LOVE in a Small Town

by Janet Eaves

  Graham arched an eyebrow. “Love ‘em and leave ‘em?”

  “Yep.” Clint cleared his throat and lifted the bottle to his lips.

  Because the ex-football player was strangely talkative, Graham pumped him again, “Whatever happened to her twin sister Jane?”

  Clint tilted his head. “You didn’t keep up with her?”

  “No, we never had any contact after Dawn and I…well…you know.”

  That was a small evasion of truth. The fact was he had a whole lot of contact with Jane on graduation night after the ceremony. In the back seat of his dad’s Chevy. It was their first time together. Their first and last.

  Graham’s pulse revved up at the surprisingly vivid memory. After that night, schoolwork and college frat life absorbed him. He moved to New York and joined a law firm, putting Dawn, Jane and the folks in Legend behind him.

  “She’s here,” Clint said. “See her standing over there?”

  Graham sought Jane out in the dim light, remembering how she’d reluctantly shared the job of yearbook editor with him. They fought like two boxers over every caption and picture. Graham smiled at the memory. It’d been amusing to bait her. She’d taken everything so seriously. Not like her twin sister. No, Jane wasn’t anything like Dawn.

  Jane stood beside a man, but her posture was stiff and aloof, as if she didn’t want to be with him. She wore a simple, but elegant blue dress with a high collar and short sleeves. Typical Jane. The smart twin. The one with as much natural reserve as beauty. There was something charming about the way she wore her blond hair in short, flirty curls.

  “Who’s she talking to?” Graham asked.

  “Claudia’s brother, Steven. See how he’s putting the moves on her? Ever since his divorce, he’s trying to get her to marry him.”

  So Jane wasn’t married either.

  “Hey, watch out. Here comes Claudia!” Following his warning, the big jock turned on his heels and departed.

  Graham had time for one quick breath before Claudia Ridgeway, now Jones, descended on him like an avenging angel.

  ****

  Jane caught her breath. Claudia slowly propelled Graham around the room. They were talking to Steven, who she’d successfully shaken for the time being, but soon Claudia would bring Graham to her.

  The thought of seeing Graham again made her stomach cramp. She dreaded this moment for fifteen years, anticipated it, played it over in her mind, thought it’d never take place, and longed for it.

  “Jane, here you are!” Her friend pulled Graham to a halt right in front of her. “Graham’s asked about you.”

  “Hello, Jane.”

  Graham’s deep voice engulfed her. Jane clasped his outstretched hand with her icy fingers, finding his grasp warm and strong, and much more masculine than she remembered. He smiled, and pleasure jolted through her.

  Suddenly tongue-tied, like a worshiping adolescent, Jane stared into his dusky eyes, completely blown away by his stature and confident presence. He was dazzling. His brown hair was a bit too long and his eyelashes, sinful. She’d forgotten how long and luscious they were. Too long to waste on a man.

  He was nothing like she remembered. He was much better. The feelings she’d thought dead resurrected in that moment.

  “Hey, Graham. Long time no see.” Her words sounded childish.

  “It has been a long time. You look wonderful.”

  His gaze ran up and down her body as if her dress were made of plastic wrap. Her face grew hot, and she blessed the dimness surrounding the dance floor.

  “You don’t look bad yourself,” she said as he released her hand.

  It was hard to see what he wore, but she could tell by the cut of the expensive cloth it was a designer suit. His power tie was knotted just right and his crisp white shirt, perfect. He smelled good too, wearing a manly scent of sandalwood and leather.

  “Claudia tells me you own a bookstore now,” Graham said.

  “Yes.” His voice was pure silk while hers sounded like backwoods East Tennessee. “I carry your bestseller.”

  He avoided her eyes. “I’m still not accustomed to hearing people say that.”

  “It’s a terrific novel. You’re a talented writer. A book on the New York Times list is quite an accomplishment.”

  “Thanks.”

  Are you married? Do you have a lover? Have you missed Legend? Or me? Jane wanted to ask so many questions. Instead she shifted her weight to another foot and inquired as casually as possible, “So, how’s life treating you?”

  “Fine.” His gaze wandered across her face, touching her with a pulse-pounding intimacy. “And you?”

  “Oh, I’ve been fine.” Jane captured his gaze briefly and then hastily lowered her eyes.

  She was an emotional coward. Always had been where Graham was concerned. Why had she not summoned the courage to confront him about their time together? About her suspicions she’d been a poor substitute for Dawn. She should’ve done it sooner. Phoned him. Sent an e-mail. Instead she allowed days to creep into years, always wondering, never receiving closure.

  “You’re not married?”

  She shook her head. “No. How about you?”

  “Plenty of girlfriends, but no wives.”

  Jane found herself holding her breath.

  Graham smiled again and then lifted his gaze over her shoulder. “Here comes Claudia.”

  And Dawn. Jane knew it instinctively. Claudia would escort the queen to her king.

  She turned slowly. Tonight her movie star sister appeared sexy in a black silk dress, stiletto pumps, adding four inches to her height, and an updo that had taken poor Mary Maloney at Mane Locks three hours to create. But Jane refused to be awestruck by Dawn. Her identical twin was a part of her life, a sometimes irritating, sometimes lovable part.

  Older by four minutes, Dawn was the first born and all their lives her sister had taken the lead. Jane willingly let her. With the same wavy blond hair, blue eyes and dimpled smiles, they’d been adorable Shirley Temple-like children, properly spoiled by their doting parents.

  Yet for all their physical similarities, they were different. Dawn was given all the outgoing genes, the popularity ones, genes that counted for something in a small town. Whereas, she was naturally shy, and endowed with a stubborn streak that made her want to prove just how different she was from Dawn.

  Maybe that’s why she became the brainy twin. The responsible one. The one who stayed in town after their dad died of a heart attack and nursed their mother through her long illness.

  “Graham, darling!”

  Graham turned. “Hello, Dawn.”

  Dawn embraced Graham. The drama played out before the watching classmates—the beautiful Hollywood actress and the bestselling author.

  Jane retreated to a table and sank into a chair. She gulped big breaths as if she’d run a marathon. Dawn looked happy to see Graham again. And her sister was now free. No, she couldn’t have designs on Graham, could she?

  The Time of My Life from the movie Dirty Dancing came over the loud speakers. She loved that movie when she was a preteen, identifying with the character of Baby, the shy heroine who had the courage to go after the hunky dance instructor. Why couldn’t she be like Baby?

  Graham ushered Dawn to the dance floor and swung her sister into the swaying mambo steps they learned at ballroom dancing lessons in the eighth grade—steps right from the script of her favorite movie.

  Jane curled her fingers into a fist. No, she wasn’t a mealy-mouthed teenager any longer. She was an adult and tired of dreaming about Graham Winchester and what might have been.

  Jane put her palms flat down on the table. Slowly she pushed herself to her feet. Surprising even herself, Jane marched across the dance floor.

  Like Patrick Swayze in the movie, Graham twirled Dawn around and lowered her, bending her back and leaning over her in an imitation kiss. They lingered like that, staring into each other’s eyes, their lips inches apart.

  “Excuse me.” Jane tapped G
raham’s shoulder. “I believe this is my dance.”

  Chapter Two

  Graham slowly pulled Dawn to her feet and gazed at Jane with curiosity. Jane flashed a smile, mentally deflecting the glare Dawn threw at her, and then she extended her hand to Graham.

  “Dawn.” Graham acknowledged her sister with a stiff bow and then took Jane’s hand.

  Drawing her into his embrace, Graham looked down at her with his hypnotic gaze. His hand was firm and oh, so very familiar. The fingers that urged her toward him were strong but gentle. In a moment of surprising intimacy, they gazed into each other’s eyes, her knees began to collapse and her insides turned into molten lava.

  With a quick grin, Graham swayed his hips to the beat of the mambo music. As the rhythm enveloped her, Jane imitated him, cautiously at first. What was she doing flirting with this cosmopolitan man—this man so different from the scrawny kid who used to pick on her in journalism class?

  Emboldened, Jane moved with Graham until he hauled her to him with a sharp tug. Startled, her gaze flew up to meet his. He twirled her around and she followed effortlessly, her heart throbbing and her face flushed.

  They spun around the room, their steps never faltering. Jane gave into the exhilaration of the rapid movement and the thrill of being held in Graham’s strong arms. Her nerves shouted. Blood rushed in her ears. She forgot everything. Everything but Graham.

  After one final swing, Graham dipped her down, his hands supporting her back, and just as he’d done with Dawn, leaned over her, his mouth inches away from hers, his gaze sizzling and sultry. Graham’s breath touched her face with sweet warmth.

  And then he kissed her. His lips were tender but demanding. Hot. Moist. She tried to analyze her embarrassing situation—bending backward, off balance, in the arms of the guy she loved in high school. Instead her lashes drifted over her eyes. His heart-stopping kiss seemed to last a lifetime.

  It was a kiss so reminiscent of the one fifteen years earlier. A kiss that led to other things.

  Jane’s tummy lurched at the memory of Graham’s fingers moving over her lace panties. With frightening accuracy he’d found her pleasure points. She remembered the feel of his gentle kissing and stroking, and the incredible heat of their bodies together. She almost heard their rapid breathing.

  There’d been a hint of innocence mixed with Graham’s impatient sex, an awkwardness that Jane attributed to herself. She was inexperienced the night Graham had taken her virginity. Inexperienced, self-conscious, and so very in love.

  Today that awesome lovemaking remained her most vivid memory of graduation night. Having sex with Graham in a car on a dark and lonely lane was her ultimate expression of love. When he’d come inside her, she’d known this was right. This was home. This was where she was meant to be. It was a certainty she’d stubbornly held onto all these years, coloring her view of other men and making her ultimate decision to remain single seem the only choice.

  Now with Graham’s lips on hers, Jane was home again. His kiss and her eager response seemed to go on and on.

  Until the music ended.

  Applause, like the roar of a freight train, erupted around them. She pushed back, almost losing her tenuous balance. With the support of Graham’s hand drawing her upward, she scrambled to her feet. Mortified, she glanced around her to see her classmates clapping and cheering. Clint let out a low wolf whistle. She spotted Steven at the edge of the dance floor, a wide-eyed, hit-by-a-car look on his face. The enormity of her situation sunk in, she turned back to Graham.

  “Thanks for the dance.” Her face was on fire.

  He still held her hand. His grip was affirming and safe. “My pleasure.” Graham bowed and brought the back of her hand up to his lips.

  Her eyes widened as Graham kissed her hand like a fabled knight from long ago, thrilling her English teacher heart. Her pulse shot into overdrive.

  “It’s time for the group picture.” Claudia clapped her hands. “Come along everybody.”

  Jane jerked her hand away. Graham’s gaze stroked her like a searing brand.

  At that moment Claudia grabbed Graham’s arm. “I need him for the class picture.” The reunion tyrant ushered him off the dance floor toward the photographer.

  As her classmates drifted away, Jane remained in the middle of the dance floor. Her hand strayed to her lips that still tasted of his kiss.

  She felt the same stupid embarrassment once before. Back in high school when she’d forgotten her only two lines in the school play and ran off stage. The next day she’d hardly managed to show her face at class sure everyone would point at her and say she ruined the production. But no. The accolades were for Dawn’s triumph. No one cared that poor Jane, the “other twin,” had blown her lines. No one, but Jane.

  What had she done? Tonight she made a fool of herself on the dance floor with all of her Dragon classmates watching. And she enjoyed it.

  Graham was a confirmed bachelor. He’d become the kind of guy who pursued woman like her sister. Sophisticated women. Women of experience. Not shy hometown girls.

  A lump lodged in Jane’s throat. Wait a minute. She wasn’t sorry she kissed him. She was much too old and independent to care about what other people thought.

  “Jane?”

  Steven stood in front of her. The same Steven who asked her to marry him. Divorced a good two years now, he was steady, employed, a CPA, and attractive in a ho-hum sort of way. To top it all, he was available. There weren’t many available guys in Legend, Tennessee.

  “Claudia said to hurry. You know how my sister is.” Steven grinned, a lopsided sort of grin and put his hand on the small of her back to escort her toward the others.

  Steven’s touch didn’t matter. It was as meaningless as the casual brush of a stranger’s hand. No electricity. No sensual burn through the fabric of her dress. Nothing like Graham’s touch.

  Jane knew she couldn’t have it all. She had a better chance of getting staid, boring Steven Ridgeway than capturing exciting and stylish Graham Winchester.

  She didn’t know what she wanted, but Steven wasn’t it. Graham might not be it either, yet she had to find out. Somehow she had to get him to make love to her. Then she would know. She’d know if Graham was truly her “home” or a sad fantasy from her lost youth.

  Pleased by her renewed resolve, Jane could be generous. She turned toward Steven and smiled. “I hear your son won his flag football game.”

  ****

  Graham didn’t like the smile Jane wasted on Steven what’s-his-name. He remembered that guy. A loser as a kid.

  “Come on, you two.” Claudia shooed Steven and Jane toward the assembled group. “Steven, in the back row by Graham. Jane, in front next to Dawn.”

  “Okay, sis.” Steven saluted.

  Graham watched the way Jane flipped her blond hair out of her eyes as she slid in beside her sister. She intrigued him. Breaking in on Dawn had shown uncharacteristic audacity. He liked that. He liked the inviting look in her blue eyes and the way her body melded to his. He shifted uneasily as a certain part of his body began to respond to his thoughts.

  She’d grown more beautiful in fifteen years. Maturity became her. Jane wasn’t a thin, gawky teenager any longer. Far from it. When he remembered the brush of her breast against his chest, Graham stirred uncomfortably.

  He purposefully moved behind Jane where he could smell the soft essence of her lavender perfume. He sensed the pent up yearning that was ready to explode within her. She was a wallflower unfolding in a delightful, seductive way.

  “So, you’re not afraid to cross Dawn any longer,” he whispered into her ear.

  “Some children grow up.” Her back stiff, she didn’t turn to face him.

  “I’m glad.”

  He wanted to run his hands across her brows and stroke the tender edges of her eyes, rubbing them, caressing them, kissing them. He realized he wanted to do so many other things with Jane. Things he’d never thought about doing to Jane until graduation night.

 
; Claudia pushed into place beside Jane. What was wrong with him? He’d no business thinking about having sex again with Jane Smith. Not that he didn’t want to. Really bad. But where had lust without love got him in New York?

  Better to think about her as his friend. The way they were in elementary school—building snow forts and throwing snowballs. Or holding hands at middle school skating parties during the couple skate, and falling on their butts doing the silly hokey-pokey dance. They played flag football until Mr. Smith intervened, telling him to play with his male friends.

  Trouble was boys weren’t as interesting or challenging as Jane. She could hold her own on the debate team and offer a thought-provoking political opinion. In high school, she helped him write his first newspaper article, removing all his sloppy passive voice and questioning the angle of his story.

  “Move closer.” The photographer motioned them together.

  Steven pushed up against his right shoulder. Clint shoved into his left side. Graham was forced to move behind Dawn with her sharp, flowery fragrance. She turned and smiled.

  Graham mentally smacked a hand against his forehead. He’d been naïve back then to think going steady with Dawn wouldn’t ruin his friendship with Jane.

  “One more,” the photographer said. “Hold that pose.”

  The flashbulb popped. Graham blinked. He wanted something more. Permanent. Old-fashioned. Something that could never be gotten from the women he dated in the city. But something Jane seemed to possess. Then and now.

  Chapter Three

  As Hollywood actresses go, Jane didn’t think Dawn possessed much star quality in the morning. Dressed in pink silk pajamas, her blond hair tousled, and a decided air of sleepiness in her eyes, she looked more like the sister Jane remembered.

  “I don’t know how you can get out of bed so early,” Dawn said passing through the living room into the kitchen.

  “The coffee’s hot.”

  “I can smell it. Thanks.”

  Jane sat on the sofa surrounded by a stack of paperwork, and her calico cat Mickey curled in a ball on a pillow. She picked up her mug of coffee and cupped her hands around it, savoring the spicy cinnamon aroma before she took a sip. She eyed the accounting work. Even though she didn’t have a head for numbers and could use a CPA to help her figure out her balance sheet, she didn’t need one in the family.