Authors: Leslie Kelly
“Andrew, how nice to see you,” she said with genuine
pleasure. “I haven’t seen you since the day we graduated from high school.”
Andrew Worthington smiled widely, his infectious grin
every bit as engaging as it had been when they’d been Biology lab partners. His
boyish blonde good looks had remained, too. He grabbed her hand, squeezing it
with exuberance.
“Right. I can't look at a dead frog without thinking of
you."
"Ha ha," she said with a chuckle.
"Say, I heard about Joe. I’m really sorry about that.”
“Thank you, Andrew," Claudia replied softly. "So,
what brings you here?”
“My father's retired, and I'm running the company now.
Paxton has done some sub-contracting for us in the past, so I got an invite.
What about you?"
"I work for Chase."
"You're kidding," he said with a frown.
Claudia noticed Andrew's lack of enthusiasm, but assumed it
was due to competition between his company and Chase's.
"Nope. I started about a month ago."
After she explained a little about what she was working on
for Chase's company, Andrew said, "I wish you'd come to me first. We could
use you in my office."
Assuming he was just being kind, Claudia laughed and lightly
replied, "Sorry, I'm spoken for."
Andrew leaned closer, his eyes narrowing as he studied her
in appreciation.
"I hope you're only spoken for professionally...."
Suddenly uncomfortable, Claudia took a step back. She nearly
tripped on the stroller and leaned around to check on Sarah.
“Oh, you have a rugrat, huh? She’s a cutie," Andrew
said as he leaned down to tickle Sarah's cheek. "Say, why don't we go sit
down to eat and talk over old times?"
The moment of discomfort passed quickly. Not wanting to miss
out on a chance to talk about old times and friends, Claudia said, "Okay.
But no frog remarks while I'm eating."
Chase watched Andrew Worthington approach Claudia, seeing the
little exchange when the other man placed his hands over her eyes. The sight of
Andrew touching Claudia brought him perilously close to fury. Especially
because all he’d been able to think about all afternoon was how much
he
wanted to touch her.
And she’d wanted that, too.
Claudia really needed to learn how to hide what she was
thinking. She had the most amazingly expressive face, and Chase had seldom had trouble
seeing what was on her mind. Unfortunately, seeing her studying him, watching
the tiny tip of her red tongue creep out to lick the corner of her lips, had
nearly undone him earlier. If Ryan hadn’t interrupted them, he might very well
have given her the kiss she so obviously wanted.
But then where would they be? Right back to where they’d
been the last two times he’d kissed her against his better
judgment...frustrated as hell.
“Get a grip,” he muttered to himself.
“On what?” someone asked.
Chase jerked his gaze to the person who’d spoken. Claudia’s
friend Melanie stood only about chest high next to him, staring up at him with
a friendly expression that was both questioning and knowing.
“Just mumbling,” Chase replied, willing the woman to go
away.
Melanie nodded thoughtfully and said, “Claudia looks great
today, doesn’t she?”
Chase didn’t reply. Clenching his jaw, he purposely cast a
disinterested glance in Claudia’s direction just in time to see Andrew
playfully draping a paper napkin across her lap.
“Andrew used to bug her all the time to go out with him in
high school," Melanie continued.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. But she wasn’t interested.”
Curiosity won out over Chase’s determination to remain noncommittal
and he asked, “Why? Because of her husband?”
Melanie shrugged, “I don’t think so. Claudia had a lot of
guy friends but she never dated much in high school. She and Joe didn’t get
together until college.”
“Really? I had the impression they’d been childhood
sweethearts.”
“Not exactly," she explained. "They were childhood
buddies. The three of us used to call ourselves the Three Musketeers. Claudia
lived with Joe and his mom during her senior year, and then, after they both
started college, his mom died. They were both alone. They just turned to each
other and created a little family for themselves. It surprised a lot of people
when they married, me included.”
Really interested now, Chase turned toward her and asked,
“Why? I mean, from the few times we’ve talked about him, I get the impression
she really loved him.”
“She did,” Melanie answered carefully. “But she loved him
the same way at twenty as she did at ten. He was her closest friend, someone
she could rely on. They truly loved each other. But not in the way people
usually
love each other when they get married.”
Given the fact that she’d borne his child, obviously Claudia
had developed romantic feelings for her late husband. But had they been the
kind of wild, passionate ones he suspected he and Claudia could share?
His eyes shifted, seeking her out, his gaze devouring her
laughing mouth, her thick hair, that shapely body. Melanie’s words cast a
completely different light on Claudia’s marriage. For the first time, Chase
allowed himself to see her not as the woman mourning the loss of the love of
her life, but as a woman who’d never really experienced deep, hungry passion.
And the picture was a little too exciting for his own peace
of mind.
By eight o’clock that evening, most of the party-goers had
finally headed home. A few remained, grabbing a last chicken leg from a
scurrying caterer, or trying to pry a pleading child from the moon bouncer.
Claudia, Melanie and a few others had moved into the house to try to tidy up a
bit, while Chase, Ryan, and some other men helped the workers take down the
canopy tents and tables.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Dorien asked as she
entered the kitchen.
Claudia smiled over her shoulder at the older woman as she
finished drying a huge salad bowl. Chase’s grandmother had avoided the party
during the hottest part of the day, but had strolled over early in the evening
to say hello. She’d spent most of the time in the shade near the house, seeming
to enjoy watching the children.
“No, we’re just about finished here,” Claudia replied as she
brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face with a slightly wet
hand. “But, maybe you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on Sarah while Melanie and I
finish up?”
“Mind? Of course I wouldn’t mind.”
Claudia and Melanie exchanged smiles as Dorien delightedly
picked Sarah up from the stroller where she’d been happily gnawing on a
teething biscuit.
“Be careful, she’s messy.”
“That’s quite all right, dear,” Dorien said. “A little baby
spit never hurt anyone.”
As Dorien carried the baby out of the room, Claudia caught
the slightly wistful expression on Melanie’s face and asked, “Is everything all
right?”
Melanie quickly nodded, turning her attention back to
spooning leftovers into plastic containers for everyone to take home. “Of
course,” she responded, sounding a little too nonchalant.
“Come on, Mel, what is it?”
“I was just thinking,” Melanie slowly replied. “Dorien is
just like a grandmother to Sarah. All Ryan’s mother ever talks about is how
much she can’t wait until we make her a grandmother.”
Claudia nodded slightly, hearing the slight catch in her
friend’s voice. She glanced down toward a clean dish so Melanie could privately
wipe the sheen of tears from the corner of her eyes.
“You will,” Claudia replied firmly.
Grabbing two clean goblets, Claudia didn’t even ask before
pouring each of them a glass of white wine from an open bottle someone had left
on the counter.
"Cheers," she said with a smile. Melanie responded
in a silent toast.
“I don’t know, Claude,” Melanie continued after they’d each
taken a sip. “It just doesn’t seem to be happening. To tell you the truth, I’ve
been trying to talk to Ryan about the possibility of adopting, but he
constantly changes the subject.”
Startled, Claudia turned and stared at Melanie. “You’re
serious? But you conceived once. What makes you think you won’t get pregnant
again?”
Melanie sighed deeply and leaned her hip against the counter
as she replied, “You know Ryan and I tried for over a year to get pregnant the
first time. And we’ve been trying for a year since the miscarriage. I am just
very much afraid that it’s not meant to be. As much as I want a baby of my own,
Claudia, I know I could love a child who I didn’t carry in my body. I mean, I
already love Sarah like she’s my own.”
“I know you do. Of course, you’re right, Melanie. You and
Ryan will be wonderful parents, to a child you choose, or to one you create.”
Fresh tears rose to Melanie’s eyes, and she rose a shaky
hand to wipe them away. Her mouth crumpled a little, and Claudia suddenly
remembered her friend as an eight year old who’d cried on her shoulder when
some older boys had chosen to debunk many childhood fantasies. Melanie looked
just the same, hurt, dejected, wanting to believe in something she feared was
impossible.
“You’re wrong," Melanie insisted. "I know why he’s
avoiding the subject. Ryan wants a child of his own. If he agreed to an
adoption, I know it would be to make me happy. I can’t put him in the position
of resenting me, and a baby, for forcing this on him.”
Claudia dropped the towel and moved next to her friend.
Sliding one arm around Melanie’s shoulder, she pulled her close and hugged her
tightly, rocking her back and forth like she was a child. Melanie cried on her shoulder
for several moments.
“I know, I know,” she murmured, “believe me, I understand.”
“Oh, Claudia, I’m sorry. Of course you understand,” Melanie
said as she pulled away and raised a horrified hand to her mouth.
“It’s all right, Mel. Not everyone is like Dave, my
stepfather, and Ryan is absolutely
nothing
like him. Besides, the
situation is completely different. It wasn’t so much that he wasn’t my
biological father that bothered Dave as who
was
my father, and what he
had been to my mother.”
Melanie nodded quickly, then glanced around the kitchen for
something to do to cover her obvious embarrassment. Claudia cupped her friend’s
chin and stared down into her face as she earnestly said, “Look, you and Ryan
are the best couple I know. You'll get through this.”
“I just needed somebody to talk to, I guess,” Melanie said
with a brave smile as she squared her shoulders and took another sip of her
wine. “Thank you. I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Me too. But I do wish you'd grown six inches or so...I'd
love to borrow that outfit you're wearing.”
Claudia hid her smile as her friend finally laughed. As they
finished cleaning the counters, a group of men entered through the kitchen
door, carrying with them a few more dirty serving bowls discovered on the back
porch. Melanie and Claudia rolled their eyes at one another, then chuckled and
filled the sink full of soapy water once again.
“You really didn’t have to do this,” Chase insisted.
“Anything that belongs to the caterer he’ll take care of, and I could have done
the rest.”
“The problem is all the containers for the pot luck that
everyone so kindly brought then neglected to take with them when they left,”
Claudia said, not even turning around from the sink.
“Besides, if we hadn’t done it, you’d be working all day tomorrow,”
Melanie said as she blew a handful of soap bubbles at her husband. He laughed,
ducked out of the way, then captured a few bubbles from the sink and touched
them to the tip of his wife’s nose.
Claudia watched them, smiling at their love play. She so
wished they could have a baby. She had never seen a more loving couple.
Feeling as if someone was staring at her, she glanced over
her shoulder, and saw Chase just a few feet away. Her smile faltered as she
remembered their tense parting earlier in the day, but he offered her a quick,
sexy grin. Claudia knew she must look a mess, with her hair curling in the
humidity, her makeup smeared and her arms elbow deep in dirty dishes. But
somehow, that intimate grin he gave her hit her hard in the middle and she
couldn't help responding to it.
"You have soap in your hair," he said softly.
Claudia didn't reply as Chase slowly moved toward her. He
lifted his hand and slid it through the curls at her temple. His touch left her
trembling so much that she had to lean back against the sink. Uncertain,
especially since Melanie and Ryan were standing nearby, she didn't say a word.
The back door opened and Andrew Worthington walked into the
kitchen carrying a box of empty cans. Claudia watched as Chase studied the other
man intently. He still stood close, and she saw his mouth tighten as his
forehead tensed in a frown.
"The guys from the band said they could use some help
taking down the stage," Andrew said. Chase and Ryan followed him out,
leaving Claudia and Melanie alone once again.
After another half an hour, the kitchen was clean and
everything put away. The eight or nine people left in Chase’s house were either
on the porch, in the kitchen, or in the living room. Claudia dried her hands on
a kitchen towel. Glancing at the clock, she frowned at the late hour, then saw Dorien
walking down the hall. Hurrying out of the kitchen, she called, “Dorien, is
everything all right?”
“Oh, just fine, dear,” the older woman replied. “I had to
excuse myself for a moment. Annie is watching the baby.”
Claudia nodded and followed Dorien to the living room, where
a few lingering party guests sat chatting. Annie was down on her hands and
knees scrubbing at a plate-sized brown stain on the carpet, muttering about
other people’s carelessness.