“Patty St. John. She’s another volunteer at the Friendship Club. She quit her job when Michael was born, but now she’d like to find some part-time work.”
“Are you volunteering to babysit for her?”
“Just for today,” Janine explained. “Her regular sitter has the flu.”
“I thought you were going out?” Gramps muttered with a slight frown. “You haven’t left the house all week. Fact is, you’re becoming a recluse.”
“I’ve had other things to do,” she returned, not raising her voice for fear of disturbing the baby.
“Right. The other things you had to do were keep an eye on your grandfather,” he said. “You think I didn’t notice? How long do you plan on being my shadow? You should be gadding about, doing the things you normally do, instead of worrying yourself sick over me. I’m fine, I tell you. When are you going to listen to me?”
“Dr. Madison said to watch you for a few days.”
“It’s been a week.”
Janine was well aware of it. In fact, she was beginning to suffer from cabin fever. She’d hardly spoken to anyone all week. She hadn’t heard from Zach, either. Not that she’d expected to. Perhaps Gramps had taken them at their word. Or else he was doing what Zach had suspected and simply regrouping for the next skirmish.
Michael stirred in her arms and she held him against her shoulder, rocking him back to sleep.
“I’m going to the office tomorrow,” Gramps announced, eyeing her defiantly as though he anticipated a challenge.
“We’ll see,” she said, delaying the showdown.
Yawning, baby Michael raised his head and looked around. Gramps’s weathered face broke into a tender smile. “All right,” he agreed easily. “We’ll see.” He offered the little boy his finger and Michael gripped it firmly in his hand, then started to chew on it.
Janine laughed, enjoying her grandfather’s reaction to the baby. After a couple of minutes, Michael grew tired of the game with Anton’s finger and yawned again, arching his back. Janine decided it was time to check his diaper. She got up, reaching for the bag Patty had left.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” she told her grandfather.
She was halfway across the living room when Anton stopped her. “You look good with a baby in your arms. Natural.”
Janine smiled. She didn’t dare let him know it felt good, too.
While she was changing the baby, she heard the doorbell. Normally she would’ve answered it herself, but since she was busy, either Gramps or Mrs. McCormick would see to it.
Michael was happily investigating his toes and making cooing sounds as Janine pulled up his plastic pants. “You’re going to have to be patient with me, kiddo,” she told him, carefully untwisting the legs of his corduroy overalls and snapping them back in place. When she’d finished, she lifted him high above her head and laughed when Michael squealed delightedly. They were both smiling when she returned to the living room.
Gramps was sitting in the chair closest to the grand piano, and across from him sat Zach.
Janine’s heart lurched as her eyes flew instantly to Zach’s. “Hello, Zach,” she said, striving to sound as nonchalant as possible, tucking Michael against her hip. She cast a suspicious glare at her grandfather, who smiled back, the picture of innocence.
“Zach brought some papers for me to sign,” Gramps explained.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” she apologized. Her eyes refused to leave Zach’s. He smiled that slanted half-smile of his that wasn’t really a smile at all. The one she’d always found so appealing. Something seemed to pass between them—a tenderness, a hunger.
“Janine’s not interrupting anything, is she?” Gramps asked.
“No,” Zach responded gruffly. He seemed to be taking in everything about her, from her worn jeans and oversize pink sweatshirt to the gurgling baby riding so casually on her hip.
Gramps cleared his throat. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, I’ll go get a pen,” he said, leaving them alone together.
“How have you been?” Zach asked, his eyes riveted to her.
“Fine. Just fine.”
“I see you haven’t had any problems finding another admirer,” he murmured, nodding at Michael.
Zach kept his tone light and teasing, and Janine followed his lead. “Michael St. John,” she said, turning slightly to give Zach a better view of the baby, “meet Mr. Zachary Thomas.”
“Hello,” Zach said, holding up his palm. He seemed awkward around children. “I take it you’re watching him for a friend.”
“Yes, another volunteer. She’s looking for a part-time job, but she’s having a problem finding one with the right hours. She’s at an interview.”
“I see.”
Janine sank down on the ottoman in front of Zach’s chair and set Michael on her knee. She focused her attention on gently bouncing the baby. “Now that your life’s back in order,” she said playfully, glancing up at Zach, “have you discovered how much you miss me?”
He chuckled softly. “It’s been how long since we last talked? Seven days? I’m telling you, Janine, I haven’t had a single disagreement with anyone in all that time.”
“That should make you happy.”
“You’re right. It should.” He shook his head. “Unfortunately it doesn’t. You know what, Janine? I was bored to death. So the answer is yes, I missed you.”
Seven
Before Janine could respond, Gramps wandered back into the living room, pen in hand.
“So where are those papers you wanted me to sign?” he asked Zach.
With obvious reluctance, Zach tore his gaze from Janine’s. He opened his briefcase and pulled out several papers. “Go ahead and read over these contracts.”
“Do you need me to sign them or not?” her grandfather grumbled.
Once more Zach dragged his gaze away from Janine. “Please.”
Muttering under his breath, Gramps took the documents to the small table, scanned them and quickly scrawled his name.
Janine knew she should leave; the two men probably had business to discuss. But she couldn’t make herself stand up and walk away. Not when Zach had actually admitted that he’d missed her.
Gramps broke into her thoughts. “Janine, I—”
“I was just going,” she said. She clambered to her feet, securing her hold on Michael.
But Gramps surprised her.
“I want you to stay,” he declared. “I wanted to talk to you and Zach. Fact is, I owe you both an apology. Burt and I had a good long talk the other day and I told him how I’d tried to arrange a marriage between the two of you. He laughed and called me an old fool, said it was time I stepped out of the Dark Ages.”
“Gramps,” Janine began anxiously, unwilling to discuss the subject that had brought such contention, “Zach and I have already settled that issue. We understand why you did it and…and we’ve laid it to rest, so there’s no need to apologize.”
“I’m afraid there is,” Gramps insisted. “Don’t worry, Burt pointed out the error of my ways. Haven’t got any new tricks up my sleeve.” He rose to bring Zach the signed papers, then sat wearily in the chair across from them. He’d never looked so fragile, so old and beaten.
“Janine’s a wonderful woman,” Zach said unexpectedly. “I want you to know I realize that.”
“She’s got her faults,” Gramps responded, pulling a cigar from his pocket, “but she’s pretty enough to compensate.”
“Thank you very much,” Janine whispered sarcastically and was rewarded with a grin from Zach. Gramps didn’t seem to hear her; if he had, he was ignoring her comment.
“I only want the best for my granddaughter, but when I approached her about marrying you, she made a big fuss. Fact is, it would’ve been easier to pluck a live chicken. She said she needed romance.” Gramps pronounced the word as if it evoked instant amusement.
“There isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t need romance,” she wailed, defending herself.
“I’m from the o
ld country,” Gramps continued. “Romance wasn’t something I knew about from personal experience, and when I asked Janine to explain, she had some trouble defining it herself. Said it was a tryst on the moors and a bunch of other hogwash. That’s the reason I sent you both to Scotland.”
“We figured that out soon enough,” Zach said dryly.
“As you’ll recall,” Janine found herself saying, “that definition was off the top of my head. Romance isn’t easy to explain, especially to a man who scoffs at the entire idea.”
Anton chuckled, moving the cigar to the side of his mouth. “It’s unfortunate the two of you caught on to me so soon. I was looking forward to arranging the desperate passion part.”
“Desperate passion?” Zach echoed.
“Yes. Janine said that was part of romance, too. I may be over seventy, but I know about passion. Oh, yes, Anna and I learned about that together.” His blue eyes took on a faraway look and his lips curved in the gentlest of smiles. He glanced at Janine and his smile widened.
“I’m glad you find this so funny,” Janine snapped.
Gramps dismissed her anger with a flick of his hand and turned to Zach. “I suppose you’ve discovered she’s got something of a temper?”
“From the start!” Zach declared.
“It may come as a surprise to you, Zachary Thomas,” Janine said, “but you’re not exactly Mr. Perfect.”
“No,” Zach countered smoothly. “I suspect your grandfather was thinking more along the lines of Mr. Right.”
“Oh, brother!”
“Now, children, I don’t see that arguing will do any good. I’ve willingly accepted defeat. Trying to interest you in each other was an old man’s way of setting his world right before he passes on.”
The doorbell chimed and, grateful for an excuse to leave the room, Janine hurried to answer it. Patty St. John stood there, her face cheerless, her posture forlorn.
“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
“They’d already hired someone,” Patty said, walking into the foyer and automatically taking her son from Janine. She held the infant close, as if his small warm body might absorb her disappointment. “I spent the whole day psyching myself up for this interview and it was all for nothing. Ah, well, who wants to be a receptionist at a dental clinic, anyway?”
“I’m so sorry,” Janine murmured.
“Was Michael any problem?”
“None at all,” Janine told her, wishing she could think of something encouraging to say. “I’ll get his things for you.”
It took Janine only a minute to collect Michael’s diaper bag, but when she returned to the entryway, she discovered Zach talking to Patty. Janine saw him hand her friend a business card and overheard him suggesting she report to the Human Resources department early the following week.
“Thanks again,” Patty said enthusiastically. She lifted Michael’s hand. “Say bye-bye,” she coaxed the baby, then raised his arm and moved it for him.
Janine let her out, with Zach standing next to her. Gramps had gone into the library, and Zach glanced anxiously in that direction before lowering his voice to a whisper. “Can you meet me later?”
“When?”
“In an hour.” He checked his watch, then mentioned the number of a pier along the waterfront. Janine had just managed to clarify the location when Gramps came back.
Zach left the house soon afterward and Janine was able to invent an excuse half an hour later. Gramps was reading and didn’t bother to look up from his mystery novel, although Janine thought she saw the hint of a smile, as if he knew full well what she was doing. She didn’t linger to investigate. The last time she’d agreed to a clandestine meeting with Zach had been the night they’d met at the Italian restaurant, when she’d all but blurted out the arrangements to her grandfather.
Zach was waiting for her, grim-faced. He stood against the pier railing, the wind whipping his raincoat against his legs.
“I hope there’s a good reason for this, because I don’t think Gramps was fooled,” Janine said when she joined him. “He’ll figure out that I’m meeting you if I’m not back soon.” She buried her hands in her pockets, turning away from the wind. The afternoon sky was gray, threatening rain.
“Am I interrupting anything important?”
“Not really.” Janine wouldn’t have minded listing several pressing engagements, but she’d canceled everything for the next two weeks, wanting to stay close to home in case her grandfather needed her.
Zach clasped his hands behind his back and started strolling down the pier, the wind ruffling his neatly trimmed hair. Janine followed. “I’m worried about Anton,” he said suddenly, stopping and facing Janine.
“Why?” Perhaps there was something she didn’t know about his health, something Dr. Madison hadn’t told her.
“He doesn’t look good.”
“What do you mean?” Although she asked, she already knew the answer. She’d felt the same thing during the past few days. Gramps was aging right before her eyes.
“I think you know.”
“I do,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Furthermore I’m worried about you.”
“Me?” she asked, her voice rising. “Whatever for?”
“If, God forbid, anything should happen to Anton,” Zach said, drawing in a ragged breath, “what will happen to you? You don’t have any other family, do you?”
“No,” she told him, her chest tightening at the thought. “But I’m not worried about it. There are several friends who are very close to the family, Burt Coleman for one, so I wouldn’t be cast into the streets like an orphan. I’ll have the house and more than enough money to live on. There’s no need for you to be concerned. I’m not.”
“I see.” Zach frowned as he walked to the farthest end of the pier, seeming to fix his gaze on the snow-capped peaks of the Olympic mountains far in the distance.
Janine hurried to catch up with him. “Why do you ask?” she demanded.
“He’s always said he was concerned about your not having any other family. But it wasn’t until recently that I really understood his motivation in trying to arrange a marriage between us.”
“Good, then you can explain it to me, because frankly, I’m at a loss. He admitted he was wrong, but I don’t think he’s given up on the idea. He’d do just about anything to see the two of us together.”
“I know he hasn’t given up on us.”
“What did he do? Up the ante?”
Zach chuckled and his features relaxed into a smile as he met her eyes. “Nothing so explicit. He simply told me that he’s getting on in years and hates the thought of you being left so alone when he dies.”
“I’ll adjust. I’m not a child,” she said, although her heart filled with dread at the thought of life without her cantankerous, generous, good-hearted grandfather.
“I don’t doubt you would.” Zach hesitated, then resumed strolling, apparently taking it for granted that she’d continue to follow him.
“I have plenty of friends.”
Zach nodded, although Janine wasn’t certain he’d heard her. He stopped abruptly and turned to look at her. “What I’m about to say is going to shock you.”
Janine stared up at him, not knowing what to expect.
“When you think about it, our getting married does make an odd kind of sense.”
“What?” Janine couldn’t believe he was saying this.
“From a practical point of view,” he added quickly. “Since the business is in both our names, and we’re both alone. I realize I’m not exactly Prince Charming…” Zach paused as if waiting for her to contradict him. When she didn’t, he frowned but went on. “The problem has more to do with whether we can get along. I don’t even know if we’re capable of going an entire day without arguing.”
“What are you suggesting?” Janine asked, wondering if she was reading more into this conversation than he intended.
“Nothing yet. I’m trying to be as open and
as honest as I can.” He gripped the railing with both hands and braced himself, as though expecting a fierce wind to uproot him.
“Are you saying that our getting married wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all?” Janine ventured. Initially he’d made a joke of the whole thing. Then he’d seen it as an annoyance. Now he seemed to have changed his mind again.
“I…don’t know yet. I’m mulling over my thoughts, which I’m willing to confess are hopelessly tangled at the moment.”
“Mine aren’t much better.”
“Does this mean you’d consider the possibility?”
“I don’t know, either.” Janine had been so sure she was in love with Brian. She remembered how he’d done everything a romantic hero should do. He’d sent her flowers, said all the things a woman longs to hear—and then he’d casually broken her heart. When she thought about it now, she couldn’t really imagine herself married to Brian. But Zach, who’d never made any romantic gestures, somehow seemed to fit almost naturally into her life. And yet…
As she pondered these contradictions, Zach started walking again. “I’m not the kind of husband you want,” he was saying, “and not nearly as good as you deserve. I’d like to be the man of your dreams, but I’m not. Nor am I likely to change at this stage of my life.” He paused, chancing a look in her direction. “What are you thinking?”
Janine sighed and concentrated as hard as she could, but her mind was filled with so many questions, so many doubts. “Would you mind kissing me?”
Shock widened his dark eyes. He glanced around, then scowled. “Now? Right here?”
“Yes.”
“There are people everywhere. Is this really necessary?”
“Would I ask you to do it if it wasn’t?”
As he searched her face, she moistened her lips and looked up at him, tilting her head slightly. Zach slipped one arm around her waist and drew her close. Her heart reacted immediately, leaping into a hard fast rhythm that made her feel breathless. He lifted her chin with his free hand and slowly lowered his mouth to hers.
The instant his lips grazed hers, Janine was flooded with a sensual languor. It was as if they’d returned to the moors of Scotland with the full moon overhead, pouring magic onto their small corner of earth. Everything around them faded. No longer did Janine hear the sound of water slapping against the wooden columns of the pier. The blustery day went calm.