"That's because the caterer is as down-to-earth as you can get. Emma's granddaughter-in-law owns a company called Pot Luck. That's how they met, and she's been doing the parties here ever since. They've been together ever since, too."
"Sounds as if you like her," Rina said.
He nodded. "I do. Cat's special."
"I see." She didn't like hearing him gush about another woman's charms, not one bit. Not even if said woman was married to his friend.
"Do you? Actually, Catherine Montgomery is very much like you." A smile twitched at his lips, but before he could say more, Emma padded up to them in her gown and ballet-type slippers at a near run. Considering the gleaming marble floors, Emma possessed amazing agility for a woman her age.
"There you are! And not a minute too soon. I need you to hide me," Emma said.
"Excuse me?" Rina couldn't have heard right.
"Hide me. I'm being followed by a lecher."
Colin rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Gran, you get back here," a male voice called as a good-looking man with dark hair joined their growing group.
"Hey, Logan," Colin said.
"Logan, Emma's grandson?" Rina asked. Though now that she studied him, she recognized him from the photos on Emma's desk.
"The one and only. Who's this pretty lady?" he asked Colin, but his gaze remained locked on Rina.
Heat rushed to her cheeks at his compliment and her newly acquired professional instincts rushed into high gear. Logan Montgomery had manners and a wedding ring on his hand. Still, Rina couldn't discount the approval in his gaze when he studied her. She'd seen the same admiration in the eyes of the parking attendant when he'd helped her out of Colin's car. Attitude plus appearance equaled attention, Rina thought, and made a mental note to mention the dual impact in her next column.
Before her manners deserted her, she turned back to the people surrounding her. "I'm Rina Lowell."
"I've heard so much about you." Logan took her hand. "Gran here adores you and I can see why."
"Why, thank you, Mr. Montgomery." She fluttered her lashes at Logan and graced him with a smile.
"You're quite welcome."
"And you're quite married," Colin muttered and not so discreetly slid his grasp to her hand, disengaging Logan's grip and marking his territory.
She tried to tug her hand free but he held on fast. "I didn't know you were the jealous type," she said under her breath, suddenly enjoying his possessiveness.
"I didn't know that about him, either." Logan laughed.
And though Rina recognized good-natured ribbing between friends, she had the unexpected urge to protect Colin from any jokes directed his way. "I've heard so much about you from Emma, too. Where's Catherine? I've been looking forward to meeting her."
"Her company, Pot Luck, is catering this party." Pride filled his voice, and it was obvious no woman could compete for Logan Montgomery's affection except his wife. "She's going crazy keeping things running smoothly, but as soon as she comes out of the kitchen, I'll bring her by."
"Please do." It was a lucky woman who had not just her husband's love but his approval to do or be anything she wanted. Catherine had both, and even without knowing the other woman, Rina was glad.
"As for you, Gran" Logan turned to his grandmother.
"I'd hoped you'd forgotten all about me," Emma said, a wistful note in her voice.
"Stan Blecher wants to take you to the Boston Pops and you can't keep running off and ignoring the man. He's a federal court judge, and much as I don't get swayed by status, you can't be rude. You'll dig a hole for the Judge and for yourself," he said pointedly.
Rina sensed the friction and undercurrents between grandmother and grandson but wasn't sure of the cause. As if sensing her unasked question, Colin leaned in closer. "Emma has problems with her son. Logan asked me to get Emma a job with the paper so that the Judge wouldn't put her in a retirement home," he whispered.
"You got Emma a job?" Rina asked, surprised by the news.
"He did it as a favor. Because my son's a stuffed shirt." Emma sniffed, her regal nose in the air, yet her caring tone proved she loved her only child anyway. "But his colleague's a lecher."
Logan shook his head. "Not accurate, Gran. His last name's Blecher and you're just being rude. Now come back inside before Dad gets wind of this."
"Oh, all right. But I'm going to redirect his attention, of that you can be sure." Emma placed her weathered hand on Rina's cheek. "I'm so glad you're here. We'll talk later." She sashayed away with grace, her dress trailing on the floor behind her.
"I should go watch out for her," Logan muttered. "I'll find Cat and we'll meet up again soon," he promised Rina, then disappeared into the crowd.
Rina smiled. "I love Emma and Logan's family dynamics. And as for your connection to them, I didn't know you'd gotten Emma her position at the paper." She met his gaze, knowing it was impossible to hide the respect she'd just gained for him and not caring if he saw.
"Are you saying you didn't know I had a kind streak?" His husky voice reverberated in her ear.
"Not any more than I knew you had a jealous one." She just now realized he still held her hand in his grasp, his thumb tracing erotic circles inside her palm. She shivered, unable to control the impulse.
"I enjoy your sense of humor, Rina. And I enjoy you."
And she enjoyed him. Too much, she thought. Though she'd already chosen him as the man with whom she'd set herself free, she still needed to protect her heart. No matter how charming, the man was a wanderer capable of leaving on a whim.
Already she knew Colin wouldn't be a man easy to forget. "I need a drink."
"Cat makes a delicious punch. Come on."
After finishing a glass of sherbet-and-champagne-laced punch, Rina relaxed. She held another glass in her hand and, with Colin close by her side, she was enjoying the party. "So tell me more about getting Emma that job."
"What's to tell?" Colin shrugged. "About a year ago, Logan called and asked me for a favor. Everyone adores Emma, so I talked Joe into hiring her."
"You did more than that. You saved her from her meddling self."
He merely shrugged, obviously unwilling to admit that he had a caring nature, one that extended beyond Joe, beyond family. With each new fact she learned about Colin, she discovered an intriguing side, making her want to know more.
"I got her a desk job. I didn't know she'd end up writing a singles column though." His eyebrows furrowed, aggravation plain on his face.
She didn't understand why. "Something wrong with what Emma writes?"
"It's just an unusual slant for a newspaper to take."
She nodded. "I thought so, too, the first time I heard about what Corinne was doing with the Times." During their initial conversation, Corinne had explained her vision of using the paper as a means to bring the town together. She believed that in today's world, people needed more warmth and compassion, and less harsh reality.
Under her leadership, the Times would advertise where people could meet. Men and women would learn how to relate to one another better when they did mingle at a social event. While the paper would still be reporting some news, the focus would be on people. Listening to Corinne's excitement, Rina knew she'd found a place to call home.
Colin folded his arms over his chest. "So how did you come to work for Corinne?"
Colin folded his arms over his chest. "So how did you come to work for Corinne?"
"Hors d'oeuvre?" An elf stopped by with a tray in hand.
The delicious aroma tickled her nose, but Rina was more interested in her conversation with Colin than with the food on the plate. "No, thank you."
Colin shook his head and the woman in green took her leave.
"You were telling me about how you came to work for Corinne?" he prompted, the moment they were alone again.
"Oh, it's a long story. Basically, my parents knew hers, and older people like to talk about their children." She shook her head. "So I heard about Corinne taking over her husband's paper, thought my writing would interest her and I called."
"You pursued your goals," he said with approval. "Did you always want to be a writer?"
She shook her head. "No, I took the long route. I used to be a legal secretary. The hours were decent, the pay was guaranteed and so was the overtime. It covered the bills, but I'd always been more a people person than someone who liked being holed up in an office."
"That much I can believe." His warm gaze met hers, mesmerizing her so much it was hard to believe they were still at a party surrounded by people.
She tipped her head to one side. "I'm hoping that's a compliment and not a dig at my curious nature."
"I admire you, Rina."
The husky tone in his voice sent shivers of awareness down her spine. "Thanks," she murmured.
"And your writing"
"I always took notes, wrote stories. Anecdotes." She shrugged, remembering. "After I got married, I had a lot of free time to fill pages in a journal."
At first, she'd used her new surroundings and her husband's new friends as subjects. She'd been amused by the for-show marriages she'd witnessed and enthralled by the real relationships, like her parents', that had lasted for years. Her observations had become humorous slice-of-life stories that kept her busy while home alone.
"You stopped working?" he asked, apparently truly interested in her past.
Why wouldn't he be? She was equally interested in his. "My husband wanted to give me the life he thought I always wanted. But staying home and spending money I hadn't earned, well, that just wasn't me."
But to please Robert, she'd eventually accepted the lifestyle. After all, most women would have traded anything to be in her position, or so she'd been told at the going-away party the other secretaries had thrown on her last day of work.
"I can't see you staying at home and eating bonbons, either."
"What can you see me doing?" She wondered how he viewed her.
He shrugged. "A headstrong, determined woman like you? I can see you dissecting what men want." His lips twitched in a wry grin. "The question is whether you'll get it right."