“I’ll come with you,” Lance said reaching for her again.
“No, really.” Kate backed off, waving her glass. Then she wheeled around and lost herself in the crowd, stopping only when an efficient-looking blonde caught at her hand.
“You’re Kate Svenson,” she said, shaking Kate’s captured hand. “I’m Valerie Borden, the social director here.”
“Oh. Hello, Ms. Border,” Kate said, still checking over her shoulder for Lance.
“Borden. But you must call me Valerie. We’re all friends here at The Cabins.”
Wonderful. Kate turned to look at Valerie for the first time.
Valerie was tall, blond, polished, and patrician. Kate felt as if she were looking into a mirror except that Valerie was smiling.
“We’re so glad you’re here, Kate,” Valerie said. “I’d love to sit and talk with you some time. I’m sure we have so much in common.”
“We do?” Kate said.
“Absolutely. But it’s time to party now. We don’t want you to be alone.” Valerie tucked Kate’s hand under her arm and led her into the crowd near the pool. “Let me introduce you to some people. Is there anyone in particular you’d like to meet?”
Kate looked at her trapped hand and decided to play along. Resisting Valerie was bound be exhausting and fruitless anyway; Valerie was plainly a woman who routinely got what she wanted. “Tall, distinguished, rich businessmen,” Kate said, remembering Jessie and the wish list. “It’s an assignment.”
Valerie blinked at her bluntness and then recovered. “All right,” she said and proceeded to make good her word.
Kate debated the state of the environment with Rick, who was tall, distinguished and the head of his own ecological impact firm. She learned about polo ponies from Eric, who was tall, distinguished and the VP of a consulting firm. She discussed the market with Donald, who was tall, distinguished and vague about what he did for a living. She agreed that golf was the only civilized game with Peter, who was tall, distinguished and the owner of a public relations firm, and who persuaded her to play golf with him the next afternoon. And eventually, she found herself back with tall, sort-of-distinguished Lance, the real-estate agent. Unfortunately, Lance, after several drinks, was even more of a trial than he’d been earlier.
Lance was starting to run to fat, but his face was still handsome despite the fact that his eyes were a little too small and a little too mean. He was also a big guy and he liked using his size. He muscled them a place in line until Kate said, “Oh, let’s go back to the end. It’s quieter there.” He also had hands. He stood behind her as they got in line for the burned pig, standing too close. He put his hand on her shoulder. He put his hand on her arm. He put his hand on her waist. When he moved his hand again, she put a plate in it.
“Could you take this for me?” she asked him. “I’ll bring the drinks.”
They ate with Penny and Chad at one of the ubiquitous round redwood tables, and the night passed slowly-excruciatingly slowly-while people whooped and screeched around them.
Lance said something and Penny laughed, so Kate laughed, too, only a beat behind. Lance didn’t seem to mind.
“Lance, you’re such a riot,” Penny said. “Don’t you think so, Kate?”
“Absolutely. Anyone for another Scotch?” She toddled back to the bar by the pool before any of them could join her.
“Hello, Mark,” she said, leaning on the bar.
“Hello, Kate,” the bartender said, laughing. “How’s it going?”
“Don’t ask.”
Mark leaned forward a little. “What are you doing with that Lance creep, anyway? He’s trouble.”
“It’s a long story. How about another Scotch?”
“You sure?”
“Kate, honey,” Lance said from behind her. “I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“I’m sure,” Kate said to Mark, and he shook his head and poured.
Kate took her Scotch and wandered over by the pool, and Lance followed her, hands outstretched. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mark motion to someone outside the pool. Why did he do that? she wondered, and then concentrated on handling Lance. She listened to him for a while, skillfully evading his hands, but finally gave up. It was no use. She could drink enough Scotch to fill the pool, and she still wouldn’t marry Lance.
She poured her Scotch into the pool.
“What are you doing?”
“Sobering up.”
“Oh, don’t do that, honey.” He put his hand on her rear end.
“Move your hand, Lance.”
He moved it around to her breast. “Come on, baby.”
“Better men than you have lost arms that way, Lance,” she said, moving his hand.
“I want you, Kate.” He reached around and squeezed her rear end.
“I don’t want you, Lance,” she said and pushed him into the pool.
“I wish you hadn’t done that,” Jake said from behind her.
“Where’d you come from?” Kate asked, watching Lance try to find the surface.
“Mark calls me if there’s trouble. That’s twice tonight he’s been a little worried about you. First Frank, now Lance.”
“Mark’s very sweet.”
“We both really enjoyed watching you with Lance.”
“Speaking of Lance, is he going to drown?”
“Give him a chance,” Jake said. “He’ll find the way up pretty soon.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll help him.” Jake eased himself down until he was sitting on his heels by the pool. “See, here he comes.”
Lance broke sputtering through the surface of the water, and Jake reached down and caught him. When Lance caught his breath, he looked at Kate. “You lousy bi-”
Jake pushed his head back under the water for a minute and then hauled him up by his collar.
“Sorry, Lance. My hand slipped.” He pulled him dripping from the pool. Lance gagged, and Jake let him go and pounded him on the back.
“Well, it’s been a lovely evening, but I really must go.” Kate smiled at Jake. “Thank you again. Good night.” She waved to Mark and strolled out of the pool enclosure.
“I don’t think she’s your type, Lance,” she heard Jake say. “She doesn’t seem to appreciate a great guy like you.”
Jake helped Lance into the hotel and put him on the elevator to his room. Lance’s main topic of conversation was Kate, and he wasn’t flattering. “I hope that frozen bitch burns” was the last thing he said as the elevator doors closed.
Surprising himself, Jake disagreed. Yeah, she was frozen, but you had to admire a woman who could take care of a creep like Lance so neatly. She’d put him in the pool with one quick push and then stood calmly on the side waiting for him to come up. There was a lot to be said for a woman who could take care of herself. Then he stopped himself. Cool, efficient, independent. Those were the qualities he’d fallen for in a woman once before, and she’d turned out to be a chilly, expensive mistake. The same mistake his brother was about to make with Valerie. Don’t be dumb, Jake, he warned himself, and went back to the luau.
The light from the ginger-jar lamps on each side of the big bed filled the room with a soft glow. The room felt homey and warm, and Kate relaxed once her door was closed behind her.
Lance was just a mistake, she decided as she got ready for bed. Tomorrow she would do better. Tomorrow she would play golf with and fall in love with Peter, the public relations ace, and they would live successfully ever after, playing upscale golf in their free time.
For some reason, that prospect did not appeal to her and she fell asleep feeling vaguely uneasy about her own plan for the future. That unease followed her into her dreams, plaguing her with visions of overweight blond men trying to snare her with leis while she searched for somebody else-somebody she couldn’t remember when she woke up the next morning. I’m not even cooperating in my dreams, she thought as she climbed out of bed. Get back to your plan, Kate. Work on it.
The problem was that she hated her plan even more in the daylight than she had the night before. She wanted to be swept off her feet. She wanted to see him across a crowded room and love him so much and want him so much that she wouldn’t be able to stand it. Love at first sight. Love that would last forever.