1105 Yakima Street - Debbie Macomber [77]
“We are,” she said. “Just the two of us.”
“Girls’ night out?”
Shirley nodded.
Changing tactics, Will rested one hand on Miranda’s shoulder. “Well, then, have fun, you two.”
Miranda shrugged off his hand and glared at Will. Whatever he thought he was doing, she refused to be part of it.
Shirley started out the door.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Miranda told her. She waited until the gallery door was completely closed before she whirled around.
“What?” Will asked with a look of innocence.
“Why did you put your hand on my shoulder?” she demanded.
“I don’t know what you’re so upset about. It didn’t mean anything.”
“You were trying to make Shirley jealous, which is ridiculous. In case you’ve forgotten, she’s married to Larry Knight and has no feelings for you whatsoever. I realize it’s difficult for your fragile ego to accept that any woman would choose a man other than you, but—”
“You’d choose me,” Will said, cutting her off.
“That’s…not true.” She could feel a hot blush crawling up her face.
“Is it so strange that you’re attracted to me?” he asked.
“I will not acknowledge anything so asinine,” she said, turning away from him. This was one of the few times in her life when she couldn’t be truthful, didn’t even want to be. The sooner she made her escape, the better. She hoped the November air would cool the embarrassed color heating her face.
“Miranda.” He whispered her name.
“What?” she barked, refusing to turn around.
“We need to talk about the day you kissed me.”
“No, we don’t,” she said, not adding that he’d kissed her, too. She kept her back to him, her hand on the doorknob, eager to get outside where Shirley was waiting.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking about it.”
“Sure you have,” she muttered sarcastically. And, no doubt, laughing his head off, too.
“I have,” he said, his voice low and seductive. He placed his hand on her shoulder again, stroking it gently. “We do need to talk about this.”
“Everything’s already been said. It’s a dead subject.”
“For you, maybe, but not me.”
That did it. She whirled back toward him. “Don’t play with me, Will. You need me because your ego’s taken a hit. What better way to prove to Shirley that you’re over her. An affair with her best friend would tell her that, wouldn’t it?”
He frowned but didn’t contradict her.
“You obviously assume I’m an easy target…that I’m so starved for affection I’d willingly fall into bed with you, even though you’d break my heart without a second thought. But you’re wrong, Will. I’m not interested.”
“Your kiss said otherwise.”
“Sorry, but you’ve misread the situation. I don’t know why I kissed you.” A blatant lie. “But trust me, it was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made.”
“I don’t think of it that way.”
“Stop!” she shouted, clenching her fists. Much more of this and she’d end up taking a swing at him. “Do you honestly believe you’re going to persuade me with…with lies? If you say anything else, I swear I will walk out this door and never return. That isn’t an empty threat, Will. I mean it.”
A pained look came over him and he nodded. Then, to Miranda’s astonishment, he stepped closer, held her face between his hands and kissed her.
When he broke it off, she nearly stumbled backward in both shock and wonder.
“I—I quit,” she stammered.
“No, you don’t. I expect you here by ten tomorrow morning.”
Twenty-Four
The Pot Belly Deli was decorated for Thanksgiving. Gloria glanced around at the dried cornstalk and gourd arrangements, nervously sipping her juice as she waited for Chad. He’d asked for this meeting, and she’d agreed, but she still wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
Since the ultrasound, there’d been no direct contact between them, although they’d exchanged a number of emails over the past few weeks. These were generally short messages in which she answered his questions about the pregnancy and her health.
Gloria resisted the urge to ask him about Joni. Every time she