What Matters Most

by Longley, Barbara

  “I’m an introvert.” He flashed her sheepish look. “We introverts think a lot about shit like this.”

  She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

  “See?” He pointed at her. “Even with me your defense mechanisms kick in and give off that back-off vibe. You try so hard to come off as tough. News flash—I’m your brother. I know you, and you aren’t tough at all. You’re soft and squishy inside, just like me and Sam.”

  Wyatt shook his head. “Sometimes I feel like I know you two better than you know yourselves.” He gathered a few of her tools and dropped them into her box, causing a jarring clank. “At least think about what I said. Pay attention to how your attitude plays out with your lawyer. Give the poor man a chance. Will you do that?”

  Until Sam met Haley, he’d shut himself off from any possibility of a meaningful relationship. His defenses were obvious. Had she been blind to how losing her parents had affected her own life? “Yeah, I’ll think about it.” She’d try, anyway.

  Of course the trauma she’d suffered as a child affected how she dealt with life, but dammit, she’d gotten out there and dated. For all her efforts, what did she have to show for opening herself up like she had? A much worn-and-torn heart. Maybe she did put up defenses, but who could blame her after so many rejections? All it would take is one man secure enough with himself to see through her defenses, right? If said man didn’t see her as worth the effort, she didn’t need him in her life.

  Jo leaned the broom against the wall next to the ladder. “I’ll see you later, Wyatt. Say hi to Brady and Kayla for me.”

  “Will do.”

  Jo grabbed her toolbox and dropped it off in her apartment before taking the stairs to the third floor. She knocked on Dennis’s door and stepped back. The door opened and Dennis’s girlfriend held up her left hand in a backwards wave, showing off a glittering diamond ring.

  “Oh, my God!” Josey grabbed Sandy’s hand and peered at the rock now adorning her ring finger. “When did this happen? This ring is gorgeous.” She shaded her eyes as if looking at a bright light. “Dang, it’s so sparkly I can hardly look at it,” she teased. Another green-tipped arrow pierced her heart, and Wyatt’s words came back to haunt her.

  Sandy laughed. “Last night. I guess my old man finally figured out we’re permanent.”

  A beaming Dennis appeared behind Sandy. “Come in, Jo.”

  “Wow. First Wyatt and Kayla, and now you two. Is this what happens with home-ownership?” Josey followed the newly engaged, middle-aged couple into the living room and took a seat. Sandy and Dennis were so completely incongruous together. Dennis was wiry-thin, terribly nearsighted, twitchy and private to the point of being slightly paranoid. Sandy was bold and outgoing. Both were short, about the same height, but Sandy outweighed Dennis by quite a bit. Yet, somehow they were the perfect fit, and they’d been together for years. “I’m so happy for you both.”

  “Thanks.” Still beaming, Dennis bobbed his head and ran his hand over his gray-streaked beard. Always full of nervous energy, he remained standing, while Sandy settled on the couch.

  “So, I came up to let you know the building has been completely replumbed, and the water is back on,” Josey told them. “We can check that job off the list.” As she’d torn walls apart to install new pipes, Sam had followed, installing new drywall and the laundry closets for each unit.

  “Good, good.” Dennis continued to nod. “What’s going on with the elevator, man? It’d be great if it worked.”

  “Sam, Wyatt and I have tried really hard to locate a replacement motor, or even parts to rebuild the original, but we’ve struck out. I’m afraid we’re going to be forced to go with a modern replacement with all new fittings and cable. But hey, at least we’ll be able to keep the original car.” The early twentieth century, art deco elevator car was gorgeous and really set off their lobby.

  “That’s going to make getting the elevator running again way more expensive,” Dennis said.

  “Probably.” Josey shrugged. “Everything having to do with old buildings is expensive, but worth it in the end. It’ll cost far less than putting in an elevator from scratch. We thought we’d wait to talk to the board before getting bids.”

  “We’re meeting this coming Tuesday,” Dennis said. “You going to be there?”

  Josey stood up. “I am, and so will Wyatt, of course, since he’s on the board. I don’t know about Sam though.” She grinned at the couple. “Have you two decided on a wedding date?” The two exchanged a look of such happiness, a lump rose to Jo’s throat again.

  Sandy glanced at her engagement ring as if needing reassurance it was still on her finger. “This coming December,” Sandy told her. “Then we’re going on a two-week cruise over the holidays. That reminds me. We were wondering if you’d be willing to watch my two cats while Denny and I are on our honeymoon.”

  Jo smiled, remembering the look on Will’s face when she’d suggested he get a couple of cats to keep him company. “I’d be happy to. Welcome to River Park Apartments, Sandy. I’m so glad you’ll be joining our little community.”

  “We aren’t apartments anymore,” Dennis said. “Shouldn’t we change the name? Leave the etching over the entry door as is, but we can put up a new sign in front of the building.”

  That reminded her; she needed to call a meeting of the Haney & Sons partners to discuss her own naming issue. “Put it on the agenda, and the board can talk about it on Tuesday.”

  “I will.” Dennis walked with her to the door. “Wow. Never imagined my life would go in the direction it has. To think, everything started when Kayla’s apartment caught on fire, and Wyatt herded all of us out of the building. Until then, I didn’t know any of my neighbors.”

  “All good changes though, right?” she asked. “Now you own a piece of the building where your grandfather grew up, and soon you and Sandy will be married.”

  “Yeah. It’s all good.” He opened the door for her. “See you Tuesday.”

  “See you then.” She waved and headed downstairs. Now to figure out what to wear for her date, and how to fill the hours until Will picked her up. In the meantime, she had some mulling over to do, thanks to her younger brother. If he was right, and she’d unconsciously sabotaged previous relationships, she needed to figure out how stop doing that.

  Will had already accused her of being a snob, and he’d been right. She’d rejected him and used their differing backgrounds to justify her pettiness. Given how attracted she was to him, her attitude did reek of defensiveness. Did she always look for reasons to reject possible love interests before they could reject her? She thought back to the last guy she’d dated. She had looked a little too hard for faults, and maybe he’d backed away because of her tendency to put up barriers.

  “Argh.” She stomped into her condo and shut the door behind her. “Dammit, and here I thought I was the most well adjusted out of the three of us.”

  No way did she want to sit home alone until five thirty. If she did, by the time Will arrived, she’d be hyperventilating from nervousness. Shopping for a new outfit didn’t hold much appeal either. Still, if she meant to change how she approached Will, she needed to start somewhere. Making an effort with her appearance was as good a first step as any. “Shopping. Yay.” Malls and shopping were not her idea of a good time. Might as well look for a dress to wear for Wyatt’s wedding while she was at the onerous task.

  Josey pulled her phone from her pocket and called her sister-in-law. Haley answered right away.

  “Hi, Jo.”

  “Hey, Haley. Are you doing anything right now?”

  “Nope. I’m just hanging around, watching Sam wallpaper the nursery. He won’t let me help.” She snorted. “Ever since we got pregnant he’s become weirdly overprotective.”

  “I heard that, Haley,” Sam called loud enough that Jo caught it as well.

  “Wallpaper paste is nontoxic. I meant for you to hear it, weirdo,” Haley teased. “Sorry, Jo. What’s up?”

  “I need
to find a dress for the wedding, and I want something nice to wear for a date tonight.”

  “Oh? Who’s your date?”

  “Will.” Jo’s insides quivered at the thought of seeing him again.

  “Are you interested in him?” Haley asked.

  “I’m attracted, but I don’t know. I guess I’m a little gun-shy right now.”

  “Give him a chance, Jo. He’s a great guy, and he’s obviously interested in you.”

  “I am, but I just don’t see what he and I have in common.”

  “Like Sam and I had anything in common when we met?” She laughed. “Look, the two of you can develop common interests. You just have to be open to the possibilities. Get to know each other. You might be surprised.”

  Clearly Haley and the rest of her posse been talking about her relationship issues. Because right now her sister-in-law sounded just like Wyatt. “Anyway, back to the reason I called. I was hoping you might join me shopping. We can have lunch first and talk more then.”

  “Absolutely. Come get me.”

  “I’m on my way. See you in a few.” They hung up, and Josey changed out of her old work clothes and into a pair of capris, a blouse and slip-on flats. She put on her favorite denim jacket and headed out the backdoor to her truck. Her brother and Haley had bought a big old house and were remodeling it together. They too lived nearby, having found a great deal on a fixer-upper in the same neighborhood as Grandpa Joe and Grandma Maggie.

  Will’s extended family was scattered, and they’d never been very close. Hers were all nearby, and they were all in one another’s business all the time. How would Will deal with that kind of intrusiveness? Sometimes it drove her nuts.

  By all appearances, Sam and Haley hadn’t had anything in common either. Yet they’d built a life together and forged common interests as they got to know each other. She and Will could do that too. Couldn’t they? Yep. She’d try to lower her defenses and take a chance. She couldn’t deny the strength of her attraction, and it wasn’t only physical. She flat out liked him. Gulp. Scary.

  Fine. Life was scary. She wanted love, marriage and all the stuff that came with it. If making her dreams come true meant facing the scary, then dammit, she’d do whatever it took to get past her fears.

  Like Haley said, she needed to be gentle with Will. The same held true for her. She needed to take things slow, drop hints and … And what? She’d never gotten far enough with anyone else to know what came next. As far as romance went, she was about to become an explorer in an uncharted wilderness, and she had a sneaking suspicion her baggage lacked the necessary equipment for survival.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Will parked his car in front of Josey’s building, an old brick, three-story apartment complex located a couple blocks from the parkway along the Mississippi River. His pulse raced, and he smiled. All this time the woman occupying his thoughts lived only a short distance upriver from him.

  He climbed out of his car and headed up the new concrete sidewalk toward the also new front steps. A scaffold stood on the south side of the complex, and he strolled across the yard to take a look. Brand new windows, still with the stickers affixed, reflected light from the late afternoon sun. The old place was getting a facelift. Jo had mentioned she and her brothers were working on renovating the building where she lived.

  The heavy oak and glass door opened into a small foyer lined on one side with built-in brass mailboxes with neat plastic brackets holding the names of the occupants. Will moved to study an intercom system with buttons for each unit. Locating Josey’s button, he took a deep breath and pushed.

  The muffled sound of her buzzer reached him. She didn’t answer, but the lock on the security door clicked. He entered and trotted up a short flight of stairs to a lobby that looked like something out of a nineteen-twenties movie set, right down to the period sconces on the walls and the ornate elevator with the “out of order” sign on the front.

  A door opened to his right, and Josey appeared, dazzling his senses and stealing his breath. She wore leggings and ankle boots; both showed off her toned legs. A silky, multi-colored tunic that caressed her curves as she moved. Tonight her lustrous hair fell around her shoulders. What he wouldn’t give to tangle his fingers in all that softness and bury his face in the crook of her neck. “Hi.”

  “Hi, yourself.” She locked her apartment door and slipped her keys into the purse slung over her shoulder. She carried a suede jacket draped over her arm.

  “Let me help you with your jacket,” he offered, crossing the marble floor.

  “Do I need it yet? What’s it like outside?” One of those rare, shy smiles graced her upturned face.

  It was all he could do to keep from hauling her into his arms. Not too soon for that, was it? Technically, this could be considered their third date. She might not count the two visits to Lucky’s, but he did, even though he’d told her otherwise. He cleared his throat. “It’s nice out, still in the high sixties.”

  “In that case, I think I’ll leave it off for now.”

  “All right.” He reached for her jacket anyway, and she allowed him to take it from her. Their hands brushed; he caught a whiff of her subtle, flowery perfume, and his pulse shot off the charts. “You look amazing.”

  “Thank you. You look nice too.”

  The way she was looking at him, all soft and sweet, sent his blood rushing. Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her pulsed like a neon sign inside his overheated brain. He’d always seen her as adorable, but tonight Josey was a goddess, the shining star in his favorite fantasies, and he drank in the sight of her.

  “Shall we go, or do you prefer to stand here staring at me all night?” Josey’s shy smile morphed into a smirk.

  “Sorry.” He placed a hand over his heart. “It’s just that I’m stunned by how little you resemble all of my preconceived notions of what a plumber looks like.” Josey’s laughter reverberated through the lobby, sending a wave of need straight to his groin. He hadn’t realized laughter could be erotic.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Do.” He crossed the foyer, opened the door for her, and they walked out into the perfect late afternoon. “I meant it as one,” he said, as he led her to his car.

  “I’m still having trouble reconciling you with a Prius.”

  “Why is that?” He frowned. “Most of the driving I do is in the city, and a Prius is practical.”

  “I don’t know. I guess after seeing where you live, I had you pegged as a Jaguar kind of guy, or owning something flashier than a practical hybrid anyway.”

  He opened the passenger side door for her, and Josey slid onto the seat. Will crossed to the driver’s side and climbed in. “Your prejudice is showing, Jo.”

  She flashed him wry look. “I know. I had an entire scenario all worked out in my head when I drove into your townhouse complex for the first time. I figured you for an old, workaholic geezer with a young trophy wife, a woman who would look good in the fancy car I was sure you had in your garage.”

  “If it helps, my Prius has all the bells and whistles, along with heated leather seats.”

  “Sure.” She glanced sideways at him, one side of her mouth turned up. “That makes all the difference.”

  “Your imaginary scenario is way off, by the way. I’ve never been interested in flashy cars, and a trophy wife is not ever going to be on my docket.” He pulled away from the curb and set out for the freeway leading to the theater district in downtown Minneapolis.

  “Oh? Well, now I’m curious. What kind of wife do you see yourself with?”

  “The down-to-earth kind who will also be my best friend. The woman I marry will be someone I love with my whole heart, and she’ll love me back every bit as fiercely.” His grip on the steering wheel tightened as the nebulous swirl of newfound convictions solidified in his mind. “I want someone who will be on my side, in my corner, or however you want to put it. You can be damn sure I’ll be in hers.”

  He peered at her for a second. “U
nless I am absolutely certain she’s as committed to continually working on our relationship as I am, I won’t marry. Trust takes work and brutal honesty, and if either of those necessary ingredients are missing, marriage isn’t worth the risk. Not for me anyway.” Will stared straight ahead, turned onto the freeway and merged with the traffic heading west.

  One thing was certain; he didn’t want what his parents had—a marriage devoid of any discernable emotional attachment. His mother and father’s partnership seemed to be built upon a foundation of mutual ambition, political views and similar pedigrees. Will yearned for what he’d never had: warmth, open displays of affection, unconditional love and acceptance. And children—he longed for a noisy family with a dog that shed all over the place and left muddy paw prints on all the floors.

  An ache settled in his chest. If this had been a few months ago, he would have ignored the feeling, but if he wanted change in his life, he needed to do things differently. The sensation engulfed him, and he refused to push, stifle or dismiss his feelings. Clearly he had issues needing to be resolved, or perhaps he’d never before allowed himself to recognize just how truly alone he was in the world.

  “I want to be with someone I can argue with, and not be afraid that differences of opinion will destroy what we have.” He glanced at her again. “Passion is important, and I’m not just talking about the bedroom kind. I also mean the passion of one’s convictions.”

  “So, you don’t mind hashing things out?” she asked, one brow arched.

  “Hell no. Especially if it leads to great make-up sex.” The words were out of his mouth before he could think about what he was saying. Josey gasped, and heat rose up his neck. “Sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said that. What I meant is—”

  “Don’t worry about it. I grew up with two brothers, and I work in construction. I’ve heard worse.” She grinned. “You were just being—”

  “Brutally honest.” He laughed. “With you … I can’t help myself.” Once again Josey’s openness put him at ease, another thing he appreciated about her. “By argue, what I really mean is rational, respectful debate, not the destructive personal attack stuff so many couples engage in. Emotional manipulation and game-playing are deal breakers as far as I’m concerned.”