Chapter Eleven
Rebecca came out of the room wearing her own nightgown and robe, fully prepared to offer Mae Lin compensation for all the damages. She wasn’t quite sure how to make up for Louis or the dead mother’s bubble bath, but at least it would be a start. But when she came back out, Mae Lin and Grant seemed to be in an intense conversation on the balcony. That’s when Rebecca noticed the luggage by the door. There sat two matching leopard-print suitcases on wheels and a beat-up gym bag. The gym bag must belong to Grant . . . Had he come to spend the night? Were he and Mae Lin lovers? She was certainly beautiful, if you liked your women with a stinging bite. But would Grant have actually done that? Would he have sent her to live with his
girlfriend
?
Well, why not? What did she think? She would come to town and he would fall magically in love with her and there would be no other women in his life?
You had better get a grip
, Rebecca told herself.
You’re here for Miles, nothing else.
Besides, she didn’t know anything about the man. She didn’t back then, and she certainly didn’t now. Rebecca quietly stood at the entrance to the balcony until Mae Lin and Grant looked up.
“I can write you a check for damages,” Rebecca said. “And leave as soon as I find a new place.”
“Make it out to cash,” Mae Lin said. “And write ‘I’m pathetic and sorry’ in the subject line.”
“Mae Lin,” Grant said.
Mae Lin rolled her eyes, then threw her head back and cackled. “Grant has fought for your honor,” she said dramatically. “I’ve decided to spare your head.”
“Thank you?” Rebecca said. She didn’t try to hide her sarcasm; she had a little bite in her as well. Besides, Rebecca was the one without a place to live. Mae Lin was supposed to be gone for an entire year.
“Funny,” Mae Lin said, sliding her eyes from Grant to Rebecca as if she were the queen and they had both just betrayed her. “I work at Rebecca’s and I live with a Rebecca.”
“Well, not for long,” Rebecca said. “Live, that is. I’ll start looking for a place tomorrow.”
Mae Lin fluttered her eyelashes dramatically and threw out her arms. “I told you I’d spare your head. What more do you want?”
“You’ll have to excuse Mae Lin,” Grant said. “It seems she left her heart in San Francisco.”
With those words, Mae Lin was off again, ranting about some scumbag music club producer who, Rebecca gathered, was behind Mae Lin’s early departure.
“He didn’t even want us to
drink
on the
job
. I’m like,
hello
! I’m a
singer
. In a
nightclub
!”
Rebecca suppressed a little smile. Mae Lin was stressing about every third word in her sentences and bouncing her pretty head when she spoke. She sounded part drill sergeant, part cheerleader, and of course a lot diva nightclub singer. Rebecca was actually starting to like her. From a distance. As if she were a tiger in a zoo. Suddenly, Rebecca felt someone’s gaze on her. When she looked over, Grant was openly staring at her. She quickly averted her eyes, then regretted it. She didn’t want him to think she was nervous around him. She didn’t want him to see her cheeks heat up.
“Any-har-har,” Mae Lin said, propelling herself into an upright position, and leaning dramatically over the balcony rail. “You can’t leave. I just got
fired.
I’m broke and you signed a sublease agreement.”
Actually, Rebecca hadn’t signed a thing. They talked about it, but Mae Lin never did get around to sending it. Rebecca didn’t see the point of mentioning it, at least until she had another place to stay.
“We’ll split the rent in three,” Mae Lin continued, marching back into the living room. Rebecca reluctantly followed, and Grant quickly joined them.
“Split the rent in three?” Rebecca said.
“Never mind,” Grant said.
“Grant is staying here, too!” Mae Lin said. “His girlfriend kicked him out.”
This time Rebecca had no qualms about looking at Grant. Jealousy flared in Rebecca. He never mentioned a girlfriend. Then again, she never mentioned a son.
“Mae Lin, I’m not going to stay here,” Grant said.
“We already agreed,” Mae Lin countered.
“That’s before I knew about your roommate,” Grant said. Was it Rebecca’s imagination, or did he stress the word
roommate
?
Mae Lin turned to Rebecca with a grin that almost devoured her petite face. “Grant had a big scandal with his girlfriend after the grand opening of his club. And I missed it!”
Rebecca didn’t remember seeing another woman with Grant at the club. Then again, she was kind of busy falling over the balcony and into his arms.
“She doesn’t want to hear this,” Grant said.
“Oh, but I do,” Rebecca said. She flopped down on the couch, crossed her legs, and smiled at Grant before turning her attention back to Mae Lin.
“A woman crashed through the balcony and into his arms,” Mae Lin said, throwing both her hands over her heart and cocking her head like an old-fashioned damsel in distress.
“Wow,” Rebecca said. “It was a good thing he was there.”
“That’s not the wow part,” Mae Lin said. “It wasn’t just any woman. It was the love of his life.”
“Mae Lin!” Grant said.
“Like a ghost from the past,
whoosh
, into his arms. Later his girlfriend, who couldn’t attend opening night because she was too busy—”
“She was dancing,” Grant said. “She’s a ballet dancer.”
Terrific
, Rebecca thought.
A ballet dancer. Must be very flexible
.
“Later his girlfriend heard Grant talking to his best friend. Telling him how he knew the woman who fell on him. She was the one that got away. The woman of his dreams! The one who took his virginity. The best sex he ever had!” Mae Lin hit Grant playfully on the shoulder. “Some people just don’t know when to shut up, right, Rebecca?”
“You’ve got that right,” Rebecca said.
“I’m exhausted,” Mae Lin said. She got up and grabbed a liquor bottle from her cabinet. “I’m going to bed.”
Rebecca was just about to do the same: shut herself in the bedroom and away from Grant. The love of his life? Did he really say it? Did he really mean it? He certainly didn’t look comfortable now, standing by the door with his hands shoved in his pockets, softly kicking his duffel bag. But before Rebecca could escape, Mae Lin sprinted into her bedroom, yelling, “My bed, my bed, my bed, my bed. How I’ve missed you so.” She jumped on it and spread out like she was making snow angels.
Rebecca got up from the couch and stood in the doorway of Mae Lin’s bedroom, not sure what to do. Was Mae Lin really going to sleep in the bed that Rebecca had been sleeping in? Mae Lin lifted her head. “There are pillows and blankets in the closet out there. Shut the door! And be quiet out there!”
Rebecca shut the door and turned to Grant. He was still kicking his duffel bag. “Quiet as a mouse,” he said, looking at Rebecca.
The comment took her by surprise and she burst out laughing. Grant stopped kicking his bag and grinned. A few moments of silence fell as they considered each other.
“Should I go?” Grant said. “I can sleep at the club.”
The living room had two sofas facing each other.
“It’s late,” she said. “I don’t mind.”
She went to the closet, grabbed sheets and blankets, and pretended the father of her son wasn’t standing just a few feet away. He hurried over to help her carry them to the couches, and Rebecca was surprised when he began making them up. A man who makes his own bed. He could have taught their son a thing or two. As much as she loved Miles, even she had to admit he was one of the messiest kids she’d ever seen. He was perfectly happy to coexist with clutter. As she watched Grant tuck the sheets into the edges of the sofa, she realized he didn’t get that from his father. What traits were just Miles’s? Or did Grant come from a long line of messy men and it just skipped a generation? It wasn’t just time with his paternal family that she’d robbed Miles of, it was vital information. What about health? Didn’t he have a right to know all the risks and benefits of being a Dodge? Of course he did.
“Grant,” Rebecca started to say.
“I owe you an apology,” Grant interrupted. “I overreacted that day.”
“You think?” Rebecca said. She hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but it just flew out of her mouth.
Instead of taking offense, Grant just laughed. It was a nice, deep laugh. “We had an incident—actually an ordeal—with Megan last year. She got involved with an older boy.”
“You mentioned it,” Rebecca said.
“I don’t want to go into all the details right now, but it was quite honestly the worst year of my life.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“When I found out you weren’t much older at the time we . . . than Megan . . . the things I said about that boy . . . the hatred . . . the minute you said you were sixteen, I just—locked up. I was just like that asshole kid that wouldn’t leave Megan alone.”
Rebecca crossed over to Grant but stopped short of touching him. “No, you weren’t,” she said. “I was the seducer.”
Grant chuckled again. “You weren’t exactly shy,” he agreed.
“A hundred horses couldn’t have stopped me,” Rebecca said. Silence fell as they stared at each other. The only light coming into the room was provided by outside streetlights. She was suddenly very aware of her nightgown, and his eyes on her body.
“You are so beautiful,” he said. “It’s astonishing.”
This time it was Rebecca’s turn to laugh.
“I sound melodramatic, do I?” Grant said.
“A bit.”
“It’s just that I’ve imagined this—seeing you again—but I always figured—I mean, it was likely that—”
“I was old, fat, and bald?”
“Bald? Uh—maybe the first two, but not bald.”
“Right. That was how I imagined you.” This time they both laughed. “Sometimes I pictured you homeless, too. Playing your trumpet for booze.”
“That’s not far from the truth.”
“Don’t be modest. You’re the owner of a hot new club.”
“That experienced a near tragedy on opening night. And something of a miracle, too,” he added shyly.
“That was entirely my fault. And your waitress’s. She ignored the rope.”
“For some reason she thought you were Megan’s mom,” Grant said. “She kept saying she couldn’t turn away the mother of my child.”
This was it. This was her opening. “I am—” Rebecca started to say. But she never got the chance to finish. Grant was in front of her, reaching for her, and he planted his lips on hers before she could say another word. Slowly, she yielded to him. Desire crashing over her like a powerful wave, she clung to him as their kiss deepened. Just as suddenly, Grant pulled away.
“Oh God,” he said. “I shouldn’t have.”
“It’s okay,” Rebecca said. “I feel the same—”
“I have a girlfriend,” he said.
“I have a son,” Rebecca said. She lay on the couch and pulled the covers around her. She was suddenly furious, but she didn’t want to show it. Right. A ballerina girlfriend—how quickly she forgot. What was he doing kissing her then? Getting her all hot and bothered and then making her sleep a few feet from him? It was downright cruel. In the morning, either Grant would be gone or she would.
Grant still hovered over her. “Married? Boyfriend?”
“Not for a long time,” Rebecca finally said.
“How is that possible?” Grant asked.
Rebecca laughed. “I guess I’ve been cursed.” She had been joking, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she thought of the high priestess.
If you kiss before midnight . . .
“Do you believe in such things?” He sounded kind but cynical.
“Don’t you?” she asked. Rebecca sat up. Grant slowly sat down on his sofa but leaned forward as if to bridge the gap between them. How could he forget that night? How could he forget everything that followed because they dared to flaunt—
Oh. Because he didn’t realize everything that resulted from that night. Except that he lost her. Or did he just assume they would part ways?
The love of your life
, Mae Lin had teased. She had meant something to him—even if he tried to deny it, she knew it was the truth.
“You named your club Rebecca,” she said softly.
“Hold off on that for a second,” Grant said. “Do you mind explaining all this to me?”
Rebecca fiddled with a loose thread on her blanket and cut off all eye contact. “Explain all what?”
“Why are you here? Is it just some kind of crazy coincidence?”
“You gave me Mae Lin’s number—”
“I mean here in New Orleans. In my club opening night. Was it just coincidence?”
Rebecca dropped the blanket and sat up straight. “Not exactly.”
Grant came over to her couch and knelt beside it. “Go on.”
“I’ve always wondered about you.”
“Have you?” They were having it. They were having the conversation. But Rebecca wasn’t ready for the conversation. She hadn’t practiced it. She was exhausted. She was off guard. Mae Lin wasn’t supposed to be here, let alone Grant. She didn’t have to let him control this conversation. They could have it at her leisure when she looked refreshed and she knew what the hell was going to come out of her mouth.
And she wasn’t going to flatter him, either. She wasn’t going to tell him that she thought of him practically every second of every day, especially when she looked at Miles.
“I originally just came here for a weekend getaway—”
“That almost got you killed.”
“Until you and your bodyguards saved me.”
“We aim to please.”
“And then you gave me Mae Lin’s number, and next thing I knew I saw a ‘For Rent’ sign on a little shop—and even my son said—”
“Your son said?”
Hearing the word
son
out of his mouth was too much.
Your son. Our son
.
Say it. Say it!
Why couldn’t she just say it?