Could she pursue this attraction and not get hurt? Could she indulge in her passion for J.B. and yet still make him pay for all the pain he had caused her in the past?
She fled the porch, not waiting to see if J.B. followed. Fortunately, her father was enjoying his favorite dessert—warm peach cobbler with ice cream. And Jonathan still hadn’t returned.
Her father looked up when she walked into the room. “I wondered where everybody had gone.”
“You were dozing,” she said, seating herself at the table and picking up the napkin. “J.B. and I were talking business.”
Her father raised an eyebrow. “Is he trying to sell you something?”
“No, sir,” Mazie said. “He wants to buy the building I’m in.”
“Make him work for it.”
J.B. sat down as well, smoothing his hair and giving Mazie a steely-eyed glance. “No worries there, sir. Your daughter drives a hard bargain.”
Fortunately for Mazie, Jonathan returned at that moment, and she was able to consume her dessert in peace while the men grumbled about sports and politics and whether or not South Carolina was going to have a colder-than-normal winter.
It was the occasional heated glances from J.B. that kept her on edge. Even in the midst of male conversation, he made it clear that his thoughts were on her.
Soon after, J.B. said his goodbyes.
Mazie considered walking him out, but Jonathan beat her to it, so she stayed where she was, telling herself she wasn’t disappointed. She had kissed J.B. Vaughan entirely too many times for one day.
When Jonathan came back inside, he shut the front door and began punching in numbers to set the alarm. Mazie stopped him. “Are you in the mood to walk the beach?” she asked in a low voice. “I need to talk to you about a couple of things, and I don’t want to do it in the house where Daddy can hear.”
Jonathan looked tired and stressed, but he nodded. “Sure. You do know it’s December?”
It was a running joke between them. A sort of dare as to which of the two would cry uncle when the temperatures dropped. “I’ll bundle up,” she said.
As she found her earmuffs and a heavy scarf and slipped on an old thigh-length coat, she couldn’t help but wonder if J.B. would have welcomed an invitation to stay for a while. Had Jonathan not been home tonight, she might have been tempted.
On the way down the hall, she stopped by her father’s bedroom.
“Jonathan and I are going for a walk on the beach,” she said. “We won’t be gone too long.”
Her father lifted his head from his task and frowned. “It’s not safe. I like having you both inside the house, so I know where you are.”
She hugged him. “We need the exercise. Jonathan seems awfully stressed. Is everything okay at work?”
“The usual kerfuffles. He’s fine.”
“Have you heard anything at all from Hartley?”
Her father paled, his gaze haunted. “No. Go for your walk. And make sure you lock up when you get back.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Jonathan was waiting for her. He tugged a toboggan over his head. “All set?”
She nodded. “Let’s go.”
In the brick wall on the back side of the house, a heavy wooden gate with electric voltage across the top provided an exit point. Jonathan disarmed the system and held the door for her to pass. In the soft powdery sand at this level, her feet slipped and slid. They crossed the beach to where the tide was going out, then turned left and started to walk.
Jonathan altered his stride to hers immediately. They found their rhythm and strode briskly. Occasionally, another intrepid beach walker passed by going in the opposite direction, but for the most part they had the beach to themselves.
Sometimes when they walked so late, they carried flashlights. This week, the nearly full moon provided plenty of illumination.
Mazie stared out at the almost invisible horizon. Tonight, the line between sea and sky was barely perceptible. As children, she and Hartley and Jonathan—and often J.B.—had loved watching the huge ships coming in and out of Charleston’s historic harbor. They had learned how to spot Tarleton vessels, and how to read the bits of foreign language markings on others.
Often, especially on rainy days when there were no good outdoor activities to entertain a quartet of rambunctious children, they spun stories for each other about mysterious cargoes and whether or not it would be possible to stow away and make a sea voyage on the company’s dime.
If they had been particularly well behaved, their father would bring out his expensive, high-powered binoculars and teach them how to focus the lenses. Mazie had stared at the ocean for as long as she could remember.
It was vast and inscrutable. She had seen the sea as placid as a baby’s bath or angry and punishing in the midst of a hurricane. Sometimes it seemed as if all the answers to life’s weighty questions resided in that enormous expanse of water.
Tonight, though, she sought a more human connection. She loved her brother dearly, but she wondered if he could be objective under the circumstances.
“Jonathan?”
“Hmm?” Her brother was lost in thought, his expression serious.
“Do you trust J.B.?”
Jonathan’s head whipped around, his gaze incredulous. “He’s my best friend. What kind of question is that? Of course I trust him. Surely you’re not worried he’s going to stiff you on this business deal. Is that why you’re dragging your feet?”
“No, it’s not that. I know he’ll make me a fair offer. He already has, in fact. The only reason I haven’t committed yet is because I wanted him to swing in the wind for a little while. The man is so damned arrogant. I couldn’t stand the thought of giving in to him so easily.”
Jonathan chuckled. “Well, he is arrogant, I’ll grant you that. But he comes by it honestly. Everything he touches turns to gold.”
“And on a personal level?”
“He and I have never done business together.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Jonathan stopped and faced her. “You’re talking about women.” He said it flatly. A statement. Not a question.
“I suppose I am.”
“J.B. and I are grown men. We don’t share locker room stories. What are you asking me, Mazie?”
She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a chill now that they had stopped and their blood was cooling. “I’m not sure. I’m wondering what you know about his private life.”
“As much as anybody, I guess.” He started walking again, leaving Mazie to scamper in his wake to catch up. “He likes variety.”
Her heart sank. She had come to the same conclusion. “Yeah...”
“Where’s this coming from, sis?”
“He’s asked me out on a date.”
She threw it out there bluntly. No frills. Wondering what Jonathan would make of it.
For the second time, her brother ground to a halt. This time, his expression was thunderous. “Are you serious? I thought you hated the guy.”
“Hate is a strong word. It seems like a bad idea, doesn’t it?”
Jonathan made a motion with his hand. “Let’s turn around.” He walked in silence for a few moments. “Why ask me?”
“Well...” She shrugged. “You and I both agree he flits from one woman to the next. If he and I get something going and then it’s over, everything will be awkward. Especially for you.”
“Do you want to go out with him, Mazie?”
Ah, there was the question. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of salt air and somewhere in the distance, meat sizzling on a grill. “I do. Even knowing it’s probably self-destructive. I like him. A lot. But J.B. has always been our friend. It’s weird for me.”
“How do you think I feel?”
Her brother’s wry comment made her smile. “Well, don’t wo
rry. It will probably be a one-time thing. I can’t imagine that he and I have what it takes to be a couple.” Even talking about it sounded bizarre. There was a very good chance the date was an attempt to butter her up.
“Don’t sell yourself short. J.B. isn’t only a successful businessman. He does have a life.”
“Unlike you,” she said, suddenly eager to change the subject.
“Don’t start on me, Mazie. Work has been hell lately. Dad goes in every day and creates messes I have to undo. And then I still have my projects to deal with. I don’t know how much longer we can keep going like this.”
“Is it time for him to step down?”
“I think so, yes. But how do I tell him that?”
“What about Hartley? Couldn’t he help you?”
Jonathan’s low curse shocked her. It was totally unlike him.
His voice was tense and angry. “There is no Hartley,” he said. “He’s not coming back. And even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. Dad has cut him out of the will.”
Sick dismay rolled through her chest. “But why?”
“I can’t tell you. Or I don’t want to tell you,” he said, his voice weary. “He’s your brother. I don’t want to ruin your illusions. But trust me when I say there are some sins a man commits that are unforgivable.”
“But I—”
He cut her off with a sharp slash of his hand. “I won’t talk to you about this, Mazie. I love you dearly, but the subject is closed.”
Jonathan’s vehement tone ended the conversation. Their peaceful walk was ruined.
Tears stung her eyes. Jonathan complained about chaos at the shipping company, but for Mazie, All That Glitters was the stability in her life. At home she had a rapidly declining parent, one brother who was working himself to death and another who had apparently abandoned them all. Even worse—though he didn’t say much about it—Jonathan’s headaches were increasingly severe. It worried her.
They were almost back to the house. She touched his arm. “I’m sorry. I know you’re carrying the business. I wish I could help.”
He put an arm around her waist and hugged her. “It will all work out. It always does.”
She sighed. “I feel like I should head up to Vermont to see Mama...sometime in the next two weeks.”
Jonathan stopped. He rolled his shoulders. “I’m not ready to go inside yet.”
They dropped down onto the sand. Mazie linked her arms around her knees. “I’ll feel guilty if I don’t make the effort.”
“She doesn’t even know who we are. Hasn’t for years.”
“I know. But she’s my mother. And it’s Christmas.”
“We were there a month ago.”
“Yes.” The two of them had flown up to Stowe for a ski trip with friends. Afterward, they had stayed over a day, rented a car and driven to a tiny town near the New Hampshire border to make the sad, difficult visit.
“Have you ever wondered,” Mazie said, “why Daddy found a place so damned far away from Charleston?”
Jonathan laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Oh, yeah. To his credit, Ravenwood is tops in the nation for residential care facilities. Believe me, I’ve checked. So no one can fault him there. He’s paying a king’s ransom to keep her in safety and comfort.”
“But my cynical side tells me he doesn’t want to have to think about her. It’s easier if she’s a thousand miles away.”
“That about sums it up.”
“When was the last time he went up there?”
“I’m not sure. Two years ago. Three?”
“He could have divorced her.”
“I think he probably still loves her, Mazie.”
She winced inwardly. Maybe the Tarletons were every one cursed...doomed to give their hearts unwisely. After all, wasn’t Mazie contemplating doing the same thing? She knew how J.B. had treated her in the past, yet she was still hoping against hope that he had changed.
They sat there in silence, listening to the crashing waves, noting how exponentially many more stars there were the longer they let their eyes adjust to the darkness.
She rested her chin on her knees. “I used to wish we were a family like the Vaughans. Normal. Ordinary. Together.”
Jonathan tousled her hair. “I’m not sure I’d call my buddy ordinary, but yeah. I get your point.” He leaned back on his hands. “I guess we’re all a little screwed up because of what happened. I hated it for you the worst. I remember the day Mom left you cried for hours.”
“And you skipped baseball practice so you could come home, sit on my bed and read Little House on the Prairie to me.”
“She wasn’t much of a mom even when she still lived with us. We pretty much raised ourselves.”
“I know. It used to scare me when she would sit in front of the window for hours on end and not speak.”
“Don’t go to Vermont, Mazie. It will make you too sad. Wait until January, and I’ll go with you. Or maybe February.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“And J.B.?”
She stood up and dusted the sand from her pants. “I’ll think about him, too. Who knows, Jonathan? Maybe you and I are both too messed up to have serious relationships with anyone.”
He rolled to his feet and shook himself like a dog. “Speak for yourself. I plan to get laid this weekend on a tropical island with a drink in one hand and sunscreen in the other.”
“Really?”
He headed toward the gate, his laughter dancing on the breeze. “You’re too gullible, Mazie Jane. I’d work on that before you go out with J.B.”
* * *
Mazie gulped her coffee, burned her tongue and said an unladylike word. “Can you unlock the door? I don’t know what I did with my keys.”
Gina scooted past her, punched in the alarm code and wrestled with the cantankerous lock. “I hope we do move. I hate this door.”
The two of them entered the shop and dumped their things in the back office. Mazie was usually the bubbly one in the mornings. Gina was slower to wake up. But Mazie had spent a restless night tossing and turning and wondering if she had the guts to call J.B. and cancel.
She didn’t know which was worse. Going, or not going.
Now she was exhausted and conflicted.
Gina sifted through the mail she had picked up from their postal box. “Two bills, an invitation to a reception at the Gullah Cultural Center and seven catalogs. Maybe we should consider doing a catalog. The bulk mailings must produce business, or we wouldn’t be drowning under the weight of them.”
“It’s even worse at home. The recycle bin overflows this time of year.”
“Look at this one,” Gina said. “It’s an English company that sells organic scented soaps. Their packaging is really nice. We could add some little things like that to put pops of color in the shop. Even jewelry can get monotonous when it’s all gold and silver.”
“Bite your tongue,” Mazie said, laughing.
As they ran through their morning rituals, Mazie felt the strongest urge to tell Gina everything that had happened in the bank vault, and then last night on the veranda. She needed advice. Support. A dose of impartial sanity.
She was supposed to be planning her revenge, not thinking about how good it felt to kiss J.B. To touch him. To feel his hands on her body.
Gina waved a hand in front of Mazie’s face. “Hellooo...you spaced out on me, boss. I need you to focus. We’ve got not one, but two cruise ships today. And it’s Friday, so the Holiday Weekends festival starts. We’re going to be run ragged.”
“You’re right.”
Gina cocked her head. “Are you okay, Mazie?”
Seven
Mazie changed the subject and busied herself unwrapping a shipment of earrings.
As the afternoon passed, one thought kept spinning in her brain. She wasn
’t going to sleep with J.B. Of course she wasn’t.
But the whole time she was getting ready after work that afternoon, she couldn’t help wondering if he was contemplating taking her home with him after dinner. Given what had transpired in the bank vault, it wasn’t an entirely out-in-left-field idea. Clearly he knew that going back to her place was out of the question.
She left the shop at three in order to get a mani-pedi before going home. Tonight’s encounter required all the confidence she could muster. Whether the evening turned out to be business or pleasure or both, she had to be prepared, mentally and physically.
Fortunately, her wardrobe wasn’t a problem. A year ago, for a black-tie charity gala, she had ordered a beautiful holiday dress from an online catalog. At the last minute, she had come down with a twenty-four-hour bug and didn’t get to attend the event. The gown had been hanging in her closet ever since.
It wasn’t really the kind of thing she could use during another season of the year. The floor-length dress was deep green velvet. The fabric was elegant and classic, the design even more so. A plunging neckline showcased her breasts. The back of the dress also dipped in a deep vee, leaving her arms and shoulders bare.
She debated longer over her hair than anything else. If it were summer, she would put it up, no question. But the weather was perfect today, and with all that bare skin showing, maybe having her hair down around her shoulders was a good idea.
Fortunately for her nerves, Jonathan hadn’t yet returned from the office when it was time for J.B. to arrive. Her father was out of the house also, having dinner with friends. Mazie had said goodbye to him earlier as he left with his driver.
Mazie sent the cook and housekeeper home early, so when J.B. pulled up in front of the house in his luxury SUV, no one was around to witness the moment. She peeked out and watched him lope up the front stairs.
He was a gorgeous man, beautiful enough to make her breath catch in her throat. J.B. would hate being called beautiful, but the adjective fit. Though his features weren’t perfectly symmetrical, and he didn’t have the kind of slick sophistication of a model, there was something intensely masculine about him.
Blame It On Christmas (Southern Secrets Series Book 1) Page 6
