Deadly Storm (6 page)

Mandy took his hand and shot Marian a small smile. “I’ll see you at the next class. It was really nice to meet you.”

“It was amazing to meet you,” Marian said. “I think we’re going to be great friends.”

“Because you’re both evil,” Ann grumbled.

Mandy ignored her old rival and let James lead her out of the classroom. “Hey, James?”

“Hmm.”

“I love you more than anything.”

James glanced at her. “I love you, too. I can’t tell you how much I needed to hear that.”

Mandy stilled. “What?”

“We’re about to have a big talk over your special dinner,” he said. “You’d better gear up.”

“You’re not going to leave me for Ann, are you?” Mandy was going for levity, but part of her was legitimately worried.

“There’s nothing in this world that will ever drag me away from you,” James said.

Mandy smiled, relieved.

“We’re still going to have a big talk.”

“Are you mad at me?”

Mandy was focused on James as they walked outside of the campus building, her heart pinching as she studied his features.

James, his fingers linked with hers, shifted his attention to her earnest face. “Why would I be mad at you?”

The night was muggy, and it was obvious another storm was approaching.

“I’m not sure,” Mandy admitted. “I just … I feel like you’re mad at me.”

“Do you want to have our big conversation here or at dinner?”

“If we don’t do it now I’m going to have a heart attack,” Mandy said. “I keep picturing you telling me awful things.”

James tilted his head to the side, considering. “That’s how I’ve felt the past few days,” he said. “That’s exactly how I’ve been feeling.”

“Why?” Mandy was confused.

“I’m worried, baby,” James said, realizing they were going to be relegated to having the conversation now if he wanted to enjoy a nice dinner with his wife. “You seem … unsettled.”

“What are you worried about?”

“I’m worried that you’re bored with our life.” James wasn’t going to lie. They were going to hash this out, and they were going to do it now. He couldn’t go on living in constant fear. “I’m worried that you’re searching for something to plug some hole in your life. I’m worried I’m not enough for you.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Mandy sputtered.

James was taken aback. “Excuse me?”

“You’re … perfect,” Mandy said. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. You’re all I ever want. How can you possibly doubt that?”

“Then what’s the deal with this cooking class?” James asked. “Why are you so obsessed with learning how to cook instead of spending time with me?”

Mandy faltered. “I didn’t think of it that way.”

“How did you think about it?”

“I … I need to be a better wife.” Mandy lowered her eyes, embarrassed.

“What does that even mean?” James asked. “You’re the best wife in the world.”

“Really?” Mandy lifted her chin and met his probing gaze. “What do I do for you that makes me a good wife?”

“All the sex we have is a nice start,” James said, forcing a smile. When Mandy didn’t return the expression, he sobered. “Baby, cooking doesn’t make you a good wife. Do you know what makes a good wife? Listening. Loving. Laughing. Those are the things that make a good wife. You do all of those things in spades.”

“But you do everything for me,” Mandy said. “You bring all the money into the house. Heck, you bought the house and gave it to me as part of an engagement gift. You always buy me gifts. You hired a maid. You surprise me with dinner almost every night. You massage me. You hold me when I have a bad dream. You … are everything. What do I do to deserve all that?”

“You love me,” James said, reaching over so he could brush Mandy’s hair away from her face. “Baby, I don’t know what to think about this. Grady was right, though, and it’s killing me.”

“What did Grady say?” Mandy asked, narrowing her eyes. “I didn’t say anything to him.”

“He said you want to be the best at everything you do.”

“I don’t want to be the best cook,” Mandy countered. “I just want to be able to fix you a nice dinner – just one nice dinner. Is that too much to ask?”

“Mandy, if you cook me toast for dinner and then sit and talk to me while we’re eating it then it is a nice dinner,” James said. “It’s the best dinner. I don’t need pot roasts … and pasta … and potatoes. I just need you.”

Tears filled Mandy’s eyes. “I … .”

“Don’t cry, baby,” James said, reaching for her. “You don’t have to strive to be the best wife in the world. You already are. You’re my wife. You’re my heart.”

Mandy rested her head against James’ chest as he stroked her back and kissed her forehead. “I can’t help but think there’s going to be a time in our lives when I’m not enough for you.”

“That will never happen. It’s impossible,” James said.

“What if … ?”

“No.” James cupped Mandy’s chin and tipped her face up. “There are no what ifs. Not where we’re concerned. You’re always going to be everything I need. It’s you and me, baby. Forever.”

“If you feel that way about me, then how come you were so doubtful about why I was taking the cooking class?” Mandy pressed.

“Because I think we all get insecure from time to time,” he said. “When you love something as much as I love you, the idea of losing your heart can paralyze you. I don’t want you to ever doubt how much I love you. It kills me.”

“Right back at you.”

James smiled, the first real one he’d flashed in hours, and lowered his mouth to give Mandy a sensuous kiss. He pressed her tight against his chest, and when he finally pulled his lips from hers, he felt as if their world had shifted back into the right position after days of uncomfortable strife. “You’re always going to be the only woman for me.”

“What if I can never cook?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I was happy with takeout.”

“What if I want to finish the class?”

James stilled, considering the question. After a moment, he realized he was fine with it now that they’d cleared the air. “Then I’ll stand by you. If you make something gross, though, I reserve the right not to eat it.”

Mandy giggled. “Deal.”

“Good.” James kissed her again. “Now, how about some dinner?”

Mandy grinned. “I want three plates of food.”

“There’s my baby,” James said.

“Get a room!”

James shifted his attention to the spot behind Mandy, holding her in place so she couldn’t turn and see the disdainful look on Ann’s face. “Don’t look,” James said.

“I still think you guys are messing with me,” Ann said.

“Well, in that case, you’re going to have a really unhappy life,” James replied. “Not everything is about you.”

“I CAN’T
believe you reserved the round booth so we could cuddle,” Mandy said, resting her head against James’ shoulder as she sipped from her wine glass.

James dipped some bread in the hummus. “I’m not a novice.”

“I noticed,” Mandy said, the weight from the past few days absent from her diminutive shoulders. “I know this is going to sound weird, but I can’t tell you how much better I’m feeling about everything now that we’ve talked about it.”

“We should always talk about everything,” James agreed. “We keep saying it, and then we keep forgetting it. From now on, I want to know everything that goes on in your life.”

“Really?”

“I don’t care how minor you think it is,” James said.

“Well, for starters, I’m not wearing any underwear,” Mandy purred, kissing the ridge of James’ ear.

“And now we’re going to eat really fast,” James said, squirming as he imagined a few entertaining after-dinner activities they could engage in.

“I think it’s going to storm again,” Mandy said. “It’s too bad we won’t be able to use the hot tub.”

“I’ll draw you a bath. There are jets in that big tub, too.”

Mandy snickered. “Are you okay? You’re okay, right?”

“Baby, I haven’t felt this good in days,” James said. “I didn’t realize how twisted up my stomach was until we had our little talk.”

“Me, too,” Mandy said.

“Did you do anything at work today?” James asked, hoping a return to normal conversation would ease their transition back to everyday life.

“Well … actually, yes,” Mandy said. “Clint and Heidi are moving in together.”

James made a face. “Why?”

“Because they love each other,” Mandy said.

“I can see Clint falling in love with Heidi,” James said. “What does she see in him, though?”

“He’s sweet … and he dotes on her.”

“I think he still has a thing for you.”

“He does not,” Mandy scoffed.

“He does,” James said. “He may have feelings for Heidi, but if I died tomorrow, he’d be at our house trying to warm the widow’s form.”

“That is a really odd saying,” Mandy chided.

“It’s the truth.”

“Just so you know, you can’t ever die,” Mandy said. “I need to go first. If you die on me, I’ll curl up into a ball and give up on a life. Let me go first.”

“Oh, no,” James replied. “If you die before me I’m going to throw myself off of a bridge, and that’s going to be messy and gross. I need to go first. I thought we’d already agreed on that.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, that’s the way it has to be,” James said, kissing the tip of Mandy’s nose. “I’ll be nothing more than a zombie without you.”

“How about we compromise?”

James waited.

“We’ll die together.”

“Like in
The Notebook
?”

“We need a cooler movie than that to base our deaths on,” Mandy countered.

“Like what?”

“I need time to think.”

“As long as we’re not eaten by sharks, I’ll agree to whatever you want,” James said.

“I don’t want to be eaten by sharks either. I … huh.”

James shifted his attention to the direction Mandy was staring. “She did this on purpose,” he groused, glaring at Ann as she moved toward a table on the same side of the restaurant where they were sitting. “She heard me say where I was taking you and … look, here she is.”

“It looks like she’s moved her affections from you to our professor,” Mandy said, pursing her lips as she watched Professor Barnes settle on the other side of the table from Ann. “That has to be some sort of record.”

“See, women get over me quite easily,” James said. “I had a right to be worried about you getting bored with me.”

“You’re still an idiot where that’s concerned,” Mandy said. “Do you think she’s going to get graded better than me because she’s willing to sleep with him?”

“She should probably get something out of this if she’s going to put out,” James said. “Just for the record, I don’t care how much you want to win, you’re not allowed to sleep with your professor.”

“I don’t want to sleep with anyone but you,” Mandy said. “Don’t gross me out. Our food will be here any second, and I want to enjoy it. If you give me a stomachache, I’m going to be mean to you later.”

James was intrigued. “Define mean.”

“I’m going to make you rub me for an hour before I let you do anything else,” Mandy threatened. “I’ve been feeling tense. I need a massage.”

“Oh, I’m going to rub you … .”

“You are,” Mandy agreed. “You’re going to be confined to certain areas until I tell you otherwise.”

“You’re such a little despot.”

“You like it.”

“I do,” James said, rubbing his nose against Mandy’s before dropping a sweet kiss on her lips. “I like it when you get all bossy. I just wish you were wearing your garters. Did you change after work?”

“I did. I wasn’t sure how messy I would get.”

“Oh, you’re going to get messy,” James said, his grin lazy.

“You’re feeling pretty full of yourself right now, aren’t you?”

“I am,” James said. “You’re going to be feeling pretty full of me in … exactly forty-five minutes.”

“We still have to pick my car up at the college,” Mandy reminded him.

“We’ll get it tomorrow.”

“That’s completely impractical. I need my car to get to the courthouse and to class.”

“I’ll be your dirty chauffeur.”

“James … .”

“Mandy.”

Mandy sighed. “If you let me pick up my car, I’ll cut the massage down to a half hour and then I’ll rub something special of yours.”

“Oh, we’re rubbing everything tonight,” James said. “Fine. We’ll pick up your car. As payment, you have to wear a skirt with garters tomorrow. Then you have to text me dirty suggestions on every courtroom break.”

“Deal.”

“You also have to go commando.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. “Why does that get you going?”

“I have no idea,” James admitted. “I can’t help myself. I keep picturing you naked under that skirt. You look like a naughty librarian in that thing. By the time you get home I’m pretty much in a frenzy.”

“You’re like a shark.”

“Just call me Jaws.”

Mandy grinned. “I love you, Jaws.”

James kept his smile in place, but his eyes were serious as they fixed on Mandy’s beautiful face. “I love you, too.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be open to getting our food to go, would you?”

It wasn’t part of his initial plan, but the change in agenda held a lot of promise. “Sold,” he said. “We’re eating in bed, though.”

“Dinner and dessert, right?” Mandy teased.

James cupped the back of her head. “Dinner and eight desserts, baby.” He kissed her.

“Seriously, are you two in heat?” Ann was beside herself as she stared at her former boyfriend and nemesis.

James ignored her. “Come on, love of my life,” he said. “I need to be alone and naked with you.”