14 Valentine Place (7 page)

“You sound awfully confident.”

“That’s because I am.” He’d already finished his lunch and shoved aside his plate, resting on his elbows as he asked, “Have you met Krystal?”

Dylan shrugged. “Other than a brief introduction, we haven’t talked,” he answered honestly. “Why?”

Just then Garret pushed his lab coat aside to reach for the beeper on his waist. “I’m being paged. I have to go.” He quickly drained the remains of his coffee and was about to load his dishes back on the tray when Dylan stopped him.

“I’ll get them. You go attend to your emergency.”

Garret smiled. “Thanks.” Before he left he said, “I’ll try to stop by the house tonight, but if I don’t, I’ll see you in the morning before you go into surgery.”

Dylan nodded.

As he walked out of the cafeteria, he called over his shoulder, “Don’t worry about a thing. Pete’s the best.”

Dylan hadn’t been thinking about his upcoming surgery. He was thinking about Maddie.

As he climbed into his father’s car, he noticed the plastic water jugs in the back seat of the car. He didn’t have to give them to Maddie. He could fill the jugs himself and leave without even seeing her.

There were only two problems. One was that he didn’t want to stand in line to fill water jugs. The second was, he wanted to see her.

M
ADDIE NOTICED
Dylan the minute he entered the store. He wore khaki slacks and a dark brown leather aviator jacket. Despite the below-zero windchill, his head was bare, his sun-streaked hair in disarray from the wind. Just as it had last night, when she first saw him, her heart skipped a beat.

“I’d like half a pound of baby Swiss cheese,” a customer said, drawing her attention back to the deli case in front of her.

Maddie lifted the cheese from the refrigerated case and slid the block onto the slicer, aware that Dylan was headed in her direction. Before she had finished the woman’s order, he was at the deli counter.

She could feel his eyes on her as she worked. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t keep from sneaking a peek at him. He looked like a surfer who’d taken the wrong flight and ended up in the land of snow and ice instead of sunshine and beaches.

When her customer left, she had no choice but to give her attention to him. “What can I do for you?” she asked, trying to keep her voice level, which wasn’t easy considering the way her breath wanted to catch in her throat.

“Mom asked me to drop these off.” He held up the
plastic jugs. “Said you’d know what to do with them.”

When she took them from him, their fingers touched. His were cold, hers warm, which she figured accounted for the tiny shiver she felt. “Thanks.”

“Mom never bought water when we were growing up,” he commented. “We drank it straight from the tap.”

“No one realized the problems with lead pipes back then,” she responded, setting the jugs on the floor behind her.

“So this is where you work,” he said, giving a cursory glance around the store.

She spread her arms. “This is it.”

“The store’s changed quite a bit since I was a kid.” She didn’t comment, but waited for him to speak again. He turned his attention to the food in the refrigerated case. “Why don’t you give me one of those small cartons of coleslaw.”

She reached for a half-pint container and filled it with coleslaw. Her movements were sharp as she slapped a couple of spoonfuls into the cup. She could feel his eyes on her and she hurried so he could take his purchase and leave.

As she set the carton on the counter, she asked, “Anything else?”

“Yes. I’d like to start over.” His eyes were a warm brown and the message in them made her uncomfortable.

It said, “I’m a man and you’re an attractive woman.” She didn’t want to see that kind of look in his eyes. He was her landlady’s son and that was how
she planned to regard him. “You don’t want the coleslaw?” she asked, deliberately misunderstanding him.

“I’m not talking about the coleslaw. I’m talking about last night. There’s no point in pretending it didn’t happen, Maddie. If we’re going to live under the same roof for the next month or so, don’t you think it would be a good idea if we made a fresh start?” The words were delivered with the ease of a man who was no stranger to negotiation and compromise.

She knew that to do anything but agree would be ill-mannered. “All right. I’m willing to forget about last night.”

“What about fourteen years ago? Can you forget about that, too?”

She frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You didn’t like me very much back then, either.” He didn’t look offended by the statement, but rather amused.

She folded her arms across her chest. “That’s not the best way to make a new beginning—by bringing up the past.” She didn’t see any need to correct him regarding the feelings she’d had for him as a fourteen-year-old.

“We’re not exactly strangers, Maddie.”

She didn’t need him to tell her that.
The minute she’d seen him last night, memories of that summer had come flooding back. She knew more about Dylan Donovan than she cared to admit.

“How do you suggest we make a new beginning?” he asked. Again there was that interest in his eye that had the nerves in Maddie’s body rising to alarm status.

“Maybe we say we both misunderstood each other last night and just start over,” she suggested.

He stared at her, those penetrating brown eyes making her want to squirm. She didn’t. She stood her ground, arms folded, chin up, meeting his eyes squarely. She was twenty-eight, not fourteen. She didn’t need to run and hide from any man.

“I can do that,” he told her with a grin that made her stomach do a funny little flutter.

“Good. Then we start over,” she stated evenly.

“We start over,” he repeated.

She wondered if that meant he’d finally pick up the coleslaw and leave, but he didn’t. He said, “I know we agree on one thing.”

“And that would be—?”

“We want my mom to be happy, right?”

“Right,” she agreed.

“You must know I didn’t come home to upset her,” he said with a questioning look in his eyes.

“And I haven’t lived with her the past year and a half so that I could take advantage of her.” The look in her eyes dared him to challenge that statement. He didn’t and she added, “That is what you were thinking, isn’t it? You don’t like the fact that your mom and I are close, do you?”

“I didn’t say that,” he denied.

“You don’t have to.” She took a deep breath to steady her emotions. “Dylan, your mother’s not some helpless, naive widow. She not only runs a boardinghouse, but she runs her own business, too. She’s nobody’s fool.”

To her surprise, he said, “I do believe you’re right.”

“I am.”

He grinned then and Maddie’s heart skipped more than one beat.

“You and I managed to live under the same roof without any problems when we were teenagers, Maddie. We should be able to do the same as adults, don’t you think?”

She almost said no. Every instinct in her told her Dylan Donovan could be big trouble for any woman.

“I don’t see why not,” she lied.

As if he knew she wasn’t sincere, he said, “It’s a big house.”

Not big enough.

“And it’s only temporary,” he added. “Who knows? My shoulder may heal faster than expected and I might not even be here this time next month.”

She should be so lucky.

“I’m used to living alone, fending for myself. I don’t need to be entertained,” he continued.

As if she was even interested in trying to entertain him.

“I only say that because, knowing my mom, she may have different ideas.” He smoothed a hand over the back of his neck. “It’s going to be embarrassing if she tries to arrange social activities for me.”

“She hasn’t done it for any of your brothers, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” she assured him. Not that he needed any assistance from anyone in that department. She doubted he had trouble finding female companions.

Noticing a customer approaching, Dylan finally picked up the small container of coleslaw. “I’d better pay for this. I’m glad we cleared the air, Maddie,” he said with a grin that gave her a glimpse of the charm he could exude if he chose.

She didn’t like what that smile did to her insides. She had no doubt that Dylan Donovan, should he choose, could be one irresistible man.

“Me, too,” she said, grateful for the customer waiting for her attention. “It’s good we settled this.”

“Yes, it is.” He extended his hand to her.

Unlike the first time their fingers had touched, his hand was warm. She’d barely placed hers inside his when she pulled it back. She hoped he thought the brevity of their handshake was due to the fact that there was a customer waiting for service. What she didn’t want him to know was that it’d been an instinctive defense mechanism. She didn’t like the pleasant sensation that contact had created.

She wasn’t fourteen and he wasn’t some heartthrob who could make her go weak in the knees. He was nothing at all like the kind of man she wanted to arouse her interest.

If he thought she’d be seeking his company while he was home, he was sadly mistaken. She’d do whatever she could to avoid having to spend any time with Dylan Donovan, even if it meant volunteering for extra hours at the co-op.

“How much is the farmer’s cheese?” A voice interrupted her musings.

Maddie was forced to turn her attention back to the
deli case, but not before she took one more glance in the cashier’s direction. She noticed Dylan was smiling at the woman behind the counter. Maddie was certain that the woman smiled back.

CHAPTER FOUR

Dear Leonie: I’m attracted to this guy and I don’t want to be. I’m doing everything I can to avoid running into him, but it’s as if fate keeps putting him in my path. What can I do?

Signed: Wishing I could be invisible

Leonie says: Are you sure you really want to get out of his way?

O
NE OF THE THINGS
Maddie liked best about living in Leonie’s house was that Leonie made her tenants feel as if they were part of her family. Although Maddie and Krystal both had their own rooms on the second floor, there were many nights when all three women would gather downstairs in Leonie’s living room. It’s where Maddie and Krystal were when Leonie returned from the hospital the following evening.

“How’s Dylan?” Maddie asked when she entered the room.

“He’s doing fine. The doctor says he’ll be able to come home tomorrow,” Leonie said, shrugging out of her coat.

“We were just going to watch a chick flick. Want to join us?” Krystal asked.

Leonie glanced at the big bowl on the coffee table. “Is that popcorn buttered?”

Maddie grinned mischievously. “Yes, and we’re drinking real Coke, not diet. It’s so much fun to be bad.”

“Come on, Leonie. Join us,” Krystal urged. “We’ve rented a romantic comedy starring Joseph Fiennes. He is sooo cute.” She sighed. “And when the popcorn’s gone, we’re going to have hot-fudge sundaes.”

Leonie chuckled. “Oh, you girls do want to be bad, don’t you?” Maddie could see her resolve weakening. “All right. You convinced me, but first I need to take care of a few things. Will you give me fifteen minutes to change my clothes?”

“Take your time,” Maddie called out to her departing figure.

But she didn’t take very long at all. And when she returned, she hadn’t changed her clothes.

“You’re never going to believe who I just talked to,” she said in a breathless voice. “The producer of the Rob Lerner show. He wants me to come to California and tape a Valentine’s Day segment.”

Krystal shrieked. “Oh my gosh, that is so cool! Do you know how many people watch that show?”

Maddie didn’t watch a lot of TV, but she did know that Rob Lerner was a comedian who hosted a late-night talk show that consistently scored high in the ratings. “That is good news, Leonie. What exactly did he say?”

“I’m so stunned I can hardly remember. Luckily I took notes.” Leonie waved a pink slip of paper in
midair. “Apparently they’re going to be doing a special segment for Valentine’s Day and they want me to be a part of it. I’m supposed to give tips on how to make the day more special for the one you love.” She paused, pushing her finger to her lips. “Of course, just because I’m there for the taping doesn’t mean I won’t get edited out before the program is aired.”

“They wouldn’t fly you out there if they didn’t intend to have you on the show. They’d interview you over the phone,” Maddie said reassuringly. “When do they want you?”

Her face fell. “Well, that’s the problem. They want to tape the segment this weekend.”

Krystal looked at her anxiously. “You’re going to go, aren’t you?”

“How can I? Dylan’s going to be here,” she reminded them. “He came home mainly because I told him he could recuperate here.”

“Can’t he go to Shane’s?” Maddie asked.

Leonie immediately shook her head. “Oh, no. That wouldn’t work. The house is small and Jennifer works those odd hours. Besides, Dylan wouldn’t want me to ask Shane. No, that definitely wouldn’t work.”

“What about Garret?” Krystal suggested. “You said he offered to let Dylan stay at his place when he first suggested he come home for the surgery.”

“He did, but realistically, it wouldn’t work.” Again Leonie shook her head. “You know the kind of hours Garret puts in as a resident. Dylan would spend most of his time alone.” She glanced down at the slip of paper and sighed. “This would have been fun, but the truth is I’m not the Hollywood type and I don’t need
to be on the Rob Lerner program. Dylan’s probably right. I should decline.”

“You’ve already talked to Dylan about it?” Maddie asked.

She nodded. “I called him right away to get his advice. He told me the decision was mine to make, but he had his reservations.”

Maddie wondered if they weren’t motivated by his desire to have his mother nurse him back to good health. If they were, Leonie needed to hear another opinion.

“I don’t think you should pass up such an opportunity,” she told Leonie. “Do you realize what a few minutes of TV exposure could do for your business?”