“What will you tell Dad?”
“The truth. That I’m helping out a friend. I’ll drop by here and see him every other day or so until he leaves. By the time he gets back from the cruise, all of this will be over.”
“So you’ll spend Christmas with the Vaughans? That would make me feel better about leaving you.”
“Maybe so, or if that doesn’t work out, maybe with Gina’s crew. She has so many cousins they would never notice one more person. She’s always asking me to come to family things. I don’t know that Mrs. Vaughan will feel up to having much of a Christmas, anyway.”
“Okay. As long as you’re not alone.”
“Being alone isn’t so bad,” she said. “It’s not the same as being lonely. I have you and Dad and all kinds of friends. I’ll be fine.”
The question remained, would she spend Christmas in J.B.’s bed?
* * *
Her brave statement to Jonathan was tested a few hours later.
With the lights out and the room dark, all she could think about was how much she wanted J.B. here beside her. The strength of that yearning was a wake-up call. How had he wormed his way into her heart so quickly?
It occurred to her that over the years she had whipped up her antipathy toward him for no other reason than to keep from admitting that she still had feelings for him. Not teenage heart palpitations, but full-blown, adult emotions that left her weak and vulnerable and afraid.
J.B. was playing with her. Not cruelly, but for fun. He was intent on having a grown-up sleepover.
A holiday affair.
She would be a fool to let him have that much control over her happiness. To let him lure her into his home and into his bed.
Even knowing every single reason that she had to guard her heart, she couldn’t resist the pull of the perfect holiday with J.B.
Admitting the truth was both elating and terrifying.
Come morning, she was going to pack a bag and cast her lot with Charleston’s baddest bachelor.
* * *
When she reached the hospital on Sunday just before noon, she was suddenly unsure about going in. J.B. hadn’t called. Or texted. They had left things between them at a rather volatile crossroads last night.
Maybe he was regretting his impulsive invitation.
It wasn’t too late to undo that. Her bag was in the trunk. No reason for him to ever know she had come prepared.
Because she had dropped by work briefly before coming to the hospital, she was dressed nicely in a black pencil skirt, emerald green silk blouse and her new necklace. The large pearl nestled just at the top of her cleavage.
She touched the cool stone. Jonathan understood all she had missed as a child...all they both had missed. The pearl couldn’t bring her mother back, but it was a tangible link to all the might-have-beens.
Inside the hospital, she headed straight for the information desk and confirmed that Mrs. Vaughan had been moved to a regular room. That was definitely good news. When Mazie made her way upstairs, she found only Alana in residence. Even the bed was empty.
The woman who was only a couple years younger than Mazie smiled. “They took Mom one flight up for cardiac rehab. She’ll be back soon.”
“And the rest of your family?”
“Dad’s an early riser. He got here at six this morning and sent J.B. home to sleep. Pop is downstairs grabbing a snack right now. Leila and I were here by eight. Mom’s asking for her favorite coffee. The doctor okayed it, so Leila went to get her some.”
“Well, it sounds like you have everything under control. Perhaps I’ll swing by later in the day.”
Alana hopped up, tossing the paperback book she had been reading into her tote. “Actually, I have a favor to ask.”
“I’d be happy to help,” Mazie said. “What is it?”
“My sister and I have matinee tickets for The Nutcracker at 2:00 p.m. today. Mom remembered and is insisting we go. One of the tickets was for her, so she wants Daddy to take her place. Which is stupid, because the man is not a ballet fan, but what can he do? He wants to make her happy.”
“I’d be happy to sit with your mother,” Mazie said.
“J.B. will be back soon. You wouldn’t be here alone.”
“I’ve already said yes,” Mazie teased. “No need to oversell it.”
“Perfect,” Alana said.
At that moment, an orderly wheeled Mrs. Vaughan back into the room and helped her into bed. Mazie hovered in the hall during the transfer, not wanting to be in the way. Soon, Mr. Vaughan and his other daughter arrived, as well. The controlled chaos lasted for several minutes.
Mazie could hear J.B.’s mother directing everyone’s movements. Mazie grinned to herself. No wonder the Vaughans loved and feared Jane. She was a formidable force.
At last the hoopla settled and the room quieted. Mazie could hear Jane asking for her. She stepped to the door. “I’m here.”
Jane kissed her husband and daughters as they leaned over her bed. “Go have fun, my loves. Mazie and J.B. will look after me until you get back.”
Soon the room emptied, and it was just Mazie and Jane. For the first time since Mazie had arrived, the older woman seemed to deflate.
“I’m toast,” she grumbled. “I hate feeling this way.”
“You had a major heart attack and serious surgery. It’s going to take some time. Why don’t you rest until they bring your lunch tray?”
“I’m tired of resting. Tell me about your family. I need distractions. I’m going crazy in this place.”
Mazie pulled up a chair. “Okay. What do you remember?”
“Not much,” Jane said. “When you children were small, I knew your parents well, but the years passed, you all grew up, and we lost touch.”
“You know about my mother, though?”
Jane’s expression softened. “I do. The poor woman had demons, I suppose. And you were just a babe.”
“Old enough to remember her leaving.”
J.B.’s mother patted the bed. “Come sit here.” Jane took her hand. “Everyone in Charleston knew what was happening. But the scuttlebutt was never unkind. Your parents were well respected, and to see you children lose your mother...” She shook her head, her gaze sober. “We all grieved for you and your brothers. And your father, too, of course. How is Gerald doing these days?”
“His health is precarious. He’s twenty-two years older than my mom, so he’s beginning to slow down.”
“It must have been hard for him. Sending her away.”
Mazie stood up and paced, her arms wrapped around her waist. “Yes. My brothers and I visit her occasionally. Up in Vermont. But she hasn’t known us for years. She seems happy, though.”
“If you marry my son, I’d be honored to be your mother-in-law.”
It sounded like a joke, but when Mazie turned around and stared at her, Jane was clearly dead serious. Mazie hesitated. “You told me you understood that J.B. was inventing this whole engagement charade.”
“I do. But sometimes a man does things for reasons he can’t even understand until later.”
“Mrs. Vaughan... Jane. Please don’t set your heart on this.” She bit her lip. “It’s not real.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
Mazie swallowed, desperately wanting to believe that Jane was right. “He’s physically attracted to me. For the moment. I think it’s probably the thrill of the chase. As soon as I sell my property to him, he’ll lose interest.”
“It’s time he settled down.”
“J.B. has a great life. I don’t think he’s missing out on anything.”
“And what about you, Mazie?”
Fourteen
J.B. heard just enough of the conversation in his mother’s hospital room to realize that poor Mazie was floundering. He bumped the partially open d
oor with his hip and entered. “I brought Chinese for Mazie and me. Sorry, Mom. We can eat in the lounge if it makes you too hungry.”
He smothered a grin at the naked relief on Mazie’s face. “Thanks, J.B.”
A young woman in pink scrubs brought in the noon meal and set it on the bedside table. While J.B. set out the more appetizing of the two feasts, Mazie helped Jane get organized.
As everyone was digging in, Jane smiled genially.
“We should settle on your wedding date immediately,” she pronounced, staring at her broiled codfish with distaste. “All the best summer venues will be booked soon.”
J.B. took his mother’s outrageous efforts in stride. He was used to her tactics.
Poor Mazie, on the other hand, choked on a bite of moo shu pork, her expression impossible to read. Her cheeks turned pink. Was she appalled or intrigued about the mention of wedded bliss?
For his part, the idea didn’t bother him as much as it should have.
J.B. shook his head. “Back off, Mom. I love you, but this is between Mazie and me.”
Mazie nodded. “Please don’t be offended. But we’re in no rush, Jane. J.B. has this big project ahead of him, and besides, we haven’t been together all that long.”
His mother shook her head, picking at a cup of out-of-the-can fruit cocktail. She shot a sly glance that J.B. intercepted, though he didn’t think Mazie saw. “You know how much I hate downtime, son. This wedding could be the perfect thing to occupy me while I’m having to take it easy.”
“Nice try, Mom. Guilt and coercion are not going to work on either of us. Mazie and I are adults. You’ll have to trust us to decide when the time is right. Now eat your lunch and behave.”
The remainder of the afternoon passed without fireworks. His mother napped off and on. In between, he and Mazie entertained her with lighthearted conversation about anything and everything. Mazie was great with his mom. For a woman who had grown up without a female role model, she was remarkably astute when it came to handling a difficult parent.
Caring for her father had shaped her adult life.
By the time the next shift arrived at five, J.B. was more than ready to spirit Mazie away. Watching her all afternoon had been slow torture. He wanted to make love to her again. Badly. And this time in a comfortable bed with soft sheets where he could take his time with her. The prospect dried his mouth and tightened his body.
She was an elegant woman, graceful, fun loving, and above all, kind. Which didn’t explain why she had given him such grief about selling her building. The place was a mess. Heating, wiring, water issues in the basement. Everything he had offered Mazie as a trade was far and away better. But she had clung to her hatred of him. He liked to think he had mended fences with her now...that what happened so long ago no longer mattered.
Some people said love was the flip side of hate. Did he want that from Mazie? Surely not. He’d been vulnerable once, had trusted a woman. The betrayal that followed had cost him his heart, his pride and his fortune.
Mazie wasn’t like his ex-wife. He’d stake his life on it.
But did he really want to take a chance?
His mother’s heart attack had diverted his attention. But now that she was on the mend, he needed to focus his attention on persuading Mazie to sell.
Perhaps he could combine business with pleasure. He had asked her to spend Christmas with him. Was she going to say yes? The prospect was far more personal than he wanted to admit.
When his father and sisters shooed him on his way—after heaping gratitude on Mazie for spending her Sunday afternoon at the hospital—J.B. followed Mazie outside, breathing in the crisp evening air with a groan of relief.
“God, I hate hospitals,” he said. “The smells. The sad faces. I hope Mom doesn’t have to stay long.”
Mazie rolled her shoulders. “It’s a great hospital, J.B. But I know what you mean.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Not yet.”
“You want to walk the bridge?” The Ravenel Bridge, completed in 2005, had been constructed with both a pedestrian path and a bike lane. It was a popular destination any time of the year, but in December when the weather was kind, it couldn’t be beat.
Mazie nodded. “I’d love to. I’ve been feeling like a slug.” She glanced down at her slim skirt and high heels. “I’ll have to put on other clothes.”
They had made it out of the lobby and were standing on the sidewalk near the main parking lot. J.B. took her arm, his fingertips rubbing lightly over the narrow bones of her wrist. “Did you bring what you needed to stay over?” He felt her pulse jump.
She nodded slowly. When she lifted her gaze to his, he saw deep vulnerability. “I’m not sure why, but I did.”
Exultation flooded his veins, though he kept his expression noncommittal. Words he couldn’t say hovered on his lips. Words that would change everything. He couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t. It wasn’t really necessary to upset the status quo. Too much at stake. “Good. Let’s meet at my house, and we’ll both get changed.”
Was that disappointment he saw on her face? He felt a lick of shame, but it didn’t sway him.
The distance was short, ten minutes at the most. Even so, he held his breath until he saw Mazie’s distinctive car pull into his narrow driveway and squeeze in beside his SUV.
He slammed his car door and waited, rifling though his pockets for what he wanted to give her.
Mazie got out as well, with her purse slung over her shoulder and a stylish duffel in her hand.
“I made you a set of keys,” he said. “I’ll remind you how to use the alarm before we go to bed tonight.” He took the heavy bag from her.
She wrapped her arms around her waist. “That’s not really necessary, is it? I won’t be here long.”
“I want you to feel at home.”
As he said the words, something about them set off warning bells in his head. When had he ever said that exact phrase to a woman? Never that he could recall.
He would have to tread carefully. Mazie might get the wrong idea. Even worse, so might he.
Inside, he led her upstairs, bypassing his bedroom and ushering her into a beautifully decorated guest room. The celadon hues were soothing.
“This is beautiful,” Mazie said.
He set her bag on the dresser. “I hope you won’t want to spend too much time in here.”
Her mouth dropped open in a little O of shock. Hot pink color flooded her face. “J.B., I...”
He held up a hand. “It’s your room. Completely private. No strings attached. But I reserve the right to remind you how sweet it is when we both give in to temptation.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Sweet? More like insane.”
“So you admit it.”
Mazie shrugged, her gaze moody and restless as she dropped her purse on a chair and examined the amenities.
“It would be hard not to,” she muttered, running her hand over the bedspread.
Watching her touch the bed was almost tactile. His skin quivered as if she were stroking him. He kept his distance, though it strained every ounce of his control.
He loved her.
The admission slapped him like a jolt of cold water on a winter morning. He wanted to snatch her up and kiss her senseless and bury himself inside her until he couldn’t breathe with wanting her.
But the consequences of such abandon were very nearly life and death.
He couldn’t dive into this thing without remembering the past. Failure. Humiliation. Self-loathing.
Instead, he did the mature, nonreckless thing. “Get dressed,” he said gruffly. “We’ll walk the bridge, and then I’ll take you for fresh shrimp and hush puppies at Lolita’s.”
This time, Mazie’s smile was open and untinged with the wariness that was so much a part of her personality.
“For
that kind of positive reinforcement, I’ll follow you anywhere.”
* * *
J.B. needed exercise. Badly.
And though he would have preferred the kind between the sheets, it was probably better this way.
Mazie changed clothes as quickly as he did. Soon they were on their way toward the bridge. Beneath the magnificent structure with the two triangular sets of silvery spires, an enterprising city had installed parking and a labyrinth of short trails.
While Mazie hopped out and began stretching, J.B. locked the car and tried not to look at the way black spandex cupped her cute butt. Lord help him. He did a few stretches, too, but he was antsy. “Let’s go,” he said. “We can walk the first quarter mile to warm up.”
They were far from the only people enjoying the bridge. Though the sounds of cars whizzing by a few feet away on the other side of the concrete barrier was not exactly relaxing, being able to look down on the city of Charleston made up for it. They started out at a brisk walk.
When Mazie shed her jacket and tied it around her waist, he gave her a nod. “Ready?”
“Yep. I’ll drop back when people pass us.”
They set off at an easy jog. Tension winnowed away from his body step by step. For weeks he had been totally immersed in the huge project that included Mazie’s shop. And then the scare with his mother had left their entire family on edge.
But the emotions that had truly kept him tied in knots day and night were all because of Mazie.
At the top of the arc, he expected her to stop, but she kept on running, her ponytail bouncing in the wind. He kept pace with her, curbing his stride to match hers. At the other end, they did an about-face and headed back. This time, when they hit dead center on the bridge, Mazie paused long enough to stare down into the inky black Cooper River far below.
On sunny, bright days, you could spot dolphins frolicking. Tonight, the deep water was mysterious.
He bumped her hip with his. “We can’t stand here too long, or we’ll get cold. And I’m starving.”
Blame It On Christmas (Southern Secrets Series Book 1) Page 13