Anything You Can Do(27)

Kiss her or fight her. There seemed to be no middle ground.

He slammed out of the car and walked across the parking lot onto the grass, not caring if Paula saw him.

Fresh air, that was the ticket. Get his head clear. As soon as this was over, he'd go to the club and work out. Better yet, he'd go for a long run. There was another 10-K coming up in a couple of weeks and he had to be ready to trounce Bailey soundly when that time came. His lips curved in an involuntary smile at the thought, and the tension left his body. He'd finish, he decided, half a mile in front of her.

Hands in his pockets, he strolled back toward his car, admiring the roses along the way, breathing in their aroma, noticing for the first time how blue the sky was. He almost didn't see Gordon and Paula as they drove up. With a sigh, he backed around a tree, hoping no one he knew would see such strange behavior.

Paula was talking a mile a minute and Gordon was beaming down on her. Gads! Austin certainly hoped he never became that besotted with a woman.

As soon as they were out of sight, he retrieved the flowers from his car, set them in the front seat of Gordon's vehicle, and ran back to his own. Thank goodness that was over!

Opening the sunroof, he turned the radio up and pulled away, singing along. He'd call Bailey and invite her to run with him that evening.

*~*~*

Across the lot, Bailey's lips narrowed as she watched the scenario unfold. She'd known all along that something was screwy about this whole PC business. Following Paula and Gordon to the park had seemed a little silly, but she had been determined to find out what was going on.

Now it all made sense. She should have figured it out before. Gordon pushing Paula about this Prince Charming thing, making sure she made it to the park, Austin always hanging around, being gallant and chivalrous, Austin volunteering to mail Paula's letters. She'd be willing to bet those letters never made it to the post office.

Her heart shriveled. Painful as it was, she had to admit that she'd come to think of Austin as "hers." Maybe not in the standard sense, but hers to fight with and run with and maybe even kiss again. He'd eaten her cheesecake and stood with her against Paula and Gordon. But in the end, it was Paula he'd been coming to see—petite, pretty Paula.

Who was it who said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same"? Gangly, awkward Bailey, with braces and freckles, had let the boys copy her homework, but Paula had been the one who went to proms.

She twisted the key and gunned the engine, screeching out of the parking lot.





CHAPTER 6



Back in her bedroom, Bailey cursed softly, then more loudly as the zipper of her black skirt jammed and refused to budge. Of all times for it to fail—she wanted to be dressed and gone when Paula and Gordon came back. She almost wished she'd gone on to the office in her cutoffs. Everyone else dressed casually on weekends. Only she felt office attire was appropriate when in the office, no matter the day or hour, and today it was proving to be her undoing.

She didn't want to see her friends, to be forced to act as if everything was all right, her life was neat and orderly, the way it had always been. None of the above was true, and she didn't have the emotional energy to pretend it was.

Well, that's what she got for trying to compete in an area in which she had inadequate training and skills.

A gentle touch on her leg turned her attention to Samantha. The little dog was looking up with liquid, pleading eyes. She knew that stockings and suits meant her friend was going away. Bailey reached down and picked her up, balancing the furry body in one hand and scratching her ears with the other.

"You can go with me, sweetheart. On Sundays the office belongs to us. You can lie right in the middle of Stafford Morris' desk if you like. Dig yourself a nice bed in his papers. Just don't get in the ashtray. You'd never get the smell off."

Samantha twisted and scrambled onto Bailey's shoulder, snuggling comfortingly against her neck.

"Sometimes, little one, I think you know more than you let on," Bailey murmured, stroking the soft fur. She couldn't be totally dejected around so much love.

From the living room came the sound of a door closing followed by Paula's bubbling laughter. Plopping Samantha onto her white bedspread, Bailey gave the zipper a final yank and felt it jerk free. She threw on her jacket, grabbed her black leather shoulder bag and Samantha, and strode out of her bedroom.

Gordon was positioning the telltale flower arrangement in the middle of the coffee table. Samantha squirmed from Bailey's grasp and ran over to greet Paula then Gordon then Paula again.