A Case for Love (3 page)

Since his name hadn’t already been called, Forbes wiped his mouth, tossed the napkin on the table, and stood—along with the other four men at his table. He smirked, having assumed that’s why they’d had assigned seats.

“This year’s Most Eligible Bachelor is someone who’s no stranger to the title. Born and raised right here in Bonneterre, he graduated valedictorian from Acadiana High School and summa cum laude from the University of Louisiana–Bonneterre.”

Forbes sighed. Looking around at the other four men, he was pretty sure he was the only one with those honors.

“He graduated top of his class from Loyola Law in New Orleans, where he practiced for three years before returning to Bonneterre to join one of the most prestigious law firms in the state, and he became the youngest partner in the firm’s history.”

Once again, the other men at the table turned to glare at him. Once again, he ignored them.

“In addition to his work, this bachelor sings in a quartet and works tirelessly with his family to raise funds for the Warner Foundation, the organization that supports research and helps cover the cost of care for patients at the cardiac care unit at University Hospital. Ladies and gentlemen, for the third time, Bonneterre’s Most Eligible Bachelor, Forbes Guidry.”

Forbes acknowledged the applause with a wave as he made his way to the dais. He suddenly had a vision of himself ten or fifteen years from now, coming to this dinner and being named the nine- or twelve- or even fifteen-time winner of the top spot on the list. A cold chill washed over him.

He accepted the glass trophy from the publicist and waited for her to adjust the microphone stand’s height before speaking.

“I don’t know if I should be flattered or take this as a hint that I need to get on the ball and try to find a wife. I guess this’ll help.” He motioned toward the poster-sized front cover with his photo on it. The laughter his remark garnered was about as tepid as the joke itself. “What else can I say but thank you to
Bonneterre Lifestyles
and everyone who took the time to vote. I’m truly humbled that so many people in my beloved hometown think so highly of me to bestow any kind of award on me.”

He raised the trophy. “Thank you.”

If he’d been on the Academy Awards, they would have had to scramble to start playing his exit music, so short was his speech.

Apparently the announcement and his speech were the signal that the event was over because, before he could get back to his table, bachelors and bachelorettes were standing, shrugging into discarded tux jackets or grabbing purses, and heading for the door. Though from the sounds of it, many of them were leaving here to go down to one of the clubs on Riverwalk. No one bothered to invite him, though, and that was fine. He got his fill of those places whenever he had to entertain the firm’s out-of-town clients.

He glanced around for Alaine—well, for the cameraman, since the petite reporter would be hard to spot—and just caught sight of the two of them exiting the dining room.

A few women stopped him on his way out. He applied the polite evasion he’d learned over the years and escaped as quickly as he could. At his car, he divested himself of his jacket and tie and climbed in.

Alaine Delacroix. She was something else. He’d had his DVR set to record her noontime show for the last two years—and not because he had any interest in Bonneterre’s social scene. Ever since his next-door neighbor had pointed her out over at the mailboxes one afternoon as they’d jogged by, Forbes had been knocked back to his teen years when he could plaster posters of the female celebrities he found attractive on his locker door and pretend that, someday, he would meet one of them and she would fall madly in love with him.

He pulled out of the parking lot and headed the short distance home.

“Okay, God. It’s time You let me in on whatever plan it is You have for my dating life. I have a feeling I made a big mistake tonight asking Alaine out, but I also feel like there’s a reason why You chose tonight, of all nights, to throw her in my path. If she’s the one, I guess You’re about to prove that it’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks.”

“That was the lamest acceptance speech I’ve ever heard.”

Forbes grabbed Jonathan in a headlock. “Yeah? When you win next year, you can show me up.”

“Right. Like I’d ever do anything to become that high profile.”

“Anyone can be nominated. Get the girls to write you a killer nomination essay, be sure to have them mention you’re my little brother, and I’m sure whoever puts together the final list of fifty will include you—and Kevin and Rafe, too. I think they might just love the idea of featuring the four devastatingly handsome Guidry brothers on their front cover. Imagine how many magazines they’d sell.” He released his brother.

“Well, don’t count on us all still being eligible for the contest next year.” Jonathan swept his fingers through his reddish-brown hair and looked around the emptying church parking lot, probably checking that no one had seen his big brother overpower him so easily.

“What do you mean?” Forbes strained to see if the minivan parked beside his car at the back end of the lot was really as close to his baby as it appeared.

“Rafe. He’s getting pretty serious about that Tonya girl.”

“It’ll never happen. Rafe may not realize it right now, but he wants a girl with aspirations, with drive. He won’t be happy with someone who’s just biding her time working as a receptionist until she can hook some wealthy man who’ll support her shopping habit.”

“Dude, that’s cold. Even for you.” Jonathan shook his head. “And how do you know? Have you ever met her?”

“I’ve seen her when I go down to B-G for Dad’s prayer breakfast. When I found out Rafe was dating her, I started observing her. She’s a very nice young lady. But she’s not for Rafe.”

The minivan had parked close enough that Forbes had to edge in sideways between the two vehicles. In all places, he’d assumed his beloved Jaguar would be safe from encroachment in the church lot. He inspected the paint as best he could for door dings.

“Hey, you going to unlock the door or are we going to stand out in the heat all afternoon?” Jonathan slapped the top of the car.

“You damage it, you pay to have it repaired.” Forbes continued his inspection, but used the remote to unlock the doors. He didn’t see any scratches or dings from this angle; he’d have to remember to check again when he got home. He’d worked too hard to keep the three-year-old sedan in just-off-the-showroom-floor condition to just let a door-ding slip by unnoticed.

As soon as Forbes squeezed in and turned on the ignition, Jonathan began fiddling with the satellite radio. Forbes had figured out a long time ago the reason why Jonathan usually rode to church with one of his roommates and then bummed a ride with him over to Uncle Errol and Aunt Maggie’s for Sunday dinner instead of with anyone else in the family: Forbes let him play with the high-tech radio.

“Did you get everything straightened out with the registrar’s office to graduate in December?” Forbes slid the sleek sedan into the light traffic on University Avenue.

“Yeah. My advisor hadn’t signed off on my internship from last summer, so they hadn’t counted the hours.” Jonathan settled on a station that labeled itself as “Christian Alternative.”

Forbes, who usually kept it set on talk or news radio—or greatest hits of the ’80s when assured no one else would hear it—adjusted the volume down from the controls on the steering wheel. “So they’re letting you count your work with Anne last summer as an internship?”

“No, the job I had working with Meredith in the Facilities Management Department at B-G—I helped her out with a lot of the OSHA stuff: made sure that safety rules were being enforced, that appropriate signage was posted, and stuff like that.”

“I forgot you’d done that. If you’re serious about going into business law, that’s a good foundation to have.” He’d only recently convinced Jonathan that law school was the next logical step after attaining a degree in human resources—and to insure he had more options than just going to work at Boudreaux-Guidry Enterprises.

“Yeah. You know, in talking with my advisor, I’m actually thinking that I might pursue a master’s degree in HR, instead. The university has a program where I can work full-time and take classes on weekends and in the evenings.” Jonathan flipped down the sun visor and looked at himself in the mirror. “And Dad and I have been talking about a position in B-G’s Human Resources Department, if one comes open. If not, I think Meredith might could use me.”

“Could. Not
might could;
it’s redundant.” Forbes couldn’t help but vent his frustration by correcting his brother’s grammar. “Are you sure you’re not just looking at doing that because it’s the easiest option?”

The sun visor flipped back up with a pop that made Forbes look to make sure it hadn’t broken. Jonathan’s lips formed a straight, thin line, and he stared through the windshield. “Nothing says I have to go to graduate school immediately after I finish my bachelor’s. I’ve been in school for a long time now, and I’d like to take some time off, just work for a while, make some money, enjoy not having to study and write papers every night.”

“But if you want to be successful in your field—”

“I’ll be working in my field, which is more than I can say for a lot of people who’ve gone to law school or graduate school immediately after college. I’d rather work for a couple of years and figure out what direction I want to go, instead of locking myself into a path right now, investing a couple of years in it, and
then
figuring out I wanted the other thing.”

Though he didn’t say it in so many words, Jonathan’s tone clearly said,
lay off.
For now, Forbes would have to concede the point. “You’re right. You have to do what you feel is best. I just don’t want you to miss out on any opportunities because you didn’t think of them.”

He pulled up and parked on the street behind a white Volvo SUV, out of which Meredith and Major exited.

Jonathan hopped out as soon as the Jag’s wheels stopped turning. “Hey, y’all! Didn’t see you at church this morning.”

Forbes caught Meredith’s eye and smiled at her as he climbed out of the car. His
married
sister. The first of the seven siblings to get married. The thought twinged. Up until their younger sister Marci had gotten engaged on New Year’s Day, Forbes had always been the first at everything among the seven of them. The first to get his driver’s license; the first to graduate—high school, college, law school; the first to have a job; the first to not work for Mom and Dad’s company. The first to not get married.

Did he really want that distinction? The outlook on spending the rest of his life alone was bleak, especially once all his peer-group siblings and cousins got married and had children and started pulling away from their closely bonded group.

“What’s wrong?” Meredith asked when he drew up beside her.

He shook himself from his dismal thoughts. “Nothing.” He started to give her a hug in greeting, but she’d been so touchy about that the last six months that he backed off a step. He walked around the vehicle with her to join Major and Jonathan, who’d already devolved into talking about sports.

“I ran into an acquaintance of yours Friday night, Mere.” Forbes fell into step with his sister across Maggie and Errol’s front yard.

“Oh, yeah? Who?” Meredith, whose high heels sank into the grass, slipped her hand through Forbes’s arm for support.

He crooked his arm and slowed his pace. “Alaine Delacroix. She said you told her.” He inclined his head toward Major.

Meredith shook her head, a wry smile on her face. “I’d be a horrible secret agent. She called me to tell me she had tickets to an art exhibit we’d been talking about, but the way she opened the conversation, I was sure she’d found out about the—about what happened.” She glanced at Jonathan, who paid no attention to her. “So I told her because I didn’t want to lie about it. It was only after I got off the phone that I realized I was ten times a fool—that it was my own guilty conscience that made me assume she knew.”

Forbes chuckled and squeezed Meredith’s hand. “That was how Mom could always get you to confess when we were kids: pretend she already knew, and you spilled the whole thing. Of course, you weren’t usually the one who’d done anything wrong, so you never really had a reason to learn how to keep secrets.”

“Yeah, well, don’t forget that I’m the one who spilled the beans about the surprise party on her fiftieth birthday. She’s always known how to push all my buttons.”

“But things do seem better between the two of you since you had that talk with them a few months ago.”

“After
someone
told them I was feeling taken for granted.” She swerved into him, causing him to momentarily lose his balance.

“Only because I knew if I didn’t tell them, you never would. You’re the least assertive person in this family when it comes to them, and I’ve never been able to understand why.”

“It’s just the way I am, I guess.” As soon as they reached the wide, wraparound front porch, Meredith squeezed his arm, then let go of him. She laughed when she looked up at him. “Forbes, I know you’ll never understand why anyone would have a hard time trying to control every single situation she’s involved in. Just accept that we have polar-opposite personalities and let it go at that.”

He caught the edge of the storm door as it started to close behind Jonathan and Major.

“So, what did you think of Alaine?” Meredith asked over her shoulder, passing him into the entry hall.

“She’s more beautiful in person than on TV. She’s little, though. I always assumed she was your height.”

Meredith’s smile morphed into an exasperated expression. “Other than her looks, what did you think?”

Forbes made sure the glass door latched, schooling his expression before he turned to walk toward the back of the house with his sister. “She’s nice.”

“Just nice?”

“Yeah. She’s a nice person.”

Disappointment filled Meredith’s light brown eyes. “So you wouldn’t be interested in going out with her?”

“Why?” Realization dawned. “Is she the one you wanted to set me up with?”

“Yeah—”

He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Remind me in the future to take you up on your blind-date offers.”

“What?”

“Alaine and I sat together at dinner Friday night. By the time dessert came, I asked her out.”

Meredith beamed at him. “You did?”

Heat climbed his throat toward his face. “I did. We haven’t set it up yet.” Because he had to figure out how to get her number from his sister without telling her Alaine hadn’t been forthcoming with that information.

“Hey, are you two coming?” Major reappeared in the hall that connected to the kitchen.

Meredith joined her husband. “Guess what. Forbes asked Alaine out.”

Major’s eyes widened in surprise. “Alaine Delacroix?”

Forbes nodded, wishing they wouldn’t make this a big deal.

“Congrats, man.” Major grinned shamelessly. “She’s a great gal.” He looked down at Meredith. “Speaking of great gals, you ready to face your family?”

A hollow feeling that had nothing to do with the fact he’d skipped breakfast this morning filled Forbes at the look that passed between Meredith and Major.

He didn’t want to be Bonneterre’s Most Eligible Bachelor anymore.

Alaine kept her sunglasses on after entering the restaurant, despite the dim interior. One of the many things she’d learned from her sorority sisters when they’d made her over was to emit an aura of mystery. If people couldn’t see her eyes, it created mystery, right?

Well, even if it didn’t, it kept her from having to make eye contact with the burgeoning, Sunday-lunch crowd at Market Street Grill, Daddy’s favorite restaurant. Even though she would usually feel comfortable in her black capris and black-and-white, graphic-print halter top in the casual bistro, the fact almost everyone surrounding her had just come from church made her feel underdressed. And if they recognized her, they’d judge her:
Alaine Delacroix doesn’t go to church!

Holding her head higher, Alaine crossed the main dining room, her low-heeled sandals clipping with authority as she headed toward the glassed-in porch in the rear. She went to church—to the Saturday night service that most of the other young professionals attended. Which left her free to sleep in on Sunday mornings. And to dress casually to meet the family for lunch—though usually at her parents’ home.

Her brother Joe waved from the round table in the far corner when Alaine stepped down through the doorway. She slid her glasses on top of her head, pushing her bushy hair back from her face. Curly hair and humidity.
Thanks, God.

When she got to the table, she leaned over to give Joe a squeeze around the shoulders. “Hey, Joe.” She edged behind his wheelchair to hug her sister-in-law. “Hey, Nikki.”

“Hey, Alaine.” Even though the creamy-skinned redhead had been around since Alaine’s early teens, Alaine never failed to have a momentary feeling of being a child when next to the woman with the Amazonian stature. “Did you have fun with all those bachelors Friday night?” Nikki’s blue eyes twinkled.

Alaine groaned and slid into the chair beside her.

“I see that blush, Al.” Joe waved a roll dripping butter at her. “Tell.”

“Only if you promise not to call me
Al
any more.”

“What? You don’t-a like-a being part of the three Italians—Joe, Al, and Tony?” Joe did a horrible Italian accent.

“Considering that we’re half Cajun and half Portuguese? No, I don’t particularly want people to think I’m a mafioso from Jersey.” She melted into a smile when Joe ducked his chin and raised his brows at her. When they were kids, she could yell and scream at him and hold a grudge forever. But since he’d come home from Iraq six years ago with a severed spine, she’d made it her purpose in life to indulge him. Even if it did drive Nikki crazy. “Okay, fine. Whatever. Call me Al.”

“You’d better tell us before Mother and Daddy and Tony get here, if you want to save yourself the full-family embarrassment.” His triumphant look did still grate on her after all these years.

“Yes, I had a good time Friday night at the dinner. I met several very handsome, very eligible bachelors. With most of them, it’s quite easy to understand why they’re still bachelors. I got hit on quite a bit. And Forbes Guidry asked me out.” She grabbed her water glass and took a huge gulp.