The Engagement Party

by Barbara Boswell

  “You’re doing a terrible job of marketing yourself, Matthew,” Hannah observed tartly. “You should be trying to convince me how very much I need you in my life, not how difficult you’ll be once you’re there.”

  “I defer to you when it comes to selling anything, angel face. You’re the expert in convincing people that they simply must have something they never knew they wanted in the first place.”

  “So you’re saying it’s up to me to convince you that you simply must have me—on my terms and permanently.”

  “If you succeed, it’ll be the sale of the century, babe.”

  “Does this mean you plan to stay in Clover for a while?”

  “I guess it does.”

  “For how long?”

  “Maybe that depends on you. Do you intend to make me want to stay?”

  She nodded her head. “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  Hannah experienced a rush of euphoria so heady that she felt momentarily breathless. And dizzy with delight. “As it happens, I don’t want a sap who’ll let me walk all over him. I want a man to want me enough that he won’t let himself be pressured into some kind of insipid, sexless arrangement. And I don’t want to control a man any more than I want a man to control me.”

  “Is that so?” He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “Then let’s get started right now. Will you come to my room with me tonight?”

  She stood on tiptoe and raised her lips to kiss him lightly. “No. We haven’t known each other long enough, Matthew.”

  He brushed her lips with his. “We’ve already been lovers, Hannah. We know each other very well. Why go backward?”

  “Because we took things way too fast, physically. Now we have to catch up on an emotional level.”

  “Who made up this timetable anyway?” grumbled Matthew. His hands smoothed over her back and cupped her buttocks through the soft material of her dress.

  Hannah gulped for breath as a fierce stab of desire pierced her. It would be so easy to go back to his room, to lie down on his bed with him. Was she making a mistake, asking him to wait?

  “Do you still want to catch that movie tonight?” he asked, nuzzling her. “There’s a later show at ten o’clock.”

  Hannah trembled. He was willing to wait for her. Her heart seemed to swell. “I’d like to see the movie tonight, Matthew,” she said softly.

  “And then I’ll drive you home.”

  “But we won’t park and make use of that air mattress in the back of the van.” She clung to him, savoring his male strength and warmth. “A first date ends with a good-night kiss at my front door.”

  “Once I get you into that van, you’ll find yourself in a wrestling match, honey. I guarantee it.”

  “That’ll be fun. Because I know you would never do anything to hurt me. Or make me do anything I don’t want to do.”

  “I think I hate courtship already.” Matthew abruptly scooped her up and walked through the shallow water, carrying her in his arms.

  “I think we’re off to a wonderful start, Matthew.” Hannah linked her arms around his neck, snuggling against him. “And yes, I will go to dinner with you tomorrow and I’ll go to the Strawberry Festival with you on Sunday.”

  “I’m invited to dinner with Alexandra and Justine on Monday night. Are you brave enough to face that ordeal, little girl?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Do you want to come to an estate auction with me on Tuesday? My part-time assistant will run Yesterdays for me while I’m gone.”

  “An estate auction, huh? Normally I’d avoid that sort of thing but maybe I’ll let you talk me into it.”

  “How gracious of you!” Her gray eyes were shining with humor and happiness. “I plan to leave around seven Tuesday morning. It’s a two-hour drive to get there.”

  “I’ll pick you up. The van will be useful in transporting the junk you’ll buy—I mean, the antiques and collectibles,” he corrected himself, grinning.

  “You’ll have to remove your air mattress to fit everything in,” she warned.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll put it back after the trip. On Wednesday, we’ll be parked in the woods, and the air mattress will be very useful indeed.”

  “On Wednesdays I take my grandmother out to dinner and we play cards when we get home. We have a weekly date. Grandmother is a genuine card shark and she beats me at every game, no matter what it is. Do you want to join us?”

  “What are you offering as an incentive?”

  Hannah smiled a sultry, provocative smile. “The chance to get to know me better.”

  “I’m going to know you very, very well, Hannah Kaye. Count on it.” His voice and his gaze were filled with promise and intent.

  Hannah sighed with longing and anticipation. “I will,” she whispered.

  Ten

  Hannah was delighted to see both Katie and Emma in the Beauty Boutique. It was a hot and sunny Thursday afternoon, and business had slowed to a crawl following the Fourth of July holiday weekend. All three young Clover businesswomen had taken advantage of the lull, and thus their rendezvous at the beauty parlor.

  Katie was being shampooed while Jeannie Potts trimmed Emma’s short, wavy dark hair. Hannah flitted from chair to chair, chatting with everybody while awaiting her turn with Jeannie.

  “I have an interesting bit of news for you, Jeannie,” Hannah teased brightly. “Sean Fitzgerald came into the shop this morning looking for a birthday gift for his mother, and he told me that Blaine Spencer was in Fitzgerald’s Bar and Grill last night with Susan.”

  “Susan?” Emma echoed. “I thought Blaine and Judy were getting serious.”

  “So did Judy!” Jeannie’s eyes held an eager glint. “I already heard about Susan’s date with that cute Dr. Spencer. Judy did, too. She isn’t happy about it, I can tell you that. But Dr. Spencer just isn’t ready to settle down with one woman yet.”

  “I should’ve known I couldn’t outscoop you, Jeannie.” Hannah pretended to be disappointed. “Nobody can.”

  “True,” agreed Jeannie. “But while Sean was gossiping about Blaine and Susan, I bet he didn’t say a word about his cousin’s secret fling with her old flame. Hmm, maybe he doesn’t know. It’s still very much a secret.” She didn’t bother to reveal how she happened to know this deep dark secret. Jeannie’s sources were as plentiful as they were impeccable.

  “Which cousin?” Hannah asked. “There are lots of Fitzgeralds, Jeannie.”

  “I’m talking about a certain edgy redhead whose biological clock is ticking so loud she might end up mating with a male disaster zone,” Jeannie confided.

  There was only one red-haired Fitzgerald in the clan. “Maureen?” Hannah guessed.

  “Of course Maureen,” affirmed Jeannie. “Remember how crazy she was about that rat, Preston Sedgwick, from Charleston a few years back? He sweet-talked her into bed on their first date and they practically spent the rest of the year there. She was sure they’d get married but he went back to Charleston and took up with some society belle. Married her, too. Maureen was devastated,” Jeannie added dramatically.

  “Don’t tell me that Maureen is seeing Preston Sedgwick again?” exclaimed Hannah. She did remember Maureen’s unfortunate fling, now that Jeannie had refreshed her memory. To be sure, she didn’t recall the details as well as Jeannie, but few ever did.

  “I’m telling you exactly that, hon,” Jeannie said firmly.

  Her hair dripping wet and a towel draped around her shoulders, Katie left the shampoo chair and came to sit next to Emma. “What are you telling exactly, Jeannie?” Katie asked, smiling.

  “Maureen is back in bed with that snake, Preston Sedgwick,” Jeannie announced. She shook her head disapprovingly. “Apparently he’s separated from his wife and looking for a little something on the side. Poor Maureen! It’s the Smart Women, Stupid Choices Syndrome, you know.”

  “Sounds like a talk show in the making,” Katie observed.

  “Exactly,” Jeannie agreed. “Maureen shou
ld watch them. You learn a lot.”

  “Why would Maureen want to take up with someone who treated her so badly in the past?” Hannah mused aloud.

  “I’ve heard it said that no flame burns hotter than an old flame,” Jeannie said, sighing.

  Hannah laughed at that. “I think it’s closer to the truth to say that no flame is as cold and dead as an old flame.”

  Katie was staring down at her nails, studying them with great care. “Do you think I should have a manicure today, Jeannie?” she asked suddenly.

  Jeannie glanced at her nails. “Definitely, hon.” Then she immediately resumed the debate. “We’ll have to discount Hannah’s theory on the old flame because she has such a hot new flame! What’s up with that superhot, supercool Matt Granger, Han?”

  Hannah’s cheeks reddened. She didn’t want to discuss Matthew here. Their relationship was too intense and too private for her to speak casually of him, especially to Jeannie, the Voice of Clover.

  But when Jeannie asked a question, it was wise to provide an answer.

  “He’s been in Pensacola for a few days,” Hannah said. “He had some personal business to take care of there.” Matthew hadn’t gone into detail, and she hadn’t pressed him. She knew if he wanted her to know, he would tell her in his own good time.

  “You must miss him like crazy!” Jeannie exclaimed. “You two have been practically inseparable since he dragged you out of that movie line and the two of you headed to the beach.”

  Sweet exciting memories floated through her mind. Matthew had been courting her, as she’d challenged him to do. And just as Jeannie had said, they’d been inseparable, together every day...except for the few days when Matthew had returned to Pensacola.

  She missed him so much! The few days he’d been gone seemed ten times that long.

  “When is Matthew coming back from Pensacola, Hannah?” Emma asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Hannah replied vaguely, trying to pretend that it didn’t bother her that she didn’t know when he would be back. It did bother her; she’d thought of little else. Matthew had said he was unsure how long he would be gone, and he hadn’t called her from Pensacola. Not that she had actually expected him to.

  She was now well acquainted with Matthew’s aversion to the phone. When he’d said he didn’t call women, they called him, she thought he was being flippant. But she’d learned that he didn’t make calls to anyone if he could possibly avoid it. When he received a call, he grimaced and kept the conversation short and to the point. No, Matthew would never tie up the line for hours, conducting a romance by phone.

  And now that she knew, she could accept that particular quirk of his. Her lips curved into a dreamy smile. She knew him so well. And she was deeply in love with him. If only she could be sure that he loved her, too! But Matthew hadn’t said the words, and she kept herself from saying them again, as well. After telling him she loved him that first and only time they’d made love, she hadn’t summoned the courage to say it again.

  They hadn’t made love since, not for Matthew’s lack of trying. But Hannah continued to hold back. She hoped they weren’t at cross-purposes, with him waiting to tell her that he loved her after they made love while she waited for him to say it before.

  At best, it was stupid and frustrating; at worst, he really didn’t love her and had no intention of ever telling her so. After all, he still hadn’t told her when he planned to leave Clover permanently. Unless he’d already done so. Was his alleged business trip to Pensacola a convenient way to leave her behind, without all the inconveniences of a final, messy breakup and goodbye?

  A chill rippled through her. No, Matthew would never do such a thing to her, she assured herself. But an icy particle of doubt refused to melt. Maureen Fitzgerald probably hadn’t believed that the nefarious Preston Sedgwick would walk out on her, either!

  “Well, I hope that Matt doesn’t pull a Preston Sedgwick and show up three years later, expecting to take up where he left off,” Jeannie said, chortling. “Just kidding, of course, Hannah. No guy would ever dump you!”

  Hannah resisted the urge to knock on wood to magically undo the possible curse Jeannie might have evoked. It was unnerving enough that Jeannie had practically voiced her own thoughts aloud, but wasn’t it tempting fate to categorically state that something would never—could never—happen? It certainly didn’t ease Hannah’s anxiety to recall that she’d slept with Matthew on their first date, just like the hapless Maureen had done with dreadful Preston!

  “Hannah certainly wouldn’t take him back if he did,” Emma piped up. “I happen to agree completely with you, Hannah. What’s finished should stay finished.”

  “Sometimes a certain man is just too hard to forget, I guess,” Jeannie speculated. “Or maybe Maureen is just desperate. She’s closing in on thirty and really wants to have kids. That requires a man, unless you want to go to some lab and—”

  “Jeannie, please! Not the syringe-and-petri-dish alternative again,” Hannah cut in, grimacing. “Let’s talk hair color. What does Alexandra Wyndham use to get that gorgeous dark shade of hers?”

  “I wouldn’t know.” Jeannie sniffed. “Alexandra Wyndham doesn’t lower herself to come into the Beauty Boutique. Oh, no, only those ritzy hair places in Charleston are good enough for her. And speaking of the Wyndhams, Hannah, is it true that Justine dumped your brother, Bay?”

  “Absolutely one hundred percent correct, Jeannie,” Hannah said. She didn’t add that Bay was still spending an inordinate amount of time at the Wyndham mansion. With Alexandra. For the first time ever, she could probably genuinely scoop Jeannie on a tantalizing bit of gossip, but she refrained.

  Anyway, Jeannie had returned to her original subject, which seemed to fascinate her—Maureen Fitzgerald’s incomprehensible fling with the man who’d done her wrong. “I bet Maureen is wishing she had your options, Emma,” Jeannie said cheerfully, tilting Emma’s head forward. “Hold it right there, hon. Yeah, like that. How’s that sexy Michael anyway?”

  “If you mean Michael Flint, I have no idea,” Emma replied crisply.

  Jeannie chuckled. “Come on, Emma. Don’t clam up on us. We all know that hunk of a charter-boat captain is crazy about you.”

  Emma seemed a bit riled by Jeannie’s persistence. Hannah could relate to that. “I’m sure Emma doesn’t give Michael Flint a thought,” Hannah said, coming to Emma’s rescue. “She’s too busy concentrating on Kenneth Drake.”

  “The golf pro at the country club,” Jeannie said flatly. She was visibly disappointed. “So you’re still seeing him, Emma?”

  “Since you know everything that goes on in Clover, you know she is, Jeannie,” Hannah said succinctly.

  “Yeah, I know.” Jeannie frowned thoughtfully. “But I always thought Emma and Michael would make such a darling couple. And they have so much in common—Emma’s daddy is a charter-boat captain. Michael is a charter-boat captain. And when it comes to hot bods, that Drake guy isn’t even in the same league as Michael, who is so tanned and blond and—”

  “You never told us how Preston Sedgwick happened to be back in Clover, Jeannie,” Hannah cut in. It was definitely time for a change in subject. Emma looked ready to scream if Michael Flint’s name was mentioned one more time. “Did he come back specifically to see Maureen? And where is he staying? With that aunt of his, like the last time?”

  Hannah was certain Jeannie would know all the answers to the questions. And she did, launching into a detailed account of the infamous Preston Sedgwick’s return to Clover. The touchy subject of Michael Flint was dropped. Emma cast Hannah a look of thanks, grateful for the reprieve.

  When Emma’s hair was cut, she gave the chair to Hannah. “If you want to wait for me and then go to the diner for some iced tea, I’ll only be a few minutes,” Hannah said to her. “Jeannie is cutting my hair dry, and she’s only taking off one-sixteenth of an inch all around. Right, Jeannie?”

  “One-sixteenth of an inch?” Jeannie rolled her eyes. “Okay, hon, you got it.�
��

  “I’ll wait for you, Hannah,” Emma agreed.

  “I’ll be with you in a sec, Hannah,” promised Jeannie. “I want to soak Katie’s nails while she’s waiting.” They watched her busily set Katie’s hands in a dish for the premanicure soak. “Omigod, Katie, with all the excitement about Maureen, I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you this!” Jeannie exclaimed suddenly. She clapped her hands to her cheeks, disconcerted by her own shocking lapse. “You’ll never guess what I heard yesterday.”

  “I probably won’t guess, so you’ll just have to tell me, Jeannie,” Katie said, smiling at the younger woman’s enthusiasm.

  “Luke Cassidy has a child! A little boy!” Jeannie’s voice rang out. The words fairly echoed throughout the Beauty Boutique.

  Katie seemed to freeze. But just for a moment. She quickly arranged her lips in her usual placid smile and murmured, “How nice. Oh, by the way, Jeannie, I wanted to ask you about that new conditioning shampoo I saw advertised in the drugstore.”

  “That awful stuff?” Jeannie squawked. “Don’t you dare use it on your hair! It’s like shampooing with glue!”

  Jeannie launched into a long diatribe about the shampoo, against which she seemed to hold a personal grudge. There was no further mention of Luke Cassidy or his child.

  But Hannah hadn’t forgotten Katie’s stricken look at the mention of the man’s name. As they were leaving the beauty parlor, she murmured quietly to Emma, “Katie used to go with Luke Cassidy, remember?”

  Emma nodded a little uncertainly. “He left town, didn’t he? I don’t think I’ve ever heard Katie mention his name since.”

  “Me, neither. And since he has a son, that definitely means there’s another woman in his life.” Hannah frowned. “I wonder what happened between Katie and Luke.”

  “Obviously, Jeannie doesn’t know or we would’ve all been regaled with the full story,” Emma commented wryly.

  “Like the Maureen and Preston Sedgwick affair,” added Hannah. They walked to Peg’s Diner discussing the Smart Women, Stupid Choices Syndrome. “I hope I don’t suffer from it,” Hannah said edgily. She waited for Emma to reassure her that she must surely be immune.