Page 55 of Tempting as Sin
“Just about,” Maggie said. “But then, it’s my job. In fact, I did the legal work when Ezra bought his place. He’s got the nicest piece of property up on a hill, and the sweetest Labrador Retriever, too. You can tell a lot about a person by how he treats his animals. Too nice a man to stay single, I’ve always thought. I’ve wondered if there’s a sad story there. I asked him when he came here, why Montana? And he said, ‘Social life, you mean. I guess Montana’s like that guy you know you should quit. Too beautiful to leave, even if it breaks your heart to stay.’ There you go. That’s Ezra.Ialmost want him.”
Martin said, “So where’s all the homophobia? I was told there’d be homophobia.”
Hailey spoke up now. “Oh, honey. You shouldn’t believe everything you read. We’re just like everybody else. Larry and I have lesbians on our block.”
Rafe laughed out loud, then said, “Sorry. Sounded funny, that’s all. Like you have mice.”
Maggie looked at her watch. “Whoops. Got to go.”
“Thanks for coming in,” Lily said. “Report back.”
“I will,” Maggie said. “Hopefully not too early.” And left.
“What?” Hailey asked Rafe when the door closed behind Maggie. “I didn’t say it right, about the lesbians? Is there a new name now? I never know. All I know is, they have the sweetest little boy you ever saw, and they take good care of him, too. I’ve seen plenty do worse. I say people should mind their own business more. If nobody’s getting hurt, what do I care what people do in the privacy of their own home? If we all did a little less judging and a little more loving, the world would be a better place.”
Lily made a little noise, then went around the counter, put her arm around Hailey, and said, “You know what? I love you. I really do. Youmakethe world a better place. I was just thinking that yesterday.”
Hailey patted her arm and said, “Well, thanks, hon. Right back at you. And,” she told Rafe, “I’m going to go on and say this. If you’re supposed to be hiding, you’d better think about that some more, because it’s not working.”
“Pardon?’ he asked.
She waved a hand. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I might not have known that Paige wasn’t Lily, but I’m not getting fooled this time, and I’m not even the one you have to worry about. Louise Harward has you as her screen saver, for heaven’s sake. Without a shirt. You can wear your sunglasses inside all you want, but we all know that face. And I’m not even going totalkabout your rear end.”
Rafe grinned, probably sheepishly, and ran a hand over his jaw. “I shaved, though.”
“Yes, and you look real good,” Hailey said. “You just don’t lookdifferent.If you want to hide, stay out of the stores—especially this one, because your brother’s marrying Paige, and everybody knows it. He thought he could hide, too. It’s Sinful. There’s no hiding. Not if people are seeing you, anyway. So don’t let them see you. You can get this nice young man to bring you your groceries, surely. Isn’t that his job?”
Martin sighed. “I’m thefriend.”
“No, hon,” Hailey said, “you’re not. There’s one person taking up extra space here, shining all that charisma around. You’re a fine person, I’m sure, but that isn’t you.”
Martin said, “Hey. I was an actor.”
“Well, I’m sorry,” Hailey said. “I wanted to be an actress myself. I had the lead in the school play one time. I even went to the state drama championships. I could sing and dance and everything. Of course, I was a little thinner then. Turns out that singing and dancing are a whole lot of fun on a night out, or when you’re dancing a grandbaby around the kitchen, but who wants that sad life? Nothing but pressure, and a five-year marriage is some kind of silver anniversary. Sorry if that’s too frank,” she told Rafe, “but it sure doesn’t look fun to me. I’m excited to meet you, you bet I am, but I wouldn’t want that life. All those paparazzi following you on their motorcycles everywhere you go, having to live in LA, and everybody cheating on everybody else? Too many people with too much looks and too much money, I guess, and not enough talent for sticking with somebody through the hard times.”
Rafe was aware of Lily standing stiff and still beside him. “You could be right,” he said.
“Anyway,” Hailey said, “we both love our job, don’t we, Martin? And nobody’s following us around with cameras waiting to catch us in our sweatpants and put it in a tabloid. So it could be that we’re better off where we are. I know I am.”
“Well, mainly because of the book I’m planning to write,” Martin said. “It’s all material. You just wait. Meanwhile, here in Assistant-ville—will somebody please show me where this dog is? I suddenly find myself keenly interested in checking out the vet’s office.”
Rafe said, “Easy, boy. Wait for it,” then gathered seventy-four pounds of dog in his arms and lifted him down from the SUV. Chuck yelped all the same.
Thunder grumbled in the distance, light flickered in the sky across the valley to the north, and the air was a physical thing, a wet blanket weighing you down. Lily came out onto the porch and said, “Oh, poorbaby.What did we do to you?” with barely a glance for Rafe.
“Nowyou’re sorry,” Rafe said as Chuck made his stiff-legged way up the steps. His tail was still wagging, but when he got to Lily, the plastic cone he was wearing bounced against her thigh. He tried again, bounced off again, and whined.
Lily had already crouched down and reached inside the cone to scratch him behind the ears. She was in a flowered yellow sundress tonight. Tiny straps, a neckline dipping between her breasts and a top fitted all the way down to her waist, with a full skirt below that was unbuttoned halfway up her thighs. Her hair was still in its knot, and she was barefoot. She looked like a country girl, like if you got close enough to kiss her, you’d see those freckles on her nose. At the moment, she was crooning to the dog. “Oh, poor baby. Did they make you wear the Cone of Shame? Did they torture you? Did they? Are you so sad?” Then she looked up at Rafe and said, “Come in and tell me how everything went, if you have time.”
Rafe thought about it. For about a second. Then he said, “I have time,” and followed her inside.
“You know,” she said, “If you wanted to carry Chuck’s bed out to the porch for me, we could sit out there and have a beer while you report.” She ran a hand lightly over the nape of her neck. “Or a glass of wine, if I had any. White wine sounds good, doesn’t it? It’s still so warm. Much nicer out there, with the breeze coming up. I hope that rain comes soon.”
This was stupid. He knew it. He’d known it all day long, but somehow, he was doing it anyway. All she wanted was a fling? He wasn’t solid enough for a romance? He’d show her who could romance. He picked up Chuck’s bed and said, “Wine sounds good to me, too. As it happens, Martin picked up a couple bottles while I was up here splitting firewood in a manly fashion and hiding my dangerously potent charisma from Sinful. Have you had dinner?”
“Uh…no,” she said. “I was working in the garden until a little bit ago.”
“It’s nearly eight.”
