Ask Anyone

Mrs. Jamison didn’t even pretend to hide her dismay. “You’re leaving without talking it over with him? Do you think that’s wise, Jenna?”

“I think this might be one of those times when a note is smarter than a direct confrontation,” Jenna assured her.

Besides, if she could sneak away, there would be less of a chance that he’d pry her secret mission out of her. She wanted a signed contract in her hand the next time she saw her father. It might mute his disapproval of her underhanded tactics in leaving him out of the loop on this project. She didn’t exactly have the authority to commit Pennington and Sons’s resources to this deal.

As for abandoning him at the office with no notice, to her very deep regret, she acknowledged that he probably wouldn’t even notice.

Bobby looked across his desk into the fascinated gaze of Anna-Louise Walton and winced. “You don’t approve of me trying to buy Jenna off, do you?”

“That depends on why you decided to try it,” the pastor said, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Care to explain your thinking?”

“No good could come of having her here,” Bobby said flatly. “None.”

“Because she’s a woman?” Anna-Louise asked mildly.

“Watch it,” her husband warned Bobby. “Think about your response very, very carefully. You’re about to get a sermon on being a sexist pig unless you answer this exactly right.”

“Yeah, I can see the trap,” Bobby conceded.

Anna-Louise frowned at both of them, then addressed Bobby. “Do you doubt Jenna’s qualifications?”

Bobby shook his head. “Her firm has solid credentials, though I got the impression this is her first big presentation. She all but admitted she had something to prove.”

“Okay, then,” Anna-Louise said approvingly. “And what about the plan itself? Didn’t you like it?”

“She didn’t have preliminary sketches or anything, but in terms of concept, it was actually right on target,” Bobby admitted, knowing that he was digging a very deep hole for himself.

“So you tried to get rid of her just because she’s a woman and therefore what? Not in need of a job? Not smart enough?” Anna-Louise pressed.

“Of course not,” Bobby denied heatedly. That sort of blatant discrimination was wrong. Even he could see that, though at the moment it was darned inconvenient. Besides, Jenna had made it plain that she was ambitious and smart, both admirable traits in his book.

Anna-Louise grinned. “Then it must be because you were attracted to her and that scared the living daylights out of you. You did swear off relationships after Ann-Marie ran off with Lonnie four weeks before your wedding, right?”

The mention of Ann-Marie and Lonnie still had the capacity to stir up a cold rage in Bobby. Anna-Louise wouldn’t have touched that topic if she had a grain of sense in her head, but then she hadn’t been here at the time. She hadn’t witnessed his humiliation firsthand. She only knew that the prospect of bumping into the two traitors had kept Bobby away from church ever since, and no amount of pressure or cajoling had been able to woo him back.

“I know your heart’s in the right place, Anna-Louise, but I do not want to discuss those two with you,” he said tightly. “Not ever.”

“Or with anyone else, it seems.” The minister regarded him with compassion. “Maybe it’s time you discussed your feelings about what happened with someone. Until you forgive them and let go of the past, you’ll never be able to move on with your life.”

“Not going to happen,” Bobby insisted. He’d fry in hell first.

“The only person you’re hurting is yourself,” she said softly.

Bobby sighed. That was probably true enough. He certainly hadn’t seen much evidence that Ann-Marie and Lonnie were suffering any pangs of guilt over what they’d done. The only place in town they avoided was the yacht center. Other than that, they paraded around town hand in hand, flaunting the fact that they were madly in love and seemingly oblivious to the fact that they’d betrayed Bobby to be together.

Their children were less circumspect. They turned up on the docks with their friends and invaded the kitchen for snacks whenever they could get away with it. No matter how many times Bobby told Tommy that his restaurant kitchen was off-limits to him and his friends, Daisy’s adopted son continued to treat it as if it contained his own personal stash of treats. Ann-Marie’s boy, J.C., was usually among the interlopers.

Even so, the yacht center and restaurant were still about the only places left where Bobby felt reasonably safe from unexpected encounters with the two people responsible for breaking his heart. Not that he intended to admit any of that to Anna-Louise. He just sat there stonily, enduring her expectant stare.

Richard finally took pity on him and spoke to his wife. “Hon, maybe you shouldn’t push this. Besides, I’m not sure we’re entitled to know why Bobby doesn’t want to work with Jenna. It’s his project and his money.”

“I thought he might feel better if he made a confession about his real reasons for trying to avoid working with her,” Anna-Louise said unrepentantly.

“Wrong church,” Richard pointed out. “He needs a priest for that.”

“I can listen,” Anna-Louise protested. “And offer comfort and forgiveness. The mechanics might be different, but the principle’s the same no matter which church I belong to.”

Bobby chuckled despite himself. “Sorry, Anna-Louise. I’m not in need of either one. I’m perfectly comfortable with my decision. The only thing I regret is that it didn’t work. The woman’s stubborn as a mule.” Spencers knew all about stubbornness, it didn’t take much for them to recognize it in others. And Jenna had it in spades.

The pastor’s eyes brightened. “Then she is coming back? Good! I can hardly wait to meet her. Daisy and I will host a little get-together so she can get acquainted with a few people.”

Richard groaned. “You just want a chance to cross-examine her and see how she measures up as a candidate for Bobby’s love life.”

“I most certainly do not,” Anna-Louise said indignantly. “I’m perfectly content to leave the matchmaking to King. Although the way I hear it, Jenna does look an awful lot like Ann-Marie. Is that so, Bobby?”

The observation seemed to suck the breath right out of him. He hadn’t considered it consciously before, but it was true. Jenna did bear a remarkable resemblance to the woman who had broken his heart and humiliated him in the process. Maybe that was why he’d reacted so violently the first time he’d seen her. Maybe it had nothing to do with the commotion on his lawn at all.

“I refuse to answer,” he said blandly.

“Which must mean she does,” Anna-Louise said complacently. “King is going to be in hog heaven when he hears that little tidbit.”

“Not an especially reassuring thought,” Bobby noted. He glanced hopefully at Richard. “Can you stop this?”

“Not a chance. My wife is an independent woman. So is your sister. You don’t have a prayer, my friend.”

Bobby scowled at Anna-Louise. “I could pray about this, couldn’t I? And a benevolent God would take pity on me, right?”

She grinned. “Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on what He has in mind for you. He might have sent Jenna down here in the first place just to shake you out of the doldrums.”

“If He did, it was a mean trick,” Bobby retorted.

“No, in that case, it was a divine plan,” she countered. “Pay attention to it.”

Bobby shot a commiserating look at Richard. “And you live with this kind of reasoning all the time? I feel for you.”

Richard chuckled and put an arm around his wife’s waist as he steered her toward the door. “It has its compensations,” he said. “And since we’re already married, she doesn’t have to meddle in my love life.”

Bobby laughed as he watched them leave, but as soon as they were out of sight, his expression sobered. For all of his tart comments, he envied what they had. He truly did.

He just wasn’t sure he was ready to take the risks involved in trying to find something like it for himself. And even if he were, Jenna Kennedy would be the last person on earth he’d choose. He liked serenity, and the way he felt around her was anything but serene.

As he always did when he was stressed, Bobby retreated to the kitchen at the yacht center. The dinner rush was only an hour away, and he’d been in the middle of preparations when Richard had come by, ostensibly to get information about the stolen carousel horse. Since he’d come with Anna-Louise in tow, Bobby was a little suspicious of his real motives. Precious little of their time together had been spent talking about the theft. Once the conversation had veered off-course to the topic of Jenna, it had never gotten back on track again.

As he walked into the kitchen, he found the air thick with the spicy scent of steamed shrimp and crabs. The pungent aroma of garlic for the night’s scampi special added to his sense of well-being. Based on the aromas alone, he was reassured that the food tonight would be incredible.

This was his milieu. There was nothing he liked better than experimenting with ingredients, adding a dash of this herb or a sprinkling of that one to bring out the flavor of a dish in a whole new way.

For a man who liked his life to be peaceful and calm, the commotion of a restaurant kitchen just before the crowds descended should have been disconcerting, but it suited him. He liked the bustle, the camaraderie, even the temperamental outbursts of his pastry chef, who was a perfectionist and tolerated nothing less from anyone coming into contact with the pies and cakes and light-as-air confections he created. The concept of great meals being orchestrated out of confusion was satisfying to him.