Jeanette rested her spinning head against the back of the sofa as Maddie and Helen cleaned up the snacks, then kissed her good-night.
“Okay, let’s go,” Dana Sue said, tugging on her arm.
“Go where?”
“Shower, then bed.”
Jeanette balked. “Don’t want to sleep with you,” she murmured.
“Heaven forbid,” Dana Sue responded.
Jeanette sighed. “Just Tom,” she said as she stepped beneath the icy water that Dana Sue had turned on. She jumped right back out. “That’s cold,” she protested, shivering.
Dana Sue pushed her back in. “You’ll thank me in the morning.”
A few minutes later, wearing an oversize T-shirt, she crawled into bed and accepted the aspirin Dana Sue held out.
Dana Sue touched her cheek. “You and Tom will work this out,” she promised.
“Don’t know how.”
“You’ll talk. You’ll get your signals straight.”
“Same page,” Jeanette murmured sleepily, then closed her eyes. They just needed to get on the same page. If her head didn’t hurt so much, maybe she could figure out which one that was.
* * *
Tom was sitting behind his desk, staring morosely at a report on the town’s failing infrastructure, when Cal, Ronnie and Erik walked in, their expressions grim.
“What happened to the three of you? Bad news?” he asked.
“You hurt Jeanette,” Cal declared.
Tom blinked at his somber tone. “And now what? You have to hurt me?”
Ronnie grinned. “Something like that. We’re supposed to have a come-to-Jesus talk with you.”
“Though for the life of me, I’m not entirely sure why any of this is your fault,” Erik said. “You told her you love her, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Tom agreed, not the least bit surprised that they knew that. He was beginning to understand the Serenity grapevine. Even the Internet operated at a slower pace.
He regarded them with a challenging expression. “Why is any of this your business?” He waved off the question as soon as he’d uttered it. “Never mind. Stupid question. It’s all about Sweet Magnolia unity or something like that.”
“Exactly,” Cal said. “There was apparently quite a party at Jeanette’s last night. It involved margaritas and whatever else these occasions require. Jeanette cried. That was enough to get you in trouble, my friend.”
“Jeanette cried?” Tom echoed.
“That’s the way I heard it, too,” Erik confirmed.
“So what happens now?” Tom asked. “Tar and feathers?” He wasn’t entirely joking. These men might strike him as reasonable human beings, but their wives, collectively, scared the daylights out of him.
“Beats me,” Ronnie said. “I think we’re supposed to make sure you don’t do it again.”
“Will my promise suffice?” Tom asked.
Erik shrugged. “Works for me.”
“Me, too,” Cal said.
“Okay, then,” Ronnie said, apparently satisfied, as well. “I need to get to work.”
“Me, too,” Cal said.
Erik sighed heavily. “Which leaves me to report in that the deed is done, right? You guys do know that Helen is the queen of skepticism, don’t you?”
“You could just tell Dana Sue when you see her at work,” Ronnie suggested. “Let her spread the word.”
“And hear about that for a month from my wife?” Erik demanded. “I don’t think so. I’ll tell Helen.” He gave Tom a warning look. “If she’s not satisfied, she might be on your doorstep before the day is out. Prepare yourself. That woman has interrogation skills that make the Inquisition look tame.”
“Duly noted,” Tom said. “How about shooting a few hoops tonight? You guys game?”
“Shouldn’t you be making amends tonight?” Cal asked.
Tom thought about that. “I think maybe I need to see how the rest of the day goes before trying that. I can still fit in a game of hoops.”
“Count me in,” Ronnie said.
“I’ll be there,” Cal said. He glanced at Erik. “You off tonight?”
Erik nodded. “I’ll be there as long as Helen doesn’t decide to shoot the messenger.” He grinned at Tom. “You mind if I work a little spin on this, tell her you’re ready to grovel, that you looked downright miserable?”
“Spin away,” Tom said. Whatever Erik said, it probably wouldn’t be far from the truth. Once his anger had vanished, he’d been left feeling foolish and miserable. He’d had an opportunity to sleep with the woman he was falling in love with and he’d blown it. Okay, maybe an innate sense of decency and a desire for her to actually reciprocate his feelings had called for that, but his body was still ticked off as hell about it.
“And we can still count you in to help Jeanette move on Saturday, right?” Cal asked. “Now that she’s back, the closing’s been rescheduled for Friday, so Saturday is the big day.”
“Of course,” Tom assured him.
Erik nodded. “I’ll tell Helen that, too. You need all the points you can get.”
“I thought I’d accumulated a lot of points already.”
Cal regarded him with pity. “You made her cry, man. There aren’t enough points in the world to make up for that.”
Tom shook his head. For a man who’d always had a way with women, it appeared he had a lot to learn when that woman was a Sweet Magnolia.
* * *
Jeanette had heard about the chat her friends’ husbands had had with Tom. She had no idea what they’d been told to get them all riled up or what they’d said to Tom, but it was just one more humiliating moment in a string of them she seemed to be having lately. Fortunately, though, she didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. When she wasn’t at work, she was packing for the move to her new house.
The closing had gone smoothly yesterday afternoon and the move was slated for first thing this morning. All the guys were pitching in. Though Maddie had assured her that Tom still intended to help, Jeanette wasn’t convinced he’d show up. Nor was she sure she wanted him to. In fact, right now, she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to set eyes on him again, excellent kisser or not. This whole thing about him thinking he was falling in love with her had confused her.
She
