The doorbell rang, and she hurried for it. It rang over and over again before she yanked open the door. “The doorbell works,” she said to Kit.
Kit rushed inside and flung her arms around her. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Mae leaned into her friend’s hug. Kit and Kit’s mom were the only physical touch Mae ever experienced, except for Slade’s. She pulled back and snapped her fingers. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“The unreal connection, the sparks, the overwhelming desire, and all that junk. It was inflated because I can’t remember the last time a man really touched me. Right?” Kit’s brothers and dad were very good men, but they didn’t grab Mae and hug her. Usually a handshake or a pat on the arm was their greeting or goodbye.
Kit shook her head. “I don’t think so. Wait! You felt connection, sparks, and overwhelming desire when he touched you?”
“Kit, he kissed me,” she had to admit.
Kit screamed and hugged her again. “And it was good?”
“Fabulous. Like better than anything I’ve read in a book.”
“Welcome to the big leagues.” Grinning, Kit tugged her toward the couch and pulled her down. “Tell me all.”
Mae relayed the story, word for word. Kit grimaced and cheered at appropriate times. When she finished, Mae said, “So?”
“You messed it all up,” Kit confirmed. “But then he kind of did too, at least at the end. He didn’t recognize you, and then he let the waiter manipulate the situation. Most importantly, why did he send Josie away after that fabulous kissing session?” She stood and started pacing the room. Mae watched her, letting her work it out. “You know, there are a lot of positives, though.”
“Yeah, I can live vicariously through my own memories until I’m old, fat, and gray.”
“Baloney! You aren’t living through any memories; you’re going to make more. You love Slade Steele?”
Mae nodded. There was no reason to deny it to her best friend.
Kit smiled. “You had an amazing connection with him?”
“As Josie.” Truly she felt a connection to him every day through video chats as herself, but that probably meant nothing to Slade.
“Doesn’t matter. He felt it, and you did too. And boys aren’t like us; they don’t hold silly grudges for a woman not telling them the truth.”
“O-kay.”
“Slade’s the one I feel bad for. We have all the cards. He doesn’t know that Josie’s you. He doesn’t even know Josie’s last name.”
“So, what do we do?”
“He’s got to be miserable right now, going insane. He shared this unreal moment with Josie then told her that he wants Mae.”
“Sort of.” He had said he thought Mae was amazing and said her name all beautifully after they kissed, so there was that.
“Don’t you discount yourself. You’re the best, and obviously Slade has seen that, even through the frumpy clothes and huge glasses.” Kit nodded. “We’re going to let him stew for a few weeks then we’re going to do something insane.” Her blue eyes lit up.
“What?” Mae didn’t like the sound of this. Kit’s insane ideas in high school had always gotten the two of them in trouble, once even with the law.
“We’re going to fly to Boston, and you are going to march into his office dressed like Josie, kiss the dickens out of him, and tell him you’re really Mae. I can just envision it, and I love it!”
Mae stood to face her friend and shook her head. “No way. Even if I was brave enough to do that, I can’t drive across a bridge.” She flung her hand in the Golden Gate Bridge’s direction. “How am I going to fly across the country?”
Kit looked compassionately at her. “That’s why we’re going to let him stew for a few weeks. He’ll be fit to be tied wanting both you and Josie, and Mom and I will be praying nonstop to give you strength to overcome your fears.”
Mae’s stomach tightened. She loved her friend, and though it was terrifying, she also loved the idea of marching into Slade’s office, kissing him, and telling him the truth. Yet how could she overcome her fears in this life?
Kit squeezed her hands. “Will you pray with me?”
Mae’s throat was dry, but she nodded. They bowed their heads, and Mae silently but fervently added her pleas to Kit’s. It would take a miracle equivalent to walking on water to get her across that devil bridge and on an airplane.
Chapter Eight
Mae slept through workouts in the morning, ignoring Kit’s texts and phone calls. The prayer and support from her friend had helped last night, but by midnight she’d succumbed to depression over the way things had ended with Slade, and the certainty she’d never feel his mouth on hers again. She’d consumed a container of Ben & Jerry’s strawberry cheesecake ice cream, then couldn’t sleep because of her bellyache and her heartache.
She rolled out of bed and jammed her glasses on. Kit had made her promise that she’d get back to the eye doctor and buy a large box of contacts. She would. Tomorrow. Today she was going to stay in her glasses and her frumpy T-shirt. She wouldn’t deal with anything more strenuous than work issues she couldn’t ignore. She’d go outside and savor her beautiful spot of earth—go on some walks down to the water, or maybe take a bike ride up to Mill Valley and the waterfall.
The unique ring from her video chats with Slade sounded, and her stomach flipped. He was calling her. What should she say? Would it be awkward? What if he figured everything out? Please let him figure everything out, she begged the good Lord. That would be so much easier than her conquering her fears.
She ran to her computer, pushing the answer button before she could second-guess herself. “Hi!” she said brightly.
“Hi, Mae.” His voice wasn’t cold, but it definitely wasn’t his normal warm, friendly, inspiring tones. His eyes swept over her. “Late night?”
Now the censure in his voice ripped through her. She’d also realized late last night that she’d never even responded to his last text pleading to still meet her even though she’d claimed to have left. He probably thought she was such a brat. Did he think she’d gone with some other man? How could she correct him without really correcting him? She and Kit had their plan to let him stew and dream about Josie while hopefully falling more for Mae through their video chats before she worked up her courage to get on that plane, but that all seemed pretty stupid right now. She wanted to just spill the truth, then beg him to fly back to her.
“Um … yeah.” She tried to straighten her ponytail and then her shirt. She probably looked horrific, but Slade had never cared that she wasn’t fixed up. He’d told Josie that he was interested in Mae. Last night already felt like a fairy tale that she hadn’t really been a part of, except for her body, which still tingled at the memory of his touch and him staring at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. If only he’d look at her like that right now … but he was looking at her as if she had ditched him and then gone with another man. Cripes!
He nodded, a muscle working in his jaw and his lips tight. “So, on the Keller file.” He proceeded to move straight into business.
Mae tried to remember Kit’s instructions to be her funny self, but hardly any original quips came to her, and when they did, he barely cracked a smile. Her stomach was tied in pretzels by the time they got through the projects she needed to work on.
“I like your shirt,” he muttered, and Mae took the slightly personal sentence as the first good sign of this phone call.
She glanced down. Her shirt read, “If you don’t like tacos, I’m nacho type.” “Thanks,” she murmured. Swallowing hard, she tried to be brave and said, “Do you like tacos?”
The first real smile she’d seen from him today flitted across his face. “Yeah, I do.” The smile disappeared, and he said, “Talk to you soon.” She saw his finger stretching toward the screen to end the call.
“Hey,” Mae said quickly before she lost her nerve. “I’m … sorry about last night.”
Hi
s hand fell to his side and he studied her as if trying to peer past her glasses. “Me too.” There was an awkward pause, and then he said, “I really wanted to meet you.”
You did? Do you still? What about Josie? She wanted to grill him with questions. Instead she bit at her lip and then said, “Maybe we could try again. Go for tacos this time.” The words were out before she could call them back. He probably didn’t want to try again, and she didn’t know if she dared try again. Last night had been tough and crazy and also magical. Those fabulous, insanely beautiful kisses were never far from her thoughts, but he hadn’t kissed her as Mae.
He gave her a soft smile and said, “Maybe. Talk to you later.” Then he was gone.
Mae sat staring at the screen, feeling like she’d lost him all over again.
Slade stared at the background of a waterfall on his computer screen. Mae was gone, and he felt lost without her. Last night was a missed opportunity with Mae, and it still stung that she’d left and then never responded to his text, but Mae was obviously socially backward and more than likely not his type. Yet he liked her, a lot. He also was attracted to and intrigued by Josie, and he wished he hadn’t said Mae’s name after they’d kissed, then put her in that taxi without getting her phone number or at the very least her last name.
He shook his head and focused on his computer, pulling up his email. Work was good. Work could distract him from the confusion of two women on his brain. It was crazy how drawn he was to Mae when he had never met her in person and couldn’t really tell what she looked like behind those too-large glasses, but he was also incredibly drawn to Josie, whom he hardly knew. He kept telling himself the draw to Josie was all physical and shallow, but some part of him didn’t believe it. Josie had been so much more than a pretty package.
Trying to shut it from his mind, he got to work.
A week passed, and the memory of Josie somewhat faded, but he never lost the feeling of connection, desire, and—did he dare even think it?—love that he’d experienced when he’d touched and kissed her. If he believed Lottie’s chick flicks, he’d think he lost his chance with his soul mate.
He was getting comfortable with Mae again, laughing at her jokes, and looking forward to any chance he had to video chat her. She’d also started texting him, sending him pictures of funny memes or T-shirts, or simply chatting about their day. He was afraid to suggest he fly out to meet her again. What if it all spiraled downward? What if he ran into Josie and got even more confused? He felt like he was falling for Mae and like he’d already fallen for Josie. Josie was out of his reach and he needed to forget her. Did he dare suggest Mae fly here? He could call it a work trip for her to meet people in his Boston offices that she associated with through video chat, email, and text.
Yet he still couldn’t forget Josie. He realized late Saturday night, when he was home alone, that he wanted to find her, give her a chance. She’d been delightful to talk with, even before he touched her; maybe they could have as much fun chatting as he and Mae did. He wasn’t sure what was pushing him to find Josie. It may have been due to the fact that he hadn’t talked to Mae since yesterday during work hours, or it may have been that Lottie had forced him to watch Sleepless in Seattle and then grilled him, “Did it feel like that, like magic, when you touched Josie’s hand?”
He’d had to admit that it had felt even more powerful than Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks had portrayed. He was a mess.
Finding the number for Sushi Sticks, he dialed it and asked after the greetings, “Can I please talk to Dirk Miller? I believe he’s a waiter there.”
The lady paused. “Um, he’s not here right now, but I can ask him to call you.”
Slade thanked her and gave her his name and number before ending the call. His penthouse overlooked the open area of Boston Commons. He stared out his floor-to-ceiling windows at the softly lit park below, his phone in hand. He was tempted to call Mae. Chatting with her late at night like this would be a soothing balm and might push them completely out of the employer/employee relationship. He wanted that, but if he found Josie and fell for her, he didn’t want to lead Mae on.
His phone rang, and he startled. The number was unknown, but the area code was the same as Mae’s, so he assumed it could be Dirk. “Hello?”
“Slade.” A confident voice came through the line. “Dirk Miller. You needed something?”
This man was not who he pretended to be, but that wasn’t Slade’s problem. “You were my waiter a week ago.”
“Yes, sir.” The “sir” was said with a twinge of sarcasm. “How did it go with … Josie, was it?”
Slade didn’t think this guy deserved an explanation, but he needed his help. “Great, until I kissed her and then said another woman’s name.”
“Whoa. Nice one.”
“Yeah, not really.” He thought of how much razzing his suave brother, Jex, would have given him if he’d been there. As he paced his living area, his feet tapped loudly on the distressed wood floor. “I obviously messed it up, and then, because I felt awkward for calling her the wrong name, I immediately flagged a taxi for her, apologized, and let her leave. I don’t even know her name or if she lives in the Bay Area. Do you know her? Have you seen her again?”
“Sorry, man.” Dirk’s tone was considerably softer. “I haven’t seen her again, and I’d never seen her before that night. She was an impressive lady, though, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, she was.” Slade’s hopes deflated. “If you ever see her, would you tell her … I’m sorry and I’d love to see her again?”
“Sure. Sorry I can’t help more.”
“No worries. You have my number. Take care.”
“You too.”
Slade hung up the phone and wished he would’ve stayed at his parents’ place in Duxbury. Going to church with them, Lottie, and Gunner in the morning and having Sunday brunch sounded much better than being alone. Maybe alone was what he was destined for. It wasn’t as if he could declare his love to either Mae or Josie when he didn’t know which woman he truly wanted to pursue. The fact that he wanted to date both of them didn’t make him very proud of himself.
His phone beeped an incoming text. He grinned when he read the message from Mae with a picture of a T-shirt.
Just found this online. Buy it? “I’m a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.”
He texted back. Definitely buy it.
It’s funny?
Almost as funny as you. I love your sense of humor. And he did. He loved so many things about Mae. If only he could be assured that when he touched her there would be even a tenth of the spark and desire he’d felt with Josie. He paused and then typed quickly before he could veto himself. I can’t wait to see you in it.
She sent back a smiley face. Thanks. We’ll taco ’bout you seeing me soon.
I’m game for tacos or talking anytime. He truly meant it.
Night. Happy Sabbath tomorrow.
Good night.
His phone stopped beeping and he felt the letdown of saying goodbye to Mae. The whole sparks thing was pretty overrated. He’d rather be with someone he could talk and laugh with—but if that was true, why could he still feel Josie in his arms?
Chapter Nine
“Please, please, please come eat sushi with me.” As Kit tugged Mae toward the restaurant, she pouted her lower lip—an expression that probably worked wonders on any male of the species. Sushi Sticks was the restaurant of doom in her mind.
“Come on, Kit. Let’s go for a greasy hamburger dripping with barbecue sauce.” Mae tried to say it all tantalizing with an appealing wink, but that just wasn’t her style. She was dressed nice for her today in a stretchy gray skirt, paired with one of her favorite T-shirts that Kit had tied in a knot at her waist to give it some shape. Her hair was down and her contacts were in. She even put on a little of the lip stain Kit had left for her, and though she’d never admit it to Kit, she didn’t even notice wearing the lip stain. The fake eyelashes were nice because she didn’t need any other ey
e makeup with them on.
“I’m craving sushi, and I think it’ll be good to relive your night as we consume it. I’ll get yours deep-fried if you’re wanting something greasy.”
Mae scowled at her. She loved her sushi deep-fried, and Kit never failed to tease her about it. She didn’t want to relive that night, except for teasing with and kissing Slade as Josie, but she let Kit pull her through the doors. Instead of feeling the panic she’d expected, she remembered seeing Slade’s handsome face up close and personal. She adored him and there was no way to deny it.
The hostess directed them to a table, thankfully not the one she’d been at that night. They settled in and ordered three rolls more than they could ever finish, and then Kit grabbed Mae’s hand. “Okay, sweet friend. It’s been almost two weeks, and I have been praying my guts out. I’m so in tune with heaven currently that I may just get translated and you’ll have to say goodbye to your best friend.” She winked. “Please tell me all my efforts aren’t in vain. Are you ready to fly to Boston?”
Mae worried her lip. She’d been praying also, but she hadn’t received any confirmation that she could handle driving across the bridge, load into an airplane, and fly across the nation. Slade was amazing, but she’d decided to alter the prayer request Kit had given her, asking instead that he’d come back to Sausalito to see her.
“Come on. I’ll be right by your side. I ordered you several of your funny T-shirts, but fitted, and I figure the first one that shows up will be the lucky shirt that gets to be touched by Slade and our sign that we need to catch a plane. I know exactly what I’ll have you wear with the T-shirt and how I’ll do your hair. Slade is gonna flip when you strut into his office as Josie-slash-Mae. Can I watch?”
Steele Family Romance Collection Page 6
