About Last Night...

by Michele Dunaway

  But he knew that wouldn’t work. Pretending he hadn’t heard what she’d said would be just about as bad as Lindy’s concealing from him that he’d slept with her after his birthday party. They didn’t need lies between them and not telling her was akin to lying.

  At some point, he was going to have to tell her what he’d heard.

  It just didn’t have to be right at this second, Shane thought, as Lindy entered the kitchen. As always, to him, she was beautiful. Her dark blond hair was tucked into a bun that, already, his fingers itched to tear apart. She wore a simple sundress with a matching cardigan sweater, and now that it was August, she skipped the panty hose, opting for bare legs and sandals. Despite being casual, she still looked totally professional.

  “Hi,” she said as she sat down at the table. “Sleep well?”

  “Great,” Shane fibbed. “You?”

  “I think I tossed and turned a little bit, but other than that I don’t remember a thing. No dreams. Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  She frowned. “No. Should I? Did I elbow you or something?”

  “No, you kept to your side,” Shane said. He grinned at her. Lindy usually tried to hog the whole bed.

  “Good.” The housekeeper set a grapefruit in front of Lindy. She stared at it.

  Shane knew instantly that something was wrong. “Don’t you like grapefruit? You used to eat it.”

  “I love it. But right now I feel as if…” Lindy pushed the grapefruit away. “I hate these hormonal changes. Megan told me she used to love turkey. Now the sight of a turkey club makes her ill. She’s eating roast beef instead.”

  Marni came back over. “Miss?”

  “I’m sorry, Marni. For some reason the thought of taking a bite of this turns my stomach. Would you mind bringing me some Cocoa Puffs?”

  Marni shook her head, but didn’t contradict or ask questions. “I take it that baby likes sugary chocolate cereal. Well, I will get him some. Milk, too?”

  “Please.”

  Shane watched Marni disappear into the kitchen. Since his grandmother Henrietta had refused to part with Cindy, the family cook and Shane’s first nanny, Cindy had recommended Marni. So far she’d been an absolute gem. It had taken Lindy a little while to get adjusted to having live-in help, but as with most things, Lindy was doing fine.

  Shane had to give his wife credit. He wasn’t the easiest man to live with, but so far Lindy had been able to sense when he needed space, and let him retreat into his home office without fussing over him like an insecure mother hen. There were times when he needed her, and she had been right there; other times, she’d simply read a book while he relaxed by playing a video game.

  And unlike several former girlfriends, Lindy trusted him to check his personal e-mail without wanting to look over his shoulder and know who sent what.

  Maybe it was the house. There was plenty of room for two people. For two people and a baby, there would still be room to spare.

  They’d already picked out the room that would serve as the nursery. Lindy had said it was still too soon to decorate, so right now the room sat totally empty of furniture, still painted contractor-white.

  Much to his surprise, Shane had actually found himself interested in what the nursery would look like. Lindy hadn’t even started looking at wallpapers or contacting decorators. “I’ll nest later,” she’d told him. “I’m not due until January. That’s five months from now.” He hadn’t protested.

  “So what’s on your agenda today?” Lindy’s voice brought Shane back to the moment.

  “Meetings,” he told her. “Grandpa Joe is thinking about expanding again. There’s been some interest in bringing some Jacobsen’s Restaurants to a few more locations in the Northeast. I’m in charge of the preliminary site review. We’re hearing the results of the scouting reports today.”

  “I should probably drive myself to work,” Lindy said.

  Shane frowned slightly. Was she avoiding him? “That’s really not necessary. I’ll be done by lunch. It should be a normal day after that. I can take you.”

  “I thought I might make some stops on the way home,” Lindy replied. “Your mother gave me the name of an interior designer and told me I had to stop by her shop. You know how your mother is, especially when she’s trying to wrap up what she considers to be loose ends.”

  Shane grimaced. Although he’d just been thinking about the nursery, his mother’s involvement in something often spelled annoying times ahead. “She’s worried about the nursery now, isn’t she?”

  Lindy nodded as she finished her bite of cereal. “She’s afraid that if I don’t get on the designer’s schedule now, I won’t make it at all. I mean, really. It’s not like the baby will notice. I want to put a bassinet in our room for the first six weeks anyway.”

  “Mom means well, but she can be a little overzealous.”

  Lindy toyed with her spoon. “I guess she has to be, with the frantic pace of your father’s ministry. There’s also the little fact that the designer’s services are your parents’ present to us.”

  Shane folded the paper. “Well, let’s look on the bright side. Luckily for us, they’ll be leaving in two days for a stadium tour in California. They’ll be gone through Labor Day.”

  “What’s it called again, the Labor of Love tour?”

  “Yeah. They’re hitting Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Three nights in each city. They plan to be back for Nick and Olivia’s thirtieth birthday party. That’s September 15.”

  “It’s already marked on my calendar,” Lindy said. “Family only, in Henrietta’s private room.” Lindy mentioned the location of the event, at Jacobsen Enterprise’s five-diamond, five-star signature eatery.

  “At least they won’t miss that,” Shane said.

  “Shane.” Lindy’s tone sent a mild reprimand.

  He rolled his eyes. “I know. Sorry. But it still rankles that they forgot my twenty-fifth. Although, I guess something good came out of it. We’re having our son.” And for that he would be forever grateful to Lindy.

  He glanced at his watch again, got up and dropped his napkin on the table. He walked around the table and put his hands on Lindy’s shoulders. Her skin felt magical beneath his touch. He stroked her neck. Oh, if he didn’t have meetings… “Take care today, darling, and I’ll see you tonight.”

  She looked up at him, the sunlight reflecting on her brown eyes. “I’ll have Marni plan dinner for right around six-thirty.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Shane said. His next words caught in his throat, and without saying anything, he left the dining room, leaving Lindy alone.

  “Chicken.” He chastised himself aloud as he walked toward the four-car garage. He should have told her what he’d heard her say last night. Angry at himself, he ignored the sensible sedan. Today the Corvette called him. Seconds later, he turned the volume of the Pete Yorn song up to full blast and hit the highway.

  SHANE HAD BEEN bothered about something. Lindy knew it. But then, Shane always had had his moods. When she’d worked for him, she hadn’t been privy to so many. Now that she was married to him and with him 24/7…Lindy sighed as she watched the Corvette speed down the long driveway and out of view. He loved that car.

  Funny how a man could love a car, but not a woman.

  She shook her head to clear that negative thought and finished the last few bites of her cereal. As always, the Cocoa Puffs had turned the white milk chocolatey. She stood and reached for her bowl, but Marni was too quick for her. All her life Lindy had washed her own dishes; now she didn’t even have to carry them to the kitchen. “Marni, is dinner at six-thirty okay?”

  Marni smiled. “Just fine, miss. I’m going to barbecue steak and chicken. Cindy told me how much Shane likes that, and it’s supposed to be a great night for dinner on the terrace.”

  “That sounds perfect. Thank you.” Lindy watched Marni leave. Never in a million years would Lindy have ever thought about being a housekeeper, but it amazed her how much money li
ve-in help actually commanded. Marni was wonderful, and would be a perfect nanny for the baby, when he arrived. Freed from dishes and other chores, Lindy had nothing else to do but go to work.

  For the first time, for some strange reason, she really didn’t want to go to work. She reached for her cell phone and dialed Tina.

  “Hey,” she said when Tina finally answered.

  “Hey,” Tina’s groggy voice said. “This better be good, Lindy.”

  Lindy smiled. Tina wasn’t human until she’d downed two cups of coffee. “Sorry to wake you, sleepyhead, but are you flying today or can you meet me for lunch?”

  “I just got in four hours ago,” Tina said. “I want to sleep.”

  “Great. We’ll do lunch at one. I’ll call you at eleven-thirty to make sure you’re up and tell you where.”

  “Okay,” Tina said. “One.”

  Lindy hung up the phone. Tina would have the answer. She always did.

  “SHANE.”

  Upon hearing his name, Shane turned to face his grandfather. They were both standing in the board-room, the meeting to review the restaurant scouting reports finally over at a little after one in the afternoon. “Yes?”

  Grandpa Joe came over and shook Shane’s hand. “Good job today.”

  “Thanks.” The praise coming from Grandpa Joe felt, well, in Shane’s opinion, pretty good. For the first time in his life, he was actually doing the right thing. Even better, now that he was active in Jacobsen Enterprises, he wondered why he hadn’t done it earlier.

  The job he did was invigorating, the work interesting. Grandpa Joe had found Shane an area that he thrived in, and Shane loved to use his intellect to conquer the business problems he faced. He felt like he was making a difference. What’s more, he still had time to manage both his investment accounts and the Shane Jacobsen charitable foundation.

  Grandpa Joe dropped Shane’s hand. “Listen, I know the meeting ran a bit over. Anyway, I’m going to have some lunch sent up to my office. I’d like it very much if you’d join me.”

  Shane thought for a quick second. Grandpa Joe had never invited him just for lunch. Despite the fact that there might be a catch, Shane said, “Sure.”

  “Good. Do you have any preferences?”

  Shane picked up his briefcase. The leather felt good and solid against his palm. “Do they still have that salmon sandwich?”

  “I’ll ask,” Grandpa Joe said. “If not, what do you want?”

  “A burger will be just fine. I have the feeling Marni is going to barbecue tonight.”

  Grandpa Joe nodded. “Very well. Shall we meet in, say fifteen minutes?”

  “I’ll be there.” Shane hummed as he left the board-room. Praise and a lunch invitation. Perhaps the prodigal son had finally been welcomed home.

  Of course, he had done some reforming. Shane pressed the elevator button. He could worry about Lindy’s love declaration later. At that moment he felt pretty damned good. He had to tell Lindy. She’d want to know. He pressed the button again. Just where was that elevator? Deciding not to wait another moment, Shane went down the stairs to the next level.

  But when he went by Lindy’s office, she wasn’t there. A sharp pang of disappointment filled Shane. He headed back toward the stairwell, passing Megan’s office on the way.

  “Hey. Shane.”

  Shane paused in Megan’s doorway. She sat behind her desk, a pile of papers and three colored highlighters in front of her. “Hey, Megan, have you seen Lindy?”

  Megan shook her head as she picked up the pink highlighter and underlined key words in a report. “I haven’t seen her since this morning when she passed all this stuff off on me. But she did mention that she had plans for lunch with, oh, what’s her name? The maid of honor from her wedding.”

  A small prickle ran up Shane’s spine as he leaned on Megan’s doorframe. Lindy at lunch with Tina was a big uh-oh, and he knew exactly what they’d be discussing. Him. “The maid of honor’s name is Tina.”

  Megan nodded. “Right. That’s it. Tina.” Highlighter still in hand, Megan glanced at her watch. “Lindy’s probably still at lunch. Do you need her? You could always call her on her cell phone.”

  “Nah.” Shane shook his head and straightened up. “I only had a moment before my lunch with Grandpa Joe. I just thought I’d drop in, see how she’s doing. You know our ultrasound was yesterday. It’s a boy.”

  “I know. Lindy showed me the pictures. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. Don’t worry about giving her a message. I’ll just catch up with her later.”

  Megan smiled, one of those sage, women-know-all smiles. “Oh, think nothing of it. Harry drops in all the time with one excuse or the other.”

  Yes, but he wasn’t Harry. All anyone had to do was look at Harry to see how much he loved his wife. As for Shane, that didn’t apply. He didn’t love Lindy. Right?

  But there was the fact that she loved him, and he knew he was going to have to deal with that sooner or later. Shane made his way back upstairs to Grandpa Joe’s office.

  BY 1:15 p.m.—despite delicious food and several tall glasses of lemonade—Tina still didn’t have any answers at all for Lindy.

  Tina set her fork aside and pushed her salad away. “So you’re not sure if he heard you?”

  Lindy took another bite of her chocolate cake. She’d finished her roast beef sandwich ages ago, and had opted for dessert. “I’m not sure I even said it. I probably did, though, and I’m sure he heard it.”

  Tina reached for her lemonade. “So what’s the problem with that? Like I told you before, you might need to hit him upside the head with how you feel about him. It might do him some good.”

  The chocolate cake suddenly tasted papery. Lindy waved her fork in the air, sending cake crumbs flying. “Or it might make him feel trapped. Pressured. Shane trapped is not an oxymoron. Those two words don’t go together like jumbo shrimp. He’ll walk away, or…”

  Tina looked at Lindy over the rim of her lemonade glass. “Or what?”

  Lindy put her fork down and pushed away the plate of half-eaten chocolate cake. “I’m not sure. All I know is, whatever he does, it won’t be positive. That’s why I’ve decided not to talk about it. I’ll just pretend it never happened. I mean, my declaration of love did occur after sex. You and I both know that’s a woman’s most vulnerable time. Heck, men know that too. Isn’t it their rule that nothing said in the afterglow can be held against them?”

  Tina twirled her straw between her fingers. “I don’t think I’m familiar with that rule. I think if you say it, especially then, usually you mean it.”

  “No. It’s the height of emotion, that’s all. And I’m sure it’s a rule. I think it’s the only one men get. I mean, you know if a guy says he loves you after casual sex he might just be being nice. You shouldn’t go pick out china.” Tina set her straw down. “Since women get all the other rules, including the right to change their minds, I say, if it happens in the afterglow, it doesn’t count,” Lindy said.

  Tina frowned. “Lindy, I still don’t necessarily like Shane. I still think he’s a rat who’s not good enough for you. But it doesn’t matter how I feel, it’s how you feel that’s important. It’s already out there. You must tell him the truth. Put the ball in his court. If he doesn’t return it, well, then perhaps you’ll have to decide what to do. Maybe he’ll surprise you. I doubt it, but for your sake I’m ever hopeful. Lindy, take it from me. For your own sanity, you need to tell him how you feel.”

  Lindy’s lips puckered and her brow furrowed. “I need to get away from him.”

  Tina shook her head. “That’s no longer an option.”

  Lindy stirred her lemonade with her straw. “Sometimes I wish it was.”

  “That’s because you haven’t put all your cards on the table. You’re folding before you know the score. So play the hand you dealt yourself. See where it goes. Maybe you’ll win all the chips.”

  Lindy rolled her eyes. “I can tell you’ve been flying the Las Vegas ro
ute again.”

  Tina grinned. “Can’t you? I’ve got another two weeks to go and then I’m back on Chicago routes for a month.”

  The humorous moment passed. “Chicago’s probably safer for me. With my luck, despite your advice on how to play the games, I’d probably lose all my chips.”

  “That’s the risk you take.” Tina glanced at her watch. “I wish I could stay longer, but we’re going to need to get going.”

  Lindy signaled for the waiter. “I know. It’s just been so—”

  Tina interrupted Lindy by reaching over and covering her hand. “You don’t have to say it. I miss you, too. I didn’t realize until you moved out how much I’d come to depend on you being there. There’s so much I want to say, to tell you, and you aren’t around.”

  Lindy sighed. “I feel the same way, but I’m only a phone call away. We’ll do more of these lunches. Dinner maybe. Shane doesn’t control all my time.”

  “Ha. I know you. One kiss and it’s over. Speaking of, I haven’t told you that I met a new guy. I’m not sure it’ll work out, but it does look promising. In fact, I’m going to meet Tom now, which is why I can’t be late. He took the afternoon off so that we can go see an early movie before I have to fly out tonight.”

  “So tell me about him,” Lindy said, and in the ten minutes before she and Tina parted company, Lindy listened to her friend talk about her new love interest. Then it was back to the office. As Lindy stepped out of the elevator, she bumped into Megan.

  “Hey,” Megan said. She placed her hand on the elevator door so it wouldn’t close. “Did Shane find you?”

  Shane was looking for her? “No.”

  “Oh.” Megan frowned for a quick second. “Well, he was just here, maybe about ten to fifteen minutes ago. He said he had a short break and dropped by to talk to you.”

  Megan stepped inside the elevator and pressed the door’s open button. “He actually seemed a little embarrassed by it, but I told him Harry did it all the time. Anyway, if you need him, I think he said he’s having lunch with Grandpa Joe.” Megan pressed the lobby button. “I’m off to my latest doctor’s appointment. I’ll see you tomorrow.”