Desire and a Bottle of Merlot: (Like Sisters Series Book 5) Chick Lit: A Romantic Comedy (17 page)

She sobbed in his arms then finally spoke. “Yes, Dan, it’s me. Thank God you found me. I could have drowned.”

He smiled, knowing if she was witty enough to make that ridiculous comment, she would be okay. Dan climbed inside the van and grabbed a handful of clean shop rags. He dried her face so she could see through the black gunk that used to be mascara. He brought out the first-aid kit he kept with him at all times. With the type of work he and his crew did, anyone could be injured on the job. Dan cleaned her knees then opened the tube of antiseptic ointment and squeezed out a glob. With his index finger, he dabbed the ointment on each scraped kneecap.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“I ran out of gas.”

“I think you did a little more than run out of gas. What the hell happened to… everything? Your hair and your wrists, what did you do?” Dan didn’t want to say the words he was thinking.
Is Tina going off the deep end? Did she try to hurt herself for some reason
?

“I can’t talk yet. I need to catch my breath.”

Dan cracked open a bottle of water and handed it to her. He winced at the sight of both wrists wrapped tightly with gauze and medical tape. “I need to call an ambulance for you.”

“What the heck for? I just need to rest for a half hour and pee. Is there any way to get into Josh’s house? I’d like to use the bathroom and put on something dry.”

“He gave me a set of keys last week. They’re on my key ring in the ignition. Stay put.”

“Yeah, like I was planning to go somewhere.” She smirked. “Actually, there is something wrong with my ankle. I didn’t just crawl for the hell of it. Help me inside so we can take a closer look. You may have to carry me again,” she said with the tiniest smile.

“Okay, you hold the keys. I’ll carry you to the door, and you can unlock it.”

Inside the comfort of Josh’s warm, dry house, Dan helped Tina hobble to the bathroom. Josh’s terrycloth bathrobe hung on the hook behind the door. “Maybe you can put that on for the time being. I’ll give Josh a call and let him know what’s going on, then I’ll make a pot of coffee.”

Josh answered on the third ring. Dan gave him the condensed version of what he knew so far, letting him know that he and Tina were in his house. Josh said he could be there in a half hour, but unfortunately, he was in the middle of a realtor’s meeting at the moment.

“Dan, can you give me a hand? It feels good getting out of those wet clothes.”

Dan helped Tina to the couch. “Hang tight. I’ll be right back with the coffee… okay, do you want to talk now about what happened?” Dan handed her a cup of coffee and sat next to her.

She warmed her hands on the cup. “I think I need to elevate my ankle first. It looks swollen. I fell off my shoe in the rain. It’s probably just bruised, but I can’t put any weight on it yet. Can you help me?”

Dan pulled the ottoman over from the chair to the couch. He gingerly took Tina’s leg and lifted it. “What the…?”

Tina laughed out loud at his response. “Oops… I guess you never saw my flaming-skull tat. What do you think? Pretty rad, right?”

“I had no idea you were so…”

“Use your words, Dan. So… what?”

“Unpredictable, I guess. It doesn’t seem to fit your personality. You’re truly an enigma, Tina.”

“Really? Humph… I never thought of myself as an enigma. I like that. You want to see more unpredictability besides my hair and flaming-skull tat?”

“Yeah, what’s up with your hair?”

“One thing at a time. First, would you mind finding me some aspirin? My ankle is really throbbing.”

“Oh, sure, hang on.” Dan went into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and brought it into the living room. “I’ll check the bathroom for the aspirin. I didn’t see any in the kitchen.” He returned with four aspirin and dropped them into Tina’s open palm.

“Thanks.” She slugged them down with a gulp of water and patted the empty space next to her, signaling for Dan to sit. “Anyway, like I was saying, check it out.” Tina carefully began unwrapping the length of gauze around her left wrist.

Dan sat, shocked at what she was doing. He looked away, afraid to see what he thought she was going to show him.

“Ready?”

“I don’t think so.”

“C’mon, take a look. It’s beautiful.”

Dan apprehensively ratcheted his head to the left to see a colorful display of flowers wrapped around Tina’s left wrist. She was already unwinding the wrap on her right wrist.

“Thank God the rain didn’t wash out the colors. I was trying to protect them.” She proudly held up both forearms to show off her new body art.

Relieved, Dan sighed then took her mascara-smeared face in his hands and kissed her. “You scared the crap out of me, Tina. I didn’t know what was going on.”

“So, was that a thankful, pity kiss because you had the wrong idea, or a real kiss just because?” She looked at him quizzically, a little surprised.

Now it was Dan’s turn to be embarrassed. His face went hot before he said anything. “I don’t know. It was an impulse. I think I’ve been wanting to kiss you for weeks.”

“Then do it again with some oomph.” Tina’s raccoon-ringed eyes twinkled at him, waiting for more. She set her coffee cup on the end table and puckered up.

Dan laughed and shook his head from side to side. “You’re a crazy one, Tina Lawrence—I’ll give you that.” He kissed her again, softly at first then more intensely from the escalating passion he felt for this quirky, unpredictable woman.

The squeak of the door hinges gave them some notice that Josh was home. He came around the corner from the foyer into the living room. “Tina, Dan, what’s up? Are you okay, Tina? What the hell happened to your hair?” Josh’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “My robe, my coffee? Making yourself at home?” he asked, chuckling.

“Sorry, and no, I was just really wet. I’m okay now. And thanks for noticing my hair.” She smirked. “It actually looks cute when it isn’t wet, matted, and stringy. Anyway, the condensed version is I ran out of gas five blocks down the street, my cell phone is dead, and I twisted my ankle walking in the rain over here. I ended up crawling the last block.”

Josh burst out laughing, “You’re kidding, right?”

“I wish I was, but unfortunately, no. One of you will have to go to my house and bring me back some clean clothes. Also, if you have a gas can in the garage, I’ll need that filled with gas and put in my car. Meanwhile, my foot should be okay as long as I keep it elevated for a while and fill up on aspirin tonight.”

“I’ll get everything for you,” Dan said. “I saw a gas can in the garage earlier. I’ll bring you some clothes, then Josh can go with me to pick up your car. We’ll figure it out. I’ll take you home after you change your clothes.”

“Thanks, Dan. Just grab a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans out of my bedroom closet. That’s good enough for now. Let me give you directions to my house.”

“That’s okay. I know where you live.” The words came out before he had time to think.

“How would you? We never discussed where I live.”

“I’ll explain it later when I get back.” Dan took her keys and left quickly. As he drove, he tried to think of a plausible answer to give Tina that wouldn’t sound creepy.
I can’t say I was stalking her. That’s too abrupt and not even funny. I didn’t accidently come upon her house. I just have to be honest: I was curious to learn more about her.

Josh poured himself a cup of coffee and warmed Tina’s up. “You know he likes you, right?” He sat across from her on the cushy chair after Dan left. “He’s asked me about you before. He’s going to be living here soon. I don’t know what you think of Dan, if anything, but he seems decent. You’d look good with a nice guy by your side. No pressure, right? So, what’s really going on with the hair and tats? Did you have some kind of epiphany while you were gone?”

“No, I’m just ready to live life on my own terms. I’ve been angry for ten years at somebody that isn’t even in the picture anymore, and I’ve taken it out on all men in general. It’s ridiculous. Being rigid, guarded, and predictable is so boring. I’m over it, and changing my look is my way of letting go. You know, I’m kind of an artsy-fartsy person and an odd duck anyway. I love the look, and I don’t really care what people think about it. I want to be happy—with myself and maybe with a man. I can’t just stagnate and be bitter forever. Dan is single, good-looking, and nice. I guess I’m open to seeing where it might go.”

“Good for you, Tina. I think this is the most we’ve ever talked, but I’m happy for you, and your group of knuckleheads will be, too. Jake will get a kick out of your new look at the wedding. With you two standing up together, it should be a good time. He’s pretty out there himself, and I’ll tell you a little secret: under that buttoned-up suit-and-tie persona he wears in public, Jake has quite a few tattoos himself.”

“No shit? Who would have thought?”

Dan returned with Tina’s clothes in a plastic grocery bag. “No sense in these getting wet, too. It looks like the storm is breaking up to the west. There’s blue sky in the distance.” He handed Tina the bag and helped her hop to the bathroom.

“Thanks, both of you. Josh, I’ll take your robe home with my wet clothes and wash it for you. I’ll hang out and read a magazine if you guys want to put gas in my car and drive it to my house. If you can give me five minutes to change into these dry clothes and help me hobble to the couch, I’ll be fine.”

Dan grabbed the gas can as he and Josh ran back outside into the rain. They drove away together in Josh’s Infinity toward the nearest gas station. In fifteen minutes, after dropping Tina’s car off at her house, they were back.

“Man, you weren’t kidding when you said your car was on empty. The gauge barely moved after pouring five gallons of gas in from the can. So, are you ready to go home, Tina?”

“I sure am. It will feel nice to be back in my own house. Thanks for the hospitality and the talk.” Tina gave Josh a wink as Dan carried the bag of wet clothes and helped her climb into the van.

“I have a confession to make,” Dan said as he drove toward her house.

“About knowing where I live?” She looked at him pensively but longing to kiss him again. “It’s okay. You don’t need to explain. It is what it is. We like each other, and you were curious. I get it, Dan. To be honest, I’d probably wonder what your house looked like, too.”

“I’d still like to explain. I thought about you a lot these last few weeks. Josh nonchalantly mentioned the name of your street during a conversation we had a week ago. He told me how Sasha lived with you when she moved to Tarrytown. I asked him where you lived, and he told me. It really was innocent, but it made me curious. In my mind, I thought seeing your house would help me understand you better. I almost had a heart attack when I pulled up to the stop sign and actually saw you sitting on your porch. I backed this stupid van down the street so I could turn around and get the hell out of there before you saw me.” He looked at her with a wide grin.

“You really did that?”

“Yeah, and it scared the shit out of me. I wouldn’t have known how to explain what I was doing there if you’d seen me.”

Tina began chuckling, picturing that image in her mind. “You’re crazy, but you should have stopped in.”

The rain slowed, and Dan twisted the knob on the wipers, turning them down a notch. “That’s a good sign. Maybe this storm is about to end.” He pulled the van into Tina’s driveway and parked next to her car. With her arm over his shoulder, he helped her into the house.

“You can stay a while if you don’t have other plans. At least have a glass of Merlot with me.”

“Sure, I can do that. I’ll have to go back to Josh’s in a bit, though. I have a lot to do in the garage now that the rain slowed our work outside down.”

“The wine is over there in the rack.” Tina pointed toward the kitchen next to the table. “The corkscrew is in the second drawer on the right side of the cutting board, and the wine glasses are above the sink.”

“Maybe I’ll get to know your house in time,” he said, looking at her hopefully. He poured two glasses of wine. “What would you think of dating me?” He set the glasses down on the coffee table.

“Ask me again when I look normal. I don’t want you to ask that question because I look pathetic today.”

Dan reached for her hand and kissed it. “You’ve had a horrible day, but in hindsight, it’s kind of funny.” He began to laugh.

“Really? Which part was so damn funny?” She started laughing, too, wondering what she must have looked like crawling across Josh’s yard, wailing at the top of her lungs.

“All of it.” Their eyes locked as he chuckled and kissed her again. “I better go.”

“Can I use your cell first? I have to call Vic and ask her to pick up my phone charger and bring it over. It’s still at Hair Brained.” Tina made the short call then watched through the blinds as Dan drove away.

“Where’s your phone?” Vic asked as she walked in with the charger in her hand. “What the hell?” she shrieked.

“Oh, for crap’s sake—how many times do I have to hear that question? I volunteered to do a reverse golden sombré at the expo, all right? I think it looks awesome. I mean it will after I shower, wash my hair, and restyle it. Anyway, I left my purse under the seat in the car. Here are my keys.” Tina threw them at Vic.

“Do you have a broken leg? Get your own purse.”

“I can’t. I actually did something to my ankle. It isn’t broken or anything, but it hurts like hell when I put weight on it.”

“Oh, sorry… okay, I’ll be right back.” Vic returned with Tina’s purse and plugged her phone into the charger. “Yeah, I can see how your hair will look cute when it’s clean.” She gave it a thorough once-over. “Okay, I sort of like it. Now, what’s with the cuffs? To be honest, I think they’re cool, but I had no idea you liked tattoos that much.”

“You know, Vic, I’m going to start doing what makes me happy. This is just a start. I think I’m going to reevaluate my opinion of men, too.”

Vic laughed, knowing where Tina was going with this. “So, Dan finally got to you, right? I’m with you, girl. He’s as hot as a guy can get. It would be nice to see you coupled up. Then you can quit your damn whining about being the fifth wheel. C’mon, I’ll give you a hand. Take a shower and get your act together, for God’s sake. Let’s go to Morey’s for dinner—my treat. Are you going to be able to work tomorrow standing on that foot all day?”