“I’d like the burritos, but can you leave off the tortillas?”
“Leave off the tortillas? So you want the chicken, the beans and the cheese on a plate?”
“Yes, but half the cheese.”
The waitress frowned, making a note.
“And it comes with rice and refried beans, correct?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want the rice. Is there sour cream and guacamole with it?”
“Sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo.”
“Leave off the sour cream, please. Would it be possible to get extra pico de gallo?”
Ryan leaned back in his chair. Should have expected this. How many times had he watched her cook a full meal at home and then only eat half of it?
“Extra pico de gallo?” The waitress stared at her order pad. “Do you want some extra lettuce or guacamole?”
“If possible, yes.”
“Okay.” The waitress was still staring at her order pad like she didn’t believe it even though she’d written it. “Let me repeat your order. You will have the fish taco platter and a Bud to drink and you will have the chicken burritos without the tortillas, the sour cream or the rice and only half the cheese, but with extra pico de gallo and lettuce and a water to drink.”
In a second the waitress was going to ask if Vicky was sure. It sounded like a whole lot of rabbit food.
“I’ll put this into the kitchen and bring your drinks right out.”
At least where she’d decided to sit, the drink bringing would be easy. “You’re allowed to live a little once in a while. A couple of margaritas won’t hurt you,” Ryan said.
“I have twenty-five pounds to go.” She braced her shoulders. “Every margarita will show up on the scale.”
“Twenty-five pounds? There won’t be anything left of you.”
“I’m trying to get back down to the weight I was before—”
That cut off was so sharp he swore he heard her throat click closed. “Before what?”
“Before my ex started having an affair.” She folded her arms and pursed her lips. “He said I got fat and he wasn’t attracted to me anymore so he had to turn to her.”
Ryan shrugged. “I like you the way you are. You want to get him back or something? I’m not enough for you?”
“It’s nothing like that.” She licked her lips, which she did when she was nervous. It made her look so cute and hot he wanted to slide into her side of the booth and kiss all her lipstick off. “I just— It’s hard to explain.”
“I guess.” Somehow he’d gotten a stone lodged in his throat about halfway to his stomach. It made him want to throw up.
“That’s not what I mean. You’re more than enough for me. More than I ever hoped for.”
“I guess.” Behind his head, he could hear the drink station spewing out something.
“Ryan, please.” She leaned forward.
The waitress arrived with their drinks. “Here you are. One Bud for you and one water for you. Everything okay here? All right then. I’ll check with the kitchen on your orders.” And she was gone like a dust devil.
“Ryan,” Vicky said again. “That didn’t come out right. I never meant that you weren’t enough for me, but I’ve been working on this weight loss thing for six months and I couldn’t get any traction until we got together. You have made all the difference to me.”
“Yeah.” It sounded like a break up speech. At least he hadn’t found her on his living room floor under his best friend.
“I want to get thin again for me. So I can respect myself.”
“And that’s more important than doing anything to make me happy.” Even arguing she kept her class, keeping her voice low. Any other woman he dated would have been screaming and breaking stuff before now.
“What do you mean?”
“I had to fight with you to get you to come out tonight and then you wouldn’t let the diet go to even have a drink with me.”
“I didn’t realize it meant that much to you.”
Neither had he. He blew a breath through his nose. “It doesn’t. Never mind.” He looked at the television hanging high on the wall. Sports program talking about football training camps while a crawler ran across the bottom of the screen with baseball scores.
“It looks like most of the clients who have been calling have all their storm damage cleared up, but it still busy. Is it always like this?”
“End of the summer people start wanting to get things done before the weather changes. I’ll be busy through the end of September. Then it’ll quiet down until the snow flies.” He refocused on her. Her mouth bent down and her eyes had lost their sparkle. Dammit. He reached across the table for her again and she took his hands eagerly this time. “Then we’ll have a little time to spend together and I can get that basement finished up so we can spend more time in it.”
“How much did you get done today?”
He told her all about hanging and taping drywall. All day he’d been thinking about all the things they could do together all winter. Three weeks and she hadn’t shown any signs of slowing down so there was no reason to think she would. Right now, under the table, she had her foot twisting around his ankle, which should not have been as exciting as it was.
The waitress arrived with their dinners, or rather his dinner and her rabbit food. Her face did look thinner than it had before. Come to think, when he had his hands around her hips they were closer together. Her clothes looked loose too. If she lost twenty-five more pounds she was going to disappear completely. The way she was talking, she wanted to disappear, with another guy. Some rich dick like her ex- husband.
“I got out your map of the area and have been trying to schedule smaller jobs near each other,” she was saying.
“What?”
“When I was scheduling your clients for next week, I started using the map to get the jobs closer together. I hope you don’t mind. I thought it would save you gas and allow you to take more jobs in a day.”
“I always did them as they came in.”
“I know, but it seemed more logical to do them by area. For instance on Monday you have three jobs on Obermeyer. Then Tuesday you have two jobs on Scott and another one around the corner on route fourteen. Because they’re closer together you can get to more of them in less time.”
“Obermeyer and Scott are on opposite sides of the town.”
“As I said, since I scheduled those jobs together you can get six done in two days instead of three.”
He frowned. “Wow, that makes sense. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
“You didn’t have a full time receptionist before.”
“Lissa answered the landline.”
Vicky rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen evidence of Lissa’s work. Your books were a mess.”
“You looked at my books?”
“I qualified as a bookkeeper. When Derek started the business I did the day to day bookkeeping.” She picked up a chunk of chicken with her fork, dipped it in her guacamole and placed it on her tongue.
“All Lissa did was write down the checks.”
“I know, but she didn’t have any clue how to use a two column spread sheet. I sorted the box of receipts into envelopes.”
That was a weekend in January freed up and Phyllis would be a lot happier with his shoebox of receipts too.
“You know, there’s a computer program us can use to enter all this information. It’s really easy to do.”
“How much did you fix?”
“I only got to the beginning of last month. Is it a problem?”
“No, it’s fantastic. Are you sure I can’t buy you a margarita?”
She laughed which was a pretty nice sound after all this. Vicky was going to organize and clean up his business. He might get out of this year without sweating the gas bill or the mortgage. She kept nibbling away at her meal and to distract himself from her mouth, he focused on his own. The waitress stopped by the check on them once. Ice cream. He’
d promised her ice cream at home in private. “So if I get ice cream on the way home, will you eat it?”
“I really shouldn’t.”
“Come on. You know how much I love to watch you eat.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I know what you like to watch me eat too.”
The heat in his jeans was uncomfortable. He shifted, trying to buy himself a little room, but it wasn’t enough. Vicky was way too classy to drag into the bathroom for a quickie. “Damn woman. Don’t put those kinds of images in my head. It’s a long way home.”
She dragged her toe up the back of his leg.
“Stop that.”
A shrill voice snagged his attention across the room. “No fucking way.” Why, oh why did she have to come here tonight?
Even before he turned, Vicky’s touch disappeared and he saw her sink into herself.
“I heard it, but I didn’t believe it.” Lissa slid to a stop beside their table. “I knew you’d miss me, but I didn’t realize you’d get this desperate.”
Frankie walked up behind her. “Hey man.” Like nothing had ever happened between them. Or no one.
“Hi guys, here for the drink special?” Ryan asked.
“You really are fucking her, aren’t you?” Lissa demanded.
“Let it go, Lis,” Frankie grumbled.
“No way, this is too juicy.” Lissa’s gaze swiveled from Ryan to Vicky. “You are actually fucking the fat old broad. I knew watching her do all her twisting and bending gave you a nice boner, but I didn’t think you’d be willing to stoop to that.”
Ryan watched Vicky from the corner of his eye. She’d pressed herself against the back of the padded seat so hard she might disappear into it with a bit more pressure. Her face had gone white making the tiny amount of make up she’d worn stand out too much. “Enough Lissa.”
“Listen if you’re that horny I bet there’s a pig around you can buy.”
Ryan stood up, but Frankie had Lissa by the shoulders, pulling her away. “You’re an idiot and you’ve got no class,” Ryan shouted after her.
“Well, you’re screwing an old fatty so I guess we know who won,” Lissa shrieked.
At least the restaurant was mostly empty. Ryan pulled out his wallet and fished out enough bills to cover his best estimate of the total with tip. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s go.”
She slithered out of the booth and wouldn’t take his hand as they walked out. He opened her door and waited while she climbed in. When he got to the other side, she was buckled in and staring out the side window.
“Don’t listen to her. She’s just jealous.”
“I told you this would happen.” Vicky’s voice was almost lost in the sound of the engine as he started the truck.
“Lissa is just pissed off. She got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and now she’s mad. She’d be hateful no matter who I was having dinner with.” He backed out of the space. “Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen. We’ll stop on the way for ice cream and go home for some fun.”
“I don’t think so.” Her voice hitched, but he couldn’t tell from this angle if she was crying. “I’m tired. It was a really long week.”
“So we’ll go home and watch a movie before bed.” Cuddling with her watching TV would be nice. Not quite what he’d hoped for from the evening, but good enough. After all Lissa’s venom she probably needed some recovery.
She didn’t answer. All the way home she stared out the side window. Didn’t sound like she was crying at least.
At the house, he parked in the garage. She had climbed out before he got the chance to open the door for her. There were no tears on her face when she looked up at him.
“I think I’d rather be alone tonight.”
“Alone?” Well, that made no sense. Where was he supposed to sleep? Since he threw Lissa out he’d been sleeping in her bed except for that first week when he slept in the basement.
“We’ve been together a lot and I need a little time to myself.”
“I’ll be quiet. We don’t have to do anything.” He reached for her, but she stepped backward.
“No, I really need to be alone.” She stepped around him and headed for the steps to her apartment.
“Wait.”
She paused at the bottom of the stairs, looked at him with empty eyes. It made her look really old.
“What about tomorrow?”
“I’m sure I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
She made the word sure sound like an iffy thing. Ryan stood in the garage until he heard her close her apartment door.
Well, this was just fucking marvelous.
* * *
Vicky stood in the middle of the living room trying to center herself for her morning yoga. The room was too dark. She’d drawn the curtains and turned on the lights, but she felt like she was trying do yoga in one of those loud bars she used to frequent in college sans the loud and plus a few decades. The decades weighed more than usual this morning. Her knees hurt, her back hurt, her mouth was sticky.
No, her mouth was probably sticky from the pancakes she’d felt the need to make at three in the morning because she couldn’t sleep. The sugar high hadn’t helped, but it never did. A day off from yoga wouldn’t hurt. She switched off the lights and opened the curtains. Her living room did look into Ryan’s bedroom. How hadn’t she noticed that before? It never occurred to her that he might be looking. Not with the adorable, serpent tongued Lissa sharing his bed. If Vicky had been alert, she could have gotten free porn by sitting in her living room.
Ryan wasn’t in his bedroom. His bed looked just as made and tidy as it had looked the one day two weeks ago when she’d snooped upstairs while he was out working. He might be up and getting ready to go. Today’s jobs were on the calendar in the front room, which she had organized. Lissa’s system seemed to have consisted of throw everything into a pile and ignore it. She’d done the same in the kitchen.
But Lissa was young and sexy and could get away with that behavior. Old, fatties had to work harder.
Vicky sunk down on the couch. What had she been thinking? Three weeks fooling around with a boy technically young enough to be her son. He’d probably just been lonely after Lissa left him and Vicky happened to be the nearest willing female.
Very willing. How embarrassing. The stuff they’d done together and the places they’d done it. The garage of all places. Not that it was a bad experience. He’d been very good to her, letting her do whatever she wanted. He’d been kind.
His mother had raised him well.
His mother who was probably only a few years younger than Vicky.
She could have been sitting there for five minutes or an hour before she heard the knock at the door. It could only be one person. None of her friends from her marriage would visit her here. Ignoring the pain in her knees, and everywhere else, she dragged herself off the couch and across the room.
Ryan had put his t-shirt on inside out. His face looked ten years older than normal. “Morning.”
“Morning.”
“I was heading out, but I wanted to see you before I left.” He reached for her.
She stepped back. “You’re going over to the Ferguson’s today. She had a number of jobs she needed you to take care of.”
“Yeah.” He stepped inside the apartment. “You gotta tell me what’s going on in your head so I can make it right. You never make me guess.”
“I wanted to tell you that I appreciated the kindness you’ve shown me over the last few weeks.”
“Kindness?” His face clouded making him look even older. “You mean the fucking and the meals and the working side by side? The relationship we had going?”
“Yes, it was…kind of you.”
“Are you serious?” His hand flashed out and closed around her arm. “You can’t honestly believe that I screwed your brains out because I’m that nice a guy. I charge for the work I do.”
“Then I supposed I owe you some money.” Yeah, it had come to this. She’d become the kind o
f woman who paid for sex. His hand felt so good on her arm, just being touched.
“Are you kidding me right now? I don’t want paid. I want you. You’re mind blowing sexy and you know what you want. You’ve never played games with me.” He gestured toward his house. “You’re improving my fucking business because you just feel like it. Jesus Vicky, what do I have to do to make you understand? I love you. You are the best accident that has ever fucking happened to me. If I had known all I had to do to find everything I ever wanted was finish this fucking apartment, I would have done it when I bought the property five years ago instead of waiting until last winter.”
“I was still trying to salvage my marriage five years ago.” Vicky stared at the backward logo on his shirt.
Ryan wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, okay? You’re the greatest and I never knew how much I needed you until you were here. None of the other girls I’ve dated have half measured up.”
“What will people say?” Vicky whispered.
“They’ll say look at that lucky shithead. How do you suppose he managed to snag a woman that fantastic?”
“That’s not what Lissa said last night. She’s not going to be the only one.”
“Lissa’s a little bitch. Did you see Frankie staring at you boobs?”
At the time she’d been too busy planning a strategic retreat under the table to notice anything.
“I thought he was going to start slobbering,” Ryan whispered into her hair. “I’m not letting him steal you from me.”
“I doubt he’s that interested.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up today while I was gone. You’re not going to cheat on me, are you?”
“That would only prove that I had no taste.”
He slid his hands down her back to cup her ass. Shouldn’t have eaten those pancakes last night. “Are you going to give me a kiss before I go?”
She turned her face toward him and he bushed his thumb over her cheek.
“Didn’t know you were crying.”
Covet the Curves: a Romance Collections Anthology Page 21
