by Tina Cambria
“Hey, enough about me.” Shane tapped his lips with his finger. “What’s your story?”
“What do you mean?”
“I have to admit I’m surprised to hear you’re single too. I mean, you’re even better looking than when we were dating.” His eyes swept from her face down to her waist. “You’ve gone from being a pretty college girl to a beautiful woman.”
“Now you’re embarrassing me, Shane.” An uncontrollable rush of heat shot through her chest, and she was sure her entire neck and cheeks must be flaming red by now.
They were interrupted when the waiter returned to take their order. He made a point to comment that Shane’s wine selection of pinot noir was excellent since it paired well with so many dishes.
Is there anything about Shane that isn’t perfect? Oh wait, I never heard from him again after several months of an incredibly intense relationship. That puts a slight tarnish on his perfection rating.
“What are you thinking about, Kendra? You look like you’re a million miles away.”
“Thinking back to college days and when you were getting ready to go into the military.” She leaned forward and rested her chin in her palm. “I thought we had something good going.”
“We did.”
Kendra wanted to talk about how they’d lost touch but got sidetracked when she noticed Shane staring at her again. Their faces were about as close as they could get without venturing into a kissing situation. Exactly where was the evening going? He was acting so darn friendly, but she couldn’t tell whether he was only being polite or if he were feeling that old spark again.
“So, you’ve been concentrating on your career and haven’t had any time for a personal life?” she asked, trying to make her question sound casual. “Was it really so crazy that you weren’t even able to go on a couple of dates?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way. Of course, I’ve gone on some dates. But I’ve put most of my energy into being an army officer.” He flashed a smile. “How did we get back to talking about me?”
“I thought I was supposed to be gathering details for the press release announcing your new position at QJV,” she said, feeling playful and returning his smile. “Direct order of company president Clint Wheeler. Remember?”
“Roger that,” he responded in his most serious tone, and then his eyes sparkled with laughter as he raised an eyebrow. “But didn’t Clint say to get details on my professional credentials, not my private life?”
Kendra smiled and rolled her eyes, enjoying the sensation of giddy mischief as they bantered. “Maybe I’m trying to humanize you,” she retorted.
“Oh, I’m human.” He locked eyes with her. “I can prove it to you easily enough.”
“I don’t think I need any proof of that,” she responded in a low voice. She had no doubt that Shane was a man through and through. The living proof of his masculinity was in the midst of a sleepover at her sister’s home even as they spoke.
It made her heart race, but Kendra knew she had to figure out how to break the news to him about the son they’d created together.
* * *
Wrapping up a high-level summary of the operations he’d led in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other strife-torn regions, Shane rubbed Kendra’s left hand, moving his middle finger in a circular pattern over her ring finger. She enjoyed it. Yeah, he could tell. She didn’t have to say a word. The way her posture relaxed when he touched her told him everything he needed to know.
If he were being entirely honest, Shane had to admit his idle strokes of Kendra’s skin weren’t making him feel too bad either. And reminding him of an earlier time. Hard to believe how much time had passed…but maybe they could pick up where they’d left off.
“Enough about me, “he said, reluctantly pulling away his hand. “So, you said you’re single. Which surprises me, I gotta say. And I know you’re in charge of public relations at QJV. But you’ve got to have more going on than your job.”
Taking a deep breath, Kendra said, “Well, I have a son. So, you’re right, I do have a lot more going on than my job.”
The look in her eyes reminded him more of a scared rabbit than a successful businesswoman. He tried to hide his surprise, but he would’ve bet he wasn’t keeping a poker face. She’d said she was single but had a son. Would it be impolite to ask her point-blank if she were divorced? What if she were widowed? She would make things a lot easier if she’d flat out lay her relationship status on the line.
“A son,” he finally said. “Well, congratulations on that!” Forcing a smile, he asked if she had a photo of her little boy.
Kendra fumbled with her purse until he said, “Your cell phone is right on the table. Don’t you have a picture of him in there?”
“Of course, I do.” Kendra frowned as she reached for her phone. “Here’s my son. He’s set up as the wallpaper photo on my home screen.”
He wondered why her hands were shaking as she passed the phone to him. “Cute little guy,” he said. “Nice touch with the big cowboy hat. What’s his name?”
“Matt. Short for Matthew.” She smiled. “Yeah, he is a cute one, that’s for sure.”
While Kendra sampled the artichoke dip the waiter had dropped off, Shane looked at her. Why was she acting jittery, and why didn’t she mention anything about the boy’s father?
A crazy thought erupted into his consciousness. What if he were the boy’s father? His gut tensed, and he sucked in a quick gulp of air.
But the image she’d shown him was a little boy who couldn’t be more than three or four years old. The timing was definitely off.
He returned her smile. “You’re a genuine superwoman, I would say. Big important job on top of being a single mom. That’s an amazing accomplishment.”
“Well, I couldn’t do it without help from my dad and my sister. They can be real life-savers. Like tonight. My sister is watching Matt. She’s keeping him overnight.”
He studied Kendra.
She made sure I knew her little boy wouldn’t be home tonight. Okay, I’ll take the bait…
“What about Matt’s father?” he asked. “Doesn’t he help out?”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. Her fingers fidgeted with the napkin on her lap. “Um, no, he’s not a part of our lives right now.”
Before Shane could further delve into the details about Matt and his missing father, the waiter approached with their entrees. Presenting their plates with a flourish, he made a fuss of adding grated parmesan and black pepper.
“The food is wonderful here,” Kendra said, dabbing her napkin at the corner of her mouth after sampling the rigatoni. “You picked an excellent restaurant.”
“It’s wonderful to be back in San Francisco with all the fantastic restaurants. I really missed the food while I was gone.” He couldn’t decide whether she was trying to change the subject or was heavily into cuisine. The quick change of topic from her son’s father to menu fare baffled him.
“Well, people definitely rave about the food in San Francisco,” she agreed. “Was that the biggest thing you missed while you were away?”
He looked off into the distance. “The food was a big thing. And the pulse of the city, the cable cars, the breathtaking views. Even the fog creeping in. I missed it all.”
Although she was smiling and nodding her head, he sensed something else in her eyes. Did she think he would say something about missing her while he’d been in the army? But they’d only known each other a short time—couldn’t have been more than a couple of months at the most—so she surely couldn’t have expected him to think about her every day for all those years.
Besides, he wouldn’t have a problem with making up for lost time. Sure, her little boy might be a complicating factor. Taking another glance at Kendra, he decided she was positively worth the extra effort to include her son in the picture too.
Before either of them could continue the conversation, he pulled his now-vibrating cell phone from his pocket. “Excuse me,” he said
before answering the phone. The caller squashed any hopes of learning more of Kendra’s secrets over dinner. “Okay, got it. I’ll get right over there.”
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“Big hacking incident at work.” His mouth tightened. “I have to go back to the office.”
“Can I do anything to help? I might need to get involved.” She straightened her shoulders, and her eyes showed concern.
“Not now,” he said, “but I appreciate the offer. With any luck, this won’t be something that will require PR damage control afterwards.”
Shane paid the bill, asking the waiter to make sure Kendra got to her car safely. “I’m sorry to have to end the evening like this.” He covered her hand with his. “I want to get together with you again. Is it okay if I call you tomorrow?”
She hesitated for an instant. “Sure thing. I want to see you again too.”
“Perfect.” He took note of a cute pink flush radiating upwards from Kendra’s bosom.
“I-I mean, I know I’ll see you at work,” she said. “But I’d like to see you outside of work too.”
After saying their good-byes, Shane retrieved his car and headed toward QJV. He was sure getting thrown right into the fire at his new job after yesterday’s whirlwind orientation.
But it was the unexpected meeting with Kendra and their dinner, even though it was cut short, in the forefront of his thoughts. Granted, he hadn’t thought about her much the past few years. But he couldn’t forget how she’d sent him off to the army with a big smile on his face.
She’d been a lot of fun to be with. Back then, they’d talked about a dream of surfing—or at least swimming—in Hawaii one day. He remembered feeling good being around her.
Amazingly, she looked even better now. Her figure had filled out just enough, making her look awesome. Maybe that was from having a baby. Whatever it was, he liked it.
But that baby. Or little boy, to be more exact, because he looked like he was at least three years old in the photo Kendra had finally located on her cell phone. She’d been hesitant to even show the picture and hadn’t really said much about her son. Something wasn’t right. And why had she clammed up about the baby’s father?
“Why do I keep calling him a baby?” he said aloud, pulling his car into a parking spot on the first level of the QJV garage. “The kid’s a toddler or a tot or whatever the heck they call a three-year-old.”
I’m sure I’ll eventually find out the details about the baby’s father. And I expect to have a very good time getting to the bottom of it.
He turned off his car engine. His fantasy of renewing his previous relationship with Kendra was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.
“Hi, Mom,” Shane said, glancing at his mother’s face on the smartphone display. “What’s going on?”
“Everything’s fine, honey. I wanted to make sure you’re still planning to pick me up tomorrow, so we can have lunch together.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Mom. I’ll pick you up around eleven-thirty.”
“See you then,” his mother replied. “And Shane, we need to talk about your plans for the Christmas holidays. A couple of my friends are interested in introducing their single daughters to you—”
“Good night, Mom,” he said, playfully cutting her off. “See you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER THREE
Kendra arrived at her sister’s house early the next morning to pick up Matt from his sleepover. Despite all the things on her mental to-do list, she couldn’t shake the thought of Shane from her mind.
Alicia answered the door before Kendra even had a chance to ring the bell. “I happened to see you drive up,” her sister said. “Hmm, fill me in about what’s putting a grin on your face and a bounce in your step.”
Kendra was sure a flush was working its way up her neck again, but she tried to respond casually. “Oh, I guess I’m enthused about taking Matt to the mall this morning.”
“For a new pair of gym shoes?” Alicia looked at her sister with an inquisitive expression. “Something’s going on. You have red blotches on your neck.”
“Do I?” Kendra stroked her neck.
“And I know you’re not all worked up over picking out a new pair of shoes for Matt. What gives?”
“Could I at least step inside the house?” Kendra replied, looking into Alicia’s living room. “And where’s Matt?”
“Ryan took him out in the back yard to toss around a football for a couple of minutes.” She shut the front door behind Kendra, and they headed to the kitchen. From the back window they could see Alicia’s husband Ryan throwing short passes to his nephew. Off to the side, Alicia and Ryan’s four-year-old, Brandon, rode his scooter on the patio.
“I hope Matt behaved while he was here,” Kendra said. “Thanks for watching him.”
Without needing to be asked, Alicia poured Kendra a cup of coffee. She studied her sister. “What were you doing last night? You didn’t really say why you wanted me to keep Matt overnight. Something serious is going on, isn’t it?”
Nodding at her older sister, Kendra took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “It’s Matt’s father. Shane McCarthy.”
“Did something happen to him?” Alicia cringed. “In the Middle East?”
“No, he’s back in town. I had dinner with him last night.”
“What?” Alicia gasped, and she let loose with a torrent of questions. “When did he show up? How did you connect? What happened?”
“I guess he’s only been in town a few days. He’s working at QJV.”
“At your office? No way.”
“He’s definitely there.”
“So, he’s obviously out of the army.” When Kendra simply nodded, Alicia continued, “Well, how did you two connect?”
Kendra went on to tell Alicia about her surprise encounter with Shane at the budget meeting. She followed with a quick summary of their dinner at the Italian restaurant. Minus the details about the tingly feelings she experienced when his hand touched her skin.
“So that’s why you were smiling when you showed up,” Alicia said with a triumphant grin. “You still have a thing for him.”
“I don’t have a thing for him. Whatever that is.”
“But what about Matt?” Alicia pressed. “Did you tell Shane he has a son?”
“No, it was too soon, Alicia. I talked to him for, like, three minutes after the budget meeting, and then we met for dinner. How can you spring something like that onto a man over a plate of rigatoni?”
“Rigatoni, ravioli—what’s the difference, Kendra? You can’t keep stalling.”
“I’m scared.” Kendra fought back tears. “I should’ve let him know about this a long time ago.”
Alicia stared hard at her sister. “No kidding. Didn’t we go through this over and over when you were pregnant with Matt? Pop and I told you that you needed to contact Shane—”
“I did,” Kendra cut in. “I tried to contact him. But he forgot about me.”
“So, did he actually forget about you?” Alicia stared back at Kendra. “I mean, it sounds like he remembered you, and that’s why he asked you out to dinner.”
“It wasn’t a fairy tale like with you and Ryan,” Kendra said. “When Shane left town and I never heard from him again, I felt like some cheap fling he discarded like yesterday’s garbage.”
“Okay, let’s not get into that again.” Alicia took Kendra’s hands in hers. “Matt has to be the focus here, not your feelings about how things ended with his dad. You have a little boy who doesn’t know his father, and a father who doesn’t even know his son exists.”
“I know you’re right. But what if he wants shared custody?”
“That’s a fairly common arrangement.”
“But QJV Enterprises has almost twenty branch offices. What if he moves again—someplace really far away like New York or Miami or even Europe—and Matt has to spend extended time with him?”
“That would kill Pop,” Alicia said. �
��He’s such a devoted grandfather and treasures his time with Matt and Brandon.”
“And what about me? I couldn’t bear to be separated from Matt.”
“Look, I know this feels devastating. But Shane is Matt’s father, so he should get to know his son. And Matt should get to know his father too.”
“You’re right,” Kendra admitted. “I’m going to have to tell him Matt is his son the very next time I see him.”
Heading to the mall with Matt, she was grateful that the shopping trip would give her a breather from thinking about breaking the news to Shane.
* * *
When Shane and his mother arrived at the Golden View Mall for lunch, she mentioned that she’d like to exchange an already-purchased bathrobe for a different size.
“Go right ahead, Mom,” he said. “Our lunch reservation isn’t for another twenty minutes. But do you mind if I wait for you in the Center Court? I’m not crazy about hanging around in the lingerie department.”
“All right, honey. But I think Santa has set up shop in the Center Court, so you may be surrounded by a lot of kids while you’re waiting for me.”
He laughed. “No offense, Mom, but I think I’d actually prefer the crying and yelling kids to lurking behind a rack of bathrobes and nightgowns while you make your exchange.”
Joining in his laughter, Shane’s mother turned and headed off.
Shane strode through the mall, stopping to check out the rack of bestsellers at the front of the bookstore. A few minutes later, a sign announcing a sale on running shoes at the sporting goods store sparked his interest. Comparing the different shoe styles on a display rack at the entrance to the store, he glanced up and was shocked to see Kendra walking his way from the cash register with a young boy in tow.
“Kendra,” he called out, catching her eye.
Looking startled for an instant, she proceeded to smile and headed over to him with the little boy at her side. “Wow, we keep running into each other,” she said.
That couldn’t be her son. He was much bigger than the kid in the picture she’d shown him the night before. “So, who’s this big guy?” he asked, smiling at the little boy.
