THE PARK OF SUNSET DREAMS

by Ava Miles

  Well, maybe that was a good thing. He was running for mayor, and this woman knew the score. God, what was wrong with him? They’d only just met.

  “Her mom is a career politician’s wife. Very polished. And I found a picture of Jane with them when she was in college. She looks nothing like she does now. She looks as polished as the mother in this photo. Hair shoulder length too. The mom is wearing a red suit, and hers is blue. Really toeing the line between subtlety and heavy handedness.”

  Interesting. He had never seen her in anything so polished. That kind of radical departure had to mean something. He had three sisters, so he knew how the female mind worked. Well mostly. They always made major changes to their hairstyles and wardrobes when something significant happened. Heck, who could forget the way Natalie’s hair had developed a greenish tint when Caroline and Moira poured hydrogen peroxide over it in an ill-advised attempt to dye it blonde after her break-up with her high-school boyfriend? He’d laughed at the sight and gotten socked by all three of them. Good times. He wondered what Jane’s life-changing event had been.

  “She’s a major brainiac. Graduated summa cum laude from Harvard both undergrad and M.B.A. Big-time honors. The only recent mention of her is on a website called The Woman’s Freedom Scholarship Foundation. She’s the founder, and they grant college scholarships to women from low-income families who are trying to change their lives. Cool! I like her already.”

  Matt smiled in spite of himself. Jane liked giving back. It was another thing they had in common.

  “Other than that, there’s no other sign of her…at least not on the Internet. No work history or resume. She’s not on LinkedIn or any other social media websites.”

  Yeah, something had gone down. His gut twitched. He hoped it hadn’t been traumatic. Being a lawyer, he’d heard endless stories about people’s lives being blasted apart.

  “What about her job with Rhett?” he asked. “Is there anything about that?” Might as well wade in since his brother was going to look anyway.

  “Nothing. Just hundreds of pictures of that dog on Twitter and Facebook. God, that is one girlie animal. Her outfits are going to give me nightmares.”

  He’d felt the same way at first, but she was just the sweetest dog. “She’s a heck of a lot better behaved than Henry.”

  “Yeah, there’s definitely some power struggle between you and that dog. He’s always going to be rambunctious, but he mostly listens to other people.”

  “Don’t I know it?” It was frustrating, and sometimes it made him worry that Henry just didn’t like him. But then the dog would give him a big lick in the face, and he’d realize it wasn’t anything so simple. His mind turned back to Jane. “Something happened to Jane, didn’t it?”

  His brother tossed his phone into his gym bag. “That would be my guess. You should ask her when you two get closer.”

  Matt gave him the fisheye. “What makes you think we’re going to get closer?”

  “Like I said, I can tell that you like her. It’s more than that, though… Before she was cute and a little mysterious. Now, she’s looking like a damsel in distress, and the whole reason you went into law in the first place was to help people. You won’t be able to stop yourself from caring about her now.”

  Funny how Jane had told him that he was the damsel when they’d first talked. He sighed. “I guess we both got the need-to-help-people gene. Must be from Mom. Dad’s too big of a dick for us to have gotten it from him.” Even if he was a doctor. But unlike Andy, who engaged with all of his patients, their dad was a surgeon. He didn’t need to get involved in people’s lives to fix what was wrong with their bodies. Most of them were drugged when he worked on them anyway.

  Andy sighed. “He wasn’t always a dick. I don’t understand what happened between Mom and Dad, but it’s best if you don’t let it eat you up.”

  “He hurt Mom.”

  “I know, and that pisses me off too. But having been married, I know it takes two. I love Mom, but when things fall apart, it’s never just one person’s fault.”

  His brain didn’t want to hear that, and he felt like punching the steering wheel. “Does he call you?”

  “A few times. Mostly to talk to Danny. He knows he’s in the dog house with all of us.”

  They arrived at Matt’s house, and Andy pulled out his gym bag. “Can I wash off here? Your shower is a hell of a lot nicer than the one at the hospital.”

  “Sure,” he said, slamming the door. Banishing the swirling thoughts from his head, he took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the day. The sun was warming him, the snow shone like diamonds, and the fir trees swayed in the wind. “Can you believe how lucky we are to be here, taking a break like this mid-day?”

  Andy glanced at him as they walked to his house. “Moving back here is going to be one of the best decisions you and I have ever made.”

  For some reason, Matt found his mind traveling again to the mystery that was Jane Wilcox, to the park where they walked their dogs each day at sunset.

  He had a hunch that his brother was right.

  Chapter 7

  When Matt arrived at the park at sunset, his mind was spinning with all the revelations his brother had discovered about Jane. She and the dogs were standing at the edge of the park, and he found himself eager to see her bright smile.

  Fortunately Henry didn’t pull any antics when he opened the back door to leash him. When Jane turned and waved at them, Henry jerked on the leash in his eagerness, his tail flapping in excitement. Even from this distance, Matt could swear Annie was smiling at him. She was wearing a red fleece jacket with a hoodie and something that looked like boots for dogs. My God, he couldn’t imagine the product design that went into something like that.

  “Hi,” Jane called when they reached them, and she immediately reached down to give Henry a nice rub behind the ears, which made him dance and bark.

  “Hi,” he easily responded, running his gaze over her face. Knowing what he did about her, it was like looking at a new person. Jane Wilcox, who are you?

  “Do I have a smudge on my face?” she asked him, tilting her head to the side. “Rufus was giving me kisses after nosing around in the trees at our place.”

  He shook his head, embarrassed to have been caught studying her. Although it was hard to look away… Her cheeks were rosy from the winter wind, and her big brown eyes sparkled.

  “No. I don’t think he marked you. So, how was your day?” he asked. He’d start out there. See what she did during the day. Surely two dogs couldn’t take up all her time.

  “Great. How about yours?”

  Okay, that wasn’t useful. They started to walk along the path, and just then a few deer bounded across the park about a hundred yards away from them. Their hindquarters were covered in snow, and while Matt marveled at their graceful leaps, he had to control a wildly barking Henry, who immediately lurched in their direction.

  “No. Stop. Sit. Dammit, Henry!”

  Of course, Rufus and Annie just watched the deer without moving an inch.

  “Okay,” Jane said by his side. “I think it’s time to get out the big guns. Well, perhaps not big. Henry, I was hoping we weren’t going to have to do this, but I think it’s time.”

  Matt was so busy trying to hold Henry back that he didn’t see what Jane was talking about until a stream of water hit Henry in the back of the head. The dog stopped dancing. When Matt swiveled around, he saw a pink water gun in Jane’s hand. Henry finally looked over his shoulder.

  “Stop,” she demanded. “I know it’s cold out, and I don’t plan to do this more than once.”

  His lip trembled like you just shot me.

  “I know deer get you all flustered, but seriously.” She extended the water gun to Matt, and then reached down to pet Henry. “I still love you, but when we say stop, you stop.”

  “Thanks,” Matt said, fitting the water gun in his hand, wishing it was any color but pink. Still, if it worked… “I’ll give it back to you when we leave.�
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  “No need,” she replied. “It’s yours.”

  Great. Just what he needed. A pink gun. Might as well emasculate him on the spot.

  Her mouth twitched. “Oh, you should see your face. I brought it as a joke. Your real present—a navy one—is in my car. I knew you’d want a manly color.”

  He laughed. “What a relief! I don’t think my Inner Alpha could have handled a pink water gun.” Especially since she’d joked about him being deficient in the Alpha territory, which he so was not. And now that he knew he liked her…well, he was planning on showing her his Alpha as soon as the time was right.

  “So tell me about your day,” he suggested again as they resumed their stroll. “What did you do?”

  Her eyes flickered over to him. “Nothing special. Just hung out with my besties here,” she said, and Annie barked in agreement.

  He hoped his lawyer training would serve him well in persuading her to talk. Getting people to break and say things they didn’t want to say had been his trademark while he was at the firm. He’d excelled in court, looking like a nice guy until…well, he pulled out cold and calculating Matty Ice. Not that he was going to pull those tactics with Jane. They were in his past. “No big stock trades today?”

  “Ah, nothing special. Just a little dabbling here and there.”

  “Got any hot tips for me?”

  This time she laughed, the gusto of it scattering the robins in the nearby trees. “Are you really pumping me for stock tips? Isn’t helping you with your dog enough?”

  He gave her a winning smile. “Just trying to learn more about you. My stock portfolio is in pretty solid shape, honestly.” Which was true.

  Before he knew it, they were talking stocks—anything from blue chip to small and large cap. He didn’t meet many people who understood more than the basics of the stock market, but Jane had a command of it that he’d never come across in a layman. Then she blew his mind when she shared her thoughts on hedge funds. Their pace was leisurely as the sunset colors changed to deeper hues of blues and gold, and they only stopped when the dogs marked their territory or did their business. Fortunately, Henry was behaving other than giving an occasional bark at a singing bird or a mischievous squirrel. A few runners passed them in a blur, eager to eat up the path before the valley succumbed to night. By the time Jane changed topics, veering into investments in overseas gas and oil pipelines like those in Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea, her eyes were twinkling, and she was gesturing with her free hand.

  “You really love this stuff,” he finally commented. This side of her fascinated him—her eyes gleamed with passion and intelligence as she spoke.

  As if suddenly self-conscious, Jane lifted her shoulder and looked away for a second. “I like playing the odds. That’s really what the market is all about.”

  “When I first met you, I didn’t think you had an appetite for risk.”

  Leaning down, she stroked Rufus and Annie and then had to pet Henry too when he nosed in. “Some people are full of surprises, I guess.”

  Yes, she definitely was, at that. If you could weigh the sheer information in a person’s brain, hers would probably weigh more than her tight, petite body.

  Which looked sleek and sexy tonight in skinny jeans, brown suede snow boots, and a red winter coat with a matching hat. He let his gaze linger on her backside for a moment before pulling it back to the path.

  “Why aren’t you off working for a big investment firm in New York City?” he asked. “I mean, it must have seemed like a reasonable track after you graduated from Harvard.”

  The way she rose was too stiff, and some of the sparkle in her eyes faded. “That wasn’t what I wanted.”

  “What did you want?” he asked in a serious tone.

  “At that time, I wasn’t sure.” Then she looked away and gestured to the sky. “It’s almost dark. We should head back.”

  For a moment, Matt grew frustrated that the sunset was dictating how long he could spend with this woman. Then he realized their time didn’t have to end just because their walk was over. “Since you treated me to wine last night, why don’t you and the dogs come over to our house tonight? We can order pizza and see if the water gun works as well as you think it will. Henry always tries to eat my pizza.”

  Her mouth parted, the only indication that his invitation had surprised her. “Ah…we’d love that. Shall we follow you this time?”

  “Usually I would say, ‘ladies first,’ but that won’t help you find my house.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t expect a man to be a gentleman all the time.”

  His muscles tightened at the thought, and he looked over to see if she’d meant anything sexual.

  Her cheeks went red instantly. “Oh…I mean…just that I can open my own door sometimes if it’s…more convenient.”

  He had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. “My sisters say the same thing, but they’d still kick our butts if we didn’t at least try to be gentlemanly. Natalie especially. She always says having three sisters was good training for me and Andy.”

  “You’re lucky to have them.” Something like wistfulness crossed her face.

  Henry barked at a squirrel running to the nearby metal garbage can, interrupting the moment. And Jane shivered.

  “Come on,” he said. “You’re cold, and I expect the dogs are thirsty.”

  They walked back to the SUVs, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see her stealing glances at him too.

  Andy was right. He did like her. And she liked him.

  The only question was, what was he going to do about it?

  Chapter 8

  Jane couldn’t believe her luck. As she followed Matt to his house, she dialed up Elizabeth over the Bluetooth in her car.

  “You aren’t going to believe this,” she said as soon as her friend answered.

  “You bought more dog coats online today.”

  Okay, so she’d gone a little overboard last week. Twelve coats in an array of animal prints and polka dots, not that she was admitting that. “No, I’m following Matt back to his house for pizza. That’s two nights in a row. That’s gotta be statistically significant, right?”

  “Get a hold of yourself, Einstein. If you start talking about probability, the man might head for the hills. Kidding! Of course it’s significant. Did he invite you?”

  “Yes,” she all but sang out.

  “What are you wearing?” And she said it with just enough salaciousness to make Jane laugh.

  “Wouldn’t you love to know?”

  The dogs barked as if to back her up.

  “Okay, my little pixie, just relax. This is a big step for you, but have fun. Let him steer the conversation. What were you talking about at the park?”

  “Stocks,” she said. Pure joy had shot through her when he’d brought up the subject. It had felt so good to be herself with a man.

  “Dear God. Call 911. Stat.”

  “Hah! No, seriously. I think he’s a closet market geek like I am.”

  “Well, that makes me want to upchuck. If you get married, your kids will both have trust funds and education funds before they’re out of diapers.”

  That had been the case for Jane, but it hadn’t made her feel any more loved, any safer financially. Her parents hadn’t created those funds for her. They’d done it for themselves. To show off to their friends. It was expected, and it was what people of their class did. Cripes, how that whole world exhausted her.

  “I’m sorry, Jane,” Elizabeth said softly when she didn’t banter back.

  “It’s okay. So, can I safely put on some lipstick before I go in without having him think I’m making a big deal out of this? I can only use lip gloss when I’m outside, or my lips get chapped.”

  “Definitely wear lipstick. You’re better off with a matte color in case he kisses you. Funny, his name is Matt. Don’t make a pun inside. Promise me.”

  Kiss her? Her hands jerked on the steering wheel, and her belly tightened. God, it
had been a while. That would be…awesome. “You know me too well. Okay. What shade?”

  “Why do you think I asked what you’re wearing?”

  Right. Jeez. She was acting like a novice beauty queen contestant. “I wore skinny jeans with a red scoop-neck cashmere sweater under a red pea coat. Just about froze my ass off.”

  “You wanted to look good for him, so it’s worth it. Let’s go with La Caline. The rosy tone brings out the pink in your cheeks and makes your eyes pop without being too obvious.”

  “I’m glad you made me keep some of the makeup.”

  “Like I was going to let you toss thousands of dollars of Chanel in the trash.”

  “You’re such a Chanel whore.” Growing up, Elizabeth hadn’t been able to afford it, which was why she loved it so much now.

  “Damn proud of it too.”

  They’d gone through their makeup together, and Elizabeth had picked the colors that suited Jane—not Raven—best. They’d donated the rest to a fledgling beauty school in the inner city.

  When Matt turned off the street onto a private drive, she blew out a breath. “Okay, we’re here.”

  “Stay calm. This is a walk in the park.”

  “Nice pun”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Look. You’ve got this. Have him pour you a glass of wine and then just chill. Talk about the dogs. Talk about him.”

  “Yeah, because I can’t talk a lot about me.”

  “Don’t go there. You’re doing the best you can. And he can learn a lot about you without knowing what you really do for a living. Just don’t play strip poker.”

  “As if.” Just the thought of it made her mouth water. But it would be one way to see him without clothes ‘cause she’d beat him hands down. Even Rhett had a hard time beating her. He said her poker face was one of the best he’d ever seen, a whopping compliment coming from him.

  “Let things evolve naturally. Now, slow down and put your lipstick on before you stop. No need to be obvious.”