Earning Yancy (10 page)

Tanya shook her head. “Nope. You forget that I have been around babies before, including yours. It’s been a while, but I remember what to do.”

I smiled. “I just wanted to make sure you knew her routine. Call me if you have any questions or you need me to come home.”

“We’ll be fine.” Tanya picked up Carolena. “Ready for dinner, doll face?”

“Yummy!”

We both laughed at Carolena’s exclamation and I gave her another kiss before Tanya carried her into the kitchen. As soon as they were gone, I felt the nerves return. The last few hours, I’d been so busy getting the baby and myself ready that I didn’t have time to be nervous.

Now that I was standing in my foyer alone, I felt the butterflies coming back in full force. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been out with Charles before. We’d been to lunch twice now. It seemed silly for me to feel this nervous over a dinner date.

When we had lunch, it felt easy, casual, and we both had to return to work. It hadn’t quite felt like a date either time. I looked down at my dress and heels. Tonight was different and it most definitely felt like a date.

Before I had a chance to descend into a good, old-fashioned freak out, the doorbell rang. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Charles stood on the other side, looking fantastic in a dark grey suit. His white shirt was open at the throat and I was tempted to step forward and bury my face against his neck so I could breathe in his clean, fresh scent.

As I looked at him, he looked at me, his eyes traveling from my head down to my feet. “You look beautiful, Yancy.”

“You look great, too.”

“Are you ready to go?”

Feeling a little silly for standing there staring at him, I nodded and stepped out onto the porch. I knew better than to go into the kitchen to say good-bye to Carolena. I would end up with food all over my dress or face. I locked the door and followed him out to his car. He opened my door and helped me into the vehicle.

After he got in and we were on our way, I looked over at him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

He smiled. “Nope. It’s a surprise.”

Three hours later,
I was back in Charles’ car, feeling full and slightly tipsy. He had taken me to The French Room in the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas. The French Room was considered one of the best restaurants in Dallas and I had no idea how he’d gotten a reservation so quickly. He suggested the chef’s tasting menu and each of the five courses was paired with a specific wine. It was incredibly sumptuous and the flavors were heavenly.

We lingered after the meal. I drank wine and he had espresso. While my love of coffee demanded I order an espresso as well, I knew I would never fall asleep if I drank caffeine at nine at night. We had talked for most of the meal, starting with the subject of books and movies.

Somehow, the topic of the conversation came around to his first month at the company. Since I was feeling especially lubricated after three glasses of wine, I asked him, “So why were you so rude to me when you started at the company?”

Charles was silent for a moment as he stared into his wineglass. “I’m not sure I can explain it.”

This was getting interesting. I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table and my chin on my hands. “Try, please.”

He grinned. “There’s that feisty streak.” I merely raised an eyebrow and stared him down. He sighed. “Well, the first time I saw you, I thought you were the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. Then we spoke and you seemed so warm and approachable. I really liked that. Then I heard Judith mention your daughter and I assumed you were married. I, uh, shit, I hate to admit this, but I wanted to keep my distance from you because I didn’t want to start lusting after my married coworker. You know, all the drooling and stammering can get embarrassing.”

I laughed at his joke, even though I was taken aback at his words. Lusting? Gorgeous? I had no idea that he’d found me so attractive. “Is that why you constantly called me Nancy?”

He shook his head, a rueful expression on his face. “No, unfortunately, that was all me. I wasn’t trying to be rude to you, Yancy. I just didn’t want…” he trailed off.

I toyed with my wineglass, staring at him across the candlelit table. “So, when I told you I was divorced, and you knew I was single, you started being nice to me?” I wanted to be offended, but the wine had lowered my inhibitions too much for outrage. Now, I was just curious.

Charles sighed again. “I didn’t think of it like that, I swear.”

I continued to stare at him, thinking of how he’d behaved the first month. He liked me but didn’t want me to know it. Then, I smiled. “So you were acting like a teenage boy?”

He chuckled softly. “I don’t think I’ve been so tied up in knots over a woman since high school, so that’s probably accurate.” He leaned forward and snagged my hand. “So, am I forgiven for my awkwardness?”

“Since you brought me to this wonderful place, yes, you are.”

We continued to talk after that, moving on to a more comfortable subject. Sometime around 9:30, we started getting pointed looks from the wait staff and I realized I needed to get home.

“I think we’d better go, Charles. Carolena wakes up early, even on Sundays. I need to get some sleep.”

He nodded and looked around for our waiter. He brought our check and, within five minutes, we were on our way. The drive home was quiet, but Charles held my hand. I was definitely feeling the aftereffects of all the wine, so I leaned my head back against the headrest and just enjoyed the ride.

When he pulled up in front of my house, Charles put the car in park and turned to look at me. “Thank you for finally agreeing to go out to dinner with me.”

I smiled. “I’m glad I did. It was wonderful.”

He leaned toward me, placing his lips on mine. After spending the evening with him in a romantic restaurant and drinking several glasses of wine, I didn’t hesitate. My mouth opened beneath his and the kiss rapidly spiraled out of either of our control.

I turned, trying to get closer to him, but the console was in the way. Suddenly, Charles shoved his seat back and hauled me across the console so I sat sideways in his lap with my back against the door as my feet dangled over the passenger seat.

Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, he tangled one hand in my hair and cupped my hip with the other, pulling me against his chest. We kissed, our tongues tangling, for what felt like an eternity. I felt surrounded by his heat and scent and my head became light. For the first time in a long time, I felt the sharp ache of desire between my thighs.

I heard a low moan and realized that wanton sound had come from my throat. I pressed my breasts against Charles’ chest, trying to get as close to him as possible.

Suddenly, a car horn blared through the fog of lust that permeated the interior of the vehicle. I broke the kiss, leaning back slightly and realized my elbow was resting on Charles’ steering wheel and I was the reason the horn was still sounding.

I tried to scramble off his lap, but Charles had to help because I was wedged so tightly between his body and the steering wheel. Breathless, I laughed as I settled in the passenger seat and brushed my hair away from my face.

“Oh my God, I don’t think I’ve made out in a car like that since high school,” I gasped.

Charles grinned. “Me either. I’d forgotten how difficult it is to cop a feel in the front seat.”

I laughed. “I really did have a wonderful time tonight, Charles. Thank you for such a special evening.”

His grin morphed into a soft smile. “It was special, wasn’t it?” He leaned forward and placed a quick, soft kiss on my lips. “At the risk of sounding too pushy, I want to spend more time with you, Yancy, and not wait a week between dates.”

My heart leapt at his words. God, it had been years since a man not only wanted to spend time with me, but actively pursued me. There were no games being played, just honest desire.

“We’ll figure something out. I’m just not ready to have a new man in Carolena’s life and I can’t have a babysitter constantly either.”

Charles’ smile faded and I knew I needed to explain further.

“I really want to spend time with you too, Charles, I’m just not sure how to make it work. You’re the first man I’ve dated since my divorce, so I haven’t had to think about this before. Will you call me tomorrow after I’ve had some time to think about it and see if I can come up with a solution?”

His grin returned. “I can do that.” He glanced up at my front door. “I think you’re going to get grounded if you don’t go inside soon.”

I looked up and saw Tanya standing on my front porch, arms crossed over her chest, the toe of her red flats tapping impatiently. “Nah. No grounding. I think she just wants all the juicy details of the date.” I sighed and gathered my purse and coat.

Before I could say anything else, Charles was out of the car and at the passenger door. He helped me out of the car and wrapped an arm around my waist as we strode up the front walk to my porch.

“Evening, Tanya.”

“Hello again, Charles. Are you two done necking in the car like a pair of teenagers?”

I felt warmth crawl up my face. “Thanks for your concern, Tanya. I’ll come inside in just a minute, okay?”

She took the hint. “Good night, Charles.”

“Good night.”

We watched her sashay back into the house. I turned to Charles. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s fine. She seems like a good friend.”

“Yeah, she really is.”

He wrapped both arms around my waist and pulled me closer. “Well, it’s almost ten, so I think you need to get inside. From what I understand, your daughter likes to wake up early, even on Sundays.”

I giggled. “Yes. I fully intend to get my revenge when she’s a teenager and all she wants to do is sleep until noon. I’ll be waking her up at seven every weekend.”

Charles leaned forward and gave me a light, lingering kiss. “I like the way your mind works. Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

I put my hands on his chest. “Tonight was beautiful, Charles. Thank you again.”

He squeezed my waist then released me. “It was great. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

I nodded and opened the front door. Before I went inside, I looked over my shoulder at Charles. “Good night.”

“Good night, Yancy.”

Feeling as though I were floating on air, I went inside and shut the door behind me. With a deep sigh, I leaned back against my front door. I couldn’t wait to see Charles again. I would have to figure out a way to spend more time with him, even though I wasn’t ready for him to meet Carolena. I knew it was time to move on from the pain of my failed marriage to Cooper. I was ready to live my life, on my terms.

I
wasn’t sure
what Tanya did to my daughter, but she slept until nearly 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. I woke up at eight and immediately jerked upright in fear because the baby hadn’t woken and wasn’t moving when I looked at the monitor. I snuck into her room and looked down at Carolena. When I saw her chest moving up and down in deep, even breaths, I relaxed. I left her room silently, grabbed the baby monitor, then enjoyed a cup of coffee and a long, leisurely shower that didn’t include a shrieking baby throwing shampoo bottles at my head.

We spent a quiet morning eating breakfast and Carolena ‘helped’ me with chores around the house. While I vacuumed, she followed me around with her toy vacuum. When I folded laundry, I had to give her a couple of wash cloths to ‘fold’. I only hoped her enthusiasm for household chores extended into her teenage years, though I wouldn’t hold my breath.

As I continued with the housework, I thought about what Charles and I discussed in the car the night before. I was excited that he wanted to see me more often, but it might be tricky to make it work. While I laid in bed last night, I thought about how we could spend more time together that didn’t involve me leaving my daughter with a sitter constantly. I came up with a solution that was surprisingly simple. He could come over after Carolena went to sleep. At least for the interim. I wasn’t ready to introduce him to my daughter, but I would never be ready if we didn’t spend a little more time together. It was a short term solution, which was what I was looking forward. I needed to be sure this wasn’t just a crazy infatuation that would fade after a month or two.