Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) (3 page)

Eric leaned forward, watching her carefully.
"And what was the lesson you learned?"

"Be very, very careful who you trust. Just
because somebody is good looking, that doesn't mean they are trustworthy."

He nodded, and sat back. "I've had a few
heartbreaks in my life as well. I guess we all have to learn that lesson. As
long as you haven't given up on men entirely...?"

She grinned at him. "No, not entirely."

"Good, because you are too pretty to sit on a
shelf."

"Sit on a shelf?" She laughed.

"You know what I mean," he said, looking
somewhat embarrassed.

"You said that I'm pretty. Don't you mean
cute?"

He tilted his head to stare at her. "I'm not
sure I've ever heard the word cute spoken in such a scathing tone of voice. And
no, I don't mean cute. Cute is for kids, and you are most definitely a
woman."

The butterflies started up in her stomach. Something about the look in his eyes and the depth of
his voice--it got to her.

"I'm glad you think so. I've been called cute
all my life. Nobody around me seems to get that I see it as an insult."

"Often I think that family is the last to see
us as all grown up."

"True. What else do you think we need to know
about each other?"

"I think we've only scratched the surface,
but even if we were really dating, we wouldn't know everything about each other
all at once. I think it should be okay if we discover new things as we go
along."

"That's probably right. I'll see
about--" Her cell phone rang. "Just let me see who this is."

He nodded.

She looked at her phone and then back up at him.
"I need to take this in case it's about the project. It's Frank
Grainger."

He waved a hand at her to go ahead.

"Hi Frank, what's up?"

After a minute she glanced up at Eric with a grin.
"No, Frank, I won't be able to come to dinner tonight. I have a
date."

Eric smiled at her.

"Yes, really! No, you don't know him. You
want us to come by for coffee tonight? And dessert?"

She looked at Eric again. He held out his hands
and shrugged. "I'm free tonight," he said in a low voice.

"Okay, Frank, we'll come by after the movie.
See you then." She turned the phone off. "This ought to be
interesting."

"What movie do you want to see tonight?"
he asked.

"Hmm? We don't have to go see one. I just
said that."

"Yes, we do need to see a movie because he's
sure to ask us about it. Is there a movie theater in town? I don't recall
seeing one."

"There is an old-fashioned movie theater that
was re-done a couple years ago." She didn't bother saying that it had been
Sam who'd paid for the renovation. "Or we can go to the mall where they
have several cinemas."

"An old-fashioned theater sounds interesting.
What's playing there?"

"I think the marquee said the movie is
Rear
Window
with Jimmy Stewart and--"

"Grace Kelly! I haven't seen that in ages. I
love old movies."

"I don't think I've ever seen it. I haven't
seen many old movies."

"Shall we go then? You'll love it, I
promise."

The light in Eric's eyes at the thought of seeing this
movie made her smile. "Okay, let's do it. I think they always start their
movies at eight in the evening. Do you want to pick me up?"

"Yes, please. Your car..."

"There's nothing wrong with my car."

"Oh yes there is," he muttered. "Do
you want to get something to eat first?"

"No, I'll just grab a sandwich here. I'm not
sure how late my meeting will run."

"I'm assuming this town is pretty much casual
dress for most things?"

"Yeah. People dress up for church, or to go
to Alejandro's restaurant."

"Good to know," he said. "Well,
I'll be going and leave you to your day. I think we've made a good start."

"I think so, too." She walked with him
to the door. She opened it and the next thing she knew, Eric had leaned in and
placed a quick kiss on her lips. He smiled at her as her lips tingled.

"We would have probably already done that if
we were really dating. Just getting the mood right."

"Ah, yes, of course," she said, still in
a bit of a daze. The feel of his lips on hers had been electric.

He brushed back a curl from her forehead.
"I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah. Definitely." She watched him go
down the stairs and waved when he looked up at her from his car.

She went back inside and slowly closed the door.
Leaning against it she said softly, "Wow!"

* * * *

"Betsy?"

"Yes, Frank, I'm here. What is it?"

"Guess who is bringing a date over coffee and
dessert tonight?"

"No! Really?"

"Yes, she told me herself. I thought I'd
better warn you so you could make some kind of dessert."

"Frank Grainger. I may be your wife, but you
know as well as I do that you're the better cook."

"You're right. I'll pick up some ingredients
from the store."

"Maggie with a date. Will wonders never
cease!"

Frank chuckled and hung up the phone.

* * * *

"Hello?"

"Anna, it's Betsy. Why didn't you tell me
about Maggie?"

"Tell you what about Maggie?"

"You mean you don't know? She's bringing a
date to coffee and dessert at our place tonight."

"You're kidding. Is it Willie Wilcox?"

"No, I don't think so. Frank just called me and he heard it
from her directly. He'd have mentioned if it was Willie. I think they've been dating a while."

"That minx. I only just had her over for
dinner with Willie. Granted, he was pretty boring, but why wouldn't she have
said something to me?"

"Maybe she was keeping it secret?"

"Maybe so, although I can't imagine why. Wait
till I tell Sam. He was worrying about Maggie this morning."

"Looks like we don't need to worry so much
anymore."

"Hmm. We'll see. None of us have met the guy
yet."

"True. Very true."

* * * *

Cody walked into his father's hardware store,
looking frazzled. "I need the largest wrench you have, Dad."

"Sure, right over here."

They walked to the aisle and Cody picked out a
wrench.

"Have you heard about Maggie yet?"

"What about her?"

"She has a date tonight. Told me herself.
She's bringing him over for coffee and dessert tonight."

Cody's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm
surprised. After the last two dinners we had with her I was beginning to think
she just didn't like men. She sure didn't like either of the two we presented
to her at those dinners. Who is the guy?"

Frank frowned. "I have no idea. I guess we'll
find out tonight."

"I wonder if Julia has heard about this. I'd
better give her a call."

"Yeah, you should. It doesn't do for your
wife to be out of the loop."

"You can say that again." Cody's face
brightened. "But yes, if I'm the one to pass on the news, I'm the hero
again. Good thinking."

Frank laughed and slapped Cody on the back.
"You're always her hero. I've seen how she looks at you."

"Yes, well, not when I forget to take out the
trash."

"Ah. That's different of course."

* * * *

"Lana? Come in here," Holly Grainger
called into the outer office.

Lana, her assistant, walked in.

"Have you and Marla been matchmaking again?
For Maggie?"

Lana frowned. "She's been impossible. Marla
and I have tried and tried and nobody we've found is right for her. She's a
difficult woman to match."

"Well, it looks like someone beat you to it,
because she has a date tonight. She told my father herself."

"What? She got a date on her own? I can hardly
believe that!"

"Nobody knows who the guy is yet. Maybe she
told Jason something. I'll ask him when I get home this afternoon. They've
gotten close working on the Sully Point Project together. If that man knew
something and didn't tell me..."

"Now you know he'd tell you. He's head over
heels in love with you."

Holly smiled. "It's mutual."

* * * *

While Eric waited in line at the deli, he overheard
two women talking. At first he wasn't paying attention, reading instead the
chalked menu on the wall. Then he heard the name 'Maggie' and tuned in.

"Yes, Maelynne told me herself. She overheard
Frank talking to his son Cody about it. Seems like Maggie has a secret lover,
and she's going public now. Frank hasn't met him. I heard her brother Sam is up
in arms over it."

"Well, of course he is. He's supposed to be
looking after her, him being the big brother and all. I wonder how she managed
to keep it a secret?"

Eric had to turn away and work hard not to
chuckle. Evidently, the small town gossip network was in good working
condition. It surprised him, though, to hear how they talked about Maggie, like
she was younger than he thought she was. He'd be sure to ask her age tonight.
He would bet that people naturally underestimated her because of her small size
and gamine looks. They'd be wrong in doing that, of course. He could see that
already. Maggie was a force to be reckoned with when it mattered to her. That
much he knew.

After getting a ham and swiss on rye bread, with
lots of mustard, Eric realized that he and Maggie still had a few details to
work out tonight. Their ages for one, but more important than that, they needed
to have an answer for how they met. And how long they'd been dating. Those would
be some of the first questions asked of them.

His thoughts returned to this morning, to the kiss
he'd planted on her lips when he left. He'd followed an impulse in that action
and been surprised. Kissing her--just a brief buss of the lips--had jolted him.
And those violet eyes of hers, wide open with surprise and something else,
something that made him think she wouldn't be averse to more kissing. His pull
to be with her was only intensifying. Never in his life had a woman affected
him so immediately and strongly.

He decided to head for the mall after lunch. He
wanted just the right look for tonight, and he hadn't shopped for clothes in
ages. His life had been almost completely taken up with work and then the sale
of the company for many months. Years, really, when it came down to the work.
He wasn't a big shopper, but then he'd never had the chance to be, not having
much money before now. It was still a novel experience to walk into a store and
know he could buy whatever he wanted without worry. The 1963 Lincoln
Continental had been his one big purchase--well, that and the cruise for his
parents. He'd always liked older cars. The work he'd had done on the car to
insure better gas mileage and less fuel emissions, had cost almost as much as
the car itself.

Two hours later, he decided that being rich did not
make him enjoy shopping any more than before. The mall was filled with too many
people as the holiday season loomed. Thanksgiving was only a week away. He'd
tried several stores before finding a men's store that was calmer inside. The
prices were much higher than in the other stores, which accounted for fewer customers.
Within a surprisingly short time, and with the help of a very happy salesman,
he had purchased enough to fill out his wardrobe. Bags and boxes filled the
trunk of the Lincoln. He was ready now, and excitement at the coming evening
surprised him. How long had it been since he was really excited about a person,
a woman? Maybe...never.

* * * *

Maggie dithered in front of her closet. What to
wear tonight, what to wear? It couldn't be too fancy. But she also didn't want
to look like a slob. She had tried on three different outfits so far and wasn't
happy with any of them. She shook her head at her indecision. This wasn't like
her. Her personal sense of style was something that came easily. Throw a hunk
of a man into the mix, however, and she couldn't make up her mind.

Finally she decided--soft pullover sweater in pale lavender, perfectly fitted gray pants, with short black suede boots that had two inch heels. Silver hoops in her ears, silver necklace and bracelet, and she was ready to go. Which was a good thing, she
realized, when she heard knocking at the door. She grabbed her thigh-length
black suede jacket and opened the door. And stared.

Eric stood there in black, straight-leg chinos
paired with a forest green, merino wool polo sweater. He wore a black leather
jacket over it. She reached a hand out to his chest, without thinking, to touch
the sweater. It was cozily soft. Then, realizing what she'd done, Maggie yanked
her hand back. He looked sexy, and almost dangerous. His hair was pulled back
again, and suddenly, all she wanted, was to let his hair down and run her
fingers through all that silken weight.

"Maggie?"

"Hmm?" She glanced up at his face rather
dreamily, and then snapped back to where she was, instead of the little fantasy
playing in her head. "Sorry. I was...thinking of something else."

She felt herself flushing, and knew he suspected
something when he gave her a smile.

"Is this casual dress?" he asked,
pointing to her.

"Uh, sure. Okay, maybe I dressed it up a
little bit since we'll be out in public together for the first time."

"Well, all I can say is that you look
wonderful. We'd better get going if we're going to make it there on time."

She nodded, and followed him after locking the
door. He had his hair pulled back and through a beaten silver ring, almost
barbarian-looking, which sent her imagination off again. She stumbled on the
last stair, and would have fallen, but Eric had turned to look at her and
caught her. For a moment she was pulled close to him, and then he set her on
her feet with a smile.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thanks for catching me."

"No problem."