The feeling persisted and she glanced over her shoulder. She instantly jerked back and slid down in her seat as far as the constraints of the seat belt allowed. It couldn’t be. No, please, she muttered, closing her eyes. Not Thom. Not after all these years. Not now. But it was, it had to be. No one else would look at her with such complete, unadulterated antagonism. He had some nerve after what he’d done to her.
Long before she was ready, the pilot announced that the plane was preparing to land in Rose. On these flights, no carry-on bags were permitted, and Noelle hadn’t taken anything more than her purse on board. Her magazines would normally go in her briefcase, but that didn’t fit in the compact space beneath her seat, so the flight attendant had stowed it. She had a Weight Watchers magazine and a crossword puzzle book marked EASY in large letters across the top. She wasn’t going to let Thom see her with either and stuffed them in the outside pocket of her purse, folding one magazine over the other.
Her pulse thundered like crazy. The man who’d broken her heart sat only two rows behind her, looking as sophisticated as if he’d stepped off the pages of GQ. He’d always been tall, dark and handsome—like a twenty-first century Cary Grant. Classic features that were just rugged enough to be interesting and very, very masculine. Dark eyes, glossy dark hair. An impeccable sense of style. Surely he was married. But finding out would mean asking her sister or one of her friends who still lived in Rose. Coward that she was, Noelle didn’t want to know. Okay, she did, but not if it meant having to ask.
The plane touched down and Noelle braced herself against the jolt of the wheels bouncing on tarmac. As soon as they’d coasted to a stop, the Unfasten Seat Belt sign went off, and the people around her instantly leaped to their feet. Noelle took her time. Her hair was a fright. Up at three that morning to catch the 6:00 a.m. out of Dallas/Ft. Worth, she’d run a brush through the dark tangles, forgoing the usual routine of fussing with mousse. As a result, large ringlets fell like bedsprings about her face. Normally, her hair was shaped and controlled and coerced into gentle waves. But today she had the misfortune of looking like Shirley Temple in one of her 1930s movies—and in front of Thom Sutton, no less.
When it was her turn to leave her seat, she stood, looking staunchly ahead. If luck was with her, she could slip away unnoticed and pretend she hadn’t seen him. Luck, however, was on vacation and the instant she stepped into the aisle, the handle of her purse caught on the seat arm. Both magazines popped out of the outside pocket and flew into the air, only to be caught by none other than Thom Sutton. The crossword puzzle magazine tumbled to the floor and he was left holding the Weight Watchers’ December issue. As his gaze slid over her, she immediately sucked in her stomach.
“I read it for the fiction,” she announced, then added, “Don’t I know you?” She tried to sound indifferent—and to look thin. “It’s Tim, isn’t it?” she asked, frowning as though she couldn’t quite place him.
“Thom,” he corrected. “Good to see you again, Nadine.”
“Noelle,” she said bitterly.
He glared at her until someone from the back of the line called, “Would you two mind having your reunion when you get off the plane?”
“Sorry,” Thom said over his shoulder.
“I barely know this man.” Noelle wanted her fellow passengers to hear the truth. “I once thought I did, but I was wrong,” she explained, walking backward toward the exit.
“Whatever,” the guy behind them said loudly.
“You’re a fine one to talk,” Thom said. His eyes were as dark and cold as those of the snowman they’d built in Lions’ Park their senior year of high school—like glittering chips of coal.
“You have your nerve,” she muttered, whirling around just in time to avoid crashing into the open cockpit. She smiled sweetly at the pilot. “Thank you for a most pleasant flight.”
He returned the smile. “I hope you’ll fly with us again.”
“I will.”
“Good to see you, Thom,” the pilot said next.
Placing her hand on the railing of the steep stairs that led to the ground, Noelle did her best to keep her head high, her shoulders square—and her eyes front. The last thing she wanted to do was trip and make an even worse fool of herself by falling flat on her face.
She was shocked by a blast of cold air. After living in Texas for the last ten years, she’d forgotten how cold it could get in the Pacific Northwest. Her thin cashmere wrap was completely inadequate.
“One would think you’d know better than to wear a sweater here in December,” Thom said, coming down the steps directly behind her.
“I forgot.”
“If you came home more often, you’d have remembered.”
“You keep track of my visits?” She scowled at him. A thick strand of curly hair slapped her in the face and she tossed it back with a jerk of her head. Unfortunately she nearly put out her neck in the process.
“No, I don’t keep track of your visits. Frankly, I couldn’t care less.”
“That’s fine by me.” Having the last word was important, no matter how inane it was.
The luggage cart came around and she grabbed her briefcase from the top and made for the interior of the small airport. Her flight had landed early, which meant that her parents probably hadn’t arrived yet. At least her luck was consistent—all bad. One thing was certain: the instant Thom caught sight of her mother and father, he’d make himself scarce.
He removed his own briefcase and started into the terminal less than two feet behind her. Because of his long legs, he quickly outdistanced her. Refusing to let him pass her, Noelle hurried ahead, practically trotting.
“Don’t you think you’re being a little silly?” he asked.
“About what?” She blinked, hoping to convey a look of innocence.
“Never mind.” He smiled, which infuriated her further.
“No, I’m serious,” she insisted. “What do you mean?”
He simply shook his head and turned toward the baggage claim area. They were the first passengers to get there. Noelle stood on one side of the conveyor belt and Thom on the other. He ignored her and she tried to pretend he’d never been born.
That proved to be impossible because ten years ago Thom Sutton had ripped her heart right out.
For most of their senior year of high school, Thom and Noelle had been in love; they’d also managed to hide that fact from their parents. Sneaking out of her room at night, meeting him after school and passing notes to each other had worked quite effectively.
Then they’d argued about their mothers and the ongoing feud between Sarah and Mary. They’d soon made up, however, realizing that what really mattered was their love. Because they were both eighteen and legally entitled to marry without parental consent, they’d decided to elope. It’d been Thom’s suggestion. According to him, it was the only way they could get married, since the parents on both sides would oppose their wishes and try to put obstacles in their path. But once they were married, he said, they could bring their families together.
Noelle felt mortified now to remember how much she’d trusted Thom. But their whole “engagement” had turned out to be a ploy to humiliate and embarrass her. It seemed Thom was his mother’s son, after all.
She’d been proud of her love for Thom, and before she left to meet him that fateful evening, she’d boldly announced her intentions to her family. Her stomach twisted at the memory. Her parents were shocked as well as appalled; she and Thom had kept their secret well. Her mother had burst into tears, her father had shouted and her two younger sisters had wailed in protest. Undeterred, Noelle had marched out the door, suitcase in hand, to meet the man she loved. The man she’d defied her family to marry. Except that he didn’t show up.
At first she’d assumed it was a misunderstanding—that she’d mistaken the agreed-upon time. Then, throwing caution to the winds, she’d phoned his house and asked to speak to him, only to learn that Thom had gone bowling.
He’d gon
e bowling? Apparently some friends from school had phoned and off he’d gone, leaving her to wait in doubt and misery. The parking lot at the bowling alley confirmed his father’s words. There was Thom’s car—and inside the Bowlerama was Thom, carousing with his friends. Noelle had peered through the window and seen the waitress sitting on his lap and the other guys gathered around, joking and teasing. Before she went home, Noelle had placed a nasty note on his windshield, in which she described him as a scum-of-the-earth bastard. Their supposed elopement, their so-called love had all been a fraud, a cruel joke. She figured it was revenge what for her mother had done, losing Thom’s grandmother’s precious tea service. Not losing it, actually. She’d borrowed it to display at an open house for another real estate agent—and someone had taken it. That was how the feud started and it had escalated steadily after that.
To make matters worse, she’d had to return home in humiliation and admit that Thom had stood her up. Like the heroine of an old-fashioned melodrama, she’d been jilted, abandoned and forsaken.
For days she’d moped around the house, weeping and miserable. Thom hadn’t phoned or contacted her again. It was difficult to believe he could be so heartless, but she had all the evidence she needed. She hadn’t seen or talked to him since. For ten years she’d avoided returning to the scene of her shame.
The grinding sound of the conveyor belt gearing up broke Noelle from her reverie. Luggage started to roll out from the black hole behind the rubber curtain. Thom stepped forward, in a hurry to claim his suitcase and leave, or so it seemed. Noelle was no less eager to escape. She’d rather wait in the damp cold outside the terminal than stand five feet across from Thomas Sutton.
The very attractive Thomas Sutton. Even better-looking than he’d been ten years ago. Life just wasn’t fair.
“I would’ve thought your wife would be here to pick you up,” she said without looking at him. She shouldn’t have spoken at all, but suddenly she had to know.
“Is that your unsubtle way of asking if I’m married?”
She ground her teeth. “Stood up any other girls in the last ten years?” she asked.
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t do it, Noelle.”
“You’re the one who shouldn’t have done it.”
The man from the back of the plane waltzed past Noelle and reached for his suitcase. “Why don’t you two just kiss and make up,” he suggested, winking at Thom.
“I don’t think so,” Noelle said, sending Thom a contemptuous glare. She was astonished to see his anger, as though he had something to be angry about. She was the injured party here.
“On that I’ll agree with you,” Thom said. He caught hold of a suitcase and yanked it off the belt with enough force to topple a second suitcase. Without another word, he turned and walked out the door.
No sooner had he disappeared than the glass doors opened and in walked Noelle’s parents.
Noelle’s youngest sister held a special place in her heart. Carley Sue was an unexpected surprise, born when Noelle was fifteen and Kristen twelve. She’d only been three when Noelle left for college. Nevertheless, all three sisters remained close. Or as close as e-mail, phone calls and the occasional visit to Dallas allowed.
Sitting on Noelle’s bed, Carley rested her chin on one hand as Noelle unpacked her suitcase. “You don’t mind that I have your old room, do you?” she asked anxiously.
“Heavens, no. It’s only right that you do.”
Some of the worry disappeared from Carley’s eyes. “Are you really going to be home for two whole weeks?”
“I am.” Noelle had tentatively planned a discounted cruise with a couple of friends. Instead, she was vacationing with her parents, planning her sister’s wedding and trying not to think about Thom Sutton.
“You’re going to the Christmas dance, aren’t you?”
“Not if I can get out of it.” Her mother was the one who insisted on these social outings, but Noelle would live the rest of her life content if she never attended another dance. They reminded her to much of those long-ago evenings with Thom….
“Mom says you’re going.”
Noelle sat down on the end of the bed and sighed. “I’ll tell her I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Don’t do that,” Carley advised. “She’ll buy you a pink dress. Mom loves pink. Not just any old pink, either, but something that looks exactly like Pepto-Bismol. She actually wanted Kristen to choose pink for her wedding colors.” She grimaced. Reaching down for her feet, Carley curled her fingers over her bare toes and nodded vigorously. “You’d better come to the dance.”
This was one of the reasons Noelle found excuse after excuse to stay away from Rose. Admittedly it wasn’t the primary reason—Thom Sutton and his mother were responsible for that. But as much as she loved her family, she dreaded being dragged from one social event to the next. She could see her mother putting her on display—in Pepto-Bismol pink, according to Carley. If that wasn’t bad enough, Sarah had an embarrassing tendency to speak as though Noelle wasn’t in the room, bragging outrageously over every little accomplishment.
“Hey, you want to go to the movies tomorrow?” Noelle asked her sister.
Carley’s eyes brightened. “Sure! I was hoping we’d get to do things together.”
The doorbell chimed and Carley rolled onto her stomach. “That’s Kristen. She’s coming over without Jonathan tonight.”
“You like Jonathan?” Noelle asked.
“Yeah.” Carley grinned happily. “He danced with me once and no one asked him to or anything.”
This was encouraging. Maybe he’d dance with her, too.
“Noelle!” Kristen called from the far end of the hallway. She burst into the room, full of energy and spirit. Instantly Noelle was wrapped in a tight embrace. “I can’t believe you’re here—oh Sis, it’s so good to see you.”
Noelle hugged her back. She missed the chats they used to have; discussions over the phone just weren’t the same as hugs and smiles. “Guess who I ran into on the plane?” Noelle had been dying to talk about the chance encounter with Thom.
Some of the excitement faded from Kristen’s eyes. “Don’t tell me. Thom Sutton?”
Noelle nodded.
“Who’s Thom Sutton?” Carley asked, glancing from one sister to the other.
“A guy I once dated.”
“Were you lovers?”
“Carley!”
“Just curious.” She shrugged as if this was information she was somehow entitled to.
“Where?” Kristen demanded.
“He was on the same flight as me.”
“He still lives here, you know. He’s some kind of executive for a mail-order company that’s really taken off in the last few years. Apparently he does a lot of traveling.”
“How’d you know that?” They’d always avoided the topic of Thom Sutton in their telephone and e-mail communications.
“Jon told me about him. I think Thom might be one of his clients.”
“Oh.” Not only was Thom Sutton gorgeous, he was successful, too. “I suppose he’s engaged to someone stunningly beautiful.” That was to be expected.
“I hear—again from Jon—that he dates quite a bit, but there’s no one serious.”
Noelle shouldn’t be pleased, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to examine that reaction too closely.
“I want to know what happened,” Carley demanded, rising to her knees. “I’m not a kid anymore. Tell me!”
“He was Noelle’s high school sweetheart,” Kirsten explained.
“The guy who left you at the altar?”
“Who told you that?” Noelle asked, although the answer was obvious. “And he didn’t leave me at the altar.” Just being accurate, she told herself. I’m not defending him.
“Mom told me ’cause she wants me to keep away from those Suttons. When I asked her why, she said you learned your lesson the hard way. She said a Sutton broke your heart and jilted you.”
“There’s more to it
than that,” Kristen told her.
“I want to know everything,” Carley pleaded. “How can I hate them if I don’t know what they did that was so awful?”
“You shouldn’t hate anyone.”
“I don’t, not really, but if our family doesn’t like their family, then I should know why.”
“It’s a long story.”
Carley sat back on her heels. “That’s what Mom said.”
“God help me,” Kristen murmured, covering her eyes with one hand. “Don’t tell me I already sound like Mom. I didn’t think this would happen until I turned thirty.”
Noelle laughed, although she wasn’t sure how funny it was, since she herself was only days from her twenty-ninth birthday.
“Did you love him terribly?” Carley asked with a faraway look in her eyes.
Noelle wasn’t sure how to respond. She felt a distant and remembered pain but refused to let it take hold. “I thought I did.”
“It was wildly romantic,” Kristen added. “They were madly in love, but then they had a falling-out—”
“That’s one way to put it,” Noelle said, interrupting her sister. Thom had apparently fallen out of love with her. He’d certainly fallen out of their plans to elope.
“This is all so sad,” Carley said with an exaggerated sigh.
“Our parents not getting along is what started this in the first place.”
“At least you and Thom didn’t kill yourselves, like Romeo and Juliet—”
“No.” Noelle shook her head. “I’ve always been the sane, sensible sister. Remember?” But even as she spoke, she recognized her words for the lie they were. Staying away for ten years was a pretty extreme and hardly “sensible” reaction. Even she knew that. The fact was, though, something that had begun as a protest had simply become habit.
“Oh, sure,” Kristen teased. “Very sensible. You work too hard, you don’t date nearly enough and you avoid Rose as though we’ve got an epidemic of the plague.”