by Bryce, Megan
At his blank look she said, “Of Griffith Ave. Old Dallas money. Before your father got ahold of it.”
He looked over his shoulder, trying to find the woman. “Then why was she glaring daggers at you?”
“I have a standing invitation with her husband.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
Cole told his fingers not to break the champagne stem in two, it wasn’t the man’s neck. “No wonder his wife looks like she wants to skewer you with a serving fork.”
“Oh, we’re good friends,” she said as he took a sip, and he snorted into his champagne glass, coughing. Maggie took a step closer, rubbing his back until he could breathe again.
He turned to glare at the man, staring long enough for the stupid look on Simon Blackwood’s face to turn into a questioning one. Long enough for it to turn into fear.
“Your standing invitation just exploded.”
She didn’t bother to turn around. “What a shame.” She patted his hand. “Try not to take it personally, Cole. Simon has a standing invitation with anything willing to wear a skirt.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What does that mean?”
“It means you could be next. If you’re willing to wear the skirt.”
Cole looked again to find Simon still watching him, the fear mixed now with something else, and Maggie whispered into his ear, “You are rather impressive. Enough to make anyone wonder if they’d be willing to wear the skirt.”
Cole glared at the man until he finally turned away, melting into the crowd.
Cole turned back to Maggie and she said, “It’s an ugly feeling, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Aren’t you tired of these people yet, Maggie?”
She cocked her head, looking genuinely perplexed. “Aren’t people like this everywhere? And I didn’t come to mingle with the likes of him.” She nodded in another direction, saying, “I came to mingle with the likes of him.”
Cole looked where she was nodding and said, “Not Harwood.”
“He has connections, Cole. Money goes through him, people talk to him, deals go through him.”
“Not Harwood.”
Jackson Harwood began making his way to them and Cole turned to Maggie. “I’m telling you right now, Maggie, not Harwood. I won’t survive it. He won’t survive it.”
Jackson sidled up, nodding to Cole and saying, “So, what do you think? Interested?”
At their blank looks, he said, “Didn’t Tanner tell you?”
Cole said, “We’ve been busy.”
Maggie squeezed his arm. “Monday. Remember? We’re meeting with Tanner on Monday.”
Cole looked at her, then back at Harwood. He couldn’t help his grimace. “You think Monday is about Harwood here?”
Jackson said, “I’d be happy to meet with you, just name the time.”
Cole said, “Eight o’clock. In Midland.”
“In the morning? In Midland?”
“I only do business in Midland. Just ask Margaret here.”
Maggie gave him an arch look and said, “I won’t be in Midland, Jackson. Why don’t we meet for lunch. I’ll bring Tanner.”
Cole took a long, long sip of champagne, draining it, and looked around for a replacement. Something just a little bit stronger.
Jackson shook his head. “Tanner was just the delivery person. I’ll be happy to meet with you alone, Margaret. Though perhaps a little later than eight?”
He smiled at her and Cole thought he heard a popping sound. The popping sound veins made when blood boiled right out of them.
Maggie turned her head to look at Cole as if she’d heard it, too.
Maggie looked into Cole’s eyes and said, “Let me talk with Tanner tomorrow, Jackson. If I like what he says, we’ll get ahold of you.”
When Jackson opened his mouth to argue, she turned to him and said softly, “No Tanner, no deal.”
Cole said, “Or better yet, no deal. Ever.”
Jackson threw his drink back. “I’ve done everything you wanted.”
Cole gave Maggie a long look, then walked away. He couldn’t stand there and listen to her and Harwood.
He knew she hated the man and yet she was willing to work with him again and again. He couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand Dallas.
Maggie followed him moments later, taking his hand, leading him out to the dance floor. She stepped in close, moving slowly to the music.
After a few minutes of silence, the feel of her body calming him like words couldn’t, she said, “Better?”
He exhaled loudly. “I’ve remembered why I hate this place. Why I return to the dust and the swearing and the sweating every Monday.”
“You return every Monday because it pays you an obscene amount of money. Enough for you to be able to choose. Choose who, how, when. I don’t have that choice.”
“Yes, you do. And you choose to sell yourself.”
“You mean because I’ll work with my greatest nemesis to stay afloat?”
He pulled back to look at her. “Please tell me that you and me is different than you and him.”
“Is it?” She stepped closer again. “It’s only different, Cole, because against my better judgment, I like you. Against my better judgment, I’ll work with him. If I refused to work with everyone I didn’t like, I’d be taking a permanent vacation.”
“What if I keep you so busy, you don’t have time for Harwood?”
She pulled back from him again and he could see the glint in her eye. She said, “Are you talking about sex again?”
“No. But only because I don’t want you to knee me in front of all these sharks.”
“You are putting on a good show for them. I’d hate to ruin it.”
“Everyone wants to see if this is a love match or a power match. I’m just letting them see it’s both.”
He tugged her closer, brought her hand to his heart. He said softly, “We forgot about a ring.”
“Yes. Quick thinking on your part. Am I so hard to please?”
“Oh, Maggie. Look up high maintenance in the dictionary and your picture will have the caption ‘Queen of’ underneath it.”
She chuckled. “And no pre-nup? Where did that come from?”
He shrugged. “Just popped out. She seemed to delight in pointing out it wasn’t your money.”
“That would delight her, yes.”
“And why does she hate you for her husband’s wandering eye?”
“Paula can’t hate her husband. Her pre-nup is ironclad.”
He whispered, “There is something about money.”
“Yes. There is.”
“Luckily, we won’t have one. A pre-nup. That way money won’t come between us.”
Maggie shook her head. “If everyone thinks I’m getting your money, why would they want to work with me?”
“Money goes to he who already has it. Or she. Don’t worry, this will only make them want to work with you more.”
“You might be right. You’re notoriously tightfisted; maybe they’ll think I can loosen the purse strings a bit.”
He spun them quickly, bringer her in tighter. “Maybe you can. Starting with a ring.”
“Cole–”
“You know you need one.”
“Fine. Just go get one.”
He ignored the exasperation in her voice. “I know you. It has to be just right. Brassy enough to go with your ballbuster outfits, big enough to counteract your come-hither outfits.”
“My come-hither outfits?”
“Like that little skirt that looks respectable but rides up just enough to promise that you aren’t.”
She took a step into him, leaving no space between them, pressing her cheek against his so he could feel her smile.
“I’m respectable. The skirt says don’t you wish I wasn’t.”
“Yes. I wish you weren’t. But that’s not what the skirt says.”
He could feel her breath blow across his ear as she laughed quietly.
He
smiled, seeing a few faces turned in their direction, seeing hands come up to cover whispers, and he said, “I’ll come back early on Friday, take you to pick out a ring.”
He could feel the tension in her back and he rubbed it soothingly. “It’s not a down payment on your soul, Maggie.”
“Just my body?”
“Maybe traditionally. But I think you should treat it like a contract.”
She pushed against him until there was space between them again.
He said, “That while my ring is on your finger, you’re mine. While my ring is on your finger, I’m yours. You can’t argue with that, can you?”
“Is this why people make deals with the devil? Because it sounds reasonable?”
“You already made the deal. This is the trappings.”
She said, “I am starting to feel a little trapped, yes.”
“I know you’re going to flash my ring around no matter what you say. You’ll work it, make everyone think what you want them to.”
“Like that I’ve got you wrapped around my finger?”
“Everyone knows it already. How else would you get me to marry you without a pre-nup?”
She laughed. “I’ll let them know someday that all it takes is a fake engagement.”
The music stopped and in the pause before the next song they stayed together, smiling.
She finally said, “Ready to go back in?”
He took a deep breath. “It’s what we came for.”
“It is. And just think, anybody will be better than Jackson.”
“That is true. Except maybe Blackwood.”
“You don’t need to worry about Simon. He wouldn’t know what work was if it bit him.”
Ginny was in the kitchen, putting the last of dinner away. Tanner had followed her, sitting at the counter to watch her, picking at the leftovers.
Rosa was getting older and slower, and they couldn’t afford to hire extra help for her. Ginny had taken to helping with the dishes since helping with the food was out of the question.
You were welcome to come in and watch Rosa while she was cooking, but you did not get in her way.
Tanner grabbed the last bite and said, “I’m driving out to Midland tomorrow.”
“What’s out in Midland?”
“Jackson Harwood wants to get Cole in on a deal he’s doing. I said I’d bring it to him, try and get him to sign.”
Ginny tried to keep her eyebrows from running up into her hairline, turning around slowly to give herself time to get over the shock.
She thought of Tanner meeting with Cole and said, “I want to go with you.”
Tanner shook his head and she banged the saran wrap on the counter. “We’re going to be a team, remember? We’re going to do it together, Tanner.”
“We will.”
“Tomorrow.”
“I can’t, Ginny. Tomorrow I will go see Cole Montgomery. And I will do whatever I have to so I can get in his good graces. Whatever he wants so I can be part of this deal. I can’t do it if you’re there. I can’t stand to have you watch that.”
She stared at her husband, saying nothing. Willing him to change his mind.
He whispered, “Please, Ginny. I have to do this without you.”
“And then, next time, I’ll go?”
“Yes. After I get Cole to sign, we’ll meet with Harwood together.”
She grimaced. “Why does it have to be with him?”
“It’ll be worth it.”
“Will you listen to me if I think it won’t?”
He rose, pulling a glass from the cupboard, turning to look at her. “Yes.”
She nodded. She wasn’t sure how that would go, how he’d react if she disagreed with him. If he’d believe her. They’d never done this before.
It was exciting and new. After eleven years of marriage, exciting and new was, well, exciting and new.
But this she was sure of. The two of them together would be better than the two of them apart.
Tanner pulled a bottle of Coke from the fridge, pouring it over ice. He didn’t add his normal shot of rum and she walked around the island to kiss his cheek.
“Can I have one?”
He nodded, getting another glass down for her. He poured, holding it out to her, and when she tried to take it, he whispered, “You never say anything about my drinking.”
She looked up. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You could say you hate it.”
“I could.”
“You could say you wish I would stop.”
“I do wish you could stop. But I don’t think it’s as easy as wishing.”
“I don’t want to be a drunk. But I try to stop and I fail. And I try and I fail. Fail, fail, fail.”
She ran her hand behind his ear. “Tonight you didn’t.”
He looked down in his glass, staring wide eyed. “I want it.”
“Wanting it’s not failing. I’m not sure the want is under your control. Only the doing.”
“I don’t know how to beat the want. It turns to need eventually. It will win eventually.”
“There’s a way, Tanner. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know what your way is, but I know there’s a way.”
He took a long drink, closing his eyes.
She said, “And you’ll probably fail a few times as you make your way. Fail is not a four-letter word. It just means you’re going down the wrong road, that you’ve come to a dead end. It doesn’t mean your destination is unreachable.”
“Destination. What is my destination?” He opened his eyes, looked down into his drink as if it held the answers he was seeking.
“You’re going to have to decide that for yourself, Tanner.”
He said, “What do you want?”
“For you to be happy.”
“And if I’m happy three sheets to the wind?”
She said simply, “Then I’m happy.”
“Are you happy, Ginny? Really happy?”
“No. Because you’re not.”
He looked into her eyes and she could see how unhappy he was.
How sad. Hopeless.
Why was life so hard? That’s what she wanted to know. Because no one escaped. No one.
All you could really do was keep trying.
And when you failed, turn around and try again.
He said, “So what do I do tonight? And tomorrow?” He laughed hollowly, closing his eyes. “How am I going to get through tomorrow without a drink waiting for me at the end?”
She wrapped her arms around him, whispering huskily. “I could distract you tonight. Anytime you need a distraction, I’d be happy to help.”
She pulled back, grinning at him, and he laughed. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do. You’re blind about this, you can’t see that you deserve me. When we go see Harwood you won’t be able to see if the reward is worth the risk. You’ll just have to believe me without being able to see it. I think you’ll just have to believe me about this, too. You deserve me. If you didn’t, I would never have married you. If you didn’t, I wouldn’t still be with you.”
“So when you finally leave me, I’ll know I no longer deserve you?”
“If I’m still with you, you know you do.”
He whispered, “I’ll just have to make sure you never leave.”
She whispered back, “I know where you can start.”
He lifted her on to the counter and she squeaked. He said, “Right here?”
Ginny looked to the kitchen door. “On Rosa’s counter?”
“Why not?”
“I think it would be hard to stay with you if we were both dead.”
He pulled her head down, kissed her lips. “Rosa wouldn’t lay a finger on you.”
“That’s because I have respect for the woman who prepares our food and I wouldn’t desecrate her workspace.”
“Always so thoughtful. So sweet.”
“It’s a recessive gene. The Caldwells produce one every once in a w
hile.”
He laughed, pulled her off the counter. “What about the bathroom counter? Will Rosa have anything to say about that?”
She took his hand and led him out of the kitchen. “Nope. Not a peep.”
Ginny was still awake when car lights flashed across the window, telling her Maggie was home.
They’d left the outside lights on for her, knowing she’d be back late. Ginny had been hoping she wouldn’t be back at all, that she’d end up at Cole’s.
But it looked like her sister was too stubborn for her own good.
Ginny glanced at Tanner sleeping beside her, their distraction having worked well enough for tonight.
Maybe she could help him after all. He had to do it himself, there really was no other alternative, but she could help him. She would help him any way she could.
She slipped out of bed, smiling, thinking that really wasn’t going to be a sacrifice. Not if tonight was any indication.
She threw on her pajamas, padding out to the living room, peering through the blinds to make sure it was Maggie. The windows were open to the cool night air and Ginny could hear Cole saying, “I have to know. It’s been driving me crazy all night.”
They were a breaths width apart, Maggie’s lips curved in a smile, Cole staring at them. Maggie said, “Whatever you find, it’ll drive you crazy for the rest of the night.”
He ran his hands down her back, finding the zipper to her pants and slowly pulling it down. “I’m willing to live with that.”
Ginny turned away, not particularly interested in seeing her sister naked, when Cole said, “You are wearing panties. A tease and a liar, Margaret Caldwell. There’s a place in hell reserved for women like you.”
Maggie said, “And there’s a place reserved in heaven for stupid men that fall for it.”
“Not stupid. Just hopeful.” A long pause and then he said softly, “Always hopeful.”
Ginny peeked through the curtains again to find her sister’s arms wrapped around Cole’s neck, kissing him like a dieter getting that first taste of cake.
Cole kept one hand down the back of Maggie’s pants, one hand fisted in her hair. He held her still as his mouth teased hers.
He trailed kisses to her ear and whispered something, and Ginny thought she was going to have to make a quick exit before they came inside.
Maggie went still for a long minute, then unwrapped her arms and pushed against him until he let her go. He slid his hands down her bare arms, linking their fingers, and stared into her eyes.
