More like he’d never seen a woman half-naked before.
Which is a load of bullshit.
She knew that.
Mace must’ve had scores of women.
Guys like him take women, use ’em, and throw ’em away…
God. Mom!
Coming this way.
Deana straightened her robe, flung her hair over her shoulder, and busied herself putting the pantsuit back in the wardrobe.
“Hi there, honey!”
Mom put her head around the door.
“Hi yourself, Mom. Just deciding what to wear tonight.”
“Yeah. I bet. Take you all afternoon?”
“Something like that…”
“Good of Mace to call on us like that. Although he did know I was working all day. I’ve really spent too much time out of the restaurant lately. Had a lot of catching up to do: ordering, consulting with Carlo… all of that. Carlo’s doing a good job, too. Not like Nelson, of course, but…
“You okay, honey?”
“Why, sure, Mom. Just want to make a good impression tonight, is all. What d’ya think about my final choice?”
She held up the soft jersey top and denim skirt.
“You look great in all your things, dear. I’m sure Warren will think so, too.”
She looked at her wristwatch.
“Must fly, darling. I’ll leave you to it… Must go have a shower; smarten myself up a little, too.”
Leigh stepped into the hallway.
As ever, Deana thought, watching her go, Mom looks wonderful.
She paused. Waiting for Mom to say something about Mace.
Like, how’d he get in?
Or, did you let him in, honey?
Dressed, or should we say undressed, like that?
Or maybe Mace has his own key?
Mom wouldn’t have given him a house key so soon in their relationship.
Would she?
Mom and Mace had been an item for less than two weeks… That’s all. She wouldn’t give him his own key.
But she is pretty well struck on him.
Mom poked her head around the door.
“Mace been here long, honey?”
Here it comes.
Darling daughter does the dirty on Mom.
Again.
“Five, ten minutes, is all.”
“Good thing you were around to let him in.”
“Yeah.”
Bull’s-eye. The twenty-four-thousand-dollar question answered in one go.
Mace hasn’t got a key.
Not yet.
“If I’m in the shower when Tony calls with the food and wine, see to him, will you, darling?”
“Sure, Mom. Leave it with me. Mace gone?”
“Yep. Duty calls, he said. Asked him to join us, but he said he’d gotta ride.”
Gotta ride!
Huh. I’ll bet.
She frowned.
Just what was Mace up to? He’d sure started to act strange. Not his usual self.
Showing a side she and Mom hadn’t seen yet.
Don’t want to see it anymore, either.
Obviously, Mom thinks he’s okay.
And she wouldn’t tolerate a weirdo.
Would she?
She’d gone along with Nelson. And he was a weirdo.
But his meals were something else. That’s what he was there for—to cook good meals. Mom couldn’t really complain about him.
Look what happened when she did…
What would have happened if she hadn’t?
Christ! This is leading nowhere fast.
Gotta get ready.
Warren’ll be here before I’m dressed, at this rate.
She listened to Mom splashing in the shower.
Humming to herself.
Happy.
Not knowing how spooky Mace could be.
What’d happen if I told her about him sneaking up on me? How do you tell your mom her boyfriend’s a Peeping Tom? That he gets off staring at your half-naked daughter?
Come to think about it how the hell did he sneak up on me?
Mom hadn’t given him a key.
So how’d he do it?
Get in through the window?
What window? All their windows were intruder-proof. They opened only so far. And no farther.
He could have stolen a key.
The spare one Mom left under the magnolia bush by the front stoop?
Maybe he was simply being what he was. A good cop.
He’d made an impression of the key under the bush, and had another one made, Deana thought.
Intruders do that all the time.
She’d read about how they did it.
Lesson One: Don’t leave your house key under the magnolia bush.
Wonderful.
Mace going around with a key to our house!
Deana’s mouth went dry. Her heart leapt to her throat.
Mace can enter our home whenever he feels like it!
Whenever he wants to scare the pants offa me.
Our home isn’t safe anymore.
Deana dressed carefully. She brushed her hair and put on her makeup. But her heart wasn’t in it.
All she could think about was Mace.
Creeping into her room again.
When Mom was out and she was all alone.
FORTY-FOUR
Deana was setting place mats on the dinner table when the doorbell rang. It echoed through the hallway.
She froze.
It has to be Warren—but how can I be sure?
Could be Mace!
Nah. Mace wouldn’t return so soon after spying on me. Would he?
That’s just the kinda awful thing he would do.
She heard Mom go to the door.
Open it.
She was talking, her tone bright and friendly.
A low voice, interspersed with Mom’s highs, indicated an animated conversation was taking place.
Whoever it was, was standing in the hallway.
She heard Warren’s voice and huffed a sigh of relief. She raced through the living room into the hallway.
“Hi, Warren. You two met, I see!”
Mom was shaking Warren’s hand. She looked flushed and bright-eyed—as she always did with guests. That was the nice thing about Mom. She knew how to make people feel at home.
“Hi there, Deana. Your sister was just making me welcome.”
He winked at Deana.
Mom laughed, flushed some more, and went off into the kitchen.
They were alone.
Warren eyed Deana approvingly. “My,” he said. “You look stunning tonight.” His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “You should wear blue more often. Much more becoming than black.”
Deana grinned. She put a finger to her lips. “Don’t you dare…”
Warren smiled and crossed his heart.
“Mum’s the word,” he mouthed.
Deana led him to the living room. She motioned for him to sit on the sofa.
“Dinner isn’t quite ready yet,” she said. “Care for a drink?”
“Mmmm. Whatever you’re having would be great!”
Warren looked around, taking stock of the room.
As if he hadn’t seen it before.
“Fabulous view you have over there.” He nodded in the direction of the glass wall.
“Yeah. That’s what everyone says. White wine?”
“Sounds good to me,” Warren said, smiling at her.
She went to the kitchen and returned with two glasses of Chablis on a serving tray.
He’s a handsome guy, she thought, watching him take his glass. In a clean-cut kind of way. Dark slicked hair, gray suit, white shirt. A club tie of some sort.