Page 77 of The Best of Friends
“No. I was ready to stop living out of a suitcase. I’ve seen the world. Being home is a great alternative.”
“What if you marry an adventurous bride? Your mother mentioned that’s why you’ve come back. To settle down.”
Blaine said the words as if they were a statement, but David heard the question in them.
“I’m ready,” he said slowly. “It’s time.”
“Meet anyone interesting at the party last week?”
“There were some nice girls.”
Blaine looked at him. “I’ve left you to find your own way. My father micromanaged my life, which caused me to rebel in some ways I’ve regretted. I’ve done some things…” His voice trailed off.
For a second, David wondered if his father was talking about his affair with his secretary. Which led to a pregnancy and a quick marriage. Was it possible Blaine and Elizabeth’s union hadn’t been a love match?
Knowing his mother, it was easy to say yes. But marriages were private, and it was difficult for anyone on the outside to understand which dynamics made one relationship work and another fall apart.
“I didn’t want that for you,” Blaine continued. “I wanted you to be free to make your own decisions and live with the consequences. I don’t want you to think I don’t love you.”
David felt slightly uncomfortable but told himself to go with it. “I know that, Dad. I love you, too. I’ve always felt your support, and I’ve appreciated being left to follow my dreams in my own way.”
“Marriage is a tricky business. Don’t tell your mother I said this, but worry less about the right family or connections. Other things are more important. Does she make you laugh? Is she kind? How do you feel about seeing her personality in your children? Does that make you excited or afraid? Pay attention to your gut.”
“I will,” he said, wondering if any of this described his mother. He wasn’t sure Elizabeth made Blaine laugh very often and doubted anyone would describe her as kind.
He had the thought that Blaine was speaking from the wrong end of a bad marriage. Not that he would ask. There were topics simply never discussed in his family.
“How’s the house hunting coming?” Blaine asked.
“Slowly. So far all I’ve seen are huge places with too many bathrooms. I’m seeing another place tomorrow. I told my real estate agent I want something more reasonable than a mansion.”
Blaine chuckled. “Don’t let your mother hear you say that, either.”
There were disadvantages to being in the loop, Jayne thought as she drove north on Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu. David’s real estate agent didn’t know about their fight, so she had called Jayne to let her know about the showing this afternoon. Knowing meant making a decision. And making a decision meant it was time to apologize.
In theory, she could have gone to David’s hotel just about any evening. She could have set up an appointment with his assistant at the Worden offices and seen him there. But neither of those locations had felt right. Not that David had made any move to come see her. Still, she wasn’t happy with how she’d acted, and she wanted to make it right.
She found the quiet, narrow street and turned onto it, then promptly drove past the address. Houses for sale in the rich parts of town didn’t have big signs out front. Most of them didn’t have signs at all. She managed to turn around in someone’s driveway, a security camera following her every move, then went back to the correct house. As luck would have it, David was pulling in at the same time. He, of course, had gone to the right house in the first place.
She sat in her Jetta, staring through the passenger’s-side window, while he stared back. Damn, he looked good. Tanned and handsome, with his hair a little too long. Her insides did some kind of twisty dance that made her wonder if she was going to throw up.
He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t smile at her, either. Knowing there wasn’t any way to escape at this point, she got out and locked her car. He did the same.
“Your real estate agent called me,” she said by way of an explanation. “About the appointment. I thought maybe I’d come and…” She cleared her throat. “I wanted to talk to you, and this seemed like more neutral territory.”
“Switzerland west.”
“Right.” She tried to smile. It didn’t go well. “I, ah. I wanted to say I’m sorry. I was upset at the party. I appreciate that you wanted to spend time with me. I don’t think you were setting me up with your mother.” Not much of an issue now, she thought. Elizabeth hadn’t been in touch with her since that night, and Jayne had no plans to make the first call.
“It was a dumb invitation,” he said, surprising her. “You were right. I was there to meet my mother’s selections. It would have been like bringing a date to a singles bar.”
She inched around the front of her car, moving closer to him. “It was weird, but instead of getting mad, I should have said that. And maybe offered an alternative date.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said, his voice kind. “You weren’t yourself.”
“Who was I?”
“We’d just made love,” he said, closing the last few feet between them, then taking her hand in his. “You were still dazzled by my incredible skill and passion. There probably wasn’t enough oxygen getting to your brain.”
