Thanks, but no. I just need to be more firm with my mother.
Roark had done all he could do. He gave Priscilla one last long, steamy look, reminding her of what she was giving up. Then he walked away from her. Damn, it was hard knowing hed never hear from her again.
Chapter Two
Twenty-four hours later, Priscilla wanted to eat her words. She was helping her mother fix Sunday dinner and she needed a boyfriend in the worst way.
Lorraine Garner, who was well known for her cooking skills, had been only too happy when Priscilla had shown an interest in the kitchen for the first time in her life. Now that Priscilla had discovered how essential cooking was to her popularity at the firehouse, she had practically begged her mother to teach her to cook.
In between instructions on preparing lasagna, Lorraine couldnt resist interrogating Priscilla.
How is your nurse training going? she asked as she demonstrated how to properly crush garlic without even chipping her manicure. She wore a cream-colored silk dress and pearls around her neck and she never got a spot on herself.
Its paramedic training, Priscilla gently corrected, and its going fine so far.
Her mother would probably be much happier if Priscilla had become a nurse. Shed been horrified when her daughter had announced she was going to leave the home decor shop shed been managing since she graduated from college and become a firefighter. Lorraine hadnt liked the whole blue-collar aspect of it, but even more than that shed been worried for her daughters safety.
Priscilla, however, had been bored to death as a shopkeeper. Shed wanted to do something active, something that would make a difference in the world. Shed needed to turn her life in an entirely new direction so she wouldnt brood about Cory.
Shed always been fascinated with fire trucks. Shed even played fireman when she was a little kid, rescuing her cousin Marisas dolls over and over from various flaming tragedies. It was pure impulse that had prompted her to apply to the fire department, and shed wondered at the time if shed gone a little crazy. But the very first time shed fought a blaze in training, shed liked that feeling and wanted more of it.
Eventually Lorraine had come to accept her daughters new vocation and had stopped hoping it was a phase she was going through. But she had not stopped trying to fix what she perceived to be Priscillas tragic lack of social life.
Are they going to give you time off to attend the bridesmaids dinner? her mother asked.
Yes, I have that day off. And she knew what was coming next.
Have you decided who youll take as your escort?
Mother, I really dont think Marisa is going to care whether I bring a date to the dinner. Her cousin Marisa was the bride. Lorraine and Priscillas aunt Clara, her mothers sister, had been pitting the girls against each other since they were babies.
I just dont want people to feel sorry for you, Lorraine said. You know Aunt Clara thinks you somehow messed up your only chance to snag a husband.
The breakup was hardly my fault. Cory, who had never shown the slightest fondness for children that Priscilla had seen, had nonetheless been devastated when Priscilla confessed that she would never be able to bear his children. When shed brought up the possibility of adoption, hed closed his mind. His heart had been set on biological children. And that had meant he most definitely would not be proposing marriage.
Priscilla had been shocked and then saddened by his attitude. Shed been sure Cory was the one. But she hadnt known him as well as shed imagined she did.
Of course it wasnt your fault, Lorraine said. But Clara doesnt know that. She doesnt know what really happened.
And shes not going to either. It had taken Priscilla years to come to terms with the fact that she could never become pregnant, never carry her own child. She was sixteen when shed gone in for surgery to have one of her ovaries removed. Just one. But the surgeon, after inspecting them, had declared they both needed to come out, and Priscillas parents had signed the consent form on the spot.
Shed awakened from the surgery to the devastating news that she was now infertile, that she would have to take hormones for the next thirty or so years. And she had been angry that her parents had stolen her future from her.
Unreasonably angry, she realized some years later. Her parents had made the best decision they could at the time.
Priscilla had spent the past couple of years repairing her relationship with her parents and she hated to rock the boat now. But she did need to put a stop to her mothers matchmaking.
Would it be so very difficult for you to bring a date to the bridesmaids dinner? Lorraine tried again.
All right, Mother, who is he?
Lorraine almost managed to hide her smile of triumph. Remember the Conleys who lived next door to us?
Yeah. They moved to Miami or someplace, didnt they?
Yes. But young Bill has moved back recently. And he wants to get into the social scene here.
Priscilla gasped as memories resurfaced. At age twelve, young Bill had worn a white belt and a pocket protector, and the rubberbands on his braces were always shooting out of his mouth.
She shook her head. No. No can do.
Priscilla, hes so handsome now! You would not recognize him. And hes an orthodontist. Anyway, its just one date. The pleading note in Lorraines voice nearly did Priscilla in. Her mother had such a way of manipulating her, and it drove Priscilla wild even as she fell victim to it.
I cant, Mother, really. Imwell, Im seeing someone. Even as she said it, she knew she was heading for disaster.
Really? Lorraines nose twitched. Who is he? How come you didnt say something earlier?
It was so new and so fragile, and I didnt know if it was going to work. I didnt want to get your hopes up.
But its working out? Lorraine asked, her eyes filled with hope. Who is he? Please end the suspense.
Priscilla knew her mother was hoping the mystery boyfriend wasnt a firefighter. HesHes an arson investigator. The words just popped out of her mouth.
Lorraine smiled. How interesting. Tell me more.
His name is Roark Epperson. After that, it became easy to tell her the rest. He was in his midthirties, extremely handsome and came from a wealthy family in Massachusetts.
Win, did you hear that? Lorraine asked of Priscillas father, who had wandered into the kitchen to get a refill on his wine. Priscillas dating an arson investigator.
I heard, Priscillas father said, sounding cautious. I think Ive seen that guy on TV. Generally Winfield Garner was content to remain at a distance from Priscillas social life, letting his wife do all the organizing. But not today, apparently. Does he talk like a Kennedy?
Priscilla couldnt help smiling. That did seem to be the feature that everyone remembered about Roark. Well, women first remembered that he was mouthwateringly gorgeous and then they remembered the accent. Hes the one. They interviewed him the other night about the serial arsonist.
An arson investigator, Lorraine said, trying it on for size. Thats really kind of interesting, isnt it, Win?
An arson investigator, Lorraine said, trying it on for size. Thats really kind of interesting, isnt it, Win?
The timer went off, indicating the lasagna noodles were ready. So you can bring this Roark to the bridesmaids dinner, right? Lorraine said as she strained the noodles.
He wouldnt know anyone.
Why dont you ask him? And if he cant come to the dinner, what about the wedding itself?
Eek. Roark would see her in that hideous pink monstrosity of a bridesmaids dress. It might almost be worth it, though, to watch how Roark would weather the combined scrutiny of her entire extended family. By offering to play the role of her devoted boyfriend, he had no idea what he would be getting himself into.
Well see.
HE WAS FIVE MINUTES late.
Priscilla sat at a bistro table at the Nodding Dog, a cute little coffee shop in Oak Cliffs trendy Bishop Arts district, waiting for Roark.
If things worked out as she hoped, Roark would attend one function with her and her parents would be relieved, if only temporarily, that she wouldnt spend the rest of her life alone. Snobby Aunt Clara would be suitably impressed. And Priscilla wouldnt have to produce a flesh-and-blood boyfriend again for months.
She checked her watch again and took a sip of her latte. Then she saw him.
He looked as if hed just stepped out of the pages of GQ, in perfectly creased khaki pants and a pale yellow shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbow in a sort of casually rumpled but still stylish way. For a few seconds she drank in the sight of him. Then he looked her way and she schooled her face.
She would just die if he knew he could melt her on the spot simply by looking at her. Actual skin-to-skin contact might cause her to spontaneously combust.
He walked up to the counter and ordered, and the pretty barista batted her eyelashes and blushed as she poured his coffee. He paid, chatting and smiling easily. Did he even know the effect he had on women?
He joined Priscilla at her small table, and she wished shed chosen a larger one. He was so close she could see the tiny shaving nick on his jaw and smell his aftershave. It made her think of being on a mountaintop.
With her clothes off.
I see you found the place. Why did she sound so inane? Shed had no problem talking to him that first night, when hed helped her with her flat tires. Shed opened up to him, confessing how alone she felt sometimes, isolated from the other trainees. Tony and Ethan had befriended her, but back then shed still felt a bit of an outsider even with them, since the two men already had been best friends for fifteen years.
Roark had been a sympathetic ear. Hed offered her encouragement that shed needed to hear. A strong shoulder to lay her head on.
Shed been in a vulnerable state at that point in her life, she reminded herselfshed still been smarting from Corys cold rejection. But she was stronger now.
Roark took an appreciative sip from his mug. Ive been here before. Best coffee in Oak Cliff. He drank plain black coffee. No mochaccino whip for Roark.
She tucked that fact into a corner of her mind. Sometimes, when she couldnt sleep, she remembered the little intimacies she had shared with Cory. He knew she loved the scent of freshly washed sheets; she knew he couldnt stand green bell peppers. Would she ever be that close to a man again? Did she want to be?
She had a hard time imagining it. Sex was one thing. But the secret looks, the private jokes, the cozy breakfastsHow had she shared all those things with Cory, and yet missed some of the most fundamental aspects of his personality?
Like the fact that not being able to have his own biological children with his wife was a deal breaker?
She swallowed the last few sips of her latte.
Lets take a walk, Roark suggested, gulping down the remainder of his coffee. The weather is gorgeous.
She didnt want to walk in the gorgeous weather with Roark. She wanted to conclude their business and get away from him, because already she was feeling that familiar lethargy steal over her, that urge to open up, to trust him.
So, he said as they exited the coffee shop, Im guessing you really, really need a fake boyfriend to get your mother off your back. He raised a single eyebrow at her. Unless youve decided Im not such a bad guy after all and maybe you want to get to know me better.
She quickened her step, striding down the sidewalk on Seventh Street. She did want to know him better. On the surface there was nothing wrong with him. He was smart and dedicated to his work and hed helped her out of a jam when shed had those two flat tires. But Cory had looked pretty good on the surfaceand deeper, too.
How could she tell if Roark was all that he appeared to be?
I need a fake boyfriend, she said.
He matched her stride, managing to do so without seeming to hurry. What do you want me to do?
Its just one date. To my cousins bridesmaids dinner. Its at the Mansion. As if the bribe of a fancy dinner would hold sway with him. Its next Friday. I realize its short notice, but
He swore softly. I cant make it then. Im speaking at a conference out of town. Sorry, Priscilla.
Oh. She didnt know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. You could come to the wedding, but thats probably more of an ordeal than you bargained for. She paused to look in the window of an antiques shop.
They had slowed, Priscilla noticed. Now they were just strolling along like any couple. An older woman passed them and smiled insipidly, and Priscilla wondered what she was thinking. Young couple in love?
Are you close to your cousin? Roark asked.
We used to be like sisters.
Used to be?
She kind of dumped me in high school, when I had some sticky problems she didnt want to deal with.
How rude. What kind of problems?
Oh, you know, teenage rebellion. Which involved a stint of hanging out with a bad crowd just for the shock value. She couldnt really blame Marisa for keeping her distance.
Roark clearly wasnt satisfied with her dismissive answer, but he didnt push.
How did Roark do this, anyway? Ten minutes in his presence, and she was blurting out embarrassing personal things.
So when is the wedding? he asked. I dont mind weddings.
November second. She half hoped hed be busy then, too. But he checked his BlackBerry and confirmed he was free.
I have to be at the church two hours early, so you can meet me there.
Nonsense. What kind of a lousy boyfriend would I be if I didnt pick you up? We want your mother to think Im a gentleman, right?
All right, but youre going to be bored.
I doubt that.
The blatant interest in his gaze alarmed her. Roark, this is pretend, right? I mean, youre not doing this because you want to continuego back toI mean She stared hard through the window of an art gallery at an ugly ceramic bowl.
Yes, I want to do those things. Continue where we left off, go back to when we were involved.
But thats not why I asked you to help.
I know that. Im planning to change your mind.
No. You cant do that.
I cant? He gave her a challenging look, his hand still on her arm.