“Not usually,” Amanda agreed. “Something tells me, though, that this was Josh’s idea, not yours.”
“It most certainly was not,” Maggie declared with a pretty good show of indignation, then sighed. “Okay, maybe it was, but he’s right. It’s past time for me to get over that ridiculous jealousy, especially now that he and I are married. I really do want us to be friends, Amanda. You and the kids mean a lot to Josh and to his mother. We’re bound to be thrown together from time to time. Can’t we get past my bad behavior?”
Amanda could see her obvious discomfort. Maggie Parker was the most self-confident woman Amanda had ever met, with the possible exception of Maggie’s best friend, Dinah Beaufort. Amanda envied them, and she was still a little astounded that Maggie had thought even for a second that Josh was interested in her, not Maggie.
“I’d like that,” Amanda told her sincerely. Real friends had been in short supply since her marriage to Bobby. And since his death, there hadn’t been time to make new ones. “But I can’t tonight. I have to get home.”
“The kids are invited, too,” Maggie reminded her.
“I know, but actually I already have plans. Caleb’s coming by.”
Maggie’s expression immediately brightened with curiosity. “Really? Do tell,” she said.
Amanda shook her head. “Stop that. It’s not what you think.”
At the quick denial, Maggie grinned. “Then, please, tell me what it is.”
“He wants me to talk to someone. He thinks I might be able to offer a perspective that he can’t. That’s it.”
Maggie regarded her with blatant skepticism. “So, this seasoned minister who’s counseled who knows how many people about every problem under the sun is turning to you?”
Amanda frowned at the hint of amused disbelief in Maggie’s voice. “In this particular situation, apparently I’m the one with firsthand experience,” she said.
“Of course you are. And Caleb’s sudden recognition of your expertise doesn’t have anything at all to do with the fact that he has the hots for you?” Maggie inquired.
Immediately Amanda’s cheeks flooded with color. “Maggie!” she protested weakly. “You can’t say things like that. Caleb’s a minister.”
“I know. I worried about the same thing when Dinah pointed out that Caleb practically salivates when you’re nearby, but then I caught on that he’s a man, not a saint. It’s not as if either one of you is off-limits in any way. The only shocker is that in his seven years here in Charleston some woman hasn’t already snapped him up.”
Amanda had had similar thoughts from time to time. Aside from being gorgeous, Caleb was the kindest, most decent man she’d ever known. It didn’t make sense that he wasn’t married. She, however, wasn’t the woman to change that. She was just beginning to get back on her feet emotionally. She needed time to prove to herself that she was strong and capable. She was not about to let some man promise to bail her out, only to have him abandon her. She’d learned to prize her independence. If her life ever fell apart again, it would be her own doing, not someone else’s.
“That woman won’t be me,” she told Maggie emphatically.
“Then you don’t see what a catch he is?” Maggie asked skeptically.
“Of course I do.”
“Well, then?”
“I’m not looking for a catch, even one as terrific as Caleb,” Amanda insisted. “Now, I really do have to go.”
Maggie stepped aside. “We’ll do the dinner thing another time, okay? Maybe later in the week when Josh gets back. I’ll ask Nadine, too, though these days Josh’s mother rarely goes anywhere without George Winslow in tow. Would that be okay with you?”
Amanda considered the question seriously. George was one of her father’s best friends, and initially he’d been one of the most outspoken critics of the church’s plan to build her house. That was the downside. On the upside, since he’d gotten involved with Nadine, he’d mellowed.
“I can tolerate George,” Amanda said eventually. “Nadine’s pretty good at keeping him in check.”
“Okay, then, I’ll be in touch with the details,” Maggie said, a faint hint of relief in her voice.
Once again Amanda was astounded by the trace of vulnerability in a woman whose strength and self-confidence she admired. Maggie had faced down a madman who’d trapped her in her art gallery not that long ago, but she seemed to be genuinely uneasy around Amanda.
“Maggie, can I ask you a question? Why is this so important to you?”
Maggie looked disconcerted by the direct question. “I told you. I know I misjudged you and I want to make amends. You’re important to Josh and to Nadine and other people I admire and respect, so I’d like us to be friends, too.”
“Then we will be,” Amanda said. “If I’ve learned nothing else since my husband died, it’s that friendship is important.” Impulsively, she reached out and gave Maggie a hug. “Besides, as far as I’m concerned we’ve been friends since the minute you showed up to help build my house. That was an act of kindness I’m never likely to forget.”
Maggie regarded her with surprise. “You really mean that, don’t you? Even after everything I did to keep you at arm’s length?”
“Believe me, I understood what that was all about. You were protecting your turf, even though you had nothing to fear from me. I knew in time you’d figure out that I wasn’t a threat to your relationship with Josh.”
“Well, I’m sorry just the same. We’re starting over right now, okay?”
“Okay,” Amanda agreed at once.
Maggie gave her a conspiratorial grin. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
“What?”
“I get to have free rein to meddle in your relationship with Caleb.”
Amanda gave her a horrified look. “I don’t have a relationship with Caleb.”
“You will when I’m through,” Maggie said cheerfully. “Enjoy your evening.”
She was gone before Amanda could formulate a reply. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. Maggie meddling all on her own would be bad enough, but if she brought the romantically irrepressible Nadine into it—and she very well might—who knew what mischief they could stir up for Amanda and Caleb?
Caleb took in Amanda’s flushed cheeks and too-bright eyes and tried to figure out what had brought on this sudden attack of nerves. It couldn’t be because he and Mary Louise were the first official guests at her new home. Amanda had grown up entertaining for Big Max. She’d been hosting dinner parties for Charleston’s power brokers by the time she was thirteen. So why was she fluttering around the living room, fussing over a plate of cheese and crackers and a couple of soft drinks?
He captured her hand as she was about to take off for the kitchen once again. “You okay?” he asked.
“Fine, just fine,” she said too cheerfully. She turned to beam at Mary Louise. “Just let me get some napkins and we can talk.”
“There are napkins on the table,” Caleb pointed out.
Her good cheer evaporated. “Oh, of course there are. What was I thinking?” She sat down on the edge of a chair. “Mary Louise, why don’t you tell me a little bit about you and Danny?”
Mary Louise, who’d been tense ever since Caleb had picked her up and hadn’t said a word on the ride over, launched into a dreamy