Almost Perfect

Chapter 9

The minute Maddy returned to the safety of the camp, she shot an e-mail to Christine and Amy.

Subject: Help!

Message: Something happened today, and I'm totally freaked out I think I'm falling in love with Joe all over again. Only, this is different than before. Even scarier somehow. I'm not ready for this. Not with anyone. And especially not this fast. How do I stop it?

Amy: Whoa, wait, back up. What happened?

Maddy: Joe kissed me. Or I kissed him. It's kind of a blur. He took me to some galleries today, and everything was going great. In fact, one of the galleries took some of my work. (Details later, I promise. You're going to be ecstatic.) When we got back to his truck, both of us were excited, and the next thing I know, we're kissing. And it was like WOW! I'm not sure I've ever had a kiss like that. Not even with Joe.

Then suddenly he got angry-whether at me or himself, I'm not sure-and he made it clear he has

no interest in getting involved with me ever again. So now things are even more awkward than they were this time yesterday. Help! What do I do?

Amy: Okay, first, CONGRATULATIONS on the gallery!!! I can't wait to hear details. Now, back to Joe. When you say he doesn't want to get involved, does that mean you do?

Maddy sat back as the air left her lungs in a whoosh. She remembered that moment at the Ore House, when he'd let his barriers down enough for her to see the wonderful man he'd become. In some ways he was still the wounded rebel, but he was also strong, compassionate, responsible, and endearingly enthusiastic even when he tried to hide it. But he'd certainly slammed those barriers back down in a hurry.

Her hands shook as she typed out her reply: / don't know. I'm attracted to him on several levels. Definitely no denying that. If he were a stranger, I'd date him in a heartbeat. Nigel's been gone nearly two years. I need to start dating again sometime, and Joe-this new Joe-is a really great guy. But he's not a stranger, and he wants nothing to do with me. I dread the thought of facing him again at dinner. What a disaster.

Amy: Maybe he will have calmed down by then, and the two of you can get back to where you were before the kiss.

Maddy hoped so. Her nerves remained tangled though, as she waited for dinner.

Unfortunately, she returned from the dining hall that evening more shaken and confused than ever. She found an e-mail from Christine asking for details about the gallery. It ended with: As for Joe getting bent out of shape over the kiss-which

sounds really hot!-maybe it scared him as much as it scared you: hence the anger. It's a known fact that men don't react well to fear. They much prefer getting mad. It's how he acts after he calms down that matters.

Maddy: I think we can Safely say he's calmed down. Completely. Now he's acting like nothing happened and I'm no different to him than the other coordinators. I don't know whether to be angry or relieved.

Christine: Well, I know which I'd be if a man kissed me senseless, then acted like nothing happened. Give it time, though, Maddy. He may not be as calmed down as you think.

Days passed with no change in Joe's outward demeanor. He was painstakingly polite but distant. On Maddy's seventh morning at the camp, she sat through another breakfast meeting with Joe at the far end of the opposite bench. A week of sharing meals, and somehow they managed to sit as far as they could from each other every time. Even so, she felt herself flash hot and cold simply being in the same room with him. Her bones literally ached with embarrassment, regret, and a longing for things to be different.

That realization made her frown. Maybe she was coming down with the flu. Which meant her sick stomach had nothing to do with him.

Or it could be the slightly runny scrambled eggs they had every morning. Testing the theory, she poked at the eggs, then glanced around the table to see if anyone else was getting sick.

The minute her gaze landed on Joe, the nausea got worse. Lord, she hadn't felt this weird sort of sickness in years. Not since her last teen crush be-fore Joe came along and obliterated all thoughts of any boy but him. It was a horrible pining ache for someone's attention to the point of feeling physically ill.

Damn it, why hadn't doctors invented a cure for this? She'd take the issue up with Christine in her next e-mail, that was for sure.

"I think that covers everything," Joe said calmly as he glanced over the notes he'd brought to breakfast. He certainly didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects from their forced proximity, which added a little dose of resentment to the mix. "Any questions?"

The others all assured him no while she remained silent and seething.

"Well, then." He stood, all six-plus feet of muscular male. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the office."

She nearly groaned. Did he have to put it that way? Making her mind conjure up a completely different need than what he meant?

Until coming to Camp Enchantment, she would have sworn she wasn't a sex fiend, that she didn't play out intimate acts in her mind any more than the average healthy woman did. Since arriving, though, it seemed as if she thought about sex constantly.

Although, she argued back, maybe that was understandable, considering she hadn't had sex in a very long time. Nearly four years. Or wait, had she actually passed the four-year mark? Good Lord, she had. And the years before that had been sporadic at best.

She glanced in the direction Joe had gone, watched his broad back and very nice behind as he walked away. After years of abstinence, suddenly here was Mr. Virile Army Ranger right before her day after day. A male specimen like that would have any female taking notice. So of course her hormones were firing on all thrusters.

That was it! She wasn't in danger of falling in love with him. She was sex-deprived. On a wave of relief, she turned back to her eggs, deciding they weren't so nauseating after all.

"Is he gone?" Carol whispered into the suddenly quiet dining hall.

"Hang on." Dana craned her neck to see out the windows. "Yep, he's gone."

"Okay then." Carol motioned everyone to lean closer. "Let's get down to business. Operation Make Joe Happy is not going well. Clearly, more drastic action is in order."

What? Maddy blinked.

"Agreed." Sandy nodded. "But what? We've tried enthusiasm about the coming summer and working hard to get the camp in shape. He's appreciative enough, but it hasn't lightened his mood."

Maddy put her fork down. "Excuse me. What are you talking about? Joe seems happy enough to me."

"On the surface, maybe," Carol said. "But you don't know him as well as we do. He's definitely upset about something, but he's trying to hide it."

Dana nodded. "There must be some way to make him stop missing the Rangers and feel better about running the camp."

"Actually," Maddy said, "he is happy about running the camp."

"He is?" Carol brightened.

"Are you sure?" Sandy frowned.

"How do you know?" Dana asked.

Maddy hesitated, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut. "He, um, told me."

"That's right," Carol said. "You rode into town with him that day."

"What did he say?" Sandy asked.

Maddy cleared her throat and yearned for escape. "He said that he loves working with the kids and that the camp means a lot to him."

"Really?" Sandy turned hopeful.

"But that doesn't make sense," Dana said. "If he's happy about running the camp, why is he acting so weird?"

"Maybe he's upset about something else," Sandy suggested.

Dana groaned. "Don't tell me we're back to the mysterious woman who broke his heart."

Carol turned back to Maddy. "Did he say anything else?"

"Uh, no," Maddy insisted quickly. "Not really. At least, not anything important."

Dana narrowed her eyes. "Why are you blushing?"

"Blushing?" Maddy pressed a hand to her cheek. "I'm not blushing. It's… the coffee. It's really hot." She hid her face in the mug.

"Uh-huh." Dana looked at her disbelievingly.

"All right, Maddy." Carol crossed her arms. "What gives? Is there something going on we don't know about?"

"No!" She tried for a calm smile. "Really."

"Do you want there to be?" Dana asked.

"Why would you think that?" Her cheeks flamed hotter.

"Because now you're acting even weirder than him."

"I'm just tired. And busy." Maddy looked at her watch. "Speaking of, wow, look at the time. I have a ton of stuff to do. Let's not forget the counselors arrive today."

She rose and gathered her tray, moving away from the table as quickly as possible. Silence reigned behind her, but she felt the gazes of the coordinators on her back all the way out the door.

Oh brother, she thought when she stepped outside. The last thing she needed was to spend the summer as the camp pariah. Having Joe want her gone was bad enough.

Fortunately, the rest of the day was total chaos, with counselors arriving in droves, so no one had time to question her further.