There's Always Plan B

by Susan Mallery

  Carly took in the good china, the fine linens and the salads waiting on each plate and had the sudden suspicion that the reason she hadn’t been asked to help with the cooking was that the meal had come from one of the restaurants in town.

  Rhonda directed them to specific chairs. She claimed the one at the head of the table, with Adam on her right and Steve on her left. Jack sat opposite her, Tiffany sat next to Adam and Carly sat next to Steve.

  Rhonda passed Adam a bottle of chilled chardonnay. “If you wouldn’t mind opening this for me. I’m not very good at these kinds of things. My late husband used to take care of things like that.” She sighed softly, as if the pain of the moment nearly overshadowed any possible pleasure.

  “I think I can manage it,” he said as he took the corkscrew and went to work.

  Steve turned to Carly. “Your mother sets a beautiful table.”

  “Yes, she does.”

  He glanced at the salad. “And she’s a great cook.”

  “You bet. Wish I’d inherited that ability from her, but I’m into simple cooking.”

  “You do okay, Mom,” Tiffany said. “Except that one time you tried to feed us duck. It was horrible.”

  “The duck or the thought of eating it?” Adam asked with a smile as he pulled the cork free and poured the wine.

  “I never tasted it. How could I eat something I’d have as a pet?”

  Carly agreed, but Neil had insisted she work on perfecting a recipe. He’d wanted fancy dishes served whenever he brought people from work home for dinner.

  “You married?” Steve asked Adam.

  “Divorced,” he said easily.

  Carly was surprised. She hadn’t known that. Plus, he was hardly old enough to have had that many life experiences.

  “Really,” she said. “Me, too.”

  “Steve’s a widower,” Rhonda said pointedly.

  Carly got the momspeak message instantly. Death wasn’t anyone’s fault. Unlike divorce, which was a clear mark of failure.

  “Guess we’ll have to wear a scarlet D on our chest,” Adam said with a wink.

  “I’ll have sweatshirts made up,” she told him.

  “What’s with the D?” Tiffany asked.

  “Like an A, in The Scarlet Letter,” Rhonda said.

  “It’s a book,” Adam added, leaning toward the teen. “We had to read it back in high school. It’s old and…well, boring.”

  Carly grinned. She hadn’t enjoyed the story, either. “But serious literature. You had to give them that.”

  “English wasn’t my thing,” he admitted. “Now give me a couple of hours on the football field and I was happy.”

  She could imagine him playing. “I thought you were the science guy.”

  “That, too. But I kept it a secret. I didn’t want anyone to think I was a nerd.”

  Unlikely, she thought. Not with that face and body.

  “Jack plays football,” Tiffany said proudly. “He’s the quarterback.”

  “Backup,” Jack said. “But I’ll be a senior next year and I’m going to be first string.”

  “Good for you,” Rhonda said. “It’s important to do well in sports.”

  Carly looked at her mother. Since when? But she didn’t want to get into it now, not when Adam kept looking at Steve and Steve kept glaring back.

  “How long have you lived here?” Adam asked Steve.

  “About twenty-five years. I came right out of college. Got my first job at the high school and liked it enough to stay. Where are you from?”

  “Back east. I’m in Virginia right now, but I’ve moved a lot with my job.”

  “No roots, huh?” Steve asked, his tone implying a lack of roots was close to a felony. “Most people want to settle somewhere.”

  “I’ve never been all that interested in settling,” Adam told him.

  Carly glanced at her mother. Okay, this was getting out of hand. Rhonda looked worried and mouthed, “Do something.”

  Carly grabbed her wineglass. “I’d like to propose a toast. To friends, old and new.”

  The men stopped eyeing each other and joined in the toast. When the glasses had been set down on the table, Carly turned to Steve and asked with as much interest as she could summon, “You mentioned the new computer labs on campus. Tell me about them.”

  Dinner was long. Too long for a meal of salad, pasta and sorbet. Every time either Steve or Adam started to tell a story, the other interrupted with a completely unrelated topic. Tiffany laughed too much at one of Adam’s jokes, which had made Jack sulk. Carly had found herself trying to occupy Steve to keep the peace, when she really wanted to listen to Adam. Not only did she not get what she wanted, she had a feeling she’d given Steve more encouragement than was safe. Her suspicion was confirmed when he stood and said he had to be going, then asked if she would walk him out.

  “Sure,” Carly said, her entire dinner forming a tight, hard knot in her stomach.

  Once they walked out of the B and B, Steve moved close and took her hand. Just like that. She did her best to relax and tried not to think about how long it had been since a man other than Neil had touched her that way. But it was difficult to stay calm when she was busy trying not to hyperventilate.

  “Thanks for asking me over,” he said, as if unaware of her panic. “You turned me down so many times, I figured you weren’t interested.”

  She glanced at him and forced a smile. The man was being nothing but nice. It was hardly his fault she’d forgotten how to interact with the opposite sex. “It’s not that. Not exactly. Between settling Tiffany and making some changes around here, I’ve been running around like a crazy person.”

  “Are you going to have some time for yourself soon?”

  Eek! How did she answer that? Steve seemed really nice. Was it his fault he didn’t make her toes curl? Wouldn’t she be an idiot not to find out if she liked him? Not that she was interested in anything serious. At least she didn’t think she was. Around Adam, Steve wasn’t all that thrilling, but by himself he wasn’t so bad.

  “I can probably sneak away for a couple of hours,” she said, then instantly wondered if she should have.

  “Then I’ll definitely call this week.”

  “Great.”

  They paused by his car—a black sedan. He released her fingers and put his hands on her shoulders.

  Oh. My. God.

  He was going to kiss her. She could tell by his intent gaze and the way the corners of his mouth turned up in anticipation. A kiss. Yikes! Did she want this? Did she want her first post-Neil kiss to be from her former math teacher?

  Before she could decide or he could make his move, the front door of the B and B opened. Adam stepped out with Tiffany and Jack. Light spilled onto the gravel parking lot.

  Carly instantly stepped back and folded her arms over her chest. “Okay. Well, this was great. Thanks for coming.”

  Steve looked at the trio, then back at her. “Next time,” he promised.

  She smiled but didn’t speak. What was there to say? She didn’t know what she felt or what she wanted, except possibly more wine.

  She walked toward the front of the B and B, then turned to wave as Steve drove away. Tiffany and Jack wandered off toward his car—where Carly was sure there would be a whole lot more going on. As she walked by Adam, he grabbed her arm.

  “Did I interrupt anything?” he asked. “Should I apologize?”

  “No, on both counts.”

  His fingers burned her through her blouse and made her want to throw herself at him. Oh, yeah, definite tingles, she thought. Now why couldn’t that happen with Steve?

  She pulled free and walked into the house. Apparently getting older didn’t mean getting smarter—at least not where men were concerned.

  “Dad wants to see me,” Tiffany announced as she danced into Carly’s office late on Thursday. “He’s coming to San Francisco and I need you to drive me there. It’s so cool, because I only have a half day at school tomorrow. He’s getting in aroun
d two and we can meet him there just after. We’re staying at a hotel and I have my own room.”

  Carly looked up from the ads she’d been approving. “Sounds exciting,” she said, pleased that Neil had finally come through. Although he’d gotten better at the phone calls, it had been nearly three months since he’d seen his daughter.

  “It is. Oh, Dad said he’d drive me back so you don’t have to worry about that. He said we’re going to the wharf and there’s like a whole Ghirardelli chocolate-factory place. Isn’t that the best?”

  “I think you’ll have a great weekend. I’m glad.”

  Tiffany spun in the center of the room, then came to a stop. “I don’t have anything to wear. None of my clothes are right for San Francisco. We have to go shopping.”

  “I don’t think so. You have lots of pretty things. Plus I bought you several new things when we moved here.”

  “But I’ve worn them all.”

  “And you can wear them again. No one in San Francisco has seen them.”

  Tiffany puffed out her lower lip. “You’re not a lot of fun anymore,” she said.

  “Tell me about it. But I have an idea. We’ll trade. I’ll go to school, hang out with your friends and spend the weekend away. You can stay here and run the B and B and deal with Grandma. Then we’ll see who is the most fun.”

  Tiffany ignored that. “Where’s the luggage?”

  “In the storeroom. But before you lose yourself in packing, I want you to finish your homework. Somehow I doubt you’ll get to it this weekend.”

  “Oh, Mo-om. You worry too much.”

  “You don’t worry enough. Homework,” she said, pointing to the door. “I’ll get your suitcase out and give it to you after you’re finished.”

  Tiffany rolled her eyes, then turned and left. Her step was decidedly less bouncy on the way out.

  Carly waited until she was gone, then stood and went in search of her mother. Was this trip to San Francisco the break they’d been looking for with Adam? They needed to get him out of the house for a few hours so they could work on rearranging the furniture in his room.

  So far, he hadn’t said anything about the misting incident, but based on his opinion of the whole paranormal phenomenon, she doubted it had convinced him.

  She found her mother in the kitchen, checking their wine inventory.

  “We need more chardonnay,” Rhonda said as she counted bottles in open cases. “It’s our most popular wine.”

  “I’ll put a call in to the rep,” Carly said. She’d recently acquired a wine rep who took their orders, then had the wine delivered. Not only did they get a better selection than that offered at the local discount store, but she was able to take advantage of winery incentives.

  “Neil called Tiffany,” she said. “He’s spending the weekend with her in San Francisco.”

  “Oh, that’s nice. She needs to be with her father more. A man’s influence is so important.”

  Carly had several thoughts on the subject, the first being she didn’t think Neil was all that great an influence, be he male or not. However, that wasn’t the point.

  “I’m driving her to the hotel tomorrow afternoon. She only has a half day at school. It’s a couple of hours there and a couple of hours back. I thought I’d ask Adam to come with me.”

  Rhonda blinked at her. “Adam? Why would you do that?”

  “So you can raise the temperature in his room. I’ll call Jack and see if he can come in to rearrange the furniture.”

  “I don’t see why you’re the one spending the afternoon with Adam,” Rhonda said with a sniff.

  Insanity ran in the family. Carly had always wondered and now she knew for sure.

  “Okay. Fine. You take Tiffany into town and drop her off with Neil. Then you can take Adam with you and hang out together.”

  Her mother’s gaze narrowed. “Now you’re being ridiculous. Why would I want to do that?”

  Because you’re acting like a jealous lover! Carly wanted to shriek the words aloud, but she held back. Adam made them all crazy. There was something about the guy that twisted female minds in a very unflattering way.

  “I’m open to either scenario,” she said honestly. “Maybe you’d enjoy the trip to the big city.”

  “I don’t want to see your ex-husband. No, I’ll stay here. You go.”

  The last two words were uttered on a very long sigh. Payment to follow, Carly thought, knowing there was no way around it.

  “Just call before you come back,” Rhonda told her. “If we’re not done, you can stall him.”

  Carly wasn’t sure how she was supposed to stall Adam, but she would deal with that issue at the time.

  “Okay. I’ll go ask him if he wants to go.”

  “He’s out by the cliffs,” her mother offered helpfully.

  “Thanks.”

  Carly walked out of the house, toward the ocean. As she saw Adam sitting on a bench, facing the water, she slowed her step. Talking about asking him to join her in the city was one thing. Actually doing it was another.

  What excuse could she give? How did she phrase it? Would he take the invitation wrong? Okay, unless he suspected her of trying to get him out of the house so they could do their best to trick him into thinking there was a ghost, then probably not.

  “Hi,” she called as she approached.

  He looked at her, then smiled a slow, seductive smile designed to make her knees go weak. It worked, too.

  “Hi, yourself. What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Not much.”

  She paused by the bench and looked out at the vast Pacific. The water was flat—a sheet of blue and green and gray that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Whatever else might go wrong in her life, at least this was always right.

  She wasn’t sure how to open the conversation. Should she talk about the invitation? Hint? Only he couldn’t possibly get a hint, so it was probably best to just jump right in.

  “I’m taking Tiffany to San Francisco tomorrow,” she said, staring at the view rather than at him. “She’s spending the weekend with her father. I thought maybe you’d like to come along. After I drop her off, we could look around the city some.”

  He stunned her by grabbing her hand, which forced her to look at him.

  “I’d like that,” he said. “We could have dinner down by the wharf. It’s one of my favorite places.”

  “Oh, you’ve been before?”

  “Lots of times.”

  She was pretty impressed that she was able to form an entire sentence, what with his thumb brushing against her fingers. Back and forth, back and forth. She felt both tingles and heat. And they were climbing up her arm and heading for other, more interesting, body parts.

  Oh, no, she thought as she pulled her hand free of his. No way was she going to get all attracted to him. Talk about a disaster. He wasn’t her type—not that she’d figured out her type yet, or even if she wanted one. Either way, it wasn’t Adam. He was too…too…

  “How old are you?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  “Thirty-three.”

  She’d known he was younger, but she’d hoped he was one of those guys who just aged really well.

  “I’m forty. That’s seven years,” she said, watching him closely so she could see him flinch. She figured a good flinch or recoil would take care of her tingly issues.

  “Okay.”

  She waited, but that was all he said.

  “That would make me older than you. Seven years older. I have a teenage daughter.”

  He grinned again, and damn if her knees didn’t get all weak and bendy.

  “I can do simple math,” he said in a mock whisper. “Kind of goes with the rocket scientist thing. And I still want to have dinner with you.”

  “Fine. Then we’ll have dinner. We’re leaving about two-thirty.”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  She nodded tightly and walked back to the house. Her body felt hot and parts were more damp than they should
have been. She waited until she was safely inside before stomping her foot. She would not, not, be attracted to this man. Her only interest in him lay in convincing him there was a ghost in residence. Aside from that, he didn’t exist. She would hate every minute of their time together. It would be slow and painful and probably boring, because, seriously, what was there to talk about with someone that young?

  More important, she thought, as she crossed to the elevator and pushed the up button so she could go to her room, what was she going to wear?

  CHAPTER 11

  Neil had chosen a relatively inexpensive hotel a couple of miles north of the wharf. While Adam graciously agreed to drive around the block to save them from the hassle of finding parking, Carly walked her daughter into the foyer and used the house phone to call for Neil.

  Her ex-husband came down immediately. Tiffany launched herself at her father and started to cry. Carly chose to take a more impersonal approach.

  As father and daughter embraced, she studied the man she’d married. In some ways, he was intimately familiar. She knew every inch of his body, from his thinning reddish-brown hair to the birthmark on his right instep. She’d loved him, hated him, fought with him, cooked for him, made love with him and thought she was building a future with him.

  “Hi,” he said as he released Tiffany, who clung instead of letting go.

  “Neil.” She probed her heart, searching for some feelings, but there didn’t seem to be any left. Could she really already not care?

  “Want to see her room?” he asked. “I did what you said—got her the one next to me. It’s got two double beds and everything.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

  If she wasn’t, Tiffany had the number to the house and wouldn’t hesitate to call.

  “Have a good time,” she told them, gave her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek, then walked out of the hotel. Even as she wondered if she should stay and talk, she reminded herself that she and Neil had run out of things to say a long time ago. Better that he and Tiffany reconnect.

  She found Adam waiting, his rented SUV double-parked. She climbed into the front seat.

  “Go okay?” he asked as he pulled into the street and headed up the hill.