For a moment Tyler was sure she was going to cave in. Longing flooded her gaze…though whether it was for him or little April he didn’t know. But he had a pretty good idea that the way to any woman’s heart was a baby. “Please? I’m sure you know a lot more about babies than I do.”
“Actually, I don’t. I…I don’t know a thing about them. I’ll just help you to the counter before I go.”
“But you haven’t picked out a movie yet.” Her hands were clutching his movies as if they were about to slip away. “We’re in no hurry. Why don’t you look around for a minute and then we’ll leave together?” And then he could coax her one more time to hang out with him for a while.
“I’m not going to get anything. I don’t know why I even came in here.” Before she even finished speaking, she turned and led him to the counter.
Unfortunately there were three cashiers open and waiting. The moment the kid started scanning his movies, Remy gave him a little wave. “Bye, Tyler.”
“Hey, wait—”
But she was already gone. “Crap,” he said.
“Ap!” April echoed.
“Dude, she left you high and dry,” the cashier remarked as Tyler handed him his credit card.
Shifting April to his other hip, Tyler had to admit the kid was right. Once again Remy had left him, without so much as a backward glance.
Chapter Six
It was 3:00 a.m. and Remy was staring at the digital clock next to her bed again. Oh, she hated insomnia. Hated feeling so completely out of control with her body. No matter what she did, sleep wasn’t going to happen.
Since she’d already been staring at the clock for an hour, Remy slipped on her robe. In the hall she felt at a loss. The kitchen was deadly for her in the middle of the night. Before she knew it, she would consume a bag of crackers without even realizing it. The television didn’t sound inviting, either.
But did it ever in the middle of the night?
Finally giving in to that tiny inner voice she usually tried so hard to ignore, Remy opened the door to the guest bedroom.
As she knew they would, memories rushed forward.
When they’d first gotten married, the bedroom had held wedding presents. Later it served as her pride and joy for visiting relatives. Because the view was spectacular, she’d kept the room in shades of ivory and white, choosing to brighten it with gilded mirrors, sparkling shells and coral…and the haunting colors of the Gulf outside. When she came to visit, Mark’s mom in particular loved to sit in bed and sip coffee while the sun rose.
For a brief time, she and Mark had entertained ideas about transforming the serene sanctuary into a baby dreamland. She’d always loved the idea of a Jungle Book-themed room for a little boy or girl. Something bright and cheerful and filled with stuffed animals.
And then she’d realized she couldn’t have children.
Against her will, Remy breathed deeply and was flooded with memories, the kind that never seemed to completely fade and were brought forth with the tiniest of prompts. All of them involved Mark.
Sometimes it felt as if she remembered two Marks.
The man she’d married smelled like cologne and soap, and was full of laughter. He’d carried her into this room the day they’d moved in, laughingly saying that he intended to carry her over every threshold in the house.
Three years later the Mark who had rested in this room had been so very sick and thin. Frail. Dying.
The drapes were closed. Carefully Remy pushed the remote control that she’d had installed when it was too hard for Mark to get out of bed. After a moment’s pause the curtains parted, revealing the tranquillity of the water outside.
Moonlight glimmered on the waves, illuminating the surf and a few oil rigs in the far distance.
With care, Remy sat in the hard wooden rocking chair that still perched on the bed’s left side. The seat felt hard and familiar, the back sturdy and solid. It had been her spot.
Once Carmen had spoken about moving the chair. It was in the way, cluttered the room. It didn’t go with the white woodwork and clean lines of the dresser. Remy couldn’t bear to move it even an inch, and had told Carmen so.
Now, as she crossed her legs and tried to relax, Remy decided that maybe she wasn’t quite as ready to move on as she’d supposed.
“I met a guy, Mark,” she said to the empty room. “You wouldn’t believe it. He’s young. A pup, you would say.” She almost smiled at the word. Pup had been Mark’s favorite term for anyone a little too green.
“He flirts with me constantly. No, wait, that’s not true. He flirts with me whenever we see each other, which isn’t a lot. But he asked me out today. To go sailing, of all things!”
Of course, no one answered. But in her mind, Remy already knew what Mark would be saying. He’d had a quick, vibrant mind. If he’d been sitting in the bed, Remy knew he’d already be asking a million questions.
What’s he like?
“He’s young,” she told the imaginary voice. “But he’s not as green as I make him sound. He’s had a whole career already, selling some kind of computer software. He did well in that field, too. I know, because I checked him out.”
But now?
“Now he just wants a regular old job. I don’t understand it, but he’s adamant about it. I guess he missed his sister, and he wanted to be near her. And yes—before you ask—he’s handsome. I’m talking really handsome. Like cover-model gorgeous.”
Well, if she was going to reveal all her secrets, she might as well go in with both feet. “Mark, for a moment there, when he asked me out, I wanted to say yes. Sailing sounds like fun. Anything different does, you know? I mean, all I’ve done for the last three years is work.”
Why didn’t you go?
“Because I was afraid.” She slumped, almost welcoming the hard wood against her head. “I was afraid if I said yes I’d be unfaithful.”
You promised.
“That promise wasn’t fair, Mark. You were dying.” But, yes, she had promised to date again one day. To fall in love again one day.
But she really hadn’t imagined such a thing possible.
Looking out Mark’s window, gazing at the shadows of waves sparkling in the moonlight, Ramona felt at a loss as to what to do. “Actually, right now…I’m thinking that maybe if he asks again—if Tyler asks me out again—I’m going to say yes. I’m going to say yes, or shoot, I don’t know. I’m going to get a kitten or something.” Heaven knew she needed something to cuddle.
A cat? Hell, no.
Against her will, Remy laughed. Mark had always hated cats. And then, just as she was laughing at herself, the chair creaked. Hastily she jumped to her feet. For a moment she’d been afraid the whole thing was going to fall apart right under her.
Stunned, she stared at the chair. “Well, if that’s not symbolic, I don’t know what is. All right, then. I will get up and do something. Even if it hurts.
“And, uh, Mark? I’ll wait on the kitten, too. We both know Carmen would kill me. She’s no fan of cats, either.”
Fighting a yawn, she went back to bed, amazed that an hour had passed. When she slept, she dreamed of sailing…and of feeling happy and free.
“NO, MA’AM. I’m sure I don’t know what you’re going through,” Tyler said, each word feeling as if it was getting pulled through his gritted teeth. “However, I don’t know what you want me to do about you missing the plane.”
Oops. Wrong thing to say. In explosive terms, the cranky lady on the phone began to tell him exactly what he could do. None of it sounded humanly possible.
In his previous life he would have hung up on her. No, correction. In his previous life he would have told her exactly what he thought of her directives, and would have given her a few choice ideas to think about, too.
But now he was living at the bottom of the food chain, in the-customer-is-always-right world.
Except, well, she wasn’t right. Mrs. Redding had overslept and missed her damn plane.
Finger
s gliding over the keyboard, Tyler clicked on all available flights to Miami from Buffalo for the next twelve hours. “There’s another flight in five hours. You’ll arrive here at midnight.”
“I’m going to miss my cruise.”
“Then you should have either planned better or gotten out of bed,” he snapped. A little too loudly.
Kaitlyn stood up and stared at him over the cubicle, waving her hands to grab his attention. Stop, she mouthed. Be nice!
But Kaitlyn’s warning came too late. “I want your supervisor!” the woman screamed into his earpiece.
“No problem,” he retorted. Then, without another word, he transferred her to Shawn.
“So, Tyler,” Shawn said when he was called to her desk twenty minutes later—just like a cheater in grade school. “How do you think you could have handled Mrs. Redding’s phone call in a better way?”
Standing in front of her, Tyler fought against the impulse to roll his eyes. “I could have tried harder to listen to her needs.”
“Gee, that sounds almost like a textbook answer.”
“Page five. I did read the manual.”
She almost smiled. Almost. But then she leaned back in her chair and looked him over. “May I be frank?”
“Of course.”
“You’re a puzzle to me. You’re definitely not the type of guy who looks used to dealing with irritating phone calls or irate customers. I don’t understand why you’re working here. Maybe we should rethink your position?” Opening a binder, she flipped a few bright orange tabs. “There might be something over at Corporate that might be better—”
No way was he getting out of this place. “I want to work here. On the phone.”
“But you don’t seem to really care—”
“Shawn, I care. I do,” he said so quickly, so sincerely, he almost believed it. “Look, I lost my temper because a rude and obnoxious woman just chewed me out like I wasn’t good enough to pick up her trash. I’m sorry. Next time she calls, I’ll try to be nicer.”
But instead of nodding and commiserating, Shawn narrowed her eyes. “Mrs. Redding won’t be calling again. She told me she’d never fly on our airline again. Ever.”
“I see.” Well, that was no great loss. Shoot, the rest of the company ought to send him some champagne.
“Do you? Because in case you haven’t heard, the airline industry is hurting and we can’t afford to make customers mad. Not even the jerks.” Leaning back, she tilted her head up to meet his eyes. “I told all of you in the training sessions that the best call representatives make our job look ridiculously easy. It’s not. If you thought it was going to take the same skill as—” she paused for a moment, then lit on his phrase “—picking up trash, then you need to tell me now.”
“I don’t need to tell you a thing. What I should have done was explain to her about the penalties and calmly do my best to get her on the next available flight. And ignore her snide comments.”
“Next time, please do that.” After another moment she stood up and held out her hand. “Thanks for coming up.”
“Thanks for letting me stay,” he replied, shaking her hand with a smile.
Just as he was about to leave, Remy appeared on the stairs, her arms laden with file folders, a thin vase of red roses in one hand. Her arrival reminded him why it wasn’t so bad to be at Carnegie. Why putting up with a dozen Mrs. Reddings a day was worth the irritation.
She paused when their eyes met. “Hi, Tyler. Is everything okay?”
“No. I snapped at a caller and have been getting chewed on a bit.”
Remy looked alarmed. “Oh?”
“Don’t worry.” Shawn laughed. “I haven’t been chewing on him all that hard. Although I should have.”
“Did you get the customer’s problem resolved?”
“As well as possible. She really was a witch,” Shawn said with a grimace. “She was determined to make as many people as possible miserable in one phone call. She did a pretty good job, too.”
Noticing Remy’s full hands, Tyler stepped forward. “Do you need some help?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Thanks. These roses. I don’t know what I was thinking….”
He did. She looked pretty carrying around flowers. If she’d ever warm up to him, he’d send her some. He took the vase from her hand, then grabbed the key peeking out of her palm, clicked open her office door, flipped on the light and set the vase down on the edge of her desk.
Delighted that she’d allowed his help without complaint, he smiled her way. “I guess we’re destined to be helping each other out, aren’t we? You helped me carry DVDs at Movies and More, and now here I am, carrying your roses.”
“It’s almost a habit.” She slid her hands down the sides of her navy pencil skirt. On some girls, the action would look incredibly suggestive. But he was learning enough about her now to know that it was nerves.
But still, he did enjoy watching her hands smooth the fine gabardine fabric over her thighs.
“So…how was April? Did she like the movie?”
“She loved it. I have to say I survived the night with only a half dozen moments of panic. But I’m a pro at diaper changing now. It’s impressive.”
“I am impressed.”
He was pleased she was still standing close. That she looked happy to be talking to him. “So, how was your weekend?”
“Oh. Fine. Nothing special.”
“Do you have plans for next weekend?”
“No. It’s only Monday.”
“Then make some. Come sailing with me on Saturday.” He grabbed her hand when she looked about to refuse. “I know all your reasons for saying no. But I’d love it if you’d just say yes.”
Her eyes widened. With her hand still locked in his she paused, and then…nodded. “Yes.”
Tyler felt like laughing, he was so relieved. “Yes? Really? Hey, that’s great. Thank you. I’ll talk to you later about when and where to pick you up.”
“That’s not necessary. I could easily meet you at the marina.”
Still holding her hand, he looked at the way it looked so perfect nestled in his own. Thought about how slim her hands were. How soft and cool. “No, you couldn’t. I pick up women for dates. Always.”
For a moment her lips parted. For a second he spied her gaze center on his lips. Then she shook her head. “Well, then. All right. I will, ah, give you my address later.”
“All right.” He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to lean close and kiss those lips. Not anything much, just to touch her some more. Hell, he’d settle for her cheek. Something to show her that he was pleased.
But it was too soon. Even if he wasn’t in his boss’s office. Even if he hadn’t just gotten his butt chewed by her assistant, it was too soon.
He settled for a gentle squeeze to her hand before finally releasing it. “I better go. I’ve got more phones to answer, you know.”
She blinked. “About that phone call—”
“I’m going to be nicer. I promise. Bye, Remy.”
Quickly he walked out into the hall and back down the stairs. Slid into his seat and slipped his headset back on. But just as he was about to click on to a call, a faint scent brought him to a halt.
He knew what it was the unmistakable aroma of freshly cut roses.
Chapter Seven
Carmen’s face lit up as if it was Christmas Day when Remy walked through the kitchen door, arms laden with shopping bags from Destin Commons Mall. “Oh, Señora Greer! Have you been out shopping? For something other than work clothes?”
“I have.” After setting two of the bags on the floor, she pulled out a pair of khaki shorts and a cherry-red T-shirt from the third. Holding them up in front of her, Remy said, “What do you think?”
“I am not sure.” In her typical style of weighing every pro and con before saying a thing, she said, “Where are you going?”
“Sailing.” Then, because she needed as much support as she could, Remy spit out the next part. “With a man.”
“I am. Now, stop looking like you’re about to break into song,” Remy said sheepishly. Going out with another man was a big step. Going sailing—doing something out of her usual comfort zone—was a really big step.
Huge.
“I’ve got a date tomorrow morning. Tyler is picking me up at nine.”
To Remy’s surprise, Carmen plucked the outfit from her hands, flipped it over, examined it from all directions, then clucked a bit. “Yes, these are very nice but…I think they’re too much.”
“Too much how?”
“Well, I’ve never been sailing….” Carefully Carmen handed the shirt and shorts back. “Even I know sailing involves sun and the water. You should be wearing a bathing suit, yes?”
There was no way she was going to get that bare in front of him. Not Tyler. “I’m not wearing a bathing suit on a first date.”
“Do you even have a bathing suit?”
“You know I do.” Remy pointed to the lap pool adjacent to the lower-belevel deck. “You’ve seen me swim.”
“In those black racing suits.” Waggling her brows, she said, “You need something with a bit more color, I think. Like pink or green. And smaller. Like a bikini.”
“I wouldn’t know the first store to get a new bikini, even if I wanted to wear one, which I don’t.”
“There’re two stores in the mall that have good deals,” Carmen said. “I know—I took Bridget there on Monday night.”
“Bridget’s your granddaughter, Carmen!”
“There were women in there, too. Some who were far older than you, Señora Greer.” Tapping her foot, her coral toenails with the tiny rhinestones glinting, Carmen caught Remy’s eye. “You should go right back to the mall now. And get a halter-top style, too. Bridget says that is a good kind. On you, it would look muy bueno, I think.”
Second Chance Hero Page 4
