Page 31 of This Time Around
More than anything though, he wanted a buffer. Wanted an attractive woman by his side so people would think twice before approaching to put a hand on his arm and gaze at him with a look of deep concern. “I was so sorry to hear about Caroline,” they’d say, wrapping him in a tight hug before he had a chance to flee. “How are you doing?”
The thought of going through that once, twice, a dozen times over the course of an evening was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat. He was sweating now, or maybe that was still the result of kissing Allie. It was tough to tell.
Allie kept looking at him oddly, so Jack shrugged like it was no big deal. “It’s up to you, but I think it’d be fun. Dinner’s being catered by Meg Delaney.” He’d never heard of her, but apparently she was a big deal. “Everyone’s saying she’s really good.”
“She is.” Allie bit her lip. “I hire her all the time for events I host.”
“Then you know you’ll eat well.”
She seemed to think about it a moment, then nodded. “It’s tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Six o’clock.”
“Okay. Yes, I’ll go.”
“Great!”
He probably sounded way too eager, but Allie didn’t seem to notice. Several feet below, Skye was still looking up at them.
“So can I do your hair and nails? I mean, you probably have a regular person you go to, but?—”
“Actually, that’s perfect.” Allie smiled. “I usually go to the beauty college closer to my apartment, so I’ve never been to the one where you’re training.”
“I thought you always went to that fancy place downtown,” Jack said.
Allie raised an eyebrow. “I’m not allowed to change beauty routines in sixteen years?”
“No. I just thought?—”
He stopped himself from saying whatever the hell he’d been about to say. Probably something like, “You’d still be a snob,” or “I thought no one but Francois was allowed to touch your hair.”
Allie had a point. A lot could change in sixteen years, and beauty habits were probably the least of it.
Sensing this was a dead-end conversation, he looked down at Skye. “Any chance you could put the ladder back?”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” Skye pushed her hair out of her eyes again and hurried over, ladder in hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to trap you up there.”
“Not a problem,” he said.
“Not your fault,” Allie added. “We should have left a note or something, but I didn’t think you’d be back until late.”
“My client didn’t show, so I came home early.” Skye unfolded the ladder and righted it under the attic door before glancing at Jack. “I’m pretty close to graduating from the Aesthetics Institute.”
“But she’s going to keep looking after the B&B until then,” Allie added.
“And the cats.” Skye grinned. “Have you met them yet? They’re just the sweetest.”
“They’re pretty impressive,” Jack agreed. “All those toes.” His heart rate was almost back to normal now, so at least all this benign banter was good for something.
“Vicky used to say they’re all descended from some famous cat in Florida,” Skye said. “Or maybe it was the Bahamas.”
“Like a show cat?” Allie asked.
“I’m not sure. Anyway, she just loved the polydactyls. The way it looks like they’re all wearing mittens. They pet each other sometimes, did you know that?”
“I didn’t,” Jack said, trying not to think about how much he wanted retreat back into the depths of the attic for some heavy petting of his own.
But a quick glance at Allie told him there was little chance of that happening. She tugged down the hem of her sweater and folded her arms over her chest.
