Ready for Marriage. Debbie Macomber

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СКАЧАТЬ stopped to wonder exactly why Jessica was so eager to “chat” with her.

      

      SHE LIKED GARY . She really did. Though why she felt it was necessary to remind herself of this, she didn’t know. She didn’t even want to know.

      It had been like this from the moment she’d broken off her relationship with Evan. She’d found fault with every man she’d dated. No matter how attractive he was. Or how successful. How witty, how considerate…it didn’t matter.

      Gary was very nice, she repeated to herself.

      Unfortunately he bored her to tears. He talked about his golf game, his bowling score and his prowess on the handball court. Never anything that was important to her. But his biggest fault, she’d realized early on in their relationship was that he wasn’t Evan.

      They’d dated infrequently since the beginning of the year. To be honest, Mary Jo was beginning to think that, to Gary, her biggest attraction was her mother’s cooking. Invariably, Gary stopped by early Sunday afternoon, just as she was about to leave for her parents’ home. It’d happened three out of the past five weeks. She strongly suspected he’d been on duty at the fire hall the two weeks he’d missed.

      “You look especially lovely this afternoon,” he said when she opened her front door to him now. He held out a bouquet of pink carnations, which she took with a smile, pleased by his thoughtfulness.

      “Hello, Gary.”

      He kissed her cheek, but it seemed perfunctory, as if he felt some display of affection was expected of him. “How’ve you been?” he muttered, easing himself into the old rocking chair next to the fireplace.

      Although Mary Jo’s rooms were small, she’d thoughtfully and carefully decorated each one. The living room had an Early American look. Her brother Lonny, who did beautiful woodwork, had carved her an eagle for Christmas, which she’d hung above the fireplace. In addition to her rocking chair, she had a small sofa and an old oak chest that she’d restored herself. Her mother had crocheted an afghan for the back of the sofa in a patriotic blend of red, white and blue.

      Her kitchen was little more than a wide hallway that led to a compact dining space in a window alcove. Mary Jo loved to sit there in the morning sunshine with a cup of coffee and a book.

      “You’re lucky, you know,” Gary said, looking around as if seeing the room for the first time.

      “How do you mean?”

      “Well, first off, you don’t have to work in the summer.”

      This was an old argument and Mary Jo was tired of hearing it. True, school wasn’t in session for those two and a half months, she didn’t spend them lolling on a beach. This was the first time in years that she wasn’t attending courses to upgrade her skills.

      “You’ve got the time you need to fix up this place the way you want it,” he went on. “You have real decorating talent, you know. My place is a mess, but then I’m only there three or four days out of the week, if that.”

      If he was hinting that he’d like her to help him decorate his place, she refused to take the bait.

      “Are you going over to your parents’ this afternoon?” Gary asked cheerfully. “I don’t mean to horn in, but your family doesn’t seem to mind, and the two of us have an understanding, don’t we?”

      “An understanding?” This was news to Mary Jo.

      “Yeah. We’re…I don’t know, going together I guess.”

      “I thought we were friends.” That was all Mary Jo intended the relationship to be.

      “Just friends.” Gary’s face fell. His gaze wandered to the carnations he’d brought with him.

      “When was the last time we went out on a date?” she asked, crossing her arms. “A real date.”

      “You mean to the movies or something?”

      “Sure.” Surveying her own memory, she could almost count one hand the number of times he’d actually spent money taking her out. The carnations were an exception.

      “We went to the Red Sox game, remember?”

      “That was in April,” she reminded him.

      Gary frowned. “That long ago? Time certainly flies, doesn’t it?”

      “It sure does.”

      Gary rubbed his face. “You’re right, Mary Jo. I’ve taken you for granted, haven’t I?”

      She was about to say they really didn’t have much of an understanding, after all, did they. Yet a serious relationship with Gary didn’t interest her and, difficult as it was to admit now, never had. She’d used him to block out the loneliness. She’d used him so her parents wouldn’t worry about her. They firmly believed that a woman, especially a young woman, needed a man in her life, so she’d trotted out Gary in order to keep the peace. She wasn’t exactly proud of her motives.

      Gary reached for her hand. “How about a movie this afternoon?” he suggested contritely. “We’ll leave right after dinner at your parents’. We can invite anyone who wants to come along, as well. You wouldn’t mind, would you?”

      Gary was honestly trying. He couldn’t help it that he wasn’t Evan Dryden. The thought slipped uncensored into her mind.

      “A movie sounds like a great idea,” she said firmly. She was going, and furthermore, she was determined to have a wonderful time. Just because Evan Dryden had briefly reentered her life was no reason to wallow in the impossible. He was way out of her league.

      “Great.” A smile lighted his boyish face. “Let’s drive on over to your mom and dad’s place now.”

      “All right,” Mary Jo said. She felt better already. Her relationship with Gary wasn’t ideal—it wasn’t even close to ideal—but he was her friend. Love and marriage had been built on a whole lot less.

      Before they left the house, Gary reached for the bouquet of carnations. Mary Jo blinked in surprise, and he hesitated, looking mildly chagrined. “I thought we’d give these to your mother. You don’t mind, do you?”

      “Of course not,” she mumbled, but she did, just a little.

      Gary must have realized it because he added, “Next time I’ll bring some just for you.”

      “You owe me one, fellow.”

      He laughed good-naturedly and with an elaborate display of courtesy, opened the car door for her.

      Mary Jo slid into the seat and snapped her seat belt into place. During the brief drive to her parents’ house, less than two miles away she and Gary didn’t speak; instead, they listened companionably to part of a Red Sox game.

      Her nephews and nieces were out in the huge side yard, playing a rousing game of volleyball when they arrived. Gary parked his car behind her oldest brother’s station wagon.

      “I get a kick out of how much fun your family has together,” he said a bit СКАЧАТЬ