Irresistible You (27 page)

“My mother’s gallery is opening a new exhibit. I’d like you to attend with me if you’re free. Mamma Lou will be there.”

Juliet smiled. “Sure, back to work right, sounds like fun.”

Chapter Sixteen

The following evening laughter filled the car as they drove down interstate ninety-five back to the Evans Family home.

Juliet sat in the darkness and listed as J.T. and Taylor joked about computer programs and their family computer contest. Taylor explained that J.T. had developed a series of games as a way for each family member to keep in touch. She also mentioned that even though it was J.T.’s program and he personally designed the systems he had never actually won a single game in six years.

Earlier that evening Taylor was the guest speaker and since Jace and Colonel Wheeler were out of town fishing, she had asked J.T. to escort her and Louise to the affair. The event, a fundraiser at Union Station to raise scholarship money for area children majoring in fine arts, was a great success.

Juliet sat in the front passenger seat of the car next to J.T. and listened to Taylor and Louise talk. Their conversation shifted from their gardens, to new plantings, to Crescent Island history, to family, then to art and galleries and back to dance and the theatre. Then, as usual, the conversation shifted to her relationship with J.T..

Keeping their answers short and to the point, J.T. and Juliet had so far after, four evenings together, managed to avoid the major relationship questions until now.

“J.T. you never told us how you and Juliet first met,” Taylor said.

J.T. looked over at Juliet in the darkness and smiled. “We met about ten months ago in New York,” he answered.

“So you had seen her dance before.”

“No. We met during the blackout,” J.T. began, deciding to finally get this conversation over with.

“We had dinner together out on the sidewalk,” Juliet continued. J.T. reached over and took her hand and brought it to his lips. The smile on their profiled faces caused Louise to reach over and pat Taylor’s hand knowingly.

“How romantic,” Louise said.

“It was romantic, very, romantic,” Juliet added.

“And you two have been together ever since?” Taylor asked.

“No, not quite,” J.T. interjected. “Actually our schedules didn’t allow us to get together much until recently when I moved back to the area.”

“Well you two look wonderful together,” Louise added. “I couldn’t have put together a more perfect couple.”

“Really,” Juliet said. “How so?”

“Mamma Lou is a matchmaker,” J.T. said to Juliet needlessly.

Juliet pivoted in her seat to look at Louise, “He’s joking right Mamma Lou.” Juliet said, pretending not to know about Louise’s matchmaking. “Are you really a matchmaker?”

“I’ve been known to introduce more than a few couples in my time.”

Juliet turned back to J.T. seeing his unease with the conversation. “Really, how does that work?” She delighted in the conversation since it had technically shifted from relationship and personal questions.

“It’s not rocket science like some seem to think. It’s more or less biology than anything else.”

“Really?” Juliet queried.

“Oh yes, it’s a matter of finding two people with just enough differing and opposing qualities to make the positive ones come together. Matchmaking is all about balance.”

“Have you ever tried to match J.T. up before?” Juliet asked as J.T. grimaced and turned to her in the darkness.

“No,” Louise answered truthfully.

J.T. looked up in the rearview mirror. Questions washed over his face. He’d been certain that Mamma Lou had him as her next target. Knowing her as he did, she’d never lie about matchmaking. So what was all the mystery with her sudden visit and why all the interest in his return to the area?

Quietly Taylor beamed her approval, even though she hadn’t been the one to initiate their first meeting ten months ago, she was obviously responsible for them coming together since it was her idea for Jace to name J.T. as CEO sooner than expected. She had known from the start that Juliet was the perfect one for her son. Her conversation with Lena as she discussed Juliet gave her the sense that Juliet belonged in the Evans family.

“Juliet, Lena mentioned that you two were related.”

“We are. Lena is one of my stepmothers.”

“
One of your stepmothers
,” Taylor repeated. “How many do you have?” The new information surprised her. She knew that Juliet’s father had been remarried after his divorce from her mother. She just didn’t realize that he’d made a career out of it.

Juliet smiled in the darkness having always received that question when she mentioned her extended family. “Seven and counting. My father’s been married several times. As a matter of fact he’s getting married next weekend in Florida.”

“Good Lord,” Louise said surprised by the sheer volume, “Mother’s Day must be hectic.”

Juliet smiled and laughed. She’d never thought of it that way. You’re right, it is.”

“He sounds like a very interesting man,” Taylor said.

“He is.”

“And what about your mother?”

“She passed away a few years after a lengthy illness.”

“I’m sorry.” Both Taylor and Louise said. J.T., being unusually quiet inadvertently learned more about Juliet, reached over and grasped her hand. A gently comforting squeeze opened her heart to him even more.

Taylor nodded then continued, “Lena speaks very highly of you.”

“Lena is more like a second mother to me. I often spent weekends with her in New York watching her dance at the
American Ballet Company
and teach at the
Dance Company of Harlem
. As a matter of fact, Lena was the one who got me started in dance when I was a child. She and my mother were more like sisters than ex-wives of the same man. I don’t know what I would have done without her. She’s a wonderful woman.”

“Yes she is.”

“How old were you when you began dancing?”

“I was about five years old. I started right after my parents divorced. Lena was my father’s third wife. She was a ballerina and my father took me to one of her performances and I fell in love instantly.”

“Lena is a magnificent dancer,” Louise began. “I remember her stage performance. “I saw her dance Giselle just before she retired. I’d never seen anything as graceful and lovely.”

“She is exceptional,” Taylor agreed. “But now as a choreographer she has truly found her calling. She rejuvenated the old classics giving them a more modern translation and bringing in the audiences in droves.”

J.T. turned into the circular drive in front of the Evans family home. “Here we are ladies, home at last.”

“Oh my, are we here already?” Louise asked as she looked up at the well-lit house.

Everyone said their goodbyes as J.T. got out and opened the car door for Louise. He took her arm and they walked to the front door.

“Juliet,” Taylor said as she watched J.T. help Louise down the brick path, to the door. He opened it and stepped inside, turned the alarm off then helped Louise over the threshold. Taylor reached over and gripped Juliet’s hand. “Thank you.”

Juliet looked puzzled as she turned and tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean? Thank you for what?”

“For making J.T. so happy,” she smiled lovingly as only a mother could. “…For caring and loving him. I can see in his eyes that he feels the same way. Louise was right, you two are perfect together.”

Juliet swallowed hard. This part-time job was definitely getting too complicated. “Mrs. Evans, Taylor…” she began but couldn’t continue. There was no way that she could tell Taylor that she and J.T. were trying to fool a sweet old woman into leaving him alone. But the truth was she did have feelings for J.T. And that troubled her even more than lying. She squeezed Taylor’s hand gently. “You’re welcome.”

“Goodnight dear,” Taylor said as she slipped out of the car and walked down the path to the front door.

Juliet watched as Taylor whispered something to J.T.. He smiled then glanced back to her in the car. He nodded his agreement then hugged her close. After closing the door he waited to hear the alarm click then turned and walked back to the car.

Emotion welled up inside of her. She hadn’t realized until that moment how much she really missed her mother. They had always been close, but after her diagnosis they were nearly inseparable. Juliet had sold her condo and moved back into the family home in Old Town and stayed until her mother’s death.

After walking his mother to the house and turning on the alarm, J.T. got in the car. They sat in the darkness for a few minutes before he started the engine. Silence drifted between them as he pulled around the drive and drove back toward the main highway.

He reached up and plucked a CD from the sun visor and eased it into the player on the dashboard. The smooth swaying rhythms filled the car. J.T. sang the words subconsciously as he drove.

Juliet nodded her head to the slow rhythmic beat. “This is nice, Earth Wind and Fire, right?”

“Yes, they’re one of my favorite groups. They’re timeless. This is called ‘Love’s Holiday.’”

She nodded and smiled, “I remember.” Juliet closed her eyes, sat back and listened to J.T.’s voice blend melodiously with the lead singer. It was as if they were singing directly to her. She felt his hand grasp and hold hers. The gentle softness of his touch and the rich tenor of his voice opened her heart more than ever.

She drifted on the emotions of the words feeling them touch her like never before. She turned to J.T. as he glanced over to her. Suddenly she felt uneasy and her stomach quivered as a flush of warmth sank into her body. She breathed heavily.

Thankful for the muted glow of the dashboard lights, she turned and looked away at the blur of traffic around them. There was no way she wanted J.T. to see her at that moment. Love had indeed found its way into her heart. Ten months ago? Three days ago? When, she wasn’t exactly sure. But she did know that she loved him and it was the best and worst feeling in the world.

“You have a nice voice,” she said changing the subject away from her heart.

He nodded his response and continued singing until the song drifted off. A slow soothing instrumental was next. “Why dance?” he asked.

“Why not dance?” she answered.

“You’re obviously an intelligent woman. You could be and do anything. Why did you choose dance?”

She smiled in the darkness, “actually, dance chose me. At first it was my way of escaping the pain of my parent’s divorce. Then it became a kind of an addiction with its exacting technique and positions. There’s nothing more beautifully erotic and powerfully thrilling then dance.”

So, why are you leaving ballet?”

Juliet opened her eyes, surprised by the topic of conversation. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard that you’ll be leaving ballet at the end of the season. I want to know why.”

“I’m not leaving ballet. I’m just retiring from the stage.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Ballet will always be a part of me. I’ll never give that up. But I am giving up my position as principal ballerina.”

“Why?”

“Age,” she simply stated.

“What about it?”