Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,20
“Probably double that, but I trumped ’em all. I told him to be here. That it was an order from his mother and I’d be disappointed in him if he didn’t show up for his daughter’s big evening.”
“Good for you. I know it means a lot to Em that he came. But aren’t he and Jerry going to feel like odd men out at a party crowded with women?”
“Oh, the party isn’t just for women,” Cora Jane said blithely. “Emily wouldn’t hear of that. There will be plenty of men around, too.”
She saw the quick rise of understanding in Samantha’s eyes and then the deepening of the color in her cheeks. “I imagine Ethan’s on this coed guest list,” she said stiffly.
“Of course,” Cora Jane responded. “The entire wedding party was invited.”
“Of course they were,” Samantha said, shaking her head. “You and Emily don’t give up, do you?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” Cora Jane insisted, trying out the innocent look she’d had years to practice, but still hadn’t exactly perfected. Judging from Samantha’s skeptical reaction, it wasn’t terribly effective this time, either.
“Do you have any idea how much you and Emily are humiliating me?” Samantha asked. “Ethan’s going to get the idea that I’m desperate or something.”
“Oh, honey bun, there’s no chance of that,” Cora Jane assured her. “Any man looking at you is only going to wonder why no one has had the sense to snap you up. You’re beautiful and, even more important, you have this huge heart. You’re smart and talented and quick-witted. Any man would be lucky to have a chance with you. And a smart man wouldn’t blow that chance.”
Samantha looked pained by the recitation of her attributes, but by the end she was grinning. “So you’re saying if Ethan doesn’t take you up on this golden opportunity you’re throwing his way, then he’s a dolt?”
Cora Jane chuckled. “Well, I might have put it a bit more diplomatically, but yes, that’s exactly what I’d conclude. Just so you know, though, I think Ethan is an awfully smart man. Now go inside and put on something pretty.”
Samantha looked down at her capris and the colorful matching blouse that even Cora Jane recognized as coming from a famed New York designer’s summer collection. She’d seen an ad for it in Vogue or one of those other fashion magazines that the girls had left lying around the house.
“Prettier than this?” Samantha inquired doubtfully.
“I’m thinking a sundress,” Cora Jane said. “One that shows a little cleavage.”
“Grandmother!”
Cora Jane wasn’t bothered by the dismay she heard in Samantha’s voice. She merely held her gaze. “Can you think of a better way to let a man know what he’s missing?”
This time Samantha groaned, but she turned and headed for the house. Of course, it was anybody’s guess if she’d come back wearing that sundress Cora Jane had recommended or something that covered her from head to toe. The girl did have a perverse streak that kicked in when she’d been pushed too far. Cora Jane realized that she might have tiptoed a little too close to that particular boundary, but she still had high hopes that the evening would end with one more breach in those walls of defenses those two young people had around their hearts.
5
“Would you get a move on?” Boone called out as he paced Ethan’s living room. “We’re going to be late. If we are, Emily will have a cow.”
“You could go on without me,” Ethan called back. “I’m perfectly capable of driving myself over to Cora Jane’s.”
“But the question is, will you?” Boone replied. “I’ve been getting the distinct sense that you’re not exactly getting with the program. One of my assignments for tonight is to make sure you show up and play nice.”
Ethan walked out of his bedroom, a scowl firmly in place. “If, by that, you mean that I haven’t tumbled straight into bed with the maid of honor, then you’re right. I’m not getting with the program. Has it occurred to any of you that Samantha is no happier about this matchmaking scheme than I am? You’re humiliating her.”
For just an instant, Boone looked nonplused. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. My God, man, you’re all but offering her up like a sacrifice in some ancient ritual. I’m surprised she hasn’t packed her bags and flown back to New York.”
“She’d never do that to Emily,” Boone said, though he looked vaguely shaken by Ethan’s assessment. “At least I don’t think she would.”