He rolled his eyes. “I’m really getting the impression you don’t like that I went on a date last night. I thought it would clarify things. And I was right. There’s no need to go on another.” He huffed out a breath. “And between you and me, it wouldn’t matter one bit what you wore over to Viva Las Vegas. If there were any eligible men, you could pick them up in that ratty sweatshirt and your baggy jeans. That dress would be overkill if that’s all you wanted, a man.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him. The look on his face said he knew it had been a good answer, but she didn’t want to be that girl, the crazy jealous type. If she was going to, she owed him advance warning. So she let it go and tapped the to-go box in his hand. “Is this your second dinner?”
He looked down at it like he’d completely forgotten he had anything in his hand. Then he held it out to her. “No, this is for you.”
Grace held both hands up like it was too hot to touch. “No, thank you. I have my own dinner. I don’t need yours.” But she wanted it. Instant noodles for dinner every night had gotten old fast.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Good. It’s not dinner. It’s dessert. I thought you might—”
He stumbled to a stop when she grabbed the box out of his hands. She popped the lid open and sighed. “Oh, it’s the banana pudding. How did you know?” She’d craved it since she saw the menu in Viva Las Vegas but could never justify the expense.
His small smile was back. “Had a hunch. You have to eat your dinner first, though. My mother never had many rules, but that was one she enforced.”
Grace nodded and went to put the container in her refrigerator. “Did you have a sweet tooth?”
He nodded. “Still do. Dessert’s something you have to spend some time with, savor it.” When she thought of his kiss, she understood.
Charlie was ready to bolt again. “I guess I should let you eat your dinner.” He shuffled a step closer to the door. “I like what you’ve done… added some color.” He pointed at the two brilliant blue throw pillows she’d picked up on clearance to brighten up the place and the purple throw Willodean had given her for the couch.
She raised an eyebrow. “This is where you tell me how silly it was to spend any money at all on home décor when I can barely feed myself. Right? It wasn’t cost effective maybe. But I wanted it to feel like my place. For the first time, it feels right to put down roots. Small roots.”
“No, the place needed some personal touches.” Charlie crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s how I feel at home. It’s mine. I picked all the paint and flooring and fixtures. And everything I could, I did myself. There’s no other place like it. It fits me perfectly. Peaceful. Quiet. Out in the middle of the woods.”
It was hard to imagine and she had nothing to say to keep the conversation going, but Grace didn’t want him to leave. Not yet. Not without a kiss for sure. She trailed him step for step across the tiny room and waited for him to stop. He yanked his jacket off the hanger and slipped it on before he ran his hand through his hair.
“Listen, maybe… you and I, we could try a date. Have you ever been down to Beale Street? Music, people, food, drinks. A girl like you would enjoy every minute. Let’s go tomorrow night.”
A girl like me? If only he’d left that part out, the words to remind her that he hadn’t always been her fan. Grace crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back while she considered his… offer? Order?
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Besides, we’ve got weddings to perform on Saturday so…” She didn’t meet his eyes.
“So…” Charlie ran his hand through his hair again and huffed out a frustrated breath. “I’ll be over in the morning to show you the system.”
He turned the knob and pulled open the door but paused. Then he closed it again and turned to face her.
“You make me crazy, Grace. But I’m not leaving without a kiss. Until you tell me not to, I’m always going to kiss you good-bye. I don’t want to miss a chance.” He stepped closer and wrapped his arm around her waist before settling his mouth on hers. Grace’s breath caught on a gasp and he took advantage, his tongue teasing hers while he slid his hands over her hips. The sudden flash of heat convinced Grace to stretch up against him, wrap her hands around his neck and bury her fingers in his hair to anchor herself to him. She didn’t want space between them. More than anything she wanted to get closer. When he pulled back to catch his breath, Grace rested her head on his shoulder for just a second. And it was just as nice as she thought it might be that first day in Viva Las Vegas. He was strong. And warm.
“I hope… I’ve just spent so much time thinking about that kiss, Grace. I had to see if it was a fluke.” He steadied her as she stepped back.
“It wasn’t.”
His harsh laugh covered the sound of the door opening, but the blast of cold air woke her up.
“What are we going to do about it?”
He shook his head. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
After he shut the door, Grace paced in small circles between the couch and the bed. She was going about this all wrong. Instead of letting him think everything was about forever and all or nothing, she should explain to Charlie that they could explore this thing between them. As long as he understood that she had zero interest in anything long term, surely they could keep things light and easy until everything between them ran its course. And it would. Charlie would eventually get back to his plan, but maybe there was a way that they could be friends anyway. She could keep her job as long as she wanted it.
And she could have Charlie too.
Grace flopped back on the bed, resigned to another long night of going in circles.
CHARLIE FORCED HIMSELF to take one step and then another until he was back inside the warmth of the hotel. He leaned against the wall in the hallway next to the Blue Christmas album cover and tried to make himself think clearly and rationally about everything.
He’d meant to take his time, give her a chance to get to know him and maybe forget the first Charlie she’d met. To him, a dinner date was the natural first step.
She’d turned him down. And if that wasn’t enough, the kiss had… The second kiss was even better than the first.
Now that he was away from her, he had to consider his own reaction to her logically. He was the guy who made decisions based on black and white criteria: cost, potential return on investment, pros, cons, quantifiable determinants of possible success.
Here, he knew he liked the way she looked. And that he was easy around her. But it wasn’t something he could tie dollars to or facts or anything that he could stack up and count. He was easy around her. Even crammed into his mother’s office with the whole group of people who looked at him as the prodigal son, he’d met her eyes and felt calm. And okay. That was a huge factor, no matter how impossible it was to measure.
But the part he was forgetting in his study of this unusual phenomenon was what she thought about him. She might think he was the biggest stick in the mud there was, gold jacket and Elvis hair notwithstanding. And she probably should. Those were the exceptions to his rule of quiet country life with his computer, his projects, and himself. Lots and lots of time with himself. He should give up thinking about what he thought about her and devote a little brainpower to figuring out how make a better impression on her. Obviously. His Beale Street offer had been an honest attempt to find something she’d like even if he hated every minute.
How did people do this? Dating was impossible. Being single was impossible. And being married… from what he could tell, it was also impossible. All of a sudden, he wanted to be home where it was quiet and he could think without the distraction of Grace or his mother or the never-ending Elvis music that even now he could hear coming from Viva Las Vegas.
“Should I be worried you’re lurking down this hallway?”
Charlie opened his eyes to see his mother standing in front of him. She’d added jingle bell earrings, so he had no idea how she’d managed to sneak up on him. Obviou
sly he couldn’t hear her over the voices shouting in his head.
“Just thinking.”
“Seems an odd spot.” Willodean raised her eyebrows and glanced out the door. “But I guess I know what you’re thinking about anyway.”
“Actually I was thinking about how ready I am to get back home.” When his mother’s smile disappeared, Charlie wanted to apologize. But it was the truth. After all their conversation, he didn’t want to hurt her but he also wanted to make her understand he hadn’t changed his mind about spending a lot of time at the hotel. Charlie pushed away from the wall, and they headed for the lobby.
“Mom, do you ever think about visiting me? The place… it’s nothing like what you remember. I’ve made it over from top to bottom.”
His mother nodded. “I know and I should. It’s not very brave of me to sit over here in Memphis and moan about missing you when all I’d have to do is jump in the car. I know that. There’s just something about that place. And I’m thinking that being so very different might make it even harder to go back.”
Even to spend time with me? That question teetered on the tip of his tongue, ready to tumble out, but he bit it back. The answer didn’t really matter. That’s what he had to learn. He might want her to miss him enough to put aside her own concerns, to pursue him, like he had followed her a few thousand times growing up in her Elvis-themed dream, but at some point he was going to have to get a handle on those feelings and understand that the way things used to be wasn’t the same as they were today. And the very same was true of tomorrow. He didn’t want to regret things he should have said or done.
“Sure, I can understand that. And I do like the chapel. It’s peaceful. You know I like peaceful.”
Willodean patted his shoulder before she stepped onto the elevator. As the doors closed, she said, “Can’t quite imagine how a son of mine could be happier tromping in the woods with a camera or hammering nails than living every day with meat loaf on speed dial, but I’m guessing I can just go with different strokes for different folks.”
Reminded again that he was the one who didn’t fit around here, Charlie leaned back against the elevator. “Just because I like a little peace and quiet doesn’t mean I’m not fun, you know. If you knew the companies I’d gambled on lately, you’d be surprised. In the past six months, I’ve invested your money in solar panels, low-calorie ice cream, and flying alarm clocks. Just for the fun of it!” He waited for her to be surprised. Instead she looked a little sad and a little amused, all at the same time.
“We’ve got to get you out of those mountains more, Charlie.”
He had to laugh as much as he hated to. When the elevator doors opened, he followed her down the Hawaiian hallway.
“Any progress on my gift, Charlie? Or anything I can do to help with next year’s idea?” He didn’t answer but watched the wheels turn in her head. “Maybe by pushing you and Grace together?” Willodean blinked. Then she hooted. “I believe I do feel an I-told-you-so coming on.”
Charlie shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. But there’s something about her. I shouldn’t feel this way, this crazy attraction because she’s just all wrong for me, but when I’m with her it’s like everything settles.” He scrubbed both hands down his face. “It’s hard to explain.”
When he glanced at his mother, it was clear she was biting back an answer. And if she wanted to celebrate by spiking the ball in the end zone or even crow about being right while he was wrong, he’d deserve it. He could already taste his pompous speech about how ridiculous the idea of love at first sight was. He’d been certain of the world and his place in it when she’d tried to explain why she’d married Travis three months after she’d hired him to cook in Viva Las Vegas.
Maybe it would do him good for her to replay the conversation. He still wasn’t sure he believed, but he was beginning to think an instant connection, even if it might not qualify as love, was totally possible. Could happen. Had happened already. On his part anyway.
But his mother showed great restraint. Instead of reminding him of stupid things he’d said when he was young, she asked, “What in the world are you doing here with me? Didn’t I tell you to take her out to dinner? I mean, you’re handsome, smart, and rich, but don’t be lazy enough to think that’s all a good woman needs.” She frowned in concentration and then wagged her head from side to side. “Okay, well, maybe that is all a lot of good women do need, but you can do better, can’t you?”
Charlie flopped back against the wall right next to the painted hula girl frozen mid-wave. “I asked her out. I thought she’d jump at the chance to see Beale Street. Girl like her, used to the bright lights of big cities, has to be going a little stir crazy staring at the walls of a studio apartment.”
Willodean frowned, her black brows forming a sharp V over calculating eyes. “She turned you down. That might not be a good sign. Thought she was smarter than that.” She pursed her lips. “Wait. You didn’t happen to say ‘girl like you’ when you asked, did you?”
Charlie didn’t know whether she was doing it for effect or it was an honest display of loyalty, but it was nice that she’d automatically take his side against her newest adoptee. He rubbed his chest and did his best to call the warmish feeling there heartburn. He was old enough to fight his own battles, but it was nice that he could count on his mother’s support if he had to.
“Maybe.” When his mother shook her head, he got it. Grace’s change from warm welcome to cool breeze made more sense. He thumped his head against the wall. “She mentioned having to be at work early Saturday like it was an excuse.”
“Girl doesn’t know you very well, though, does she?”
Now his eyebrows formed a sharp V. He couldn’t see them, but he knew enough about his own face to know that his mother’s was stamped all over it. Their frowns were nearly identical. “What does that mean?”
Willodean shrugged. “Well, I mean, you know…” She trailed off and looked out around the hallway like someone might burst in to save her from this line of conversation. After five seconds of wishful gazing, she said, “It’s not like you’re a real party animal. You can still do Beale Street on a school night because your schedule means you have to be tucked in bed by ten.”
Charlie straightened, ready to hotly defend himself. But there was no defense. She was right about his schedule. “Actually, I’m a big boy now. I stay up until eleven.” When he looked at his mother, her eyes were twinkling again. He fought back a smile.
“Well, it seems you might have a problem, Charlie. Those other ladies won’t work and Grace won’t have you. Not like this anyway.”
“Like this?” He glanced down at his clothes, all black, of course. Maybe he could try some color. Like maybe blue. He’d always thought blue was his favorite color.
“Never thought I’d have to say this, but you better make up your mind. One day she’s a gold digger intent on robbing me or you or both of us blind unless you save the day and the next she’s this mysterious siren who makes you do things you never thought you would.” Willodean shook her head. “And neither one’s very flattering, Charlie. Maybe try treating her like one of your matches, but instead of checking off the boxes you think you should go for, think about what you want. That thing you said about her making you feel settled… that’s no small thing.”
Then she hugged his neck. “Best part is that tomorrow’s a whole new chance. You can try again, do better.”
He patted her back and tried to rub away the ball of discomfort brewing in the center of his chest. He waved as his mother closed the door and stepped inside her own blue lagoon next door. He couldn’t believe how many missteps he’d made with Grace. She’d said she didn’t hold grudges, but there might be a limit to how many chances she’d give.
Still his mother was right. Again. As long as the sun rose in the morning, he had a chance to do it better. When he thought about that kiss, he decided he wasn’t ready to give up, not yet. He’d just keep trying lik
e the old Charlie. This crazy rush he felt? He knew better than to get in a hurry. He’d slow down. Take his time. Show her a better, more polite Charlie. She might not know what to think, but good businessmen knew that the first answer wasn’t always the final answer.
Chapter Nine
* * *
GRACE WAS SITTING at her desk the next day and trying not to stare like an idiot at the way the muscles in Charlie’s forearms flexed as he worked on her laptop. They’d said their awkward good mornings, and she was little bit relieved to see he’d had as much trouble sleeping as she had. Charlie was tired, but there was something about him that was a little different. Something very… nice. She picked up the coffee he’d brought her from Viva Las Vegas and took a sip while she considered asking him to go on a date herself, but this time to Starbucks. Beale Street hadn’t been that hard to turn down, but she hadn’t forgotten how badly she needed designer coffee.
And she’d been pretty stern when she lectured herself about how, instead of getting mad, she should have asked for an explanation. “Girl like you” could have meant any number of mostly inoffensive things. She and Charlie had moved past suspicion.
If only he’d kissed her this morning or tried to. Or even moved close enough to make it easy for her to kiss him, she knew they’d be back to normal. Or better. But he was a polite, cheerful stranger this morning. Very solicitous. It was weird.
After a very quick demonstration of the software, where she’d asked what she considered very logical questions, Charlie was working up some forms to help her track special requests, and he’d already called two different project management and software firms to request quotes. Since he’d invested small sums in both, they were both happy to take his call.
It was nice to have the help she needed. The research alone to find people capable of working out a system like this would have taken time.
She leaned her head back on her leather chair and glanced at the lists she’d pinned to the bulletin board behind her desk. She loved that every brainstorm she’d had to address increasing bookings in the conference area and chapel led to another brainstorm and another, but the lists were getting a little out of hand.
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