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“I’m not criticizing her for making changes to the house,” Dylan snapped at his brother.
“It sure sounds as if you were.”
Leonie held up a hand. “You two stop. There’s no need to raise your voices.”
Dylan could see by the set of his brother’s jaw that he wanted to continue their discussion, but the look on his mother’s face kept him silent.
Then she turned to Dylan. “You won’t be uncomfortable in Jason’s room, will you?”
“No, not at all,” he assured her. “I guess I didn’t realize that you needed an office. I forgot that you were doing your column for the paper.”
“Yes, I am.” She cast a rather furtive glance at Shane, who apparently found it necessary to come to her defense once more.
“Mom’s not just writing a column. She has her own business,” he said.
“Business? What kind of business?”
Again her eyes darted to Shane, as if she were nervous and needing his reassurance. “You’re going to be surprised when I tell you.”
“Come on. I’ve just seen you belly dancing. You think I’m going to be shocked at you owning a business?” he asked dryly.
After one more glance at Shane, she said, “I’m a romance coach.”
Dylan nearly choked on his coffee. “A what?”
“A romance coach,” she repeated. “The column I write for the paper is an advice column on romance.”
“You mean people write to you about their problems with their love life?” Dylan thought his voice must have gone up an octave.
She nodded. “And I also teach classes on making relationships last.”
“Don’t forget about the one-on-one consulting,” Shane added.
Seeing his mother belly dancing was nothing compared to the astonishment Dylan felt at hearing this. “But…” he began, then stopped himself. His instinct had been to blurt out, “How can you give advice on romance after what happened in your own marriage?”
He knew, however, that he could never say those words to her, because she didn’t know her husband had been unfaithful to her. Only Dylan had known. And it was a secret he would continue to keep even now, because to reveal it would mean shattering an illusion his mother still treasured—that his father had loved only her.
“How did all this come about?” he asked, trying not to sound disapproving.
“You know I’ve been renting out the rooms to the college girls since your father died?” When he nodded, she continued on, “Well, they would always come downstairs to eat and I’d listen to their problems. They’d ask my opinion on things and I’d give it. The next thing I knew, they were bringing their friends over and asking my advice about love. Questions such as, how did I manage to stay married for thirty years, how did I know when I was in love…those kinds of things.”
It was something he could see his mother doing. She’d always been a good listener and her kitchen had often been the gathering place for the neighborhood moms. How many times as a child had he heard the phrase, “You should ask Leonie.” Was it any wonder she was still answering questions? Only now they weren’t about getting out grass stains but mending broken hearts.
“So you went to the newspaper and suggested you write a column answering people’s questions about love?” he asked, still trying to figure out how it had all come about.
“Not without any training I didn’t.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Maddie suggested I take a writing class. She helped me put together a sample of what the column would be like and then, bless her heart, she took it to a friend of hers at the newspaper.”
The ubiquitous Maddie. Dylan should have known she’d be behind this. “How did that lead to you having your own business?”
“Maddie suggested I branch out, you know, cover all the bases when it came to romance and relationships. So I began offering workshops and the next thing I knew, I was printing up business cards with the title ‘romance coach’ after my name.”
Again Maddie. Dylan took a deep breath to keep from making another sarcastic comment about the woman. Was there any aspect of his mother’s life in which she hadn’t interfered? Only it didn’t sound as if his mother saw it as interference.
“I never realized that running a business could be so exciting!”
From the glow on her cheeks, Dylan could see that it was a fulfilling career for her. He was about to tell her he was happy for her, but her next words kept him silent.
“What’s really special about this job is that it makes me feel close to your father. Whenever I have to answer a question about love and romance, I think of him and the love we shared.”
The love we shared. Dylan knew she’d been happy with his father. That had never been something he’d questioned. What he didn’t know was if that love had been based on a lie. Would his mother’s feelings for his father be the same if she knew he’d cheated on her? Was she basing her career on a lie?
They were questions he knew he could never ask. He sighed, and his mother mistook the sound for fatigue.
She reached across the table and patted his hand. “You’ve had a long day. We’ll have lots of time to talk once you catch up on your sleep.”
Dylan gently rotated his neck. “Bed is going to feel good. I must have slept wrong on the plane because I’ve got a kink in my neck.”
“You should ask Maddie to give you a massage,” his mother suggested. “She’s got the right touch when it comes to soothing aching muscles.”
“Tell me, Mom, is there anything that Maddie doesn’t know?” he asked.
“I don’t know anything about living on a Caribbean island,” she said, entering the room. She gave him a flirtatious grin. “Maybe you could fill me in.” Then she placed a hand on Leonie’s shoulder and said, “We’re stopping for tonight. Do you want to come say goodbye?”
Leonie scraped back her chair. “I do. Thanks for letting me know.”
“No problem,” she said as left the room, the coins on her costume making a tinkling sound with every step she took.
Shane rose, too. “That means Jennifer and Mickey will be wanting to go.” He turned to Dylan. “You need any help with your luggage?”
Dylan shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”
His mother asked, “Are you going to bed then?”
“No, I’ll wait for you,” he said, knowing that he needed to talk to his mother alone. His reunion with her hadn’t gone as he’d hoped, and he needed to smooth things over.
Only it wasn’t his mother who returned a few minutes later, but Maddie. She looked startled to see him, and he suspected that if she could have left without saying a word, she would have.
“Looking for something?” he asked.
“Just getting some water,” she told him, pulling a bottle from the refrigerator.
“Belly dancing makes you thirsty, does it?” He didn’t know why the words came out on a note of sarcasm. She’d neither said nor done anything to warrant it.
“If that’s the tone you used with your mother I can see why she’s upset,” she told him, then unscrewed the cap and took a long drink.
He let his eyes travel over her figure and felt something stir deep inside him. Now he knew the reason for the sarcasm. It was a self-defense mechanism. He was attracted to her and he didn’t want to be.
“Mom’s not upset.” He spoke the words with confidence, although he knew his reunion with his mother had had its share of tension. She’d wanted his approval and, instead of complimenting her on her new look, he’d put her on the defensive, asking questions with a critical eye rather than an understanding one. He wasn’t, however, going to admit that to this woman.
“Now why doesn’t it surprise me that you didn’t notice?” Maddie shoved a fist to her waist, which only caused Dylan’s eyes to focus on her flat stomach and the turquoise jewel in her navel. It was almost the same color as her eyes and seemed to wink at him.
He forced his eyes back to hers. “My relationship with my mother doesn’t concern you, although I’m sure you think it does.”
She stiffened, her chin lifting slightly. “Actually, I don’t, but I happen to care about your mom and I don’t like it when people hurt her.”
“People meaning me?” he asked in disbelief. “I didn’t come home to upset my mom.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’d like to think that we can get along while you’re here.”
Her attitude annoyed him. Who was she to stand there like some champion of the mistreated, looking at him as if it were her duty to protect his mother from him?
He was about to tell her that if they were going to get along, she was going to have to get rid of that attitude. Only his mother chose that moment to return.
“So here’s where you disappeared to,” she said to Maddie. “Are you and Dylan reacquainting yourselves?” She looked from one to the other.
“Yes, I was just telling Dylan how fond I am of you.” She put her arm around his mother and gave her a squeeze. “He’s lucky to have you for a mom.”
“Thank you, Maddie. I do believe I’m quite lucky to have him for a son, too,” she responded, giving Dylan an affectionate glance.
Only he saw the look in Maddie’s eyes. It told him there wasn’t even a slim chance she shared that sentiment.
“Well, I’m off to bed,” Maddie announced, then she turned to Dylan. “Hope the cold doesn’t get to you.” It was said in a cheerful way, but he knew there was a hidden message. She wasn’t going to spread any warmth his way.
“I’m sure I’ll survive. You forget. I lived here eighteen years. This is my home.”
“Yes, it is,” his mother agreed happily.
As Maddie passed him on the way out, she said in a voice meant only for his ears, “And we all know that home is the place that has to take you in.”
MADDIE LAY ON HER BED flipping through the glossy pages of the latest edition of a gourmet food magazine. Not even the lure of scrumptious desserts smothered in chocolate could take her mind off what had happened this evening. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t put Dylan Donovan out of her mind.
She wished she hadn’t confronted him in the kitchen. He was right about one thing: his relationship with his mother wasn’t any of her concern. Still, she’d grown very fond of Leonie and it had seemed natural to come to her defense.
Despite Dylan’s claim that he hadn’t intended to upset his mother, Maddie knew that whatever they’d discussed in the kitchen had taken the sparkle out of Leonie’s eyes. It didn’t take a psychologist to know that the joyful reunion her landlady had hoped to have with her son hadn’t materialized.
Maddie didn’t understand why it hadn’t. As hard as she tried not to be curious about their relationship, she couldn’t help but wonder what had caused Dylan to become the stray sheep of the family.
She supposed it could be his personality. He wasn’t exactly the easiest man to get along with. She resented his implication that she had somehow stuck her nose into business that didn’t concern her—as if being a friend to Leonie was a devious plan on her part. If Leonie hadn’t come into the kitchen when she had, Maddie might just have set him straight on the subject.
A knock on her door had her looking up with apprehension. Maybe he regretted his mother’s appearance, too, and wanted to continue with his warning.
Then she heard a woman’s voice. “Maddie, it’s Krystal. Can I come in?”
Maddie threw her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “Sure. It’s open.”
“I saw your light beneath the door and figured you were up,” her housemate said as she padded into the room in her robe and slippers. “I just had to come in and see what you thought about Dylan. Is he gorgeous or what?”
That was something she hadn’t wanted to think about—Dylan’s looks. He was every bit as good-looking now as he had been all those years ago and, to her dismay, when he’d walked into the living room, her body had behaved as it had all those years ago when she’d practically melted whenever he’d pass by.
“He’s all right,” she said, trying to sound disinterested.
“All right? Maddie, are you blind? That sun-streaked hair and that golden tan and those muscles.” She sighed dreamily. “Leonie said he worked with concrete. No kidding. He must lift a ton of blocks to get that kind of a bod.”
“I’m going to have to get you a bib if you keep talking that way,” Maddie said dryly.
Krystal playfully punched Maddie’s shoulder. “Come on. Admit it. You think he’s cute.”
Maddie didn’t see much point in denying the obvious. “Yeah, he’s attractive.”
“But is he smart? Does he have a nice personality?” Krystal wanted to know. “You talked to him, didn’t you?”
“We only talked for a few minutes in the kitchen,” she said, not wanting to say what she really thought about the man. Krystal was single and so was Dylan. As Leonie often said, romance could happen when you least expected it and what Maddie didn’t need was to say something negative about Dylan and have it end up coming back to haunt her later. “But he can’t be dumb if he’s an engineer,” she pointed out.
“That’s what I figured, too. I was hoping I’d run into him when I went downstairs to use the shower tonight, but he’d already gone to bed.”
Which was exactly what Maddie wanted to hear. She’d avoided going downstairs to the bathroom for that very reason. She didn’t want to risk bumping into him again this evening. One unpleasant confrontation was enough.
“It’ll be nice when we don’t have to use the shower downstairs,” she remarked. “Having only a half bath on this floor could result in things getting a bit awkward.”
“Or interesting,” Krystal said with a wiggle of her brows. “I wish I’d listened more closely all those times Leonie talked about him. I thought he’d look like Shane or Garret.” She held up her hands. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t think they’re cute, ’cause I do. It’s just that Dylan is so…” Her eyes got all dreamy as she searched for the right word.
Maddie could have supplied it. Hot. There was no denying it. The man had it, whatever it was. Not that she cared. She wasn’t fourteen anymore and she didn’t respond to it.
“He hasn’t been married, has he?” Krystal asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“I can’t believe he doesn’t have someone waiting for him back in Saint Martin,” Krystal said, sighing heavily. “Leonie says he doesn’t, but look at him. Good-looking guys like that are rarely unattached.”
“Just because he hasn’t told his mother doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Maddie pointed out. “But does it matter? I thought your heart belonged to the bodybuilder over at the gym.”
“T.K.? I’m thinking it may be time to move on.”
Maddie wondered if she was planning to move on with Dylan. Before she could ask, Krystal said, “I suppose it could get sticky, though, if I messed around with Dylan. I mean, Leonie’s a dear, and I wouldn’t want to create problems…you know what I mean?”
“I think you’re right on with that one,” Maddie agreed. “Mothers can get funny over their sons.”
Krystal nodded her head in agreement. “I once dated this guy who had a really neat mom. She treated me just like a daughter until she found out we’d been talking about marriage. Then she went ballistic. Started cussing at me and telling me I wasn’t good enough for her little boy.”
“I don’t think Leonie would be like that.”
Krystal thought for a moment, then said, “No, you’re probably right, but I still wouldn’t want to screw up a great housing arrangement.” She sighed. “At least Dylan will make good eye candy for these cold, gray days of winter.”
As much as Maddie wanted to deny it, she knew her housemate was right. Only she wasn’t going out of her way for any visual treats. She’d do her best to avoid him, even if it meant disappointing Leonie by being absent in the kitchen. She was determined that when she shared a house with Dylan, this time she was not going to become infatuated with him.
Once in a lifetime was enough for her. Besides, she already had one man in her life. Jeffrey, who was a dear friend. That’s all she wanted in a relationship right now. It was all she could handle. She needed to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life before she could look at men as anything other than friends.
Unfortunately as she drifted off to sleep, it wasn’t Jeffrey’s face in her thoughts. It was the man she wanted to forget—Dylan.
