Only You (8 page)

He smiled politely as they stood in line outside the movie theater, waiting for the ticket booth to open. She’d phoned again and asked him to go with her, and at the time, he hadn’t been able to think of one reason why he shouldn’t. He’d actually been embarrassed that he hadn’t called her instead of the other way around. He’d been thinking of calling but hadn’t worked up the energy to pick up the phone. Now he realized he’d made a mistake. He should have said no. But he liked Ellie, and he thought he should, at the very least, try to make it a pleasant evening for her.

With her blonde ponytail and freckles, Ellie looked like the girl next door. Life would be so much easier if he were attracted to her. She was honest, didn’t have any kind of agenda that he could detect, and she had this easy way about her. When he was around her, he felt relaxed. Kind of like he’d feel with a sister—if he had a sister. There was absolutely no spark between them, at least for him. He hoped he hadn’t given her the wrong idea by agreeing to go to the movies together.

He flipped up the collar of his suit jacket. Spring wasn’t warming up as quickly as he’d like. “I used to go to the movies by myself when I was in university.”

“I went once or twice in the middle of the afternoon alone.” She wrinkled her nose. “It felt so decadent to watch a movie in the middle of the day.”

“Did you go to university?” It was amazing how little he knew about Ellie, or most of the people here. He’d really had his head stuck in the sand for the last three years.

“No.” Ellie’s face closed up. “I had plans to go, but they changed, and I never got the chance.”

Someone farther up the line hooted with laughter.
Maggie
.
Great.
He turned to face the back of the line, as if checking for someone. He refused to look toward that laugh to see who she had in tow this evening. He was ashamed of himself, because no matter what he tried, he couldn’t get his feelings under control when it came to Maggie.

He’d tried ignoring her, or the fact of her. When she’d stubbornly remained on his mind, he’d gone in the other direction and had fantasized about what it would be like to be with her, not just physically, but emotionally, too. But that depressed him so much he had to stop. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to make himself vulnerable like that again. So that left work as a distraction, and he’d thrown himself into it with a vengeance.

He slipped his arm around Ellie’s shoulders, more to remind himself who he was here with than as a sign of affection. “Tell me what you’ve been up to lately.” Thank God, the ticket booth had opened and the line started to move forward.

Ellie snuggled into his side and wrapped an arm around his waist. Uh, oh. He was definitely giving off the wrong signals here. How was he going to gracefully get through this date without hurting her feelings?

Without looking, Maggie knew JD was standing behind her in the line for the movies. She didn’t understand how she knew, but every time the man came within her orbit, her body lit up like a Fourth of July fireworks display. Damn him. He’d ruined her for anyone else.

She’d dated two men this week alone and one last week, and she couldn’t imagine going to bed with any of them. She’d lost her chance to procreate this cycle, although her timing could be off. She’d started spotting when she’d thought she should be ovulating. She’d have to wait for a new cycle to start and get it right this time. So far, Clay seemed like a promising prospect. Why did JD have to show up tonight? Instead of concentrating on the potential father of her child, all she could think about was JD.

And her.

Together.

It wasn’t fair.

She knew the answer to her problem was to leave and find a donor elsewhere. But she’d promised Claire she’d stay, and she’d never let her friend down. In her opinion, Ethan had pushed Claire beyond any reasonable boundaries, and he’d better come home soon or let her go. Meanwhile, she’d proposed a girls’ weekend away in Salt Lake City. Shopping, spas and a show or two. Claire hadn’t been as enthusiastic as Maggie had hoped, but she was working on her.

Then she and Sammie had almost gotten into a fight about Sammie’s refusal to leave the ranch for even a couple days. So what if Dave was busier than usual? He’d survived without Sammie for years. They weren’t even paying her for all the work she did.

“Sorry about the long wait,” Clay said. “The line should move pretty fast now.”

“It’s not your fault they’re late opening. The show’s probably worth waiting to see.”

“I hope so.”

Maggie frowned. “I thought you said you’d been looking forward to seeing it for ages. What’s the name of the movie?”

“Umm . . .” He peered toward the ticket booth. “
Tiger Eyes.
It’s about a guy who goes to Africa.”

“Clay.” She poked him in the side. “You don’t even know the name of the movie.”

He grinned sheepishly. “Someone told me it was a good movie. I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a while, Maggie. But Ellie told me she’d heard that you’re always surrounded by guys. I thought she meant JD. I thought maybe you two had something going on. But then Ellie told me she and JD were dating, and I figured I’d gotten it wrong. About you and JD, I mean.”

JD and Ellie? Really? It hadn’t taken the stinker long to put their encounter behind him. Not that she and JD had ever gone on a date. They hadn’t made any promises. Obviously. Or she wouldn’t be standing here right now with Clay. Still . . . it stung to know JD had moved on so quickly.

She slid her arm through Clay’s and smiled at him. “JD doesn’t have what I’m looking for.”

But imagine if he did.

Grateful that the line started moving forward at a brisk pace, she gave Clay her full attention. Guilt pricked at her as she gently extracted information about his background and his family. Reassured that they sounded like a normal, healthy family, she admitted to herself that Clay was an excellent contender for her donor plan. The problem was . . . well, one of the problems was, like JD, he was a nice man. She needed a playboy; someone who wouldn’t remember her name the next morning.

She flinched inwardly. She could handle a one-night stand. That’s essentially what she and JD had shared. So what if the experience had been end-of-the-world intense? That she felt as though he had somehow branded her? How primitive was that? But it was just one incident and would fade.

Eventually.

“Here come JD and Ellie,” Clay murmured in her ear as they finally entered the theater.

They turned as one, and both unenthusiastically waved at the couple approaching them. JD looked as happy to see Maggie as she was to see him. Ellie had wrapped herself around JD’s waist. She looked like an appendage growing out of his side.

Aw, hell. The green-eyed bitch had woken and unsheathed her claws. Maggie sighed. Visiting Claire and Sammie and seducing a cowboy was supposed to be fun. Where had she gone wrong?

“Hey, you two. Don’t you look cute together.” Ellie’s voice had a sharp pitch to it.

With a sinking heart, Maggie wondered if Ellie had waited forever to go out with JD, and now that she had him, she felt like she had a tiger by the tail. He was all man, and right now he was doing his silent, brooding thing. The man was a definite mood killer.

A happy, local gal, Ellie was the steady kind of woman JD needed in his life. Someone at home on a ranch. Lord knew Maggie had never belonged anywhere. She’d given up trying years ago. Marrying Dominic had been a last-ditch effort, and look what a miserable failure she’d made of that.

“Ellie. JD.” Clay nodded to both of them.

“Which movie are you going to?” Ellie asked.

“The African one,” Clay said.

“So are we!”

Maggie winced at Ellie’s enthusiastic tone. As though there were more than two movies to choose from. As she braced herself for what she knew was coming next, Maggie kissed her mildly entertaining evening good-bye.

“We might as well sit together.” Ellie smiled so hard that Maggie wondered if her cheeks would crack.

God, she hated being a bitch.

She needed to change tactics. No more cowboys. When she went to the city with the girls for their weekend away, she’d take a good look around. It couldn’t be all that hard to find a healthy, willing man to father her child.

“I’ll take the aisle seat,” Maggie said as all four stopped at an empty row of seats. She suspected Ellie was the kind of person who chatted during a movie, and she was damned if she would sit beside JD and have him cast his gloomy outlook over her evening.

“No.” Sweet little Ellie got a stubborn look on her face. “I need the outside seat. I, uh, I get nervous in crowds.”

Maggie raised her eyebrows as she looked around the half-empty theater. Realizing Clay had already started into the row, she followed without comment. Sitting beside JD in the dark was exactly what she’d been hoping to avoid. She eyed the row behind them and even leaned toward it, until JD yanked on her jacket sleeve and pulled her back.

“Sit down and behave,” he growled in her ear.

She slumped into her seat, made a big production of getting comfortable and leaned as far away from JD as she could get. Which brought her right up against Clay. He smiled and slid his arm along the back of her seat.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

She made herself smile back. It wasn’t Clay’s fault he wasn’t JD. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

She was painfully aware of JD and Ellie chatting easily beside her. Ellie had picked up JD’s big hand and was playing with his fingers.

“What else do you do for fun around here?”

“Hmmm?” Clay jerked his attention away from JD and Ellie.

“Fun. What do you do for fun?” He had a crush on Ellie? Really? He kept glancing toward the other woman as if he couldn’t help himself. Why had Clay bothered to ask her out? Maggie sighed. She might as well quit while she was ahead and go home now.

“I have a ranch, as well as my practice,” Clay said. “I don’t really have much time for fun.”

Ellie leaned forward. “Most folks around here like working. A lot of us grew up on ranches. What do you do for work ?”

When all three looked at her with curious expressions, she scrunched down in her seat. “I’m part-owner of an art gallery in San Francisco.”

She knew how that sounded to them. Like she was a spoiled woman, playing at work. She had a degree in fine arts and had worked long, endless hours for several years to make the small gallery a success. Now that it had gained a reputation for featuring new and upcoming artists, she’d decided it was time to take a step back and do something different. Like have a baby.

“I always thought a business venture like that was much more difficult than it looked,” JD said.

Maggie could have kissed him for being so kind.

She sat up straighter. “Yes, we’ve been in business for over ten years. That’s considered a success in the art world.”

“Good for you,” Clay said, with a hint of condescension in his voice. Maggie was reminded of her parents’ reaction to her announcement of her career choice. They hadn’t been enthusiastic, but owning a gallery was an acceptable choice for a wealthy, young lady. Not as acceptable as being a lawyer, say, or a doctor. They didn’t care that she loved running the gallery and made a good living from it.

“Who’s we?” JD asked.

“You mean who do I work with?”

“Yes.”

“There are three owners. Me, Lily Atkins, and a local artist, Ed Whitney.”

JD frowned. “Why does his name sound familiar?”

“He’s quite well known. He creates intricate papier-mâché sculptures of animals. They’re beautiful.”

JD snapped his fingers. “Right. One of my clients was wild about his work. He commissioned Whitney to create a giraffe for the atrium of his house. It was fantastic. And you know him? Ed Whitney?”

“We went to college together. Even shared a house for a while.”

JD’s smile slipped off his face. “Of course.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“Excuse me,” Clay said in a mild voice. “The movie’s about to start.”

She’d forgotten about Clay and Ellie. To make up for her slip, she slid her hand into Clay’s and left it there. He was the one she should be concentrating on. JD could just . . . go ride a horse. Whatever. Did he think she slept with every man she knew?

It was interesting, though, that someone he’d designed a house for had bought one of Ed’s sculptures. She’d love to see more examples of JD’s work. He must have a portfolio. Would he show it to her if she asked? She slid her gaze in his direction. He’d managed to extricate himself from Ellie and had crossed his arms across his chest.

Without warning, he swiveled his head and stared at her. “Don’t,” he whispered.

Impulsively, she stuck her tongue out at him and sank further into her seat, thinking of all sorts of lovely curse words. What exactly was his problem? Okay, so they’d slept together, and she supposed she’d taken advantage of him. At least she’d confessed and apologized. What more did he want? The moon?