Earning Yancy (7 page)

The rest of the area was taken up by an oversized sectional and a low leather storage bench that doubled as a coffee table. I even had a big flat screen television on one wall. While the furnishings weren’t the height of style, they were comfortable and easy to clean, since life with a toddler meant spills and messes were an everyday occurrence.

“This is the family room and my reading area.”

Charles’ eyes lit up when he saw my TV. I managed to contain my eye roll. Men and their toys. I continued into the foyer and stopped by the table where I’d left the reports.

“And that concludes the tour.”

“I don’t get to see the upstairs?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nope. I finally got the baby to sleep about ten minutes before you showed. No way am I risking her waking up because we’re walking around upstairs. Besides, it’s nothing but bedrooms and my office.”

He held up his almost full bottle of beer. “What about my drink? This is a damn good IPA and I hate to waste it.”

My patience with his stalling ran out in that moment. I set my wineglass down with a click. “Charles, whatever mind games you’re playing, I don’t appreciate it. What are you doing here?”

He smiled slightly. “I’m just curious about you,” he repeated.

“
Why?
”

Charles took a step forward, putting himself firmly in my personal space. I heard a soft gasp, little more than an intake of breath, and I realized it was me. I felt my pulse throb in my neck in reaction to his proximity.

He looked down at me, the green in his eyes almost gone, leaving only pure, bright blue in his irises. “I think you know why.”

I swallowed and shook my head. “No, I really don’t,” I whispered.

He tugged lightly on a lock of my hair that slipped out of my messy ponytail before trailing his fingers along the line of my jaw, down my neck to rest against the telltale flutter of my heartbeat.

“You feel it too, don’t you? This pull between us. It makes your heart beat faster, your skin flush, and your eyes turn pure gold. Don’t you wonder? I know I do. I know you felt something in the stairwell earlier this week and yesterday in my office. Every time I brushed your arm, you jumped.”

There was no way I could have responded. His words wrapped around me until I couldn’t think of anything else, see anything else, but him. Whatever response I might have had didn’t matter because his face lowered toward mine. Charles moved slowly, giving me the opportunity to move away. Even if I wanted to step back, I couldn’t have, because my feet were rooted to the floor and my traitorous body swayed forward slightly.

His lips touched mine, whisper soft, then he tilted his head back, leaving a breath of space between our mouths. I knew he was giving me another chance to stop this insanity, but I rocked onto my toes, lifting my mouth to his once again, grasping his shoulders for balance. He sucked lightly on my bottom lip and my mouth opened beneath his. I felt the brush of his tongue against mine, a tease, before he retreated.

Charles’ hands held my waist as he lifted his head. I blinked several times, looking at his face. Without thinking, I licked my lips, savoring the taste of him.

He groaned softly, resting his forehead against mine. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me, do you?”

“Probably the same thing you’re doing to me.”

Charles straightened and smiled. “And what’s that?”

I sighed and stepped back. “Confusing the shit out of me and tying me up in knots.”

His smile widened until his dimple showed. “Sounds about right.” He grabbed the reports and headed toward the door. “Thanks for the tour and the beer and…everything else.”

“Um, you’re welcome.”

“Lunch on Monday, right?”

I bit my lip and nodded. I was now convinced that this was a crazy idea, but I had no resistance.

“Good. See you later.”

With that, he was gone. I went to the door, locked it, then turned and leaned back against it. Pressing my fingertips to my mouth, I realized I could still taste him on my lips and that his scent lingered all over me and I wondered what in the hell I was doing. Letting a man kiss me before he even took me out on a date was not my definition of taking things slowly.

B
y Monday, I
was no closer to figuring out what I was doing. Last week, he knocked me off balance and I still hadn’t found my footing. However, I decided I would not run away from the situation.

I hadn’t seen him since Thursday night. Carolena still wasn’t feeling like herself on Friday, so I stayed home from work. Over the weekend, she was on the mend and much happier. We both caught up on our sleep and I enjoyed the extra snuggles I got from my little girl.

When I wasn’t spending time with Carolena, I was thinking about Charles. I couldn’t believe that I had been so blunt with him and he seemed to enjoy it. This only added to my confusion because I’d never met a man like that before. It didn’t help that he sent me a text Thursday night after he left.

Charles:
Looking forward to lunch.

I hadn’t responded because I had no clue what to say. The cautious part of me said I should cancel lunch and avoid Charles from now on, that nothing good could ever come of dating a co-worker. Another part of me, one that had lain dormant for a long time, wanted to find what Lucy had found with Chris.

After two days, I realized that there was nothing to agonize over. I was a damn grown-up and I needed to act like one. I liked Charles, he seemed to like me. He only asked me to lunch, not to elope in Vegas at a quickie wedding. I wanted to go out with him, so I would. It was as simple as that.

I finally texted him back Sunday to confirm our lunch plans. He seemed happy to hear from me. We texted back and forth a bit, discussing where to eat. He was genuinely interested in what I liked.

Monday morning came and I chose my outfit with care. I decided on a tailored dress the color of eggplant. Because it was sleeveless, I topped it with a light gray cashmere sweater that draped elegantly over my shoulders and had no buttons. I smoothed on sheer black pantyhose and slid my feet into my sexiest black pumps. I kept my jewelry simple and spritzed a little perfume on my neck. I felt pretty, something I hadn’t experienced since Carolena’s birth.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to enjoy the feeling for long. Once I reached the office, I found a good-sized backlog of phone messages and emails. I settled at my desk, going through my messages and separating them into those that needed immediate attention and those that could wait. A knock on my door startled me and I looked up to see Charles leaning against the frame, a Starbucks cup in his hand.

I smiled hesitantly. “Hi.”

“Good morning.” He walked to my desk and set the cup down next to my keyboard. “Caramel macchiato.”

“Thanks.” Unsure of what to do, I sipped the coffee. It was still hot and perfect.

He grinned and backed toward the door. “I’ll see you in the atrium at noon.”

I went back to work, a huge smile on my face.

The morning passed
quickly. It always surprised me how fast things could pile up if I was out of the office for a few days. I was taken aback when I glanced at the clock and saw it was a quarter to noon.

I grabbed my purse and stepped into the ladies room to check my hair and make-up. I felt the first stirrings of butterflies in my stomach as I ran a brush through my hair and applied a little more powder. Though I could hear Tanya’s voice in my head, telling me to put on some damned lipstick, I skipped it. We were going to eat. It was just going to rub off anyway.

You just don’t want to leave a smear of lip gloss if he kisses you again.

I shivered as I felt the ghost of his kiss on my mouth.

I took the stairs to the main floor, my apprehension growing with each step. Even though it was just lunch, for some reason it felt much bigger. Then again, I hadn’t been on a first date in close to three years, so this was a big deal to me.

I tried not to think about my three year hiatus from the dating world as I exited the stairwell. I saw Charles immediately, waiting by one of the huge planters that stood in the lobby. As I approached, he turned and smiled at me.

“Hi.”

Suddenly feeling shy, I toyed with my purse strap. “Hi.”

Charles put his hand on the small of my back as we walked toward the side doors. “You look pretty.”

I blushed at the compliment. “Thanks.”

While we were texting the night before, Charles suggested a little sandwich shop two blocks from our building. Though I had been working in my office for several years, I’d never tried it. He assured me that even though the place was packed at lunch time, the service was great and they had the most incredible strawberry pie. He described the pie as the best he’d ever eaten. Intrigued, I agreed that it would be fun.

The air was cold and crisp as we walked the short distance to the restaurant. Charles offered me his coat, which was sweet but unnecessary. The cashmere sweater I wore over my dress kept me warm. As we walked, we chatted about work and where we attended college. The easy conversation helped calm my nervousness.

When we entered the restaurant, I understood why Charles got great service. A tall brunette woman immediately came over to him and yanked him into a hug. At first, I thought she was an ex-girlfriend and felt the nerves in my belly tighten and twist into something else. Then she stepped back and I saw that she was in her mid-forties and had Charles’ eyes.

Now the nerves were back with a vengeance because this woman was obviously related to him. He intended to introduce me to one of his family members on our first date?

“Charlie!” she exclaimed. “It’s been too long. You’ve been at your new job for over a month and this is only the second time you’ve come to eat at my place!”

He grinned, looking completely unrepentant and full of mischief. “I know, Aunt Elaine. I’m sorry, but it’s been really busy, so I eat at my desk a lot. You know, if you delivered….”

She shook her head and smacked him lightly on the arm. “As if I could spare an employee during the lunch rush to bring you food. You’re not even my favorite nephew.”

He clapped a hand to his chest. “Ouch. I’m crushed, but you’re still my favorite aunt anyway.”

She rolled her eyes before she fixed her gaze on me. “Hi, I’m Elaine Grant. Please tell me you’re dating my nephew.” She offered her hand.

I shook hands with her. “Um, I’m Yancy Stevens. I work with Charles.”

“Well, then you must be smart. Pleasure meeting you, Yancy.” Elaine turned to Charles. “You couldn’t get her to go out with you? What’s wrong with you? This is the kind of woman you need to be dating, not those twigs with long eyelashes and boobs bigger than their brains.”

Charles sighed and shook his head. “Aunt Elaine, I thought we were on a lunch date. Apparently, I need to be clearer the next time I ask a woman to eat a meal with me.”

I felt the blood rushing to my face as Charles stared at me. I knew this was a date. I wasn’t sure why I implied that he and I were only coworkers.

Elaine saw my embarrassment and saved me from further humiliation. “You do that. Now, let’s get you seated.”

She led us to a table that still held dirty dishes. Quickly, she bussed the table, waving off any offer of help from Charles or me, and disappeared for a few minutes. She came back with a damp towel, menus, and silverware.

In less than a minute, Charles and I were seated and Elaine was getting our drinks. I studied the menu, carefully avoiding eye contact.

“Any recommendations?” I asked.

“Yancy, look at me.”

My eyes met his over the top of the menu. Before he could say anything else, I blurted, “I knew you were asking me on a date, Charles. I was just a little freaked out that you’re introducing me to your aunt on our first date.”

He smiled. “Okay, I’m sorry. I guess I should have warned you. It’s just that, well, the food here is really good and I knew we wouldn’t spend half our lunch hour waiting for service.”

Elaine came back with our drinks. “Have you decided what you’d like to eat?” Charles and I told her what we wanted and she winked at me. “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit.” Then she disappeared.