called to the principal’s office before.”
“Only for good things. Like accepting awards and organizing school fund-raisers,” she admitted, sighing heavily. “How in the world am I going to explain getting into a fight on the grounds of my grandmother and aunt’s retirement park?”
“Denial is always a good start,” he began.
“Denial? You’re sitting here with a black eye.”
“And if denial is out of the question, I recommend, as a next step, downplaying the importance and scope of the situation.”
“You sound like a defense attorney now. Either that or someone who’s used to being in trouble.”
He shook his head. “Never been a defense attorney, but I did play one in moot court competition in law school. Won my cases every time.”
Jane wasn’t surprised about the wins and noted he hadn’t denied being in trouble himself. She shook her head and said, “I got Gladdy alone today at a salon. It was like talking to a Barbie doll. She ignored everything I said about your uncle and kept suggesting new skin care routines for me.”
“Wait…salon?” He leaned in close, his nose practically touching the rim of her ear, sniffing her hair, then the side of her face. “Is that why you smell so good? Good enough to eat?”
She closed her eyes, feeling all tingly and warm at the same time.
Because a man was sniffing her youth-regenerating apricot-mint facial?
She felt him breathing in that smell, the heat from his body so close, radiating toward hers. The tip of his nose gently brushed her cheek. Was it an accident?
“What is it? Peaches?”
“Apricots,” she admitted, not daring to move an inch.
She didn’t think she’d ever had actual sexual intercourse that felt this good. Her breasts ached and she thought she wanted to shove them into his face right now. She could spread apricot-mint facial cream over her whole body and then practice her coming-on-to-him skills and see how he liked it.
Jane was even regretting wearing her customary white, no-frills, all-buttoned-up blouse, because honestly, how much good could a woman do trying to stick her breasts in a man’s face when she was buttoned up practically to her chin? She was even considering undoing a few buttons, as unobtrusively as possible, when she heard a door open.
There was dead silence for a moment.
A throat was cleared quite pointedly.
When Jane glanced up, Ms. Steele, looking particularly steelish at the moment, was gaping at them both.
Face flaming, Jane turned to Wyatt. Sitting up straight in his chair now, he threw up his hands in a helpless manner and mouthed, “Sorry,” before standing, extending a hand to Jane, then leading her into Ms. Steele’s office.
They sat side by side in front of Ms. Steele’s desk. Jane looked determinedly down at the floor so she couldn’t see Wyatt, but she felt him, absolutely certain he was doing that easy yet elegant sprawl of his, perfectly comfortable in that chair, ready to brazen this out with the body language that said, Problem? There is no problem here.
The man had nerve, and it seemed he was impossible to embarrass.
What in the world must Ms. Steele think of them?
“I am so sorry for that…that…“ What to call it? Jane couldn’t think of a thing and sat there mute, feeling stupid all over again.
Wyatt shot her a hard look that said something like. Denial and downplaying, remember? You’re not helping, Jane.
Jane dared to look up at Ms. Steele, who appeared to be having a hard time believing what she’d just seen in her waiting room.
“I.” the woman began. “I wasn’t aware that the two of you knew each other.”
“Oh, we don’t,” Jane claimed, then realized how ridiculous that sounded, given the fact that they were just in the waiting room, Wyatt practically nuzzling her cheek. Would what he did really be considered nuzzling? Or had he just been smelling her fruity facial? “My grandmother, my aunt and Wyatt’s uncle introduced us. They know each other. That’s all.”
“Oh, I’m aware that they know each other,” she said, emphasis on the word know.
Jane felt like sinking down in her chair and trying to hide.
Wyatt, still brazening it out, asked, “Is there something we can do for you, Ms. Steele?”
The woman’s lips got all funny and stiff, as if she sternly disapproved of Wyatt, maybe of both of them. Jane couldn’t be sure.
“You could tell me,” Ms. Steele said, “why I have very odd and difficult-to-believe, yet remarkably consistent reports, that you, Jane, attacked this man’s uncle on the walkway outside the blue cottage shortly before noon yesterday.”
Before she could say anything, Wyatt chuckled and said, “Oh, no. Nothing like that. She…uh…tripped. Jane wasn’t looking where she was going. You know Jane, always on the move, always rushing about to get everything she has to get done…done. And she wasn’t watching where she was going, and she tripped.”
Now that was so brazen Jane couldn’t help but admire his skill a bit. She supposed all lawyers lied. There were probably courses at law school on how to do it effectively. Wyatt Gray, no doubt, had excelled in those.
“I do know Jane,” Ms. Steele said. “But I thought you two didn’t know each other.”
“Oh, just…you know…we were introduced one time by our relatives,” Wyatt claimed. “And in fact, we all shared a very nice dinner at the blue cottage the other night. I have to say, the young woman working there, Amy I believe it was, makes outstanding lasagna. Doesn’t she, Jane?”
Jane nodded. She’d be happy to talk about Amy and lasagna.
“So, Jane tripped, but she didn’t get anywhere near my uncle, because I caught her,” Wyatt said, not technically a lie. He had caught her. He pointed to his black eye and said, “That’s how I got this.”
Then he smiled that I-can-charm-any-woman-alive smile Jane had come to know so well. Except, sadly, Ms. Steele looked completely immune to it.
How could that be? Jane puzzled. She would have guessed no woman was truly immune to Wyatt at his gorgeous, most-charming self.
Ms. Steele cocked her head to the right and frowned at Wyatt. “So your story is…Jane tripped and you caught her?”
Wyatt nodded.
“You’re nearly a foot taller than she is. How did you get hit in the eye?”
“I don’t really know,” Wyatt said. “It all happened so fast.”
Ms. Steele rolled her eyes and gave a little huff, then turned to Jane. “I called you in here because I can’t just ignore reports of fighting on the grounds of Remington
