Boyfriend for Hire

by Gail Chianese

  Grabbing her silk robe, Tawny headed for the coffeepot. Since she had time, she might as well make breakfast and enjoy it on her too-frequently-ignored patio while she tried to figure out what the hell she was doing. Of course, she might be jumping the gun. David hadn’t said anything about a repeat performance. Heck, he barely remembered to kiss her good-bye. Not that she was mad over the slip. Now if he hadn’t told her about his ADD, she would have been pissed, being thrown aside like day-old fish.

  What woman wouldn’t after the night they’d shared? Meticulously loved, practically worshipped for hours. No erogenous zone left unexplored; touched, tortured and driven to the point of no return and beyond. Yeah, how could she get mad after a night like that? She had way too many endorphins swimming through her system to do more than hum and walk around with a Cheshire cat grin on.

  With a cup of coffee in her hand, she wandered over to her closet and scanned the contents, looking for the right outfit to match her mood. Something with flowers, that flowed and . . . whoa! An image of her dressed in white, with flowers petals floating to the ground, brought all thought and action to a halt. Instead she grabbed her yellow pencil skirt and red silk blouse. She had no business thinking those kinds of thoughts. Actually, now that she’d had a few minutes for her head to clear of raging pheromones, Jason’s call had come at the perfect time. Being with David was a bad idea. A surefire way to get her heart broken.

  Jumping into the shower, she let the hot water sluice over her body to drown the images running through her mind. What was she doing? David’s best friend was marrying her best friend in less than two months. Could she see herself with him a year from now? Five years? Over the past six months David had been linked to no less than four different women, proving he wasn’t long-term material. A couple weeks at best, so what did that leave her? A broken heart was only part of it.

  “Could you imagine the get-togethers?” she asked to no one as she dried off.

  Cherry, Jason, Brody with whomever, and David with his current squeeze, and her trying to explain to the love of her life how she and David used to date, and no, it wasn’t awkward at all to see him with someone else. Pure BS! She’d already felt her blood pressure skyrocket at the bakery when the human Barbie plastered herself against David and locked lips. No, getting involved with David was a very bad idea. As a matter of fact, it was time for them to officially end their fictional relationship.

  When she got to work she’d start to lay the groundwork, mention her worry that all was not well in Paradise.

  The phone rang as she slipped on her red pumps. A fleeting, hopeful, wrong thought went through her head that it might be David. Caller ID squashed that hope like a bug when she saw her parents’ number.

  “Mija, you’re coming to dinner Friday night. Five sharp. No excuses this time.” Her mother’s voice was as firm as an iron bar. “The whole family will be there to celebrate Cherry and Jason’s wedding.”

  Tawny sat on the edge of her bed this could take some time. “The whole family? Even Dante?” She doubted her brother was flying in for a picnic and then again in two months.

  “Of course not. You know he can’t get leave until right before the wedding, but Mateo is bringing a special friend. He won’t say anything else about her. I don’t even know her name or what she does for a living. Where is she from? Has he told you anything?”

  Yep, like it wasn’t a she, but a he who he’d be bringing home. She wasn’t stupid enough to be the one to open that box for her brother, though, and planned on keeping her mouth shut. “Nope. I didn’t even know he was seeing someone.”

  “Hmm. Do you think he’s serious?” her mother prodded.

  “Well, if he’s bringing someone home to meet you and Dad, I’d say yes.” None of the Torres children brought their girlfriends or boyfriends home. They all knew to do so would send their mother straight into planning mode.

  “You think I should invite Father Patricio?”

  “Mom, don’t you dare. And you know his name is Father Pat, not Patricio. He’s not even Latino.” Tawny began to pace across the small space between her bed and the bathroom. Should she warn Matty? Let him know Mom had slipped into the crazy she-wants-more-grandkids-and-will-do-anything-to-get-them mode? Nah. If she was focused on Matty, then she wouldn’t be focused on Tawny.

  Her mother harrumphed into the phone, her way of swearing. “You don’t know everything, missy. Father Patricio’s great-great-great grandmother came to America from Spain.”

  By way of Portugal, although Tawny decided to keep that tidbit to herself; she wasn’t technically out of the doghouse for her last open-mouth-insert-foot episode. “Interesting. Mama, I hate to cut it short, but I need to get to work for a meeting.” Liar, liar . . . Thank goodness she wasn’t wearing pants or they’d be on fire.

  “You’ll be here Friday?”

  “Of course.”

  “You should invite Ivan. Such a nice man. Handsome. Smart. Good job. You could do a lot worse.”

  The woman didn’t know the first thing about subtlety. Why didn’t she come out and say David’s name? It had been crystal clear to Tawny her mom’s opinion of David the day they ran into her outside of the bakery. Had Ivan had his hands on Tawny’s derrière, her mother would have clapped with glee. Well, okay, maybe she wouldn’t have been thrilled. They were in public, and her mother disapproved of PDAs of any kind. Still, she’d bet her favorite pumps her mom wouldn’t have used the same icy tone she’d spoken to David with.

  “Mom, you don’t bring a man you barely know to a family get-together, especially not one celebrating a wedding. Besides, I don’t think Ivan likes me. I’m not really his type.” Tawny glanced at the alarm clock. Her free time was now gone; if she didn’t get off the phone soon, she’d miss her meeting.

  “Mija, don’t be silly. Of course he likes you. What man wouldn’t? He told me himself you two had a wonderful date and he couldn’t wait to see you again.” Her mother’s voice took on that note, the one that told Tawny she was doomed and arguing wouldn’t do any good. Not that it ever stopped her before.

  “We had a cup of coffee and talked for ten minutes. I think he said something about wanting to move back to Cuba or wherever he’s from.” An outright lie, but hey, all is fair in love and war and survival.

  Her mom sucked in air so fast she whistled into the phone. “We’ll see about that. No man is taking my baby girl out of the country.”

  Tawny smiled as she said her good-byes and hung up. One problem solved. Now to rid herself of one pretend boyfriend and get back to being single.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The rest of the week zipped by, which was both good and bad in Tawny’s mind. Good, actually great because she scored three new clients (on her own, thank you very much) and the bosses were thrilled with her work. Bad because it meant she was now parked in front of her parents’ house dreading going in. Her dad had spoken no more than ten words (“hi” and “bye”) to her since the foot-in-mouth dinner six weeks ago. His response to her new job had been a grunt.

  Her mother had the opposite reaction, thrilled because of all the contacts she’d make in the wedding business. Yeah, Tawny knew exactly where her mom’s mind had gone. Maybe if Tawny planned other people’s weddings, she’d start dreaming of her own. Fat chance. If anything, eloping (someday) sounded better and better, especially after she’d dealt with Camellia’s momster today.

  Right now, Tawny put all of the negative thoughts away. Tonight was all about celebrating her best friend’s upcoming nuptials. Not really a bridal shower or an engagement party, but Cherry meant as much to her parents as Tawny did to Cherry’s family, and it was the end of summer. Roll them all together and it was the perfect excuse for her mom to throw a get-together. Not that Katia Torres needed a reason.

  Tawny took a couple of minutes to tame her hair—the humidity was killing her—and fix her lipstick before getting out of her Mini Cooper. A quick scan confirmed she was, for once, not the last to arrive. Ma
teo’s sports car was missing. George’s minivan sat in the driveway (suck-up that he was). Behind it was the Ryans’ Honda, and on the street, in front of Tawny, sat Jason’s truck. Looked like Tawny wasn’t the only one parked for a quick getaway.

  This time Tawny headed straight to the backyard. If Grams was already here, she’d be in the kitchen with Tawny’s mom. Unlike her mother who would put her to work, Grams liked an empty kitchen when she was cooking. Totally fine with Tawny. It’d been a long week and an even longer day, and she just wanted to relax and have fun for a change. No cares, no responsibility, a night to chill. Walking through the gate she spotted the man-circle with her dad, his mini-me (her brother George), Jason, and Gramps, which brought a smile to her face.

  As the gate slammed shut, Gramps looked up, breaking into a smile. “There’s my girl. Come and give me a hug and tell me about your new job.”

  He really was the best, even if he did tend to go off his rocker at times.

  She headed over to do exactly as she’d been told, trying to ignore the fact that her own father hadn’t said a word or even looked at her. Before she could reach the men, she was attacked by the munchkins, also known as her nephews Danny and Tommy. A few minutes of spinning them around, chasing after them, and tickling them until they couldn’t breathe and she not only needed a cold drink and fan, but also had a renewed respect for her sister-in-law.

  Reaching Gramps, she gave him a hug and big smooch on the cheek. “Sorry I haven’t stopped by lately. The new job is going great. Coworkers are fun and helpful. Some of the clients are crazy. You’d like them.”

  He swatted her on the rump. “Just wait, lassie. One day you’ll learn the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune.”

  She patted his cheek as the lilt he’d never lost got a little deeper and the sparkle in his eyes dimmed for a minute. “Gramps, you’re not old, just nuts, but we still love you. Check this out, this is right up your alley. Got a call from a man who wanted to book a fiftieth wedding anniversary party. He wanted the guests to line up on the beach waiting as he and his bride parasailed in. Sounds great, right? Except for the part where his wife is deathly terrified of not only heights, but also the ocean. Told me if that didn’t kill the nag off, nothing would.”

  “Hmm, wonder if Kitty would be willing to go parasailing?” Gramps mused.

  The group broke out into laughter, as everyone knew he worshipped his wife and would be lost without her.

  “Daniel, you better watch out. Kitty might cut your strings in mid-flight.” George warned. “Hey, sis, thanks for sending your coworker, Phil, to the restaurant. We’re catering his retirement party.”

  She made her way around the circle, checking with Jason that he’d booked the band for the reception and at his thumbs-up turned to her father. “Hi, Dad, yard’s looking great.” His pet project, “the yard,” was sure to get a response from him. The man could talk for hours about seed, fertilizer, and aeration methods.

  “You should go help your mother in the kitchen. She’s not as young as she thinks and works way too hard,” Dad said.

  Tawny nodded and headed across the lawn, quiet as a wise owl, or at least that’s what she was trying to be. Wise. Because to do what she wanted fell into the unwise category, and she was still in trouble from last time. Her sister-in-law Alex and Cherry exited the kitchen door as she reached the steps. They didn’t even get a hello out before Alex had to take off and stop the boys from digging up their grandfather’s prize roses.

  Cherry grabbed her and pulled her to the side. “Something you want to tell me?”

  “We can talk later. I’ve been ordered to the kitchen.” She stepped up to go inside when Cherry stopped her.

  “Can’t. We’ve been banned from the kitchen. Personally, I think the two of them use this time to gossip about the men. So back to that thing you wanted to tell me.” She emphasized “thing,” telling Tawny her friend knew something, but what?

  Tawny searched her brain, coming up with either David or the bank. Crap. Neither of which she felt like talking about with her family running around. “Hmm, been a crazy week. Care to give me a clue? Did I forget to do something for the wedding? You got my message George insists on catering the reception, right?” Now her mind whirled around a million possible “things.”

  Cherry waved her hand to shut Tawny up. “Everything’s on track for the wedding. We’re fine with George cooking, but only if he leaves the actual work on the day of to his staff, which I’ve already told him. This is a day for family to celebrate with us, not work. No, I’m referring to your new man.”

  New man? And they say women gossip. She’d have to kill him later. “Don’t have one.”

  “Really?” At the blank look Tawny gave her, Cherry let out an exasperated sigh and pulled her farther away from nosy ears. “Really? That’s your final answer? Even to me, your BFF?”

  “Honestly, if I were in a relationship, you’d be the first, okay, the second person . . . or would that be third?”

  “Tawny, focus.”

  “Sorry, you’d be the first person I’d tell.”

  Her friend glanced around the yard and dropped her head close. “Then how come Grams told me Sunday that you and Dave were an item now? Oh, and you have her full blessing.”

  “She told you Sunday?” The lightbulb finally illuminated Tawny’s brain and the story clicked into place. “Oh, shoot. She and Mama came upon us after we left the bakery. David was pretending to be my boyfriend because that’s who Kerri is using for the DeSalvo wedding.”

  “Fine.” Cherry’s back went rigid, her shoulders tightened as she pulled them back, and the smile disappeared.

  “Say it. What’s on your mind?”

  “It’s obviously none of my business, but if you want to keep your relationship with Dave a secret, you should have him park somewhere other than in front of your house. Especially when he doesn’t come home until morning.”

  “Dios. Look, it’s not what it seems. I got this epic assignment, and to thank him for helping me land the job, I made him dinner.”

  “I take it it was a twelve-course meal with dessert?”

  Laughter bubbled up and she smiled for the first time since her father’s snub. “I lost count.”

  “And you didn’t call and tell me? What happened to the girlfriend code? When one experiences hot sex and multiple orgasms, one must call and spill all to their BFF. It was hot, right?”

  “Smoking. We’re talking inferno.” Tawny leaned against the house as her legs turned to Jell-O remembering the night. “Look, chica, I know you like David. The thing is, I think it was only a one-night stand.”

  “Really? Because he’s not looking at you like he only wants it to be for one night. I’d say he has the look of a very hungry man, and I don’t think there’s anything on tonight’s menu that will satisfy his craving. If you know what I mean.”

  Tawny glanced over to the man-circle to see David exchanging greetings. He might have been talking to her brother as they shook hands, but his eyes were on her. And Oh. My. Gawd. Cherry nailed his look. Heat coursed through her body, scorching every nerve.

  “Look, you don’t have to talk about what happened. Everyone is allowed some secrets, even from their best friends, and not every decision has to be made by committee. Actually, the best ones are usually those that come from the heart. Follow yours, Tawny. It may surprise you and lead you to exactly where you need and want to be.”

  For a second Tawny glanced back at her friend, saw the playful look had been replaced by a softer, knowing smile. Glancing back to the man in question, she felt her heart tug in his direction. “You think he’s the one?”

  “I don’t know. I do know he’s been crazy about you for months, that he keeps you off balance, which is fabulous. There’s also more to him than meets the eye.”

  She hugged Cherry and told her thanks. Cherry had made her own share of mistakes, not following her gut and worrying about what everyone else thought instead of what her heart t
old her. Thankfully, a few months ago her heart won out and she gave Jason a second chance. Never had Tawny seen her friend as happy as she’d been since then. Both women wanted the same thing, a love like her parents and Cherry’s grandparents had. A person who knew what he wanted, and what he wanted was her. A love strong enough to stand the trials life threw their way, and at the end of the day they wanted nothing more than to turn to each other and hold on tight for the next wave.

  “Let’s go see what our guys are up to, shall we?” Tawny asked.

  “Sounds . . . Oh, chica, I think your night just got very interesting.” Cherry rolled her eyes in the direction of the kitchen door.

  Tawny turned to see what had got her attention and froze. Her mother descended the steps. At her side, holding her arm like a gallant knight, was a man with chiseled cheeks, a deep tan, and beach blond highlights.

  Dios, she was going to jail, because someone was dying tonight, and right now it looked to be her mother. At her side stood no knight. Well, maybe a black knight. Sir Ivan the Sexy Sexist.

  “I take it you didn’t know he would be here. What are you going to do?”

  “Don’t suppose I could feign being sick, do you?”

  “No.”

  “Well then, I haven’t the foggiest idea. So I better pull up my big-girl thong and say hello.” She stopped in her tracks and grabbed Cherry’s arm. “If my mother so much as mentions marriage and my name in the same sentence, you’re going to have a sudden appendicitis attack. Got it?”

  “Sure,” Cherry agreed.

  “Hey, did you invite Denise tonight?” Tawny asked.

  “Shh. She doesn’t want anyone to know yet, but she’s in LA, auditioning.”

  “Get out. Finding Mr. Right or Love in Shangri-La?” The woman had treated Cherry’s grandmother a few months back, and the three of them had run into each other again. Over coffee and gossip about the men, the women had become fast friends. The only drawback was that Denise and Brody had a history, a very-serious-we’re-getting-married history.