15 Valentine Place

Again Maddie. Dylan took a deep breath to keep from making another sarcastic comment about the woman. Was there any aspect of his mother’s life in which she hadn’t interfered? Only it didn’t sound as if his mother saw it as interference.

“I never realized that running a business could be so exciting!”

From the glow on her cheeks, Dylan could see that it was a fulfilling career for her. He was about to tell her he was happy for her, but her next words kept him silent.

“What’s really special about this job is that it makes me feel close to your father. Whenever I have to answer a question about love and romance, I think of him and the love we shared.”

The love we shared. Dylan knew she’d been happy with his father. That had never been something he’d questioned. What he didn’t know was if that love had been based on a lie. Would his mother’s feelings for his father be the same if she knew he’d cheated on her? Was she basing her career on a lie?

They were questions he knew he could never ask. He sighed, and his mother mistook the sound for fatigue.

She reached across the table and patted his hand. “You’ve had a long day. We’ll have lots of time to talk once you catch up on your sleep.”

Dylan gently rotated his neck. “Bed is going to feel good. I must have slept wrong on the plane because I’ve got a kink in my neck.”

“You should ask Maddie to give you a massage,” his mother suggested. “She’s got the right touch when it comes to soothing aching muscles.”

“Tell me, Mom, is there anything that Maddie doesn’t know?” he asked.

“I don’t know anything about living on a Caribbean island,” she said, entering the room. She gave him a flirtatious grin. “Maybe you could fill me in.” Then she placed a hand on Leonie’s shoulder and said, “We’re stopping for tonight. Do you want to come say goodbye?”

Leonie scraped back her chair. “I do. Thanks for letting me know.”

“No problem,” she said as left the room, the coins on her costume making a tinkling sound with every step she took.

Shane rose, too. “That means Jennifer and Mickey will be wanting to go.” He turned to Dylan. “You need any help with your luggage?”

Dylan shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

His mother asked, “Are you going to bed then?”

“No, I’ll wait for you,” he said, knowing that he needed to talk to his mother alone. His reunion with her hadn’t gone as he’d hoped, and he needed to smooth things over.

Only it wasn’t his mother who returned a few minutes later, but Maddie. She looked startled to see him, and he suspected that if she could have left without saying a word, she would have.

“Looking for something?” he asked.

“Just getting some water,” she told him, pulling a bottle from the refrigerator.

“Belly dancing makes you thirsty, does it?” He didn’t know why the words came out on a note of sarcasm. She’d neither said nor done anything to warrant it.

“If that’s the tone you used with your mother I can see why she’s upset,” she told him, then unscrewed the cap and took a long drink.

He let his eyes travel over her figure and felt something stir deep inside him. Now he knew the reason for the sarcasm. It was a self-defense mechanism. He was attracted to her and he didn’t want to be.

“Mom’s not upset.” He spoke the words with confidence, although he knew his reunion with his mother had had its share of tension. She’d wanted his approval and, instead of complimenting her on her new look, he’d put her on the defensive, asking questions with a critical eye rather than an understanding one. He wasn’t, however, going to admit that to this woman.

“Now why doesn’t it surprise me that you didn’t notice?” Maddie shoved a fist to her waist, which only caused Dylan’s eyes to focus on her flat stomach and the turquoise jewel in her navel. It was almost the same color as her eyes and seemed to wink at him.

He forced his eyes back to hers. “My relationship with my mother doesn’t concern you, although I’m sure you think it does.”

She stiffened, her chin lifting slightly. “Actually, I don’t, but I happen to care about your mom and I don’t like it when people hurt her.”

“People meaning me?” he asked in disbelief. “I didn’t come home to upset my mom.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’d like to think that we can get along while you’re here.”

Her attitude annoyed him. Who was she to stand there like some champion of the mistreated, looking at him as if it were her duty to protect his mother from him?

He was about to tell her that if they were going to get along, she was going to have to get rid of that attitude. Only his mother chose that moment to return.

“So here’s where you disappeared to,” she said to Maddie. “Are you and Dylan reacquainting yourselves?” She looked from one to the other.

“Yes, I was just telling Dylan how fond I am of you.” She put her arm around his mother and gave her a squeeze. “He’s lucky to have you for a mom.”

“Thank you, Maddie. I do believe I’m quite lucky to have him for a son, too,” she responded, giving Dylan an affectionate glance.

Only he saw the look in Maddie’s eyes. It told him there wasn’t even a slim chance she shared that sentiment.

“Well, I’m off to bed,” Maddie announced, then she turned to Dylan. “Hope the cold doesn’t get to you.” It was said in a cheerful way, but he knew there was a hidden message. She wasn’t going to spread any warmth his way.

“I’m sure I’ll survive. You forget. I lived here eighteen years. This is my home.”

“Yes, it is,” his mother agreed happily.

As Maddie passed him on the way out, she said in a voice meant only for his ears, “And we all know that home is the place that has to take you in.”

MADDIE LAY ON HER BED flipping through the glossy pages of the latest edition of a gourmet food magazine. Not even the lure of scrumptious desserts smothered in chocolate could take her mind off what had happened this evening. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t put Dylan Donovan out of her mind.

She wished she hadn’t confronted him in the kitchen. He was right about one thing: his relationship with his mother wasn’t any of her concern. Still, she’d grown very fond of Leonie and it had seemed natural to come to her defense.

Despite Dylan’s claim that he hadn’t intended to upset his mother, Maddie knew that whatever they’d discussed in the kitchen had taken the sparkle out of Leonie’s eyes. It didn’t take a psychologist to know that the joyful reunion her landlady had hoped to have with her son hadn’t materialized.

Maddie didn’t understand why it hadn’t. As hard as she tried not to be curious about their relationship, she couldn’t help but wonder what had caused Dylan to become the stray sheep of the family.

She supposed it could be his personality. He wasn’t exactly the easiest man to get along with. She resented his implication that she had somehow stuck her nose into business that didn’t concern her—as if being a friend to Leonie was a devious plan on her part. If Leonie hadn’t come into the kitchen when she had, Maddie might just have set him straight on the subject.

A knock on her door had her looking up with apprehension. Maybe he regretted his mother’s appearance, too, and wanted to continue with his warning.

Then she heard a woman’s voice. “Maddie, it’s Krystal. Can I come in?”

Maddie threw her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “Sure. It’s open.”

“I saw your light beneath the door and figured you were up,” her housemate said as she padded into the room in her robe and slippers. “I just had to come in and see what you thought about Dylan. Is he gorgeous or what?”

That was something she hadn’t wanted to think about—Dylan’s looks. He was every bit as good-looking now as he had been all those years ago and, to her dismay, when he’d walked into the living room, her body had behaved as it had all those years ago when she’d practically melted whenever he’d pass by.

“He’s all right,” she said, trying to sound disinterested.

“All right? Maddie, are you blind? That sun-streaked hair and that golden tan and those muscles.” She sighed dreamily. “Leonie said he worked with concrete. No kidding. He must lift a ton of blocks to get that kind of a bod.”

“I’m going to have to get you a bib if you keep talking that way,” Maddie said dryly.

Krystal playfully punched Maddie’s shoulder. “Come on. Admit it. You think he’s cute.”

Maddie didn’t see much point in denying the obvious. “Yeah, he’s attractive.”

“But is he smart? Does he have a nice personality?” Krystal wanted to know. “You talked to him, didn’t you?”

“We only talked for a few minutes in the kitchen,” she said, not wanting to say what she really thought about the man. Krystal was single and so was Dylan. As Leonie often said, romance could happen when you least expected it and what Maddie didn’t need was to say something negative about Dylan and have it end up coming back to haunt her later. “But he can’t be dumb if he’s an engineer,” she pointed out.

“That’s what I figured, too. I was hoping I’d run into him when I went downstairs to use the shower tonight, but he’d already gone to bed.”

Which was exactly what Maddie wanted to hear. She’d avoided going downstairs to the bathroom for that very reason. She didn’t want to risk bumping into him again this evening. One unpleasant confrontation was enough.

“It’ll be nice when we don’t have to use the shower downstairs,” she remarked. “Having only a half bath on this floor could result in things getting a bit awkward.”

“Or interesting,” Krystal said with a wiggle of her brows. “I wish I’d listened more closely all those times Leonie talked about him. I thought he’d look like Shane or Garret.” She held up her hands. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t think they’re cute, ’cause I do. It’s just that Dylan is so…” Her eyes got all dreamy as she searched for the right word.

Maddie could have supplied it. Hot. There was no denying it. The man had it, whatever it was. Not that she cared. She wasn’t fourteen anymore and she didn’t respond to it.

“He hasn’t been married, has he?” Krystal asked.

“Not that I know of.”

“I can’t believe he doesn’t have someone waiting for him back in Saint Martin,” Krystal said, sighing heavily. “Leonie says he doesn’t, but look at him. Good-looking guys like that are rarely unattached.”

“Just because he hasn’t told his mother doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Maddie pointed out. “But does it matter? I thought your heart belonged to the bodybuilder over at the gym.”

“T.K.? I’m thinking it may be time to move on.”

Maddie wondered if she was planning to move on with Dylan. Before she could ask, Krystal said, “I suppose it could get sticky, though, if I messed around with Dylan. I mean, Leonie’s a dear, and I wouldn’t want to create problems…you know what I mean?”

“I think you’re right on with that one,” Maddie agreed. “Mothers can get funny over their sons.”

Krystal nodded her head in agreement. “I once dated this guy who had a really neat mom. She treated me just like a daughter until she found out we’d been talking about marriage. Then she went ballistic. Started cussing at me and telling me I wasn’t good enough for her little boy.”

“I don’t think Leonie would be like that.”

Krystal thought for a moment, then said, “No, you’re probably right, but I still wouldn’t want to screw up a great housing arrangement.” She sighed. “At least Dylan will make good eye candy for these cold, gray days of winter.”

As much as Maddie wanted to deny it, she knew her housemate was right. Only she wasn’t going out of her way for any visual treats. She’d do her best to avoid him, even if it meant disappointing Leonie by being absent in the kitchen. She was determined that when she shared a house with Dylan, this time she was not going to become infatuated with him.

Once in a lifetime was enough for her. Besides, she already had one man in her life. Jeffrey, who was a dear friend. That’s all she wanted in a relationship right now. It was all she could handle. She needed to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life before she could look at men as anything other than friends.

Unfortunately as she drifted off to sleep, it wasn’t Jeffrey’s face in her thoughts. It was the man she wanted to forget—Dylan.

CHAPTER THREE

Dear Leonie: It’s been fourteen years since I had my first crush on a guy. Now I’m twenty-eight and he’s back in my life and all those old feelings have come rushing back. I don’t want to feel anything for him. What should I do?

Signed: Wanting to forget the past

Leonie says: You’re only attracted to him because he rekindles those adolescent feelings of first love. My bet is once you spend a little time with him you’ll realize that’s all it was—puppy love.

THERE WAS ONLY a two-hour time difference between Minnesota and Saint Martin, yet Dylan awoke feeling as if he had jet lag. Maybe it was because he’d had a restless night. Strange beds often did that to him.

Or it could have been his guilty conscience that had caused him to toss and turn last night. He should have apologized to his mother before saying good-night to her, but his confrontation with Maddie had left him in a sour mood and, instead of focusing on the matter of most importance—his mother—he’d been preoccupied with thoughts of the belly-dance teacher.

But that was last night and today would be different he vowed as he showered and shaved. When he walked into the kitchen his mother was alone at the table, reading the paper.

At the sight of him she smiled. “You look much better this morning. See what a good night’s sleep will do for you?”

He chuckled to himself. If she only knew.

“Smells good in here. Like oranges.” Before she could speak he held up his hands. “Don’t tell me. Maddie made orange bread before she went to work this morning.”

She clicked her tongue in admonition. “No, she did not. I just ate an orange. The peeling is still on the counter.” She nodded toward the cabinets.

“Sorry.” He gave her apologetic smile. “Mom, about last night…” he began. “There’s something I think you should know.”

“If it’s about you and Maddie having words, Dylan, I already know about it. She told me this morning.”

So Maddie had already talked to his mother about their confrontation. Dylan could see she was going to be a more formidable opponent than he’d expected.

“Well, I can see one thing hasn’t changed. She’s just as annoying now as she was at fourteen,” he remarked.

That had his mother gasping. “She most certainly is not annoying!”

He held up his hands in surrender. “All right. She’s not.”

“She’s a dear and if you must know, I’m surprised by your behavior toward her last night,” his mother chastised him.

“My behavior toward her?” He should have known she’d come to Maddie’s defense, not his. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Mom, it takes two to disagree.”

“And just what was this disagreement about?”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

So she hadn’t run to his mother with her version of what had been said. She went up a notch in his estimation, but only a small notch. He still found her irritating.

“It was nothing important, Mom. We just rubbed each other the wrong way, sort of like what happened the summer she stayed with us. Remember how she’d always bristle when I’d talk to her?”

“No, I don’t.” She gave him a blank look. “I only remember her being very sweet and shy and having to put up with the roughness of four boys who at times could be a bit overbearing even for their own mother.”

“Well, there’s only one Donovan boy at home now, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I know you’re very fond of Maddie. I’m sorry about last night and I promise I’m going to do everything I can to not repeat what happened.”

His mother stared at him, her finger on her chin. “You know, that’s nearly the same thing she said to me this morning.”

“Great. Then we’re in agreement on something.” He went over to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk.

“I know you had a long day yesterday because the plane was delayed, and you weren’t yourself. Why don’t we just forget about last night and start over?” she said with her usual optimism.

“I’d like that. I know I said some things I shouldn’t have,” he told her as he poured himself a glass of milk. “Not just to Maddie but to you as well. If I upset you, I’m sorry. I was tired and I wasn’t expecting to find so many things had changed around here. I had the weird feeling that this wasn’t home anymore.”

“It hasn’t been your home in a long time, Dylan,” she reminded him gently.

“I know and I had no right to act as if you’d done something wrong by getting on with your life. The house looks great and so do you. I should have said that as soon as I saw you.”

She smiled warmly. “Thank you.” Then she got up to give him a hug. “Have I told you how happy I am that you decided to have the surgery here? As long as I own this house you’ll always be able to call it home.”

“I appreciate that, Mom.”

“Being home will be good for you. You’ll see,” she said with confidence. “I know there have been a lot of changes, but there’s a lot of things that are the same.”

“I can see one thing that hasn’t changed. You still know how to make a kid feel better with words,” he said with an affectionate grin.

She smiled, too. “I’ve had lots of practice. Now, would you like me to make you some breakfast?”

“No, I’m fine. I don’t eat much in the morning,” he answered, then drained the milk from his glass.

“That hasn’t changed, has it? You were always in too much of a hurry to take time for breakfast when you were a kid. I still make a pretty good omelette.” She tried to tempt him.

“I’m sure you do. Maybe another morning? Now tell me why you’re all dressed up,” he ordered with a cocked eyebrow. “You look nice, by the way.”

“Thank you. This is a new outfit. I have several appointments today.”

“Ah, business,” he said in a knowing tone.

She fixed him with a questioning gaze. “Does it bother you that I’m a romance coach?”

He didn’t want to tell her the truth, yet he couldn’t lie to her, either. “I’m not exactly bothered by it, Mom, but I wasn’t expecting to come home and find you so involved with your work.”

“I needed something to fill my days. Dad’s gone, you kids are all gone…” She trailed off. “I like people too much to sit home by myself.”

“I thought maybe you would have gone to work for Shane when he took over the business.”

She wrinkled her face. “I never really liked doing tax forms.”

“Then why did you do it all those years?”

“Because I liked working with your father.” A contented look came into her eyes. “Sometimes even the most tedious tasks don’t seem so bad when they’re shared with the one you love.”

Talk of her love for his father always made him uncomfortable and this time was no different. Ignorance may have been bliss for his mother, but for Dylan, knowledge of his father’s infidelity continued to color his perception of his parents’ marriage.

He didn’t want to think about that, so he said, “Then it’s a good thing you tried something different. It’s obviously been good for you because you seem happy.”

“I am happy, but I still miss him,” she said, a note of sadness in her voice.

He placed an arm around her and gave her a gentle hug. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for you those first few months after he died.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” she said, patting his hand. “I understand why you kept your distance.”

At the time he had thought he had, too, but now he wasn’t so sure. He’d told himself that if he were to spend any time with his mother, there was bound to be more tension between him and Shane. Yet now that he was actually home, he wasn’t sure if there hadn’t been another reason for his absence. Maybe he had stayed away because he hadn’t wanted to share in his mother’s grief, hadn’t wanted to hear her eulogize his father as an ideal husband.

“That’s all in the past,” his mother continued. “You’re home now and I want to enjoy every minute of your stay. Will you be seeing Garret today?”

“I have a doctor’s appointment this morning, but then I’m going to stop by the hospital so we can have lunch.”

“You can take Dad’s car. It’s in the garage. Jason’s been using it when he’s been home, so it’s in good running condition.” She reached for a set of car keys dangling from a hook on the wall and set them down on the table, saying, “I have a favor to ask you.”

“Ask away.”

She pulled several plastic gallon containers from under the sink. “Maddie left this morning without taking these. Would you be a dear and drop them off for me?”

“Drop them off where?”

“Remember Ken’s Market, that small family grocery near the hospital? It’s now community owned.”

“It’s a co-op?”

She nodded, setting the jugs on the table next to the keys. “They sell spring water, but you have to supply your own containers.”

“You want me to fill them and bring them home?”

“Or you can leave them with Maddie and she’ll take care of it.”

“She works at the co-op?”

“Mmm-hmm. In the deli.”

So Maddie was a belly-dancing teacher at night and a deli clerk during the day. Not exactly what he had expected she’d be doing for a living.

“You need me to pick up anything else?” he asked.

“No, that’ll do it.” She placed her fingers on the upper portion of the refrigerator. “There are frozen dinners in here and there are cold cuts, too, if you want to make yourself a sandwich for dinner.”

“Dinner? Aren’t you going to be here?”

She shook her head. “Tonight’s my class at the community center. I would have canceled, but it’s my first one and I thought I’d better not.”

“What class is that?”

“The keys to making love last.”

“They actually offer a class like that through community ed?”

She gave him a look of admonition. “Love is a very important thing in people’s lives. If you look at the statistics, Dylan, you’ll see that most people still believe in marriage.” She gave him a gentle shove so she could get to the door. “I’ll tell you more about it when we have more time. I have all sorts of interesting statistics I can share with you.”

Dylan didn’t want to tell her that he really wasn’t interested in hearing any numbers when it came to love and marriage. Fortunately, the phone rang and he didn’t have to come up with a response.

The call was brief and as soon as she’d hung up, she said, “I have to get going. I have an extra stop to make. Try not to leave the kitchen a mess, will you? We have a rule around here. Everyone cleans up after herself.”

“Mom, I haven’t become a slob since I left home,” he told her.

“I didn’t think you had, but I need to consider my tenants.”

He frowned. “Are you saying they’ll be eating their meals in the kitchen?”

“Krystal won’t be home tonight. She’s going to a convention in Saint Cloud and will be staying overnight, but Maddie should be back after she finishes her classes.”

He wanted to ask his mother about Maddie’s classes, but swallowed his curiosity. He didn’t think she would understand the reason for his inquisitiveness.

He didn’t understand it himself. All he knew was that since he’d seen Maddie in those harem pants with that turquoise jewel winking at him from her navel, he’d had trouble forgetting that she lived upstairs. And now that he knew she ate her meals in the kitchen, his imagination was already working on possible scenarios in which he might see her again.

As he left the house, he made sure he took the plastic jugs.

DYLAN WASN’T QUITE SURE what kind of a reception he’d get from Garret, but he was glad when it turned out to be a warm one. As the young doctor came down the hall toward him, he wore a big grin.