Earning Yancy (15 page)

Neither did Tanya. She was uncharacteristically quiet and she looked exhausted. While her hair and make-up were their usual perfection, I could see the shadows beneath her eyes and her lids looked slightly swollen as though she might have been crying. I didn’t like it. Like Grier, every time she caught me looking at her, she refused to meet my eyes.

We managed to get a table as soon as we entered the restaurant. In a tactic that I recognized as an effort to evade my questions, Tanya announced, “Yancy went to The French Room on her date this weekend and I caught them making out in the front seat of his car afterwards.”

Immediately, all eyes turned to me.

“Yay!” Chelsea squealed.

I flinched at the volume and duration of her exclamation. Lucy and Grier merely applauded. For a moment I thought they were going to give me a standing ovation. I glared at Tanya before I responded.

“Thanks for sharing, Tanya. I’m sure the girls would rather talk about something other than my non-existent social life at lunch.”

Lucy shrugged. “Not really. I think they’re sick of listening to me gush about Chris.”

Chelsea made a gagging noise. “Yes. Sick and tired. I have to see the man all day and now I have to listen to my best friend talk about his
stamina
in the sack.” She looked at me. “Do you know how traumatizing that is? Seriously, I know things about that man that no employee should ever know about their boss.” She whirled and pointed a finger at Lucy. “And he knows that you talk. Did you know that? I think it makes him uncomfortable too. We can’t even look at each other in the office.”

Lucy shrugged. “He’s known me for a long time. He knew what he was getting into.”

I laughed, because she was right. If Chris truly had a problem with something Lucy said or did, she wouldn’t do it. As it was, I think he also knew to pick his battles because Lucy was probably one of the most headstrong, independent people I’d ever met. Much like the man that loved her.

Chelsea waved her hand to stop the conversation. “Enough. We’re supposed to be talking about Yancy’s date.”

I shot the waitress a grateful look as she came up, introduced herself, and took our drink orders. I was almost sad to see her walk away because I knew the girls would start interrogating me as soon as she was gone.

“So, how was The French Room?” Grier asked. “I’ve always wanted to go.”

“It was amazing,” I answered. “The food, the wine, the atmosphere. It was romantic and probably one of the best dates of my life. I really enjoyed it.”

“Forget that romantic crap,” Chelsea said. “I want to hear more about the making out. Is he a good kisser?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “There’s nothing wrong with romance, Chelsea.”

“Romance, shmomance. It’s not my thing. All
romance
is for is so a man can soften us up and get to the good stuff faster,” she quipped.

“God, you’re so fucking cynical,” Lucy interrupted. “Even Chris Barden, the least sentimental person I’ve ever met, can give good romance.”

Chelsea’s face lost some of its amusement. “Yes, but he’s been in love with you for a long time, Lucy. Romance on a first, or even third, date is usually just a thinly veiled attempt to see what you keep in your underwear.”

Before I could respond, Tanya waved her hands. “Enough. If I had known that my little announcement would begin a debate on the motivations of men, I wouldn’t have spoken up.”

The table fell silent. Tanya loved to argue. She was a lawyer, it was her job. She never stopped discussions such as this one. In fact, she loved to play Devil’s advocate, egging us on.

“Are you okay, Tanya?” Grier asked.

Suddenly, Tanya’s face seemed to fall and the mask she’d been wearing disappeared. I could see fatigue and sadness etched in her face and shimmering in her eyes.

“Oh, God, what’s wrong?” Lucy asked.

Tanya rubbed her forehead. “Look, I can’t talk about it right now, okay? I just need a little time before I start hashing through it all.”

I leaned over and put arm around her shoulder. “You’re not sick or anything?” I asked hesitantly.

She shook her head and huffed out a bitter laugh. “Oh, I’m sick all right, but it’s not fatal.” She cleared her throat. “No, I’m not physically sick, just stressed. I just have some things happening at work that are hard to deal with.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Grier asked.

Tanya shook her head. “I do, just not now. If we discuss this, it will need to be over copious amounts of booze and junk food.”

We all nodded, a somber mood hovering over our table. With some women, you could press for more information and get them to open up. With Tanya, it only served to piss her off and make her walk away, so we all kept our mouths shut.

Lunch was quiet after that, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I realized that I hadn’t told any of the girls about Cooper showing up Wednesday night. Honestly, I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Since I had no idea what his motives were for appearing out of nowhere, I didn’t want to have to deal with the inevitable questions that I couldn’t answer.

After we finished eating, Tanya seemed to cheer up a bit. She looked at me and asked, “So, when are you gonna let that handsome hunk of man into your bed?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t know and I’ll thank you to keep your opinion on the matter to yourself.”

“Spoilsport,” she muttered.

Relieved that Tanya was talking again, I blurted, “I want to, but it just feels too soon. I mean, we’ve been to lunch three times, to dinner once, and I cooked for us Wednesday, then we just chilled out and watched a movie, but I feel like I need a little more time.”

“He came over Wednesday night?” Tanya asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. It was fun.” I felt my face heat when I remembered our make-out session on the couch that had almost gotten out of control.

“What’s with the blush?” Lucy asked, smirking.

I shot her a dirty look. “Nothing.”

She giggled. “You made out with him, didn’t you?” she asked. “What base did he get to?”

I rolled my eyes. “What? Are we in high school? It’s none of your damn business.”

She shrugged. “I tell you everything,” she said.

I sighed. “Yeah, but because you want to, not because I ask.” I glanced at my watch. “And as much as I would like to continue this wonderful conversation, we need to get back to work.”

Pleased I averted the uncomfortable topic, we all stood and went to the front to pay our tab. The walk back to our building was filled with an intense discussion of what constituted the ‘bases’ when talking about sexual activities. Though I couldn’t care less about it, Chelsea, Lucy, and even Tanya were arguing about what counted as first or second base, and, thankfully, all three were distracted from the topic of my love life.

When we reached the lobby, we all went our separate ways: me to the stairs, Tanya, Chelsea, and Grier to the elevators, and Lucy back out to the parking garage so she could go home. As I climbed to the fourth floor, I thought about Tanya’s obvious distress. Something was going on with her and she was avoiding it. That worried me. Tanya was the kind of woman who faced things head on and didn’t mince words, despite her big heart. I decided to contact the other girls and set up a girls’ night as soon as I could arrange it. She needed to talk about what was going on, even if she didn’t want to.

I went into my office and emailed all the girls about my plan as soon as my computer booted up. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon focused on work. Finally, at five, I saved my work and shut down for the day. I was beyond ready for the weekend after the craziness of the last few days.

I drove home on autopilot, my brain shifting from one topic to the next. First, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner, then I found myself wondering what in the hell Cooper was thinking, before my mind moved on to Charles and how incredible his kisses made me feel, how careful he was with me, and how considerate he could be.

The first few weeks after we met, I thought he was an arrogant ass. Now, I realized that he was a lot like me. He behaved that way to keep distance between us, to protect himself. Then, when he realized that I was single, he immediately set about correcting the first impressions he’d created. Maybe his behavior wasn’t perfect, but he was human. Kathy had been correct. People made mistakes and, sometimes, they would disappoint me, but Charles’ actions matched his words.

I was glad I’d given him another chance.

I arrived home to find that I didn’t have to worry about dinner because Kathy had made pot roast. I resisted the urge to fall to my knees and kiss her feet. After the last few days, having one less thing to worry about was something I deeply appreciated.

I changed into jeans and a sweatshirt before Kathy left, popped open a beer, and sat down to have a nice, quiet dinner with my daughter. I talked to her while we ate, telling her about my day. She laughed and ate her meal, then threw her plate and remnants of her dinner on the floor. As I cleaned up the mess, I explained to her that she couldn’t throw her food on the floor just because she was finished eating. Of course, she just laughed at me and squealed as I threw away the mess.

I managed to avoid checking my phone after dinner and focused on playing with Lena, bathing her, and enjoying our special time in the evening. Spending time with her and seeing her so happy kept me grounded and helped me let go of the stress of the week.

Once I had her settled into bed, I got myself another beer from downstairs and took it to the reading nook at the front of the house. I settled down to read for a little while, losing myself in an old-fashioned bodice-ripper.

Just as I was beginning to feel a little hot and bothered, my cell phone rang. I glanced at the screen and saw it was Charles. Smiling, I set my book to the side and answered.

“Hi,” I said softly.

“Hi, babe. Whatcha doin’?” he asked.

I liked the
babe
a lot more than I should. In the back of my mind, I could hear Tanya’s voice saying that Babe was a little pig, not a grown-ass woman, but I ignored it. She might not like pet names like
babe
,
baby
, or
honey
, but I did.

“Reading. You?”

Charles sighed. “I’m lying on my couch, drinking a beer, and talking to you.”

“Sounds nice,” I said, smiling.

“The best.”

My heart rate sped up. He sounded completely sincere and it made warmth spread from my chest out to my limbs. I liked that he made it clear he was more than happy to pay attention to me in even the smallest ways, like a phone conversation or funny little texts that he would send all day. I knew that he was thinking of me and it felt wonderful.

“So, tomorrow. Can you be here around 11:00? It’ll take a little while to get to the park and get set up,” I said.

“Absolutely. Can I bring anything? Wine? Beer?”

I laughed. “No. No alcohol. We’re eating in a public park and I do believe they have laws about open containers there.”

“How about dessert?”

I smiled. “Just bring yourself. Let me take care of the rest.”

I could hear the smile in his voice as he answered, “Okay.”

We chatted for another thirty minutes, but I could tell he was fatigued. Finally, I said, “You sound tired, baby. Why don’t you go to bed?”

There was a pause. “Yeah. I think I will. I just missed seeing you today.”

I felt that same warmth I felt earlier spreading throughout my body again.

“One thing first,” he said.

“Sure.”

“Call me baby again.”

I grinned. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who liked terms of endearment. “Okay, baby.”

He chuckled. “I like that. But maybe you should refrain from calling me that at the office or when I’m not with you.”

“Why?”

“Because now I want to kiss you and see what I have to do to get you to call me that again.”

The warmth became pure heat and shot to the area between my legs. Charles might be considerate and well-mannered most of the time, but I also found that I liked the roguish side of him as well.

“Well, maybe you can find out tomorrow,” I murmured. I couldn’t believe that I had the audacity to say it, but I was rewarded by his groan.

“Does Carolena still take an afternoon nap?” he asked softly.

“Yes,” I whispered, unsure why I lowered my voice.

“Then, challenge accepted.”

My heart picked up speed. Though I told my friends I was still hesitant about the physical side of my budding relationship with Charles, I still enjoyed his kiss and his touch and I looked forward to it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Yancy,” he said in that low voice that made goose bumps break out on my arms.

“Good night, Charles,” I murmured.

After I hung up, I lifted my book from the table beside me and stared blankly at the page for a few minutes. With a sigh, I tossed the book back on the table and drained my beer. There was no way I could focus on anything at the moment. All I could think about was how creative Charles might be when he followed through on his challenge of what it would take for me to call him
baby
again.

The upside of my distraction was that I no longer felt nervous about what might happen at the picnic tomorrow.