“I’m ’bout ready as I’ll ever be.”
When Drake opened the door, Pamela and Heather stood with Denise just behind them. Denise appeared crestfallen, and he knew it was because she thought she wouldn’t get a kiss. To hell with it! A grin spread over his face as he delighted in the shock he was about to give them. His amusement increased when—divining his motive—Denise suddenly appeared petrified as he headed toward her. Like a man who had established his rights, he pulled Denise into his arms, brushed her lips with his own and when she parted them, he went into her. Drake’s sharp whistle told him that he might have overdone it, but he didn’t care. He rubbed Denise’s nose with his right index finger, winked at Drake and said, “Let’s go.”
“Since you were never prone to public displays of affection,” Judson said to Scott, “not even as a teenager, I’m drawing my own conclusion about that scene at the door.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
They joined the rest of the Harrington clan and headed for the school. When Tara walked ahead of them holding Henry’s hand, he experienced a pang of jealousy. How many years would it be before he could hold his child’s hand, go to their recital or watch them play football or baseball? He told himself to snap out of it and that he should be thankful because he finally had the wind at his back.
“Do you think we can start our family within two years?” he whispered to Denise.
“I hope so,” she said after what he considered a lengthy pause.
“I’d like you to have lunch with me and my family on Sunday,” he whispered.
“Okay. I think that’s a very good idea, but, honey, let’s discuss these things when we don’t have to whisper.”
They took their seats in the auditorium in a section reserved for guests of the students performing. The first four of the five students, all in Tara’s age group, played well and without mistakes. Wearing a long rose-colored chiffon dress and silver slippers, Tara walked to the piano, sat down, folded her hands and closed her eyes. Scott sat forward, thinking that she might have a temporary lapse of memory, but she placed her fingers on the piano keys and played a flawless “Au Claire de Lune” by Claude Debussy, for which the audience gave her a standing ovation. She bowed first to her family and then to the audience.
“I played last, because I’m the best student,” she told them at the reception.
“You aren’t supposed to brag,” Alexis said, beaming at her precocious daughter.
“But Mummy, I wasn’t bragging. I’m the best student. I play better than anyone, don’t I, Daddy?”
“Yes, you do,” Telford said, smiling proudly, “but your mother is right. You’re not supposed to brag about it.”
“Gee, Mr. Henry. Why do I practice so hard, if I can’t tell anybody how well I play?”
“You can tell me,” he said.
She turned to Grant, her playmate. “Didn’t I play well, Grant?”
“Yeah. It was da bomb. Wanna go biking tomorrow? Daddy will go with us, and my mom says she’ll pack us a lunch. Want to?”
“Sure, but I have to ask my parents first.”
“I know that. Ask them now.”
Scott shook his head. “Nine years old and already behaving as if he’s a young man.” He got two glasses of fruit punch and strolled over to where Denise talked to a woman he hadn’t met.
She turned to him at once. “Ambassador Galloway, this is Ms. Bridges, a member of Second Chance. Her daughter played the Chopin Waltz in A-flat Major this evening.”
He let himself smile. “Congratulations, Ms. Bridges. You must be very proud.” He remembered that the little girl had not played well. But he refused to lie. Besides, the woman had to know that her child hadn’t performed well. “Excuse me,” he said and handed Denise the cup of fruit punch. When the woman continued to look at him, he asked her, “May I bring you some of this punch?”
Embarrassed at having been caught ogling him, the woman excused herself and left them alone. “Thanks,” Denise said. “Now that she knows I hang out in this part of the country, she’ll make a nuisance of herself.”
He took her arm, because he had to touch her somewhere. “If you ever need to get rid of her, I’m very good at that. Are we going to my dad’s place on Sunday?”
“Does your family know you’re planning this?”
“No, but they will in the next hour. They’ll drop whatever they’ve planned and be there.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, wrinkling her brow.
“Sweetheart, I’m the eldest son, and when I growl, the other two bite. You bet they’ll be there. They wouldn’t miss an opportunity to give me grief.”
“You mean the twins?”
“Who else? But don’t worry. My grandmother will keep them in their place.” He walked with her to a far corner of the reception hall, his arm loosely around her waist. “I’d better warn you. My grandmother thinks I walk on air.”
“She does not, though I expect she thinks you’re wonderful. And I do, too. Will I have my ring when I meet them?”
“I wanted you to have it earlier this week, and I’m still smarting over having to change the elaborate plans I made. But we’ll talk about that when we leave here. I take it you’re going to Washington with me tonight.”
“That’s what I’d planned.” She was quiet for a minute. “Scott, why did you give me a such a passionate kiss in front of the Harringtons? Wasn’t that a little over the line?”
“Probably was. But I was still vexed at not seeing you this week, and when I started to give you a polite kiss on the side of your mouth, you seemed terrified. So I said what the hell and went for broke. Incidentally, I couldn’t have given you that kiss if you hadn’t parted your lips. With that invitation, what did you think I was going to do?”
“I did not part my lips.”
“I suppose they open automatically.”
“When your mouth gets close to them, they definitely do.”
“Glad to know it. Nothing like a guaranteed welcome.”
“Guaranteed for as long as you don’t mess up. You’ve heard of lockjaw, haven’t you?”
He had to laugh. “Honey, that’s a bit far-fetched, but I get the message. How long before you think we can make our excuses and leave?”
“We can’t. My bag is at Pamela’s place, and I need stuff that’s in it.”
“Wait here.” He went to Drake and told him that he wanted to leave.
“I imagine you do, considering what you started at my house. Tell Tara good-night, and I’ll run you and Denise home to get her bag. In this crowd, no one will notice.”
“Where are we stopping for dinner?” she asked him as he turned out of John Brown Lane and headed for Washington. “I don’t feel like snacking tonight.”
“But it was wonderful the other night,” he said.
“When I awakened with you snug in my arms, it slowly dawned on me that I was going to spend my life waking up like that, and no one can imagine how good it felt. I wanted to shelter you from everything and everyone who could ever harm you, and from anything that didn’t make you smile and laugh.”
“Oh, Scott. What a sweet and loving thing for you to say. You always make me so happy,” she said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “And I want to make you happy, to give you everything you need in a woman.” She tried, but failed, to prevent a sniffle.
“What is it?” he asked when her hand tightened around his.
“Scott, is your grandmother going to like me?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” He thought for a moment. “If she doesn’t, we’ll both know it at once. But don’t worry about that. Any parent would want their son to have you for his wife, and my nana is no different. I know it—maybe now she’ll stop nagging me about finding a nice girl and settling down so she can have some great-grandchildren.”
“I sure hope she’s not looking for more than three, at least not from me.”
Dressing to meet a man’s brothers for the first time was
a simple matter of looking your feminine best. But meeting his grandmother called for a different mindset and skirt length. After an hour during which she rejected three blouses and two sweaters—the necklines of which she deemed too low—and skirts that were either too short or had a long slit up the side, she settled on a simple sheath that had a jewel neckline, a matching soft dressmaker jacket and three long strands of eight-millimeter white pearls. “That takes care of grandmother,” she said to herself. “The guys will just have to trust their brother’s judgment.”
When Scott rang her bell a few minutes before noon on Sunday, she walked to the door on rubber legs, opened it and looked up at him. He bent down to kiss her and stopped before he reached his target.
“What’s wrong, honey?” he asked her. “Don’t you want to go?”
“I do.” She rubbed her right hand back and forth across the back of her left one. “It’s…I’ve never been so nervous in my life. Suppose your grandmother decides you’ve lost your mind? I couldn’t find anything decent to wear, and—”
“But you look wonderful. I like you in red. In fact, you look good to me no matter what you wear. A beautiful woman can wear anything.” He grinned as if reflecting on a private thought. “Or nothing.” He handed her a bunch of yellow roses. “You can give these to my grandmother. She loves them. Since I just planned this last evening, I knew you didn’t have a chance to get any.”
She stared up at him. “I don’t know why I was so nervous. You always make sure that everything’s right. Thanks so much for getting these.”
His smile, so filled with love and affection, got to her and warmed her heart. She reached out to him and stroked his arm. She had to touch him, to feel herself a part of him.
As if he read her mind and gauged her emotions, he opened his arms. She dropped the roses on the table beside her and hugged him, receiving him with open arms and her lips parted for his kiss. He lifted her off her feet and held her close as he invaded her with his tongue. Holding him as tightly as she could, she sucked him into her mouth, taking and giving, loving and adoring him. His hand stroked her buttocks, and she hooked her ankles behind his back. Pressed against his chest, her nipples beaded, and when they began to itch, she rubbed one vigorously. But he hugged her and eased her to her feet.
“Be thankful that you’re wearing a high-neckline dress. I can almost taste them. If I’d gotten my mouth on one of them, I doubt we’d leave here for Baltimore anytime soon.”
“I know. I’d already forgotten about meeting your family. I need some water, and then let’s get going.” She rushed to the kitchen, ran water from the tap and sipped it. She couldn’t leave her house with her nerves frayed and her body perspiring from every pore. She took a deep breath, started back to him and smothered a laugh when she saw him standing beside a window he’d opened, taking long, deep breaths.
During most of the ride from Washington to Baltimore, where Scott’s family lived, she sang along with the music coming from the radio station. Music had always chased away any tension or stress, and it served the same purpose that Sunday. Scott put his key in the door at about the same time as the door opened. She gazed up at a man who resembled Scott.
“I see you made it,” he said in a voice similar to Scott’s. And though he spoke to Scott, he looked past him to her and smiled. “Come on in, Denise. I’m Matthew, but you should call me Matt.” He stepped around Scott, took her by the arm and started in the house with her.
She looked from Matt to Scott, lifted her right shoulder in a quick shrug and told herself to play along with whatever game they started. But Matt bumped into his father, who was followed by a man who had to be Matt’s twin.
“Welcome to my home, Denise,” Raynor said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “My sons are pranksters, and Matt and Doug are obviously planning to trip Scott’s trigger. Denise Miller, this is my son Douglas. As you’ve no doubt guessed, he and Matt are twins.”
“Thank you, Mr. Galloway. I’m happy to see you again and to meet Scott’s brothers.”
“What is this?” Scott said, pretending to be annoyed. “I didn’t even get a chance to introduce my girl. Where’s Nana?” He looked at Matt. “The two of you had better not introduce Denise to Nana. That’s my prerogative.”
“All right, already!” Doug said with his hands extended. “We know not to get between you and Nana.”
“Mom’s in the den,” Raynor said. He looked at Denise, grinned and whispered, “Don’t be nervous. The two of you will get on beautifully. I’ve already told her that you hit a home run with me.”
At least he liked her. She patted his hand. “Thank you, but I can’t help it. Scott loves her so much.”
He nodded, and in his face she saw a knowing expression. “You love him. Good,” he whispered and stepped away from her.
With an arm firmly around her waist, Scott walked with her into the den where, to her amazement, his grandmother stood, waiting for them. Denise relaxed when the woman smiled and took a step forward. Scott’s arm tightened as they both stepped closer to the older woman.
“Nana, this is Denise Miller, my sweetheart. Denise, this is my nana, Irma Galloway.”
“How do you do, ma’am? I’m honored to meet you. I…brought you some flowers.” She handed the flowers to Irma, but the woman took the flowers with one hand and, with the other, she hugged Denise to her.
“I knew I was going to like you, Denise, because my boy was always such a good judge of people. Thank you for these lovely flowers. I see he’s told you that I love yellow roses.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll put them in a vase with some water,” Matt said. “Yellow roses are beautiful, but they wilt the first chance they get.”
“Scott told me that you play the piano beautifully,” Irma said. “I hope you’ll play something for me before you leave.”
“I’ll be glad to.” She looked at Raynor, her surprise obvious to all of them. “You have a piano? Who plays?”
“All of us to one degree or another. Doug and Mom play much better than Scott, Matt and I.” He looked at his mother. “Lunch will be here in about five minutes. I know it’s the middle of the day and you look askance at noonday drinking, but this is a special occasion. The vodka and tonics will be mild, especially since I’m going to fill the glasses with ice.”
“Before you do that, I have something to say,” Scott told them. He took the ring out of his inside pocket and lifted Denise’s left hand. “I’ve asked Denise to marry me, and she has agreed.” He slipped the ring on her finger. She stared at him with her eyes wide as her lower jaw dropped. She was speechless. She hadn’t dreamed that he’d give her the ring in the presence of his family. But her recovery came swiftly, and she flung both arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Then, clearly flummoxed, she looked at Scott’s grandmother as if to apologize.
“I’d say you used considerable restraint,” Irma said.
“Let’s see it. This is wonderful.”
Beginning with Irma, Denise walked to each of them with her left hand extended and the diamonds sparkling. When she reached Raynor, he took both of her hands and held them. “This is the answer to my prayers. An hour after I met you, I knew that you and Scott were perfect for each other, and I wanted you for him.” Still holding her hand, he looked at Matt. “Where’d you put that champagne?’
“In the refrigerator downstairs. I’ll get it.”
“This calls for a genuine celebration,” Raynor said.
Irma patted Scott on his shoulder. “Absolutely, even if it means drinking alcohol in the middle of the day.”
Matt brought a bottle of champagne and six crystal flutes. With about an inch of the wine in her glass, Irma put one arm around Denise. “Welcome to our family. May you and Scott love well and happily for as long as you both live.”
Scott walked over to Denise, kissed her and clicked her glass with his own. Shaken, since she had not expected to be received so warmly, she tried to blink back th
e tears, but when she saw the tears glistening in Scott’s eyes, her own tears rolled down her cheeks. She reached out to him, and he opened his arms.
“I didn’t know I could be so happy,” he said.
“Me neither,” she replied, wiping her eyes. “I’m overwhelmed.”
Oddly, she welcomed the ringing of the doorbell and the reprieve from such an emotionally charged atmosphere. She needed to be alone with Scott to share her feelings with him. Still, she was grateful for the love that Scott’s family showered on her.
“Lunch is here,” Doug said, “and not a minute too soon. I was half-starved before I drank that champagne. And it went straight to the bottom of my stomach. Come on, Matt. I know Scott usually sets the table, but let’s give the lovers a break.”
“You’re kidding. A kindergartner wouldn’t feel that little bit of champagne you drank,” Matt said.
“Do they fool around like that all the time?” Denise asked Scott.
“All three of us do. They usually gang up on me.”
A sigh escaped her. “It must have been wonderful growing up with siblings.”
“I guess it was,” Scott said, “provided the little devils weren’t your responsibility when your parents couldn’t keep an eye on them.”
Chapter 12
Scott’s father hadn’t planned for the event to be a feast, but to her, it seemed like one. “Imagine having two brothers,” she said to Scott after Matt and Doug declared that she could count on them as she would a blood brother.
“I’m getting more out of this deal than you are,” she said to Scott as they drove back to Washington shortly after sundown.
“Don’t be so sure of that. My dad’s love of the outdoors ends with water. Except for boating, Matt and Doug are strictly city slickers, and the bigger the city the better. But your dad loves the country and the outdoor activities that I love. That’s why we got on so well. I can’t wait to get back to Waverly.”
She hoped he didn’t notice how quiet she was, because she didn’t want to spoil one of the most wonderful days of her life with an argument over his eagerness for her father’s company, which didn’t make one bit of sense. She opened her cell phone and saw that she had three missed calls, all of them from Pamela. She dialed her friend’s number.
A Compromising Affair (The Harringtons) Page 21