TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES)

by Jackson, Brenda

  Barbara broke eye contact with Rick to look out the window. They were in her subdivision and in a few moments they would be arriving back at her house. Now this was where she was at a lost as to what to do next. What was the proper etiquette for a date? Did a woman invite a man into her home for coffee after the first date? Would he expect more than just coffee?

  She never considered herself a sensuous person. To be honest, she never considered herself desirable either. The majority of the time she had been the one to initiate her and Ron’s lovemaking sessions, and although she figured he’d gotten satisfied in the end she knew with men there were different degrees of satisfaction.

  And those times when she had initiated things between them, she had done it more out of duty than for anything else. She could honestly say, here and now, that she had stopped feeling any real sexual attraction to Ron years ago, probably after she’d come home that day and found him in bed with someone else. She had stayed in her marriage out of love and duty. During their trip to Hawaii, she had tried restoring that attraction, had wanted him to see her as desirable, and as a result she had done some things in the bedroom she normally wouldn’t do. She knew he had enjoyed her brazen behavior, but he had for all the wrong reasons.

  Barbara drew in a deep breath and wished she would have talked to Peggy. She knew better than to ask Courtney or Sonya the rules of dating since the rules for young women today was vastly different than what she was use to. One night stands were a common thing since some felt a date would earn the man a right to spend the night. Unfortunately, she didn’t think that way.

  At that moment when he turned on the street where her home was located, a part of her wished he would drive around the block once or twice to give her time to decide what she would do.

  Too late, he was pulling into her driveway and she felt a quivering in her stomach and wished she could ignore the sensation . When he brought the car to a stop she tilted her head over in his direction and met his gaze.

  She was about to open her mouth to say something, what she wasn’t sure, when he beat her to the punch by saying. “May I see you again, Barbara?”

  The sound of his voice was all husky, seductive and rich with a substance that seemed to flow through her veins. She looked at him for what seemed like a long moment before asking. “Do you really want to?”

  He smiled and that smile made her stomach dip. “Yes, I really want to. How about lunch on Wednesday? I can pick you up at your office.”

  She wanted to see her again, so she said. “I would love to have lunch with you, Rick.”

  “Good.”

  He opened his car door and walked around the vehicle to open hers and then he strolled with her up the walkway. She glanced over at him and there was something in his eyes, something she’d seen during the evening that intrigued her because he had a way of looking at her like no man ever had, and that included Ron.

  When they reached her steps, he paused and then reached out and took her hand in his. “I think this is where I should say goodnight.”

  Her surprised expression must have told him what she’d been thinking for the last hour or so, and a warm smile appeared on his lips. “I don’t want to overwhelm you, Barbara. You’ve agreed to have lunch with me on Wednesday and I’ll look forward to that.”

  She looked down at her shoes and then back at him. “I don’t know what to say. I’m not good at this.”

  “You’re better at this than you think. You’re special. I believe it and I intend to make sure in the end you believe it as well.”

  He lifted her hands to his lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “I’m looking forward to Wednesday.”

  “So am I,” she said truthfully.

  “Glad to hear it. Now I’ll stand here until you get inside. Goodnight,” he said, releasing her hands.

  “Goodnight.” She hesitated just for a moment and then she turned and quickly walked up the steps, unlocked the door and went inside.

  Five

  Ronald Andrews balled up the paper he’d received in the mail. Moving as quickly as his limp would allow, he went over to the table and picked up his cell phone. After pushing a single button a sleepy feminine voice answered.

  “Yes, Daddy?”

  “What is this nonsense about your mother selling our house?”

  Courtney fought off sleep to roll her eyes. “If I remember correctly, in the divorce settlement it became her house with the stipulation that you were to get half of the proceeds if she were to sell it. I guess she’s decided to sell it.”

  Ron tightened his hand around the phone. “Why would she do something like that?”

  “I can think of a lot of reasons, but the main one is that she’s just one person and it’s too big of a house for her. I told her that months ago and I’m glad she’s finally listening to me.”

  “You had no right to butt in. That house is where I planned to move back into with your mother when she sees we were meant to be together.”

  Courtney rose up in bed. “Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

  “Whether you want to accept it or not, your mother and I will get back together eventually.”

  Courtney shook her head. “You really believe that don’t you? You are so use to doing her any kind of way, knowing she’ll take you back that you think this is just another one of those times. Well, think again, Dad. Mom divorced you. You hurt her so badly that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with you and I can’t rightly blame her.”

  “But I tried to explain. What I had is a sickness and I’m getting help. I’ve been seeing this -“

  “Yes, Dad, I know. You have this sex addiction that you’re getting help for. You’ve told me about it several times, and I’m sure like me Mom wishes you the best, but that has nothing to do with her.”

  “Sure it does. Once I get well I want my wife back.”

  “If you think Mom will give any serious thought to taking you back then I would think again if I were you. You hurt her, Dad. Not only did you hurt her but you humiliated her in the worse possible way. Your trial was public. It was bad enough what happened in Hawaii, now everyone in Orlando knows about your other women and children and how she put up with that crap over the years and all in the name of love. I would think, considering all of that, any love she might have had for you is gone. I doubt she’ll ever get over what you did. I know that if I were in her shoes that I wouldn’t.”

  “Barb loves me. I can wait it out. She’ll be back.”

  He hung up the phone without saying goodbye. Courtney wondered how he was going to feel once he realized that his wife wasn’t coming back to him, no matter how long he waited.

  “You okay, sweetheart?”

  Courtney glanced across the room. Her fiancé, Lake Masters, was standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee in his hand. She remembered him easing out of bed a few hours ago after making love to her. Exhausted, drained and sexually satisfied, she had drifted back to sleep only to be awakened by her father who just couldn’t get it through his traitorous skull that he’d lost the best thing he’d ever had.

  Courtney replaced her cell phone on the nightstand and tried to concentrate on the question Lake had asked her and not on his body when he walked across the room to open the blinds. He was wearing a bathrobe that hung open and she could clearly see his naked body underneath. And it was a body she had come to know very well over the past few months.

  She squinted her eyes against the sunlight that came streaming in through the blinds, but she could still see what a fine specimen of a man he was beneath his robe.

  She licked her lips remembering how a few hours ago she had felt the hard heat of him in her hand and then in her mouth and how she had -”

  “Courtney?”

  She snatched her gaze from his midsection to his eyes. “Yes?”

  “I asked if you were okay.”

  Repeating the question reminded her of her father’s call and she lay back against the pillows. “I’m fine. It
’s my dad who seems to be a bit confused. He really believes Mom is coming back to him.”

  “Even after the divorce?”

  “Yes. He thinks she only got a divorce because she was angry over the Hawaii affair and sooner or later she will see that he loves her, she loves him, and that he has this sexual addiction that can be cured and together they will live happily ever after.”

  Lake moved over to the bed and set on the edge. “The living happily ever after part is questionable, but to be quite honest considering their past history, I can see why he would think that way. She has forgiven him before, numerous times when other women would not have. According to you she even forgave him after walking in on him in bed with another woman.”

  Courtney nodded, remembering that time. “Yes, however, I might be wrong but I truly believe that stunt he pulled in Hawaii killed that love. Besides, he broke his promise to her about being faithful after their last split. She hadn’t known about Ashira Wilson.”

  Courtney paused and then added. “And Dad doesn’t know it yet but for the first time since he and Mom have known each other, he has competition. Since they’re no longer married she’s free to date others, although she hasn’t done so until last weekend. Chances are Dad doesn’t know she went out with Detective Blair. He actually said he’s waiting for her to come back to him.”

  Lake shook his head as he sat his coffee cup on the nightstand before easing onto the bed to lie beside Courtney. “And you think Blair has a chance?”

  Courtney smiled and turned on her side to face Lake. “Yes. I really think he has a chance. I remember him well during the investigation and he comes across as a man who wouldn’t hesitate to go after what he wants. His partner wanted to believe Mom was guilty, but Detective Blair didn’t stop until he proved she was innocent.”

  At that moment the phone rang and Courtney pulled in a deep breath. “You better get that Lake, because if that’s Dad again I just might lose it.”

  Lake reached over and picked up the phone. “Hello?”

  After a few moments he smiled and said. “Yes, she’s right here.”

  He then handed her the phone and whispered. “It’s Sonya.”

  Courtney returned his smile as she slid the phone to the side of her face. “Yes, Sonya?”

  “Girl, it’s a good thing your wedding is only a month away, otherwise I might not be able to fit into my bridesmaid dress.”

  Courtney rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try it, cuz. You are one of the most weight conscious people I know.”

  “That might be the case, but I’m also someone who’s just found out she’s pregnant.”

  “Pregnant!” Courtney exclaimed, nearly jumping off the bed. She fought the tears from her eyes. Sonya was her cousin who’d always swore marriage and motherhood wasn’t for her. But that was before Mike.

  “Yes, pregnant. Mike and I just took the test. Needless to say, the soon-to-be dad is over here strutting on cloud nine.”

  “I can imagine. I am happy for the both of you,” Courtney said happily.

  “Thanks, you and Lake’s day will come.”

  Courtney glanced over at Lake and smiled. “Yes, our day will come.”

  * * *

  Barbara smiled as she hung up the phone. She had gone to her attorney first thing Monday morning to send a letter to Ron about her intent to sell their home. Evidently Mr. Phillips hadn’t wasted any time sending the notice out since Ron had just called her. And he wasn’t a happy camper.

  Although he’d tried to remain pleasant, she could tell he was upset when he invited her out to lunch to discuss her decision, saying he thought she was making a mistake in wanting to get rid of their home. Not that she cared what he thought, and she’d told him in no uncertain terms that her mind was made up and there was nothing to discuss.

  And when he suggested that they get together for lunch anyway, for old times sakes, it had given her extreme satisfaction to let him know she already had a lunch date and had quickly ended the call.

  She knew that he figured that divorce or no divorce, sooner or later they would get back together. Today wasn’t the first time he’d called to invite her out and no matter how many times he called, she would always turn him down, figuring eventually he’d get the picture.

  Barbara refused to dwell on Ron and his foolish thoughts; especially when the man who’d taken her to dinner and a movie on Saturday and the same man who’d sent her a beautiful bouquet of flowers yesterday, was taking her to lunch today.

  She gazed at the beautiful arrangements of mixed flowers that sat on her desk while she slipped into her jacket. Sensations rumbled through her stomach at the thought of seeing Rick again. They had talked briefly on the phone that morning and to save him the trouble of finding a place to park and then catching the elevator up to the 5th floor of her building, she suggested that he pick her up out front.

  She glanced at her watch, grabbed her purse and then walked out of her office. She waved goodbye to her secretary as she crossed the lobby floor to the bank of elevators. Her secretary knew she had a lunch date and probably assumed it was with Ron since he’d called earlier. She inwardly smiled at just how wrong Lila was. Some would be surprised to know that since that day she walked out of the hospital after letting Ron know she would be filing for divorce, their paths had crossed only once in the past eight months. And that had been when he’d shown up unexpectedly at Courtney’s house one day while she was there.

  She knew that he had endured rigorous physical therapy after his surgery and that living in an apartment hadn’t been easy. She’d known all about his bout with depression as a result of losing his job with the university. She also knew he was undergoing therapy sessions for what he categorized as a sexual addiction, and that he was supposedly not seeing Ashira Wilson anymore. But none of those things mattered to Barbara. Whatever love she’d ever felt for him had been destroyed. Whoever said nothing could destroy true love, had not been married to Ron.

  When the elevator reached the lobby floor she stepped off and headed toward the exit. It might be the middle of November with snow falling in many of the northern states, but here in Florida, although the air was a little cool, the sun was still shining bright in the sky.

  She saw Rick’s Corvette the moment she breezed through the revolving doors and smiled as she approached the vehicle. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said opening the door and gracefully slid onto the leather seats. Her gaze swept over the man and not for the first time she felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach when she looked at him.

  “No, I just pulled up so you’re right on time.”

  Rick looked at Barbara for a long moment as she snapped her seat belt in place. He had never felt this excited about picking up a woman and taking her to lunch. His gaze flicked over her and he thought that as usual she looked nice. Her skirt had inched up a little while she was getting in the car and he could only appreciate the glimpse of her shapely brown thighs.

  “So, where are we going?” she asked after her seat belt was securely fastened.

  “It’s a surprise,” he said smiling, while moving the car forward to pull away from the curb. “I hope you like surprises.”

  “I do and I want to again thank you for the surprise of yesterday. I love my flowers.”

  “I’m glad. I just happened to see them and thought about you.”

  She gave him a sideway glance as her lips curved into a smile. “And you just happened to be at a flower shop?”

  He grinned. “Actually, yes. Yesterday was my volunteer day at the hospital and I dropped in the flower shop just to get something special for you.”

  “That’s sweet. Thanks.”

  He wasn’t sure she believed him but that’s really the way it had been. When he’d passed the flower shop he had paused after thinking of her. She was a woman who deserved flowers. “So how has your day been going?”

  She smiled. “Wonderful. I got a call from my niece earlier to let me know that I’m going
to be a great-aunt in about seven months.”

  “That’s wonderful. Congratulations!”

  “Thanks and I’m happy about it. Of course my sister is ecstatic. She didn’t think she would ever see Sonya, who we always considered a wild child, settled down and married with children. Both were bad words to her and she would practically tear them off your lips if anyone was brave enough to suggest such a thing around her. But all that changed after she met Mike. I imagine it wasn’t easy, but he was able to crack every single stone surrounding her heart.”

  “Was there a reason for such strong animosity toward the institution of marriage and the thought of parenting?” he asked.

  “Her parents’marriage for one thing. Her father Joe wasn’t a good role model. He asked my sister Peggy for a divorce to marry a woman who’s younger than Sonya. Needless to say it was a difficult time for all of us. Peggy didn’t take the divorce well.”

  He nodded. “I can imagine.”

  “My marriage to Ron wasn’t too much better as far as setting a good example for my own daughter to follow. I’m glad she met Lake.”

  “He seems like a nice guy,” Rick said, stating his observation of the man from the few times their paths had crossed during the investigation.

  “Yes, he is. He’s older than Courtney by ten years and just what she needs.”

  When the car came to a traffic light he glanced over at her. He held her gaze for one assessing moment before asking. “And what type of man is it that you need?”

  He could tell his question surprised her and watched as she drew in a deep breath. He was glad they had reached a busy intersection which meant he could continue to watch her for a while as he waited for her response. Since Gail’s death there hadn’t been any woman he’d been taken with more than her. Even with her sitting so close and breathing in the fragrance of her perfume that was reaching out to him in a definite manly way, he felt like giving into impulse and lean over and kiss her lips. He was so totally aware of her.