Beth and the Bachelor

by Susan Mallery

  Beth shook her head. ‘‘I would rather he was overcome by passion. There’s way too much thinking going on, which tells me that he’s not really interested. Not that I mind. I don’t really want to do it with him, either.’’

  Cindy looked at her. ‘‘You’re insane. You don’t want to have sex with him, but you want him to have sex with you?’’

  ‘‘Of course.’’

  ‘‘Okay, I actually understand that, but I don’t know why you’re upset that he’s being nice. Guys are like that. When something matters, they don’t want to take any chances. They go slowly so they have less of an opportunity to make a mistake.’’

  Beth slipped out of the dress and began pulling on her own clothes. ‘‘I want to believe that, but I think it’s more that he’s afraid to see thirty-eight-year-old breasts.’’

  ‘‘You didn’t get your breasts until you were twelve or thirteen, right?’’ Cindy asked.

  Beth frowned. ‘‘So?’’

  ‘‘Technically your breasts are only in their twenties.’’

  ‘‘Okay, the women he usually dates have breasts that are barely in their double digits. I can’t compete with that.’’

  ‘‘Has Todd said there was going to be a contest?’’

  Beth glared at her. ‘‘If you’re going to be logical about this, I’m not going to talk to you anymore.’’

  Cindy held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘‘All right. I’ll abandon logic. So you want him to want you, but you don’t want to want him back, right?’’

  ‘‘Yes.’’

  ‘‘You’re afraid of what he’s going to think when he sees you naked.’’

  ‘‘Yes, again.’’ Beth fastened her jeans. ‘‘I look okay in clothes, but I’m not a young woman. In the bright light of day there’s no hiding the stretch marks, not to mention the lumps and bumps that are appearing at an alarming rate. There are some weird vein things. In Darren’s mind I was still the girl he married, which was a great quality in a man. Todd has only seen me this way.’’

  ‘‘Do you think Todd is worried about you seeing him naked?’’

  ‘‘No, but guys are different. They don’t worry about their bodies the same way. They’re very accepting and assume that if a woman says she likes him and wants to be intimate, that she’s telling the truth.’’

  ‘‘Don’t men mean it when they say they want us and think we’re beautiful?’’

  Beth thought about that for a second. ‘‘I don’t know,’’ she admitted. ‘‘That’s what I’m still wrestling with.’’ Not that Todd spent a lot of time telling her that she was beautiful. ‘‘I’m going to have to think about this some more. But for now I have a dress and that makes me happy.’’

  They left the changing room and walked toward the cashier. ‘‘My credit card is going to whimper,’’ Beth said. ‘‘So am I when I get the bill. But it will be worth it.’’

  Cindy paused by a display of costume jewelry. ‘‘You want to get earrings?’’ she asked. ‘‘Some of these are really pretty.’’

  Beth shook her head. ‘‘I have a pair of plain pearl studs. Those will be fine.’’ She looked at her friend. ‘‘Thanks for coming with me tonight and for listening to me complain. I know I don’t always make sense, but I’m doing the best I can.’’

  ‘‘He’s going to be dazzled,’’ Cindy promised. ‘‘You’ll see.’’

  Beth hoped she was right. Because the truth was somewhat sobering. She was a middle-aged, middle-class mother of two, buying a secondhand dress so she could fake her way through a high-society party.

  Beth had to smile. It was that or break down and sob. At least, she thought gamely, her life wasn’t boring anymore.

  *

  Matt and Jodi didn’t appreciate being awakened before eight in the morning on a Saturday, but Beth wanted them to see her leave rather than wake up and just find her gone.

  In her head she knew that they were old enough to handle being alone for the day, but in her heart she worried.

  She glanced at her watch. Two minutes to go. Knowing Todd, he would be on time. Her stomach tightened as she turned her attention to the garment bag draped over the back of the sofa. It made her feel that she was running off to spend the weekend with a strange man instead of just the day.

  ‘‘I’ll be back around midnight,’’ she said for the hundredth time.

  Jodi covered a yawn. ‘‘Yeah, Mom, we know. We have all the phone numbers we could possibly need. Cindy and Mike are going to be around all day if anything happens. In fact they might drop by just to check on us, not that we’re going to be here all that much.’’ The sixteen-year-old smiled. ‘‘You’ve been over this more than once. We’re not kids. We’ll be fine.’’

  Before Beth could respond, she heard a car in the driveway, followed by the slam of the car door. Todd appeared on their back porch. Matt let him in. ‘‘Hey, Todd.’’

  ‘‘You’re up early.’’

  Matt rolled his eyes as he ushered Todd into the house. ‘‘Mom made us. She’s really worried about us, which is kinda dumb. We’ll be fine.’’

  Todd greeted Jodi, then smiled at Beth. She tried not to notice how nice he looked in khaki slacks and a shortsleeved shirt. Expensive sunglasses hung from his shirt pocket. Gray-blue eyes danced with humor. ‘‘So you’re torturing the children again? I thought we’d talked about you getting a new hobby.’’

  ‘‘I know, I know.’’ She handed Todd her garment bag. ‘‘I’ve told them I’ll be home around midnight.’’

  He feigned disappointment. ‘‘But you promised to spend the night.’’

  Beth felt herself getting embarrassed. The good news was that being around Todd always got to her. She had a steady supply of blood to her face so her skin should be in fabulous shape. Free facials, she thought, trying to see the humor in the situation.

  ‘‘Gee, Mom, if you spent the night with Todd, we could have a really cool party here without you,’’ Matt said.

  Beth pulled him close and hugged him. ‘‘I’d miss you after I dropped you off at the closest orphanage, but the extra room would be nice.’’

  ‘‘You’d never get rid of me,’’ Matt said confidently.

  ‘‘And you’d never throw a party without checking with me first.’’

  ‘‘I know.’’ He sighed. ‘‘But it’s fun to think about.’’

  Beth released him and kissed her daughter. ‘‘Tell me again what’s going to happen today.’’

  ‘‘Mo-om.’’

  Beth didn’t say anything, she just waited. Jodi started talking. ‘‘I’m studying this morning by myself. Around noon, Sara’s mom is coming to get me. We’re going to lunch and movie, then we’re baby-sitting at the Andersons. The Johnsons are also dropping off their kids. Then I’m going back to Sara’s and spending the night. I have Cindy’s number memorized. Sara’s folks are going to be home all evening. I’ll be fine.’’ She turned to her brother. ‘‘You’re up.’’

  ‘‘Baseball,’’ Matt said. ‘‘John’s family is picking me up, then dropping me off here after the game. I’ll take a shower, eat junk food—’’ He grinned. ‘‘Then Zack’s dad is going to come get me. We’re going to dinner and a movie. Then I’m spending the night with Zack. I have Cindy’s number and Sara’s number and the Andersons’ number. When I have kids I’m never gonna make them go through this.’’

  ‘‘Of course you are,’’ Beth said, then looked at Todd. ‘‘I’m ready.’’

  ‘‘Don’t you want to know what I’m going to do with my day and what numbers I’ve memorized?’’ he asked.

  Despite her worry and her nerves, he made her smile. ‘‘No. Surprise me.’’

  She hugged the kids one last time, then let Todd lead her out to his dark, gleaming BMW. ‘‘You sure you don’t want to take my car?’’ she teased. ‘‘How often to you get to drive a sports utility vehicle?’’

  ‘‘Gee, that sounds so exciting,’’ he said as he placed her garment bag on the back seat. ‘‘I
t would be too much of a thrill for someone my age. We’d better stick to my car.’’

  ‘‘If you insist.’’

  She slipped into the car and fastened her seat belt. Todd settled next to her. They both waved at the children, then he backed down the driveway.

  When they reached the end of the street, he pulled the car over and looked at her. ‘‘Hi,’’ he said, and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.

  Her heart picked up its pace instantly. ‘‘Hi, yourself.’’

  ‘‘I’m glad you’re with me today. It’s going to be fun.’’

  ‘‘While I’m sure we’re going to have a great time, I’m a little curious as to what our plans are. All you said was that it would be casual.’’

  He put the car in gear and headed for Highway 6. ‘‘We’re going out on my boat for the day, then tonight we’ll be attending a hospital fund-raiser. There’s going to be great food at both places and a silent auction at the party.’’

  Boats and fund-raisers? She didn’t know which sounded more scary—being around a bunch of rich people she didn’t know or being on the water. ‘‘It’s not that I can’t swim or anything,’’ she said, wondering if she would get seasick.

  ‘‘I’m just wondering about the time crunch. It’s going to take a while to get to Galveston, which I assume is where you have your boat docked.’’

  He picked up her left hand and pressed his mouth to her palm. The hot, damp kiss sent fire screaming all the way down to her toes. ‘‘Trust me.’’

  ‘‘I do,’’ she said, and wondered if he could hear the tremor in her voice.

  When he reached the freeway, he didn’t head north toward the city and the road out of town. Instead, he continued on the highway another half mile to the Sugar Land Airport.

  ‘‘A boat with wings?’’ she asked, confused.

  He pulled into the parking lot. ‘‘Not exactly. We’re taking a helicopter to the coast. It’ll save us a lot of time.’’

  ‘‘Oh, sure,’’ Beth said. ‘‘I do that all the time when I have a lot of errands to run. Helicopters are great.’’

  Todd grinned at her. ‘‘You’re going to be fine.’’

  She nodded because it was too difficult to speak. He asked her if she wanted to take her dress or leave it in the car. Beth made sure the garment bag was lying smooth along the length of the back seat and then grabbed her small purse. Everything else could stay behind.

  As they approached the gleaming helicopter, she thought about how much Matt and Jodi would have enjoyed the trip.

  ‘‘We can bring the kids next time,’’ Todd called over the loud whirling rotor blades.

  Beth stared. ‘‘You read my mind.’’

  ‘‘I’m glad.’’

  His smile was intimate and it made her even more nervous than the thought of flying in a machine obviously designed by a crazy person. It would never get off the ground, and if it did, it wasn’t going to stay there. Still, Beth wasn’t about to confess her fears to Todd or to the impossibly young pilot. She took the seat she was offered and tightened her seat belt until it was hard for her to breathe. Then she prayed…and wondered what kind of man hired a helicopter to take himself and his date fifty-plus miles to the coast.

  ‘‘Ready?’’ the pilot asked.

  Todd gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. When the young man looked at her, Beth weakly imitated the gesture. In a matter of seconds they were in the air.

  The ground quickly fell away, giving her a clear view of Sugar Land. She could see the mall and the shopping center just north of it. Houston looked even flatter from this high up in the air. The day was warm and clear and she could see all the way to the horizon. The view was spectacular.

  Todd took her hand in his. ‘‘Isn’t this great?’’ he asked.

  His expression was boyishly proud, and amazingly similar to Matt’s when he conquered a new video game. It was a guy thing, she thought. Knowing Todd wasn’t all that different from regular nonrich types would help keep her nerves at bay. At least that’s what she told herself.

  The flight was uneventful. A good thing for a flight to be, she told herself as Todd helped her out of the helicopter. A long black limo waited for them and took them swiftly to the marina where a beautiful and huge powerboat sat in the water.

  Beth stopped at the end of the dock and stared. ‘‘You own this?’’ she asked.

  Todd shrugged. ‘‘Sort of. I own it with a couple of friends. None of us has as much time as we would like to use the boat, so we set up a schedule of who gets it when, and we split expenses.’’ He motioned for her to step on board.

  A uniformed man in his thirties appeared by the stairs and held out his hand. ‘‘Welcome aboard, ma’am.’’ When she was standing on the gleaming wood deck, he turned his attention to Todd. ‘‘Good morning, sir. We’re ready to cast off whenever you give the word.’’

  ‘‘Thanks, Richard.’’ He shook the man’s hand. ‘‘This is Beth Davis. She’s my special guest today. She’s not much of a sailor, so let’s keep things quiet for her. We’d like lunch served around twelve and we need to be back at the dock at four. We’re ready to leave anytime you’d like.’’

  ‘‘Of course,’’ Richard told him. He turned around and called an order to another uniformed crew member.

  Beth was stunned. ‘‘You have a staff on your boat?’’

  ‘‘There’s a crew of three,’’ Todd said. ‘‘This lovely lady is sixty feet long. That’s a lot of boat for a bunch of weekend sailors. We decided the crew was money well spent.’’

  ‘‘Of course,’’ Beth said, wondering how it was she’d gotten involved with a man who lived such a different life from hers. Still, she wasn’t about to complain. So far she was really enjoying the visit to his world.

  He showed her around the luxury yacht. There was a main salon, with comfortable furniture and great views. There were three large sleeping cabins, a full, albeit small, kitchen and three bathrooms, or heads.

  As the crew started the powerful engines and headed the boat out into the gulf, Todd settled her on a sofa and opened the windows and sliding glass doors. An overhead fan circulated the warm air.

  ‘‘There’s air-conditioning,’’ he said, ‘‘but I thought you might prefer to smell the ocean air.’’

  ‘‘It’s great,’’ she said, and meant it. The boat was luxurious, with fitted brass fixtures, expensive furniture, quality art on the walls, and carpeting that made her sink nearly to her ankles. She liked the location, the surroundings and the company. She had nothing to complain about. If she was a little out of place…or even a lot out of place…she wasn’t going to mention it to anyone. Oddly enough, she doubted Todd would even agree with her. For reasons she couldn’t quite understand, he thought she fit in just fine.

  They talked about their weeks, what the real-estate market looked like for the second half of the year. Beth told him about a couple of stories she was working on for the magazine and some of the editing problems she’d encountered.

  He got them each tall glasses of fresh lemonade and when he handed her one, he settled next to her on the sofa.

  He was a handsome man, she thought, although that was hardly news. She liked looking at him. She liked the strength of his face, his regular features, the way his mouth always curved up in a teasing smile whenever she fretted too much about something he thought was silly.

  ‘‘What are you thinking?’’ Todd asked. ‘‘You have an interesting look on your face.’’

  ‘‘Just enjoying myself,’’ she said, thinking that it wasn’t exactly a lie. She had been enjoying herself…while she thought about him.

  ‘‘Me, too.’’ He took her hand in his. ‘‘Next time let’s bring the kids,’’ he said, picking up a thread of conversation they’d discussed earlier. ‘‘We could make a weekend of it. Maybe head over to Corpus Christi. Or if we have more time, we can go to Mexico. There are some beautiful beaches on the way. When does school get out?’’

  ‘‘Towar
d the end of May,’’ she said. It was only April. Was he making plans for the future? She thought that guys weren’t supposed to do that. Isn’t that what all the women’s magazines talked about? How before men were married, they refused to give any indication that a relationship was going to last for more than twenty-four hours?

  ‘‘I’ll bring you a copy of my schedule,’’ he said. ‘‘I have the boat certain weeks, although the dates are frequently flexible. We can pick out some times that work for both of us.’’ He paused and looked at her. ‘‘If you think you and the kids would like that.’’

  ‘‘I think it’s a great idea,’’ she said, equally pleased and terrified by his plans. Was she still going to be seeing him in the summer? Were they dating? She’d nearly convinced herself that he was dating her to get her out of his system. What else could it be? Was Todd Graham really interested in her?

  She wasn’t about to ask him if that was true, and without a question to prompt him, he wouldn’t know to volunteer an answer. She decided the best bet was to change the subject. She asked him how long he’d had the boat.

  Eventually the cabin grew warm and they went out on deck. Conversation flowed easily between them. After eating a light lunch of shrimp salad and a warm French bread, which was so incredible it deserved to be worshiped, they moved under an awning at the rear of the boat and settled next to each other.

  Beth stared out at the flat ocean. ‘‘It’s not very deep here, is it?’’ she asked.

  ‘‘No. That’s one of the reasons the water is so warm. Off the West Coast the ocean bottom drops considerably. The depth means the sun can’t heat it as much.’’

  ‘‘So we get hurricanes and they don’t.’’

  Todd smiled at her. ‘‘They get earthquakes in California. Which would you rather have?’’

  She grinned. ‘‘How about neither?’’

  His arm was around her. The contact was very nice. Comfortable, although she could feel herself responding to him. She had a feeling that Todd would always incite passion in her. Was that a bad thing?

  She looked around at the beautiful craft. ‘‘Darren would have loved this,’’ she said without thinking, then held back a groan. ‘‘Sorry. That was pretty thoughtless.’’