The Marriage Charm (Bliss County 2) (9 page)

They’d separated once before, which had been his choice. He’d changed his mind on that score.

Spence explained it all to Harley while he ate a double portion of fried chicken.

CHAPTER FIVE

M
ELODY WAS THINKING
of starting a club for the romantically challenged. She’d be the president, treasurer and secretary, all rolled into one. As the founding and probably only member, she might even award herself a fancy plaque or a trophy, just for the hell of it.

Thoroughly unamused by the prospect, she pulled her car into the driveway and parked, briefly resting her forehead on the steering wheel.

The question of the hour was whether phenomenal sex was a fair substitute for common sense.

The jury was going to be out on that one for a while. All men, and the verdict might be yes, but then again, she was proof that a few other women might vote that way, too.

Melody walked through the door to see all three cats on the couch in their classic sphinx pose, paws forward, heads lifted as they watched her come in. She dropped her purse on the floor—she really needed to clean it out. She hated to admit Spence was right, but it had accumulated more than one human being should lug around. “So I’m an idiot,” she told the cats. “Don’t rub it in.”

The consensus was that Ralph, Waldo and Emerson agreed with this assessment. She hurried to the bathroom, throwing off her clothes on the way. Maybe a shower would clear her head. She’d just spent an extremely energetic morning having sex. Really unforgettable, steamy sex that she should put out of her mind.

And her heart.

Especially
her heart, she thought as she stepped into the stream of hot water. Spence had casual affairs, but she didn’t. He had condoms at his bedside, which proved it.

She needed to talk this through with someone she trusted.

Hadleigh was on her honeymoon and therefore out of reach, but she could unburden herself to Bex.
After
she’d worked on the commissioned piece, of course. She wasn’t positive she’d fess up completely, but she could admit that being together with Spence for the whole wedding gala had thrown her off—which was not a lie.

At all.

At the very least she needed to mull it over, and as she’d found when a problem presented itself, talking about it out loud, with a friend, worked best. Besides, Bex was nothing if not forthright, and a good sounding board, and what were friends for, anyway?

Her cell rang.

She’d turned off the spray and was reaching for her towel when it happened. The illuminated screen showed Spence’s number, and she said a word no lady should ever utter. But after a moment, she picked up.

“You lit out of here pretty fast,” he said without a greeting. “You okay?”

That was a difficult question to answer, Melody thought, and he had quite a bit of nerve asking it. With admirable calm, she said, “Spence, I’ve lived without you for nine years. Why would I not be okay now?”

In retrospect, that had been kind of a low blow.

He was silent for so long that Melody wondered if they’d lost the connection. Finally, though, he spoke again. “I was wondering, since you skipped out on lunch, if you’d like to have dinner with me.”

Dinner?

Tonight? No. Too soon, too much, too fast.

She’d end up in his bed again. A trust had been breached—and it was with herself. She had to, once again, question her own judgment.

“I don’t know.” The truth, but that sounded a little harsh, so she modified it. “I mean tonight is impossible.”

“Heavy schedule, I get it.” The hint of sarcasm might even have been well-deserved.

According to most people, honesty was the best policy. Melody inhaled deeply. “I appreciate the offer, but I need time to sort out what happened this morning.”

“I tried to talk to you about it, but you started to snore.”

“I don’t snore!”

“Everyone snores now and then, and it was just another lame joke. I meant we need to talk, and over dinner would be nice.”

“I’m not sure what I want. What should happen next.” That, also, was the truth.

“If the next thing you say is ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ I’m going to arrest you.”

One thing she’d say for him, he could always make her laugh. “On what charge?”

“Overuse of a platitude.”

“I didn’t realize there was a law against that.”

“By the time your expensive lawyer figures out that there isn’t, I’ll have made my point, so do us both a favor and don’t say it. Do you
want
me to call you again?”

That was blunt. She chewed her lip, and one part of her screamed
yes
, and the other part said,
unless you want to take a runaway train to a collapsed bridge, tell him no
. “Can I get back to you on that one?”

His tone was careful and quiet. “That puts the ball in your court, Mel. You aren’t twenty this time.”

When he ended the call, she stared at the blank screen on her phone. What did that mean? She looked over at the sphinxes on the couch. They hadn’t moved a muscle. “There’s no way this man is good for me unless he’s serious. Other than that he relieved some sexual tension I didn’t even know I had.”

The cats had no comment, of course. Apparently, the sexual tension part was TMI. One of them licked his paw.

*

T
HE GOAL OF
her day was to work, so she set out to do more sketches, something to wow her wealthy and eccentric patron, the one who’d pay her a small fortune. It would be nice to make some progress.

As usual, when inspiration flowed, it...flowed. She became engrossed, focused, and her pen took on a life of its own.

She drew a portrait of Spence.

She’d always been an easy study, quick with a brush or a pencil, and since his face was so fresh in her mind, she had no problem picturing the unique curve of his lips as he smiled, or the way his raven hair curled against his neck, or the clean line of his jaw...

“Howdy, sister girl.”

She glanced up to see Bex breeze through the door without so much as a knock, a personal-size container of ice cream in each hand. The screen banged lightly back into place. Her friend said, “I think after yesterday we both deserve a little of this. Part one of the pact fulfilled. Let’s celebrate with a few calories. Do you want the praline or the chocolate fudge?”

It was good to see her, but that was Bex, spontaneous and with a mind-reading sensitivity that could be unsettling, especially now. Melody hastily closed her sketchbook, hoping Bex wouldn’t notice. If she was caught drawing a picture of Spencer Hogan, there’d be some ’splainin’ to do. She didn’t even know how she felt about the whole thing yet, so
that
would be impossible to pull off.

“Praline,” she said, jumping up. “I’ll get the spoons.”

“I see the triumvirate is in an Egyptian mood today.” Bex followed her into the kitchen and settled comfortably at the old table, an heirloom Melody had inherited, its distressed patina the result of years of scrubbing. Melody had never entertained the thought of getting it refinished. It was beautiful to her, reminiscent of her grandmother in her apron, cleaning up after Sunday dinner, or her grandfather reading the paper with a cup of coffee in front of him.

She was out of regular napkins but she did manage to scrounge up a few cocktail napkins that said
All My Girlfriends have One Thing in Common. They Wine Well With Others!
Hadleigh had given them to her once upon a time before she and Tripp had made up with a vengeance, when they’d commiserated with each other over some vino. They seemed appropriate now.

“You sure bolted out of the Moose Jaw early,” Bex said, whipping the lid off her carton and scooping out a generous spoonful. “Or else you went and hid in the bathroom or something. I looked there, actually. No you.”

“My feet insisted. They plotted a prison break.” She dipped in, too. The ice cream was heavenly. Ice cream for lunch... As Bex had said, she deserved it. There was no way she could’ve sat and munched down on fried chicken with Spence, making polite conversation, after what had happened between them. “Besides, I told you I was getting out of there.”

“Your car was still in the parking lot.” Direct as always, Bex looked at her pointedly, licking her spoon. “How’d you get home?”

That question was actually a relief. It meant that all of Mustang Creek didn’t know Spence had carted her off. If anyone had seen them, Bex would know about it. Melody stammered, “I, er, I caught a ride with someone whose car wasn’t hemmed in like cattle in a feed lot. How was the rest of the party?”

“Cowboy wild. It was fun.”

“Do I sense a pensive note?”

“I’m happy for Hadleigh and Tripp. Goes without saying.” Bex looked resigned. “We all are. It really was beautiful to see them pledge their lives to each other. He’s so in love with her. I have to admit to a certain envy I just can’t help. I’ve been to a lot of weddings but none like theirs. They have something special. I want
that
. Yesterday reinforced it.”

Since Melody knew exactly what she was talking about, she nodded. “I’m in the same boat. The ship of fools.”

The mind-reading must have kicked in because Bex said, “Spence looked like a million bucks. What is it about a tux, especially on a hot guy? Then he strolled into the bar in those jeans and looked even better. I think I was standing right there when you noticed the same thing.”

He looked better yet wearing nothing at all. “I noticed,” Melody admitted, weighing her words carefully. Her friend could sense a lie the way a shark scents a single drop of blood in a million gallons of sea water. “But my first experience with Spencer Hogan didn’t turn out all that great. I’m gun-shy.”

And he asked me out to dinner tonight. I declined
.
Probably because of those ready condoms. He does have a really cute dog, though
...

“I know you are.” Bex regarded her from across the table, spoon in hand. “But what about the pact? Would you ever give him a second chance? I don’t know if I should mention this, but I saw him watching you the entire time these past few days. During the rehearsal, the dinner afterward and even during the ceremony when he was supposed to be playing best man.”

“We sat next to each other at the rehearsal dinner. He had no choice but to talk to me. He’s not perfect, but he’s polite.”

Bex asked through a spoonful of ice cream, “You sure it’s over?”

She wasn’t sure of anything, particularly at the moment. “That was nine years ago.”

“So? Chemistry is chemistry. Tripp and Hadleigh had their differences and look how that turned out. I’m going to venture a guess at what they’re doing right now.” Bex glanced pointedly at the black cat clock on the wall, its tail moving in a steady rhythm. “Never mind that it’s just afternoon.”

An echo of her own thoughts. Damn. And she herself hadn’t held out until noon. One kiss, the feel of Spence’s teasing mouth at the juncture of her shoulder and neck, and she’d caved.

Twice.
No, let’s be honest.
Three times.

“Spence Hogan has a lot of baggage. His past, not to mention
our
past. I’m not positive I’m interested, even if he is.”

Now she’d ventured into the realm of Sort-of-Lies. She
was
interested, but she was skittish. A person could survive one broken heart, she was proof of that, but could she get through it twice?

Doubtful.

Hadleigh could easily be the exception in their secret pact. Relationships didn’t come with an instruction manual. If Melody wrote a book on the subject, and she was the last person on this green earth who’d qualify, she suspected it would be panned by the critics.

Bex finished her ice cream and pushed the container to the side. “Don’t be hasty.”

She was far too insightful for comfort.

“What?”

“He’s never slept with Junie. I think most of his reputation is based on the fact that he
looks
like someone who could have any woman he wants. Spence and Junie are childhood friends. They work together. End of story.”

Her bizarre day had just gotten more off-kilter. Melody stared at one of her two best friends and tried to dredge up a reasonable response. She settled on, “Can you explain how you came to that conclusion?”

“No.” Bex got up to dump her empty container in the trash. When she turned around, she looked determined in a familiar way as she leaned back against the counter. “Mel, one of the reasons we’re such good friends is that you know I keep secrets right next to my heart. I don’t reveal sources, but the rumor about Spence and Junie isn’t true. I’d say most of the rumors about him are just plain fabrication. He’s easy on the eyes, but that isn’t his fault.”

To a certain extent it might be, because a man didn’t get to be thirty-six and have those flat abs without exercising, and he had to lift weights—and Bex was the one who owned the local gym.

He’s
definitely
easy on the eyes. You should see him naked
.

Okay, she really shouldn’t say that or her intuitive friend might assume she’d seen him sans apparel lately. Like a few hours ago.

Lamely she muttered, “He seems to keep in shape.”

“You noticed. Yeah, he was staring at you, and you looked his way more than once, too.”

She got up. “Is there a particular point to this conversation?”

“H-E-double toothpicks, there sure is, as your grandmother used to say.” Bex watched her move to the sink. “I so loved that woman. She could genteel-swear like no one. For instance, today is hotter than Blixen. I remember her saying that as she served us those cookies with the sprinkles on them. Blixen? What does that mean? Can’t be the reindeer when we’re talking about high summer in Wyoming. She was such a character.”

“I loved her, too, but you’re drifting off topic, Bex.”

Bex sobered. “I can’t speak for him, since he’s his own man, but if I had to call it, Spence is still interested.”

The question was, in what?

*

T
HE GROUND WAS
hard as hell.