Indulge Me

“Molly, you’ve been married eight happy years. Bruce is not going to cheat on you. He adores you. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“It’s a fantasy, Darcy. Fantasies are powerful and they’re dangerous. I’m telling you this now, before you get hurt or hurt someone else.”

“This is an entirely different situation.”

“Right.”

Darcy drew down her brows and punched the couch again, torn between annoyance and sympathy. “I’m not out trying to tempt husbands. I just want to have some irresponsible self-indulgent fun for a change.”

“Okay, okay. Maybe I’m a little touchy on the subject.”

“I understand, I really do. And I would so not worry. Bruce looks at you like you could walk on Lake Michigan.”

“Thanks, Darce. I’ll try not to.” Molly took a deep breath.

“So…when are you going to do this hot-babe routine? What bar?”

Again the odd tone. Darcy frowned, not sure whether to call her on it or not, and decided not. “I hadn’t really thought that far in advance. But…let’s say Saturday. Starlight City. Ten o’clock.”

The second she set the date, place and time, everything felt right. She knew she was going to go through with it. She would put the post-fantasy awkwardness with Tyler behind her and march forward, guns blazing, use her newfound powers to reduce Milwaukee’s men to quivering mounds of needy testosterone.

“Blech. Starlight City? Total meat market.”

“Ya think?”

Molly groaned. “Just be careful. Use condoms. Take Mace and pepper spray and a whistle. Don’t take him to your house or go to his, find a motel, one of the cheap ones with thin walls so people can hear if you scream. And if you haven’t called by midnight Saturday, I’m calling 9-1-1.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Promise?”

She made sure Molly could hear her sigh of exasperation.

“Cross my heart and hope to get massively laid.”

“Ack! Dear God, I won’t live through this.”

Darcy giggled. “And, honey, really don’t worry about Bruce. He probably just got a wake-up call about his weight and possible health problems and is excited about taking care of himself.”

“I hope so, Darce.”

“I know so.”

She hung up the phone, allowed herself to be one hundred percent sure that Bruce would never cheat on Molly no matter how hot this personal trainer chick was, then grabbed her purse and headed for the garage. The painters would arrive soon, including tempting Tyler, and she was going to visit poor Marjory at Royal Oaks and then…

She had some über-hot black leather to buy.

4

TYLER RODE HIS BICYCLE to a stop outside his garage, swung off and punched in the code to open the door, which squeaked in protest, reminding him that he needed to get out here with some lubricant. He could use some for his legs, too, which were aching; ditto his back and arms. He’d painted windows all day in a state of apprehension, not sure whether he wanted to see Darcy or if he didn’t. She never showed, either through the window or outside, which effectively took care of that apprehension but not until the end of the day. By that time he was physically tired but emotionally wired. To exhaust himself further, he’d taken a punishing bike trip up the Little Menomonee River Parkway and back through the city. Barely able to walk now, he still wasn’t sure he’d be able to relax.

He didn’t like this. His relationship with Annie had been uncomplicated from beginning to end. He’d met her their junior year at Bowdoin College in Maine. They spent time together as friends and then become more. They’d shared a sense of humor, taste in movies, books, food, political views and basic values. In short, they fit together perfectly. Effortlessly.

While Darcy…

Why was he even comparing them? Annie had been his world for years—he’d been sure they’d last a lifetime. This woman he barely knew. And yet, when she’d shown up at his door this morning holding one of Derek Houston’s paintings, ludicrously overwrapped, he’d naively assumed she’d been craving him to the same degree he’d been craving her, that she’d gone to endless lengths to find out who he was, where he lived, and that she was about to say, “Darling, even one night without you was too long. Please hold me and never let go.”

Right.

Sadder, even after she’d made it clear she had no idea she’d find him at his own address, the hopeful idiocy hung on to him long enough to ask her in for coffee and cake. Hadn’t she made it obvious enough the night before that she’d had what she needed from him and thanks, buh-bye?

No, he had to slobber after a few more precious minutes of her time, to hear her voice, see her smile, stare into her eyes and realize what a complete sap he was.

If he needed further proof of her lack of interest than her rejection of his coffee, her notable absence at the house today was it. By being gone all day she’d avoided even having to walk past him among the other workers. So. Enough. Time to put Darcy to bed, figuratively speaking.

Seeing her this morning cleared up the final mystery of why he felt so strongly that he knew her, which he’d been all too ridiculously willing to chalk up to some nutball theory of subconscious love connection. Of course he thought he knew her. He did, though he could barely extract her from his memories. Another of the neighborhood girls hanging around, giggling and preening, hoping for a glimpse of Cam. His cousin Bruce had married her best friend Molly, whom Tyler remembered more vividly than Darcy for the somewhat embarrassing reason that Molly had been one of those girls who, er, matured early.

Teenage boys were so deep.

So much for love at first sight, little sister Katie. Or second sight. And it looked like he wouldn’t be given a third.

He parked his bike in its place next to the mower and slapped the garage door button as he stepped back onto the driveway, where he stretched carefully, not eager to start another day of painting sore and stiff.

That done, he let himself into the house, thinking a hot shower and a cold beer sounded better than just about anything—even another night with Darcy.

Okay. Forget that.

She was the first woman he’d been interested in since Annie had flattened him by refusing his marriage proposal. Obviously he was overromanticizing Darcy out of some vain hope he’d be able to avoid the scummy mess of the dating pool by falling back in love on his first try. Thank God she was blunt about her feelings—or lack thereof. He’d shower her off, too, then throw something together for dinner. Maybe a frittata—he had some leftover ratatouille that would be delicious in it, maybe with a few potato slices thrown in. Then he could sit back, relax and think about her. Or think about why he shouldn’t think about her. Or think about not thinking about her.

He was screwed. And not the way he wanted to be.

The shower was refreshing, the beer cold and satisfying, the frittata slightly overcooked, but good anyway. He cleaned up the kitchen and took a second beer and his cordless phone out onto the back patio, where he’d optimistically set one of his cedar outdoor chairs, though he’d wait to bring the rest up from the basement. With weather this warm, it was tempting to haul out the grill and plant his vegetable garden, too, but Milwaukee undoubtedly had a week or two of chill still planned before it allowed summer to land for real.

He set his phone on the arm of the chair and laughed in disgust at his foolish optimism. Hello, Tyler. She didn’t know the number. She wouldn’t call. She didn’t want to see him. Losing Annie must have made him cling like a burr to the first woman who caught his eye.

The phone rang. He blinked at it, adrenaline setting off a tornado in his stomach.

Darcy?

No, for God’s sake. He took another swig of beer before he picked it up, imagining her voice on the other end even as he told himself not to bother.

“How are you, my man?”

Tyler smiled. See? Not her. And he was completely fine with that. Really. “Hey, Bruce, how goes it?”

“Not too bad. Just back from my workout and cracking open a brew.”

“Back from your what?” He couldn’t have heard right.