"Let me see if I've got this right." Mattie eyed her best friend and roommate speculatively.
"Your brother needs advice and, since you're leaving town, I'm elected?"
Jessica Sumners tossed two suitcases on her bed."Come on," she cajoled. "You and I have been best friends since the sixth grade. We practically grew up together. He thinks of you as a sister." She scooped the entire contents of one dresser drawer into her arms and then dumped it into one of the open bags.
Mattie raised her eyebrows at Jessica's uncharacteristic packing. Seeing Jessica-who was normally so calm and sophisticated-this rattled was a bit amusing, really. But who wouldn't be rattled under the circumstances? Packing for a nine-week trip in less than an hour would make anyone panic. But Jessica? Jessica, who organized her wardrobe by color and planned her schedule up to six months in advance? Of course, this had sent her into a tailspin.
Mattie gently nudged her friend into the chair by the bed. "Just sit down." Jessica stood back up. "Calm down. You're getting all...flitty on me."
"Flitty?" Jessica's voice rose several octaves. "Of course I'm flitty. They're sending me to Sweden for nine weeks and I've got --" she snatched up her alarm clock and stared at it "--twenty minutes to pack. It's noon?" She shook the clock, tapping it against her palm as if to test that is was working properly. "Is this right?"
Mattie glanced at her own watch. "Fraid so." Noticing the harried expression on Jessica's face, she continued, "It's okay. I'll help you pack. Just remember, it's Sweden. You've been begging your boss to send you abroad on business since you started working there."
Jessica sucked in a deep breath and visibly relaxed as she exhaled. "You're right. I just wish I had more time to prepare. And to help Brad. This just kills me. The first time my big brother asks for help and I can't be here to give it. Promise me you'll help him"
The distress in Jessica's sapphire eyes tugged at Mattie's heart. She answered without thinking." Of course, I will."
She would do whatever it took to help out, even though the thought of seeing Brad Sumners again after all these years made her feel all flitty, "I'll talk to Brad. I promise."
Something in her voice must have given her away, because Jessica frowned, then said, "Oh, Mattie, I didn't think. This is going to be awkward for you, isn't it? Because you were in love with him for all those years."
"Nonsense." She brushed aside her own needs with a wave of her hand. "That wasn't love. That was teenage hormones. Lusting after a hunky guy isn't the same thing as love. Doesn't matter how hot he is. I'll be fine."
Jessica studied her with a worried gaze. "You're sure?"
"Yes. Definitely. Go pack your hanging bag while I handle this suitcase."
While Jessica hurried off to her walk-in closet, Mattie sifted through the sleepwear and lingerie Jessica had dumped on the bed. She picked out only what Jessica would need for her trip, then carefully folded it and packed it into the open suitcase.
A few minutes later, Jessica returned, holding a hanging bag in one hand and clutching an armful of casual clothes to her chest.
"Do you have room for these?" As Mattie folded and packed the T-shirts, she asked, as casually as she could, "What kind of advice about women does he need? How to jump out of their way as to throw themselves at him? How to step over their prone bodies on the way out of his house every morning?"
"Mattie, be serious." Jessica slapped one suitcase closed and tugged on the zipper.
"I thought I was." When Jessica glared at her, she held up her hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Okay, okay. I'm serious."
"Besides, I don't think he needs advice about women so much as from women. You know, a woman's perception of things."
"But if he needs advice," Mattie asked, "why doesn't he just call you and get advice over the phone like a normal person?"
"Because this is Brad, remember? He's not a normal person. You know how he gets when he sets a goal for himself. He's totally focused. He's relentless. It's like he's got blinders on. Just like my team leader, who was so focused on this project, he worked himself into a case of pneumonia and had to be hospitalized this morning."
"And now you have to go to Sweden in his place." Mattie sighed, resting a hand dramatically over her heart. "Sweden in the summer. Rugged mountains, majestic fjords, and hunky Nordic men. If I wasn't so damn broke, I'd go with you."
"I'll miss you."
Mattie returned the hug, squeezing her eyes shut against the prickling of tears. They'd been through Girl Scout cookie sales, high school calculus, and college term papers together.
A year ago, when Mattie had finally divorced her worthless husband, Jessica had been by her side, lending support through it all. Jessica had given her a place to live, a shoulder to cry on, and at least a half-dozen boxes of Thin Mints. Aromatherapy for the brokenhearted, Jess had called them.
"I know the timing is horrible, but if we lose this account, it could be my job." Jessica pulled back and smiled brightly. "And it's only none weeks. Besides, they're paying me oodles of money for going on such short notice. And I happen to know a little quilt store that could use an investor."
"I've told you before. I'm not letting you give me money. It's bad enough that you don't let me pay more rent. I won't let you--"
Jessica waved aside the protest and crammed a few more items into the suitcase. "I wouldn't be giving it to you. I'd be making an investment. But we'll discuss that later. Besides, if you can handle this Brad crisis for me, I'll ready owe you."
"You know, he may not want advice from me. We haven't seen each other for years. He probably doesn't even remember me."
"Trust me, he remembers you." Jessica zipped the last suitcase closed; then she picked up a suitcase in each hand and nodded towards the hanging bag. "Get that one, will you?"
Mattie groaned under the weight, following Jessica through the living room to the front door.
Jessica set the suitcase on the marble tile of the foyer, then opened the door to watch for her taxi. "Brad rearranged his schedule so he can work from here for a couple of weeks, so whatever advice he needs must be important. He never takes time off work, but I got the feeling he didn't want to be alone on his birthday. He just hasn't been the same since the divorce. Ginger broke his heart—the witch.""The witch?" Mattie asked. "That's generous of you."
"Meee—ooow."
"Oh, was I being catty?" Mattie feigned surprise. "You know, I think that's the worst thing I've heard you say about your ex-sister-in-law."
"When Brad gets here, could you at least try to be sympathetic? He probably just wants a shoulder to cry on."
Mattie snorted in exaggerated disbelief. The Brad she knew cried on no one's shoulder. The Brad she knew didn't cry at all. "His junior year, a three-hundred-pound linebacker shattered his femur. He didn't shed a single tear. I can't imagine him crying over a broken heart. Certainly not to someone he hasn't seen in a decade."
Jessica shot her a wry look. "I was speaking metaphorically."
To lighten the mood, she added, "Okay, okay. I'll be here. I'll be sympathetic. I'll be like a sister he's never had."
The corner of Jessica's mouth twitched up in a smile. "He has a sister. Remember? "
"So I'll be like the sister he has, who's not in Sweden."
"Just be sympathetic." Outside, a car honked. "That's my ride."
Less than a minute later, Mattie stood alone in the doorway, watching Jessica's taxi disappear down the road. She gave herself exactly one minute of feeling lonely and abandoned before shutting the front door and heading back to Jessica's room. The evidence of Jessica's hurried packing lay strewn across the cream cotton duvet. Mattie quickly rehung the clothes and returned the shoes to their cubbyholes in the closet. She paused while folding one of Jessica's camisoles. The scent of Jessica's lavender lingerie detergent wafted through the air.
Mattie sighed, squelching her jealousy. Everyone had a different destiny. You had to settle for the cards fate handed you, even if you didn't necessarily like them. That's just the way the world worked. It was all part of the great cosmic poker game.
Jessica's cards held trips to Sweden, a well-paying job, and lavender-scented soap. Her own cards?
Her cards held a quilt shop inherited from her grandma, scraps of money left at the end of the month, and whatever detergent happened to be on sale.
Fortunately, they also held great friends, fun employees, and the rare bottle of Woolite. All in all, not so bad.
However, that didn't mean she wanted Brad Sumners showing up in her poker hand anytime soon. After dropping the camisole into the drawer, she slid it shut. She had more important things to be thinking about. To start with, finding a way for A Stitch in Time to make more money. She had employees who depended on her for their living. She had promises she'd made to her grandmother.
Her own desires, needs, and adolescent fantasies were nothing compared to that. Dealing with Brad would be a snap.
She hoped.
"Everyone has stupid high school crushes, "she told herself. "It's part of life."
She ignored the voice in her head that reminded her that her stupid crush had started in the sixth grade and lasted all the way through college and a good part of her marriage. Her stupid crush on Brad had sabotaged every romantic relationship she'd ever had.
Mattie pulled the elastic scrunchie out of her hair, then scraped her fingernails over her scalp."Brad means nothing to you now." Hours later, and she was still trying to convince herself.She pulled her clothes off, wadding them into a ball and shooting them across her bedroom into the laundry basket. She crossed the hall to the bathroom, continuing her monologue while she waited for the water to run hot. "I mean it, too. You're not fifteen anymore. You're past that." She braced one hand on the tile wall and thrust the other under the stream of steamy water. Perfect."He'll visit. You'll be sympathetic. That's it." As she stepped into the shower, she noticed the bottle of Fresh Freesia shower gel. Jess was always leaving fancy gels and shampoos in here for her.Mattie started to reach for her own bar of Ivory like she always did but paused. What would it hurt? Surely one fresh freesia shower wouldn't spoil her forever. As she flipped open the cap and inhaled the light floral scent,
There was a naked woman in his sister's living room.Nearly naked, anyway. She wore only a bright yellow towel wrapped sarong-style around her torso and a blue towel twined like a turban on her head. Other than that, she was completely naked. Gloriously naked.She was a tiny little thing-small enough that her cheek could rest right against his heart-but he didn't, not even for a minute, mistake her for anything other than a full-grown woman. Though slender, she had curves in all the right places. That yellow towel hid little and stressed everything else. That bare length of her thighs, the swell of her hips, the arch of her breasts, the delicate jut of her collarbone.He swallowed, trying to ease the sudden dryness in his mouth. She was obviously just out of the shower and he was instantly aware that her skin would still be moist and the droplets of water would pool at the hollow of her throat.His gaze slipped up to her eyes. They widened, mirroring his own surprise. Her lips parted,
Nine weeks?He had just two weeks before he had to be back in the Bay Area. Since his birthday fell toward the end of those two weeks—and since the thought of spending his first birthday since the divorce alone depressed him even more than the divorce had-he'd hoped to spend those weeks with Jess.He hadn't seen her enough in the past couple of years, and he didn't like the thought of the one family member he actually cared about drifting out of his life. Besides, he wanted her perspective on his divorce. He wanted to know if he was really an asshole Ginger said he was.Almost as if she'd read his mind, Mattie chimed in. "Look, Brad, she told me you need advice about women." As she spoke, she started moving toward the front door. "And don't worry. I've got you covered on that front. Just not today. Come back tomorrow. We'll talk about it then."She opened the door to show him out, but he didn't move. Something in her expression brought to mind the first time he'd seen her. It was the
A few hours later, Brad found Mattie in the backyard, sprawled in a lounger by the pool, an open bottle of Fat Tire Amber Ale resting on the table beside her chair. She held a worn deck of playing cards in her hands, the familiar blue-and-white pattern faded with time and use, and she shuffled them from one hand to the other. She paused, looked up when he approached, and then tapped the stack against her palm.She still wore jeans, but she'd lost the shoes and traded the UCLA sweatshirt for a worn T-shirt that said, Teachers Do It With CLASS! Madison lay at her feet, slowly twitching her tail in sedate contentment.His traitor dog opened one eye and glanced at him dismissively before deciding, with a sigh, to ignore him.Mattie looked sorely tempted to follow her namesake' example. She shuffled the cards twice more, and he could sense that she was watching him from her peripheral vision. Mattie had never been able to hold a grudge and he could see her annoyance beginning to crumble.F
Her honestly surprised him. As a preteen, she'd done little to hide her crush on him. At first, he'd been flattered but uninterested. By the time she'd been old enough to stir his interest, he'd been playing ball for her father's team for three years. So when her father asked him to back off, he had."We were?""Oh yeah. At sixteen, I thought you were everything I wanted in a husband."Now he couldn't help wondering if there's been more to her crush than he'd expected. But unlike when she'd take about the store, her tone held no regret. Only whimsy.He couldn't resist playing along. "Tell me about us. What kind of couple are we?"Her lips curved into a smile every bit as playful as the glint in her eyes. "The perfect couple of course.""How did we fall in love?" It wasn't the only question he had about this little fantasy of hers, but it was probably the safest."Over Christmas, while you were still in college." SHe tilted her head back, her eyes drifting closed. "Our first kiss was l
No regrets? No regrets my ass.The thought echoed through her mind with every heart-pounding, knee-rattling step Mattie took along the bark-strewn jogging path. Squinting against the morning sun, she caught a glimpse of the last mile marker.Okay, you can do it. Only one more mile. One. More. Mile.She shoved aside thoughts of the pain and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't shove aside thoughts of Brad as easily.Every time she pushed his image away, it crept back in when she wasn't looking. Mercilessly, relentlessly. And annoying as hell.She'd spent most of her life dreaming of what it would be like to be kissed by Brad Sumners. At eleven, she'd imagined a chaste peck on the cheek. At fourteen, she'd longed for a romantic kiss, like something out of a movie. But last night's kiss wasn't at all what she'd bargained for. It was neither chaste nor charming. She hadn't i
Giving in to her body's demands, Mattie slowed her pace to a walk. A few more twists in the path and she'd be back where she'd started at the entrance to the park, just a few blocks from Jessica's house. She rounded the next bend and saw Brad heading straight towards her. Mattie stopped. Propping her hands on the top of her thighs, she bent over, struggling to pull air into her lungs. She blinked her eyes into focus, staring at the toes of her white Reebok cross-trainers. She tried to slow her breathing by inhaling through her nose, and the astringent aroma of the cedar mulch hit her nostril. Slowly she straightened, until she stood upright, propping her hands low on her back. She twisted to one then the other to loosen her muscles. Jeez, this was just her luck. At least yesterday under the towel, she'd been clean. Today she was just sweaty. And she harbored no illusions whatsoever that she merely "glowed." Unless he had some weird sweaty-female fetish, she'd have to put off her b
Are you crazy?"Brad considered her question as he slid the laminated card back into his wallet. Crazy? He didn't think so.Confused? That was another matter entirely.He achieved every major goal he'd set for himself in the past fifteen years. Now, when it mattered most, he'd failed. What he couldn't figure out was why it pissed her off."Look Mattie, all I..."She cut him off with a firm shake of her head. "No. Absolutely not.""But...""I am not going to help you find a wife.""Find a wife?" It took him a second to comprehend the conclusion she'd leaped to. By that time, she'd already spun on her heel and stormed off down the street.He caught up with her in a few steps, but she refused to look over at him. "I don't need..."She jerked to a stop, then whirled around. "You don't need? This is all about what you need, isn't it?" She glared at him, her eyes shooting daggers. "What about what I need?"It was just as well she didn't give him a chance to answer. He didn't have the slight