Love's Battle (True Blue Trilogy) Page 6

  “I’m blue!” I declared, pointing out the obvious.

  “True blue, true love. YOU are the future Mrs. Danton DeAngelo.” Hope gloated taking her compact back.

  “Ah damn!” I whined.

  Chapter 10

  Time to Party

  Love

  “You figure I’d be used to this sort of thing by now, meeting my own true love and all. It’s not like this is the first time this has happened, or even the second, and something tells me it won’t be the last. But you know as well as I do that this type of thing isn’t set in stone exactly. For example, there are no step by step instructions to follow- meet, fall in love, get married, live happily ever after- those are more like guidelines, right? I mean, it’s not that easy even in the fairy tales!” I cocked my head sideways imitating the lopsided tilt of the baby’s head as she ate from the diminishing mound of Cheerio’s I held hidden in my palm.

  Around us people of all ages feasted on cake and ice cream. Children, their faces smeared with icing squealed as a painted clown twisted balloons into animal shapes.

  When the munchkin I was feeding pinned me with an expectant glare, letting out a high pitched squeal of her own I emptied the last of the remaining circles onto the tray of her highchair. “Okay, okay, here’s some more, but that’s it. I’m all tapped out. I guess you still have a few more years before this makes sense to you, huh!”

  The birthday girl protested the lack of supply by banging her tiny fists on the tray hard enough to jostle what was left of her snack.

  “Tell you what,” I leaned in closer, just us girls talking. “I’ll make it a whole lot easier for you, cutie. You see the lady over there talking to your mom? The one who looks fairly nauseous, pale, clammy, and totally out of place surrounded by all these offspring running around her like crazy. Well, she’s the one who will be delivering your true love seven months from now.”

  The wide eyed toothy grin of my infantile audience let me know that she was absorbing everything I was saying. She was so cute I couldn’t resist tapping her little button nose.

  “He’ll be perfect for you in every way. Something so natural that you’ll slide right into love with him without a single thought. Effortless.” I sighed, envious. Dealing with love this go round would not be as easy for me.

  “What are you doing?!” Hope demanded.

  I looked up from my chair beside the birthday girl to glare up at Hope. Killjoy.

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m giving her advice.”

  “On her love life? She’s one.” Hope exclaimed in a terse whisper.

  I turned up my nose. “It’s never too early for female guidance.”

  Hope just shook her head. “Are you ready?”

  “Yep.” I got up, pressed a kiss to the downy head of chestnut curls. “Bye Claire Bear. Happy Birthday.”

  “I’ll stay with her. You go tell Roberta we’re leaving.”

  Hope didn’t fool me for a second. The moment my back was turned she would have Claire in her arms. Even the most staid person usually had a little room in their heart for baby love. I was hopeful that this life would prove different than the last two. Hope was born to be a mother. She couldn’t go on denying herself that particular pleasure for much longer.

  “Hey there,” I interrupted when there was a break in conversation between Claire’s mother and her daughter’s future mother in law. “Hope and I are heading out.”

  “Oh, Love. Let me introduce you to Sarah, we work together. Sarah Harrington, Love Howard. Her sisters and I used to go to school together.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Sarah smiled.

  “Likewise. When are you due, April? It’ll be nice having your kids so close together. Built in best friends.” I gushed.

  Sarah exchanged a nervous glance with Roberta. “Oh no, I’m not, I’m not pregnant.”

  “That’s strange.” Roberta commented, “Hope asked her the same thing.”

  “You know those triplet brains, thinking alike and all. Must be your natural glow then.” Boy was Sarah in for a surprise. “Oh well,” I shrugged. “Thanks for inviting us. Claire sure takes after her mom. She’s absolutely beautiful.”

  Roberta hugged my neck. “Thanks for coming. Tell Faith I missed her.”

  “I’ll do that. Oh look, here comes Hope with the birthday girl now.” I knew it. The minute my back was turned, she snatched her up.

  “She made you a present mom.” Hope averted her nose as she held out the drooling form. “Whooo, and I don’t think it’s roses.”

  Roberta laughed, “In that case, come on Sarah you can help me change her.”

  “I’m not pregnant.” Sarah denied, following dutifully.

  “Maybe you should take a test.” Roberta suggested to the totally obvious mother to be. “And if you’re not, well it’s never too early to learn. It’ll give you good practice for when you are. Oooh,” Roberta cooed. “Maybe you’ll have a boy and then he and Claire can get married.

  “But you can’t encourage it.” Sarah warned, getting used to the idea. “Tell them no and they’ll do it to spite us.”

  “Star crossed lovers, like Romeo and Juliet. The more we say no, the more it’ll encourage them.”

  “They won’t know what hit them until after they’ve said, ‘I do’!”

  “Come on let’s go.” Hope smirked.

  “Right behind you.”

  “Hey,” I said later as we buckled ourselves into Hope’s conservative Audi S5. “We’ve got the rest of the afternoon free. How about we thumb our noses at this heat and play a quick round at The Oaks? We haven’t done that in a while.”

  “Loser pays for a spa treatment?”

  “You got it.”

  Hope checked her rearview mirror as she pulled out of the driveway. “Let’s go play some golf.”

  I loved playing golf with Hope. She really tapped into my not so hidden competitive side. With her methodical and precise thinking pitted against my where the chips may fall attitude, we were pretty well matched against each other. This was going to be fun.

  Chapter 11

  Bogey

  Danton

  “Oh man, shanked it!”

  I patted Rich on the back, commiserating with him on his lousy shot. “We’ll play my ball.”

  I took the driver seat of the golf cart, waiting for Rich to put his driver away.

  “What’s Sarah doing today?” I asked, following the path Rich’s ball had taken.

  “Kiddie birthday party.”

  “You sound a little too happy about that.”

  “PMS is driving me crazy man. Tears one minute then she’s all over me the next. I’m not complaining about that, but really man, thanks for calling today. I needed to be around some extra testosterone.”

  “Hold your thanks until after my dad has beaten us.” I warned Rich as he picked up his wayward ball. “By nine tomorrow everyone in the office will know how bad you play.”

  Carmine DeAngelo never did anything half way with the exception of his marriage to my mom. He’d learned the hard way board room directives didn’t produce the same results on the home front.

  “I can handle it. Changing the subject, did you ever find out who crashed the wedding?”

  “No.” Even with Rich’s invaluable advice I still couldn’t decide which one of the three she was, but I had narrowed it down to between the blue and greens. I would have remembered the purple eye, such a unique color like that would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone with real eyes that color.

  “What are you going to do if you find her?”

  Pulling up at my ball, I chose my club, setting down a marker for Rich’s swing.

  “I’m not sure.” Taking my stance I took a few practice swings and cranked it. Power flowed through my arms into the head of my club propelling the ball closer toward the green. “Turns out the bastard really was cheating on her, with Natalie.” I sneered, following the balls flight with my eyes.


  “Dicey.”

  “Tell me about it.” Family reunions would now be avoided like the plague.

  I stood silent as Rich made his not so elegant swing, contemplating his question. What would I do when I found out the identity of the wedding crasher? I couldn’t thank her, but then again I couldn’t absolve her of wrong doing. Something as delicate as adultery should have been handled with a touch more finesse and in more private surroundings. I shook my head, laughed as Rich’s ball disappearing into a grove of trees. “You really need some more practice.”

  “Hey, I’m just here to get in good with the boss.” Rich joked. “It’s all part of my master plan. When words gets around how bad I am, all the higher up will want me as their opponent. Easy wins. It’s a fast track to the top, courtesy of losing on the green.”

  “Everyone likes a kiss ass,” I laughed, doing a double take as a pair of blondes zoomed past me on the cart path. “Was that?” I started to ask Rich, then decided against it. The heat must be getting to me. I was seeing “her” everywhere.

  “Seven holes down, eleven to go.”

  “Lead on oh mighty leader.”

  Chapter 12

  The Plot Thickens

  Love

  I nearly fell out of the speeding golf cart I whipped my head around so fast.

  “That was him.” I squealed, passing the seventh hole on our way to the tenth.

  “Him? Him who?” Hope demanded.

  “Him, him.” I clarified. “Danton DeAngelo.”

  “Where?”

  “You just passed him.”

  “Want me to turn around?” She offered.

  “No!”

  “So, why’d you bring it up?” Hope wondered aloud as she brought the car to a stop at the ladies tee.

  “Seeing him just startled me is all.” I confessed, choosing my driver. “I’ve never seen him here.” Incredible considering we’ve been members here since birth.

  Hope pushed her tee into the ground, “On the bright side it looks like you’ll have at least one thing in common apart from Melanie‘s wedding.”

  I rolled my eyes. Would I ever live that down? “Yeah, one! I think we need a few more than that to make it work.”

  “You only have to meet him to find out.” Hope pointed out reasonably enough, laying up for her tee shot.

  “Giving him the perfect opening to jump down my throat. No thanks.”

  “Love, you did bring his cousin’s wedding to a stand still.”

  “Oh, shut up and hit the ball.” I growled. I hate it when Hope’s reasonable. Shading my eyes I watched the progress of the white missile. I might have brought the wedding to a stand still, but in the process I saved Melanie DeAngelo a boat load of trouble. Hope knew that just as well as I did. She just liked to rub it in.

  “So what are you going to do? Ignore him.”

  I thought about it. “No.” It was my turn to push my wooden tee into the ground and top it with my favorite pink Lady Wilson golf ball. “I thought it’d be best to let him cool down first. You know, calm that murderous intensity he was projecting.”

  “And then what?” Hope prodded.

  “Well then I’ll…” I stuttered, stepping to the tee, refusing to meet Hope’s eyes. “I’ll tell you when I think of the next step.”

  “You knew already, didn’t you?”

  “Knew what?”

  “That he was the one. You’ve known since the wedding.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe.” Hope repeated, unconvinced.

  “Oh, all right. I’ve known since the wedding. Are you happy now?”

  “I would be if you hit the ball.”

  Rolling my eyes I did as asked. The sound of the driver kissing the ball like music to my ears.

  “Why didn’t you say anything? Why make us drag it out of you?” Hope questioned as we put our clubs away.

  “I don’t know. I’m still trying to get used to the idea. You didn’t see him. He was really mad.” And I am a coward.

  “So what are you going to do?” My sister asked for a second time.

  “I’m not sure. I’ve only thought as far as letting him cool off and then… I thought I’d do whatever popped into my mind.”

  Hope wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “Isn’t that what got you into this mess in the first place?”

  “Yes it was.” Nice of her to point that out. “Now just drive.”

  Eighteen holes later, Hope settled our clubs into her trunk while I returned the borrowed cart, running the key into the Pro Shop.

  “Here you go Mr. Dillon.”

  “Hey now, how’d it go?” The old pro at the counter inquired, re-hanging the key for future use.

  “It was a draw.” I answered, pulling the tally sheets from my pocket for him to get a good look at. “We both got a seventy-three. Next time I’m making par.” I promised.

  “I’m sure you will. I called up to the spa earlier. They’re waiting for you and Miss Hope.”

  “Thank you. Tell Mrs. Dillon we said hey.”

  “Will do.”

  I only had a split second to duck behind the huge potted palm when I heard a distinctive voice enter the hallway outside of the Pro Shop heading our way.

  “What are you doing?” Mr. Dillon hissed.

  “Ssssh. Here he comes.” I pleaded, my forefinger pressed to my lip as I crouched lower to camouflage myself.

  “Ah, good day Mr. DeAngelo. Done already?”

  “It was a quick game.”

  “Partner not any good?”

  “No, not in the least.” He laughed, the sound sending tingles of anticipation through my body. I couldn’t resist peeking through the fronds to get a better look at his backside. And what a nice backside it was, the way his fitted khaki’s shorts emphasized his tapered waist, hugged his buttocks. The sleeve of his collared shirt damp with sweat hugged the muscular arms dashed with the same dark hairs that peppered his legs.

  “Be sure and bring him by the next time you come, give him so practice. We don’t see you enough around here.”

  “I’ll do my best. See you later Mr. Dillon.”

  “Bye Danton.”

  From my hiding spot, Danton looked over his shoulder. I didn’t doubt he could feel me watching him. I shrunk down further, holding my breath until he passed, counting to ten before I uncurled myself.

  “Is he gone?” I asked, straightening my clothes as if hiding behind decorative foliage was normal.

  “Yes.”

  Mr. Dillon had long ago leaned not to ask any questions. He was used to my less than perfect behavior. You can’t imagine how many people can be matched when you’re a caddy!

  “How’d he do?” I asked, instantly curious to see his score card.

  “Seventy-one.”

  “No way, he made par!” Ach, won by two strokes. That is he would have, had we been playing together, which we weren’t. At least, not yet. Hmmm. Mr. DeAngelo was turning into a most formidable opponent indeed.

  “The boy doesn’t come around as much as he used to, like someone else I know.” The pro scolded. “I’m surprised you two haven’t run into each other before. Although work takes up a lot of his time nowadays and he‘s a few years older than you.”

  “Trying to match make huh!” I said, calling him at his game. No one could out match the matchmaker. “How often does he come by?”

  “Twice a month, Thursday and Sunday evenings if he can. Like I said, work takes up a lot of his time. His family owns some high fluting advertising agency.”

  Interesting. The only time I could usually make time for a round was on Sunday mornings. We’d just been missing each other.

  “So what else can you tell me?” I asked, encouraging Mr. Dillon to share what he knew. Hope was waiting for me, but since the old pro was being stingy with the details she was going to have to wait a little longer.

  “Now Love, you know I’m not one to repeat gossip!” He chided.

  “Come on Mr. Dillon,” I pleaded
. “It’s not considered gossip if it’s common knowledge.” He couldn’t be swayed, so I racked my brain for a way to convince him to give it up. “It’s…it’s… I’ll tell you what it is; it’s the relaying of essential information to one party that has a particular interest in another party of which you are acquainted.” I smiled broadly at the end, hoping my pearly whites would convince him to spill the beans.

  They didn‘t.

  “All I can tell you that his father is Carmine DeAngelo. He and his brother Antonio own DeAngelo Advertising. That’s the name of the business. They’re down by the Harbor. Rumor is that Danton will inherit upon his death, having been groomed to take the reins since he was born. His mother is Chanton; she was a pretty popular model in her day before she and Carmine married. It was their chance meeting that put the agency on the map. They have since split, rather amicably a few years ago. She’s been married several times since.”

  “Thanks bunches, I won’t tell.” I promised heading for the door. Hope didn’t like to be kept waiting.

  “Since he’s with his dad today, they’re probably in the lounge having a drink or grabbing a bite to eat. You might want to head out the back way if you’re playing hard to get.”

  Giving Mr. Dillon a parting wink, I headed for the back door. Unfortunately Hope would be waiting for me in the lobby directly off the lounge before heading up to the spa. Running around the building I hurried through the glass doors.

  Hope had her back to me looking at the pictures and framed newspaper clipping that had accumulated on the wall over the years.

  Crossing the tile floor at a quick pace, I drew up fast when I caught the sound of male laughter coming from the bathrooms. Oooh, Hope don’t look, don’t look, I screamed in my mind as I whirled around looking for a place to hide. Sure that if anyone was watching they were getting a good laugh at my expense.

  I dove onto the sofa I spotted, snatched a copy of the Wall Street Journal in the process from the side table and buried my face in. As curiosity overrode my terror I couldn’t resist stealing a side peek as the four man group came into view. Danton and his father, their looks to similar to be anything else were joined by the blonde headed man I’d seen beside him last night at the restaurant, and an older man I recognized as being Melanie’s father, Antonio.