Hard To Bear (8 page)

“What a silly question.  At least a dozen.   Do you have your yellow dress with you? Wear that
, it’s very flattering on you.  And call me when you get home to tell me all the details.”

“I most certainly will
not.  Good night, love you, now go stalk somebody else.” Coral hung up, exasperated.  She was already stressed out enough without having her mother starting up with the wedding planning every time a man even glanced her direction.

She
spent a nervous half hour putting makeup on, taking it off because she’d layered it on too thick, and then putting it back on again.

Finally, she picked the dress her mother had recommended,
a buttery yellow number with a ruched waist and a low neckline, and strappy yellow low heeled sandals with little daisies on them.

As soon as the doorbell rang,
however, she was consumed with doubt.  Were the daisies childish? Did they make her look like a sexy flower child or a twelve year old?

Apparently she needn’t have worried, because when
she opened the door for Flint, he did not pay any attention to her shoes.

He stared at her admiringly, his gaze sweeping up and down her body, before settling on her
face. His lips spread in a slow smile. 

He was wearing a linen jacket, khakis and a button down blue shirt, which somehow fit his huge frame and flattered it.    And he was holding a bo
uquet of pink flowers with baby’s breath, which he handed to her. Flowers! He’d brought flowers!  No-one ever had brought her flowers on a date before.

Still, he had stood her up the other morning.  She tried her best to scowl. 

“Good evening, Coral, you’re looking lovely,” he said. 

“Thank you.  You don’t look terrible yourself,” she said.  She would not gush, she vowed
. “Let me just put these in some water.”

She quickly found a vase for the flowers and stuck them in cold water, while Flint waited for her in the living room. 
She wanted to dump some of that water on her head to cool herself down.  Every time Flint got near her, she felt hot and flushed.  She’d forgotten how thin the fabric of this dress was, which meant that the swollen buds of her nipples would be clearly outlined.

She crossed her arms over her chest, mortified, as they walked out to his car.

“Are you chilly? Here, take my jacket,” he said, and draped the jacket around her shoulders.

Oh, great. He was really turning on the charm tonight.  How the heck was she supposed to resist
him?

But on the bright side, if she wore the jacket it would hide her erect nipples.

He took her to a small country restaurant called Pop’s Place, which was as fancy as Blue Moon Junction got. Coral actually liked more casual restaurants.  From what she’d noticed in New York, the fancier the restaurant, the tinier the portions they served and the skinnier all the other diners were.  She’d suffered through more than enough dates at trendy New York restaurants staring hungrily at her partner’s plate, wondering if he was going to finish that. 

Give me a good, family-style restaurant  any time, she thought.

Flint held the car door open for her, and then held the restaurant door open for her, and even pulled out the chair at her table for her to sit down.

They sat at a round table with a white plastic table cloth. 
A red candle flickered in a glass cylinder, and country music played over tinny speakers

“
I thought about cooking you dinner at my house,” Flint said. “But then I thought that might be presumptuous for a first date.”

A first date? Coral couldn’t hide her look of surprise. He actually planned to take her out on more dates?

“That is, if I manage to charm the living daylights out of you and you agree to a second date,” he added with a grin. “How am I doing so far?”

Coral held up her hand. “Stop right there,” she said. “
You are sending out extremely mixed messages. You were a rude jerk the first time I met you.  Then you stood me up for breakfast. Now you’re being Mister Charm. What gives? There were women practically hurling themselves at you like heat seeking missiles back there at the auction. I know you’re not exactly hurting for female companionship.”

Flint’s grin stretched wider
. “You’re very direct. I like that.”

Coral shrugged. “It’s a New York thing.  We don’t sugarcoat things like you Southerners do.”

“Fair enough.  I’m sending  mixed messages because I’m here trying to concentrate on work and finish up a project in a timely fashion so I can get back to Seattle,  and I wasn’t planning on any distractions.  But ever since I met you, I can’t even think straight.”

He reached out and took her hand in his, and
closed his hand around it.   A wave of heat splashed over her, and she fought to keep from sucking in her breath.  “And I know you feel it too.”

“I beg your pardon?”
her voice came out in a squeak.  Were her palms sweaty? His hands were so big.  Was there a correlation between hand size and…no, she scolded herself.  Stop thinking like that.

“I find you very attractive, and I wish I didn’t. Wow, that came out more honest than I meant it to. Okay, here’s the thing.  First of all, you’re a reporter, and I guess I’ve just got a natural wariness of reporters.  I like my privacy, I don’t like having people snoop through my affairs. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Coral shot him a skeptical look.   “Hmm. So you have a guilty conscience, and something to hide.”

He threw up his hands in exasperation. “See? Typical reporter! Always
looking for the worst-case scenario!   Anyway, as I was saying…the other reason I’m trying to resist being attracted to you is because I’m not going to be in town for that long.    On the other hand, I can’t stop thinking about you, and it’s making it hard for me to concentrate on work.”

“It is?” Coral was absurdly pleased to hear that.

“I’m just trying to be as honest as possible here. We’re two single adults. We’re attracted to each other.  We could…”

Coral had to reign this in fast. 
She couldn’t have a casual relationship with a man who made her heart thud against her ribcage with his merest glance, and there was no chance of anything more than a summer fling.   He was pretty much stating that up front.  She’d end up with a broken heart, and he’d fly blithely home to Seattle and be dating some supermodel before Coral had time to down her first gallon of break-up ice cream.

“No,” Coral said firmly.
  “We couldn’t.”

Disappointment flashed across his features.
“And why’s that?”

“I just got out of a long relationship, and I’m not ready to start dating yet,” she said, lying through her teeth.

“We could keep it casual if that’s what you wanted. I really would like to see you again.” His brown eyes looked so earnest.

“Let’s change the subject,” she said, blushing. “Tell me about why you came back to Blue Moon
Junction. Why now, of all times?”

“Well, my parents aren’t getting any younger.  My sister
Rose and her husband are going to take over the business for them some day.  My business in Seattle is set up so it’s running itself pretty smoothly, so now seemed like a good time to home and start on the expansion.”

Somehow, Coral felt like there was more to the story, but it was clear that was all he was going to tell her.

“And you can quote me on that,” he said.

“I will, although it’s an awfully dull quote.”

“Okay.  People all over Central Florida have enjoyed Sweet Stuff’s delicious jams and honey for years now, and we decided it was high time to expand our operations so that people throughout the nation can share in the fun.”

“Well, now you just sound like an advertising brochure
.”

“There’s just no pleasing you,” he said. Then he smiled devilishly.  “Then again, I do love a challenge.”

He stared straight at her, and she nearly melted under his caramel gaze.  She was suddenly, excruciatingly aware of each breath she took, of the rise and fall of her chest and her nipples straining against the fabric of her bra.   She stared back at him, drinking in his good looks.  The curve of that upper lip, his strong jaw, his straight, even nose…

What would he look like naked?  There was a dusting of hair on his arms.   She suspected he’d have curly brown chest hair.  She liked that.  Smooth, waxed men were a turnoff to her.  And the light coating of brown hair would lead down to…

Her cheeks reddened and she looked down at the table in front of her. 

At that point, thank heavens, the waiter set two plates of p
asta in front of them, and they dug in.  Coral’s pasta was buttery and sprinkled with curls of parmesan, and the bread served with their meal was soft and moist and chewy.

After a few minutes, Flint set down his fork and  said “So tell me what you’re working on.”

“Well, mostly routine stuff, although there is an odd situation with several missing people from Blue Moon Junction.  The police are giving me the brush off, but I know there’s something there.”

She described it to him.  He frowned, looking
oddly perturbed.

“I don’t see the connection between those people,” he said.  “An older man, a much younger woman, two of whom were in different countries when they allegedly disappeared.  And a man in his twenties.   From what you’re saying, the man was in an unhappy marriage, and the reporter left behind a note explaining why he took off.”

“A typed note. Anyone could have typed that.  And I swear, when I talked to the Deputy Chief, he knew something, and he wasn’t telling me.”

“Well, there’s
two possibilities there,” Flint said.  “One possibility is that you’re wrong, and they don’t know anything. Another possibility is that there is something connecting these disappearances, and the police are investigating, which they’re obviously not going to share with a reporter, and you could be potentially endangering the investigation if you poke around too much.”

“Why wouldn’t they at least tell the families that they’re investigating? Adrian’s mother and Molly’s parents are freaking out.  And David Bollinger’s teenage kids
are too.”

“Maybe they don’t want whoever took the people to be spooked,” Flint shrugged, frowning, and tore off a piece of bread.

Coral suddenly had the feeling that Flint knew more than he was saying. 

Why is he really here? She wondered again.  The fact that sh
e didn’t completely believe he was telling her the truth about his reasons for being in Blue Moon Junction was all the more reason not to get involved with him.

“Are you doing something to the plant?” Flint asked, staring at the small pot of begonias that was on their table. Its leaves had been edged with brown when they sat down at the table.  Now they were glossy and green.

“Oh, that.  Yeah, my mother is actually not a werewolf, she’s a witch.  All of my sisters got really cool powers, but I’m kind of a magical washout.  When I’m around plants, they tend to perk up and grow a little faster.  That’s all I got.” She frowned at the begonia, concentrating hard, and new little bud popped up.

“My mother would love you.  She’s always got a million pots of herbs in our kitchen.  You’ll have to come by some time.”

For some reason, the mention of his mother, and the invite to his family home, sent a sharp twang of longing through her.  If only all of this were real, and not a purchased date with a bear who might change his mind at any moment and go back to dodging her phone calls.

An odd, prickly feeling swept over her, and she glanced around the room, and her stomach twisted in a knot when she saw that Melinda had just walked in the do
or, arm and arm with Frederick.

Even from a quick glance, Melinda’s rigid, angry posture gave her away.  She had no interest in
Frederick; she was here because of Flint, Coral was sure of it.

Frederick, on the other hand, looked dazzled.  Coral wasn’t surprised.  She had a feeling that all of Frederick’s leering and sexual innuendo was just a show, to hide the fact that he was basically an insecure geek underneath it all.  She wouldn’t be surprised if he was a virgin.   In fact, she’d be surprised if he
wasn’t
a virgin.

Flint followed
Coral’s gaze, and scowled.

“I
t’s okay.  I was just thinking it was time to call it a night,” Coral said.  She scowled at Frederick, who didn’t even seem to notice that Coral was there.  His attention was riveted, worshipfully, on Melinda.  Melinda must have sunk her claws into him when he was taking pictures at the bachelor auction.

Coral
wasn’t sure who she was more angry at.  Bettina was going to be crushed, and Melinda was clearly just using Frederick to get back at Flint.

Flint sighed and shook his head.   “I’m sorry,” he told her.  “I made the mistake of telling her where I was going, in case there was some kind of work related emergency.  I didn’t think she’
d show up here like this.”

Melinda
and Frederick sat down at a table across the room from them.  She caught Flint’s eye, and waved at him with a big smile.  Then she shot Coral a look of icy disdain.