by Brenda Novak
She buttered a sourdough roll. “How’d you meet Senator Holbrook in the first place?”
“When I went to college—”
“Where’d you go?”
“Harvard.”
Liz refused to let that impress her.
“Anyway, I thought I wanted to go into politics, so I interned for a state senator in Massachusetts. After I graduated, he hired me full-time and I ran his first campaign.”
“But then?”
“But then I took a different career path. When I eventually decided to get back into politics, I contacted him. He didn’t have an immediate opening, but he asked around and almost before I knew it, I was flying out here.”
“I see. So you’re looking for someone to help stave off the boredom while you’re in Dundee? Is that it?”
“I’m interested in company,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not sure about anything else.”
“By anything else…you mean a relationship?”
He chewed thoughtfully before answering. At last, he said, “Probably.”
“Well…” She gave him a confident smile. “You don’t have to put me on notice.”
“I don’t?”
“No.”
A dimple flashed in his cheek, seeming rather out of place amid the hard planes of his face. “Interesting you think so.”
“Why?”
“What I’ve heard so far wouldn’t lead me to believe that.”
Her knife scraped against the surface of her plate. “Because my husband cheated on me?” she asked, forcing herself to stay calm.
“He was husband and father to another family through your entire marriage and you never suspected it. That’s a pretty big thing to miss.”
Senator Holbrook’s new right-hand man certainly didn’t sugarcoat his thoughts. “If you’re intimating that I didn’t see the truth because I didn’t want to, you’re wrong.” Liz was tempted to tell him how devoted Keith had been, how he’d never even shown interest in another woman when he was in her presence. Reenie hadn’t suspected, either. But why waste her breath? She wasn’t ever going out with this man again.
“If you say so.”
“Are you trying to offend me, Mr. Hudson?” she asked.
“I’m trying to figure you out.”
She forked another bit of potato into her mouth and swallowed without tasting. “Don’t bother.”
He poured her more wine. “Too threatened by taking a hard look at yourself?”
She felt her eyebrows draw together. “Excuse me, but this is a first date.”
He studied her. “And that means what?”
“I’d rather pretend I’m having fun.”
She expected him to be offended. But her words seemed to have the opposite effect. He actually chuckled as though he approved of her response. “So you do have a backbone.”
“You were checking?”
“I was curious. Something has to explain what happened.”
“That’s it.” She nearly spilled their drinks as she shoved her chair away from the table. “I’m finished here.”
“Just because I won’t play according to the rules, Ms. O’Connell?”
“The rules?” she echoed, standing over him.
He didn’t bother getting up. “Stick to tedious small talk. Never say anything that evokes an emotional reaction. Be as solicitous and fake as possible. Those rules.”
“Maybe I like playing by the rules.”
“Then you’re smart to call it quits, because I value my time too much to waste it on superficial encounters.”
She blinked, surprised that he’d come right back at her. Earlier, she’d been halfway convinced he wanted to take her home with him. She’d had no plans to comply, but his willingness to let her go so easily still came as a shock. “That’s it?”
“If it’s all you can handle,” he said.
She stared at him. For the sake of her friendship with Reenie and Reenie’s parents, she knew she should sit back down. But she couldn’t. She had more than enough to worry about, getting her new business up and running. She didn’t need this.
“Fine, no problem,” she said and stalked off.
KEITH WAS BUSY TAPING the wall he’d just fixed when Liz came in through the back of the shop.
“Hey, that’s not bad,” she said.
The surprise in her voice made her ex-husband scowl. “You didn’t think I could do it?”
“You’ve never been known for carpentry. But most computer guys aren’t,” she added.
“I’ve been working at the hardware store ever since…Well, for a while,” he said, obviousy choosing not to refer to the reason he had given up a $190,000-a-year job with Softscape, Inc. to work for twelve dollars an hour in Dundee.
Liz was grateful he hadn’t reiterated what had caused the destruction of the life she’d previously known. She didn’t need to be reminded of the fact that he’d abandoned her in an effort to save his marriage to Reenie. Carter had already done that.
“I’m getting the hang of being a handyman,” he added.
She didn’t think he’d ever be much good at manual labor. It wasn’t in him. But she was grateful for his efforts, all the same. She’d sunk every dime from the sale of the house they’d shared in California into her new candy-making business and she didn’t have money left over to hire extra help.
“You’re learning.” The improvements to the premises she’d leased three weeks earlier lifted her spirits despite her frustration and anger toward Carter Hudson.
Pausing from his work, Keith ran his eyes over the simple coral-colored linen dress she’d worn for her date this evening. “You’re back awfully early.”
Liz didn’t want to admit that her encounter with Senator Holbrook’s new aide had been a flop, so she shrugged off the comment. “I’m tired.”
“You cut the evening short?”
She met his gaze. Dating was relatively new to her. Only in the past six months had she felt sufficiently recovered from her divorce to meet other men. “We’d already had dinner.” Part of it, anyway, she added to herself.
“So you didn’t like him.”
Her ex-husband’s apparent relief made her supremely conscious of how much Keith seemed to want her back. Sometimes she was tempted to relent, to do what she could to rebuild their relationship. With his chiseled features, deep brown eyes and dark blond hair, he’d always appealed to her on a physical level. He appealed to her in a lot of other ways, as well. Memories of better days occasionally teased her into wondering if she could reclaim what they’d once had.
But then she remembered that he’d loved Reenie more—that he’d been willing to give up Liz and their two children if it meant he could keep his other wife—and she couldn’t summon the trust. With Keith, she’d always be second best. He was only hoping to get back with her because Reenie was no longer available.
“I liked him fine,” she lied.
He wiped his hands on a pair of faded, holey jeans. “Garth acts as if Hudson’s the most brilliant man in the world.”
He was a Harvard graduate, which was impressive. “He’s candid and confident.”
“Do you think he’s handsome?”
She pictured the dark-haired man she’d left at the steak house. “He’s okay, I guess.”
Keith squatted to scrape the edge of his trowel against the lip of the bucket at his feet. “Reenie claims he’s one of the best-looking men she’s ever seen.”
Wanting to make sure the plumber had installed the new sink, Liz went into the small bathroom in the back corner. “Reenie’s a lot more enthusiastic about him than I am,” she called.
Evidently he heard her, because he answered right away. “Why?”
“He has a New York accent.”
“You said that as if he has an unsightly mole covering half his face. What’s wrong with an accent?”
She wasn’t sure. It was just something she’d focused on. Maybe it was easier not to find him appealing if she dwelled on t
he blunt, unfamiliar feel of his voice and language instead of his attractive features. “It’s pretty strong.”
“I heard he grew up in Brooklyn. What else would you expect?”
She didn’t answer. She was too busy trying out the new sink.
“What does he look like?” Keith called.
Satisfied that the sink worked, she came out of the bathroom. “Do we have to talk about Carter?”
“I’m curious,” he insisted.
“Okay, he’s tall.”
Keith flicked some plaster off his forearm and stood. “Taller than me?”
She quickly tried to compare the two. “Maybe by a couple of inches.”
“That would make him nearly six foot four,” he said, skeptically. “He’s not that tall, is he?”
Hearing the jealousy in Keith’s voice, Liz grabbed a broom and started sweeping up the dust and dirt left behind when they ripped out the old cabinets. She didn’t want to analyze Carter Hudson. Especially with her ex-husband. She had a lot to do if she hoped to open The Chocolaterie by Memorial Day. Although a candy shop had been Liz’s idea, when Mary Thornton, who’d recently opened a gift store next door, had heard about it, she’d decided to sell chocolate, too. Mary was busy building her business while Liz struggled to finish the improvements to her space.
“Is he?” Keith prompted.
“I don’t remember. He’s a big man, okay?”
“Big as in fat?”
With a sigh, she faced him. “No. Big, as in muscular. Big, as in he has broad shoulders, a well-defined chest and a flat stomach. Big, as in—”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” he grumbled, holding up a hand to stop her. “Jeez, I thought you couldn’t remember.”
“You wanted details,” she said, and could’ve given him a few more. She hadn’t mentioned that Carter had a soccer player’s build, with nice long legs and large, rugged hands. Or that, judging from the golden color of his skin, he spent a fair amount of time outdoors, which she definitely hadn’t expected from a political aide. But she’d said enough.
“Have you heard from Mica and Christopher?” she asked, changing the subject.
“No, was I supposed to check on the kids?” He wiped a bead of sweat from his temple.
“Not necessarily. I’m sure they’re fine. They love it at Reenie’s.”
“You’d know, since the two of you are such good friends,” he said flippantly.
The pique behind those words confirmed what Liz already knew. Keith resented the closeness between Liz and his other ex-wife. Liz supposed she could understand why. After having the love and attention of both women for so long, he was suddenly the odd man out, and that wasn’t likely to change. Not now that Reenie had married Liz’s brother. It probably didn’t make the situation any easier for Keith that Isaac was also the man who’d found him out and revealed his duplicity. Liz considered it ironic that, prior to Isaac’s spotting Keith at the airport catching a plane to Idaho when he was supposed to be in Arizona, Isaac hadn’t really been involved in their lives. He’d spent much of the previous eight years researching pygmy elephants in Africa. And when he was in the States, he’d lived in Chicago, where he taught biology at Chicago University. If not for that fateful visit to Liz and Keith’s home in L.A. following one of his research trips, Liz might still be married to Keith and living in California, believing it was only her husband’s job that took him away.
“Reenie and I are more than friends. She’s my sister-in-law, remember?” Liz said, using a dustpan to empty her sweeping into the wheelbarrow Keith had brought with him.
“I’m not likely to forget,” he mumbled. Dipping his trowel into a bucket of compound, he smeared more taping mixture on the wall. “Is this Carter guy planning on running for office someday?”
“I don’t know.” Liz’s mind had already shifted to what remained to be done at the shop. “I hope the other display case I ordered will be big enough.”
“You didn’t ask?” Keith said.
“About the display case?”
“Whether or not Carter Hudson is someday planning to run for office.”
Carter again. Liz propped the broom against the wall. “No, I didn’t ask. Thanks to you, we talked mostly about me.”
The hand holding the trowel stopped moving, then began to scrape along the mended Sheetrock. “What’d he want to know?”
She gathered up the ceiling tiles they’d torn down. “Like everyone else, he was curious to know how you managed to get away with having two families for so long. And how you and I could still be friends.”
“That’s none of his business,” Keith snapped.
Liz ignored his response. “But he’s not as generous as some people,” she continued. “He seems to think I’m a fool for not realizing I was being duped.”
“Then, it didn’t go well between you.”
That was all that registered from what she’d shared? Closing her eyes, Liz shook her head. “No,” she finally admitted. “It didn’t go well.”
“Good. Maybe, even though he’s big, as in muscular and well built, I won’t be as easy to replace as you thought.”
“Keith—”
He lifted his arms as if her pointed stare was a gun. “That’s all I’m saying.”
“You’ve said it before. As much as I wish it wasn’t so, it’s too late for us.”
“With a little forgiveness, it doesn’t have to be,” he murmured.
The look on his face might have stirred something inside her once. It had been a long time since he’d touched her—since any man had touched her. In a way, she wanted to turn back the days and months, to feel the old excitement. But as handsome as Keith was, she had so little feeling left for him.
“Thanks for fixing the wall,” she said. “I’d better go pick up the kids.”
Keith let her slip out without saying another word, for which she was grateful, relieved. But when she reached her brother and sister-in-law’s small farm, she found the porch light on and a note taped to the door.
Liz—We’re at my parents’. Stop by, okay?
“Great,” she grumbled, crushing the paper in her hand. She was going to have to give an account of her date to Senator Holbrook and his wife before she could take her children home.
CHAPTER TWO
WHEN LIZ REACHED the Holbrooks’, she saw a metallic-blue Jaguar parked next to Isaac and Reenie’s minivan. The Jag was a beautiful vehicle, and one that always garnered attention. Which was why she immediately recognized it.
She would have turned around on the spot and headed in the other direction, if not for her daughter, Mica, and Reenie’s middle daughter, Angela. They were playing in the hanging swing on the front porch and had already spotted her.
“Mom!” Mica called, running down to the sidewalk, waving. “We were wondering when you’d get here. Mr. Hudson came a long time ago.”
Evidently, Mr. Hudson had no shame. How could he drive directly to the Holbrooks’ after treating Liz so poorly at the restaurant? Or had he dropped by so he could blame her for their failure to get along?
“I’ll be right there.” Pulling up in front of the house across the street, the one she’d rented when she and Isaac had first moved to town, Liz shut off the engine. That house reminded her of some of the darkest hours of her life. She was glad she’d moved across town six months ago, when her lease had expired. She was living in another rental house, but her situation was improving. Maybe not her love life, but…other aspects. And she was going to make sure that trend continued.
Mica crowded the car door as soon as Liz opened it. “Did you have fun on your date? Did you like him?”
Liz refused to meet her daughter’s eyes. A gifted child, Mica would likely guess the truth if given half a chance. Fortunately, the purple of dusk had deepened into darkness, which provided Liz with some cover.
“We had a great time,” she said, averting her face as she leaned across the seat to get her purse. The sensible sedan she’d bought when she coul
d no longer afford the Cadillac Esplanade she’d leased while she’d been married still had a comforting new-car smell, but it wasn’t half as good as the vehicle she’d lost.
Angela peered over Mica’s shoulder. “He really likes you, too.”
Masking her skepticism, Liz turned off her headlights. “What makes you think so?”
“He said it,” Mica replied.
From what Liz had gathered so far, Carter Hudson didn’t tell many lies. So this surprised her. “He did?”
“Yeah. When he first got here, he told Mrs. Holbrook you’re attractive.” Shoving her glasses higher on her nose, Mica gave Liz a smile. “He also said I’ll be as pretty as my mother someday.”
“How charming,” Liz said, but she was hardly convinced of Carter’s sincerity. The man she’d met wasn’t the type to compliment a gangly ten-year-old girl. “But he’s wrong.”
Mica blinked at her with wide, owlish eyes. “He is?”
“Yes. You’re both already far prettier than I am.” She pecked her daughter’s cheek while giving Angela an affectionate squeeze.
They laughed and held hands as they crossed the street. “We’ll tell everyone you’re here,” Mica hollered back.
Liz opened her mouth to stop them. She wanted to ask Mica to go in, collect her brother and quietly mention to Reenie that they were leaving. But she knew it would look odd if she didn’t put in an appearance, so she said nothing.
Striding up the walkway, she followed the girls past the tall, heavy door they’d left standing open. “Hello?” she called. “Mind if I come in?”
“Liz, is that you?” Reenie’s voice could be heard somewhere out back. “We’re in the yard.”
The entryway smelled of exotic flowers. After taking a moment to admire the floral arrangement in front of the large gilded mirror, Liz proceeded through the house.
Her heels clacked on the marble floor as she passed a tall table topped with a glass bowl full of marbles. The kitchen, with its center island and shiny copper pots dangling from hooks near the ceiling, came next. Beyond that, French doors opened onto an elaborate brick patio illuminated by tulip-shaped yard lights. Senator Holbrook, Celeste, Reenie, Isaac and Carter were out there, relaxing in lawn chairs.