About Last Summer. Sandra Panting

and his sense of humor had saved Natalie’s sanity more than once during the past year. He was good looking in a Jason Bateman kind of way, and Natalie had noticed more than one of the single female guests giving him the eye.

      Natalie, elbows resting on the dark mahogany bar, exhaled a weighty sigh. “My mother has spent most of the afternoon complaining about the F.O.B.’s tie.” At Wayne’s confused look, she clarified, “The Father of the Bride.”

      Wayne’s shoulders shifted beneath his charcoal-colored suit jacket as he caught the bartender’s attention. The reception room’s glittering décor cast an amber glow adding a reddish hue to the area.

      “What’s wrong with his tie?” Wayne asked.

      After tossing back her shot of apple Schnapps, she rolled her eyes. “Don’t get me started.”

      So far today her mother had complained about the F.O.B.’s tie, the bridesmaids’ flowers, and the fact that one of the wedding guests had a slight stain on her right shoulder. Although the fact that was all Doris had complained about today was something of a miracle.

      Holding up his own shot which the bartender had just plunked down in front of him, Wayne said, “Well, don’t let her get you down. The wedding was beautiful, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Brittany is happy, her mother is happy, and in general everyone seems to be having a great time. So well done.” He tossed back his shot, something caramel-colored, and then offered her a smile.

      Natalie returned his smile. Over the past year she had felt the tug of attraction between her and Wayne, but nothing had happened. A few months ago Brittany, today’s bride, had let slip that Wayne had a girlfriend who was attending Harvard law school. Which explained a lot, but truth be told Natalie doubted if she would have gone out with him regardless. Her mind and her heart were too full of Chase. As much as it sucked to have him constantly in her thoughts, she couldn’t help it. The heart wants what the heart wants.

      “Natalie.” Her mother suddenly materialized at her side. “Did you check the tables? The Hamptons and the Littles aren’t supposed to be seated next to one another. You need to stay on top of these things,” she continued, waving an irate hand at the now empty shot glass in front of Natalie. “And this isn’t the time to party.”

      Well, Natalie’s reprieve had been nice while it lasted.

      “Join me later for a dance?” Wayne asked.

      Grateful for the touch of sympathy in his eyes, Natalie agreed with a what the hell shrug then. resisting the urge to order another shot. she trailed after her mother. After graduating college, becoming a full-time partner in her mother’s event planning business, Brides and Such, had seemed like a good career move, but the constant stress of trying to please her social-conscious mother was taking its toll. She often considered choosing another career, but she had no idea what, and even if she did know, how could she tell her mother that her only daughter no longer wanted anything to do with the business her mother had started from scratch?

      *****

      With her feet aching and her stomach growling with hunger, Natalie sank onto the driver’s seat of her dark blue convertible. The wedding reception was finally over and the happy bride and groom were on their way to start their new life together. Their praise of how Natalie handled their wedding had been a welcome balm after listening to her mother’s complaints, but it was over and now it was time to go home. Although going home meant facing Chase.

      Thinking about Chase triggered a completely different set of anxieties. Images of him had flashed in her thoughts all day. Images of his dark, slightly wavy hair. Images of his chocolate-brown eyes that could fill with tenderness or darken with passion. Chase possessed something of the boy next door good looks; not the shy loner type, but more of the I-look-like-the-type-of-guy- you’d-want-dating-your-daughter, when in reality most mothers in Baker Hill thought the opposite of Chase.

      However, having dealt with enough stress today and wanting to focus on something else, Natalie slipped in the rowdiest CDs she owned and, with the beat pounding away; she headed for the edge of town and navigated the curvy river roads. Fifteen minutes later she parked in the drive and, weary from the long day, she rested her forehead against the steering wheel.

      Maybe she’d just sleep out here. Surely Patrick wouldn’t mind. All she needed was a pillow, maybe a blanket, and then she wouldn’t have to face climbing the stairs. Or worse – Chase. Normally she preferred to face life head on, and if all hell broke loose at least she could console herself with the knowledge she hadn’t just stood around and done nothing. But Chase was a whole other matter. There was something about him that got to her, and she couldn’t turn it off. And heaven knew she’d certainly tried.

      She stared at the front door knowing she must look pretty silly sitting in the driveway afraid to walk into her own house. Which meant she needed to suck it up. Surely she could manage a few minutes of polite chitchat before going to her room? Knowing that the moment she saw Chase again her mind would refocus on last night’s kiss, she braced herself for the inevitable and headed inside.

      Given that her brother wouldn’t be moving out for a few weeks yet, she hadn’t had the opportunity to give the house her own touch. The first thing she’d get rid of was that boring beige carpet. And what was up with those drab white curtains? Didn’t Patrick realize there was such a thing as color? But then again here was a man whose every car he’d ever owned was white, and every suit he ever owned was pinstriped.

      Peeling off her shoes at the door, by design Natalie kept her gaze from straying to the living room. She could hear Patrick, Erica, and Chase talking just out of vision range. The low murmur of the television was distinguishable just below the volume of voices. Briefly she debated slipping upstairs without saying anything, but of course Patrick would wonder why. Although thoughts of that kiss last night had been stirring in her mind all day. Why had she let Chase kiss her?

      Well, she knew why. She had wanted him to, but the why beyond that was a bit more complicated. But Chase was going to be here for several weeks yet, and she couldn’t avoid him forever. She could try, but she never did the hermit thing very well, and besides she was starving. Unfortunately, when she bought this house it hadn’t come with room service.

      Having run out of excuses to linger, she proceeded into the living room.

      “So, how was the wedding?” Erica, dressed in basic jeans and a simple yellow T, indicated she, Patrick and Chase must have stayed in tonight, although given Patrick appeared to mostly be conversing with Chase, Natalie suspected Erica was glad Natalie was back.

      Erica and Patrick were on the couch, whereas Chase was seated in a blue checked armchair several feet away. The twin of that armchair was located on the other side of the couch. Relieved that she wouldn’t have to sit so close to Chase, Natalie took the remaining seat.

      Praying her nerves weren’t showing, she recounted a few details about the wedding. Patrick and Chase were discussing something that sounded like baseball scores, but Natalie was too busy feeling nervous to pay much attention.

      Just the sight of Chase sitting there in a simple gray T-shirt and well-worn jeans looking more gorgeous than any man had a right to, had her imagination going a mile a minute. And her thoughts weren’t stopping with last night’s kiss. They had gone all the way back to last year, and for some of her foggier recollections her imagination provided an alternative, but nonetheless erotic, scenario.

      It was bad enough to just look at a guy and feel turned on, but it truly sucked when she became a victim of her own over-active imagination. She needed chocolate, and a Diet Coke. The chocolate was to soothe her agitated nerves, and the Diet Coke was to counteract the calories in the chocolate. That was basic How To Get Over A Guy 101. Granted that ploy never worked, but it gave her an excuse to eat chocolate.

      After scrounging up a simple meal that unfortunately didn’t include chocolate, she chatted with Erica about the wedding and other random things while doing her best to ignore Chase. Finally the clock neared eleven and, assuming the hour would justify her desire to go to bed, she excused herself. The feel of Chase’s eyes on her when she exited