Deception (8 page)

“Aren’t we going out?”

“Yeah, to Bridges. It isn’t a fancy place, but if you want to dress up I’m game.”

Maura smiled. “Let’s dress up.”

Bailey tossed her head indicating that Maura should follow her into Parker’s bedroom. “I think they’re in the pink bag.” Maura watched as Bailey rummaged through the bag. Looking around she saw a lot of bags and boxes that belonged to Bailey. After the kidney transplant, Parker had purchased a small home to share with Bailey.

Bailey had the contents of the bag emptied. “Hmm, I think maybe they’re in the blue bag.”

“Bailey, why haven’t the two of you moved into the house Parker bought?”

Bailey sighed and stopped digging. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t.”

Maura nodded. “Are you scared?”

“Yeah, I guess I am. We fit together well here in this home, but there are a lot of distractions and we don’t have to do anything for ourselves. I’m afraid that once we’re alone together for such long periods of time we might not like each other.” She shrugged. “Stupid I know, but I’m not used to entertaining a man.”

“You don’t have to entertain him, Bails. You just have to exist in the same space. You’ll do your thing, he’ll do his, and then you’ll fall into a rhythm.”

“Really? It’s that easy?”

“It is. Even with the difficult ones. Trust me. And Parker seems anything but difficult.”

“No, he’s pretty easy going.”

“Bails?” Parker’s voice came from the en suite bathroom. “Somebody is really excited to see you.” The door to the bathroom opened and out walked Parker in all of his naked glory with a full-on erection.

Maura jumped up and squealed. “Oh, my God!” She covered her eyes and ran from the room.

In her haste she physically ran into Julian in the hallway. Bailey came running down the hall with the heels in her hands.

“What’s wrong, Maura? You’re all flushed.”

“Nothing’s wrong with
her
. Your brother on the other hand has exposed himself twice to my sister. Sorry, Maura.”

“He did what?” Julian demanded.

Maura chewed her lip nervously and took the shoes. “Once at our house I walked in on Bailey and Julian having intercourse and then just now Parker sort of . . . well, he had a . . .”

“He came out of the bathroom stark naked in full boner mode.”

“Thank you, Bailey.” Maura said.

Maura turned and made her way to her room.

Julian laughed deeply behind her.

In the room provided for her by the ever-gracious Davids, Maura looked into the mirror attached to the dresser. She was flushed so she touched up her makeup, and then put on the set of gold stud earrings that had belonged to her grandmama. A heavy knock at her door startled her and she jerked, banging her elbow on the hardwood of the dresser. Rubbing out the pain she walked to the door and opened it.

“Oh, Hello.” Everett stood like a grand oak, hands clasped behind his back.

“Hi again. I was hoping I could talk to you about Fiona.”

“Of course, please come in.” Maura smiled as she shut the door. All these David boys were absolutely clueless when it came to women.

Everett sat at the writing desk and Maura took the corner of the bed since it was the only other seating surface. He looked sharp in a suit jacket and matching slacks. Maura thought he always looked so nice.

“So what’s on your mind?”

“Fiona will not go on a date with me.”

Hmm, Fiona had confided in Maura so she was aware of the over-the-top tactics Everett had been employing. “Let me ask you something, Everett. Have you ever taken a woman out on a date before?”

“I took Shelby Peterson to the senior prom.”

“That sounds very nice. Anything since then?”

He leaned back in the window seat and stretched his legs before him, crossing them at the ankle. “Well let me think . . . I work a lot so I usually just go out with the women I work with. We get dinner or unwind at the bar. Eventually they follow me home, but I don’t think those excursions would be classified as dates per se.”

“It’s okay. I only ask because if you haven’t actually taken a woman on a date, or haven’t dated very much, then you’re probably overdoing it. Also, Fiona’s pretty savvy—your intentions toward her will have to be sincere or she’ll never take you up on your offer to date.”

Everett frowned. “My intentions are honest. Why does everybody keep saying that?”

He was not happy. Maura raised her hands in surrender. “I’m only trying to help, Everett. Why don’t you tell me about these dates you’ve asked her on?”

“I’ve asked her to come with me to Boston to try the best lobster roll known to man. I’ve asked her to the New York Broadway production of
Phantom of the Opera
, I asked her to accompany me to a one-thousand-dollar-a-plate charity dinner hosted by the firm I work for—”

“Anything local?”

“You mean in Baton Rouge?”

“Sure.”

“Like what?”

Maura fastened her watch to her wrist while she spoke. “I wouldn’t know, Everett. This is your hometown. Maybe something in New Orleans.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Like a bar?”

“Or a jazz club.”

“Yeah, I guess I could do that.”

“You know what you should do, Everett . . . You should invite her to go eat this gumbo I’ve heard way too much about.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to take a girl that I like to dinner with all of my brothers and sisters and my parents.”

“Fiona likes large families. People that don’t have them generally do. I’m telling you, she’d love it.”

Everett tilted his head at her, as if pondering her suggestion, and then he stood. “Thank you for your time.” His hand touched her elbow. “You’re beautiful in that green, by the way.”

She was left speechless. Everett David was definitely a charmer.

***

Maura was losing it. She heard
Ride of the Valkyries
playing in her head. But no, there it was again, playing for a second time. She walked out into the hallway and found Julian. “That’ll be Max. Six-thirty. A little eager for my taste, but it’s your call.”

“Did I hear
Ride of the Valkyries
playing?

“You did. Dad must have switched on his custom doorbell. It also cycles through
Rodeo Hoedown
and
Beethoven’s Fifth
even though I’ve told him Beethoven’s work doesn’t belong with those others.”

“I’m glad you confirmed it. I thought I was losing my mind.”

“Maura, Max is here!” Ari shouted from downstairs.

Everyone had been briefed by Julian. The rest of the family was prepared to act as if nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. The big aha moment would come during Max and Maura’s departure. Energy sizzled through Maura’s veins in anticipation.

“I guess I better head down,” she whispered at Julian.

“I’ll escort you.” His hand on the small of her back sent her reeling. “You look beautiful in that dress and extremely tall in those shoes.”

“I thought it would be fun to dress up.” She clasped her hand over the stair rail to guide her on the way down.

“I’m glad you did. I’ll enjoy the view all night.”

“I think you look very nice tonight as well.” He’d dressed in dark gray slacks and a pink tailored dress shirt. She’d never seen him in anything but a Henley or a T-shirt.

“Can’t have Everett and Max outdoing me.” He winked at her.

They found Max sitting in the family room. He’d helped himself to a drink from the bar—whiskey, Maura guessed.

“Hello, Maura. Can I fix you a drink?” Max asked.

“No, thank you.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I have one.”

“Not at all.”

“Come, sit with me.” He’d either not yet noticed Julian’s presence or he was ignoring him. Max pulled Maura to the couch.

“So, Emily Brontë.”

“Yes. Emily Brontë.”

“Her work wasn’t well received during her time. Guess you could say that about most of the female classic authors. The work is highly feminist, wouldn’t you say?”

He was breaking the ice with shoptalk—he was smooth she’d give him that. “Her work crosses multiple barriers. Feminism is certainly one, but she also touches on societal factions determined by class standing and education.”

“You’re amazing. Your project is original and intuitive. I don’t need to tell you how difficult it is to obtain a research grant for British literature, or any other literature for that matter. On top of that your grant is furthering student research involvement as you’ve provided a graduate education for four students. You’ve done quite well in your first year.”

Maura squirmed. She had to tell him the steam behind the grant belonged to her ex-husband and his generosity did not come without strings attached. “Dr. David I—”

“Please call me Max.”

His smooth voice filtered through the air. He was as handsome as the other Davids with his angular facial features and thick brown hair in its stylish bedhead coif. The cuffs of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows and Maura could see thick veins ran the length of his arms. “But I need to speak with you about a work-related issue.”

“Yes, but I’m still Max.” He smiled as his eyes fixed on her chest.

She ignored his deep silken voice. “About the grant . . . the money comes from—”

“Ahoy mate, don’t mind if I do.” Julian sailed through the room, stopping at the bar to pour himself a whiskey. “Maura, would you like a glass of wine?”

“That would be wonderful Julian, thank you.”

Max frowned. “I see you decided to come in instead of eavesdrop by the door.”

“That’s right, Maxipad. I’m sure by now you’re boring my houseguest to tears.” Julian handed Maura a glass of red wine. She felt her face deepening in color and wondered if she matched the shade of red in the wine. Julian pressed buttons and the music of Van Morrison filtered from overhead speakers. He took up the space on the unoccupied side of the couch so that an extremely handsome and testosterone-driven David flanked her on both sides. The air sizzled with tension.

“You know Maura, if this living situation has you questioning your sanity”—Max spoke over the music—“I’ve got plenty of room at my place, a four-bedroom Mediterranean-style villa with a beach entry pool.”

“That’s very generous of you Max, but Julian and his family have been quite gracious to me and I’ve enjoyed it here immensely.” Maura sipped her wine.

Everett sauntered in with an expectant look on his face. “Hey all, what’s up?”

Julian shrugged. “Maxipad and his Mediterranean villa just struck out.”

Everett eyed the three of them curiously. “Maura, may I speak with you?” She moved to get up, but a hand on each of her arms stopped her in her tracks. One warm hand belonged to Max, and the other strong hand to Julian. She looked from one to the other.

“You can speak to her here.”

Maura sighed. “Excuse me gentlemen, please let me up. If Everett had wanted his words to be public he wouldn’t have asked to speak in private. Their hands fell away and Maura pulled Everett into the hallway.

“What was that all about?”

Maura shook her head. “I have no idea.” Everett laughed.

“I just wanted to let you know that I invited Fiona to dinner and she said yes.”

The look of accomplishment on his face spoke volumes. “That’s great, Everett. I know you’re glad.”

“Is there anything I should be doing?”

The David men were anything but normal and having spent the last few weeks with them and their antics finally got the best of her and she began to laugh uncontrollably. The look on Everett’s face was sheer confusion and maybe a little hurt. He started to walk away, but she couldn’t speak through the laughter and the tears in her eyes so Maura clutched his shoulder. She willed herself to stop laughing. All it took was the mental image of Alan’s face.

“Everett, I apologize. It’s just that I’ve never met men as clueless as the David clan. I mean you are around actual women. It’s not rocket science. Just be yourself. Stop trying to impress Fiona with your big city venues and your knowledge of places other than Louisiana and just be a normal guy.”

He turned and walked away. “Everett?” He wouldn’t look back at her. She guessed she’d hurt his feelings but it had to be said. His pursuing of Fiona bordered on the ridiculous.

By a quarter to seven Max loitered in the hallway. “Shall we?” One chestnut brow arched comically.

“Sure, I’m ready for some gumbo.” Maura couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as Julian approached. Placing his index fingers in his mouth, he produced the loudest whistle she’d ever witnessed. A few moments later Davids poured from every downstairs room and the upper level, where she spotted Bailey descending the stairs on Parker’s arm. Glancing at Max, Maura saw his mouth agape.

The front door opened and Fiona’s pixie-like head popped in. “Hey.” When she saw all eyes were on her she opened the door fully and entered. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. “I was invited to a family dinner at Bridges. I hear the gumbo is to die for.”

“
Family dinner
?” Max questioned.

“I hope you don’t mind. When I mentioned you’d invited me to taste Louisiana’s best gumbo they all kind of wanted to join us.” Maura shrugged.

“You know how I love a good cup of gumbo.” Julian said.

“Hmm. Do you now?” Max grumbled. “Well played, Julia.”

Julian placed his hand on Max’s shoulder. “Suck it up, Maxipad.”

“Oh, I intend to.”

During dinner Max and Julian continued to see who could trump the other using sarcastic wit and even more immature name calling. They’d sat Maura between them and she wondered if there was something deeper driving their competitiveness.

In the din that seemed to accompany the David family wherever they went, Fiona got Maura’s attention by throwing a napkin at her face. “By the way, I stopped by your office earlier to return that dress you let me borrow and there was a handsome and charming, impeccably dressed man looking for you.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know, but he said he was your husband and when I started laughing he got a little annoyed.”

The noise quieted at once. She’d thought it wasn’t possible, but in this restaurant with tile floors, clanking dinnerware, and ceaseless chatter Maura could hear her pulse throbbing in her ears as her blood pressure shot up.