Fool That I Am (12 page)

Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin?

If I can’t help
falling in love with you

Like a river flows
surely to the sea

Darling, so it
goes, some things are meant to be…

Her voice trailed away as Daniel stopped their progress in
the middle of the long, deserted hallway. Turning to face her, he studied her
face in the weak moonlight that filtered through the glass panes. She was
utterly lovely inside and out and Daniel was desperate to have her. His hand
reached out to cup her jaw as he traced the rounded curve of her cheek with his
thumb and he used his other arm to usher her into his embrace.

“I’ve been called a fool more than once in my life,” he whispered,
his eyes searching hers for clues. “But I can’t seem to stop myself from
wondering if you are one of the things that was meant to be.”

Billie’s heart was pounding in her chest as she gazed into
his handsome, sincere face. She had been prepared for pick-up lines, and she
had been prepared for propositions, but she hadn’t been prepared for sincerity.
She could read his intentions in the depths of his eyes and that frightened her
more than anything. She had been a fool before and was much wiser now.

“I’m afraid, Daniel,” she confessed with ragged breaths. “I
don’t want to get hurt again. Don’t play with me, please. I’m not very good at
games and I always end up the loser. What do you want from me?” she pleaded
with him.

His dark eyes melted with sympathy and kindness. “I’m not
playing with you, Billie. I’m very serious. I want to see you, get to know you,
and find out if our chemistry can lead to something more. Don’t tell me you
don’t feel it, too.”

“I won’t deny it,” she whispered, brave enough to confess.
“But I won’t just jump into bed with you, Daniel. I’m not looking for that and
I don’t want that kind of relationship. You have to know that right now. If
that is what you’re looking for, we need to keep on as friends because that’s
just not me.”

A slow, sexy grin coaxed his dimples into appearing. “I’m
not going to lie to you and say that the thought of having you in my bed has
never crossed my mind, but I’m willing to wait as long as it takes. I know what
kind of woman you are, Billie. Let me prove to you what kind of man I can be.”

Wordlessly, Billie snaked her hand up behind his head and
gently pulled him down toward her. He needed no further invitation as his lips
met hers for a breathtaking kiss. For long, heated moments, their lips met and
clung, advanced and retreated. Finally, they broke apart and regarded each
other on the precipice of something new and exciting.

“There’s no rush,” he assured her as he brought his face
back down to hers. “But damn, if I don’t want to do that again.”

Two weeks later, Sam Garrett was entertaining a cute little
blonde over dinner. “Are you sure about that?”

Girlish laughter erupted to float across the dinner table.
“Uncle Sam!” Lola crowed. “You gots a big blob of skettie on your nose! It’s
right there!”

Feigning ignorance about the huge spot of sauce across his
nose, he squinted his eyes in disbelief and replied, “I think you’re just
making that up. You’re trying to trick me, Lola Jean.”

Lola’s happy laughter caused several nearby tables at the
Italian fast food restaurant to turn in her direction and smile. “Here is my
nackin, Uncle Sam. You need to wipe your face off!” she demanded, handing him a
stained and ripped paper napkin.

Even Derrick was chuckling a little at their antics, but Chad
was rolling his eyes. “Dude, knock it off. Everyone is staring at us,” he said
grumpily.

Sam stifled the urge to tell Chad where he could go, and
instead winked at Lola and used her napkin to wipe his nose. Lola, wisely
interpreting that fun time was over, went back to busily slurping her spaghetti
and chomping on breadsticks. Derrick shot nervous glances between his dad and
Sam trying to figure out the mood; so, Sam made a concerted effort to lighten
the atmosphere to put the sensitive boy at ease.

“Is everyone ready for Christmas?” he asked around a
mouthful of ravioli.

Derrick nodded eagerly and Lola chimed in by extolling the
long list of items she had requested from Santa Claus. Derrick replied, “Yeah,
Mom’s already got the tree up and decorated. There’s even presents under there
already!”

“Yeah!” Lola seconded. “Even for Mommy’s new
boyyyyyyfrieeeeend!” she sang teasingly.

“Lola Jean! Hush!” Derrick hissed with a panicked look at
his dad across the table.

This topic, as none other had this evening, pricked Chad’s
interest. Unknown to everyone else, it also snagged Sam’s intense attention,
too. Chad turned his gaze on his daughter and said, “Your Mommy has a
boyfriend?” he asked sweetly. “Have you met him yet?”

Before she could reply, Derrick directed the spotlight away
from his sister and back on to himself. “We don’t know for sure, but we
overheard her on the phone the other night talking to someone. It sounded like
they were very friendly with each other. She was talking about what a good time
she had the other night and hoped to see him again soon,” he confessed
reluctantly. He hated feeling like he was telling tales about his mom, but he
also didn’t want to court the disfavor of his father by refusing.

The pasta sitting in Sam’s stomach suddenly weighed twenty
pounds and the bite in his mouth turned to ash. As nonchalantly as he could, he
asked, “Have you ever met this guy? Do you know his name?”

“The present under the tree says D-A-N-I-E-L!” Lola
announced proudly.

Chad and Sam looked at each other in consternation. Chad
said, “Do you know anyone named Daniel?”

Sam shook his head in the negative. He hated to question
Derrick, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “You don’t have to say if you
don’t want to, but do you know where she met this guy?”

Derrick studied his plate for a few seconds and pushed his
lasagna around before answering, “I don’t think she will mind if I tell. I
think she met him at her new job.”

Chad, stunned by this bit of news he was hearing for the
first time, exclaimed, “Your mom has a new job?”

Sam, without thinking, replied, “She picked up a second job
recently.”

“Oh, you would know, wouldn’t you?” he replied with a sneer.
“Where is the second job at, pray tell?”

Sam shot him a peeved glare and replied, “I don’t know. I just
know she has a second job because she can’t pay the bills and needed extra
money.” He raised his eyebrows pointedly and Chad had the good grace to look
away quickly.

Derrick, sensing he needed to put out this fire quickly,
hastened to assure them, “I don’t know for sure that it’s her boyfriend. She’s
never mentioned having one, and we’ve never met him before. We just thought
that it sounded like they’ve been out a few times.”

Both men were quiet, for their own reasons, at this bit of
news. Chad, though he held no love for Billie, still felt possessive of her and
selfishly didn’t want her to be happy when he was not. Sam, however, was
heartsick at the news. Even though this was what he had wanted, for her to move
on, the reality of it so soon after holding her in his arms was enough to bring
him to his knees. Very carefully, he pulled himself together and changed the
subject again. It wouldn’t do for anyone at this table to know just how much
this news hurt him.

************************************************************************

At the same moment, while Billie was busy rehearsing with
the band, Daniel sat in his office at The Silver Knight and regarded Hank from
across the desk. It had been a busy two weeks. In the past month since “Valerie
Jones” had started performing for the club, interest in both her and Daniel had
increased. Word of mouth was a powerful tool and it had been working overtime
ever since Billie first sang on the stage. The mixture of her voice, her looks,
and her stage presence was enough to cause intense interest. Daniel hadn’t been
completely honest with Billie: the last show didn’t just sell out in a few
days. It had sold out in a few
hours
. He hadn’t wanted to send her into
a panic, so he had stretched the truth a bit.

He also didn’t tell her that speculation was running wild
about her true identity. Because of his high profile in the community and
across the business world, he tended to attract a lot of attention from the
press. Now that Billie had become a big attraction, and she had been seen a few
times on his arm at various public outings, rumor had run rampant about his new
“lady love.” One journalist in particular, a ruthless middle-aged woman named
Tanya Delaney, was already calling and emailing him constantly to fish for more
information about her, but Daniel’s strict confidentiality clause had kept
anyone from spilling her real name…so far.

But even more than all of that, there was something else
that was bothering him. Billie was holding herself back from him and he didn’t
know why. She seemed to enjoy herself when she was with him and even seemed to
enjoy kissing him as much as he did her, but he didn’t sense any fire or
passion that would match his own. He knew she was in no hurry to rush their
relationship, but she didn’t seem to be eager to get there, either. There was
something holding her back as if she was holding him at arm’s length even when
her body was pressed against his.

Thus the reason for his meeting with Hank. Taking a bracing
sip of the dark, expensive scotch, he asked, “How are things going with you and
Billie’s friend? Did anything ever come of that?”

A wicked grin split Hank’s face at the mention of Consuela
Vasquez. “Over and over again and as often as possible, my friend. That woman
is hotter than a habanero and more passionate than anyone I’ve ever met. She’s
amazing,” he said, eyes twinkling.

Sam was happy for them, plus he was hoping it served his
purpose, too. “I’m glad to hear it, buddy. Do you two ever do any actual
talking or is it all physical?”

Deep, masculine laughter rippled across the large, open room
and bounced off the walls. “I’m sorry, man, but you are so transparent. You
just want to know if she’s said anything about Billie, don’t you?”

A sheepish look crossed Daniel’s face as Hank busted him
out. “I guess that was pretty obvious. Look, I really need some help here.
She’s hiding something or holding back and I can’t seem to bridge the gap. I
need to know what my obstacle is before I can overcome it,” he confessed.
“Connie is her best friend. It’s only common sense that she might impart some
information of the topic to her new lover.”

Hank looked down at his large, calloused hands and debated
over whether or not to divulge what Connie had shared with him. Looking up, he
saw the desperate hope in his friend’s eyes, and knew he had to tell him.
Taking a deep breath, Hank said, “You may not like what you hear.”

Daniel’s hand sliced through the air decisively. “Tell me.”

Taking a slug of the scotch for courage, Hank told him,
“Connie told me that Billie has been hung up on someone for years. She’s pretty
sure that this guy is just as in love with her, but he would never move on her
because of some sense of moral righteousness. From what I can gather, this guy
is her ex-husband’s best friend since childhood. He’s been friends with Billie
since high school and still remained her friend after the divorce.”

Daniel sat back in his chair heavily. He had been afraid of
this. That space that he felt between him and Billie wasn’t empty. There was
someone else standing between them. “What do you know about this guy?”

Hank, having foreseen this eventuality, already had his
ducks in a row. “His name is Sam Garrett, 30 years old, works as a Field
Superintendent at Worthington Construction. Never been married, no kids,
excellent credit score, and owns his own home. Great big guy, ex-football
player type, well-liked by Billie’s friends. Seems he’d been helping to support
her and her kids since the ex is a dead-beat that never pays child support.
Connie told me they had a huge falling out over money: he wanted to give her
more, and she was too proud to take any of it.”

Daniel’s eyes searched the ceiling as his brain worked
furiously to process this new information. It wasn’t good news, but it wasn’t a
deal breaker, either. He just had to make sure that their rift was a permanent
one. “What about the ex?”

Hank snorted in derision. “Total loser. Chad Hardesty, age
30, works under the table at Hardesty Glass Company, which is owned by his
uncle. Has no reportable income, so he was ordered to pay the minimum, which is
around $250 a month. Of course, he never pays it until they threaten him with
jail time, then Mommy cuts a check.”

Daniel nodded absently, his mind busily putting together the
puzzle of Billie’s life. It was easy to see how Billie had fallen in love with
the best friend. He was everything she craved for her family: stable,
trust-worthy, and dependable. Daniel would just have to prove himself to be all
that and more. “What would you do if you were in my shoes?”

Hank studied him for a moment before replying. “Stake your
claim in the most public way possible. Connie said that no one else knows about
Billie’s singing gig back home except her parents and her coworkers. She is a
different, more confident woman on that stage. I say you invite Sam Garrett to
the Christmas concert and let him get an eyeful of Valerie Jones. Then, let him
get an eyeful of Daniel Petrosky standing by her side.”

Daniel chewed this idea over carefully. “What if it
backfires? What if seeing that Billie has moved on spurs this Sam into
declaring himself to her?”

“It won’t,” Hank said confidently. “First of all, he’ll
probably bring his own date to the show. My sources tell me that he’s got a girlfriend
that he knocked up recently. Plus, it will show him that Billie has moved on
with someone who is capable of taking care for her and her family. This guy is
ruled by his code of ethics. He’s never crossed the line with her all these
years because of his best friend. He won’t make a move now because he will want
what’s best for her and he also won’t want to upset his baby mama. But if I’m
wrong, and he makes his move, wouldn’t it be better to know now how she will
respond?”

Daniel swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. He just
wished he knew what Billie would say if that happened. She kept so much of
herself held back that he wasn’t positive who she would choose. It was better
to know than to keep wondering, though.

With grim finality, he told Hank, “Make it happen.”