Okay, Jocelyn, she told herself, you need to get a life. Before you even so much as think about a man, you need to get a life.
The room was quiet and she eventually drifted off to sleep.
5
I BLEW IT,” RAMSEY said as soon as Tess opened her door. “I nearly killed myself to make a good first impression, but I blew it. She made jokes and I just sat there and stared at her. It was like I didn’t even know what she was saying.”
“I’m charging you for this,” Tess said. “Time and a half.”
“Whatever,” he said as he sat down in the big chair in her living room. “Wine, chocolate-covered strawberries. I did it all because I really wanted to make her think…I don’t know what I hoped to accomplish, but I didn’t pull it off.”
“You wanted to make her think that even though you live in this two-bit hick town you are a man of the world. So who got the whole thing together for you?”
“My mom and Viv.” He looked up at her. “What makes you think I didn’t do it myself?”
“You can barely feed yourself. Did you make that pasta thing for her?”
“Sure. What else was I going to make? It’s the only thing I know how to cook.” He looked back at her again. “What the hell do you have on?”
“What I sleep in,” Tess said, glancing down at her white silk nightgown with the matching lace-trimmed robe.
“Well, put some clothes on.”
“If I’m turning you on and it’s too much for you, then I suggest you never again barge into my place in the middle of the night.”
“Am I going to be billed extra for getting turned on?” Ramsey asked sullenly.
“No, but that’s a thought.”
“You have anything to drink?”
“Lots,” she said, “but you’re not getting any. You have to drive home, remember? Besides, I’m expecting company later.”
“Who?” he shot at her.
“One of your cousins.”
“So help me, if it’s Luke, I’ll—”
“What?” she asked. “Forbid me to see him? Luke is better looking than you and he isn’t developing a spare tire around his middle from sitting at a desk all day. And I’m beginning to think he’s smarter than you are.”
Ramsey just stared at the floor. “So marry him. I wish you would.” He paused. “I like this woman.”
“Which one?” Tess asked as she sat down across from him. She had a whiskey in her hand, and she sipped it while she looked at him.
“You know which one,” he said. “Jocelyn. Miss Edi’s protégée.”
“Ah, that one. Is it her or her house you like? It would certainly look good to the men in Colonial Williamsburg if you lived in a house that looked like a Founding Father built it. They might even give you more of their legal work. It would mean more money for you.”
“You can be really funny sometimes. Ha ha. I’m laughing my head off.” He got up and went to the cabinet on the far wall. “Don’t say anything, I’m just having some tonic water. You have any ice?”
“You know where the kitchen is.”
“You certainly know how to make a man feel welcome.”
“If he’s invited, I do,” she called after him as he disappeared into her kitchen.
Moments later, he reappeared with a bowl full of ice. “I hate your kitchen,” he said. “It’s worse than Sara’s. Worse than Joce’s.”