by Deborah Camp
Trudy nodded. “Females like you.”
Sissy moved slowly back to the upright position, her eyes hardening although she smiled indulgently at Trudy. “You got something to say to me, darlin’?”
“I believe I just said it. Did I stutter?” Movement behind Sissy snared Trudy’s attention and she realized that Mya, Wes’s wife had arrived. She lifted a hand, waving her toward the table. Mya, a native of Brazil, was a striking woman. Tall, slim, with long black hair, sloe eyes, and slashing cheekbones, she could have easily passed for a former fashion model. Her simply cut lilac shift dress fit her perfectly, exposing her tanned arms and legs.
“Am I late?” Mya asked, glancing from Sissy to Trudy.
“No. Sissy stopped by to say hello and she’s leaving now.” Trudy stared pointedly at her unwanted table companion. Sissy smiled and rose from the chair.
“Here you go, hon.” She held out her hand to Mya. “I believe we’ve met before. You’re Wes’s wife, aren’t you?”
“Yes. It’s nice to see you again, Sissy,” Mya said, shaking her hand.
“I have to get going or I’ll be late for my pedicure.” She glanced at the iced coffee.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s on me,” Trudy told her.
“Why, aren’t you sweet?” With that, Sissy flounced from the restaurant, leaving a trail of gardenia perfume in her wake.
Gardenias. The scent brought back worrisome memories for Trudy. She had smelled them on Levi early in their relationship. If she ever smelled them again on him, she might just lose it.
Mya settled into the chair and pushed aside the iced coffee. She grinned at Trudy. “What did I miss?”
Trudy shook her head with a laugh. “Nothing. It was nothing.” She motioned for the waitress. “We’d like menus now, please. What would you like to drink, Mya?”
Mya handed the waitress Sissy’s glass. “Not that. I’ll have a Tia Expresso martini, please.” Mya opened the menu and glanced at it. “Hmmm. I’m in the mood for something spicy. So, Sissy just showed up? Out of the blue?”
“Yes. She saw me sitting here and came in. Couldn’t resist jabbing at me, I guess.”
“She’s jealous.” Mya put down the menu. “She wants your husband. I’m going with the chicken paella.”
Trudy blinked at the swift change in topics. She glanced at the menu, which she already knew well, and selected a favorite as the waitress neared the table again. “My friend wants the chicken paella, but I’m having the salmon croquettes. Could I substitute the garlic potatoes for sweet potato fries?”
“Certainly.” The waitress collected the menus and left them to visit.
“I hope you don’t let women like Sissy bother you.” She brushed her fingertips across one shoulder in a shooing gesture. “I’ve learned to dispense with them quickly. My husband is not only a stud, but he cooks and cleans!” She widened her dark eyes comically. “A triple threat! Women are always making goo-goo eyes at him.”
Trudy folded her arms on the table, enjoying Mya’s accented English. “And how do you handle that?”
“Oh, I don’t trouble myself. I let Wes handle them.” Mya smile was shrewd. “I’ve rarely had to step in. You’ll find the same to be true because there is no doubt that your man adores you. He’s too busy discouraging other men from flirting with you to have a wandering eye himself.”
“Sissy Franklin rubs me the wrong way, that’s all.” She waved aside the subject. “How did you meet Wes?”
“In a culinary class.”
“No!”
“You didn’t know that?” She nodded and her smile became wistful. “Sì, Sì. I wanted to learn how to make American dishes so I enrolled in class and there was Wes. He fascinated me with his muscles and tattoos and his knack for cooking. It was plain to everyone that he was already a pro because of his superior knife skills, his vast knowledge of herbs and spices, and the variety of cuisines he’d studied. He took that particular class because his boss was teaching it. He was the instructor’s sous chef at the time.”
“How long did you date before he asked you to marry him?”
“Not long.” She drank some of her martini, hummed her appreciation, and then glanced up in contemplation. “Two months, I think. He swept me off my feet. That’s the expression, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Had me off my feet and flat on my back in his bed after the fourth date.” She laughed along with Trudy. “I never moved so fast with a man before. I was raised to be a good girl, you know?”
“Oh, yes!” Trudy rolled her eyes. “I know.”
“You, too, eh?”
“My parents drummed into me and my sister to hold out until he put a ring on it. They were very disappointed in me when I moved in with Levi before he’d popped the question. I don’t think they’ll ever get over that, even though they love having him in our family.”
“I never told my parents about sleeping with Wes before marriage.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I was not a virgin when I met Wes, but my parents believed I was pure when I married him.” She sat back in the chair and sipped her martini. Lights danced in her dark eyes over the rim of the glass. “Let them believe what they will.”
“It wasn’t an easy decision for me to move in with Levi. It went against my own moral code, but . . . well, we were both doing things we never thought we’d do.”
“Everyone who knew him was shocked that he had a real girlfriend living with him,” Mya said. “He moved swiftly from woman to woman. Wes believed that Levi would never settle down because he’d never trust any woman enough to fall in love.” She held up her almost empty glass in a salute. “But then, there was you. You cast a spell over him.”
Trudy bobbed one shoulder and felt her color heighten. “He calls me a witch sometimes.”
Mya laughed at that. “I like Levi. And you.”
“I hope we can get together more from now on. It’s weird how Levi and Wes are so close, but haven’t socialized much.”
“Is it?” Mya asked. “Wes works for Levi.”
“But Wes is Levi’s best guy friend. No doubt about that.”
“Levi has always drawn the line.” She ran her fingertip along the tablecloth. “We asked him to our place many times for dinner or to spend a Sunday afternoon. He accepted twice.” She held up two fingers. “Twice. That is all. And he was never comfortable being in our home. He’s especially tense around our children.”
Trudy sighed. “He hasn’t been around kids much.” She saw the waitress approaching with their lunches and let the conversation thread drop as they appreciated the aromas wafting from the artfully presented dishes. The croquettes were delicious, as always, and Mya expressed her satisfaction with the paella.
“Will you and Levi have children? Ever?”
Trudy gulped down the food she’d been chewing and reached for her iced tea. She drank deeply before she answered. “Yes. That’s the plan.” She noted Mya’s look of surprise. “Maybe in a year or so. We’re in no hurry.”
Mya nodded, but Trudy could tell she wasn’t fully convinced. “It’s good to be sensible. Too often, couples have babies before they’re ready.”
“Are you ever really ready?”
Mya pressed her napkin to her mouth and her shoulders moved with her silent laugh. “No, I suppose not,” she said behind the napkin.
“You can’t picture Levi as a parent?”
The napkin lowered to reveal Mya’s gentle smile. “No, but I couldn’t picture him as a husband either.” She rested her hand briefly on Trudy’s arm, holding her gaze for a few more moments before adding, “But then came you, so anything is possible for Levi Wolfe now.”
Chapter 12
“Mom, when are you and Daddy going to come here and visit us?” Trudy fell back on the den couch and repositioned the phone so that she could see her mother’s face on the screen and Cleo Tucker could see her.
“We were just talking about that yesterday. We’re going to take a week off in Ju
ne, even though that’s a busy time for my catering.” Concern pinched her face for a moment before it was whisked away. “Bea and Bob are having a big hoo-hah for their fortieth anniversary and we’re going to Charlotte for it. We’re taking the RV, so we’ll stop in Atlanta to see you two.”
“Really? Great!”
“You want to come with us to Charlotte?”
“No, but I’m glad that Aunt Bea and Uncle Bob are celebrating. I’ll send a gift along with you for them.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Her mother waved a hand. “They have plenty of things already.”
“I know, but I want to send a little something Forty years! That’s a lot.”
“I guess. George and I have been married thirty-five.”
“That’s a lot, too. How long will you be here?”
“Just overnight.”
“Mother! You have to stay longer than that!”
“When we come back home, we’ll stop by again. Maybe we’ll stay a couple of days then. Depends on how long we linger in Charlotte.”
“You haven’t ever seen our place.” Trudy pushed out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout. “I want to show you around. There is a lot to see in Atlanta.”
“I know that Coca-Cola is there. Oh, and CNN.”
“Yes, and we’re right across from Olympic Park. The Aquarium is near here. You love Gone with the Wind. We can see the Margaret Mitchell house!”
Cleo’s eyes lit up. “That would be interesting. She called it ‘the dump,’ you know.”
Trudy laughed with her mother. “Yeah, well, they’ve cleaned it up. In fact, she probably wouldn’t even recognize it today.”
“I’ll talk to George and see if we can’t spend a couple of days there on the way home.”
“I’ll consider it a done deal,” Trudy said with a wink. “You can talk Daddy into anything when you set your mind to it.”
“You have to choose your battles. I imagine you can get what you want out of Levi when it suits you.”
She had to think about that for a few seconds. “I suppose.”
Cleo laughed. “Is he hard-headed?”
“He can be bossy and bark orders. That never goes over well with me.”
“But you don’t regret marrying him.”
“No, of course not! I love him.”
“Yes, you do.” Cleo nodded. “You’re being extra careful, aren’t you, what with that crazy person killing psychics? There was something else about it on the news last night.”
Trudy released a long sigh. “Yes, I know. The Arkansas State Police are looking into the deaths and going over the evidence to determine if there’s anything to Chason Bolt’s theory. Of course, it’s not Chason’s theory. I had a lot to do with it.”
“And that worries me. The killer could come after you, Trudy.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. I have two security guards with me whenever I go out and there’s one right outside the door as we speak.”
“And Levi?”
“He always has a security guard or two with him. He’s sort of famous, you know.”
“Oh, yes. That’s right. And you’re getting more famous. I do worry about you, hon.”
“Don’t, Mom. Levi is taking no chances, believe me.” Trudy sat up just as she heard “Welcome home, Mr. Wolfe” drift in from the front door. Mouse went sailing in that direction, barking her head off. “That’s Levi now.” She blew her mother a kiss. “He’s going to be so happy about you and Daddy planning a visit here.”
“Well . . .” Cleo smiled. “I hope so.”
“Mom,” Trudy scolded. “You know he will be. He’s asked you and Daddy numerous times to visit us. He’s even offered to book a private plane for you.”
“Give him a hug and kiss from us, Trudy hon. We’ll talk again soon.”
“Yes. I’ll call you in a day or two.” She pressed the End button and her mother’s face blipped out.
“Lucy, I’m ho-ome!”
Trudy smiled at Levi’s corny I Love Lucy greeting and went into the front room. Levi set his briefcase next to the foyer table and glanced her way. “Hard day beating the bongo drums, Ricky?”
“Yes, and I’m still not finished.” He yanked at his striped tie while he reached out his other hand for her waist. “I have a meeting tonight. I’m going to grab a shower, change clothes, and then head out.”
“What about dinner?”
“It’s a dinner meeting.” He kissed her soundly on the mouth. “You didn’t fix something extra special did you?”
“No, not yet. Wes was waiting to see if you’d rather have a steak or salmon.”
“Oh, good. I meant to call earlier about this, but then I got busy and never got around to it.” He strode past her to the kitchen where Wes was putting away groceries. “Hey, Wes. I was just telling Trudy that I have a dinner meeting tonight. You can prepare whatever she wants.”
“I didn’t see it on the schedule Darla sent to me.”
“It was added this morning after the schedule went out.”
“What kind of meeting is it?” Trudy asked, joining them.
“My editor is in town, so we’re going to discuss the new book. She read it a few days ago and wanted to go over a few things that need clarifying.” Levi started for the bedroom wing. “She called me this morning and told me she was flying to Los Angeles, but she was going to stop in Atlanta overnight.”
“Oh.” Trudy trailed him into the bedroom, watching as he began peeling off his tie, vest, cufflinks, shirt, shoes, socks, and finally his trousers. “Your editor is a woman.”
“Yeah.” He tossed his clothes into a chair for Wes or her to sort out. “Her name is Eleanor Dunleavy.”
Trudy smirked. Naturally, his editor had to be a woman. Before she could stop herself, she asked, “Have you slept with her?” The quick glance Levi sent her told her all she needed to know.
He stood outside the bathroom, hands on hips, clad only in a pair of black jockey shorts. The light from the bathroom fixtures created deep shadows across his abdominals. A mirthless chuckle tumbled past his lips. “Why do you always ask me that?”
She chewed on her lower lip. “Because I find it interesting, I suppose. And fascinating. The number of women you’ve been with,” she supplied to be clear.
“You knew how I . . . well, how it was with me before you married me.” He ran his palm over his face. “Look, Eleanor is just my editor. It wasn’t anything important between us. When I was in New York, we hooked up a few times. But that was, you know, a couple of years ago.”
“Right.” She smirked at him. “She’s female, probably blond with an ample rack, single I assume, and so you boinked her.” She flung out her hands in a helpless gesture. “What else were you supposed to do?”
He leaned a shoulder against the door frame, watching as she picked up his three-piece suit and shoes and took them with her to his walk-in closet. He followed her and stood in the doorway while she placed the garments on the valet stand. Wes would look the suit over tomorrow to see if it needed to go to the cleaners and if his shoes needed to be shined.
“I was a bit more selective than that, Tru. You make it sound as if I banged every curvy blond who crossed my path.”
“I know you had to be attracted to a woman before you put the moves on her,” Trudy said, brushing a hand down the lapel of the jacket she’d draped on the valet. “But there have been a lot of women.” She glanced at him over her shoulder and her breath caught. An overhead light silvered the waves of his dark hair and made his long eyelashes cast shadows on his lean cheeks. The sight of his long, muscled legs, wide chest and shoulders, and the outline of his cock pressing against the front of his skimpy underwear wiped whatever she’d been about to say from her mind. What were they talking about?
“Eleanor means zero to me. Less than zero.”
Oh, right. That. She crossed her arms and enjoyed the view for a few more moments.
“I’m only interested in her opinion of my writing an
d her help with getting everything in my book copacetic.” He arched a brow. “Are we okay here, Trudy? I have to get a move on or I’m going to be late.”
She roused from her appreciation of his six-pack and the spread of dark hair on his chest. “Yes, we’re done. You may go,” she quipped.
His gaze lingered on her face and worry creased his brow. Finally, he pushed away from the door frame. “You know how much I love you, right?”
The simple statement tugged her lips into a smile. “Yes.” She snatched up a pair of socks and a handkerchief from off the closet floor and popped them into the hamper. When she looked toward the doorway again, he wasn’t there. A few moments later, she heard him turn on the shower. She scolded herself for bringing up his previous promiscuity. What good did it do to be told if he’d slept with this woman or that one? But it did matter because she liked to know the score and all the members on the team, even if they were no longer part of that infamous lineup of women who had been laid by Levi Wolfe.
She went to the kitchen to relieve Wes of any further duties. “You can go on home, Wes. I’ll eat leftovers or maybe whip up a stir fry.”
He turned around from the sink and dried his hands on a dishtowel. “You sure?”
“Yes. Your leftovers are five-star meals to me.”
He untied his apron and hung it on the peg by the double-oven. “Then I’ll see you in the morning. Would you like blueberry sour cream muffins for breakfast?”
She nodded, enthusiastically, making him laugh. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!”
He tapped two fingers to his forehead in a jaunty salute. “Consider it done. Have a good evening, Trudy.”
“Same to you, Wes.” She saw him to the door, said hello to the security guard, and then went back to the kitchen to poke through the refrigerator. She decided on warming up the goulash Wes had made a couple of days ago. She’d thought about having it for lunch, but had opted for a shaved ham and Swiss cheese melt instead. Popping the bowl of macaroni and beef into the microwave, she set the timer and poured herself a glass of tea while the food heated.