Todd laughed. "Do you like older guys?"
"I don't know," Caitlin said uncomfortably. "Can we change the subject? I feel as if I am the one being interviewed when I am with you. It's disconcerting."
Todd smiled. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"
"Why is it that you are not in prison for your wife's murder?" Caitlin asked stiffly.
"You always go for the jugular, huh? No beating around the bush for Caitlin Denvers."
Todd stopped at a stoplight. "Maybe I should start at the beginning, or maybe I shouldn't trust you with my story. You are, after all, a journalist. Journalists twist stories so that they can be more sensational and sell more copies."
"You can trust me," Caitlin said. "I won't print anything that you don't want to be printed, and I'll run the story by you first. Besides, aren't you forgetting that you are the boss and that you own a firm filled with journalists?"
Todd didn't say anything until he turned into the country club. He seemed as if he was deeply pondering whether to trust her or not.
Caitlin realized that he was not the sort of person who cared to fill up a silence with chatter, and she was okay with that. He would tell her what he wanted to tell her when he was ready.
They entered the main lounge of the country club and a few persons called to him.
The lady at the front desk smiled at him flirtatiously. "Mr. Taylor, good to see you. Mr. Jenkins is here…already on the courts. He brought his wife. He said he has a score to settle with you."
Todd laughed and then turned to her. "How good are you at tennis, Caitlin?"
"Pretty good." Caitlin smiled. "Why?"
"Because we are going to beat Bob and Theresa this evening." The lady at the front desk glanced at Caitlin knowingly, as if she thought that she was Todd’s girlfriend.
Todd looked completely oblivious to the conclusions drawn. He introduced them briefly and Caitlin found out the lady's name was Desiree.
"Call me Dee," she said, laughing. "By the way, Todd likes my name so much he promised to give his first daughter the name. So be warned."
Caitlin shook her head. "It's not what you...we are not..."
"Let's go." Todd placed his hand at her waist and gently prodded her away from the front desk.
"But she thought I was your girlfriend or something," Caitlin whispered fiercely when Todd prodded her toward the hallway and toward the locker rooms.
"The courts are through there." He pointed toward a wide passageway. "Meet you in a few."
He had the uncanny knack of ignoring anything that he didn't care for. Caitlin realized that. She also realized that she was acting completely over the top over Desiree’s honest mistake.
When Todd walked off and she went into the changing room and deposited her bag in the locker she concluded two things: she was not indifferent to Todd Taylor and this assignment, and pretending that he was just a story was crumbling as quickly as she thought it up.
When Desiree had mentioned that he would name his first daughter after her, she had instantly imagined that she would be the mother. Long-held dreams and fantasies had popped up in her head. The name Caitlin Taylor sounded good to her. She was thinking of herself as Caitlin Taylor, the mother of Desiree Taylor.
How had things disintegrated to this point so fast? Had she forgotten that the same man she was having pie in the sky dreams about had murdered Rita Taylor?
And the number two realization was that Todd did not seem as if he liked her or found her attractive. He was acting as if he was her big brother or something.
She was a mass of conflicting emotions. She wanted him to like her and yet she didn't. She wanted him to be her dream guy and yet she didn't, she wanted...
"Caitlin, everything okay?"
"Yes!" Caitlin jumped up. "I am coming."
*****
"Everything okay?" Todd asked when she finally came out of the locker room. She had worn a black shorts set. It was recently bought and had been a little tight fitting. She had tugged on the shorts for them to reach decent levels. She had never felt so body-conscious before. That made her a little bit flustered, and she came out of the locker room not daring to look him in the eyes.
"Yes. I am fine." She cleared her throat. "Let's go."
"Liar," Todd whispered, as once again he placed his hand at her waist. "You want me to trust you with my story and yet you lie to me."
"I am not lying," Caitlin said. "I am fine."
"What were you thinking about in the locker room?" Todd asked, looking at her with his eyebrows raised.
Caitlin gasped. "Nothing important."
Todd stopped her just before they reached the courts.
"You are very easy to read, Caitlin. Those big Bambi eyes of yours are so innocently wide and full of emotions."
He leaned closer to her. "I have been around far longer than you have, seen too many things, done too many things. I shouldn't even be contemplating this."
He came closer and closer to her until their lips were almost touching, and then he straightened up as if prodded.
"Let's go. If we beat the Jenkins' we should share something about ourselves that is honest. Anything the other person wants to know. Is that a deal?"
Caitlin swallowed. "Deal."
*****
It had been a floor wipe. Bob Jenkins was a good-natured guy who took his loss like a real sportsman but his wife Theresa was miffed.
"Next week, same time, same place," she said to Todd, "and bring the model with you." She turned to her husband. "Bob, if you weren't so distracted looking at her legs we could have won."
Bob grinned and threw his hands around Theresa. "What legs, dear?"
"My name is Caitlin," Caitlin responded to Theresa for the umpteenth time, but Theresa preferred to call her 'the model'.
If she hadn't been so cold and bitchy at their initial meeting maybe Caitlin would have had mercy on her at the start of the game. Now she was feeling rather smug that she had beaten them even though Bob seemed nice.
"It felt good to beat them, didn't it?" Todd asked, laughing when she made a face at Theresa's retreating back.
"Yes." Caitlin chuckled. "Too good. I am not usually the gloating type but yes, it felt real good. I hated how patronizing Theresa was."
Todd laughed. "Theresa is actually a really sweet person. She was Rita's friend. They were college buddies."
"Oh." Caitlin wished now that she had paid closer attention to Theresa. She had thought that she and Bob were just old friends of Todd’s, not Rita's.
"They still talk to you even after the whole Rita thing?"
"Yes," Todd said easily. "Actually, you'll find that the people who knew us together are still friendly with me."
"And the plot thickens," Caitlin murmured. "It's either you guys had very bizarre friends or there is one hell of a story."
"Don't swear. It's not very attractive for a pretty girl like you," Todd said, lifting up a lock of her hair. "Want us to hit the showers and then we can go and talk? One honest thing about you and one honest thing about me."
*****
It was twenty minutes to nine when they headed up to the country club’s dining room. Caitlin looked around the space. She had never been this far into the inner sanctum of the exclusive country club. She had gone there on an interview with Gwendolyn Dyer a year ago when she had just started working at Lux. She had thought it so exciting to be asked along to a high profile interview.
She had no idea that the country club looked so good and she had been more than impressed with the poolside.
She had a clear view of the poolside now. The pool had a waterfall with large rocks and lush small palm trees and other flowers. It was a tranquil view; the blue and white lights shining on the water gave the falls an almost ethereal feel. She imagined that the pool was lovely during the day as well.
The country club obviously catered to the tastes of its rich clients. So far the place was immaculate; even the dining room where they were now sittin
g was done with fine taste. The restaurant had a Moroccan decor with plush jewel-toned colors. She even recognized a few of the movers and the shakers.
The restaurant was fairly packed. It seemed as if the persons sitting at the table to their right were having a business dinner. To the left of them she spotted Thomas Kellier and a popular entertainment producer.
She really needed to contact him, Caitlin thought with distaste. After what happened between him and Brigid she was wondering if he would even want to talk to her or any magazine that she worked for.
It was not long after they sat down that a waiter came with a menu. She felt Todd's eyes on her and she looked up self-consciously and her eyes met his. He made no move to stop staring at her and she forced herself not to squirm.
She had changed into an African print handkerchief dress. It had been easy to fold up and put into her bag and she had left her hair down. Maybe he thought she looked too unbusinesslike.
"We are meeting twice in one day," Caitlin said, breaking the charged silence.
Todd looked at her appreciatively before answering. "Yes, I guess we'll be doing that a few times if you are going to write that article. I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all." Caitlin murmured. Nope, not her; she was fine with having dinner with her dream guy every so often. It wouldn't bother her one bit.
"I have dinner here sometimes after tennis. I hope you can join me in a game sometimes. You are an exceptional player and we play together so well as if we have been playing for years."
"Thanks." Caitlin felt herself flushing. A compliment from him was enough to have her feeling all soft and jelly-like inside.
"Though Deb doesn't like it when I stop by for dinner. She is usually miffed when I eat anybody else's food."
Caitlin stiffened unconsciously. Deb? He had a woman in his life?
"She is my housekeeper," Todd said smoothly. "She usually cooks to feed an army. The thing is, she is not particularly good at cooking."
Caitlin chuckled, partly in relief. So Deb was not his girlfriend.
"She's loyal to a fault and she runs my house like clockwork."
"Has she been with you long?" Caitlin asked, very curious about the loyal Deb.
"Yes, ten years now. I have had her around since before I got married to Rita."
"Oh." Caitlin's eyes lit up. "You did?"
"Yes. There was the brief time when she was fired," Todd said contemplatively. "Rita couldn't stand her. I think the feeling was mutual but a year before Rita died Deb came back because nobody would stay with us for long."
"Tell me about Rita," Caitlin said softly. "You said you would be honest about one thing. Remember?"
"Yes. I remember." Todd smiled at her and leaned in closer to the table. "You are going to be honest with me too. I am looking forward to that. So what about Rita that you want to know?"
Caitlin squinted. "You do know that I have nothing exciting to tell you, don't you?"
Todd laughed. "We'll see about that. I am very curious about your dreams and your dream guy."
Caitlin winced and changed the subject quickly. "I want to know everything about Rita. I mean, there is not much in print about her. I checked. There is hardly a picture online except for her... er... death announcements."
"Rita was not big on social media or that sort of thing."
"So how did you two meet?" Caitlin asked.
"Church." Todd laughed when he saw the look of incredulity that passed across Caitlin's face.
"You go to church?"
"Yes, now these days. I find that faith in God is necessary in my life but when I met Rita back then I only visited for the obvious times—you know, weddings, funerals—that sort of thing. I met Rita at the wedding of a mutual friend. The first thing I noticed about Rita was that she was tall, six feet. I was eyeball to eyeball with her. I liked that. I like tall women."
Caitlin fidgeted in her seat. She was tall; she was five-ten. Why was she even thinking that? And as if he knew what she was thinking Todd looked at her knowingly but he didn't comment; he continued speaking.
"We hit it off immediately. She was fun, energetic, happy and very pretty. Everything was perfect. I was twenty-four; she was twenty-six. We got married after a month. Things were going well and then she got pregnant and we lost our baby. He was stillborn. We were both devastated.
He paused, his mouth twisted distastefully as if talking about the past took quite an effort. Caitlin almost felt guilty that she had brought it up.
"Neither Rita nor I had faith to fall back on, at the time," Todd said, running his hand along the edge of the water glass rhythmically. "We weren't heavily into God or anything like that. She changed. I was distant. It was a classic case of both of us falling apart instead of being together and supporting each other. We both changed, and not for the better.
"We tried for another child but she miscarried again and then...she became really trying, really bitter, and I was not patient enough to deal with her. I knew why she had become the way she was and I thought that she wasn't getting over it fast enough. She thought I was callous and cold."
He stopped and sipped his water and looked off into space with an expressionless look in his eye.
"So that's why you said you killed her," Caitlin whispered.
He blinked and then looked at Caitlin as if just realizing that she was there. "Yes. I was a bastard. I basically couldn't handle her grief along with mine. I could have been more considerate. I could have been a better husband."
"But..." Caitlin said slowly, "it doesn't sound as if... "
"That's all for tonight," Todd said swiftly. "I just told you something nobody knows of apart from those very close to us—her parents, my parents. I was very honest."
"Yes, but I have so many questions," Caitlin protested.
"Another time," Todd said. "We have a few weeks to go, don't we? Why rush? Tell me about your dreams."
Caitlin cleared her throat. "Well, I started getting vivid significant ones from my parents’ death. I actually saw it happening."
"You don't say?" Todd steepled his fingers. His gaze was focused on her. "Tell me more."
By the time Caitlin had finished telling him about the dream, she had ordered the fish dish on the menu. The food was good. She found herself detailing to Todd how abandoned she had felt when nobody was able to take her in.
His eyes clouded over and he was looking at her with such sympathy that Caitlin wished she hadn't told him.
Why had she, though? It was so personal she had not even told her sisters. Maybe because she always liked to seem like the normal one.
"And this dream guy, were your dreams about him as vivid?"
"Yes." Caitlin smiled. "I started dreaming about him from when I was fifteen. I know his face vividly. I..." She cleared her throat. "We said we would talk about one thing."
Todd frowned. "Wait a minute..."
She glanced to her left and saw Thomas Kellier. He got up and was heading in their direction.
This was her chance to change the subject. She seized it with both hands. She didn't want to seem so vulnerable in front of Todd, and she didn't want him to remember that she had not told him anything about her dream guy.
She whispered fiercely, "Do you know Thomas Kellier?"
"Yes. Well enough," Todd said, not blinking an eye at the change of subject. "Don't tell me he is your dream guy?"
"No," Caitlin said and visibly shuddered. "I need to do an interview with him for the magazine. Can you arrange one for me, please?"
Todd nodded and said under his breath, "Anything for you, Caitlin." He got up. "Thomas, what's up, man?"
Thomas stopped by their table.
"Todd! You didn't come to my Portland party a few weeks ago, though I invited you."
"Sorry man," Todd said, not sounding sorry. "I was off the island when you left the message with my secretary and then I got the flu. It was good, though?"
"Not really," Thomas said, shaking his head, "at leas
t not for me; got food poisoning." He glanced at Caitlin.
Todd cleared his throat. "This is my friend, Caitlin. She works for Lux Magazine."
"Oh." Thomas smiled a dazzling smile at her and held out his hand. "How do you do?"
"I am great." Caitlin shook his hand.
Caitlin realized that he didn't recognize her after the introductions. He held her hand a little bit too long, though, and was putting on his most charming smile. She realized that Todd noticed and was getting impatient.
"Caitlin would like to interview you for a magazine article," he said abruptly.
"That sounds good. I read Lux when I’m in the States. You guys feature some interesting people," Thomas purred and looked at Caitlin. "When?"
"At a time of your convenience before you leave Jamaica," Caitlin said briskly. "Will next Monday be okay?"
Thomas mused, "Well, I can be available for you anytime."
"It's not a date," Todd interjected. "Stop sounding like it is. And she'll be stopping by your place with a crew, not alone."
"And the bear growls," Thomas said good-naturedly. "I am not planning to steal your, er, friend. Relax. He was always a sourpuss, you know," he said to Caitlin conspiratorially. "He was a head boy when we were at Jamaica College together. Did he tell you?"
Caitlin shook her head. "No, I never knew that."
"Very strict fellow. He was also our best quarter miler. I joined the track team and he took me under his wings." Thomas laughed. "He is a good guy. I can tell you that."
He turned to Todd. "Call me, Todd. We can meet up over drinks before I leave."
Todd nodded. "Sure, if you promise not to bore me about how wealthy you are."
"Deal." Thomas laughed. "Though I bought a bigger yacht than yours the other day."
When Thomas had walked away after sharing more banter with Todd, he looked at her, an unreadable expression in his eye.
"If you weren't going with a crew, I would come with you."
Her Mistaken Dream Page 5