Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Call Me Irresistible

“That really galls you, doesn’t it?”

“The fact that you screwed around on Lucy? Oh, yes. Right now she’s eaten up with guilt. And don’t think for a second that I won’t fill her in on all the sordid details of your extracurricular activities as soon as we get the chance for a long chat.”

“Doubt she’ll believe you.”

“I don’t get why you proposed to her in the first place.”

“Not being married was starting to hold me back,” he said. “I was ready to move on to the next stage of my life, and I needed a wife for that. Someone spectacular. The daughter of the president fit the bill perfectly.”

“Did you ever love her? Even a little?”

“Are you crazy? It was a sham right from the beginning.”

Something told her he was throwing up a smoke screen, but the mind-reading thing she’d been doing all evening failed her. “It must be hard being you,” she said. “Mr. Perfect on the outside. Dr. Evil on the inside.”

“It’s not that hard. The rest of the world isn’t as insightful as you.”

His easy smile slid over her, and a tiny zap—almost imperceptible—so small it was hardly worth noting—but still there— hit her nerve endings. Not all of them. Just a couple. The ones located somewhere south of her belly button.

“Crap!” he exclaimed, voicing her feelings perfectly.

She turned her head and saw what had caught his attention. His beautiful brunette lover making a beeline for Spence.

Ted abandoned Meg and ambled back to the table, his amble so full of purpose Meg was surprised he didn’t leave tread marks on the floor. He hit the brakes just as his lover held out her hand to their visitor.

“Hi, there. Torie Traveler O’Connor.”

Torie Traveler O’Connor? Meg remembered the conversation she’d overheard the night before between Ted and Kenny. Ted’s married lover was Kenny’s sister?

Torie’s Texas drawl was liquid decadence. “I heard you tore up the back nine today, Spence. You don’t mind if I call you Spence, do you? I had to meet the man who took these ol’ boys to the cleaners.”

Spence looked temporarily awestruck. It was easy to see how Torie could do that with her flawless features, swirl of inky hair, and long legs hugged by ultraexpensive jeans. A trio of small silver charms dangled at the open neck of her scooped top, an enormous diamond winked on her left hand, and two others, nearly as large, played at her earlobes.

Kenny frowned at her. Seen together, their over-the-top good looks made it obvious they were siblings. “Why aren’t you home minding my nieces?”

“Because they’re finally asleep. It took a couple of Xanax cleverly concealed inside some Twinkies, but oh well . . . Monsters.”

“They miss their father,” Kenny said. “The only stabilizing influence in their lives.”

Torie grinned. “He’ll be back tomorrow.” She poked her brother. “I just talked to Lady Emma. She told me her hand is fine, and if you call her one more time, she won’t put out tonight.” She kissed Ted’s cheek. “Hey, there, Mr. Mayor. Word is you played real ugly today.”

“Except for a hole-out eagle and a few birdies,” her brother said. “Damnedest game I ever saw.”

She looked around for a place to sit, and not spotting an open chair, perched on Ted’s right thigh. “Weird. You’re usually so consistent.”

“Spence intimidated me,” Ted said with all kinds of sincerity. “He’s as good a seven handicap as I’ve ever played with.”

Kenny tilted back in his chair. “Lots of interesting events happening around here today, Torie. Meg was just filling Spence in on her unrequited love for Ted. Who knew, right?”

Torie’s eyes widened with surprise, followed almost immediately by anticipation. Right then Meg understood. Even with Torie balanced like a sleek, man-eating panther on Ted’s thigh and one arm draped over his shoulders, Meg knew they weren’t lovers. She didn’t understand exactly what their relationship was, or why they’d been together in the suite at the inn with Torie wrapped only in a towel, or why Torie had kissed him that night in his car. Despite all the evidence to the contrary—and despite Ted’s own words—she knew with absolute certainty these two were not intimate.

Torie took a sip from Ted’s beer and turned her attention to Meg. “I never get tired of hearing women’s stories, especially ones involving men. I swear, I’d read a romance novel every day if I didn’t have to chase after my kids. Did you just blurt it right out—tell Ted how you feel?”

Meg tried to look sincere. “I believe in honesty.”

“She’s pretty sure he’ll come around,” Kenny said.

Torie handed Ted’s beer back without taking her eyes off Meg. “I admire your self-confidence.”

Meg extended her hands, palms out. “Why wouldn’t he come around? Look at me.”

She expected snickers, but it didn’t happen. “Interesting,” Torie said.

“Not interesting.” Ted slid his beer out of Torie’s reach.

Torie took in Meg’s Sung dynasty earrings. “Probably best you haven’t heard about my stepmother’s new plan to raise money for the library repairs.”

“Shelby hasn’t talked to me about any plan,” Ted said.

Torie waved him off. “I’m sure someone will mention it to you sooner or later. The committee hasn’t finished ironing out the details.”

Ted eyed Kenny. “Lady Emma say anything about this to you?”

“Not a word.”

Torie was a woman on a mission, and she wouldn’t let herself be distracted for long. “Your honesty is refreshing, Meg. Exactly when did you realize you were in love with Ted? Before or after Lucy ditched him?”

“Lay off,” Ted said pleasantly.

Torie stuck her perfectly shaped nose in the air. “I wasn’t talking to you. When it comes to women, you always leave out the interesting parts.”

“After she left,” Meg said, and then, more carefully, “there’s really nothing more to tell at this point. I’m still hoping to . . . work through Ted’s issues.”

“Remind me what those issues are,” Torie said. “Ted being so perfect.” A tiny gasp slipped through her glossy lips. “Oh, God, Teddy . . . Not that issue! You told us the Viagra helped.” She leaned toward Spence, and in a fake whisper said, “Ted’s been fighting a courageous battle against erectile dysfunction.”

Skeet choked on his beer. Kenny laughed. Dallie winced, and Spence frowned. He wasn’t exactly certain whether or not Torie was joking, and he didn’t like feeling excluded. Meg experienced her first flash of sympathy, not for Spence, but for Ted, who looked as serene as ever, even though he definitely wasn’t. “Torie’s kidding, Spence.” Meg gave a superexaggerated eye roll. “She’s really, really kidding.” And then, with fake guilt, “At least from what I’ve heard.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Ted nearly dumped Torie as he came up out of his chair and caught her wrist. “Let’s dance.”

“If I wanted to dance, I’d ask my brother,” Torie retorted. “Somebody who doesn’t have two left feet.”

“I’m not that bad,” Ted said.

“Bad enough.”

Kenny addressed Spence. “My sister is the only woman in Wynette—probably the entire universe—who’s ever told Ted the truth about his lack of ballroom skills. The rest of them bat their eyes and pretend he’s Justin Timberlake. Funnier’n hell.”

Ted’s eyes grazed Meg’s, just for an instant, before he turned away and pulled Torie toward the jukebox.

Spence watched them. “Your sister’s an unusual woman.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Her and Ted seem real close.”

“Torie’s been Ted’s best female friend since he was a kid,” Kenny said. “I swear, she’s the only woman under sixty who’s never been in love with him.”

“Her husband doesn’t mind their friendship?”

“Dex?” Kenny smiled. “No. Dex is pretty self-confident.”

Ted seemed to be doing more lecturing than dancing, and when he and Torie returned to the table, he made a point of grabbing an empty chair and seating her as far away from Spence as he could manage. That didn’t stop Torie from touting the advantages of Wynette as the perfect location for a golf resort, trying to figure out how much Spence was worth, inviting him to her stepmother’s Fourth of July party on Monday, and coercing him into a Saturday afternoon golf match.

Ted looked pained and quickly announced that he and Kenny would join them. Torie glanced at Meg, and the mischievous glimmer in her eyes explained why Ted wanted to keep her far away from Skipjack. “Meg’s going to caddy for Ted again, right?”

Ted and Meg both spoke up. “No!”

But Kenny, for some unfathomable reason, decided that was a great idea, and with Spence saying the match wouldn’t be half as much fun without Meg, the handwriting was blood-spattered all over the wall.

When Spence disappeared to the men’s room, the conversation grew more sober. “Here’s what I can’t figure out,” Torie said to Ted. “Spence’s people made it clear last spring that he’d eliminated Wynette and decided on San Antone. Then a month ago, without any warning, he pops up again and says Wynette’s back in the running. I’d like to know what happened to change his mind.”

“The folks in San Antone are as surprised as we are,” Ted said. “They thought they had it sewn up.”

“Too bad for them.” Torie waved at someone across the room. “We need this more than they do.”

When it was time to leave, Dallie insisted on dropping Spence off at the inn, which was how Meg ended up alone in Ted’s Benz. She waited until they reached the highway before she broke the silence. “You’re not having an affair with Kenny’s sister.”

“I’d better tell her that.”

“And you never screwed around on Luce.”

“Whatever you say.”

“And”—she studied the easy way his hands curled over the steering wheel and wondered if anything ever came hard to this charmed creature—“if you want my continued cooperation with Spence—which I assure you that you do—we need to come to an understanding.”

“Who says I need your cooperation?”

“Oh, you need it, all right.” She slipped her fingers into her hair. “It’s fascinating, isn’t it, how impressed Spence is with my father and, by extension, with me? Insulting to my mother, of course, considering how powerful she is in the industry, not to mention being one of the most beautiful women in the world. Still, Spence did mention that he had her poster on his bedroom wall, and he’s definitely smitten with me, for whatever twisted reason. That means I’ve gone from a liability to an asset, and you, my friend, need to work a little harder to please me, starting with those cheapskate tips. Spence gave Mark a hundred dollars today.”

“Mark didn’t cost Spence three holes and I don’t know how many bad shots. But fine. Tomorrow I’ll tip you a hundred. Minus fifty dollars for every hole you cost me.”

“Minus ten dollars for every hole I cost you, and it’s a deal. By the way, I’m not big on diamonds and roses, but an open account at the grocery wouldn’t go unappreciated.”

He slanted her one of his saintly looks. “I thought you were too proud to take my money.”

“Take it, yes. Earn it? Definitely not.”

“Spence didn’t get where he is by being stupid. I doubt he bought that cockamamie story of your unrequited passion for me.”

“He’d better have bought it because I won’t let that man paw me again, not for all the golf resorts in the world, and irresistible you is my excuse.”

He lifted an eyebrow at her, then turned into the dark, narrow lane that led to her temporary home. “Maybe you should reconsider. He’s a decent-looking guy, and he’s rich. Frankly, he could be the answer to your prayers.”

“If I were going to put a price tag on my lady parts, I’d find a more appetizing buyer.”

Ted liked that, and he was still grinning when they pulled up to the church. She opened the passenger door to get out. He slipped his arm over the back of her seat and gave her a look she couldn’t quite fathom. “I assume I’m invited in,” he said. “Considering the intensity of your feelings for me?”

He had her in his high beams, those amber eyes delivering his personal elixir of rapt attention, perfect understanding, deep appreciation, and forgiveness for all her sins.

He was totally messing with her.

She pulled a tragic sigh. “I need to get past your otherworldly perfection before I can begin to think about exposing you to my lusty side.”

“How lusty?”

“Off the charts.” She slid out of the car. “Good night, Theodore. Sweet dreams.”