Page 74 of Call Me Irresistible (Wynette, Texas 6)

She crumpled the paper in her fist. What kind of game was Francesca playing? Did she really think Meg would take the job? Except Meg had already done exactly that.

She yanked on her happy printing company T-shirt and stomped around the kitchen for a while, cursing Francesca, cursing herself for not reading the information earlier when she could still have refused. But would she have? Probably not. Her stupid pride wouldn’t let her.

The temptation to pick up her phone and call Ted was nearly unbearable. She made herself a sandwich instead and carried it out to the cemetery only to discover she’d lost her appetite. It was no coincidence this was happening while he was gone. Francesca had executed a stealth attack designed to put Meg in her place. It probably made little difference to her whether Meg accepted or not. She wanted to make a point. Meg was an outsider, a down-on-her-luck drifter forced to work for a meager hourly wage. An outsider who’d only be allowed in Francesca’s house as one of the help.

Meg pitched the sandwich into the weeds. Screw that.

She reached the Beaudine compound a little before ten the next morning. She’d chosen her sparkly pink platforms to wear with the white catering blouse and Miu Miu mini. They wouldn’t be the most comfortable shoes to work in, but the best defense against Francesca was a strong offense, and they’d send the message that she had no intention of being invisible. Meg would hold her head high, smile until her cheeks ached, and do her job well enough to put a crimp in Francesca’s satisfaction.

Haley pulled up in her red Ford Focus. She barely spoke as they walked into the house together, and she looked so pale Meg grew concerned. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’ve got . . . really bad cramps.”

“Can you get someone to work for you?”

“I tried, but nobody’s around.”

The Beaudine kitchen was both luxurious and homey with sunny saffron walls, a terra-cotta floor, and handcrafted cobalt blue tile work. An enormous wrought-iron chandelier bearing colorful glass cups hung in the center of the room, and open shelves displayed copper pots and hand-thrown pottery.

Chef Duncan was unpacking the food he’d prepped for the event. A short man in his early forties, he had a big nose and a graying shrub of wiry auburn hair protruding from beneath his toque. He frowned as Haley disappeared into the bathroom, then barked at Meg to get to work.

While she set up the glassware and began organizing the serving dishes, he detailed the menu: bite-size puffed pastry hors d’oeuvres filled with melted Brie and orange marmalade, minted fresh pea soup served in demitasse cups that still needed to be washed, a fennel-laced salad, warm pretzel rolls, and the main course, asparagus frittata and smoked salmon, which they’d plate in the kitchen. The pièce de résistance was dessert, individually potted chocolate soufflés the chef had been working all summer to perfect and which must, must, must be served as soon as they came out of the oven and placed gently, gently, gently in front of each guest.

Meg nodded at the instructions, then carried the

chunky green water goblets into the dining room. Palm and lemon trees grew in Old World urns placed in the corners, and water trickled from a stone fountain set in a tiled wall. The room held two temporary tables in addition to a long wooden permanent table with a distressed surface. Instead of formal linens, Francesca had chosen hand-woven place mats. Each table had a copper tray centerpiece holding assorted clay herb pots of oregano, marjoram, sage, and thyme, along with earthenware pitchers brimming with golden yellow blooms. Through the expansive dining room windows, she could see part of the courtyard and a shady pergola where a book lay abandoned on a wooden bench. It was hard not to like a woman who’d created such a beautiful setting to entertain her friends, but Meg intended to give it her best effort.

Haley still hadn’t emerged from the bathroom when Meg returned to the kitchen. She’d just begun washing the pottery demitasse cups when the tap-tap-tap of heels on the tile floor announced the approach of their hostess. “Thank you for helping me out today, Chef Duncan,” Francesca said. “I hope you’re finding everything you need.”

Meg rinsed a cup, turned from the sink, and gave Francesca her brightest smile. “Hello, Mrs. Beaudine.”

Unlike her son, Francesca had a lousy poker face, and the play of emotions that crossed her face was fairly easy to decode. First came surprise. (She hadn’t expected Meg to accept the job.) Then came puzzlement. (Exactly why had Meg shown up?) Discomfort appeared next. (What would her guests think?) Then doubt. (Perhaps she should have thought this through more carefully.) Followed by distress. (This had been a terrible idea.) All of it ending in . . . resolution.

“Meg, may I speak with you in the dining room?”

“Of course.”

She followed the tapping heels out of the kitchen. Francesca was so petite Meg could almost have tucked her under her chin, although she couldn’t imagine doing anything like that. Francesca was stylishly dressed as always—an emerald top and a cool white cotton skirt she’d cinched with a peacock blue belt. She stopped by the stone fountain and twisted her wedding ring. “I’m afraid there’s been a mistake. My own, of course. I won’t need you after all. Naturally, I’ll pay you for your time. I’m sure money is tight or you wouldn’t have felt the need to . . . show up today.”

“Not as tight as it used to be,” Meg said cheerfully. “My jewelry business is doing a lot better than I dreamed.”

“Yes, I’d heard.” Francesca was clearly flustered and just as clearly determined to settle this. “I suppose I didn’t think you’d accept the job.”

“Sometimes I even surprise myself.”

“This is my fault, of course. I tend to be impulsive. It’s caused me more trouble than you can imagine.”

Meg knew all about being impulsive.

Francesca straightened to her full, unimpressive height and spoke with stiff dignity. “Let me get my checkbook.”

Incredibly tempting, but Meg couldn’t do it. “You have twenty guests coming, and Haley’s not feeling well. I can’t leave Chef in the lurch.”

“I’m sure we’ll manage somehow.” She fingered a diamond bracelet. “It’s too awkward. I don’t want to make my guests uncomfortable. Or you, of course.”

“If your guests are who I think they’re going to be, they’ll love this. As for me . . . I’ve been in Wynette for two and a half months, so it takes a lot to make me uncomfortable.”

“Really, Meg . . . It’s one thing for you to work at the club, but this is something else entirely. I know that—”

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