Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (71 page)

Cherish giggled.
“That’s okay.” She opened the door wider. “Come on in.” She stood aside as he entered. The door closed again. She glanced back and saw the blanket she had covered up with during her nap lying askew on the floor. She strode over, snatched it up, and folded it. “Have a seat, and I’ll fix us some iced tea.” She placed the neatly folded blanket on the back of the couch.

“
Please don’t go to any trouble.” He shifted from one foot to the other.

Why didn
’t he sit down? Why was he so tall?

Giving him a wide berth, she headed toward the kitchen. Once there, she clutched her chest and blew out a breath. For a moment she closed her eyes, willing the stampeding beat of her heart to slow.
He’s Janie’s brother. I can do this. I can act civil and not wonder what we did, how it felt….

Stop! He is Janie
’s brother. Give him food and drink. Discuss a plan to fix the problem. Invite him to leave. Okay?

Yes.

Good.

Cheris shook her head and decided not to dwell on the fact that she was talking to herself, and answering back. What had the Cheshire cat said to Alice?

We’re all mad here.

Yes. That about summed it up.

Cheris pulled out a serving tray and retrieved two glasses from her cabinet filling them with some tea she had brewed earlier in the day. Surveying the pantry, she grabbed a jar of mixed nuts to go with the beverage.

Mixed nuts.

Very appropriate.

In a few minutes Cheris entered her small living room with a tray carrying two glasses of iced tea, a plate of sliced lemons, and a candy dish containing the metaphor for her and the man sitting on her couch. The dish had been a gift from Annie Hill. What would she say if she knew Cheris had woken up next to Geoff without any memory of marrying him?

The tray banged against the coffee table, a result of Cheris’ shaky hands. Tea spilled over the rims of the glasses, but if Geoff noticed he didn’t comment. Perching on the edge of the couch a safe distance from him, Cheris picked up a Battenberg lace cloth, wrapped it around the glass and handed it to him.

The napkins were antique, another gift from Annie. On a whim, Cheris had placed them on the tray thinking that Geoff deserved Annie
’s Battenberg lace. Even if she never saw him again after the divorce, she’d never have another first husband.

“
Lemon?”

“
This is fine.” Geoff drank deeply from the glass and rested it—half-full—on his knee. The bright gold band on his finger caught Cheris’ gaze and held it.

Why was he still wearing the ring?

“Geoff.” Even saying his name felt strange. “When I woke up this morning—”

“
And stranded me in the hotel room in Serenity,” he supplied.

The rational statement Cheris didn
’t finish flew out the window. “I’m sorry,” she snapped. “I don’t know the proper etiquette of one night stands.”

“
We’re married. It’s the exact opposite of a one night stand. It’s a committed monogamous relationship.”

“
We are not having a relationship. Who meets and gets married in one night? It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of.”

“
Yeah. That’s what I thought, too.”

“
Then why’d you do it if you weren’t under the influence of the cakes and punch?”

Geoff smirked.
“You really don’t remember?”

“
If you knew me, you’d know I’d never do anything so irresponsible. Entering into a legal and binding covenant with a complete stranger and having…”

“
Having?” Geoff prompted.

Cheris jumped off the couch and stalked the room.
“Sex. Please tell me at least you…you know…used protection?”

“
It’s killing you, isn’t it? Wondering what crazy things we did together last night?”

“
There’s a thing or two I’d do if I were no lady,” she growled.

“
Aha. I wondered.”

“
You wondered what?”

“
If you quoted from old movies when you were sober. Who said that one? Audrey Hepburn? Deborah Kerr?”

It was Doris Day, but she wasn
’t telling
him
that. She stopped pacing and glared at him with her hands on her hips. “This isn’t a joke,” she snapped. “I don’t know you. I don’t even know if I like you. What I do know is that marriage is sacred to me, and because of that stupid stunt we pulled last night, I’ve cheapened it, made it into something disgusting and tawdry. Marriage is supposed to be for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health—”

“
As long as we both shall live. Right. You want to do something tonight? Maybe go out to dinner?”

“
Do I want to…? Have you heard a word I’ve said? Don’t you care that you made some pretty serious promises to a complete stranger, that you got the state involved in taking advantage of me while I was drunk? I don’t care if Janie’s your sister. I don’t know you, and I can’t just pretend last night didn’t happen. Me not remembering it makes it even worse.”

“
Cheris, I agree with every single thing you’ve said. I do. Marriage is sacred. It’s a lifelong commitment. I get all of that. I also understand that you have some reservations about me because you don’t know me and you feel I used poor judgment last night. Just go out with me tonight. We won’t eat any cakes or drink any alcohol. You can ask me twenty questions. A hundred questions, and I’ll answer every one. Give me the chance to show you I’m not as dumb as I acted last night.”

“
I don’t trust you.”

Geoff shrugged.
“I suppose that’s understandable. Give me a chance tonight to earn your trust.”

Cheris sighed.

“Please?”

“
Okay.”

He picked up the china dish and tapped some nuts into his hand.
“Very good. May I pick you up at seven?”

“
All right.”

“
Good.” He set the dish on the tray and popped the food in his mouth, winked at her and left.

Cheris let out a breath she didn
’t realize she had been holding. Why had she agreed to go out with that man? Why couldn’t they just agree to meet at a lawyer’s office first thing Monday morning and start the divorce proceedings? She didn’t want to go out with him; she wanted to put this incident behind her and try to forget it ever happened. At least he had agreed about the big mistake they had made.

Hadn
’t he?

I do. Marriage is sacred. It
’s a lifelong commitment. I get all of that.

Cheris raised her hands to her cheeks in realization.

He hadn’t agreed that last night was a mistake. He’d only agreed to
as long as we both shall live
.

Cheris lowered her arms and straightened her shoulders. Surely he wasn
’t seriously thinking of staying married. That was ridiculous.

Had the sex been that good?

Too bad she couldn’t remember.

Chapter Three

“If a thing is right it can be done, and if it is wrong it can be done

without; and a good man will find a way.
”

—
Black Beauty
by Ann Sewell

Cheris pushed the button of her computer screen, and the logo for
Hip Granny
appeared. She emailed Bill Conner, her supervisor about the exhibits at the gala the night before. With the unifying theme of children’s classic literature, Cheris knew the art would be fun. She hadn’t expected the breathtaking beauty and originality of it and proposed to Bill they dedicate a series on it for the web site. With the traffic Hip Granny received, it would be good publicity for the museum, and the potential for offshoot topics was rich as well: children’s literature, reading to your kids, cultural icons, family outings, modern art, and artist bios. Cheris worked up the layout in her head. With the artists’ permission, they could use a photograph from each exhibit as the focal point.

Peter Pan would have Dara Lassiter
’s mural of the Jolly Roger moored on Kidd Creek.

Cheris would use the green glass fortress from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz piece.

Black Beauty would focus on the magnificent onyx statue of a horse reared up on its hind legs.

For Janie
’s Secret Garden exhibit, they’d photograph the live plants cascading out from the six foot deep shadow box with its marble façade walls.

Topics Cheris did not suggest for the series: drunken black-outs, marrying in haste, quickie divorces, though avoiding the eat me/drink me display would be helpful information for anybody.

Cheris had been with Hip Granny for almost three years—ever since the original Hip Granny, Annie Hill, had handpicked her from among the lackeys at Net Enterprises, a franchised Web Media company which provided computer repair and service locally. On that fateful day, Cheris had been assigned to go to Annie’s house to work on her computer.

When Cheris had knocked, a frizzy haired older woman in a leopard print dress opened the door of an enormous Tudor style house. She leaned heavily on a cane which matched her dress.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? You’ve never seen anyone after knee replacement? It hurts like the dickens, I tell you.”

Cheris shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am. Please forgive me.”

The woman cocked her head, her eyes narrowed.
“Ma’am, eh? Did you drive the mile up my driveway to sell me something, or are you here to fix my computer?”

“
The latter.”

Rapid footsteps approached, and a woman wearing scrubs appeared at the door.
“Mrs. Hill, why don’t you wait and let me answer the door.”

“
Who knew where you were, Mary Frances? And I’ve got to get my computer fixed. Come on in, dear. I’m Annabelle Hill though most people call me Annie. What is your name?”

“
Cheris McDowell, Ma’am. It is very nice to meet you.”

“
Mary Frances, go fix Cheris and me some tea. We’ll be in the den.”

“
Oh, no thank you. I—” Cheris began.

“
Now, young lady, you don’t have to drink the tea, but I certainly do have to offer it.”

Mary Frances hurried out of the foyer, and Annie ushered Cheris into a brick floored den with a lemon colored couch and a Victorian style Damask lounge chaise in a matching shade. In the corner sat an imposing desk with a computer monitor on its shiny surface.

Cheris laid her purse on the floor next to the desk and sat on the wooden office chair. She touched the power button and the blue screen of death appeared on the monitor.

Not good.

“Who are your people, Cheris?” Annie asked as she carefully lowered herself in a straight backed seat next to the wall.

Cheris knew this was the southern lady
’s way of asking who her parents were. Cheris dropped to her knees on the floor and disconnected the computer from the surge protector.

“
I’m from West Virginia,” she spoke as she worked, “A little town called Hermet. I’m sure you don’t know my people.” She glanced back and noted Annie studying her as if she were a specimen under a microscope.

“
Oh, you might be surprised. I know lots of people.”

“
My mom works at a restaurant there called the Sugarbox Café. Her name is Sarah.”

“
I’ve been there. Excellent peanut butter pie, as I recall.”

“
The best in the state.” Cheris connected the cord and powered it up again.

“
And how in the world did a well-mannered woman from Hermet end up on her hands and knees in Cullsbaeir working on my computer?”

“
Milton Stewart serves on the board of directors where I went to college. He was looking for a computer geek with knowledge in media and advertising so I went for the interview. He offered health insurance, and here I am.”

“
What would you tell someone who said they’ve got eighty-four thousand dollars in credit card debt?”

“
I’d tell them to get on a budget, cut up their credit cards, pay the minimum on all of them except for the one with the smallest debt, pay as much as they could on it until it’s paid off, then tackle the next one.”

Annie chuckled.
“Well, my dear, surely they should declare bankruptcy.”

Cheris who had settled in the chair by this time had begun a viral check. She stopped and gazed at the older woman.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Mrs. Hill—”

“
Annie.”

“
Annie, but declaring bankruptcy is irresponsible. Now if it’s medical bills, I would advise calling the medical providers and negotiating, but in my opinion bankruptcy needs to be the last option.”

“
In your opinion.”

“
Since you asked. I hope I didn’t offend you. But Gerald, who owns the café, has been burnt a few times from suppliers who declared bankruptcy when they owed him equipment or food which had already been paid for.”

“
Very interesting. What would you say to someone who is so embarrassed at the state of their house that they won’t allow their children to have friends over to play?”

Cheris, who had so far found fourteen different viruses on Annie
’s computer, shrugged. “Pick a room, have a family clean up day, and a yard sale to get rid of some of their junk. The next week, pick another room. Annie, I’m going to install some virus protection on your computer. You’ve got about a thousand cookies on here. It’s not good for your computer.”

“
Cookies?”

“
Yes Ma’am. They’re spies that come into your computer from web sites you visit.
Hip Granny
even has them. That way we know how to market to people who visit.”

The older woman sniffed.
“It seems very unethical.”

“
Some of the cookies are. Ours are less invasive than most. But some of the web sites you’ve been visiting…” Cheris shook her head. “I’ll install a program on here so that you’ll have to give the cookie permission to be set if it’s not a nice cookie.”

“
What do you think of wives chatting on the internet with men?”

“
Are the men their husbands or dads?”

“
I’ve heard enough.” Annie clapped her hands together. “Just leave that old thing. I’m going to take you out to lunch.”

Despite Cheris
’ protests that she wanted to get the older woman’s computer working again, Annie had taken her out to lunch at a small posh restaurant in Cullsbaeir. From that day forward, Annie had taken a personal interest in Cheris, inviting her into the lives of the web visitors of Hip Granny to advise and inform. What Cheris did not realize at the time was that Annie was training her to be Hip Granny when Annie stepped down from the role.

With Bill
’s vision for selling anything even dirt, Hip Granny had become a lucrative internet enterprise selling everything from cleaning products, to how-to kits on organizing one’s life and home, to debt and weight reduction plans, to relationship fixers.

Cheris had shown up in a few of Hip Granny
’s webcasts when they had demonstrated how to use Skype or some other techie topic. Though both Annie and Bill had approached Cheris about becoming a more visible presence on the site, Cheris had declined. She felt more comfortable operating the web cam than being in front of it.

****

His cell phone was ringing when Geoff stepped out of the shower of his hotel room. Grabbing a towel from the rack, he dried his skin as he summoned the call. He peered at the number on the small screen.

Janie.

“I hope you’re planning on coming over here to Mom and Dad’s pretty soon. I need a buffer between me and all of these elderly people.”

Geoff expelled a breath. His parents
’ thirty-fifth anniversary party. He had completely forgotten. How was he supposed to go to the party and take Cheris out on a date at the same time? He rubbed the towel across his hair as he contemplated being in two places at once.

“
Hey Dumb-dumb. Do not tell me you forgot the party. That was your reason for coming home,” Janie uttered in disbelief.

“
I know. I know. Just calm down.” Geoff picked up his watch from the dresser top. It wasn’t even five o’clock. He had hoped to catch a nap this afternoon before his date. “What’s the hurry? The party isn’t until seven.” The exact time he said he’d pick up Cheris. He slipped the band around his wrist and fastened it.

“
The hurry is I’m losing my mind here. The house is filling up with all our crusty old relatives, half of whom I don’t even know. I’m tired of their condescending remarks about me being an artist. I do very well for myself without any handouts from Mom and Dad. I had a spread in Southern Culture Today; I don’t have to put up with this. Now be a brother and get over here and let them make over how brilliant you are, while I slink down to the basement and eat worms.”

“
I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

“
I’ll give you twenty if you bring my new sister-in-law with you.”

Geoff laughed as he shouldered the phone and rummaged through his suitcase for clean skivvies before throwing the phone on the bed so he could slip first one leg then the other in his shorts.
“You haven’t said anything to Mom and Dad, have you?”

“
How crazy do I look?”

“
Well, don’t. Cheris is pretty shaken about all of this. I’m not planning on bringing her tonight. She isn’t even sure she likes me yet. How crazy would I be to sic the Arrowood clan on her on our first date?” He picked the phone back up in time to hear his sister’s reply.

“
I thought last night was your first date.”

“
The first date she can remember.” Pants next. He pulled the khakis off the hanger in the closet and stepped into them before selecting one of the pressed button-down shirts still in his hanging bag.

“
You idiot. What were you thinking marrying her?”

“
It’s your fault, you know. You’re always talking about how wonderful she is, and you painted that picture of her—”

“
What picture?”

“
Woman in Gold
.” He’d first seen the painting in Janie’s studio last summer. A young woman reclined in a field, the soft curve of her hip contrasted with the lateral planes of the plants, and the fiery glint of her auburn hair complimented the hue of the golden wheat. Geoff was so struck by it that Janie had presented it to him as a Christmas gift last year. Then two weeks ago he’d been watching a tutorial on Net Enterprises about CMSs when he’d seen her again, talking about Drupal and caressing the computer keyboard instead of the blades of wheat which cradled her in the painting.

“
Oh, Geoff,” Janie gasped.

“
What can I say, Sis? You know how much I loved that painting.” He tucked the shirt in his pants and sat on the edge of the bed to retrieve his shoes.

“
It’s a painting,” she said simply.

“
Of Cheris.”

“
Well…I guess there was a likeness, but, Jesus, Geoff! You’re supposed to be the smart one in the family.”

“
Tell me you don’t think we’re a good match.”

“
Couldn’t you have waited?”

“
Is this the rebel Janie Arrowood talking?”

“
She’s my best friend. She does not do spontaneous. Ever.”

“
Hope that goes for divorces, too.”

“
Just get over here. We can talk about it then.”