"It"s a lovely party, Aunt Roberta. Can I get you a soda or something?"
"Yes, Jenny, yes, you can." She grabbed Genna"s hand in an affectionate death grip and stared at her with gla.s.sy eyes. "My word, you are such such a wonderful girl. I just can"t tell you. I just can"t. Please do get me another soda and put a little "or something" in it, will you?" a wonderful girl. I just can"t tell you. I just can"t. Please do get me another soda and put a little "or something" in it, will you?"
"How much "or something" has she had?" Amy asked as she and Genna made their way to the long refreshment table set up along the back of the house.
"Probably none. She"s a little different."
"Bonkers, you mean."
Amy"s gaze raced greedily from one end of the table to the other. Spotlights from the side of the house illuminated the bowls and platters of every size and shape, which were crowded onto the red checkered tablecloth. There was everything from cracked crab to barbecued ribs to fresh strawberries to chocolate cake. Thanks to Genna"s donations, there seemed to be an inordinate number of desserts.
Amy grabbed a plate and made one enthusiastic sweep down the table. Genna picked out one stick of celery for herself and mixed a drink for Roberta.
"J.J. sure knows how to throw a party."
"Mmmm," was all Genna had to say, an understatement at the very least.
Brightly colored Chinese lanterns were strung all around the backyard; they even hung around Flurry"s White Castle doghouse. Blasting rock music, the traveling stereo system of a Hartford radio station was set up on a flatbed truck parked in the alley. The tuxedoed deejay was dancing on the lawn with Grace, who had outdone herself in a gown of cotton-candy pink with a white feather boa.
As with Jared"s first party, the entire neighborhood had been invited. Genna spotted Theron Ralston in his new Willard Scott toupee shoveling shrimp dip onto a paper plate. Theron never pa.s.sed up free food or a chance to spy on his neighbors. The rotund Mrs. Ralston was trying to eat potato salad and pump information from Bill Hennessy at the same time. Bill went on chewing his bubble gum, making notes in his steno pad, smiling and nodding absently. He had b.u.t.toned up the collar of his shocking-blue Hawaiian shirt and worn a thin black necktie for the occasion.
Two more of the Hennessy clan had arrived: Jared"s older sister Anne, a sculptor with her mother"s taste in clothes, and brother Quinn, an oceanographer. Anne was accompanied by her husband, Armand, and their two children. Quinn had come with his new bride, Kate.
Several of Jared"s teammates were present as well. Genna recognized Brutus, the mountain with the mohawk haircut. Dressed in black leather pants and vest, and a black bow tie, he and Aunt Roberta were dancing to a hot tune by the Models. Handsome wide receiver Cory Cooper had captivated Marie"s attention.
Neighborhood kids darted through the throng with water pistols. Flurry ran past with a sandal in his mouth. The yard was crowded with people laughing, dancing, singing-in general having a disgustingly good time, Genna thought crossly. She"d gotten almost no sleep the night before and it was definitely showing in her temperament. She was more in the mood for a military coup than one of Jared"s parties. And it was all Jared"s fault, she had decided in a fit of irrational rationalization. She hadn"t wanted to get involved with him in the first place, then he"d gone and made her fall in love with him.
"Lighten up, Gen," Amy said, her voice like metal grating on concrete. "You"re in a lousy mood. Again Again, I might add."
"Thanks for saying so," Genna said sarcastically, sticking her celery into the patch pocket of her blue and white plaid dirndl skirt. She tossed back a good portion of the drink she"d mixed for Roberta.
"Don"t mention it. What"s the matter? Is Jared trying to put the flamingos back in the yard?"
"I"ll have you know I put them in a closet, Amy," Jared said. He shoved his water pistol into the shoulder holster he wore strapped on over a pastal blue T-shirt that molded to his muscular chest. "I had to move them again, though. They scared the wits out of Aunt Roberta."
"I hope you don"t mind my saying so, boss," Bernice said, joining them, "but that wouldn"t take much. She"s a few numbers shy of bingo, if you know what I mean."
"I know what you mean, Bernice." Jared smiled, resting a hand on the woman"s shoulder. "And you can say anything you want as long as you keep me supplied in homemade pasta." He sent a sizzling look Genna"s way. "Right, Gen?"
Genna glared at him and polished off the rest of Roberta"s rum and c.o.ke.
"Besides, Bernice," Jared went on, "you"ve got a place with me as long as you keep calling me "boss." It builds up my self-esteem."
"Build it up any more and you"ll have to push it around in a shopping cart," Genna said sardonically.
Bernice laughed. "You"ll never have to worry about getting a big head with Genna around, boss."
Jared"s lips twitched threateningly. His eyes crinkled at the corners with barely suppressed merriment as he gazed down at Genna. Her smoky eyes burned a furious warning at him.
"Naw," he drawled, "that"s not what I worry about when Genna"s around."
She supposed he could have said worse. Just the same, she ground her heel into his foot as she pushed past him, smiling too sweetly. "Excuse me. I promised to get your aunt a drink."
Jared tried to pa.s.s a grimace off as a smile. "I think I could use one myself."
Genna wove in and out of the crowd at the refreshment table, absently filling a plate as she went along, trying to lose Jared. He caught up with her at the beverages.
"My, what a healthy appet.i.te you have, Miss Hastings," he commented, raising a brow at the sight of her plate heaped with barbecued chicken.
Genna"s brows lowered in annoyance as she mixed a drink for Roberta, not paying any attention to what she was doing. "I happen to like chicken."
"You happen to be be one. You"ve been avoiding me all evening." one. You"ve been avoiding me all evening."
"What would give you that incredibly stupid idea?"
"Ha!" he said with a laugh, straight white teeth gleaming under the spotlights. "You put on more moves going through that crowd than Walter Payton!"
Genna pouted as she stirred the drink with a glow-in-the-dark swizzle stick. "Who on earth is Walter Payton?"
Jared ground his teeth. "Never mind." He started mixing himself a drink without even looking to see what bottles he was picking up.
"Is that my drink you have there, Jillian?" Roberta rasped. She stood with her arm around Brutus"s lean waist. Brutus looked down at them and grinned maniacally, revealing a gold tooth with his initial engraved on it in old English script.
"Yes, it is. Here you go," Genna said, pushing the plastic cup into the woman"s hand and taking an involuntary step back toward Jared.
"Spartacus here is going to breathe fire for us later on, aren"t you, darling?" Roberta patted the enormous man on the back the way she might pat a faithful Great Dane. Her cigarette dangled from her lip. "Breathe fire. Isn"t that something? I think that"s really something."
She took a big gulp of her drink. All the color washed out of her face. "Mother Malone! You sure know how to pour a soda, honey!"
Brutus threw his head back and laughed. He sounded like Vincent Price with a gland condition. Carried away by his festive mood, he grabbed a bottle of Bacardi 151 by the throat and poured half a quart into his mouth. Standing in profile to his audience, he used Roberta"s lighter, spewing a stream of fire from his mouth that would have done a flamethrower proud.
"I suppose you"re going to try to tell me he"s a Rhodes scholar," Genna said to Jared as the unlikely couple danced away, laughing.
J.J. shook his head and said on a long sigh, "Naw ..."
He took a sip of the drink he"d mixed and choked. His face turned red, his eyes teared up. When he tried to talk he sounded like Marlon Brando in The G.o.dfather The G.o.dfather. "Listen, Gen, you and I have to have a serious talk before I go. There are some things we need to get straightened out between us."
Genna"s heart went to her throat. "Um-a-I"d love to, but I-I-"
Boo Boo Paige walked by nodding a greeting. In desperation Genna latched on to his arm. "I promised Otis this dance."
It was a testimony to adrenaline-induced strength when she actually managed to drag the lineman into the crowd.
She had another close brush with destiny after she had danced Boo Boo into the ground. Luckily, Bill Hennessy walked by at just the right moment with that special look in his eyes, and Jared fell into step with the rest of his brothers as they marched toward the garage.
Later he cornered her at the edge of the patio, where she was providing the silent half of a one-sided conversation with Amy.
"J.J., why"d you invite her anyway?" Amy complained, giving Genna a disgusted look. "She"s no fun at all."
"Don"t worry, Amy, all she needs is a small adjustment to her biological party barometer. It"s been off kilter ever since I"ve known her. Right, Gen?" He looked down at Genna with a smile designed to melt female hearts. She glanced away. Sliding an arm around Genna"s waist, he gave Amy the last of his fading grin. "Excuse us, Amy."
"Where are you dragging me? Genna asked in a huff as Jared towed her off the patio. He was half-carrying her, his hand digging into her side. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he was oblivious to her efforts.
Jared said nothing to her at all. He"d had it with her coolness. If she wouldn"t let him talk to her rationally, he would let his body do the talking. Give him the brush-off, would she? Ha! No woman could be as hot in his arms as Genna was and not care about him. She practically went up in flames when he touched her. And she"d told him she loved him. He had every intention of reminding her of that little fact. She couldn"t just use him for the summer and cast him aside!
He pulled her around the corner of the garage, out of sight of the party crowd, and into his arms. His mouth swooped down and captured hers before she could even pucker up. His lips were hard and demanding. It was a kiss that burned with frustration and penned-up need. He didn"t ask, he took, his tongue demanding entrance to the warm, sweet-sanctuary of her mouth. Helpless to do otherwise, Genna gave him what he wanted and received the heady pleasure of feeling his big body shudder against her.
Jared molded their bodies together with his embrace, his hands chasing shivers down her spine, his fingers splaying over the soft flesh of her bottom. Deliberately he drew her hips to his. Genna gasped, dizzy with the sudden intoxicating plea sure. Through the thin fabric of her blue plaid skirt she could feel him, hard and urgent against the aching softness between her legs.
The uncertainty she felt about her relationship with Jared conveniently vanished from Genna"s mind. The future was suddenly nothing more than an abstract concept. Need was real. The overwhelming desire to be held and touched and loved by this man was real. She loved him, wanted him, and she couldn"t think of a single reason not to give herself to him right there and then. The sounds of a hundred people partying on the other side of the garage couldn"t penetrate the drum beat of her heart pounding in her ears.
Jared dragged his mouth from Genna"s, trailed it down her throat as she arched it for him, then gathered the last of his sanity and pushed himself away from her. Lord, he"d been ready and willing to take her there along the side of the garage, where anyone could have happened across them.
The cool night air heaving in and out of his lungs, he glanced all around them looking for a handy hideout. He wasn"t going to give Genna the chance to change her mind. He was going to make love to her until she was putty in his arms, then he was going to tell her exactly how things were going to be between them.
Theron Ralston"s potting shed stood on the back corner of the lot next door. In one swift move Jared yanked the door open and pulled Genna inside. Moonlight spilled in through a postage-stamp-sized window, outlining a lawn mower and long-handled garden tools. It also fell on the harsh lines of Jared"s determined expression, making Genna"s breath catch. All predatory male, he backed her against the corrugated metal wall.
"I want you, Genna," he growled low in his throat. He braced a hand on either side of her head as his thighs brushed hers. "Don"t give me any nonsense about not wanting me back."
Eyes wide, she shook her head. Jared had been a gentle lover, a playful lover; now he was demanding. She found the contrast exciting in a way that made her knees weak.
His mouth took hers, hot and hungry. Her camisole top pooled at her waist. His fingers peeled away her strapless bra and eagerly claimed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his thumbs brushing nipples that were hard and aching from sudden desire and the cool night air. Genna"s fingers pulled down the zipper of his gray linen slacks, freeing him. She groaned at the feel of him, velvety and warm in her hand.
Need snapped the reins of control and set spurs to their pa.s.sion. Each thinking this might be their last chance to touch the other, they clung together desperately. Genna"s skirt bunched up around her waist. A wisp of blue silk panties fluttered to the floor. Jared"s hands grasped her, lifted, and tilted her hips to the appropriate angle before he plunged into her.
They gasped together. He filled her to bursting. She enclosed him in honeyed warmth. With a mutual groan they began to move together, racing toward fulfillment. Genna"s legs wrapped around him, drawing him deeper. Jared rewarded her with harder, faster thrusts until his whole body seemed to explode inside her. A deep sound rumbled in his throat. She called his name and dug her nails into the thick muscles of his back, her climax prolonging their pleasure.
Sanity returned to Jared along with even breathing. He was suddenly terrified Genna would hate him. What had seemed like a great game plan when his hormones were running amuck didn"t look so hot now. He"d ravished her in his neighbor"s potting shed, for heaven"s sake! He waited for her to slap him and start calling him names-all of which he richly deserved, he told himself. Instead, Genna, trying to straighten her clothes, began to giggle uncontrollably. He stared at her, dumbfounded.
"We"re in Theron Ralston"s potting shed!" she managed between giggles.
Relief flooded through Jared, leaving him as weak and delirious as their wild, hasty lovemaking had. It was funny at that, he realized. A brilliant grin splitting his handsome features, he started chuckling. "Old Theron would go into cardiac arrest if he knew I was in here with the kindergarten teacher!"
They tried to laugh without making a lot of noise, like naughty kids who had yet to get caught at their mischief. Jared lifted Genna"s silk panties from the floor with one finger, and they collapsed into another fit of laughter, doubling over and leaning against the wall for support.
"Aw, Genna." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the tip of her nose. "You"re a lot of fun, you know?"
Her smile was like a flower that wilted before his eyes. With only the barest tremor in her voice, she asked, "Is that all I am to you, Jared?"
His expression sobered in a flash. How could she think that? He"d told her he loved her. He"d shown her. He"d wooed her and courted her and introduced her to his parents. He"d done everything but prop-propose. A-ha. He"d done everything but clarify one very important point: their future.
d.a.m.n! He"d taken the wrong approach entirely. He"d been so careful not to push her into anything because of her initial reluctance toward him. Now that he thought about it, he"d gone out of his way to make her think their relationship was casual, so as not to scare her off.
How could he have been so stupid? Genna had been burned badly once by a.s.suming a relationship was going to go further. Naturally she was wary of the same thing happening again. He"d been so sure she was giving him the old heave-ho, it had never occurred to him that Genna might be feeling insecure because summer was over and he was leaving in the morning.
"Oh, Genna," he said with a sigh.
Genna braced herself, mistaking the tender, apologetic look in his eyes for pity. You"ve done it again, Genna. You should have known better You"ve done it again, Genna. You should have known better.
"We"ve got to have that talk tonight. I have to leave first thing in the morning."
Even though she"d known it, hearing Jared say he was leaving was a hammer blow to her heart. She"d tried so hard to take a sophisticated att.i.tude toward this whole ... affair. The word was as bitter as aspirin in her mouth. She didn"t have affairs. She fell in love. Which was unfortunate, because it seemed no one ever fell in love back.
"Let"s go in-" he started.
A movement outside the window had them both ducking down automatically. Genna"s heart lodged in her throat like a chicken bone. Was she going to have insult added to injury and be discovered in the potting shed? She could see it now-Theron Ralston would take one look and flip his Willard Scott wig. Theron was so far to the right on the political spectrum it was a wonder he didn"t fall off the planet. If he found the kindergarten teacher in his potting shed with a notorious playboy football star, he"d pet.i.tion to have them put in stocks on the town common at the very least.
Cautiously she peeked out the tiny window.
"Who is it?" Jared whispered.
She sighed with relief. "Just your mother slipping into the garage to sneak a cigarette."
"Oh," he breathed. Cigarette? In the garage. "Oh, my G.o.d!" "Oh, my G.o.d!"
Jared bolted from the potting shed with Genna right behind him as realization struck them both like a bolt of lightning. He shoved her back from the door, sending her rolling in the gra.s.s as he plunged inside after his mother. Grace had just struck the match when her son grabbed her arm and yanked her out the door. They hit the ground, tumbling in a tangle of arms and legs and Grace"s voluminous pink gown. Jared came up wearing the white feather boa just as an explosion sounded. In the next second the roof of the garage went off like a Roman candle.
Women screamed. Everyone in the backyard dove for cover except Bill and Aunt Roberta. They stood on the far side of the lawn watching fireworks shoot up into the black sky.
"My land, Bill, those are lovely. Just lovely." Roberta perched a hand on one bony hip and puffed on her cigarette.
Bill frowned at the explosion of color in the sky, pulled his felt-tip pen out from behind his ear, and made a note in his steno pad: Too much gunpowder.
Thankfully Jared had parked his cars on the street so they wouldn"t have any difficulty wheeling the fireworks display out. The Corvette and Mercedes had escaped unscathed. The flamingos Jared had moved out from Aunt Roberta"s closet hadn"t fared as well. The heat from the fire had reduced them to a grotesque ma.s.s of molten pink plastic.
The explosion had scattered debris everywhere. The Ralston"s vegetable garden was covered with shingles. Golf b.a.l.l.s littered the ground like fallen hailstones. Jared had had ten cases of them stored in the rafters of the garage. A grateful sporting goods company had given them to him as a bonus for doing a commercial for their product. One had rendered the Ralstons" poodle unconscious.
A confused paramedic threw cold water on Mrs. Ralston instead of the dog, soaking her dress, plastering the thin fabric to her enormous bosom. Livid, she grabbed a loaf of French bread from the refreshment table and smacked the young man over the head with it.
The fire department had the flames under control in no time, and the deejay kept the music going as partygoers turned into a clean-up crew. Near the Ralstons" potting shed Father James came up with a pair of blue silk panties.
"Size five." He quirked a brow at his brother.
Jared flushed red, giving James a look caught somewhere between indignant and sheepish. He snagged the lingerie away from his brother and stuffed it into his pants pocket, his eyes searching the crowd for the owner of the garment. But Genna was nowhere to be seen.
TWELVE.
ONCE THEY HAD the fire under control and it had been established that no one had been injured, Genna slipped away. It was after midnight. Jared had his hands full with the firemen and the disaster area that had been his backyard. She doubted he had noticed her wandering away, and that was just how she wanted it. the fire under control and it had been established that no one had been injured, Genna slipped away. It was after midnight. Jared had his hands full with the firemen and the disaster area that had been his backyard. She doubted he had noticed her wandering away, and that was just how she wanted it.
In a few hours Jared would be leaving for training camp. Genna didn"t want to hang around to watch him go, and she certainly didn"t want to have that serious talk he kept insisting on.
It wasn"t that she was a coward, she thought as she drove down the empty highway out of Tory Hills and into the country. It was just that she couldn"t see the sense in embarra.s.sing the both of them with that "I"m sorry you"re more involved than I am" speech. She didn"t want Jared to feel obligated to give it, and she wanted to retain some small sc.r.a.p of pride by not being the one he gave it to.