Can't Help Falling In Love (24 page)

“You’re a cheap, easy-to-please date, Randa Whitmore.” The look on his face as he
watched her was serious again, but not sad. “That first day, I was pretty sure you
were the exact opposite.”

“I would probably have been offended at the suggestion. I was all wrong about you
too.” Randa picked up the second half of her sandwich. “I thought you were intimidating,
maybe dangerous.”

Tony frowned. “I’m not?” He didn’t look quite as happy with the idea that now she
thought something else.

Randa laughed softly. “Oh, no, you are. You’re just so much more.” She took a bite
of her grilled cheese and had to look away from his face to keep from choking on emotion.
He looked pleased again. “I mean, you cook, you have a book collection to make a girl
jealous, and that chest… that’s really impressive.”

He popped the last bite of sandwich in his mouth and set the plate on the floor. “I’m
glad you like it.”

Randa followed his lead and finished off her bottle of water while she tried to figure
out just what she was doing here. Getting in too deep. That much she knew.

Tony rested his hands on her naked thighs and Randa remembered suddenly what else
she was doing here. Making memories.

She traced her fingers over his tattoo. “Always faithful.” Tony watched her hand but
didn’t say anything. “I love how some tattoos really mean something.” She followed
the line of names before she looked up at him. “What do you think, Tony? Would you
be always faithful? To the right girl?”

Tony tilted his head. “What do you think?”

Randa smiled and tried to ignore the tears making her eyes itch and her nose burn.
“I think yes.”

He nodded. “When I find the girl, she won’t have any doubt how I feel, who I love.
I’ve learned the value of holding on to things, especially when they’re so good you
can’t imagine how you found ’em in the first place.” His thumbs rubbed circles on
the inside of her thighs. “And Randa, you’re that good. You deserve a man who understands
that and will do his damnedest to hold onto you.”

A man like you?
The words were on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to ask him. She wanted to know
he was just as affected by this as she was. But until she could get her head together,
it didn’t matter.

So she did what she was supposed to do to make this easy, light, fun. She smiled seductively.
She leaned forward, rested her hands on Tony’s thighs and slid the tips of her fingers
under the legs of his shorts. “Maybe I ought to get a tattoo, something to remember
my Memphis trip by since I won’t have a hotel.”

“Like what did you have in mind?”

Randa straightened one leg out and hooked it over Tony’s thigh. “Music notes? Around
my ankle? What do you think?”

Tony wagged his head. “I don’t know. Seems a little too average for you.” He reached
down and wrapped a hand around her ankle before he slid it up her calf. “What else
were you thinking?”

Randa was thinking she was already done with this stupid conversation, but she’d started
it. “Maybe a lightning bolt on my hip with TCB underneath it? I learned from the Elvis
Belles that it was kind of Elvis’s logo. ‘Taking care of business in a flash.’” Tony
ran his hand up the length of her naked leg and reached under the loose edge of the
T-shirt to rub his hand on her hip.

He squeezed and Randa did her best not to squirm right into his lap. “Maybe. What
else?”

Randa pursed her lips. “Maybe Elvis’s name right across my heart?”

Tony pretended to think about it. “You know, I think we can come up with something
better.” He yanked the T-shirt up over her head and tumbled her over onto the cushions
of the couch. Randa’s laughter died as she watched him gaze at her breasts and stomach.
“I’m just going to need to see every square inch of this skin before we find the right
spot.”

Randa whispered, “I was really hoping you’d say that.”

When his first hot kiss landed between her breasts, Randa closed her eyes, wrapped
her hands around his shoulders, and forgot about everything else.

Chapter Thirteen

E
ARLY
M
ONDAY MORNING,
Randa did her best to ignore the anxiety causing her stomach to cramp and her palms
to sweat as she pulled her bags across the lobby to check out. Laura and Willodean
were behind the front desk when she slid the key over. “Thanks so much for letting
me stay, Laura. I’ve had a great visit here to Memphis.”

Willodean, dressed in another loud green Hawaiian shirt, black pants, and earrings
that looked like bejeweled parrots, smiled up at her. “Even if you can’t go home with
a souvenir hotel?”

“Especially since I’m not going home with a souvenir hotel. When I’m trying to find
my identical room on an identical hallway with beige walls and beige carpets, I’m
going to be happy knowing that there’s a Rock’n’Rolla Hotel in the world,” Randa said.
And she meant it.

Willodean waved at Sam and he came over to help her with her bags. “Call Miss Whitmore
a taxi, Sam. She’s headed for the airport.”

Laura slid an envelope with her checkout folio inside across the desk. “We’re really
glad you came to visit, Randa. I hope you’ll come back for a longer stay next time.”

Randa had no idea how to answer that. She wet her lips and then opened her mouth to
say something. She wasn’t sure what.

Willodean interrupted. “You know what I like about you, Randa?”

Randa shook her head.

“More’n how smart you are or how pretty, I like loyalty. It’s a wonderful thing to
stick close to your family.” Willodean’s eyes were serious. “But sometimes you gotta
ask yourself if they’d do the same for you. If you’re not too sure about the answer,
maybe you do a little less for them and a little more for you. With the right kind
of friends, family’s the easiest thing in the world to come by. You can build the
one you want.”

Randa laughed. “Well, right now I just have the one.”

Willodean didn’t laugh. “Sure about that? Maybe you could have another choice. If
you wanted it.”

All three of them were silent for a minute. Then Laura said, “Where’s Tony? I expected
him to see you off.”

Randa busied herself with putting all her things away. “Oh, you know…”

Both Laura and Willodean crossed their arms over their chests and frowned.

Randa blew out a gusty sigh. “Fine, he’s sleeping.”

“You didn’t dose him with something, did you?” Willodean looked confused and a little
worried.

“No, I snuck out like a coward.” Randa rubbed her forehead. “I just couldn’t figure
out how to say goodbye.” And it seemed she’d already broken her promise about being
honest with him. She wanted to say whatever it took to make him ask her to stay, but
she’d told herself now was the time to stand on her own. So she was sneaking away.
If Tony asked her to stay, her weak resolve to be independent would melt away.

Willodean and Laura looked at each other. Then Laura said, “And he was actually sleeping?”
They both looked at the clock over the desk. Just before eight o’clock. She got the
idea that was unusual.

Randa shrugged a shoulder. “Neither one of us slept a lot yesterday.”

Laura and Willodean were quiet again until Laura laughed quietly.

Then Willodean leaned across the desk. “Please come back. I don’t care if it’s three
days, three weeks, three months, or three years, you come back. Figure out what you
want and come back. I’ll see if I can’t help you get it.”

Randa shook her head. “God, I can’t even… why would you say something like that
to me? You don’t even know me.” Her parents, the ones who could give her the thing
she wanted most in the world, tried to mold her into their own narrow expectations
with so many rules and conditions, but Willodean, a stranger, wanted to help her.
And just because she was a good person who thought people should be happy and she
was in a position to help. The tears she’d been fighting welled up.

Willodean raised an eyebrow. “Don’t I? Well, here’s what I know. Sometimes you think
you don’t have a choice so you just better make the best of what you got.” Willodean
shook her head. “But that ain’t going to make you happy. And when it gets hard enough
to settle for what you got, you take a crazy chance, take a risk, and find some pretty
special places. This right here is one of those places, Randa.”

Willodean was right about that but she had no idea what to say.

“That Tony’s something special and he thinks you’re special too. I need more people
like that around in my life. You figure out what you want. You come back. You hear
me?”

Randa wanted to sit down and cry in one of the heavy chairs in the lobby. When Misty
meandered over to rest her head against Randa’s leg, she did cry. And they weren’t
pretty, delicate tears, but loud sniffles and a runny nose. Laura handed her a tissue
and said, “Girl, I been there.”

Sam stuck his head back in the lobby. “Taxi’s here, Miss Whitmore.”

Randa straightened her shoulders and wished she’d worn anything but this ridiculous
skirt and heels. She wanted her flip-flops. She’d have to pull them out before she
checked her bags.

She pasted on a brave smile and waved. “Laura, Willodean, it’s been a pleasure. Maybe
we’ll be fighting each other for guests sometime soon.”

“Aw, don’t make me show my
other
side.” Willodean jabbed a finger in Randa’s direction. “I meant every word I said.
Come back. Got it?”

Randa didn’t salute but she thought about. “Yes, ma’am, I hear you.” As she walked
across the lobby she thought she heard Willodean say, “And nice manners too. Just
what you’d expect from a Miss Congeniality.”

Randa pulled herself together and her stiff upper lip lasted until she was seated
in first class with Elvis singing in her earphones while she watched the clouds float
under the plane. Even if she had no idea what to say, she should have kissed Tony
goodbye.

She’d been afraid she might try to get him to ask her to stay. Just because she’d
promised not to use her tricks didn’t mean she’d forgotten them. Walking out alone
had been hard, but she owed it to herself to figure out what she really wanted next
and she had to do it without crying on Tony’s shoulder. He could fix her problems
for her. She was certain of that, but the biggest lesson she’d learned at the Rock’n’Rolla
Hotel was that until she could do that for herself, she would never have what she
wanted. Maybe sneaking away had been an old Randa move too, but she just couldn’t
face saying goodbye to him. Being the new Randa wasn’t always easy. She’d regret not
taking that moment for herself for a long time.

W
HEN
T
ONY MADE
it up to the front desk two hours early for his shift, he did his best to look like
he always did. But he didn’t feel the same. He felt unsettled. Like he’d lost something
or forgotten an important appointment. Worse, he was angry. Not like the old days.
This anger wasn’t cold. It was hot and bubbling and directed mainly at himself. He
hadn’t made it this far in his life by being afraid of work or hard decisions. He
should have offered her… something. Asked her… something.

Willodean was working on a crossword puzzle when he passed her office on the way to
his. When she didn’t look up, he hoped he’d managed to sneak by without being caught.
He didn’t know what to say to her and if he knew one thing about Willodean Jackson
it was that she wouldn’t let that deter her from asking any question she wanted.

“Checked out your friend Randa this morning.”

Tony looked up in time to see Willodean plop into the chair across the desk from him
and set her green sequined tennis shoes up on the corner. It looked like she was making
herself comfortable. “Girl looked worn out and not in a good way.”

Tony click-clacked on his computer keyboard and tried to look overworked and underpaid,
but Willodean wasn’t budging. Finally he leaned back in his chair, hooked his elbows
on the armrests and muttered, “That makes two of us.”

“You won’t believe what she told us.” Willodean twitched her feet. “She said you weren’t
there to see her off because you were sleeping.” Willodean raised her eyebrows. “You
don’t sleep. So were you just playing possum? Hoping she’d let you off the hook without
having to say so long, farewell, goodbye, or ‘don’t let the door hit ya, where the
good Lord split ya’?”

Tony rubbed his forehead. “Honestly, Willodean, do we have to talk about this? She’s
gone. I’m here to work. Everything’s back to normal.”

Willodean laughed. “You can’t fool me, kid. Maybe you want it to get back to normal,
but we aren’t there yet.” She held up a hand to tick off her points. “First of all,
you look downright mad. Madder than a wet cat actually. You’re sleeping and you don’t
sleep. You actually took a night off from work. And you look like a man whose skin
doesn’t fit quite right. This isn’t the new Tony, the one we’ve gotten used to lately.
It’s not really the old Tony either. I’m glad to see emotion on your face, even if
it’s full-on mad.”

Tony shook his head. “I felt so damn good when I woke up this morning. Like…
normal. Like there were things to look forward to and like life was just awesome.
And then about two seconds later, I figured out she was gone. I went next door just
to make sure and found the stack of books she begged me to take her to get with a
thank-you note sitting on top. Nothing about leaving or missing me or being happy
about… whatever we had. Just a stack of books and a gracious thank you.”

Willodean didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.

Now that he was started, he didn’t want to stop. “And that pissed me off because…
it meant something to me.”

Willodean sighed. “Kid, if you’d seen her face and those tears, you’d know it meant
something to her too.”

“I’m not mad at her. I’m mad at me. I guess… I mean, I’m used to bad things happening,
so I could roll with this. What really pisses me off is that I didn’t do a damn thing
to convince her to stay or come back. It didn’t feel like the manly or noble thing
to do.” He snorted. “So now I’m mad like a little kid.” Tony tried not to let hearing
that she was upset when she left affect him. Anger would help him rebound quicker.
He could go out, pick up a nice normal girl with bills and exes and crazy kids and
whatever else and work on something that could last. “She was crying?”