than one. All in good time….
“Denton, how marvelous to see you!” Rhonda, her timing impeccable as always, descended on them in a perfumed cloud. She offered her cheek to Denton, who obligingly kissed her. Rhonda made a show of just now noticing Rachel’s presence. “Hello, Rachel. I didn’t know you were here.”
“Of course not. Why would you notice little old me?” She took a step closer to Denton, in an attempt to keep him from being completely lured away by Rhonda’s black-belt charm. “Denton and I were just discussing our plans for a television show based on my Man Taming columns.”
She ignored Denton’s frown and kept her gaze fixed on her sister.
Rhonda’s smile vanished, replaced by an expression more appropriate for funerals and firing squads. “Oh no! Please tell me you aren’t going to embarrass yourself—not to mention the rest of the family—by taking these ridiculous ideas of yours public.”
“Hello? I write a monthly column with a circulation of over two hundred thousand. I’d say that’s pretty public.”
“The Man Tamer is one of Belinda magazine’s most popular features,” Denton said. His defense of her pleased Rachel, though she suspected the billionaire just liked pitting the sisters against each other. The socially acceptable equivalent of female mud wrestling.
Rhonda’s expression didn’t lighten in the least. “I suppose reality television and daytime talk shows prove the general public has a taste for sensationalism,” she said. “Still, it’s difficult to accept that a beloved family member would lower herself so.”
Only Denton’s presence and fear of making a public scene saved Rachel from slapping her sister. She forced a saccharine smile to her face. “Just think of it as my way of helping people to get the most out of their relationships,” she said. “I know how interested you are in philanthropy.” Rhonda was on the board of half a dozen Dallas charities—not because she was so interested in the underprivileged, but because it kept her name and face in the spotlight.
“Speaking of charity…” Rhonda latched onto Denton’s arm and fixed him with a dazzling smile. Rachel thought about telling her to lay off the teeth whitening. It was starting to look a little scary. “I wanted to discuss the upcoming fund-raiser for the Children’s Hospital….” Ignoring Rachel, she steered Denton away, a determined tugboat towing a not-so-reluctant barge.
Rachel headed back toward the buffet table and a fresh plate of strawberries—and a pile of napkins. She was going to drown her frustrations in chocolate and plot her next move with Garret Kelly. A positively evil smile shaped her lips as she pictured herself, on Garret’s arm, introducing him to Rhonda. “This is Wild Man Kelly,” she’d say. “The star of the Dallas Devils and my very good friend.” One older husband—no matter how wealthy and socially prominent—wasn’t a match for a muscular hunk with a sexy foreign accent. Rhonda would be positively green. A good color on her, Rachel thought.
“MEN LIKE GARRET KELLY think they’re happy living the way they do, but that’s only because they don’t know what they’re missing.” The following Monday, Rachel stirred sweetener into her iced tea and eyed Moira across the café table. “I can show men like him how to improve their lives.”
“For your sake, I hope it involves regular sex,” Moira said. “That’s something that’s been missing from your life for a while.”
Rachel ignored the dig. “I can’t let myself get distracted by my personal desires,” she said. “This is serious business. If I can prove my man-taming principles work on a he-man like Garret Kelly, I can have a whole new career in television.”
“That’s a big if.” Moira added pepper to her salad. “A man who goes by the nickname ‘Wild Man’ might not respond well to taming.”
“I’m not going to fail.” No matter what Denton or Rhonda or anyone else thinks. “I’m going to devote all my energy to this project. I will have that television show.”
“I guess there’s nothing that says you can’t enjoy yourself while you’re at it,” Moira said. “After all, Garret Kelly is awfully sexy. If you like the big, brawny type.”
The memory of Garret’s mouth wrapped around her fingers made Rachel squirm in her seat. “Yeah. He’s all right.”
“All right? Girl, you should have seen the women drooling over him at Denton’s party. And he asked about you.”
She blinked. “He did? What did he say?”
“I mentioned that I was your friend and he said you were very interesting. But he said it in a way that meant he was interested in getting to know you better.”
“Well, that’s good. It should make my job easier.” If she could keep from getting distracted by her own rampant lust.
“So, are you just going to walk up to him and announce that you’re the Man Tamer, here to transform him?” Moira asked.
She shook her head. “No. Denton’s decided pairing the two of us will make a great publicity stunt. The Wild Man and the Man Tamer—get it? Part of his plan to gain as much press as possible for the Dallas Devils and his new star player.”
Getting Garret to go along with the scheme might be a little tricky, but if anyone could do it, Denton could. The man was a master manipulator. He’d play up the publicity angle and Rachel would pretend to go along. If Garret was like most men, he’d have no clue she was working to tame him. It was part of the beauty of her techniques and one reason they were so successful.
She took a bite of salad and chewed thoughtfully, then, anxious to move the conversation away from her impending transformation of Wild Man to Perfect Boyfriend, she asked, “How are things with you and Dave?”
Moira slumped in her chair. “The man is addicted to hockey, basketball and now lacrosse. There’s some game on almost every night, and of course he has to watch them all. I’d get more attention from him if I painted my body like a scoreboard.”
“Hmm. Maybe he’s taking for granted you’ll always be there. Have you tried ignoring him? Purposely staying away?”
“Would that be ‘withholding affection’?” Moira asked.
“Exactly.”
“I’m afraid he wouldn’t even notice. And where would that leave me?”
Better off? Rachel thought, but she didn’t say it. “Then do you love him enough to resign yourself to being a sports widow?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Moira fiddled with her fork. “I do love him. And I think deep down, he still loves me. But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being taken for granted this way.”
“Then maybe it’s time to punish his bad behavior,” Rachel said.
“How do I do that? Disconnect his cable?”
Rachel smiled. “That’s one alternative. But I was thinking of bringing another man into the picture. Make Dave jealous.”
Moira’s eyes widened. “I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not? If Dave’s deserted you for professional sports, you can give him a taste of his own medicine by paying attention to someone else.”
“Right.” Moira looked around. “And where are all these men vying for my attention?”
“They’re out there. You haven’t noticed them because you’re giving off ‘taken’ vibes. You just have to make yourself available and someone will show up.”
“Spoken by someone who hasn’t had a steady boyfriend in two years.”
“It’s only been a little over a year. And I didn’t have trouble getting dates before my column became so high profile.” At least, Rachel hoped that was the reason. She hated to think men avoided her because of something