Irresistible Attraction: Scenes of Passion / Midnight Seduction / Beyond Control

Seven

Maggie awoke to the sound of the window shade rubbing against the sill in the gentle ocean breeze.

The room was dim, but bright sunlight seeped in around the edges of the shade. She could tell from the brightness that it was late morning, possibly even past noon.

She stretched and her leg bumped something very solid and memories from the night before came roaring back to her.

It was indeed Matt, lying beside her, fast asleep. His long hair was tangled around his face. He was on his side, one arm tucked under his head, his legs kicked free from the sheet. He was wearing a pair of shorts—what a relief. Maggie was hyperaware of her own lack of clothing.

She’d tried to seduce him last night, but he’d refused.

Her face heated. She’d thrown herself at him, but he’d made it clear he didn’t want to be anything more than friends.

So what was he doing in bed with her?

The phone rang, suddenly, shrilly, and Matt stirred. His eyes opened and focused on her for one brief moment before he turned and picked it up from the bedside table. “Hello?” His voice was husky from sleep. He sat up, pushing his hair out of his face, swearing softly. He listened for a moment longer, than handed the phone to Maggie. “It’s your brother.”

“Stevie?” she said, clutching the sheet to her. Her own voice was rusty sounding, and God, her head was throbbing.

“Yo, Mags,” he said, wonder in his voice. “Are you guys still in bed?”

“Well, sort of,” she told him. “But it’s not what—”

“I’m very impressed. I’m also very glad I called. Mom and Dad are on their way over.”

“Oh, God!” Her eyes met Matt’s and from the look on his face, she knew he’d heard what Stevie had said.

“I’m going to shower,” Matt told her. “I left some clothes for you in the bathroom.”

“They’re coming out to have a little chat, if you know what I mean,” her brother said. “Hang tough. And don’t let ’em get close enough to throw the straitjacket around you.”

“Very funny,” Maggie said. “Stevie, thanks for calling.”

“Anytime. Good luck. And don’t forget to practice safe sex.”

She and Matt had had the safest kind of sex there was—none. But if he wanted to keep their relationship limited to friendship as he’d claimed last night, why was he sleeping in her bed?

Maggie hung up the phone and went into the bathroom. She drank directly from the sink faucet, trying to rehydrate and make her head feel a little less like it was about to explode.

She dressed quickly—her underwear was mostly dry, but everything else was still damp. She put on Matt’s clothes—which made her look like a kid playing dress-up. And her hair…

Nothing like falling asleep with a wet head to create a noteworthy style. Her only chance at looking seminormal was to put it into a ponytail.

She went in search of Matt who surely had a vast collection of ponytail holders.

Following the sound of running water, she went up a huge curved staircase to the third and then the fourth floor.

The fourth story of this old house wasn’t a full floor. There was a very small landing at the top of the stairs and a single door. Maggie knocked, but there was no answer. She tried the knob and the door swung open.

Another door was off to the immediate right. The bathroom —she could hear the sound of the shower. More stairs led up, and she climbed them.

This was Matt’s room—Maggie knew it without a doubt.

It was the tower room, large and airy. Its octagonal walls were all windows. There were no curtains, only miniblinds and they’d all been pulled up.

Sunlight streamed in from all angles, and the hardwood floor gleamed. The woodwork around the windows was white, as was the ceiling and all the furniture and the spread on Matt’s double bed. There wasn’t much color in the entire room. There didn’t need to be. Nature provided all the color anyone could possibly want.

The view was breathtaking. The sky—and there was so much of it—was a brilliant blue. She could see the deep blue-green water if she looked in one direction. When she turned she could see the gentle hills that led into town, covered with the new green leaves of early summer. The white steeple of the Congregational Church peeked up over the treetops.

A wind chime of fragile white shells hung in front of an open window, and it moved in the breeze, creating a delicate and soothing cascade of music.

The bathroom door opened, and Matt came into the room. Maggie blushed—he was wearing only a white pair of briefs.

“Nice room, huh?” he said, unfazed at the sight of her, as he rubbed his hair with a towel. He made no attempt to cover himself, as if it were entirely normal for her to be there in his room while he was in his underwear.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “I’m actually looking for a ponytail holder.”

“In the bathroom drawer,” he told her.

She went down the stairs. The bathroom air was still heavy with moisture, the mirror steamed up despite the fresh air from an open window. It was a modest little room, nothing like the bathroom with the hot tub, downstairs.

She fished through a drawer jammed with combs and razors.

“I think you should tell your parents that you’re going to live here for a while,” Matt told her, coming to stand in the doorway.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She used his brush to attempt to tame her hair. “And I don’t think my parents will, either.”

“I’ve got eight empty bedrooms,” he pointed out. “They don’t have to fear for your virtue.”

And neither did she, obviously. Maggie put his brush back on the edge of the sink.

“Mags, we have to talk about what happened last night,” he said as if he could read her mind.

“What’s to say?” She pushed past him and headed down the stairs to the main part of the house. “Except I guess I should probably apologize. And thank you. I would have been really embarrassed this morning if we’d actually, you know…”

She would have been beyond embarrassed and well into mortified. If he’d made love to her, it would’ve been as a favor.

Matt followed her down the stairs.

She turned to face him. “You are a good friend,” she said. “And you were right. Our friendship is too valuable to risk losing.”

His expression was unreadable.

The doorbell rang.

“We should talk more about this later,” he said. “Right now it’s showtime.”

He brushed past her as he went down the stairs, and Maggie had to cling to the thick oak banister, shocked at the way her body responded to even such casual contact. It was a symptom of Matthew Fever.

Could she really live in a house with him? Without embarrassing herself further? On the other hand, could she pass up the opportunity to be near him?

And she wanted to be near him—desperately. Maybe it would pass. Maybe this illness would leave as quickly as it had struck.

Her parents were dressed in their church clothes. They peered at Matt and Maggie through the screen.

“Mr. and Mrs. Stanton,” Matt said graciously. “Please come in.”

“Maggie, are you all right?” her father asked.

Her mother came and hugged her. “My poor baby. Get your things. We’ll take you home.”

“I don’t want to go home,” Maggie told her.

Her father glanced at Matt. “Honey, we want to talk to you, and it’ll be much easier at home.”

“Anyone thirsty?” Matt asked. “I’ll go get some lemonade.”

“No,” Maggie said sharply. “I’m not thirsty and neither are my parents.”

“Mags, I was trying to be polite—give you some privacy.”

“We don’t need privacy.” She turned back to her parents. “I’m going to stay here for a while.”

Her parents both started talking at once.

“Margaret, I understand how unhappy you must feel about Brock and Vanessa—”

“Vanessa’s gone to Brock’s,” her father told her. “What’s she’s done is inexcusable. It’s not fair that you should be the one to leave. And moving here seems rather sudden and—”

“Wait a minute,” Maggie said. “Don’t get the wrong idea. Matt has lots of room here, and he offered me a place to stay. We’re friends, Dad. It’s like me moving in with Angie.”

Her father glanced at Matt again, this time sizing him up. “You don’t really expect us to believe that, do you?” He turned to Matt. “Maybe you should get that lemonade, son.”

But Matt, thank God, knew that she desperately didn’t want to be alone with her parents. “Sure,” he said easily, but then turned to Maggie. “Want to give me a hand?”

She nearly bolted toward the kitchen.

“Go on into the living room,” she heard Matt say, before he followed her and shut the kitchen door behind him.

“What’s this with Vanessa and Brock?” he asked, as he crossed to the cabinets and took out four tall glasses.

“I got home last night just in time to see Brock kissing Vanessa good night,” she told him, sitting at the kitchen table and putting her head in her hands. “She actually slept with him.”

Matt swore. And then he put a couple of aspirin on the table in front of her, along with a glass of water.

“Thank you. Apparently Brock’s been interested in Van all along,” Maggie told him. “She and I had a little confrontation.”

“What a jackass,” he said. “So that’s what last night was about, huh?”

Maggie nodded, unable to meet his eyes. “I can’t believe I was too stupid to notice that I wasn’t the one he really wanted.”

Matt took a pitcher of lemonade out of the refrigerator and stirred it with a long spoon. “Maggie, the man wanted to marry you.”

“Until Vanessa became available. Then it was no contest.”

“But you didn’t want to marry him—”

“That’s not the point,” she nearly shouted at him. “God, how many times back in high school did boys ask me out because they wanted to get closer to Van?”

“Too often,” Matt said quietly. “It sucked. I remember how hurt you used to be.”

“I thought that was over with,” she admitted. “I thought people were finally interested in me, for who I am, not for whose sister I am. But I was wrong. I feel… insignificant and… worthless and stupid.”

And when she’d come to him, he’d rejected her, too. Matt’s heart sank. Damn, he’d thought he was doing the right thing last night, and it had been exactly, perfectly wrong.

“Maggie—” he started, but she cut him off.

“I’ll get over it,” she said. “I always did before. But I’ve got to confess, I’m seriously considering moving someplace where no one’s ever heard of Vanessa Stanton.”

“Maybe that’s not a bad idea,” Matt said. “I’ll make a deal with you. In three months, if I don’t win my inheritance, we’ll get one of those big camper things and cruise the United States.”

Maggie looked up at him with the most peculiar expression. “You mean a… recreational vehicle?”

“Yeah.” He grinned at her. “It’ll be a blast. What do you say?” It was always good to have a plan B. Especially since he really didn’t expect plan A to work.

She put her face in her hands. It was hard to tell whether she was laughing or groaning.

“As for right now, I know what to tell your parents.” He handed her the pitcher of lemonade. “Carry this out, will you?”

“What?” asked Maggie. “What are you going to tell them?”

Matt picked up the tray with the glasses. “They’re not going to believe that there’s nothing going on between us. We can deny it until the end of time, but they’re going to think you’re living here with me. You know, with me.”

“But it’s not true.”

“I know that and you know that, but I’m telling you that denying it will only make them crazy. Just follow my lead,” he said with a smile. “Think of this as an improvisational skit.”

“I hate improv,” Maggie muttered, following him out of the kitchen.

The Stantons looked up as Maggie and Matt came into the living room. They were sitting stiffly on those chairs his father had bought—the uncomfortable ones with wooden legs that were curved into bird’s claws. Matt put the tray down on top of the coffee table.

“Just set the lemonade over here, then come sit next to me, babe,” he said to Maggie.

Babe? She didn’t say it, but the look she was giving him nearly made him laugh out loud.

He poured the lemonade, handed glasses to Mr. and Mrs. Stanton, and then patted the couch next to him.

Slowly, she approached. Slowly, she sat down. And he draped an arm around her shoulders. “Mags and I discussed it in the kitchen,” he told her parents, “and we decided that you should know the truth.”

Mr. Stanton nodded. “That would be appreciated.”

“Last night I asked Maggie to marry me,” Matt told them. He could feel disbelief radiating out of Maggie, and it was all he could do not to laugh.

“What?” said Mrs. Stanton.

“What?” said Mr. Stanton.

“Matt!” said Maggie.

He shut her up with a quick kiss. “It’s no secret that I’ve been crazy about her for years,” he told them, then looked at Maggie. “Right, babe?”

The Stantons—all three of them—wore identical looks of shock. Matt knew not to kiss Maggie again. If he did, they’d all fall out of their chairs.

Mrs. Stanton looked at Maggie. “But…”

“She said yes,” Matt said, squeezing her shoulder.

“I said no,” she countered, elbowing him in the ribs.

“Obviously, we’re still working it out,” he said quickly, putting his hand on her knee, and sliding it up her smooth, bare thigh. His shorts looked good on her. “You can understand her hesitation. She’s not sure if this is the real thing or if she’s just on the rebound.”

“I see.” Mr. Stanton was staring at Matt’s hand, still moving north on Maggie’s thigh.

Out of desperation, Maggie grabbed Matt’s hand and held it tightly. But that was, of course, exactly what he’d wanted her to do, since it looked as if she’d taken his hand intentionally, instead of in self-defense.

“We’ve decided the best thing to do is to live together, see how it goes,” Matt said.

Her parents, of course, were appalled.

“You must know that we don’t approve.”

“I realize that, sir,” Matt said solemnly. “But I want Maggie and I’m afraid if she goes back home with you, she’ll never make up her mind.”

Hey. Maggie shot him a look, but he refused to look at her. The muscle in the side of his jaw was jumping, though. Matt was clenching his teeth to keep from laughing. He actually thought this was funny! She squeezed his fingers, wishing she actually had nails to dig into him.

Her father shook his head. “Well, decision making’s never been her strong suit,” he said ruefully.

They were talking about her as if she were a horse being sold or a child or a… a… houseplant.

“I can make up my mind quite easily,” she said hotly. “In fact, there’s absolutely no decision here. This is ridiculous and…”

And she stopped, suddenly realizing that if she said no, she’d end up going back home with her parents.

They were all watching her, her parents with anticipation, Matt with one eyebrow lazily lifted, his expression carefully bland. But his eyes were sharp and he was watching her as if he were trying to read her mind.

What would he do if she said yes? Wouldn’t that scare him to death? She smiled, imagining his frantic backpedaling as he tried to keep her mother from pulling out her Polaroid camera to snap an engagement photo to send to the society page of the Shore Line Times.

Matt watched Maggie smile and realized that she was actually considering saying yes. The shock value would be tremendous—it would blow her parents right out of the water. Come on, Mags, say it.

Except, God, he’d have to tell her the truth about where he’d been, what he’d been doing these past three years. If they were going to get married, he’d have to tell her all that, and more—Whoa, Stone, slow it down. This was fiction. This was acting. This was not real life.

Still, he leaned toward her. “Say it,” he whispered.

She stared at him.

“Say it,” he repeated. “Come on, Maggie. Marry me.” He slid off the couch onto his knees on the floor in front of her and brought her hand to his lips as the audience—her parents—watched in undisguised shock. “Please?”

Maggie couldn’t believe him. Oh, overacting! she wanted to shout. God, she hated improv because she was never really sure how the other actors wanted her to respond. Now, did Matt really want her to say yes, or did he want her to say no? Or was he too caught up in the drama of the scene even to think rationally?

Didn’t it occur to him what would happen if she actually said yes?

She looked down at Matt, still waiting on bended knee like some kind of fantasy husband-to-be. Damn him for making her wish this wasn’t just a game. She almost smacked him.

“This is silly,” she said. “Matt, get up off the floor. We have to tell them the real truth.”

Whatever he was expecting her to say, it wasn’t that. Matt covered a laugh with a cough. “The real truth.” He pulled himself back onto the couch. “Oh, you mean the real truth.”

She looked at him expectantly, innocently, waiting for him to take the lead. Which of course he couldn’t take since he had no idea what she had in mind.

She threw him a bone. “The Internet thing,” she said, “www.VegasWedding.com?”

He almost completely lost it, and he covered by kissing her. In front of her parents.

“God, I love you,” he said, with so much emotion in his voice, she almost believed him, too.

Her father cleared his throat. “What Internet thing?”

“You don’t have to go to Las Vegas anymore for a quickie wedding,” Matt explained to her parents, taking her cue and running with it. Were they actually going to believe this? “You just go online and visit the Web site, and you can actually get married in a virtual ceremony.” He kissed Maggie’s hand. “We did that last night.”

“Is it legal?” her mother asked.

“Absolutely,” Matt said. “They send the marriage certificate in the mail. It takes a couple weeks, though, because they, you know, laminate it first.”

Her father looked as if he were going to protest, and Maggie cut him off. “Dad, I’m twenty-nine years old.”

He nodded. “You are. I think your living here is a mistake, and I think rushing into marriage with someone you haven’t seen in ten years is also a mistake. We would like it if you came home. That’s what we came here to say. That and we love you.” He looked at Matt. “And if you hurt her, I’ll make you wish you were never born.”

He stood up, and held out his hand for Matt to shake, then gave Maggie a hug. “This is the biggest barrel of crap I’ve ever heard,” he whispered to her. “But your mother believes you. You just decide whether or not you’re going to marry this guy, and you do it fast, you hear me?”

Maggie nodded, and he kissed her cheek. Her mother hugged her, too, and then they were out the door.

Matt put his arm around her as they watched her parents drive away. “How about another kiss for show?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

She elbowed him hard in the ribs. “You had your chance last night, babe,” she said. “Matt, how could you tell my parents that we were going to live together? Didn’t it occur to you that my mother might have a heart attack right there on the living-room rug?”

“And I’m telling you they weren’t going to believe that we could live here in platonic harmony,” Matt said, rubbing his side. “I can’t believe you came up with www.VegasWedding.com. It was beautiful—I wish I’d thought of that. You know, this was the best improv I’ve been in in a long time. Did you see their faces?”

Maggie glared at him. “That was no improv, Matt, that was my life. Now my mother thinks we’re married!”

“But it worked,” he pointed out. “You didn’t get pressured to go back home.”

“She’s going to want a look at our laminated wedding certificate,” she said. “Jeez! Laminated. Very classy, Matt!”