204 Rosewood Lane - Debbie Macomber [32]
“Olivia, hi. Sorry I haven’t been in touch lately, but I’ve had my hands full with Eric. I was hoping you’d be home so we could talk. You’re not out with some other guy, are you?” There was a forced laugh. “Listen, I’m really sorry about last week, but I hope to make it up to you. Phone me back, all right? I’ve got a special birthday gift for you. Can we get together soon?”
Olivia checked her watch. It was close to eleven and too late to return his call. Anyway, he’d kept her waiting all week; she’d keep him guessing until morning. As she readied for bed, Olivia was smiling.
Maryellen wanted to kick herself for coming up with this ridiculous “swap meet for men” idea. It’d all started out innocently enough with her mentioning the article she’d read about that town in Ireland. Next thing she knew, she was part of the party-planning. By her following nail appointment, this Halloween get-together had gathered momentum to the point that she’d lost count of how many people were attending.
“You’re still bringing that chef friend of yours, aren’t you?” Teri asked. Maryellen had barely sat down when Teri started grilling her with questions she couldn’t answer about Jon.
“Like I said, he’s just a friend—no,” she amended. “Jon’s more of a business acquaintance. And he hasn’t given me an answer yet.”
“Oh.” Teri sounded disappointed. “So you don’t know if he’s coming or not?”
“I can’t say for sure.” She hadn’t talked to him since that initial conversation a week ago. “If he’s not there, I’ll make sure you get introduced some other time.”
Teri’s dark eyes lit up. “Great.”
The following evening—Halloween night—Maryellen stood in the darkest, creepiest corner of the decorated bar with a fake spider dangling from the ceiling directly above her. More than ever, she felt convinced that this had all been a mistake. The room was crowded with maybe a hundred men and women, some in costume, some not.
Then without warning, without her seeing him arrive, Jon was standing next to her. He held a frosty mug of beer. “Hi,” he said, looking out over the crowded room.
“You came.” Now that was brilliant. Nothing like stating the obvious. “I mean…you didn’t call me back and when I didn’t hear, I assumed you wouldn’t show up.”
“I should’ve phoned, but I wanted to make sure I could get the evening off first.”
“It’s all right—don’t apologize.” He hadn’t but…
“Between the restaurant and my photography, I’ve been working a lot of hours. Sometimes I lose track of time.”
An artist’s working habits weren’t new to Maryellen. “I understand.”
He took a sip of beer. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” Then, glancing around the room, she saw Teri, who’d dressed as Cleopatra complete with heavy eye makeup and black wig. “There’s the woman I wanted you to meet.”
“All right,” Jon said, following as she wove her way through the crowd.
“Teri,” Maryellen said, interrupting the other woman’s conversation with someone—male or female?—dressed as a wizard in voluminous robes. “This is Jon, the man I was telling you about.”
“Hello, Jon,” Teri returned, as though she’d waited her entire life for precisely this moment. The wizard, having lost her attention, drifted off.
“Pleased to meet you, Teri,” Jon said.
“I hear you’re a chef.” Teri edged closer to him, and Maryellen could see she’d already had more than enough to drink. She bit her lip, wanting to suggest that it might be best if they talked another time. “I know my way around a kitchen, too. Want to stir up something together?”
“That might be interesting.” Jon took another sip of beer, and Maryellen could see he was trying hard to disguise a smile.
“Maryellen said you also take pictures.”
“I do a little of that on the side.”
“Actually, Jon’s a brilliant photographer,” Maryellen rushed to explain, mortified at what he must think.
Trying not to be conspicuous about it, she wandered away and eventually returned to her protective corner. She wasn’t there long before