“It is nice. I like my life. I know it must seem solitary, but I enjoy each day. I think I’m just boring. What are you going to do after graduation?”
“Believe it or not, I’m going to nursing school. I should have done that from the get-go. It’ll be easier for me now. I just have to take two years of nursing classes, and it’s part-time, so I can work.”
“I’m stunned,” she said. “I had no idea you were interested in nursing.”
“I didn’t either. I don’t have the money for medical school, so this was the next best thing.”
“I just paid off my loans,” she said, frowning. “Stay out of debt if you can.”
“In this financial climate it’s almost impossible. I already owe over sixty thousand dollars.”
“Ugh, that’s a lot. Twenty years ago it was a lot cheaper to go to college,” she said.
They looked at the fire for a while. “Do you want another beer? I might open a bottle of wine if you’d have a glass with me.”
He stood, picking his sandwich mess up. “Wine would be great.”
They threw their trash away, and he stood at the counter while she picked a bottle out of the cooler. “This cooler is ridiculous, but it came with the house. I haven’t had wine since July Fourth in your mother’s backyard.”
“My mom does have great parties, even if she does drink too much while she’s throwing them.”
“What happened to the girl you brought?” Kendall asked, watching him.
“It didn’t go anywhere. She’s someone I know from high school. But she wants the whole package, the house in the burbs, the family. I can’t give it to her, so we didn’t continue dating. It was pointless.”
“Are you seeing anyone else?” she asked.
“Truthfully, I only date when I’m horny.”
“Oh, God,” she said, grimacing, and they laughed.
“If I’m sure that’s all they’re looking for, too, then it’s a go.”
“Honestly, I remember that drill,” Kendall said. “Going out with someone completely inappropriate because you need the companionship but there’s no threat that it will go anywhere.”
“Exactly,” he said. “I’m surprised you did it, too.”
“In my youth, I did,” she said. “Now, no way. There’s too much at stake. There’s someone at work who wants a relationship, and I think I finally got through his skull this afternoon that it will never happen. I won’t even go out for a drink with him.”
“Who is it?” Mark asked, feeling a little illogical jealousy.
“He’s another doc whose wife just left him. He’s asked all the other single nurses and doctors for a date since it happened. No, that’s not for me. I’ve seen relationships go awry at work where one of the couple blabs about the other’s peccadillos, and it always ends up badly. In one instance, one of the parties involved had to leave the job. Uh-uh, no way. I’m way too private.”
“If he gives you a hard time, I’ll take him down,” Mark said, squatting down with his fingers as a make-believe gun pointing at a target.
She burst out laughing, charmed and embarrassed at the same time. “I don’t think that will be necessary, but thank you so much.”
Watching his antics, Kendall noticed how muscular he’d gotten. “Are you lifting weights?”
“I do. I stopped for a while because I had to keep my job through the school year. Then I got laid off last August, so I had time to go to the gym. You noticed?” he asked, making a muscle.
“I did! But only from a physician’s point of view,” she quickly clarified. “Your arms are gigantic.” She put her hands over her mouth, mortified.
He flexed his biceps again, amusing her, and they burst into laughter.
She handed him the wine bottle with the corkscrew in place. “You go ahead. I don’t think I have the strength now.”
He popped it and they laughed again. “I’m just learning about wine,” he said. “You let it breathe for a minute, correct?”
“Do you?” she asked. “I have no idea.” They teased each other, waiting, and then she got the glasses out. “I just pour it in.”
They clinked glasses and took a sip. “Oh, that’s good,” he said. “Let’s sit down.”
They went back to the den and sat together on the couch in front of the fire. The wine was good. In spite of the sandwich, it went right to her head, and she felt light as air, a little spacy.
“This is just what I needed,” she said. “It’s been a long while since I’ve spent time with a friend and had a glass of wine. Thank you.”
“Let’s dance,” he said, getting out his phone.
“You have dance music on your phone?”
“Ha! I’m a nerd, what can I say. I actually have a playlist of dance music from the nineteen forties.”
“I’m not a very good dancer, and I haven’t danced in a long time. It’s probably been five years since I went to a wedding, and that would be the only time I’d have a chance to dance.”
“I’m terrible, but so what?” he said, putting his phone up on the mantel and offering his hand to Kendall.
She placed her glass on the table, letting him pull her up. She didn’t have to do anything, he led her around the room, and soon she had her head on his chest, listening to the vibration of his voice as he sang along with the music.
The smell of her hair drove him a little crazy, and when he could feel her breasts against him, he loosened his grip in case an erection popped up.
They danced to song after song, and finally, she yawned, not out of boredom, but because she’d been up since five that morning.
“You’re tired,” he said, not letting her go.
“That was really nice,” she said. “It’s just been a long day. Thank you so much for a lovely evening.”
He thought about kissing her, but stopped himself, not wanting her to think he had an ulterior motive, although he already did. “I really enjoyed it, too. Dr. Williams, will you see me tomorrow night?”
“Oh, Mark, I’m not sure about that.”
“Why?” he asked, his eyebrows up. “We had a good time tonight. There might be something in it for us.”
She took a deep breath and looked up at his face. “You mean like a romance?”
“Exactly like that,” he said. “I’m interested in you as more than a friend. I hope you’ll give it a try.”
“It seems forbidden,” she said softly. “Remember when you said what was the point of dating Jenna? What would be the point of us seeing each other?”
“To give it a chance,” Mark said. “If nothing comes of it, we haven’t lost anything.”
“But what if something does come of it? What if we fall in love? I’m sixteen years older than you. I don’t think your mother would be very happy about that.”
“My mom stopped making decisions for me six years ago,” he said. “You know that. If she’s the only thing you’re worried about, I think we should give this a chance.”
“Well, let’s start by you calling me Kendall,” she said, smiling. “And we need to take it slow.”
“Slow it is. So you’ll see me tomorrow night, Kendall?”
“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
He stuck his phone back in his pocket and picked up their glasses. “You just made my day,” he said, smiling. “Now I can spend the day with my mother and grandmother and I won’t want to kill myself.”
“Oh no. That’s not good,” she replied, laughing. “I’m sure they’re thrilled you’re home.”
“I have a list of chores to do that’s a foot long.”
He walked to the door, taking his coat off the hook. Kendall was surprised that she felt reluctant for him to leave. Usually she guarded her time at home alone, but he was so easy to be with, so unobtrusive. She imagined that someone like Mark would be easy to live with—if he were twenty years older and didn’t live with his mom and grandma.
“I’ll call you in the morning,” he said, catching her off guard w
hen he bent down and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
“Okay,” she answered when she caught her breath. “In the morning it is.”
He put his knitted cap on and faux tipped his hat, smiling, and walked out into the snowy night. She shut the door behind him and watched him walk down the path to the sidewalk and turn right to his mother’s house just down the street.
The presence of Mark had stirred something in her, so that her whole body was reacting, a strange, humming giddiness that started in her lips and spread through her chest and down her legs to her feet.
Stumbling on the way to the kitchen, she moved through the room, shutting off lights, and then went into the den, where the fire still burned, glowing embers collapsing onto themselves. She reached up into the lamp and shut off the bulb so only the light from the fire glowed. She’d stay in the den until the fire burned out, thinking about the night.
There had never been even a suggestion of impropriety between her and Mark. Now he was an adult, so she didn’t have to use that term, but it still seemed appropriate. She imagined Sarah Strong coming to her door, furious, red faced and accusatory. “You messed with my son!”
“But he’s twenty-two,” Kendall would reply. “He came here, to me.”
“I don’t care. There are rules written about such things. You shouldn’t play around with a boy you knew as a child. It’s not right.”
Pushing those thoughts out of her head, if she was going to entertain a relationship with Mark, it was important that she keep it based in truth, and the truth was that he was an adult. Misconceptions about what was proper in a romance no longer applied if the parties involved were over eighteen, and thank God he was over eighteen. Twenty-two was bad enough.
So getting back to Mark and her as a couple, she had never considered it, never fantasized about it, never gave it a thought until he started to talk about it. I’m interested in you as more than a friend. Later, she’d question him. He had also said that ever since he’d arrived home that morning, he had been trying to figure out how he could come to see her. The snow had been the answer.
There hadn’t been a moment of awkwardness, either. They shoveled side by side, chatting comfortably. When dinner came, they ate together like old friends. Even the dancing was wonderful. There were certain things about it that she tried to ignore: feeling his body next to her; the smell of his clothing, like some fabric softener he must use; his five o’clock shadow picking her cheek when he lowered his head so they could dance cheek to cheek. She meant it when she said it was really nice.
She stretched out on the couch, focusing on every sensation of being with him to see if there was really a chance at a romance. A romance meant sex down the line. She looked down at her body and closed her eyes, trying to imagine taking her clothes off in front of him. That was impossible, so instead, she thought of what his body must look like now. When he was a boy and she’d watched him and the neighborhood children running up and down the street, he had been a tall, skinny kid. He’d certainly filled out. Shuddering, she didn’t want to think of the bulge in his pants. It was right there.
Getting up, she reached for her laptop. It was time to do a search of cougar. First, she had to get past the cat. She typed a cougar relationship. There were positives, and just like Mark had said, the younger men in those relationships usually wanted a woman who was already settled, who knew what she wanted.
Was that Mark? He didn’t want kids, but he was only twenty-two. That could change. Did the fact that she didn’t want them attract her to him? He wanted to be a nurse. Was her MD status an attraction? She supposed if they kept seeing each other, those were topics they’d have to discuss, just to make things clear.
Setting the laptop aside, she lay back on the couch with her arms crossed under her head. The unknown was a scary place, and she just had to trust that if they took it slow, they’d be okay. He still had six months of school before graduation, and then nursing classes. What would become of them then? The possibility that she might fall in love with him loomed large. Where there was love, heartache might be close behind. She knew it was why she avoided the chance of romance. Having been hurt before with a pain that lasted for years, she wasn’t willing to risk it again.
Maybe seeing Mark was safe and risk-free. What was his motive? A casual thing? Or everlasting love? That wasn’t really something she could bring up too soon, but she would if there was a sign he was getting serious. And that meant getting into bed with him.
The more effort she put into resisting him, the more her mind wandered, imagining him living with her, sharing her bed, waking up next to him, and coming home from work knowing he’d be there.
Closing her eyes, she fell asleep sometime after midnight. Then her phone beeped, waking her up. It was a text from Mark. I see your lights still on. Are you okay?
Smiling, she texted back. I fell asleep on the couch, waiting for the fire to burn out. It finally did, and I’m so comfortable.
Then the last from him. Goodnight, beautiful. I’ll speak with you in the morning.
She let him have the last word. Groaning, she got up from the couch. The hour of snow shoveling had definitely taken a toll. Making sure everything was locked and shut down and turned off, she called Dolly and they climbed the steps together.
The old house was Kendall’s pride and joy. At the top of the wide staircase was a big corridor she had set up as another den, but like the one on the first floor, it went unused. Maybe if she ever shared her life with someone, it would get some use. The thought unnerved her because she had never considered sharing the house, or her life, with anyone. It would seem that Mark Strong had planted dangerous seeds in her head.
The master bedroom was a huge light space, with white carpeting and walls and sea-glass colors for accents, a cool, serene place. She went into the big bathroom, modern and white, too, and undressed. Washing her face, she looked at her reflection. Thirty-eight wasn’t that old. But if they did hook up, when he was thirty-eight, she’d be fifty-four. And when he was fifty-four, she’d be seventy. “Oh, forget it,” she said. “You’re getting ahead of yourself.
Back in the bedroom, she lifted the covers and got under. Dolly was already on her blanket on top of the bed, snoring. Not used to company, either, she’d given Kendall a questioning look with a snort when Mark had finally left for the night.
The cool quiet of her room soon had her sound asleep. A few houses down at the Strong household, Sarah and Grandma Emily were just starting a game of Monopoly. A new bottle of wine was on the table, ready to cork.
Mark pulled out a chair and sat down. “I don’t know how long I’ll last,” he said. “But I’m in for now.”
“Yippee! We waited for the last three months to play with you,” Emily said. “Thank you so much.”
She counted out the money, they chose their play pieces, and the game began.
By two a.m., he was having trouble sitting upright. “Ladies, I’m headed to bed. I’m ready to do your chore list in the morning too, so don’t stay up all night.”
“We won’t, honey,” Sarah said. “Welcome home!”
“Sweet dreams, grandson,” Emily said, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. “See you in the morning.”
He climbed the stairs to the third floor, where his childhood bedroom resided. Not much had changed in the four years he was away. A Hunger Games poster hung over his narrow bed, the mattress barely big enough for his big frame. He didn’t want to buy a bigger bed because he wanted the end to be in sight for his time there. Taking clean clothes into the bathroom, he would take a shower, the smell of his grandmother’s cigarettes in his hair bothering him.
While he washed, Kendall Williams made her usual appearance in his head, of the things about her that were so attractive that he’d thought of her the whole time he was away at school. She didn’t appear to remember the conversation they’d had at his mother’s backyard BBQ over the summer holiday.
When the party was well under way, he a
rrived with his date, Jenna Lawson, an adorable girl, but with some ideas for the life she wanted set in stone. However, he was determined not to give up on her. So a family party seemed like a good way to test if there was any hope at all. And then when he saw Kendall sitting in a chair, talking to his grandmother, he was sorry he’d brought the date.
Looking like summer, Kendall took his breath away. She was all light blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a white linen shirt and a long gauzy skirt with a slit up the side that showed a good amount of shapely leg. Somehow defying gravity, she’d piled her hair on top of her head, and tendrils curled down her neck and around her face. Mark couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Let’s say hi to everyone,” he said to Jenna, starting on the far side of the yard, hoping someone would take an interest in her and take her off his hands. As it turned out, another high school friend was more than happy to engage her and free Mark up to talk to Dr. Williams.
Before he lost his nerve, Mark went right over to Kendall. “Dr. Williams, how are you?” he asked, feeling like a dope. He squatted down alongside her chair and looked up, trying not to stare at her thigh where it disappeared under the skirt.
“Why, I’m just fine, and you? I haven’t seen you around all summer.”
“I’m working full-time,” he said. “It’s for the same firm I work for at school, and I’m trying to keep my job with them, so I have to work during the break.”
“Good for you,” she answered. “You’re almost done, correct?”
“One more year. So how’s everything with you? How’s your job? I heard you made partner.”
“I did, after eight years. I had to threaten to leave, but that’s not surprising.”
They talked easily until Jenna came around, and that put an end to it. “Why didn’t you introduce me to your lady friend?” she asked when they left the party.
“I’m sorry,” Mark said. “Let’s go back, then.”
He tried pulling her over, but she hung back. “Never mind, Mark! Let’s go.”
Not arguing, he got her home and rushed back to the party, but Kendall had already walked home. There didn’t seem to be a way he could go to her without looking like he was chasing her, so he just let it go, chalking up his interest to being a horn dog.
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 96
