Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(56)

“I took you to the Fourth of July picnic,” he reminded her, recalling the shock on Sarah’s face when the two of them had arrived together. Apparently Raylene hadn’t bothered to mention the invitation to her. Though it had posed an awkward moment, it was probably better that she hadn’t been given a chance to nix the idea.

Rory Sue didn’t seem to be impressed with his gesture. She rolled her eyes. “And then you spent the entire day as far away from me as you could possibly get. Is that because of the way Sarah reacted? She’s your ex-wife, for goodness’ sakes. Her opinion shouldn’t count anymore.”

“It’s not about that. I wanted you to spend time with Sarah, Raylene and Annie. You need friends.”

She regarded him incredulously. “You were treating the barbecue like some kind of grown-up playdate?”

He winced at the accusation. It sounded stupid when she put it that way. In fact, it sounded patronizing. “Sorry. I was trying to help. You’ve said before that you don’t have a lot of friends, particularly women friends.”

“So you figured you needed to rush in and fix that? I don’t need a knight in shining armor, Walter. I just want someone I connect with emotionally and physically.” She studied him thoughtfully. “Or was this another way to avoid spending time with me yourself? Did you decide you’re not interested, after all?”

“Of course not,” he said, regretting it the instant the words left his lips, because of the way her expression immediately brightened. He sighed. “I was just trying to help. That’s all.”

“Okay, maybe I get that you meant well that day, but what about since then? Why have you been avoiding me? You can tell me if you’ve changed your mind about the house, or even about me, for that matter.” She gave him a wicked grin. “But I don’t think I’m the problem.”

“Actually you are,” he said, deciding he had no choice but to be candid. His excuses were only making a mess of things.

She backed away so fast, she nearly tilted over. “Me?” she said, looking hurt. “What did I do?”

Walter took a deep breath, then said, “You’ve stirred up some feelings in me that I really don’t want to have.”

“You don’t want to have sex? Mind-blowing sex, I might add.”

He allowed himself a grin at her incredulous expression. “No, I definitely want to have sex. I just don’t want it to matter quite so much.”

In fact, if he had to put a name to his behavior, it would be fear. He was terrified he was getting in too deep way too fast, just the way he had with Sarah. He suspected if he and Sarah had had time to think things through, a lot of their decisions would have been different. Not that Sarah was impulsive or free-spirited like Rory Sue. They were opposites, in fact, but he was still the same guy who got sex and love all tangled up in his head and thought it all should be forever.

Rory Sue looked bewildered. “I thought we were just having a casual fling.”

“You see, that’s the thing,” he said. “I don’t do casual flings. I get involved. It’s the way I was brought up.”

“And you never once rebelled? You never figured out you can sleep with someone just for fun?”

“Apparently not.” Respect for women had been ingrained in him. It was ironic, really, given the lack of respect his parents and, ultimately, he had shown for Sarah.

It looked as if understanding was beginning to dawn for Rory Sue, because there was a faint hint of the same panic he felt in her eyes.

“And you think you’re getting too emotionally involved with me?” she said, as if trying to be clear.

“Afraid so.”

“I see,” she said slowly. “But what does that have to do with looking at houses?”

“Remember how anxious I was to get out of that last place you showed me?”

“Sure. I thought you just hated the wallpaper. It was a little freaky.”

He grinned as he recalled the formal, dark brown, flocked wallpaper that made every room look closed in and depressing. “I did, but despite that, I kept imagining the two of us living there. I could practically see you in the kitchen cooking dinner when I got home from work.”

“Then your imagination definitely needs to be reined in,” she said with a shudder. “I don’t cook, at least not anything that can’t be nuked.”

He chuckled at her horrified expression. “Yes, I’ve gathered that, which just shows how delusional I can be.”

“Now, if you were getting any wild ideas about me in the bedroom, that would be different,” she teased.

“Believe me, I could envision us in there, too, and in that big old tub in the bathroom, and pretty much everywhere I looked.”

“I think I’m beginning to see the problem,” she told him, amusement lurking in her eyes. “How about this? Today I’ll just wait in the car. You can walk through the house all by yourself.”

“I don’t think that’s going to solve anything,” he said. “You’re still going to be in my head.” In fact, she was in his head so much and so vividly, he couldn’t sleep.

“Well, we need to figure out something, because this house is perfect for you. In fact, if it weren’t so perfect for you, I’d buy it myself.”