Masquerade: a romantic comedy

by Janette Rallison

  “Long day?” Landon asked.

  “I guess.”

  “You need more time to relax.”

  “Don’t we all?”

  “Why don’t you put your daughter to bed and come join our party?”

  Clarissa shook her head. “I couldn’t leave Elaina alone like that. She might wake up and need something.”

  Landon gave her a long, appraising look, then nodded slowly as though he’d figured her out. “You’re one of those women who worries too much, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe.”

  The elevator door opened and they stepped out. “Which room is yours?”

  “Eight-twenty-one,” she said.

  They headed in that direction, walking slowly in the brightly lit hallway. “You could check in on your daughter every once in a while, you know.”

  “Thanks, anyway,” she said.

  He made a tsking sound with his tongue. “There you go again, worrying too much.”

  They walked the rest of the way to her room in silence. When they reached the door she held out her arms to retrieve her daughter. “Thanks for carrying Elaina for me”

  Landon nodded at the lock. “You might want to open the door while your hands are free.”

  It seemed silly to protest. After all, it would have been harder for Clarissa to retrieve her card from her purse, run it through the lock, and open the door while carrying Elaina.

  Clarissa dug through her purse until she found her key card, then opened the door. Instead of handing Elaina to her, Landon pushed the door open farther and walked into the room.

  “Where do you want me to put her?”

  She bit back the response “In my arms” and followed him into the room. “How about on the couch?”

  He laid her down gently. “She’s so darling. She really does look just like you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “It must be hard taking care of her by yourself.”

  At that moment every struggle, problem, and worry she’d had since the divorce flashed through her mind. She stood before Landon still and breathless, wondering how he was so sure she was a single parent. And more important, what would he do with that information? Would he tell Slade?

  Or perhaps he was only guessing, and she’d just confirmed his suspicions by standing here wide-eyed and gaping.

  She stammered out, “What makes you think I’m raising Elaina by myself?”

  Landon tilted his head sideways. “I didn’t say raising. I said taking care of.” And then, because he must have seen that she still didn’t understand, he added, “I meant here in Hawaii, on your trip, away from your husband.”

  He walked over until he stood close to her. His gaze was penetrating. “Are you raising her by yourself?”

  She held up her chin and wished she were a better liar. “No.”

  “Are you sure you’re not using that husband story to scare men off?”

  “If I were single, why would I want to scare men off?”

  Landon smiled at her, but it wasn’t this smile she saw. It was the one he’d given Natalie while they sat at the pool. The one that said Clarissa was a challenge Landon was going to conquer.

  He took a step nearer to her. Hardly any room separated them, and he leaned toward her to diminish that. “Maybe you’re afraid to let anyone get close to you.” His gaze went from her eyes to her lips, and she knew he was about to kiss her. She turned her head and walked a few steps away.

  “See,” he held one hand out to her. “You’re afraid to let anyone get close to you.”

  “Thanks for helping me with Elaina,” she said firmly. “I’d like to be alone now.”

  “You still owe me a favor.”

  “Well, I’m not paying it now.”

  He walked toward her again. “You’re worrying about nothing again.”

  She didn’t have to reply. A sharp knock came on the door. “Clarissa, open up. It’s me, Slade.”

  “She wants to be alone now,” Landon called back.

  Clarissa glared at him and went to open the door. Slade stood in the hallway without Bella and with his hands on his hips.

  “Hello, Slade,” she said in what she hoped passed for a calm voice.

  He walked past her into the room and stopped in front of Landon. “Landon,” he said flatly, “people down at the party are asking where you disappeared to.”

  Landon tilted his chin down. “Is that what you came up here for? To tell me I’ve been missed?”

  “Actually, I came to talk to Clarissa about the schedule for tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” Landon nodded slowly. “I’ll let you get on with business.” He looked back at Clarissa with a wry smile. “See you later.”

  “Thanks again for your help,” she called to him.

  Slade held the door open for Landon and shut it behind him as he left. Then he turned back to Clarissa. “What was that about?”

  “Nothing. He helped me carry Elaina up here.”

  Now Slade came and stood close to her, frustration emphasizing his movements as much as seductiveness had emphasized Landon’s. “You let Landon into your room?”

  “I didn’t let him into my room. He sort of pushed his way in here. But he was just leaving when you knocked. I had everything under control.”

  Slade shot her a disbelieving look. “You had everything under control? You were the one that let him push his way into your room in the first place.”

  “I asked him to leave, and he was leaving. You’re acting like you think Landon is dangerous.”

  Slade stared at her, tight-lipped, and didn’t speak.

  “He’s not dangerous, is he?”

  “Only to people who insist on being naive. A group, I’m afraid, you belong to.”

  “I’m not naive,” she said. “I’m a married woman with a child.”

  “And that’s another thing,” Slade said, walking passed her. “Your husband is either as naive as you are, or he’s a fool to let you out of his sight. I can’t believe he agreed to let you come on this trip, and I can’t believe that suddenly I’m in charge of defending your honor.” Slade sat down in one of the chairs as though he were exhausted. “What a family man I’ve become.”

  “You are not in charge of defending my honor,” Clarissa protested.

  Slade held up a hand to stop her words. “We’re not arguing about this anymore. I want you to listen to me for a minute. Can you do that?”

  Clarissa folded her arms. “I’m listening.”

  “I want you to avoid Landon from now on.”

  “I am.”

  “Well, I want you to do a better job. You need to avoid him outside your hotel room.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “You might think you’re just being friendly, but he’s bound to see it as encouragement. So from now on, don’t let anyone into your room. Anyone. Do you understand?”

  “Perfectly. Get out of my room.”

  Slade glared at her but got up and slowly moved to the door. “I’m glad you’re finally taking my words to heart.”

  Chapter 21

  Instead of going back to Meredith’s room, where Slade had dropped off Bella, he took the elevator down and went back to the party. He surveyed the room until he spotted Landon by the bar. Landon had a drink in one hand and the other resting on Sherry’s arm. He couldn’t have been with her long, still the two leaned toward one another, laughing, as though they were on a date. As Slade walked toward them, Landon lifted his hand and caressed Sherry’s long red hair. Typical.

  Slade moved next to Landon, who ignored him. After a moment Slade called over the music, “Landon, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Landon turned from Sherry with a twinge of annoyance, then he sighed. “Sure.” He gave Sherry’s arm another pat. “Catch you later, babe.”

  The two men walked silently from the room and headed outside, following the path that led to the golf course—Landon in an unhurried saunter, the drink still in his hand, Slade more quickly. “Why in t
he world do you call women babe? It’s the most irritating way you could possibly address a person.”

  Landon let out a cough of disbelief. “I could think of a few things that are more irritating. How about hauling someone away from a beautiful woman”—he glanced down at his watch—“twice within the space of ten minutes?”

  “That is exactly what I want to talk to you about.”

  They walked past rows of hibiscus hedges and palm trees that bordered the beach. They were far enough away from the resort now that Slade felt they could talk without being overheard. “Look, Landon, I’m going to come right out and say this. I want you to stay away from Clarissa.”

  There was no embarrassment, only amusement, in Landon’s expression. “Why? Am I bothering her?”

  “You’re bothering me.”

  “I see.” Landon nodded knowingly. “I’m encroaching on your territory and making more progress than you are. That’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

  Slade spoke slowly. “She’s a married woman, Landon. Since when did you take up home wrecking?”

  Landon looked up at the sky and then back at Slade. “Oh, give up the married woman routine. She’s no more married than I am.”

  “And how did you come to that conclusion?”

  Landon took a sip of his drink. “You can tell when a woman is married. At least I can.” When Slade didn’t comment, Landon added, “It’s in those subtle signals they send out. The way they smile. The way they look at you. The interested body language. Clarissa can barely remember her husband exists. Married women don’t act that way. At least not happily-married women.” Landon took another casual sip from his glass. “One way or the other, her marriage is a sham.”

  Slade considered the idea, and then rejected it. It was much more likely that Landon had misread the cues. Clarissa was no doubt star-struck with Landon’s attention and had smiled and blushed and done the other things that he was interpreting as interest. This explanation made sense, but in the next instant made Slade uneasy. If Clarissa was that enamored with Landon’s stardom, then she might be tempted to do things she’d regret later.

  Slade let out a slow breath and looked directly into Landon’s eyes. “Whatever you think of her marriage, you shouldn’t be chasing Clarissa around. You don’t seem to be suffering from lack of companionship while you’re here.”

  Landon shrugged. “You mean Sherry back at the party? She’s just a friend.” He took another sip of his drink, then waved his glass in the air to make the point. “Just someone to help ease the sting of rejection and the embarrassment of having a friend order me out of Clarissa’s room.”

  “Don’t worry,” Slade said. “You’ll recover from the loss somehow.”

  Landon grinned in a reminiscing sort of way. “I helped Clarissa pick out that swimsuit she wore today. I made a good choice, don’t you think?”

  “I think your choices have all been questionable lately.”

  Landon swirled the contents of his drink around in his glass making the ice cubes chink noisily. “Clarissa is so different from the women around here.”

  “Exactly. She turned you down.”

  Landon smiled. “Maybe that’s part of it.”

  Slade had seen Landon take up this attitude before—this pursue-the-woman-at-all-costs mind set—and it had never particularly bothered Slade. With his carefree approach to life, Landon was a likeable guy. Slade had always viewed Landon’s attitude about women as an egocentric quirk of his personality. A machismo thing. Slade had laughingly told Landon that one day he’d lay a snare for someone and get caught in it himself.

  Now Slade didn’t feel like joking. He felt like strangling the machismo right out of Landon. Slade thrust his hands in his pockets to keep them away from Landon’s neck. “Look,” he snapped, “if you want a challenge, take up hunting. That way you can stuff and mount your trophy’s head on the wall afterwards.”

  Landon ignored him. “I don’t know why you’re concerned about it, anyway. I mean, it’s not like you’re giving your chauffeur marriage counseling, are you? You’re not checking up on Meredith to see who she dates. If Clarissa is interested in me, why don’t you let her make her own choices and keep out of it?”

  “She’s not interested in you.”

  “She must be, or we wouldn’t be here having this talk, would we? No point in saying these things to me if you know she’s going to shoot me down anyway.”

  “She’s going to shoot you down, Landon. I’m just trying to spare you the smoke inhalation.”

  Landon finished off the last of his drink. “Have you ever noticed that her eyes glow when she smiles?”

  “No,” Slade said, “I haven’t.”

  “Well, maybe it only happens when she smiles at me.” Landon flexed his shoulders, stretching. “Thanks for the fresh air. I’m going back to the party now.”

  Slade didn’t follow him back. Instead, he stayed outside, hands still shoved in his pockets. He gazed across the resort grounds to the beach and the dark churning waves below.

  He knew he’d just made things worse, and it bothered him how things always seemed to turn out that way lately. Every time he tried to do the right thing, it backfired. He tried to keep Clarissa from making mistakes, and she got angry at him. He’d tried to put an end to Landon’s pursuit of Clarissa, and had only thrown fuel on the fire.

  In retrospect, he could see his mistake. He should have said, “Her brother is a high-powered harassment lawyer,” or “She’s a college grad student writing her thesis on egomania in Hollywood,” or better yet, “Only some of her multiple personalities like you.” But no, he’d upped the challenge. He’d said, “She’ll shoot you down,” absolutely ensuring Landon would try to see to it that she didn’t.

  Well, there was no way to undo the damage now.

  Perhaps the best thing to do would be to call Clarissa’s husband and see if he wanted to come to Hawaii for the rest of the trip.

  Slade let this thought sit with him for a minute, but any way he thought about it, he didn’t like the idea. He intensely didn’t like it and spent the next few moments searching for a reason to reject the idea.

  Clarissa had just told Slade she’d be more careful about encouraging Landon. That should take care of things, shouldn’t it? And besides, it would make problems between Clarissa and her husband if he thought she was behaving badly while she was here. Slade didn’t want to create more problems.

  So for now the husband stayed put, and Slade would have to make extra sure he kept watch over Clarissa.

  Chapter 22

  Clarissa had planned on a low-key day for their fourth day at the resort. Maybe something educational like teaching the girls about sea life. Slade dropped by with Bella in the morning, and the little girl happily fluttered inside to see Elaina. “I’m wearing my princess slippers,” Bella said, and proceeded to show Elaina a pair of sparkly pink shoes.

  Instead of leaving, Slade leaned in her doorway. He looked handsome and brooding. Sort of the way Hawk Hawthorn always did before he went out and set the world right.“I thought about our conversation last night,” Slade said, “and I think you’re right. I do need to spend more time with Bella. So I want to go out sightseeing today.”

  “Oh,” Clarissa said, warmed by the fact that Slade had actually listened to her. She’d forgotten that men did that sometimes.

  “So are you and Elaina ready to go?” he asked, eyeing the simple sundress she wore.

  “You want us to come?” Clarissa asked.

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Okay.” She began mentally listing the things she needed to gather. “Where are we going?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” Slade stepped inside and let the door close behind him. “Some place where Landon won’t find us.”

  “Why are you avoiding Landon?”

  “I’m not avoiding him, you are. I’m just driving.” Slade gave her a meaningful nod. “And your husband owes me a big favor for this.”

  Clar
issa rolled her eyes.

  “You think I’m kidding, but I talked to Landon last night, and he thinks your marriage is a sham.”

  “Really?” Clarissa half choked out the word.

  “He said you’ve been sending him signals that you’re interested in him.” Without giving her a chance to respond, Slade added, “Did he really help you pick out a bathing suit?”

  She picked up her large beach bag and began putting things inside. “Well, sort of. Although not because I asked him to. I ran into him while I was trying them on.”

  “You ran into him in the dressing room?”

  Clarissa dropped sunscreen into the bag. “No, I was wearing one out on the sales floor.”

  It sounded perfectly legitimate to Clarissa, but Slade shook his head. “Clarissa, I don’t think you understand what I’m telling you about men, so I’ll put it this way: don’t talk to Landon, don’t look at him, don’t blush at him, and absolutely don’t use any interested body language around him.”

  She rolled her eyes again.

  “Which reminds me, let me see you smile.”

  “What?”

  He gestured to her. “Smile for me.”

  She gave him a smile that felt more like she was baring her teeth than being pleasant.

  “Hmm,” he said. “I didn’t see your eyes glow.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “Was this in my job contract? Because I don’t remember anyone warning me about interrogations.”

  He returned her gaze and when he spoke, his voice was completely serious. “Just promise me you’ll think carefully about what you do from now on.”

  “I promise,” she said.

  She had to remind herself of this promise over and over again throughout the day. Not that Landon was anywhere around. He didn’t even make an appearance in her thoughts. It was Slade’s presence that was plaguing her now. He smiled so easily at her, treated her like a friend and not the hired help, and kept distracting her whenever he stood close by.

  They went to an outdoor aquarium so he could keep his baseball hat and sunglasses on. As they walked around, Slade held the girls’ hands, often lifting both girls up so they could get a better view.