She was, but not in the way he thought.
She could see now that she’d made a mistake working so hard to get Izzy to accept her. Julia had been right about that. She needed to take a different approach.
Maybe she and Izzy would never be friends but hopefully, by being herself, she could earn her respect.
13
Clare
“She’s nothing like I expected.” Clare flung open the windows of the bedroom. The cool morning air held the scent of rain and the promise of sunshine. It had rained in the night but now the sky was blue and it promised to be a hot day. Her favorite type of weather. “You?” She glanced through the open door of the bathroom where Todd was shaving.
“I’m a man. I don’t have expectations.” His chest was bare and he had a towel knotted around his hips. He put the razor down and met her gaze in the mirror. “All right, I’m going to ask the question you want me to ask. What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. Someone like Becca, I suppose.” She’d been astonished when Flora had stepped out of the car in her flowing skirt, brightly colored bangles and tumbling, Pre-Raphaelite hair. She hadn’t matched the image in Clare’s head.
“Thank goodness. She’s a lot more easygoing for a start.” Todd finished shaving and reached for the hand towel. “Sorry, probably shouldn’t have said that but you know it’s true. I know Becca was your oldest friend, but she wasn’t the easiest person and she did have a way of making everything about her. Also it was a pain constantly having to hang on to Chase’s collar in case he wagged his tail against her pristine clothing.”
“I wasn’t blind to Becca’s faults.” She ignored Todd’s raised eyebrow that suggested differently. “What do you think it says, that Flora is so different?”
Todd looked blank. “It says something?”
“Most people have a type, don’t they? If I died, would you pick someone like me?”
Todd wiped his face on the towel. “This isn’t a very cheerful conversation.”
“But if you pick someone entirely different, does it mean you didn’t like the person you were with? I mean, second time around would you pick someone without my flaws?”
“Flaws?” He stared at her in exaggerated shock. “You have flaws?”
“I’m shy. I enjoy my own company. I don’t like walking into crowded rooms where I don’t know people. I hate public speaking. The mere idea of team games brings me out in a rash because I was never the one picked at school.” Why was she spelling all this out? “Maybe next time you’ll choose someone who likes to be the life and soul of the party.”
Todd paused, the towel in his hands. “First, there isn’t going to be a next time. Second, I would never do that because then I wouldn’t be the life and soul of the party. There’s only room for one party animal in a relationship, and I nabbed that spot.” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes to hide the fact that he charmed her, just as he’d charmed her a thousand times before.
“Does the party animal have a headache after last night?”
“I do not. Jack drank more than I did. Did you see the way he was with her?”
“With Izzy?”
“No, with Flora.”
“I can’t keep up with your thought process. He was protective of her. Possibly because Izzy was rude.” Todd dropped the damp towel over the side of the bath but for once Clare didn’t say anything. She was too busy thinking about Jack.
“Not just that. He couldn’t stop touching her. He and Becca never did that.”
“Well they’d been married a long time.”
“We’ve been married a long time. We still touch.”
“Yes, but I’m a sex god and you’re temptation on legs so we’re different.”
No matter what the conversation, he always made her laugh.
“Do you think they’ve had sex yet?”
“I have no idea. I take an active interest in my own sex life, less so other people’s. And talking of which—” He prowled toward her and she gave a gasp and a giggle as he powered her back onto the bed.
“Todd! The windows are open.”