It Takes Three

by Teresa Southwick

  “Look, Scott, I just want to be fair to you,” she said, filling the silence.

  “I don’t know what’s fair. All I know is that there’s something going on between us. Or am I the only one who feels it?”

  “I feel strongly that the wisest course of action is to nip this thing in the bud. Before either of us realizes we want more than the other can give.”

  Scott wasn’t sure what he wanted except he knew he didn’t want to simply end it. Thea Bell was a pretty amazing woman and it didn’t feel right to walk away from her just like that. Wasn’t it just his luck that the first woman he’d met who made him want to take the risk was afraid to go there with him.

  “Look, Thea, let me take you out to dinner and we can talk about this.”

  “I don’t think so, Scott.”

  He would bet if he brought up Kendra’s party she’d change her tune. Since the day he’d caught her cooking in his kitchen, she’d backed away from the personal and taken cover behind the professional.

  “What about my house? Didn’t you want to make an offer?”

  “Yes, but I still have to sell my condo.”

  “What if I want to buy it?”

  The silence on the other end of the line told him her eyes widened and she was blinking in surprise.

  “Do you?” she asked.

  “It’s exactly what I pictured myself in after the girls were gone.”

  “Then we should get Joyce to write up offers on each other’s property.”

  But that would mean I can’t see you, he thought. He also suspected if he pushed any harder, he’d push her away. That was the last thing he wanted. “Okay,” he agreed.

  He didn’t think he could persuade her to go out with him just yet, but he didn’t want to hang up without knowing when he would see her again. “What’s the next step for the party?”

  “When you know the number of guests who will be attending, I’ll reserve tables and chairs. Then I’ll need to take a look at the backyard and figure out where to set everything up.”

  “Okay. I’ll sit down with Ken when she comes home from UCLA and we’ll finalize the guest list.”

  “Good. If that’s all, Scott, I have to run. I’ll talk to you when you’ve got all that information.”

  “Okay, good—”

  He heard the click and stared at the receiver. When it sank in that she’d hung up on him, anger churned in his gut. He should be relieved that she didn’t seem to want anything serious between them. But he wasn’t. She’d basically told him that if not for Kendra’s party, she would have nothing to do with him.

  And he didn’t like it one little bit.

  Chapter Eleven

  Scott slammed the phone down and ran his fingers through his hair. “Son of a—”

  “Dad?”

  He looked up. Kendra and Gail were standing in the family room staring at him. He hadn’t even heard them come in. Thea was some distraction. No wonder they named every other hurricane after a woman.

  “Hi,” he said, then released a long breath.

  “Something wrong?” Kendra asked.

  He glanced at the phone. “It’s no big deal.”

  So much for not being able to tell a lie. He didn’t need a shrink to tell him his over-the-top reaction meant it was a very big deal.

  “So,” he said, looking from one daughter to the other, “how was your weekend?”

  “Awesome,” Kendra said. She was beaming.

  He hadn’t seen her this happy since she’d scored the winning goal for her soccer team and sent them to the playoffs.

  But he had to be cool and let her open up on her own. “Oh?” he asked, looking at Gail.

  “It was great, Dad. I showed her the campus and where my classes are. Then there was a—”

  “Whoa. Time out.” Kendra dropped her backpack in the family room and walked into the kitchen, straight to the refrigerator. “It’s my orientation,” she said sliding a good-natured glare in her sister’s direction. “I’ll tell him.”

  “I’m listening,” he said.

  “Dad, it was so cool. There was a meeting of all incoming freshmen. I thought it would be lame, but Gail made me go. She said she did it and met some cool people. There was an exhibition basketball game at Pauley Pavilion.”

  “And?” he prompted.

  Kendra popped the top on her soda can and took a sip. “I had the best time. I met a ton of kids who are starting classes in the fall.”

  “Are any of these people guys?”

  “Da-ad.” She rolled her eyes.

  “It’s my job to ask,” he explained.

  “Okay. Yes, some of them were guys. And they seemed really nice.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad.” Gail sat down beside him. “I already gave her the 4-1-1 on not trusting every college guy she meets. It’s cool.”

  “Okay.” He met Kendra’s gaze and she nodded slightly, letting him know she’d explained her unfortunate experience to her sister. Her eyes narrowed slightly and he figured she was warning him to let it drop. He got the message.

  “So where did you stay?” he asked.

  “In Gail’s dorm. It’s pretty small,” Kendra explained.

  “Like living in a cardboard box,” Gail grumbled.

  His youngest nodded eagerly. “But if you’re organized, there’s lots of storage in the closet. And space under the bed.”

  “When’s the last time you saw any space under your bed? Or anywhere else in your room for that matter?” Scott teased her.

  “Don’t start, Dad. Let the euphoria wear off naturally,” Kendra advised.

  “Okay.” He looked at the glow on her face. “I guess this means you’re going away to college?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m not sure I want you to,” he admitted.

  He’d realized how much he would miss Kendra the morning after making love to Thea. Just thinking Thea’s name tied his gut in knots. He didn’t get her at all. But while she was there, he’d gotten how much he was going to miss the energy his youngest daughter brought into this house. Then he remembered—this was the house that Thea was going to buy. Somehow, the woman had woven herself into the fabric of his life.

  “Now you don’t want me to go?”

  He shrugged. “I missed the heck out of you.”

  Kendra looked surprised. “You missed me?”

  He nodded. “Like crazy.”

  Gail took a sip of her water. “See, I told you, sis.”

  “Told her what?” Scott asked.

  “That you loved her and she was nuts.”

  “That, I get. But why do you think so?” he asked, grinning when Ken huffed loudly.

  “She thinks you didn’t want her. That you wished she’d never been born,” Gail explained.

  He stared at his youngest daughter. “Why would you think such a thing, Kendra?”

  She looked down at her sneakers and rubbed the top of one against the calf of her leg. “I heard you tell Uncle Mike. You said you wished I’d never been born. That it would be easier. It was right after Mom left.”

  Scott couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d slugged him in the stomach. He couldn’t have said that. She must have misunderstood. “I don’t know what you overheard, but the truth is that after you were born, I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. I fell in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you.”

  She nodded. “Thea told me the same thing.”

  Thea. She’d somehow become important in their lives. But he tucked thoughts of her away for later, when he could sort them out. “Ken, your mom and I had a complicated relationship. After you were born I thought things were fine, then found out I was wrong. It was a rough time. But whatever you heard me say to Uncle Mike, I’m sure it wasn’t that I never wanted you.”

  Kendra nodded. “It’s okay, Dad. I understand better now.”

  “So we’re clear. You don’t think I wish you’d never been born?”

  “Nope.” She reached over and gave him a h
ug, then pulled back.

  “Good.”

  It was possible that with her own pregnancy scare, she had put herself in his shoes as much as she could and was able to imagine a little of what he’d gone through. When Scott met her gaze, there was no hostility in it, thank goodness. Maybe this was the silver lining of that whole fiasco with the weasel who’d used her. Although he’d still like to rip the jerk’s head off for hurting his little girl.

  “I love you guys,” he said. He hated the fact that life was changing and the three of them weren’t together all the time. These two were his family and he loved them with everything he had. He’d die for them.

  “I love you, too, Dad,” the girls said together.

  Smiling, he glanced from one daughter to the other. Kendra was dark-haired; Gail’s hair was streaked with blond. One was blue-eyed; the other’s eyes were green like her mother’s. His gut clenched at the thought. He’d tried to give his girls a solid foundation and understanding of right and wrong so they’d never turn out like their mother. That time had nearly brought him to his knees and he’d sworn never to trust a woman again. Somehow Thea had sneaked past that promise. So maybe she’d done him a favor by shutting down things between them.

  “Earth to Dad.” Gail was moving her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

  “Hmm?” he said blinking.

  “You look like you did when you wanted to beat up Doug Satterfield.” Kendra looked horrified and instantly clamped her hand over her mouth.

  “Is that the toad’s name?” he asked.

  “Dad, if you really love me, you’ll forget I said that.”

  “I can’t promise to forget. But I won’t do anything about it unless you give me the green light.”

  “Not in this lifetime,” she said, looking relieved. “But what’s wrong? You look like someone dumped you.”

  “Dating happens before dumping,” Gail pointed out. “And you don’t date. Do you?”

  If you didn’t count the deposit he’d given Thea for the graduation party, he hadn’t spent money on her. He wasn’t sure if making love to a woman could be classified as dating and tried to decide how to answer the question.

  “It’s Thea,” Kendra guessed. “Are you dating her?”

  “No,” he said. Technically that was the truth. She’d essentially told him to take a flying leap.

  “But you want to?” Kendra guessed again.

  Did he? He’d gotten a glimpse of life post-child-rearing and it loomed lonely. On the other hand, his spectator seat had included a view with and without Thea. The outlook with her had been far more pleasant and exciting.

  But he didn’t want to open that door and have it slammed in his face again. So the answer to his youngest daughter’s question was, “I don’t know.”

  “If you like Thea, don’t give up,” Gail advised. “Remember, it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

  Kendra snorted in disgust. “Spoken by someone who’s never been through a major heartbreak.”

  “Yes, I have,” her sister shot back. “Remember Greg Smith?”

  “No.”

  “Well, it’s not important that you do. I remember the pain of rejection.” She glanced at the clock on the microwave. “More important, I have to get back to school. I have an early class in the morning.” She smiled at her sister. “In a few short months, we’ll be there together.”

  “I can’t wait,” Kendra agreed.

  Scott watched the girls hug, grateful their relationship was so close. Gail would watch out for her little sister. She gave him a hug and whispered in his ear, “Perseverance. Wear her down.”

  She left and Kendra went upstairs to her room. And he was alone.

  “Better get used to it,” he said to himself.

  He thought about what Gail had said—better to have loved and lost. That was the biggest load of crap he’d ever heard. He and Kendra—and Thea—were all casualties of love. Pain was not better.

  He’d give anything for his daughter to have never been hurt and disillusioned the way she’d been. The experience had almost impacted her college plans.

  And Thea. The man she’d loved had died and she was still dealing with it. He’d bet she didn’t buy into the saying any more than he did. He’d wager she wished she hadn’t lost the man she’d loved.

  And Scott figured it was a no-brainer that he’d rather not have his relationship scars. If he’d never cared about his ex-wife, there wouldn’t be any scars. He and Thea were damaged goods.

  Tonight she’d told him she didn’t want to pursue anything of a personal nature.

  He didn’t, either. He didn’t want to take another chance.

  There was only one problem with that.

  All he could think about was Thea Bell. What was he going to do if he couldn’t get her out of his mind?

  Thea filed the folder with her accepted offer on Scott’s house. Then she started another one for the deal on her condo with his offer inside. They were in escrow—actually switching spaces. There would be no living with Connie’s ego when she found out. To put her ego and meddling tendencies in line, Thea would have to share that she’d put the lid on anything personal between herself and Scott.

  Even though it had been a week since they’d last spoken on the phone, thoughts of him made her sad. Shouldn’t she be over that by now? Shouldn’t she be over missing him? The fact that she wasn’t and she did, miss him that is, proved she’d been right to end it. Things between them had escalated at the speed of light. If she hadn’t put a stop to it, they’d have gone beyond the point of no return. That would have been a disaster.

  Her focus now had to be the baby growing inside her. She put her palms over her still flat belly. “You’re not growing fast enough, little one.”

  She went into her living room and took a throw pillow from the couch. Stuffing it beneath her T-shirt, she tried to imagine how it would be when the baby was that big and she could feel movement. She stood in front of the entry mirror to see herself.

  Grinning at her image, she said, “I never thought I’d say this, but I can’t wait to be as big as a house.”

  Suddenly her doorbell rang, making her jump. “I’m not expecting anyone,” she said to herself. “Maybe it’s Connie.”

  She looked through the peephole and was startled again. Scott Matthews stood there. Instantly her pulse cranked up in direct proportion to the joy she experienced at the sight of him. How pathetic was she? The bell rang again, more insistently this time. If she knew what was good for her, she would ignore it. But the fact was she couldn’t resist the temptation to see him up close. When her awkward belly brushed the door, she removed the pillow from beneath her shirt and set it on the table in the entryway. Then she slid the dead bolt off.

  After opening the door, she said, “Hi, Scott.”

  “Thea.” He met her gaze and his own was sizzling with emotion. “I need to talk to you.”

  “If it’s about our real estate deal, I’d prefer you direct any problems to Joyce.” It was so hard to turn the conversation to business when her nerve endings were snapping with excitement and energy was humming through her.

  “It’s not about that.”

  “Then what?”

  She thought she’d successfully sidestepped an emotional confrontation, but the expression on his face told her differently. It was common knowledge that the average single man looked for an excuse to avoid entanglements. It was completely unfair that she’d met one who wouldn’t take the out she’d given him.

  “It’s about needing to see you,” he said.

  Her insides melted like sugar glaze over warm cake. All of a sudden, she couldn’t be sorry he hadn’t listened to her.

  He moved in closer and stopped so that their bodies were an inch apart, but not touching. She loved the way he smelled. When she breathed in the wonderful masculine scent of him, it burrowed inside her and set off a chain reaction, a heat-activated response.

  “I
t’s about not being able to stop thinking about you,” he said, his voice hoarse and rough with feeling.

  “Oh?”

  “And I tried,” he said, anger lacing the words. “I tried my damnedest to put you out of my mind.” His voice was low and rough and exciting.

  “I see.”

  “The hell you do. Do you think I’d be here if I had a choice? Do you think I like running into a brick wall?” He shook his head and a muscle jumped in his cheek. “I can’t think about anything but you. You’re in my thoughts when I’m dreaming and when I’m wide awake.”

  The anger and frustration in his gaze startled her with their intensity. His words were like salve to her shattered soul. She caught her breath at the power of the passion emanating from him. Was she really and truly responsible for his profound feelings? It had been so long since she’d felt wanted and, most especially, needed.

  “Scott, I don’t know what to say—”

  He cupped her left cheek in his palm. “Me, either.”

  She looked into his eyes, saw the tension in the line of his mouth and felt the weight of everything separating them. She’d been such a fool to think this moment would never come. This was the point of no return. He had to know about the baby.

  “Scott, there’s something I have to tell you—”

  He touched a finger to her lips to silence her. “Didn’t you just say you don’t know what to say? In my opinion, talking is highly overrated.”

  He removed his finger, then lowered his head and with exquisite tenderness, touched his lips to hers. Thea couldn’t agree with him more about talking. Her heart stopped momentarily, then thumped painfully against the wall of her chest. His lips were soft and warm, and he nibbled hers for several seconds before nipping a spot just beside the corner of her mouth. Her fully charged nerve endings combusted on contact, sending all coherent thought down the tubes.

  All she could think about was the way her skin was sensitized to his touch. Shivers and tingles danced over her body. It felt as if a boulder were sitting squarely on her chest, as if she couldn’t draw enough air into her lungs.