by Natalie Ann
“Everything looks pretty put together to me,” he said.
“That’s sweet. I suppose it does, but I sit here and keep looking around trying to decide what I need and have to buy. I’ve got a long list of stuff to get still.”
“No painting to be done?” he asked.
“You think I should paint?” she asked, frowning and looking around. “The previous owners did most of the painting not that long ago. I like the neutral colors.”
He was making a mess of this. “I didn’t mean it needed anything. Just that most people want to change things and make it their own. My sister, Meena, went nuts when she moved into her now husband’s house. Troy was fine with it after a while. He’s a pretty basic guy and Meena’s a bit more...bold.”
“That’s a nice description when I’m sure you wanted to say something else. Your best friend is married to her, right?”
“Yes. Troy Walker. He owns Walker Plumbing and Heating. Meena’s a hairdresser with her own salon. She’s got purple hair now.”
Robin laughed. “Well, now I know who to call if I need a plumber. I do need a haircut too. Maybe I’ll check out your sister’s place, but I’m happy with my brown hair.”
“I wasn’t trying to promote them,” he explained. “And I like your hair the color it is too. Though if you wanted to change the color that is your right.”
“I know. You’re just being nice. That’s the way you are. I like that about you.”
No man wanted to be told they were only nice, but since she followed it up with saying she liked that trait, he wasn’t going to complain.
“Thanks, I think. Anyway, I got you a plant, a bottle of wine, and chocolate. Guess I was trying to cover my bases.”
“And you did. Not only that, I insist that you let me cook you dinner as a thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Not just in the fast closing, but the fast divorce. You were there for me when so many weren’t. There were days I was so embarrassed over the situation and my emotional mindset. You never let me feel it though.”
“It wasn’t an easy position to be in for you. I understood your embarrassment, but you didn’t do anything wrong. It was sad and unfortunate. But it’s not unheard of either. Sometimes people just have a hard time being who they are for others.”
She angled her head at him, her hair falling over her shoulder, her brown eyes having gone soft, and his pulse started to race. “I feel like I can be myself around you.”
“I’m glad,” he said.
3
Take Control
The last thing Robin expected was to have Brian Dawson in her kitchen with a bottle of wine and some chocolates.
She’d been completely honest with him in that she felt like she could be herself. And as much as she wasn’t sure she was ready to venture into the dating world, the devil on her shoulder said exactly what Brian did. “You did nothing wrong.”
Nope. She’d been naive. She’d been blind. She’d been made a fool.
But now it was time for her to take control of her life.
And if that meant making the first move toward the tall, dark and sexy lawyer in front of her, then she was stepping out of her comfort zone and flinging her sweats and fuzzy slippers away.
Too many times in her life she’d sat back and let others not only walk all over her, but stomp on her until she was tiny crumbs on the ground being kicked away or left for a dog to snack on.
Not this time.
“So, is that a yes to dinner?” she asked. Then looked at the clock and realized it was only three. A little early. Not only that, she was trying to take a mental inventory of the food she had. She’d run to the store yesterday to get a few things but wasn’t sure there was anything fitting for a man. This might be a colossal mistake.
“I don’t want you to go out of your way,” he said. “Looks like you’ve been busy for the past few days.”
“I had most of it done on Thursday. Yesterday I walked around trying to figure out what I needed to purchase still and moving furniture. Most things just feel right, but then some rooms I can’t decide.”
“My sister says the same thing. I guess I’m more simple. I unpacked and where things ended up that is where they’ve stayed.”
“Where do you live?” she asked.
“I live in Colonie too. North Colonie. I’ve got a small place in a quiet neighborhood.”
“I lived in a quiet area before. Too quiet. I grew up with kids running around and neighbors talking and hanging out together. I think I need to find more of what I had.”
“You’ll get that here,” he said.
“I met my neighbors in the back a few days ago. The previous owner’s new wife and daughter. They came over and brought me a plant and some cookies.”
“Cookies?” he asked. “Guess you don’t need chocolate or another plant.”
“Please,” she said. “Chocolate is always welcome. Especially Krause. The cookies were great. Do you want one? I’ve got some left.”
“I wouldn’t mind a cookie,” he said.
She couldn’t tell if he was just humoring her or not. He hadn’t said yes to dinner either and she was starting to wonder if she was making an assumption that she shouldn’t be.
She’d sort of hoped that Brian was interested in her more than as a client, but maybe she was seeing something that wasn’t there. It’s not like she was that great of a judge of character after marrying Alex, causing her to doubt pretty much everything in her life now.
Once she had the plate in her hand, she moved closer to him, inhaling his fresh scent. Dang it, when was the last time she ever noticed a scent on a man if it wasn’t cologne? Never, that’s when.
Nor could she get his brown hair and dark eyes out of her mind. He was tall and thin but not scrawny. She wasn’t into bulky men or pretty ones. Alex was pretty and flashy and she had thought over and over why she fell for it.
Brian was simpler. Normal in his jeans and a cotton shirt. The type of man she had always been drawn to.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Do you want something to drink with it?” This would give her an idea of what was in her fridge since her mind was completely blank. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask him again about dinner either. She didn’t know what the heck to do right now.
“Water is good,” he said, taking a big bite out of the cookie. “These are out of this world. Man, if I had someone in my neighborhood baking like this I’d gain twenty pounds easily.”
She opened the fridge, saw the bag of shrimp she’d grabbed at the store and wondered what he’d think of scampi tonight. The white wine he’d brought would complement it well.
“You look good the way you are, but if you put a few pounds on, I’m sure you’d look great too.” He started to laugh. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“Not at all,” he said. “I guess I came over here to feel things out and I’m starting to wonder if you’re doing the same?”
“Maybe,” she said. “I’m kind of rusty if you can’t tell. I don’t even know what I want anymore, but wouldn’t mind getting to know you a bit better. Wait. Are you single?”
“Yes, I’m single,” he said. “I have been for a while.”
“I find that hard to believe. Can I ask why? I mean you know so much about me.”
“I don’t know much about you at all,” he said. “What I know is that you ended up in a rotten situation and got out with more class and respect than anyone else I’ve ever known. I know you work part time as a dental hygienist and that you spend time volunteering at an animal shelter. Not much more.”
“That’s quite a bit,” she said. Alex had hated the time she spent with the animals. He’d never wanted her to get a pet either, always complaining dogs were nasty and a commitment he didn’t want. She found it telling now what he felt about commitments.
“I guess it’s a start. You know where I live, my sister’s name, who she’s married to and what she does for a living. You even know she has a cousin by
marriage in this development.”
“I also know what you do for a living.”
He grinned and finished up his cookie, then opened his water and took a nice healthy sip, his head back, her eyes going toward his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. She was pretty sure she swallowed too.
“I’ve had my own firm for a few years,” he said, pulling out a stool and sitting down. She did the same. “I worked for a larger firm, got some experience but then knew it was time to move on. I didn’t like some of the politics of it all.”
“I’m glad I went with my gut with you for my divorce. A bigger firm would have gone after Alex’s balls. I wouldn’t have minded twisting them in a vise myself, but it wouldn’t have accomplished anything.”
“No. You did the right thing. To me that is more important than anything or anyone in my life.”
“So are you from this area?” she asked.
“I am. What about you? Are you from Saratoga?”
“No. Glens Falls, which isn’t much further away. My parents still live there, my brother lives in Palo Alto.”
“That’s a big change from the Adirondacks. What brought him there?”
“He’s a software developer for Google. He’s always wanted to get out of New York. I should have gone with him when he asked me, but I’m not a fan of earthquakes.”
He grinned. “I’ll have to agree with you there. Of course I’m not much of a fan of snow here either, but I’ll never leave. My family is here and it’s all I’ve ever known.”
“Most people want to get out and do things. Experience life. Move around. I always felt like the odd person out because I enjoyed being comfortable.”
Alex had hated that about her. He was always encouraging her to plan vacations and go on trips. Not even with him, but with her friends. He’d said he’d pay for it all. Now she suspected it was to get her out of town.
No, not going to think of her dickhead ex while she was spending time with someone else.
“I don’t mind going on a vacation or trying new things, but the truth is, I’ve got a business to run and I’ve had to put a lot of time into it. You could say some women don’t like that so much.”
“I understand. Alex hated the time I spent at the animal shelter, but when I argued he was always working, it seemed to fall on deaf ears.” She put her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I need to stop talking about him and I sure the heck don’t want to compare him to anyone.”
“No comparison. I can assure you there.”
She smiled, relaxing a bit more. “Good to know. So, do you like shrimp? Since you brought this lovely wine, I could cook with it and make a nice scampi. We could have a glass. Or are you going to make me be the loser who drinks by herself on her deck at night?”
“I think I can choke down a glass with dinner.” He held up the box of chocolates. “And we’ve got dessert. Guess this worked out better than I thought it would.”
“Then here’s to a nice night of conversation in my new house.”
“I can drink to that,” he said.
4
Challenging Myself
The two of them had been chatting back and forth and before they realized it, it was four thirty. “Can I help you with dinner?” he asked. “I actually like to cook.”
“That would be nice. You can de-vein the shrimp.”
He laughed. “Oh, you mean I get the job of cleaning out the poop shoot?”
She giggled and he found it endearing. She hadn’t laughed much, he’d noticed, when they’d been around each other. Probably because there wasn’t much in her life that was happy back then.
“Well, you asked if you could help. That would be pretty helpful.”
They stood up and went into the kitchen. He liked the amount of room there was to work. She pulled the shrimp from the fridge and then gave him the bag and a bowl.
He moved to the sink. “Do you have a small paring knife for me to get into the vein and flick it out?”
“That’s how I do it too,” she said, opening two drawers like she was trying to figure out where everything was and then handing that over too.
While he cleaned the shrimp, Robin pulled out a garlic bulb and started to peel and then smack it with the side of her knife. “You know what you’re doing,” he said. “I just take garlic out of a jar.”
“I’ve done that before too, but I enjoy challenging myself now. Not that this is a challenge.”
“Did you take any cooking lessons or teach yourself? Your mother?” he asked. She was moving too efficiently around and she wasn’t that old. He’d seen her driver’s license. She’d just turned twenty-six recently.
“My mother taught me things. I guess I was home alone a lot during my marriage. I didn’t always like to go out but I enjoyed the food. I started to learn to make it myself.”
“That’s nice.” He almost said he was sure her ex appreciated it but caught himself in time. Talking about any ex was the way to ruin a date.
Not that this was a date, though it met the criteria of one.
“I know what you are thinking,” she said, smirking at him.
“What’s that?”
“That maybe Alex would have enjoyed that I did that for him? You can talk about him. Or not. I mean you’re the only one who knows what really happened. Well, not everything. No one knows everything.”
Which made him wonder what else she endured. He wouldn’t ask though. “I just thought if it were me, I’d love if my significant other made the effort for me.”
“He did enjoy it, when he was home. Which wasn’t often. He worked a lot and I understood that.”
No use saying that her ex was probably screwing around on her the entire time they were together. He’d bet any money on it. “So you ended up cooking for yourself then?” he asked.
“I did. I enjoy it. I know a lot of people don’t always like making big meals if they are single, but the truth is, I enjoy well-cooked food. I would have made this for myself and then just had it leftover or froze some of it for another meal.”
“You freeze cooked pasta?” he asked.
“You can freeze just about anything if you want to.” She opened her freezer and he started to laugh.
“Wow. Guess you are pretty organized.”
There were containers and air sealed packages all labeled and lined up. “Looks like you don’t need to cook for a long time.”
“It’s a ton of fruits and vegetables. I like fresh farm stuff if I can get it. Which is only a few months a year for most things. So I bought what I could and cooked or froze the rest.”
“Smart,” he said. He wanted to say economical, but money wasn’t an issue for her. Yet you wouldn’t know that looking around.
She’d paid cash for this house, which was only a tiny fraction of the settlement she got. She still worked and dental hygienists made decent money to begin with, even if she only worked part time.
Her SUV was an average run of the mill, nothing flashy or overly expensive. Even her clothing didn’t scream millionaire.
She didn’t like eyes on her and he could appreciate that fact, as he wasn’t too thrilled when they were on him either. There had been plenty in his life.
“I’m simple. I guess that’s always been a problem for some, but I can’t change who I am at the core of things nor do I want to.”
“And you shouldn’t,” he said. “Shrimp is all done. Now what?”
“Now you sit down and relax. After you wash your hands again. I don’t think you want to smell like fish all night.”
“Very true.” He’d already washed them once but held them to his face and the scent still lingered there.
“Why don’t you open this bottle of wine and pour us each a glass. This is a fast and easy dinner to make.”
“Once the shrimp are cleaned,” he pointed out.
“And I had you here to do that for me.”
She opened two more drawers, found a bottle opener, then went to a glass-covered cabinet and grabbed two gl
asses.
Hot water was in a pan on the stove. “Have a sip. Hope it’s fine?”
“You can’t go wrong with a chardonnay. I’m a white wine drinker. I don’t drink it often, but red has never been my thing unless I’m putting it in spaghetti sauce. Then I hope I have someone over to drink the rest or I end up trying to find food to make with the remaining bottle.”
“I can have a glass of wine anytime. I’m not a snob about it, but I’d rather have a beer.”
“What do you drink?” she asked. “I’ll make sure I get some to have here.” She paused when she said that. “Sorry. Jumping the gun. Ignore that.”
“It’s nice. I drink a variety of things. This time of year a nice craft stout hits the spot.”
She opened another drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. “There, I wrote it down. If you want to put some brands there, that would help.”
He couldn’t remember the last time any woman went out of their way to find out what he liked and made a note of it. Least of all the first time they were together.
He did as she’d said and then sat back on the barstool and watched her cook. The water was boiling so she dumped the pasta in, then put a pan on the stove and got to work on the shrimp.
Less than ten minutes later they both had a plate and were sitting on her deck. The sun was setting, it was quiet, and it was almost romantic.
By nine they’d talked about so much but not a ton of their personal lives, more about the area, things to do, hobbies they liked and so on.
They’d finished off the bottle of wine, they’d had a few chocolates each, and now he figured he should take his leave.
“I hadn’t expected this tonight when I stopped over with a house warming gift.”
“I’m glad you did though. Can I be honest with you?”
“Always,” he said.
“I was hoping I’d run into you again. I thought this might be my only shot and I took it.”
“Then I guess that makes two of us that were happy I came here.”