Their Secret Bargain

by Kay Lyons

  “Um…” Jenn took in Nick’s thick black hair. “I prefer blondes?”

  “The Jerk had brown hair.”

  “Exactly. See what I got for choosing a brunette?”

  “Uh-huh. You know, a little self-confidence goes a long way. You’re great with your students, but put you with adults and you freeze and become a wallflower.”

  “Kids are more fun. And wallflowers are…important. Who else can watch everyone’s purses and make sure the punch bowls are filled?”

  Suzanne shook her head at her. “I’m not going to win, am I?”

  “Not tonight.” Jenn smirked. “I’m on a roll.” And in a mood. It takes a lot of courage to lie through one’s teeth.

  “So I see. The others are saying it’s time to do the deed. Kim has to leave early and finish packing.”

  “Me, too. Leave early, I mean. It’s been a long day. Let’s go tease them with Hawaii, then I should head home.”

  Suzanne blocked her exit. “Suck it up, chick. Escape is not an option. Come on, you can’t leave us here alone. As the newbie hires, you, Amy and I have to close this party down, remember? Show the others what we’ve got?” she insisted, holding her hands up and dancing to the music.

  “What you’ve got. How does Hawaii compare to sitting at home eating Doritos every night or…or Jane. Did you hear? She’s going to Paris with her daughter. And Serena’s going on a missionary trip with her husband. Amy’s heading to Machu Picchu, Glenna’s going on a tour of Tuscany and Jody’s visiting Disney World with her family. There’s not going to be anyone left in Beauty this summer.” She sighed dramatically. “Guess I don’t need to lie about my plans. It’s not as if anyone is going to be here to know one way or the other.”

  Suzanne laughed. “Want a little cheese to go with that whine? Come on, it isn’t that bad.”

  “Are you sure I can’t just tell them I signed up for a human-development class for my master’s and be done with it? It’s plain, it’s boring…It’s me.”

  Suzanne made a sour face. “This summer is your first taste of freedom in how many years?”

  “Five,” Jenn admitted reluctantly. “Well, eight if you count two years of dating and the months until the divorce was final.”

  “And you don’t think it’s time to have some fun? Kick up your heels a bit?”

  “My divorce-care class taught me that it’s normal to feel anxious this way. They say it’s really important not to jump into relationships or projects too soon, because newly divorced people have a tendency to do impulsive things and regret them later.”

  Suzanne nodded. “That’s all well and good, but I don’t think by jumping they meant for you not to pick your feet up off the ground. Your divorce was final last December.”

  “Great Christmas present that was,” Jenn muttered. “Besides, who would want to date me like this?”

  “Okay, you want to hear me say it? Fine. I’ll admit you’ve put on a little weight but—”

  “A little?”

  “You still look great. Tell them exactly what you told me at school—that this summer is the Summer of Jenn. Have a makeover, then go to class and get out and about and when you meet a nice guy, you’ll realize you’re worrying for nothing.”

  “I do like the sound of that.”

  Suzanne wrapped an arm around Jenn’s shoulders and prodded her toward the tables. “Stick with me, kid. We’ll get you through this yet.”

  Jenn’s heart thudded in her chest, and she braced herself to face the group. She needed a nudge, something to get her sufficiently psyched to carry out her ideas about rejuvenating herself, body and soul. Trip or no trip. But what? Everyone knew a person had to have the right mindset to diet and exercise, and hers was seriously lacking motivation. All she wanted to do these days was drown her sorrows in chocolate.

  And then she saw him.

  Standing at the table surrounded by her friends, she noticed Todd at the entrance. He hadn’t gained an ounce since their divorce—if anything he looked better than ever. Then Todd turned to his side and snagged hold of his beach-bunny mistress and Jenn watched as the man she’d supported through med school, the man she’d spent way too much time on, waiting for him to call, to notice her, to care as he was supposed to care, lowered his head for a blazing kiss from the skinny bimbo who was barely out of high school.

  “Jenn, what are you doing this summer? Come on, tell us!”

  She felt Suzanne’s hand on her arm. “Are you okay? You look a little—”

  “I’m taking my life back,” she whispered, her voice growing stronger as anger and mortification coursed through her veins. She’d been such an easy mark. Someone to play mommy and take care of everything from laundry and cleaning and bills until the perfect trophy wife showed up. Well, not anymore. “This summer is all about me.” She nodded firmly to confirm her words. The Summer of Jenn. Oh, yeah, she liked that.

  She’d needed a kick in the pants? Well, this was definitely it. She wasn’t about to stand by and let Todd Dixon ruin the rest of her life. “It’s…it’s about taking control of my life, having fun and becoming the person I want to be.” Not the fool I’ve been.

  “Ohh, this sounds good,” Glenna said, her back to the scene unfolding by the entrance.

  Thank God the others didn’t see. But Jenn heard the whispers starting at the end of the long table, saw more and more of them turn their heads toward the entrance.

  “What are you going to do? Are you going somewhere? One of those spas in the desert?” Glenna asked.

  “Come on, Jenn, stop being so secretive,” Amy teased her.

  Using Suzanne’s trick, Jenn flashed them all a blazing smile, remembering that Todd hadn’t been all that great in bed. Ha! One good thing about dating someone so young was that the poor girl no doubt had a daddy complex and didn’t realize Todd’s four-minute sex-capades weren’t exactly world-class.

  Jenn grabbed her purse and keys and gave them a breezy woman-on-a-mission laugh. You can do this. “That’s something you’ll have to wait to hear about later. For now I’ve got to go or…or I’ll be late.”

  “Late for what? Jenn, you’re bad! Where are you going?”

  Jenn pretended not to hear as she walked away from the table. She marched right past the bar and the gorgeous bartender and Miss Perky Boobs. Past Todd and his sleazy arm candy, with her skirt too short and tight, her back bare in a halter top, without the slightest sign of a tan line, bra strap or fat roll, and out the door.

  And all the while she hoped and prayed no one would even notice.

  Chapter 3

  JENNIFER WAS NEARLY TO her house when she heard Todd call out her name. She stumbled briefly, but kept walking. So much for wishing she could be invisible.

  “Jenn, wait up!”

  She jabbed her key into the hole and twisted, but somehow the lock jammed. “Oh, come on.” Things just couldn’t go her way, could they?

  “Jennifer, let’s be adult about this.”

  Adult? Adult! She rounded on Todd. “What on earth would you know about being an adult?”

  He grimaced, not even out of breath from the jog across the restaurant’s parking lot and around the corner to her house. Never mind that she was huffing and puffing and sweaty. Ugh. It would have been quicker to lock herself in her car, but she’d been so angry she’d forgotten that it was sitting there in the lot.

  “Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

  She leaned against the door for support. “I don’t know. Maybe because I don’t want to talk to you?”

  Todd put his hands on his hips in an arrogant pose, his dark hair and Catholic schoolboy uniform of khaki pants and navy polo shirt looking fresh and neat despite the heat. Indicative of his cold heart.

  “It’s been months since the final papers were signed, and it was over months before that. Can’t we move on?”

  “I am completely beyond that. What I’m not over is you showing up at the restaurant today. You knew I’d be there—I’m always there w
ith my friends on the last day of school. And yet there you are with your tongue stuck down your receptionist’s throat. You did that to embarrass me!”

  “No, I—” He swore softly. “Jenn, I forgot about it. I didn’t even know it was the last day of school. Why would I?” Todd wiped a hand over his face and shifted his feet on the grass that she hadn’t had time or the energy to mow. “I’m sorry. I didn’t do that on purpose. And believe it or not, I wanted our marriage to work but—”

  “I’m fairly certain there isn’t a single marriage counselor out there who’d have told you to fix our problems by screwing around.”

  His gaze narrowed. “You want me back, is that what this is about?”

  “No!” The thought was appalling. The very idea made her sick to her stomach, even though she’d been raised to believe marriage vows were meant to be kept and problems worked out. She did not want him back. Some people might be more forgiving than she was, but infidelity wasn’t something she was prepared to overlook.

  “We were friends once. Can’t we go back to that?”

  “Friends? Oh, you mean, before you took all the money I had saved to pay off your student loans and your debt? Or before you cheated on me?” She should have sued him for alimony just to get even, but she didn’t want that tie to him, didn’t want to take anything from him. She’d won the house. That was enough. “Things weren’t working. I knew that, Todd, but instead of talking to me, separating or asking for a divorce, you messed around and lied about it.”

  “I admit, I could’ve handled things better.”

  “You think?” Wait a minute. Was that an admission—and an apology? She narrowed her gaze on him. “What do you want?”

  Todd gave her one of his practiced smiles. “I’ve been calling you because…I need a favor.”

  “Of course you do.”

  “It’s important. And I hope you’ll be kind enough to help me out.”

  She blinked at him. “Help you out with what?”

  “I didn’t argue when you said you wanted the house.”

  “I could have asked for half of your earnings, since I worked my butt off while you were in med school. Toby Richardson said I could have pressed you for a lot more, and you know it. You’re out of favors, Todd.”

  Todd gritted his teeth. “Can we leave the lawyers out of this?”

  “Get to the point.”

  “I just want to look at our old vacation plans. See? No big deal.”

  “What?” Why would he possibly want her…Her nails dug into her palms. “Why?”

  He dropped his gaze to his feet. “Erin and I are getting married—she’s pregnant. We found out today, which is why we were at the restaurant tonight. To celebrate. Anyway, I’d like to take her somewhere special for our honeymoon. You know, before the baby comes. Otherwise, it’ll be a long time before we’ll be able to get away and do something like that.”

  The ringing in her ears drowned out most of his words.

  “Anyway, I told her about the trip we’d planned and she loved the sound of it. She wants to go there. Erin admires you, Jenn. I think she’d like to be more like you.”

  “I’m going to hurl.”

  “I wish you’d try to understand my side of things,” he said with insensitive determination. “I needed more, and I wasn’t getting it from you. I wanted to do things, be adventurous, and you wouldn’t even try. The divorce was for the best.”

  “You got that right.” Did she ever know that for a fact. The lying, sneaking, two-timing…Cheating McCheater! Be more adventurous? How could she be in the mood, when she knew he was out with other women? Sleeping with nurses in the on-call rooms? She’d even heard a rumor about a freight elevator.

  “Look, I thought since you’re not seeing anyone and obviously wouldn’t be taking the vacation, I might—”

  “Stop.” She held up her hand, struggling to remain calm so she wouldn’t end up with the police on her front lawn when her nosy neighbors called 9-1-1. “Why wouldn’t I be taking the vacation?”

  Jenn stared at the man and wondered what on earth she’d ever seen in him. Todd looked soft, not at all the handsome pre-med student she’d thought herself in love with but a spoiled boy pretending to be a man. Playing at being a grownup. Why had it taken her so long to figure that out?

  “Look, Jenn, I know it’s been a rough year for you, but you’ve got to admit you’re not quite ready for fun in the sun, right?” His gaze swept over her, lingering on her rounded middle and ample hips. “Besides, I know how you are about traveling alone. You didn’t even want to go to your parents’ house by yourself. You said it was too far to drive.”

  Mostly she hadn’t wanted to go because married couples usually traveled together. Especially to see the parents. Showing up on their doorstep alone would have sent her mother into a tizzy, and understandably so.

  “Wouldn’t it be a shame to let all that planning go to waste? Just hand the plans over and I’ll mail them back to you when I’ve had a look.”

  Her palms itched. She relaxed a fist and rubbed her hand against her elastic-waist pants, afraid if she smacked his face she’d somehow give him the upper hand. Assault charges versus her trip. She wouldn’t put it past him. But the audacity of the man—standing there, trying to justify his actions by making her feel bad about herself?

  She often told her second-grade classes that violence didn’t solve anything. At the moment, however, she greatly sympathized with little Michael Marshall. Nailing Todd with a good right hook would certainly make her feel good—just as Michael had claimed after Brad Zimmer had made fun of his stutter one too many times and he’d walloped Brad a good one. “Amazing. I can’t believe you’ve done it. You’ve convinced me to feel sorry for her.”

  “Who?”

  “Her.” And the unborn baby who would soon be more mature than its own father. What a nightmare. But Todd wasn’t her nightmare. Not anymore. Thank you, God. Some things happened for a reason. So why not let this be another reason to turn the summer into exactly what Suzanne had called it—the Summer of Jenn. Why not let this moment lift her declaration to the next level? Exercise. Diet. Whatever it took to help her have the confidence to prove Todd wrong and take that trip! Did she dare go by herself?

  Yes! She’d rather have company, but if she didn’t—why not go anyway? She was only hurting herself by letting fear and timidity hold her back. Why not put her repressed emotions out there and use them to lose weight and get in shape, instead of eating more and more? Why not heal the inner part of her that was hurting so badly? Dr. Phil might just be onto something.

  If she planned things well, worked hard, she could do this. Everyone knew confidence and self-image went hand in hand. All she had to do was find her courage. Grow a pair. Embrace her inner I-can-do-anything diva instead of locking her up in order to keep her off the dance floor. This was it—her moment. Her motivation. The thing she needed to come to terms with herself, revenge. Todd didn’t think she was beach-worthy? Well, he could just…He could just kiss her big, fat butt!

  “So you’re going to be like that, huh?”

  For the second time that evening, she realized she’d spoken her thoughts aloud. Shrugging off the fear that her neighbors might also be listening, Jenn gave Todd a genuine smile for the first time since she’d learned the truth of his betrayal. “Yes, I am. If you want to take your…” She faltered, refusing to stoop to his level, “Erin, somewhere nice, plan it yourself.”

  Todd glared at her and turned to leave, but she caught hold of his arm. “And one more thing. For your child’s sake, if for no other reason, don’t you dare put your son or daughter through the pain of seeing their father run around on their mom. This time, Todd, be adult enough to honor your vows.”

  Todd stiffened and his face darkened, but he didn’t say anything. Jenn stared him down, then turned on her heel and—thank goodness!—the key opened the lock.

  Slamming the door in his face wasn’t nearly as satisfying as nailing him with her fi
st would have been, but it had to do. Success was the best revenge. Now all she had to do was achieve it.

  The Summer of Jenn had officially begun.

  HELL HATH NO FURY like a woman pissed off,” Nick drawled as Jenn slid onto a bar stool beside Suzanne. “Ladies, have a good night. Yell, if you need anything.”

  Suzanne nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off Jenn, making Jenn even more self-conscious since everything seemed a bit…weird.

  “Your face is as red as my shirt. What happened?”

  Jenn concentrated on hooking the heels of her summer sandals over the lower rungs of the stool. It took more work than she had thought it would—possibly because of the time she’d spent at her house searching for something sexy to wear back to the Old Coyote and then finding Todd’s left-behind prized possession instead.

  Revenge had definitely been sweet—and expensive. “Why not? Why let Cheating McCheater Jerk ruin my fun with my friends?” Hiccup. She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, that’s rude. Excuse me.”

  Suzanne’s mouth dropped open. “Have you been drinking?”

  Jenn saw the bartender’s head turn their way.

  “Hello? Jenn? Oh, you have. Hon, what happened?”

  Jenn laughed and looked around them.

  “The worst of the gossips are gone, don’t worry. Just tell me.”

  “What’s to tell? He followed me home. Like the sick, little puppy he is. But I got the last kick, er, laugh in. I wouldn’t give it to him.”

  “Give what to him? What did he do? Say? Tell me!”

  “He’s been calling me.” She nodded to confirm her statement. “But I wouldn’t phone him back. So he came over.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he wants my vacation.”

  “What? Why?”

  “That’s what I said. It’s not fair, you know.” She pointed to Suzanne’s empty dessert cup. “You lost weight after your divorce and you’re losing weight now—don’t say you’re not. All I’ve done is gain it, and…and he pointed that out.”