Desire and a Bottle of Merlot: (Like Sisters Series Book 5) Chick Lit: A Romantic Comedy (13 page)

“Good for you, sister, I hope it leads to more. He’s gorgeous and single. Those are two of the best qualities any guy could have.”

Tina was on cloud nine. Not only had she made the first move, but she’d pushed herself beyond her comfort zone. She hadn’t done that in years. Coming out of her shell and getting over her anger at men was what she needed to do if she ever planned to have a happy, fulfilling life with her friends. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. She wanted to be part of a couple like everyone else. Life as she knew it was ending. A new-and-improved Tina would emerge, starting that day.

Dan called her over when he opened the door of the van and pulled out his lunch cooler. They sat on the lawn in the shade of one of the ancient oaks. “Sorry. I only brought one can of soda. Let’s see: I have a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a banana. We can split everything. I’d much rather take you out for lunch, but I don’t think any decent establishment would let me in the door looking the way I do. I still have dust coming out of every crevice.”

I’d love to clean out your crevices, you hot thing.
Tina thought back to a conversation she’d had months ago with the girls. She’d sworn off men for good years earlier, but had enjoyed adding her two cents to any conversation if it involved male bashing. She remembered Mia’s words. “
Someday a hot hunk of manflesh will sweep you off your feet when you least expect it.”
Tina wondered if that time had arrived. She looked up to see Dan smiling at her with his gorgeous, piercing-blue eyes. His two-day beard had grown back and looked sexy even through the light coat of white dust sticking to his whiskers. His normally curly black hair held a whitish tint. She’d love to wash the dust out of his hair and shave him again. Suddenly, kissing Dan and making love with him seemed like it could become a reality. She hadn’t been in a man’s arms for years, not even realizing she craved it until that moment.

“Tina, here—take half of my sandwich, and you’re welcome to everything else, too.”

Really? How about you?
She smiled, wondering if he was thinking the same thing, as she reached for the sandwich.

Most of their conversation was small talk since they really hadn’t spoken to each other in depth before. They asked questions they already knew the answers to, but it was a beginning. They were making progress.

“Would you ever consider going out for coffee with me, when I’m cleaned up, I mean? You know, soon enough I’ll be a resident in this fine town of yours, and I’ll definitely need someone to show me around.”

“Aren’t you from Croton-on-Hudson?”

“Well, yeah… but I was gone for eight years. Things change, plus I didn’t know anyone in Tarrytown. I didn’t come here that often. Will you show me the ropes, Tina?”

“You didn’t really just ask that did you?” she said, laughing, as she grabbed a handful of potato chips. “I think you’re coming on to me.”
Shit, I can’t believe I just said that. Suddenly I’m getting diarrhea of the mouth, for crap’s sake. Take it down a notch, Tina, before you scare the poor guy away. What the hell is in this soda? I’m never that bold.
“Well, I’ll give it some thought. Don’t forget Tuesday is my only day off during the week, and it looks like you guys work on weekends.”

“Nah… not really. We’re only working weekends to get the deck and wedding garden done for Sasha and Josh. After that, weekend work happens occasionally but not normally. And once I move into Josh’s house, we’ll almost be neighbors.”

“How would you know that? I never told you where I lived.”

Dan looked away nervously. He pulled up a blade of grass, tearing it apart. “I mean, I’ll be living in Tarrytown, closer than if I was in Croton-on-Hudson, that’s all. Well, I better get back to work. Looks like my lunch break is over. Take care, Tina.” He stood, brushed off his pants, put his cooler into the van, and returned to the house.

What the hell was that about? He just gets up and walks away without making any plans with me? Who knows if he’ll still be working here next weekend? There’s no good reason for me to just come over, plus it would be blatantly obvious that I’m only stopping by because of him. Seriously, he didn’t even ask for my friggin’ phone number. Men… they’re all idiots!

Tina was pissed off again. She wasn’t going to hang around, waiting for him to grow a brain.
I thought he might be smart, but as usual, I can’t read men for shit.
Tina sat on the porch with Sasha, Karen, and Sasha’s parents for a while. She didn’t want to seem to be leaving abruptly. That would lead to questions she didn’t have answers to. Dan was another typical brain-dead guy—too much bother. She planned her exit strategy, saying she had to make arrangements for the yearly fashion-and-style expo she was going to on Sunday. The expo was real, but Vic was the one going to it. Only one of them needed to attend the three-day event in Rochester. Tina said good-bye and headed straight to Vic’s house. She rounded the corner on Vic’s street.
Good, she’s home
. The burgundy Ford Fusion was safely parked in the middle of the driveway, away from the menacing curbs Vic always seemed to hit.

Tina flung the door open and stormed in. “What’s up?”

“What the hell? You scared the crap out of me,” Vic shrieked, jumping off the couch with a single Cheeto hanging out of her mouth. Her fingertips were orange, and she came at Tina as though she planned to choke her.

“Don’t you dare touch me with those fingers. Go wash your hands, and I’ll pour the Merlot.”

“What’s up your ass?”

“Who the hell knows? Men, I guess. They’re just so dense.”

“You want to talk about it? I’ve got all the time in the world, except we can’t get drunk. We have to work tomorrow.”

“Yeah, unfortunately.” Tina pulled a new bottle of Merlot out of the wine rack and cracked it open. She poured two glasses, setting Vic’s on the table. “Maybe I’m overthinking this. Dan and I finally sat down together and talked during his lunch break today.”

“That’s a good start.” Vic stood at the sink and squirted dish soap on her hands. She rubbed them together vigorously and washed the bright-orange artificial-cheese flavoring down the drain.

“Well, I thought so, too. He even hinted around about going out for coffee together some other time, but the idiot never asked for my phone number. How does he think he’s going to contact me—by friggin’ carrier pigeon?”

“Doubtful. I think they’re extinct.”

“Exactly… it just pisses me off. I started the conversation with him today because I’m trying to become more approachable. Everything was going fine, then his break was over, and he just got up and walked away. I swear I’ll never understand men.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Vic carried the open bottle to the table and sat down. She filled both glasses again.

“I’m sure as hell not going back to Sasha’s house just to make things easy on him. If he wants to go out with me, he can figure it out. Vic, I think I’ll go to the expo in your place. That way you can spend time with Max like you usually do. It isn’t like I have a man to worry about.”

“Are you sure, hon?”

“Yep. I’ll leave Saturday afternoon and be back Wednesday afternoon. Driving is a good way to clear my head. I like that alone time.”

“Want some Cheetos? You can stay for dinner. I’m making enchiladas later. There’s a good movie on HBO tonight, too.”

“Okay. It sounds like tonight is going to be girls’ night in.”

“Perfect. Let’s go snuggle up with the recliners.”

Sasha was thrilled with the way the sliders turned out. Not only would there be an abundance of sunshine coming into the kitchen first thing in the morning, but now she would have easy access to the back of the house. Having a deck was like extending the size of the kitchen, especially with summer coming. Sasha called Josh as soon as the guys left for the day. “Honey, you have to see how wonderful the kitchen looks now. I mean, it’s a mess but in a wonderful way. Cleaning and painting isn’t a problem. I don’t even care about that—I’ll have plenty of help. Having a deck now, and access to it, is amazing. You won’t have to drag the grill around the house anymore.”

“Take a breath, Sasha, before you run out of oxygen. I have a showing at five, then I’ll come over after that. If you and your parents don’t have any dinner plans, we can go out. I’m sure the kitchen is too much of a disaster to cook in anyway.”

“Yeah, there’s white dust everywhere. Tomorrow they’re going to plaster the walls around the slider, then I can paint. Sooner or later, we’ll have the kitchen back. Anyway, I’ll let my parents decide where they want to eat. See you later, babe.”

Dan drove the twenty-five minutes to Croton-on-Hudson from Tarrytown. White billowy clouds filled the blue sky. The sun occasionally peeked out, shooting its rays to the horizon and creating a beautiful spectacle. Bushes along the state highway were blooming, and the trees were leafing out. Summer was right around the corner. Dan envisioned being invited to parties on the deck he just built. Sasha had mentioned it a number of times. They seemed like a welcoming bunch, and since they were all in the same age group, it was even better. The only two going solo would be Tina and him. He thought back to the day he’d walked through the door of Hair Brained with Sasha. Remembering the look in Tina’s eyes almost made him laugh out loud.
Man, that girl gets pissed easily.
He winced at the way their shared lunch had played out.
I can’t believe I left things hanging without asking for her phone number. I was so focused on not screwing things up with her, that’s exactly what I did. Stalking people isn’t cool, even though it wasn’t really what I was trying to do when I drove down her street. I can’t even call her to ask her out now. I’ll get her number from Sasha. She’ll understand.

Dan wondered why Tina was so different from most women he’d known in the past. Something, or somebody, must have made her clam up, he just didn’t know which it was. She seemed friendly enough, just guarded and somewhat aloof at times. But today, he’d seen a different side of her. He had to figure out how to connect with her on a more regular basis. He pictured her sitting on her porch alone, and it bothered him. He was very tempted to turn around and drive to Tina’s house, but that would lead to a whole round of questions and suspicions. Dan looked at his watch—5:02 p.m.
I wonder if she’s had dinner yet.
He grabbed his cell and punched the phone icon next to Sasha’s name. A prerecorded voice asking the caller to leave a message answered.
Damn it. I guess I’m eating dinner tonight with Mom and Dad after all. I’ll get Tina’s number tomorrow.

A message taped to Sasha’s front door told Dan and his crew to go on in. No one would be home that day. Sasha had told Dan the week before where she kept the spare house key just in case he ever needed it. Her note explained that the dust lingering in the house was causing her father’s allergies to act up and that the guys didn’t need to worry about Kismet, who’d gone along with her to Josh’s house.

Dan’s heart sank a little, knowing he wouldn’t have the opportunity that day to discreetly ask Sasha for Tina’s number. He had no idea when he’d see Tina again, and their work was nearly complete. By the weekend, all they’d have left to do was build the pergola, then they’d be done and gone, moving on to someone else’s project.

Tina was thankful she had a full day scheduled. She hoped she’d be so busy she wouldn’t have time to dwell on the events of the previous day. Making the first move had been a big deal to her, and it had gotten her nowhere. Dan hadn’t asked for her number or set up anything beyond the casual greetings they normally exchanged. She’d struck out with a guy again.
No wonder I can’t be bothered with men—they’re all morons,
she thought as she combed out Lilly Martin’s wet hair.

Lilly shrieked. “Ouch, Tina, what the hell are you doing? It feels like you’re ripping all the hair out of my head.”

Tina looked at the comb, realizing it was full of poor Lilly’s tangled, torn-out hair. She’d forgotten to apply, and massage in, the conditioner she usually used on Lilly’s long, fine hair.

“Damn it… I’m so sorry, Lilly. My mind isn’t on work today. I’ll only charge you half price.”

“For half the hair you ripped out of my head? Thanks, I guess… but can you please focus until I’m done? I don’t want to go home bald.”

Vic gave Tina the shit eye and shook her head, knowing why Tina was distracted.

Dan had no idea what time Tina usually took her lunch break, but he didn’t want to miss her. This could be his only chance to do things right. Bill and Jeff could take care of the plasterwork for an hour on their own. Dan decided to leave for lunch at eleven then fill in at noon when the guys took their break. Three people plastering around the sliders at once was a bit too crowded anyway. He had to step up and get Tina’s phone number on his own. Even if Sasha did give it to him, it would make him look lazy and uninterested in Tina’s eyes.
Yep, I have to do this myself, face to face.
The timer he set on his watch went off at ten fifty-five. He needed an extra few minutes to wash up and look somewhat presentable before leaving.

“I’ll be back in an hour, guys. I have an errand to do. I’ll take over at noon.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Bill said as Dan headed for the door.

Dan ate his smoked turkey, lettuce, and Swiss cheese sandwich as he drove. The distance to Hair Brained from Sasha’s Victorian was only a few miles. He parked the van and checked himself in the vanity mirror before he got out. Dan took pride in having perfectly straight white teeth, the result of wearing braces as a kid. He didn’t want a stray piece of lettuce or turkey scaring Tina away when he gave her his signature grin. She hadn’t seen his grin often enough, but Dan intended to fix that problem immediately. He noticed Tina’s car in a diagonal parking spot next to Hair Brained.
Good, she’s still here
, he thought nervously. He felt odd being nervous. Dan didn’t recall ever feeling that way with Emily even when they got engaged, or worse, when he called the wedding off. That was a feeling of relief more than anything else. He knew ending a relationship before getting married was far better than getting divorced afterward from lack of love.