Irresistible You

by Celeste O. Norfleet

  “I’m always ready,” her eyes sparkled with added meaning.

  “I’ll have to remember that.” He brought her hand up and kissed it. “Here we go.”

  Taylor’s brow furrowed with added concern as she closed the kitchen door. Dinner had been over for nearly two hours. Dessert and coffee had been served, and most of the invited guests had already left. The catered help had cleaned the kitchen to its usual spotless pristine glow, loaded their truck and had pulled around the circular drive the surrounded the house.

  Louise, Colonel Otis Wheeler and Jace sat in the living room talking as Taylor returned after seeing the caterers out. She sat down and looked at her watch as she had done all evening. “I can’t imagine what happened to J.T. and his guest,” Taylor said.

  Trey smiled knowingly as he came back into the room, “I’m sure he’s just unavoidably detained.”

  The slight smile on his face gave Taylor pause. She turned to Trey as he sat down beside her. “You know something, don’t you?”

  Trey shook his head and rolled his shoulder shrugging innocently. “All I know is that he was late.”

  “He’s more than late, I’d say.” Jace added.

  “Who’s this guest he’s bringing this evening?” Taylor asked Trey.

  “A friend.”

  “What kind of friend?” She continued the interrogation.

  “A good friend.”

  “Whom he’s known long?”

  “Long enough.”

  “Where did they meet?”

  “New York I believe.”

  “Have you met her?” Taylor asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe? What does that mean, what kind of answer is that?”

  “It means maybe,” Trey said.

  “Taylor, Trey,” Jace interrupted their cop and bandit routine. “Are you two going to do this interrogation, evasive maneuvers the rest of the evening?” Jace asked.

  Louise smiled and chuckled as Colonel Wheeler was full out laughing.

  “As I was saying,” Trey continued, “maybe you should ask him yourself, his car just pulled up outside.”

  “Good evening all, sorry we’re late,” J.T. offered as he and Juliet entered. All eyes turned to the doorway. Taylor’s mouth dropped. Louise’s mouth dropped. Trey chuckled openly as Colonel Wheeler and Jace stood to greet the newly arrived couple.

  “Well hello,” Jace said as he approached, “Come on in, welcome.”

  “Dad, this is Juliet Bridges, Juliet, my father Jace Evans.” Juliet smiled brightly as they shook hands.

  “Yes, we’ve met, nice to see you again Mr. Evans.”

  “And this Otis Wheeler, a friend of the family.”

  “Call me Colonel Wheeler, everyone else does. It’s a real treat to meet you. I’ve seen you dance, marvelous, just marvelous.”

  “Thank Colonel Wheeler. It’s good to meet you too.”

  “And you’ve met Trey Evan’s, my cousin.”

  “Of course, nice to see you again Trey.”

  “The pleasure is mine, I assure you.” He took her hand, bowed and kissed it.

  “Always the charmer,” Juliet said smiling at his exaggerated manners.

  J.T. looked at his mother and Louise, their mouths were open in shock and they were still sitting on the sofa and staring at them. “Mom, Mamma Lou, this is…”

  Louise recovered first, she smiled broadly, “…Juliet, hello dear.”

  “Mrs. Gates,” Juliet recognized Louise. She had no idea that the Mamma Lou, J.T. spoke about was the company’s president emeritus, Louise Gates. “Good evening, how are you?” She walked over and hugged her warmly.

  “Just fine thank you dear, I had no idea that you’d be here this evening.”

  “Me either. When J.T. invited me this evening he didn’t tell me where we were going. It’s good to see you again.”

  “Taylor,” Jace said as he turned to see his wife still completely stunned by J.T.’s guest. “Taylor?”

  “Juliet Bridges,” she began with a broad unending smile, then stood and walked over to greet them. “Welcome to our home.” Taylor opened her arms wide hugging Juliet warmly.

  “Thank you, it’s good to see you again Mrs. Evans. Thank you for inviting me this evening, your home is absolutely lovely. I had no idea I’d be with such illustrious company this evening.” She looked to J.T. sternly. With all of their conversation he’d never mentioned that his family actually owned E-Corp, only that he worked there.

  “You two must be ravenous, why don’t I warm something up to eat. The caterer left plenty of leftovers.” Taylor instantly stood. “Louise would you like to give me a hand?” Louise nodded and followed Taylor.

  As soon as the two women entered the kitchen Taylor went to the refrigerator and Louise sat down on a stool at the counter. Taylor gathered some containers in her arms and came back to the counter. Seconds went by before either one of the spoke. Then as soon as Taylor looked to Louise they both burst into giddy laughter.

  “I can’t believe this, how did this happen?” Taylor asked rhetorically. “I can’t stop laughing,” she said as a sudden giggle bubbled up. “Can you believe the coincidence of something like this happening?”

  “I’ve never witnessed anything like this before,” Louise admitted. “But it can only mean one thing, J.T. and Juliet must certainly be meant to be.” Taylor nodded her total agreement as the two broke into laughter again.

  Juliet smiled and listened attentively as the men talked about weather, sports, traffic, the stock market, the theatre and Virginia politics. She laughed, nodded and smiled when appropriate. J.T. stood by her side the entire time. When the conversation steered to computers, investments, E-Corp and an upcoming fishing trip, Juliet began looking around the large room.

  She moved to the far wall spotting a large elaborately adorned birdcage in the corner. She inched closer seeing a large blue and gold bird sitting on the top wooden post. “Hello, Gorgeous, miss me?” it said. Juliet smiled, and leaned in even closer to the remarkable bird as it flew to the nearest perch, it side-stepped closer to her and scratched its beak with its feet. She chuckled as it repeated it’s greeting several more time. “Hello Gorgeous, miss me.”

  “Juliet, meet Gorgeous,” J.T. said as he came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged her gently.

  “Hello Gorgeous,” she replied eyeing the bird’s iridescent feathers carefully. “He’s so beautiful. What is he? She?”

  “He’s a South American macaw, and the family pet who loves to flirt with beautiful women.” J.T. stuck his finger through the bars and stroked the bird’s chest feathers.

  “Really?” she turned to him.

  “Um-hum,” he hummed while tilting her chin upwards.

  “You think I’m beautiful.”

  “I think you’re irresistible.”

  “I see Gorgeous isn’t the only flirt in the Evans family.”

  “What can I say, beautiful women are a weakness. But you, Juliet, are my weakness.” He leaned down as he tipped her chin up to meet him. The kiss was tender and loving.

  “Hey you two, enough of that, get a room,” Trey said as he approached the kissing couple. “Some of us didn’t bring a date.”

  Juliet looked away slightly embarrassed by her impulsive public display of affection. A warm glow spread across her face as her stomach twitched, the guilty pleasure of J.T.’s kisses were getting to be a habit. “I’m gonna go and see if I can help in the kitchen,” she said as she backed away from J.T. He pointed through the living room and dining room then toward the rear of the house. She nodded and followed his direction.

  As she headed through the house, she stopped at a large oil painting that hung above a white baby grand piano against the opposite wall. She read the signature, Taylor Evans, and nodded appreciatively at the vibrant colors, balance and brush stroke texture. She could see why her paintings sold for so much.

  Continuing in the direction J.T. had pointed out she passed six
columns at the entrance of the dining room. Subdued and muted light from the sparkling chandelier above the dining table, she glanced up as she passed. The ceiling was a vaulted dome of blue frosted stained glass giving the room a blissful glow.

  She continued on following the laughter that radiated from the kitchen. She peeked inside as Taylor and Louise prepared the meals. “Hi, can I help?” Two heads guiltily popped up.

  “Of course, join us,” Taylor said.

  Juliet happily walked into the kitchen and stood by Taylor who tried not to burst with delight as she opened several of the containers that the caterers left in the refrigerator. “Looks like you had a feast this evening.”

  “Yes we did. It’s a shame you two came so late.” Taylor said as she opened the chilled meat container. She slid the container to Juliet, who peeked inside and following Taylor’s lead, took a peeled seasoned shrimp dipped it in a horseradish cocktail sauce then popped it into her mouth.

  “Umm, this is delicious,” Juliet said as she grabbed another, suddenly starving, “I love the sauce.”

  Taylor pulled out several more containers. She placed half on the counter with serving spoons then put several more in the microwave and pushed the low heat button. She grabbed two china plates, silverware, glasses and napkins setting a place at the counter.

  “Everything was wonderful Taylor. Thank you again for such a delightful evening filled with delightful surprise,” Louise said. “Lately I’ve been getting so lonely at the manor now that Tony and Raymond are married and away so much.”

  “Oh,” Juliet said nodding and munching on a medallion of chilled lobster dipped in warm butter that Taylor had just removed from the microwave. “Are they your sons Mrs. Gates?”

  “Oh heavens no, and call me Mamma Lou, everyone else does,” she said leaning over to Juliet patting her hand, “Tony and Raymond are my grandsons.”

  “Tony is married to my daughter Madison. They live in Philadelphia and are expecting their first child.”

  Juliet smiled brightly. “Congratulations! You both must be extremely happy.”

  “We are,” both Taylor and Louise said in unison beaming like true grandparents.

  “Raymond, my other grandson, is a doctor in New York. He just married a wonderful young lady, who’s also a doctor. They’ve just returned from their honeymoon.

  “Ooh, a honeymoon. How romantic. Where did they go?” Juliet asked accepting a plate of pasta and salad from Taylor.

  “Switzerland,” Louise answered.

  “Switzerland, that’s an odd place to go on a honeymoon,” Juliet said, filling her fork with pasta.

  “I hear it was a great place to stay warm.” They laughed at the implication just as Colonel Wheeler, Jace and J.T. arrived.

  “Hey, I’m starved, where’s the food?” J.T. asked as he entered the kitchen first.

  “Looks like the ladies are in here having their own little party,” Colonel Wheeler said following J.T.

  “No wonder the foods not ready yet,” Jace said coming in right behind Colonel Wheeler.

  J.T. leaned over Juliet’s shoulder and grabbed a shrimp from the container. She motioned for him to dip it into the spicy sauce. He did then he ate the rest himself.

  “Umm that’s good.”

  “Have a seat, everything’s ready.” Taylor grabbed a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and placed it on the counter. “Anyone else hungry?” she asked.

  Colonel Wheeler rubbed his stomach and said no thanks and Jace walked over to Taylor and hugged her warmly.

  Taylor looked back to the empty doorway. “Where’s Trey?”

  “He said his goodbyes. He has an early flight and a weeklong business trip.”

  “Actually, that sounds like a great idea,” Louise said. “I’m getting a little tired myself. It’s been a long and exciting day filled with wonderful surprises.” She looked to J.T. and Juliet, who were practically connected at the hip. “I’m going to call it a night,” Louise said as Colonel Wheeler helped her down from the counter chair.

  “Sounds like a great idea,” Colonel Wheeler said. “Jace and I have an early flight in the morning. I’m right behind you Louise.”

  “Count us in too,” Jace said, as Taylor grasped his hand and they followed the older couple. “You’re right we have a long day tomorrow.”

  Jace and Taylor said their goodnights as they followed Louise and Colonel Wheeler upstairs. “I won’t be in the office tomorrow, but don’t forget about tomorrow evening,” Taylor said to J.T. as she followed Jace upstairs.

  “I won’t, goodnight,” J.T. said as he poured wine into their glasses.

  As soon as everyone had left Juliet turned to J.T.. “They’re nice people.”

  “Yeah, they are,” he said proudly.

  “Your father mentioned that he and Colonel Wheeler were going fishing. Where?”

  “Up in Canada. They both love fishing and try to go as often as possible. This is the first time that they are going together.”

  “Just the two of them?”

  “No, Mamma Lou’s two sons Matthew and Ray are also going along with a few of Colonel Wheeler’s retired military buddies.”

  “Military, I wondered why he goes by Colonel.”

  “Colonel Wheeler is an ex-Marine Special Forces. But fair warning, don’t get him started telling you his old war stories. They’re almost as shocking as the stories he tells from the restaurants he owns on Crescent Island.”

  “Mamma Lou mentioned Crescent Island. Where is that?”

  “Just off the coast of Virginia, about twenty miles in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. It’s got a wonderful history and is unarguably the most beautiful place in the world. As a matter of fact, the tourist brochures refer to it as God’s Garden of Eden.”

  “It sounds beautiful.”

  “It is, maybe we’ll get there one day,” J.T. said. Juliet bit her lower lip and smiled as she quickly changed the subject.

  “So, do you fish?”

  “No, I don’t have the patience.”

  Juliet nodded her head understanding. “What’s tomorrow night?”

  “My mother’s gallery is opening a new exhibit. I’d like you to attend with me if you’re free. Mamma Lou will be there.”

  Juliet smiled. “Sure, back to work right, sounds like fun.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The following evening laughter filled the car as they drove down interstate ninety-five back to the Evans Family home.

  Juliet sat in the darkness and listed as J.T. and Taylor joked about computer programs and their family computer contest. Taylor explained that J.T. had developed a series of games as a way for each family member to keep in touch. She also mentioned that even though it was J.T.’s program and he personally designed the systems he had never actually won a single game in six years.

  Earlier that evening Taylor was the guest speaker and since Jace and Colonel Wheeler were out of town fishing, she had asked J.T. to escort her and Louise to the affair. The event, a fundraiser at Union Station to raise scholarship money for area children majoring in fine arts, was a great success.

  Juliet sat in the front passenger seat of the car next to J.T. and listened to Taylor and Louise talk. Their conversation shifted from their gardens, to new plantings, to Crescent Island history, to family, then to art and galleries and back to dance and the theatre. Then, as usual, the conversation shifted to her relationship with J.T..

  Keeping their answers short and to the point, J.T. and Juliet had so far after, four evenings together, managed to avoid the major relationship questions until now.

  “J.T. you never told us how you and Juliet first met,” Taylor said.

  J.T. looked over at Juliet in the darkness and smiled. “We met about ten months ago in New York,” he answered.

  “So you had seen her dance before.”

  “No. We met during the blackout,” J.T. began, deciding to finally get this conversation over with.

  “We had dinner together out on the s
idewalk,” Juliet continued. J.T. reached over and took her hand and brought it to his lips. The smile on their profiled faces caused Louise to reach over and pat Taylor’s hand knowingly.

  “How romantic,” Louise said.

  “It was romantic, very, romantic,” Juliet added.

  “And you two have been together ever since?” Taylor asked.

  “No, not quite,” J.T. interjected. “Actually our schedules didn’t allow us to get together much until recently when I moved back to the area.”

  “Well you two look wonderful together,” Louise added. “I couldn’t have put together a more perfect couple.”

  “Really,” Juliet said. “How so?”

  “Mamma Lou is a matchmaker,” J.T. said to Juliet needlessly.

  Juliet pivoted in her seat to look at Louise, “He’s joking right Mamma Lou.” Juliet said, pretending not to know about Louise’s matchmaking. “Are you really a matchmaker?”

  “I’ve been known to introduce more than a few couples in my time.”

  Juliet turned back to J.T. seeing his unease with the conversation. “Really, how does that work?” She delighted in the conversation since it had technically shifted from relationship and personal questions.

  “It’s not rocket science like some seem to think. It’s more or less biology than anything else.”

  “Really?” Juliet queried.

  “Oh yes, it’s a matter of finding two people with just enough differing and opposing qualities to make the positive ones come together. Matchmaking is all about balance.”

  “Have you ever tried to match J.T. up before?” Juliet asked as J.T. grimaced and turned to her in the darkness.

  “No,” Louise answered truthfully.

  J.T. looked up in the rearview mirror. Questions washed over his face. He’d been certain that Mamma Lou had him as her next target. Knowing her as he did, she’d never lie about matchmaking. So what was all the mystery with her sudden visit and why all the interest in his return to the area?

  Quietly Taylor beamed her approval, even though she hadn’t been the one to initiate their first meeting ten months ago, she was obviously responsible for them coming together since it was her idea for Jace to name J.T. as CEO sooner than expected. She had known from the start that Juliet was the perfect one for her son. Her conversation with Lena as she discussed Juliet gave her the sense that Juliet belonged in the Evans family.