Diane (The Town of Pearl 6)

“Oh God, they are so going to give me a hard time.”

“Well, tell them your best friend needs you and that we’ll have the escort and the limo driver. I’ll explain everything to them.”

“Maybe you can meet us at the Main Street Inn for dinner?” Sage asked.

“Okay, add four of us, I’ll ask the guys to come and break the news to them then, too.”

Melissa chuckled again. “You have no idea how bad this is going to backfire,” she teased.

“What could go wrong?” Diane asked, and the guilty, uncertain feeling hit her gut. She needed to gain some control here, or Drake, Lucas, and Mark would think she was the clingy, instant-arm-jewelry type.

“I’ll meet you there at 6:00 p.m.”

“Okay. Thanks,” Sage said and hugged her. Then she waved good-bye to Melissa.

“I think I’m going to see if Paul, Willie, and Hank want to go out to dinner tonight. I don’t want to miss this little scam of yours,” Melissa teased.

Diane gave her sister a sassy look. “It’s not a scam. It’s a means to avoid the deeper reasoning behind me going to New York.”

“It’s pretty obvious to me.”

“That’s because I told you why. The relationship is very new. The modeling gig just happened to come up at the same time. I wouldn’t ask Mark to stop working on this case he’s working on so he can court me. Why should I cancel this opportunity?”

Melissa took a deep breath and released it. “I guess you’re sticking to your guns, no matter what anyone says. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do. I’m going to be able to look back in the mirror one day and remember this trip and not have any regrets. I won’t wonder what would have happened, or if I had given up on an opportunity of a lifetime because of my lack of confidence and my immediate need to be cared for and protected by Lucas, Drake, and Mark. I have to do this. I have to, or Mark, Lucas, and Drake will think they already have complete control of me and that I can’t make any decisions without them. That would definitely be the wrong way to start off this complicated, untraditional type of relationship.”

Melissa nodded her head.

“You have a point, but remember they’re already attracted to the woman who has shown independence, courage, and determination. They know you care for them because you gave them a part of you that no other man will ever have. This time apart, them giving you the space and the encouragement to follow your heart, might help you to accept their love, their protection, and all they have to offer you as their woman.”

Diane understood that. She just hoped that the men would, and that nagging sensation in her gut she had hearing Drake and Mark talk about an old lover and fellow agent, who went missing, wasn’t something more. Something that could tear them apart before they were even fully together.

* * * *

“Is he still in his office on the phone?” Drake asked Lucas as Lucas walked into the workroom. Drake was putting together the clock mechanisms before adding them to the new clock he just completed. The next step would be staining it to the color the customer ordered.

“He is.”

“What the fuck? He said he was done. He told us he was going to tell his commander that he was through with the agency.”

“Drake, you know that leaving something like this isn’t that easy. It may take some time.”

“Time he could be spending getting to know Diane. Learning about her wants and desires.”

“I know that, and he’ll be with her, too, when she comes here later tonight. This case is different.”

“Because of Brenda. He wasn’t even honest about what she meant to him.”

“Drake, you’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“Am I, Lucas? Think about it. It’s like he needs to be the one to find her. Let someone else do it. Hell, what about her current boyfriend?”

“It’s not like that. I’m telling you that he said they were friends and he feels obligated to try and help with this case. After all, it was something they were involved in that fell through and the agency never revisited.”

“Until now. What if something happens to him? You didn’t hear him this morning or see him staring at Brenda’s picture.”

Lucas’s eyes widened and then he looked more serious. “He told Diane he loves her. We both heard him.”