A Total Mismatch

by Madelaine Grant

  Finishing with the customer, Sam turned to the two men. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” she said to Jordan. Then to Peter, she added, “I have a deposit on one of Jack’s works. They’ll be in next week to finalize the purchase.”

  “Fine, fine,” he said. “Now get your things and get out of here. Have a wonderful time, and don’t think about the gallery.” Turning to Jordan, he said, “She’s been working too hard with all that TV work. I hope she can unwind over the next few days.”

  “That’s the plan,” Jordan replied.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Why don’t you put your head back and completely relax?” Jordan advised Sam while he drove toward the highway leading to Connecticut. “I have instructions from Peter to provide a carefree two days.”

  Heaving a long sigh, Sam closed her eyes and leaned against the comfortable leather seat. “I wouldn’t mind some down time. Between the TV ad work and family stuff, I’m ready for a change of pace.”

  Briefly, he wondered about the family stuff but decided not to pursue it. It would only cause her more stress. “We’ll have dinner on the way. It’ll be too late when we get there.”

  Sam fell asleep within moments of getting in the car and didn’t wake until Jordan stopped at a small inn overlooking the Long Island Sound. Opening her eyes, she felt disoriented until he leaned over to give her a kiss.

  “We’re here, sleepyhead. I hate to interrupt your rest, but this place has great seafood, and by now I’m starved.”

  She touched his face with the tips of her fingers. “Thanks for the peaceful drive. I feel rejuvenated, and I’m hungry, too.”

  By the time they reached the bed-and-breakfast Jordan had booked, it was close to ten at night. He’d called ahead to let the innkeeper know when they’d arrive, and the owner was on hand to show them to their room.

  “It’s too dark, but in the morning you’ll be able to look out over the lake. The view is fantastic,” Jordan declared, setting their bags on a nearby chair. “Right now I feel like standing under a warm shower. Want to keep me company?” He moved close and drew her into his arms. “It’s cozier showering with you.” He nuzzled the side of her neck while he ran a hand down the length of her back.

  Settling comfortably against him, Sam’s arms encircled his waist. “I wouldn’t mind,” she murmured. That warm tingly feeling spread from her head to her toes. Being with Jordan was downright habit-forming. In spite of her independent stance while talking with Heidi, she couldn’t help responding to the magnetic pull he exerted. When she was with him, she felt that sense of wholeness she hadn’t experienced before. Where it would all lead, she couldn’t imagine.

  Sam woke up early on Sunday morning in Jordan’s warm embrace, her body nestled against his firmly muscled form, her legs tangled with his. Smiling with pleasure, her eyes still closed, she relished the feel of his hair-roughened legs and the clean scent of soap and shaving cream. He’d insisted on shaving after their shower together. It was tempting to consider waking this way every morning. Tempting but disturbing. She’d never get anything done with Jordan around. Forget painting on the weekends, and anything else she had in mind! But more importantly, she’d be letting herself in for the disappointment that was sure to follow when he tired of her company and looked elsewhere. It was only a matter of time. They were much too different for anything lasting to occur. And she still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell him she’d been the awkward student in his tai chi class.

  She felt him stir beside her and she tensed, wondering if he could sense her angst. Holding her breath, she waited until his breathing evened out. Lulled by the rhythmic sound, Sam slowly began to relax. Maybe she was overreacting to everything. They’d only known each other a very short time. Nothing serious could happen, so why worry?

  Jordan opened one eye and noted the time on the bedside clock. Almost ten o’clock, and breakfast at the inn was served from seven to eleven. It was hard to think of moving, though. Sam was asleep in his arms, and he didn’t want to disturb her. Still, his stomach was beginning to growl. He ran his hand up and down her bare back while he kissed the top of her head. She stirred, sighed, and half-opened one eye.

  “Sam, sweetheart, sorry to wake you, but breakfast is served only until eleven. We can always come back and sleep afterward.” He’d made an appointment with the realtor for two in the afternoon, so they could spend a long morning together in bed.

  She lifted her head briefly and then curled closer. “I don’t feel like moving. Could you bring me something like juice and a muffin?” It was decadent, staying in bed, but she couldn’t budge.

  He considered her request. “Okay. You stay put and I’ll be back before you know it. I’m sure they won’t mind if I bring breakfast up to the room.”

  She must have dozed a while. The next thing she knew, Jordan was there with a large tray. He settled it on the bed, discarded his jeans and tee shirt and plumped up the pillows behind him.

  Sniffing the aroma of cinnamon-flavored French toast, Sam sat up and surveyed the breakfast items. “Looks marvelous,” she murmured, reaching for a glass of orange juice.

  “This is the life.” Jordan took a sip of black coffee.

  “Uh-huh.” She examined the plump pieces of golden-brown French toast. Conscious of her nudity, she pulled the sheet to cover her breasts before picking up her plate.

  “Oh, no,” Jordan teased, dragging the sheet down. “This is the best part of breakfast in bed.” Leaning over, he kissed each rosy tip and worked his way up to her mouth. “I love seeing those beautiful nipples getting hard and pointy just because I’m looking at them.” His tone was husky with growing desire.

  “All right, then,” she capitulated. Her cheeks flushed from the feel of his mouth and the warmth of his gaze. She almost forgot the tasty morsels in front of her.

  Sitting back, Jordan willed himself to go slow and finish eating before reaching for Sam’s delectable body. He poured real maple syrup onto his French toast and then dabbed a bit on the tips of her breasts.

  “What’re you doing?” she cried.

  He laughed at her dismay. “It’ll be so much fun licking that syrup off. Maybe I need to add a pat of butter.”

  “Oh, no you don’t. Sam moved several inches away. “I’m not your breakfast.” But she couldn’t help giggling.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll be good,” he promised. His dark eyes danced with mischief.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said, keeping a safe distance between them.

  “Cross my heart. C’mon closer. It’s much more fun with your body touching mine.”

  Narrowing her eyes thoughtfully, Sam decided he did look penitent. “Okay, if you keep your hands to yourself. These two pieces of French toast are mine.” She proceeded to inch back toward him and then added a pat of soft butter and syrup to her slices. “This is marvelous,” she said, taking her first bite. “I haven’t had French toast in a while.”

  “Glad you agree with my choice. I could’ve brought eggs or pancakes, but this dish had that cinnamon scent. All we need is a scoop of ice cream on top.”

  “You and your ice cream.”

  “Never mind. We’ll have to find a shop for desserts in the area. We can sneak one in before we get busy seeing property.”

  After a leisurely meal, Jordan put the tray outside their door and made sure the ‘do not disturb’ sign was displayed. Coming back to bed, he reached for her. “Now it’s our time.”

  Sam was more than willing. Her entire body throbbed with excitement when his hands found all those secret places that yearned for his touch. Why there should be this strong chemistry between them was still a mystery. They were so different in most other respects. But she wasn’t about to question how right she felt in his arms. He made her feel fulfilled as a woman and left her with a satisfaction she’d never experienced
before. The afterglow of their lovemaking was glorious too. She couldn’t remember her body feeling as comfortable and alive as it did when Jordan settled her on top of him, his legs and arms enclosing her in a cozy cocoon of delicious warmth.

  “This is what I’ve been looking forward to all week,” he whispered, caressing her soft skin.

  Sighing, she couldn’t help agreeing. “Me, too.”

  “We need more time away like this,” Jordan continued. “There are too many interruptions in the city. That’s why I’d like a weekend retreat.”

  “That’d be nice,” she murmured, still lost in the dreamy state instigated by his expert lovemaking.

  This seemed the right time to invite her to Andrea’s wedding. “Sam, I hope you don’t have plans for the Memorial Day weekend. I want to spend it with you.”

  That sounded like a lovely idea, since she wasn’t attending that damn wedding. “Okay with me.”

  He sighed with relief. “Good, that’s settled then. I thought you might be busy.”

  Turning slightly to look at him, she said, “Actually, I was supposed to go someplace, but I’ve changed my mind. Besides, I’d rather be with you.”

  “There’s this wedding I’m obliged to attend because I’m in the wedding party. I’d like you to be with me. It’ll make the occasion less stressful. I’m not really into these kinds of things.”

  “So you don’t like weddings either.” She raised herself up to give him a searching look. “If I had my way, they’d be outlawed. If people want to get married they can go to a justice of the peace or have a few close friends over to tie the knot. It’s sinful, the amount of money spent on one day’s festivities.”

  “I quite agree with you,” he replied, pleasantly surprised. He’d never met a woman with those opinions.

  “I guess I have a jaundiced view of the marital state,” she added in a pensive tone.

  This was the opening for him to ask some pointed questions. “You mentioned you’d been married once. Did something happen to turn you off?”

  Perhaps because she felt so relaxed, Sam was in the mood for confidences. “You could say that. I married a football player I’d dated in my senior year of college. We eloped and within a few days I knew I’d made a mistake. We divorced nine months later.” She shuddered at the memory.

  “What was wrong with the guy? Was he abusive or something?”

  “No, it wasn’t that. He was just so demanding that I didn’t have a moment’s peace. I was pretty young at the time, and idealistic too. I never imagined what a relationship involved until I lived with Don. It taught me a powerful lesson, and I never want to put myself in that position again,” she said adamantly.

  He was silent for several moments, digesting this information. “Does that mean you don’t want to ever marry?”

  “You could say that. It may work for other people, but I don’t think it would for me.” When he didn’t reply right away, she moved to one side to better view his expression. “Does that bother you?”

  For a moment, he was nonplussed. She’d expressed what he’d felt up to this time. “I think it all depends on the people involved,” he hedged. “There are some couples who seem to have a satisfactory relationship and others who should never be married.”

  He did have a point. “I can agree with you there. But I think for me marriage wouldn’t work. I like my privacy and doing what I want, when I want to. If you’re married to someone, you can’t do that very well. I mean, if I want to paint into the wee hours of the morning, I can do that. A husband would expect me to be at his side doing what he likes to do. At least, that’s been my experience.”

  Jordan shifted onto his side and let his hand rest on her hip. “It doesn’t have to be that way. If a couple agrees beforehand to give each other private time and space, it could work. I could see two people living together with some areas of the home for both of them and other areas as separate places.” He never thought he’d be saying these things. Was he trying to convince her to consider marriage? When she didn’t reply right away, he added, “Would you ever consider living with someone rather than marrying?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose it could work if it was a part-time thing. I couldn’t see myself living every day with someone. I mean, if I lived with a person who was very exacting about things, and I left the toothpaste cap off the tube, he’d probably blow up at me eventually. I’m not the best housekeeper in the world, as you well know.”

  He started laughing. She was referencing his behavior at her home the last weekend they were together.

  “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

  “You,” he said, drawing her close for a long, soulful kiss. “I know you don’t like housecleaning. That’s why we’d always have someone in to clean. I wouldn’t expect you to do stuff you didn’t want to do.” The moment he said those words, he knew they were premature, and he hastened to make light of them. “I’m just using us as an example, not proposing anything.”

  “Good,” she murmured, nestling closer. “I’m not ready for anything more than what we have.”

  He wasn’t either, he thought. Or was he?

  Chapter 19

  “What do you think of this place?” Jordan asked Sam, walking around the fieldstone and wood cottage perched on a hill overlooking the lake. “I thought it would be at the edge of the water rather than up this high.”

  “Maybe it’s better to be further from the water in case of floods,” she replied. The outside of the house was nice, but the inside was chopped into several small rooms without a good sense of flow. “Is this the first house you’ve looked at?”

  “Yes. Guess it would be wise to see other places before making any decision. Anyway, it’s an excuse to get out of town and spend time with you.” He put a possessive arm around her waist. “We’ll have to try a weekend away on my boat.”

  She stared at him, puzzled. “If you have a boat you can sleep on, why do you need a house in the country?”

  He was silent as he considered her words. “Well, for starters, I can’t use the boat from November to April. It’s too cold. A place in the country could be lived in year-round if there’s heat and a fireplace. Also, it’s restricted living on a boat. If the weather’s rainy, you’re stuck inside. Although, with you around, I don’t think that would be a problem.” He sent her a sexy grin while his mind conjured an intimate scene of cuddling with her in the full-size bed.

  The realtor, Grace Hall, sat in her station wagon parked in the driveway, busy with paperwork. She’d shown them the house and then left them on their own to discuss the pros and cons. Seeing the couple approach, she climbed out of her car with a pleasant smile. “Well, what do you think? The owners are eager to make a sale. They’re moving out west to be near their children. You could get a good deal.”

  “It does have possibilities, but I wanted something right on the lake with a dock. I’m sorry I didn’t mention that to you at the beginning. I’d like to keep my boat here year-round. I know there’s a marina not too far away, but I’d prefer having the boat closer.”

  “That makes sense. I didn’t realize a dock was a top priority. Let me check my listings and see if there’s something with that feature.” Grace couldn’t find anything available at the moment but promised to get back to them.

  After returning to the realtor’s office, Jordan turned to Sam. “Let’s take a hike around the lake. The weather’s just right, and we need to walk off the hot fudge sundaes we had earlier.”

  Sam wasn’t sure about his proposal. “How long is this walk? I thought we were supposed to relax over the weekend.”

  “Not far, maybe three or four miles. If you get tired when we’re halfway around, we can turn back. What do you say?”

  Something about his reply didn’t sound right. “I wasn’t the brightest math student but if we hi
ke two miles and then go back, we’ll have done the same number of miles as if we walked the whole lake.”

  He gave a shout of laughter and pulled her into his arms. “You’re too smart, do you know that? I thought I could put one over on you. Okay, we’ll stop whenever you want. How’s that?” He pressed a tender kiss on the top of her head.

  “That sounds much better,” she murmured, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. At least she’d had the foresight to bring a good pair of sturdy sneakers along.

  After leaving the car parked near one of the entrances to the trails, they started out. The day was clear and sunny, perfect weather for a leisurely stroll. Jordan was in the mood for a more vigorous hike, but he tempered his strides to accommodate her.

  “Is this pace good for you?” he inquired.

  “Fine. Hope I’m not cramping your style.” She sniffed the fresh air, redolent with the scent of pine trees and new growth. “This is much better than walking on cement sidewalks.”

  “Guess we’re both country bumpkins at heart,” he said.

  “I don’t know about that. A balance of city and country would be perfect.”

  “That’s why I’m trying to find a country place for us to enjoy.” He stopped and turned to her. “It’s more fun to share a space like this with you than experience it by myself.” As he said those words, he knew they were true. Perhaps it was premature, but he didn’t care.

  “That’s so sweet.” She was overcome with an emotion she couldn’t quite define. Then she blurted, “I keep thinking you’ll tire of my company. We’re so different. But then again, you could always find another woman to share a country home.”

  His brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why do you keep saying things like that? I don’t think we’re that different. On the most important issues, we’re right on target.”