“Lacey? Are you there?”
“Yes. It’s a long story. Come on over and I’ll explain everything, but for heaven’s sake, if Max Jarvis should call again, tell him the Lorraine he is looking for can be reached at my number.”
The news that he had tried to get in touch gave Lacey a brand new reason to greet the day. She sailed through her chores and had George ready to go when Lorraine arrived.
After hearing the story, Lorraine agreed that Lacey needed to determine Max’s marital status before any more time went by. Perry had done too much damage for her to take any chances.
Much as she enjoyed George, Lacey found it liberating to have the condo to herself. She worked nonstop through the dinner hour on her clients’ accounts. When Greg, a close family friend from childhood, knocked on the door, then let himself in with a key, she was still doing figures.
“What do you mean you don’t want to see A Majority of One?” he barked a few minutes later. “It’s your favorite movie of all time.”
“I know,” Lacey sighed.
“And we don’t have to hurry home to George. He’s gone for two whole days and nights.”
“I know.”
“So, what do you want to do? We could still make the last few plays of the Utah-Wyoming game.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk. I’ve met this man, but I don’t want anything to do with him if he’s married.”
Greg rubbed his chin pensively. “Why can’t you just ask him the next time he calls?”
She took a deep breath. “Because he doesn’t know my real name or my number.”
“That could be a problem,” he muttered. “Why don’t we stop being cryptic. Who is it? Another slick attorney like Perry?”
“Actually, it’s Max Jarvis.”
“The hotshot from California? The one you can’t stand? It happened awfully fast, didn’t it? Or maybe being on the air sort of went to your head.”
She had to admit it had been pretty exciting to tangle with Max in front of thousands of listeners. In fact she couldn’t remember a time when she’d been more stimulated. Except of course when she thought about tangling with him without an audience, which had little to do with words and more to do with—
“Take my advice and find a man with a real job.”
She had no comeback to that. In fact she’d been guilty of thinking the same thing the first time she’d heard The Voice.
Out of the window she spotted a lighted ‘U’ on the mountain. It was too late to drive to the stadium. The Utes had won the football game. “Maybe I’ll call in on the air and put the question to him one more time. He can’t very well evade me without his whole listening audience giving him a hard time.”
“You’re really gone on him.” Greg didn’t sound in the least happy about it.
“Let’s just say I’m interested. He asked me out.”
“When did all this happen?”
“After the show.”
“I don’t like it, Lacey.”
“You sound just like Nester when he’s trying to come on like my father.”
“You need watching. I told Valerie I’d keep an eye on you.”
“That’s funny. I told her I’d make sure you got back together with Annette. What you two need to do is start having fun together again.”
“Annette and I don’t have fun. We fight.”
“Then think up something wild and surprise her. For our first date—that is, if we get that far—I’m going to ask Max to take a scuba diving class with me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. But coming from California, he probably already knows how and is terrific at it.”
Greg scowled. “How come you never asked me to do that?”
“Because that’s the sort of thing you should do with Annette. Why don’t you call her while I turn on the radio?”
She hurried into the kitchen for her Walkman and came back to the living room wearing her earphones. Greg had buried his head in the newspaper.
“...All you Radio Talk listeners. As you know, once a week, this hour is devoted to the outrage of the week. I’m Max Jarvis filling in tonight for Lon Freeman, who’s ill.
“I hope I won’t be offending you when I tell you that of all the states in the U.S., including the foreign countries where I’ve driven, Utah stands alone in its insistence to pass in the right-hand lane. The law states that faster traffic should pass on the left, but you Utahns act as if you’ve never heard of that law. I wonder if some of you would call in and tell me why this phenomenon only occurs in Utah?
“When I came here from California, it was a little like Alice in Through the Looking Glass. Everything was just a little different Your highway sense is unique. My producer is letting me know the calls are stacking up. Let’s go to our local phone line first and talk to Mavis.”
“Hi, Max.”
“Hi, Mavis. What’s your outrage this evening?”
“You won’t remember my husband Joe who died two years ago, but he felt exactly the same way you do. He used to drive—”
Lacey removed the earphones and reached for the cordless phone. She knew Radio Talk’s number by heart and punched the digits.
“Hi. This is Rob Clark. You want to go on the air with Max Jarvis?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“Lorraine.”
“Hey—Lorraine. Hi. It’s me.”
“I know.”
“How do you like the lotion?”
Rob had just given her a legitimate reason to call in. “I thought I’d say something about it over the air.”
“Uh-oh. Okay. You’ll be on after Mavis.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure thing.”
Suddenly she could hear Max’s conversation with Mavis and waited until he switched over to her. The thought of talking to him made her heart leap into her throat.
“He would have liked your show, Max. Keep up the good work. I’ll hang up now.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence, Mavis. Perhaps before the night is out we’ll have some answers. Let’s go to our other local line.
“Well, well. My producer says it’s Lorraine, our talk show celebrity from last week. How are you, Lorraine?”
She couldn’t tell if he was happy to hear from her or not.
“I’m fine, Mr. Jarvis,” she answered nervously, trying to ignore Greg’s speaking glance.
“You’re on the air. Can you talk a little louder.”
She cleared her throat. “Yes. This is open forum, isn’t it? We can talk about anything?”
“Absolutely.” The adrenaline started to flow. “But first, give us your outrage.”
My outrage. How perfect.
“Well—you never talk about your wife and family. Does that mean you’re not married?”
There was a slight hesitation before he asked, “That’s your outrage?”
“Yes.”
“Since this is the second time you’ve asked me that question over the air, I tell you what. If you’ll call Rob on the business line and leave your full name and number, I’ll be happy to call you personally and answer your question. Does that sound fair?”
She could hardly catch her breath. “How do I know you’ll tell me the truth?”
“How do I know you’ll leave your real name and phone number?” Guilt assailed her. “I think it’s a little matter called trust. If I recall correctly, you told me that my sense of fair play was the reason I’m still on the radio.”
“You’re right. I did.” Her voice shook.
“Let’s make a bargain, Lorraine. I’ll satisfy your curiosity, and you tell our listeners whether you were the wife or the girlfriend in your sad story. Everyone wants to know. The station has been besieged with calls.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t talk about it over the air, but I’ll tell you in private.”
“Terrific, Lorraine. If you’ll hold on a minute, I’ll have Rob switch our connection to the business line and he�
��ll get your name and number so I can return your call later. At that point, we’ll exchange information. Fair enough?”
“Yes. But before I hang up, I just want you to know that I tried the lotion and I love it.”
“That’ll make Lon’s day. I’ll pass the word along. Don’t be afraid to call in again, Lorraine.” After he switched over, she gave Rob her phone number, then hung up.
Max Jarvis’s show hadn’t been over sixty seconds before the phone rang. Greg threw the paper down just as she put the phone to her ear and said hello. It could be a coincidence and someone else was calling her, but she had a premonition it was Max.
“Hi, Lorraine.”
His voice seduced her on the spot. “Hi, Max.”
“What are the chances of learning your real name? I don’t think Lorraine Walker would be too happy to find out you’ve been impersonating her over the air.”
She took a deep breath. “She’s my best friend, and she didn’t mind. For the record, my name is Lacey, Lacey West.”
“Lacey...I like it.”
“Now will you answer my question?”
“I’ve never been married, and I’m not interested in men.”
Her relief was exquisite. “Why didn’t you tell me when I asked you before?”
“Maybe I was waiting to see how interested you really were.” Which could have been the real reason or not. “Now it’s your turn.”
“Like you, I’ve never been married, and I despise men who pretend to be single.”
“The man who scarred your soul isn’t worth this much pain. Not all men are liars, Lacey. Sunday night I’m having a little get-together with my friends who’ll vouch for me. I’d like you to come. Are you free?”
“That depends on the time.”
“How about seven-thirty? I’ll pick you up.”
Lorraine would be bringing George back. “It would be better if I get there on my own because I have a friend coming over. It might be eight or eight-thirty before I could make it.”
“As long as you drop in at some point, come any time you like. I live at Oquirrh Park Condominiums. J-25.”
Lacey let out a quiet gasp. The phone almost slipped from her hand. Valerie’s condo was J-24. Max Jarvis-lived next door! The blue Saab was his!
“Lacey? Are you still there?”
“Yes.” Her voice trembled. “I accidentally dropped the receiver.”
“For a minute I thought maybe we’d been disconnected. Do you know that complex?”
Now would be the time to tell him they were next-door neighbors. But an imp of mischief made her want to keep it a secret until the night of the party. That way she could see the look of surprise on his attractive face, and hoped it would be a good one.
Running a hand through her curls she said, “Nobody in Salt Lake could live here and not be aware of the Edsel of architecture. Those pseudo-Spanish condos have to be the ugliest in the city.” She warmed to her subject. “Only morons from out of state too lazy to make their own arrangements are conned into living there by unscrupulous Realtors charging inflated prices.”
The silence grew ominous. “I dare you to say that when the president of the real estate board comes on the air next week with Lon Freeman.”
She grinned. “I’m only teasing you, Max. But admit that you were taken in by a Realtor. So was someone else I know who purchased it sight unseen.” Brad had bought the condo while he was still living in Denver, just before he got married to Valerie, not realizing what he’d bought. “Like I said—”
“I’m from California,” he broke in on a gruff note before she could rub it in any further. “Come to my party and give me a chance to change your low opinion of me.”
“I don’t think that’s possible now,” she quipped.
“Well, we’ll never know unless you show up, will we.”
She’d show up all right and could hardly wait for him to ask her where she’d parked her car. Now that she knew who he was, she’d figure out a way to stay out of his sight until Sunday night.
“I’ll come, but as I said, I might be a little late.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Some nuance in his voice filled her body with excitement. She didn’t know how she was going to last until then. They said good-bye and she clicked off.
Greg was visibly upset. “You’re playing with fire, Lacey.”
Much as she liked Greg, sometimes he could be irritating, like now. It irked Lacey that Valerie had given Greg a key to the condo in the first place. But she didn’t have the heart to ask him not to use it. Because his parents had moved to New York, Valerie let her condo be his home away from home, so to speak.
“Hardly. He’s invited me to a party at his place on Sunday night.”
“That’s the night we planned to watch videos.”
Lacey got up and headed for the kitchen. He followed her. She spread some veggie cream cheese on top of a couple of bagels for a snack for them. “Call up Annette and ask her to watch them with you.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“Of course not. But I think you’re being cruel to Annette. She’s in love with you.”
Greg took a bagel and bit into it. “But I’m not in love with her.”
“Yes, you are. And I think it’s time you talked to her to try to straighten things out.”
He managed to devour the whole thing before saying, “Last week when I asked her to meet me for lunch so we could talk, she bit my head off. Told me to ask you instead. Then she hung up on me.”
Lacey put down the knife. “Greg—I just figured out one of the reasons why she broke off the engagement. She thinks that there’s something going on between you and me.”
He stopped munching. “No, she doesn’t. She’s known from the beginning you’re like family to me.”
“I don’t think so. I think she sees it as something more. Have you ever considered I might be a threat to her?”
“If she’s that insecure, then she’s not the woman for me and I’m glad I found out in time.”
His mutinous expression didn’t deceive Lacey for a moment. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she’d hit upon the truth. “How would you like it if she spent most of her free time at another man’s house when she couldn’t be with you? Especially if that man were single and available?”
“That’s a bad analogy. You and Valerie are like my sisters.”
“But she doesn’t see it that way and I don’t blame her. You’re going to have to stop coming over here.”
His face closed up and he stopped eating. “Wait a minute. No way am I going to quit being friends with you to please her.”
“Listen to me, Greg. You need to put yourself in her shoes and understand her insecurities. The fact is, we’re not related by blood and she’s having difficulty figuring out why we’re so close.
“She loves you. I know she does. I’ve seen you two together too much not to recognize the real thing. And you love her. So you’ve got to straighten things out.”
He shook his head. “If she can break off our engagement without explanation, then what hope do we have of a future together? Why didn’t she say something about you a long time ago if it bothered her so much?”
“Because she loves you,” Lacey said with growing conviction. “She tried to accept me, but she found out she couldn’t share you. I can understand that.”
“Come off it, Lacey.” He sounded upset. “I’ve never done anything to make her jealous.”
“But you have, don’t you see? The mere fact that you’re always over here while Valerie is away is enough in her eyes. Think about it and you’ll know I’m right.”
To her surprise he wheeled around and started for the door again. “I’m going for a ride.”
“Don’t drive too fast!” she cautioned. Greg had a history of speeding tickets, his only real vice as far as she was aware. One day his license was going to get suspended.
“Would I do that?” he flung over his shoulder on
his way out the door.
“Greg, why not go over to Annette’s right now and discuss it with her? Tell her I’ll be happy to talk to her. It could turn everything around.”
“No way. I’ve done all the begging I’m going to do. It’s her turn to make the first move.”
Lacey had been wrong. He had two vices, and the second was pigheadedness. She stood at the door and watched him pull away from the curb, wincing when she heard the tires of his restored Porsche screech. He was the most upset she’d ever seen him.
Greg was an exceptionally bright guy who’d been a whiz kid in college and now worked as a stockbroker, but emotionally, he was still young and had never had a serious girlfriend until Annette.
She closed the door, pondering how she could help the two of them get back together.
Long after she went to bed, she was still awake, her thoughts on Max Jarvis. His bedroom was on the other side of hers. Only a wall separated them. Even though his opinions over the air drove her crazy, there was an intangible something about him that stimulated her, made her want to probe beneath the surface veneer to the man beneath.
As she vacillated over what outfit to wear to his party, the phone rang. Because it was almost midnight, she picked up the receiver and said hello, expecting to hear either Valerie or Lorraine on the other end.
“Is this Lacey West?”
“Yes?”
“This is University Hospital. I’m calling from emergency. We have a patient, Greg Peters, who’s been in a car accident and was brought, in with a simple leg fracture. A cast has been put on and he’s ready to be picked up.”
Somehow Lacey wasn’t surprised by the news, and slid out of bed. “I’ll be right there. Thank you for calling.” She dressed quickly and drove over to the hospital, but it made her angry that he hadn’t called Annette.
For the next few days it looked like Lacey was going to have to put up with Greg’s company around the clock while he stayed off his bad leg.
Between extensive car repairs and the fact that he had to miss work. he was as grouchy as a bear after hibernation. He needed Annette. Luckily Lacey’s work kept her out of the condo most of the day.
She phoned Greg’s ex-fiancée with the news, but got Annette’s answering machine. Lacey left a long message and begged Annette to come and visit Greg. Barring that, there wasn’t anything else she could do about the situation.
No Wife Required! Page 4
