That’s when I started teaching. I lived a few blocks from here and always liked this restaurant. I probably should have taken you somewhere else.”

  Did he really think that was the biggest problem they had? “No. This is lovely. Really.”

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m trying to absorb the whole priest thing.”

  “You’re not Catholic,” he said. “It shouldn’t be a big deal.”

  “You’d think. But it kind of is.” Although she couldn’t say why.

  A priest. As in married to the church. As in celibate. Talk about a springboard to discussion. So had he…been with a woman since? And if he hadn’t, did he want to be? Did she want to deal with that?

  “Say something,” he told her. “What are you thinking?”

  “No wonder you’re a good listener.”

  “Is this going to be a problem?” He picked up the menu, then put it down. “I wanted to tell you, Dani. There just wasn’t a good time. It’s not as if I could introduce myself that way. ‘Hey, I’m Gary. An ex-priest. And you are?’“

  She smiled. “That would be kind of scary.”

  She looked at him, at the kindness in his eyes, at the smile that had become familiar to her. She liked him. She trusted him. He was a good man.

  “Everything about leaving was scary,” he told her. “I’d been on exactly one date in my life before I made my decision to become a priest. I’d never held a job, lived totally alone, been a normal person. I’m still adjusting, but I like it. This is where I’m meant to be. Are you okay with that?”

  Was she? She opened her mouth to say she was, but then she couldn’t. The knot in her gut hadn’t gone away.

  “I have the most uncomfortable feeling that God is sending me a really big message. He’s telling me I’m not supposed to be with anyone right now,” she said. “For once, I think I’m going to listen. I’m sorry, Gary.”

  She grabbed her purse and stood. He rose, but didn’t try to stop her. Disappointment darkened his pale eyes.

  “Maybe if you took some time to get used to the idea,” he began.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’d like to stay friends, but I understand if you don’t want to do that. If you expected more.”

  “I’d hoped,” he admitted.

  Guilt flooded her. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she couldn’t ignore how she felt.

  “I’m sorry,” she said and hurried away.

  THE DOWNTOWN SPORTS BAR was crowded for a Thursday night—the Seahawks were playing so the place was busy and loud.

  Reid stood behind the bar and leaned toward Mandy, one of the waitresses, to hear her drink order.

  He hadn’t worked in weeks—not since the article in the paper. His only visits to the bar had been off-hours and low-key. But tonight he was filling in for a guy who’d gotten sick. He was taking a lot of crap from patrons, but he was dealing.

  He poured two beers, then grabbed the bottles to make an apple martini. Not his choice for a football game, or anytime, but it wasn’t for him. He poured in the right amounts of the various liquors, dumped the ice from the martini glass, filled it up and set it on Mandy’s tray.

  “Hey, Reid,” some guy at the bar yelled.

  Reid turned toward the voice, but he couldn’t see who had spoken. They were two and three deep at the bar.

  “Is it true you’re really lousy in bed?”

  So far all the comments had been joking and friendly. This was the first direct confrontation.

  Despite the fact that the Seahawks had the ball and were inches from a first down, the space around the bar went quiet. He wondered if the guy would have the guts to show himself.

  The decision was made for the man when several people mo
ved away, leaving a short, balding guy in his late thirties standing alone.

  Reid looked at him, gave a slight smile, then asked, “You want to know for yourself?”

  There was a moment of silence followed by an explosion of laughter. The guy shifted uncomfortably, muttered “No,” and slunk away.

  “Anyone else interested?” Reid asked. “I’m here, I’m working. Take your best shot. I can handle it.”

  “That’s not what that woman in the paper said,” another man called.

  “Want your wife to give me a recommendation?” Reid asked with a grin. “She will.”

  The guy grumbled, but didn’t show himself.

  “Anyone else?” Reid asked. “You’ve got to have better lines than the ones I’ve been hearing. Come on. Nail me.”

  A woman leaning on the bar smiled at him. “Why aren’t you mad? Guys I know would want that reporter’s blood.”

  He took another order from one of the servers, then began to pour more beer.

  “I was pissed at first,” he admitted. “Embarrassed, but then I realized it didn’t matter. I was a pitcher for a lot of years. Everybody who watched the game had an opinion about what I did and how I did it. Yet not one of them could come close to doing what I did. I learned there’s always some asshole who can do a hell of a job on play-by-play but can’t last a second in the game. It’s the same with sex.”

  The woman grinned and several of the guys around him laughed.

  “The thing is,” Reid continued. “As many women as I’ve been with, I had to learn something. Right?”

  “I know you did, darlin’,” the woman said with a smile that told him she was one of the many.

  Not that he remembered anything about whatever time he’d spent with her.

  Well, hell. What did that say about him? He could only imagine the choice words Lori would have for him if she knew there were women who had been in his bed and he didn’t remember anything about them. He couldn’t even pick them out of a line-up.

  He continued filling drink orders and talking to the customers. No one else made any cracks about him, but he barely noticed. There was only one opinion that mattered. And the only way to keep her coming back was to make sure he was the kind of man she would want to be with for the rest of her life.

  FRIDAY AFTERNOON, Reid got back to Gloria’s place about four-thirty. He took the stairs two at a time. Lori was working until six, and then she was joining him upstairs. He had big plans for the night. He’d ordered a great dinner, then he was going to seduce Lori three or four times, after which they’d have dessert.

  As he’d spent a couple of hours in the gym, he wanted a shower before she showed up. He walked into his bedroom just as he pulled off his sweatshirt. So he didn’t see his surprise right away.

  “Hi, Reid,” an unfamiliar voice said.

  He froze in the act of dropping his sweatshirt, swore silently, then shrugged the shirt back into place. He sucked in a breath, then turned to look at the bed.

  Two women lay there. Two blond, pretty, young women. They’d pulled back the covers, fluffed the pillows and stretched out naked on his sheets.

  Totally naked.

  He barely glanced at their bodies before returning his attention to their faces. He recognized the twins. The three of them had had a weekend together and then the twins had gone on CNN to promote some damn book. They’d also taken a couple of pokes at him.

  The one on the right sat up then crawled toward the end of the bed.

  “Are you mad at us, baby? We were bad. Very, very bad. Do you want to punish us?”

  Her large, perfect breasts hung down, swaying gently with each movement. Her skin was pale, her nipples nearly red.

  The one on the left smiled. “You could spank us. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  Several feelings crashed in on him, but the overriding one was complete and total panic. What if Lori walked in on them right now? What would she think? There was no way in hell he could explain these two. He didn’t want to explain them—he wanted them gone.

  “Let’s have some fun, Reid,” the first one said, her blond hair falling over her shoulders. She licked her lips. “Really hot, naked fun. You’ll like it. I promise.”

  “Me, too,” her sister said.

  He couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Not caring if he looked liked an idiot, he turned and ran from the room, then sped along the hall and raced down the stairs. He found Lori in with his grandmother and asked to speak with her.

  Lori followed him into the hallway.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. “You have the weirdest look on your face. Are you hurt or sick?”

  He didn’t know what to say to her. How could he tell her the truth? She wouldn’t understand. Lori had issues. Some made sense to him and some didn’t but he knew they were there.

  He touched her cheek. “You matter to me,” he said. “You know that, right?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What have you done?”

  “I haven’t done anything. I swear. It wasn’t me. It’s not my fault.”

  “The eternal cry of the irresponsible male.”

  “It isn’t. Dammit, Lori, you know me. You know that I’m a decent guy. I would never hurt you.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Tell me.”

  “I want you,” he said, knowing he was getting it all wrong, but not sure what else to say. “You mean a lot to me. More than a lot. I like what we have together and you like it, too. I would never do anything to mess things up.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “But?”

  He sucked in a breath. “I came home and went upstairs because you’re coming up and I wanted to take a shower. I walked into my bedroom and they were just there. I didn’t let them in. I’ve been gone. You know that, right? I’ve been at the gym. They were just there.”

  He paused and waited, braced for the explosion.

  “Who was where?”

  “These two women. You don’t know them. They’re baseball groupies. Twins. I want them to leave, but I don’t know how to make them. I’m afraid they’ll take anything I say as encouragement.”

  He couldn’t read her expression. Something flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before he could identify it.

  “They’re upstairs?” she asked.

  “In my bed. Naked.”

  Her eyes widened. “You have two naked women in your bed?”

  He nodded frantically, then grabbed her arm. “You have to help me. I swear, I didn’t contact them. I don’t want them here. I don’t want any of this.”

  One corner of her mouth twitched. “Is the big bad baseball player afraid?”

  “Terrified.”

  “You expect me to go up there and throw them out?”

  “That would be great.”

  “I’m assuming you’ve slept with them.”

  He glanced down and shuffled his feet. “It was a long time ago.”

  “Both of them? At the same time?”

  He nodded glumly.

  “Impressive.”

  He looked at her. Okay, maybe he wasn’t the best judge of women, but if he had to guess, he would say Lori wasn’t totally furious with him.

  Her mouth twitched again. “What did you want me to say to them?”

  “That we’re together. That you don’t stand for this sort of thing. Not ever. You could tell them I’m not interested, if you want. Because I’m not. You’re the only woman I want in my life.”

  “All right.”

  She turned and walked up the stairs. He followed, not sure how this was going to go, but relieved to have Lori take charge.

  She walked through the living room and into his bedroom. The twins were still sprawled naked on his bed.

  The one on the right smiled when she saw Lori.

  “Hi. We’ve never done a foursome before. This could be fun.”

  Lori glanced around the room, then walked over to the neatly folded clothing on the dresser and picked it up.

  “Aren�
��t you two a little old for games like this?” she asked. “Showing up naked in a guy’s bed seems beneath you. You’re attractive women. Do something with your lives. Go to college, have a career. Be more than your bust size.”

  The twins looked at each other, then at Lori. “But we like this.”

  Lori tossed them their clothes. “Do you? Really? Are you proud of yourselves? Can you tell your grandmother how you spend your day? When you were little, didn’t you want more than this?”

  The twin on the left blinked. “I always liked working with animals. I thought I’d work in a vet’s office, you know?”

  “Fine. Do that. Do anything. In about ten years your looks are going to go. Then what? You need to think about your future. Open an IRA, start learning about current events. Grow up. In the meantime, get dressed and get out of here. I’m with Reid and he doesn’t cheat on me.”

  The twins looked at each other again, then shrugged. “Okay,” the one on the right said.

  They got up and dressed.

  “We’re sorry about barging in,” the spokestwin said. “We didn’t know Reid was serious about anyone.”

  Reid had kept quiet through the conversation, sensing things would go better if Lori was in charge. Now he walked over to her and put his arm around her.

  “I’m serious,” he said clearly. “Totally serious. Involved. We’re together.”

  The twins smiled. “That’s good. Okay. Well, good luck with everything.”

  They collected their purses and left.

  He waited until their footsteps had faded, then looked at Lori.

  “You saved me.”

  “Apparently. I can’t believe you dated those two. They give airheads a bad name.”

  He stared into her hazel eyes. “I didn’t date them, Lori. I had sex with them. That’s who I was. A lowlife bastard who accepted every interesting invitation sent my way. I didn’t require anything of them and I sure as hell didn’t require anything of myself.”

  It was as honest as he’d ever been in his life.

  “I’m not proud of that past. I won’t apologize for it, but I’m done with it. I’m not that guy anymore.”

  He braced himself for a crack or worse, her withdrawal. Instead she leaned in and kissed him.

  “I know,” she whispered. “You’ve turned into someone quite amazing.”