Thanks to Tates for my first review! I am so glad to know someone is actually reading and enjoying this. :) More coming soon! First of two chapters uploaded today.

Chapter Eleven: Hard to Get

The Next Morning:

Theresa smiled to herself as she headed downstairs for a late breakfast. Ethan had told her last night that he planned to spend the morning with the children, first out to breakfast and then to the playground. And Jared was working again, so she had the day to herself. She frowned as a pang of guilt struck her. She really, really needed to talk to Whitney. They'd spoke briefly on the phone the day before, with Whitney trying to put up a brave front, but Theresa could hear the devastation in her voice. Whitney needed a shoulder to cry on whether she wanted to admit it or not, after she'd found out about Chad's betrayal.

Her thoughts were disrupted by the sight of a huge bouquet of flowers, awaiting her on the decorative table in the hallway. Theresa stopped, staring in wonder. It had to be absolutely the most elaborate display she'd ever seen - she couldn't even imagine how one person could carry such an enormous arrangement. Jared must really, really have felt guilty about the argument they'd had. Smiling, she reached for the small white enveloped jutting out from the blooms. Reading, her smile was erased by a look of shock as she read the contents.

Later That Morning:

Ethan burst the front door, in lighthearted pursuit of his three giggling children. "You beat me!" He cried in mock disappointment as they skidded into the hallway. EJ rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide a smile. His younger sisters were delighted with their victory, jumping up and down and cheering each other on.

"Did you have a good time?" Theresa appeared, smiling, holding her hands casually behind her back.
"Oh, it was great!" Ethan returned her smile.

"Good. Hey you guys, why don't you head up to the TV room for a little while?. Your dad and I need to make some arrangements for the next few days, OK?" Theresa purposefully kept her tone casual. Grumbling, the kids reluctantly turned and headed up the stairs.

Ethan felt a small twinge of excitement. Had she really liked the flowers that much? Was he about to add his name to the Dr. Love Hall of Fame, achieving total victory by Step 2 of the master plan? Could it be possible that Theresa was finally starting to see that they were meant to be together? He started to turn towards her, but just then Theresa removed one hand from behind her back and then...THWACK! Ethan rocked back on his feet and then stared at her in astonishment as he sneezed and wiped crushed flower petals and leaves off of his face. She'd smacked him with his own bouquet, and she hadn't been gentle about it. He guessed he probably should be thankful that she'd at least taken them out of the vase first. "OW! Theresa, what the hell...that hurt!"

"Did it?" Theresa smiled sweetly. "Well, here's something that might ease the stinging." She pulled the other hand behind her back. Ethan barely had to time to realize she was holding the missing vase until SPLASH-she doused him with the grimy water it held, right in the face. He stood there, soaking wet and dripping, wondering what the heck had just happened, and if it was possible to sue Dr. Love for all the wretched author was worth.

"Theresa, I just...I mean...I was trying to do something nice for you!"

"Nice?" Theresa snapped. "You leave a pretentious, overdone display of flowers in the hall, with a card that drips sweet nothings and signed 'With All My Love, Ethan', and I'm supposed to think that's nice? You are staying in the home I share with my fiance! What if Jared had gotten home early and saw it first? How would I have explained that? He's already upest with me, in case you didn't notice! What exactly are you trying to do, ruin my life?" She glared at him.

"I'm sorry." Deflated, Ethan dropped his hands. "I didn't even think about that. I thought you'd like them." He looked so disappointed that Theresa felt her anger immediately evaporate, as hard as she tried to hold onto it. She sighed and walked into the kitchen to get a hand towel for him to dry off with. Returning, she handed it to him.

"It was nice, Ethan, and I'm sorry if I overreacted. It's just that I have moved on, and you're trying to pull me back and you have to stop. I couldn't just freeze time and sit still until you finally decided you wanted me back. Jared was there for me, and you weren't. I'm with him now - learn to accept it."

"I can't." Ethan said softly, staring at her until she was forced to look up and make eye contact with him. "My mistake was letting you go and not fighting for you. I should have years ago and I'm not making that same mistake now. If you marry Jared when you're really in love with me, you'll be doing exactly what I did, and it will be the greatest regret of your life. I'm not letting us both go through that again."

"It's not the same!" Theresa hated how she couldn't completely look him in the face when she said that. "I'm not marrying Jared out of obligation. I'm marrying him because I love him, and he's reliable, and stable and..." She broke off at the disbelieving look on Ethan's face. "I don't want to argue with you. Just give it up, OK? Please." She brushed back her dark hair impatiently, just wanting the conversation to end.

"Like hell I will." Ethan muttered under his breath.

"What?" Theresa whirled back towards him, wishing now that she'd hit him with something harder than a bouquet of flowers. Seeing the strain on her face, Ethan decided to back off a little - for the time being.

"Nothing, Theresa."

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment longer, then turned. "I'm hoping to spend some time with Whitney this afternoon. The nanny's here but-"

"It's not a problem, Theresa, and I don't want the nanny taking care of the children while I'm here. I'll send her home for the rest of the day."

"Thank you." Theresa managed to smile at him. "I'll be back in a few hours. Call my cell if there's a problem." She walked out the door before he could respond, feeling the need to have some space between them.

Theresa's cell phone rang just as she pulled into the parking lot of the Book Cafe. She looked at the Caller ID and sighed, then put the phone to her ear.
"Don't even try it, Whitney." Her voice was pleasant, but firm.

"Theresa, I'm just not feeling well and I-"

"Do you want me to come there?" Theresa tapped her fingernails on the steering wheel of the car.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Whitney sighed.

"You're just now figuring it out?" Theresa laughed. "Whitney, you need to get out of the house, and you said your mom has Miles, so you don't need to worry about him. We'll hang out, we'll order chocolate cake and maybe some ice cream, and we'll talk about everything. It's better than sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Come on, what are best friends for?"

"Alright-I'll be there in twenty minutes." Whitney's voice was resigned.

"Good." Theresa smiled and snapped the cell phone closed, then climbed out of her car. She walked slowly to the Book Cafe entrance, enjoying the scenery. It was one of those perfect summer days, not too hot, with a gentle sea breeze blowing through the town. Smiling, she surveyed the flowering bushes along the side of the building-the suddenly stopped as one of those bushes shook of its own volition. "What in the world?" She murmured to herself as she approached. "There's something in there - maybe a stray cat." More shaking and the sound of gigglling put an end to that theory.

"Hmmm...a lover's tryst is more like it." Theresa smiled to herself, about to walk away, when suddenly she realized that the giggles sounded familiar...very familiar. Her smile instantly disappeared. Stepping forward firmly, frowning, she stuck her hands into the dark overgrowth, groping blindly and praying she wouldn't touch anything any more creepy crawly then she was prepared to deal with. Both hands touched cloth at the same time and she pulled back, bringing with her the guilty, flushed figures of Kay Bennett and her very own brother, Miguel, their clothing in disarray. "Well, well, what do we have here?" Theresa folded her arms and looked at the two in front of her. "I don't believe this!"

Miguel's face was still flushed, but his eyes held a defiant look. "Back off, Theresa...this is none of your business."

"I wonder if Fox would feel the same way?" Theresa asked, her tone of voice sweet but with an underlying threat.

"You wouldn't tell Fox!" Kay's face went white. "Theresa, please!"

"How can you both do this to him?" Theresa was very close to losing her temper once more. "Wasn't last year's disaster enough? He left you at the altar, Kay, because of this exact same thing! And you promised him - in fact, you promised everyone who would stop long enough to listen, as I recall, that it was over with Miguel and it would never, ever happen again. Now look at you. Fox trusts you-he's about to try and make you his wife AGAIN and you're still playing undercover lovers. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Kay wrapped her arms around herself defensively. "I don't have to explain anything to you." She hissed.

Miguel opened his mouth, probably to defend her, and Theresa silenced him with a look. "I'll deal with you later. Kay and I need to have a little talk."

He started to protest but she shot him a cold glare. "Fine. I have to go to work anyway." He looked at Kay. "Catch you later."

As he left, Theresa took Kay firmly by the arm and dragged her inside, pushing her towards one of the small tables.

"Theresa, what are you doing? And since when are you so high and mighty, anyway? You spent half your life trying to break up Ethan and Gwen's marriage so I don't understand where you get off..."

Kay continued to rant as Theresa rolled her eyes. She'd gotten used to most of Harmony throwing her past indiscretions in her face every time they wanted to turn the attention from themselves, but it was still more than annoying. She waited a moment until Kay wound down and then forced yet another smile on her face.
"Are you done? Good. I don't want to be in your business, Kay, believe me, but the thing is, you're playing two people I care about very much. Fox is one of my best friends and Miguel is my brother. They deserve better than this, and you do too. Don't you remember how humiliated you were and how upset last time this all came out? I just don't understand why you would put yourself right back in the same exact position. The two of you were not exactly being discreet. Fox will find out, and when he does, not only will he leave you, but he will hate you. Is that what you want?"

Kay's eyes filled with tears. "Theresa, I didn't mean for this to happen, but it's like every time I turn around, Miguel is there. And when he's not..." She blushed. "I can't stop thinking about him. I thought I'd made my choice, but I don't know how to let him go. What am I going to do?" she wiped her eyes with a napkin.

"Tell Fox." Theresa's voice was sympathetic, but stern. "You have to tell him that you're still in love with Miguel. That you don't love him enough to marry him. It's only fair."

"I can't!" Kay was sobbing in earnest now. "I do love Fox and I want to marry him. This will be the last time - I swear it will be. I'll never see Miguel behind his back again-I'll be loyal."

"No, you won't." Theresa sighed. "How many times have you said that before? You'll never be over Miguel. Why can't you see that?"

Kay stared at her for a moment, then broke into a harsh laugh. "You're one to talk, Theresa. You have some unbelievable nerve, saying that to me. I saw the look on your face when Ethan showed up at Gwen's wedding. You're not over him, not even close, and yet you're going to marry Jared anyway. Is that the right thing to do?"

"That's not true!" Theresa said, stung.

Kay smiled coldly. "Pot, kettle, black. That's all I have to say." Standing up, she exited the cafe without a backwards glance.

As she watched her go, Theresa felt a sudden headache coming. A headache that had HYPOCRITE written all over it.

To Be Continued...

In the next chapter Gwen returns and prepares to throw herself full heartedly into her matchmaking. However, Theresa has some unsettling news for her...