Jack tried to give her a reassuring smile despite his confusion. Her distressed expression didn’t change, but her shoulders sagged down a couple inches.
“Charlie asked me to stand in for him as your date for this weekend.” He reached his right hand in her direction. “Good to see you again.”
“My what?” She ignored his outstretched hand and stared at him.
A few heads turned in their direction. He withdrew his hand and lowered his voice. “Charlie. Asked me. To come. Remember?”
“Don’t patronize me.” Her face reddened, and she shot green licks of fire from her emerald eyes that, if possible, would have melted him in the leather seat. “You’re kidding me, right? Charlie stood me up?”
“Obviously, he didn’t tell you.”
“Hell no. I’ll kill him.”
Jack huffed. “Not if I get to him first.”
Jet engines whined and the acceleration forced him back heavily into the seat with the plane’s forward momentum and increasing incline. Through the window buildings shrunk and the wings dipped as they looped over Lake Michigan.
“What am I going to do now?” She bit her thumb cuticle ferociously. “I’ll just have to turn around when I get to Boston. I can’t go alone. This is…this is just…this is unacceptable, that’s what this is.”
“Hey. Hello. Me plus you does not equal alone. I’m the innocent proxy here. And a damned nice guy, too.”
Her hands tightened in white-knuckled fists on her lap. Prepared to deflect one of those fists aimed in his direction, he glanced at her face.
She looked deflated, vulnerable. He liked the green sparks shooting at him better. A woman that challenged him ignited his fire.
“It’s just that I really need Charlie this weekend. I can’t believe he could just send somebody else instead.”
“Lady, you’re doing wonders for my fragile ego.” He forced a smile.
Lizzie laughed. “Fragile? I’ll bet.”
She chewed another cuticle and then skewered him with her gaze, her lips twisted with disdain. “I’m so mad, I’m about to explode. I’m stressed-out enough about this weekend without having to deal with you.”
Were women born with the ability to shrink a man down to size with one look? I have better things to do with a weekend than cater to a moody female.
“I wouldn’t want to add to your stress. We’ll go separate ways when we get to Boston,” Jack asserted.
Plucking the airline magazine from the seatback pouch, Jack opened it, feigning disinterest. What is going on here? Charlie’s motives had seemed clear—a simple favor to a good friend. Jack couldn’t see her with a guy like Prescott. Didn’t fit with the impression of her he had through his brother or his own snap judgments, sweet, loyal Lizzie. This feisty woman’s rejection brought out the fierce competitor in him while making him feel slightly unworthy.
He reached over the metal console between their seats and seized both of her hands. She flinched and tried to tug her hands out of his, but he held on.
“Listen, Lizzie, Charlie didn’t want to disappoint you, but he couldn’t face all those strangers. So he asked me to help him. And when I found out it was for you, I agreed because you helped me get him on the right track and back to work. I figured the least I could do for Charlie’s sake, and to repay you, is show up, act like the doting boyfriend or whatever it is you have in mind, and make old Wally jealous.”
“Old Wally? Did you say make old Wally jealous?” She yanked her hands away. “Exactly how much did Charlie share with you about my personal life?”
Her eyes shot emerald rockets at him now—more than temper there.
“All I know is back at old “U,” Wally dumped you and you’re still hurting from it. And he’ll be at this shindig in Boston, and you’re not up for facing him alone.”
Outrage flashed over her features, and he thought better than to stoke her anger higher. “All right.” He held his arms up in a pose of mock surrender. “Maybe Charlie didn’t exactly put it that way. But the way I see it, you shouldn’t let Wally have a second chance to hurt you.”
“I really don’t need your opinions, and, for the record, he detests being called Wally. I’d like you to forget this whole thing.” Her lips froze in a tight line and she heaved a sigh.
The soft rise and fall of her breasts beneath the white sweater she wore distracted him. Logic dictated keeping her at arm’s length. Then why do I want to take her in my arms instead and unfreeze those lips?
“I’m sorry.” He put his finger lightly under her chin to tip her head up toward him. “Really. This switch without your knowledge was wrong, and we’ll deal with Charlie. But I do want to help you, if you let me. Charlie made it clear how important you are to him. He trusts me enough to take his place. If you give me a chance, I’ll be Charlie in every way. Except better looking.”
Dislodging his finger from under her chin with a poke of her hand, she squinted at him and scrutinized his face. “I guess I have no choice, now do I?”
“If you put it that way…” He paused, giving her a chance to retract or rephrase her question. When she didn’t, “You know women usually are a bit more…enthusiastic about spending time with me.”
Dead serious, she tossed out, “You’ll do.”
Chapter Five
When they entered the baggage claim area at Logan Airport, a limo driver, among a cluster of others, held up a grease-board sign with “Clark and Moran” written on it.
Impatient and uncomfortable with Jack hulking near, Lizzie shifted from foot to foot and waited for the carousel to start. She pointed out her two over-stuffed bags to the driver when the luggage moved under the flap curtain into view. Grunting, the driver swung the bags onto a caddy.
“Is that it, ma’am?”
“For me, yes.” Lizzie folded her arms across her chest and watched the driver look at Jack.
“I’m good.” He shifted the small duffel bag to his other hand.
“That’s all you brought for this weekend, Jack?”
She didn’t know anything about Charlie’s brother. Neither Charlie nor Mari had ever mentioned exactly what Jack did for a living. If they had, she didn’t remember. Maybe something about construction work. She hoped Jack had formal wear tucked in that little bag, but doubted it.
“You’ll need a tux for Saturday night not to mention a sport coat for this evening.”
“I’m good. Don’t worry, princess. I won’t embarrass you in front of your high class friends.”
His mocking tone grated on her nerves making her want to retaliate. Aware of the bulk of Jack, the sense that he towered over her, Lizzie was tempted to berate him for his snotty tone and demonstrate that he couldn’t intimidate her with all that brawn. Swiftly her reaction to his nearness changed to a blast of sheer attraction that gathered a sexual pull in her and spread like molten lava. She resisted the urge to fan her face with her hand.
What was with her? He wasn’t her type at all. Good to look at, but that’s about it. He was too big, too rugged, too sure of himself.
Did he plan to wear jeans and a T-shirt all weekend? She didn’t want to create a juicy scene in front of the driver, so she bit off a retort and followed the two men to the car.
The driver stowed the luggage and whisked them toward Cambridge.
Jack didn’t invade her space during the quiet drive. She stared out the window as the sun turned the Charles River into an undulating lens that reflected a kaleidoscope of colors. Crews rowed on the river. Students ran along its shore. Families picnicked in the grass.
Strange to be back where she had experienced so many life-altering changes. How many hours had she jogged along those banks thinking about Wallace and her parents?
“Beth, you look a million miles away.”
His sudden use of the nickname caught her off guard. Only her dad had ever called her Beth, his loving pet name for his only child was a cherished memory for Lizzie. “Don’t call me Beth. My father called me Beth.” Sh
e didn’t mean to sound quite that snippy.
He shrugged. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“So many memories for me here and not all of them are good ones. I have a few ghosts to deal with this weekend. This is the first time I’ve come back since…”
She really couldn’t talk about it, the pain barely forgotten each day she woke up. Momma and Dad gone in an instant, Wallace disappearing without explanation after we spent the night together. So hard to be here and not relive the anguish of being so horribly alone.
And Charlie had abandoned her, too. “I was relying on Charlie to lean on.”
Jack sat beside her in the car in silence, and she was grateful he didn’t press her to tell him more.
Finally, he interrupted the silence, “These are big shoulders. Lean on them whenever you want. Pretend they belong to Charlie.”
Jack’s simple offer of friendship to her, a virtual stranger, impressed Lizzie. But she didn’t trust that easily.
Still he seems to be a nice enough man who doesn’t deserve displaced anger.
“Thanks, Jack. I mean it. Thank you for coming this weekend.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome.”
She still wasn’t sure if this arrangement would work, but at least she’d give it a chance. As if Charlie gave me any other choice.
The car crawled across the Charles River Bridge, and they entered Harvard Square. Passing bicycles and pedestrians, they pulled up in front of The Charles Hotel.
Before the limo fully stopped under the hotel portico, a uniformed bellman pulled open the rear door of the car and welcomed them. At the lobby desk, they discovered that, as promised, Charlie had taken care of all the arrangements for two prepaid suites. Jack left Lizzie at the door to her room to shower and change for the welcome reception.
Lizzie found a huge arrangement of long-stemmed red roses on one of the antique tables in the sitting area of her room. Expectant, she ripped open the small envelope skewered on a long plastic fork in the vase.
Disappointment twisted her stomach as she skimmed over the message of apology to see Charlie’s name at the bottom of the card. What kind of fantasy had she concocted for the weekend? Wallace sent the roses in repentance and he’d beg her to come back to him?
Still mad at Charlie, she threw the card in the wastebasket.
What a stupid idea to be here. How would she get through this alone?
Yes, there’s Jack. And yes, he’s a distraction from some nervous tension. But he’s so different than teddy bear, Charlie. He unhinges me. Before she could pinpoint why, the phone rang and she reached around the vase to answer it.
“Hey, Bella. Where are you? I’ve been trying to get you on your cell phone. Oh, wait. Don’t tell me you forgot it again.”
Kay’s good-natured laughter was the best medicine.
“Yep. I’ll have to buy another one if I need mobile communication the next few days. We got here a few minutes ago. We’re just changing, and we’ll be there as soon as we can. Charlie arranged a car for the weekend, so we don’t need a lift.”
Wandering to the window, portable phone pressed to her ear, Lizzie fingered the sheer curtains, found the center seam of one panel and moved it aside bringing the vista outside in focus.
“Great. I’m so surprised Charlie came,” Kay commented. “I can tell you now that I didn’t think he would. I expected him to back out at the last minute.”
Despite the number of people engaged in assorted activities down below her, the room was unnaturally quiet as if Lizzie were insulated from the rest of the world.
“What are you psychic? Charlie did bail on me, and I didn’t know it until they closed the airplane door.” Lizzie dropped the curtain and plopped down on the edge of the bed. “He sent his brother, Jack, instead. Kay, what am I going to do? Have you seen Wallace yet? Can you believe this? How mad will you be if I just head to the airport now?”
“Ah, Lizzie.” Kay’s breathy voice sounded exhausted. “I guess I won’t be fighting mad, but I think you should stick it out. For purely unselfish reasons, sweetie. Confront this, confront Wallace and be done with it.”
Lizzie heaved a sigh and closed her eyes. “I don’t know why I came in the first place but here I am and with a perfect stranger.”
“You came because you love me. We’ll have fun. Don’t worry so much. What’s this Jack like? What does he do? Is he cute?”
Lizzie’s cheeks burned. “He’s too cocky, very full of himself. But he’s really being sweet to me, which is kind of unbelievable when you consider the circumstances. But so was Wallace, sweet at first, always so sure of himself, and my biggest regret is that I trusted him.”
Like a fool.
“I’ve been wracking my brain trying to remember if Mari or Charlie talked about Jack’s occupation. Mari tried her hardest to get us together. I always managed to evade that whole thing. I think he does something in construction with his grandfather. I guess he’s cute if you like tall, dark, sculpted men.”
“This weekend is shaping up to be very interesting. Go change and come over to the club. We’re waiting…all four of us. This fat lady hopes you brought Fannie May in your suitcase with her name on it. Bring it with you. My hormones are begging for chocolate.”
****
Jack dressed for the evening after a leisurely shower. A concierge service sent a tux, half a dozen custom shirts, a sport coat, several pairs of slacks and some toiletries to his hotel suite. He had some casual stuff in the duffel.
As directed, he met Beth under the hotel portico. He liked calling her Beth instead of Lizzie. Beth matched how she looked, soft, unique.
The limo came in handy with no available parking around the Varsity Club. Jack entered the packed room, Beth’s hand folded loosely around his arm. Conversations buzzed. Two-tone banners of green and white, probably in school colors declared, “Welcome Class of 1997…A Decade Better!”
Yeah this was going to be a big pain in the ass.
Jack had offered to carry the two-pound box of candy for Beth. Her hand trembled when she pushed a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear. He reached out to hold that ice-cold hand to give her support, but she pulled it away and stared straight ahead. He didn’t take offense at the brush-off. Chalked it up to nerves. How could this beautiful lady let the likes of Wallace Prescott cause her grief?
Before Jack could get acclimated to the crowd and the noise, a short, stocky man supporting a very pregnant woman on his arm, cornered them.
“Thank God you’re finally here. There’s the candy!” Both arms of the pregnant woman were outstretched in front her, and her hands opened and closed. “Hand over that box, and no one will get hurt.”
Jack surrendered the candy to the grasping woman, surprised that the two-pound box didn’t alter her center of gravity and tip her over. He watched, smiling, as Beth threw her arms around the woman, then the blond man hugged both of them tight with his eyes closed.
“Kay, Mick, this is Jack Clark. Jack, Kay and Mickey Lynch. Maybe we should at least try to be civil before you dive in to the chocolate, Kay.”
“Hi Jack. Nice to meet you.” Kay’s head dipped as she tore the box of candy open and tossed the lid on the floor. “Easy for you to say, Liz. You haven’t had to sit here for the last hour and deal with these idiots. You wouldn’t be civil, either.”
Kay bit into a fat chocolate and released an orgasmic sigh.
Jack couldn’t remember having such an instant connection with two people. Beth Moran had great taste in friends.
Mick clamped a warm hand on Jack’s shoulder. “She doesn’t need me when she has chocolate. I think I’ll go find a beer. Care to join me, Jack?”
Jack trained his eyes at Beth for her approval. No need to leave her alone the first five minutes we’re here. She and Kay laughed and released the men with nods of their heads.
Sitting with Mick and a few of his buddies at the bar, Jack observed his “date” accompany Kay over to the name badge table. Beth lo
oked pretty in her demure knit suit, the color of her eyes. He enjoyed watching the way the material clung to her rear end, the short skirt even better than the jeans she wore on the plane. She moved gracefully in very spiked high heels that looked like they hurt like hell, but they didn’t seem to bother her.
Her long hair worn down and loose instead of the customary pony tail, lustrous brown curls bounced against her shoulders, an invitation to thread his hands through it.
“What can I get you?”
Jack swiveled on the seat of the bar stool toward the man’s voice. The bartender planted his palms on the bar in front of him and Mick.
“Coors for me.” Jack turned toward Mick. “Let me spot this round, Mick.”
“Sounds good, I’ll have the same. We can run a tab and split it.”
Jack nodded in agreement, then swiveled back around to take in the action in the room while Mick conversed with the man next to him.
Beth captured his attention again. Jack couldn’t tell if she had makeup on, but since her freckles seemed faded, she must have done something to her face. Something captivating. Why was he giving her the once over? He had no interest in the cool slim princess.
He couldn’t wait to get his hands on his brother for neglecting to explain why he reneged on his promise to Beth and sent him instead without her permission. No surprise that Charlie didn’t pick up the phone when he called him from the hotel. But he wouldn’t be able to duck him for long.
The bartender produced the drinks, and Jack reached a hand to grasp the handle of the beer mug. Clinking the glass against Mick’s he toasted, “To new friends.”
“To friends,” then Mick held his mug out in front of him, “new and old.”
Jack resumed his role as a spectator. Groups formed, broke apart, reformed as people milled around the room. Beth stood, rounded the name badge table and hugged two women enthusiastically. Jack recognized Wallace Prescott when he walked into the club, even though they’d never met. Clad conservatively in a navy blue blazer and khaki pants, Wally should have blended in with the rest of the men there. But his haughty expression surveying the room smacked of superiority.
Reunion for the First Time Page 4
