by Webb, Peggy
He laughed. "I probably am." Still holding her, he opened his car door, then scooted her carefully around the steering wheel and arranged her on the front seat. With his face only inches from hers, he crooned. "That's all right, love. You don't have to answer my question. Your response already did."
He settled in the driver's seat and started the car.
"Don't you dare start this car. You can't just take me off like this."
He backed expertly out of the parking lot. "I already did, Mattie."
Sometimes Mattie lost track of how she was supposed to be feeling about Hunter, but she never lost track of how she felt about music. She was first and foremost a professional.
"We’ll miss rehearsal," she said.
"Jo Ann knows we won't be there." He was maddeningly silent as he left the freeway and turned toward downtown Dallas. Finally, he glanced toward her. "I told Jo Ann the star of the show had begged me to take her on a picnic today, and naturally she agreed that we should both do everything in our power to keep the star happy."
He was so like the outrageous Hunter she'd once loved, that she had to bite her tongue to keep from smiling. Remembered summer days of the wind in her hair and Hunter at her side invaded her, and she was happy.
"You're a wicked, devious, presumptuous, skirt-chasing playboy." She was choking back laughter the entire time she said all those things. She used to love his spontaneity. And his wickedness. As for the rest of her accusations . . . she just wouldn't think too seriously about all that today. She was having too much fun.
"You left out one," he said.
"What?"
"Desirable."
"Conceited."
"But cute." He reached over and rubbed her leg. "How did you ever get along without me, Mattie?"
The question touched an old wound. She'd gotten along without him in stages that ranged from total despair to flickering hope to stubborn denial. She turned her face to the window when she answered him. "The same way you got along without me, Hunter." Let him make whatever he wanted of it.
"All that's behind us now," he said.
She couldn't study his face without being obvious, so she didn't know whether or not he was teasing.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"To the stars. We may never come back."
"That's a nice line, Hunter. Do you use it on all your women?"
He chuckled. "Let's make a deal. For today I'll forget all your other men if you’ll forget all my other women."
"That's going to be hard, especially the Russian prince."
"I’ll make you forget." He swerved over a curb, slammed on the brakes, and stopped so hard, her teeth were jolted together.
"Hunter! You're parked on a sidewalk."
"What's the matter, Mattie?" He slid over and took her into his arms. "I thought you liked to live dangerously." He kissed her with such savage force, she couldn't have replied if she'd wanted to.
She had a fleeting thought that nothing seemed to be going the way she'd planned today. Then she gave herself up to the delicious feelings that were storming through her body. She was jazz, insistent and throbbing. She was summer song, hot and pulsing. And while his mouth savaged hers, she was Hunter's woman.
She made a small sound that was half sigh, half moan as she circled his neck with her arms and laced her fingers through his wild hair. It came alive under her fingers, winding itself around them, thick and crisp and vital, as vital as the man whose lips sought to blot out their past.
"We could scandalize Dallas," he murmured.
Once again she couldn't reply, for the scorching heat of his tongue filled her mouth, plying fiercely, urgently, until she was as limp as the damp hair that clung to the back of her neck.
Pedestrians did a double take at the sight of a car on the sidewalk. Most of them eased around it, figuring it was none of their business what the foolish rich did with their expensive cars. They gave no more than a passing glance to the two people glued together on the front seat.
However, one woman who believed in speaking her mind wherever she happened to be tapped smartly on the driver's window with her walking stick. Mattie and Hunter ignored her, being occupied with the fire that blazed between them.
The fearless woman pressed her face to the window, the better to determine exactly what was going on. What she saw made her wish she were young again.
"Young man," she called. When she received no reply, she called louder. "Young man."
Hunter looked up at the wrinkled old face pressed against his window. Still holding Mattie close, he pressed a button and eased the window down. "Anything I can do for you?" he asked as politely as if he had been at a Sunday school picnic.
The elderly woman stuck her head through the window. "You can call me the next time you plan to put on another show. The name's Letitia Hart, and I approve. Not enough romance in today's world."
"I completely agree." Hunter smiled first at the woman, then at Mattie. "Don't you, darling?"
Mattie's heart was bumping so hard against her rib cage, she could barely think, let alone speak. "Ummm," she said.
Hunter grinned. "My wife's a woman of few words. I like it that way. Gives me more time to concentrate on the important things."
"Like romance." Letitia nodded. "The world needs more men like you." She backed her head out of the car. "Carry on."
"I intend to." He pressed the button, and the window whirred back up. "Nice woman, that Letitia. Now." His gaze swept over Mattie. "Where were we?"
Mattie had almost recovered. She decided to take control of the situation. "I was very close to ripping your clothes off and having my way with you, Hunter." She gave him a teasing smile.
"I’ll help you, Mattie. What do you want to start with? My shirt?" He made a move to strip it over his head.
She put her hand on his. "You've proved your point, whatever it is. Get this car off the sidewalk."
Grinning, he put the car into gear and backed into the street. "The point, dear Mattie, is that I intend to have you. No matter what you say, no matter what you do, you're going to be mine."
She supposed she should be happy about that. Wasn't that a part of her plan? To make Hunter want her? Then why wasn't she gloating? What was the matter with her?
She forced herself to continue the game. "Then I have to warn you, Hunter. I don't like more than two in a bed."
He grinned. "Does that mean I have to give up my other women?"
"Definitely. I don't like to share."
"Neither do I."
The intensity of his voice startled her. She turned to study his face. His expression was almost stern. But, of course, that was because he was concentrating on the traffic. It had nothing whatever to do with what he'd said. He was playing a game too. Funny, she had to keep reminding herself of that.
Hunter turned into the parking lot of Chadwick Toys and stopped the car beside one of the storage warehouses.
"This is it, Mattie. Our destination."
"This is your company, Hunter?" Her excitement was genuine as she looked at the vast toy-manufacturing complex. "I've always wanted to see it."
He smiled a secret smile. In moments when we least expect it, the truth slips out. And that particular truth made him extremely happy. It meant that Mattie had thought of him through the years. It meant that a part of her still cared. He could build on that.
In typical Hunter fashion, he forged straight ahead. "Then you shall see it. I’ll give you the executive tour. I want you to see exactly how the father of your future children makes his living."
He was out the door and striding around to her side of the car before she could reply. First her face went red hot. Then it turned white. She didn't like this game. How many times in the last ten years had she thought of the waste? How many times had she imagined the children they would have had? A deep ache started inside her, and she was forlorn, Rachel mourning for her children.
Hunter opened the car door and took her hand. "Come, beaut
iful princess of jazz. Let me show you your future kingdom."
She wanted to scream, Stop it. She wanted to bang her fists against his chest and yell that this wasn't part of the game. Talk of children and a future meant falling in love. Didn't Hunter know that was an impossible dream?
"Your hand is cold, Mattie." He smiled down at her. "Does that mean your heart is warm?"
"I have no heart, Hunter. Didn't you know that?" Her smile was forced, her voice brittle.
"Then you've come to the right place. Chadwick Toys has its own resident wizard. He can give you a new heart."
"Who is this resident wizard?"
"Me."
He pushed open the door to his vast toy warehouse. Red wagons and fire engines and tricycles and dolls and wooden ponies and teddy bears were lined in neat rows like ranks of miniature soldiers ready for battle.
Mattie felt as if she had entered the magic world of childhood. Seeing all the toys, all the symbols of childhood dreams, made her misty-eyed.
She looked at Hunter. "It's your dream come true," she said softly.
"Only part of it." He gently brushed a stray curl away from her cheek. "I specialize in making dreams come true, Mattie. And I intend to complete my dream. All of it."
"Hunter. Don't."
"You remember the dream, don't you, Mattie?"
"Yes." Her voice was barely a whisper. She remembered. . . .
They'd gone on a picnic. It was nearing the end of the summer. Both were already feeling the impending doom of her leaving.
Hunter took two huge picnic hampers from the trunk of his Thunderbird, and she laughed as he pretended to struggle across the beach. "We'll never eat all that."
He put the baskets down, then opened one and took out a teddy bear puppet. Sticking his hand inside and working the mouth, he said in his best teddy bear voice, "I certainly hope not. People don't eat bears; bears eat people." Then he wrapped Mattie in his arms. "Starting with you."
His lips tasted of sun and wind and summer. She clung to the solid strength of him, never wanting to let go. His hands moved over her body, tracing the familiar lines of her back, the curve of her buttocks, the lithe firmness of her thighs. She felt the soft warmth of the teddy bear's fur as Hunter memorized her.
"Marry me, Mattie," he said against her lips.
Joy leaped within her. She pulled back and looked into his face. "I'm only eighteen, Hunter. I'd always planned to finish my music studies before I married."
"That was before you met me." He pulled her down on the sand and tucked her securely against his body. "We’ll make it work, Mattie. I know how important music is to you. But I also know that you love me."
"I do."
"You can have both. Let's don't wait, Mattie. Let's make our dreams come true together."
She pressed her head against his chest, reassured by the steady drumming of his heart. Being with Hunter somehow made everything seem right. "Tell me how it'll be, Hunter. Spin those magic dreams again."
He lifted her hand and placed a lingering kiss on her palm. "I'll make toys and you'll make music . . . and together we'll make magic. You'll be the best jazz musician in America and I’ll be the biggest toy manufacturer. My toys will fulfill the dream of every kid in America, including our own." He twined her fingers with his. "Our love is so special, Mattie, that we’ll want to share it. We’ll have children, lots of them. And we’ll be so happy we’ll be the envy of everybody in Dallas."
She rolled over on top of him. "I'll marry you."
He laughed. "You forgot to say yes."
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes ..."
Yes, she remembered, and the memory ripped a hole in her heart.
"I'm going to have it all, Mattie."
His face was as implacable as time. Before she could reply. Hunter changed from formidable to playful.
"Come on, Mattie. Let's have fun." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the aisle of toys. "We’ll need this." He plucked a teddy bear off the shelf and dropped it into her arms. "And this . . . and this . . . and this . . . and this." He piled her arms with teddy bears as he talked. "What's a picnic without teddy bears?"
He whisked her to the warehouse roof by way of an old-fashioned, creaky elevator. As she hugged the bears close she wondered if he treated all his women to these impulsive picnics. The thought made her jealous, and then she was miffed at herself for even caring.
Hunter escorted her through the door and onto the sunlit roof. A table for two was set with linen and crystal and silver, a three-piece combo was playing the best jazz west of the Mississippi, and hundreds of teddy bears were already arranged around the rooftop, seated on chairs and in corners, as if they'd come especially for the party.
"You call this a picnic?" Mattie asked.
"Yes. Fit for a princess. How do you like it so far?"
She liked it. In fact, she loved it. But could she risk telling him so?
"Hunter, if this is another one of your schemes to make me remember what we once had, forget it."
"Never fear, Mattie. These teddy bears don't even eat people." He plucked one from her arms and rubbed it against her cheek. "See?"
She smiled. "He took a nibble."
"I don't blame him." He took all the bears and put them on the floor. "Just for today, let's forget the past. Let's act as if there's nothing between us except mutual attraction."
"I'm not attracted—"
"Yes, you are." He pressed a finger against her lips. "Just you and me, with the wind in our hair and the sun on our faces." He took her into his arms. "Let's dance."
She smoothly followed his lead. "Why not? The music is very good. Who are they?"
"Rod and Herman and Axel Franklin, good friends of mine." He pulled her a bit closer. "I'd forgotten how well you dance."
"I thought you said no memories."
"Right. What do you have for breakfast, Mattie? Do you eat apples with the peelings or without? What do you do for exercise? Do you read murder mysteries? Who's your favorite man?" He winked. "The answer to that one is Hunter Chadwick."
She tipped back her head and laughed. "Cereal and fruit. With. Swimming and hiking. No. And not you."
"You lie." He held her so tightly, she could feel every muscle in his body.
"I always lie when I'm hungry."
"Then let's eat."
They sat at the table and shared fruit and cheese and wine and croissants so flaky that bits of crust clung to their lips. With the music playing and the sun shining down on them, they were nothing more than two handsome people, intensely attracted to each other. The past faded and the games they'd been playing were forgotten. They laughed and talked and perfectly imitated two people falling in love.
"Hey, save some cheese for me, Hunter. You must be part mouse."
"I am. Are you part cat?"
"Why?"
"I'm waiting for a beautiful, sleek cat to gobble me up."
"That's me. Mattie the cat. Meow."
"When are you going to eat me?"
"As soon as I jump over the moon."
"That's a cow that jumped over the moon, Mattie. Not a cat."
"Are you calling me a cow? I'm udderly insulted."
"You're also utterly gorgeous and desirable and delicious. I'm thinking of having you for dessert."
"You told me these bears don't eat people."
"Are you calling me a bear?"
"Yes. You're my sweet teddy-bear man."
Mattie was having so much fun, she didn't notice her slip of the tongue.
But Hunter did. He was so thrilled, he had to restrain himself from leaping across the table and kissing her until they were both limp. There was hope. After all that had happened between them, there was still hope.
He smiled a secret smile and continued romancing his Mattie.
o0o
Mattie propped the teddy bear on her bedside table. He had black button eyes and plush brown fur and was soft and cuddly. Hunter had given her the bear as a memento of the picnic
, and she'd named him Henry.
"Well, Henry," she said as she undressed, "I wish you could talk. Maybe you could tell me about this enigmatic man called Hunter Chadwick. How can he be so arrogant and passionate one minute and so gentle and likable the next? He never even tried to kiss me again after we went into that warehouse. Except for that peck on the cheek when he brought me home. Does that make sense to you?"
She covered herself with a filmy peignoir and stood smiling at the bear. "Today, Henry, I almost forgave him. He was so charming I came close to burying the past. I almost forgot about his harem."
She picked up the bear and stroked his fur. "You're a good listener. Has anybody ever told you that?" She cuddled the teddy bear against her cheek. "Do you know how hard I've tried to forget that man? I wanted so desperately to fall in love that I've chased half the men in Europe. The papers report it the other way around, of course." She snuggled her nose into Henry's soft tummy. "Nobody knows that but you and Papa. Don't tell a soul, cuddly old teddy bear." She placed Henry back on the chair. "Today I felt as if I were falling in love again. That's totally impossible."
She began to pace, punctuating her words with dramatic, sweeping gestures. "They say love is blind. It must be crazy, too. I have no intention of falling in love with the man who betrayed me. Besides that, how could I ever trust a man who has keys to half the bedrooms in Dallas? I’ll just have to forget today. That's all. I'm going to accept it as a pleasant interlude. Tomorrow I’ll analyze all this."
"Good night, Henry."
She left her bedroom and went into the music room. The baby grand gleamed a rich mahogany in the moonlight. She didn't even bother to turn on the lights. Her hands knew the ivories as intimately as a woman knows her lover. She sat on the piano bench and began to play, leaning into the music, having an affair with the keyboard.
And the song she played was Summer Wind.
o0o
Hunter heard the song. He stood on his patio listening until the last note had died away. Then he went inside. He walked straight to his Uncle Mickey's room and tapped on the door.
"Come in," Uncle Mickey said. "I've been expecting you."
Uncle Mickey was wearing peppermint-striped pajamas. He was tall and lean and bony, and he looked like a candy cane.
