Sizzling (10 page)

CHAPTER
EIGHT

DANI PLACED HER ORDER for her latte and then moved to the right
to wait for her name to be called. She glanced around the crowded
café and stiffened slightly when she saw Gary.
He was
bent over what looked like a pile of term papers, a red pen in his
hand.
Dani turned back to the counter and waved when her name
was called. After collecting her latte, she hesitated. While she'd
enjoyed speaking with Gary a couple of weeks ago, she didn't know if
she wanted to go up and say hello. She wasn't interested in any man
romantically and from her limited personal experience, men weren't
interested in being friends.
Before she could duck out, she
heard him call her name. She turned and smiled.
"Hi,
Gary."
"Hi." He waved her over, then motioned
to the empty seat on the other side of the tiny table. "Do you
have a moment?"
She barely hesitated before nodding.
There was just something about him, she thought as she took a seat.
He defined…nice.
"Looks like a lot of work,"
she said, motioning to the papers. "Are they good?"
"Some.
The assignment was to compare three religions, past or present,
finding similarities and differences. There are a few Web sites that
provide very tidy lists. Some of my students went there and copied
the lists. They won't be happy with their grades."
"I
can imagine. Going online is easier than going to the library."
He
nodded. "I don't object to using the Internet for research, but
I do expect them to assimilate what they've learned and write it up
using their own words."
"Sounds reasonable."
He
smiled. "They won't see it that way. So, how's the job search
going?"
She shrugged. "Not as well as I would like.
I think…" She hesitated, then leaned forward. "I
turned down a great job. It was at a very popular and upscale
restaurant. The food was good, the money excellent. In theory, it was
everything I wanted."
"But?"
"But I
had a funny feeling. I just didn't like the owner. I can't even
explain what it was specifically. He was a little over the top, but
that's fairly typical in the business. There was just something about
him. Something…"
"Dark? Dangerous?
Threatening?"
She smiled. "Thanks for helping.
Actually he was…cold. The staff seemed afraid of him and not
in a respectful way. More like they were worried he was going to have
them shot at dawn. And the kitchen was too quiet."
Gary
frowned. "How can a kitchen be too quiet?"
"Have
you ever worked in a restaurant?"
"No."
"They're
crazy places— especially in the kitchen. It's hard work with a
lot of pressure. The kitchen staff is loud, insulting, especially if
they're gifted. But it wasn't like that. I just wasn't comfortable."
She sighed. "I turned down the job. I still can't believe
it."
"Sounds to me like you listened to your gut.
Finding the right job is important. It helps define who you are as a
person. Why would you want to spend the majority of your time in a
place that didn't feel right?"
She stared at him. "When
you say it like that, I feel positively in tune with the
universe."
"You are. Dani, this has to be right for
you. You're not desperate— don't settle."
His gaze
was steady, his expression kind. She nodded slowly.
"You're
right. I'll keep looking until I find the right job. Maybe then I
won't regret all the years I've already wasted."
He
raised his eyebrows. "You're too young for regrets."
"You'd
be surprised." She sipped her latte. "My family owns
restaurants. I've wanted to go into the business my whole life. My
parents died when I was young and my grandmother raised me and my
three brothers. There was always something tortured about my
relationship with Gloria— that's my grandmother. It was as if
she didn't really like me." She paused. "I should probably
stop talking now."
"Not on my account," he told
her. "I'm a good listener."
She frowned slightly.
"Yes, you are. Why is that?"
For a second, she would
swear he looked uncomfortable, then he smiled. "It's a gift. Go
on. Gloria was acting weird."
She smiled. "More than
weird. I got my master's and came home to go to work in the family
business. There are four restaurants in all. Two fine dining places,
a sports bar and a place called Burger Heaven. She put me to work
there, which was fine. I was more than willing to prove myself. But
years went by and I couldn't get her to talk to me about moving up
the food chain. Nothing I did made her happy."
She shook
her head. "I finally quit."
Gary studied her.
"There's more to it than that, Dani. But if you're not
comfortable talking about it, I understand."
She believed
him. He would be okay with her moving on. Yet there was a part of her
that wanted to tell the whole story, to share it with someone outside
of the family.
"Gloria and I had a huge fight. I demanded
to know why she'd been holding me back. She said it was because I
wasn't a real Buchanan. My mother had had an affair and I was the
result. She was never going to let me work anywhere but Burger
Heaven. She said I wasn't worthy. So I quit."
Gary nodded
slowly. "She sounds like a very unhappy woman."
Dani
blinked. "You're taking her side?"
"Not at all.
I'm saying that if she raised you and then later refused to see your
potential because of who your father is, there are a lot of rules in
her life. That doesn't usually make people happy."
"I
hadn't thought of it that way. Honestly, and I know this makes me
sound like a horrible person, but I don't care if she's unhappy.
She's been so mean to me for so long."
"So you quit
and now you're going to find something you like."
"I
am. No matter how long it takes."
"What about your
father? Are you also looking for him?"
"No."
Dani sipped her latte, then set it back on the table. "I'm
afraid," she admitted. "I'm guessing he didn't know about
me, but what if he did? What if he just didn't care?"
She
wasn't looking for any more rejection in her life right now.
"Is
that enough of a reason not to go looking for him?" Gary
asked.
"So far it's working just fine."
"He's
your family. What is more important than that?"
Good
question, she thought. "So what about your family?" she
asked.
"Two sisters, both married. Between them they have
seven kids." He grinned. "I love being an uncle."
"No
kids of your own?"
His expression tightened slightly,
then he relaxed. "I've never been married."
He had
to be in his mid to late thirties, she thought. While not everyone
got married, it was strange that Gary hadn't. He was a great guy.
Kind and sensitive and easy to talk to. The kind of man who…
Duh,
she thought, wanting to smack herself on the side of the head. Of
course. He was gay.
She looked him over. All the signs were
there. His low-key occupation, the perfect grooming, his interest in
actual conversation, the lack of any sexual spark.
Relief
spilled into pleasure. If Gary was gay then maybe they could be
friends. She could use a few more friends in her life.

* * *

"I WOULD HAVE COOKED," Madeline said as Lori stirred
the simmering beef and filled a pot of water for the noodles.
"I've
got it," she said. "You cooked all week."
Madeline
leaned against the counter. "I cooked twice, we had takeout
twice and leftovers once. I'm not overwhelmed with work."
"You
should be resting."
"You should try to catch your
breath," her sister told her.
Lori set the pasta pot on
the stove and turned on the heat. "I'm fine. The whole breathing
thing is fine."
"You looked panicked— like
we're going to be firebombed any second."
Lori did her
best to smile. "I have no idea what you're talking
about."
Which was a big, fat lie, she thought grimly.
Madeline was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Of course
Madeline wasn't anything bad or negative. She was perfect.
Physically, mentally, spiritually. She was what the rest of the world
aspired to be.
Lori had given up being bitter about that years
ago. It was a matter of accepting her sister's amazingness or live
her life chronically cranky. She'd decided to move on. These days all
she allowed herself was a little ambivalence.
The fact was
Madeline couldn't help being beautiful and smart and charming. So
when Lori had realized she didn't know how to get her feelings for
Reid under control, she'd decided to manage them the only way she
knew how. Introduce him to her sister.
He'd been bugging her
about it for a while, so she'd decided to give in to him. She'd
invited him over to dinner and he'd accepted. She knew exactly what
would happen when he walked in the door. It was the same thing that
had happened with every other guy she'd ever brought home— not
that there had been that many.
He would take one look at
Madeline and fall for her instantly. After the third time it had
happened, Lori had stopped bringing guys around. Until now.
It
would be like ripping off a bandage, she told herself. Sharp
momentary pain, but then it would be over. She would watch Reid
succumb to her sister's charms and she would finally be able to
squash her own feelings for him.
"It's not going to
happen," Madeline said quietly.
Lori looked at her. "I
have no idea what you're talking about."
"Interesting,
because I know exactly what you're thinking. You can't stand that you
have a thing for Reid so you've brought him here, thinking he's going
to fall for me."
Lori shrugged. "It's a good
plan."
"It's a stupid plan. He's not going to be
interested."
"You don't know that." Lori
smiled. "I'll even put money on it."
"Did it
occur to you that the other guys weren't as interested in me as you
think they were? That by expecting the worst, you pushed them
away?"
The unfairness of the accusation really bugged
her. "Excuse me? Once they met you, you were all they talked
about. Face it, Madeline, you never went through an awkward stage.
You grew up beautiful. I had to work my ass off to pass for average.
I've made peace with that. I have a life I'm proud of. I'm doing the
best I can."
"No, you're not. You're hiding. You
don't try because it's easier not to have expectations."
Madeline's
words hurt. "Thanks, Ms. Perfect. It's always exciting to get
your professional take on things. Whether you want to accept it or
not, the bottom line is, guys adore you."
"Vance
didn't."
Two words spoken so quietly that someone in the
next room couldn't have heard them. Lori swallowed, her anger fading
to dust.
"Vance is a total loser who is possibly the
stupidest man on the planet," she said.
"Don't say
that," Madeline told her, her large brown eyes filling with
tears. "He was my husband."
Lori hated that her
sister had any feelings left for Vance. The bastard had taken off the
second Madeline had been diagnosed. Apparently the marriage vows
hadn't meant anything to him.
Before Lori could figure out
what to say, the doorbell rang.
"Your young man,"
Madeline teased.
Lori glared at her. "Don't make me kill
you. I'm more than capable."
"Cheap talk."
Lori
huffed out a breath, then stalked to the front door and pulled it
open.
Any ideas she had for a clever greeting flew out of her
head when she saw Reid standing on her tiny porch, smiling at
her.
The overhead light illuminated his handsome face. His
leather jacket emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow hips. He
looked sexy, masculine and as out of reach as the moons of
Saturn.
"Hi," he said and thrust a paper-wrapped
spray of flowers at her. "I was going to bring wine, but I went
on the Internet and it said someone with your sister's disease
shouldn't drink."
She stared from him to the beautiful
flowers. "So these are for Madeline?"
"What?
No. They're for you. These are, too." He handed her a box from
Oh! Chocolates.
Okay, now she was confused. He'd brought her
flowers and chocolates? Her?
"Come in," she said,
stepping back.
"Thanks."
He stepped into the
house, turned and kissed her.
Just like that. A quick brush of
mouth on mouth, then he was shrugging out of his jacket and looking
around.
"Nice place," he said.
Lori couldn't
move. She also couldn't think or breathe or very possibly stay alive
much longer.
He'd kissed her. Kissed her. As if…As
if…Damn, she didn't know as if what, but it was weird. They
didn't kiss. Well, there had been that one time, but since then,
nothing. They weren't dating. This wasn't a date. Did he think this
was a date?
Before she could begin to function again, Madeline
walked in the room.
"You must be Reid," she said,
crossing the room looking tall and beautiful and oh so delicate. "I'm
Madeline."
"Hi. Nice to meet you."
They
shook hands.
Lori braced herself for the lightning strike.
Oddly, Reid looked away from her sister.
"I was telling
Lori this place is really nice," he said.
"Isn't
it?" Madeline smiled. "Lori and I grew up pretty poor. We
lived in a double-wide until we moved out. We both vowed to have a
real home of our own. I wanted a trendy high-rise condo, but Lori
always said she wanted a house where she could own the ground it
stood on."
Lori cringed in embarrassment, but Reid
nodded. "Makes sense." Then he actually turned his back on
Madeline and looked at her. "You'd hate my place. I live on a
houseboat. No land at all."
She didn't know what to say
or how to respond. He was talking to her. Her and not Madeline. How
was that possible?
"I, ah…" She began and
then pressed her lips together. "The, ah, houseboat sounds very
nice. Everyone loves being on the water, right?"
He
grinned. "Liar."
She blinked. Was he teasing
her?
Life was suddenly very confusing. She glanced down at the
flowers.
"I should get these in water," she said and
ducked into the kitchen. Maybe if she left Reid and Madeline alone
the sparks would fly. Only he followed her and watched as she tried
to reach a vase on a high shelf and then gently pushed her aside to
grab it himself when she couldn't stretch that far.
"Zeke
and I have been talking," he said as he handed over the glass.
"About ways to salvage my reputation."
"Who's
Zeke?" she asked.
"My accountant. I fired Seth—
he handled things like bookings and endorsements, and there aren't
going to be any of those anymore. So we talked about what I could do
to improve my image. He mentioned a big benefit. What do you
think?"
She filled the vase with flowers and set them
into the container. As she had no knack for arranging, she was
officially out of ways to occupy herself. She turned to him.
"It's
a gesture," she said. "Don't you think people are going to
see it as such? You need to do something more. Something with a
little staying power."
As soon as the words were out, she
wanted to call them back. Or disappear into the floor.
Staying
power? Why those particular words? They were too close to what that
reporter had said about Reid in that awful article.
"What
I meant…" she began, only to have him grin at her.
"I
know what you meant. Something more significant."
"Right."
"You
weren't talking about my ability to— "
"Not at
all," she said quickly. "I'm sure that's…"
He
waited, his eyebrows raised.
"Fine," she
mumbled.
"Better than fine."
"Right.
Spectacular."
He grinned. "Exactly."