Page 18 of Romance and Peppermint Lattes
“It was all in good fun, Mother.” All right, hehadirritated her, but Maryanne was willing to forget their earlier pettiness. “We’re friends now. As it happens, I like him quite a lot.”
“Friends,” her mother echoed softly. Slowly. “Your newfound friend isn’t married, is he? You know your father and I started our own relationship at odds with each other, don’t you?”
“Mother, honestly. Stop matchmaking.”
“Just answer me one thing. Is he married or not?”
“Not. He’s in his early thirties and he’s handsome.” A noticeable pause followed the description. “Mother?”
“You’re attracted to him, aren’t you?”
Maryanne wasn’t sure she should admit it, but on the other hand she’d already given herself away. “Yes,” she said stiffly, “I am... a little. There’s a lot to like about him, even though we don’t always agree. He’s very talented. I’ve never read a column of his that didn’t make me smile—and think. He’s got this—er—interesting sense of humor.”
“So it seems. Has he asked you out?”
“Not yet.”But he will, her heart told her.
“Give him time.” Muriel Simpson’s voice had lowered a notch or two. “Now, sweetie, before we hang up, I want you to tell me some more about this special assignment of yours.”
They talked for a few minutes longer, and Maryanne was astonished at her own ability to lie by omission—and avoid answering her mother’s questions. She hated this subterfuge, and she hated the guilt she felt afterward. She tried to reason it away by reminding herself that her motives were good. If her parents knew what she was planning, they’d be sick with worry. But she couldn’t remain their little girl forever. She had something to prove, and for the first time she was going to compete like a real contender—without her father standing on the sidelines, bribing the judges.
***
Maryanne didn’t hear from Nolan for the next three days, and she was getting anxious. At the end of the week, she’d be finished at theReview; the following Monday she’d be starting at Rent-A-Maid. To her delight, Carol Riverside was appointed as her replacement. The look the managing editor tossed Maryanne’s way suggested he’d given Carol the job not because of her recommendation, but despite it.
“I’m still not convinced you’re doing the right thing,” Carol told her over lunch on Maryanne’s last day at the paper.
“ButI’mconvinced, and that’s what’s important,” Maryannereturned. “Why is everyone so afraid I’m going to fall flat on my face?”
“It’s not that, exactly.”
“Then what is it?” she pressed. “I don’t think Nolan stopped grumbling from the moment I announced I was quitting the paper, finding a job and moving out on my own.”
“And well he should grumble!” Carol declared righteously. “He’s the one who started this whole thing. You’re such a nice girl. I can’t see you getting mixed up with the likes of him.”
Maryanne had a sneaking suspicion her friend wasn’t saying this out of loyalty to the newspaper. “Mixed up with the likes of him? Is there something I don’t know about Seattle’s favorite journalist?”
“Nolan Adams may be the most popular newspaper writer in town, but he’s got a biting edge to him. Oh, he’s witty and talented, I’ll give him that, but he has this scornful attitude that makes me want to shake him till he rattles.”
“I know he’s a bit cynical.”
“He’s a good deal more than cynical. The problem is, he’s so darn entertaining that his attitude is easy to overlook. I’d like two minutes alone with that man just so I could set him straight. He had no business saying what he did about you in that ‘My Evening with the Debutante’ piece. Look where it’s led!”
For that matter, Maryanne wouldn’t mind spending two minutes alone with Nolan, either, but for an entirely different reason. The speed with which the thought entered her mind surprised her enough to produce a soft smile.
“Only this time his words came back to bite him,” Carol continued.
“Everything he wrote was true,” Maryanne felt obliged to remind her friend. She hadn’t been all that thrilled when he’d decided to share those truths with the entire western half of Washington state, but she couldn’t fault his perceptions.
“Needless to say, I’m not as concerned about Nolan as I am about you,” Carol said, gazing down at her sandwich. “I’ve seen that little spark in your eye when you talk about him, and frankly it worries me.”
Maryanne immediately lowered her betraying eyes. “I’m sure you’re mistaken. Nolan and I are friends, but that’s the extent of it.” She wasn’t sure Nolan would even want to claim her as a friend; she rather suspected he thought of her as a nuisance.
“Perhaps it’s friendship on his part, but it’s a lot more on yours. I’m afraid you’re going to fall in love with that scoundrel.”
“That’s crazy,” Maryanne countered swiftly. “I’ve only just met him.” Carol’s gaze narrowed on her like a diamond drill bit and Maryanne sighed. “He intrigues me,” she admitted, “but that’s a long way from becoming emotionally involved with him.”
“I can’t help worrying about you. And, Maryanne, if you’re falling in love with Nolan, that worries me more than the idea of you being a Rent-a-Maid or finding yourself an apartment on Capitol Hill.”
