The Notorious Groom (Desire)

by Caroline Cross

  “Th-thank you,” she said automatically, looking a little baffled by his lightning swift change of attitude.

  “You’re welcome.” He handed her her cheeseburger, then took a bite of his own. “So tell me,” he said casually once he’d swallowed. “How do you feel about cats?”

  Six

  “Go ahead and say it,” Eli said to his friend, Joe Rawlins, as they stood next to the dugout and watched the batter from the opposing team set up for his first pitch.

  It was another beautiful summer day. Off in the distance the Cascades rose against a cerulean sky, their top peaks still covered in snow, while green fields covered the low-lying foothills. Their game was one of two currently going on at the town park, and every once in a while they could hear cheering from the other diamond.

  It was the bottom of the eighth inning. Their team was ahead fourteen to four, and normally Eli and Joe would have been doing some cheering themselves.

  Instead, the tension between them had been growing all day and Eli had finally had enough. “You might as well get whatever’s bugging you off your chest.”

  “All right, I will.” Big and brawny, with black hair and eyes, Joe had the kind of features that made people who didn’t know him assume he was a real tough guy. Only those closest to him—his family, Eli and a few others—knew that he was really a cupcake.

  Still, he looked pretty intimidating now as he turned to Eli and said gruffly, “If you were that hard up for money, why didn’t you say so? You know Mel and I would’ve given it to you. You didn’t have to go do something crazy like marry her.” He looked pointedly over at Norah, who was sitting next to Melanie in the stands.

  “Is that what you think?” Eli said carefully. “That I married her for her money?” He and Joe had met in first grade, when Joe had weighed in on Eli’s side during a playground fight with a trio of fourth-graders who’d had the bad sense to repeat some of the things they’d overheard about Eli’s mother. They’d been best friends ever since. Other than Chelsea’s, Joe’s opinion was pretty much the only one that had ever mattered to Eli.

  Joe gave a growl of frustration. “Aw, hell. You know I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just...we’re friends, dammit. Friends help each other out. You should’ve come to me.”

  “Right. And if I had, what would you have done? Taken out a second mortgage on your house? Borrowed the money from your folks? And then what? What if I couldn’t pay you back?”

  “Hey, I know you’re good for it.”

  “Thanks. But even if the insurance money comes through, it’s going to be a while before I’m back on my feet. And I know you and Melanie want to have a kid. I just couldn’t see putting either of us in that situation.”

  “Yeah, well...maybe you have a point,” Joe allowed. He hesitated, then added, “But you still should have invited us to the wedding.”

  Eyebrows raised, Eli turned to look at him. “Like you invited me to yours?”

  “That was different,” Joe said instantly. “You know that. I had one shot to get Mel to the altar and I went for it After all the times she turned me down, I wasn’t going to take a chance on her changing her mind when she finally said yes. And you have to admit, you were the first person I called from Las Vegas once the deed was done.”

  “Yeah, that’s true.” They were both silent as they recollected Joe and Mel’s tumultuous courtship. The redhead had led Eli’s friend on a pretty wild chase before she decided to let him catch her. Eli shook his head in remembrance. “She did have you going.”

  Joe’s face slowly lit with a rare, if sheepish, smile. “Man, she had me coming out of my skin.” Looking thoughtful, he added, “Maybe that’s why it’s hard for me to picture you and Norah. She’s so...unmemorable.”

  Eli fought a wave of irritation. He knew he was being irrational, given his own recent attitude, but it bothered him to hear Norah described in such a way. “Look, whether you want to believe it or not, I married Norah because it seemed like the right thing to do at the time, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “And I’m not going to stand here and pretend that I wandered into the library one day and got carried away by overwhelming lust. But it’s not what you seem to think, either. Norah and I have an...understanding. I agree she’s not a knockout like Mel, but she does have some good points.”

  “Yeah? Like what?”

  “Well...she’s great with Chelsea. And you should see the terrific way she’s painted the walls in her and Chelsea’s bedrooms. And she’s got great skin—”

  “Now there’s a recommendation,” Joe murmured, rolling his eyes.

  “And—” Eli shot him a warning look “—she’s nice. She doesn’t talk about people behind their backs, and she never puts anybody down. Plus, she’s got this sweet little stubborn streak....” He trailed off as he realized Joe was staring at him in amazement. “Forget it,” he said abruptly.

  “Anything you say,” Joe replied, his mouth twitching.

  Eli abruptly decided he didn’t much like being an object of amusement. Hell, he didn’t like it at all. But he was damned if he was going to take back a word of what he’d said.

  Memorable or not, temporary or not, Norah was his wife for now, and he wasn’t going to let anybody put her down—not even his best friend. Particularly not when he knew how much being here mattered to her. She’d spent all of last night with her nose stuck in a book about softball that she’d brought home from the library. And she’d been so nervous on the drive over that her voice had shaken as she asked a number of careful questions, ranging from where she ought to sit to who was going to be there.

  He wasn’t sure if it was then, or when she’d said her first shy, uncertain hello to Melanie, that it had dawned on him that she’d been afraid his friends wouldn’t like her. Her willingness to come, anyway—and the quiet happiness that had suffused her face when Melanie welcomed her—had made him feel funny, kind of warm and mushy the way he sometimes did when Chelsea did something particularly endearing. As hokey as it seemed, there was something about Norah’s innocent pleasure that just got to him—in a purely brotherly sort of way, of course.

  He pursed his lips, then turned to Joe. “Listen, whether you approve or not, Norah and I are helping each other out, and I’d appreciate it if you’d try to be nice to her. I think she’s afraid of you.”

  Joe stared at him incredulously. “Me? I’m not the one who devoted twelve years of my life to giving her a hard time. I never put a snake in her desk. Or stole the cookies out of her lunch or copied her homework or locked her in the coat closet...or cornered her in the hall once a month during our senior year to ask if she was finally ready to learn how to make out.”

  Eli rolled his shoulders, oddly annoyed at having his past sins dredged up. Not that he was about to show it. “So? I was just having fun. You know that. And so does Norah.” Didn’t she? “Besides, it’s in the past. We’ve all grown up.”

  “Some of us more than others,” Joe murmured.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Listen, Rawlins—”

  “It’s nothing, honest.” Joe hesitated, then said sheepishly, “It’s just...until today, I guess I never really believed Norah Jane had thighs. All those years, I thought her ankles were just attached to her hem. But today—well. I admit I was wrong. As a matter of fact, you could add them, and the rest of her backside to your list of her good points, if you wanted to.”

  “Yeah? Well, I don’t,” Eli said flatly, irritated that Joe had even noticed. Thanks to his darling daughter, who’d stated adamantly at breakfast this morning that dresses were not proper softball-viewing attire, Norah had self-consciously emerged from her room prior to the game in a pair of demure khaki shorts and a plain white blouse, with her hair caught back in a thick, shiny braid. Although she didn’t have Melanie Rawlins’s vibrant beauty, she did have shapely legs and a curvy little fanny—which, as Joe had just made clear, any half-wit with eyes could see.<
br />
  For some irrational reason, her public display of her body—no matter how demure—annoyed him. So did the realization that he’d had more ups and downs than a roller coaster in the past ten minutes. And that lately he seemed to be spending way too much time in self-examination.

  Which was why the sound of a bat connecting with a ball came as a relief. He twisted around just in time to see that the batter had finally connected and walloped a high, pop fly. The ball went up, up, up and then began to arc toward the ground—and right into the glove of their second baseman for the third out. Eli’s breath hissed out. He cupped his hands together and yelled, “Way to go, Sarah!”

  The batter walked dejectedly back toward his dugout. With one inning to go, it was their team’s turn at bat.

  “Well, I’d say this one’s in the bag,” Joe remarked as their players began to trot in from the field. “I hope you brought something good for treats. The kids deserve it.”

  “Damn. You mean it’s my turn?”

  “Yep. That’s what we agreed when you canceled out again last week, remember?”

  “I guess.” He was silent, trying to decide what to do, when it dawned on him that he wasn’t without resources. He was, in fact, mamed. “I’ll be right back.”

  He strode along the side of the bleachers, which rose all of eight rows high, and stopped at the end of the row where Norah sat beside Melanie. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine.”

  Her smile, he noted, was a little less uncertain than usual, and her face was rosy from the sun, making her look almost... pretty. “You having a good time?”

  “Yes. Melanie’s been explaining the finer points of the game to me, and I’m really starting to understand.”

  “Well, good. Listen, I’ve got a favor to ask.” He dug his keys and his wallet out of his pocket. “I forgot that it’s my turn to supply the post-game treats for the kids. Would you mind making a run to DiMaggio’s and picking something up? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Donuts and juice would be fine.”

  “Actually—” she glanced briefly at Melanie, then turned back to him and said a little breathlessly “—could I talk to you in private?”

  He frowned, checking his attempt to hand her some money and his keys. Glancing over at the dugout, he saw Chelsea pick up a bat and walk toward the batter’s box. He felt a tug of impatience. “Can it wait? I really need to get back.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just—” Avoiding his gaze, she glanced down at her feet and began to pleat the hem of her shorts with her fingers. She swallowed. “I—I can’t do it,” she said quietly.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t have a driver’s license.”

  He stared at her bent head, puzzled at her distress. “That’s okay. I won’t call the cops if you won’t.”

  “No.” She looked up. “You don’t understand. I’d do it if I could, but I can’t. I...I don’t know how to drive.”

  Of course. The minute she said it, Eli wondered how he could have missed it. All the clues were there if he’d just paid attention. But he hadn’t. No, he’d been too caught up in his image of her as an odd little thing to see what was staring him in the face.

  Now, however, he could clearly see that all the joy was gone from her face. And a quick glance around showed him that several people, Melanie Rawlins included, were avidly listening to their exchange.

  He swallowed a curse, trying to decide how to rescue the situation. “Look, it’s no big deal,” he began with a lightness he didn’t feel.

  “That’s right,” Joe chimed in.

  Eli jerked around in surprise to find his friend standing behind him.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear,” Joe murmured. He raised his voice. “The way I see it, Mel can go for treats today and Norah can go another time—after you teach her to drive. That way you two newlyweds will get to spend some real quality time together, we can get back to the game, and Mel—” with a faint grin, he plucked the keys from Eli’s fingers and tossed them to his wife “—will finally get to drive your ’Vette.”

  Eli narrowed his eyes at Joe. It was a good plan, except that Mel was the absolute worst driver he’d ever known. And he would have liked to make the offer to teach Boo to drive himself. “Gee, thanks, Joe,” he said sarcastically. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Gee, Eli, I don’t know,” his friend replied solemnly. “Maybe you’re just not as nice as I am.”

  “I’m sure glad you came to the game today,” Chelsea said, talking to Norah between satisfied licks of the ice cream cone clutched m her hand. “And not just ’cuz you thought to get ice cream for treats—although, it is pretty cool. All the other moms always bring granola bars and boring stuff like that.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” Norah replied, her mood lifting momentarily at the genuine pleasure she could see in Chelsea’s face.

  “Did you have fun today?”

  “Yes. Of course I did.”

  “Good. I was sort of worried, ’cuz you’ve been sort of quiet ever since Mel told everybody how she nearly crashed Eli’s car into that milk truck.”

  “Please don’t worry,” Norah said sincerely. “I’m glad I came, too. It’s been...fun.”

  And it had been, up until a while ago. Although initially she’d been nervous, convinced she would say or do the wrong thing, self-conscious about the clothes she had on, she’d soon found that thanks to the reading she’d done, she actually seemed to know what was going on. And that it was much easier to relate to other people when you had something in common with them. A family, for instance.

  And even though she hadn’t actually contributed much to the irreverent conversation that seemed to be part of watching the game, she had found the confidence to respond intelligently to the questions and comments of the other parents—most of whom she’d gone to school with. Part of the reason was she felt as if she had a right to be here, however temporarily, courtesy of Eli and Chelsea. Part was also due to Melanie Rawlins’s warmth and friendliness. And part was because at some point in the day, it had dawned on her that everyone was willing to give her a chance if she would only meet them halfway.

  Everything had been going great—right up until the moment when Eli had asked her to run to the store for him. With just that single innocent request, she—and everyone else within earshot—had been reminded of just how different she really was.

  Although her new friend Melanie had assured her on the trip to DiMaggio’s that it was no big deal, Norah couldn’t forget the look of dismay that had flashed across Eli’s face when she’d admitted she couldn’t drive. Or his less-than-enthusiastic response to the suggestion that he be the one to remedy the situation.

  Not that she intended to hold him to it. She glanced over at him. He was standing by the dugout, talking to some people, as he slowly transferred bats and balls into several canvas bags. Not surprisingly, the group surrounding him was comprised entirely of women.

  “You know what else I liked today, Norah?”

  Distracted, her misery increasing as she watched Eli laugh at something one of the women said, she replied slowly, “No, what?”

  “Looking over and seeing you cheer when I hit that home run. That was cool. It was like you were really my mom.”

  The hint of vulnerability in Chelsea’s voice claimed her full attention. Ignoring her own distress, Norah summoned a smile and said sincerely, “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, sweetheart. It was...awesome.”

  Quickly recovering her equilibrium, Chelsea beamed as ice cream dripped from the bottom of her cone onto her chin. “I know.” With a devilish smile that was remarkably like her father’s, she scrubbed the ice cream off with the back of her hand.

  Norah tried to look stern. “Don’t you have a napkin?”

  Chelsea shook her head, looking sheepish as a fresh rivulet of ice cream ran down her hand.

  “I think you’d better go get one.”

  “’Kay. But first, can I go talk to S
arah? I think she’s leaving.”

  Norah twisted around and saw that Chelsea’s friend and her mother were indeed headed across the grass toward their car. Not sure how to respond, she said uncertainly, “Well...”

  “I know!” Her eyes alight with mischief, Chelsea crammed the rest of her cone in her mouth and swallowed it in one bite, then wiped her hands on her shorts. “There. Now can I go?”

  Norah gave her a chiding look. “Yes.”

  “Hey, Sarah, wait up!” She darted off.

  Amused despite herself, Norah looked around and saw that one by one, other small groups of people were also leaving. And that except for a few odds and ends, Eli appeared to have corralled all the equipment—and lost his audience.

  As always, she felt his magnetism. Deciding now was as good a time as ever to talk to him, she gathered her courage and started toward him, faltering only a little when he looked up at her approach, then went back to leafing through the clipboard in his hand. “Eli?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I...I just want you to know I’m sorry.”

  He didn’t look up. “For what?”

  “For...what happened earlier. About not being able to dnve to the store for refreshments—”

  “Forget it. It got taken care of, and the ice cream cones were a hit. It’s no big deal.”

  “Yes, but...I hope I didn’t embarrass you.”

  He lowered the clipboard. “Why do you do that?” he said abruptly.

  The irritation in his voice caught her by surprise. “Do what?”

  “Apologize all the time for things you don’t have any control over. It’s annoying.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said instantly.

  He threw up his hands in disgust. “See. You just did it again.”

  She twined her hands together, more than a little bewildered. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t this. “I didn’t mean to. I’m—” She stopped herself just in time as his eyes slashed. She swallowed. “It’s just...I want you to know that I don’t expect you to teach me to drive. I...I know Joe coerced you into it.”