Winnie turned around quickly, a fire of Southern wrath blazing in her eyes. Tamyra flinched slightly but knew she couldn’t show any sign of weakness with this little fireball. She grabbed her by the shoulders and hoisted her back around. Laine just kept walking past the table to one on the other side of the room. Winnie went to follow her, but Tamyra grabbed her arm and pulled her to a halt right in front of the deep wood table with its crisp white plates and debonair guest.
Albert stood beside the table. “Wonderful to see you, Winnie. You look beautiful.”
Winnie tugged at the waist of her purple jacket, her hands clasping the rhinestone trim. If it wouldn’t have given away her plan, Tamyra might have encouraged Winnie to go with a little less vibrant color and a little less flash. But she knew Winnie liked her jewel tones, and besides, Winnie without rhinestones was like the Ryman without Little Jimmy Dickens. Winnie’s hand reached up and patted the purple and royal blue scarf that was tied around her neck. “Good evening.”
“I know you didn’t know about this dinner. So I completely understand if you’re not comfortable,” he said, his hand resting on the back of a wood and leather chair. Tamyra watched as his hand nervously patted the gold leather.
“That’s very kind of you. And actually—”
Tamyra interrupted, placing her hands on Winnie’s shoulders. “Actually, she is tired of our company and needs someone educated and entertaining to give her some decent conversation. We can be simple and boring and very one-dimensional. None of which Miss Winnie is.”
His face resonated his agreement. The flush on his cheeks rose with his smile. “That she is not.”
Winnie brushed Tamyra’s hands off her shoulders. “Well, thanks to both of you for knowing so much about me, but I—”
Tamyra leaned over in her ear. “Be nice. You’re a Southern lady, remember. It’s just dinner.”
She heard Winnie sigh. “Albert, I would be delighted to have dinner with you. Tamyra is right; I’m tired of simple and boring people.” She looked over her shoulder and crinkled her nose like a schoolgirl at Tamyra.
Tamyra patted her back and smiled a huge and satisfied smile. “Enjoy your evening.” She gave no time for retractions. She was at her table in less than four long strides.
“You’re worse than me. At least Riley knew what she was doing,” Laine said with a laugh as Tamyra jerked her napkin from the table and patted it multiple times in her lap, her back toward Winnie.
“What is he doing?”
“Pulling out her chair.”
“Is she sitting?”
Laine leaned onto the table. “Do you want to change seats?”
“Just answer the question,” Tamyra snapped.
“Ooh, beauty pageant girl isn’t all bea-u-ti-ful,” Laine quipped.
“Sorry, I’ve just never done anything like this before.” She picked up her water and didn’t quit drinking until the ice jingled at the bottom of the cup.
“It’s two people on a date, Tamyra. It’s happened before.”
She swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand.
“You’re falling apart. Think I could get you to eat meat tonight?”
Her quirky grin made Tamyra laugh. She could only hope she’d still be laughing when Winnie got through with her.
* * *
Winnie felt the tightness in her chest slowly make its way around to her back. She was certain her bra strap would pop when the tension finally released. If Tamyra hadn’t only recently decided she was going to actually live, Winnie might well have killed her. She took the crisp white napkin from the table and laid it across her pants. The white all but bounced off the purple denim. She lifted her hands and ran them along the straight edges of the stark white plate in front of her and finally willed herself to lift her eyes to Albert.
“You really don’t have to stay, Winnie. I completely understand. Tamyra was pretty persistent and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable in any way.”
She could see the sincerity in his clear blue eyes. She almost felt sorry for him. “No, no.” She flapped her hand at him. “It’s fine. Really. We’ve got to eat, don’t we?” she said with a nervous chuckle.
His smile expanded across his face, accentuating the deep wrinkles around the corners of his eyes. Despite a few on his forehead, he still held a strong sense of his youth. “Well, good, then. Let’s order big ol’ steaks, because I’m starving.”
The vise around her released a portion of its pressure, and she raised her menu. “That would be great.”
By the time the waiter brought their drinks and took their order, they had settled into a conversation about children, the neighborhood, and the pesky yapping poodle who lived two doors down that Winnie had threatened to neuter on multiple occasions. “I told him all his manly wiles would be gone if he didn’t put a lid on it.” She chuckled.
She watched as Albert cut into his steak, laughed at her jokes, and made conversation easy. “I’m glad you took this vacation, Winnie. I know it’s been a rough season for you.”
“I’m sure it’s been a rough season for you, too. Death is a painful process. Especially when you loved someone so long like we did.”
“Yeah, doesn’t go away, that’s for sure.”
“No, I think about Sam every day.”
“Yeah, can’t say there’s a day that goes by that Judith doesn’t enter my thoughts. But that is the beauty of love, isn’t it? And the depth of the pain is a reflection of the depth of the love, I suppose.”
She set her fork down and smiled. “That’s a good way of putting it.” It was so nice to be with someone who understood. She could tell he did. He had loved Judith so deeply. She could see that. And that was the beauty of that kind of love. You could just hold on to it. You didn’t have to let go.
Albert cut into another piece of his steak. “I know Sam would be really proud of you. For moving on with your life and living again.”
Her smile dropped and her voice thinned. “What do you mean ‘moving on with my life’?”
His head snapped up. “I just meant—”
“I don’t know what you think. But I have no intentions of moving on—” she added a slight snap of the head as she emphasized her words—“with my life with you, if that is what you were insinuating.”
“I wasn’t insinuating anything, Winnie. I was . . .”
She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth, then slapped the napkin beside her plate and scooted her chair back with one quick motion. “Tamyra, my side. You and Tamyra were in cahoots with this entire dinner. It was probably as much your idea as it was hers to take advantage of a grieving widow.” She stood up abruptly, her words breaking through the soft Muzak and offering entertainment of another sort to those in the room. “You will not take advantage of this grieving widow. And you should be ashamed of yourself. Your wife would roll over in her grave thinking you were taking vacations just to hit on women like me.”
She snatched her purse from the edge of the chair. It caught hold of the side and wouldn’t release with her tug. She jerked back slightly and tugged it again. This time the chair flew over on its back and her purse fell right underneath the weight of it. This wasn’t quite the exit she wanted. Albert was up and out of his seat, trying desperately to help her. She pushed away his hands and snatched the edge of the chair, finally unhooking the strap of her purse. As she rose, her eyes caught Tamyra’s, which were as wide as a hoot owl’s, from her table across the room. Winnie furrowed her brow at her, gathered her Southern dignity, and stood. Her scarf had slid around to the back of her neck, all but choking her. She jerked it around quickly and headed for the door. By the time she made it into the hallway, she was running with more gusto than her thighs and calves had seen or felt in the last twenty years. They’d all be hating each other by morning. Just like she hated this entire trip.
* * *
“Hungry?” Christian asked as they walked out of the meeting room in the Atlantis Conference Center, a one-billion-d
ollar expansion that had added two hundred thousand square feet of meeting space for everything from trade shows to board meetings.
“Haven’t met a French fry that wasn’t my friend,” Riley said as she walked through the large main hall.
He laughed. “My kind of girl.”
“Hey, you two, where you headed?” Mia asked as she came up beside them.
Riley breathed in hard. She was not ready to say she was about to go on a date.
Christian saved her. “Just going to grab a quick bite.”
“Oh, I’m starved,” she said, throwing her head back in her animated way. “Mind if I join you?”
Riley saw a possible moment of salvation. “That would be—”
Christian jumped in. “You know, I’ve been trying to steal this woman away for dinner for almost a week now. So if you don’t mind, maybe we can all hang out another night.”
Riley glanced at Mia. Her eyes flickered momentarily. Riley was sure it wasn’t anger. Momentary surprise, she assured herself. But just as quickly as the look came, it was gone. Mia patted Christian’s arm and nodded at Riley. “You take care of this special lady; she’s had a difficult couple of days. She deserves a night out on the town.”
Riley smiled. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, thanks, Mia. That’s exactly what I’m going to give her.”
Riley couldn’t help it. “Everything good for tomorrow night? All the rooms ready to go?”
“Absolutely. I took care of everything. They will be treated like royalty.”
“Let’s meet in the morning at eight and go over everything just to make sure we’re on the same page and to make sure all the guests that are heading out are taken care of.”
Mia placed a hand on her hip and smiled coyly. “You don’t trust me, Riley.”
Riley smiled. “I absolutely trust you. Just can’t risk anything for my own sake.”
Mia swatted her hand. “I’ll see you at eight. Now, no more thinking about work. Christian, make her not talk about work. It’s all she does.”
Christian grabbed Riley by the arm and pulled her toward the exit. “Rest assured, we will not talk about work.”
Riley’s stomach fluttered at his touch. And in that moment she was very grateful that Mia was not joining them for dinner.
* * *
“Get up!” Tamyra yelled, yanking Laine from her chair.
Laine’s knife and fork, which had just cut into a perfect piece of medium-rare filet mignon, were still sticking in the meat when she flew out of her chair. “My dinner!” she said as she reached for her purse before Tamyra caused her to lose that too.
“You eat enough! We’ve got to get Winnie.”
Laine was almost out the door in less than four strides. How women like Tamyra ran in stilettos was still beyond her. Poor Albert followed right behind, and by the time they all made it to the hallway, Winnie was nowhere in sight.
Tamyra stopped by the door for a brief second. “Let’s head to her room.” Before Laine could speak, Tamyra was a blur.
Laine turned to Albert. “Don’t worry about Winnie. We’ll take it from here. She’s an ornery old cuss. Sorry if it messed up your dinner. Better go. Those long legs are no match for mine.”
“I’m sorry. I tried to be so careful.”
The worry in his eyes touched Laine. She patted his arm. “It’s okay. She’s just having trouble letting go. It’s not you.”
He patted her hand. “Go. Go. I’m fine.”
She let his approval release her to hightail it down the hall. Fortunately she was wearing wedges, so she made up a little ground. Her wide-leg black pants kept whipping each other at the hem as she ran. When she came to the foyer of The Cove suites, Gerard was standing there as if he had been waiting on her. He simply pointed to the elevator.
She raised her hand. “Thanks.”
He called out as she rounded the corner to the elevators. “Should I be expecting Miss Riley, too?”
“No, she’s got a hot date!” She knew Riley would kill her for that. “I’m the last of the posse.” The door opened and Laine pushed the number for Winnie’s floor. When she exited the elevator, she could hear Tamyra banging and screaming from down the hall. She ran to her and grabbed Tamyra’s hands away from the door.
“Leave me alone!” she heard Winnie yell.
“We’re going to, Winnie,” Laine said.
Tamyra slapped at her. “No, we’re not, Winnie! We’re coming in there just like we did earlier.”
“You are not! I’ll block the door with the sofa!”
Laine wrapped her arms around Tamyra’s waist and pulled. “My word, woman, you’re big,” she said as she dropped her in the hall away from the door. She stared up at Tamyra and pointed her finger. “You’re going to listen to me even if you have to look down at me. We’re leaving her alone.”
“But we can’t—”
“I said, we’re leaving her alone. She has to come to terms with this herself. This is a place she has to deal with. You can’t do it for her. Just like she couldn’t do it for you. You had to break down and get honest with her over the fact that you’re dying.”
She saw Tamyra’s eyes bug out. “She told . . .”
“She didn’t tell me a thing. Your actions told me everything I needed to know. I study people for a living, Tamyra. You were an easy one. Now, we are leaving her alone.” Laine leaned against the door and spoke to the woman behind it. “We’re leaving, Winnie. You just take your time. We won’t bother you anymore. Just know if you need us, we’re here.”
There was no sound from the other side.
Laine grabbed ahold of Tamyra’s arms and pulled her down the hall. “Come on. Let’s go.” She pulled her across the carpet and down to the elevators.
“It’s all my fault.”
“Yes, it is all your fault. You set the woman up. On a date she didn’t want to go on in the first place.”
Tamyra removed her wrist from Laine’s grasp. “Don’t hold back, Laine. Tell me what you really think.”
“I will. But you know what? It was good for her. Maybe this is what she needed to finally let Sam go.”
“So you don’t think I’ve destroyed her?”
Laine pushed the Down button for the elevator and laughed. “No, Winnie’s a big girl. No pun intended. She will be fine. But Albert, on the other hand . . .”
Tamyra walked into the elevator and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, my word. What I did to him was horrible.”
“Yes, now that was horrible.”
Tamyra rolled her eyes at her.
“You need to go apologize to him.”
The elevator doors opened and they walked back out into the foyer. Gerard was still standing there. “All is well, Gerard. All is well,” Laine informed him.
“So Miss Riley really had a date, huh?” Gerard asked, following her to the doorway.
Laine turned and gave him a big smile. “Yes, with that Christian Manos guy.”
His black eyes widened and his white teeth overtook most of his face. She was shameless.
* * *
Riley licked barbecue sauce from her fingers.
“Southern girls like ribs, huh?” Christian laughed.
She could feel her face flush. Bertha’s Go-Go Ribs was a local hangout on the island. And had the best ribs in town. “I’m sorry; I hope I’m not embarrassing you.” She picked up her napkin and wiped her hands.
“You’re not embarrassing me. I did a little research and found out what Southern girls like. Guess I got it right.”
Charm seeped from him. Right along with sincerity. An odd pairing. “Fry it or barbecue it and we eat it.”
“Tell me about growing up in the South, Riley.”
He picked up another rib and took a bite. But his eyes came straight back to her. They had been on her all night. And she had determined about thirty minutes ago that if there were going to be eyes on her, she’d couldn’t think of any she would rather have than these. She shook
her head. “It is a world all its own. In the South all girls ‘come out.’” They both laughed at that. “That’s too long a story for this pile of ribs. Fathers are icons. Mothers are . . . How shall we say it? Involved.”
He laughed. “Involved? That is new to me. Do you go home often?”
“Haven’t been back since I left. But that’s because I needed to settle in here. I think my parents are coming to visit soon, and I’ve got some old demons back there I’m not ready to confront.” She gave a cautious laugh.
“Old demons?”
“Another long story.”
He raised his napkin and wiped his mouth. “One I hope you’ll tell me someday.”
Riley leaned back in the booth. Music from the jukebox played hits of the eighties. “Why have you been so persistent?”
He took a drink and leaned back. “Persistent? What do you mean?”
“About having dinner with me.”
She caught his coy grin. “I see something in you, Riley. Something I don’t see in many women.”
“What? I don’t swoon over you?” His expression registered his uneasiness. Her words had been careless. She leaned forward quickly. “Sorry, Christian. I didn’t mean to insinuate that you are a womanizer. It’s just evident by the way women look at you that most find you extremely attractive.”
“Attraction is easy to come by, Riley. Depth, not so much.”
She laughed. “Okay, so now really why me?”
“I’ve watched you. Even when you didn’t know I was watching. The way you care for your guests. The way you care for Gabby. You have a way about you. A sensitivity that only comes from knowing pain. At least that’s what I’ve discovered. Most people are so self-absorbed because they’ve never really known what hurting was like. But once you know what it’s like to hurt, you’re different. Your compassion is richer. Your eyes are more aware. I see that in you. And one day I hope you’ll share some of that with me.”
She shook her head. “I doubt you could handle my story.”
He leaned in. “One day I hope you’ll trust me enough to try me.”
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