Unexpected Pleasure

by Dara Girard

  “Oh,” Tanna said, and in that one sound he heard an ocean of understanding that he’d been desperate to hear and slowly his tension disappeared. He knew she’d keep his secret and she understood why he had to.

  “What gave me away?”

  “I really can’t believe that you’ve been able to fool anyone. It’s as clear as glass to me, from the way you talk and look at things. I can’t see you any other way.”

  “Give me an example,” he said eager to hear her thoughts.

  “You were able to walk into that place and pinpoint what was wrong down to the tiniest detail.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t do anything impressive. I was just following a rulebook based on the guidelines our company set. I’m an enforcer. My business partner is the brains of the operation.”

  “No he’s not.”

  “What do you mean ‘no he’s not’?”

  “Those suggestions you gave to Liam had nothing to do with a rulebook, they were on-the-spot decisions that were specific to this store. They weren’t generic recommendations. You took into account the location, the clientele, the traffic and reach. You also crunched numbers at a rate that had my head spinning and I deal with numbers all day. You should stop pretending.”

  A devilish look came into his eyes. “Not yet. I like being my mother’s disappointment. Besides, Dillon is considered the brains.”

  Tanna made a face. “Isn’t that annoying? Don’t you hate how in families everyone’s allowed one trait? It’s like we’re two-dimensional cutouts. In my family I’m the smart one.”

  He grimaced in good humor. “And is that so bad?”

  “No, but every once in a while I think it’d be fun to be the pretty one or the funny one.”

  Doran checked both his rearview and side mirrors then shifted lanes.

  Tanna cleared her throat. “This is where you say, ‘I think you’re both.’”

  “Both what?”

  “Pretty and smart.”

  He pointed to himself. “I’m to say that you’re pretty and smart?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “And then what do you say?”

  “I say that you’re both handsome and smart.”

  Doran checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. “Stating the obvious is easy.”

  “Saying you’re humble would be a stretch.”

  He grinned. “No, it would be a lie.”

  She playfully patted his cheek. “Absolutely.”

  His grin disappeared. “But we do have a problem.”

  She swallowed. “What?”

  “You made my mother laugh.”

  Tanna briefly squeezed her eyes shut. “That wasn’t intentional.”

  “I know, but if you do it again I want a thousand dollars back.”

  “It won’t happen again.”

  “And if she asks you any questions about what we were up to you’ll say—”

  “Doran handled it like a pro…why are you shaking your head?”

  “Don’t mention me, just mention the business.”

  Tanna rolled her eyes. “How does that make any sense? The business doesn’t run itself…oh that’s right, you’re not supposed to be smart.”

  He nodded with approval. “You’re catching on.”

  “But I don’t know what to say.”

  “You say the Longwood Mills business had some issues that are now being addressed. You can also say that the business has a new manager and that it should be on par with the other branches soon.”

  “If she asks me any questions, I’ll tell her to talk to you.”

  “Even better.”

  “But you can’t keep this up.”

  “Keep what up?”

  “Pretending to be something you’re not.”

  “Tanna, I’ve had a lot of practice. It’s something I do.” He sent her a significant look. “Why do you think I hired you?”

  Chapter 23

  She’d kill her mother later. If she survived dying of embarrassment.

  “Are you ready yet?” Doran asked from the other side of the bathroom door.

  “Almost.”

  She stared at her image in the full length mirror. Her mother had packed a dress from her favorite designer—a bold, red and yellow dashiki print, form fitting dress with flared waist.

  She looked like a sassy Ghanaian woman. Relax, no one will notice the difference, a little voice said, but she’d stand out like a salmon in a school of goldfish. When she finally stepped out of the room, Doran didn’t say anything about her outfit which gave her a sense of relief, but when she walked outside to join the party, all eyes turned to her.

  Dillon approached her. “You look amazing.”

  “It is a formal occasion,” Rosemarie said, “but not quite this formal.”

  Tanna’s cheeks burned. “I know.”

  “Don’t worry, you put us all to shame,” Dillon said.

  But Tanna was the one who felt like hiding. After a few minutes, Dillon and Rosemarie faded from her side as did Doran and she was left standing alone outside, trying to pretend that she belonged when she knew that she didn’t. She turned to head back inside.

  An older woman with green eyes and blonde highlights rushed over to her. “I love your dress. On my recent trip to Ghana I had an outfit made, but it wasn’t of this quality.”

  “My wife was very disappointed,” the man beside her said, he was of medium height with skin the color of teak.

  Tanna patted the woman’s hand. “I know a tailor who will come to your house, take your measurements and make you a dress that will fit you perfectly.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what material is this?”

  Tanna searched her mind wishing she’d listened to her sisters when they talked fashion. “There are lots of fabric like…uh…wax, but I won’t pretend to be an expert.”

  “What is your expertise?” the woman said with a grin.

  “If you have a house you want to sell, I can showcase it to the best degree.”

  “Any other talents?”

  “Well, since you asked...”

  Vanessa stared at the scene in horror. She couldn’t believe her eyes. What was Tanna doing with the Hayfields? She had no business being in their presence let alone talking to them. How could this be happening? “What is that woman doing?” she said to Dillon through clenched teeth.

  “A fine job of keeping your guests entertained it seems,” he replied.

  “I don’t want her near them.”

  “They seem to be enjoying themselves.”

  “I don’t care,” she snapped, feeling on the verge of panic. “She’s not a good representation of us and heaven knows what she’s telling them. Where is your brother?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “To think he brought her here and then let her loose like this.”

  “She’s handling herself well.”

  “In an outfit like that?”

  “She looks beautiful. I’ve heard the compliments, I’m sure you have too.”

  Vanessa moved her shoulders with impatience. She had and they had irritated her to no end. Despite her figure and skin tone she did look fetching in the dress, but that didn’t change how she felt about her. Tanna didn’t belong there. Vanessa looked around the yard. “Where is he?”

  “I just told you, I don’t know.”

  “Then you take care of it.” She nudged him forward when he sent her a surprised look. “Get her away from them. Now!”

  “Mom—”

  “Now!”

  Dillon set his glass aside and approached the group. “I’m sorry,” he said to the Hayfields and the two other couples that had joined them, “but I must steal her away.”

  “You must be the lucky one,” Mr. Hayfield said holding out his hand. “Your fiancée is absolutely charming.”

  “Actually I’m not the lucky one, but he’s around here somewhere. Excuse us,” he said gently leadi
ng her away.

  “Am I in trouble?” Tanna asked once they were out of hearing.

  Dillon couldn’t help a grin. “My mother was spitting bullets when she saw you with her prized catch.”

  “Will she still be spitting when they offer her foundation half a million?”

  His brows shot up. “You managed that?”

  Tanna flashed a smug grin. “I have my ways.”

  “I know why my brother fell for you.”

  Tanna managed a laugh. “I think you’re the only one. Not even he knows that,” she said, seeing Doran with Megan, declining the offering of one of the wait staff.

  “Why did you take off our little disguise?”

  “Disguise?”

  He tapped his nose.

  “Doran didn’t think I needed it.”

  “He’s right. You can’t see any bruising.”

  “Sleep and makeup did the trick.” She glanced at the couple again, her throat tightening.

  Dillon caught her glance. “I saw your face when Mom mentioned Megan this morning. I want you to know that you don’t have to worry about her. She’s part of Doran’s past.”

  Tanna plastered on a smile. How little you know. “Sure.”

  “What you two have together is special. Don’t let anything or anyone break that.”

  Tanna lowered her gaze no longer able to meet his, her heart heavy and her eyes filling with tears. “You should be telling your brother this, not me.” Doran was probably somewhere alone with Megan. Tomorrow they’d go their separate ways and she’d never see him again.

  Dillon lifted her chin. “No, this is something you need to hear. We’re not the easiest family to be a part of. I wouldn’t blame you for running, but you’re good for us. You’re good for him and he’s good for you. You make a good pair.”

  If only your brother thought so too. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll ever convince your mother of that.”

  “Give her a couple of years—”

  “Decades,” Tanna corrected.

  “Yeah,” Dillon said with a laugh. “A few decades and she’ll come around.”

  They were laughing again. What did they find so funny? Doran thought as he watched Dillon and Tanna standing together by the lake.

  “Doran, did you hear me?” Megan asked.

  He nodded. “Uh huh.” Sure he heard her. He heard how much she’d missed him. What a mistake she’d made letting him go. That she was glad he was happy. Words. Words. Words. She was always so good with words.

  “Is it really too late for us?” she asked. “We once meant a lot to each other.”

  Until you fell out of love with me. “Yeah.” Doran drummed his fingers against his leg, expecting a sense of victory. She wanted him back. It had been a moment he’d been waiting for. He could make her suffer a little. Let her realize what she’d lost. But the feeling of triumph didn’t come.

  Yesterday, she’d been his torment—flooding his heart and his mind. Today…Today he looked at her expecting his heart to still race at her gaze, the smell of her perfume to send his mind spinning. He’d prepared himself for the hurt, the sense of betrayal to renew itself, but instead he felt nothing. Instead he couldn’t stop wondering why Dillon was standing so close to Tanna. And what were they talking about that made her smile like that? She looked beautiful in that dress, how come he’d never noticed before how truly beautiful she was?

  “You can’t keep your eyes off her.” Megan followed his gaze. “You’re not the man I remember, I don’t think you ever looked at me that way.”

  That caught his attention. He turned to her. “I did, you never noticed.”

  “Is this for real? Your mother—”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Leave my mother out of it. What do you think?”

  She lightly trailed a finger down his arm. “I think that engagements can be broken.”

  “True.”

  Megan looked at Tanna again. “She’s so different than me, one would think you were trying to make a point.”

  “And what would that point be?”

  “That no one could replace me. I dated you for a year, Doran. I know what you’re like. I know how you think and we both know that this woman may be fun, but she’ll never be permanent and your mother will never accept her.”

  He folded his arms and nodded. “Tanna thinks I’m smart.”

  Megan blinked. “What?”

  “And because she thinks I’m smart she probably wouldn’t use me to negotiate a major business deal, sleep with her father’s lawyer behind my back then dump me.”

  Color drained from her face.

  Doran tapped his chin. “I bet she also wouldn’t come back to me after two years when her father’s company is struggling again and pretend that she loves me because she knows I’m too smart to fall for that.”

  Her voice trembled. “Doran, please—”

  “Just as you asked me, I haven’t told anyone about my role in that business deal. I’m too proud to reveal what a fool you made of me, but I won’t give you that chance again.”

  She gripped her hands together. “Doran, you don’t understand. Your mother came to me and—”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t care.”

  Megan held up a trembling hand. “Just listen to me.”

  “You think my relationship with Tanna is making a point? You’re right.” He leaned in close and lowered his voice. “It’s that I am completely over you.”

  Chapter 24

  Why couldn’t she fall for his brother? Tanna wondered as she fixed up her makeup in the bathroom. Dillon was handsome, considerate and he liked her. He was so sweet he almost made her cry, not the pretty tears strolling down one’s face in perfect streams. The scrunch-up-your-face cry of misery. She never was a pretty crier anyway. But Dillon seemed the type who would hold her close and comfort her.

  That would be something, he was as beautifully made as his brother, and though he didn’t make her heart pound, perhaps he could grow on her.

  Tanna put her lipstick down and shook her head. It would never work. How weird would that be to break up with one brother then end up with the other? Although stranger things have happened. But how would she explain it? Unfortunately, there was an even bigger reason it could never work—they shared the same mother. Vanessa was every girlfriend or daughter-in-law’s nightmare. How had Megan managed it? Oh, right. Vanessa liked her. That was the difference. Doran had only chosen her because he knew his mother would feel the opposite. She had to remember that. Once the weekend was over they’d go their separate ways.

  Tanna left the bathroom and was returning to the party, then stopped when she saw Raymond looking for something at the bottom of the stairs.

  “There you are,” Tanna said. “I’d wondered where you’d gone off to.”

  He jumped to his feet, his eyes wide and anxious. “I’m supposed to stay in my room. Grandma doesn’t like me at her parties.”

  Tanna made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “It’s a boring grownup party anyway. Did you drop something?”

  He wrung his hands. “Sorta.”

  Tanna rested her hands on her hips. “Sorta isn’t a word. Is the answer yes or no?”

  “No, I…I lost something.”

  “What?”

  He hesitated.

  She bent down so they were at eye level. “You can tell me.”

  Raymond bit his lip. “I tripped against Bunny’s cage and it got knocked over.”

  Tanna briefly closed her eyes. “Please tell me she didn’t escape.”

  Raymond folded his arms and sighed, hanging his head.

  “What color is your rabbit?”

  He looked up at her. “Bunny isn’t a rabbit.”

  Tanna tentatively licked her lips then swallowed. “What is she?”

  “A white mouse.”

  Better than a snake, right? “You’re sure she’s not in your room?”

  He threw up his hands. “I looked everywhere.”

 
“It’s a big house so hopefully she’s still upstairs.”

  He swayed side to side. “If Gran finds out, I’ll be in so much trouble.”

  “Retrace your steps.”

  “What?”

  “Go over every step you took before you ended up here,” Tanna clairfied. “I’ll talk to your father.”

  “Do you have to tell him?” Raymond said in a tight voice. “He’ll be mad too.”

  “Better him than your Gran.”

  He nodded solemnly. “You’re right.”

  She went outside and found Dillon, who greeted her with a smile. “I just spoke to Raymond.”

  His smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

  “He accidentally knocked over Bunny’s cage and she escaped.”

  “Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t have…” Dillon briefly covered his eyes. “How long ago?”

  “He’s been searching for awhile. My one hope is that she stays inside and along the walls—they don’t like being exposed.”

  “I’ll check the west of the house, you check the east.”

  Tanna went back inside and searched the house with dread, making her way through the crowd of guests hoping not to draw too much attention to herself. The house was enormous, the mouse could be anywhere! She also couldn’t call out its name even if it did respond to commands. Twice, she pretended to drop something so she could look under the chairs and tables. It was her third attempt at this pretense—she was checking under a couch—when she heard high heels stop behind her.

  “What are you doing?” Vanessa asked.

  Tanna scrambled to her feet. “Nothing.”

  “Did you lose something?”

  Tanna tugged on her earlobe. “I thought I’d lost my earring, but then realized I hadn’t.”

  A thin smile touched her lips. “How lucky.”

  “Yes, very,” Tanna said then stopped when she saw a flash of white behind Vanessa as Bunny scurried down the hall. “Excuse me.”

  She followed the quick little creature then covered it with the train of her dress, before lifting it up. “Gotcha!”