Especially when Roman turned toward the door in time to see Charlotte and Rick walk out together, his brother’s hand on the small of her naked back. He’d worry about self-control tomorrow, while self-preservation, he decided, was way overrated.
He stormed outside and into the dark night without looking back.
Raina watched her middle son leave with Charlotte to check on Beth Hansen while her youngest ran out of town hall, all eyes on his abrupt and angry departure. Her sons knew how to make an entrance, but they had to work on their exits.
Still, she couldn’t deny the sweeping sense of relief she felt with their departures. She’d have to sit tight. Though she’d love a dance, she couldn’t afford gossip to reach her boys. They were too smart and might just figure out her scam if she wasn’t careful. Keeping up the charade of poor health was more difficult than she’d imagined when she’d concocted this idea.
She shook her head, then glanced over at the punch bowl. Samson had long since disappeared to be replaced by Terrie Whitehall, Roman’s leftovers. She sighed. Much as she adored her boys, she hated the devastation left in their wake. Raina felt particularly protective toward Charlotte. And the last thing she wanted Charlotte Bronson to be was a Chandler casualty.
A daughter-in-law, now, that was another story. “Looks like there are renewed sparks between Roman and Charlotte,” Raina said to Eric, pleased her youngest had shown emotion where Charlotte was concerned.
She didn’t put much stock in the way he’d sashayed from female to female tonight, ignoring the one who interested him most. And she knew Rick’s interest in Charlotte was purely platonic, meant to rouse his sibling’s jealousy and perhaps get him to make a move sooner rather than later.
Raina liked that idea. It just might work—if Roman didn’t kill Rick first. “Those boys will be the death of me,” she said aloud.
Eric bit into the carrots they’d loaded onto a plastic plate earlier. “You’re mothering again.”
“Do you think Roman’s gone after them?”
“Do you think he wants us speculating?”
Raina shrugged. “I’m sure the rest of the room’s doing the same. He wasn’t exactly discreet about his departure.” She tapped her fingernail against the seat of the metal folding chair. “Come to think of it, neither was Annie. Poor Charlotte. Do you think Annie’s depression is curable?”
He sighed. “Do you think I’m going to discuss a patient with you?”
“Potential patient. Charlotte said she wants you to treat her mother—assuming she has any kind of condition other than lovesickness. Charlotte’s a sweet, caring woman. She’d make a wonderful wife and mother. Speaking of babies . . .”
“Let’s not.” Eric picked up another carrot from the plastic plate he held on his lap, dipped it into low-fat salad dressing, and popped it into Raina’s mouth.
She would have been offended if his tone weren’t so deep and compelling and his touch weren’t so warm. A long-forgotten heat rose inside her, starting in the pit of her stomach and spreading wide.
She chewed and swallowed the carrot, giving herself time to accept and adjust. “You’re trying to distract me,” she said when she’d finished eating.
“Your boys are gone. You don’t need to act so frail anymore. How am I doing?” He dipped and held up another carrot. “In the distraction department, I mean.”
“Not bad, for an old man.” She smiled, unable to believe she was flirting. Raina didn’t care if distraction was Eric’s intent, she liked the male attention and discovered she’d missed it more than she’d realized.
“Who are you calling old?” He dotted the carrot on the tip of her nose and quickly kissed off the bit of dip he’d left behind.
Desire she couldn’t mistake swelled in her chest. “You certainly don’t make me feel old,” she murmured. She didn’t even care that they were in a public place where anyone could see.
“I should hope not.” He laughed and leaned closer, so he could whisper in her ear. “And I’m betting in time I can make you feel even younger. So young you’ll forget your quest for grandchildren and think about only me.”
“I’d like to see you try.” And try, and try. As long as he continued to make her feel young, vibrant, and alive, he had her permission to experiment all he wanted. She hoped Roman intended to do the same.
With Charlotte.
Charlotte left town hall with Rick and together they went to check on Beth. She rented a room in an old house on the outskirts of town. With its wraparound porch, trellis, huge front lawn, and the sunlight that shone into the kitchen, the house had the ambience of home. It was the exact type of place Charlotte had always dreamed of living in one day, when she had a family of her own. It was the dream she’d had when she wasn’t fantasizing about faraway places with exotic names and incredibly beautiful scenery illuminated by glistening water and the sun’s glorious rays.
Sometimes Charlotte thought she had a split personality, two people living inside her craving two different things. Still, both scenarios included sunshine and a happy ending, something she wanted for Beth too.
And there was no hint of either in her friend’s expression, which made Charlotte want to strangle Dr. Implant. “Why couldn’t he make it this weekend?”
Beth shrugged. “He said he had an unexpected speaking engagement.”
Beth turned and stared out the window.
“Is that new language for something suddenly came up?” Charlotte whispered to Rick.
He shot her a warning look, which she heeded. But she just didn’t understand why Beth’s fiancé didn’t bring her to the city or pay more attention to the woman he claimed to love.
“Maybe something suddenly did come up. Like a speaking opportunity he couldn’t turn down.” Rick walked up beside Beth and put a friendly arm around her shoulder.
“Then why didn’t he ask me to join him in New York?” She turned to look at Charlotte.
Charlotte inclined her head, having no answers. Her friend had a valid point, but she wasn’t about to admit it now.
“Maybe he didn’t want you to be bored,” Rick said. “And maybe—”
“He’ll make it up to you,” Charlotte added, picking up on his list of possible explanations. He obviously sought to protect Beth’s already bruised feelings, and he was right. There was time enough for Beth to face and accept the truth—whatever that was. Tonight she just needed her friends.