She seemed unaware of the other dancers, even her partner, her body moving perfectly with the beat. Was the man the father of her child? Or perhaps a date she had no real interest in being with? As he watched, her gaze slid his way and stopped. Her eyes widened in recognition, sending an electric spark through his entire body.
Tianna chose that moment to speak, stepping closer so he could hear her above the music. “This is the best! We would never have come here without you. I’ve missed you so much.” When he didn’t respond, she followed his gaze. “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know.”
She laughed. “Want to meet her? I bet I can arrange it.”
Dancers moved between them and the woman was lost to his sight. “No. I can handle it.”
“Whatever.” Tianna laughed again. “Look, there’s Chad. He’s waving. Do you think he’s finally done eating? Come on, let’s go see what he wants.”
She seized Harrison’s hand and pulled him through the crowd, weaving expertly through the dancers while he had to repeatedly apologize for bumping into someone. So much for protecting her. He glanced back, but the woman from Albertsons was nowhere to be seen.
I have to question her,
he thought, yet he knew it was only an excuse.
Chapter Six
M
akay let the crowd draw her away from the man she had met in the parking lot the day before. Funny that he would be here tonight. Who was the woman with him? She was attractive, but the way he’d stared at Makay . . . no, she wouldn’t allow herself to think about it. She was here to have a good time, and that was all. Tessa had been right about her needing a break. The crowd seemed a little young tonight, but mostly everyone her age did these days. They knew so little about real life. About taking care of a child, putting food on the table . . . and blackmail.
And the man? She didn’t know what his story was. She didn’t
want
to know.
Maybe it was time to leave and pick up Nate instead of letting him spend the night. Tessa and the others would understand, wouldn’t they?
The music stopped and her partner sidled closer, his hand a little too familiar on the small of her back. He was good looking enough, but she wasn’t attracted to him. “You dance great,” he murmured in a tone that sounded like it belonged in the bedroom.
“Thanks. You, too.” She waved goodbye and started back to her table before he could ask for her number. Fleetingly, she wished the room was completely empty and that she could dance all by herself without having to worry about a man.
“Hey,” Tessa’s friend Brette appeared at her side. “Don’t look now, but that guy you just danced with is coming after you. You want to dance with him again, or should we take a trip to the bathroom?”
“Bathroom,” Makay said. “And why do I suddenly feel like I’m back in high school?”
“I know.” Brette led her to the restroom, holding the door open for her. “That’s why in general I avoid these places. Still, it’s fun with friends.”
There was a short line for the toilets but they moved toward a mirror that was open. “How long have you known Tessa and Lily?” Brette asked.
“About five years. Well, Lily, anyway. I met Tessa later, after she got married.” Makay peered into the mirror. The woman staring back seemed a stranger, a party girl. Not someone who was planning to become an accountant and who picked up a kid at the elementary school every day and whose only adult sleeping partner was a dog.
Brette leaned forward and passed a tube of lipstick over her already painted mouth. She had thick, straight, beautiful brown hair that was a shade lighter than Makay’s and reached clear to the base of her spine. There was no accent in her voice, or anything Makay could pinpoint as foreign, but she definitely had an exotic flare in her beautiful bronze coloring, though perhaps her skin was just tanned. Her eyelashes were twice as thick as Makay’s—and the mascara she wore made them even thicker.
Brette met her eyes in the mirror. “Tessa told me about your parents. To tell you the truth, that’s the only reason I came tonight. I thought if you could do it, so could I. Go on, I mean.” She hesitated, her voice lowering as she glanced at the other women in the room. “Of course, I didn’t have it nearly as bad as you did, losing both parents. I never knew my father, but I did have my mother all these years. Isn’t it . . . doesn’t it feel weird to know that there’s no one out there? No one to pick you up if you make a mistake. To pay the rent or give you a place to go if you can’t make it. I feel . . . so alone.”
Makay shook her head and said slowly, “I don’t know what it’s like to have anyone do those things.” She regretted the words the instant they left her mouth. They sounded so self-pitying. Besides, Brette was mourning the loss of her mother and bringing up her own sad history wouldn’t help Brette. “It gets easier,” she added quickly. “You learn to cope. To survive. And you have friends like Lily and Tessa. They’re good people.”
Brette turned, leaning her bottom against the counter. “Yeah. I feel kind of stupid crashing at Lily’s. I’d been staying at my mother’s since her death—it seemed pointless to keep my apartment when I have to figure out what to do with the house—but suddenly I couldn’t take being there alone anymore. I’m seriously thinking of getting a dog.”
Makay laughed. “Don’t give in to that urge. You won’t be able to go anywhere without worrying if you’ll have a couch when you get back, or if it’ll pee on the carpet. And the food! My dog eats more than three times what I do. I can’t even think about a vacation because who would I leave him with?”
“Kind of like a kid, huh?” Brette laughed with her. “Although if all kids are as sweet as your little brother, I think it’d be great having a kid. We had quite a conversation on Thursday when he was there at Lily’s. Well, before he abandoned me to play with Jonny. I think he’s probably the smartest first-grader in Arizona.”
Makay’s heart warmed to her. “He is pretty amazing,” she agreed, “despite . . .” She trailed off. Despite what? Despite being born to a druggie? Despite having only Makay to raise him? It all seemed so unfair to poor Nate.
“Hey,” Brette said, apparently interpreting Makay’s thoughts from her expression, “you’ve done great with him. I wish . . . I wish I had something like him in my life.” She shook her head. “All I’ve got is my mother’s little house that creaks at night, a job at the hospital that I’m probably going to lose because I’ve missed so much with the funeral and everything, and a bunch of my mother’s papers in a foreign language I can’t read but that I’m sure are terribly important.”
“You’ll make it work,” Makay said. “You have to.”
Brette smiled. “You’re right. I will.” She moved aside as a woman approached, indicating that she wanted to wash her hands. “Do you think your admirer has given up? He’s probably a stalker, you know.”
“Nah, he’s just a guy looking for a good time, and if that means dancing, I’m fine with it.” Makay started for the door. It wasn’t like she was going to invite him to her apartment, even though Nate would be at Lily’s.
“You’re probably right. It’s just all that creaking at night that’s freaking me out. I kind of wish I hadn’t given up my apartment or broken up with my boyfriend so I’d have someone to come over and check out the house—although breaking up with him was the smartest thing I ever did.”
Makay leaned forward and whispered, “Maybe you should get a gun.”
Brette blinked. “You have one?”
“Yeah. Makes me feel better, too.”
“Maybe you can teach me. But truthfully, getting back with my boyfriend sounds easier.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, it was a promise I made my mother a week before she died. She hated him, and I have to admit that she had reason.”
Be grateful someone cared who you were dating.
But Makay didn’t say the words aloud because she really liked Brette and the girl had enough on her mind. She stepped around a knot of women and opened the door. Music from the club blasted them in the face.
Brette squealed. “I love this song!”
“Well, that guy’s gone.” Makay looked around. “I don’t see anyone else I really want to dance with.”
“Look! There’s Tessa and Gage. Let’s go dance with them. Gage is man enough, don’t you think?” Brette giggled. “Can’t miss this song.”
Why not?
It didn’t seem to matter if you even had a partner, and dancing with friends meant no awkward moments or making up excuses not to give out your number. Makay was not looking for a relationship, after all. Still, she understood where Brette was coming from regarding their conversation about her ex-boyfriend. It would be nice to have someone around who understood—who wanted good things for her. While Makay had dated a few guys, she’d never had that. Most had just wanted to sleep with her, and when they found out she had a child, well, they lost even that urge.
Makay forgot her thoughts as she danced to the song. It was a popular one she’d heard on the radio recently, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember who the artist was—or even understand half the words. But the beat was perfect and her body swayed of its own accord. Tessa didn’t mind dancing with them, and Gage’s green eyes seemed rather pleased with all the attention.
Another song began and she kept dancing. The beat was everything. She let her frustrations slide away—school, Lenny, the fact that she’d have to do another blackmail pickup. For the moment there was nothing but the music. Brette and Tessa laughed as Gage dipped Tessa in an exaggerated movement that clashed with the beat of the music. Tessa was in fine spirits; at night she always came alive, evolving into some sort of vibrant alter ego. Makay laughed with them.
She became aware of someone behind her and turned slowly, wondering if her previous partner had found her. The music ended just then, and there were several loud
thunks!
as cans of some kind of food fell to the ground and rolled to her feet. She followed their path back to their origination and found herself staring into the eyes of the man from the Albertsons parking lot. His dark blond hair shone under the flashing lights, and his blue eyes looked black. On his face there was a little scruff, partially hiding a small cleft in his chin, and she suspected he disliked shaving. He wore dark slacks and a gray and black shirt that fit his wide shoulders perfectly while narrowing to a slim waist. Maybe clothes weren’t just to cover nakedness after all, at least not the way he wore them. He was the best looking guy in the entire room. And he was alone.
She arched a brow as he stepped toward her. “Are you stalking me?” she asked with a smile.
“Kind of seems that way, doesn’t it?” His grin was infectious, revealing two deep dimples in his cheeks that she hadn’t recalled before. He squatted down and scooped up the two cans.
Brette and Tessa had gone behind him and were making faces at her.
Hot,
Brette mouthed. Tessa made a pushing motion with her hands.
“Actually, I’m stalking your car,” he said. “I saw it outside and wondered if you’d be here. And since you like throwing cans, I thought I’d give it a try.”
Makay’s heart flip-flopped. He’d come in here looking for her! What did that mean? “Do you always carry cans around?” she asked. “I mean, you have to admit, that’s kind of weird.”
He grinned again, having to shout now that the music had begun again. “I snuck into the kitchen here. Amazing what you can find lying around when no one is looking. Well, until you’re discovered by an angry manager.” He shook his head. “Yeah, it wasn’t pretty. So, are you here with anyone?” A casual question loaded with innuendo that even she couldn’t miss. This was the moment she shot him down or went for it. Behind him her girlfriends were making more exaggerated go-for-it movements, and even Gage had gotten into the action.
Makay’s hand shot out to the man’s wrist. “Come on. Let’s dance.” She made a face at her friends. “Away from here, though. It’s too crowded.”
A little cheer went up behind them as they moved away. The man deposited his cans on the first table they passed, much to the surprise of the table’s occupants.
“Tomatoes?” asked Makay, getting her first clear glimpse of the labels on the cans.
He laughed. “Diced, even. It was all they had, or at least all they were willing to part with for twenty bucks.”
“Only twenty?” They both laughed as they started moving to the music. Makay couldn’t help thinking that she could have bought those cans of tomatoes for twenty cents each with her coupons. Probably not something he wanted to know.
“So,” he said, leaning forward. His breath felt warm on her cheek. “What’s your name?”
“Makay. Makay Greyson.”
His brow furrowed. “Really?”
“Well, it’s Makayla, but I go by Makay.”
“Makayla. I like it.”
When he said it, the name sounded sexy and feminine, two things Makay usually tried
not
to be.
Must be this dress.
She found herself suddenly glad she hadn’t opted for her usual pants.
“I’m Harrison,” he said. No last name, but that wasn’t unusual with the music making conversation so difficult. Or maybe that was his last name and people called him by it.
She grinned. “Not Harry?”
“Definitely not Harry.”
They danced in silence for a few moments, Makay feeling suddenly self-conscious. She’d been told enough times that she danced well to be confident about her moves, so it wasn’t the dancing but a side effect of being with a man she was attracted to. Dancing didn’t come as easily to him, but he made a good effort. What was he thinking? Did he wonder about Nate? Should she tell him? It would be better to walk away than to believe something might come of this night, but for some reason she couldn’t do that.
The song ended and the next one was a slow dance. Makay’s heart thumped heavily as his arms slipped around her. He was rather tall, so she had to stretch a bit to put her hands on his shoulders. He felt solid and warm and her excitement cranked up a notch. “Who are you here with?” she asked.
He told her about his sisters and their husbands, and she talked about Tessa, Gage, and Brette. “Oh, your cheering section back there,” he said with a laugh. “The way they were gyrating behind me, I was beginning to think you would turn me down.”