Suddenly Sexy

chapter 15



Sam had tried to get rid of his mother all afternoon, ever since Maddie called and said she was coming over after work to tell him something. Hopefully she was coming over to do something as well, but there was no chance of that if his mother didn't leave. When she re-stated that she had nothing to do and nowhere to go and she'd rather stay and chat to "that nice Maddie Clarke", Sam went on the offensive and called Kevin Bowcher. Five minutes later, Kevin called back and asked his mother out on a date. Sam didn't particularly like the idea of her dating an ex-con, but he couldn't remember why Kevin had ended up in jail and if his mother was okay with it, then so should he be.

But Kevin was late and Maddie was early, so Sam, Maddie and his mother sat in the living room and chatted. Sam was hoping for small talk. Maybe if he mentioned the weather...

He never got a chance.

"So, why won't you date my Sammy?" his mother asked as soon as she sat down.

Oh great. Just what he needed to turn his life into a train wreck. "Mum," he warned through a jaw so tight he could hear his back teeth grinding.

"You do know that lots of other girls want to date him," she continued. "Just this morning I hung up on Bec Davies."

Maddie stared at his mother as if she were a creature from outer space. He wished she were so she could beam herself out of there. "I remember Bec," she said.

"I never liked her," his mother went on. "She's not a nice girl like you." She reached over and patted Maddie's knee.

Maddie smiled weakly. "Thanks. But you shouldn’t have hung up on Bec. She’d be quite a catch from what I hear, and I believe she’s looking for another husband. Maybe you could call her back."

Sam stared at her. So much for getting naked and sweaty with her. She clearly wasn’t about to let him see her thong again.

But he wasn’t about to give up so easily.

"No, I don’t think so," his mother said. "Anyway, I can't hang up on these girls forever. He's very popular, you know. So why did you dump him? Is it because he hasn't got a job?"

Sam groaned.

"No, nothing like that," Maddie said in all seriousness.

"Maybe she thinks my mother's too controlling." He gave his mother a glare that hopefully conveyed the message: "shut up before you ruin this for me".

It didn't work. "Or is it because he's too popular. I can understand that," she said wistfully. "I'm dating a man who has several other women chasing him."

Great, his mother was too embarrassed to talk about her affair yesterday but today she wouldn't shut up about it.

"Oh?" said Maddie, leaning away from Sam and towards his mother. "You're dating someone?"

His mother smiled. "Yes. Perhaps you know him. Kevin Bowcher?"

Maddie's eyebrows nearly flew off her forehead. "Really?" She turned to Sam, a wicked gleam in her eye that he didn't like. "Didn't you date his daughters?"

Just his luck. She didn't remember the ex-con part but she remembered the daughters. "Not at the same time," he said.

The doorbell rang and his mother sprang out of her chair and answered it. Kevin stood on the porch and waved. Sam and Maddie waved back but his mother shuffled Kevin off before he could open his mouth.

Thank God he hadn't come in. How does a man make small talk with his mother's date? And should he enforce a curfew? Maybe he should've, just to give her a taste of her own medicine.

"Your mother seems to be enjoying life," Maddie said calmly. Too calmly.

"Yes, but not always her own."

She smiled, but a frown quickly chased it away. "Look, Sam, there's something I need to say."

"Right." Why did he feel so nervous? Probably because Maddie's face had "bad news" written all over it. "Do you want a drink before we get started?"

She shook her head.

"Scone?"

"No."

"Is it too warm in here?" He stood. "Should I turn up the air conditioning?"

"No. And quit stalling."

He wiped his palms down the front of his jeans and sat.

"It's not that bad anyway, depending on your point of view."

He relaxed. That was a relief. He was an optimist. Whatever the problem was, they could work it out now that she was prepared to talk to him. He went to sit beside her on the couch but she sidled closer to the armrest and he found himself high and dry. Not a good sign.

"Do you remember the other day, when I told you what I was working on?"

"A love potion. What's that got to do with... Oh." He frowned and stared down at the beige carpet, not believing what he was hearing. This wasn't happening to him. It couldn't be. No way.

"Yeah," Maddie said quietly. "So you see, this whole thing is," she waved a hand in the air, "not real. I bathed in Pheramour before I saw you and ever since then, you've been, um, very attentive."

It really was happening. He looked up at Maddie and searched her face to see if she was joking but she just chewed her lip and shrugged apologetically. Hell.

He'd fallen in love with a bottle of chemicals.

"So none of this is real?"

"No. Sorry."

He blinked at her. Sorry. She was sorry. Sorry for the trouble she'd caused, sorry for the ache in his heart, the churning in his gut, sorry for the fool she'd made of him the last few days. She was sorry. Well hell, not half as sorry as he was. He'd actually thought he'd liked her. Maybe loved her. Thank God she'd kicked him out of her bed before he'd made the stupid mistake of telling her.

He had so many questions, so many things to say to her, and yet all he could utter was, "Why?" because it was the shortest and he didn't trust his voice yet.

She shrugged. "Because you were there."

Oh, good. He was there. "Glad to know I made it all nice and convenient for you."

Maddie winced. "Sam, please, it wasn't like that." She flushed and he guessed it was exactly like that. He just happened to be around at the time she needed a man. Lucky him.

"I thought we had something special," he said flatly. He stood and strode around his mother's living room. He needed to walk. Maybe if his legs moved then his brain would start working again, because right now it had shut down. "I thought this feeling," he clutched the T-shirt over his heart, "was real."

She didn't answer.

"Maybe," he said, pacing across the Oriental rug, "maybe it's not working." He paused to look at her. She was so incredibly beautiful, sitting on the end of his mother's couch in her business skirt and stiff white shirt. Wait a minute. How could he still think she was beautiful if the love potion had worn off?

"Maddie, are you wearing it now?"

"No, but there's still some lodged in my epidermis."

He sat next to her and took her hand. "Maybe it's not working. Maybe this is real." He was aware he was talking too fast. He sounded desperate. He didn't care.

She snapped her hand out and turned away. "It's working. You must have noticed all the men looking at me at the market on Saturday."

"Maybe they were looking because you're a beautiful woman."

"They never used to look. Trust me, I've been in this body for thirty years, and I've never had as much attention as I had on Saturday. Pheramour makes people of the opposite sex attracted to the wearer." She turned back to him. "That's why you still think I look beautiful. It'll wear off after a few more showers."

He sat back and stared at her for a long time then he stared at the carpet again because looking at her hurt. It wasn't real. None of this was real.

He wasn't in love.

Most guys would have been relieved to discover that. Hell, he would've been relieved a week ago. Not now.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

He laughed but it sounded hollow. "Just great. My whole life has been turned upside down, so yeah, I feel wonderful. You?"

"I'm sorry—"

"So you said."

"I really am. I didn't think you'd take it this hard. I thought you'd be happy."

"I am happy, can't you tell?" His voice had risen a notch but he couldn't help it. He just wanted to yell and shout and tear out his heart because it hurt too much. "You must really hate me, Maddie."

"No! I don’t. Sam—"

"Yes, you do. Only someone who hates could make another person willingly feel this way. What did I ever do to deserve your hatred? Why the hell would you want to hurt me like this?"

She flinched and recoiled into the arm of the couch and he felt bad that he'd scared her with his raised voice. The damned Pheramour must still have a strong affect because as angry as he was, lashing out at Maddie didn't make him feel better. It just made him feel like crap, and that made him angrier because she was the one who'd done the wrong thing here, not him. He shouldn't feel guilty.

Damn it, he should have stayed in Sydney where the women used old fashioned methods to make a man fall in love like makeup, high heels and short skirts.

"I don't hate you, Sam, I—"

"Then why are you doing this to me? What have I ever done to you? I was always nice to you, even when we were kids and Pete used to tease you."

Her head snapped up. Finally, he'd got a reaction from the ice queen. Maybe now he'd get some answers.

"Nice to me!" She stood, fists clenched at her sides. "Your memory is very selective, Sam Hennessy. Typical man."

Now it was suddenly his fault. His and the entire male population. At least he wasn't alone.

"Maddie, what are you talking about?"

"You really don't remember?" She sneered. Her eyes flashed and brimmed with emotion.

He'd never seen her this angry and he racked his brain to remember what could possibly have happened to make her so mad at him. But he couldn't remember anything except that he liked her and wanted her. Hadn't it always been that way?

He shook his head slowly. "No, but I'm sure you'll tell me."

"You called me a nerd, Sam."