Deep in the Heart (20 page)

“
Oh.” Somehow she hadn’t realized he’d be leaving.

The pickup rolled to the front of the mansion and stopped.

“
Well, this is it,” he said, looking over at her.

She fought to smile. “Yeah. I guess I’ll see you tonight.”

“
Sounds like a plan.”

Maggie heard the doorbell. It raked across her nerves, pulling them right to the surface. She closed her eyes as she prayed for courage and sanity and anything else she might need to get through this night. The dress was far better than anything else she’d tried on that day; however, it was much shorter than what she was used to wearing.

On her way out the door she tugged the skirt down, trying to get it below her knees. “Stop fidgeting, Maggie,” she berated herself. “Stop it.” But still she fidgeted. She couldn’t help it.

Carefully she descended the stairs, feeling like it was the night of a prom she’d never gone to. She certainly couldn’t have gotten any more nervous had she been in a formal gown with a corsage on her wrist. At the bottom of the steps by the door stood Greg with Inez. When he looked up, he smiled.

“
Well, hello there.” His gaze stayed on her all the way to the bottom. In all of her memory, she couldn’t remember anybody ever looking at her like that.

“
I’d better get back to the kitchen,” Inez said, and she removed herself from the situation.

Greg surveyed her. “You look beautiful.”

Once more she smoothed the skirt down. “Thanks.”

He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

Keith was midway through pouring Tracy wine when movement at the patio door caught his attention. He looked up and everything else dropped away. There, on the arm of his best friend, was every dream he’d ever had. The smoky-gray dress hugged her curves and set off the mass of waves undulating around her face.

“
Oh, Greg! You made it.” Dallas greeted them like a four-star hostess. “And you must be Maggie. Hi, I’m Dallas.”

“
It’s nice to meet you.” Maggie put out her hand, and Keith had to force the air into his lungs.

“
Hey, Keith, man.” Greg put his hand in the air, and Keith caught it as he had countless times. But never before had his gaze stayed on the beauty standing behind his best friend. “Thanks for asking us. This is Maggie.”

“
Maggie,” Keith said, holding out his hand to her like he’d been caught in a trance.

“
Hi. Uh, thanks for asking us.”

“
Our pleasure.” Man, she was going to be hard not to watch all night.

“
Pâté?” Dallas asked, stepping up with a silver serving tray.

“
Oh, thanks.” Maggie took a small piece of bread with the meat spread on it. She took a bite, and Keith had to keep from laughing at the look on her face. “Mmm.”

“
Hi, Greg,” Tracy, Dallas’s best friend and maid of honor, said as she stepped up. From Keith’s recollection Tracy and Greg had been out about three times when they were all in college. If his memory served correctly, Greg’s exact assessment was “too much drama for me.”

“
Tracy.” Greg put his arm around Maggie apparently to emphasize he had a date, and Keith’s fist balled automatically. “This is Maggie Montgomery.”

“
Oh.” Tracy spun her wine glass toward her face. “Do you work with Greg at Corporate Accounting?”

“
Uh, no.” Maggie hesitated.

“
She works at the Ayer mansion,” Greg said, pulling her closer to his side. “She’s the new nanny.”

“
Oh,” Tracy dragged the single syllable to six. “Well, I guess that’s about par for the course.” She surveyed Greg with smiling condescension. “We all know how you like slumming with the middle class.”

Had she not been a friend of Dallas, Keith would’ve shown her the door and thrown her out himself.

“
Yeah, well,” Dallas sighed dramatically, trying to salvage the wreck. “I wonder what’s keeping Allison and Jared. They should’ve been here by now.”

“
Oh,” Keith said, wanting only to put his arms around Maggie and get her out of here and away from the snobs he called friends. He hated the defenseless vulnerability on her face. “Jared called and said they were going to be a little late. He got stuck at the office.”

Dallas sighed again and looked at her watch. “Well, should we wait on dinner then? I told the caterers seven.”

Keith’s concern meter was hitting overload. He wanted to protect Maggie and help Dallas, but he wasn’t doing much good at either one. “We can be a little late. It won’t kill anyone.” Although as he glanced at Tracy standing smugly to the side, he thought if she popped her mouth off at Maggie again, she might very well not be around to enjoy the Duck a L'Orange.

For her part Maggie had effectively shrunk to invisible next to Greg.

“
Oh, where are my manners?” Keith asked, snapping back into host mode. “Would you two like some wine?” He grabbed the bottle and two glasses from the serving table.

“
Sure,” Greg said right next to Maggie, and the only thing she could think was that she never should have come. These people were way out of her league. They talked in languages she didn’t understand. They ate food that tasted like it had been recycled from the trashcan. And most of all, they drank.

She wondered at that moment about Keith’s night on the town Friday night. Was this just normal protocol with them? Drinks and more drinks. Her gut twisted around that thought. And then he was standing there in front of her with the bottle and the glass, smiling at her with that smile that reminded her so much of a guy she knew. Only that guy wore a beat up cowboy hat and didn’t go around sipping Chardonnay.

“
Um…” Her gaze swept past him to the others. Saying it might well banish her from them forever, but the truth was she would never be invited again anyway. That much was obvious. “I don’t drink.”

Keith’s face fell in confusion with the statement, and he looked at her like she had just dropped there from Mars. Greg looked down at her, and his smile fell away as well too.

“
What?” Greg asked.

Maggie dragged in a breath as her gaze fought to find somewhere to look that wouldn’t knife her to death. “I don’t drink.” She tried to smile to soften the blow as she scratched the side of her head. “Umm, I hope that’s not a problem.”

Utter silence fell over the whole place. Even the trees stopped rustling.

Keith was the first to break the silence. “Of course not. I’ve got lots of other stuff in the kitchen. Coke. Sprite. Water. Whatever you want.”

She had never felt more rescued in her life. “Sprite. If you don’t mind.”

Finally his smile was back in full. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

He stepped past her, smelling better than any human had a right to. The whiff of soft, musk cologne sent her head swimming, and her gaze followed him all the way to and through the back patio door.

Tracy and Dallas were already talking about wedding plans as they took seats on the perfectly positioned outdoor furniture. Greg guided Maggie to the little swing with the metal frame that rounded up and over the top. It was on the same patio but far enough away they could have a modicum of privacy.

On the swing he leaned toward her. “I’m really sorry about that. Tracy and I… Well, we were together for awhile. She can be like that sometimes.”

“
Don’t worry about it,” Maggie said, trying to take her own advice. She reached over and put her hand on his knee for emphasis. “It comes with the territory.”

Keith stepped back into the yard and walked right over to her. “Here you are.” He produced a wine glass with clear, bubbly liquid. “Enjoy.”

Her heart skipped through her chest. Somehow she had expected a green plastic bottle to announce to everyone how different she was. Instead the wine glass said she fit with no question. “Thanks.”

The wink was almost non-existent, but she saw it just the same. “No problem.”

Throughout drinks and dinner Keith watched her. There was no doubt that this was not her element, and yet… yet, she held her own. Allison, thankfully, was much less of a snob than Tracy, and between her and Dallas, they made sure Maggie was included as much as possible.

“
Nice party,” Greg said, sliding up by Keith who stood at the entertainment center talking with Jared.

“
Thanks.”

Jared excused himself and walked off.

“
She’s something, huh?” Greg asked, indicating Maggie who sat across the room with the women. She wasn’t in the conversation, but the light that permeated her every move was right there with her.

“
Yeah, something.”

“
I wonder if she’s like seeing anyone.”

The thought had never occurred to Keith. “I don’t know. She came with you, didn’t she?”

“
Yeah.” Greg took a drink. “But you know my track record with women. They’re always attached to someone else.”

The knife went right through Keith’s heart. “Yeah, well maybe this time you’ll get lucky.”

Greg tipped the glass up. “Here’s hoping.”

“
Thanks for coming. It was fun.” Dallas stood at the top step of the guesthouse, Keith at her side as Greg and Maggie stood on the porch saying their good-byes.

“
Thanks for asking us. We had a good time,” Greg said.

“
Yeah. It was wonderful,” Maggie said, fighting with everything in her not to look at Keith. It was nearly impossible, but looking at him standing there with his arm around Dallas was going to kill her.

“
Good night,” Greg said and turned her toward the cars.

“’
Night,” Dallas called happily.

Maggie would be happy too if she was going back in with Keith. The guests were gone. The party over. Now they could be alone. That thought hit her hard. It was clear Dallas was staying there. Of course Maggie wasn’t naïve enough to think that nothing was happening when they were alone. She closed her eyes to block out that thought.

Then just at the end of the steps, Greg swayed into her. She looked at him with concern. “Are you okay to drive?”

“
Yeah. I didn’t have that much.”

Maggie glanced back at the guesthouse, but Dallas and Keith had already gone in. She looked back at Greg, and her mind went through the evening. Two wines on the patio. A couple during dinner. One or two more after. With a breath she watched him walking to the car. It was barely there, but still it was.

“
Maybe I should drive.”

Greg laughed. “We’re just going to the mansion.”

“
No. I mean maybe I should drive you home.”

“
Home?” He jerked backward to look at her. “I’m fine. I barely had anything.”

She put her arms around herself and glanced back at the house. “Yeah, well… I’d feel better if we all got home in one piece.”

He snorted. “If you drive me home, how are you going to get home?”

There was money in her purse now. Sure there were other things she could get, but none were more important than this. “I’ll take a cab. It’s no big deal.”

Greg looked at his watch. “But it’s after 10. You won’t get back here until like midnight.”

“
Yeah, thus, we’d better get going.” She walked around the car to him. “Keys.”

He was obviously not ready for this confrontation, and he hesitated. However, Maggie wasn’t taking no for an answer. Finally he relinquished the keys. As he walked to the other side, she laughed. “But don’t go to sleep on me. I’m going to need some directions.”

“
That was great,” Dallas said as they picked up the debris from the party.

“
Yeah, except Tracy’s stupid comment to Maggie.”

Dallas waved that off. “Oh, you know how Tracy is. She talks before she thinks.”

Something inside of Keith lodged at the comment. He wanted to say more, but what more was there to say? I think your friends are inconsiderate snobs? That was honest, but not very prudent.

“
Oh, but didn’t Greg and Maggie make the cutest couple?” Dallas cooed. “I told you. He’s got a thing for her. I could tell by how he looked at her. You mark my words. Those two are going to get together.”

Worse words had never been spoken. At the front window, Keith pulled the curtain back and peered out into the darkness. They were gone. Presumably to the mansion, or would Greg take her back to his place first? That was not an encouraging thought. Keith shook his head. Surely not. That was all the way back into Houston. The timing alone precluded that. Still, he couldn’t help but think even if they didn’t tonight, if Greg pursued this, it wouldn’t be long. That’s just the way things worked in their crowd.

“
So, Mr. Ayer,” Dallas said, wrapping her arms around him from behind before he knew she was there. “What do you say I give you a little preview of June third?” She sidled her way around him and leaned on the windowsill. Softly she reached up and kissed him. There was no doubt she was beautiful. There was no doubt any other man alive would have wanted her. But the sad fact was there was also no doubt that the one woman he really wanted had just left with his best friend. That was the way things were, and although it might kill him, it was time he accepted it.