Tempt Me at Midnight by Maureen Smith Read Free Book Online

more than just a friend. He and Reese are absolutely perfect for each other. I’m happy for them, and I wish you could be, too.”

    Carlene sniffed disdainfully. “I never said I wasn’t happy for them. I’m just pointing out that you’ve known Michael longer than Reese has. So if anyone should have clipped his bachelor wings, it should’ve been you.”

    Lexi shook her head at her mother’s warped logic. “I’ve been friends with Quentin just as long,” she challenged, “and I don’t hear you saying the same thing about him. ”

    “Quentin?” Carlene scoffed with a laugh. “Oh, baby, that one’s a lost cause. A rascal through and through. Even his own mama knows he’s never going to settle down and give her grandbabies.”

    “Things change,” Lexi heard herself saying. “People change.”

    Her mother snorted. “Not Quentin Reddick. Even if you were his type—”

    Lexi bristled. “Quentin doesn’t have a ‘type.’ He’s an equal-opportunity womanizer.”

    Carlene’s brows shot up. “Why are you getting so huffy? It’s not like you’re interested in Quentin.”

    “Of course not,” Lexi snapped irritably. “But when you say things like that to me, you make me feel like I’m not even attractive enough to catch the eye of someone like Quentin.”

    “Of course you are. But all the good looks in the world can’t keep a man who’s hardwired to stray.” A nasty, satisfied gleam lit Carlene’s eyes. “You know that as well as I do.”

    Lexi flinched as the verbal dagger struck home. She should have been immune by now to her mother’s penchant for cruelty, but she wasn’t. After years of railing bitterly against unfaithful men, Carlene had felt vindicated when Lexi caught her husband cheating on her. Since the divorce, Carlene had never missed an opportunity to remind her daughter that they were more alike than Lexi wanted to believe.

    “Just once,” she said in a low, strained voice, “could you at least pretend to be sorry that my marriage only lasted two years?”

    Carlene sputtered, taking umbrage. “Why would you say something like that to me?
    I did feel bad for you!”

    “You sure have a funny way of showing it.”

    “Don’t put this back on me,” her mother snapped. “I told you Adam McNamara was no good, but you insisted on marrying him anyway! If you’d just listened—”

    Lexi threw up a trembling hand. “Can we not talk about this tonight? It’s bad enough that the date of my wedding anniversary is coming up next week.”

    Carlene faltered, something like pity softening her features. “I forgot.”

    Lexi’s mouth twisted sardonically. “I wish I could.”

    In the ensuing silence, her mother removed a pack of Newport cigarettes from the pocket of her robe. She toyed with it for a moment, then reluctantly set it aside. In a more conciliatory tone, she said to Lexi, “You haven’t finished telling me about your trip.”

    Lexi hesitated, then admitted, “It was wonderful.”

    “Really? What was so wonderful about it?”

    “Everything. The food, the wine, the scenery.” She smiled faintly. “The balloon ride was definitely one of the highlights.”

    “Come again?”

    At her mother’s dumbfounded look, Lexi laughed. “Quentin convinced me to go on a hot-air balloon ride with him. Can you believe it? Me, the woman who’s so afraid of heights I have to take sedatives before getting on a plane. Shocking, right?”

    “Not that shocking,” Carlene drawled in amusement. “That rascal can talk a woman into doing anything—and probably has.”

    Lexi smiled distractedly. For the first time in days, she had something other than Quentin’s powers of persuasion on her mind. “You know, Ma, I’ve always wondered why I’m so terrified of heights.”

    Carlene hesitated. “Some people have phobias. That’s always been yours.”

    “I know. But it’s so damn paralyzing. It’s almost like…I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

    There