That Runaway Summer (12 page)

He pocketed the keys to his pickup and headed for her, noticing it was taking him twice as long to close the gap as it should have.

Because, he realized, she was frozen in place.

“Is it my imagination,” he asked as he approached her, “or are you not moving?”

“I figured you might not see me if I didn’t move,” she said with a lift of her shoulders, “but I must’ve miscalculated.”

“Just a little.” He felt the corners of his mouth rise. She was wearing another of her funky outfits—a yellow minidress with a belt slung low across her hips, multi-colored beads draped over her neck, matching bracelets on her arms. “You shouldn’t have worn that if you didn’t want to be noticed.”

She looked down at herself. “Good point.”

“So why are you trying to be invisible?”

“The same reason I told you not to pick me up. People already think we’re dating without us fueling the fire by arriving together.”

He didn’t consider that prospect to be a negative. He’d take all the help he could get in his quest to change her mind about dating him.

“The party’s already in full swing.” He lightly placed a hand at her back. Her body jumped slightly but perceptibly. Yep. He was right. She did react every time he touched her. “Nobody’s going to pay us much notice.”

“Famous last words,” she muttered, but went along. When they reached the door, he punched the bell with his index finger, then bent his head close to hers. He deliberately took her hand, this time noticing a slight tremor. He was encouraged that she didn’t yank it away.

“By the way,” he said, his breath brushing her ear, “you look especially lovely in yellow.”

She met his eyes, her mouth parting but no words emerging, With her glossy black hair, green eyes and freckles, she was becoming the standard by which he measured all other women. Lately all he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss her. Her mouth was close. So close.

The door abruptly swung open, breaking the spell. Instead of one of the Bradfords, it was Penelope Pollock, wearing a white halter dress that showed off the tan she’d acquired during her second honeymoon trip to Hawaii.

“You two make such a cute couple!” she practically squealed.

Annie Whitmore was passing behind Penelope, holding a drink containing a colorful miniature umbrella. A laugh was on her lips, her husband Ryan’s arm around her.

“Look, Annie! Ryan! Didn’t I tell you Jill and Dan were dating?” Penelope beamed, her tan making her teeth seem almost blindingly white. “I knew you two were right for each other.”

Jill slanted Dan an exasperated look and jerked her hand from his. She didn’t, however, deny Penelope’s assumption. He’d like to think he was making inroads, but it was just as likely she realized disavowal would be pointless.

Penelope opened the door wide. “Come on in. You’re the last ones to arrive.”

“Hey, look who’s here,” Charlie Bradford called, coming forward to take the gift bag from Jill and bottle of wine from Dan. His wife, Teresa, was at his side, looking elegant in a summery pantsuit, her silvery-blond hair swept off her neck. Charlie had dressed for the occasion, too, forsaking the neon-orange he’d worn the other day for more subdued colors. “Teresa, you know Jill.”

“Certainly,” Teresa said pleasantly. “Jill’s the one you browbeat into submitting that proposal for you.”

“
Charmed
into submitting, dear.” Charlie’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’m not sure if you know the lucky guy with her. Dan Maguire is the vet who works with Stanley.”

“Nice to meet you, Dan.” Teresa took one of his hands in both of hers, then included Jill in her gracious smile. “I’m so glad you both could come.”

“We’re glad to be here,” Dan said before Jill could state they hadn’t come together. “Where’s the happy couple?”

“Through the house on the deck,” Charlie said. “You’ll see why Teresa and I bought this place when you get back there. Just call us the entertainers!”

The Bradford house was indeed made for entertaining. A large family room with high ceilings led to a spacious, screened-in deck complete with skylights, a whirring ceiling fan and recessed lighting. White chrysanthemums in gold vases graced tables covered in white lace. Shiny satin ribbons in white and gold had been placed in strategic places. A “Just Married” banner in matching colors hung above the venue.

Chase stood at the center of the deck with the woman who must surely be his bride. Their arms encircled each other’s waists while they held champagne glasses in opposite hands. Her dress was red and so was his shirt. That wasn’t the only thing that matched. Their wide smiles were nearly identical.

“They look so thrilled to be married,” Jill remarked.

The newlyweds, however, were far from the only happy couple present. The place was ripe with them.

There were Sara Brenneman and Michael Donahue. Sara was an attorney who stood out because of her height and the dynamic colors she favored, like the aqua dress she wore tonight. She’d married Michael, a partner in Johnny Pollock’s construction business, in a big church wedding earlier that summer.

Sara and Michael were talking to Johnny and a heavily pregnant woman with brown hair even curlier than Jill’s. The woman held a glass of what looked like ginger ale. A man of medium height with brown hair that hung to his collar absently rubbed her back.

On the other side of the deck Annie Whitmore was twirling the umbrella in her drink and laughing uproariously at something her husband, Ryan, said. Ryan was the family physician who’d given Dan his last physical.

“I feel like we’ve stepped into
The Twilight Zone,
” Jill said in a voice soft enough that only Dan could hear. “We’re the only people here who aren’t part of a couple.”

“Dan! Jill!” Penelope motioned them over to the kitchen adjacent to the family room, where she was filling a wineglass with ruby liquid. “Would you like me to pour you some wine?”

“Thanks, but I’ll take a beer.” Dan withdrew a bottle from the cooler in the corner of the kitchen and popped the top.

“I’d love some wine,” Jill said. “When did you and Johnny get back from Hawaii, Penelope?”

“Last night. I promise to bore you later with details of our trip, but first I want to know when this happened.” Penelope used her index finger to point back and forth from Jill to Dan.

Jill spoke first. “I hate to disappoint you, Penelope, but we didn’t come together.”

“Johnny and I used to make plans to meet up, too. Sometimes we’d pretend we were strangers just to spice things up. I recommend it.” Penelope’s eyes lit up and she waved. “Oh, my gosh. Laurie Grieb looks like she’s going to have that baby any day. Isn’t it cute how Kenny’s hovering over her?”

She bustled off in the direction of the expectant couple, who Dan now knew were the Griebs. Soft classical music played in the background, but Dan still heard Jill sigh.

“I’m never going to get through to her that we aren’t an item, am I?” Jill asked. “Highly doubtful.”

“Then I guess we might as well go congratulate Chase and Kelly together.”

There was nothing he’d like better. “I’ve never met Kelly.”

“You’ll like her.” Jill gestured to the other woman with her wineglass. “Everybody does. Did you hear how they met?” At Dan’s shake of the head, she continued, “It’s a wild story. Kelly was falsely accused of kidnapping a baby and jumped bail to clear her name. Her trail led her to Indigo Springs.”

“I heard something about that,” Dan said. “Didn’t Chase help her find the real kidnapper and set things right with the authorities?”

“He did. And now they’re married and the parents of a little boy they adore,” Jill said. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you to Kelly.”

The new bride had girl-next-door good looks and a sweetness that emanated from her. She greeted Dan warmly, then turned to Jill. “It’s so nice to see you.”

“It’s nice to see you married.” Jill took the other woman’s left hand. A white-gold wedding band complemented a diamond engagement ring. “You two are great at keeping a secret.”

“We eloped because we didn’t want anybody to make a fuss over us.” She cut her eyes at her husband. “I know people think getting married in Las Vegas is corny, but it wasn’t like that at all. Elvis wasn’t anywhere around, and we were in a gazebo covered with these beautiful flowers beside this amazing fountain. It was the most romantic moment of my life.”

“Amen to that.” Chase looked like his father. He had the same tall, lean build and thick hair, although his was brown instead of gray. “We didn’t get the message across to my dad about not making a fuss, though.”

“Teresa was actually the one who did the planning,” Kelly said, then directed her next comments to Dan. “She and Chase’s late mother were best friends. She’s loved Chase like he was her own son for a long time.”

“She loves Toby like a grandson, too,” Chase said.

“Speaking of Toby,” Jill said, “thanks for letting Chris be there while Lindsey babysits.”

“The more kids who are around, the happier Toby is,” Kelly said. “And Chris seems like a very nice boy.”

“Lindsey said you bought him some goats, Dan.” Chase looked dubious. “Did I hear her right?”

“I only bought him one goat. We found the other,” Dan said, then related the entire story.

“You are such a good guy to do that,” Kelly exclaimed. “No wonder you won Jill over!”

“We’re not—” Jill began.

“Attention, everyone!” Charlie’s booming voice drowned out all the other noise on the deck. “It’s time to cut the cake.”

Teresa held the French doors to the deck open for Charlie as he wheeled in a small table containing a three-tiered cake decorated with alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla frosting.

“It’s beautiful!” Kelly cried, eagerly taking the knife Teresa held out to her. Chase put his hand over hers and they both sliced through the bottom layer of the cake.

Charlie launched into an off-key rendition of the song “Sugar, Sugar,” his voice cracking on the “honey, honey” line. Soon everyone joined in, most of them humming because they weren’t sure of the lyrics.

“We love you guys,” Kelly said.

“But we’re still glad we eloped.” Chase kissed Kelly lingeringly on the lips, then addressed his friends. “No offense, but it was kind of wonderful having my beautiful wife all to myself.”

Jill blinked a few times, and Dan realized her eyes were dewy. He took her hand and squeezed it. He noticed some of the people in the room, Penelope most notably, looking at them, smiling and nodding.

Jill was right. She’d never be able to convincingly deny they weren’t a couple after tonight.

He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t happy about that.

Kenny had brought out the guitar as a surprise for the newly married couple, singing a truly beautiful arrangement of “Forever and for Always,” which had been playing in the chapel when Chase and Kelly got married.

One request had led to another until the hosts and all of their guests were listening to Kenny put on a show. Jill had heard he’d once been a hard-drinking regular at the Blue Haven. Tonight, however, he’d passed up alcohol entirely in solidarity with his pregnant wife.

“Incredible,” Dan agreed.

His chair was next to Jill’s, his arm around her shoulders, his fingers playing with the short hairs at her nape. Laurie looked over at them and smiled, her eyes softening. Up to this point Laurie had been one of the only people at the party who’d yet to mistake them for a couple.

Jill could understand the confusion.

Dan had barely left her side. She’d noticed before that he was a toucher. He’d outdone himself tonight, putting his arm around her shoulders, touching her hair, stroking her cheek.

No wonder their friends were getting the wrong idea.

The last strains of the song faded away. There were a few seconds of silence, followed by applause. Laurie put her fingers in the sides of her mouth and whistled.

“Do you know ‘Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover’?” Charlie shouted out.

“May I remind you this is a wedding reception, dear,” Teresa told her husband gently.

“Good point,” Charlie conceded.

“Kenny needs a break anyway,” Laurie said, laughing. “And I need some more of that delicious cake. Everyone knows a pregnant woman can eat as much as she likes.”

“Hear, hear!” Johnny Pollock said. “I don’t have an excuse, but I want some more, too.”

“I call dibs on a chocolate piece,” Kenny added.

A small contingent headed for the kitchen. Dan didn’t move, his hand lightly caressing Jill’s shoulder. “Can I get you another piece of cake?” he asked.

Spoken exactly like a boyfriend.

Enough, she thought, was enough.

“No, thanks,” she said. “You can come with me.”

She sprang to her feet, heading into the house before any of the other guests could waylay her. Dan was slow to follow, so she doubled back and grabbed his hand.

“Where are we going?” he asked when they reached the family room.

She explored the possibilities. She spied a closed door near the kitchen and opened it, dragging him inside with her. The small room with the tiled floor smelled mountain fresh. A top-loading washing machine and a front-loading dryer hugged one wall. There was barely enough space left over for the two of them.

Dan balanced a hand on the top of the washing machine and smiled down at her. “Now’s not the best time to do laundry.”

She wasn’t going to think about how charmingly one corner of his mouth lifted when he smiled. “We need to talk,” she said.

“Here?” He reached out a hand and caressed her cheek.

“Here’s perfect.” She ignored the shivery sensation where his fingers touched her skin. “I needed to get you somewhere private to tell you to stop touching me.”

He grinned. “Usually that works the other way around.”

“You’re still doing it.”

His fingers had moved to her collarbone, absently rubbing over her skin. “What am I doing?”

“Touching me. Nobody will ever believe we’re not a couple if you keep that up.”

He straightened, tipped her chin so she was looking at him and ran his fingertips over her lips. “Then why are you letting me?”

“Because…” Her voice trailed off. She knew there was a reason. She was just having a hard time coming up with it.

“Don’t say it’s the wine,” he said. “I’ve been paying attention and you only had one glass all night.”

It was all she ever drank. She didn’t like not having her wits about her.

“It’s not the wine,” she said. “It’s because I know you don’t mean anything by it. You’re one of those people who are always touching other people.”

“No, I’m not.” His gaze locked with hers. “You’re the only person I’m always touching.”

“Because you and I are friends.” Her voice trembled.

“Because I want to be more than your friend,” he said.

“But we agreed—”

“I didn’t agree to anything,” he interrupted, his eyes still on hers. “My feelings haven’t changed. I want to see where this attraction we have for each other leads.”

Denying she was attracted to him would be fruitless. Even if she hadn’t already admitted as much, he might be able to tell that goose bumps had popped up on her skin where he’d touched her.

“We’ve already been over this,” she said in a soft, weak voice. “I’m not staying in Indigo Springs.”

“The more I think about that, the less I view it as a problem,” Dan said. “I’m not looking for anything long-term. An uncomplicated relationship would suit me just fine.”

“But not me!”

“Why not?” One of his hands ran down her arm and wound around her hand. His other cupped her cheek. “If you’re planning to leave town, you’re not in the market for anything serious either. We already like each other. We’re already spending a lot of time together. Why not take the next step?”

She had the strong feeling that something in his logic was seriously flawed, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

She said the first thing that popped into her mind. “You just view me as a challenge because I don’t want to date you.”

“You know me better than that.” He was right. She did. Dan had far too much integrity to chase a woman for the sole purpose of determining whether he could catch her. “Besides, you do want to date me.”

“Is that right?”

His hands moved to her waist. Before she could guess his intentions, he hoisted her onto the washing machine so that their height difference was minimized.

“That’s right.” His eyes moved over her mouth. She felt her heartbeat speed up. He took a step forward so her legs hung on either side of him, with their upper bodies almost touching. “You want to kiss me, too.”

She started to deny it, then realized here was a chance to tell the truth. “So what if I do?”

He grinned. “So let’s stop denying what we both want.”

“I want—” she was touching him, too, her hands running over his hard chest “—to keep things casual.”

He stared into her eyes. “Then we’ll keep things casual.”

They moved forward at the same time, their mouths coming together hungrily. She’d kissed him only twice, but both times had been so memorable that she knew exactly how to slant her head and open her mouth to get the most out of the experience. She held his head in place, trying to get closer, wishing they were skin to skin.

She felt as though she couldn’t get enough of him. Not of his scent, those hard lips that instantly softened upon contact or the passion that could flare between them so quickly.

On the heels of that thought came a crazier one—that she’d never get enough of him.

Through the haze of her senses, she heard an abrupt sound she probably should have been able to identify.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” The declaration was loud and unexpected and gave a strong clue that the sound had been a door opening. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Jill reluctantly turned away from Dan’s mouth and toward the door that now stood ajar. Sara Brenneman stood stock-still at the entrance to the laundry room, her gaze dipping to Dan’s hand, which was on Jill’s left breast.

“I didn’t know anyone was in here.” Sara was usually the epitome of cool, but she was almost stammering. “I thought this was the restroom.”

Without another word, Sara closed the door.

Jill stared at Dan, then leaned her forehead weakly against his. She could hear his heart beating, or was that hers?

“We might as well give in and start dating,” she said, her voice coming in fits and starts, “because our deniability is shot.”