Page 70 of Hot to Trot

Scarlet almost blinked. Now, that was something she'd not known. His words about making something work, building a relationship on sand, came back to her.

"Roz also said his family is loaded to the gills with old money. His mother came to town a few months back, wearing fancy clothes and driving an expensive Audi, but Adam certainly doesn't act as if he's wealthy. He lives in a small house and the only expensive thing I've seen is his classic Corvette."

"Old money, huh? I'm surprised girls aren't lining up."

"Oh, they have. Don't think for a minute there aren't some mamas around town pushing their daughters toward the good chief. In fact, the mayor's daughter has a date with him for the picnic Monday."

Pain struck her hard and low. Adam had a date? Monday? She hoped her aunt couldn't see her shock. Her hurt. She swallowed. "Oh."

But Aunt Frances was like a hound dog on a scent."Oh?"

"Don't say it like that. I have a little crush. No big deal." So what if Aunt Frances knew she had a thing for the chief?

"That's not like you, either. Sounds like a challenge. An opportunity. Don’t accept defeat so easily.”

"I'm not accepting defeat." Scarlet felt the sting of irritation. She wasn't giving up. She didn't have a chance to begin with, no matter what they'd done, or not done, in the shadows of Mr. Hines's maple tree. "I can't mix it up with him anyhow. It would be misconduct."

"Why?”

“Because. l'm under like under his jurisdiction or whatever for my community service. He’s not the type to risk his career for a little horizontal mambo with the trashy actress."

"That's how you see yourself? And is that all you want from him? Sex?”

Scarlet deflated. "I don't know what I want. Everything feels so backward. My professional life is going gangbusters but my personal life is sucking…is sucking…like, uh…”

"I'm not going to touch that one."

At that Scarlet smiled. "Yeah, I'd let it go, too."

Aunt Frances pushed a strand of hair behind Scarlet's ear. "Listen, baby, life ain't no fairy tale, no matter what you read in a book. It knocks you around sometimes and just plain hurts. Sometimes a girl can't wait on a guy to rescue her."

"That's the last thing I need, Aunt Fran. I don't want a guy who thinks he has to save me... even if it's from myself." Her thoughts flitted to John. Was that what had happened? Had she relied on John to save her? To guide her career? To give her direction at a time when she lacked her own game plan? Maybe he'd seen the writing on the wall and abandoned ship. "I'm not looking for a knight on a white horse or police cruiser."

"That's not what I meant, child. I meant, sometimes a girl has to go after what she wants. Some men are worth that. Your uncle Travis was, and the good Lord knows I had to make him sit up and take notice. I actually had to ask the man out myself."

Scarlet smiled at the thought of her aunt giving chase to the quiet, humble man who'd planted blueberry bushes on the property line of the elementary school so the kids could eat the berries at recess. It had pissed the teachers off...and a couple of mothers who couldn't get the stains out of their kids' clothes. Uncle Trav hadn't thought of anything other than pleasing the kids of Oak Stand Elementary. It was Scarlet's favorite Uncle Travis tale.Oblivious.That was what her aunt had always called him. "That man didn't stand a chance."

“Nope, he didn’t. And you’re more like me than you know. I'm thinking you need to go to that picnic."

Scarlet didn't answer. She hadn’t planned to attend the town's annual event, but the thought of Adam with anothergirl messed with her intentions. She could see Sophie. Probably blond hair, cut in a shoulder-length bob. Blue eyes. Rounded cheeks. She probably smiled a lot and knew how to tell homemade cookies from store-bought ones. She would wear a floaty skirt and a demure top, spread out a patchwork quilt her grandmother made, and set the chicken she'd fried that morning on a platter in the center. Sophie would laugh at all of Adam's dorky jokes.

Scarlet hated her already.

"Sophie's a sweetheart. Teaches at Oak Stand Elementary and has such a way with kids. She's perfect for Adam. Already half in love with him."

She knew what her aunt was doing, but couldn't stop herself from falling in the trap. "Really? Half in love with him?"

"Uh-huh. If it were me, I'd do whatever it took to step over Sophie's broken body to get to that man. You’re only under his supervision for a few more community service hours.”

Scarlet didn't respond. The spring of hurt gushing from her heart had joined forces with jealousy and was mixing it up with anger. She and Adam had had phone sex, or whatever the hell it was. The man had virtually screwed her with his eyes, and now he was going out with some paragon of virtue? What the hell?

"If you're merely interested in fulfilling some urges, you might as well leave him to the girl. He'd probably be perfectly happy with milquetoast. He seems to look for that in everything he does. Like he's afraid to color his life too much."

Her aunt’s assessment seemed to be true. Everything about the man was discreet, neat, and orderly. No bright colors. No coloring outside the lines. No mess. Yet, she sensed he'd so enjoy the wind in his hair, blasting Metallica on the radio, and sex on the hood of his Corvette.

"You know what color would look good on that man?" She turned to her aunt and lifted an eyebrow, a la Bette Davis.

"What?"

---