Ready for Romance

by Debbie Macomber

  “And you liked it, didn’t you?”

  Cathy sounded gleeful, as though tempted to break into song. Jessica supposed this was what she got for having a theater-arts major for a best friend.

  “Yeah—but I’m totally confused,” Jessica admitted quietly. This jumble of mixed feelings was the main source of her troubles.

  “Surprises you, doesn’t it?” Cathy asked, then chuckled softly, again with that note of delight. “I’ve seen the handwriting on the wall ever since you mentioned Damian Saturday night. The guy sounds perfect for you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. ”

  “What’s ridiculous about it?”

  “I haven’t thought of him…that way. Well, I have recently, and frankly, it frightens me to death. I’ve already made a fool of myself over one Dryden. I’m not anxious to make the same mistake with another one.”

  “You were a kid the first time. There’s a world of difference between what happened then and what’s happening now.”

  “Maybe,” was all Jessica was willing to concede.

  “Think, woman,” Cathy said dramatically. “The man’s obviously attracted to you, too. Otherwise he wouldn’t be kissing you.”

  “I don’t know that, and you don’t, either. We kissed, and then he acted as if it was the worst thing he could have done. He didn’t say a word and he just walked away. I don’t know what to think. I’m so confused.” She pressed a hand to her forehead.

  “So you think he regretted it?”

  “He must have. Otherwise…otherwise everything would have turned out differently. He looked at me as if I were a stranger, as if he didn’t want to see me again.”

  “What was he supposed to do? Confess undying love? Didn’t you tell me you had the whole situation figured out? The only reason Damian hired you in the first place was to bolster his brother’s spirits. Think about it, Jess—the man has integrity. He can’t very well start dating you himself if he believes you might still have some feeling for his younger brother.”

  “It drives me crazy that he’d think that!”

  “I know, but you’ve got to look at it from his point of view.”

  “At the cost of my own sanity?”

  “For now,” Cathy said sympathetically.

  “I don’t know what to do!” Jessica cried, amazed at the amount of emotion that spilled into the words.

  “There’s more,” Cathy said, warming to the subject. “If you’re interested in Damian, it makes perfect sense that you’re going to have to be the one to make the first move. Damian’s hands are tied as long as he thinks there’s the least chance you’re interested in his brother. The guy’s in a real bind here.”

  “Him! This whole thing with Evan’s gotten out of hand. The poor guy’s suffocating with everyone’s concern. I actually feel sorry for him. He got the raw end of a deal in a relationship, and all he needed was some time to work out his pain,” Jessica lamented. “Instead, Damian cut his work load until he’s bored out of his mind. His parents, especially his mother, are dishing out sympathy by the truckload, and it’s all Evan can do to stay afloat.”

  She paused for breath, then went on, “The only reason Damian hired me was that he thought I’d pull Evan out of the doldrums. I haven’t talked to Evan, but I’m sure he resents all this nonsense. And I don’t blame him.”

  “What about you and Damian?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” Jessica admitted. “I wish I did. If he’s interested in me, then surely it’s his place to say or do something. Regardless of how he thinks I feel about Evan.”

  “Oh, come on, Jess!”

  “I know Damian.”

  “Huh. You thought you knew Evan, too.”

  “I do, or rather, I did,” she argued. The conversation was frustrating her more by the minute. “Besides, like I said earlier, I’m not interested in making a fool of myself over another Dryden. I learned my lesson the last time. Good grief, that was years ago and my parents and his still talk about it. Just this last weekend my own mother mentioned how pleased she’d be if I married Evan!”

  “I have an idea,” Cathy said slowly as though the scheme was taking shape in her mind as she spoke. “Introduce me to Damian.”

  “What possible reason do you have to meet him?” Jessica didn’t like the sound of this.

  “I just want to. Things aren’t going well with David….”

  “David?” Jessica cried. “Who’s David?”

  “The director for Guys and Dolls. Now listen, I know this sounds crazy, but trust me, it could work.”

  “What could work?” Jessica was fast losing what remained of her patience.

  “Our meeting. I’ll turn on the charm, do what I can to enchant him, and—”

  “Just a minute, Cath, you’re talking about the man I’m interested in.”

  “I know,” she replied as if all this was perfectly logical. “But you want to know how serious he is about you, don’t you? Also, maybe watching him with another woman will help you sort out your feelings for him.

  “Yes, but—”

  “Come on, Jess. You said yourself you weren’t willing to make a fool of yourself a second time. This way you’ll know.”

  “This sounds silly to me.”

  “Not only that,” Cathy went on as though Jessica hadn’t spoken, “it’ll give me a chance to practice some of my best lines. Just introduce us, and I promise I won’t do anything to embarrass you.”

  “All right,” she agreed without any real enthusiasm. “How do you propose we do this?”

  “I could stop by the office one day soon and suggest lunch. It’d be natural for you to introduce me around, wouldn’t it?”

  “I…suppose, but doesn’t that seem a bit obvious?”

  “Perhaps. Do you have a better idea?”

  “No.” She sighed. “Okay. Do you want me to invite Damian to join us? I’m coming into the office this Saturday to catch up on a few things, before Evan’s big court case starts next week. My guess is that Damian will be there, as well.”

  “All the better, then. I’ll see you Saturday around noon.”

  Jessica hedged. “You’re sure about this?”

  “Absolutely! I have ways of getting a man to talk.”

  “That sounds like something out of a movie.”

  Cathy laughed. “It is.”

  “That’s what I thought,” she mumbled.

  PRECISELY AT NOON Cathy arrived at the office. Jessica envied her petite friend her pixie good looks, short dark hair and big blue eyes. Cathy looked striking in her pants, which were black with huge white dots, and multicolored striped suspenders. Her blouse was white with small black dots and she was wearing black high heels. One thing was certain—no one would miss seeing her walk down the street. If Evan had been in the office, he doubtless would have begged an introduction.

  “You must have forgotten about our lunch,” Cathy said more loudly than necessary, standing outside Jessica’s office. Loudly enough for Damian to hear.

  Her friend’s ploy worked because a minute later he wandered out of his office.

  “Damian, this is my friend Cathy Hudson,” Jessica said. “I might have mentioned her in passing.”

  Damian and Cathy shook hands. “Jessica forgot we were supposed to meet for lunch today.” Cathy said.

  “It isn’t a good idea for Jessica to skip meals,” Damian said. His eyes twinkled and the effort to suppress a smile caused the corners of his mouth to quiver.

  “So you’ve seen what happens when Jessica’s stomach growls. Wounded bears are easier to reason with than Jess when she’s hungry.”

  “Hey, that’s not true!” Jessica flared. They were speaking as if she wasn’t there. She braced her hands on her hips and glared at the two of them. She hadn’t been keen on this idea of Cathy’s from the first and her instincts were proving to be right.

  Her former roommate eased closer to Damian and was gazing soulfully into his eyes. He didn’t seem to mind in the least; in fact,
he seemed to lap it up.

  “I’ll get my purse,” Jessica said stiffly, leaving Cathy and Damian gazing at each other while she went behind her desk and dug in the bottom drawer. The whole charade irritated her, and she was furious she’d allowed herself to be talked into it.

  Cathy managed to tear her eyes away from Damian long enough to throw visual spikes at her friend. It took Jessica a moment to realize what was being signaled. Oh, yes—she was supposed to invite him to tag along.

  “Would you care to join us for lunch?” she asked Damian, managing to sound polite, if unenthusiastic.

  “Please, do,” Cathy said, her words like warm honey.

  Damian looked at Jessica as if seeking her confirmation, and to her credit, she did produce a smile. She didn’t know why she’d ever agreed to this.

  “I’ll be happy to join you,” Damian surprised her by saying. She’d never dreamed he would. The man was full of surprises.

  “Great, just great,” Jessica muttered under her breath.

  “Fabulous,” came Cathy’s melodious response.

  Jessica rolled her eyes, and together the three of them headed out of the office. Damian suggested a well-known expensive restaurant, and before Jessica could comment one way or another, Cathy had agreed. Jessica snapped her mouth closed before she said something she’d regret. It irked her that Damian would so easily fall into Cathy’s snare. It might be just a charade, but she was left more than a little confused.

  Outside the building, Damian waved down a cab, and Cathy managed to have Damian in the back seat with her. Jessica sat in the front while her best friend giggled her way through the streets of Boston. They drove past the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, the winding yellow path that led history buffs and tourists from one historic monument to another.

  She was acting like a jealous fool, Jessica realized with a start. Jealous of Damian and Cathy? The fog that had clouded her thinking for the past several days cleared.

  She was falling in love with Damian Dryden. It couldn’t have been any more obvious. It was one of the things Cathy had set out to prove, and her friend was right—she’d needed this blunt lesson.

  Of course she loved Damian. From the minute she’d walked into his office and asked about the job. From the minute he’d stood on the footbridge that forged the pond on his parents’ property and insisted on taking her to Cannon Beach.

  From the minute he’d kissed her.

  This was what Cathy had been trying to tell her.

  When they arrived at the restaurant, Cathy excused herself and Jessica. With her arm wrapped around her friend’s, she dragged her to the ladies’ room.

  Before Jessica could open her mouth, Cathy burst out, “Damian’s wonderful!”

  “I know.”

  “I haven’t met Evan, but I’m telling you right now if you’re not interested in his big brother, I am. He’s got a great wit, he’s gorgeous, and—”

  “I know all that.” And a lot more.

  “Listen,” Cathy said, “I want you to make some excuse and leave.”

  Jessica was stunned. “You want me to what?”

  Cathy was refreshing her makeup in front of the mirror, her eyeliner in hand. “You heard me. Remember an urgent appointment, something that will call you away so the two of us can be alone together. Only don’t make it sound phony, or Damian will know what we’re doing.”

  “I don’t know what we’re doing,” she protested.

  “I want you to give me some time alone with him.”

  “Why?” Jessica demanded. “Listen, you’ve already proved your point. I do care about Damian. And I’m not interested in sharing him with you.”

  “I know how you feel about him,” Cathy said slowly as if that much had been understood from the beginning. “But my being alone with him will tell us both how he feels about you, which was the main purpose of my plan.”

  “You’re sure about this?”

  “How many times are you going to ask me? Of course I’m sure.”

  “I can’t help thinking we’re both good candidates for psychoanalysis!”

  Cathy laughed outright at that. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to steal him away from you, although heaven knows I’m tempted. The guy’s a hunk. Why hasn’t he ever married?”

  “How am I supposed to know?”

  “Have you tried asking?”

  Cathy had a way of making everything sound perfectly straightforward. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll find that out, along with everything else.”

  Jessica hesitated. She trusted Cathy—most of the time. She also knew it wasn’t beneath her best friend to say or do something sneaky. That was what worried Jessica.

  “Go back to your apartment,” Cathy instructed, before outlining her lush full mouth with a glossy shade of lipstick.

  “I still don’t understand what you’re doing.”

  Cathy patiently closed the tube and shook her head as though to suggest the answer was obvious. “You don’t need to. When Damian and I’ve finished lunch I can report my findings to you. Is everything clear now?”

  “As mud.”

  Cathy rolled her eyes. “I’m trying to be a help here. The least you can do is cooperate.”

  “All right, all right,” Jessica muttered, but she didn’t like it.

  “Let’s not keep Prince Charming waiting any longer,” Cathy said, taking Jessica’s elbow. “Just remember to come up with something brilliant to excuse yourself.”

  Jessica was feeling anything but brilliant at the moment. “All right,” she promised.

  Jessica did manage to come up with a plausible excuse. They were seated and given elaborate menus decorated with gold tassels. Jessica set her purse on the floor, and it promptly fell over. When she leaned down to right it, she pulled a small appointment card from the outside pocket. Straightening, she studied the card.

  “What’s the date today?”

  “The twelfth. Why?” Cathy’s eyes had never been rounder, or more guileless.

  “It says here I’ve got a dentist’s appointment this afternoon.” She made a show of looking at her watch. “In half an hour.”

  “On a Saturday?” Damian asked casually.

  “Lots of dentists are keeping Saturday hours,” Cathy explained conversationally, spreading the linen napkin across her lap. “I went in for a checkup myself no more than a month ago, and my appointment was on a Saturday.”

  “It’s too late to call and cancel,” Jessica said with a defeated air. “It took me months to get this appointment as it was. The Saturday schedule fills up quickly.”

  “If you made it months ago, it isn’t any wonder you forgot.” Cathy seemed all too willing to offer Jessica an excuse.

  “I’d better see if I can catch a cab,” Jessica mumbled. She wouldn’t be able to keep up this charade much longer. It’d be a miracle if Damian didn’t see through their plot. It had more holes than a golf course.

  “I’m so sorry you have to go,” Cathy said with enough sincerity to sound believable.

  Damian said nothing. If Cathy’s theory was true, Damian would reveal some regret at her leaving. Instead, he smiled at her and nodded as if he welcomed the time alone with her friend. Jessica’s hands closed tightly around her purse strap as she stood and made her farewells.

  Once she was outside, the doorman’s whistle hailed her a cab. Jessica climbed into the back seat and gave the man the address of her apartment, thinking this was going to be the longest afternoon of her life.

  She was right.

  She paced her living room munching on pretzels for a good two hours. Most of the large bag had disappeared before her doorbell chimed. Cathy. In her eagerness to hear what she’d achieved, Jessica nearly jerked the door off its hinges.

  Nothing could have surprised her more than to find Damian standing on the other side. She must have looked as dumbstruck as she felt, because he grinned and let himself in without waiting for an invitation.

  “How was the dentist’s appo
intment?”

  “Ah…I didn’t have one.”

  “I know.” He walked over to her bookcase and was examining the titles as if he’d come for that purpose alone.

  “You knew?”

  “You’re not nearly as good an actress as your friend,” he said, turning to face her. Jessica tried to read his expression, but found it impossible. She felt rooted to the carpet, unable to move and hardly able to breathe. She wondered if he was angry with her. Perhaps he was amused. She couldn’t tell which.

  She should have known he’d see through their ploy. “It was a stupid plan,” she admitted. Her shoulders sagged with a burden of regrets. She’d allowed Cathy to talk her into this crazy scheme, and she’d followed like a lamb to the slaughter.

  “I…we didn’t offend you, did we?”

  A hint of a smile touched his eyes. “No, it was a very sweet thing to do, but unnecessary.”

  She blinked, not knowing what to say because she wasn’t sure she understood.

  Damian walked over to her and reached out a hand to press against her cheek. His touch was gentle, his gray eyes as serious as she’d ever seen them. He spoke as though his words pained him. “I appreciate your efforts, Jessica, but I can find my own dates.” Then he bent and gently placed his mouth on hers. The kiss was far too short to satisfy her. Instead, it created a need for more. When he lifted his head, everything within her wanted to beg him not to stop.

  “I’ll see you Monday morning,” he said, turning and heading toward the door.

  She opened her mouth to tell him to stay, but by the time she could get the words out he was gone. He actually believed she was setting him up with Cathy. No wonder. That was exactly what it looked like. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? Jessica slumped onto her sofa, covered her face with her hands and resisted the urge to cry.

  Damian hadn’t been gone for more than five minutes when Cathy arrived. Jessica opened her door to find her friend leaning against the doorjamb as if she needed its support. She threw herself down on Jessica’s couch and removed her high heels. “That man’s a tough nut to crack.”