Jo Leigh - The Trouble With Twins

“I’m getting pisgetti,” Scout announced, “and Jem’s getting a hamburger.”

“They both sound delicious.” Her neck wasn’t going to last much longer in this position. She could turn and pretend to ignore them, but that felt silly. Asking them to join her didn’t mean anything. It was only one meal, after all. “Why don’t you come here to this table? And you can bring your uncle with you.”

The twins scrambled out of the booth and scooted into hers before Gray stood up. He came to her side wearing a sheepish smile. “I know we’re intruding.”

“It’s all right.”

“Is it?”

She nodded. It was all right. At least, she hoped it would be. The urge to check her T-shirt, to make sure she was completely covered, was more than she could withstand, and her hand went to her waist. Gray caught the action, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he scooted in next to Jem.

“How’s the salmon?”

“Good.”

“It’s a pretty nice place.”

“Yes.”

“The kids haven’t been here in a long time, so I thought…”

“It’s all right.”

He sighed as he shook his head. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid thing to do. I just hated that—” He stopped midsentence.

She had to give it to him, though. Usually when people found themselves in this position, their eyes got all panicky and their cheeks burned with embarrassment. Gray seemed only mildly uncomfortable.

“I hated the way you left,” he said finally.

“I didn’t mean to upset you. It wasn’t personal. I knew you could handle everything and…” She was the one who stopped this time. She couldn’t lie. She didn’t think he could handle the children all that well, and she wasn’t anxious to get on with her vacation. “I left because I was embarrassed,” she admitted, utterly shocked at her own honesty.

Gray leaned forward, his hand halfway across the table. “I do understand. You don’t know me. But I hope you can believe I wasn’t upset. I mean, I was upset because it’s clear you were hurt, but I didn’t mind.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m saying this badly.”

“No, you’re not. It’s a difficult thing to talk about.”

“Uncle Gray, can I have a Coke?”

He nodded without looking at Jem.

“Can I have one, too?” Scout asked.

He nodded once more, but his attention never really shifted from Shelby. “Is it uncomfortable for you to tell me what happened?”

“No.” She cleared her throat, then shifted on the banquette. “I was nine. It was Halloween, and I was trick-or-treating with my brothers and sister. I was Pocahontas, complete with fringed dress. At Mrs. Winston’s house, I stood too close to the jack-o’-lantern, and the fringe caught fire. It happened very quickly. By the time my father raced up and got me on the ground, my back had third-degree burns. I was in the hospital for months. What you saw were skin grafts. All together, I had five operations.”

Gray didn’t say anything for a long moment. His gaze didn’t waver at all. “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.”

“I can’t imagine it. Literally. I can’t conceive of going through something like that and coming out whole on the other end.”

Whole? Was she? “You do what you have to do.”

The waitress came back, and for the next few minutes, everyone concentrated on dinner. Shelby used the opportunity to audit herself. She wasn’t upset. She wasn’t even uncomfortable. In a strange way, telling him the story had made her more relaxed. He was so physically perfect she never would have guessed she’d react this way. Usually, when she was around that kind of beauty, she pretended she didn’t have a body at all. But with Gray she was incredibly aware of her body and his.

He got to her. He made her fluttery inside, anxious, but not in a bad way. If she was going to be completely honest, she’d have to admit that he turned her on like a radio. None of it made any sense. She’d run from him because he’d seen her scars, so why, just a few hours later, did she feel this intense sexual heat? She wasn’t going to sleep with him. She knew, despite his kind eyes, that he would never want her. Evidently, her body didn’t care. It was tingling in the most intriguing way.

“So,” Gray said the moment Bella left. “I don’t want to dwell on this, but I do want to ask you one more thing.”

“Go on,” she said, her voice uninflected but her insides doing back flips.

“Will you come back? Not forever, but just for tonight? I know you’ve paid for the room, but I’ll take care of that.”

She laughed, more with surprise than anything else. “Are you kidding?”

“No.” He leaned forward and reached out. “Shelby, please. Look, I know I have no business asking you, but I need your help.” He checked Scout and Jem, and they were occupied with the salt and pepper shakers. He lowered his voice so that only she could hear. “I’m horribly inept, and to add insult to injury, scared to death.”

“I know you can get through tonight, and by tomorrow, I’m sure you can find someone to help you.”

He nodded slowly. “Fair enough. It was a long shot.”

She felt badly, especially when he gave her an obviously fake smile.

“So what are you reading?” he asked, his cheery tone as phony as his grin.

She turned the book in his direction.

“Romance?”

She nodded.

“I don’t read much of that.”

“Really?” she said, moving toward playful, trying to make the dinner as pleasant as possible.

“I should. Probably would explain a lot about women.”

“I agree. Frankly, they should be required reading for all men over the age of seventeen.”

Little fingers tugged Gray’s attention away. “Uncle Gray?”

“Yes, Scout?”

“Can Shelby read us our story tonight?”

He glanced at her, then at Scout. “Shelby won’t be there, honey.”

“But, you said.”

“I know. But she has other things she needs to do.”

Scout looked at her. “Do you have other children to take care of?”

The arrow went right into the center of her back. “No, Scout. It’s just that… I just…”

“It’s okay,” Scout said.

Her little face looked genuinely disheartened. Could she really say no to that? Could she be comfortable tonight, knowing Gray was struggling with the kids?

“I want my Coke.” Jem stood on the banquette, searching for the waitress.

“Sit down, Jem.” She said the words at the same time Gray said them.

Jem sat.

Shelby smiled at Gray.

Gray smiled back.

“Oh, what the heck.” She shook her head at her own foolishness. “I’ll come. But just for one night.”

Gray’s smile lit up his face and did something awfully peculiar to her insides. What had she done?

He ended up paying for her dinner. They all went to her room, and Jem and Scout watched TV while she packed again. Gray offered to help, but she didn’t need any. He just kept smiling at her, and frankly, she was a bit disconcerted by the whole thing. Finally, he carried her bags down, insisted on paying for her room, and then walked her to her car. The kids wanted to ride with her, and she let them.

The whole way home, they chattered like monkeys while she kept her eyes on Gray’s car in front of her. What on earth was she doing? Driving straight into trouble, that’s what.

HE LISTENED to her read the story, although he couldn’t have repeated a word. He was struck by the timbre of her voice, the way her whole face got involved in the telling. He wanted her to go on forever, even though the kids were mostly asleep. Jem fought it, but even he couldn’t defend himself against her mesmerizing lilt.

Going after her had been the right thing. He hadn’t been sure up until he’d seen her face when it was so clear the children wanted her back. Of the three of them, though, he was the one who’d been most eager.