Whitney in Charge (14 page)

“I don’t blame you,” Whitney said. “If I had a newborn, I wouldn’t want to leave him with a stranger.”

“Thanks for telling me.” He didn’t want to talk any longer about his ex and decided going back to the business topic should be more positive. “So is a talk show what you three are going to do?”

She wiped sauce off her lips with a napkin. “We were excited about doing that, and we discussed a TV show a lot. But now Shannon and Regan think it might be too much work. Shannon suggested we do an online magazine instead. And Regan thought of having a clothing store online.”

“All three sound like good choices, but with your background, I can see you three having a TV show.”

“I thought we could make a pilot of the show and see if we could get a local cable station interested. I’d like a thirty-minute morning slot. Less with commercials. We’d have a live audience on the days we do the taping.”

Ben jerked his head forward, grinning. “Hey, I just thought of something which might make starting a show easier.”

“What is it?”

“Have you watched
Cooking with Cora
in the morning?”

“I’m afraid so. Her recipes are good, but I’m surprised the network hasn’t canceled her show.” She shook her head. “If I were the producer, I would’ve replaced her. She’s probably a great chef, but she’s not in ‘front of the camera’ material. She has no presence.”

“Would you like more wine?”

“Yes, please.”

He got the bottle of wine off the counter and came back to the table. As he poured wine in their glasses, he said, “She’s still on because her husband knows people in high places. And she does have some faithful viewers.”

“That’s good for her,” Whitney said.

“Cora’s going to be off the air because of heart surgery. Her brother was your doctor at the hospital after your fall.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“They’re going to have guest chefs from area restaurants plus have repeats of some of her shows until she’s able to return,” Ben said. “There’s a chance you could have your show in Cora’s slot. Maybe have her on once a week or you could share the hour with her. With her heart problem, she might want to cut down. You or one of your sisters could stand next to her while she shows how to assemble one of her recipes.”

She gave him an amused look. “You seem to know the right people. First, it was your friends with the resort, now you know someone with a TV show plus network connections.”

He smiled. “Hey, I get around.”

* * *

While Ben checked on Adam and made a phone call to Caitlyn, Whitney thought about how much she loved what he’d suggested. How perfect to take over the already established cooking show and give it new life. Including Cora on their show once or twice a week would be beneficial to them. Even though the show was lacking in excitement, it did have some viewers. The time slot was exactly what she had in mind for their show. Maybe Regan and Shannon would be interested in the TV show again if they saw how it might not be as hard as they imagined.

Unless Shannon had used the premise of a TV show being too overwhelming for them to do, so she could throw her weight around. Shannon’s suggestion of an online magazine probably was her way of getting to be the head honcho because she’d realized being on television meant having her younger sister in charge of their business.

Earlier today she’d thought about scheduling a spa trip to celebrate their new business. And now they were unsure again about which direction to go or her sisters were. She wasn’t.

She touched her stitches on her forehead, thinking how she definitely wanted to get back into TV. She had to convince her sisters a talk show was within their reach. Actually she was anxious to get their feedback and not wait. Would it be too rude to call both sisters? After Ben finished his call, they had planned to watch a movie. She could make the calls brief. No, she better just wait to tell them.

Anyhow Regan and Casey had gone out for the evening.

When Ben sat down beside her on the couch, he asked, “What you thinking about? You’re quiet.”

“I was remembering how you told me about the resort when I mentioned that as one of our ideas. And now you know the right people in the TV business to help us. I thought how funny it’ll be when I tell Regan and Shannon. They won’t believe it.”

“I can’t take all the credit. Cora’s husband happens to be the CEO at a major soft drink company. I met him at a party when Meredith and I were married. She actually represented his company. She’s in corporate law.”

His closeness bothered her. Did he have to sit practically on top of her? She couldn’t breathe. Even though she’d enjoyed his kiss by the waterfall, she needed space right now. Okay, all she needed to do was jump up and get the Blue-ray Disc she brought for them to watch.

“Are you ready to watch the movie?” she asked.

“Where is it? I’ll pop it in.”

She stood. “It’s in my purse. I’ll get it.” As she walked back with the Blue-ray Disc, she realized if she handed it to him, he’d probably sit down right next to her again. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

She went to the Blue-ray player and took the movie out of the case. “I’ll just put it in.”

“I forgot to ask if you wanted any dessert. I have rainbow sherbet.”

She couldn’t be expected to cuddle with Ben if they were occupied with eating sherbet. She could eat slowly and keep her bowl on her lap after she finished eating it. “That sounds good. I haven’t had sherbet for a long time. I’d like a big bowl.”

After Ben gave her a funny look, her eyes followed his back as he went to the freezer to get the dessert. She never should’ve told her sisters about the waterfall kiss. They’d be sure to ask her about Ben’s kisses when she saw them. How could she explain it to her sisters she’d been attracted to Ben, but now she felt like she needed to pull back some?

Perhaps she hadn’t recovered from the bump on the head. Or it could be that Ben wasn’t ever going to be the guy for her to fall in love with after Rob. Reliving memories of Rob with Jack had made her wonder if maybe she wasn’t meant to love anyone again. She might have to face it. Maybe she was just a one-man type of woman.

“Thanks for stopping to get the clothes,” Whitney said to her mom’s friend, Josie Randall. She noticed Josie’s blonde hair seemed lighter than it’d been just a week ago. “I like your hair.”

“I’m glad you noticed it because I paid enough to get it done. Just getting it cut and a partial with lighter highlights cost me a lot.” Josie put a covered plate on the kitchen counter. “I brought you brownies.”

“Your brownies are the best.”

“I love to bake but I can’t eat too much of anything I make. It turns immediately into fat.”

“You look great.” Josie was trim in her jeans and beige top.

Josie laughed. “If you were Regan, you’d be saying how I look great for my age. Then she’d turn red and apologize.”

Whitney nodded. “That’s our Regan.”

Josie sighed. “I haven’t read the journal your mother gave me. I haven’t been able to yet. Have you given the journals to your sisters?”

She shook her head. Whitney was glad Josie knew that her mother had written to each of her loved ones. It’d be helpful to share her feelings with Josie. Although her mom had given Josie’s journal to her personally, Whitney understood why her mother wanted her to wait until the right time to give her sisters theirs. “It’s too soon. I can’t get through a day without crying. Shannon might be ready but Regan definitely isn’t.”

“Diana was my best friend ever since fifth grade when I was the new kid in the class. She was my maid of honor at my wedding. We were there for each other when our husbands died. We were going to continue doing lots of things together. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” Josie’s lower lip trembled. “I miss her so much.”

Whitney hugged Josie. “Whenever you feel like talking, give me a call. I feel closer to Mom when I talk to you. It helps me a lot.”

“You and the other girls are like daughters to me.”

“We’ve always thought of you as our second mother.”

“Your mom would be so happy that you three are going into business together.” Josie glanced at Ben’s backyard. “She’d also be happy about your new hunk living next door.”

“He’s not my hunk.” Whitney sighed. “Regan’s been gabbing again about my life.”

Josie gave her a wide smile. “If I want to know anything, I just call Regan.”

“Did she tell you about Jack?”

Josie nodded. “She mentioned that you talked to Jack on the phone first before meeting him in person when you fell. I’m glad you’ve met two nice men.”

She wondered if Josie knew about Jack flying Rob in Iraq. “Did Regan happen to tell you that Jack knew Rob?”

Josie shook her head. “She never mentioned it. Isn’t Jack from Cornett? How did they meet?”

“Yes, Jack’s from here. He was a helicopter pilot in Iraq and flew Rob a few times.”

“How do you feel about that?”

Leaning against the kitchen counter, she said, “I’m okay with it. Jack told me some things Rob said about me.”

“Rob definitely loved you.” Josie touched her arm. “Your mom tried to hold on longer for your sake and your sisters. She loved you all so much, but she especially wanted to see you happy. She hoped you’d meet someone again and fall in love.”

“Coming home and talking to Mom about Rob helped me a lot. She understood my grief because of losing Dad.” She couldn’t talk about Rob and her mother any longer, so decided to tell Josie what was new in her life. “Ben fixed me dinner last night and it was delicious. And this evening Jack’s taking me to dinner.”

“Wow. Two dinner dates. That’s great. I hope you enjoy your date with Jack.”

She grinned at Josie. “I’m sure you’ll find out from Regan if I have a good time with Jack.”

“Or you can beat her to it and give me a call.” Josie bent to pick up two bags of clothes. “I better get going. I want to get these clothes dropped off this morning at the women’s shelter. Some of these women are so battered and worn down that just having nice clothes to wear boost their spirits.”

Whitney picked up another two bags and followed Josie to her car. “I didn’t realize how many clothes Mom had until we started going through her closet.”

Josie laughed. “She said once we should just invest in a clothing store.”

After Whitney threw the bags in the car, Josie squeezed her hand. “I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She waved to Josie before heading back to the house.

* * *

After Whitney finished curling her hair, she slid the switch to off on the iron. She glanced at herself in the mirror, pleased with her hair in long curls. She leaned closer to check her face. Good, the makeup covered her bruises nicely. Next she ran her fingers over her black sleeveless dress with cute black buttons at the shoulders. Not bad. Regan’s cinnamon rolls hadn’t gone to her hips. Her arms though looked so bare. She lifted a wide silver bracelet out of her jewelry box, trying not to think how Rob had bought it for her birthday the first year they were married. After snapping the bracelet on her arm, she decided on a pair of dangling earrings.

Without any hesitation, she picked up her black leather sandals with four inch heels. She loved the silver studs in the straps with platform fronts. It was nice not having to worry about heels making her taller than Jack. She’d noticed his height when he’d dropped by on Thursday to give her several movies to watch. He hadn’t stayed because he’d been on his way to work. But as her paramedic, he’d said she needed to rest. Her paramedic…
she liked the sound of that.

After she finished putting her shoes on, she sprayed a few squirts of a light perfume behind her ears, realizing she hadn’t spent this much time getting ready when she’d gone with Ben to the resort or to his house for dinner. Well, of course not. Jack was taking her to an expensive restaurant. And she hadn’t looked terrible when she’d been with Ben. Hey, she’d showered and worn attractive casual clothes.

Rob had taken her to very elegant restaurants in New York. She hadn’t gotten dressed up like this to go with a guy to eat since the last time she’d gone with Rob. For a moment, she stared at his photo and her eyes filled with tears. She bit her lip. No, she wasn’t going to start bawling.
I’m going to have a fun time tonight.
Grabbing a tissue off of the dresser, she dabbed carefully at her eyes to save her makeup.

Only one thing left to do. She needed to dig out her little dressy black purse to use. As the doorbell rang, she clipped her purse shut.

She didn’t want to keep her date waiting, so took quick steps to the front door and pulled on the doorknob. The door stuck. She pulled harder to get the blasted door opened. “Hi, Jack.”

“Hi, Whitney. You look very pretty.”

“Thank you.”

Jack wore a white shirt with narrow stripes, a dark sports jacket and gray pants. His brown hair had a bit of wave to it, and he had the sexiest blue eyes. She definitely liked his rangy handsomeness. She’d have to tell her sisters that with seeing two good-looking and kind guys now, they might as well get their money back from the skydiving adventure they’d paid for. She didn’t need to experience floating in the sky to meet men. Interesting though that she’d met Jack in the air after talking to him on the phone.