Before he could set the record straight, Holly jumped up from the lounge chair. “Excuse me. I’d better take a shower.”
As if she wanted to wash him off her. “Holly!” Paul called after her, but she charged into the house without looking back.
“I’m sorry, I rang the doorbell,” Tara said, clearly embarrassed, as the rosy blush on her cheeks attested. “But nobody answered.” She pointed to the side of the house. “So I left my luggage at the front door and walked around.”
“Luggage?” he echoed, shoving a hand through his hair.
She nodded, her face suddenly etched with worry. “Yes, of course. You invited me to stay for a few days.”
“I invited you?”
Tara fidgeted. “You didn’t? But . . . ” She dropped her eyelids.
“Tara, tell me how I sent you this invitation? Did I email you? Leave a voicemail?”
She shook her head. “You don’t remember? Mom said you called her house because you didn’t have my phone number. So she relayed the message.”
Paul cursed. He knew exactly who had called Tara’s mother, and it sure hadn’t been him. “I’m going to wring my mother’s neck!”
Tara’s shoulders sagged. “So you didn’t invite me, did you?” She motioned to the empty lounge chair. “Well, it was kind of obvious anyway. You’re with somebody. I’d better call a cab and see if I can catch the train back to New York.” She turned.
“Stay.”
Surprised, she whirled back to him. “But I can see that I’m in the way.”
“It’s not your fault that our mothers are trying to play games with us. There are plenty of guest rooms in the house.”
“I didn’t really want to come, but my mother insisted. She’s been awful lately. It was either come here or spend four days with her and the Willamotts at the lake. And the Willamotts’ son I dislike even more than—” She stopped herself and slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry.”
Paul laughed and made a dismissive gesture, relieved to discover that Tara had no interest in him. At least that meant he didn’t have to fend her off, and could concentrate on making things right with Holly. “I’m assuming your mother knows that.”
Tara nodded. “I’m so sick of her trying to interfere in my life. She knew I didn’t want to go to the Willamotts’, so she gave me an alternative that she knew I would take any day over fending off the advances of their slimy son.”
“Maybe it’s time you rebelled against your parents.”
She sighed. “Unfortunately, rebelling is a little difficult when you’re dependent on their money.”
“I thought you had a job in the city. Something with fashion?”
She rolled her eyes. “It was an unpaid internship and it ended. Besides, it was Mother’s idea of a suitable job for a woman. I haven’t been able to find anything since.”
“Well, what are you looking for? Maybe I can make a few inquiries for you. I know a lot of people.”
Tara’s face lifted. “Would you really do that after I interrupted your little, uh, get-together with your girlfriend? She is your girlfriend, isn’t she?”
Paul smiled proudly. “Yes, she is, even though she seems to be under the impression right now that I invited another woman to stay with me. And she’s probably ready to throw something heavy at me if I try to get close to her.”
“Maybe we should sort out that misunderstanding,” Tara suggested.
“Yes, maybe we should.”
But perhaps he would let Holly stew just a little, because he suspected that her running off had less to do with embarrassment about being caught in a compromising situation and more to do with jealousy. Could his little escort be jealous of Tara, thinking that he was interested in her? Oddly enough, while he’d always thought that jealous women were something to be avoided at all costs, he liked the idea that Holly seemed to want him to herself.
“That can wait. Let’s get you settled into a guest room first.” He pointed toward the house. “I’ll get your luggage and then you can tell me a little bit more about what kind of job you’re interested in.”
Tara beamed at him and looked almost as if she wanted to hug him.
“And then maybe you could do me a little favor.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Sure, what kind of favor?”
“Flirt with me over dinner.”
“In front of your girlfriend?”