An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [106]
“Tony’s not like that.” Again, she didn’t understand why she felt the need to defend him. She’d done it so often that it came naturally to her, she supposed. Although, she did have to wonder if Tony might be unfaithful to April, as he’d been to her.
“You know him better than I do,” Chase admitted grudgingly. “I’ve got to get back,” he said, as though he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.
“Are you interviewing more…applicants?” she asked him on the way to the door, making conversation, not wanting their day to end on a sour note.
“Yes,” he said briskly. “Several.”
His answer surprised her. “When?”
“I talked to some last night and I have more scheduled for later this afternoon and evening.”
“You’ll call me?” she asked, trailing after him.
He hesitated, not looking at her. An eternity seemed to pass before he nodded. “All right,” he said curtly.
Lesley longed to reassure him; that was what Chase was waiting for her to do. To promise him she wouldn’t call Tony. But she couldn’t tell him that. She hadn’t decided yet. She remembered what he’d said about not wanting to compete with another man for a woman’s affections. What Chase didn’t understand was that she’d never try to play one man against another.
“I’ll look forward to hearing from you,” she said. To her own ears she sounded oddly formal. She stood on the other side of the screen door, watching him walk away from her. She had the craziest feeling that he was taking a piece of her heart with him.
She waited until his car was gone before she breathed again. She told herself she couldn’t possibly know a man for such a short while and adequately judge her feelings. She was attracted to him, but any other woman with two eyes in her head would be, too.
Then there was Tony. She’d loved him for so long she didn’t know how to stop. He’d been an integral part of her life and without him her world felt empty and meaningless.
Lesley walked back into her kitchen and listened to the message again. She thought about phoning Lori and asking for advice, but decided against it. Lori had said she’d get back to her later, and she hadn’t yet.
Daisy was the more logical choice, although her feelings about Tony were well-known. Lesley found her neighbor in the backyard, wearing a bikini, soaking up the sun on a chaise longue while propping an aluminum shield under her chin. Amused, Lesley stood by the fence and studied her.
“Where in heaven’s name did you get that?” Lesley asked.
“Don’t get excited. It’s one of those microwave pizza boxes the boys like, with those silver linings. I figured I’d put it to good use now that they’re finished with the pizza.”
“Honestly, Daisy, you crack me up.”
“I’ve only got so much time to get any sun. I’ve got to make the most of it.”
“I know, I know.”
“Where’d Chase take off to?”
Lesley looked away. “He had to get back to his hotel. Did I tell you eight hundred women responded to his billboard?”
Daisy’s eyes were closed. “Seems to me it’s a shame you’re not one of them. What’s the matter, Lesley, is it beneath your dignity?”
“Yes,” she snapped.
Daisy’s sigh revealed how exasperated she was with Lesley. “That’s too bad, sweetie, because that man’s worth ten Tonys.”
Lesley’s fingers closed around the top of the fence. “It’s funny that you should mention Tony because he’s been calling me.”
“What does that poor excuse of a man have to say for himself?”
“He claims he needs to talk to me.”
“I’ll just bet.”
“He left two messages and Chase was here both times when I listened to them.”
Daisy shook her head. “Chase isn’t the type to stand still for that nonsense. Did he set you straight?”
“Daisy! I don’t need a man to tell me what to do and I resent you even suggesting such a thing.” She remembered, a little guiltily, that she had asked Chase to help her sort out her feelings for Tony as well as her moral obligations.
“You’re right, of course. Neither of us truly needs a man for anything. I don’t and you’ve proved you don’t, either. But you know, having one around can be a real comfort