Despite the miserable day she’d had, she couldn’t help allowing herself just the tiniest smile of satisfaction at that revelation.
* * *
J.C. saw the faint smile that touched Laura’s lips and hid his own smile. It was good to see the shadows in her eyes finally disappear. She’d looked completely undone when he’d first arrived. He owed Dana Sue big-time for having called him. For once he hadn’t been appalled by the meddling tendencies of everyone in town.
He’d just left the gym when she’d phoned. Thankfully he’d showered and changed back into street clothes after his workout, so he’d headed directly to the restaurant.
Since Laura seemed momentarily lost in thought, he took his time studying her. Despite the weariness he’d detected, she still had every hair in place, and her clothes were neat as a pin. How did anyone get through a workday and look that tidy? On some purely male level he wanted to spend a couple of hours mussing her up. As soon as the inappropriate thought occurred to him, he tried to squash it, but the damage had been done. His blood was humming, and it had nothing to do with his own earlier workout.
Whatever she was thinking about, it wasn’t the distraction he’d hoped to provide.
“You look a little grim,” he observed. “Obviously whatever happened earlier is still on your mind. Maybe you should just get it out in the open.”
“I suppose it’s going to be impossible for me to actually put it out of my head, even for a little while.” She met his gaze. “J.C., it’s so much uglier than anything I’d imagined.”
“So it does have something to do with Misty,” he guessed.
She nodded. “I’d already planned to give you a call later. I had to speak to Helen first, and then I intended to go home and call Betty Donovan and then you.”
He could see genuine distress in her eyes and immediately responded to that and not to the wildly unexpected instinct that made him want to pull her into his arms. “Tell me,” he said gently. “You know I want to help Misty any way I can.” He hesitated, then asked, “Would you rather not discuss this here? We could change our order to takeout and head over to my place. Or to yours. Wherever you’d feel more comfortable.”
She looked as if she were considering the suggestion, then nodded. “You know, I’m sure it would be fine to talk about this here. The booth’s pretty secluded, but I would feel a whole lot better someplace else. It may even have been a mistake to say as much as I did to Helen. Do you mind?”
“Of course not. Let me catch Dana Sue and let her know.” When he got back to the table, he said, “Our food will be ready in a couple of minutes. Now, let’s decide. Your apartment or my house?”
She smiled at him. “Your house? You really are taking a giant leap of faith with me, aren’t you? I thought maybe it was off-limits to all women. What if I start getting crazy ideas?”
J.C. laughed. “Your ideas can’t possibly be any crazier than mine have been lately. I think I’d like you to come to my place.”
“Want to see if I fit in with the leather furniture and giant-screen TV?” she teased.
“Laura, you’d fit in wherever you happen to be,” he said with total sincerity.
“Then you’re checking to see if my presence gives you a panic attack?” she concluded.
“The only thing I panic about these days is the fact that being with you doesn’t scare me,” he confessed. “That’s downright terrifying.”
She seemed startled by his revelation but clearly pleased. He looked up then, spotted Dana Sue heading their way and stood. He handed over enough cash for the food, then held out a hand to Laura. “Let’s go.”
They made the drive to his house in silence. While she wandered around, studying the Paula Vreeland originals on his walls with an awed expression, he put their food onto plates and poured the wine.
“Living room, I think,” he said, leading the way. “We’ll be more comfortable.”
She chuckled. “I got it exactly right. Oversize leather furniture and a giant flat-screen TV. You are so predictable, except for the Paula Vreeland pictures. Those are a total surprise. I’m so envious. I only have one print of hers.”
“You like her work, too?”
“Love it. The detail is exquisite.”
“Have you met her?”
“Just once,” she said. “You?”
“Hey, I’m in practice with her ex-son-in-law, who is not beloved by her. I try to steer clear of her. It’s a shame, too, because I’d love to tell her how much I admire her work.”
“Then you should. I’m sure she’d love to hear that, despite your unfortunate connection to a man she despises.”
J.C. handed her a glass of wine, then took a seat across from her. It wasn’t lost on him that, though she wasn’t the first woman to cross his threshold in this house, she was the only one who actually looked as if she belonged here. The disconcerting thought rattled his usual composure. One more chink in his defensive armor shot to blazes.
Time to get focused, he decided, hoping to reclaim some semblance of his usual careful distance between him and the sort of messy emotions that always led to disaster for Fullerton men.
“Okay, what have you learned about Misty?” he asked, knowing the change of topic would spoil any intimate mood at once.
Laura described the information she’d been given, then handed over the online posts someone had passed along to her. J.C. read them, his disgust growing. He thought he knew Misty well enough to know that absolutely none of the nasty accusations were true.
“And there’s no question that Annabelle’s behind this?” he asked.
“From all reports her online identity is well-known to the other kids at school. They were actually passing those pictures around at school today. Why none of the teachers caught a glimpse is beyond me. I saw a few clusters of giggling kids in the halls. I’m still kicking myself for not checking to see what they found so hilarious.”
“Any idea why she targeted Misty?”
“It’s over a boy, of course. At that age, isn’t it always?”
“I guess I’d forgotten what it’s like to deal with all those raging
