As if to underline that thought, another burst of laughter came from behind them.
Julia glanced that way again, then said to Karen, “Has Catherine told you about the maintenance guy she’s been seeing?”
Effectively distracted from her vacation reminiscences—which had probably been Julia’s intention—Karen turned to Catherine with a look that combined equal parts disbelief and intrigue. “No, this is the first I’ve heard of a maintenance guy. What is she talking about, Catherine?”
“She is being ridiculous,” Catherine replied with a chiding look at Julia. “I haven’t been ‘seeing’ anyone.”
“Mmm.” Julia’s expression betrayed her skepticism. “And the flowers he gave you yesterday?”
“Simply a thank-you for helping him study for his test,” Catherine retorted. She hoped her tart tone hid the ripple of pleasure that went through her at the mention of that bouquet. She never should have mentioned the flowers to Julia, of course, but it had been such a nice and completely unexpected gesture that she hadn’t been able to resist sharing it with her friend when Julia had called earlier to set the time for this dinner.
Karen lifted both eyebrows. “None of my students give me flowers for extra tutoring.”
“He isn’t a student,” Julia corrected. “He’s the maintenance man at her apartment complex. And, though I’ve never seen him, I’ve gotten the impression that he is very nice looking.”
“I barely know him,” Catherine said to Karen, who was still eyeing her in question. “He came to fix something in my apartment, and he happened to mention that he was having trouble studying for a college biology test. I offered to help him, and he spent a couple of hours at my apartment Saturday. He brought me a small bouquet yesterday as a way of thanking me because he believed he’d done well on the exam. End of story.”
Karen sighed. “Throw me a crumb here. Is he at least good-looking, as Julia suggested?”
Catherine hesitated, then gave Julia another look before conceding, “Well, yes. He’s very nice looking. Not that it matters, of course.”
Groaning, Karen waved a finger at her. “Have I taught you nothing? Of course it matters.”
Because Wayne Kupperman bore a distinct resemblance to the doughboy character on television commercials, Catherine knew Karen was only teasing about looks being important. She smiled obligingly.
“Still, a college student?” Karen shook her head. “I don’t think you’re quite reduced to cradle robbing.”
“It’s not like that. He’s gone back to school after several years away. He’s twenty-eight. Still a little younger than I am, but…” Realizing what she was saying, Catherine stopped with a sigh. “That doesn’t matter, either. There is absolutely nothing going on, Karen.”
“Let me get this straight. He’s close to your age, good-looking, nice enough to bring you flowers—and you aren’t interested in him?”
Because she couldn’t honestly deny any interest in him, Catherine spoke a bit more tartly than she intended when she said, “Mike and I obviously have absolutely nothing in common. Even if I were interested, nothing’s going to happen.”
“So maybe you aren’t soul mates. You could still enjoy yourself with a harmless flirtation, couldn’t you?”
Julia, who had appeared to be concentrating on her meal, glanced up then. “Catherine doesn’t know how to flirt. She commented about that just the other night.”
“You’re one to tal
k,” Karen, who had known Julia since college and had been the one to introduce her to Catherine a couple of years earlier, remarked pointedly. “You never even notice when anyone flirts with you.”
“I know,” Julia answered matter-of-factly. “Someone always has to tell me later that I was being hit on.”
“Hopeless,” Karen proclaimed. “The two of you. It isn’t exactly rocket science, girls.”
“Rocket science would be less intimidating to me.” Catherine reached for her water glass. “And, anyway, who are you to give advice on flirting or dating? You’ve hardly ever dated anyone but Wayne. You told me you were college sweethearts from your freshman year and his junior year, for heaven’s sake. You got married while you were both still in graduate school.”
Karen had to concede that point. “If Wayne and I should split up, I wouldn’t have a clue how to get back into the dating scene. I guess I’d better just keep him.”
As if that were even a question. With the exception of her own parents, Catherine had never met any couple more suited than Karen and Wayne.
“They really should offer classes in that sort of thing,” Karen went on thoughtfully. She nodded toward the boisterous group in the back corner of the big dining room. “The birthday redhead there could probably be the professor.”
Though she tried to be subtle about it, Catherine couldn’t resist craning her neck around to get a glimpse of the woman both Julia and Karen had pointed out. She spotted the redhead immediately, and she could see why her friends had noticed her.
The woman really was lovely. Her hair was a rich strawberry blond, cascading in a silky curtain to her shoulders, which were all but bared by the royal-blue, halter-neck dress she wore. Her face was a perfect oval of creamy porcelain, warmed by big, laughing green eyes and a vivid smile.
Just looking at her made Catherine feel dowdy and plain in her tailored white blouse and gray slacks, her own brown hair styled in its usual neat bob. While Julia might be technically as pretty as the redhead, her clothes were much more sedate, her expression more keep-your-distance than come-hither. And Karen… As fond as she was of her, Catherine had to admit that few men would look twice at matronly Karen if that redhead was in the same room. At herself, either, for that matter.