“You’re the softest woman,” he murmured against her hair as his arms caressed down her back.
She smiled against his shirt and tightened her hold on his waist. “You don’t feel so bad yourself.”
“Hey, are you flirting with me?”
She heard the grin in his voice. “If you have to ask, I must not be doing a good job of it.”
“Well, well, well.”
“Don’t get carried away,” she warned, responding to the smugness in his voice. “This is an act for Carl and Megan, remember?”
“Now that wasn’t nice. You get my hopes up. Then you dash them. You could break my heart.”
Eleanor didn’t think it would be his heart that would break. More likely it would be hers. “I bet you’ve broken a lot of hearts.”
“Not me,” he said in earnest. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
“Somehow I don’t quite believe there aren’t some hearts out there with your knife in them.”
He squeezed her to him. “You’d be wrong. And I must be losing my touch. You’re standing here in my arms in this romantic atmosphere and you’re talking about other women in my life. I know I’m losing my touch.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about in that department.”
“Does that mean I’m getting to you?”
She considered avoiding his question, but decided against it. “It means you could get to me if I let you.”
“And why won’t you let me?”
“Because I don’t want my heart broken.”
He tilted her chin up and brushed her hair back so he could see her face clearly. “I wouldn’t break your heart, Eleanor.”
The sincere words made her knees weak. His gaze rested on her lips and she knew he was thinking about kissing her. Heaven help her, she was thinking about kissing him. Instead, she cleared her throat and lowered her head back to his chest.
When the dance was over, he took her hand in his and led her over to where Carl still stood talking to Mrs. Thompson.
“You look so lovely tonight, dear,” Mrs. Thompson said, reaching for Eleanor’s hand. “You should wear your hair down more often.”
Eleanor accepted the compliment easily. Almost all of the guests had complimented her new look.
“I’m glad to see at least one of my most favorite young people is finding romance,” the older woman continued. “Carl, here, has spent the entire evening talking to me when he should be finding himself a young lady.”
Carl groaned.
“Maybe he’s looking for a woman with a bit more experience, Mrs. Thompson,” Jake suggested with a masculine twinkle in his brown eyes.
“Oh, go on, Jake,” Mrs. Thompson said, then slapped his hand coyly. “I was telling Carl there are quite a few available young women here in Lamar.”
“I can find my own women, Mrs. Thompson,” Carl said with a tinge of annoyance.
“Well, you don’t seem to be doing a good job of it, young man. How many of these young women have you talked with tonight?”
“That doesn’t—”
“Yes, it does, young man. It tells me you need my help. Now, I’m going to mingle around here and find a young woman for you. You wait and see.”
“But Mrs. Thompson—”
She patted his cheek. “You can thank me later, son. Now let me get out here and find you a young woman.”
Eleanor and Jake laughed at Carl’s chagrined expression. “You’d better follow my lead and find your own woman, man,” Jake said, pulling Eleanor closer to him.
Carl placed his glass on the lace-covered refreshment table. “I’ve had it. I’m out of here.”
“Carl,” Eleanor called after him, but he didn’t stop. He headed straight for the door, then practically ran out of it.
“I thought he’d never leave,” Megan said from behind them.
Eleanor turned around. “Where’d you come from? I thought you were dancing.”
“I was, but the guy I was dancing with had two left feet and fifty arms.” She lifted her hands and examined her nails. “Not exactly my type.”
Eleanor leaned into Jake. “Sometimes what we’re looking for is right under our noses.”
“Well,” Megan said, “the only thing under my nose right now is my top lip. Believe me, if there was another one like Jake around, I’d know it.”
Eleanor looked up at Jake. “I think that’s a compliment.”
“Thanks, madam.” Jake gave an exaggerated bow.
Megan reached for Jake’s hand. “Mind if I borrow your man here for a whirl around the dance floor?” she asked Eleanor.
Eleanor slipped from under Jake’s other arm. “Of course not.”
Jake planted a quick peck on her lips and whispered, “Don’t be jealous now. You’re the only one for me.”
Eleanor touched her hand to the place he had kissed and wished she was the only one for him.
***
Jake slapped his hand on the steering wheel. “Shut up! Both of you, shut the hell up!”
“Jake . . .” Eleanor said, placing her hand on his arm to calm him. Jake shook her hand off.
“I’ve had enough of them, Eleanor. They’re worse than kids.” He wondered why he’d been crazy enough to think Megan and Carl loved each other. In the week since the welcome party, they’d almost driven him insane with their constant bickering. Now, this drive to Atlanta was turning into a nightmare.
“I don’t know why you invited her on this trip in the first place,” Carl sneered. “What does she know about newspapers anyway? What does she know about anything?”
“Do what Jake said and shut up, Carl,” Megan shouted. “Mr. Mason invited me because I’m Eleanor’s best friend. If you don’t like it, you can go back to Lamar. We’ll have a much better time if you don’t come.”
Eleanor turned around in her seat and pointed at them. “Jake is about ready to pull this car over and throw you both out. Now get yourselves together.”
Megan crossed her arms and moved closer to the door—any closer and she would have to get out. “It’s his fault.”
Carl shot Megan an accusing stare. “You need to grow up, Megan. Look at yourself, pouting like a child.”
“You don’t—” Megan was about to get wound up again.
“If you two say one more cross word to each other,” Jake said through tight lips, “I’m going to stop at the next exit and put you out. You got that?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
Eleanor turned back around in her seat. “Do you think that was necessary?”
Jake glanced at her. “It made them shut up, didn’t it?”
“But you don’t mean it, do you?” Eleanor whispered.
“Like hell I don’t,” Jake answered, loud enough for Megan and Carl to hear. “One more set of cross words from them and they won’t be going to New York. At least, not with us.”
This time Eleanor believed him. She turned once more to look at Megan and Carl. They hugged their respective doors, staring out the windows with smirks on their faces. They were about an hour from the Atlanta airport and Eleanor wasn’t sure they were going to make it.
“What are they doing?” Jake whispered.
Eleanor turned back around in her seat. “I think it’s called a Mexican standoff.”
Jake chortled. “Enough about the dueling brats. Are you excited about this trip?”
If Eleanor could talk freely, she’d tell Jake she was disappointed Carl and Megan had come along. Their presence meant she and Jake had to continue their roles as budding lovers and that meant Eleanor couldn’t spend time with her old college friend, Franklin. “I’d be more excited if we didn’t have to baby-sit.”
Jake grimaced. “I know the feeling.” He’d been excited about having Eleanor to himself in New York. But when he’d found out she intended to spend all her time with Franklin, he’d been disappointed. Learning
Carl and Megan were coming had restored his excitement. But in spite of what their presence would mean in New York, he was dead serious about leaving them if they acted up again.
Eleanor touched his arm. She’d started to do that a lot lately. She was really getting into her role. “You must be happy to get back to your old stomping ground.”
“I am. I’m also looking forward to showing you the sights. I’ll love seeing the city through your eyes.”
That warm feeling that was becoming her constant companion filled Eleanor’s stomach. “I’ve been to New York before.”
“Not with me. I want you to see my New York.”
They were both silent for a while, enjoying each other’s company. Eleanor reveled in the masculine approval Jake had given her new burgundy mini-skirt suit. Though she had to fight the urge to tug on the skirt, she was glad she’d given in to Megan’s urgings and updated her wardrobe.
***
“You’ve traveled a lot, haven’t you?” Eleanor asked a while later.
Jake smiled at the memories. “For as long as I can remember. After my mom died, I started going with my father on business trips. We didn’t go far because we didn’t have much money, but where he went, I went.”
“That must have been great. I know I loved spending time with my dad when I was younger. As a matter of fact, I still do.”
“Yeah, those were good times. As I got older, Dad decided I needed more structure in my life so we stopped traveling as much and I settled down to the life of an ordinary child. Not as exciting.”
“Did your dad still travel?”
Jake gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “That was the downside. By then, we had more money and his trips were for longer periods of time. He made up for it during the summers. That’s when we traveled together.”
“Sounds like you and your dad are close.”
“We were.”
“What happened?”
Jake had asked himself that question. He wasn’t sure if there was an answer. “Things changed. I got older. Dad got busier.”
“That’s too bad,” she said, and he felt she meant it.
“It’s all right. Overall, Dad’s a good guy,” Jake said absently. “He wanted me to be happy, but he didn’t understand that being with him made me happy.”
Sounded like her dad, Eleanor thought. “My dad always said he wanted me to travel, get away from home, but I never got the feeling he meant it. He wanted me with him.”
“You liked that?”
“A lot.”
“I hear a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”
She looked out the window. “Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t come back to Lamar when I graduated from school.”
“Where would you have gone?”
“New York.”
“Your friend Franklin?”
She nodded. Franklin seemed so long ago. He’d been the first man she’d ever loved.
“Was he more than a friend?”
“He asked me to marry him.”
The words hit Jake like a sucker punch. He was taking Eleanor back to the arms of a guy who’d asked her to marry him. “Why’d you turn him down?”
She smiled. “I didn’t want to leave Lamar. My dad needed me.”
“Do you ever regret it?”
“Not marrying Franklin?”
She’d asked herself that question many times over the last few years. “I don’t regret not marrying Franklin, but I do wonder how different my life would have been had I been a bit more adventurous.”
Jake wondered if she still had feelings for the guy. “How did you and Franklin meet?”
Eleanor smiled. “Jealous?”
“I think it’s natural. The new beau is always a little jealous of the old beaus. Especially the ones who made marriage proposals.”
“The new beau?”
Jake inclined his head in the direction of the back seat to remind her of the roles they were playing for the benefit of Carl and Megan. “Don’t you think I’m entitled to be a little jealous, Carl?”
“I say always keep a man a little jealous,” Megan chimed in.
“He wasn’t talking to you, Megan,” Carl explained calmly. “He was talking to me. Do you think everything has to revolve around you?”
Jake looked at Eleanor and they both grinned. Thank God, they were almost at the airport.
Eleven
Jake saw his plans for the weekend begin to disintegrate right before his eyes. “You can’t go back to Lamar. We’re here. We’ve checked our luggage. We have our boarding passes. They’re boarding the plane now.”
Megan glared at Jake. “You don’t tell me what to do. You threatened to dump me out of the car. I’m not going.”
“Megan,” Eleanor said, “be reasonable. How will you get back to Lamar?”
“Who said I was going back to Lamar? I have friends in Atlanta. Maybe I’ll get a room and stay here until you guys get back on Sunday.”
“Well, I’m ready to get on the plane,” Carl said cheerfully. “She’s right. She’s a grown woman. If she doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t have to go.”
Jake didn’t know who he wanted to strangle first: Carl or Megan. “This is childish, Megan. Get on the plane.”
“I am not.” Megan kissed Eleanor on the cheek. “You have a good time in New York.” She shot a glance at Jake, then said loud enough for him to hear, “I hope you see Franklin while you’re there.”
Eleanor grabbed one of Megan’s hands. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Now get on that plane before it leaves you.”
“Okay,” Carl said, taking Eleanor’s other hand. “We’re boarding now. Have fun in Atlanta, Megan. We’ll see you when we get back.”
Carl escorted Eleanor to the jet way and Jake followed. Megan stood behind waving.
“We can’t leave her, Carl,” Eleanor said.
“Of course we can,” Carl whispered. “Anyway, you know as well as I do she’s going to make a late entrance on the plane. Let’s not beg her. She’s coming. Megan wouldn’t miss a free trip to New York and a Mason Publishing party for anything.”
“I’m not sure about this, Carl. I don’t think she’s coming.”
Carl shot Jake a glance. ‘It’s your call, man. Do we play it her way or mine?”
Jake looked back at Megan. She was still smiling. “Let’s board.”
When the stewardesses began closing the overheard compartments, Eleanor said, “I don’t think she’s coming.”
“She is,” Carl said, but some of his confidence was gone.
“She’d better hurry,” Jake added.
Carl stood up. “I’ll go get her, but this is the last time.”
“Carl . . .” Jake said, but Carl was out of his first-class seat and through the door. “Damn, now they’re both going to miss the flight.”
The flight attendant closed the front cabin door as soon as the words were out of Jake’s mouth.
“I’d say you’re right,” Eleanor said as the pilot began his push back from the gate.
“Damn!”
Eleanor touched his arm again. “Don’t worry so. It’s not that bad. Maybe they’ll come to an understanding while we’re gone.”
Jake stared at her. “Do you really think so?”
She shook her head. “I’m beginning to wonder if this plan of yours is worth it. Megan and Carl may be a lost cause.”
“Let’s not give up yet.” Jake didn’t want to agree with her since he had ulterior motives for the plan, but he thought she was right. In his opinion, Carl and Megan were too inflexible to ever get it together. He didn’t think they’d find anyone who’d put up with them.
“At least it works out for us.”
“Works out?”
Eleanor took a magazine out of the seat pocket in front of her. “Yes, now we don’t have to pretend to be a couple. You can visit with your friends and I
can spend some time with Franklin.”
Franklin. Exactly what Jake hadn’t wanted. “Yeah, lucky us.”
She looked over at him. “I’m sure your little black book must be burning a hole in your pocket. Do you think you’ll be able to see all of your women this weekend?”
Jake could do nothing but go along with her. He wasn’t about to admit he wanted to spend time with her if all she could think about was Franklin. “I’ll hold a lottery. The winner gets to see me this weekend.”
Eleanor laughed. “You’re too much, Jake.”
Jake laughed, too, but it was an empty laugh. His trip to New York was doomed. He wanted to strangle Megan. He probably would as soon as he got back to Lamar. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. It had been a hell of a day.
***
Jake and Eleanor took a limo from LaGuardia Airport to the Mason estate in White Plains. During the thirty-minute ride, Eleanor questioned Jake about his father.
Jake’s accessing gaze traveled from her crossed legs to the choker around her neck before meeting her eyes. “Why all the questions? I’m sure you’ve had Carl put together a file.”
“Of course,” Eleanor answered, uncrossing her legs and shifting slightly to pull her skirt farther down her thigh. “But I want to hear it from you.”
A smile touched Jake’s lips then he sank back in the seat and closed his eyes. “Next question.”
Eleanor liked the relaxed look of his features. It made him appear more approachable. Vulnerable, even. “Why haven’t you been more involved in your father’s business?”
The twitch in his jaw told her the question was painful for him.
“My father didn’t want me involved,” he answered simply, but she sensed there was nothing simple about it.
“Why was that?”
Jake opened his eyes. “You’re full of questions, aren’t you?”
“You didn’t answer me.”
He closed his eyes again. He didn’t want to discuss this with Eleanor because he had some of the same questions himself. “Why don’t you save it until you meet my father. You do want to have something to ask him, don’t you?”
Eleanor touched his knee. “But I want you to answer this one.”
Between the Lines Page 11
