Friend and Lover

by Angela Benson

Paige pulled her knees up to her chest and clasped her arms around them. “Hey, your body looks pretty good now, but I don’t want to think about you five, ten years from now.”

  Reed pulled up his T-shirt and patted his hand across his washboard-flat stomach. “I don’t think you should worry. I’m good for ten years, at least.”

  Paige got up and began to run in place. “Don’t get too cocky, Reed. You know what they say, washboard today, beer belly tomorrow.” She turned and resumed her jog.

  ~ ~ ~

  No, suggesting the jog had not been a good idea, Paige thought, slowing her pace. She knew that now. She’d questioned the wisdom of asking him as soon as he’d turned over and looked up at her. She’d been convinced of it when he’d lifted his T-shirt.

  He was one fine brother. That was one of the first things she’d thought when she’d met him. She’d often wondered what would have happened if they hadn’t worked together.

  Paige picked up her pace and tried to clear her mind of such thoughts. She was engaged to Dexter. She was going to be Mrs. Fine. Reed was her friend, and she wanted to keep his friendship, so that’s what she should concentrate on.

  When she reached the steps of her apartment building, she did her cool-down and dropped down onto the steps to wait for Reed. He hadn’t been fooling her with that “hurt toe” excuse.

  She smiled. The brother just couldn’t keep up with her.

  ~ ~ ~

  Willie Pearl was sitting on the side of the bed, putting on her shoes, when she heard the phone. She let it ring a couple of times, hoping Paige or Reed had gotten back from their morning jog and one of them would answer it.

  She knew they weren’t back yet when the answering machine picked up.

  “Paige, it’s your father. I thought you’d be back from your run . . .”

  Willie Pearl picked up the phone. “Hello,” she said, then she realized she didn’t know his name.

  “Who’s this?” Paige’s father asked.

  “Willie Pearl Lewis, Reed’s grandmother. It’s so good to talk to you, ah, Mr. Thomas. It’s a shame our families haven’t met.”

  “Reed Lewis’s grandmother?” Mr. Thomas asked.

  “Of course,” she replied. “Who else would I be?” Willie Pearl didn’t know what to make of Mr. Thomas’s response. She was beginning to think he was not a nice man. He hadn’t even told her his first name. “Paige is a lovely girl. I know she’ll make my grandson a happy man.”

  “A happy man?” Mr. Thomas practically yelled the question. “Where’s Paige? Put her on the phone now.”

  Now Willie Pearl knew he wasn’t a nice man. Mr. Thomas was pushing her a bit too far. She began to feel a little sorry for Paige, if the child had grown up with such an ornery father. “Paige and Reed went running this morning. They’re not back yet.”

  “Paige and Reed?” Mr. Lewis yelled again. “Where’s Dexter?”

  “There’s no need for you to yell, Mr. Thomas,” Willie Pearl said. “I can hear. Who’s Dexter, anyway?”

  “Who’s Dexter?” Mr. Thomas repeated.

  Willie Pearl was about to repeat her question when she heard the door open, followed by the voices of Reed and Paige. “Hold on a minute, Mr. Thomas. Paige and Reed just got back. I’ll get her for you.”

  Willie Pearl placed the receiver on the nightstand and walked out to meet Reed and Paige.

  “Good morning, Grandma Lewis,” Paige said.

  Reed greeted her with a kiss. “Good morning, Big Momma.”

  “Good morning.” She looked at Paige. “Your father is on the phone and he’s upset about something. You’d better talk to him. He seemed to get angry, then he asked about someone named Dexter.”

  Paige shot a quick glance at Reed before rushing into her bedroom. She heard Grandma Lewis ask Reed, “Who is Dexter?” before she closed the door and walked to the bed.

  Taking a seat, Paige lifted the receiver, held it to her heart while she took a deep breath, and then, once she was calm, she spoke. “Good morning, Daddy,” she said, glad that the words came out smoothly.

  “What the hell is going on there, Paige?” her father asked. “What is Reed’s grandmother doing in your apartment? And what is she talking about—you’ll make Reed happy? Why were you out running with Reed? I thought your friendship with Reed was over, anyway. Has Dexter gotten back from L.A. yet?”

  Paige rolled her eyes to the ceiling while her father rattled off his questions. It was so like him. He always had to be in control, always had to know everything.

  “Are you going to answer me, Paige?”

  She released the breath she had been holding. “I’m feeling very well, Daddy. I’m glad you asked. How are you and Mom?”

  “Damn it, Paige,” her father began. “I’m sorry. I’m fine and your mother’s fine. Now, what about my questions?”

  “It was good seeing you two over Christmas. I know Dexter enjoyed himself.”

  Her father laughed. “If you weren’t so much like me, Princess,” he said, “I don’t think we’d get along.”

  Paige laughed, too. She loved her father and she knew he loved her, but sometimes she had to set boundaries with him. She found that difficult to do at times, since she cherished his approval. Still, she was able to manage it . . . most of the time. “I hope you weren’t mean to Grandma Lewis,” Paige said.

  Her father cleared his throat. “I could have been a bit more cordial,” he confessed. “She caught me off-guard with her comment about you making her grandson happy.”

  Her father didn’t say any more, but Paige knew he was dying to repeat his earlier questions. “If you agree to apologize to her, I’ll tell you what’s going on. But you have to agree.”

  “I’m an attorney, Paige. No deal until I know the details.”

  “Fine,” Paige said. “No deal.”

  The older man laughed again. “You win, counselor. I’ll apologize.”

  Paige smiled again. “Reed and his grandmother are staying with me because his apartment is flooded.”

  He gave a “humph.” “I know public defenders don’t make much, but Lewis ought to have enough money for a hotel room. Why is he staying at your place?”

  Paige explained the ruse she and Reed were playing.

  “You’re what?” her father exclaimed. “I don’t believe this. What does Dexter have to say about it?”

  What does Dexter have to say about it? Paige repeated in her mind. Why did her father always think about Dexter first? “There’s nothing for him to say. Reed and his grandmother will be gone before Dexter gets back from L.A. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I’m only doing a favor for a friend.”

  “I don’t know, Paige . . .”

  “Well, I do,” she interrupted. “Now, put Mom on the phone so I can say hello. And don’t run away. You still have to apologize to Grandma Lewis.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Who’s Dexter?” Big Momma asked again.

  It took all of Reed’s will to pull his gaze from Paige’s bedroom door. More than anything he wanted to know what she was telling her father. He shrugged his shoulders. He’d have to wait until she came out.

  “So, who is he?” Big Momma asked for the third time.

  “Dexter? Oh, he’s a friend of Paige’s.”

  Big Momma’s eyes widened in question. “Why would Mr. Thomas ask about him? Why, he seemed more interested in this Dexter than he did in you or me.”

  Reed smiled like it was nothing. “You have to get to know Mr. Thomas. He’s a gruff kind of guy. He thought Dexter was better suited for Paige than me.” At least that part was true, Reed thought. “He hasn’t given up on the two of them getting together.”

  “Even though Paige is engaged to you?”

  Reed shrugged. Lying to his grandmother made him uncomfortable. “He’ll come around. I know he loves Paige. He has to understand that I love her, too.”

  Big Momma nodded. “Is that why you haven’t had them out to meet the family? That has kind of bothered me, Reed. You
’re engaged and no one in the family has met your fiancée. The two families need to meet and get to know each other.”

  And they would have met if he and Paige had really been engaged. He’d love to bring her home with him so she could see where he grew up, so she could better appreciate who he was. He knew his mother and father would love her just as he’d known Big Momma would love her. And Tom. Tom would flirt outrageously, but then, that’s what little brothers did. Soon, he thought. Soon he’d be able to introduce Paige to his family and to the world as his fiancée. He knew it. “We’ll get together, Big Momma. I promise. Paige and I will have a lifetime together.”

  Six

  “I told Reed we need to get the families together,” Grandma Lewis was saying into the phone.

  Standing next to Grandma Lewis, Paige couldn’t hear her father’s response, but she was confident he was appropriately noncommittal. Grandma Lewis’s nod confirmed it.

  “Excuse me, Matthew,” Grandma said, “seems like Paige has another call coming in.” Grandma Lewis nodded again. “I understand if you have to go. I can’t wait to meet you and your wife.” Grandma Lewis smiled, nodded again, and then handed the receiver to Paige.

  Paige quickly pressed the switchhook. “Hello,” she said. She handed the phone to Grandma Lewis. “It’s for you.”

  “For me?” Grandma Lewis asked, reaching for the phone. Paige nodded. “It’s Ida Mae Thompson.”

  “Hi, Ida Mae,” Grandma Lewis said into the phone. “I’m doing fine.” She looked up at Paige and smiled. “You have to meet my new granddaughter.”

  Paige returned her smile before backing toward the door and leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

  “How did Mr. Thomas handle it?” Reed asked, before she had closed the door completely.

  She saw the concern in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Reed. It’s okay. I know how to handle my father.”

  “I guess I’d better get dressed, then,” he said. “I want to take Big Momma for a ride to the country. I’ve got something to show her.” He paused. “Do you want to come with us? I think you’d like my treat for Big Momma as much as she will.”

  “I don’t know,” Paige said. “Where are you going and what are you showing Grandma Lewis?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  The twinkle in Reed’s eyes made Paige smile. Though she wanted to go, she shook her head and turned away. “I don’t know—” There was something about the look in his eyes that made her very uncomfortable.

  Reed touched her shoulder to turn her around. “Come with us,” he pleaded. “You’ll love it.” When she would have given another objection, he added, “Do it for Big Momma.”

  Paige didn’t hold back the smile that spread across her face. “You don’t play fair, Reed Lewis.”

  He tapped a finger to the tip of her nose. “We public defenders can hold our own with you hotshot private-practice guys, and don’t you forget it.”

  ~ ~ ~

  It took all of Reed’s legal training and control to keep his secret for the one-hour drive to his surprise. His emotions were mixed. He wanted Paige to love it, and he was pretty confident she would. But what if she didn’t? No, he said to himself, he wouldn’t think that way. She’d love it.

  The smell of her perfume and the sound of her laughter surrounded him. Though Paige had wanted Big Momma to sit up front with him so she could “see the sights better,” Big Momma wouldn’t hear of it. She’d taken her seat in the back, forcing Paige to sit in the front with Reed.

  Paige was turned around in her seat so she could talk with Big Momma. It warmed Reed’s heart that the two most important women in his life had fallen in love with each other so quickly. But then, he’d expected that.

  “You can’t convince him to tell us where we’re going?” Big Momma asked Paige.

  Paige looked over at him. “Tell us, Reed. We’ve been driving for a long time. Where are we going?”

  Reed kept his eyes on the road. He didn’t trust himself to look at her. “I’m not telling.”

  Paige turned back to Big Momma and shrugged. “No luck. I guess we’ll have to wait.”

  “I don’t think you’re trying hard enough, Paige. Reed’s grandfather could never keep a secret from me. Womanly wiles and all that.”

  Paige’s mouth dropped open and Reed laughed. “Don’t give her any ideas, Big Momma. I have to keep my attention on my driving.”

  Reed took a quick glance at Paige. The shade of red that colored her face made him laugh again. He patted her on her thigh. “That’s for going easy on me, sweetheart.”

  When Paige placed her hand on Reed’s to remove it from her thigh, he turned his hand over and clasped hers. He picked up both their hands and rubbed her cheek with the back of his. “I love it when you blush,” he said.

  For a second, Paige was trapped again in the game she and Reed were playing for Grandma Lewis. She wondered if Reed was as affected by this charade as she was. She certainly hoped so, but the look in his eyes told her he was in complete control. She didn’t like that.

  She pulled their joined hands down from her face and turned them over so that his was facing her. She pulled his hand to her lips and kissed each knuckle with the tip of her tongue. His skin was warm to her touch. When she caught the look in his eyes again, it, too, had grown warmer. She smiled, satisfied now that she wasn’t the only one uncomfortable. She leaned over and brushed her lips across Reed’s. “Where are we going, sweetie?” she asked again.

  Reed opened his mouth to tell her, but his grandmother’s laughter from the back seat stopped him. “You’re good, granddaughter,” Big Momma said, still laughing. “And all it took was one kiss.” She laughed again. “You’re weaker than your grandfather, Reed. It took at least two kisses before he’d spill the beans.”

  Paige shifted back to her side of the car. She was smiling, but there was a question in her eyes. What was it? Reed wanted to ask. But Big Momma’s presence stopped him. He could only hope that the kiss had affected Paige half as much as it had affected him.

  A few minutes later, he turned off the main highway onto a tree-lined dirt road. “We’re almost there. You two can stop with your plotting.”

  Reed drove down the road for about a mile before Paige saw the clearing surrounded by the dense pine trees. He heard her “Ahhh” and he knew she was going to love it. “Have you two figured it out yet?”

  Big Momma piped up from the back seat. “My guess is somebody is getting ready to build a house.”

  Reed drove the car off the road onto the clearing and parked. “You’re right about that, Big Momma. Do you think my lady likes it?”

  “I don’t know, sonny,” Big Momma said, opening the door so she could get out of the car. “You have a fifty-fifty chance. Some women like to be included in picking out the site for their home. I have a feeling you and Paige need a little privacy.” With that, Big Momma got out of the car and walked toward the spot Reed had picked for the home he wanted to share with Paige. He looked over at Paige. Her hands were clasped in her lap and her eyes were focused straight ahead. She hadn’t said anything beyond her first moan. “So, do you like it?”

  “Are you going to build a house here?” she asked, still looking straight ahead.

  Reed turned sideways in his seat, willing her to do the same. She didn’t. “I want to,” he said simply.

  “When did you buy the property?”

  Uneasiness rose up in Reed. “I’ve had an option on it for a while. There hasn’t been much activity in the area until now. I have to make a decision by the first of the year.” She was silent. “What do you think?”

  She looked at him. Maybe stared at him was a better description. The look on her face was stern. Then, all of a sudden, she smiled. “I love it.” She turned, opened the car door, and ran out to Big Momma, whom she pulled into her arms and gave a big hug.

  Reed watched the women from his seat in the car. He smiled. Paige had remembered. And she was happy. Things were definitely l
ooking up.

  ~ ~ ~

  Paige needed the feel of Grandma Lewis’s arms right now. Her emotions were definitely on the road to taking over. What was going on here? Why had Reed chosen this site?

  Paige almost pulled away when Reed came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. His whispered “Remember, we’re engaged” stopped her, causing her to smile at him instead.

  “This sure is a pretty piece of land, sonny,” Grandma Lewis said.

  “I knew you’d like it,” Reed said, squeezing Paige’s waist with his hand. When she looked up at him, he shrugged his shoulders and mouthed, We’re engaged.

  “How do you like your surprise, Paige? Do you think you’ll like living out here, or are you a city girl?”

  Paige felt Reed tense up. “I think I’ve always been a country girl at heart, Grandma Lewis. When I was younger, I spent every summer with my grandmother in Alabama. She lived in a big house in the country.” She looked up at Reed and silent words of understanding passed between them. “The spot was something like this.”

  Grandma Lewis smiled. “I guess that means you’re happy with my grandson’s surprise.”

  Paige placed her hand across the one Reed rested on her waist. “Very happy. Reed couldn’t have picked a better surprise.” She felt Reed’s lips touch the top of her head and the sensation went straight through to the tips of her toes. She had to get out of his grasp. “Are you up for a tour of the property, Grandma Lewis?” Paige asked, reaching for the older woman’s hand.

  Grandma Lewis shook her head. “I don’t think so, dear. I’m content to sit here.” She pointed at a tree stump. “You two walk around. I’ll be fine until you get back.”

  Paige wished she hadn’t suggested the tour, but she knew she couldn’t get out of it now. She was going to miss Grandma Lewis’s presence. Somehow, it helped to keep her emotions in check.

  “Let’s go,” Reed said, urging her forward. “There’s a lot to see.”

  Paige nodded and let Reed lead her on a tour. She saw the sights, but her thoughts were more consumed with Reed. When had he started wearing that cologne? She’d never noticed it before. She wondered what it was. And his clothes. The soft wool covering the hard muscles made her want to burrow herself into his arms.