Big Girls Don't Cry (21 page)

Watching her, Leena wished she could feel half as confident about her own plan to return to Chicago and her modeling life there.

Chapter Thirteen

TO talk or not to talk? That was the question facing Leena the next morning as she entered the animal clinic.

As luck would have it, Cole was the only one there. No sign of Mindy. Great. That meant that Leena would have to talk. Or give him the antifreeze cold shoulder.

Hard to do considering she’d spoken to him last night when he’d come to her place. And the guy had cooked for her.

No, she refused to be charmed by food. She’d woken up this morning totally irritated with him. She had a right to feel that way. Thoughts of him had kept her up half the night. The rest of the time she’d had X-rated dreams about him satisfying her better than any MegaMax vibrator ever possibly could.

She was surprised to find he’d made the coffee since that was one of her duties. She almost said something before reminding herself she was not speaking to him. Instead she poured herself a cup of coffee and dumped a packet of sugar in it. Just one packet.

She’d eaten a healthy breakfast of bran cereal and skim milk. The frozen blueberries she’d added were guaranteed to give her plenty of antioxidants. Or antisomething. What she really needed was an antidote for Cole.

Why wasn’t he saying anything? Did he even notice that she wasn’t speaking to him? He was a guy, so he probably was totally obtuse about the entire thing. He was probably thinking about some pit bull he was going to neuter.

She sneaked a peek at him through the cover of her lashes. It had taken her a few weeks as a teenager to perfect that technique. She was now a pro.

Cole was looking at her as if he’d like to kiss her again.

The knowing gleam in his blue eyes told her he remembered their kisses. That he wasn’t thinking about any pit bull. That he wanted her. And that he knew she wanted him.

Did he think she was going to throw herself at him just because he gave her “the look”?

The man was entirely too confident. He clearly had no idea that he was dealing with a woman in command here. Probably because her confident self had been dormant since coming back to her hometown.

But fake-it-till-you-make-it Leena could handle a commitment-shy charmer like Cole in her sleep. She got right to the point. “I saved you fifty dollars, you know.”

“How do you figure that?”

“You’d have lost the bet you had with Algee and you would have had to pay him the fifty.”

“You seem pretty confident that I would have lost.”

“Totally confident.”

“You doubt my powers of persuasion?”

“You couldn’t have persuaded me.”

He just smiled.

“You couldn’t. Go ahead. Give it your best shot. How did you plan on convincing me that going out on a date with you was a good idea? Especially given the fact that you’re my boss and that you’d already given me the warning that you’re not the settling-down type.”

“I wouldn’t have been asking as your boss. I would have asked you as the man you kissed with such . . . enthusiasm.”

“Maybe that’s the way I kiss all guys. With enthusiasm. Ever think of that?”

She could tell by the aggravated look on Cole’s face that he hadn’t and now that she’d brought it up, he was not pleased by the possibility.

“Is it the way you kiss every guy?”

“I’m not answering that question.”

“Does your mouth tremble every time a guy brushes his fingers over your lips?”

“My mouth does not . . .”

He caressed her bottom lip with his thumb.

Tremble, shiver, tremble.

Traitorous mouth. She’d been able to fake smiles in photo shoots. She could look cool modeling winter coats in the midst of a July heat wave. So why couldn’t she hide her response to him?

“I’m ticklish.” A lame excuse, but the best she could come up with at the moment. She had no idea she’d be that vulnerable to his touch.

“Ticklish? Really?”

She nodded vehemently, which should have dislodged his thumb. But he just cupped her chin with his big hand. A gentle yet incredibly powerful hand. A work-roughened hand.

“Are you ticklish here too?” He ran his index finger over the bow of her top lip.

Tremble, shiver, shake.

“I guess so.” His voice was rough and sexy as he answered for her. He always spoke in a low drawl that wrapped its way around her and pulled her in. Sometimes he added a dash of laughter or, like now, a dose of sensuality. “How about here?” His hand moved so that he could slide a finger around the curve of her ear.

Her resistance was in serious jeopardy here. She really needed to do something about that. Like step away. Laugh it off. Something.

But Leena couldn’t seem to rally the strength to do anything but stand there and enjoy the pleasure sifting into her system.

“Or here?” He trailed his fingertips down the curve of her throat. “I can feel your pulse. Your heart is racing. And you’re shivering. Are you cold?”

She nodded, doubting her ability to form words.

“Yet your skin feels warm.” He brushed his fingers back and forth. “Very soft and very warm.” He paused to lift her chin and stare into her eyes. “Still think you’d say no?”

His words served like an alarm, waking her instantly.

So he thought he could play her, did he?

“I don’t think I’d say no.” She deliberately kept her voice husky and kittenish.

“You don’t?” He sounded entirely too pleased with himself.

“No, I don’t.” She lifted her hands to his chest and shoved him away. “I
know
I’d say no.”

Leena was very proud of the way she walked away, adding a bit of catwalk hip swivel to her walk. Score one for fake-it-till-you-make-it Leena.

 
Power walking down Barwell Street in Rock Creek did not have the same feeling as power walking down North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. For one thing, the window-shopping couldn’t possibly be more different. On the Magnificent Mile she could check out the new arrivals at Chanel. One memorable morning she’d stood in front of Tiffany’s eating a danish a la Audrey Hepburn in
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
complete with sunglasses and little black dress. Well, not exactly
little
. A classy, elegant size-sixteen black dress. And the Kate Spade vintage-inspired sunglasses she’d worn were awesome. Unfortunately she’d had to sell them on eBay in order to pay off bills.

Rock Creek wasn’t a place where you’d wear vintage-inspired sunglasses. Here she looked at empty storefronts with FOR LEASE signs behind dusty windows. She crossed to the other side of the street to head back to the clinic. After eating a healthy salad for lunch, she’d decided she needed some fresh air.

At least Rock Creek had that. The weather was spring perfect with the promise of things to come in the air. Apple blossoms were just beginning to burst on the single tree struggling to survive next to the World War II memorial tank. Even the funeral home looked nice with the red tulips blooming in a surprisingly pretty garden out front.

What did it say about a town when the nicest place was the funeral home? She was pondering that question when someone bumped into her outside the thrift store. “Sorry.”

Leena recognized Edie Dabronovitch’s daughter, Hannah. The girl was bent over, picking up the contents of her backpack, which had spilled onto the cracked sidewalk. Leena immediately helped her.

“I’m so clumsy,” Hannah muttered. “My mom is always telling me.”

“You’re not clumsy. You couldn’t play softball or basketball as well as you do if you were clumsy.” Leena looked down at the diet pills that had tumbled out of her backpack. “Are you taking this stuff?”

Hannah just shrugged.

“It’s not good.”

“You know of a better pill?”

“You don’t need pills.”

“Yes, I do. I’m fat as a cow. My mother tells me so all the time.”

“She’s wrong. She called me a fat cow too, yet I was a model.”

“She says if you were really a model, then you wouldn’t be working at the vet’s office.”

Score one for Evil Edie. What was Leena doing, giving advice to a kid? She was hardly in a position to be doing that. It wasn’t as if she was the model of success here. But the thought of Hannah having such low self-esteem got to her. Because Leena knew what it was like to feel that way.

Granted her mom had never ridiculed her the way Edie did Hannah. But the other kids had.

Leena had been an underdog most of her life—told she was too bossy, too tall, too fat. But she’d had people, like her mom, who believed in her. Hannah needed that. Everyone did.

“I have my reasons for being here,” Leena said. “I can’t go into them.”

“Are you going to be an actress? A lot of models go into acting. Are you here preparing for a role?”

“I can’t say.”

Hannah nodded. “I understand. It’s okay. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Those pills aren’t safe. Promise me you won’t take any. You are wonderful just the way you are. And anyone who tells you otherwise is just wrong.”

“I don’t look like my mom. She looks like the models in the magazines.”

“Those models are airbrushed and computer enhanced. No one looks that way. Trust me, I’ve seen the before and after shots. You wouldn’t believe what they can do with computer software. Why, they even tried to mess with Katie Couric’s picture to make her look skinner. Big mistake.”

Sister Mary interrupted them. “Hello, Hannah. Why aren’t you in school?”

“It’s a teacher conference day.”

“I see.” Sister Mary turned her eagle eyes on Leena. “Aren’t you going to come inside and take a look around?”

Leena took a step back. “I need to get back to work. I was just taking a quick power walk after lunch.”

“Yet you had time to talk to Hannah.”

“We’re gal pals. We’ve bonded.”

“Really?” Hannah stared at Leena in awe.

It felt good to be looked at that way. And it felt good to let this kid know that there were other points of view besides Evil Edie’s. “Yeah, really.”

“Sweet.” Hannah flashed her a shy smile before turning to leave.

“Remember what I said.” Leena didn’t want to refer to the pills in front of Sister Mary, but she could tell by Hannah’s expression that she understood.

“I will. I promise.”

Then Hannah was gone, leaving Leena with Sister Mary. “Come on in and take a look around.”

Recognizing an order when she heard one, Leena did, with Sister Mary at her side the entire time. “You’ve got a ThighMaster for sale here.”

“You sound surprised.”

“It’s just that there’s so much stuff here—from couches to Bakelite jewelry. This stuff goes for a lot of money on eBay.”

“ThighMasters?”

“No. Bakelite jewelry.” Leena slid a red bangle on her wrist. “I’ve never gotten into the ThighMaster.”

“I have,” Sister Mary said proudly. “Feel these muscles.” She pointed to her thighs.

“No, that’s okay,” Leena stuttered. “I believe you.” What nun would lie about a thing like that? What nun would lie, period?

“I’ve used the ThighMaster for years. I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve got thighs of steel.”

Leena was speechless.

“What? You don’t think a nun should have thighs of steel?”

“I, uh . . .” Leena had no idea how to properly answer that question.

“You’re not comfortable talking to me about these things?” Sister Mary said.

“No, I’m not.”

“So are you still faking it till you make it?”

“Absolutely.” Leena’s attention returned to the bangle. The price was only two dollars.

“Does that include faking your feelings for Cole?”

“Which feelings for Cole? I have so many.”

“Really? Frankly, I expected you to deny having any.”

“That would be a little hard to do at this point. You know, when we were kids, Cole always made me feel like he was laughing at me behind my back.”

“You still think that way now?”

“Sometimes. He doesn’t take much seriously.”

“That’s what he likes people to think.”

“He seems to take great pleasure in teasing me.”

“That’s not the only thing he seems to take great pleasure in doing to you.”

Leena blushed so hard she thought her cheeks were on fire. “We were
not
making out in my car the other day. That was a total lie.”

“What about in Nathan’s office?”

“When Cole is charming, he’s hard to resist. And when he’s impossible, sometimes he’s even harder to resist, you know? The man drives me crazy. I know he’s your nephew, but come on. You’ve got to see how he could drive a person crazy. But he’s my boss. Not that he’s used his position in any way to try and get me to . . .”

“Make out with him in Nathan’s office?”

“Maybe I should get another job. Are you looking for help here at the thrift shop?” Leena asked as she paid for her bangle.

“No. And Cole depends on you at the clinic. He’s always raving about you, about how organized you are and how you’ve whipped things into shape.”

“I need to whip myself into shape,” Leena muttered.

“Is that why you gave me the cakes the other day?”

“Yeah. As soon as I got back here, I started falling into bad habits.”

“Did you ever consider the possibility that you had to come home to face your fears before you could move on?”

“What fears?”

“You tell me. And don’t try telling me you don’t have any fears. We all have them. I suspect yours are tied to this town, to your upbringing, to your roots.”

“What do you know about my parents?”

The question caught Sister Mary by surprise. “I know they’ve retired down in Florida.”

“Yes, but what about before that? When they were still here?”

“I didn’t know your family well, but they seemed a colorful bunch of individuals.”