Welcome to Serenity

“Ah, there you are,” Helen said cheerfully. “How did the committee meeting go? I hear the new town manager is very hot.”

Jeanette scowled at her. “Not you, too,” she grumbled, turned on her heel and marched into her office. “I’ve heard all the rave reviews I can bear from Dana Sue and Maddie.” Along with that humiliating lecture on her rudeness Sunday evening and how inappropriate it was for someone in business in Serenity to be unwelcoming to the new town manager.

Before she could shut the door, Helen stepped in behind her. “Okay, I obviously said the wrong thing. Mind filling me in on why?”

“Here it is in a nutshell,” Jeanette said, working herself back up to a full head of steam. “I do not want to be fixed up. I do not want Maddie, Dana Sue and you getting any crazy ideas about me and Tom McDonald. If and when I decide I want to date, I’ll find my own man.”

Helen’s shrewd eyes twinkled with amusement. “Got it,” she said.

Jeanette’s scowl deepened. “You are not taking me seriously. Why don’t any of you take me seriously?”

Helen’s expression sobered at once. “Oh, sweetie, we do. Believe me, when it comes to anything you have to say about running a spa, we take you very seriously.”

“But not about this,” Jeanette accused. “Not about my love life.”

“It’s just that you sound so much like we did right before we landed in marital bliss,” Helen said.

Jeanette sighed heavily. “Yeah, that’s what Dana Sue said, too.”

“We’ve all been there.”

“Where?”

“In denial.”

“How can I be in denial? I’ve crossed paths with Tom McDonald three times. He’s not my type. He’s a little too uptight and stuffy.” The comment was far from the truth, but there was no way she was going to say he had a cute dimple and a charming way about him: it would only add fuel to the fire.

“That’s not how Maddie described him. Or Dana Sue, either.”

“How did they describe him?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Tall, handsome, smart and sexy. He has a dimple. I think it was Maddie who noticed that.”

“Oh, I never noticed,” Jeanette lied. “But anyway, I don’t think that’s enough on which to base a lifelong commitment.”

“Probably not,” Helen concurred. “Did I mention rich? Word is, his family’s loaded. I think I’ve crossed paths with his parents at some charity events in Charleston.”

“That is not a recommendation,” Jeanette said. “If I cared about money, I’d have stayed at Chez Bella in Charleston. Besides, if he’s really rich, why is he here in Serenity working for peanuts? Did they disinherit him? Or is this his good deed for the century? And what would a rich man want with a woman who gives facials?”

“And massages,” Helen added, clearly fighting a grin. “Don’t forget you also give excellent massages, and I can certainly see the appeal of that. Erik has suggested more than once I take lessons from you.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you know what I mean. A rich man, especially one from old money, would want some debutante, a woman with social connections, which I clearly do not have.”

“Good,” Helen said. “I have no idea why Tom McDonald does anything. We’ve never met. Why don’t you ask him?”

“Because that would imply a level of interest I don’t have,” Jeanette said stubbornly. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need coffee with caffeine, not the herbal tea we serve here. I need to brew it behind closed doors. And I have clients waiting.”

Helen grinned. “On my way. Never let it be said that I stood in the way of this place making more money.” She was about to leave, when she turned back. “Hey, why don’t you come over for Sunday dinner next week. Everyone’s coming.”

Jeanette narrowed her gaze. “Everyone?”

“Maddie, Cal and the kids. Dana Sue and Ronnie. Maddie says Ty might be home, and Dana Sue’s trying to see if Annie can get home from college for the weekend. And in case you had any doubts about it, Erik will be cooking, not me. We won’t die of ptomaine poisoning.”

“Good to know.” Jeanette debated the merits of attending a party where her love life could be examined yet again. Of course, the advantage would be that she could defend her position and keep them from pulling anything sneaky. “Okay, sure,” she said at last. “Can I bring anything? Wine? Soda? Lemonade? A pie?”

“Forget the pie. Erik’s a pastry chef. Any pies or desserts on the premises are his. I tried bringing home a frozen cobbler one night and didn’t hear the end of it for a month. How about some tequila? I’m making margaritas.”

“Oh, boy,” Jeanette said. “The lethal ones?”

Helen grinned. “Are there any other kind? Especially since none of us is pregnant or nursing at the moment. See you around four, okay?”

“Works for me,” she said, though she didn’t entirely trust Helen’s recitation of the guest list. Something told her that Helen wouldn’t be above inviting Tom just to see if the rumors about his good looks were true—and maybe to initiate a little meddling of her own.

Mary Vaughn sashayed past an outraged Teresa and into Tom McDonald’s office just before lunchtime without an appointment.

Her plan was to ask him something about the Christmas festival, then work her way around to asking if he had lunch plans.

As she stepped across the threshold, though, she came to an abrupt stop. He wasn’t in his office. She whirled around and glared at Teresa.

“He’s not there.”

“I could have told you that if you’d slowed down for half a second,” Teresa said, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes.

“Where is he?”

“He had a meeting out of the building.”

“When will he be back?”

“It’s hard to say. Shall I tell him you stopped by?”

Mary Vaughn debated what to do. If she didn’t explain what had brought her, it would be all too obvious to anyone with half a grain of sense that she was here on a personal mission. She knew perfectly well that everyone in town thought she was man-crazy. The truth was there’d only been one man in her entire life who had made her a little crazy and that was Ronnie Sullivan. Now that she’d lost him twice to Dana Sue, it was pretty much past time to give up on that particular dream. It had caused her nothing but heartache.

Her marriage to Sonny Lewis had been totally on the rebound, a fact she regretted every single day of her life. She hadn’t been a bit surprised that their marriage had barely lasted ten years. What had surprised her was that sweet, easygoing Sonny was the one who’d ended it. She’d had a daughter she adored and a successful career that gave her financial independence. Being married to Sonny had given her the respectability she’d craved since childhood. She probably would have drifted along contentedly for a lot longer if Sonny hadn’t forced the issue.

“You made up your mind yet?” Teresa asked, snapping her back to the present.

“About what?” Mary Vaughn asked blankly.

“Do you want me to tell Tom that you stopped by or not?”

“No,” she said. “Thanks, Teresa. I’ll catch up with him sooner or later.”

Teresa murmured something that sounded a whole lot like, “I’ll be sure to warn him,” but her expression was perfectly innocent when Mary Vaughn turned to give her a penetrating look.

“You have a good day,” Teresa said.

“You do the same,” Mary Vaughn said with even less sincerity.