by Tamie Dearen
“But you had all your gifts from Henri…”
“I’m sorry that happened in front of you. I’m really not trying to flaunt him in your face, you know. And it doesn’t change how much I appreciate your efforts to make this weekend special for the girls.”
“It was nothing.”
“No. I know you gave up a lot of work time. And now… coming out here… I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”
“You don’t need to repay me. I just wanted to show you—”
“Hey Mom! Come outside—it’s prettier from out here,” yelled Charlie.
Anne rolled her eyes at Gherring. “I’m coming.”
Gherring walked with her to an empty spot on the railing near the girls.
Emily called, “Isn’t it beautiful, Mom?”
Anne noticed both girls had extra protection from the wind using the boys as windshields and a little extra body heat from their arms. As she stood shaking from the cold, Gherring moved beside her and opened his coat to wrap it around her back. Suddenly Anne felt not only protection from the wind but also the warmth of Gherring’s body against her side. A shiver rippled down her spine.
“Are you still cold?” asked Gherring.
“No, I’m fine,” Anne muttered, embarrassed by the quivering of her voice.
“You are cold.” He opened his coat again, turning her and pulling her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her and enveloping her in his coat. Anne panicked, knowing he must feel her heart thrumming against him. She tried to slow it down, but he moved his arms in a gentle caress on her back, and her blood pumped even faster. She could feel his strong hard muscles pressed against her, and it seemed his heart beat quickly as well. Breathing so rapidly she felt a bit faint, she couldn’t summon the strength to pull away from him.
The desire she’d been holding back came to the surface. She couldn’t let herself feel this way. This was a road that would lead to endless pain. Even these few moments of sheer pleasure would cause incredible suffering when she came crashing back to reality. She didn’t dare let her imagination run in the arms of Steven Gherring. She had to keep a hold on her rationality, her practicality, her good judgment. She wasn’t the right match for Steven Gherring. She knew that in her head, but not in her heart.
“Your hair smells good,” remarked Steven in a slightly strained voice.
“It’s eau d’ bargain brand shampoo.”
Steven started laughing. With her head against his chest, the deep sound resonated in her ear.
“Are you warm now? You’ve stopped shaking.”
“Yes. I’m cozy. Thanks. You must be freezing now, since I sucked all the heat out of you.”
“No problem. I’ve got a lot of heat in here.”
“I know. All the tabloids say you’re really hot.”
“I don’t think I’ve been in the tabloids for quite a few years. And back then the stories were all hyperbole and hype.”
“What did you say? You were hypertrophied and ripe?”
Gherring’s chest shook as he chuckled. She was warm and comfortable. Too comfortable. If he had any idea how he made her wish for things that could never be, he’d keep his distance. She needed to guard her heart. She’d tried so hard to control her thoughts, but her body betrayed her. She had to bring herself back to reality before her heart got any more ideas.
She pulled her arms back and straightened up. “We shouldn’t stand like that. The kids might get ideas.” She backed away and stuffed her hands in her pockets, checking to make sure the wind prevented the girls from hearing her comment.
Gherring frowned and spoke in a low voice. “There was nothing wrong with me keeping you warm.”
“Yes, I know you often put your arm around women to keep them warm. Like last night with Sharon.”
“Who?”
“Sharon Landry—your date last night. I know it’s not a big deal for you to help a woman stay warm, just like when you put your arm around Sharon last night on the way to the car.”
“What are you talking about? How do you know—”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’re so sweet and thoughtful. It’s just that people can get the wrong idea.”
“You’re not making any sense—”
“It doesn’t mean anything to you, but maybe it does to someone else. Don’t you see? You led her on. You put your arm around her last night, and today you can’t even remember her name. I know you didn’t mean to hurt her, but you did.”
“Are we still talking about Sharon?”
“We’re talking about… about… I can’t do this with you.”
“Do what with me?”
“I’m your secretary, and I want to keep my job. And I know you’ve been with thousands of women.”
“I haven’t been with thousands of women. Hundreds, maybe.”
“Hundreds… that’s soooo much better.” Her throat was tight. How had she let herself get to the point where it bothered her to think about all the women he’d dated in his lifetime? “You probably can’t even remember most of them, can you?”
“I remember a few.” His jaw jutted forward.
“Well, I’m not like you. I’ve only been with one man my entire life. So, nothing is casual for me. Not even hugging to stay warm. It… it does something… It means something it shouldn’t… something it can’t.”
“You’re making assumptions.”
“I have to. I have to be careful. I’ve got to keep my head straight, and to do that I’ve got to keep my distance.”
“You didn’t keep your distance with Henri,” he muttered.
“Henri is safe. He’s in France. He’ll soon tire of this long-distance thing, and the whole relationship will fade away on its own.”
“You don’t know him like I do. He can be very persistent. He’s like a weed—”
“This isn’t about Henri. It’s about us. I mean it’s about there-is-no-us, and I need to remember that. And when you keep me warm it’s too hard to remember.”
Gherring moved to rail and gazed toward the twinkling lights of the New York skyline. With a grim expression he turned back to Anne. “I promise… from now on I’ll let you freeze to death.”
Mortified, Anne tried to keep her distance from Gherring for the rest of the night. She’d made such a fool of herself over something that meant nothing at all to Gherring. He didn’t even understand what she was talking about. He was really just keeping her warm. That physical contact hadn’t affected him at all. He had no idea something that simple was distressing her, and now she had as much as told him he made her hot and bothered. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him.
Gherring offered to buy dinner for the whole group, so the young people jumped on the idea. He took off his hat and glasses and immediately procured a table for six in a restaurant with a two-hour wait. Anne pretended to enjoy herself during the extravagant meal, working hard to avoid eye contact with Gherring.
After the limousine dropped the boys off, they returned to the apartment. The girls were exhausted but excited from their eventful day in New York.
“Hey Mr. Gherring,” said Charlie. “I hate to ask and you can say ‘no’ if you want to. But can Mom take a picture of us with you?”
Gherring grinned. “Okay, but only if you send me a copy.”
Anne looked through the camera viewer at her two beaming girls standing next to Steven Gherring with his arms around them. Why did she have a lump in her throat?
She snapped the picture and handed it back to Charlie. They rode the elevator to their floor, but Gherring stopped her before she could escape to her room. “Can I talk to you alone for a second?”
“Sure.” Her voice quivered.
Gherring gestured toward a pair of chairs in the elevator foyer. Anne sat down with her back stiff, studying the pattern on the rug.
“Ms. Best, I’m sorry I was so forward with you tonight.” He leaned toward her, but she refused to look at him. “You’re quite different from any
other woman I’ve known, and I’m not really sure how to act around you.”
“It’s okay—”
“No wait, I want to finish. I want to correct a couple of things you seem to believe about me.”
“I’m sorry I said that stuff. I was just rambling—”
His scalding finger pressed against her lips to silence her.
“The first thing is I haven’t dated that many women. I’ve attended events with quite a few, but that’s a far cry from having a relationship.”
She made the mistake of looking up. He captured her gaze and she couldn’t pull her eyes away.
“The second is I do remember the few women I’ve actually dated, and that’s because of the third thing. I’m a very careful man. Everything I do… Remember this… Everything I do means something to me.”
She would’ve gulped if there had been a drop of moisture in her mouth.
Evidently satisfied, he stood and started to walk away, before turning back. “And let me correct that last thing I said on the boat—I would never let you freeze to death. No matter how stubborn you were.”
With those words, Gherring got on the elevator and closed the doors, leaving Anne very much alone. And more confused than ever.
Sightseeing
Anne and the girls slept late on Sunday morning. “Let’s go to Central Park today,” said Anne. “We can walk from here, and we’ll make a picnic lunch. After that we’ll go to Grand Central Station and the Empire State Building.”
“Okay,” said Charlie. “Today is picture day. We’ve got to get lots of them, because I haven’t posted many. And this may be our last chance to see New York. Who knows how long Mom’s going to keep her job?”
She was probably right. Mr. Gherring had seemed pretty irritated last night.
Emily gave her mom a hug. “Mom, she was just teasing. Mr. Gherring seems to like you a lot. You’re not going to lose your job.”
“I’m not so sure. I just can’t seem to think straight around him. I’m always putting my foot in my mouth and making things awkward.”
Emily frowned. “Mom, I’ve got to ask you… Do you like Mr. Gherring?”
“Of course I like him. Don’t you?”
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
“Yeah Mom,” said Charlie. “I think maybe you like him a little more than that. I couldn’t blame you if you did.”
“I’m not falling for him or anything like that.”
The girls exchanged looks and crossed their arms simultaneously, and she squirmed beneath their inspection.
“Not that I don’t appreciate what he does for me. I mean all the things he did for us this weekend. That was really for y’all, though. Anyone can see he’s a nice person. That doesn’t mean I have feelings for him.”
“‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks,’” Emily quoted.
“What about Henri? Do you still like him? Are you still going to visit him in Paris?” asked Charlie.
Anne felt her stomach churning. “Yes. I’m still going.”
“Don’t be so excited about it. It’s not supposed to be an execution. You don’t have to go to Paris, Mom. If you don’t want to go anymore, just tell him.”
“Henri likes me. And I like him too.”
“You do? Or do you like Mr. Gherring?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think about Mr. Gherring, because he doesn’t like me.”
“Why do you think he doesn’t like you? He bought us play tickets. He went climbing with us. He drove us around in his limo. He went on a tour with us. He paid for dinner.” Emily ticked off these points on her fingers.
“He did all that for you girls.”
“He did that because we’re your daughters,” argued Emily.
“I think he does stuff like that because he doesn’t have children of his own.”
“What about on the boat last night? You two looked pretty cozy over there. I don’t think he did that for us.” Charlie arched her eyebrows.
“Nice men don’t let woman freeze to death. You two were cozying up with Spencer and Mark.”
“That’s because Emily likes Spencer,” said Charlie.
“I don’t either!”
“He sure likes you.”
“I can’t believe I was so off on that one,” Anne said told Charlie. “I figured Spencer would end up with you instead of Emily.”
“So if they get married, you won’t get credit for their match, right?” Charlie made a face at her sister.
“We’re not getting married,” Emily said. “And Mark likes you, too.”
“Maybe, but Mark didn’t get my cell number and email address. Has Spencer texted you this morning?”
“I don’t know.” Emily’s cheeks reddened.
“Aha! He’s already texted you. He’s really fallen for you.”
“I’m not interested,” Emily folded her arms. “Mom said girls are always hanging on him. I don’t intend to be one of his groupies. Besides, I’m way too practical to get involved in a long-distance relationship. Look at the mess Mom’s in.”
“Hey,” Anne protested. “Are you calling me a mess?”
“If the shoe fits…”
The sun was out. With no wind blowing, the rays felt warm despite the nippy air. “This is beautiful. I can’t believe how big this park is. It just goes on and on. It’s hard to believe we’re in the middle of Manhattan.” Emily leaned her head back, basking in the sun.
Anne looked up from her book in time to see Charlie make an amazing catch for her pick-up team of Ultimate. “She’ll need a shower before we go anywhere else.”
“No problem, she only takes ten minutes to shower and dress. An extra five to dry her hair. It really is kind of like you gave me a little brother.”
“It’s a good thing, since you used to spend hours in the bathroom, mostly just twirling around in front of the mirror.”
“You should’ve put a big mirror in my room. Then I wouldn’t have monopolized the bathroom.”
“So… about Spencer…”
“Don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.” Anne and Emily turned back to their books.
“So… about Steven Gherring…”
“Don’t want to talk about it.”
Emily grinned. “Let’s talk about Charlie instead.”
“Great idea!”
After cramming in a tour of as many New York sites as possible, the girls returned to get ready for dinner at Gram’s. She sent a limousine to pick up Anne and the girls at the apartment at five thirty. Anne suppressed a pang of disappointment when she realized Steven Gherring was not going with them. He’d never said he’d be there, but she must have secretly hoped he would.
And that kind of thinking is exactly what I have to avoid.
It was actually a good thing that he wouldn’t be there. It would be easier to conspire with Gram about their matchmaking efforts.
The ride to the Gherring Estate was thirty minutes along the Hudson River to Yonkers. As they drove up to the two-story mansion at the top of the hill, they could see the lights twinkling a warm welcome in the courtyard. Anne counted four chimneys on the rooftop.
Charlie exclaimed, “This place is ginormous!”
“Mom, did you know she lived in a place like this?” asked Emily.
“I had no idea, but I suppose I should have guessed.”
Gram met them at the entry that opened into a huge main hall with an enormous grand staircase off to the left. Their footsteps echoed in the hall as they followed Gram across the marble floor.
“Come this way. We’ll sit in the library and chat until dinner is ready.”
The expansive library was lit with two large chandeliers that hung from an elaborately coved and painted ceiling. The twelve-foot walls were covered on each side from floor to ceiling with bookcases filled to capacity. The bookshelves even extended over the doorway. A seating area beckoned in front of a roaring fire in an ornate stone fireplace.
“Emily, C
harlotte, this is Mrs. Gherring. And this is Emily, the oldest, and Charlotte.”
“I’m Gram! I’ve told your mother already that Mrs. Gherring is the name of my grandson’s wife.” The girls exchanged confused looks, and Gram chuckled. “I always say that. Love to see people’s reactions. You know, they think I might be senile and maybe I don’t know my grandson is still single.”
“We’re working together, Gram and I, to find a Mrs. Gherring for Mr. Gherring.”
“I see,” said Charlie, as one perfectly arched eyebrow kicked up a little higher than the other.
“Emily?” Gram asked, shifting her attention to the other Best daughter who’d turned her head to study the walls of books. She quickly forced her eyes back to the short woman with the commanding voice.
“Yes ma’am?”
“I can see you’re dying to peruse the book collection. Go ahead. I’ll just grill your sister for a while.”
“Yes ma’am.” Emily flashed a smirk at her sister and hurried to survey the books.
“So your name is Charlotte?”
“Actually, I go by Charlie.”
“Charlie? Isn’t that a boy’s name?”
“I just think Charlotte sounds kind of weak. And I’m not a weak person.”
“Hmmm, and I’m betting you like to compete with boys a lot.”
“I don’t compete with ‘em… I beat ‘em.”
“Ha! That’s my girl. I would’ve been just like you in my day, if I’d had the opportunity.”
Anne pictured Gram as a modern day twenty-one-year-old, and laughed. She knew Gram’s small size would never have prevented her from being a daunting adversary.
“Thanks, Gram. I hope I turn out just like you when I’m a grandmother.”
“What do you do, Charlie?”
“I teach ski lessons in the winter and lead rafting and climbing trips in the summer.”
“That sounds like fun. Plenty of time to settle down. Not like me. My Samuel swept me off my feet when I was sixteen.”
“Wow, you got married at sixteen?”
“Yes, and I had my son, Steven’s father, when I was nineteen.”
