Have Bouquet, Need Boyfriend (16 page)

Just what he wanted to hear, too, Thomas thought, as he raised his

glass. Wasn’t it? And was he attracted to her?

“So, do you have a woman in Sugar Hill?” she asked.

“No one special.” Rebecca’s face flashed into his mind, then the parade

of women with casseroles and desserts. “But there are a lot of

husband-hunting women.”

“Must be rough,” Devon said.

“Yeah, the town’s so small I treat almost every woman there.” Except for

Rebecca, who’d never seen him as a patient.

“I can’t imagine knowing my patients that well,” Devon said.

“Me, neither,” Rob added. “I barely recognize the nurses and remember my

receptionist’s name.”

“They’re just faces in the crowd,” Shawnee said.

Thomas frowned. They sounded so impersonal and detached from their

patients and work. Was that what it would be like to work in a big

medical center? Would it make him immune to the personal side of the job

and the people he treated?

On the way to her uncle Wiley’s, Rebecca passed the bookstore and was

surprised to see Gertrude’s car still parked behind. Curious as to why

the young woman wasn’t at the town celebration, she hurried inside and

found her dusting the shelves, her curly brown hair in a ponytail.

“Goodness, why are you still working?” Rebecca frowned at the sad look

on Gertrude’s face.

Gertrude’s shoulders fell. “I don’t have anything better to do.”

Rebecca’s heart tugged. Hadn’t she felt that way a hundred times this

year? She should have made it a point to befriend the woman.

“Come on with me. I’m going by Uncle Wiley’s to see who wins that truck.

Then we can stop and get a picnic dinner on the square if the weather

holds up.”

A smile burst onto Gertrude’s face and Rebecca jotted a mental note to

invite her to do things more often. It wasn’t as if her own social

calendar was booked solid.

Gertrude brushed off her jeans, her step lighter as she followed Rebecca

outside. A gust of wind swirled around them, rustling trees and

scattering dust. The air smelled crisp, heavy with the scent of

impending rain and storm clouds. If the temperature kept dropping, the

rain might turn to snow.

“It’s only a few blocks so you can ride with me,” Rebecca offered. “I’ll

drive you back for your car afterward.”

Gertrude climbed in and buckled her seat belt. “You think a lot of

people will be there?”

“I imagine so. Everyone’s talking about Uncle Wiley giving away that

pickup truck.” Rebecca steered through the downtown and turned toward

the used car lot. “And he’s filming a commercial. People will probably

show up hoping they’ll get on TV.”

“I put my name in for the giveaway,” Gertrude said, picking at her

sweater. “But I know I won’t win. I’m not very lucky.”

“You never know,” Rebecca said. “Maybe this is your lucky day.” And

maybe it would be hers, too.

Maybe Thomas would show up and they’d end up together.

A glum expression clouded Gertrude’s eyes. “If that was true, Jerry

Ruthers would have asked me out for tonight.”

Jerry? She had no idea her helper had a crush on Jerry. “Maybe he’ll be

there,” she said. “Besides, if you want him, you should pursue him.”

Wasn’t that the same advice her cousins and sister had given her about

Thomas?

Gertrude’s brown eyes lit up. “You really think so?” She rummaged

through her purse for a mirror and grabbed a tube of ruby-red lipstick,

applying it carefully, her spirits brightening.

When Rebecca saw Jerry, she would hint that Gertrude liked him. It might

be the answer for all of them.

A half hour later, she and Gertrude had watched the miniparade of old

model cars her uncle had arranged, laughed at the children having their

faces painted and the residents arguing good-naturedly over who would

win the purple truck. They also laughed at the sequins on Wiley’s orange

suit.

Dark clouds had rolled in, obliterating the dwindling sunshine and

casting shadows across the parking lot full of used-car bargains, but

the looming bad weather hadn’t deterred the crowd. Nearly everyone in

Sugar Hill had turned out. She spotted Mimi and Seth with their baby,

Hannah and Jake, and Alison and Brady, who’d just returned from their

honeymoon.

Thomas was nowhere in sight.

Rebecca fought off disappointment and loneliness as she watched her

cousins with their new husbands and their father. Wiley was boisterous

and loud and might look foolish, but the children who’d shown up loved

his corny jokes, and his daughters loved him. He didn’t seem to act

differently toward any of the girls, either.

She spotted Jerry hitching up his pants as he loped toward the cotton

candy machine.

“I’ll be right back,” she told Gertrude, who’d settled in one of the

folding chairs around a makeshift stage to listen to the

country-and-western band and watch the local doggers.

Jerry’s ruddy face sparked with a grin as she approached.

Just be short, sweet and get it over with, Rebecca silently told herself.

“Hey, Bee.” Jerry licked a hunk of cotton candy into his mouth. “I was

wondering when I’d catch up with ya.”

“Listen, Jerry, I can’t hang out with you tonight,” Rebecca said.

Jerry’s smile fell. “Got somethin’ better to do?”

She could only hope. “I’m sorry, Jerry.” She gestured toward the woman

who was oblivious to her meddling. “But Gertrude isn’t busy. She was

awfully lonely earlier.”

“Do tell.” Jerry snatched another bite of the sticky candy and shrugged.

Quickly recovering from her rejection of him, he walked toward Gertrude.

Feeling marginally better, Rebecca called to him and motioned for him to

wipe the cottony pink stuff off his cheek before he reached her.

Then she turned and saw Thomas drive up in that yellow Mustang.

What had she told Gertrude? Go after what you want. Maybe it was time

she listened to her cousins and took the advice she’d passed on to her

friend.

Thomas had finally grown tired of the business conversation at the

lounge. Then Shawnee had insisted they dance. The music had been

deafening, the smoke suffocating. But the woman he’d held in his arms

had been good-looking, available, interested and she glided across the

dance floor as if she owned it.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t stirred his interests at all.

No, he’d imagined Rebecca Hartwell in his arms with her curves pressed

up against him, and that soft silky blond hair tickling his chin. He had

tried his best to banish the image.

But as he’d driven back to Sugar Hill, an emptiness swelled inside him.

Trouble was, he couldn’t figure out why. He was on the verge of having

the life he wanted, the career he’d dreamed of forever. So, why didn’t

he feel overjoyed?

He must be suffering from exhaustion. And he was still worried about the

Lackey baby.

Then he saw Rebecca standing in the midst of the small-town celebration

with bright streamers draped around the used-car parking lot, country

music blaring in the background and the town people socializing,

laughing as their children took part in some of the games Wiley had

arranged. His mood shifted, the air growing tighter around him. Rebecca

stood out in a sea of women who had made it clear they wanted him.

But Rebecca told her grandmother she was against marriage, he reminded

himself. That was a good thing,

since he didn’t want marriage or life here; he wanted to move onto

bigger and better things.

She wove her way through the crowd toward him, and his senses spun at

the sight of her. Again she’d ditched the baggy dress and wore tight

jeans that hugged her rounded behind, and a soft violet sweater that

stretched across ample breasts that swayed gently when she walked.

“Hey, Thomas.”

“Hi.”

The wind whistled between them in the silence.

“My car’s ready,” he said to break the tension. “So I’m returning

Wiley’s Mustang.”

“Oh.”

Did she sound disappointed?

“Yeah, the Porsche looks like new. It’s at the garage in town.”

“You need a ride to pick it up?”

“I figured one of Wiley’s salespeople could give me a lift.”

Rebecca smiled. “I could drive you.” Then as if she remembered the last

ride they’d taken after she’d wrecked his car, she hesitated. “That is,

if you’re not afraid.”

Her words triggered a knot of anxiety that he felt in his stomach. He

wasn’t afraid to ride in the car with her.

But becoming more involved with her scared the bejammers out of him.

After all, she’d been on his mind all day in Atlanta, even while he’d

danced with that doctor.

Hell, he’d never been so poleaxed by a female before that he’d held one

woman while wanting another.

“Just let me make sure Gertrude has a ride home.”

Thomas nodded and followed her over to her friend. Rebecca smiled; Jerry

and Gertrude seemed to be hitting it off. In fact, Jerry had slung his

arm along the back of her folding chair, and she had leaned into him as

they swayed to a slow country tune. She tapped Gertrude and whispered an

apology.

“I’m going to give Dr. Emerson a ride to his car.”

“Something going on with you two?” Gertrude whispered.

I’m not sure. “I owe him, since I’m the one who wrecked his Porsche in

the first place. Do you think-“

“I’ll give Gertrude a lift,” Jerry offered with a wink.

Rebecca grinned. “Great.”

A flutter of nerves attacked her as Thomas followed her to her station

wagon. Of course, she sensed half the town’s single women giving her the

evil eye. She was sure they all wondered what Thomas Emerson was doing

with her.

Stop that, she ordered herself, remembering the positive talk she’d read

about in the self-help book she’d bought last week. Go after what you want.

And I want Thomas.

“H…” She paused and took a deep breath to keep from stuttering. And to

keep herself from driving like a maniac. “Hannah said you had a seminar

in Atlanta.”

He fastened his seat belt. “Yes, it was really interesting.” He filled

the next five minutes describing some of what he’d learned.

“Wow, it sounds fascinating. I read an article on stem-cell research the

other day and found it amazing.”

They talked for several minutes about the research, then he confided

about visiting the Lackey baby. “He survived the first surgery but only

time will tell about his prognosis.”

Emotions strained his voice, and she instinctively reached out and

squeezed his hand, which sent shards of sensations flitting through her.

He seemed to stiffen, though, and she pulled away, unsure he welcomed

her overture.

“Dr. Zimmerman, one of the leading doctors in fertility treatments,

spoke yesterday,” he said.

This was her moment. She should ask him now about donating sperm. Only,

after that kiss, could she settle for an impersonal donation?

“I don’t understand this trend for single women to have babies on their

own, though. It’s understandable when a spouse dies or there’s a

divorce, but to choose to bring a baby into the world without a

father…” He shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s fair to the child.”

She tightened her fingers around the steering wheel. Maybe he was right.

Maybe it wouldn’t be fair of her to have a fatherless baby. “But not

every woman finds the right man to marry,” Rebecca argued. “Or wants to

get married.”

“That’s true. What do you have against marriage, Rebecca?”

She was shocked by the question. “N-nothing, really. B-but I’m not sure

it’s for me.” What else could she say? I want to get married, Thomas,

and I think you’d make the perfect husband. I have my bride’s book

ready, now all I need is my bridegroom. “A lot

of men today have commitment problems. And look at my father. He’s been

married four times and the last two barely lasted a year.”

He twisted his mouth sideways in thought, then surprised her by changing

the conversation to the weather. It was almost as if they were

strangers. As if he had never shown up at her house that night and bared