something’s not my responsibility.” He held the door open for her and the brass bells hanging from the handle jangled.
She stayed where she was. “Look, if that’s going to be your attitude, maybe we should just forget the whole thing.”
“And then what?”
“In or out, you two!” called Janice, a waitress who’d been working at the Nugget ever since Tess could remember. “We don’t aim to air-condition the entire town of Copperville!”
Mac let the door swoosh closed again and turned back to Tess, his expression impassive. “What’ll it be?”
She didn’t really want to call the whole thing off. She needed Mac to help her, and besides, he’d shown up for dinner all shaved and showered. It would be a shame to waste that effort. “Let’s have some meat loaf,” she said.
MAC HELD THE DOOR for Tess a second time and tried not to drool as she walked past him trailing her cologne like a billowing scarf. When he’d seen her coming down the street in that flirty, daisy-covered dress he’d almost swallowed his tongue. Then she’d gotten close enough that he could see the moisture gathering in her cleavage, right where the pearl nestled.
He fought the crazy urge to lean down and lick the drop of moisture away before it disappeared into the valley between her breasts. He must be out of his mind. Fantasies like that didn’t apply to Tess, the girl who could ride her bike no-hands down Suicide Hill, a girl who could throw a baseball so hard that it stung when it hit his glove. But the girl is a woman now. He couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. He’d had glimpses of the fact over the years, like the first time he’d seen her in a bikini and she actually filled the thing out. And the prom had been another revelation, but he’d come to his senses before he’d done something stupid like kissing her. Sure they’d kissed when they were little kids, just to see what all the fuss was about, but it hadn’t meant anything.
Funny, though, he still had a vivid memory of the spring day down by the river when they’d decided to try kissing. If he concentrated, he could still feel her soft little-girl’s mouth that had tasted like pink bubble gum. When he’d pulled back to get her reaction, she’d looked sort of dreamy and sweet. Then she’d grinned at him and blown a big bubble that popped all over her face, destroying the moment.
He followed her through the restaurant to the back booth, the one they always took at the Nugget. Along the way he managed to return greetings from the others in the café, people he’d known all his life. But his attention was claimed by the sway of Tess’s hips under the flared skirt covered with daisies. The dress zipped in the back, and he figured she had nothing but panties on under it. The combination added up to what he and his buddies used to call a good makeout dress.
Damn. He had to stop thinking like this. Late this afternoon he’d finally decided maybe he should try to fix her up with someone. He’d come up with a couple of possibilities and had told himself he’d rather have Mitch or Randy be the lucky guy than some sleaze in New York.
Now he didn’t want Mitch or Randy anywhere near her.
But if he didn’t help her, no telling what harebrained thing she’d do. He’d seen her get a bee in her bonnet enough times to know she wouldn’t give up her summer project easily. The year she’d decided to learn how to use in-line skates, she’d sprained her ankle and bloodied both knees, but she hadn’t given up. And she had learned.
He slid into the booth across from her and tried to pretend this was like all the other times they’d shared a meal or a milk shake at the Nugget.
“Hungry?” she asked.
“You bet,” he lied. He wondered if he’d be able to force anything down. He’d never look at her the same way again, he realized in despair. No matter what happened, the friendship had been changed forever. He’d made the mental leap and begun to think of her as a desirable woman—more desirable than he ever would have imagined. He could hardly believe that all these years he’d managed to screen out her sexuality.
“Have you been thinking about…what we discussed?”
“Some.” He blew out a breath. “A lot.”
“Any ideas?”
Yeah, and all of them X-rated.
Janice sauntered over to their table, notepad in hand. “Hey, you two.”
Tess smiled at her. “Hey, Janice. How’s that grandkid?”
Janice reached in the pocket of her skirt. “Take a look.” She tossed a snapshot of a baby down on the table.
“Oh, Janice, she’s gorgeous.”
“Isn’t she?”
“Cute kid,” Mac said, although he was more interested in the look on Tess’s face than the picture of Janice’s grandchild. As Tess gazed at the photo, her expression grew soft and yearning. Only a fool would misinterpret that expression, and Mac wondered if Tess knew how much she wanted a baby of her own. Hell, that was another thing he’d never connected with Tess, but she’d make a great mother. Which meant she had to find somebody who’d be a great father. The whole idea depressed him.
Janice scooped the picture up and slipped it back in her pocket. “So, are you guys having meat loaf or something else?”
“Meat loaf for me,” Tess said.
“Same here.” Mac hoped he’d feel more like eating when their order arrived.
“The usual on the salad dressing?”
“Yep,” they both said at once.
“Iced tea?”
“Yep,” they said again.
Mac thought about Tess going to New York, where the waiters wouldn’t automatically know she liked honey-mustard salad dressing, coffee in the winter and iced tea in the summer. He thought about her eating alone at a restaurant, or worse, eating with some guy. Some guy who would be having the same thoughts Mac was having right now.
“I’ll be back with your tea and salads in a jiff.” Janice headed back toward the kitchen.
Mac stared at Tess, not sure what to say for the first time in all the years he’d known her. They’d always been able to talk to each other. They’d been able to hang out without talking, too. She was the sort of girl you could take fishing, because she’d sit, her line in the water, and let the peacefulness of the day wash over her. But there was nothing peaceful in the silence between them tonight.
“It was pretty hot today,” he said. Then he rolled his eyes. They’d been reduced to talking about the weather. “Forget I said that.”
She smiled. “Okay.” She leaned forward, which made the pearl shift and dip beneath the neckline of her dress. “Remember the time we put pennies on the train tracks?”
He gazed at the spot where the pearl had disappeared. Then he glanced up again, aware that he shouldn’t be looking there. They were in a public place. Anyone could walk in and catch him at it. One of the Blakely boys, for example. “Yeah, I remember.”
“I never told anybody.”
“Me, neither.”
“That was twenty years ago, Mac. You and I have kept that silly secret for twenty years, because we both have the same sense of honor. That’s why I’m asking you for help. I know you won’t tell.”
“I swear, you two look like you’re hatching a plot,” Janice said as she set down two iced teas, then plopped a salad plate in front of each of them and a basket of rolls in the center of the table. “Aren’t you a little old to be painting water towers and such?”
“My folks’ anniversary is coming up,” Tess said. “Thirty-five years.”
“Aha! And you’re going to give them a surprise party.”
Tess looked