“I value your opinion, Ma, of course I do. I just think that now isn’t the time, fiscally, for such a big change. Maybe if it fits in the budget, we can take a look at it next quarter,” Quentin replied, sitting down on the other side of his mother from me.
At that moment, Mrs. Wendall looked to her left and caught sight of me. “Oh, Billie, what a wonderful surprise,” she greeted with a polite smile. “Quentin, isn’t it nice to see Billie?”
He grunted in response and did his best to focus all his energy on the spaghetti he was moving around his plate. I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t even glance up at me or say hello. Being short with me was one thing, but this was just awful. I felt mortified.
“Anyway,” Mrs. Wendall continued, ignoring her son’s rudeness. “It’s been a while since we last spoke. How have you been?”
I turned to face her and give her my full attention as I nursed my bottle of water. “I’m okay, thank you. How are you and Mr. Wendall doing?”
She grinned at me and leaned in a little closer. “We’ve been great. Retirement suits the both of us, though Richard is struggling to keep himself occupied at times,” she told me. “I have to admit that being able to spend some extra time with Quentin and Linc helps a lot.”
The two of us looked over at Quentin and he flicked his eyes up at us for a brief moment before nodding. “Yeah, Linc loves his Nana and Papa,” he admitted in a stiff, curt voice.
Mrs. Wendall rolled her eyes. “Ignore him, he’s been in a bad mood all day,” she said. “Anyway, tell me how you’re getting on in your role?”
For a moment, I didn’t even process Mrs. Wendall’s question. I could feel my resentment for Quentin growing with every second he acted off with me. Even now when we were in such close proximity, Quentin refused to look my way and it honestly bothered me way more than it should have. But I mean, in spite of his feeling toward me, I was still his employee. He should still be civil at the very least. I wasn’t crazy for thinking that I deserved a modicum of respect, right? Well, if he was going to make things difficult for me then two could play at that game.
I laughed a little and scooched my chair toward Mrs. Wendall. “Yeah know what, it’s pretty much everything I imagined,” I told her. “But there is this one annoyance that I’m having to deal with…”
“Oh, really?” Mrs. Wendall replied with a frown. “What is it, dear?”
Quentin perked up as soon as I spoke and it made a grin split across my face. My mom had always told me that my mouth would get me in trouble one day, but I was tired of being treated so coldly and cruelly by the man of my dreams.
“You see, I’ve been having a bit of a pest problem,” I explained, doing my best to hide how much I was enjoying myself.
“Here at the winery?” Mrs. Wendall probed as her eyes widened in shock. “Quentin, you never told me we had a pest problem!”
“We don’t have a—”
“Hmm, that’s strange. Quentin should be the most aware of the problem since I’ve seen the pest spotted in his office a lot…” I continued, glancing over at Quentin as I interrupted him. I gave him a challenging look, daring him to disagree with me.
“Well, Quentin, I should expect you to get this sorted out right away! Or else, we’ll have the food safety officers at our doorstep day and night,” she stated, turning toward Quentin as she spoke.
Quentin’s jaw clenched. “It’s not that kind of a pest, Ma. Billie here is joking, aren’t you, Billie?”
I let my smile reappear as I looked between the two of them. “Aww, you got me. I’m sorry, Mrs. Wendall, I just like winding up that cranky son of yours. Don’t you think he ought to lighten up every now and then? He’s awful serious.”
To my surprise, Mrs. Wendall actually started laughing. “Oh, Billie, you’re too funny,” she said as she slapped me on the shoulder. “And you’re right, of course. Quentin has always been one to keep a level head, even to his detriment.”
“Ma—”
“I always thought running a winery would be fun, but Quentin walks in everyday looking like he’s in pain. Maybe I should look for another job before I catch whatever he’s got,” I teased and chuckled.
“I hope I don’t catch it either,” his mom replied, playing along. “When Richard and I ran the place, we hosted a whole load of parties and events. Everything we did was out of love for this place, but Quentin acts more like he’s afraid of it.”
“Ma, seriously—”
“I mean, grapes are a scary business, Mrs. Wendall, let’s not forget that,” I stated sardonically.
Mrs. Wendall laughed again, crinkling her eyes as she did so. “You’d get along well with Richard, he’s a big fan of dry humor,” she told me. “And stop it with all that ‘Mrs. Wendall’ such and such. Please, call me Miriam.”
“I will. Thank you, Miriam.” I felt my chest warm at the thought of getting closer to another person in the community. A quick glance over Mrs. Wendall’s shoulder, however, confirmed that Quentin wasn’t too pleased by this development.
“And since we’re such good friends, you should definitely come and visit us for lunch sometime soon. Richard and I would love to have you,” she said.
“I… I’d like that,” I told her, paying attention to how pissed Quentin became as soon as I accepted the invitation. It was worth it just to see his red-face and to watch him mutter something under his breath.
“You’re welcome anytime, Billie,” Mrs. Wendall continued and gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“I’ll let you know when my grumpy boss gives me a long enough lunch break,” I responded with a wink before standing up. “Well, thanks for the wonderful chat. I should be getting back to my work now. It’s been lovely, Miriam.”
“A pleasure, Billie.”
Quentin said nothing as expected and so, I walked back toward the serving table to hand in my plate. “I’ll call you later, Tracy,” I called to my new friend behind the counter who nodded in reply.
I shouldn’t have felt as happy as I did when I walked away from Quentin, leaving him feeling annoyed at my sassy attitude toward him, but it served him right. Ever since we kissed, he’d been treating me like I was the one in the wrong here when all I’d done was get a job and be attracted to my boss. He was the one who kissed me. He was the one who instigated this whole thing. If anyone was to blame, it was him.
But what really made me ecstatic was when I glanced over my shoulder and noticed Quentin staring at my ass as I walked away. I wouldn’t trade that feeling of pride for the world.
14
Quentin
After the mockery Billie had made of me at Friday’s lunch, I was relieved to spend the weekend away from the office and, most importantly, away from Billie. I knew she hadn’t meant any of what she said spitefully, but I didn’t enjoy how much she was cozying up to my parents. Was that why she was here? Was she after our money just like the last one? The thought made me fill with rage and I had to go to the gym for a few extra hours on Friday night to relieve the tension I felt. Luckily, Mom and Dad were more than happy to watch my son for me.
On Saturday, I took Lincoln to the park for hours and hours, feeling guilty for abandoning the night before. I always enjoyed taking him to the park since he adored the jungle gym and since he was so full of life all the time, it really helped release some of his excess energy.
“Daddy! Daddy! Come push me!” he called impatiently from the bright red swing set in front of me.
I grinned over at him. “All right, all right,” I agreed before standing up from the bench and joining him.
When I spent time with him one-on-one like this, I was reminded of how lucky I was to have such a wonderful child. After the swing set, Lincoln dragged me to the climbing frame and then the slide. I took a few pictures of him on my phone and even made a new one my background of him at the top of the slide looking happy.
By the time we got home, the little guy was completely pooped. I gave him some dinner and tucked him into bed
while reading him a goodnight story. It was a good opportunity for me to have an evening to myself and Lincoln was so tired that he slept in until ten o’clock on Sunday. I’d hardly had the time to think about Billie and that was good.
Overall, the weekend so far had been nice and relaxing, but I still had a few chores that needed to be done. For starters, it was Lincoln’s fifth birthday on Friday and I needed to get supplies for his party. Since his mother had all but abandoned him, I’d been trying my best to make up for her absence in his life, but I was still worried it wouldn’t be enough—especially during such a pivotal event in his life.
I was swiping through children’s birthday cake recipes when Lincoln finally emerged from his bedroom. Through bleary eyes, he looked up at me and gave a big yawn. “Hi, Daddy! It’s morning time!” he exclaimed, padding toward me with his bare feet on the laminated floor. He’d taken off his t-shirt at some point in the night and I wondered when he’d done that. He must have been hot, I thought to myself before shrugging. Kids were strange in their sleep sometimes.
“Yes, it is, Linc,” I answered, looking up from my tablet. “You want to go out again today?”
“Yu-huh!” he told me excitedly. “Where are we going? Can we get ice-cream?”
I chuckled. “Hmm… Maybe if you’re good,” I replied. “Daddy needs to go to the store to get some groceries. But since your birthday party is coming up, we can get some ingredients for your cake while we’re there if you want?”
Lincoln’s eyes grew wide and he rushed toward me, grabbing my legs and pulling on my jeans. “Yes! Yes! Let’s go now, Daddy. Come on!”
I laughed again and put my tablet down. “All right, all right. Let’s get you dressed, Linc.”
“I can do it! I can do it!” he insisted as he ran back toward his bedroom and I followed quickly behind him.
Under normal circumstances, Lincoln could be a bit of a pain to get dressed. He usually insisted on doing it himself and he often struggled with getting the right shoes on the right feet or doing up the buttons correctly, but since he was so excited about his birthday, he let me help him and he was ready in a flash. Within twenty minutes, we were already pulling up outside the store we usually went to together. I grabbed the reusable bags from the trunk of my car and took Lincoln’s hand before walking inside with him.
Despite having been talking about it the entire ride to the grocery store, Lincoln was still chatting about his party as we walked down the aisles. “What kind of cake are we making? Choc’late? Vanilla?” he questioned. “What color will it be? Ooh! Can I have a green cake?!”
I dropped my hand down to his head and ruffled his hair. “Of course, we can make a green cake. We can have whatever kind of cake you want, Linc. What would make you happy?”
A look of concentration took over Lincoln’s face then and he cast his eyes up to the ceiling. While he decided, I picked up a big box of cornflakes and some chocolatey cereal Lincoln loved. We were halfway down the cereal aisle when Lincoln finally gasped and stopped dead in his tracks.
“What about a science cake?!” he cried, letting out a little squeal of joy.
The request was a little strange and I paused for a moment to think about it. “Um, I’m not sure how I would go about making that or whether I’m a good enough decorator to pull it off, but I’d be willing to give it a try.” I was already typing in ‘science cake recipe’ into Google on my phone.
The things we do for our kids, I thought with a smile. I hadn’t believed it before having one of my own, but being a parent really did change me. I would do anything and everything just to make this kid happy. Even make a science-themed birthday cake apparently.
Lincoln smiled wide. “Yay! Birthday cake with dinos and stars and space!” He started gesturing wildly as he spoke, practically dancing in the store and no matter how much I tried to, I couldn’t get him to calm down.
He was still talking eagerly about his cake as we turned the corner at the end of the aisle and I heard a voice that had become ingrained in my memory. It was a voice I never thought I would ever forget and one that I didn’t expect to hear on an innocuous outing with my son. My heart fluttered and I could feel my chest grow tight as I held my breath.
“I need more cereal bars for work, I’ve been getting so hungry in the mornings even after breakfast,” Billie was explaining to her companion as she grew closer and closer. She was wearing a baby blue t-shirt with a slogan that read ‘Girl Power’ and a simple pair of jeans. It didn’t even look like she was wearing make-up, but it didn’t matter. She was still as devastatingly beautiful without it.
As soon as I got a hold of myself, I wanted to run. I wanted to hide and avoid the conversation that would inevitably occur. We still hadn’t talked properly since I’d kissed her and I was hoping to keep it that way. I certainly wasn’t wanting to have that kind of conversation with an audience. Besides, I knew we couldn’t be together. There were too many obstacles keeping us apart, including my own baggage, and if I couldn’t have Billie, I didn’t want to endure the torture of being so close to her and yet, nowhere near as close as I wanted to be.
Unfortunately, my son had other ideas for the two of us.
Before I could turn in the other direction, Lincoln had caught sight of the brunette and let out a gasp. “Billie!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, causing more than a few heads to turn our way—including Billie’s.
For a second, she looked around the supermarket for the person who had called her. Eventually, she looked toward Lincoln and her eyes widened in surprise. “Linc, is that you?” she said as her face broke out in a big grin.
“Yes, Billie! It’s me!” he cried, running ahead of me toward her.
There was someone stood next to Billie and I envied their proximity despite how irrational that was. Billie’s friend was the same person who had attended the tour with her. I was sure my dad had told me it was her landlady. I noticed that her eyes were on me instead of my son who had just been screaming the place down. I rubbed the back of my neck and shifted from side to side uncomfortably.
“Carla, this is Linc, the special little boy I was telling you about,” she explained to her friend. Then with open arms, Billie met Lincoln halfway between us and bent down to hug him tight. “It’s good to see you, little man,” she said as she drew back and stood up. Her eyes met mine for a brief moment. “Nice to see you too, boss.”
I nodded in greeting, but I didn’t want to say anymore. Luckily, I didn’t have to. Lincoln did the work for me.
“What are you up to? Are you buying candy? Can you get me some?” he asked in rapid succession.
“Linc,” I cautioned in a stern tone.
Both Carla and Billie just laughed, however. “I’m afraid your dad might have a problem with that,” she told him with a smile. “What are you two doing here anyway?”
“It’s my birthday soon!” Lincoln enthused, bouncing up and down happily. “Daddy and I are going to make the best cake ever. It’s going to be green and there’s going to be planets and stuff!”
“Oh, wow, that sounds like an awesome cake, Linc,” Billie replied with a smile. “How old are you going to be, little guy?”
“Five! I’m going to be five. I’ll be a big boy!” he explained with a happy expression.
“Wow, five. That’s a very important age. Isn’t that right, Carla?”
The blonde beside Billie nodded. “Yes, very important.”
“You should come to my party!” Lincoln said before I could stop him and instantly, I felt my whole body tense up. Surely, she wasn’t going to accept? It would be hell having her in my home while being unable to do what I really wanted to with her.
“Aww, Linc, you’re so sweet to invite me,” she replied. “Of course, I’ll come, little buddy. Like I said, five is a big age. There’s no way I’d miss it.”
My jaw dropped and I cursed fate for our impromptu meeting. It wasn’t like I could tell her not to come. Besides, I wanted to do whatever would make
Lincoln happy. Whatever my little boy wanted, he got, even if it drove me insane.
“Yay! I can’t wait! Don’t forget to bring candy!”
Once more, Carla and Billie laughed at my mischievous child and I reluctantly stepped forward to give Billie the directions to my house. “Everybody is arriving for dinner at six. Do you think you can come on time?”
Billie had the biggest grin on her face the whole time. “Don’t worry, I’m good at coming when it matters,” she stated with a sly look over at me.
Heat coursed through my veins at the innuendo and I had to avert my gaze to stop myself from doing something I’d regret. “Yeah, well, I guess I’ll see you Monday then. Come on now, Linc. We need to get going…”
“Okay then. Bye, bye, little man,” Billie said as she leaned down to give Linc a parting hug.
“It was nice meeting you, boss man and little man,” Carla said as she smirked over at me. Her gaze was assessing and penetrating, like she could see right through me. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she knew exactly how I felt about Billie. I felt like I was being about as subtle as a rocket launcher with how I acted around Billie.
The two of them disappeared down the cereal aisle and I hurried Lincoln toward the bakery section. I distracted myself from thinking about how beautiful Billie had looked just now by rifling through the selection of frostings available on the shelf. They had three different shades of green, so I picked each one up to get a better look when Lincoln said something that shook me to my very core.
“Hey, Daddy, could that pretty lady be my mama one day?”
The jar of frosting I’d been holding slipped from my grasp and shattered into tiny pieces on the ground.
15
Billie
By the time Wednesday had rolled around, I’d almost forgotten what Quentin looked like. He was doing such a spectacular job at avoiding me that I hardly knew where he was half the time. Instead, I was talking about any issues I came up against with Peter. It certainly made my days easier, but they were far less exciting. Anytime I heard a knock at my door, my heart started beating faster, hoping beyond hope that it was Quentin. Alas, every time I was disappointed.
Forbidden First Times: A Contemporary Romance Collection Page 47
