Wish on the Moon (15 page)

His look was dark, long, and said he knew she
was going to protest. "On one condition. I go to Arizona with
you."

Her heart sank. "You don't trust my
judgment."

"Laura, I have to protect your father's
interest as well as my own."

He was doing what he thought was right and
she had to respect that. But... "Are you going to be open minded
about this? Because there's no point in flying out there if you go
with a negative attitude."

He crossed his heart and smiled as he raised
his right hand. "I promise to go with a positive outlook.
Satisfied?"

A promise from Mitch even in jest was a
promise meant. She smiled back. "For now." His eyes were so blue,
his hair damp from the rain. He always seemed to smell like the
outdoors.

Mitch fingered a lock of her hair. "This
always looks so fluffy and soft."

"It's still damp." She swallowed and her
breaths became staggered.

"Are you warm now?"

"Warm and getting warmer." Her heart pounded
harder until she could feel it in her ears. Surely he'd lean closer
and bend his head...

He leaned closer, but she was glad she didn't
close her eyes. Because he didn't kiss her. He moved away.

***

Mitch sat across the kitchen table from Ray
and methodically presented Laura's plans for the sterling
jewelry--as methodically as he had used every iota of self control
to not kiss her last night.

Ray listened without comment and when Mitch
finished asked, "And you think this is a good idea?"

"I think it would bring in younger customers
who in the long run will come to us for more momentous
purchases."

"What you're saying is my clientele is dying
off."

Mitch met Ray's bluntness with honesty. "The
store could use the promotion and a steady stream of up and coming
customers, if you're thinking about future profits."

"You've wanted to do something like this for
the past year, haven't you?"

"I'm not going to tell you how to run your
store."

Ray rubbed his chin. "But Laura will. She
sees what she wants to change and she changes it. Like a steam
roller. She always was." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Except
for the year after her mother died. I hardly knew she was
around."

Mitch remembered Laura's tears and her
confidences. They were precious to him. They might be precious to
her father too. "She still misses her mother."

"So do I," Ray returned gruffly. "More than I
ever thought I could. We had our differences. I wanted a woman who
thought home was the best place to be. It wasn't until after we
were married I discovered "home" was much too limited for Patrice.
She loved me and Laura, there was no denying that. But she wanted a
lot more than us. She wanted to taste everything life had to offer.
I had trouble with that."

Ray had never talked about his relationship
with his wife. His brush with mortality had evidently given him
much to think about. Mitch wondered if Ray had many regrets.

Before he could ask, the older man said with
a look of concern, "Laura's just like her mother. Headstrong,
willful--"

"Motivated and determined." Why was he
defending Laura to her father?

Ray studied Mitch closely. Too closely. "Damn
good ideas she has, aren't they?"

"If the jewelry's the quality she says it is,
if the craft village isn't a joke, if they can supply what we want,
her promotion's good. But I told her I go along to Flagstaff."

Ray's eyes twinkled. "Bet she had something
to say about that, didn't she?"

"Not as much as I expected, but I think
that's because we've reached an...understanding."

"You two are as different as night and
day."

"In most ways." But in others, they were
alike.

Ray stood, went to the refrigerator, and
removed a pitcher of orange juice. "What's on your mind, Mitch?
You've been itching to say something since you came in here."

Mitch tipped his chair on the back legs then
let it fall front. "Laura thinks you don't need her."

Ray pushed his glasses up on his nose and his
cheeks darkened as he set the pitcher on the table. "She's
wrong."

"She thinks I've taken her place."

"You're like a son to me, boy. You've made
life worth living again. When I lost Laura..." He cursed. "Stubborn
old fools are the worst old fools. What do I have to do so she
won't leave?"

"She's not planning on it. Yet. But it
wouldn't hurt to talk to her about it."

Ray sighed and pulled a glass from the
cupboard. "We can't talk about serious things. She and her mother
always did that. Patrice and Laura were just like Laura and Mandy."
Pouring himself a glass of juice, he said, "I'll back her ideas for
the sterling campaign a hundred percent. That'll show her the store
needs her and we need her. What do you think?"

Mitch thought Ray needed to tell Laura he'd
missed her and wanted her back in his life. But Mitch wasn't in the
position to give advice. If Laura felt Ray needed her at the store,
she'd stay. For six weeks. She'd made that clear.

"That'll work. For now."

***

Uncomfortably, Mitch stood in the living room
and ran his fingers along the edge of his red cummerbund. He felt
ridiculous. The satin blousy shirt and tight velveteen slacks made
him feel as if he belonged in a store window.

When the chimes rang, Mitch called into Ray's
quarters.

"I'll get the door."

It would be Carey. He'd stayed for dinner one
evening and heard them discussing the Halloween party. Ray had
suggested he go along. Mitch didn't think Carey would accept--he
had his own friends and places to go. But this trip he seemed at
loose ends and had accepted the invitation eagerly. Mitch suspected
the reason was Laura. Carey liked her. And she seemed to like him.
That idea tightened Mitch's stomach.

When he answered the door, he was surprised
by the traditional costume Carey had chosen--brown suedes and a
coonskin cap.

Carey grinned. "Expecting Dracula, were
you?"

Mitch shrugged. "I never know what to expect
with you."

"That's part of the problem, isn't it, bro? I
never do what you expect."

Mitch didn't want to rehash the past or get
into an argument. He motioned to the living room. "We can leave as
soon as Laura comes down."

As if on cue, she appeared on the steps. Both
men looked up at the tap of heels on wood floor. Mitch knew he was
staring openly but couldn't do anything about it. He felt himself
flush as desire took hold of him with an iron grip. Her black
leotard clung enough to elevate his blood pressure. Sheer black
nylon stockings encased her shapely legs. The long black whiskers
painted around her mouth, her pinkened nose and the black plastic
headband with two black felt ears created the effect of the most
fetching cat he'd ever seen.

Carey responded first with a loud whistle.
"All right! You know how to make a fashion statement."

Her gaze never left Mitch's as she descended
the steps. "It's called improvisation. Actually, it was Mandy's
idea. She helped me paint on the whiskers before she went to
bed."

Mitch noticed her false eyelashes and fake
scarlet nails as she reached the bottom step. "You went all
out."

"So did you."

Yep, he belonged in a store window from the
way she was staring at him. "I'll go warm up the car. Come out when
you're ready."

Laura and Carey carried the conversation on
the way to the party. They seemed to have a lot to talk about from
riding a motorcycle to craving chocolate fudge.

When they arrived at the country club and
costumed guests milled around them, Laura's eyes sparkled. "I
haven't been to a costume party in years. This is going to be
fun!"

They entered a room where groups of chairs
were clustered around squat tables. A Juliet and Cyrano stood
conversing at the bar. Music from the ballroom beyond softly
drifted in.

Mitch watched as several men studied Laura.
He was shaken by a shock of possessiveness he had no right to feel.
It confused him. He'd never felt possessive of Denise. These men
ogling Laura... He'd like to personally put their eyes back where
they belonged.

They chose chairs near the doorway where they
could peer into the ballroom and watch the dancing. Mitch nodded
toward the bar. "Can I get you something to drink?"

Carey answered first. "Bourbon."

Mitch sighed to himself. Of course Carey
would drink. He shouldn't have expected otherwise. "Laura?"

"A cranberry spritzer."

Mitch strode toward the bar. Carey nudged
Laura's arm. "Did you see that look? As if one drink will start a
binge."

Laura felt the need to defend Mitch. "It
could."

Carey slouched in his seat and stretched his
legs out in front of him. "If I wanted to get drunk, I wouldn't
have to come here."

"You don't have to explain yourself to
me."

He canvassed her face closely. "No, I don't
think I do. What's with you, Laura? I'm sure you've heard about me
from my mother and Mitch. And most of what they say is true."

"I had my own reputation to contend with.
What I felt inside had nothing to do with what I did on the
outside."

"Or it had everything to do with it."

She thought about it. "Yes, I guess that's
true. I thought I acted spontaneously, but I had hidden
motives."

"Don't we all." He sounded sad. Pulling
himself up straight in his chair, he said, "I've been many things,
but I'm not an alcoholic."

She knew alcoholics denied their disease, but
Carey's pale blue eyes and his determined tone led her to think he
was telling the truth. "I believe you."

His expression showed relief. "I wish Mitch
would."

"Maybe if you stay--"

"I'm leaving in a few weeks."

"Must you?"

"Yes. York's not a good place for me. I've
been in too much trouble here. I'm getting my life together now in
Virginia. I like it there. I found a group--" He gazed at her as if
he wondered how much he could trust her. Finally, he confided, "I'm
not an alcoholic, but I am a gambler. I joined Gambler's Anonymous.
It's helping. I haven't bet on anything in six months."

"Does Mitch know?"

"No. He wouldn't believe me if I told him.
I've lied to cover my tracks so often. I don't blame him. He's
always cleaned up the mess. I'm hoping he'll help me one more time.
I have a chance to buy into a DVD rental business."

"You want him to lend you money."

"This time it's legit and it will pay
off."

"But you have to convince him."

"If he'll just listen to me..."

Mitch returned with the drinks and set them
on the table. His eyes were rough and turbulent. "It's time to
mingle. Laura, would you like to dance?"

He looked as if he wanted to shake her rather
than dance with her. But the idea of being held by his strong arms
was too hard to resist. She stood. "Sure."

As he led her into the ballroom with his hand
firmly in the small of her back, she smiled at Carey over her
shoulder. "We'll be back."

Mitch escorted her to the dance floor,
nodding to acquaintances on the way. Laura saw a few people she
remembered.

Taking the standard position, Mitch folded
her hand into his chest. When his fingers skimmed her breast,
tingles skidded down her spine and her eyes shot to his. Something
unintelligible sparked there. But like a door closing, the blue
became shuttered. He removed himself.

She wanted to lay her head on his shoulder,
but she felt the warmth of his thighs pressing into hers, the
sinews of his arm securing her against him, and the heat and her
longing for more scared her. Another feeling gnawed at her...

She gazed into Mitch's blue eyes, looking for
reassurance, and almost drowned. Her foot caught on his and she
tripped. He caught her to him and she could feel his heart
hammering as hard as hers.

He loosened his hold. "What were you and
Carey discussing so fervently?"

Had her friendliness to his brother put the
storm in Mitch's eyes? "We were just talking."

"He was charming you."

"No, we were talking like two human beings
who connect."

"Connect?"

"We have a lot in common."

"Don't I know it," Mitch muttered.

"And that means?" she drawled.

"You're both impetuous and impulsive."

"Those are adjectives, not sins."

"Don't let Carey con you into any of his
schemes."

"I can take care of myself."

"You don't seem to be able to stand on your
own two feet for long."

She went rigid. "Explain that."

"Your father took care of you, your husband
took care of you, and now your roommates take care of you. When
have you stood on your own?"

She felt as if he'd clobbered her. He
certainly didn't know or understand anything about her marriage to
Doug. She pulled away and said sharply, "Yes, I look to other
people for moral support. You should try it some time. It would
make you more...human."

Not waiting for him to follow, she found
Carey and participated in the conversation he was having with a
voluptuous Cleopatra.

Eventually Mitch rejoined them, anger
smoldering in his eyes. At least that's what it looked like. A
fast-tempoed number had Laura tapping her foot in time with the
driving beat.

Carey smiled and nodded toward the band. "Do
you want to give it a go?"

One look at Mitch's impassive countenance and
she said, "Sure. Let's do it."

They danced one dance after another until she
was nearly out of breath. It would have been tons of fun except for
Mitch. Every time she turned around he was watching her, a hungry
look in his eyes. She tried to be annoyed by it, but it excited
her. Doug had never cared who she danced with, never looked up from
his conversation while she was on the floor.