He took a deep breath and forced a smile. Ill try.
Im going to a party tonight. Why dont you come with me?
On a Sunday?
Whats wrong with having a party on Sunday? Its still the weekend.
I have some financials I have to go over tonight.
She rolled her eyes. Suit yourself, she said, as if it made no difference to her. But inside she wilted. Shed asked him out and hed turned her down. She had to face it-he wasnt into her. Yeah, maybe they had chemistry, but Reece was obviously the kind of man who needed more.
She wasnt convinced that there couldnt be more, but apparently he was.
He said goodbye and walked away, and Sara swallowed the stupid lump in her throat and entered Miss Greers room, nearly hitting Allie, who was on her way out.
Sorry, she said.
Sorry, Allie said at the same time. I was just coming to see what happened to you. Did you just ask Reece to go to a party with you?
You were eavesdropping.
No, honestly, I wasnt. The door was open a crack.
Well, yes, I asked him, and he said no. Sara brushed past Allie into the room. Hello, Miss Greer! she said cheerily. How are you today?
I was fine, until Reece reminded me that Im going to end up bankrupt in a nursing home, dependent on the kindness of strangers.
Sara sighed. Dont listen to him, she said, rubbing the elderly ladys arm. He means well, really, but his brain functions a bit differently from ours.
Actually, Allie said, Reece is very good at what he does. I had a little bit saved for retirement, but not nearly enough. After he ran the numbers for me I realized I had to do more-
Wait a minute, Sara interrupted. Youre not taking his side, are you?
I dont see it as taking sides, Allie said. Im just saying everyone should do some planning for the future. Everyone, she added pointedly, giving Sara a meaningful look.
And I say that if you spend today worrying about the future, youve wasted a perfectly good day.
Oh, Reece is probably right, Miss Greer grumbled. I wont live forever. You wont either, Sara. Youre young and healthy now, but in the blink of an eye, youre old and you wonder what happened to the years.
Great. Now shed lost Miss Greer to the dark side.
Can we change the subject to something more cheerful? We could talk about my root canal. An aide chose that moment to deliver Miss Greers lunch, and no more was said about retirement, which suited Sara just fine.
AFTER LEAVING the hospital, Sara and Allie went to Allies house to talk about the wedding. Allie had no interest in an expensive gown or a tall cake, or forcing her friends to wear ugly bridesmaids dresses. But she did want to mark the occasion in a special and memorable way. So she and Cooper were renting the biggest party barge they could find and decking it out with flowers stem to stern. They were inviting close friends on an afternoon wedding cruise, complete with champagne and appetizers. Afterward there would be a big party on the beach for everybody who wanted to come. Practically the whole town knew Allie, and they all wanted to raise a glass in honor of her nuptials.
I love this house, Sara commented as they settled in the den, which was littered with several dresses in bags, shoes, recipes, bridal magazines, florists catalogs and a stack of half-addressed invitations. Im so glad Cooper decided to rent it.
Were talking about buying it, Allie said. Its perfect for us.
And for the bambinos youll have, Sara added. Youre going to have twelve so their devoted auntie Sara can spoil them rotten, right?
First I have to survive the wedding. Allie looked uneasily at the wedding-planning detritus. I wanted to keep it simple, and now its getting out of hand. Is it too late to elope?
Just start making decisions, Sara said practically. Ill help you finish addressing the invitations.
Ah, no, thanks. Ive got that covered.
Its my handwriting, right? Sara tried not to feel slighted. Her penmanship was abominable.
That, and the fact youll transpose numbers and misspell names. But there is something really important you can do. I know youre superbusy with Miss Greers surgery and all, but I need a caterer. I was going to fix the food myself, but-
Id be honored! Youll be way too busy to worry about that.
Can you do that and be my maid of honor, too?
Of course. Ill fix everything ahead of time. How about a Southwestern theme for the food? Taquitos and flautas, nachos-
Whatever you want. For about fifty people. If I can just scratch it off my list and turn it over to you, Id be so grateful.
Give me a budget, then say no more. What about cakes?
Were doing just one cake, from Rominellis Bakery. No punch or anything fussy, just champagne and soft drinks.
I can do all that, too.
With the food and drink portion of the planning taken care of, they moved on to dress and shoe modeling and picking out flowers. For once, Allie allowed herself to be a girlie-girl, choosing pink and white roses and carnations.
Sara had to admit she felt a little wistful. As a girl, shed never been entranced with the idea of being a bride. Shed preferred fantasizing that she was a secret agent or a rock star. Later, she had decided she would never get married-too restrictive. She hated the thought of being tied down.
But seeing Allie in her slightly stressed state of romantic bliss had given birth to fantasies of Prince Charming and happily ever after.
Where was that damn prince, anyway?
She thought briefly of Reece, then shook her head.
Whats wrong? Allie asked.
What? Nothing.
You looked sad all the sudden.
Allie, is there something wrong with me?
What? No. What could be wrong with you? Youre perfect.
Sara snorted at that one. She was far from perfect, but neither did she think she was repulsive. Reece is attracted to me-I know he is. Hes hetero and unattached. So why cant I, you know, get something going with him?
Allies eyebrows rose so high they almost joined her hairline. This is something you want? I mean, I agree that Reece has a little thing for you. Ive seen him watching you with this expression ofI dont know. Wonder, I guess.
Wonder?
Like hes watching an exotic, alien creature.
That didnt sound so nice.
But I didnt think you would be interested in someone sohow do I put this?
Boring? A stick-in-the-mud?
Now, I wouldnt have put it that way. But he is more conservative than your usual type of boyfriend.
But maybe I need a different kind of boyfriend. All those guys Ive dated-whats it ever gotten me? Theyre usually flakier than me, even. No stability, no clue about commitment, not exactly loyal
But I thought you wanted someone to have adventures with.
I do, but I just realized I also want someone I can depend on. Someone who can ground me.
Okay, but maybe you should make the change slowly, by degrees. No more Peter Pans, but someone with a pulse.
Allie! Reece has a pulse. She thought about that hot kiss outside his room. Even the memory made her feel a bit melty. You should have seen how well he dealt with Miss Greers accident. He was calm and efficient, but kind, too. And he didnt have to agree to help out at the B and B, but he did. He even tried Bulgarian food.
Really. You two have been out together?
Sort of. But I guess it wasnt as much fun for him as it was for me. Maybe I should have let him take me to a steak house like he wanted.
A mischievous smile spread across Allies face. If you want Reece, then I think you should have him. But he seems shy. Youre going to have to make the first move.
I already made the first move. I asked him to come with me to the party and he turned me down, remember? Sara looked away, refusing to admit how much his turndown bothered her. How many first moves do I have to make before I admit defeat?
Chapter Six
Reece spent most of the afternoon going over the dratted financials and painstakingly explaining the concept of Collateralized Mortgage Obligation over the phone to his brother, who was handling the financial aspects of a leveraged buyout.
But his thoughts were never far from Sara.
Hed blown it in more ways than one today. First hed upset Miss Greer with his talk about nursing homes. Then hed argued with Sara. And finally, when shed overlooked his boorish behavior and actually asked him to go to a party with her, hed said no.
The answer was automatic reflex. The thought of going out for a purely social evening with Sara terrified him. He didnt much like parties, either.
But shed asked him out. And hed said no.
Maybe he needed to read a book on interpersonal skills, because he obviously was lacking in them. While he was at it, maybe he should see a shrink, too. He was crazy for being so attracted to Sara, and also crazy for pulling away from her when shed made an overture.
He heard the front door open and knew without a doubt it was Sara and not one of the guests. She didnt say anything, but the air in the house subtly changed whenever she entered or exited. Not long ago he would have scoffed at the idea that a person had vibrations that could be sensed, but Sara did.
He had the financial printout, a yellow legal pad and several other documents spread out over the dining-room table. Hed hoped to finish his work early enough to free up his evening-if Sara would give him a second chance at that party.
But he still had several hours worth of analysis to do, and Bret needed it by tomorrow morning.
He didnt like disappointing his brother, especially at this sensitive time, when Remington Industries was about to name a new VP of Finance, a position currently held by their soon-to-retire father.
Reece and Bret had always gotten along well, but sometimes Brets meteoric ascent in the family business was irksome. Bret was no smarter than Reece, but he knew how to work the system better. Reece had to remind himself that it wasnt Brets fault that he was charming and glib; he could shovel manure and make you think it was spun gold. Hed been born that way. But he couldnt work the numbers the way Reece could.
Bret had gotten in over his head with this project, and if Reece were spiteful he would let Bret drown in his own incompetence. But that wasnt his way.
Oh, hi, Sara said reservedly. Hows it going?
Slow. Did you calm Miss Greer down?
Shes fine. In the end she wasnt really mad at you. Its just that you made her think about things that made her uncomfortable.