Say You'll Never Love Me (14 page)

TOO MUCH TO DRINK
the night before, Jared opened his eyes but didn’t move. Lucky for him, Jace only drank two beers early in the evening and drove him home. He glanced at the clock. Already ten. Staggering into the bathroom, he swallowed a couple of pain relievers, then headed to the kitchen.

After he got coffee going, he checked the drive. As promised, Maggie and Jace dropped his car off on their way to church. Then a flash of silver on the street. Dammit. Beth. Even though he didn’t get a good look, it had to be her. He picked up his phone and texted.

Were you just at my house?

Then he noticed incoming messages.
Harlan Winchester.
He liked the plans and wanted to schedule a meeting.
Dad.
Also approved of the first draft.
Raynie.

Sorry. Can’t meet for lunch this week. Out of town visitor.

His chest tightened. Man or woman? He shook his head. It didn’t matter. None of his business. She was only a friend. Yeah. He needed to keep reminding himself of that.

Stalking is when two people go for a long romantic walk together . . .

but only one of them knows about it.

~~Rotten ecard

TO AVOID THINKING
about Raynie’s visitor, Jared focused on work
.
Knee deep in a colonial mansion project, and conferring with Harlan Winchester for two days kept him busy, and now the Mrs. wanted a meeting. Once he finished the house, a million dollar budget might not be enough.

No new sightings of Beth. She was angry or avoiding him. Nothing from Julie either, so his women trouble seemed in control. But his cell chimed and his luck ran out. Damn, so much for resolving his female dilemma. He pressed the phone to his ear and sucked in a deep breath. “Hello, Beth.”

“How dare you think I’m stalking you!”

“Calm down. I didn’t say that.”

Her voice tightened. “You insinuated. Same thing.”

“Wasn’t my intention.”

She softened her tone. “It hurts my feelings you’d think that.”

“It looked like your car.”

“Well, it wasn’t.”

“My mistake.” Once again, her crazy came out. He wanted to tell her this was the reason he dumped her, but the less said, the better.

“Are you free for lunch?”

What the hell? This felt like a set-up. “Not a good idea.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to.” Harsh. Yes. But he needed to be stern. Leave no room for her to misinterpret his feelings. The sound she made caused his chest to constrict. “Are you crying?”

“I need to talk to you. We have unresolved issues.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Okay. Not you. Me. I have unanswered questions.”

Jared hated what was happening, but didn’t know how to fix it. All the talk in the world wouldn’t change his mind. He didn’t love her. Hell, he never wanted to see her again, but couldn’t say it because that might really set her off. “Like what?”

“Can I come in?”

His stomach twisted. He sprinted to the reception area and peeked through the blinds. Holy hell. She was in the parking lot! So much for her denial of stalking. “You’re here?”

“Yes.”

Cheryl gave him one of her what-the-heck-is-going-on looks. He shrugged and rushed back to his office. “Fine, come in.”

Within a few seconds, she appeared. Eyes red and watery, he motioned for her to sit.

“Thank you for seeing me.”

“I don’t know what good it will do. I’ve been clear about my feelings.”

“What did I do wrong?” Tears rolled down her cheeks, and he should feel sorry for her, but he didn’t. He despised when women cried, especially one he didn’t want to console.

“I was affectionate. Supportive. I took pride in how I looked.” Her breath hitched, and she glared in a way he’d not seen before. Scary. “We have everything in common. Business. Tech alumni. I never refused sex when you wanted it. I cooked for you. I don’t get it. What does the blonde have that I don’t?” With each point, her voice elevated until the last question came out as more of an accusation. She strangled as if trying to suck the words back in.

“You
are
following me.”

Color drained from her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to. I was coming here and saw you leave. Hoped we might talk over lunch if you were dining alone. But you weren’t.” She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. “You’ve been cheating the whole time!”

“Not true.”

She slammed her fist on the desk. “Don’t lie! I saw Julie coming out of your house! And you carrying another woman inside at midnight! How many are you sleeping with? Why wasn’t I enough?”

Cheryl peeked in from the hall. “Everything all right in here?”

Beth snapped her head around to face the secretary. “No! Nothing is all right! Your boss is screwing every woman he can get his hands on! Is he doing you, too?”

Jared shot up from his chair and pointed his finger. “That’s enough! Settle down, or . . .”

“Or what? You’ll call the cops? Go ahead. That can’t hurt worse than what you’ve already done.”

He sat again and lowered his voice hoping to calm her before she got more out of control. “Beth. Please. Compose yourself and I’ll answer all your questions.”

She straightened and fingered the strand of pearls at her throat. “Okay. Fine.”

He nodded to Cheryl, and she stepped away. “Do you want a glass of water or something?”

“No.”

He laced his fingers together, and regarded her with cool, level eyes. He didn’t owe her an explanation, but if it helped her get past whatever phase she was going through, he’d offer one. Anything to get rid of her. “I slept with Julie and it was a mistake. I told her so and ended it. But that happened after you and I broke up. I didn’t know she was in town until she showed up at my door.”

“And the blonde?”

“A friend, and that’s all you’re entitled to know because it’s none of your business. Again, happened after we ended it.”

Beth relaxed back into the chair. “That’s a relief.”

Damn. He wanted her out of there. Dealing with crazy was exhausting. No more Mr. Nice Guy. He locked eyes with her. “I don’t love you, and you’re wasting your time hoping I’ll change my mind.”

“But I love you and I can’t figure out how to stop.”

“Following me won’t change anything. It pisses me off. And who I date has nothing to do with you.”

“So you are dating her!”

He placed a hand to his pounding head. “Dammit, Beth! I’m talking hypothetically.”

Her chin quivered, and the waterworks started again.

He passed her a box of tissues. “We can’t keep re-hashing this. I’m serious. I won’t tolerate it. Think about your career. Don’t force me to take legal action. She cried harder, but that only fueled his determination. “We’re done, Beth. Do you understand me?”

She said nothing, just rose from her chair and walked out.

He followed her to the front door and watched until she drove away, happy to be rid of her. If luck was on his side, she believed him and the stalking would stop. He hoped. Because he refused to spend his life looking over his shoulder for the lunatic.

Cheryl patted his back. “Holy crap. Is she nuts or what?”

“I hope it’s or what.”

Cheryl returned to her desk. “So, you’re not with Julie?”

“No. I suffered a lapse on that front.”

“And the midnight woman?”

“Just a friend.”

“You say that as if you’d like it to be more.”

Drained from the encounter, Jared pulled his face tight, then thought of Raynie. Her smile. Laugh. The naughty words that came out of her mouth. She was the only sane woman in his life right now. It’d been a week since he’d seen her and told himself to leave it that way, but he wanted to see her, and he had the earring to return. An excellent excuse.

EACH NIGHT, RAYNIE
did her online readings after Silbie’s bedtime. But since Mom arrived, internet clients provided an excuse to be alone during the day. Raynie loved her, but a girl could only take so much motherly advice.

She dealt another card and stared at the screen.
Wondering Wally
wanted confirmation his current girlfriend was marriage material. Raynie typed in the results of the draw. What a crock. Here she was giving relationship advice while crushing on a preacher.

He was the prince in all those ridiculous fairytales. Kind. Thoughtful. Strong. Patient. Smoking hot. Sometimes, she wanted to grab him by the collar and show him what a bad girl could do. Lord Jesus. She was the most horrible person on the planet for thinking such a thing.

She should stop fantasizing about him. Spending the night in his bed clouded her judgement. Thank goodness she’d been too intoxicated to know where she was, or she would have been all over him like oil on a body builder. Honey on a biscuit. Slime on a ten-day-old cucumber. Oh Lord, even her metaphors sounded dirty.

She picked up Silbie’s school activity schedule. There were several events to test Raynie’s domestic ability. No need to worry about them now, still two weeks before the first crisis.

She drew Wally’s last card. Clearly he wanted the woman to be Miss Right or he wouldn’t be asking. It took experience to balance the perfect amount of encouragement
and
doubt so they wouldn’t be disappointed with her prediction when the affair fell apart. And it would. Only a small percentage made it. Romantic relationships fared no better than marriages. Pre-marital breakups happened as often as divorces. Couples could be compatible, but over time, love always faded. Yet every human kept trying. Except Raynie.

In Jared’s line of work, seeing so many marriages fall apart, she wondered how he stayed so positive. At least he avoided having his bride agree to forsake all others, then leave. Raynie wished she’d escaped those vows before getting ditched. But as bad as that was, it taught her a valuable lesson. Don’t fall in love. That was the key to happiness.

She finished the reading and emailed it. Ten down. Twenty-two more to go. She shuffled the cards, dealt again, and the doorbell rang. Signing off the computer, she went to greet the guest. To her surprise, Jared stood on the porch looking so good her mouth watered. Blue button-down collar almost the same color of his eyes. Jeans starched and stacked over cowboy boots.

“Hey you, come in.”

“How’re things going?” He stepped past her, turned in a circle, taking in the place. “This is a nice house. Crown molding. Granite countertops. Fireplace. Built in bookcase. Top of the line appliances. Your sister had good taste.”

Raynie studied him. “Such an eye for detail. I’m shocked you’re so interested in home construction.”

“Oh. I am. My dad’s an architect.”

He strolled to the French doors opening onto the patio. “Sonovabitch! There’s a naked woman in your backyard!”

“Padre!”

“Sorry.”

Raynie rushed outside and Jared followed. “Mother! Put your clothes on.”

She waved her off. “Oh, good grief. You have a privacy fence and Silbie’s at school.”

Raynie slapped her hand over Jared’s eyes. “Oh, sorry.” He backed away from the line of sight. “That’s your mother? She’s your visitor?”

“Yes, and she isn’t crazy. Well, she is, but the nudity part isn’t connected. She’s a naturist and lives at The Bare Truth village in Florida where clothes are optional.” Raynie glanced next door. Mr. Remmus, binoculars glued to his eyes, stood stone still on his back porch.

She turned back to her mother. “I have a guest and a nosy neighbor. They got an eye full. Please, get dressed and don’t disrobe again.”

“Fine. I don’t understand why you’re so hung-up about this.”

“Cover yourself, please.” Raynie waved to the old man. “Show’s over.” Then she pushed Jared back inside. “What are you doing here?”

He pulled the gold hoop from his pocket. “You left this at my apartment the other night.”

“Oh, thanks.” He dropped it into her open palm. She stuck it in her jeans. “I’m happy you stopped by. Silbie has some school functions coming up and I’m not sure what to do.”

“Like what?”

She plopped onto a bar stool and he did the same.