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About That Kiss
Jayne Addison
SISTER OF THE BRIDEJoy Mackey is determined to see that her sister gets married without a hitch. But nothing is going smoothly–and real trouble strikes when the bride's former fiancé pops up. Joy is positive that dashing Nick Tremain plans to wreak the havoc on the wedding–and her heart!BROTHER OF THE GROOMNick couldn't be happier about his brother's engagement to his ex. But try explaining that to Joy! She's convinced he's come back to sabotage the upcoming nuptials. Nick did have every intention of standing at the altar, yet there was only one woman he wanted as his wife. But how to convince Joy that she was the bride of his dreams?
Table of Contents
Cover Page (#uba195c6b-ee9c-57ef-bb10-399c02867843)
Excerpt (#uc1e8b0a2-b091-5805-a9a6-a4ef71d94ee7)
Dear Reader (#u2a6a81eb-91b9-5086-b6b0-8c132c2fdd15)
Title Page (#u0a7a8d96-9c84-5dba-ad02-08e22d357369)
Dedication (#u7fd28007-261d-5ec5-a265-82b11ee42b96)
About the Author (#u0414e84a-97f1-57aa-a794-c331f5ee0eef)
Prologue (#u3abee86a-4b0c-557d-b71c-0ab47de65d4a)
Chapter One (#u1db91a30-8e37-577b-a9d4-bbf6bd9bbd23)
Chapter Two (#u9bb09460-09d3-515f-99f2-1693231a5207)
Chapter Three (#u1230d6da-abb2-5a0f-bb1b-160d9f7e80db)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
“Do we really have to talk about your sister and my brother?”
Nick smiled at Joy. “I’d much rather talk about you.”
“There’s nothing about me to talk about.” Joy turned back to the counter.
“We could talk about whether you’ve been affected by the sun or any full moons since I’ve been gone.”
Joy’s face flushed deep red. Was he intentionally trying to embarrass her by bringing up that longago kiss?
Dear Reader (#ulink_27e96f0b-c883-50a3-b1c0-8839afecc232),
This month Silhouette Romance has six irresistible novels for you, starting with our FABULOUS FATHERS selection, Mad for the Dad by Terry Essig. When a sexy single man becomes an instant dad to a toddler, the independent divorcée next door offers parenthood lessons—only to dream of marriage and motherhood all over again!
In Having Gabriel’s Baby by Kristin Morgan, our BUNDLES OF JOY book, a fleeting night of passion with a handsome, brooding rancher leaves Joelle in the family way—and the dad-to-be insisting on a marriage of convenience for the sake of the baby….
Years ago Julie had been too young for the dashing man of her dreams. Now he’s back in town, and Julie’s still hoping he’ll make her his bride in New Year’s Wife by Linda Varner, part of her miniseries HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
What’s a man to do when he has no interest in marriage but is having trouble resisting the lovely, warm and wonderful woman in his life? Get those cold feet to the nearest wedding chapel in Family Addition by Rebecca Daniels.
In About That Kiss by Jayne Addison, Joy Mackey, sister of the bride, is sure her sis’s ex-fiancé has returned to sabotage the wedding. But his intention is to walk down the aisle with Joy!
And finally, when a woman shows up on a bachelor doctor’s doorstep with a baby that looks just like him, everyone in town mistakenly thinks the tiny tot is his in Christine Scott’s Groom on the Loose.
Enjoy!
Melissa Senate, Senior Editor
Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service
U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3
About That Kiss
Jayne Addison
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Evelyn, Rochelle, Lara and Beth.
JAYNE ADDISON
lives on the north shore of Long Island with her husband, Jerry. Their three children, Steven, Andrew and Beth, are presently attending colleges away from home. Jayne finds that writing romance fiction is a great way to beat the empty-nest syndrome. When Jayne isn’t writing, reading or on the phone, you can find her at her local video store checking out the rentals. Needless to say, romance flicks are her favorites.
Prologue (#ulink_dfc06ba6-ca9e-56f7-9b7e-c26d355b0edc)
Joy Mackey squared her slim shoulders and brought her hand up to knock on Nick Tremain’s apartment door. But she didn’t knock. Instead she fanned herself with her hand. She felt very warm, though it wasn’t particularly hot for Long Island in July, no more than eighty degrees and not at all humid yet at nine o’clock in the morning. The heat she was feeling had nothing to do with the temperature. She was about to do something she knew she probably shouldn’t be doing. Not that it was going to stop her from doing it.
Joy drew in a deep breath, then turned on her heels in a complete about-face. She walked four straight steps away from the door. Then two more steps right to the outdoor railing of his third-story, motel-style unit. She’d carefully planned what she was going to say on the drive over from Greenport. Now she couldn’t remember her great opening line.
“Hi, Nick…” Joy practiced, going for a breezy tone.
“Hi, Joy,” Nick replied, as he opened his front door.
Surprised, Joy spun around to face him. “Hi, Nick,” Joy repeated, still startled.
“Hi, again.” Nick closed the door behind him and stood with her in the covered walkway that was open to the elements.
Joy had recovered her composure sufficiently to deliver what she considered her friendliest smile. “Are you going somewhere?” She took note of his white T-shirt lauding the New York Jets, blue jean cutoffs with white strings dangling onto his rugged thighs. His bare feet were in well-worn sneakers and set wide apart at the moment.
“A walk on the beach.” His blue eyes made a quick trip over her own casual attire. But they lingered on her bare legs, she noticed.
“Okay,” Joy said brightly, matching his stride as he headed for the stairs.
“I suppose that means you’re coming with me,” Nick stated.
“Yes.” Joy stuck her chin out stubbornly.
“Did Diana send you?”
“No. My sister did not send me.”
“Does she know you’re here?”
“No.” Joy shook her head emphatically, gesturing flamboyantly with both her hands. “I’m here on my own.”
Frowning, Nick said, “Let me tell you right now, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Joy gritted her teeth. “I’ll talk. You just have to listen.”
“I don’t suppose you’re going to give me any choice.”
Since he obviously knew what she was here for, Joy launched right in. “I can’t believe how ridiculous the two of you are being. You and Diana love each other. There has to be a way for you to work this out. No one decides to get married and then breaks up in the same day.”
Joy looked at his face to see what reaction she’d garnered. The glance he returned was totally impassive. She’d been told she was stubborn a number of times in her life. She was even willing to admit to it. But in this instance, Nick took the prize.
Without commenting, Nick led the way to the street and held the door for her. Squinting her gray-green eyes against the more direct sunlight, Joy walked out, Nick right behind her.
He took a short path up a dune and then down to the beach. There were very few people around—joggers mostly. That’s the way it usually was on a Thursday morning. The New York City crowd hit the beach only on weekends.
“You’re not saying anything,” Joy pointed out, having to raise her voice. He’d gotten ahead of her. The sand was getting into her open sandals, slowing her steps.
Nick stopped and turned. “I already told you that I don’t want to talk about it.” He watched her trying to shake the sand from her shoes. The hint of an easy smile came across his mouth. “Why don’t you just take them off?”
“Will you wait for me?” Joy studied him measuringly, wondering if he’d jog off and deliberately leave her behind.
This time when Nick smiled it was a full-fledged grin. “I’ll wait for you.”
Joy bent over to undo the ties of her sandals. It was the first time she’d worn them. The single bow hadn’t held when she’d put them on so she’d doubled it. Now she was having a hard time getting the knot open. Joy straightened up and ran her moist palms and fingers down the sides of her shorts. Then she bent over to tackle the knot again.
Nick walked over and stood directly in front of her. He drew his key chain out from the pocket of his shorts and squatted. “Put your foot up here.” He tapped his right thigh. “Let me see what I can do.”
Joy saw the silver flash of a small pocketknife as he released it from his key chain. “I don’t want you to cut them off.” She met his upward glance with a horrific look. “I just bought them yesterday. They’re not as comfortable as I thought they’d be, but I still like how they look.”
“I like how they look, too,” Nick quipped, his tone sexy. “Give me your foot. I’m just going to use the tip of the knife to loosen the knot.”
Joy knew he was only being teasingly flirtatious, but her face was flushed as she placed her foot on his thigh and gripped his hard shoulder to balance herself. Inadvertently her fingertips touched his thick, dark hair, which was a little long at the back of his neck. The combination of its soft silkiness and the strength of his muscles made her shiver. His gaze met hers just then, and Joy was suddenly extremely embarrassed that he’d somehow guessed she’d just experienced an unquestionably sexual reaction. She wasn’t supposed to have that kind of a reaction to Nick.
Joy turned her head aside and tried to appear blasé. She gathered up her rust-colored hair from the back of her neck, holding the wavy mass up for a few seconds before letting it drop down to her shoulders again. She was overly conscious of Nick’s hand around her ankle. And though she could feel the direct warmth of the sun, she was still shivering inside. She had the sudden urge to hum a tune—something bouncy and distracting.
“Give me your other foot,” Nick said, having freed her of one sandal without Joy even realizing it.
Joy made the switch after letting the opened sandal slide off her foot and onto the sand. She pictured Diana and Nick as a couple. They were like a matched set of bookends. They both had almost pitch-black hair and blue eyes. He was unequivocally good-looking. Diana was unbelievably beautiful. They were so right for each other.
Nick made faster work out of the second knot. Joy let go of his firm shoulder as she shook off her other sandal. Holding her shoes together by their strings, she curled her bare toes into the sand beneath her feet.
“How did you get that small scar under your chin?” Nick asked, getting to his feet.
“I fell out of a tree when I was eight years old.”
“A tomboy, huh?”
“I guess,” Joy conceded. “My mother told me that when I left the house she always worried about me coming back in one piece. Diana always complained about having to watch me even when we were in our teens.”
“My brother, Kevin, always got stuck baby-sitting me, too. I was glad I wasn’t the older one.”
Joy nodded her head in agreement. “I know you’re thirty-one. How much older is Kevin?” She’d met his brother once. Kevin was a lawyer with a successful practice here in East Hampton. The two men didn’t look any more alike than she looked like Diana. Joy did remember Kevin Tremain being nice-looking in his own right, but minus his brother’s lawless charisma.
“He’s four years older. Diana is three years older than you, right?”
“Yes,” Joy answered. “I used to feel so bad when Diana would get punished along with me for all the scrapes I’d get into.” Joy thought about the small scar high up on her left thigh. She had mastered skateboarding—eventually.
Nick wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a wide grin. “How about we match scrapes? You show me yours. I’ll show you mine.”
Joy shook her head impatiently. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to get me off track. I want to talk about you and Diana and the way you both are right now…which is miserable.”
“How about telling me what idea you’ve come up with for your next column?”
They’d talked about the column she wrote for her town’s local paper quite a few times. It was the flip side of his photojournalism career.
She exhaled with great exasperation. “Please, Nick…This is Diana’s and your future. You’ve got to work it out.”
“That’s not fair,” Nick told her.
“What’s not fair?” Joy eyed him, baffled.
“The way you say please is hard on a guy.”
“Come on, Nick. Ple-e-eze.” Joy admonished his playful ploy with an aggravated look.
Nick sighed. “Do you want to walk?”
“No. I want to stand here and have this out with you.” Joy peered up at him adamantly. “I know there’s a compromise the two of you can reach. I don’t think Diana is right to expect you to change your career from a photojournalist to a commercial photographer, and I don’t think Diana is right not to be willing to meet you partway and curtail all the buying trips she’s always running off on for her clients. I know the two of you can find a way to have quality time together. You can’t break up over this!”
“Maybe Diana and I only thought we had a future together.” He’d had three days now to examine his feelings, and he’d come up with some serious second thoughts that had nothing to do with either one of their careers.
“You and Diana do have a future together,” Joy continued assertively. “I know Diana will compromise on her end if the two of you just talk it out.”
Nick folded his arms across his chest. “You know what I realized a little while ago?”
“What?”
“I’ve had longer conversations with you than I’ve ever had with Diana.”
It took Joy a second to respond. “When two people are in love they don’t need to do that much talking.”
“Joy, I really would like you to drop this.”
But she would not be deterred. “This is your quandary. You and Diana didn’t talk enough before. Now you have to talk.”
Nick unwound his arms and reached out to place a hand lightly on Joy’s mouth. But she turned her head just then and his fingers got caught in her hair.
Joy’s eyes flew to his face while he untangled his fingers. She gazed at him askance for a second, then went right on. “The way I see it…”
The rest of her speech was cut off as Nick captured her face between his hands and out of aggravation covered her mouth with his. He had no thought of doing what he did next, but he’d caught her with her lips parted, and his tongue went where it wanted to go. Spontaneously his hands left her face to bring her up flush against his chest, locking them together in a full-length embrace.
He felt Joy’s tongue arch in uncertainty. Then her arms found their way around his neck and she made the fit even better by rising up on her toes. The sandals dropped from her fingers, and she was kissing him back.
Nick fought a desire to touch more of her with his hands, but that didn’t stop his enjoyment of her mouth. He had no sense at all of wanting to stop, though he did try for a millisecond to clear his head.
A couple of teenage boys walking by whistled their approval. It was only then that Joy and Nick put an abrupt end to what they were doing.
Joy’s arms dropped flaggingly from his neck. Nick let her body slide back down until her heels met the sand before he let go of her. He stared at her.
Joy stared back. Oh, my! Oh, my! she thought.
“Whoo!” Nick breathed. “Where did that come from?”
Joy eyed him incredulously. Where did that come from?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what got into me.”
“Well…ah.” Joy floundered inanely. “What I mean is…well…It’s the heat…the sun…The sun can make people do crazy things.”
“Right. The sun.” Nick stuck his hands in his pockets. “I thought it was a full moon that did that.”
“Right. That, too. And the sun.” Joy trained her eyes down at the sand. God! She’d been falling in love with Nick while he and Diana had been falling in love with each other. All it had taken was that kiss—that earth-shattering kiss—to make her face the truth.
Joy raised her eyes from the sand, but she didn’t meet his gaze head-on. She kept her focus on one neatly trimmed sideburn. “I should be going now. We’ve talked…and all.”
Was her face as red as she thought it was?
“We’ve talked,” Nicked agreed, suddenly subdued.
Joy started to leave. She got four large steps away, when Nick called her.
“Your sandals,” he said.
Joy came back. They both bent down at the same time to pick up her shoes. Their fingers accidentally touched and their eyes met briefly. With the speed of lightning Joy jerked her hand away. Nick gathered together her sandals and he extended them to her as they both straightened up.
Joy felt she should make one last comment on Diana’s behalf. “I know you’re letting your male ego get in your way. Will you stop being so obstinate and marry my sister!”
With that parting remark she walked away. When she looked back over her shoulder she saw Nick standing at the water’s edge, watching her retreat.
Chapter One (#ulink_36757d27-4e72-5981-9af7-7269237230e5)
“Maxie, I am not playing with you in that pile of leaves,” Joy complained to the huge mutt. She’d been enjoying a lazy Sunday until the dog’s insistence made her go outside.
The mutt pulled at its leash, yanking Joy along.
“Maxie…it’s cold out. Let’s just get to the woods and do what you made me think you needed to do.” She was walking him—though running was probably more accurate—in the rear grounds of the large, rambling house in Greenport where she still lived with her mother and a series of guests during the summer season. Her mother had turned the house into a bed and breakfast after her father’s death three years ago.
Maxie headed straight for the largest pile of leaves on the back lawn and made every attempt to climb to the top of the heap. Joy made every attempt to stop him until she slid on a patch of leaves coated with ice and tumbled into the pile. It was the end of November and the winter-cold air froze any moisture on the ground.
“All right. You want leaves, Maxie,” Joy said, laughing as she lay on her back. She let go of the leash, picked up a handful of leaves and threw them up at the dog.
Maxie barked happily.
“Can I play, too?” a voice asked from behind her.
As Joy looked up, her heart lurched, then quickened to a mile a minute. Nick. In an ungainly fashion, discombobulated as she was by his appearance, Joy struggled to get to her feet. Nick came to the rescue and took hold of her wrists to pull her up. Maxie sprang at him, his front paws ploughing into Nick’s back.
“What the…” Nick uttered, just before he landed indelicately on top of Joy, his thighs straddling her hips.
Lifting himself enough to balance his weight on his elbows, Nick smiled down at her. “Hi, Joy.”
“Nick…” His face was no more than inches from hers. Her heart was beating wildly.
Nick’s smile became a grin. “This kind of feels like where we left off the last time we were together.”
Joy was breathless just looking up at him without that reminder. Not that she needed any prompting to be reminded. “I—I think we should get up.”
A smile still on his mouth, Nick bounced back on his heels. Getting the leverage he needed, he sprang to his feet. Joy grasped his offered hands and got to her feet, noticing that Nick held on to her a touch longer than was necessary.
“What are you doing here?” Joy asked. It was about four and a half months since she’d last seen him. He’d accepted an assignment abroad two days after their morning on the beach. He hadn’t been back since.
“Where else would I be with your sister marrying my brother? They haven’t changed their minds, have they?” He brushed leaves off her shoulders.
“No, they haven’t changed their minds. They’re getting married in three weeks. The reception is going to be here in the house.” Joy was shivering more from her pulse going wild than from the cold. She was bundled up well enough, in a very heavy sweater, the war-surplus pea coat she wore to knock around in and a knit hat pulled down low on her forehead and covering her ears.
“Diana and Kevin didn’t expect you to be able to get back for their wedding.” Joy thought in horror about what she must look like to him. The sweater and coat had to make it seem like she’d added fifty pounds to her frame. And that wasn’t the worst of it. The hat! The hat was the worst. “You’re supposed to be in Europe.”
“I was in Europe yesterday. Now I’m here. I did what I had to do to get back.”
He thought she looked adorable. Her face was all eyes. The hair at her neck was hidden under the collar of her coat. “I wasn’t going to miss my brother’s wedding.” His first inclination had been to show up after the fact, but only because he was concerned that Kevin would be uneasy. Though when Kevin had called to tell him he was marrying Nick’s ex-fiancée, his brother hadn’t sounded uneasy.
Joy gazed up at him suspiciously, her eyebrows getting lost under her hat.
“What’s that look for?” Nick grinned as he picked out a few leaves that had stuck to her hat. He knew what she was thinking. Only she couldn’t have been farther from the truth. He was not in love with Diana. He hadn’t thought about her at all during the past four and a half months. He had thought a lot about the woman standing in front of him right now.
“You’re here to make trouble, right?” Joy nodded her head in emphasis.
“No, I’m not here to make trouble. Scout’s honor. Now do I get to come in out of the cold?” He made a point of flippantly hiking up the collar on his leather bomber jacket. The wind was buffeting her back and ruffling his hair. The cold wasn’t bothering him, but he expected she was freezing, given the way she was doing a little jig from foot to foot.
“Yes, you get to come in,” Joy replied tartly and turned toward the house.
Seeing that she was forgetting her mutt, Nick grabbed the leash and dragged Maxie along as he followed her into the house. Joy went through a back door straight into the inn’s large, homey kitchen. Nick unfastened the dog’s leash and hung it up on a hook near the door while Maxie took off.
Joy quickly yanked the ugly hat off her head, stuffed it in her coat pocket and tried casually to fluff her soft brown hair with her fingers. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved. I didn’t stop for lunch. How about going out with me for something to eat? Did you have lunch?”
“I’ve had lunch.” It was going on four p.m. “I’ll make you a couple of sandwiches. There’s some cold chicken.” Joy unbuttoned her coat and hung it on a peg near the back door. She didn’t feel she’d been able to do much with her hair.
“Cold chicken sounds great,” Nick said, taking his jacket off and hanging it on a peg alongside hers. “Kevin told me Diana’s been staying here till the wedding and that he comes out on the weekend. Did I miss him?”
“No. He’ll be back.” Joy closed the refrigerator door with the side of her hip. She had a platter of cold chicken and a jar of mayonnaise in her hands. “They went to have lunch with my mother at the restaurant that’s doing the catering. They’re still debating about some of the dishes they want at the wedding.”
“How come you didn’t go with them?” He moved to stand next to her at the counter.
Joy looked at him from the corner of her eye. She’d already taken in the lean-hipped fit of his black slacks and the bulky, wheat-toned sweater, that made it impossible not to notice his wide shoulders.
“I’m too much of a junk-food junkie to be on the food committee.” She meant to speak in a joking tone, but his nearness was giving her a case of apoplexy. The words came out flat.
His eyes roved over her profile. “What committee are you on?”
“Wedding attire and flowers.” Joy took two rolls out of a bakery bag on the counter and a knife from a drawer. “And…” She was about to say more but his hand came up to her hair, ending that train of thought. “What are you doing?”
“Smoothing down your hair,” Nick said easily. “Turn around and let me get the other side.”
Joy swung around to face him. She was secretly thrilled by his attention, which was exactly what had her bristling now. “You know what surprises me?”
“What surprises you?” He took the knife she didn’t realize she was still holding out of her hand and put it down on the counter.
“I’m surprised that you didn’t come back when Diana and Kevin first started dating.” Joy watched his gaze drop to her hips as she placed her hands there. For a second Joy wondered if she was intentionally trying to flatten her red sweater so he’d know it was the sweater that was puffy, not her hips.
“Actually I didn’t know Diana and Kevin were dating. The first I heard of them being a couple was when Kevin got ahold of me and told me they were getting married. But I wouldn’t have come back even if I had known.”
My eye! Joy muttered in her head. He certainly had come back quickly enough when he’d found out they were getting married.
“Do we really have to talk about Diana and Kevin?” He smiled. “I’d much rather talk about you.”
“There’s nothing about me to talk about.” Joy turned back to the counter. She picked up the knife and jaggedly sliced open both rolls.
“We could talk about your column. Or we could talk about whether you’ve been affected by the sun or any full moons since I’ve been gone.”
Joy’s face flushed deep red. Was he intentionally trying to embarrass her by bringing up that kiss? “Did Kevin tell you how he and Diana first got together?”
“No and I didn’t ask,” Nick responded disinterestedly.
“Diana needed a lawyer to collect money from one of her clients,” Joy said. “That was three months ago.”
Nick leaned back against the counter. “I assume Kevin got Diana’s client to fork over.”
Joy nodded. Taking a plate down from the cabinet overhead she placed the sandwiches on top of it. “He’s a very good lawyer.”
“No question about that.” Nick took the plate and walked over to the kitchen table in the center of the room.
Joy made a half turn in his direction. “Would you like a beer with that?”
“Okay.” Nick took a seat and stretched his legs out.
Joy came to the table with a glass, a bottle of beer and a bag of potato chips. She placed her bounty down within his reach and then took a seat across from him.
Nick opened the bag of chips, took a helping out and put them on his plate. He passed the bag to her. Joy took a handful of chips out for herself.
She watched him begin eating his sandwich.
He watched her munch on chips.
A stretch without any conversation went by while Joy commanded herself to get her eyes off him. Her command went unheeded.
Nick finished one sandwich. “How are you doing with your column?” He had read them all, having worked out an arrangement with the owner/editor of the Greenport News to have the paper forwarded to him. He’d even spoken to her editor a few times, which was how he’d known the paper was up for sale before any official announcement. He toyed with the idea of telling her that he was her new boss, instead of waiting until tomorrow at the Monday morning staff meeting.
“It’s going okay,” Joy returned. “Nothing all that exciting.” She did have something exciting in the works, but she didn’t want to go off on that tangent now. She was hoping to ease back into the topic of Diana and Kevin. She wanted a more definitive expression from him about his intent.
“You’re the one with the glamorous career,” Joy said, directing the conversation to his globetrotting. She knew he’d been in Russia, Egypt, then Europe during the past four and a half months. She’d hunted out every picture of his that had been published.
“It’s not at all glamorous. Living out of a backpack most of the time means not always showering. And it’s almost impossible to establish any relationships. As soon as I meet someone I’d like to get to know, I’m off to someplace else.”
Joy tipped her head slightly. “That doesn’t sound at all like the way you used to speak about your career.”
Nick shrugged his shoulders.
Joy was surprised by his change of attitude. It was the excitement she used to hear in his voice that had given her the impetus to seek out a similar career for herself as a journalist. She’d just gotten a go-ahead last Friday to take on an assignment in Bolivia, three days after Diana and Kevin’s wedding. She hadn’t told anyone about it yet. She thought it only right that she give her notice in to the Greenport News first.
Joy dabbed up some potato chip crumbs on the table with the tip of her finger. “That part about not getting a chance to really know people you wanted to get to know, did that include women you might have thought of getting serious with?”
“Are you asking me if I was interested in anyone romantically?”
“Was that what it sounded like?” She’d been trying to find out whether there had been any lessening in his feelings for Diana. It wasn’t because she was jealous, she reminded herself.
“That’s what it sounded like,” Nick said, grinning. He poured beer into his glass, then studied her over the rim as he took a deep swallow.
“So were you?” Joy impatiently met the mirthful look in his eyes.
Maxie barked just as the front door opened.
Joy took a big frustrated breath and blew it out fast, releasing her disappointment that there wasn’t time now to press him for a response.
Nick’s gaze locked with hers. “No, I didn’t meet any woman I wanted to spend more than one night with or even a single night with.”
“Oh,” Joy managed to say, before her mother appeared in the kitchen, followed by Diana and Kevin. All three looked as surprised to see Nick as Joy had been.
“Nick…” Emily Mackey gushed. She was an attractively unfussy woman on the cusp of turning fifty. Short brown hair framed her lively round face. “It’s wonderful to see you again. We couldn’t imagine whose car was in the driveway.”
“It’s wonderful to see you,” Nick said, returning the smile. He was on his feet, enthusiastically ready to receive a hug, bending to accommodate Emily, who was inches shorter than both her daughters.
Kevin approached to shake his hand, then thump him on the back, getting a thump in return from Nick as males will do in place of an embrace.
“Son of a gun,” Kevin said with a grin almost identical to the grin he was getting from Nick. “I thought you still had pictures to take.”
“I couldn’t think of any picture I wanted to take more than one of you getting hog-tied.” Nick raised his eyebrows, relieved to see that Kevin appeared really happy he’d arrived.
Then it was Nick and Diana facing each other as Kevin drew Diana to his side.
“Hi, Nick,” Diana said slowly.
“Diana,” Nick replied without a grin. He hoped she was truly in love with Kevin. She was going to have him to answer to if his brother got hurt.
Joy caught the lingering look between Nick and Diana and glanced quickly at Kevin to check for his take on the situation. Kevin’s brown eyes gazed affectionately—and naively—at Diana. Joy resisted an impulse to punch Kevin in the head.
“Joy, did you put on coffee?” Emily Mackey asked, taking off her coat, adding it to the leather jacket and navy pea coat already on hooks.
“No, but I will,” she replied. Joy watched Diana and Nick break their regard of each other, and she walked over to the counter where the coffee maker was.
Filling the pot with water, Joy observed as Kevin assisted Diana with her coat. Joy already knew what Diana was wearing underneath her coat. A short, straight black skirt, a white cashmere sweater, black tights and sexy black high-heeled boots.
Joy craned her neck to see if Nick was appraising her sister. When she saw that Diana did indeed have his attention—Joy let the water spill out over the top of the glass coffeepot. Embarrassed she quickly turned off the faucet.
Kevin said to his brother, “I know you gave up your lease. You’ll stay with me.”
“Thanks, Kev,” Nick replied. “But I figured on finding a place here in Greenport.”
Water sluiced over the sides of the coffee maker as Joy poured from the pot. Of course he wanted to stay in Greenport! All the better to see Diana.
“There’s no need for you to look for someplace to stay. There’s certainly plenty of room here,” Emily Mackey announced. “The downstairs is a mess with all the painting going on, but the bedrooms are all fine.”
“That would be great, but are you sure I won’t be in the way?”
Joy gnawed her bottom lip as she mopped up water from the counter with a sponge. Didn’t anyone else realize what was going on here? Was she the only one that wasn’t naive?
“Not another word about it,” Emily Mackey insisted. “Joy, I’ll finish making the coffee. Would you two girls go up and get a room ready? Nick, please finish your sandwich. I’ve got cherry pie for you. I baked just this morning.”
Joy and Diana left the kitchen. Kevin walked out behind them to hang his coat and Diana’s in the front hall closet. The three maneuvered around furniture that had been covered with heavy drop cloths and pushed into the middle of the living room. The front entryway was the only completed section on the first floor.
“Hurry up you two,” Kevin said as Diana and Joy started up the stairs to the landing. “I can’t stay too late. I’ve got briefs to go over tonight.”
“You’d better not be thinking of bringing any briefs on our honeymoon,” Diana replied over her shoulder.
“I’m not figuring on bringing any briefs at all,” Kevin called back up to Diana.
Diana smiled to Joy showing her amusement with Kevin’s retort.
She wasn’t in a smiling mood, but Joy gave it her all to smile back as they reached the second floor. “Did you ever think of not waiting any longer and just eloping?”
“Don’t be silly,” Diana answered with indignation. “I want a church wedding with all the trimmings. And I want my reception here, where no one else has had their reception. It’s going to be just perfect having it here once everything’s all together. Don’t you think so?”
Joy wistfully nodded her head as she opened the door to the linen closet in the hallway. If she were getting married she’d want it to be just the way Diana had it planned.
“Which bedroom do you think we should put Nick in?” Diana asked her.
“How about the attic bedroom?” Joy suggested, gathering together a set of sheets.
“I think Mom would rather have us all on the same floor. Let’s put him in the bedroom between yours and mine.”
Joy scowled.
“What?” Diana asked.
“Nothing.”
Diana wouldn’t let it go. “Was it obvious to you, too?”
“Was what obvious?” Joy asked innocently.
“Nick. He’s still in love with me. Did you see the look in his eyes when we said hello to each other?”
“I saw it.”
“Poor Nick.” Diana released a deep breath. “I really feel badly about it.”
Joy didn’t think Diana felt half as bad as she did—not that Joy imagined Nick could ever be interested in her, even if Diana was out of the picture.
Chapter Two (#ulink_eca02222-ef2d-532f-b299-06c874070c45)
Nick couldn’t sleep. He turned the lamp on next to his bed and reached for his watch. Seeing that it was nearing midnight, he realized he’d been tossing around for close to an hour. Could it have something to do with the pizza he’d shared with Joy at ten o’clock? They’d been the only two interested in food, so Nick had gone out and brought a pizza back. However, Nick decided his inability to sleep had less to do with the food he’d eaten and more to do with the company he’d shared it with.
Nick grinned and thought about Joy fast asleep and curled up in her bed. He wondered if she slept on her stomach. Or flat on her back the way she’d.been on the pile of leaves. Flat on her back brought a red-hot image to his mind.
Slow it down, Tremain! How long ago was itfleeting though it may have been—that you thought you were in love with Diana?
Knowing these thoughts would not help him sleep, he decided to go downstairs. He used the miniature pocket flashlight hanging from his key chain to find his way to the kitchen. Once in the cozy room he poured himself a glass of soda. His flashlight began blinking and he turned it off to conserve the battery. He drank his soda in the dark, something he’d often done out of occupational necessity.
Suddenly the kitchen was flooded with light. A surprised Nick was confronted with a bleary-eyed Joy, dressed in colorful flannel pajamas.
“What are you doing?” Joy asked as soon as she got over being startled at finding a very bare-chested man in her kitchen.
“I was thirsty.” Nick held out his glass of soda. “What brought you downstairs?”
“Thirsty…very thirsty.” She wasn’t making any move to do anything about it. The muscles of his chest and forearms had her mesmerized.
“Must have been the pizza.” Nick grinned.
“Uh-huh.” Uh-huh, she thought…uh-huh? Is that all you can think to say? Uh-huh! You’re a writer! You’re supposed to be good with words.
“How about some cola?” Nick asked.
“Okay,” Joy answered.
Nick put his glass on the counter and poured her drink. He held out the glass, and Joy felt as if she were walking in a dream as she came up to him. The coldness of the glass in her hand came as something of a shock. She wasn’t conscious of having even accepted it.
“Love your pajamas.” He gave her a full-wattage grin as she held the glass to her lips.
Joy gulped and sputtered. She looked down at herself after wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She would hardly have picked to wear what she was wearing if she was conjuring this up as a dream.
“They were a present.” Joy ran the tip of her tongue across her lips.
Nick dragged his eyes off her mouth and studied the array of small iridescent red hearts against the background of cream-colored flannel. “Did some guy give them to you?”
He knew she wasn’t seriously involved with anyone. He knew because he’d asked Kevin. Indirectly, of course.
Joy shook her head. “A friend from work ga?? them to me for my birthday.”
He liked that answer. “And when was your birthday?”
“February fourteenth, Valentine’s Day.”
“Cupid’s baby, huh?” Nick grinned.
Joy nodded. Looking at his bare chest was causing her heart to flutter.
His eyes moved over her face. “Your chin looks a little sticky.”
“Cola,” Joy said.
Nick took hold of the hand she started to raise and kept it down at her side. He brought his free hand up and touched the damp spot on her chin.
Joy’s lips parted. She was breathing haltingly through her mouth as his hand lifted her chin higher.
And then the kitchen door swung open.
“What are the two of you doing?” Diana asked, clothed in one of her seductive nightgowns. The thin, pink silk just missed being see-through.
“Drinking,” Nick muttered, bringing his hand back down.
“We were both thirsty,” Joy added. “And I had cola on my chin.”
Diana proceeded to the refrigerator for the platter of cold chicken. “It isn’t any wonder that you’d be thirsty. How the two of you can eat the food you eat is beyond me. Don’t either of you have any concern for your bodies?”
Nick groaned to himself. He had a very definite interest in one of the bodies in the room. It wasn’t his. Nor was it Diana’s.
“Well,” Joy said awkwardly. “I guess I’ve had enough. See you both in the morning.”
“I’ve had enough, too,” Nick said. “I’ll walk up with you.”
She looked over at him just once, as they walked toward the stairs. Had he been about to kiss her when Diana had walked in on them? No, Joy answered herself. So what had he been doing?
“Are you tired?” Nick asked as they reached Joy’s bedroom door.
“Uh-huh,” Joy answered, then moaned under her breath. “Aren’t you?”
“Not really. But I guess since you’re tired I won’t try to persuade you to stay up with me a little longer.”
Joy took a deep breath. Persuade! She was like putty in his hands.
“Well, see you tomorrow,” Nick said with a smile.
“Tomorrow is a workday for me.” Joy made herself open her bedroom door. “I leave early.”
“I’m a pretty early riser myself.”
“Even without much sleep?”
“Even without much sleep.”
“Good night,” she said.
“Good night,” he answered.
Joy took a resolute step into her bedroom. Not looking back, she closed the door.
Nick stood in the hallway a second longer, wondering again what position she slept in.
Her mother was flipping pancakes as Joy came into the kitchen the next morning. After noting that no one else was in the room, Joy marched straight for the coffee that was already brewed.
Emily slipped a pancake onto a plate. “How many will you have? Two or three?”
“I don’t have time for more than a swallow of coffee,” Joy said to her mother. “I’ve overslept as it is.” She hadn’t fallen asleep until the wee hours of the morning. “Put them in the oven for Diana and Nick.”
“If Diana eats half a pancake that will be a lot, and Nick has already eaten and left.”
Joy put down the cup of coffee that she hadn’t yet taken a swallow from. “Nick ate and left already? Where did he go?”
“He didn’t say, dear.” Emily looked at her youngest child thoughtfully. “I must say he didn’t appear any less tired than you do this morning.”
“I guess we were both attacked by pepperoni pizza.” Joy gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, then hurried off.
* * *
The newsroom of the Greenport News was buzzing when Joy arrived. It was never a quiet place to begin with, but this morning there was an unusually high-pitched quality to the chatter.
Joy hung up her green reefer coat and glanced around. Even Arthur Dailey was in animated conversation with Bill Kellman. That was unusual. The two pressmen, both gray-haired, though Arthur had more on his pate than Bill, hardly ever spoke to each other. There was something about one having slighted the other sometime back. Way back. Joy suspected that neither man recalled the exact slight, nor which one of them had delivered it, or even exactly when it had happened.
“What’s going on?” Joy asked, catching the ear of Pamela Cousins, a breezy forty-year-old blonde with an ample shape and a Ms. Congeniality personality. She manned the phone for the classifieds. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t like Pamela. Nor was there anyone who Pamela didn’t like back.
“You know. The big news,” Pamela said, turning from Cal Peterson who reported weekly on the activities of the Greenport wharf.
“What big news?” Joy asked.
“Oh,” Pamela said. “I thought that was the reason you dressed up today. You know…to make an impression on him.“
“‘Him’?” The only him she’d wanted to make an impression on in her short, slim, gray wool skirt; clingy, white, ribbed-jersey turtleneck; high-heeled black pumps; and black panty hose had left before she’d come down to the kitchen. “What ‘him’?”
“Our new boss. The man Earl sold the paper to.”
“Earl sold the paper?” Joy was amazed.
“The new owner is in his office right now. Earl said he’ll be introducing us all once you’d arrived. They’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’ll go tell Earl you’re here,” Cal said, breaking away.
“Have you seen the new owner?” Joy inquired of Pamela.
Pamela expressed her response to Joy’s question with a big smile before she said, “God, I wish I was ten years younger and not married. The man is a S-T-U-D.”
Earl Lansing came out of his office and into the main section of the news area with Cal Peterson and the man Pamela had just labeled a stud. Joy’s mouth fell open. The stud at Earl Lansing’s side was Nick Tremain.
Earl Lansing’s eyes singled out Joy. “I assume you know by now?”
Joy got her mouth closed in time to nod her head. Her eyes flashed to Nick. He gave her a fast wink, then a very slow perusal. When his eyes did cruise back up to hers, there was sexy masculine approval in his gaze.
Joy felt her face get warm.
Nick grinned.
By then everyone in the office had gathered around.
“I am not going to give a speech,” Earl began, looking delighted. “I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing me complain about still working at my age—”
Cal Peterson cut in jokingly. “It’s not fair of you to walk out without letting one of us win the yearly bet. Just how old are you?”
Earl chuckled. “Old enough to know better, but not old enough to stop doing it.”
There was laughter and cheers.
Earl waved both his hands to bring the group to order. “Ladies and gentlemen…may I present Nick Tremain, the new owner of the Greenport News. You’ve got a renowned photojournalist for a boss now, but I’ll let him tell you about that himself.”
Earl smiled at Nick. “It’s all yours.”
But it wasn’t all Nick’s yet, as the staff crowded around Earl to wish him well. In that moment only Joy stood to one side, where Nick’s full attention was on her. There was a hint of devilishness around his mouth. Joy flicked him a look of sheer incredulity before she included herself among Earl’s well-wishers.
“I’m not leaving without a big hug from you,” Earl smiled, getting to Joy last.
“Oh, Earl,” Joy said emotionally as the hug ended. “I’m really going to miss you.” She’d already had that feeling on her mind, knowing she was going to give three weeks’ notice this morning.
Earl fondly patted Joy’s shoulder as he looked out at all the people who had worked for him. “Is tomorrow enough time for you to get a cake for me?”
Pamela called out, “I’m going to bake you my triple-layer chocolate cake.”
Someone joked, “Is that the one we have to use a saw on?”
Earl smiled broadly. “Settle down, kiddies. And behave yourselves.”
Cal Peterson said, “So you finally get to take your wife to Florida. Pearl must be dancing a jig.”
“She’s certainly nagged me about it long enough,” Earl replied. “But I will be around a few more days just to make sure you all stay in line. Only right now I’m going out to have myself a long, leisurely breakfast while the man of the hour takes over.” Earl gave Nick a two-finger salute.
A tense silence filled the newsroom as soon as Earl walked out. All eyes were on Nick. Joy was certain she was the only one that noticed Nick was a little tense himself. She could tell just from the way he stood.
Nick smiled at the group. “Let me begin by saying that my intention is to be more than an editor. I’m planning to work out in the field, as well.”
The twenty-eight-year-old staff photographer for the Greenport News cleared his throat. “I’m real familiar with your photos, Mr. Tremain. I guess you won’t be needing me around here anymore.”
“You’re George DeGeneris, right?” Nick questioned.
“Yes, sir.” George put an uneasy hand up to his hair in a reflexive motion, but the untamable blond cowlick sprang right back up.
“Cut the ‘sir.’” Nick grinned. “Now it may take me a little time to put a name to all your faces, but I am fully aware of the work each and every one of you do around here. And I haven’t seen anything to complain about. I’m especially familiar with your photos, George. Your concepts are fresh and alive. What I’m going to want is more of the same. A lot more of the same. I want a lot more of the same from all of you, but I’m also going to want you to stretch beyond where you’ve been. We’re going to create something together. Something new and different.
“We are not going to be just a local paper anymore. We’re going to feature stories that today’s top magazines will envy. We’re not going to just deliver the news. We’re going to tell the stories behind the news. In-depth stories about the people that make the news and not just in Greenport. We’re going to cover the entire East End. We are going to become the East End Journal and we are going to give the ‘big boys’ a run for the money. And, by the way, it’s Nick and not Mr. Tremain.”
The applause came. It started slowly then built up. And the ice was broken, replaced by an excitement that permeated the room.
Joy saw Nick take a deep breath and then give one of his easy, relaxed smiles. She felt the same exhilaration as her co-workers and thought about how much she would have liked to be a part of his plans.
Nick made a kidding motion with a slice of his hand in front of his throat to quiet the buzz that had started. Succeeding, he spoke again. “I’m going to want to meet personally with each one of you throughout the day. Right now I think we all need another cup of coffee.”
Except for Joy and Nick, the staff dispersed to queue up in front of the coffee maker.
“How about being the first one I meet with personally?” Nick asked with a teasing grin that was meant only for her.
Joy wanted to return his dynamite smile, but she didn’t. “Actually there is something I need to speak to you about,” she replied in a professional tone.
The smile left Nick’s mouth as his eyes searched hers. He nodded briefly and then led the way to the office that had just become his.
“Sit down,” Nick said, once they’d both entered the room and he’d closed the door—and after they’d stood for a fraction of a second just evaluating each other. She was nervous. He could read that easily, though she was working at not letting it show.
Joy settled herself into one of the two wooden chairs in front of the desk while Nick took the chair behind the desk. He leaned forward.
Joy swallowed. “I can’t believe you’ve bought the paper. But, anyway, everyone loved your ideas.”
“Did you?” He was studying her closely.
“Absolutely.” Her eyes became bright with the excitement he’d engendered with his comments before Joy dropped them to look at her lap.
Nick watched her pull the hem of her skirt down some. It still didn’t get any nearer to her knees.
Joy swallowed again. “I was going to give Earl three weeks’ notice this morning. It seems that you’re the one that I’m going to have to give my notice to now.” There was no way she could stay and work with him, not feeling the way she did about him. Just thinking about it was torture.
Nick felt like he’d just had his lights punched out. He picked up a pen from the desk and fiddled with it. How was he supposed to court her with her taking off? “You have three more months to run on your contract here.”
“I know that.” Joy’s focus was on the pen he was holding, not his eyes.
“Would you mind telling me what brought you to this decision?”
“I’ve been offered an assignment with New World magazine. They’re going to be sending reporters out to a number of South American countries to do stories on daily life. I’m slated to go to Bolivia. There’s still some reservation on their part, but they’re giving me a shot.” It was her chance to, if nothing else, have a stimulating career for herself.
“There shouldn’t be any reservations on their part. They don’t deserve you if they haven’t figured out how talented you are.”
Joy’s gray-green eyes came up to find sincerity written on his face. She felt all aglow at his praise.
This time it was Nick who broke eye contact. “I’m not letting you out of your contract.”
Joy blinked. “That’s ridiculous. In three weeks’ time you’ll find a hundred reporters to take my place.”
“I want you,” Nick said tersely, his eyes back on her.
“I can’t stay, Nick,” Joy said just as succinctly while their gazes locked.
Nick dropped the pen to the desk. “I don’t see that you have any choice but to work out your contract. I am not accepting your notice.”
“I have a choice. I can break my contract,” Joy returned rigidly.
“Try it and I’ll sue you,” Nick said, bluffing.
Joy tipped up her unsteady chin. She didn’t know if she wanted to cry or throw something at him. “You’d actually sue me?”
He didn’t answer, just continued to look at her.
Joy no longer felt the threat of tears. What she felt was frustration and anger. “What made you decide to buy this paper, anyway?”
“I decided it was time for me to settle down in one place and build roots.”
Joy thought about his answer for a long moment.
“I get it,” she said, pushing back her chair and standing. Of course, she got it. He was showing Diana that he’d settled down. It was his traveling that had broken them up.
“What do you get?” Nick asked, reaching her as she got to the door.
Joy turned around to give him a withering glance. “We both know why you picked now to settle down.”
Nick couldn’t hold back a grin. She looked so cute with her eyes blazing at him. “I really don’t think you have a clue.”
“Oh, I have a clue. I have more than a clue,” Joy retorted.
“Forget what you think you know.” Nick put his palms to the door on either side of her, pinning her in place. “How about we talk about a compromise?”
“What kind of compromise?” Joy asked, partly steaming, partly intoxicated by his proximity. More intoxicated than steaming. And thrilled. Being praised by someone of his professional stature was exhilarating.
“You work out the rest of your contract without being angry at me, and if you still want to leave then I’ll see that you get an assignment from someone who will appreciate you. It’s obvious you haven’t met with the right people.”
Joy narrowed her eyes at him. “Is this a snow job?” Even if it was, Joy realized, what choice did she have? She couldn’t imagine any editor hiring a journalist who had been sued for breach of contract.
“No.”
“Can I go to my desk now?” How in heaven’s name was she going to get through three months of being around him?
“Are you still mad at me?” Nick angled his head.
“Yes.” She didn’t get all that much conviction in her tone. It was impossible for her to disassociate herself from his sexiness.
“How about if I buy you pizza with anchovies for lunch?” Nick asked lazily.
“Are you planning to eat at the same table?” Remembering how he had balked the night before about her topping choice Joy did her utmost to keep a straight face. His playfulness was irresistible.
“Is that a smile you’re trying to hide?”
“No!” Joy pushed firmly at his shoulders.
Nick easily maintained his position. “Are you going to have lunch with me?”
“Anchovies?” Joy asked.
“Anchovies,” Nick responded with a laugh.
“And you have to taste a slice.”
“Okay.” Nick put his hands up in the air as if she was holding a gun on him. “You’ve got me at your mercy.”
Joy let him see her smile as she made a backward reach for the doorknob. There wasn’t any way that she could stay mad at him;
“God, you really are hard on a guy,” Nick said with a grin and stepped back to let her go.
Chapter Three (#ulink_18c47ea6-ae42-5a48-8a5b-aba5ee783d19)
“What have you been up to all day?” Diana asked, addressing Nick as soon as he and Joy stepped into the parlor that evening.
“I’ve been running a newspaper.” Nick winked at Joy. “Trying to, anyway. I might have done better if your sister hadn’t forced me to eat anchovies at lunch.”
Joy’s smile was forced. She’d been happily keyed up since they’d had lunch together, but now that he was about to tell Diana that he’d finally settled down, Joy’s spirits flattened right out.
“A newspaper?” Diana questioned, confused.
“The East End Journal,“ Nick responded, giving a glance to the fourth party in the room. There was a young man standing on a stepladder closing a paint can. Nick didn’t think Joy was picking up on it, but the painter was giving her a thorough once-over. Every fiber of Nick’s body went on alert.
“Formerly the Greenport News,” Joy said.
“I don’t get it,” Diana said, as the painter got down from the ladder.
“Hey, Joy,” he said, flashing her a look—a look that Nick was clearly reading as predatory. He wasn’t liking this one bit!
“Hey, yourself, Eddie,” Joy said while Nick watched her smile at the painter. To Nick that smile seemed to have come to her easier than the smile she’d given him moments ago.
“I still don’t get it,” Diana said again.
“I haven’t seen you dress this way for a day at the slave den before,” Eddie said, giving Joy a provokingly sexy grin, then a low whistle.
Nick ground his teeth almost to the point of needing emergency dental treatment.
“Yeah…well,” was Joy’s lackadaisical response while she tried not comparing herself to Diana. Even in humdrum textured slacks and a plain white shirt rolled to her elbows, Diana was a knockout. Joy wouldn’t have traded Diana for any other sister in the entire world. But the three inches of height Diana had over her was aggravating Joy right now. Couldn’t Diana have at least one shortcoming?
Forcing her thoughts away from her sister, Joy asked Eddie. “How’s the rock and roll business?”
“Happening, babe. Happening.”
Nick watched “Mr. Happening” drop his eyes to briefly explore, for a second time, the fit of Joy’s turtleneck top across her pert breasts.
Joy finally turned to Nick. “Oh, Nick…this is Eddie DeMarco. Painter by day. Rock and roll singer by night. Eddie, this is Nick Tremain. My new boss and Kevin’s brother.”
“Your new boss?” Diana asked, still bewildered.
Eddie raised a paint-covered palm toward Nick’s face. “I’d shake hands with you, but—”
“No problem.” Nick ground out a casual smile, taking adversarial note of Eddie DeMarco’s cocky physical characteristics. What did Joy know of Eddie DeMarco’s nights? Did she go for guys with ponytails?
“Will someone please answer me?” Diana looked from Nick to Joy, then back to Nick.
Just then Emily Mackey pushed open the door from the kitchen. “Dinner is ready. Hurry up. All of you. There’s nothing worse than a lukewarm roast. Eddie, haven’t you changed and washed up yet?”
“I’m going right now, ‘Mom,’” Eddie bantered.
“I’m just going to change my clothes,” Joy said.
“Need any help?” Eddie teased Joy as Mrs. Mackey stepped back into the kitchen.
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Jayne Addison
SISTER OF THE BRIDEJoy Mackey is determined to see that her sister gets married without a hitch. But nothing is going smoothly–and real trouble strikes when the bride's former fiancé pops up. Joy is positive that dashing Nick Tremain plans to wreak the havoc on the wedding–and her heart!BROTHER OF THE GROOMNick couldn't be happier about his brother's engagement to his ex. But try explaining that to Joy! She's convinced he's come back to sabotage the upcoming nuptials. Nick did have every intention of standing at the altar, yet there was only one woman he wanted as his wife. But how to convince Joy that she was the bride of his dreams?
Table of Contents
Cover Page (#uba195c6b-ee9c-57ef-bb10-399c02867843)
Excerpt (#uc1e8b0a2-b091-5805-a9a6-a4ef71d94ee7)
Dear Reader (#u2a6a81eb-91b9-5086-b6b0-8c132c2fdd15)
Title Page (#u0a7a8d96-9c84-5dba-ad02-08e22d357369)
Dedication (#u7fd28007-261d-5ec5-a265-82b11ee42b96)
About the Author (#u0414e84a-97f1-57aa-a794-c331f5ee0eef)
Prologue (#u3abee86a-4b0c-557d-b71c-0ab47de65d4a)
Chapter One (#u1db91a30-8e37-577b-a9d4-bbf6bd9bbd23)
Chapter Two (#u9bb09460-09d3-515f-99f2-1693231a5207)
Chapter Three (#u1230d6da-abb2-5a0f-bb1b-160d9f7e80db)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
“Do we really have to talk about your sister and my brother?”
Nick smiled at Joy. “I’d much rather talk about you.”
“There’s nothing about me to talk about.” Joy turned back to the counter.
“We could talk about whether you’ve been affected by the sun or any full moons since I’ve been gone.”
Joy’s face flushed deep red. Was he intentionally trying to embarrass her by bringing up that longago kiss?
Dear Reader (#ulink_27e96f0b-c883-50a3-b1c0-8839afecc232),
This month Silhouette Romance has six irresistible novels for you, starting with our FABULOUS FATHERS selection, Mad for the Dad by Terry Essig. When a sexy single man becomes an instant dad to a toddler, the independent divorcée next door offers parenthood lessons—only to dream of marriage and motherhood all over again!
In Having Gabriel’s Baby by Kristin Morgan, our BUNDLES OF JOY book, a fleeting night of passion with a handsome, brooding rancher leaves Joelle in the family way—and the dad-to-be insisting on a marriage of convenience for the sake of the baby….
Years ago Julie had been too young for the dashing man of her dreams. Now he’s back in town, and Julie’s still hoping he’ll make her his bride in New Year’s Wife by Linda Varner, part of her miniseries HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
What’s a man to do when he has no interest in marriage but is having trouble resisting the lovely, warm and wonderful woman in his life? Get those cold feet to the nearest wedding chapel in Family Addition by Rebecca Daniels.
In About That Kiss by Jayne Addison, Joy Mackey, sister of the bride, is sure her sis’s ex-fiancé has returned to sabotage the wedding. But his intention is to walk down the aisle with Joy!
And finally, when a woman shows up on a bachelor doctor’s doorstep with a baby that looks just like him, everyone in town mistakenly thinks the tiny tot is his in Christine Scott’s Groom on the Loose.
Enjoy!
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About That Kiss
Jayne Addison
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Evelyn, Rochelle, Lara and Beth.
JAYNE ADDISON
lives on the north shore of Long Island with her husband, Jerry. Their three children, Steven, Andrew and Beth, are presently attending colleges away from home. Jayne finds that writing romance fiction is a great way to beat the empty-nest syndrome. When Jayne isn’t writing, reading or on the phone, you can find her at her local video store checking out the rentals. Needless to say, romance flicks are her favorites.
Prologue (#ulink_dfc06ba6-ca9e-56f7-9b7e-c26d355b0edc)
Joy Mackey squared her slim shoulders and brought her hand up to knock on Nick Tremain’s apartment door. But she didn’t knock. Instead she fanned herself with her hand. She felt very warm, though it wasn’t particularly hot for Long Island in July, no more than eighty degrees and not at all humid yet at nine o’clock in the morning. The heat she was feeling had nothing to do with the temperature. She was about to do something she knew she probably shouldn’t be doing. Not that it was going to stop her from doing it.
Joy drew in a deep breath, then turned on her heels in a complete about-face. She walked four straight steps away from the door. Then two more steps right to the outdoor railing of his third-story, motel-style unit. She’d carefully planned what she was going to say on the drive over from Greenport. Now she couldn’t remember her great opening line.
“Hi, Nick…” Joy practiced, going for a breezy tone.
“Hi, Joy,” Nick replied, as he opened his front door.
Surprised, Joy spun around to face him. “Hi, Nick,” Joy repeated, still startled.
“Hi, again.” Nick closed the door behind him and stood with her in the covered walkway that was open to the elements.
Joy had recovered her composure sufficiently to deliver what she considered her friendliest smile. “Are you going somewhere?” She took note of his white T-shirt lauding the New York Jets, blue jean cutoffs with white strings dangling onto his rugged thighs. His bare feet were in well-worn sneakers and set wide apart at the moment.
“A walk on the beach.” His blue eyes made a quick trip over her own casual attire. But they lingered on her bare legs, she noticed.
“Okay,” Joy said brightly, matching his stride as he headed for the stairs.
“I suppose that means you’re coming with me,” Nick stated.
“Yes.” Joy stuck her chin out stubbornly.
“Did Diana send you?”
“No. My sister did not send me.”
“Does she know you’re here?”
“No.” Joy shook her head emphatically, gesturing flamboyantly with both her hands. “I’m here on my own.”
Frowning, Nick said, “Let me tell you right now, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Joy gritted her teeth. “I’ll talk. You just have to listen.”
“I don’t suppose you’re going to give me any choice.”
Since he obviously knew what she was here for, Joy launched right in. “I can’t believe how ridiculous the two of you are being. You and Diana love each other. There has to be a way for you to work this out. No one decides to get married and then breaks up in the same day.”
Joy looked at his face to see what reaction she’d garnered. The glance he returned was totally impassive. She’d been told she was stubborn a number of times in her life. She was even willing to admit to it. But in this instance, Nick took the prize.
Without commenting, Nick led the way to the street and held the door for her. Squinting her gray-green eyes against the more direct sunlight, Joy walked out, Nick right behind her.
He took a short path up a dune and then down to the beach. There were very few people around—joggers mostly. That’s the way it usually was on a Thursday morning. The New York City crowd hit the beach only on weekends.
“You’re not saying anything,” Joy pointed out, having to raise her voice. He’d gotten ahead of her. The sand was getting into her open sandals, slowing her steps.
Nick stopped and turned. “I already told you that I don’t want to talk about it.” He watched her trying to shake the sand from her shoes. The hint of an easy smile came across his mouth. “Why don’t you just take them off?”
“Will you wait for me?” Joy studied him measuringly, wondering if he’d jog off and deliberately leave her behind.
This time when Nick smiled it was a full-fledged grin. “I’ll wait for you.”
Joy bent over to undo the ties of her sandals. It was the first time she’d worn them. The single bow hadn’t held when she’d put them on so she’d doubled it. Now she was having a hard time getting the knot open. Joy straightened up and ran her moist palms and fingers down the sides of her shorts. Then she bent over to tackle the knot again.
Nick walked over and stood directly in front of her. He drew his key chain out from the pocket of his shorts and squatted. “Put your foot up here.” He tapped his right thigh. “Let me see what I can do.”
Joy saw the silver flash of a small pocketknife as he released it from his key chain. “I don’t want you to cut them off.” She met his upward glance with a horrific look. “I just bought them yesterday. They’re not as comfortable as I thought they’d be, but I still like how they look.”
“I like how they look, too,” Nick quipped, his tone sexy. “Give me your foot. I’m just going to use the tip of the knife to loosen the knot.”
Joy knew he was only being teasingly flirtatious, but her face was flushed as she placed her foot on his thigh and gripped his hard shoulder to balance herself. Inadvertently her fingertips touched his thick, dark hair, which was a little long at the back of his neck. The combination of its soft silkiness and the strength of his muscles made her shiver. His gaze met hers just then, and Joy was suddenly extremely embarrassed that he’d somehow guessed she’d just experienced an unquestionably sexual reaction. She wasn’t supposed to have that kind of a reaction to Nick.
Joy turned her head aside and tried to appear blasé. She gathered up her rust-colored hair from the back of her neck, holding the wavy mass up for a few seconds before letting it drop down to her shoulders again. She was overly conscious of Nick’s hand around her ankle. And though she could feel the direct warmth of the sun, she was still shivering inside. She had the sudden urge to hum a tune—something bouncy and distracting.
“Give me your other foot,” Nick said, having freed her of one sandal without Joy even realizing it.
Joy made the switch after letting the opened sandal slide off her foot and onto the sand. She pictured Diana and Nick as a couple. They were like a matched set of bookends. They both had almost pitch-black hair and blue eyes. He was unequivocally good-looking. Diana was unbelievably beautiful. They were so right for each other.
Nick made faster work out of the second knot. Joy let go of his firm shoulder as she shook off her other sandal. Holding her shoes together by their strings, she curled her bare toes into the sand beneath her feet.
“How did you get that small scar under your chin?” Nick asked, getting to his feet.
“I fell out of a tree when I was eight years old.”
“A tomboy, huh?”
“I guess,” Joy conceded. “My mother told me that when I left the house she always worried about me coming back in one piece. Diana always complained about having to watch me even when we were in our teens.”
“My brother, Kevin, always got stuck baby-sitting me, too. I was glad I wasn’t the older one.”
Joy nodded her head in agreement. “I know you’re thirty-one. How much older is Kevin?” She’d met his brother once. Kevin was a lawyer with a successful practice here in East Hampton. The two men didn’t look any more alike than she looked like Diana. Joy did remember Kevin Tremain being nice-looking in his own right, but minus his brother’s lawless charisma.
“He’s four years older. Diana is three years older than you, right?”
“Yes,” Joy answered. “I used to feel so bad when Diana would get punished along with me for all the scrapes I’d get into.” Joy thought about the small scar high up on her left thigh. She had mastered skateboarding—eventually.
Nick wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a wide grin. “How about we match scrapes? You show me yours. I’ll show you mine.”
Joy shook her head impatiently. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to get me off track. I want to talk about you and Diana and the way you both are right now…which is miserable.”
“How about telling me what idea you’ve come up with for your next column?”
They’d talked about the column she wrote for her town’s local paper quite a few times. It was the flip side of his photojournalism career.
She exhaled with great exasperation. “Please, Nick…This is Diana’s and your future. You’ve got to work it out.”
“That’s not fair,” Nick told her.
“What’s not fair?” Joy eyed him, baffled.
“The way you say please is hard on a guy.”
“Come on, Nick. Ple-e-eze.” Joy admonished his playful ploy with an aggravated look.
Nick sighed. “Do you want to walk?”
“No. I want to stand here and have this out with you.” Joy peered up at him adamantly. “I know there’s a compromise the two of you can reach. I don’t think Diana is right to expect you to change your career from a photojournalist to a commercial photographer, and I don’t think Diana is right not to be willing to meet you partway and curtail all the buying trips she’s always running off on for her clients. I know the two of you can find a way to have quality time together. You can’t break up over this!”
“Maybe Diana and I only thought we had a future together.” He’d had three days now to examine his feelings, and he’d come up with some serious second thoughts that had nothing to do with either one of their careers.
“You and Diana do have a future together,” Joy continued assertively. “I know Diana will compromise on her end if the two of you just talk it out.”
Nick folded his arms across his chest. “You know what I realized a little while ago?”
“What?”
“I’ve had longer conversations with you than I’ve ever had with Diana.”
It took Joy a second to respond. “When two people are in love they don’t need to do that much talking.”
“Joy, I really would like you to drop this.”
But she would not be deterred. “This is your quandary. You and Diana didn’t talk enough before. Now you have to talk.”
Nick unwound his arms and reached out to place a hand lightly on Joy’s mouth. But she turned her head just then and his fingers got caught in her hair.
Joy’s eyes flew to his face while he untangled his fingers. She gazed at him askance for a second, then went right on. “The way I see it…”
The rest of her speech was cut off as Nick captured her face between his hands and out of aggravation covered her mouth with his. He had no thought of doing what he did next, but he’d caught her with her lips parted, and his tongue went where it wanted to go. Spontaneously his hands left her face to bring her up flush against his chest, locking them together in a full-length embrace.
He felt Joy’s tongue arch in uncertainty. Then her arms found their way around his neck and she made the fit even better by rising up on her toes. The sandals dropped from her fingers, and she was kissing him back.
Nick fought a desire to touch more of her with his hands, but that didn’t stop his enjoyment of her mouth. He had no sense at all of wanting to stop, though he did try for a millisecond to clear his head.
A couple of teenage boys walking by whistled their approval. It was only then that Joy and Nick put an abrupt end to what they were doing.
Joy’s arms dropped flaggingly from his neck. Nick let her body slide back down until her heels met the sand before he let go of her. He stared at her.
Joy stared back. Oh, my! Oh, my! she thought.
“Whoo!” Nick breathed. “Where did that come from?”
Joy eyed him incredulously. Where did that come from?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what got into me.”
“Well…ah.” Joy floundered inanely. “What I mean is…well…It’s the heat…the sun…The sun can make people do crazy things.”
“Right. The sun.” Nick stuck his hands in his pockets. “I thought it was a full moon that did that.”
“Right. That, too. And the sun.” Joy trained her eyes down at the sand. God! She’d been falling in love with Nick while he and Diana had been falling in love with each other. All it had taken was that kiss—that earth-shattering kiss—to make her face the truth.
Joy raised her eyes from the sand, but she didn’t meet his gaze head-on. She kept her focus on one neatly trimmed sideburn. “I should be going now. We’ve talked…and all.”
Was her face as red as she thought it was?
“We’ve talked,” Nicked agreed, suddenly subdued.
Joy started to leave. She got four large steps away, when Nick called her.
“Your sandals,” he said.
Joy came back. They both bent down at the same time to pick up her shoes. Their fingers accidentally touched and their eyes met briefly. With the speed of lightning Joy jerked her hand away. Nick gathered together her sandals and he extended them to her as they both straightened up.
Joy felt she should make one last comment on Diana’s behalf. “I know you’re letting your male ego get in your way. Will you stop being so obstinate and marry my sister!”
With that parting remark she walked away. When she looked back over her shoulder she saw Nick standing at the water’s edge, watching her retreat.
Chapter One (#ulink_36757d27-4e72-5981-9af7-7269237230e5)
“Maxie, I am not playing with you in that pile of leaves,” Joy complained to the huge mutt. She’d been enjoying a lazy Sunday until the dog’s insistence made her go outside.
The mutt pulled at its leash, yanking Joy along.
“Maxie…it’s cold out. Let’s just get to the woods and do what you made me think you needed to do.” She was walking him—though running was probably more accurate—in the rear grounds of the large, rambling house in Greenport where she still lived with her mother and a series of guests during the summer season. Her mother had turned the house into a bed and breakfast after her father’s death three years ago.
Maxie headed straight for the largest pile of leaves on the back lawn and made every attempt to climb to the top of the heap. Joy made every attempt to stop him until she slid on a patch of leaves coated with ice and tumbled into the pile. It was the end of November and the winter-cold air froze any moisture on the ground.
“All right. You want leaves, Maxie,” Joy said, laughing as she lay on her back. She let go of the leash, picked up a handful of leaves and threw them up at the dog.
Maxie barked happily.
“Can I play, too?” a voice asked from behind her.
As Joy looked up, her heart lurched, then quickened to a mile a minute. Nick. In an ungainly fashion, discombobulated as she was by his appearance, Joy struggled to get to her feet. Nick came to the rescue and took hold of her wrists to pull her up. Maxie sprang at him, his front paws ploughing into Nick’s back.
“What the…” Nick uttered, just before he landed indelicately on top of Joy, his thighs straddling her hips.
Lifting himself enough to balance his weight on his elbows, Nick smiled down at her. “Hi, Joy.”
“Nick…” His face was no more than inches from hers. Her heart was beating wildly.
Nick’s smile became a grin. “This kind of feels like where we left off the last time we were together.”
Joy was breathless just looking up at him without that reminder. Not that she needed any prompting to be reminded. “I—I think we should get up.”
A smile still on his mouth, Nick bounced back on his heels. Getting the leverage he needed, he sprang to his feet. Joy grasped his offered hands and got to her feet, noticing that Nick held on to her a touch longer than was necessary.
“What are you doing here?” Joy asked. It was about four and a half months since she’d last seen him. He’d accepted an assignment abroad two days after their morning on the beach. He hadn’t been back since.
“Where else would I be with your sister marrying my brother? They haven’t changed their minds, have they?” He brushed leaves off her shoulders.
“No, they haven’t changed their minds. They’re getting married in three weeks. The reception is going to be here in the house.” Joy was shivering more from her pulse going wild than from the cold. She was bundled up well enough, in a very heavy sweater, the war-surplus pea coat she wore to knock around in and a knit hat pulled down low on her forehead and covering her ears.
“Diana and Kevin didn’t expect you to be able to get back for their wedding.” Joy thought in horror about what she must look like to him. The sweater and coat had to make it seem like she’d added fifty pounds to her frame. And that wasn’t the worst of it. The hat! The hat was the worst. “You’re supposed to be in Europe.”
“I was in Europe yesterday. Now I’m here. I did what I had to do to get back.”
He thought she looked adorable. Her face was all eyes. The hair at her neck was hidden under the collar of her coat. “I wasn’t going to miss my brother’s wedding.” His first inclination had been to show up after the fact, but only because he was concerned that Kevin would be uneasy. Though when Kevin had called to tell him he was marrying Nick’s ex-fiancée, his brother hadn’t sounded uneasy.
Joy gazed up at him suspiciously, her eyebrows getting lost under her hat.
“What’s that look for?” Nick grinned as he picked out a few leaves that had stuck to her hat. He knew what she was thinking. Only she couldn’t have been farther from the truth. He was not in love with Diana. He hadn’t thought about her at all during the past four and a half months. He had thought a lot about the woman standing in front of him right now.
“You’re here to make trouble, right?” Joy nodded her head in emphasis.
“No, I’m not here to make trouble. Scout’s honor. Now do I get to come in out of the cold?” He made a point of flippantly hiking up the collar on his leather bomber jacket. The wind was buffeting her back and ruffling his hair. The cold wasn’t bothering him, but he expected she was freezing, given the way she was doing a little jig from foot to foot.
“Yes, you get to come in,” Joy replied tartly and turned toward the house.
Seeing that she was forgetting her mutt, Nick grabbed the leash and dragged Maxie along as he followed her into the house. Joy went through a back door straight into the inn’s large, homey kitchen. Nick unfastened the dog’s leash and hung it up on a hook near the door while Maxie took off.
Joy quickly yanked the ugly hat off her head, stuffed it in her coat pocket and tried casually to fluff her soft brown hair with her fingers. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved. I didn’t stop for lunch. How about going out with me for something to eat? Did you have lunch?”
“I’ve had lunch.” It was going on four p.m. “I’ll make you a couple of sandwiches. There’s some cold chicken.” Joy unbuttoned her coat and hung it on a peg near the back door. She didn’t feel she’d been able to do much with her hair.
“Cold chicken sounds great,” Nick said, taking his jacket off and hanging it on a peg alongside hers. “Kevin told me Diana’s been staying here till the wedding and that he comes out on the weekend. Did I miss him?”
“No. He’ll be back.” Joy closed the refrigerator door with the side of her hip. She had a platter of cold chicken and a jar of mayonnaise in her hands. “They went to have lunch with my mother at the restaurant that’s doing the catering. They’re still debating about some of the dishes they want at the wedding.”
“How come you didn’t go with them?” He moved to stand next to her at the counter.
Joy looked at him from the corner of her eye. She’d already taken in the lean-hipped fit of his black slacks and the bulky, wheat-toned sweater, that made it impossible not to notice his wide shoulders.
“I’m too much of a junk-food junkie to be on the food committee.” She meant to speak in a joking tone, but his nearness was giving her a case of apoplexy. The words came out flat.
His eyes roved over her profile. “What committee are you on?”
“Wedding attire and flowers.” Joy took two rolls out of a bakery bag on the counter and a knife from a drawer. “And…” She was about to say more but his hand came up to her hair, ending that train of thought. “What are you doing?”
“Smoothing down your hair,” Nick said easily. “Turn around and let me get the other side.”
Joy swung around to face him. She was secretly thrilled by his attention, which was exactly what had her bristling now. “You know what surprises me?”
“What surprises you?” He took the knife she didn’t realize she was still holding out of her hand and put it down on the counter.
“I’m surprised that you didn’t come back when Diana and Kevin first started dating.” Joy watched his gaze drop to her hips as she placed her hands there. For a second Joy wondered if she was intentionally trying to flatten her red sweater so he’d know it was the sweater that was puffy, not her hips.
“Actually I didn’t know Diana and Kevin were dating. The first I heard of them being a couple was when Kevin got ahold of me and told me they were getting married. But I wouldn’t have come back even if I had known.”
My eye! Joy muttered in her head. He certainly had come back quickly enough when he’d found out they were getting married.
“Do we really have to talk about Diana and Kevin?” He smiled. “I’d much rather talk about you.”
“There’s nothing about me to talk about.” Joy turned back to the counter. She picked up the knife and jaggedly sliced open both rolls.
“We could talk about your column. Or we could talk about whether you’ve been affected by the sun or any full moons since I’ve been gone.”
Joy’s face flushed deep red. Was he intentionally trying to embarrass her by bringing up that kiss? “Did Kevin tell you how he and Diana first got together?”
“No and I didn’t ask,” Nick responded disinterestedly.
“Diana needed a lawyer to collect money from one of her clients,” Joy said. “That was three months ago.”
Nick leaned back against the counter. “I assume Kevin got Diana’s client to fork over.”
Joy nodded. Taking a plate down from the cabinet overhead she placed the sandwiches on top of it. “He’s a very good lawyer.”
“No question about that.” Nick took the plate and walked over to the kitchen table in the center of the room.
Joy made a half turn in his direction. “Would you like a beer with that?”
“Okay.” Nick took a seat and stretched his legs out.
Joy came to the table with a glass, a bottle of beer and a bag of potato chips. She placed her bounty down within his reach and then took a seat across from him.
Nick opened the bag of chips, took a helping out and put them on his plate. He passed the bag to her. Joy took a handful of chips out for herself.
She watched him begin eating his sandwich.
He watched her munch on chips.
A stretch without any conversation went by while Joy commanded herself to get her eyes off him. Her command went unheeded.
Nick finished one sandwich. “How are you doing with your column?” He had read them all, having worked out an arrangement with the owner/editor of the Greenport News to have the paper forwarded to him. He’d even spoken to her editor a few times, which was how he’d known the paper was up for sale before any official announcement. He toyed with the idea of telling her that he was her new boss, instead of waiting until tomorrow at the Monday morning staff meeting.
“It’s going okay,” Joy returned. “Nothing all that exciting.” She did have something exciting in the works, but she didn’t want to go off on that tangent now. She was hoping to ease back into the topic of Diana and Kevin. She wanted a more definitive expression from him about his intent.
“You’re the one with the glamorous career,” Joy said, directing the conversation to his globetrotting. She knew he’d been in Russia, Egypt, then Europe during the past four and a half months. She’d hunted out every picture of his that had been published.
“It’s not at all glamorous. Living out of a backpack most of the time means not always showering. And it’s almost impossible to establish any relationships. As soon as I meet someone I’d like to get to know, I’m off to someplace else.”
Joy tipped her head slightly. “That doesn’t sound at all like the way you used to speak about your career.”
Nick shrugged his shoulders.
Joy was surprised by his change of attitude. It was the excitement she used to hear in his voice that had given her the impetus to seek out a similar career for herself as a journalist. She’d just gotten a go-ahead last Friday to take on an assignment in Bolivia, three days after Diana and Kevin’s wedding. She hadn’t told anyone about it yet. She thought it only right that she give her notice in to the Greenport News first.
Joy dabbed up some potato chip crumbs on the table with the tip of her finger. “That part about not getting a chance to really know people you wanted to get to know, did that include women you might have thought of getting serious with?”
“Are you asking me if I was interested in anyone romantically?”
“Was that what it sounded like?” She’d been trying to find out whether there had been any lessening in his feelings for Diana. It wasn’t because she was jealous, she reminded herself.
“That’s what it sounded like,” Nick said, grinning. He poured beer into his glass, then studied her over the rim as he took a deep swallow.
“So were you?” Joy impatiently met the mirthful look in his eyes.
Maxie barked just as the front door opened.
Joy took a big frustrated breath and blew it out fast, releasing her disappointment that there wasn’t time now to press him for a response.
Nick’s gaze locked with hers. “No, I didn’t meet any woman I wanted to spend more than one night with or even a single night with.”
“Oh,” Joy managed to say, before her mother appeared in the kitchen, followed by Diana and Kevin. All three looked as surprised to see Nick as Joy had been.
“Nick…” Emily Mackey gushed. She was an attractively unfussy woman on the cusp of turning fifty. Short brown hair framed her lively round face. “It’s wonderful to see you again. We couldn’t imagine whose car was in the driveway.”
“It’s wonderful to see you,” Nick said, returning the smile. He was on his feet, enthusiastically ready to receive a hug, bending to accommodate Emily, who was inches shorter than both her daughters.
Kevin approached to shake his hand, then thump him on the back, getting a thump in return from Nick as males will do in place of an embrace.
“Son of a gun,” Kevin said with a grin almost identical to the grin he was getting from Nick. “I thought you still had pictures to take.”
“I couldn’t think of any picture I wanted to take more than one of you getting hog-tied.” Nick raised his eyebrows, relieved to see that Kevin appeared really happy he’d arrived.
Then it was Nick and Diana facing each other as Kevin drew Diana to his side.
“Hi, Nick,” Diana said slowly.
“Diana,” Nick replied without a grin. He hoped she was truly in love with Kevin. She was going to have him to answer to if his brother got hurt.
Joy caught the lingering look between Nick and Diana and glanced quickly at Kevin to check for his take on the situation. Kevin’s brown eyes gazed affectionately—and naively—at Diana. Joy resisted an impulse to punch Kevin in the head.
“Joy, did you put on coffee?” Emily Mackey asked, taking off her coat, adding it to the leather jacket and navy pea coat already on hooks.
“No, but I will,” she replied. Joy watched Diana and Nick break their regard of each other, and she walked over to the counter where the coffee maker was.
Filling the pot with water, Joy observed as Kevin assisted Diana with her coat. Joy already knew what Diana was wearing underneath her coat. A short, straight black skirt, a white cashmere sweater, black tights and sexy black high-heeled boots.
Joy craned her neck to see if Nick was appraising her sister. When she saw that Diana did indeed have his attention—Joy let the water spill out over the top of the glass coffeepot. Embarrassed she quickly turned off the faucet.
Kevin said to his brother, “I know you gave up your lease. You’ll stay with me.”
“Thanks, Kev,” Nick replied. “But I figured on finding a place here in Greenport.”
Water sluiced over the sides of the coffee maker as Joy poured from the pot. Of course he wanted to stay in Greenport! All the better to see Diana.
“There’s no need for you to look for someplace to stay. There’s certainly plenty of room here,” Emily Mackey announced. “The downstairs is a mess with all the painting going on, but the bedrooms are all fine.”
“That would be great, but are you sure I won’t be in the way?”
Joy gnawed her bottom lip as she mopped up water from the counter with a sponge. Didn’t anyone else realize what was going on here? Was she the only one that wasn’t naive?
“Not another word about it,” Emily Mackey insisted. “Joy, I’ll finish making the coffee. Would you two girls go up and get a room ready? Nick, please finish your sandwich. I’ve got cherry pie for you. I baked just this morning.”
Joy and Diana left the kitchen. Kevin walked out behind them to hang his coat and Diana’s in the front hall closet. The three maneuvered around furniture that had been covered with heavy drop cloths and pushed into the middle of the living room. The front entryway was the only completed section on the first floor.
“Hurry up you two,” Kevin said as Diana and Joy started up the stairs to the landing. “I can’t stay too late. I’ve got briefs to go over tonight.”
“You’d better not be thinking of bringing any briefs on our honeymoon,” Diana replied over her shoulder.
“I’m not figuring on bringing any briefs at all,” Kevin called back up to Diana.
Diana smiled to Joy showing her amusement with Kevin’s retort.
She wasn’t in a smiling mood, but Joy gave it her all to smile back as they reached the second floor. “Did you ever think of not waiting any longer and just eloping?”
“Don’t be silly,” Diana answered with indignation. “I want a church wedding with all the trimmings. And I want my reception here, where no one else has had their reception. It’s going to be just perfect having it here once everything’s all together. Don’t you think so?”
Joy wistfully nodded her head as she opened the door to the linen closet in the hallway. If she were getting married she’d want it to be just the way Diana had it planned.
“Which bedroom do you think we should put Nick in?” Diana asked her.
“How about the attic bedroom?” Joy suggested, gathering together a set of sheets.
“I think Mom would rather have us all on the same floor. Let’s put him in the bedroom between yours and mine.”
Joy scowled.
“What?” Diana asked.
“Nothing.”
Diana wouldn’t let it go. “Was it obvious to you, too?”
“Was what obvious?” Joy asked innocently.
“Nick. He’s still in love with me. Did you see the look in his eyes when we said hello to each other?”
“I saw it.”
“Poor Nick.” Diana released a deep breath. “I really feel badly about it.”
Joy didn’t think Diana felt half as bad as she did—not that Joy imagined Nick could ever be interested in her, even if Diana was out of the picture.
Chapter Two (#ulink_eca02222-ef2d-532f-b299-06c874070c45)
Nick couldn’t sleep. He turned the lamp on next to his bed and reached for his watch. Seeing that it was nearing midnight, he realized he’d been tossing around for close to an hour. Could it have something to do with the pizza he’d shared with Joy at ten o’clock? They’d been the only two interested in food, so Nick had gone out and brought a pizza back. However, Nick decided his inability to sleep had less to do with the food he’d eaten and more to do with the company he’d shared it with.
Nick grinned and thought about Joy fast asleep and curled up in her bed. He wondered if she slept on her stomach. Or flat on her back the way she’d.been on the pile of leaves. Flat on her back brought a red-hot image to his mind.
Slow it down, Tremain! How long ago was itfleeting though it may have been—that you thought you were in love with Diana?
Knowing these thoughts would not help him sleep, he decided to go downstairs. He used the miniature pocket flashlight hanging from his key chain to find his way to the kitchen. Once in the cozy room he poured himself a glass of soda. His flashlight began blinking and he turned it off to conserve the battery. He drank his soda in the dark, something he’d often done out of occupational necessity.
Suddenly the kitchen was flooded with light. A surprised Nick was confronted with a bleary-eyed Joy, dressed in colorful flannel pajamas.
“What are you doing?” Joy asked as soon as she got over being startled at finding a very bare-chested man in her kitchen.
“I was thirsty.” Nick held out his glass of soda. “What brought you downstairs?”
“Thirsty…very thirsty.” She wasn’t making any move to do anything about it. The muscles of his chest and forearms had her mesmerized.
“Must have been the pizza.” Nick grinned.
“Uh-huh.” Uh-huh, she thought…uh-huh? Is that all you can think to say? Uh-huh! You’re a writer! You’re supposed to be good with words.
“How about some cola?” Nick asked.
“Okay,” Joy answered.
Nick put his glass on the counter and poured her drink. He held out the glass, and Joy felt as if she were walking in a dream as she came up to him. The coldness of the glass in her hand came as something of a shock. She wasn’t conscious of having even accepted it.
“Love your pajamas.” He gave her a full-wattage grin as she held the glass to her lips.
Joy gulped and sputtered. She looked down at herself after wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She would hardly have picked to wear what she was wearing if she was conjuring this up as a dream.
“They were a present.” Joy ran the tip of her tongue across her lips.
Nick dragged his eyes off her mouth and studied the array of small iridescent red hearts against the background of cream-colored flannel. “Did some guy give them to you?”
He knew she wasn’t seriously involved with anyone. He knew because he’d asked Kevin. Indirectly, of course.
Joy shook her head. “A friend from work ga?? them to me for my birthday.”
He liked that answer. “And when was your birthday?”
“February fourteenth, Valentine’s Day.”
“Cupid’s baby, huh?” Nick grinned.
Joy nodded. Looking at his bare chest was causing her heart to flutter.
His eyes moved over her face. “Your chin looks a little sticky.”
“Cola,” Joy said.
Nick took hold of the hand she started to raise and kept it down at her side. He brought his free hand up and touched the damp spot on her chin.
Joy’s lips parted. She was breathing haltingly through her mouth as his hand lifted her chin higher.
And then the kitchen door swung open.
“What are the two of you doing?” Diana asked, clothed in one of her seductive nightgowns. The thin, pink silk just missed being see-through.
“Drinking,” Nick muttered, bringing his hand back down.
“We were both thirsty,” Joy added. “And I had cola on my chin.”
Diana proceeded to the refrigerator for the platter of cold chicken. “It isn’t any wonder that you’d be thirsty. How the two of you can eat the food you eat is beyond me. Don’t either of you have any concern for your bodies?”
Nick groaned to himself. He had a very definite interest in one of the bodies in the room. It wasn’t his. Nor was it Diana’s.
“Well,” Joy said awkwardly. “I guess I’ve had enough. See you both in the morning.”
“I’ve had enough, too,” Nick said. “I’ll walk up with you.”
She looked over at him just once, as they walked toward the stairs. Had he been about to kiss her when Diana had walked in on them? No, Joy answered herself. So what had he been doing?
“Are you tired?” Nick asked as they reached Joy’s bedroom door.
“Uh-huh,” Joy answered, then moaned under her breath. “Aren’t you?”
“Not really. But I guess since you’re tired I won’t try to persuade you to stay up with me a little longer.”
Joy took a deep breath. Persuade! She was like putty in his hands.
“Well, see you tomorrow,” Nick said with a smile.
“Tomorrow is a workday for me.” Joy made herself open her bedroom door. “I leave early.”
“I’m a pretty early riser myself.”
“Even without much sleep?”
“Even without much sleep.”
“Good night,” she said.
“Good night,” he answered.
Joy took a resolute step into her bedroom. Not looking back, she closed the door.
Nick stood in the hallway a second longer, wondering again what position she slept in.
Her mother was flipping pancakes as Joy came into the kitchen the next morning. After noting that no one else was in the room, Joy marched straight for the coffee that was already brewed.
Emily slipped a pancake onto a plate. “How many will you have? Two or three?”
“I don’t have time for more than a swallow of coffee,” Joy said to her mother. “I’ve overslept as it is.” She hadn’t fallen asleep until the wee hours of the morning. “Put them in the oven for Diana and Nick.”
“If Diana eats half a pancake that will be a lot, and Nick has already eaten and left.”
Joy put down the cup of coffee that she hadn’t yet taken a swallow from. “Nick ate and left already? Where did he go?”
“He didn’t say, dear.” Emily looked at her youngest child thoughtfully. “I must say he didn’t appear any less tired than you do this morning.”
“I guess we were both attacked by pepperoni pizza.” Joy gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, then hurried off.
* * *
The newsroom of the Greenport News was buzzing when Joy arrived. It was never a quiet place to begin with, but this morning there was an unusually high-pitched quality to the chatter.
Joy hung up her green reefer coat and glanced around. Even Arthur Dailey was in animated conversation with Bill Kellman. That was unusual. The two pressmen, both gray-haired, though Arthur had more on his pate than Bill, hardly ever spoke to each other. There was something about one having slighted the other sometime back. Way back. Joy suspected that neither man recalled the exact slight, nor which one of them had delivered it, or even exactly when it had happened.
“What’s going on?” Joy asked, catching the ear of Pamela Cousins, a breezy forty-year-old blonde with an ample shape and a Ms. Congeniality personality. She manned the phone for the classifieds. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t like Pamela. Nor was there anyone who Pamela didn’t like back.
“You know. The big news,” Pamela said, turning from Cal Peterson who reported weekly on the activities of the Greenport wharf.
“What big news?” Joy asked.
“Oh,” Pamela said. “I thought that was the reason you dressed up today. You know…to make an impression on him.“
“‘Him’?” The only him she’d wanted to make an impression on in her short, slim, gray wool skirt; clingy, white, ribbed-jersey turtleneck; high-heeled black pumps; and black panty hose had left before she’d come down to the kitchen. “What ‘him’?”
“Our new boss. The man Earl sold the paper to.”
“Earl sold the paper?” Joy was amazed.
“The new owner is in his office right now. Earl said he’ll be introducing us all once you’d arrived. They’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’ll go tell Earl you’re here,” Cal said, breaking away.
“Have you seen the new owner?” Joy inquired of Pamela.
Pamela expressed her response to Joy’s question with a big smile before she said, “God, I wish I was ten years younger and not married. The man is a S-T-U-D.”
Earl Lansing came out of his office and into the main section of the news area with Cal Peterson and the man Pamela had just labeled a stud. Joy’s mouth fell open. The stud at Earl Lansing’s side was Nick Tremain.
Earl Lansing’s eyes singled out Joy. “I assume you know by now?”
Joy got her mouth closed in time to nod her head. Her eyes flashed to Nick. He gave her a fast wink, then a very slow perusal. When his eyes did cruise back up to hers, there was sexy masculine approval in his gaze.
Joy felt her face get warm.
Nick grinned.
By then everyone in the office had gathered around.
“I am not going to give a speech,” Earl began, looking delighted. “I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing me complain about still working at my age—”
Cal Peterson cut in jokingly. “It’s not fair of you to walk out without letting one of us win the yearly bet. Just how old are you?”
Earl chuckled. “Old enough to know better, but not old enough to stop doing it.”
There was laughter and cheers.
Earl waved both his hands to bring the group to order. “Ladies and gentlemen…may I present Nick Tremain, the new owner of the Greenport News. You’ve got a renowned photojournalist for a boss now, but I’ll let him tell you about that himself.”
Earl smiled at Nick. “It’s all yours.”
But it wasn’t all Nick’s yet, as the staff crowded around Earl to wish him well. In that moment only Joy stood to one side, where Nick’s full attention was on her. There was a hint of devilishness around his mouth. Joy flicked him a look of sheer incredulity before she included herself among Earl’s well-wishers.
“I’m not leaving without a big hug from you,” Earl smiled, getting to Joy last.
“Oh, Earl,” Joy said emotionally as the hug ended. “I’m really going to miss you.” She’d already had that feeling on her mind, knowing she was going to give three weeks’ notice this morning.
Earl fondly patted Joy’s shoulder as he looked out at all the people who had worked for him. “Is tomorrow enough time for you to get a cake for me?”
Pamela called out, “I’m going to bake you my triple-layer chocolate cake.”
Someone joked, “Is that the one we have to use a saw on?”
Earl smiled broadly. “Settle down, kiddies. And behave yourselves.”
Cal Peterson said, “So you finally get to take your wife to Florida. Pearl must be dancing a jig.”
“She’s certainly nagged me about it long enough,” Earl replied. “But I will be around a few more days just to make sure you all stay in line. Only right now I’m going out to have myself a long, leisurely breakfast while the man of the hour takes over.” Earl gave Nick a two-finger salute.
A tense silence filled the newsroom as soon as Earl walked out. All eyes were on Nick. Joy was certain she was the only one that noticed Nick was a little tense himself. She could tell just from the way he stood.
Nick smiled at the group. “Let me begin by saying that my intention is to be more than an editor. I’m planning to work out in the field, as well.”
The twenty-eight-year-old staff photographer for the Greenport News cleared his throat. “I’m real familiar with your photos, Mr. Tremain. I guess you won’t be needing me around here anymore.”
“You’re George DeGeneris, right?” Nick questioned.
“Yes, sir.” George put an uneasy hand up to his hair in a reflexive motion, but the untamable blond cowlick sprang right back up.
“Cut the ‘sir.’” Nick grinned. “Now it may take me a little time to put a name to all your faces, but I am fully aware of the work each and every one of you do around here. And I haven’t seen anything to complain about. I’m especially familiar with your photos, George. Your concepts are fresh and alive. What I’m going to want is more of the same. A lot more of the same. I want a lot more of the same from all of you, but I’m also going to want you to stretch beyond where you’ve been. We’re going to create something together. Something new and different.
“We are not going to be just a local paper anymore. We’re going to feature stories that today’s top magazines will envy. We’re not going to just deliver the news. We’re going to tell the stories behind the news. In-depth stories about the people that make the news and not just in Greenport. We’re going to cover the entire East End. We are going to become the East End Journal and we are going to give the ‘big boys’ a run for the money. And, by the way, it’s Nick and not Mr. Tremain.”
The applause came. It started slowly then built up. And the ice was broken, replaced by an excitement that permeated the room.
Joy saw Nick take a deep breath and then give one of his easy, relaxed smiles. She felt the same exhilaration as her co-workers and thought about how much she would have liked to be a part of his plans.
Nick made a kidding motion with a slice of his hand in front of his throat to quiet the buzz that had started. Succeeding, he spoke again. “I’m going to want to meet personally with each one of you throughout the day. Right now I think we all need another cup of coffee.”
Except for Joy and Nick, the staff dispersed to queue up in front of the coffee maker.
“How about being the first one I meet with personally?” Nick asked with a teasing grin that was meant only for her.
Joy wanted to return his dynamite smile, but she didn’t. “Actually there is something I need to speak to you about,” she replied in a professional tone.
The smile left Nick’s mouth as his eyes searched hers. He nodded briefly and then led the way to the office that had just become his.
“Sit down,” Nick said, once they’d both entered the room and he’d closed the door—and after they’d stood for a fraction of a second just evaluating each other. She was nervous. He could read that easily, though she was working at not letting it show.
Joy settled herself into one of the two wooden chairs in front of the desk while Nick took the chair behind the desk. He leaned forward.
Joy swallowed. “I can’t believe you’ve bought the paper. But, anyway, everyone loved your ideas.”
“Did you?” He was studying her closely.
“Absolutely.” Her eyes became bright with the excitement he’d engendered with his comments before Joy dropped them to look at her lap.
Nick watched her pull the hem of her skirt down some. It still didn’t get any nearer to her knees.
Joy swallowed again. “I was going to give Earl three weeks’ notice this morning. It seems that you’re the one that I’m going to have to give my notice to now.” There was no way she could stay and work with him, not feeling the way she did about him. Just thinking about it was torture.
Nick felt like he’d just had his lights punched out. He picked up a pen from the desk and fiddled with it. How was he supposed to court her with her taking off? “You have three more months to run on your contract here.”
“I know that.” Joy’s focus was on the pen he was holding, not his eyes.
“Would you mind telling me what brought you to this decision?”
“I’ve been offered an assignment with New World magazine. They’re going to be sending reporters out to a number of South American countries to do stories on daily life. I’m slated to go to Bolivia. There’s still some reservation on their part, but they’re giving me a shot.” It was her chance to, if nothing else, have a stimulating career for herself.
“There shouldn’t be any reservations on their part. They don’t deserve you if they haven’t figured out how talented you are.”
Joy’s gray-green eyes came up to find sincerity written on his face. She felt all aglow at his praise.
This time it was Nick who broke eye contact. “I’m not letting you out of your contract.”
Joy blinked. “That’s ridiculous. In three weeks’ time you’ll find a hundred reporters to take my place.”
“I want you,” Nick said tersely, his eyes back on her.
“I can’t stay, Nick,” Joy said just as succinctly while their gazes locked.
Nick dropped the pen to the desk. “I don’t see that you have any choice but to work out your contract. I am not accepting your notice.”
“I have a choice. I can break my contract,” Joy returned rigidly.
“Try it and I’ll sue you,” Nick said, bluffing.
Joy tipped up her unsteady chin. She didn’t know if she wanted to cry or throw something at him. “You’d actually sue me?”
He didn’t answer, just continued to look at her.
Joy no longer felt the threat of tears. What she felt was frustration and anger. “What made you decide to buy this paper, anyway?”
“I decided it was time for me to settle down in one place and build roots.”
Joy thought about his answer for a long moment.
“I get it,” she said, pushing back her chair and standing. Of course, she got it. He was showing Diana that he’d settled down. It was his traveling that had broken them up.
“What do you get?” Nick asked, reaching her as she got to the door.
Joy turned around to give him a withering glance. “We both know why you picked now to settle down.”
Nick couldn’t hold back a grin. She looked so cute with her eyes blazing at him. “I really don’t think you have a clue.”
“Oh, I have a clue. I have more than a clue,” Joy retorted.
“Forget what you think you know.” Nick put his palms to the door on either side of her, pinning her in place. “How about we talk about a compromise?”
“What kind of compromise?” Joy asked, partly steaming, partly intoxicated by his proximity. More intoxicated than steaming. And thrilled. Being praised by someone of his professional stature was exhilarating.
“You work out the rest of your contract without being angry at me, and if you still want to leave then I’ll see that you get an assignment from someone who will appreciate you. It’s obvious you haven’t met with the right people.”
Joy narrowed her eyes at him. “Is this a snow job?” Even if it was, Joy realized, what choice did she have? She couldn’t imagine any editor hiring a journalist who had been sued for breach of contract.
“No.”
“Can I go to my desk now?” How in heaven’s name was she going to get through three months of being around him?
“Are you still mad at me?” Nick angled his head.
“Yes.” She didn’t get all that much conviction in her tone. It was impossible for her to disassociate herself from his sexiness.
“How about if I buy you pizza with anchovies for lunch?” Nick asked lazily.
“Are you planning to eat at the same table?” Remembering how he had balked the night before about her topping choice Joy did her utmost to keep a straight face. His playfulness was irresistible.
“Is that a smile you’re trying to hide?”
“No!” Joy pushed firmly at his shoulders.
Nick easily maintained his position. “Are you going to have lunch with me?”
“Anchovies?” Joy asked.
“Anchovies,” Nick responded with a laugh.
“And you have to taste a slice.”
“Okay.” Nick put his hands up in the air as if she was holding a gun on him. “You’ve got me at your mercy.”
Joy let him see her smile as she made a backward reach for the doorknob. There wasn’t any way that she could stay mad at him;
“God, you really are hard on a guy,” Nick said with a grin and stepped back to let her go.
Chapter Three (#ulink_18c47ea6-ae42-5a48-8a5b-aba5ee783d19)
“What have you been up to all day?” Diana asked, addressing Nick as soon as he and Joy stepped into the parlor that evening.
“I’ve been running a newspaper.” Nick winked at Joy. “Trying to, anyway. I might have done better if your sister hadn’t forced me to eat anchovies at lunch.”
Joy’s smile was forced. She’d been happily keyed up since they’d had lunch together, but now that he was about to tell Diana that he’d finally settled down, Joy’s spirits flattened right out.
“A newspaper?” Diana questioned, confused.
“The East End Journal,“ Nick responded, giving a glance to the fourth party in the room. There was a young man standing on a stepladder closing a paint can. Nick didn’t think Joy was picking up on it, but the painter was giving her a thorough once-over. Every fiber of Nick’s body went on alert.
“Formerly the Greenport News,” Joy said.
“I don’t get it,” Diana said, as the painter got down from the ladder.
“Hey, Joy,” he said, flashing her a look—a look that Nick was clearly reading as predatory. He wasn’t liking this one bit!
“Hey, yourself, Eddie,” Joy said while Nick watched her smile at the painter. To Nick that smile seemed to have come to her easier than the smile she’d given him moments ago.
“I still don’t get it,” Diana said again.
“I haven’t seen you dress this way for a day at the slave den before,” Eddie said, giving Joy a provokingly sexy grin, then a low whistle.
Nick ground his teeth almost to the point of needing emergency dental treatment.
“Yeah…well,” was Joy’s lackadaisical response while she tried not comparing herself to Diana. Even in humdrum textured slacks and a plain white shirt rolled to her elbows, Diana was a knockout. Joy wouldn’t have traded Diana for any other sister in the entire world. But the three inches of height Diana had over her was aggravating Joy right now. Couldn’t Diana have at least one shortcoming?
Forcing her thoughts away from her sister, Joy asked Eddie. “How’s the rock and roll business?”
“Happening, babe. Happening.”
Nick watched “Mr. Happening” drop his eyes to briefly explore, for a second time, the fit of Joy’s turtleneck top across her pert breasts.
Joy finally turned to Nick. “Oh, Nick…this is Eddie DeMarco. Painter by day. Rock and roll singer by night. Eddie, this is Nick Tremain. My new boss and Kevin’s brother.”
“Your new boss?” Diana asked, still bewildered.
Eddie raised a paint-covered palm toward Nick’s face. “I’d shake hands with you, but—”
“No problem.” Nick ground out a casual smile, taking adversarial note of Eddie DeMarco’s cocky physical characteristics. What did Joy know of Eddie DeMarco’s nights? Did she go for guys with ponytails?
“Will someone please answer me?” Diana looked from Nick to Joy, then back to Nick.
Just then Emily Mackey pushed open the door from the kitchen. “Dinner is ready. Hurry up. All of you. There’s nothing worse than a lukewarm roast. Eddie, haven’t you changed and washed up yet?”
“I’m going right now, ‘Mom,’” Eddie bantered.
“I’m just going to change my clothes,” Joy said.
“Need any help?” Eddie teased Joy as Mrs. Mackey stepped back into the kitchen.
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