Cal laughed. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Elliott said. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to double that order of flowers.”
* * *
When Elliott walked in with a huge bouquet of brightly colored, fragrant lilies, Karen knew someone had filled him in on what had happened earlier at Sullivan’s. And they said women were terrible gossips, she thought, with a rueful shake of her head. The men in this town—at least those married to Sweet Magnolias—were thick as thieves, and they all had big mouths. She and Elliott might be on the periphery of that group, but the effect spilled over.
“Who told you?” she inquired, even as she drew in the sweet scent of the flowers, then found an old florist’s vase for them. She had quite a few, thanks to Elliott’s frequent and thoughtful gifts. She was pretty sure he had the local florist on speed dial. Most of the time, though, flowers weren’t meant to get him out of a jam. He was just a considerate guy who excelled at the impulsive, romantic gesture.
He gave her an innocent look. “Told me what?”
“That I flipped out earlier? Did Erik call to warn you before I even got over to the spa?”
“Erik didn’t call.” He chuckled. “At least he didn’t call me. He called Cal to see if he should warn me. They agreed he should stay out of it.”
“But then Cal came by to pick up Maddie and filled you in himself,” she guessed. “It figures.”
“The Serenity grapevine is a miracle,” he agreed. “It functions quite nicely even without resorting to modern technology. This may be the only town in the country not addicted to text messaging.” He crossed the kitchen to stand close, his hands on her waist, his breath warm against her cheek. “So, exactly how much hot water am I in?” he whispered in her ear.
She wasn’t crazy about the amusement threading through his voice, even as he asked what should have been a very serious question.
“Enough,” she told him.
Sadly, she wasn’t entirely oblivious to his tactic. Elliott could seduce her in less time than it took to call for pizza, which she’d done just before his arrival. He now seemed intent on nuzzling her neck, which was usually just a prelude to more fascinating foreplay. She frowned at him before he succeeded. “You are not going to distract me, so stop that this minute.”
“Stop what?” he inquired, his chocolate espresso eyes once more filled with an attempt at innocence she wasn’t buying. “I’m just saying hello to my beautiful wife after a long day.”
“No, you’re not,” she chided. “You’re hoping to coax me out of being mad at you because you know perfectly well if you can manage to get me into bed, I’ll completely forget what I’m mad about.” She regarded him intently. “Not this time, Elliott. I mean it.”
He sighed and backed up a step, obviously disappointed but accepting her decision that seduction was off the table for the moment. “Where are the kids?”
“They’re not here to save your hide, either. Your mom is keeping them at her house for enchiladas.”
His expression immediately brightened. “Mom made enchiladas? We should go over there.”
“Not on your life. She’ll save any leftovers for you,” Karen said. “You and I are having pizza and salad and a very long talk. Depending on how that goes, we’ll decide if you’re picking the kids up tonight or staying over there with them.”
For the first time, he seemed to really get just how upset she was. An expression of alarm crossed his face.
“Just because I forgot to mention the whole gym thing to you?”
She frowned at his characterization. “You didn’t ‘forget’ to mention anything, Elliott,” she said quietly, annoyed by the tears that immediately sprang to her eyes. She turned away, hoping he wouldn’t see just how emotional she was. She wanted so badly to remain calm and cool so they could discuss this rationally without her dragging all her baggage into the discussion.
Pretending to focus on the salad dressing she’d been making when he’d arrived, she said, “You deliberately chose not to discuss it with me because you didn’t think my opinion mattered or you were afraid I’d try to veto the idea.”
“That’s not how it was,” he protested.
“It’s exactly how it was.” She turned and faced him. She gave up on fighting the tears and allowed them to flow unchecked. “How are we supposed to make our marriage work, Elliott, if we don’t talk about something that’s going to change our lives? From what little I know, even I can see that this gym is a big deal. You’re obviously right at the center of it. Do you have any idea how much it hurt that so many other people already knew about it and I knew nothing?”
“I’m sorry,” he said at once. “I really am. It’s an incredible opportunity, Karen. I’d never be able to do something like this totally on my own. I was trying to work it through in my head, figure out if we could really make it happen.”
“And you didn’t consider that poor brainless me might have any thoughts about that?”
He looked genuinely shocked by her bitter words. “Don’t be crazy, querida. You know how much your opinion matters. You’re everything to me.”
His use of the endearment touched her heart as always. “I thought I was,” she said softly, brushing impatiently at the tears she couldn’t seem to stop.
“Ah, don’t cry,” he pleaded, pulling her into his arms. “Please, don’t cry. You know it tears me up inside, especially when I’m the one at fault.”
After holding herself stiff for a moment, Karen sighed and allowed herself to relax. This caring, adoring side of Elliott was the one she’d fallen in love with. That’s why it was all the more shattering when he did something thoughtless like leaving her totally out of the loop on this decision.
“Can I tell you about it now?” he pleaded. “Will you listen and keep an open mind?”
She nodded slowly, not letting go of him. “I can do that.” Then she lifted her head and held his gaze. “But this kind of thing can’t keep happening, Elliott. When it comes to the big things—or even the littlest ones that affect our family—we decide together. That’s what we agreed. Otherwise we’re doomed.”
“I know you’re right. I promise to be more considerate,” he assured her. “I thought I was saving you from worrying unnecessarily about something that might not even be feasible. I guess I thought I had more time to work out the details.”
She gave him a wry look. “In Serenity?”
He laughed. “Yeah, that’s what Cal said. The truth is, though, that we’ve only been talking about this for a few weeks now. At first it was nothing more than an idea that a couple of the guys tossed out over beers one night after we played basketball. I wasn’t even sure it would go anywhere. There was no reason to mention it.”
“But it’s gone way beyond the talking stages now, hasn’t it? And still you said nothing,” she said, seeing the excitement in his eyes die and hating that she was putting a damper on his enthusiasm. What else could she do, though? There were serious questions that needed answers.
“True. Tom McDonald’s run some numbers. Ronnie Sullivan’s looked at a few pieces of property.”
“Not with Mary Vaughn, I hope,” she said, thinking of how Dana Sue didn’t trust her husband anywhere near the Realtor, even now that Mary Vaughn had been happily reunited with her ex-husband and they had a second, late-in-life child together. Mary Vaughn had a bad habit of going after Ronnie whenever she sensed he might be vulnerable. In theory, she’d given up. In practice, who knew?
Elliott smiled