The Irresistible Mr. Sinclair

by Joan Elliott Pickart

  “Losing,” Taylor said, his voice hushed. He took a shuddering breath. “Loving, then losing. That’s how it goes, how it happens, every damn time. Through divorce, death, however it comes, it ends.”

  He shook his head.

  “Dad, you know that. Your wife died. She was supposed to be with you during your well-earned retirement years. But is she here? Hell, no. She’s gone. Long gone.”

  “My God,” Clem said, dropping his hands to his knees and leaning forward. “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why you’ve never married. Your I-want-an-old-fashioned-woman spiel was a bunch of bull to give me something to gnaw on. You’re afraid of love, of being in love, aren’t you, Taylor? That’s the truth of it, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, that’s the truth of it,” Taylor said, his volume rising again. “And with just cause, don’t you think? Look around, Dad. Wake up and smell the coffee. How many happily-ever-afters do you see?”

  Clem sank back in his chair. “Oh, Taylor, where did I fail in raising you? How can you possibly believe what you’re saying?

  “What’s the bottom line here? I should never have married your mother, spent those glorious years with her, had you, a wonderful life, because there was a chance it would end sooner than I expected?”

  “Yes!” Taylor shook his head sharply. “No. Then again... Damn it to hell, every since I fell in love with Janice my brain has been mush, scrambled eggs, totally worthless and... Forget that. What I mean is... Why are you grinning like a fool?”

  “You’re in love?” Clem said, beaming. “With Janice Jennings of Sleeping Beauty? Well, I’ll be damned. Isn’t that just the finest thing I’ve ever heard?”

  “No!” Taylor bellowed, getting to his feet. “I didn’t intend to tell you how I feel about Janice and it’s beside the point. Haven’t you listened to a word I’ve said?”

  “Sit.”

  Taylor sat.

  “Son, please, you must hear me out,” Clem said seriously. “If I had possessed a crystal ball and had seen the future, knew I would lose your mother so early, I would have still married her and pledged my love to her for as long as it was to last.”

  “No. No way,” Taylor said. “You’re not that crazy. You wouldn’t have set yourself up for guaranteed heartbreak, Dad.”

  “Oh, yes, I would have, Taylor, because the joy, the richness, of what I shared with your mother would weigh far more on the emotional scale. Taylor, there are no guarantees connected with loving someone. You’re convinced that losing that love is a given, guaranteed, and you’re wrong.”

  “But—”

  “Taylor, you’re sentencing yourself to an empty, lonely life because you’re allowing your fears to control your heart and mind. Where’s your courage, your inner strength as a man?

  “Are you going to walk—no, run—out of Janice Jennings’s life because you’re so terrified of losing her? Are you going to deprive the two of you of all you could have together?”

  “Dad—”

  “Oh, son, no, don’t do this to yourself. Live, Taylor. Live, and love, and rejoice in every moment you have with the woman who has captured your heart.”

  Taylor dragged a restless hand through his hair. “I...I don’t know. I need to protect myself against the kind of pain you suffered when Mom died, the heartache I see my friends go through with divorces and—”

  “And never know,” Clem interrupted, “what it’s like to look across the table every morning at a woman who has filled you with the greatest happiness experienced by man. Never hold a baby in your arms, a miracle, that is a result of loving that woman. Never wake from a sound sleep and reach out in the darkness just to touch her, reassure yourself that she’s there, bask in the knowledge that you’re not alone. Not alone, Taylor.”

  “But for how long?” Taylor said, his voice choked with emotion. “How long, Dad, before you’re alone again? Only this time you’re so painfully aware of what is missing, what was there and is now gone. How long?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “What?”

  “When you’re in love, Taylor, a heartbeat is a lifetime of happiness. When you’re alone and lonely? A tick of time is an eternity. Think about that, Taylor. Look at your Janice, hold her in your arms, and think about that.”

  The father gazed at the son with love, as the son stared at the father in confusion. Silence fell over the room as they continued to look directly into each other’s eyes.

  Taylor broke the connection and got to his feet slowly, feeling weary to the bone.

  “I’ve got to go,” he said, walking toward the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and turned slightly to look back at his father. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll...I’ll think about what you said.”

  Clem nodded.

  “And, Dad?” Taylor said, his voice husky. “I vote for the striped shirt. It has more pizzazz.”

  Clem Sinclair continued to stare at the door after Taylor closed it behind him.

  “Be patient with my boy, Janice Jennings,” he whispered. “He’s worth waiting for, Ms. Sleeping Beauty.”

  Chapter Twelve

  When Taylor left his father’s home, he drove, with no particular destination in mind.

  A half hour later, he shook his head in self-disgust when he realized he was only two blocks from the Sleeping Beauty boutique.

  Two blocks from Janice.

  Janice did not keep the shop open late on Monday nights, he knew, time having proven that her customers were still recuperating from the weekend on the first day of the new week and not up to shopping after work.

  The clock on the dashboard in the car announced there were forty-five minutes before Janice closed the store and headed home.

  Taylor drove to a small park that was located on the street behind the boutique, wandered around the pretty grounds, then finally settled onto a bench beneath a mulberry tree.

  He removed his tie, stuffed it into the pocket of his suit coat, then ran one hand over the back of his neck with a weary sigh.

  This was great, he thought dryly. Now he was hiding out behind a tree rather than facing Janice. The woman he loved. The woman who scared the living daylights out of him simply by existing, being who she was.

  His Janice.

  His Sleeping Beauty.

  “Ah, hell.” Taylor sighed, a sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of his soul

  When you’re in love, Taylor, a heartbeat is a lifetime of happiness. When you’re alone and lonely? A tick of time is an eternity. Think about that, Taylor. Think about that... Think about that... Think...

  “All right, all right, Dad,” Taylor said aloud, frowning deeply.

  Alone and lonely. He would, indeed, be exactly that without Janice in his life. He loved her so damn much. He didn’t care if she wore awful clothes with clunky shoes, and kept her glorious hair in a tight, unflattering bun. None of that mattered. Not one little bit.

  He loved Janice for who she was. She was everything and more that any man could hope to find in his life’s partner, his wife, the mother of his children.

  There was nothing, nothing, about Janice to drive him away. Yes, granted, he was aware that she still had secrets she was keeping from him. There was something haunting her, reasons why she refused to reveal her body in its purest form to him. She didn’t trust him totally yet, not yet.

  So, okay, that hurt a bit, but he would be patient, give Janice all the time she needed to truly believe in him, and realize he was the real goods.

  No, he wasn’t at war with himself because Janice was lacking in any way. It was his own fear of losing her that had him confused.

  Where’s your courage, your strength as a man?

  Clem’s words echoed in Taylor’s mind, once again, causing him to draw a sharp breath, as though he’d been punched in the solar plexus.

  . Maybe, just maybe, time was the answer for him, too. Maybe he could conquer his fears slowly, with each passing day and night with Janice. Maybe he could—

  Ta
ylor was pulled from his tormenting thoughts by a bright red ball rolling on the grass in front of him. Following the ball with gurgling giggles was a little boy, a toddler not completely steady on his feet.

  Taylor reached down to pick up the ball and extended it toward the baby.

  “Here you go, sport,” he said, smiling. “That ball moves faster than you do, doesn’t it?”

  “Frankie!” a woman said, rushing toward Taylor and the child. She stopped and smiled at Taylor. “I’m sorry if he disturbed you. I turned my back for a second and he was gone.”

  “Baa,” Frankie said, extending his chubby hands toward the ball Taylor held.

  “Come on, Frankie,” the woman said as Taylor gave the toddler the ball. “Daddy will be home soon, and we want to be there when he arrives.”

  “You two will be quite a welcoming committee for your husband,” Taylor said, looking up at the woman. “He’s a lucky man.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “That’s a lovely thing to say. Frankie and I are fortunate to have a man like Jim come home to us every night, too.” She laughed. “That makes it just about perfect, doesn’t it? We’re a happy little family, with all of us loving each other.”

  “Yes,” Taylor said. “It’s perfect.”

  The woman scooped up Frankie. “Off we go. Goodbye, and thanks for rescuing Frankie’s ball.”

  “’Bye,” Taylor said quietly.

  He sat perfectly still, his gaze riveted on the mother and child until they disappeared from view, his mind echoing over and over what the woman had said.

  “I give up,” he said finally, throwing out his arms. “Frankie, his mom, lucky Jim and a bouncing red ball tipped me over the edge.”

  Taylor planted his hands on his thighs and pushed himself to his feet.

  Janice Jennings, he thought, I love you. And you’re about to be informed of that fact. Then? Hell, let the chips fall where they may. Time. Maybe that was the key for both him and Janice.

  With a decisive nod, Taylor strode toward his car.

  Janice hummed softly as she moved through the boutique, scrutinizing each rack of merchandise to be certain everything was in order for the next day. Satisfied with what she saw, she started toward the door to lock it, just as Taylor entered Sleeping Beauty.

  “Taylor,” she said, an instant smile on her face.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know I should have called you today.”

  Janice’s smile was replaced by a frown. “Why?”

  Taylor opened his mouth, closed it, then shook his head as he chuckled.

  “Ah, Janice,” he said. “You’re really something.”

  And, oh, Taylor, Janice thought, I love you. As foolish as it was, it was true. And for as long as Taylor was there, he was hers. They would be together. Just like the hummingbirds.

  “The rules are that I should speak with the woman to be assured she’s all right the day after the night before,” Taylor said, smiling slightly.

  “Oh,” Janice said. “I didn’t know that.”

  Which was just one of the reasons that he loved her, Taylor thought.

  “Are you all right?” he said.

  Janice smiled. “Yes, thank you.” She paused. “Am I supposed to ask you the same thing?”

  “No. We guys are on our own, I guess. We’re supposedly emotionally tough, or whatever.”

  “That hardly seems fair.”

  “No joke,” Taylor said dryly.

  “Taylor, would you please lock the door before someone comes in? Sleeping Beauty is officially closed for today.”

  Taylor snapped the lock into place, flipped the sign over to read Closed, then looked at Janice again.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said, no hint of a smile on his face. “Let’s get something to eat. Okay?”

  “Talk to me about what? You sound and look awfully serious.”

  “It’s serious business, Janice.”

  “Oh,” she said, a chill sweeping through her. “Well, I’ll get my purse. Shall I follow you in my car?”

  “No, I’ll bring you back here to pick it up.”

  Janice nodded and went to retrieve her purse and turn off the lights.

  What was Taylor going to say to her? she thought, her heart beating with a painful tempo. He looked haggard, tired, like a man with a great burden on his mind and his broad shoulders.

  “Listen,” Taylor said “I have a new plan. You drive on home and I’ll stop and get take-out Chinese food, okay? I’d rather have our conversation in private, not in a crowded restaurant.”

  Janice felt the color drain from her face and flicked the lights off quickly, welcoming the shadows that were cast over the store.

  “What kind of Chinese food do you like?” Taylor said.

  “Anything,” she said quietly. “All of it. It doesn’t matter.”

  “All light. I’ll go out the front door, so lock it behind me before you leave through the rear entrance. I’ll meet you at your house.”

  Taylor walked toward the door, stopped, then came back to where Janice stood by the far wall. He cradled her face in his hands, lowered his head and kissed her so deeply, so intensely, she felt as though her bones were dissolving. He ended the searing kiss and nodded once sharply.

  “That’s better,” he said, his voice gritty. “Now I’ll leave and go get our dinner. See ya.”

  Janice opened her mouth to echo Taylor’s farewell, only to realize there was no air left in her lungs. She took a much-needed breath as Taylor went out the front door.

  “Taylor Sinclair,” she said, stomping across the expanse to relock the door, “you are the most complicated, confusing, unsettling man I have ever met in my entire life.”

  She flipped the lock into place, then floated the fingertips of one hand up to rest on her lips, savoring the taste of Taylor, the feel of his mouth on hers, the remembrance of his aroma of fresh air and soap.

  “And I love you,” she whispered.

  After battling the heavy, rush-hour traffic, Janice arrived home, collected her mail, entered the house and went on to her bedroom. She set her purse and the mail on the slipper rocker, then sank onto the edge of the bed.

  What should she do? she thought. Stay dressed as she was? Change into a shapeless caftan?

  And what about her hair? Leave it in the bun? Twist it into a braid like she’d worn to the picnic in Prescott? Allow it to fall free as she had the night before?

  What to do? What to do?

  If only she knew what was on Taylor’s mind. If he was about to end their relationship, she needed the shield of her boxy suit and severe hairdo. They were a barrier to hide behind, might possibly, somehow, protect her from the full force of the painful words Taylor would be hurling at her.

  But what if that wasn’t what Taylor was going to say? He might have new information regarding the outlet of Sleeping Beauty that was to open in Hamilton House. He might have decided he preferred privacy to discuss financial matters with her.

  He’d looked so serious, but accountants were very serious people when it came to money, profit and loss, the whole nine yards.

  And that kiss. Heavenly days, that kiss in the boutique certainly hadn’t delivered the message of “Goodbye forever, Janice.” That kiss had fanned the embers still smoldering within them from the exquisite lovemaking shared the previous night.

  “Oh, Taylor,” she said aloud, throwing up her hands. “There are times when I don’t understand you one iota.”

  So, she’d do what felt right to her, and simply wait to find out what the serious business was that Taylor wanted to discuss.

  It was close to an hour later before Janice heard Taylor’s car pull into the driveway. A very long hour that had resulted in her nerves becoming frayed and a stress headache to begin pounding in her temples.

  She crossed the living room and flung open the front door before Taylor had a chance to ring the bell.

  “Did you go to China for the Chinese food?” she said, surprising herself as sh
e heard the sharp edge to her voice. She sighed in the next instant. “I’m sorry. That was rude. Come in.”

  Taylor didn’t move.

  He just stood there, staring at Janice, his racing heart echoing in his ears.

  Look at her hair, he thought wildly. He’d seen it falling free last night, but it was still knocking him for a loop as he gazed at it again in all its glory. Gorgeous. Janice’s hair was absolutely fantastic. It was sun-kissed wheat, silken and wavy, floating over her breasts and beyond in a sensuous cascade.

  Heat was exploding through him. He could feel it beginning to coil hot and low in his body. All because Janice had taken her hair down, freed it from that awful bun.

  The rest of her? She was covered from neck to mid-calf in a white, terry-cloth robe that was belted at the waist, giving little clue as to what was beneath the heavy material.

  But that hair? He was going up in flames.

  “Taylor?”

  “Huh? Oh. Right.”

  He entered the living room and dropped a small, dark blue canvas gym bag on the floor.

  “What’s that?” Janice said, looking at the bag.

  “I stopped at my place and changed into jeans and T-shirt as you can see. I also grabbed my bathing suit and a beach towel,” he said. “I thought we might...maybe...go for a swim later. Then again, we might not, depending on how our talk goes. But then again... Ah, hell, forget it. Come on. Let’s eat before this stuff gets ice cold.”

  Taylor strode past Janice and headed for the kitchen. Janice closed and locked the door, stared at the gym bag for a long moment, then followed Taylor’s path to the rear of the house.

  A short time later, a multitude of little white boxes were spread out on the table. Janice had produced plates and utensils, along with sodas and tall tumblers filled with ice. She and Taylor sat opposite each other, peering into the boxes and inhaling the delicious aromas wafting through the air.

  “You must have gotten one of everything on the menu,” she said, smiling. “There’s enough food here for an army. We should invite your father and my neighbor, Shirley, to join us.”