Trouble In Triplicate

by Barbara Boswell

  "Oh, Randi, I'm so happy for you!" Tears of joy shone in Juliet's eyes.

  Grant stood up and crossed the room to stand beside the sisters. "And, Julie, I want you to know that there are no hard feelings."

  Juliet stared at him blankly. She caught Caine's eye and he shrugged.

  "I meant about those things you said to me at the Apple Country Inn," Grant explained. "I think I understand why you said them."

  "Uh, you do?" she replied carefully.

  "You were challenging me." Grant grinned. "You'd already called me a wimp for not confronting Miranda, and when that didn't work you tried more drastic measures. You were determined to goad me into a confrontation with Miranda. You knew once we were alone together . . ."He slipped his arms around Miranda's waist and pulled her against him.

  "Clever girl, Juliet," Caine said dryly. He poured the champagne into four goblets and handed one to each. "I'd like to propose a toast to the happy couple. When is the wedding? Soon, I hope. I think there have been enough delays."

  "We do too. We re applying for a marriage license tomorrow." Grant smiled tenderly at Miranda. "We plan to be married quietly as soon as we get it."

  "Four days from today." Miranda sighed. "And this time we've decided to have a very small, private wedding with just the family. Daddv and Mother are flying up from Arizona. And there will be Julie and Liwy and Bobby Lee ..."

  "And Caine and my mother," Grant added.

  "And Sophia?" Juliet dared to ask.

  "I told Grant to invite her," Miranda said.

  "Which I think is an incredibly generous gesture, considering the trouble she's caused," Grant said darkly. "I don't think I can ever forgive Sophia for what she did."

  "She won't cause any more trouble." Miranda interjected with newfound confidence. "She won't be able to, darling. I'll never again be foolish enough to give her the chance."

  "Nothing will ever come between us again, my love," Grant promised. He kissed his fiancee with a passion that made Caine and Juliet smile.

  "Feeling slightly de trop?" Caine asked Juliet, slipping his arm around her waist. "Why don't we leave these two alone and . . . uh, find some way to occupy ourselves?"

  Grant and Miranda slowly drew apart, gazing raptly at each other.

  "Definitely de trop," Juliet agreed, smiling up at Caine.

  "Hey, what about you two?" Grant stared from Juliet to Caine. "I could hardly believe it when Miranda told me that Julie was at your place, big brother. When did this all come about?"

  "We started out as enemies forced to play on the same team," Caine explained with a grin. "We shared a common goal—getting you and Miranda back together again. Before either of us knew what had hit us, we were together ourselves." He winked at Juliet.

  "Our romance sort of ricocheted off yours, I guess," Juliet added, and the four of them laughed.

  "Well, since Miranda and I played Cupid for you, maybe you'd like to do a little favor for us?" Grant suggested.

  "Uh-oh, here it comes." Caine gave a mock growl. "When he uses that wheedling-kid-brother tone I know I'm in for it."

  "Kid brother? I'm only fourteen months younger than you," Grant retorted. "And what I'm going to ask you isn't all that bad! I promised Mom I'd put up her storm windows today. I know you took them down last spring and it's my turn to put them up, but"—his voice took on a distinct wheedling-kid-brother tone—"Miranda and I have things we want to do today..."

  "Yeah, I can guess what you want to do." Caine leered and Miranda blushed.

  "Caine, behave," Juliet said.

  "Will you put up the windows for Mom, Caine?" Grant asked, wheedling. "I promise I'll take them down in the spring and put them up next fall."

  "I'm going to hold you to that," Caine said. "And I'll put up the windows. Consider it another engagement present."

  Grant and Miranda were delighted with Caine's acquiescence. "Thanks, Caine," they chorused, all smiles.

  Juliet's own smile was a bit forced. A pang of disappointment shot through her. She'd hoped to spend today with Caine. She needed to be with him!

  She decided then and there that it didn't really matter where they were or what they were doing as long as they were together. "I'll help you put up the storm windows, Caine," she volunteered gamely.

  "That's sweet of you, honey, but I can't accept." He leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. "It's a dirty job and I tend to get frustrated and swear a lot."

  "He doesn't want you to see him at his worst quite yet, Julie," Grant said, chortling. "It might scare you off. He's still trying to impress you. "

  "One more word out of you, little brother, and you'll be putting up the damn windows yourself," Caine warned. He turned to Juliet. "I'll pick you up at seven tonight, sweetheart. We'll have dinner at the Boar's Head Inn."

  Juliet brightened at the thought of a romantic dinner with Caine at one of Charlottesville's most exclusive and expensive restaurants. But it was still hard to say good-bye to him when she left his house with Grant and Miranda a little later that morning. Their kiss was too quick, and with her sister and his brother standing by, she was too shy to tell him that she loved him.

  Juliet fretted about that omission during the short drive home—until it occurred to her that Caine hadn't once said that he loved her. She relived every moment of their time together, hoping to recall the moment when he had uttered the precious words. But, of course, she couldn't because he hadn't said them. Because he didn't love her? she wondered. A cold prickle of fear skimmed through her.

  Miranda and Grant dropped her off at the Post house and continued on their way. She had nothing to worry about, Juliet lectured herself bracingly. Didn't actions speak louder than words? Caine had behaved lovingly toward her, even if he hadn't spoken the words. She mustn't torment herself with groundless negative fears and anxieties.

  "Miranda-Juliet-Olivia!"

  She turned at the sound of the names. Their neighbor, Mark Walsh, was hurrying down his front walk, calling to her. Mark had never attempted to distinguish one triplet from the others, and rather than making a wrong guess he used all three names when he had to address a Post, or referred to them collectively as "neighbor."

  "Hi, Mark." She paused on the sidewalk and waited for him to reach her. "I'm Juliet," she supplied helpfully.

  He took a deep breath. "Juliet, I guess you wouldn't want to go to the Rock-a-Mania show at the Field House with me tonight, would you?"

  "Rock-a-Mania? I've heard it advertised on the radio for weeks." The concert, comprised of several moderately successful bands and singing groups, was being sponsored by the university and had been heavily promoted. She stared at Mark in surprise. She hadn't thought his tastes ran to rock'n' roll concerts.

  "Er, what about Sherry Carson?" she asked. The last time she'd seen Mark, Channel 42's lovely weather girl had been in the process of cooking him lasagna.

  "Sherry isn't seeing me anymore. I proved to be too dull for her."

  Juliet saw the pain in his eyes and her heart ached for him. "You're not dull, Mark," she contradicted swiftly.

  "Sherry thinks so. I also don't have a lot of money and I don't drive a fancy sports car. She found it a novelty to have a brief fling with a math professor, but she decided that the cons outweighed the pros."

  "Oh, Mark, she didn't say those things to you!" Juliet exclaimed in dismay.

  He nodded, "I asked her why she didn't want to see me anymore and she told me exactly how she felt. I have to respect her for that." He made a brave attempt at a smile. "Anyway, she'd mentioned going to this concert, so I bought two tickets. ..." He shrugged. "I don't suppose you'd like to go with me, would you, Juliet?"

  "Oh, Mark, I'm sorry!" She was, truly. She would have liked to have said yes to cheer him up. "But I have a date tonight."

  He sighed. "I figured. What about Miranda?"

  "Randi just got reengaged to Grant Saxon."

  "Oh, well." Mark sighed and shrugged again. "I guess I'll just give the tickets to Liwy
and Bobby Lee. Would you ask one of them to come over and get them if they're interested?"

  "Of course." Juliet patted his arm sympathetically. Poor Mark. How crushing to learn that your dream girl was a mercenary, shallow . . . She cast around in her mind for the proper derogatory noun. She couldn't come up with one derogatory enough.

  Liwy was on the phone when Juliet entered the house. Juliet waved to her, then went upstairs to her room and switched on the radio. A slow love ballad was playing, and images of Caine immediately sprang to mind. She sank down on the bed, assailed with longing. How was she going to get through the whole day when she was already missing him?

  Juliet was staring dreamily into space when Livvy burst into her room, her dark blue eyes snapping. "Julie, you're not going to believe this!"

  Juliet came back to earth with a thud. "What, Livvy?"

  "That was Emily Joy Everret, the president of the Friends of Mr. Jefferson Lawn and Garden Club, on the phone. She called to let us know that the club has decided to do their annual luncheon differently this year. Instead of having it at someone's home they've decided to hold the luncheon in a restaurant. Can you guess which one?"

  Juliet shook her head.

  "The Knight Out! The club voted on it two weeks ago and all the arrangements have been made." Liwy raised her voice and thickened her accent, a la Emily Joy Everret. " " 'Those darlin' Saxon boys have agreed to give us lil' ole gals the entire back dining room.' "

  Juliet stared at her sister. "The arrangements were made two weeks ago?"

  Olivia nodded. "I'm depressed, Julie. The garden club luncheon was our very first catering job. I've always felt that we had a special relationship with them. And we did!" she added crossly. "Until 'those darlin' Saxon boys' moved in on them!"

  "But I told Caine that tyie Friends of Mr. Jefferson Lawn and Garden Club were our very first customers," Juliet thought back to their discussion at the Apple Country Inn. "Funny how you always remember your first customers," he'd said with perfect understanding. "I told him that the luncheon is sort of an anniversary for our business."

  Olivia scowled. "I wonder how many more of our customers those Saxons are going to book into their restaurant."

  "No matter how we feel," Juliet said, "the garden club has every right to hold their luncheon wherever they want. And Caine and Grant can hardly turn down customers. But why didn't he tell me that he'd booked the luncheon when I mentioned it?" She gnawed her lower lip anxiously. "Liwy, you don't think that he was deliberately being"— she gulped—"deceitful, do you?"

  "Oh, I don't know, Julie! I'm so upset. I'm going to call Bobby Lee."

  Juliet spent the next half hour wondering why Caine had neglected to mention that he'd booked the Posts' first customers into his restaurant. He'd had the ideal opportunity to tell her at the Apple Country Inn. They'd actually discussed the luncheon. But he hadn't told her. Nor had he told her in the days since. Was he being deliberately deceitful?

  It was such a small thing, yet ... If he would deliberately deceive her in small matters, wouldn't he tend to do so in other areas as well? She spent the next half hour worrying about that! All the tender and loving things he'd said to her while they were making love—did he mean them? Or had he been deceiving her then too?

  Caine called at half past four. "Hello, lover," he said in a deep, husky voice that sent shivers of desire coursing along Juliet's nerve endings. "Have you missed me as much as I've missed you?"

  Love surged through her, and she dismissed all her doubts. "Oh, yes, Caine." In less than three hours they would be together again, she thought. "I can't wait to see you tonight," she added impulsively.

  "Mmm, me either. Unfortunately, it will have to be a little later than we'd originally planned. "Caine heaved a sigh. "A whole lot later, actually. We'll have to postpone our dinner date until tomorrow night, sweetheart. Our manager is still out and I'll have to work tonight."

  Her heart fell with a resounding thud. "Oh."

  There was a full minute's silence, then Caine said, "You do understand, don't you, honey? Since Saturday is our biggest, busiest night both Grant and I will have to be at the restaurant."

  "Of course I understand," she said flatly. "I run a business, too, you know."

  "Will you wait up for me, sweetheart? I'll come over as soon as we've closed. Around one o'clock."

  "Another late hot date, hmm?" she said, making a stab at humor. It was adolescent to be so upset over a broken date, she scolded herself. She was in business herself. She fully understood the responsibilities that came with the territory.

  "Will you be packed and ready to come home with me, love?" he asked softly.

  She couldn't resist him. "Yes, Caine. I'll be ready and waiting for you."

  ❧

  Miranda arrived home in time to join Juliet, Olivia, and Bobby Lee for a quiet dinner of country ham, biscuits, and salad. She wasn't pleased to learn of the Friends of Mr. Jefferson Lawn and Garden Club's defection to The Knight Out, but she didn't blame Grant for it.

  "Grant knows how sentimental we are about that annual luncheon," she said. "I'm sure Caine was the one who sweet-talked the ladies into having it at the restaurant. Before he was involved with you, of course, Julie," she added quickly. "He couldn't have known how we felt about it before then."

  "That's true," Juliet agreed. But when he found out he could have mentioned it, she thought. He should have mentioned it. However, she refrained from voicing the silent addendum.

  "Bobby," Liwy said, changing the subject, "Mark Walsh wants to give us tickets for the Rock-a-Mania concert at the Field House tonight. Do you want to go?"

  "Rock-a-Mania concert?" Bobby Lee grimaced. "No thanks. I'm a loyal country fan. Let's go to a movie instead, Liv."

  "Okay," she agreed. "We can catch the seven-twenty show if Julie and Randi don't mind me skipping out on the dishes."

  Juliet and Miranda didn't mind, and Olivia and Bobby Lee left for the movie theater.

  It was Juliet's idea to try the new recipe for the white-chocolate-mousse cake. The results were spectacularly successful, and it was Miranda's idea to go to The Knight Out to take some sample pieces of cake to the Saxon brothers.

  Juliet was reluctant. "Caine is coming here after closing," she said. "He can sample the cake then."

  "Don't be afraid, Julie, I know he'll be happy to see you." With a triplet's unerring instinct, Miranda honed right into the source of her sister's reluctance. "Julie, the man is in love with you!"

  Juliet swallowed. "He hasn't said so, Randi."

  "He will," Miranda promised her blithely. "Now come on, Julie, let's take Grant and Caine some cake. They'll be so surprised!"

  Although the visit was supposedly a spontaneous impulse to drop in, both Juliet and Miranda carefully reapplied their makeup, combed their hair, and changed their clothes before leaving the house. Juliet chose a jewel blue blouse and matching skirt, and accentuated her slender waist with a pink, yellow, and white scarf-sash. Miranda wore an apple green skirt and a green, yellow, and white silk blouse.

  Juliet drove the van while Miranda balanced the cake plate on her lap. They found a parking space in the wide lot adjacent to the restaurant and were heading toward the door when Miranda froze in her tracks.

  "Julie! Isn't that Sophia Saxon coming toward us?" she whispered nervously.

  "Oh, great!" Juliet groaned. "Just what we need tonight—a bad omen!"

  Sophia Saxon seemed equally disconcerted by the sight of two of the Post triplets. Her arm was linked through her escort's, a tall and quite handsome older man with a full head of thick silver hair.

  "Hello, Sophia," Juliet said, not bothering to smile.

  "Hello, Sophia," echoed Miranda, standing slightly behind her sister.

  "Well, well, twins!" Sophia's escort said, appearing delighted. "You two sure look alike."

  Sophia managed a brilliant, false smile. "Yes, don't they? Hello, girls," she added in syrupy tones. "Come to see Grant? And you brought him somet
hing to eat? How sweet!"

  "We came to see Caine too," Miranda said.

  "Caine's not there," Sophia said. "He left about fifteen minutes ago with a bosomy blonde wearing the tightest, lowest-cut black dress I've ever seen!" She glanced coquettishly at her date. "I'm very glad you didn't see her, Randall. Your eyes would have popped. I know Caine's did!"

  Juliet's own eyes were flashing. "I suppose the blonde was named Darla Ditmayer? Were they on their way to Richmond?"

  "I don't know what her name was or where they were going. Nor do I care to." Sophia tossed her thick brunette mane. "Shall we go, Randall?" She tugged at the man's arm while treating him to a meltingly sweet smile.

  Juliet and Miranda watched them walk away. "She should go to Hollywood!" Miranda said indignantly. "She could make a fortune in wicked witch and vampire roles. Pure typecasting!"

  "She doesn't have a very high opinion of our intelligence if she thinks we'd fall for the same trick twice," Juliet said dryly. "What a sister-in-law she'll make, Randi!"

  "But she'll never be a threat again," Miranda said consolingly. "We're on to her now. You'll notice that neither of us even considered believing her."

  Inside the restaurant both dining rooms were filled and there was a line of people waiting for tables. The sisters found Grant in the kitchen, in consultation with the chef. "Miranda!" His face lit up at the sight of her. "And . . . Liwy?" His smile faded somewhat. "I hope," he mumbled under his breath.

  "It's Julie," Miranda corrected him. "And we brought our latest experiment for you and Caine to sample." She held up the plate with its thick slices of white-chocolate-mousse cake.

  "It looks delicious, darling." Grant smiled at her, then turned to Juliet. "Julie, honey, Caine . . . uh, isn't here. He . . . had some business outside the restaurant to attend to. Didn't he tell me that he was seeing you later tonight?"

  Juliet nodded. "He said he'd be over after you closed up tonight." She paused. "He . . . isn't here now?"

  "You just missed him," Grant said quickly. "But I'll tell you what. As soon as he gets back, I'll send him over to your place. I'll stay and close up alone."