FLASHBACK

by Nancy Warren

  He rang the bell, but no one seemed to hear it over the noise of the party, so he opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes scanned the crowd. Writers, artists, potters and business people from the island mixed with unfamiliar faces that looked like they belonged on Wall Street or Madison Avenue rather than Laroche by the Sea.

  All the women were dressed up, he noticed with a pang of concern for Laura. Damn. He should have thought to warn her. He kept looking out for a pair of denim-clad legs. If he knew his childhood friend, she'd be hiding behind a palm or something, feeling out of place.

  As his gaze roved the crowd, searching, it snagged on the shapely derriere of a brunette in a tight red dress, who seemed to be the animated center of a group of Chip's button-down friends. Whoever she was, he'd better make sure she ended up on Cory's list.

  As he moved into the room, he ordered a beer from a uniformed waiter. He still hadn't spotted Laura, but when he saw Cory in the corner with one of the teachers from Sara's school, every other thought went out of his head. The woman was backed against the window, looking from his angle as though she were about to plunge into the angry sea. Two spots of color burned on her cheeks.

  Cory had her purse open and seemed to be checking her makeup while she was talking. As he watched, the teacher gasped and stalked away. Cory then muttered something into her lapel. So much for subtlety.

  Before his ex-wife could spot him, he ducked into a group, wondering what to do. He'd imagined Cory making a fool of herself, but it hadn't occurred to him that she might also offend a lot of perfectly nice women.

  Where was Laura? Maybe she'd have some ideas on how to derail his ex.

  Chip's living area was a huge open-concept design on two levels under a cathedral ceiling. Jack stood on the highest level and scanned the crowd again, frowning. He should have insisted on driving her. Gran said she'd left ahead of him, so maybe she was lost.

  "Laura, honey, you look good enough to eat." He heard Chip's voice boom across the room. Him and his edible body paint. Jack stormed forward to head Chip and his palette off at the pass, then realized Chip was charging toward the knockout brunette he'd noticed earlier.

  Jack stood there, stunned, as she turned to greet Chip with a smile and a hug. He caught a glimpse of the woman head-on.

  Laura.

  Chip moved on to someone else, and she caught sight of Jack. He just stood there, his mouth dry and his eyes popping out. He'd had no idea how much Laura was hiding under those overalls. But it wasn't hiding anymore.

  Her figure was soft and curvy, on full display in a tight, sexy dress that caused his breath to snag. Her firm round breasts seemed to be begging for release from the bodice, and his fingers were suddenly itching to help.

  He eyed her long, shapely legs and a trim waist he could span with his two hands. But it wasn't just the shape of her that held him spellbound, it was the way she sparkled. The way her personality seemed to shine tonight.

  Short and perky, her hair glowed. Her eyes glittered; her cheeks were delicately flushed. Makeup enhanced her full lips and glorious brown eyes. She'd borrowed Gran's rubies, he noted, and the antique gems glittered alluringly above the modern designer dress.

  She'd slain him and she knew it. The knowledge sparkled in her eyes as she walked slowly toward him. Jack had never felt more foolish in his life. He was like a tongue-tied teenager on his first date. He licked dry lips. He tried to think of something clever and sophisticated to say, but his mind hadn't recovered from the shock. Instead he settled for the simple truth. "You look beautiful."

  She smiled, letting him see the pearlescent gleam of her teeth. "These heels are killing me."

  He looked all the way down those legs and caught her in the act of stepping out of her high heels. It reduced her a couple of inches to the height he was used to. He smiled down at her.

  "Cory's here," she said.

  "Yeah, I know."

  "You didn't arrive together." She sounded surprised.

  He shrugged. "I'm surrounded by independent women."

  "No hogging Laura now, Jack," Chip said at his elbow. "You get her to yourself all day up in that deserted house." He winked broadly. "Give somebody else a chance."

  He pulled a serious-looking Wall Street type in spectacles forward. "Laura, this is the guy I was telling you about, Albert Ferris. He's a producer. Wouldn't she be just great to host a home decorating show? Beauty, brains, personality and talent. I'm telling you, the camera would just eat her up."

  Chip hadn't made a fortune being idle. He was always putting deals together; it was his nature. Other people played golf or chess; Chip put people and money together. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

  Laura turned a startled face Chip's way. "Well, thanks, Chip, but I don't think—"

  "You just tell Albert a bit about yourself. I'm stealing Jack away, there's someone I want him to meet."

  Laura sent him an S.O.S. with her eyes, but Jack was dragged away under Chip's meaty wing. He flashed her a reassuring smile, promising himself he'd get back and rescue her, just as soon as somebody rescued him.

  "Here's the guy I was telling you about, Slim. Jack Thomas is the best builder on the island. He built this place and I couldn't be happier. Slim here is thinking about putting up a little summer place of his own. Told him to talk to you." With a pat on the back, Chip excused himself and left the two men to shake hands.

  Slim looked miserable and dyspeptic.

  "You're planning to build on Whidbey?" Jack asked politely, after a moment's silence.

  "No," Slim shook his head, looking even more dejected. "The Caribbean. I have an island there."

  "But wouldn't you be better to hire a builder in the Caribbean?"

  Slim nodded. "I keep telling Chip when I say 'the island' I don't mean Whidbey, but…" He sighed gustily.

  Jack chuckled softly. "I know. He's a great talker, not such a good listener."

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Cory had trapped his bank manager. Happily single, she was one of the nicest women he knew. She also had a legendary temper. When Cory grilled her about her financial position, she was going to blow.

  And the way Mary's jaw had just gone rigid and her toes started tapping, he didn't have a moment to lose. He decided to copy Chip's favorite move.

  "Ah, Slim, there's someone here I want you to meet." He grabbed the startled man's arm and pulled him in Cory's direction. Slim glanced around as though seeking a hiding place.

  "Don't worry," Jack reassured the timid man. "It's not for any kind of deal. I just thought you might like to meet a beautiful woman who's a good listener. She's a TV anchor in California."

  Mary, the bank manager, was starting to simmer visibly as Jack dragged Slim over to the couch.

  "Cory, I'd like you to meet Slim. He recognized you from TV and was dying to meet you."

  Mary jumped up, and Jack planted the hapless Slim beside Cory, pretending not to notice her grimace as he took his bank manager by the arm. "Let me get you a drink, Mary."

  "TV? Is that woman doing some kind of hidden camera show?" Mary demanded in a furious undertone.

  "I don't think so."

  "Well, she just asked me how I get along without sex now that I'm divorced. I … I could see this list of questions she had taped to the inside of her purse."

  "You know TV people," he said, trying to soothe the woman who could foreclose on his mortgage. "She's very ambitious, wants to be the next Barbara Walters. She practices all the time trying to make people angry or, better still, to get them crying. She considers it good training for her career." Jack steered her to the portable bar Chip had rented, complete with black leather bar stools.

  The woman hoisted herself onto the nearest stool.

  "What'll you have, Mary?"

  "A martini. Double."

  "Cheers!" said the schoolteacher, swaying slightly on the stool beside Mary's. He left his bank manager deep into her martini, trading stories with the teacher, while he went back to
rescue Laura.

  He was beginning to feel like a lifeguard.

  But when he got back to where he'd left her, Laura was gone. He glanced back to discover that Slim had also escaped. Cory had a new victim, a woman he knew only by sight, but she seemed nice enough.

  Too nice to leave with Cory and her list.

  Jack felt sweat begin to bead on his forehead. He had to find Laura. If he could get Cory to interview her then he'd have time to think up a plan to get his ex-wife out of there.

  After much searching, he found Laura and Chip in the master bedroom. As if he didn't have enough to worry about with Cory, now he had to chaperon Laura, who had to choose tonight, of all nights, to show up looking so delicious. He groaned mentally. God, now Chip had him thinking of her in edible terms.

  Jack stormed in full of belligerence, to find Laura standing in the middle of the king-size bed in her stocking feet, a red-tipped finger pointing up at the wall. "You see what I mean about the 'line of vision'?" she said over her shoulder.

  "Sure do," Chip said appreciatively. His "line of vision" was nowhere near where Laura was pointing; it was centered on the line of her dress riding high on her thighs.

  "Hey, Jack! We were just talking about you," Chip said, completely unabashed. "Laura's going to do some decorating for me – isn't that great?"

  "Great," Jack said. His voice seriously lacked enthusiasm. Laura must have noticed, for she winked down at him, her eyes dancing with mischief. "We're thinking a Middle Eastern theme. Silk throw pillows, arches. You know, the harem look."

  Chip chuckled gleefully. "What a conversation piece."

  "Laura." Jack jerked his head at her so Chip couldn't see. "That producer fellow needs to iron out a few details with you. He likes the deal."

  "Great, great!" Chip boomed. "Opportunity calls. We can finish up later, Laura. Maybe one evening next—"

  "I think that guy needs you now, Laura."

  With a wave, she grabbed her shoes and left the room with Jack.

  "Were you rescuing me?" she asked in an amused tone, reaching over to pull her heels back on. The way she was bending gave him a tantalizing view of her cleavage. He was going to have to put those wooing plans into high gear.

  "Come outside," he urged desperately, half dragging her out onto the patio and down some stairs to the beach.

  "I'm not exactly wearing my hiking boots, Jack. What's going on?"

  "I don't want to be overheard." He scanned up and down the beach, but they were alone. He turned to Laura. "You've got to help me. Cory's going to alienate every friend I ever had."

  "She's had practice," Laura reminded him.

  He didn't have time to go over the past, not now. "Please. She's up there interviewing to find me a wife."

  Laura shook her head and pulled her hair behind her ears. "This damn wind keeps getting in my ears. I can't hear you properly, Jack."

  "I said Cory's trying to find me a new wife. Well, mostly Sara a new mother," he shouted in her ear.

  "That's not wind in my ear, is it. You said Cory wants to find you a wife."

  "Yes."

  "That's the craziest thing I ever heard." Her hair blew softly around her face. He wished he could spend some time out here, alone with Laura, instead of having to go back into that nightmare house party. The nightmare part was mostly his own fault. He should have put a stop to it when he had the chance.

  "I thought it would be funny," he admitted. "I had no idea she'd make such a fool of herself and alienate every nice woman I know. Laura, she has a list of questions taped to her purse and a hidden tape recorder." He scuffed his foot against a rock, stared down at the sand. "She's asking them about their sex lives."

  There was a long silence. He scuffed more sand.

  "Well, what am I supposed to do about it? Steal her purse?"

  "I want you to be interviewed."

  When he finally glanced up, Laura was staring at him like he'd lost his mind. "You want me to have a job interview with your ex-wife, hoping she'll pick me for your next wife. Have I got that straight? It's not wind in my ear?"

  "I don't care what you talk about, I just want you to keep her occupied while I figure out how to get her out of there. Please, I don't know what else to do. She's the most single-minded woman I know when she sets her sights on something."

  "I know," Laura said into the wind. She glanced up at the lighted window. "Just look at her. She's like a shark going after a minnow."

  Jack followed her gaze and had a perfect view of Cory, with her purse open, asking a pale-faced woman a question. "Oh, my God. That's no minnow, that's a church minister. This is an emergency. I'm begging you."

  Laura laughed suddenly, her head thrown back so her chuckles were carried away on the wind. "You'd better not listen to the tape when I'm through, Jack. I'm planning to enjoy myself." She climbed swiftly up the stairs. Jack scrambled after her. In spite of his panic, he enjoyed the view of her gorgeously rounded rear swaying in front of him. Hell, at least the evening had some compensations.

  They burst into the living room and moved in on Cory like a tag team.

  "Reverend Eldred, how nice to see you," Jack said, giving the stunned woman his warmest smile. "Hasn't the weather been warm for this time of year?"

  He stepped between her and Cory, moving the minister away so Laura could take her spot. "Have you seen the view from the dining room?" He led her off, trusting Laura to get him out of a jam.

  *

  "Hi, Cory." Laura sent Jack's ex-wife a warm smile.

  "Well, if it isn't Laura Kinkaide," the TV anchor-woman shouted into her right lapel.

  Laura bit her lip. "I met your daughter, Sara, the other day. She certainly is a nice girl."

  Cory's smile was genuine. "Thanks. I'm so proud of her. Jack's done a wonderful job."

  "Hasn't he," Laura said sweetly. "He'll make some woman a fine husband."

  "Is my lipstick straight?" Cory asked suddenly, flipping open her clutch purse. Laura could see her scanning the paper taped to the purse while she pretended to add fresh lipstick. Laura wondered how she'd ever let this woman intimidate her.

  "So, you live in Seattle now," Cory stated. "And you have your own successful design business." Laura loved the way she raised her voice for key words she didn't want the tape to miss, like Seattle, and design business. "Do you ever think about moving back to Laroche?"

  Laura leaned back and smoothed the red dress down toward her knees. She was going to enjoy herself. And if she managed a spot of revenge while she was doing Jack a favor, so much the better. "I would if I had a reason to."

  "Like a man?" Her interviewer leaned forward eagerly.

  "Among other things."

  "You didn't mention a boyfriend in Seattle." Cory emphasized the word boyfriend.

  "I'm recently single again." Laura sighed, glancing out the window, hoping she looked dejected and lonely. "I just haven't found the right guy in Seattle." She shrugged. "I guess I'm really a small-town girl at heart."

  "I think giving up the sex is the hardest thing about being single, don't you?" Cory's lips were parted expectantly.

  Laura looked around to make sure they couldn't be overheard. She saw Jack watching her from the other side of the room, and gave him a bright smile. "Frankly, since we're two single women talking here, alone where no one can hear us…"

  Cory nodded eagerly.

  "I can tell you, I miss sex so much I'm climbing the walls."

  Her interviewer appeared pleased. She scanned down her list to the next question.

  "And your religion is…?"

  "You know, I hope you don't mind me saying this, seeing you used to be married to him and all, but I spend half my day at work fantasizing about Jack." Laura kept her voice strong and clear, and addressed her words to Cory's right lapel. She didn't want either of them to miss a word. "Just being under the same roof with him all day, I feel like I'm having hot flushes every time I see him." She flapped her hand under her chin. "Have you ever seen a
guy fill a pair of jeans the way he does?"

  "Really." Cory's eyes were glazing. She fumbled with her purse. She seemed to have lost her place on the list.

  "I was wondering … I can't help thinking… Oh, Cory, what's it like having sex with Jack?" Laura was the one leaning forward expectantly now.

  Cory jerked back on the couch, blushing. She fiddled with her hair. "It was very nice. Uh, I'm not much of a cook. How about you – do you like cooking?"

  "Nice? That's it?" Laura let huge disappointment seep into her tone.

  Jack was still watching anxiously from across the room. Laura blew him a kiss. "Isn't he a good lover?"

  "Really, Laura—"

  "I was afraid of that." She shook her head sadly. "Sometimes those real good-looking types can be a big letdown when the lights go out and you get under the covers. You know what I mean? All bubbles and no fizz."

  "Oh, no. Jack was always up for anything. Ha, ha. I mean … oh, gosh. Look at the time. I have to be out early tomorrow." She jumped up so fast her purse fell to the floor.

  "As bad as that?" Laura sighed loudly, handing Cory her purse. "No wonder you left him."

  Cory bolted for the door like a hunted animal.

  "Oh, and Cory?"

  "Yes?" She turned nervously.

  "I'm Presbyterian. And I love cooking."

  Cory giggled nervously and hurried on out the door. Laura looked over at Jack, who threw his fist in the air and mouthed "Yes!"

  Within seconds he was sitting in Cory's suddenly vacant spot on the couch.

  "Great work, partner." She felt his smile right down to her squished toes. "How did you do that?"

  Laura smiled back, helpless under the assault of those blue eyes. "I just told her what she wanted to hear." She chuckled softly. "And embellished a little."

  "Thanks." He heaved a huge sigh of relief, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "I was getting ready to start packing and get out of Dodge before a lynch mob of angry women caught up with me."

  She allowed herself a satisfied chuckle. Then asked the question she'd been wondering about. "Why is she doing this, Jack?"

  "I don't know. She had some interview with an unhappy child actress and got the guilts. Not that they aren't overdue. But, like always, she had to go overboard. It would be nice if she came to see Sara more often. But that would get in the way of her career. Instead, she wants to find a substitute." He shrugged. "That's what she told me, anyway."