'For how long?'
'As long as it takes. Until I’m satisfied.'
'I can’t do that.'
'You’re going to,' he countered.
'I’ll go with you to Boston while the anniversary is going on here, but then I have to come back. I have to find a place to live, open my store, make some decisions about what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. I need some time to sort things out.'
'I want to talk to you about something else while I’m thinking of it.'
'Yes?'
'You aren’t in love with me.'
She blinked. 'I’m not?'
'No,' he said emphatically. 'You just think you are. You’re confused,' he explained. 'You’ve been under a hell of a lot of stress, and we’ve been tied together.'
She knew where he was headed. 'I see.'
'Transference.'
'I’m sorry?'
'It’s called transference. It’s kind of like a patient falling in love with her doctor. It’s not real,' he stressed.
'That’s what I’m suffering from?'
'Not suffering, honey,' he said. 'But I do think you’ve confused gratitude with love.'
She pretended to ponder the possibility for a long minute and then said, 'I believe you might be right.'
She swore that if he looked the least bit relieved, she would do him bodily harm.
'You do?' He sounded a little stunned.
'Yes, I do,' she said more forcefully.
He wanted confirmation. 'So you realize you don’t love me'
No, she thought. I realize that telling you I love you terrifies you because it means commitment and taking a chance.
'That’s exactly what I realize,' she told him. 'It’s that transference thing all right. I was confused, but I’m not any longer. Thank you for clearing it up for me.'
He shot her a hasty glance. 'That was pretty damn quick, wasn’t it?'
'When you’re right, you’re right.'
'That’s it?' He was suddenly furious with her and didn’t care that it showed. Damn it, she had told him she loved him, and after a one-minute argument, she caved. What the hell kind of love was that? 'That’s all you have to say?'
'No, actually there is just one more thing I’d like to mention.'
'Yeah? What’s that?'
'You’re an idiot.'
Chapter 31
Laurant used Nick’s phone to call Michelle and give her the bad news about the bridesmaid’s dress. Michelle answered on the first ring. 'Where are you? Are you all right? I heard about the fire, and Bessie Jean told Mother you left with Nick, but no one knew where you went. My God, can you believe Steve Brenner turned out to be such a pervert? Did you know he’d hidden a camera in your house?'
Laurant patiently answered her questions and then told her about the dress. Michelle took the news surprisingly well. 'If only you’d left the dress with Rosemary,' she said, referring to the dressmaker who had fitted the gown for her.
'You told me to pick it up, remember?'
'Yes, but when have you ever listened to me?'
'Michelle, what are we going to do? Should I just bow out?'
'No way,' Michelle cried. 'You can wear something of mine.'
'You’ve got to be joking. You’re tiny. Nothing of yours would fit me.'
'Listen, Laurant. I’m stuck with Christopher’s two insipid cousins in my wedding, but I’m not letting either one of them be my maid of honor. Are you or are you not my best friend?'
'Of course I am,' she said. 'But-'
'Then improvise. I don’t care what you wear. Come naked if you want. No, you better not do that. You’d cause a riot,' she said 'Christopher wouldn’t remember his vows,' she added with a laugh
'I’ll find something,' she promised, wondering how in God’s name she was going to have time to shop.
'You’ll still be here at four?'
'Give me at least until five.'
'Was the dress destroyed by the fire? Maybe the dry cleaners could repair it if it wasn’t burned up.'
'No,' she answered. 'It’s gone.'
'The town’s in an uproar over Brenner,' she said then. 'How stupid was he to torch his own house? Did you know he’d browbeaten poor Mrs. Talbot into selling it to him. He didn’t have any insurance either. Did you know that? The pervert paid cash.'
'How did you find all that out?' she asked.
'Mother’s nosy friends. Little Lorna’s called Mother three times in the past hour to give more information.'
'Steve didn’t start the fire,' Laurant said. 'Lonnie did. I guess he didn’t know Steve had bought the house.'
'That wasn’t in the paper,' Michelle exclaimed. 'The sheriff’s son was in on it?'
'Yes,' Laurant answered. 'There’s a lot more too, Michelle, but I can’t go into it now.'
'You can tell me everything while we get dressed,' she said. 'And I mean everything. I’ve got to hang up now. I’m getting my nails done. I’ll see you at five, and please, stop worrying. It’s going to be fine. Nothing can ruin this day for me, and do you know why?'
'Because you’re marrying the man of your dreams?'
'That too.'
'What were you going to say?'
'That no matter what, I’m going to have hot incredible sex tonight. Uh-oh, Mom’s glaring at me. Got to go.'
Laurant handed the phone back to Nick. 'Let’s go by the house first,' she said. 'If the fire didn’t reach the second floor, maybe I can find something suitable to wear in the wedding.'
'Your clothes are going to smell like smoke,' he said. 'But the dry cleaners could probably clean the dress before five.'
She mentally went through her wardrobe of once-upon-a-time clothes. That’s what she called them, the beautiful designer dresses and suits that the head of the European modeling agency had given to her, trying to entice her to work for them. The ice blue Versace might do, or the peach Armani. Both of the formal dresses were long, and her high-heeled sandals would work with either one. If the clothes had been destroyed in the fire, she didn’t know what she could wear. The local ladies’ dress shop didn’t carry formal attire.
'What else do you have to do before the wedding?' Nick asked.
'Find a place to stay tonight,' she said. 'I’ll wait until tomorrow to pack up whatever I can salvage from the house. It’s too overwhelming to think about today. We have to get a suit for you to wear to the wedding,' she added. 'Did you bring one with you?'
'Just my navy blazer and a couple of pairs of dress pants.'
'That will work. We’ll drop them at the cleaners too.'
She sounded weary.
'Cheer up, honey. It’s going to get better.'
