The Art of Love

by Celya Bowers

  Claire smiled as she spoke to Peri. “Likewise. Your cookies were delicious. They were sooo good. Chelsey also said you were fun. I am very glad of that.”

  “Thank you. Chelsey is precious. This is my friend, Kyla Stone. Kyla, this is Claire,” Peri said, purposely not saying Claire’s last name.

  “I’m Brendan’s ex,” she offered as she shook Kyla’s hand. They exchanged small talk for a few minutes and said their goodbyes.

  “I see why he married her,” Peri said, wishing she could just die.

  “She’s pretty. Why on earth did he divorce her?” Kyla spoke before she saw Peri’s hurt expression.

  “She divorced him,” Peri whispered.

  Kyla looked at her friend. “Peri, she’s happy with her new guy. Look, they’re holding hands.”

  Peri nodded. “I know Brendan talks about her occasionally, but it seems friendly. She is very pretty, and very thin.”

  “Peri, you’re pretty, and as Mr. Brown proved to you, you are very attractive. Why do you always think you’ll lose someone you love?”

  “I know I love him, but I just don’t want him to know it.”

  “Why?”

  “Fear.”

  They finished their meal and decided when to work out. “Can you believe summer is almost over?” Kyla added for no apparent reason.

  “I know. I need to stay busy this week so I won’t think about Brendan being away.”

  “Yeah, Ryan left today. At least you have another day with Brendan. Let’s go out this Saturday night?”

  Peri agreed. She needed something to look forward to while he was gone or she would really be a hot mess. Over dishes of grilled salmon for Peri and seafood pasta for Kyla, they made plans to go to a jazz club in Dallas Saturday night.

  When Peri arrived at her condo later that evening, she saw the message light blinking on her phone. After listening to Brendan’s message, her heart danced with happiness. She replayed the message five times: ‘Hi, Peri, you left before we could say our goodbye properly. I know this is very new territory for you, but I mean everything I say. I will miss you. Call me when you get home, no matter what time. Talk to you soon.’

  Peri hesitated for a minute. She decided to wait to call him. She didn’t want to appear eager. She waited twenty long agonizing minutes. He picked up the phone on the first ring. The more they chatted, the more she knew she would miss him terribly.

  * * *

  “Looks like you guys are having a race to see who will say it first,” observed Kyla a few days later. As usual, Saturday found the friends at Omar’s, the popular sidewalk café in North Arlington, having lunch.

  “I know. I know he cares, but something is holding him back,” Peri said, pretending to look over the menu she had seen every Saturday for the last two years of her life. She could probably recite the entire thing by heart.

  “I don’t see you shouting your love for him from the rooftops either, Peri.”

  The waiter appeared at their table to take their order. After the waiter left, they resumed their conversation. Peri lowered her head and said in a whisper, “Ghosts.”

  Kyla looked at her friend and whispered back. “Maybe he has some dark, terrifying secret, and he’s not ready to share it yet.”

  “Such as?” She didn’t like that thought; it reminded her too much of her past.

  Kyla shrugged her slender shoulders. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell him?”

  “Because it seems like when I told Robert he began abusing me, and I started gaining all that weight.”

  “Peri, from what you told me of Robert, I think he was abusing you from the start.”

  “I guess I thought he would be the only man who would ever want me. He told me that so many times I guess I started to believe it. I can’t believe I listened to him. Now I know better, thanks to you and Brendan.”

  They chatted all through their lunch, ending with the details for the night. “What time does Brendan usually call?”

  “It’s been different times. He can call back if I’m not there,” Peri said with a newfound confidence.

  Kyla made a face at her. Then they both started laughing uncontrollably, attracting looks from the other restaurant patrons. “See, you’re so much more confident now. The old Peri would have sat there and waited for him to call.”

  Peri knew she felt differently with Brendan. It wasn’t that suffocating or drowning feeling she’d felt with Robert. She felt secure in his affection for the most part. She refused to think about him getting tired of her. Her heart couldn’t take it.

  After lunch and a little shopping, Peri went home to take a nap. She knew she’d be out late, and she wasn’t a teenager. Drowsily, she reached for the ringing phone a few hours later.

  “Were you asleep? It’s early afternoon, isn’t it?” Brendan asked, his voice thick with worry.

  “Yeah, Kyla and I are going out tonight, so I was getting some rest,” Peri said as she looked at her bedside clock.

  Suddenly Brendan was very quiet. “R-really? Where are you going?”

  “I don’t know. Probably that new jazz club, Adele’s, in Dallas,” Peri hedged, not wanting to admit that she was looking forward to going out without him.

  “Have a good time,” Brendan said in a quiet voice.

  Peri had a thought, but not a good one. “Are you mad at me for going out tonight?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “What is it, then?” Peri’s mind buzzed with unthinkable possibilities.

  Brendan began slowly. “You know, I talk to my parents every weekend. I called this morning as usual and got some bad news. My dad is sick. Mum said he had passed out at work and is having some chest pain. He thinks he’s still young and has to work hard. He thinks he still has five kids to feed. He’s working at the mill fifty hours a week and trying to run the home farm as well. Mum says he insists he is fine.”

  Concern clouded Peri’s face. She loved the way he said Mum, referring to his mother. It sounded so European and charming. “Does your family have a history of cardiac problems?” Peri asked. “Our family has a history of everything. That’s why my parents retired early.”

  “In my family, they usually die from old age. My grandparents are in their eighties and are still pretty active. I think my dad just needs to retire from the mill, but he thinks he’ll be bored with all that free time.”

  “I know how stubborn parents can be.” Peri smiled, remembering the fuss her father put up about retiring. “My mom begged my father to take early retirement for two years. Now he’s so glad he did.”

  That must have given Brendan a boost. He began telling her about his family. He talked of his brother, Sean, who lived in London and was a year older. Andy, a younger brother, still lived in Dublin. Sarah lived in Wales and Emma, who just recently married, had settled down in Dublin as well. He also mentioned that Emma used to be quite wild. He even shared some family gossip and things about Ireland.

  “Ireland always seems so pretty and green on TV. Does it really look like that?”

  “Yes, it is beautiful.” He sounded so dreamy when he spoke of Ireland, almost homesick. That only endeared him to her. After he gave her his new phone number to the hotel in Paris, he ended the call.

  A few hours later, Peri’s cell phone rang on the way to the jazz club. Kyla looked over at her friend and smiled. “I wonder who that could be?”

  “I wonder.” Peri smiled a secret smile as she pulled her phone out of her purse and answered it.

  It was Brendan, of course. He was checking on her. “I just thought I would have a chat with you before you went clubbing.”

  “What are you doing tonight?” Peri changed the subject. She was also curious if he was clubbing with some young thing.

  Brendan laughed. “Honey, it is about 4:30 in the morning.” His voice wrapped around Peri like a security blanket.

  “Is something wrong?” Her voice trembled.

  “No, I just wanted my voice to be the last one you
hear before you went into the club.”

  Peri couldn’t help herself. She laughed joyously at Brendan. He was jealous and not ashamed to admit it. He was too cute. “You are insane. Goodnight, Brendan.” Peri turned her phone off, put it back into her purse, and stared into the night.

  “What?” asked Kyla, but she already guessed.

  Peri looked down at her feet at her perfectly polished toes and sighed. “He called me honey.”

  Kyla glanced at Peri. “Peri, you are in a relationship with a man. He’s bound to use some terms of endearment towards you. Although it seems to have taken him long enough to get to this point.”

  Peri shook her head in denial. “We are just dating. That’s all.”

  Kyla explained the difference to her frightened friend. “Peri, you guys call each other every day. My gosh, he’s in Europe, and still calls you every night. You’ve met his daughter and ex-wife. This, my friend, is what those in the real world of love call a relationship.”

  Reality hit Peri. Yes, she was in a relationship with a man, like it or not. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the leather headrest. “This can’t be good.”

  Kyla laughed. “Take a deep breath and try not to think about it.”

  “That would be hard.” Once she and Kyla walked inside the club, she didn’t get to think about it much. Peri had a good time, and even danced quite a bit. She liked the part about not having to buy her own drinks, making her feel like she was almost perfect.

  “Did you get any phone numbers?” Kyla asked as they waited for her SUV, which was valet parked.

  “I got a few.” Peri smiled, instantly thinking of Brendan’s smile.

  “But you’re not going to use them, are you?”

  “I know, but it’s nice to know that someone thought I was attractive and wanted to give me their phone number. It’s like weighing in and losing five extra pounds.”

  “Brendan thinks you are attractive.”

  “Yes, he does. He’s always telling me how beautiful I look. I didn’t believe him, at first,” she said, finally admitting her fears.

  “You don’t regret it, do you?”

  “No, it took a little getting used to. I wasn’t used to getting compliments, but it was nice getting used to it. But, no, I don’t regret it.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “Even though I had to learn to in-line skate for him.” They laughed all the way home.

  * * *

  Robert watched as the Lexus SUV parked in Peri’s driveway. He had sat in that car watching Peri’s condo for more hours than he wanted to admit. Maybe his brother was right. Maybe he should just move on. But she owed him something, and he was going to get it. Even if it was the last thing he’d ever do.

  Finally the passenger door opened and Peri emerged from the car. She looked skinny, he thought, her new, sleek figure more apparent in the tight dress and high-heeled shoes. No way would he have let her out of his sight in that dress. No way would she have gone anywhere without him in the first place.

  He had a simple plan. He’d wait until the SUV left and he’d rush her before she could close the door. Earlier attempts to get in the condo were foiled. Unfortunately, Peri’s nosy neighbors were always outside on the street and watching him. Don’t these people have anything else to do today besides spy on him?

  But the SUV wasn’t leaving. The car’s headlights turned off as well as the engine. He watched Peri wave someone inside the condo. Her friend wasn’t going home. He couldn’t dispose of two bodies in his too small car.

  He reached for the glove compartment, extracted the bottle of whiskey, and took a healthy swallow before starting the car. “You just earned another day to live,” he muttered as he put the car in gear.

  CHAPTER 11

  Friday morning Peri awoke with a barrage of sneezes. Her allergies were in full force. What a time for an allergy attack, she mused. Brendan was due back tomorrow. With the changing of the seasons near, the atmosphere was filled with all the things that made her sneeze her head off, as her mother would say.

  After she called in to her assistant and gave her enough tasks to keep her busy for the day, Peri took some medicine and slipped back into bed. Although the medicine would make her drowsy, at least she wouldn’t be sneezing.

  The constant ringing of her doorbell woke Peri from a sound sleep a few hours later. Dressed in a nightshirt and little else, she answered the door. Brendan stood in her doorway looking very casual, very worried, and very sexy. The dark suit reinforced how attractive he was. Peri moved out of his way as he walked inside the house. “Brendan, what are you doing here? I thought you were coming home tomorrow.” Peri grew concerned at his silent expression. “Is something wrong with Chelsey?”

  He looked at her with a sigh of relief and closed the front door. “I called your office and your assistant said you took a sick day. Why didn’t you call me and tell me you were sick? Are you okay? Why are you dressed for bed?” He didn’t give her time to answer. He pressed the back of his hand against her face.

  “Hey, your hands are cold.” Peri stepped out of his reach.

  “Sorry, honey. You feel a little warm.”

  “I was asleep. Why are you here?” She looked up at him, drinking in the sight of the sexiest man in the world. She felt like she hadn’t seen him in years instead of just a few weeks.

  Brendan looked at her, a smile tugging at his lips. “I haven’t seen you in a fortnight and you’re quizzing me? Well, there’s this woman with an incredible smile who I just could not wait to see.” He leaned down, kissing her with an urgent need.

  Peri couldn’t think, just at that minute. She regretfully ended the kiss, gasping for air. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Chelsey? You know for that father-daughter bonding thing for her birthday.” She inhaled his cologne. He smelled so good. That coupled with the suit he was wearing, was starting to wake her girly hormones.

  Brendan stared her as if those brilliant blue eyes could read her lusty mind. He began speaking. “I spent yesterday with her. She says hello. I understand you met Claire and Oliver.”

  “Yes, I did. Claire is beautiful,” Peri said in a whisper.

  Brendan shrugged his shoulders in a noncommittal way, grabbed her hand, and took her to the living room sofa.

  “Sit here,” he told her, dropping the subject of Claire. “I’ve got a few surprises for you.” He left without hearing her reply.

  Peri sat on her couch and waited. She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes, only opening them at the sound of her front door opening. Which should not have happened, she thought. The door had a spring lock. It was supposed to engage the moment the door closed. Peri sprang from the couch, meeting Brendan at the front door. “Did you close that door all the way when you went out of it?”

  Brendan nodded, juggling the boxes in his hands. “Yes, I closed the door. I know how you are about unlocked doors.”

  Peri’s voice quivered. “Something must be wrong with the lock.” Peri opened the door to investigate. There was a tiny piece of wood in the door, hindering the lock from doing its job. The door would close but did not lock. She shuddered at the possible meaning.

  Brendan set the boxes on the floor and investigated as well. He took out his cell phone and dialed a locksmith. He murmured a few one word phrases, and then closed his phone. “He’ll be here in about two hours.”

  Only one person would want to do this to her, but he was in prison, or so she hoped.

  “Peri, why don’t you sit down and open my presents?” He wanted her attention diverted, because the rest of the afternoon wouldn’t be easy.

  Peri looked once more at the lock, then walked to the living room. Brendan picked up the boxes and followed her. Peri sat on the couch and Brendan presented her with the first box. It held a sexy lacy short nightgown. The second held a beautiful dress from Paris. He also brought her an oil painting, and she recognized the signature of the artist. Last of all, he got her some Belgian chocolates. Peri
was overwhelmed at the amount of money these gifts must have cost.

  “Thank you, Brendan. These are wonderful.” She kissed him.

  He lightly kissed her forehead and began to clean up the mess of the gift-wrapping paper. “Why don’t we order something in while we wait for the locksmith?” Peri nodded. “I think I’ll change clothes. I would hate for the delivery boy or the locksmith to see me dressed like this.”

  Brendan agreed. “Yeah, that makes two of us.” He walked toward her. “This attire is for me and me alone.” He softened his command with a kiss.

  He watched as Peri hurried down the hall. He waited until she was in her bedroom before pulling out his cell phone. He punched the number and spoke into a hushed tone. “I need you to find someone. He should still be in prison, but I think he’s out and trying to terrorize his ex-girlfriend.” He was glad he’d paid attention to their first phone conversation and remembered Peri’s ex-lover’s name.

  * * *

  The next morning the aroma of bacon woke Peri. She never smelled bacon cooking in her house. Brendan. She remembered Brendan was over. He walked into her bedroom with a breakfast tray, dressed in a T-shirt, pajama bottoms, and a smile.

  “I thought you might be hungry, since you didn’t eat much last night.” He walked over and set the tray on the bed.

  Peri sat up in bed. “Yes, I’m starving.” She watched as he buttered a piece of toast and handed it to her. As she bit into the toast she realized that he had also put some cinnamon on it as well. How did he know her favorites?

  “How do you feel today?” Brendan drank his orange juice, his eyes watching her over the rim of his glass.

  “Good,” Peri said. She watched him smack his lips and put his orange juice glass down on the tray. She couldn’t believe some of the changes in her body because of this man. She could jump him at any second.

  Brendan looked at her. He removed the breakfast tray from her lap. Peri looked at him. She knew what he wanted. She wanted the same.

  Brendan lowered her on the bed and looked into her eyes asking permission as he kissed her. Peri ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed her deeply. He eased her out of her nightshirt and underwear. She helped him off with his T-shirt. Feeling like a teenager, she also helped him out of his silk boxers. They were touching and caressing each other tenderly, making promises with their bodies that they were both too afraid to say aloud.