17

During the next two weeks, Marilyn and Jonathan’s relationship flowed into a comfortable routine. Although they didn’t see each other during the week, they talked every night. She’d thoroughly enjoyed the Stevie Wonder concert, and seeing it with Jonathan made it just that much better. It was the incident following the concert she wished she could forget. That’s when she and Jonathan had run into Carolyn and her date. It was obvious Carolyn had been surprised to see her, especially with Jonathan.

The next day Carolyn had called her, wanting all the details. She’d blasted Marilyn for not telling her that she and Jonathan were an item. Marilyn had downplayed her relationship with Jonathan, telling her friend that they had only begun seeing each other recently. Then she quickly ended the call. She didn’t want to give Carolyn anything else to wonder about.

Things between Carolyn and Marilyn’s neighbor had been hot and heavy for a while, but now it seemed to have fizzled. Carolyn was dating someone else, and she and Marilyn didn’t talk as much as they used to. In a way, their friendship had fizzled as well. It seemed Carolyn only called when she wanted to tell Marilyn about someone, or ask about particular people she used to work with at Cullers.

Because she knew about Carolyn’s tendency to gossip, Marilyn felt compelled to mention Carolyn’s call to Jonathan when he arrived the next night to watch Sunday night television with her. She didn’t want him caught off guard if news began circulating about them.

Not surprisingly, he knew that although Carolyn was a very good teacher, she had a tendency to dip her nose into areas that didn’t concern her. He assured Marilyn that if anything came up, he could handle it.

He’d sat on the sofa beside her, held her hand and told her they had no reason to worry about being seen together. They were both single, and he was no longer her boss. As far as he was concerned, the only person they had to answer to was each other.

The next weekend, he had taken her to a musical, put on by a local theater group. The performance had been fantastic and afterwards, they’d stopped at a café for coffee and dessert. It had been past midnight when he’d finally taken her home.

The more time Marilyn spent with Jonathan, the more she enjoyed his company. He seemed satisfied to go out on Saturday night and then spend Sunday evenings sitting on her sofa, watching television and holding her hand. But they seemed to kiss a lot more, and the kisses were getting hotter and more passionate. One night, she’d even ended up on his lap. With her head still filled with wonderful weekend memories, Marilyn entered her office at Cullers on Monday morning, eager to see what week three would bring. Jonathan had left her house at close to one in the morning, last night. It was the latest he’d ever stayed at her place before. After she’d walked him to her door, she was certain they had spent at least twenty minutes kissing goodnight. But other than feeling a little drowsy this morning, she had no complaints.

After her first four math coaching sessions, she had returned to her office around noon to discover she had missed a call from Traci. Her best friend rarely called her at work unless something was wrong, so she quickly returned Traci’s call.

“First Forest National Bank, may I help you?”

“Traci, this is Marilyn. What’s wrong?”

“Hold on a second,” Traci said, her voice a little above a whisper. “I need to close my office door.”

“All right.”

She could hear Traci moving away from her desk and then the sound of a door closing. Moments later, Traci returned to the phone. “Okay, I’m back.”

“Traci? What’s going on?”

“It’s Roman.”

Marilyn raised a brow. “Roman Malone? What about him?”

“He’s coming to see me in San Antonio this weekend.”

That was the last thing Marilyn expected to hear. “I think you need to start from the beginning.”

“Okay,” Traci said, sounding a little out of breath. “Roman asked for my phone number that Sunday I came to visit you.”

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“Only because I truly didn’t think anything would come of it. The man is an attorney, who’s aiming at a career in politics. I’m definitely not his type.”

“But he did call you?”

“Yes. The following week. We talked, and I thought that would be the end of it.”

“But it wasn’t?” Marilyn asked.

“No, he’s been calling quite regularly.”

Quite regularly? “We talk every week, Traci. Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

“I didn’t want you to worry that I couldn’t handle him.”

Marilyn drew in a deep breath. Would she have thought that? Possibly. She’d always had confidence in Traci’s ability to handle any man, but Roman wasn’t just another guy--he was Jonathan’s friend. Still, the interest between them seemed to be mutual. “Can you handle him, Traci?”

“Yes. At least I thought so. Until now.”

“Until he asked if he could visit you?” Marilyn asked for clarification.

“No, until a box arrived today from Roman. It was delivered here, at my office.”

“What was in it?”

When Traci didn’t answer, Marilyn asked again, “Traci, what was in the box?”

“Oh, Marilyn. He sent this real pretty quilted blanket for me, with a note that said to think of him while I’m covered under it. And there was something else. A beautiful baby doll for Erika. Can you believe it, Marilyn? He sent a gift for Erika as well. No other man has ever done that.”

 

* * * *

 

Jonathan was going over the budget report on his desk when the buzzer on his intercom went off. Slightly annoyed, he reached over and pressed the reply button without looking up from the report. “Ms. Etheridge, I thought I asked not to be disturbed.”

“You did, sir. But you have a visitor. Your brother Robert is here to see you. Should I send him in?”

Jonathan pushed the report aside as he stood, all aggravation gone. “Yes, Ms. Etheridge. Please send him in.”

Moments later, his office door opened and Robert walked in. He could tell from the massive smile on his brother’s face that something was up. Jonathan gave him a huge bear hug. “Rob, good seeing you. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, all is well...but the family has been wondering what’s going on with you. We haven’t seen you in three weeks.”

No, they hadn’t, Jonathan thought. He’d stayed in town to spend time with Marilyn. “I’m fine. I’ve just been a little busy.”

“Umm, that’s what I hear. Mr. and Mrs. Norfleet saw you at a play with your lady friend. Now the family is trying to figure out who she is and what she means to you, especially since she’s keeping you from coming home,” Robert said, sliding his tall frame into the chair across from Jonathan’s desk.

Jonathan shrugged. “Marilyn and I are in the early stages of our relationship. We spend a lot of time doing things here in the city.”

“Well, just so you know, the family wants to meet her.”

And he wanted Marilyn to meet his family, but he didn’t want to rush anything. Friday night, they would be attending another one of Senator Jordan’s big fundraising bashes. It would be a formal affair. Then, the week after that, she would be going back to San Antonio for Thanksgiving. “I’m thinking about asking her to come to the ranch the weekend after Thanksgiving.”

Robert’s smile widened. “Good timing. In fact, it’s perfect.”

Jonathan sat down on the edge of his desk. “Why?”

“Because Diana will be at Whispering Pines that same weekend. That’s when I plan to ask her to marry me.”

Jonathan smiled broadly. “That’s great, Rob. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. It’s a secret for now. You’re the only one I’ve told. Mama doesn’t even know.”

“She’s going to be bursting with happiness.”

Robert chuckled as he stood. “I know. Let me show you the ring. I just picked it up at the jeweler,” he said, pulling a small box out of his pants pocket.

When he opened it up, Jonathan released a whistle. “Wow, man, it’s beautiful.”

“Thanks. Waiting until the first week of December is going to kill me.” Robert slid the small box back into his pocket, then sat back down, studying his brother. “Enough about me and Diana, Jonathan. How are things going with Marilyn Bannister?”

Jonathan knew why Robert was asking. His brother had worried about Jonathan’s plan backfiring on him. “So far, so good. We’ve been dating for almost a month, now. But because of our busy schedules, we only go out on the weekends, which is why I haven’t been home.”

He paused a moment. “Marilyn is a jewel with old-fashioned values. I don’t intend to rush her into anything.” He didn’t need to tell his brother he hadn’t moved beyond first base with Marilyn yet, whereas with other women, he’d likely have stolen home several times over. Hell, he’d slept with Shirlene on their second date. Then again, she’d been ready to put out on the first. He’d moved carefully, too suspicious of her motives to do anything else. But in retrospect, he wished he’d waited...indefinitely.

He knew Marilyn was a different type of woman altogether. She was the kind a man married. Her innocence was intoxicating. She had no idea what it did to him when she brushed her sexy lips back and forth over his or when she would nibble at his chin. And because she was following his lead, they had escalated from shuddering kisses to full-contact, wet-tongue, deep throat probing ones. Every time they were together, he had to fight harder and harder to keep his passion in check. But he’d continue to be patient. He was talking about a lifetime with her, not just some fun between the sheets.

“Jonathan? Are you okay?”

Jonathan blinked. He’d forgotten his brother was there. “Yes, I’m okay. Why?”

Robert smiled. “Because I asked you twice if you wanted to join me for lunch, but you were just sitting there, as if in another world.”

Jonathan had to admit his brother was right. He had been lost in another world--a world filled with thoughts of Marilyn. He stood up and moved away from his desk, grinning. “Sorry about that. And yeah, let’s go eat.”

 

* * * *

 

Marilyn had just slid between the sheets when her phone rang. She smiled as she reached for it, knowing it was Jonathan. He usually called about this time. At first, he’d only phoned her twice a week, but now it was every night. She looked forward to his calls more than she wanted to admit.

“Hello.”

“Hello, beautiful.”

And that’s how he would greet her, each and every time. The man was certainly good for her ego. “Hi, Jonathan. How was your day?”

And then he would tell her. She knew this time of year, all the principals were working on next year’s budget. Mrs. Chapman had been shut up in her office all day, working on the same thing.

“Busy. And how was your day?”

“Busy as well. I’m getting ready to administer a math test next week, so I’m trying to think of ways to make it fun and not taxing.”

He chuckled. “Can that be done? As far as I’m concerned, anything dealing with numbers is taxing.”

“Well, I intend to change that.”

“If anyone can, it will be you, Marilyn.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Always.”

And Marilyn knew he meant it. “Jonathan?”

“Yes?”

“I talked to Traci today.”

“How are she and Erika doing?”

“Fine. Did you know that she and Roman were talking?”

“Talking?”

“Yes. Like we-are-interested-in-each-other talking.”

“No. I haven’t heard from Roman in a while, which isn’t unusual around this time of year. He always seems to have a lot of court cases heading into the holidays. He’s usually pretty busy.”

But not too busy to go shopping for Traci, Marilyn thought. “He’s visiting her this weekend.”

“In San Antonio?”

Marilyn thought Jonathan sounded just as surprised as she had been. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? “Yes.”

“Umm, that’s a long way from Dallas.”

“I know.”

Then as if he didn’t want to get mixed up in his friend’s love life, he changed the subject. “Are you excited about going home for Thanksgiving?”

Marilyn smiled. “Yes. It’ll be nice to spend some time with my family. I haven’t been home since the Fourth of July. I miss everyone.”

“The weekend after Thanksgiving, I’d like you to come home with me.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I said that I’d like to take you home with me, the weekend after you get back from San Antonio. I want to introduce you to my other world at Whispering Pines. Will you go?”

Marilyn couldn’t help the huge smile that covered her face. Did he not know that she’d been dying for him to introduce her to his family? Still, she refused to get her hopes up. This didn’t necessarily mean that he was taking their relationship as seriously as she was. “Yes, Jonathan, I’d be happy to go. Thanks for inviting me.”

 

* * * *

 

A short while later, Jonathan frowned as he dialed Roman’s number. There was something he needed to take care of.

“Hello?”

Jonathan knew he’d awakened Roman. Because of his early court cases, Roman was known to be in bed before ten, but Jonathan didn’t care. Roman had a lot of explaining to do. “Would you like to tell me what the hell you think you’re doing?”

“Jon?”

“Yes, it’s me. I just talked to Marilyn. She told me you’re paying Traci a visit this weekend in San Antonio.”

There was a pause and then Roman asked in a gruff tone, “Yeah, that’s right. What of it?”

“What of it? Hell, Roman, Traci is Marilyn’s best friend and she’s very protective of her after the way that last guy treated her.”

“I know all about him. Traci told me.”

Jonathan lifted a brow. “And?”

“He’s out of her life.”

Jonathan frowned. “Which means what?”

“That I want to be in her life.”

Jonathan nearly dropped the phone. Was this really Roman ‘Playboy’ Malone on the line? “What do you mean, you want to be in her life?”

“Just what I said. And please don’t ask me to explain it, because I can’t. It’s crazy. Just plain ludicrous.”

Jonathan recalled that he and Roman had had a similar conversation a few months ago. At the time, Roman had accused him of being on the slippery side of craziness. “What is?” he asked for clarification.

“The fact that I could be this attracted to a woman, especially one with a child. I only met Traci that one night, yet I haven’t been able to think of anyone else. It’s like I’ve become obsessed with her. I talk to her at least twice a week, sometimes more.”

Jonathan smiled. “Sounds serious.”

“It is. Too serious. I can understand being attracted to her, Jon. Traci is a beautiful woman. But I’ve dated beautiful women before. So I decided to go see her, just to make sure I’m not losing my mind.”

“And if you aren’t?”

Roman released a disgusted sigh. “Then I’m in deep trouble. I have plans for a future in politics, and I’ll need a woman who can fit into that life. Someone like Audrey Powers, Senator Powers’ daughter.”

Jonathan rubbed his chin. He knew the spoiled and selfish Audrey Powers. Roman had dated Audrey before and knew what kind of woman she was. “Do you really want to go there?”

“No, but she could be my ticket to the kind of life I want to have.”

“You’d better make sure that’s what you really want. Take my advice and don’t settle. Follow your heart. It might sound crazy now, but it won’t later. Goodnight, Roman. Peace, my brother.”

Jonathan hung up the phone. Whether Roman knew it yet or not, Jonathan had a feeling this weekend would open Roman’s eyes to a number of things. Jonathan had found out that falling in love had the ability to do that to a man.