Dream of Me: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (12 page)

He twisted a tendril of damp hair around his finger. “You didn’t wait very long to sacrifice your romantic ideas. Have you given up on love already?”

How could Corbin talk to her this way? What had she done to deserve such insults?
Something inside Aubrey snapped. A second before Corbin realized her intention, she slapped him. In the silence that followed, gray eyes stared horrified into blue ones. Then she shocked both of them by lightly touching the reddening spot on his face with the tips of her fingers. Her eyes filled with tears, and Corbin’s lips twisted into a dry smile.

“What have I done?” she asked in a husky whisper.

He gently drew her hand away. “Nothing that wasn’t deserved.”

“That’s not the point,” she said on a sob, her body trembling with reaction. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“Well, you can take it from me; you pack quite a punch for such a small thing.”

“Please don’t say that. I feel bad enough already. Your poor face; it’s so red.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He moved away from her. When he reached the door, he looked back over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Aubrey. I had no right to speak to you like that.”

As she watched the door close behind him, Aubrey sank back onto the bed and covered her face with her hands.
How had everything become so complicated?

Chapter Six

The sound of a door closing woke Aubrey from a deep, dreamless sleep. As she stared at the ceiling, her initial feeling of well-being was quickly swamped by the memory of what had passed between her and Corbin. His behavior in her bedroom was out of character, so much so that she wondered if she’d imagined it. He acted as if she’d hurt him personally, but that didn’t make sense. He could only be upset by her involvement with Richard if he had feelings for her, and she knew that wasn’t the case.

With a gesture of impatience, Aubrey threw off the covers. Too many words and too much emotion had been wasted on a situation that didn’t even exist. She switched on the light, wondering if Phoebe had returned. Either way, she needed to get downstairs and start thinking about dinner. On the way, she looked in Phoebe’s room, noting the unmade bed and the contents of several suitcases scattered over every available surface. Stepping inside, she automatically began tidying the room, picking clothes off the floor, and bringing order to the chaos of perfume bottles and assorted make-up littering the dressing table.

“Thanks for picking up my mess; as you can see I’m still hopeless at this sort of thing.”

Aubrey caught her sister’s reflection in the mirror. The short white dress highlighted her gorgeous tan and long legs. Setting the last bottle in place, she turned away from the mirror revealing their contrasting images so vividly.

“Who in the world do you know on Tybee besides Corbin?”

Phoebe dropped gracefully into a chair and slid off high-heeled sandals.

“Do you remember Phillip? He’s a photographer. We dated for a while in college, but things never got serious. He lives in New York, but was raised in Savannah. He called me a few weeks ago to tell me he was going to be here. When I told him I was coming to see my sister, he naturally wanted us to get together.”

“Where did you go?” Aubrey came over to sit on the bed opposite Phoebe.

“We met at his parents’ house. They live in the middle of the historic district in this lovely, old house. You would have loved it. The weather kept us indoors, but we did manage to eat lunch at a restaurant on the riverfront; the crab legs were out of this world. I invited him to come over tomorrow. Will it be a problem for you to fix lunch for all of us?”

“No, but why do I need to meet him? You’re not matchmaking again, are you? Because if so, I’m not interested.”

“How can you say that? You haven’t even met him.”

Aubrey had a sudden thought. “Have you mentioned your plans to Corbin?”

“I told him when I came in.”

So he was somewhere around.
“I need to get dinner started. I didn’t eat lunch, and I’m starved.”

Aubrey closed the door of Phoebe’s room and leaned against it heavily. Her heart was thumping like a wild thing in her chest.
Why was she suddenly so nervous?

Once in the kitchen, she tried to ignore the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. After preparing dough for pizza, she set it aside to rise and disappeared into the pantry. Grabbing a can of tomato sauce, she muttered to herself, “I know I bought onions and peppers. Oh, here they are. I wonder if Corbin likes mushrooms on pizza. Well, he can just like what he gets.”

“Don’t worry; he will.”

Aubrey whirled around quickly. “I wish you would make more noise when you walk,” she mumbled irritably. “You’re always taking me…,” her words came to an abrupt halt as she stared into Corbin’s beautiful eyes. Suddenly all the puzzling thoughts and unexplained feelings fell into place. The shock of it almost made her laugh out loud.
Only she would discover she’d fallen in love in such strange circumstances!

“I’m always taking you where?”

Aubrey gave herself a mental shake. In a moment, she’d be babbling out her newly discovered feelings to the last man who would appreciate them. “You’re always taking me by surprise.”

“Like what happened earlier in your room?”

“I think the least said about that the better.” Hoping this damping reply would send him on his way, she was annoyed to find him right behind her as she left the pantry and proceeded to chop vegetables.

“I agree, and if you want to leave because of what happened, I understand.”

She never raised her eyes from the cutting board.
She didn’t want to leave – she wanted to stay with him forever.
“If you want me to go, just say so.”

“It would be difficult to break in someone new at this point.”

“It sounds like I’m staying.”

Aubrey retrieved the dough, which had risen nicely and was ready to knead. As she stretched the pliable material to fit the round baking pan, she hoped she was doing the right thing. Corbin had offered her a chance to leave. Knowing her altered feelings, maybe she should reconsider her decision to stay.

Phoebe strolled in just as Aubrey was placing the pizza in the oven. “What’s going on in here?”

“Aubrey is fixing dinner, and I’m trying to stay out of her way.” Corbin looked her over with a grin. “How do you always manage to look so good?”

Phoebe laughed. “I wonder how Aubrey manages to keep her head around you.”

“Because she ignores most of what I say.”

“Well, Phillip is coming tomorrow; we’ll see how well she ignores him.”

“Oh, Phoebe, don’t start that again. It’s so unnecessary,” Aubrey managed to get in.

“Phillip will have to stand in line. Aubrey already found someone.”

Phoebe’s eyes widened. “Really? Who? I want all the details.”

Aubrey glared at the unrepentant man opposite her. “There are no details because there’s no such man. I wish the two of you would find something else to talk about.” She flounced out of the kitchen.

Corbin found her in his office slamming papers around on her desk. He watched her in silence for a few minutes, the curl of his lips making her long to hit him. After one fulminating glance, she turned her back on him and walked over to the window.

“Why are you so upset?” he asked softly, coming up behind her.

She turned to face him. “Do you realize what you’ve started? Now I’ll have Phoebe after me for the rest of this visit with hundreds of questions about this nonexistent man.”

“Nonexistent? Have you forgotten who you spent most of the day with?”

Her eyes darkened. “I told you why I was there.”

“I know; the perfectly-timed storm. What amazes me is that you could feel comfortable with someone who’d already shown his true colors.”

“I didn’t have much choice at the time. It was either go inside his house or get struck by lightning.”

“I know which one I would have chosen,” he replied dryly.

Aubrey threw her hands into the air. “Why are we still talking about this? I’m trying to move past today, and you won’t let me.”

Corbin’s lips twitched. “You’re really something when you get worked up.”

“Are you finished? I’d like to check on the pizza.”

He stepped aside and waved a hand toward the door. “Go on; I’m not stopping you.”

* * * *

Aubrey watched the couple stroll further away from the house. It was a perfect night for a walk with the full moon bathing the sky in a romantic glow. Corbin had invited her to join him and Phoebe, but she refused. Her mind was in turmoil; the last twenty-four hours had been mentally exhausting. She needed time to regroup and find a way out of this mess. Discovering she loved Corbin was turning out to be anything but a blissful experience.

The next morning she was in the kitchen making coffee just as the sun was peeping over the ocean. As she poured cereal and milk into a bowl, she went over in her mind the menu she planned to make for lunch. She might dislike Phoebe inviting men over to meet her, but it did have the benefit of keeping her from dwelling on what happened yesterday. After taking her empty bowl to the sink, she disappeared into the pantry to check her supplies. Corbin was leaning against the counter, a cup of coffee in his hand, when she returned.

“Good morning.”
Why did she sound so breathless?

“What are you doing up so early?”

“Making a grocery list.”

“That’s right; we’re having a guest for lunch. Phoebe may have a slight edge in looks, but you far outshine her in the kitchen. It remains to be seen if that will be enough to impress Phillip.”

“
Slight
edge? I’m not even in the same class with Phoebe. As for your other comment, you talk as if this is some kind of competition.”

“I didn’t mean that at all; but since she’s taken all this trouble, the least you can do is play along. She can’t make you like Phillip. By the way, that looks to be a long list. I better go with you.”

“That’s all right; you must have other things you need to do.”

“You refused to walk on the beach with us last night, and now an offer of a ride to the store is rejected. Are you trying to avoid me?”

Aubrey edged her way toward the door leading to the deck. “That would be impossible. I live in the same house with you.”

He watched her movement with amusement. “I bet you’ve regretted that decision a few times in the last twenty-four hours.”

“Can you deny that you haven’t?” she countered, her hand on the doorknob.

“No, but my reasons are completely different. Go do whatever you have to do to get ready and meet me here in an hour. We can forget our differences long enough to do the shopping.”

* * * *

Climbing into Corbin’s SUV, Aubrey noticed ominous-looking scratches on the otherwise smooth cream-colored leather. It appeared her intrepid feline had found his way into the vehicle and made the most of it.

“How long ago did Horace use your seats for a scratching post?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered offhandedly.

“You weren’t going to tell me?”

“There’s not enough damage to worry about, and the scare I gave him will prevent it happening again.”

“You should have told me. I can afford to have the scratches repaired, and it was my cat that did the damage.”

He laughed softly. “You don’t like being in anyone’s debt, do you? Are you afraid of what might be asked in return?”

Not trusting herself to reply, she ignored him for the remainder of the drive. In the parking lot, she quickly exited the car, her irritation apparent in every step. Corbin followed her inside at a more leisurely pace.

He caught up with her in the bakery. “I guess I won’t be getting a balloon or a cookie today,” he whispered in her ear.

His breath was warm against her skin, sending a delicious tingle down her spine. Giving him a not-so-gentle nudge with her elbow, she stepped away from him to get a round loaf of brown bread. “You’re going to be lucky to get lunch,” she muttered.

Taking advantage of her full hands, he bent down and kissed her on the nose. “You’re adorable when you’re angry.”

Glancing around in alarm, she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Trying to soften you up a bit before Phillip gets here. In your present mood, I fear for his life.”

She ripped the list in her hand in half and held out a piece to him. “Take this. You insisted on coming so make yourself useful.”

“Anything you say, sweet.., I mean, Aubrey.”

“Get away from me before I take
your
life,” she hissed.

He shook his head as he took the paper from her. “Phillip has no idea what he’s walking into.”

* * * *

Their guest arrived on time, something that endeared him to Aubrey. She disliked eating overdone or even worse, cold food. Phillip further impressed her by following her into the kitchen and making an accurate guess as to what she prepared. By the time they exchanged a list of similar recipes, the ice was broken.

Annoyed as she was by Phoebe’s arrangement of her social life, Aubrey had to admit Phillip was imminently likeable. Of medium height and build, with sandy hair and friendly blue eyes, he was a far cry from the tall, brooding type of man Phoebe usually preferred.

The conversation at the table was lively. Phillip had a gift for telling stories, and his anecdotes about the fashion industry kept them all entertained. He also told a few tales on Phoebe that had her begging him to stop. Aubrey was content to listen, and Corbin was more than happy to watch her do it.

Though Phoebe tried her best to persuade her sister to take a walk with Phillip once the meal was over, Aubrey refused to do anything until the dishes were done. Sensing Phillip was going to offer his services in the kitchen, Corbin volunteered to help her. He also encouraged Phoebe and Phillip to change into their bathing suits and make the most of the unseasonably warm weather.