CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“YOU’RE NOT TALKING, HMM?”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “There is nothing to talk about. I was ready to leave Sisters anyway and so was Nolan.”
“But you didn’t go home.”
“No, and it’s not like you to fish.”
“And it’s not like you to hold back.”
Ivy pushed away from her computer and adjusted her cell phone to the side of her face. Typically she never worked on Saturdays but today hadn’t started out as she was used to. For starters, waking up naked in a man’s bed was definitely an abnormality.
“Ivy?”
Tessa reminded her they were still engaged in a conversation...or they were supposed to be. “Hey, Tessa, what did you think of Nolan’s brother Corbin? Looked like the two of you were getting along okay.”
“We were. He’s a nice guy. And don’t try to change the subject, Ivy. That tactic won’t work with me and you know it.”
Yes, Ivy did know it.
“Were things that bad last night that you don’t want to talk about it? Just what did he do?”
She heard the panic in Tessa’s voice and the rising anger. She needed to calm her down before she did something like find Nolan and confront him. Nothing had changed since high school. Tessa was still protective of her.
When Nolan had brought her home she hadn’t even invited him inside. In fact, she told him he didn’t have to walk her to the entry door, but he’d done so anyway. He’d even caught the elevator up to her floor, trying to get her to talk to him. Tell him what was bothering her. But she couldn’t. What was wrong with her was something that only she alone could fix. In the meantime, until she found a solution she would deal with it.
He had asked her to reconsider going to his family gathering with him tomorrow and she’d told him she would let him know. She still wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
“Yes, I want to talk about it,” Ivy finally said.
“Give me twenty minutes. I’m on my way over.”
* * *
AFTER TAKING IVY home Nolan wasn’t ready to return to his condo. Instead he made a decision to visit his cousin Clayton. He had called Clayton from his car and was glad Syneda, like most of the women in the Madaris family, was at Whispering Pines getting ready for tomorrow’s party.
Nolan loved Syneda to death, but he needed to talk to Clayton privately. Just like he’d told Ivy, Syneda was one of his great-grandmother’s biggest allies. If he didn’t know better, he would think Mama Laverne was grooming Syneda to take over the matchmaking gig after she took her last breath. Her last breath. He shuddered at the thought. As annoying as his great-grandmother was at times, he didn’t want to think of a life without her.
He pulled into the driveway of Clayton and Syneda’s huge sprawling three-story home. He thought the same thing he thought the first day he’d seen it. The place was beautiful and more than large enough for Clayton, Syneda and their two children—their daughter, Remington, who was fondly called Remi, and their son, Caleb, who everyone called Cal.
For as long as Nolan could remember, he considered three of his older cousins—Justin, Dex and Clayton—as big brothers more than cousins. Of the three, Clayton was the most fun since he was more laid-back than Justin and Dex. Clayton’s philosophy was there was nothing wrong with being naughty every once in a while. Justin, the oldest of the three, always gave diplomatic advice. Dex was the serious one. Too serious at times and extremely loyal when it came to family.
At fourteen, Reese, Lee and Nolan had seen their first Playboy centerfold, compliments of magazines they’d found in Clayton’s apartment. Corbin had missed out on the fun that day due to makeup cooking classes with Mama Laverne. Clayton, whom they thought wouldn’t be back home for at least a couple of hours, had walked in and caught them practically drooling over the pics of the naked women.
Instead of getting angry, Clayton had sat them down and gave them his version of the facts of life. Needless to say, Clayton Madaris’s rendition had been far more interesting than the ones their parents had given them. Of course they had all known about the case of condoms Clayton kept in his closet. They appreciated that he never kept an accurate count or else he would have noticed a few missing from time to time.
Instead of getting out of the car Nolan sat there for a minute, enjoying the scent Ivy had left behind. It was the same perfume she’d worn the night they’d had dinner with Clayton and Syneda. Now he wanted to know the name of it because he wanted to buy more of it for her. He couldn’t imagine any other fragrance on her.
He frowned, wondering why he would do such a thing. It wasn’t as if they were involved in a long-term affair. He squinted against the glare of the sun and decided the rays must have momentarily affected his brain cells somehow. He opened the car door to get out, certain his brain was back to functioning normally again.
Nolan walked up the brick walkway to Clayton and Syneda’s home. Clayton had also mentioned that Remi and Cal were visiting their maternal grandfather’s ranch in Austin this weekend and wouldn’t be at home either. That meant Nolan could really unload man-to-man on Clayton. The one thing he knew for certain was that Clayton didn’t mind calling Mama Laverne out when he thought she was wrong. More than once Clayton had spoken out against Mama Laverne’s matchmaking schemes.
The door was snatched open the minute Nolan rang the bell and Clayton had a furious look on his face. Since Clayton had known he was coming Nolan didn’t think that anger was directed at him. “Something’s wrong, Clayton?”
“Hell, yeah. Some boy just called here for Remi. The nerve of the dickhead.”
Dickhead? “Remi isn’t allowed to talk to boys?” Nolan asked, not sure what else to say.
“No. She’s only thirteen. This boy who called is fourteen. No fourteen-year-old boy should be thinking about girls at that age.”
Nolan decided now was not the time to remind Clayton that he, Lee and Reese had been fourteen when Clayton had allowed them to check out the centerfolds of grown naked women in Clayton’s issues of Playboy. Not only that, Clayton had pointed out and named all their body parts. First in the biological terms and then by the street terms.
“So, what do you plan to do?” Nolan asked Clayton as he led him through the immaculate house, toward the kitchen.
“It’s done. At least I thought it was until the dickhead said he’d got permission from Remi’s mother to call. I just had a little talk with my wife.”
In other words, Clayton and Syneda, who rarely agreed on anything, had more than a little talk. From Clayton’s present attitude they’d had a full-blown discussion that hadn’t gone over well. Nolan wondered who would win this round. “Well, I’m sure you and Syneda will work together and agree on how to handle the situation.”
Clayton rolled his eyes. “That’s BS and you know it. Syneda and I never agree on anything.”
“So why are you still married?” he asked the one question he often wondered about.
Clayton stopped walking and turned to stare at him like he was crazy. Immediately, Nolan realized he’d just asked a stupid question again that day. “The reason we’re still married is because I love her more than life itself,” Clayton said in a heartfelt tone. “Syneda is my heart, my rock, the very essence of my being. Yes, we don’t agree on everything and I’m glad we don’t. But she and I are a team and even teammates disagree. But in the end, we come together and agree on those things that matter the most. Syneda isn’t just my wife—she is my queen.”
They began walking again and Clayton added, “One day you’ll meet a woman like that. From what I observed at dinner, you’ve already met her. I hate to say it, but if Mama Laverne had a hand in getting you and Ivy together, then she really hit the jackpot this time.”
Clayton opened the refrigerator and handed him a beer. Nolan pulled the tab. “You think so?”
Clayton hunched his shoulders. “I can only go by what I see.”
Nolan took a huge gulp of his beer and then said, “What you saw was an act, which is part of Ivy’s and my plan. And if we can fool you and Syneda, then we can fool anybody.”
“An act?”
Nolan leaned against the kitchen counter and nodded. “Yep. We came up with this plan to outwit Mrs. Chapman and Mama Laverne. We’re going to pretend to be lovers and then in a few weeks we’ll deliberately break up just to prove their matchmaking scheme didn’t work. Then that should be the end of it.”
Clayton took a slow sip of his beer while he stared at Nolan. He was staring so hard that Nolan was beginning to feel uncomfortable. “What’s wrong, Clayton?”
Clayton shook his head. “Obviously, you already suspect something is wrong with that plan or you wouldn’t be here. I think we need to sit down and discuss it because you’re about to make the biggest mistake of your life.”
* * *
“WELL, THERE YOU have it, Tessa. I think I could be falling in love with Nolan Madaris. Isn’t that crazy?”
Tessa took a sip of her wine cooler and stared at Ivy. “Umm, not crazy. Just something you need to think about. But then, I heard when it comes to love there’s nothing you can do to stop it if it’s going to happen.”
“But I have to stop it. Nolan is totally wrong for me. As far as I’m concerned, any man is. But especially him. He reminded me that regardless of any emotions we’re dealing with, the plan is the same. In the end we go our separate ways. That pretty much let me know he can’t wait to get back to being Mr. One-Night Stand again. You of all people know what happened when I fell in love with Damien. My confidence took a beating and I refuse to go through something like that again.”
“Did you really love Damien or did you just think you did, Ivy?”
Ivy honestly believed she had loved him, but after their breakup she realized that maybe she hadn’t. “I thought I did. But now I’m convinced I didn’t. He was just a man who gave me the time of day when others didn’t. I know that sounds pathetic but it’s true. Now Nolan comes along. He claims that he finds me interesting and considers me his type. But for how long? How do I know he wouldn’t pull a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde like Damien, and one day suddenly find me the most undesirable woman on the face of the earth? You and I both know that he’s only in my life because Nana and his great-grandmother are convinced we should fall in love, marry and have babies.”
Tessa studied her. “And what do you think?”
Ivy pushed the hair back from her face. “That’s just it. I don’t know what to think. He’s done more than show me attention. He’s shown me great sex.”
“Yet you might be falling in love with him,” Tessa pointed out.
Ivy released a deep sigh. “Doesn’t matter. I plan to put a stop to it.”
Tessa chuckled. “Can you speak something like that into existence? Say you refuse to fall in love with someone and don’t? Personally, I think you owe it to yourself to find out what your true feelings are for Nolan Madaris.”
“And then what? What about our plan? And we’re supposed to break up in the end. And trust me, we will break up. If I allow myself to fall in love with Nolan knowing that, how am I to handle things when he walks away?”
Tessa didn’t say anything because it was a question she couldn’t answer. “So what are you going to do?”
“Cut my losses now before too much of my heart gets involved. That means I won’t be going to that Madaris family gathering tomorrow. The idea for us to become pretend lovers was my idea. Now I need to convince Nolan that it was a bad one.”
* * *
CLAYTON SAT DOWN at the kitchen table, across from Nolan and took a sip of his beer. Nolan leaned over the table toward him. “What do you mean I’m about to make the biggest mistake of my life?”
Clayton leaned back in his chair. “I learned something from that Christy and Alex fiasco.”
Nolan recalled that episode. Christy was Justin, Dex and Clayton’s baby sister and they’d always been overprotective of her. When Christy finished college and moved to Cincinnati, the brothers got together and asked family friend Alex Maxwell to keep an eye on her, since Alex had business matters in Cincinnati. Little did the brothers know it was like asking the rooster to watch the henhouse. Everything turned out okay in the end with Christy’s subsequent marriage to Alex, but it hadn’t been okay at first.
“And what have you learned?” Nolan asked.
“To be more observant. However, I slipped up with Luke and Mac. I really hadn’t expected those two to get together. After that, I decided not to slip up again and to keep my eyes open. So I have. I was on top of things with Blade and Sam, Reese and Kenna, and DeAngelo and Peyton. I was at a disadvantage with Lee because he’d fled from Houston to Vegas to avoid Mama Laverne’s matchmaking...for all the good it did.” Clayton then looked at him pointedly. “And I’m also on top of things with you and Ivy.”
Nolan shook his head. “Like I told you, there’s nothing between me and Ivy. It’s all part of our plan. Since we fooled you and Syneda, then—”
“You didn’t fool me and Syneda. In fact, that’s the one thing my wife and I have agreed on in a long time.”
“What?”
“That you and Ivy are crazy about each other. Madly in love.”
“That is simply not true.”
“Then why are you here?”
Nolan took a sip of his beer. He was here because of all those emotions he felt with Ivy, emotions he didn’t understand. However, he was absolutely, positively sure love had nothing to do with it. It was all about lust.
Before he could give Clayton a response, Clayton said, “Let me ask you something. I noticed since Lee’s wedding you’ve become the ultimate player. I understand you were often called Mr. One-Night Stand. Did you enjoy that life?”
Nolan thought he would be totally honest. “No. Most of it was for show anyway.”
Clayton lifted a brow. “What do you mean for show?”
“I figured I couldn’t stop Mama Laverne, but I could make Ivy Chapman want nothing to do with me. So, I messed around—a lot. But after a while it got damn boring. The sex was unexciting and humdrum. And the women were becoming a damn nuisance when they started acting petty and territorial. Even though I always explained up front the rules of a no-strings affair to them. After six months of that, I couldn’t take any more. But I had to keep up the charade and make everyone think I’d become a man whore, I began dating women I hired from a legitimate escort service. All it involved was a flashy public date with no sex.”
Clayton sat his beer can down. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I’m not kidding. Honestly, Clayton, did you actually sleep with all those women back in the day?”
“Of course I did,” Clayton said, giving him a look as if he’d asked a downright stupid question. Dang. How many did that make today for him? “However, Syneda took away my desire for other women. Now I only have eyes for her.”
Nolan could clearly understand why. Syneda was a beautiful woman.
Clayton picked up his can of beer and took another sip and said, “And did it work?”
“Yes and no. Ivy was definitely turned off by my reputation, but then she couldn’t have cared less since she is adamantly against marriage—to anyone. It’s just hard to convince her grandmother and Mama Laverne of that. They aren’t accepting.”
Clayton nodded. “So the two of you came up with this plan?”
“Yes.”
“If the two of you think it’s such a good plan, then what’s the problem?”
Nolan took another sip of his beer. “The problem is Ivy was worried about us not emitting enough sexual chemistry, so we decided to work on it. Hold practice sessions so to speak.”
Clayton chuckled. “Umm, let me guess. Those practice sessions are working too much, right?”
“Yes. And I’ve discovered I want her. For real.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. Syneda and I had dinner with you two. We observed you. Hell, I think everyone in the restaurant observed the two of you that night. You two have sexual chemistry down pat.”
“We got plenty of lust, I know that.”
Clayton chuckled again. “You honestly think that’s all it is? Lust?”
“What else could it be? And trust me, it’s not love.”
“Can you honestly say it’s not? What if it is?”
Nolan stood and began pacing. Moments later he stopped and looked at Clayton. “Love has nothing to do with it. I refuse to fall in love with a woman Mama Laverne has picked out for me. It’s all about manipulation, Clayton. Something I refused to let anyone do to me again, even my great-grandmother. You know how I felt about Andrea Dunmire. She manipulated me into believing she loved me as much as I loved her and everything was perfect between us. For that reason I will never fall in love again.”
“Who are you telling? Me or your heart? If you’re telling me, then, fine, I hear you although I don’t believe you. If you’re trying to tell your heart, then don’t waste your time. I suggest you talk to Alex, Luke, Blade and Lee. They probably said the same thing or thought the same way. You of all people know how Lee felt about it. He thought he had the perfect plan, and he was still outsmarted by Felicia Laverne Madaris.”
“Are you saying I should just go along with whatever Mama Laverne does? Allow myself to be manipulated?”
“No. I still think she should stay out of people’s business, namely their love lives. What I think you should do is make sure those emotions you think are lust, really are. If they’re not, Nolan, then you need to do something about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Earlier you said something about Ivy’s plan to never marry.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, if you determine what you feel for her is love and not lust, then you’re going to have your hands full in convincing her not only of the merits of love, namely yours, but also the merits of marriage. I know how that can be because Syneda was totally against falling in love as well.”
Clayton paused as if remembering that time in Syneda’s and his lives. “It’s important that you get her to understand and to believe that you were meant to love her.”
Nolan frowned. “I wasn’t meant to love her,” he said with strong conviction in his voice.
Clayton smiled and tilted his beer can up to Nolan. “Be careful what you say, Nolan. I thought the same thing about Syneda, and look where I am today.”