by Donna Hill
Wrapped in a towel, she paced in front of her walk-in closet looking for the perfect outfit. So much of her wardrobe was either formal or business attire, with a few casual outfits that she hadn’t worn in much too long and her two favorite dresses—one of which he’d already seen her in and the other her sisters said did nothing for her. As she stood there, she was hit with the telling revelation that she had no date clothes—not even for a park date. Preston would be there in a half hour, and she was stuck in her closet with nothing to wear. This would never happen to Dominique. Dominique!
Lee Ann tugged the towel from around her body and put on her robe before dashing down the hallway to her sister’s bedroom. She knocked. No answer.
“Looking for Dom?”
Lee Ann turned. Justin was coming up the stairs.
“She’s out back.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” She breezed by him on the staircase and ran out to the garden behind the house.
Dominique was stretched out on a lounge chair with her iPod earbuds plugged in. Her eyes were closed, and she was rocking her foot to the rhythm playing in her head.
Lee Ann tapped her on the shoulder. Dominique lowered her sunglasses and looked up. She pulled the earbuds out. “Whatsup?” She looked her sister up and down.
“I really need your help. Like right now.”
Dominique’s thinly arched brows rose in surprise. She swiveled to an upright position. “You need my help?”
“Yes,” she said through her teeth. She grabbed Dominique’s hand and tugged her off the veranda and upstairs. “Come on. He’ll be here any minute.”
“Who?”
“Preston,” Lee Ann tossed over her shoulder.
Dominique beamed. “Well, all righty then. That’s what I’m talking about. How can I help?”
“I need something to wear.” They reached the landing, and Lee Ann led the way to Dominique’s room.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.”
They entered Dominique’s dressing room, which could have been an easy substitute for the main floor of a high-end boutique. Lee Ann knew that Dominique had a passion for clothes—expensive clothes and shoes and bags—but she had no idea to what extent her passion had grown. Her mouth dropped open as she followed Dominique along the expanse of her closet. It was actually an adjacent room that had been converted to accommodate her wardrobe, which could easily clothe a small neighborhood, Lee Ann thought in awe, and that was with the clothes that still had tags on them. She had to give it to her sister though. Dominique did her fair share of donating. A great percentage of her brand-new clothing went to the nonprofit of which she was the executive director. First Impressions provided clothing and job preparation training for women who had been out of the job market because of prison, homelessness or prior drug problems. That was the other side of her sister that most people didn’t know about.
Dominique spun toward her sister, hands on her hips. “So, what kind of date is it? Is it fabulously chic, stuffy formal, fashionably casual or simply naughty?” she added with a wink.
“We’re going to the concert in the park and then staying for the movie.”
Dominique pursed her lips. “Fashionably casual.” She walked to the far end of the closet. “I’ve been telling you for years that you need to diversify your wardrobe.” She pressed her finger to her lips. “Hmm.” She plucked a pair of salmon-colored cotton slacks that stopped at the midcalf with a cuff. She pulled a variety of multicolored sleeveless tops, some with swooping necklines, V-necks, layered in sheer fabric over something silky. She pulled out accessories—belts, earrings, purses, necklaces—and carried her treasures to the bed. “Any of these tops will do,” she said with authority. “The key, as I’ve always said, is the accessories, the magic ingredient.”
Lee Ann did a quick scan of the tops and plucked one from the group. “This will be fine.” She took the slacks.
Dominique selected silver accessories and a clutch Coach purse in the same color as the slacks and handed her a shrug sweater that picked up the pale green in the top.
“Thanks, sis.” She hurried toward the door, with Dominique on her heels.
“Anytime. If he gets here before you’re ready, I’ll keep him busy.”
Lee Ann glanced back at her sister. Dominique was a man magnet. She drew them to her with little effort on her part beyond simply breathing. She tugged in a breath. “Sure. Thanks.” She hurried off to her room and got dressed.
Her plan was to be ready and waiting for him on the front porch so that they could bypass the family interrogation. She knew her family meant well. They could just be a bit overwhelming to some people, especially when they all converged on you at once.
That wasn’t her biggest issue, she thought, as she checked her lipstick and dropped it into her purse. Her real issue was she was totally out of practice. She hadn’t been on a “date” that wasn’t business related since she and Maxwell Harris broke up. She’d been devastated. He claimed it wasn’t her, that he just needed some space to find himself. He found himself, all right, married to Ashley Montgomery six months later. Lee Ann was humiliated. Max was the first man she loved, right out of college. She thought he was the one. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel the same way.
Right after that, her mother grew ill, and Lee Ann threw herself into taking care of her. It helped them both. Louisa drew a kind of strength from Lee Ann. And Lee Ann was able to pour all of her love and attention into her mother and push aside all thoughts of Maxwell. That was five years ago, and she hadn’t been “involved” with anyone since—a date here and there but nothing serious. Between looking after her father’s affairs and taking care of her family, there wasn’t time. At least that’s what she told herself.
Lee Ann took her house keys and cell phone from the dresser, added them to the contents of her purse and went downstairs just as her brother Rafe was coming through the door with Preston in tow.
“Look who I found lurking out front.” He clapped Preston on the back.
Lee Ann landed on the last step and approached the devastatingly handsome duo. She leaned up and kissed her brother’s cheek. “Hi.” She turned to Preston. “I hope he didn’t say anything out of the way, which he’s prone to do without warning.” She cut Rafe a playful look.
“You wound me, dear sister.” He winked. “I didn’t get the chance to run him through the mill, so where are you two headed?”
“Concert in the park,” Preston offered.
Rafe frowned. He looked from one to the other. “A political concert?”
“No,” Lee Ann said simply. “We should go, Preston. We’ll be late.”
“Right. Good seeing you again, Rafe.”
Rafe murmured something unintelligible just as Branford emerged from his study. “Preston?”
Preston turned. “Hello, Senator Lawson.”
Branford slowly approached, taking in the scene. Lee Ann wanted to disappear.
“Did we have an appointment?” He frowned at Lee Ann, while shaking Preston’s hand.
“No, sir, we didn’t.”
“Then I don’t understand…”
“Preston is here to see me, Daddy, and we’re late.” She turned and walked to the door.
“To see you?” He glared from one to the other. “What in heaven’s name for?”
“We were—”
Lee Ann cut Preston off. “Goodnight, daddy.” She walked to the door and stepped out.
“Good night, everyone,” Preston said, not really sure what scenario was being played out. He closed the door behind them and followed Lee Ann down the steps and to his waiting car. Tonight it was the Lexus SUV.
“I’m really sorry about that,” Lee Ann murmured. Preston opened the car door for her.
“You want to tell me what’s going on? Is there something that I should know?”
“Only that my family is…close for lack of a better word. Too close at times.” She fastened her seat belt.
Preston got in behind th
e wheel and turned the key in the ignition. “I think it’s nice.”
She glanced at him, and the warm, sincere smile of understanding unraveled the knot that had tightened in her stomach.
He put the car in gear and drove out of the winding driveway. “I get the impression that you’re really important to them—at least from what I’ve seen.”
“Really?”
“Not to mention how highly your father speaks of you as often as he can.” His flashed an amused smile.
“Hmm, I don’t know. I think it’s more of a comfort than anything else.”
“A comfort? Why do you say that?”
She was thoughtful for a moment before she began to speak about those days that were still painful to remember. “When my mother got sick, it seemed natural to me to take care of her, being the oldest daughter.” Her voice drifted as the memories of those difficult days pushed to the forefront. “My father, as strong as he is in front of the country, couldn’t handle the thought of losing his wife. His visits to her sickbed often did them both more damage than good. Telling him he had to be strong for her usually resulted in a firestorm of outrage—how could he be expected to be strong when the most important person in his life was being taken from him? Dom and Desi spent most of their time crying or moaning about how unfair it was. Rafe was like a ghost in those days. He was her favorite. They were so close,” she said softly. “And Justin, to be the youngest, he was a real trooper. I don’t know what I would have done without him.” She sighed. “I guess I took over where my mother left off—taking care of the house, the staff and the family.” She glanced at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on and on.”
“Please.” He stretched his hand across the gears and covered hers. “It’s fine.”
“I made them sound so awful and selfish. They really aren’t.”
Preston chuckled. “You did make the whole crew sound like a bunch of brats,” he teased. “Except for Justin.”
Lee Ann ducked her head for a moment and bit back a grin. “They’re really quite sweet.”
“I’m sure.” He paused a moment before making the turn toward the park entrance. “I, uh, got the impression that they—your father and brother—didn’t know about us and tonight.”
Her face heated. “No, they didn’t.”
He bobbed his head. “Any reason?”
“I’m not really sure what the reason was,” she said a bit more harshly than she’d intended. “I just didn’t tell them.” She tightened her grip around her purse.
Preston’s brow arched for a moment, and he knew to back off. Whatever her reason was, it was her own. But he didn’t have the time or the inclination to tiptoe around anyone. He’d never done it in his life and had no intention of starting now.
He drove the car as far as he could and then found a parking space. “We’ll have to walk from here. It’s not far,” he said. “Right up the ridge and down on the other side.”
Lee Ann nodded. Preston came around and helped her out of the car. Gone was the easy, excited feeling, replaced with the rubber bands of tension that had popped between them during their first meeting at the reception.
Preston took a blanket from the trunk and tucked it under his arm. “This way,” he muttered and jutted his chin. Lee Ann fell in step beside him.
He was annoyed, he realized as they walked in side-by-side silence. Annoyed at the one thing he promised he would not allow himself to be ever again—how someone else’s agenda affected him. But he held his tongue. One night. The last night. Move on.
They reached the top of the ridge, and from that vantage point, the multicolored quilt of the crowd splashed out before them. One of the bands was already on stage and launched into their first number.
Preston instinctively took Lee Ann’s hand as they maneuvered their way across the uneven landscape and around bodies in search of a piece of space, and against his own steely determination, the sensation of her fingers wrapped around his hand seemed to soothe the ache that always resided inside him.
“Looks like a spot over there,” Lee Ann said, in a voice that carried a soft echo of sadness that gave Preston pause.
He gave her hand a little squeeze. Her eyes slid up to his face then pulled away.
“Let’s grab it before someone else does.”
They walked faster and just beat out another couple thanks to Preston’s quick work of staking their claim with the almost theatrical unfurling of the blanket, which reminded Lee Ann of a matador teasing the oncoming bull. She told him as much once they’d sat down.
“A matador?” Preston laughed a deep, tumbling laugh that broke the tenuous band of tension between them. He looked at her soft, smiling face and settled down beside her. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but I think matador is a first. I kind of like it though.”
He grinned, flashing that sexy smile that lit his eyes and stole her breath away.
Preston reached out and tenderly touched the wisps of dark hair that feathered her brow. He moved a bit closer. Lee Ann’s heart began to race.
The crowd burst into thunderous applause as the band finished their number.
Lee Ann blinked as if awakened from a light sleep. Preston gave an imperceptible shake of his head.
“I…uh, didn’t think to bring snacks,” Lee Ann blurted out in that odd moment of awkwardness.
Preston slapped his brow with the heel of his palm. “Oh man, I left them in the car.” He sprang to his feet. “I’ll be right back. Hold my spot,” he added with a wink. He jogged back the way they had come and was soon swallowed by the throng.
Lee Ann sat with her legs tucked beneath her and took a look around, while she ran through her head that push and pull that kept happening between her and Preston. Granted, she was no expert on dating or the prelude to it, but she had good plain sense and always relied on her instincts. But for reasons that she couldn’t put her finger on, Preston, at the slightest instance, would retreat to a space and cut her out, almost in retribution. Maybe it was the bump in the road of getting to know each other. Maybe she was making more out of it than necessary. Maybe it was just her imagination. Whatever it was, she wasn’t sure she knew how to deal with it or if she wanted to.
Preston opened the back door of the car and retrieved the compact blue-and-white cooler that he’d left on the floor. If he’d had his head in the right place instead of taking a detour down that dark road, he wouldn’t have forgotten. He needed to get over it. The past was the past. Lee Ann was not part of that space in his life. He shut the door and used his key alarm to lock the car.
“Preston?”
A jolt went through him. He turned in the direction of the familiar voice.
“It is you.” She walked over to him, leaving the man she was with looking at her swaying hips. She stopped in front of him and let her eyes trail over his face for an instant before she placed a featherlight kiss on his cheek. She used the pad of her thumb to wipe away the imprint of her cherry-red lipstick. “How have you been? Congratulations are in order,” she said in that throaty drawl that used to drive him wild.
“I’ve been fine. Thanks.” His jaw clenched.
She puckered her lips for a moment. “It’s been a long time, Press.”
He could feel the heat rising off her body, her scent slipping beneath his clothing. Her nipples jutted against the thin fabric of her shirt, boldly announcing her bralessness.
“I have to go. Good seeing you, Charlotte.” He started to move around her. She clasped his arm.
“I miss you,” she said in a hungry whisper. “Every day.”
Preston jerked his chin in the direction of her companion. “Your friend is waiting for you.” He glanced down at the hand that held his arm, and the diamond flashed beneath the street lights. “You plan on leaving him at the altar, too?”
She flinched. Her expression shifted from hot to cold. “I made a mistake. We were young.”
He stared down into her ivy-green eyes. His voice was low and lade
n with apathy. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” He pulled away from her hold and walked away, casting a sidelong glance at the man who must be her new fiancé.
Preston stood at the top of the ridge. He looked back to where he’d just come. The sunny Sunday afternoon six years earlier stood before him. Instead of marrying the woman he’d loved he got a note from her cousin. She couldn’t do it. She wasn’t ready. She was sorry. That was it. It was over. It was six years ago, but seeing Charlotte like that brought it all back. He trotted down the slope then wound his way around the sprawled and propped up bodies until he reached Lee Ann.
Her back was turned to him, and he took the moment to pull himself together. He knew that part of his recalcitrant behavior was due to what happened to him years ago and finding out several months later the real reason for Charlotte’s betrayal. He wasn’t good enough, and she wasn’t going to wait around for his career to “take off.” His jaw tightened. But like all the obstacles and defeats that had faced him throughout his life, he took that and used it as a springboard to get him where he was today, a U.S. senator.
Preston drew in a breath and crossed the rest of the distance to Lee Ann.
“Got it,” he said, dropping down beside her.
She turned her engaging smile on him, and it seemed as if in the time that he was gone, the tight thin line between her brow was gone, her shoulders seemed softer and her body was relaxed. He hoped that if it was he who had drawn the line and tightened her shoulders and body that he would have the chance to see and get to know the Lee Ann in front of him now.
“I’ve never heard Spyro Gyra live. They’re fabulous.” Her eyes sparkled.
He winked. “Told ya it would be great.” He pulled open the top of the cooler and pulled out a bottle of wine and a tray of crackers, cheese and fruit.
“Wow, I am totally impressed.” She plucked a grape from the stem.
He uncorked the bottle and poured the white wine into a clear plastic cup for Lee Ann and one for himself. He held up his cup and tapped it against hers. “To giving each other a chance.”
Lee Ann looked into the depths of his eyes. “I like that.”
