Chapter Three
During the one-hour class, though Iris made certain to pay equal attention to every person and every dog, she was keenly aware of Garth. Over the years glamorous Hollywood photos had catalogued his transformation from a tall, lanky boy into a solid man, the boyish face honed into strong, masculine features. But no picture adequately captured the lively glint in his chocolate-brown eyes or his irresistible charm. Willingly or not, she was attracted to him.
Even when she turned her back on him, she felt his gaze on her. That made her nervous and self-conscious. The man was rich and famous. He could have any woman in the world, in any glamorous city.
So, what was he really doing back in Forest Glen?
Lucky was adorable, and the fact that Garth had found him at the pound rather than spending piles of money on a pure-breed was particularly endearing. Man and dog worked hard to master "sit" and "down," the two commands the class practiced. She couldn't help but admire them for that.
Also difficult to ignore were the nosy looks from everyone when she stopped to help Garth or compliment Lucky. Iris wished she could control the blood flow to her cheeks, which felt continually flushed. After a while, she let ley work with Garth and Lucky. Trouble was, for some reason — maybe because both dogs came from the pound — Queenie liked Lucky more than the other animals. She kept glancing at the pup and whining softly. Lucky seemed to feel the same fondness for Queenie. The kinship between the animals only fueled the knowing grins.
By the time class ended, Iris was exhausted from pretending she didn't notice or care. So was Queenie, who moved to her favorite spot, the braided oval rug beside the desk, and collapsed.
"See you Thursday, and don't forget to practice every day," Iris reminded the group as they filed through the door — except for Garth, who hung back. She waved atley, who was in a hurry to get home. "Have fun on your date."
"Oh, I will."ley glanced from Iris to Garth, then winked. "You have fun, too."
Iris frowned to let her know what she thought of that idea, but ley was gone. So she frowned at Garth, who hung his thumbs from his belt loops and widened his stance as if he wasn't going anyplace.
"Didn't you hear what I said at the start of class? You can fill out those forms at home and bring them back Thursday. Unless you'll be in Hollywood then. And by the way, how in the world are you going to make it to class if you're busy with your movie?"
"Actual production won't start for a while. We're in preproduction, which is mostly boring meetings."
He offered a crooked grin no woman could ignore. Slightly breathless, Iris eyed him coolly. "What about class?" she repeated.
"Lucky and I plan to show up for most of them," he said, "though we may miss one or two. But I will be here this Thursday with the forms and a check. "
"Good." So what did he want?
He looked straight into her eyes. "I want to talk about us," he said as if he'd read her mind.
Oh, what that look did to her. Her breath caught and time seemed to stop. Unnerved and upset by her pounding heart — she was no more interested in Garth than she was in old Mr. Carlson, who ran the post office — Iris scoffed, "There hasn't been an 'us' since high school."
She was over Garth, and rehashing the past would only open old wounds. Wishing she could escape, Iris glanced longingly at the door.
"Do you have a date, too?" Garth asked, his jaw suddenly tense.
Though she hadn't dated in a long while, she considered making up a boyfriend. But she never had been able to lie. She shook her head.
He exhaled. "Excellent."
Lucky woofed softly and cocked his head as if to ask, "What's going on here?"
Iris wondered, too.
Not to be left out, Queenie rose and sashayed to Garth, nosing his thigh for attention. Flashing his thousand-watt grin, he hunkered down and rubbed the dog's back. A jealous Lucky growled, and Queenie stiffened.
Garth stood up. "Knock that off, Lucky. Sit."
Looking confused, his pet remained standing.
"Use hand signals with your voice, and bribe him with a biscuit, like I showed you," Iris reminded him.
"Sit," he repeated, following her advice.
His dog obeyed. Queenie padded back to the braided rug. Moments later Lucky jumped up and followed. Jealousy forgotten, the dogs stretched out side by side.
"What a cutie," Iris said.
"He knows it, too."
Silence.
Rocking on his heels, hands thrust into the pockets of his jeans, Garth seemed as nervous as she felt, which was ridiculous. They were two adults, acting like…the teenagers they were the last time they faced each other.
"Mind if we sit down?" He nodded toward the circle of chairs the class had used.
They had nothing to say to each other, and the thought of sitting and talking was unsettling. "I don't have that much time," she said.
"Suit yourself."
He shrugged, and she couldn't help noticing how his broad shoulders framed his flannel shirt. Or his long legs. He wore his jeans snug, and her gaze darted to the healthy bulge…
"Like what you see?"
Cheeks hot, she jerked her attention to his teasing grin and gave him a dirty look. "Get to the point, Garth. What do you want?"
He sobered instantly. "For starters, to say how sorry I am about your dad."
"Thank you." Iris dipped her head. "Thanks for the flowers and sympathy card. That was very thoughtful." Biting her lip, she again looked at him. "I'm sorry about your divorce."
"Don't be. Getting married was a mistake for both of us. We parted as friends. It wouldn't be so rough, but with the tabloids and paparazzi chasing the story…" He shook his head.
"So you're here to hide out," Iris guessed, wondering what that had to do with her.
"Partly." Again he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I owe you an apology for the way I treated you that Christmas. I acted like a jerk."
"It was a long time ago, and we were both young and immature." Iris waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "I got over it."
Mostly. Standing here now, she realized she was still angry over what had happened. At the same time she couldn't help longing for what might have been. Sharing her bed and her life with Garth. Children filling the days with joy. At thirty, she was beginning to wonder whether that dream would ever come true.
"I'm not sure I did. I never explained what happened."
"You said you needed a break," Iris reminded him, pleased with her emotionless tone.
"But I didn't tell you why. If you remember, at the time my parents were still married." He glanced at Iris and she nodded. "When I came home that Christmas things at home were tense. My dad kept picking at my mom, and they screamed at each other all the time. It was especially bad at night, when they drank." He shook his head, then rubbed the space between his eyebrows as if he had a headache. "They should've split up decades ago."
Iris remembered how badly Garth had wanted a close, loving family, and how his parents were too wrapped up in themselves to bother with their only child. She'd never liked them, but this… "I didn't know," she said. "Why didn't you say something?"
His mouth twisted. "Too ashamed. The worst of it was, I started picking at you the same way. I felt like I was turning into my old man, and I didn't know how to stop. I didn't want to put you through the same hell he put my mother through." He blew out a heavy breath. "And there you have it, the ugly, unvarnished truth."
Iris felt his pain, her heart twinging in sympathy. "I never imagined. You're not at all like him."
"I know that now. I never meant for us to break up for good. I only wanted to figure out where I was going wrong and straighten myself out." He gave a humorless laugh. "We both know how that turned out, and here we are."
At least now Iris understood. She wasn't about to forgive and forget, though. There'd been too much pain for that. "Thank you for explaining."
"Thank you for listening."
Something — his tone or that soulful look — had her yearning toward him, primed and ready for whatever happened next. A small voice in her head cautioned, Be careful. She frowned. "Is there something else?"
Garth nodded, his gaze fastened on hers. "I think I still have feelings for you, Iris. I'd like to find out whether you do, too."
* * *
Everything, everything hinged on Iris. Garth held his breath.
"Let me get this straight," she said, her voice cool. "After twelve years of silence, after you sleep with countless women and even marry and divorce one, you march back into town, apologize for the past, spotlight your movie-star smile on me, and expect me to swoon." Eyes blazing, she lifted her chin. "I appreciate the apology, but you broke my heart. Frankly, I don't want to suffer like that ever again."
Feeling lower than a dog flea, Garth winced. "I'd give anything go back in time and change my behavior, but all we can do is move forward."
"Exactly. Things change. I've changed. I don't have feelings for you, anymore," Iris said, without quite meeting his eye.
When she fibbed, she never looked a person in the eye. Even after all this time, he remembered that, and it gave him hope. "Letting you go was a terrible mistake. The biggest of my life," he said with sincerity. "You want to know why I move from woman to woman, and why I got a divorce? Because I should have married you. Give me a chance to prove myself."
"There's too much history between us. I could never trust you." Iris fiddled with the sleeve of her turtleneck. "We'd best leave things as they are."
Garth hadn't gotten where he was by backing away from a challenge. "I don't plan to give up. I will win you back."
At last she looked up, glaring at him. "I'm not some prize you can take home and put on your mantel. My life is exactly the way I like it, calm and peaceful. No fights or arguments. I want it to stay that way."
"Who says it won't? Let's get reacquainted, Iris. You'll see that I've changed."
"Don't you listen? I-am-not-interested," she stated, enunciating each word as if he were from another planet.
He knew how to turn that less-than-friendly attitude around — take her in his arms and nibble the sensitive place under her ear until she forgot all about not trusting him. But right now regaining that trust was the most important thing in his life.
So he kept his hands to himself. "Got it. You'll only see me in class."
"I'm glad we understand each other," Iris said, looking relieved. "So that's settled."
Nothing was settled. During the next two and a half weeks there were five more one-hour classes. Surely that was enough time to win her over. Whatever it took
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06-07-07, 04:39 PM
Take a Chance on ME by Ann Roth
HI GIRLS . I BRING YOU TODAY A NEW NOVEL : TAKE A 
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