Just as he hadn’t expected to fall in love with her that summer seven years ago when he joined Jim’s practice….
HIS FIRST NIGHT back in Pleasant Valley after his internship, Jim and Cat had invited him to dinner to celebrate their new partnership. Cat had answered the door and as Grant had stepped into the foyer, Merrilee had come down the stairs. Expecting the same tow-headed, irritating brat that had hung out with his little sister, Grant had been struck speechless by the maturity of the beautiful young woman whose growing up had caught him by surprise.
She’d worn a blue sundress, slightly paler than her eyes, that showed off her California tan, her pale blond hair and deliciously long legs. The clinging fabric had called subtle attention to the curve of her breasts and hips, a far cry from the flat-chested, skinny kid in jeans and T-shirts of his memory. Low-heeled sandals had made her feet with pearl-pink nails seem almost bare. But it was her smile that had captured his heart, a slow, teasing grin that shot warmth spiraling through him.
“Hey, Grant.” Surprise was evident in her greeting. “Dad didn’t tell me you’re his new partner. I thought you’d taken a job in Georgia.”
Grant was suddenly tongue-tied. The annoying kid he’d teased mercilessly for most of his life had turned into one of the most attractive and desirable women he’d ever encountered.
Cat had saved him from his embarrassing silence by chiming in. “He had, but your father talked him into coming home.”
“He didn’t have to twist my arm.” Grant finally regained his ability to speak. “I always wanted to practice in Pleasant Valley, but didn’t want to compete with Jim. Now we’re on the same team.”
“Come in here,” Jim called from the living room. “The champagne’s open. This calls for a toast.”
Grant followed Cat and Merrilee into the elegant but cozy room, and Jim handed each a flute of the sparkling wine. He lifted his glass to Grant. “To a long and successful partnership.”
“Amen to that,” Cat added with enthusiasm and sipped her champagne.
But Jim was only warming up. He raised his glass again, this time to Merrilee. “To my princess, the best daughter a man could have.”
“Oh, Daddy,” she protested and blushed beneath her tan, but Grant could tell she was pleased.
“And finally,” Jim continued, “but definitely not least, to the love of my life.”
From the adoring look Jim gave Cat as he toasted her and judging by her beaming response, Grant had no doubt of the bond between the couple. As dinner progressed, they were so obviously in tune with each other, they sometimes finished one another’s sentences.
After the meal, Cat shooed Grant and Merrilee out of the dining room. “Jim and I will clean up. I’m sure you two have lots of catching up to do. There’s a nice breeze on the porch.”
Grant checked for signs of matchmaking in Cat’s expression, but his partner’s wife gave no indication of guile or intrigue. Apparently, she was simply being a good hostess.
He followed Merrilee to the wicker swing on the front porch and sat beside her.
“What now?” she asked.
He blinked in astonishment at her bluntness, wondering what she was expecting.
Even in the dim twilight of the late summer evening, he could see her blush as she qualified her question. “I mean, what are your plans? Will you move back in with your parents?”
Grant shook his head. “Going home is hard after living on my own so many years. I’m looking for my own place. What about you?”
“I still have a year of college left.”
“And after that, are you coming back to Pleasant Valley?”
Merrilee looked at him as if he’d grown two heads. “What would I do here?”
“Teach, like your mom. Isn’t that what you’d always planned, if I recall Jodie’s incessant chatter correctly?”
She smoothed her skirt with long, slender fingers, the kind a man liked to lace his own through. Her expression turned thoughtful, almost introspective. “I had planned to teach before I realized there’s a world out there. I feel sometimes as if I’ve spent the first eighteen years of my life in isolation.”
“Aw, c’mon.” He felt mildly offended by her put-down of their hometown. “Pleasant Valley’s a great place. You make it sound like the end of the earth.”
Merrilee extended her toes to give the swing a push and the faint rush of air caused her honeysuckle scent to swirl around him, mixing with the fragrances from Cat’s perennial borders. The effect was intoxicating and he had to make an effort to concentrate on her words.
“The people here are terrific, but life’s so…so predictable.”
“And that’s bad?” Her scent stirred his blood and accelerated his pulse, but somehow he managed to keep the conversation moving in spite of the distraction.
“Not if you like small town country living.”
“And you don’t?”
She shook her head. “I can’t wait to leave after college. I intend to rent an apartment in New York, probably downtown, where all the artists and musicians live.”
“Are you going to be a writer?”
“What makes you think that?”
“I thought you were majoring in English, like your mom.”
“I’d planned to, but I switched my sophomore year to Fine Arts. I’m a photographer.”
“You can take pictures in Pleasant Valley.”
He couldn’t understand why Merrilee, with her wonderful parents and a town filled with family and friends, would want to pack up and leave. Then he recalled how anxious he’d been to get away from Pleasant Valley his freshman year in college. He’d done a lot of traveling and, after several years away, he’d learned to appreciate home. In fact he’d reached the conclusion that Pleasant Valley was about as close to heaven as a man could get.
“I tell you what.” He wanted to spare her the same learning curve. “Spend some time with me this summer and I’ll show you all kinds of things to photograph.”
The thought of sharing his spare time with the suddenly grown up and alluring Merrilee appealed to him on several levels.
She cocked a feathery eyebrow, her gaze skeptical. “I love animals, but—”
“I promise to vary the subject matter. And I bet I can show you at least two dozen good reasons not to leave Pleasant Valley.”
Her skepticism didn’t dim. “I’m not changing my mind.”
“But you’re afraid you might?”
A slow smile lifted her delectably rosy lips. “Not a bit. In fact, I’ll bet I can win you over to my point of view.”
“Not a chance.”
“I love a challenge.” Her grin widened. “When’s your first day off?”
“I don’t start work until next week. How about tomorrow?”
She lowered her lashes before casting him a flirtatious glance. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”
He shook his head. “By the end of the summer, Merrilee June, I promise, you’ll hate going back to California.”
She angled her chin in defiance. “By the end of the summer, my dad will be looking for a new partner.”
Alarm