by Marilyn Lee
“I wish you wouldn’t keep harping on my appearance.” He felt his face flush. “I don’t want to be judged by that.”
“…assume I’m after you,” she went on, as if he hadn’t interrupted. “So don’t sweat it or go giving your one woman any wild ideas.”
“Oh. Good. Then we can be friends.”
“What else could we possibly be, Reed?”
Unbidden, a vision of her smiling up at him as they walked hand in hand in the moonlight filled his head. That image was quickly followed by one of her walking down a long aisle to stand by his side in a white gown, her hand in his, a radiant face turned toward him seconds before she vowed to love, honor, and obey him until death.
She whispered his favorite line of Down the Aisle to him: Through the years we’ll live in bliss.
A picture of Taylor’s pretty face flashed into his mind, shocking him back to his senses. It was Taylor he should be daydreaming about. Taylor was the woman he’d chosen to be step–mom to Ria and RP. That didn’t leave any room for fantasizing about Annalise.
“Nothing,” he said firmly.
“Fine!” She opened the refrigerator door, then slammed it without retrieving anything from it. “Nothing’s good. Nothing’s fine. Just dandy. I like nothing!”
He allowed his gaze to rest on her. To look into her eyes. To light on her hair. To dance over her face. To linger on her full, lush lips. He looked quickly away, shamefully aware that just the sight of her stirred improper emotions in him. Thank God she would be leaving soon.
Chapter Four
Annalise rolled over onto her back and wiggled around on the bed trying to get comfortable. While the bed in the Phillips’ guest room wasn’t uncomfortable, she nearly always had a problem falling asleep in a strange room.
Finally, she lay still, willing sleep to overtake her. After what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes and looked at the bedside clock. “Twelve–thirty a.m. and all is not well,” she grumbled softly.
She punched her fist into the pillow and burrowed her head in the resulting dent. One. Two. Three. Four. She began the silent counting that was usually all she needed to fall asleep. Generally, she was asleep before she reached fifty.
But generally, she didn’t spend a stressful day trying to show a man she’d fallen for at first sight, that she didn’t care one iota for him. Once she was away from Reed, she’d get back on track. In less than seven hours, she’d be heading home and out of Reed Phillips’ life for good.
The thought held little appeal and no comforting power. She began to breathe slowly, deeply, and started the count anew. Still wide–awake at two hundred, she groaned and sat up. All three windows of the room were open and a gentle breeze carried on moonlit beams blew across her face, calling to her.
Climbing out of bed, she slipped on an oversized tee shirt and a pair of sweat pants over her shortie silk pajamas, pushed her feet in her slippers, and left the room. She’d sit on the swing on the back porch until she became drowsy enough to fall asleep.
For a moment, she stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking out onto the back porch. Muted moonlight filtered down through the trees, providing a measure of relief from the darkness.
Humming, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, she made her way toward the corner of the porch, then gave a startled gasp when Reed suddenly rose from the swing.
“Annalise! I’m sorry,” he said, touching her arm. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Frighten me?” With pounding heart, she rested her head against his shoulder. “You’ve shortened my life expectancy by at least ten years.”
Her heart, which had started to resume its normal rhythm, beat a wild tattoo when he put his arm around her and hugged her. “Sorry.”
She closed her eyes and pressed closer, savoring the pleasure of being so close to him. He wore a subtle cologne she found intoxicating. Exhilarating. Maddening. The urge to lift her face, wind her arms around his neck, and tell him how she felt washed over her with the force of a tidal wave. Frightened by the emotions his nearness created, she gasped, and jerked away from him.
She turned to rush back into the house. Closing his fingers around her arms, he stopped her. He slowly turned her to face him.
“There’s no need to run away,” he said. “You’re perfectly safe with me.”
She didn’t feel safe. She felt breathless. Frightened. Hungry for him and the tenderness he’d already told her he was reserving for Taylor.
“Okay, I’m safe. Now, you want to stop manhandling me?” she asked, proud of how calm she sounded.
“Sorry.” He released her arm immediately and stepped away from her. “I take it you couldn’t sleep either.”
“It’s being in a strange bed,” she said quickly. The last thing she wanted was him knowing that thoughts of him were keeping her awake at night.
He nodded toward the swing. “Then join me.”
Was it her imagination or was his voice a little unsteady? Must be her imagination, she decided. He’d made it clear that he found her unattractive.
Although she couldn’t think of anything nicer than sitting with him on the swing, there was no sense in looking for trouble. She shook her head and took a step away from him. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. Good night.”
He moved past her to block the door leading back into the house.
“Why?”
She blinked in surprised. “Why?”
“Yes. Why? Please don’t tell me you’re afraid of me or that you don’t trust me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” she said. “Of course I’m not afraid of you and I do trust you.”
He reached out and touched her arm. His long, warm fingers brushed against the back of her wrist, sending a tingle streaking up her arm.
“Good. Then come sit on the swing with me.”
She stared at him wordlessly, afraid to trust her voice. He seemed to take her silence for assent. His hand enveloped hers, making her nerve endings erupt into a confusion of sensation.
In a daze, she allowed him to lead her to the swing. He eased down beside her, his arm resting along the back of the swing. Close, but not quite touching her shoulder. But he didn’t need to actually touch her. His presence was enough to keep her heart beating in her throat. Oh, Lord, what am I doing out here like this with him?
“Deb tells me you’ve been friends for years,” he said into the silence.
She nodded, staring straight ahead. “We met in junior high, but didn’t become friends until we ended up in college together.”
“So how is it that we’ve never met?”
Annalise hesitated. She could sit there shivering like a silly preteen in the grips of first love or she could rediscover her pride and be herself.
She turned to stare at his profile, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “I guess you haven’t been living right.” She touched his arm. “Until now.”
He turned his head slowly to look at her. In the dim light, she couldn’t see the expression in his eyes. But she could feel the tension in him. “You think?” he asked quietly.
“I know,” she said confidently. “Otherwise we’d have met before.” She resisted the urge to lean against him and waited. Would he object to her touch?
“What do you want out of life, Annalise?”
She shrugged. “The usual. A husband who so worships the ground I walk on, he’s blind to my faults. A couple of kids I can spoil rotten and lots of friends who share my faith and values. You know, the usual.”
“How important is having kids for you?”
“Very. I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I think motherhood will help complete me and make me a better person. Isn’t that how you feel about being a father?”
“Yes. I do. Tell me, Annalise, do you have any prospects in mind for that blind husband?”
“That’s a very personal question.”
“What’s the answer? Do you have a man in your life?”
She shifted slightly away from hi
m. He was the last person she was going to tell that men were generally only interested in friendship with her.
“Are you planning to write my biography, RP Senior?”
He half turned on the swing to face her. “I’m curious about you.”
He’d insisted they share the swing on a moonlit night. Was it possible he liked her a little? “Why?”
He shrugged. “Ria and RP really like you.”
“I like them.” She slipped her arm through his. “What about you?”
“Me? Are you asking me if I like my own kids?”
“No.” She placed a hand on his chest. “I’m asking if you like me, Reed.”
He looked away. The silence that ensued told her all she needed to know. Still, on the off chance that she really was misunderstanding him this time, she decided to try again. “Well, I guess it’s true what they say about silence being golden, huh?”
He turned toward her, but remained silent.
She pulled away from him and rose. “I’m going to make an early start tomorrow, so I’d better get to bed. Good night.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Good night.”
So this was how it was going to end? A cool good night and he’d see her go without any of the regrets she’d feel?
“Thank you for coming to help out, Annalise.”
“Don’t thank me for coming. I didn’t do it for you. I came for Deb. I stayed for RP and Ria. I’m leaving tomorrow for you. You can thank me for that. I know that’ll make you happy.”
She waited. Would he at least deny that her leaving would make him happy? He sat staring silently up at her, as if wondering why she was still there when it was obvious that he was longing for her to go.
“Reed?” She touched his hair.
He shook his head. “Don’t.”
She dropped her hand and quickly left the porch. Back in her room, she tried to do what Charlie was always urging his congregation to do. Handle the things she could and leave the rest in God’s hands and get on with life.
Thoughts of Reed filled Annalise’s head on the drive back to Philly several hours later. Reminding herself that he had a beautiful girlfriend and no personal interest in her didn’t help. She knew what would. She’d throw herself into helping out at the soup kitchen Charlie’s church sponsored. Once she immersed herself in the Lord’s work, she’d soon forget Reed.
She’d never been one to waste her time or pine for things she couldn’t have. Reed was off–limits. So she’d forget him. As a means to an end, she’d made it clear to Deb that she wouldn’t be returning to Flemington to help out again.
Deb’s failure to ask why left her feeling certain that she knew why. Annalise grimaced. She certainly couldn’t be the first of Deb’s friends to fall for Reed.
The flowers arrived that night, just as she was about to sit down to dinner on her balcony. He sent two dozen yellow carnations. After spending several moments inhaling their fragrance, she reached for the card.
Annalise,
Please accept these as a small token of our appreciation for the generosity and selflessness you displayed this weekend on our behalf. May God always keep you in His love and protect you.
Ria, R P, and Reed Phillips.
She couldn’t help noticing that no mention was made of her being welcomed to return. As a matter fact, there was a definite, undeniable finality about that last sentence. He obviously didn’t expect to meet her again.
Oh, well. It was time to learn from her mistake and keep it moving along.
She spent the majority of the next week at the soup kitchen. There she cooked and served lunch and dinner. When she arrived home at night, she was too tired to do more than say a prayer before falling exhausted into bed.
Charlie worried that she was doing too much, but she kept up the pace. Her busy days left her no time to think of Reed Phillips, which was her immediate goal.
Reed stood at the window of his downtown Philadelphia office, looking out onto the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, aware that he wasn’t behaving very responsibly.
He should be working on the designs for the proposed townhouse project in Northeast Philly that he and his partner hoped to win. Winning the contract would go a long way in helping to establish the two–year–old firm of Rogers and Phillips.
Equally as pressing was the need to find a nanny for Ria and RP. Since he wasn’t working, he should be doing something constructive like interviewing prospective candidates.
Instead, he stood there wasting valuable time. Recalling the disastrous weekend he and Taylor had spent with Ria and RP, he sighed. Taylor had tried hard with them, but they rebuffed all her overtures. Finally she’d stopped trying, admitting to him that she didn’t think they’d ever like her.
Such an assertion didn’t bode well for their future relationship. He needed to find a way to encourage them to forget Annalise and give Taylor another chance. First, he had to refocus his own interest in Taylor. Although he’d been careful to immediately dismiss all thoughts of Annalise that popped into his head, he’d dreamed of her twice. In both dreams she’d been in church about to marry him.
While falling in love with Maria, he’d often dreamt of marrying her. Maria. He closed his eyes. She had been so good to and for him, he’d known meeting her was an obvious gift from the Lord. As a reckless adolescent, he’d had his fair share of no strings attached, purely physical relationships. He’d found them exciting, but transitory. Then he’d met Maria. With her he’d discovered a desire and a need to belong to just one woman and know she belonged to him alone.
More importantly, through her he’d rediscovered God, church, and the moral code his parents had tried so hard to instill in him as he grew up.
Losing her in a plane crash after only twelve years of marriage had been the hardest challenge he’d ever faced. It was that sense of God and church that had helped him get through the last three years.
After belonging to a woman unafraid to commit herself fully and completely to him, he felt lost and lonely. He longed to fall head over heels in love with another woman who would love him and his kids unreservedly. The three of them needed a woman who would share their faith in God.
Until recently he’d been fairly certain that Taylor was that woman. He’d never doubted her ability to make him and his kids happy until he’d met Annalise. He rubbed his eyes. No matter how much he prayed or how hard he tried not to, he thought of her at the most inconvenient times. Like now.
He looked out the window again, started to turn away, and then did a double take. There was a woman with long dark hair that fell just below her shoulders on the other side of the street, waiting for the light to turn. She wore an oversized shirt and baggy sweat pants. Something about her seemed familiar.
He continued to stare down at her, waiting for her to glance upward, so he could place her. Of course, there was no reason for her to look up. But when she did, he caught a glimpse of her beautiful, warm coco colored skin.
He sucked in his breath. Her eyes would be a dark, bottomless brown. Her smile would make his heart thump painfully and brighten his day. Annalise.
As the light changed and she moved across the street and out of his line of sight, he noticed a small, insulated lunch bag in her hand.
Her destination must be the park. Would she eat alone or was she meeting someone? Not that it was any concern of his. He was surely the last person she’d want to see.
Thoughts of their midnight encounter on his back porch made him wince. His behavior must have confused her. Sitting with her in the moonlight with the smell of her perfume filling his senses to overflowing and her arm slipped through his had filled him with improper desires.
As a man on the verge of proposing to Taylor, he had no right to allow himself the decadent luxury of weaving fantasies around Annalise. The needs and desires she inspired in him were sinful.
And yet…Annalise. Everything about her, including her sweet name filled him with heat. Even without Taylor, Annalise was only
twenty–five. She was too young and sweet for him. She deserved a man closer to her age who could father the children she wanted.
He closed his eyes and touched his forehead against the cool window. This constant thinking of her had to stop. It wasn’t fair to Taylor and it only fueled his improper desires. He uttered a silent prayer before turning away from the window.
Chapter Five
Seated on the grass with her back against a tree, Annalise decided that coming to the park had been a bad idea. The beauty of the day and her surroundings left her longing to sketch the scene. She still had several weeks to go before she could begin drawing or painting again full–time.
“Hello.”
A shadow fell across her face and she lifted a hand to shield her eyes as she looked up to see Reed Phillips smiling down at her.
Standing there with the sun shining on his fair hair, he looked like a mythical Norseman who’d walked out of legend and straight into her wayward, aching heart. Unless he wasn’t really there.
She blinked. This was no dream. He was there and still looking pleased to see her too. She swallowed slowly. “Fancy meeting you here, RP Senior.”
“Nothing fancy about it. I followed you.” He nodded toward the tree. “May I join you?”
He’d followed her? She shrugged while her heart thumped like a wild thing at his admission. “Sure, if you think your suit can stand up to possible grass stains.”
He sat beside her, stretching his long legs out in front of him and leaning back against the tree with his broad shoulder nearly touching hers.
“You said something about following me,” she said, staring straight ahead.
“I was at the window of my office and I saw you heading this way. I suspected you were probably coming here to have lunch. Since I hadn’t eaten, I decided to join you.”
“Wow. Should I be flattered?” She spoke in a dry voice she hoped concealed her delight at his words.
“Oh, come on, Annalise. Give me a break. I didn’t mean it like that.”
