“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that.”
We silently worked together for several minutes before Rowan spoke. “I meant to call you,” he said.
“You’re busy,” I said, dismissing his excuse. “I understand.”
“That’s not it.”
The response puzzled me.
He unrolled his shirtsleeves and his attention was on the task. “Do you remember the night of your mom’s surgery me mentioning that I’d recognized you from the Christmas party?”
I wasn’t sure how that connected with the here and now. “I remember.”
His gaze bounced away from mine, almost as if he was unsure he should continue. “You were laughing with a few of the other nurses, and the sound of your laughter caught my attention. When I saw you, it was as if the entire room lit up with sunshine. I couldn’t stop staring at you. If someone hadn’t bumped into me, I may have been standing there looking at you for the rest of the evening.”
Dish towel in hand, I was rooted to the spot. I had no idea I’d had this impact on him.
“Jenna, I have one failed marriage and a lot of baggage. Because of that, I decided not to ask you out. But for the life of me, I couldn’t forget you.”
This was all new to me.
“Being as subtle as possible, I found out everything I could about you. More than anything, I wanted to get to know you, but I didn’t make the effort. You’re beautiful and loving and warm, and the truth is I wasn’t sure how you’d react. My life is consumed by work. I’ve dedicated my life to my career, and you…quite frankly, you frightened me.”
“I frightened you?” Me? I was probably the least threatening person he would ever know.
“It’s embarrassing to admit. When Gardner approached you that day I had the flat tire, I thought my chances were over. I couldn’t imagine you wanting to date me when he clearly was interested in you.”
I wanted to explain that I’d met and dated too many men like Rich Gardner and that I wasn’t the least bit tempted, but I didn’t get the chance, because Rowan continued.
“When I learned it was your mother I would be operating on, I felt like it was fate. This was my one chance and I didn’t want to blow it. Last Friday, just being with you was…I don’t know how to explain it. It was the best day I’ve had in years. When we kissed, it was everything I knew it would be and more.”
“It was for me, too,” I whispered, hardly able to find my voice.
We started to walk toward each other when his phone buzzed. Groaning, Rowan reached for it, read the text, and sighed. “I’ve got to get back to the hospital. Have I said more than I should?”
“No.” I rushed to assure him. “Not at all.”
“I haven’t frightened you off?”
I laughed softly. “Nope.”
His shoulders relaxed. “That’s good to know, Sunshine.”
“Sunshine?”
He nodded. “That’s the way I’ve thought of you ever since I saw you that first time.”
Reluctantly, he started toward the door, then hesitated. He turned back, gathered me in his arms, and hugged me. “I need to go.”
“I know. Get going. We’ll talk more later.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
His hold on me tightened briefly. “I don’t dare kiss you; otherwise, I won’t be able to leave.” His lips gently brushed against the top of my head. “Hugging you will have to hold me over.”
It would need to do the same for me.
CHAPTER 20
Jenna
I’d planned to stay with Mom a couple nights and could see that she was beginning to rely on me a bit too much. With Dad gone, it was easy for her to look to me for companionship. Because she needed an excuse to keep me with her, she asked me to do the very things she needed to be doing herself. I was glad when Tom called and offered to come up to stay with her for a few days. It was good for both Mom and my brother, as well as a break for me.
And the timing couldn’t have been better.
“So if I’m right, you have today off.” Rowan had called me from his car after he left the hospital. “How about dinner?”
He could have invited me to fillet a salmon on the Seattle docks and I would have agreed. Our conversation earlier in the week had been cut short when he was called into the hospital for an emergency surgery. The things he’d said had played in my mind ever since. I was eager to pick up the conversation where we’d left off. That he had been interested in me as far back as last December had come as a shock, but his confession thrilled me. I was seeing a strong green light with this man.
“I’d like to cook for you,” Rowan continued, “and one day I will. I would tonight, if I wasn’t so tired.”
“You cook?” Could this man get any more perfect?
“A little here and there. I enjoy it, although I don’t get a chance to do it often. It hardly seems worth the effort to go to all that trouble for one person.”
I’d been going through the same dilemma myself. Since leaving Mom’s house, I’d started eating salads twice a day without dressing. Those extra pounds were stubbornly clinging to my hips. It would have been easier to remove them with a hammer and chisel.
“I hear you.”
“What do you like?” he asked. “Italian? American? Mexican? A good steak?”
“You choose. I’m not a picky eater.”
“Will do. I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”
“Perfect.”
Before Rowan showed up, I called to check on Mom and my brother. I didn’t mention Rowan and I were having dinner together for fear she’d read more into it than warranted. I learned Tom was helping her cook dinner. When we finished talking, Mom handed the phone over to my brother.
“How’s it going?” I asked.
“Great. Mom seems to be moving around well, doing more for herself.” I was relieved that my brother wasn’t as much of a pushover as I was.
That was welcome news.
“Her bridge friends stopped by for a visit early this afternoon.”
Although Tom didn’t mention it, I knew seeing her friends had done my mother a world of good.
“I’m grateful you were able to get away to help,” I said. Having my brother step up had been a relief.
“It all worked out. A little mother-son time is good for us both.”
I agreed. Mom had perked up as soon as she heard Tom would be spending a few days with her. It worked well, as his wife was away on a business trip and he had several personal days that had built up at his firm that he needed to use or lose. His children were older than Paul and Allie and were each living on their own now.
“I’ll be back with Louanne and the kids for Mom’s birthday,” Tom said.
I knew having all the family around for Mom’s seventy-fifth birthday would mean the world to her.
* * *
—
Rowan picked me up at six-thirty just as he said he would. He paused once inside the house. His eyes rounded with appreciation and his jaw sagged open.
“Wow,” he whispered in admiration.
Before he arrived, I’d been running around the house like my hair was on fire, searching out the perfect dress, carelessly tossing outfits onto my bed until the mattress was covered from one end to the other. Rowan’s gentle, warm look made every minute of that frantic search worthwhile.
“I don’t think I can wait a minute longer to kiss you.”
I wasn’t willing to wait, either. When he reached for me I went willingly into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck. I stood on the tips of my toes and succumbed to him, breathing him in. Although Rowan claimed he hadn’t been in a relationship for a long time, his kissing skills were fine-tuned. Within seconds I was lost. After several extended kisses, he released me.
It took another few moments for me to find my footing. We held on to each other loosely, and I could see that he was as affected by the exchange as I’d been.
“That’s quite the greeting,” I said, smiling up at him.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that.”
Rowan drove into the downtown area of Seattle. He’d chosen a family-run Mediterranean restaurant called Shawarma Kebab. It was small, with only a few tables covered with red-checkered tablecloths, surrounded by mismatched chairs. The aroma of lamb, cumin, and turmeric filled the room. We were seated by a friendly server, who handed us menus.
“This is one of my favorites,” Rowan explained. “The food is wonderful.” The server returned for our drink order and brought an appetizer of spicy olives and cheese with pita bread, which we hadn’t ordered. “Doctor, my mother insists you have this,” the server said. “It’s on the house.”
Rowan instantly shook his head. “Thank your mother for me, but we can’t accept this without paying for it.”
The young man adamantly shook his head. “You saved our mama’s life. Please, Doctor, let us do this small thing for you.”
Rowan looked uncomfortable. I knew he didn’t want to insult the family and at the same time he felt awkward accepting even this small gift. He looked to me as if seeking my advice.
“Thank your mother for us,” I said softly.
Smiling, the server bowed slightly and left us.
“This happens every time I’m here,” Rowan said, looking guilty. “On my last visit I insisted I pay full price for my meal and they agreed for next time.” His arm stretched across the table and he took hold of my hand, lacing our fingers together. “Obviously when they saw that I had a beautiful woman with me, they couldn’t resist sending out another gift of food.”
His compliment made me blush.
While Rowan ordered the wine, I studied the menu. I could see it was going to be a difficult choice. Everything sounded amazing, although many of the dishes were foreign to me.
“The fish with the tomatoes and capers is one of my favorites,” Rowan offered, when it was plain I was having a hard time deciding.
I enjoyed fish, and eagerly accepted his recommendation with one small question. “What’s Lebanese rice?”
“As I remember, it’s rice with vermicelli and pine nuts.”
He read through the wine list, asking several questions. After he’d ordered, the waiter opened the bottle and poured us each a glass. He smiled at me from across the table.
The young man stood ready to take our food order.
“I’ll have the fish dish you mentioned,” I told Rowan, who gave the waiter the full name of the dish. He then made his own selection.
Rowan couldn’t have made a better choice for me. It consisted of white fish cooked in a spicy tomato broth, the rice, and a side salad with olives and feta cheese.
The wine was the perfect complement to our dinner. Rowan had lamb and we both cleaned our plates. Leaning back in the chair, I placed my hands over my stomach.
“I don’t think I could eat another bite. What a wonderful dinner.” In my mind I couldn’t imagine a more perfect evening. So often my dates looked to impress me with a meal at a high-end steak house. I was pleased Rowan hadn’t. This small, out-of-the-way cozy restaurant had been perfect. The entire family seemed involved in one way or another. The parents worked in the kitchen while their adult children waited tables. Our meal set the tone for the evening. It was intimate and congenial.
It was close to nine by the time we arrived back at the house.
“Would you like to come in for coffee?” I asked. Neither one of us was eager for the evening to end.
“I’d like that.”
When I unlocked the door, Rowan followed me into the kitchen. My coffeemaker was the one-cup-at-a-time kind. I stood in front of the counter, waiting for the hot liquid to brew. Rowan stood behind me, his presence warming me. He wrapped his arms around my middle and nuzzled my neck. Shivers ran down my spine, and I leaned my head to one side to grant him easier access to my neck and shoulder.
Closing my eyes, I surrendered to the sensations as his lips grazed the sensitive skin at the curve of my shoulder. I sighed with pleasure.
“It’s times like these that make me regret the long hours I put in at the hospital,” he said.
From our earlier dinner conversation, I knew he’d been in surgery early that morning and had worked more than thirteen straight hours. These hours weren’t unusual for him.
The first cup finished brewing and I reached for the second.
Rowan’s hold on me relaxed when I handed him the mug. “I never expected this to happen,” he said. He stepped away from me and blew into the side of the coffee to cool it down.
“What do you mean?”
“You and me,” he said as he studied his coffee. “I never dreamed it was possible that you could be interested in me.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I failed. My marriage was a disaster and I’m not a man who accepts defeat easily. I accepted that I wasn’t good husband material. When I first saw you I was tempted, so tempted, but my fear of failure held me back. I don’t want to make the same mistakes again, especially if you and I have a chance at…” He paused, as though unsure he should continue, afraid of getting ahead of himself. “I sincerely hope you feel the same as me about this.”
I didn’t hesitate. “I do.”
At my response, his features relaxed. “I realize this sounds like lyrics for a song, but if we move forward I want to be sure I’m the right man for you.”
The coffee machine made a loud gurgling sound as it finished brewing the second cup. We moved into the next room and sat close to the fireplace.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to know what went wrong in your marriage.”
Ending our evening discussing Kyle was a romance killer. I had to wonder what it was that he needed to know. Rowan had spoken little of his own marriage. All I knew was that his wife and daughter lived in California. He’d mentioned them only once, in response to a direct question.
“If answering is too painful or if you’d rather not, I understand, Sunshine.”
His pet name for me melted my heart. Holding my coffee cup close to my chest, I told him about Kyle’s affairs. As much as I wanted to blame everything on my ex-husband, I realized I had my own failings as a wife.
“After Paul and Allie were born, I continued working. All my reserve energy went toward mothering them. Kyle resented that. He needed a wife who fawned over him, who did whatever he needed to boost his ego. That wasn’t me. My kids came first.”
If Rowan was worried that I harbored any ill will toward my ex then he shouldn’t, because I didn’t. The one thing that still bothered me about Kyle, however, was the lack of attention and love when it came to our children. Paul and Allie had needed their father, and Kyle had basically ignored them. I never spoke negatively about Kyle…at least not in front of the children. It wasn’t necessary. They were wise enough to know the kind of man their father was from an early age.
“Anything else you’d care to know?” I asked, ready to ask a few questions of my own.
“No. Thank you for telling me this much. I’m sure this wasn’t easy.”
Before I had a chance to form my own question, Rowan took the coffee mug out of my hand and set it down next to his own. His eyes held mine prisoner as he leaned toward me. Without hesitation, I came forward to meet his kiss. The evening had been wonderful in every way, above and beyond anything I’d expected. Twisting around, I wrapped my arm around Rowan’s neck and yielded to him. His kisses were magic, better than any I could remember.
We were both heavily involved in kissing when in the back recesses of my mind I heard the slight echo of a click-click. It sounded like someone had just
opened and closed the front door.
“Mom!” My daughter’s voice rang out in horror as she stepped inside the door and saw us sitting in the family area.
Allie eyes went round and her mouth hung open. All she seemed capable of doing was standing and staring at me and Rowan.
“Sorry,” she blurted out. “I…I didn’t know you had company.” Her cheeks filled with color.
“Allie, this is Rowan, Dr. Lancaster. He’s your grandmother’s surgeon.”
“Oh.” She appeared incapable of any words more than a single syllable.
“Is everything all right?” I asked. It wasn’t like Allie to stop by without calling me first to make sure I was home. Her hands were full, holding two big laundry bags.
“I thought I’d come here to do my laundry…All the machines in the dorm were busy. Should I leave?” She glanced at Rowan as if to apologize.
All at once I noticed she had someone with her. I suspected this was Wyatt. He was young and had a head of wild, auburn hair that seemed to stand straight on end. He stared down at the floor, appearing as uncomfortable and unsure of what to do as Allie was.
“I assume you must be Wyatt?” I asked, hoping a change of subject would dispel the shock we’d all had.
He raised his hand in greeting and tucked the tips of his fingers into his back jeans pocket, still wearing an awkward and uneasy look.
“I thought you were staying at Grams’.” Allie appeared to regain her wits.
“I was…”
“I didn’t know you had company, otherwise…”
“It’s fine, honey. No problem. You didn’t interrupt anything.”
My daughter’s eyes narrowed with a frown. “It didn’t look that way when I came in the front door. From my vantage point it seemed he had his tongue all the way down your throat.”
“Allison Marie!”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m calling a spade a spade, that’s all.”
By now I was convinced my face was bright enough to be used as a fog light. I was about to ask that she apologize to Rowan when Allie dragged her two bags of dirty clothes toward the laundry room.
Window on the Bay Page 16
