by Jackie Black
Predictably, Maggie stiffened up and opened her mouth to voice a protest. But then she seemed to think better of it, and Sonny noticed a sly, fleeting little smile cross his daughter’s lips.
“All right, Daddy,” she said with suspicious agreeableness and turned away to look out the car window.
“Maggie,” Sonny said dryly, “I’m not going to tolerate any rudeness from you tonight, is that understood?”
Maggie turned wide, innocent blue eyes in her father’s direction. “Of course, Daddy,” she said as though she couldn’t understand why he would even bring up the possibility. “I know how to behave.”
Sonny was well aware of the duplicity of Maggie’s statement, but he didn’t challenge her over it for the moment. He would show her when the time came that he meant what he’d said.
After lunch, he conferred with Mrs. Mullins, then went into his study to call Lissa.
“Hello,” Elizabeth answered the phone calmly, certain it was Sonny.
“Lissa, this is Sonny,” he said, unconsciously using a caressing tone. “Is six o’clock tonight all right? Tomorrow is a school day for Maggie.”
“Six is fine for me, Sonny,” Elizabeth answered pleasantly, “because I have to make an early night of it myself.”
Sonny frowned. “You do?”
“Yes, I have an early appointment in the morning. Besides, I’m sure you have early rounds to make and need a good night’s sleep yourself,” Elizabeth went on, not giving Sonny a chance to speak. “So I’ll drive over to your place and arrive by six, then try to be home by nine.”
Now Sonny realized what Lissa was doing, and a faint smile of combined frustration and admiration touched his lips.
“Lissa, I’ll come get you,” he said, using a gently firm tone.
Lissa’s tone was every bit as firm as his, however.
“No, Sonny ... I want to drive.”
Sonny stifled a sigh, but after a short hesitation, decided to allow Lissa her small victory. After all, he intended to win the war.
“Fine,” he agreed calmly.
“Good. Then I’ll see you—”
“Lissa, there’s just one thing I want to warn you about,” Sonny interrupted.
“Oh?” Elizabeth had no idea what he was going to say, but she automatically felt wary.
“It’s Maggie,” Sonny said. “She’s gotten a little possessive of me since I started to date, and she’s not always gracious when she senses competition. I haven’t come down as hard as I should have on her because I know how much she misses her mother . . .” Sonny hesitated about finishing the explanation with the words in his mind, then gave a mental shrug, and decided there was no point in hiding his intentions from Lissa. “. . . and because I haven’t been serious enough about anyone to make a big thing of it . . . until now.”
Elizabeth caught her breath in alarm, then relaxed. This was just one more reason for staying clear of Sonny Strotherton, and she was aware that no matter how determined she was to follow through on her intention to do just that, another good reason to bolster her willpower was welcome.
“I understand how she feels, Sonny,” she said lightly, “and I won’t take offense at anything she says or does. In fact,” she added in a pointed way, “I’ll make it as clear as I can to your daughter that, as far as I’m concerned, she has nothing to worry about.”
Sonny gave a silent sigh of frustration at this indication that, despite what had happened between them the night before and what he’d said to her afterward, Lissa was still clinging to her intention to keep her distance from him. He saw no point in getting into an argument with her on the phone about it, however, so he merely said, somewhat dryly, “That wasn’t what I had in mind, but thanks anyway, Lissa.”
“You’re welcome.” Elizabeth chose to put her own interpretation on his words. “See you later, Sonny.” And she hung up, glumly satisfied that she had set the stage for making her intentions even clearer to Sonny before the night was over.
Refusing to allow herself to think about Sonny for the rest of the afternoon, Elizabeth concentrated on re-memorizing the different bones of the human body instead, until it came time to get ready for her dinner date. Then, she washed her hair, dried and styled it, applied her makeup carefully, and put on a simple violet jersey dress with classic lines that matched her eyes. She wore pearl studs in her ears.
Well, I look like a woman who's in charge of her own destiny, she thought with wry humor as she inspected herself in her full-length mirror. Now I just have to live up to my exterior.
She controlled her nervousness on the drive to Sonny’s home by mentally reciting different parts of the human anatomy to herself, and considered it fortunate that she hadn’t reached the reproductive organs by the time she pulled into the Strotherton driveway. Then she concentrated on inspecting the Cape Cod design of the house.
“Traditional ... of course,” she murmured as she climbed out of the car. “Just like its owner.”
Its owner opened the front door and came out to greet her just then, and she tried to be strictly objective as she swept her eyes over his handsome face, impressive physique, and the casual elegance of his navy blue, V-necked cashmere sweater with a white, open-necked shirt under it, and gray wool slacks.
By the time she completed her inspection, she wasn’t feeling as objective as she wanted, but she maintained her poise as she walked toward Sonny with a pleasant smile on her lips.
“Good evening, Sonny,” she said lightly as they met midway between the car and the house.
“Hello, Lissa,” he answered in a voice Lissa was positive he didn’t use on his regular dinner guests. “You look beautiful ... as always.”
She made herself glance away from the light of intimate welcome in his eyes. “I assure you, I don’t always look like this,” she said, and quickly changed the subject. “You have a lovely home, Sonny.”
He took her arm to escort her to the house, but his eyes never left her face and his smile was as intimate as the look in his eyes.
“Thank you, Lissa. I’m glad you like it.”
Inside the front hall, he took her coat and hung it in the closet while Elizabeth looked around and mentally complimented his former wife. There was nothing pretentious about the interior decorating. It was obvious that the former Mrs. Strotherton had had her family’s comfort in mind more than creating a showplace, and Lissa approved.
After hanging up her coat and shutting the closet door, Sonny came close and put his arm around Elizabeth’s waist, jerking her immediately back into an awareness of how attractive he was. She smelled the faint, pleasant scent of his aftershave, felt the warmth of his body and looked up into his warm gaze, and for just a moment, she wished with all her heart that there was nothing to stand between them . . . that this was the beginning of something wonderful for both of them instead of the last time they would ever be together.
“Come on,” he said, his voice a deep caress. “I’ll introduce you to Maggie.”
As he guided her past the living room toward the back of the house, Elizabeth fought down her regrets and mentally reviewed all the reasons why she and Sonny shouldn’t continue to see one another. And by the time they entered a large, pleasant family room where Maggie was watching television, she was back to being positive she was doing the right thing.
“Maggie, turn off the television and come meet Lissa,” Sonny said with light firmness.
Maggie, clad in blue jeans and a light-blue sweater, reluctantly turned her blond head toward them, then back to the television for an instant, before she got to her feet to switch off the set. Then she dutifully presented herself in front of Sonny and Lissa for the introduction.
Elizabeth hid a smile at the subtle skill of Maggie’s performance. She did nothing overtly rude her father could object to, but it was obvious she was merely being polite rather than eager to greet their guest.
“Hello,” she said without any enthusiasm.
“Hello, Maggie,” Lissa said matte
r-of-factly, and though she smiled, there was nothing in her manner that could be remotely construed as gushing or anxious to make a good impression on Sonny’s daughter.
Maggie’s eyes, so like her father’s, showed a brief flash of puzzlement over Lissa’s manner, then became blankly polite again.
“Sit down, Lissa,” Sonny said, glancing between them warily. “Would you like a drink before dinner?”
“Thank you,” Lissa sat down on the comfortable sofa in front of the fireplace. “I’ll have a glass of wine if it isn’t any trouble.”
“No trouble at all.” Sonny unconsciously smiled at Lissa in a way that revealed his feelings, failing to remember that Maggie was watching him like a hawk. “White or red?”
“White.”
Sonny moved to the wet bar while Maggie seated herself in an easy chair that gave her a good view of Elizabeth.
“Daddy says you’re going to medical school.”
Maggie spoke too politely for Elizabeth to believe the child was genuinely interested in her plans, but she nodded. “Yes, I am. The spring semester starts next week, and I’ll be very glad to get started finally.”
“Why?” Maggie asked with just a hint of an edge in her voice. “Because I’ve wanted to be a doctor like my father ever since I was a little girl,” Elizabeth said simply, “but circumstances made it impossible for me to begin medical school until now. I’m glad the waiting’s over.”
“Lissa’s father was a pediatrician, Maggie,” Sonny said as he walked over from the bar with a glass of white wine in one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other. He handed the wine to Elizabeth, holding her gaze with his own for an instant as he did so—just long enough to make Elizabeth very aware of him as a man—then moved to where Maggie was sitting and handed her the lemonade.
“Like Dr. Cabot?” Maggie asked, glancing at Elizabeth with a curious combination of muted hostility and callous dismissal.
To her surprise, Elizabeth began to find Maggie’s attitude slightly hurtful, but she clamped down on her unexpected reaction.
“Yes,” she nodded. “As a matter of fact, Dr. Cabot is my godfather and he was also my pediatrician while I was growing up. I understand he’s your doctor as well?”
Maggie looked surprised, then resentful. “I guess Daddy’s told you all about me,” she said, the edge to her voice very apparent now. Sonny had returned from the wet bar, and he was just seating himself beside Lissa on the sofa. At hearing the tone of Maggie’s voice, he lifted his head and gave her a sharp, meaningful look.
Elizabeth looked directly at Maggie and said, “No, as a matter of fact, he hasn’t, Maggie. We haven’t known one another long enough to do much talking at all.”
Maggie frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but Sonny, afraid of what she might say, cut in.
“But I expect we’ll be seeing a lot of Lissa from now on, Maggie,” he said, giving his daughter a level, warning look, “and since you’re such an important part of my life, I imagine we’ll be talking about you from time to time. There’s no reason to let it bother you, though, all right?”
It wasn’t really a question, but Maggie’s look clearly displayed what her answer would have been.
Though Elizabeth privately agreed that Sonny shouldn’t allow his daughter to dictate his social life, she felt sorry for the girl; and since there was no reason for Maggie to be jealous of her, Elizabeth made an effort to ease the present unnecessary friction between father and daughter.
“Oh, I’m going to be so busy with school, I doubt I’ll have time for much conversation with anyone about anything, other than other medical students about our classes,” she said, projecting light humor into her voice and refusing to meet Sonny’s eyes. Then she quickly turned the conversation in another direction. “Have you decided what kind of career interests you, Maggie?” she asked the girl before raising her glass of wine to her lips.
Maggie looked bored by the question, but she answered. “Well, if I could be anything I want, I’d like to be a rock singer like the Vixen,” she said with a shrug.
Elizabeth choked on her wine, and it took a moment before she got her breath back.
“Are you all right?” Sonny asked anxiously.
“Yes . . . I’m fine,” Elizabeth choked out. “I just swallowed some wine the wrong way.”
At that moment, Mrs. Mullins appeared in the door to announce dinner, and Elizabeth had never been so glad of an interruption in her life. She felt like a fool for letting Maggie’s announcement disturb her so much. After all, she’d known before tonight that Maggie was an all-out fan of the Vixen’s, so why the shock?
“Great,” she said hastily as she got to her feet. “I’m starved.”
“Good,” Sonny said as he got to his feet and stood beside her. “But are you sure you’re all right?”
“She said she’s fine, Daddy,” Maggie said, impatient with his display of sympathy for their guest. “Come on, let’s eat.” And she led the way into the dining room.
The table could seat twelve, and Elizabeth felt a little ridiculous with only the three of them clustered at one end. Had the relationship with Sonny been going to continue, she would have suggested they eat in the breakfast nook, but since she never expected to dine in the Strotherton home again, she kept silent.
When Mrs. Mullins brought in green salads, Elizabeth smiled at her, liking the kind expression in the woman’s brown eyes.
“Lissa, this is our housekeeper, Mrs. Mullins,” Sonny introduced them. “Mrs. Mullins . . . Lissa Farrell.”
“I’m very happy to meet you, Ms. Farrell,” Mrs. Mullins said warmly.
“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mullins,” Elizabeth replied.
Maggie was scowling until she caught Sonny’s eye, and then she cleared her expression into a blank look of boredom.
All through the dinner, which was chicken breasts cooked in wine, parsleyed potatoes and green peas, followed by chocolate mousse, Maggie refused to initiate any conversation and answered only in monosyllables when asked a question.
Elizabeth soon ceased asking the girl questions, but Sonny, falling more and more out of patience with his daughter, insisted on forcing her to join in whenever possible.
Elizabeth breathed an inward sigh of relief when the meal was over. In another hour or so, she would be able to go home and try to forget that she was feeling just as attracted to Sonny as ever, despite her plan not to see him anymore. Maggie would obviously be pleased if Elizabeth Farrell dropped off the face of the earth rather than appear in their home again.
“How about a game of Chinese checkers?” Sonny said to Elizabeth when they were back in the family room.
She brightened immediately, much preferring to play a game than to have to talk until she and Sonny could speak privately.
“I’d love it,” she said enthusiastically. “Dibs on the white marbles.”
Maggie immediately gave her a hostile look. “My mom always played with the white ones,” she said in a repressive tone.
For a moment, Sonny grimly regretted never spanking his daughter, thinking he might have gotten better results with her if he’d used the palm of his hand on her pert little bottom occasionally. But at the same time, he understood that she would probably have resented anyone using the marbles Caroline had always preferred, and in this case, her resentment was heightened because it was another woman who’d chosen them.
Elizabeth immediately understood and shrugged. “Then I’ll take whatever color’s left after you two choose,” she said easily, and with a mischievous grin, added, “It doesn’t really matter because I plan to beat the socks off both of you no matter what color you leave me.”
“Oh, ho!” he scoffed. “Haven’t you ever heard that pride goeth before a fall?”
Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled at him. “Yes, I’ve heard that, but I didn’t think you had,” she said pointedly.
“But there’s a difference in false pride and utter certainty,” he said with a bland lack
of modesty.
“Exactly,” Elizabeth retorted. “And that’s my position where Chinese checkers are concerned . . . utter confidence.”
The game was hotly contested, and as Elizabeth moved her black marbles with skillful relentlessness toward the opposite triangle, she was positive that there were times when Maggie got so caught up in the play that she forgot she hadn’t intended to enjoy herself.
Finally, Elizabeth jumped three of Sonny’s blue marbles and one of Maggie’s green ones and placed the last black marble in its slot.
Loudly applauding herself, she glanced between her two opponents, one of whom was looking at the board with disgust, and the other of whom was giving her a mock glare. “I win! I win!” she crowed with unselfconscious smugness. “Now what was that about pride going before a fall, Dr. Strotherton?”
“You aren’t going to pretend you won because you deserved to, are you?” he scoffed. “That was sheer dumb luck!”
“Ha! Luck, my eye!” Elizabeth scoffed right back at him. “You’re just a poor loser like most men! Right, Maggie?” she turned her laughing gaze in the girl’s direction, looking for help.
But Maggie was back in character now, and she merely shrugged. “Daddy usually wins,” she said dismissively as she got up from her chair. “May I be excused now, Daddy?” she asked, turning an innocent gaze on Sonny, who was giving her an impatient look. “I have a couple of chapters left to read for my book report.”
Sonny hesitated, then shrugged. “Sure, honey,” he said with muted disapproval in his voice. “Come give me a kiss.”
Maggie obediently came around the game table and pecked her father on the cheek. Then she straightened and turned on a blankly polite expression for Elizabeth’s benefit.
“Good night, Ms. Farrell,” she said primly.
“Good night, Maggie,” Elizabeth echoed, barely able to keep' a straight face. “I enjoyed meeting you.” And she had, in a rather peculiar way. At least, it was enlightening to see what the girl was capable of putting her father through whenever she sensed a rival for his affections.
When Maggie had disappeared from the room, Sonny turned to Lissa, and his gaze softened.