were dressed as elegantly as last night, with gleaming silver and crystal, accenting an impeccably perfect day. Guests milled everywhere, all ages, many looking glamorous and foreign, some dressed casually, fresh off their boats-or yachts, as it were.
Personally, Carolina thought she was appropriately dressed for a hot sunny morning, in a linen skort and shimmery-cool tank top and, of course, her red shoes. So did Maguire, judging from the way he kept looking at her.
But he kept her talking about serious issues as if the sky might fall if he let down his hair. There was no way he was stepping off the mentor role this morning. Even when he sipped the delectably tangy OJ. Bit into the lightest, softest, richest omelet ever made. Lingered on bites of toast dripping with hot, wild blueberries.
“So, we’re going to talk about some of the things you want to do,” he said.
“Yes, sir.”
“Part of your stress load was so many people asking you constantly for things. Everyone in your life wanting something from you. So let’s start with your parents. Are there some things you actually do want for them?”
“Oh, yes. Absolutely.” She could love up Maguire with her eyes and still do this serious-talk stuff. She valued his advice and ideas, besides. “I want to make their lives easier. Give them security. I loved setting my mom up with a new kitchen, giving my dad the car of his dreams. I would have loved to give them treats like that forever…”
“But then it wasn’t so easy. Instead of giving, they started having expectations. Until there seemed no end to the expectations.”
When she reluctantly nodded, he went on. “So here’s the deal, Cee. You want to give your parents security? Do it. Pay for great health insurance, if they don’t already have it. Pay off their mortgage if you want. Then, set up a trust. Establish the trust to supplement their retirement income. And then that’s it. You’re done.”
Reluctantly she leaned away from the plate. If she ate any more, she’d turn into a balloon…but damn, the food was good. “Only in theory, Maguire. Because that’s what I was discovering. No matter what I do, it seems like it didn’t stop them from asking for more-”
“I get that. Trust me. But what you have to get straight in your head is what you want to do for them, then do it. And then you draw the line in the sand. You need to know, in your heart, that what you set up is generous and fair and right. So you know, absolutely, there’s no reason to feel guilty.”
All right. Maybe she felt loverlike and cuddly and turned on. But nobody seemed to reach her like Maguire. This stuff mattered. She frowned. “That isn’t how I’m used to thinking about things.”
“Yeah, I know. You don’t think ‘selfish.’ And you’re a lousy student at learning selfishness, if you ask me.”
“Hey! I’m plenty selfish! Look at the shoes!” She lifted a leg, just to illustrate.
“Okay, okay, I admit it. You did good on the shoes. But we have to work a little harder on your getting tougher with the rest of it.”
“Like with what?”
“Well…” Maguire leaned forward, poured them both fresh coffee from the carafe. “You said that your father wanted to handle your money.”
Her stomach instantly knotted. “And his feelings were terribly hurt when I didn’t leap to say yes. In fact, I cried-”
“Hey. No. No crying. Listen to me.” For a second his voice almost took on a panicked tone. “Your father is no more capable of handling big money than you are. That isn’t an insult. It’s just a fact. Would you go to a plumber for brain surgery?”
“No.”
“Repeat after me-No, of course not.”
“No, of course not.”
“Would you go to a brain surgeon to fix a leaky faucet?”
She knew her line. “No, of course not.”
“Exactly. So you get people to help you with the money who are, so to speak, brain surgeons with money. Reputable brokers. Finance people with established reputations. If your dad can’t understand that, he’ll have to get over it. That’s not on you. It’d be stupid to let the plumber to do the brain surgery, remember? You can’t make your parents’ lives easier if all that money goes down the drain because of poor management.”
“Look, I’m getting sick and tired of your being right, Maguire. I’m starting to feel like a dunce.”
“You’re not a dunce. You’re ultrabright. Just not about big money. How could you be? And why should you expect yourself to be brilliant about everything? See…I’m way better at being selfish than you are. That’s why I’m the natural teacher in this.”
She opened her mouth to say something sassy and clever…it was about time she put him in his place. He was mighty comfortable in the role of ‘Fixing Carolina.’ Not so comfortable when she turned the tables and made him talk about himself.
She was about to direct a raft of questions at him…when a commotion across the patio diverted her attention. Although most of the tables were filled, most conversations were desultory, natural to guests enjoying a leisurely morning and fabulous food. But at the far table near the aqua pool, voices suddenly raised.
Carolina glanced over, and saw what looked to be a father and teenage daughter. Although they weren’t fighting in English, she could easily get the gist. Likely similar arguments took place in every household on every continent, when a daughter was trying to grow up before her daddy thought she was ready.
Their voices kept rising. The daughter snapped back, sassy, from her tone. The father’s retorts became colder, sterner. It was just an argument. Just a personal fight.
There was just a moment…when the blond-haired girl stopped looking defiant and strong. She…caved. Whatever her dad said…hurt.
Crushed her. The lips trembled. The eyes welled. Her so-pretty face looked full of pain, beyond hurt.
Carolina could feel her pain. Could remember feeling as if she was breaking from all the people yelling at her, not hearing anything she said, until the words wounded beyond bearing. And just like that, she suddenly lost it. The sound of their voices. All their voices. All sound.
The stupid hysterical deafness was back. She shook her head, but it was like trying to shake water from her ears after swimming. Any sound that came through was just a pale blur, nothing with any decibels.
Maguire saw the change in her. She knew from his expression.
He couldn’t know what triggered the problem this day-Carolina wasn’t sure she could explain it to herself-but Maguire didn’t need all the answers to act.
He just turned into her hero again. Anger steeled his expression-but not anger at her. He swept her up and out of there, an arm around her shoulder, steering her past people, past doors, past everything. Carolina sensed that he’d battle off a few armies if they tried getting near her.
He steered her through his room, to get to hers. Coaxed her to lie down. Put a warm cloth on her forehead. Came through with tea. And a foot rub. American newspapers to read.
She must have napped, because when she woke up, she found her red shoes on a pillow in her sight-a picture that was guaranteed to make her smile.
The short nap seemed to fix the hearing problem this time, because she could hear bursts of laughter and splashing from the pool below. Sweet sunlight pooled in the windows, and she heard Maguire’s voice, quiet, talking on a phone from the balcony. He was using his “making arrangements” voice.
When he stopped talking, she assumed he’d finished the call, and spoke up. “So where are we going, Maguire?”
Faster than the spin of a dime, he charged in, studied her face with the fierceness of a scientist-not a lover. His stiff shoulders eased. “You’re hearing again.”
“Yup. And I’m sorry. Angry at myself. That was stupid. The whole deaf thing is stupid. I’m strong now.”
“You are strong, Carolina. You’re just not tough. There’s a difference.”
“I’m both.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed, pushed a hand through her hair. “I’ve had it with this weakling business. So I had some stress. Everybody has stress. They don’t just cave. I’m through being a wuss.”
“You were never a wuss, Carolina.”
Arguing with him was useless. She should have known. “I heard you making some kind of travel arrangements, or that’s what it sounded like. So where are we going?”
A smile finally broke through that austere frown. “First, we’ve got a few hours before our flight. So…we’re
