“Your decision, of course,” Jeanette said. She thought about how well the direct approach had worked for her earlier. It had been a disaster. “But don’t risk it unless you’re prepared for rejection.”
“Sweetie, I’ve been rejected more times than you can imagine. It’s practically a lifestyle.”
“Then maybe it’s time to go a different way,” Jeanette said. “Try the wait-and-see approach.”
“I’ll think about it,” Mary Vaughn promised, then got a worrisome glint in her eyes. “But I will not let that little twit steal my man in the meantime.”
Jeanette had to hide a smile at her friend’s fierce declaration. Sonny’s current relationship, whatever it might be, with this other woman, was doomed.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jeanette was in her kitchen pouring frozen margaritas into glasses when Dana Sue came into her apartment without knocking.
“What the heck happened?” she demanded as she set a big bowl of guacamole and a bag of chips on the table. “When you left the restaurant this afternoon, you and Tom were practically steaming up the place.”
“I know,” Jeanette said just as Maddie came in with a plate of thick, decadent brownies.
“Don’t say anything until Helen gets here,” Maddie said, grabbing her own drink. “You’ll just have to start over.”
“I’m here,” Helen announced. She was taking out assorted cheeses and crackers and putting them on the plates Jeanette had removed from the box in which she’d packed them for her upcoming move. “Now, will somebody tell me why?”
Overwhelmed with gratitude that they’d all come, actually believing for the first time that she really was a Sweet Magnolia, Jeanette looked at each of her three friends, then burst into tears.
“Well, hell,” Helen said, reaching for her. The least demonstrative of the group, she patted her awkwardly on the back, then handed her off to Maddie.
Dana Sue stuffed a handful of tissues into her hand. “Let’s go in the other room and sit down. Then take a sip of your drink and start at the beginning.”
Everyone picked up some of the snacks and Jeanette trailed behind with the pitcher of margaritas, which was probably a mistake. She seemed to be a little unsteady on her feet, to say nothing of having her vision blurred by tears.
“Okay, then,” Dana Sue said when they were seated. “You and Tom were headed straight to bed last time I saw you.”
“You and Tom were planning to have sex?” Maddie said, sounding shocked. “Today? How did I miss that? I thought you were just having lunch. Then Dana Sue called and told me you were going home to rest... Oh, I get it.”
Dana Sue grinned and, since Jeanette seemed incapable of speech, added, “Exactly. One thing led to another.”
“So I gather,” Maddie said. “It must have been some lunch.”
“Then what happened?” Helen prodded. “Wasn’t he any good at it?”
Jeanette choked back a laugh, or maybe it was a sob. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “He... This is so humiliating.”
“He what?” Helen demanded impatiently, falling into her courtroom style of interrogation, which was effective on witnesses but hell on friends.
“Let her talk,” Maddie commanded, nudging Helen in the ribs.
“He turned me down,” Jeanette admitted sheepishly. “And then he said he loved me. Or thought he did. Or something like that. I was too embarrassed by then to pay much attention to what he was saying.”
“The man said he loved you and you didn’t hear the details?” Dana Sue asked incredulously.
“After he refused to sleep with me,” Jeanette reminded her.
“Okay,” Maddie soothed. “Did he say why he didn’t want to sleep with you? He must have had a reason. Everyone in town knows he’s been lusting after you since he got here.”
Helen nodded. “They were taking bets in Wharton’s on how soon you’d cave in.”
Jeanette regarded her with dismay, though she wasn’t sure why. They took bets on everything at Wharton’s. They’d had a pool on whether she’d go out with him, so why not one on whether she’d have sex with the man?
Maddie frowned at Helen. “Did you have to bring that up now? It’s hardly the time.”
“I was just reporting the facts,” Helen grumbled.
Maddie held Jeanette’s hand tightly. “Pay no attention to her. If she’s listening to gossip, then she’s clearly had too much time on her hands lately. What did Tom say to you?”
Jeanette gulped down the rest of her margarita, then blurted, “He...he said I only wanted him for his body.”
The other three women stared at her, then turned to each other. Maddie was the first to try futilely to suppress a laugh. Then all three of them were laughing at her...or maybe with her. It was kind of hard to tell, since she finally saw the humor in it and began laughing, too. She laughed until her stomach ached.
“I think I’m a little tipsy,” she finally murmured.
“Not on one margarita!” Helen declared. “Even if these are strong enough to rouse the dead.”
“I think you’ve missed the most important part of what happened this afternoon,” Maddie said when the laughter finally died. “Tom said he’s in love with you. Isn’t that what counts?”
Jeanette poured herself another margarita, then sighed. “I really, really wanted to sleep with him, even if he does have the mother from hell.” She gave them a wobbly smile. “Did I tell you that my mother likes him and he likes her? That is so much better than me hating his mother.”
“Maybe she is drunk,” Helen murmured. “Is this your second margarita, Jeanette?”
“No, I believe I had one or two before you got here.”
Helen rolled her eyes. “Then this conversation is probably pointless. You should go to bed and we can try it again tomorrow.”
“But I need advice now,” Jeanette argued.
“Why? Is Tom on his way over tonight?” Helen asked.
“No, but...”
They watched her expectantly.
“I don’t know why,” she finally admitted.
“That’s it,” Helen said, standing up. “Take a shower and go to bed.”
“I’ll stay,” Dana Sue volunteered. “To make sure she doesn’t drown. After all, this is partly my
