by Violet Howe
It would have been the perfect first kiss. The stars above us, the moon lighting up the night, the faint strains of classical music in the background. And me, completely uninhibited and ready to take the next step toward womanhood.
I leaned toward him a little, uncertain of how the mechanics of a kiss played out having never done it, but certain that I wanted him to be the one.
He hesitated, and when his lips parted more with a flick of his tongue, I damned near moaned out loud. But then he leaned back before we made contact and swore softly under his breath.
“Maggie, I….“
Sensing the moment was slipping away, I moved closer, determined to make it happen.
He frowned, and turned his head just as Sandy joined us on the patio.
“Alberto said I’d find you out here,” she said, coming to stand in front of us with her hands on her hips. “Mr. Tucker, nice to see you again.”
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Gerry said, rising as he offered her his hand to shake.
“This is my best friend, Sandy. Sandy, Gerry.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder and crossed my arms, irritated with Alberto and Sandy for being such total killjoys, and feeling more than a little rejected by Gerry’s refusal to kiss me.
“Maggie, you have a doctor’s appointment pretty early in the morning, so I was thinking we should head out,” she said, the terseness of her voice only irritating me more.
“What? What time is it?” I asked, looking at my wrist even though I wasn’t wearing a watch.
“It’s almost eleven-thirty. We need to go.”
Gerry cleared his throat. “I’ll get your crutches.”
“No, I don’t need to go,” I said, wincing as I stood up and put more weight on my left foot than I’d intended.
His hand was underneath my arm immediately, and I gave him a half-smile, feeling awkward again after our botched encounter.
“I’ll be right back,” he said softly, nodding to me and to Sandy before he left.
She stepped forward as soon as he was out of earshot, talking low so no one else would hear her words. “Alberto said you’re drunk. He said that man has been giving you champagne all night.”
“I’m not drunk!”
“Shh! Hush. People are staring.”
I glanced around us to see several sets of eyes upon me, but they all looked away quickly. “So, I had a couple of glasses of champagne. I’m an adult.”
Sandy rolled her eyes. “Yes. An adult who doesn’t normally drink. What did Lucas give you before you left the theater? What if you weren’t supposed to mix that with alcohol?”
“He didn’t say not to.”
“Probably because he didn’t think he had to. Who in their right mind would go get drunk in front of so many important people? After taking painkillers and having no idea — “
Her voice cut off when Gerry returned with the crutches.
He gingerly placed them under my arms and helped me get them situated.
“I’ll see you inside,” I said to Sandy. “Give me a minute?”
She stood still, and I thought for a moment she wasn’t going to move, but then she turned with a huff and left us.
“Let me guess,” Gerry said. “She’s just looking out for you, too? Your friends are very vigilant. Either I look much scarier than I thought, or you must have a reputation for falling victim to shady characters. Is it me?”
“No, it’s not you. I just…well, I normally don’t drink.”
Gerry chuckled. “I kind of guessed that, but it was too late. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have gotten you whatever you wanted.”
I prayed the moonlight would hide the embarrassment that crept into my cheeks and painted them red. “Was it that obvious?”
His smile was kind. “Not at all. You were absolutely adorable.”
I rolled my eyes and groaned. Adorable was definitely not the look I’d been going for.
He stepped closer and put his hands on either side of my waist, touching his forehead to mine.
“Oh, Maggie. You make me wish we could escape time. That we could stop the clock and keep it from moving forward.”
He moved to press his lips against my forehead and I leaned into him, wanting so much more. He pulled back and stared into my eyes, making me dizzy again.
“I don’t have to go,” I whispered.
“But I do,” he said, his voice breaking as though he was in pain. “I would give anything to—”
“You coming?” Sandy asked from the doorway, and I waved her away without even looking at her.
Gerry took a step back, and I shivered at the cool air that rushed between us. He took my hand and brought it to his lips, bowing again without ever looking away from my eyes.
“Good night, Maggie,” he said. “I know now why the willow weeps, for it senses there is one on the planet far more graceful and beautiful than it could ever be. Thank you for tonight.”
He released my hand and walked away with my heart.
Sandy must have been watching because she stepped out on the patio the moment he was out of sight.
I hobbled past her without a word, waiting to unleash my frustration once we were in the elevator alone.
“God! Could you be any more annoying? I might as well have had my mother here,” I growled.
“If your mother was here you wouldn’t have been drinking all night and flirting with a total stranger.”
“How is he a total stranger? Ernesto knows him! He introduced him to me.”
“Ernesto knows he has money. He’d sell his left arm for a price. Besides, Ernesto didn’t tell you to go make out with him on the patio.”
My mouth dropped open. “I didn’t make out with him on the patio. What are you talking about?”
“You two sure looked cozy when I came out there. Don’t you think he’s a little old for you?”
The thought had never really occurred to me. “Too old? Why? How old do you think he is? I’m nineteen, Sandy. Hello?”
“I don’t know how old he is, but if he’s flying all over the country providing financial backing for shows, then he must have been in business for a while. He looks old. He’s probably, like, thirty or something.”
“So now you’re upset that he’s wealthy? I can’t believe you. For the first time, I’m actually interested in someone, and rather than be happy for me, you and Alberto both seem pissed off. You’re totally overreacting. I’ve never been so embarrassed.”
She held the elevator door while I maneuvered out with my crutches.
“You’ve also never been drunk. Or fawned all over somebody before.”
“I wasn’t fawning over anyone,” I said as she gave the valet her address for the taxi.
She whirled back around so fast it made my head spin, though that might have been due to my state at the time.
“Everyone at the party was whispering, Maggie. Talking about how tipsy you were and how you seemed so smitten with Gerry Tucker. So, forgive Berto and me if we’re a bit concerned to see our best friend acting totally out of character. I’m sorry if we cramped your night by not wanting anything to happen to you. I thought that was kind of what friends do.”
The valet held the taxi door open and Sandy motioned for me to get in.
Humiliation, pain, and anger roiled with the nausea that had set in, and I wanted it all to go away.
“I’ll get my own taxi,” I said, lifting my chin in defiance. “I’m going back to my place.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said as she went to the other side of the car. “All your stuff’s at my apartment already, and I’m supposed to get you to the doctor in the morning. Just get in.”
She slammed the taxi door, and I hobbled over and got in to ride in silence.
9 AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
“Can you believe this lady has been my best friend since we were ten years old?” Sandy asked the waiter who was refilling our wine glasses. “I’m not about to tell you how many years that’s been, but t
rust me. We’ve been together a while.”
We both laughed and clinked our wine glasses together as the waiter flashed us a disinterested smile and walked away, probably rolling his eyes as he went.
“Seems like a lifetime ago,” I said before taking a big sip of wine.
“It was a lifetime ago. We were eight when we met, right? But we weren’t friends until…what was that other girl’s name? The one who pushed me down?”
“Natalie. How could you forget her name?”
Sandy set her wine glass down and slapped her hands on her thighs. “Natalie! That’s right! I probably blocked her out of my mind somehow. She was vile, and I was terrified of her. I don’t remember now what I’d done to provoke her that day—”
“She told you to put your bag on the floor so she could hang hers on your hook, and you told her no,” I said.
Sandy opened her mouth in surprise. “You’re right. How do you remember this? I remember now that you say it, but God. That was what? Almost forty years ago? How is that even possible? How is that forty years ago?”
I shook my head in disbelief and took another drink of wine to ease the pain of reality.
“I tell you what I do remember,” Sandy said, pointing her finger at me. “I remember you marching across that dressing room with your hands on those narrow little hips, and you told her to back off. When you stretched your hand out to help me up, and you glared at her over your shoulder, I tell you what. You earned a friend for life right at that moment.” She lifted her wine glass to me, and I raised mine to meet hers.
“The best friend a girl could ever have!” I winked at her. “I think I got the better end of the deal, to tell the truth.”
Sandy laughed. “Natalie transferred to that other school in South Beach, remember? Oh, oh—and do you remember when we saw her the day of auditions for Miami? She kept glaring at us and talking behind her hand to the other girls from her school.”
“I remember.”
“I would have loved to have seen her face when she saw we both made it in and she didn’t. To Miami City Ballet! And Natalie!”
She lifted her glass, and we toasted again.
“I’m so happy you’re moving back to Orlando,” I said, my heart filling my chest and the warmth of the wine coloring my cheeks. “Not that Atlanta’s that far away, but we’ll be able to see each other more often if we’re in the same town.”
Sandy finished off her wine and motioned the waiter over for another refill.
“I’m excited, too, I guess,” she said as the waiter poured. “I mean, it’s a no-brainer for Hannah’s career. It’s not like she could turn down such a big promotion. I don’t know yet how this will work out for me. Orlando has several well-established floral designers. I’ve spent twelve years building a reputation and a clientele in Atlanta, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me nervous to uproot all that and start over.”
I put my hand over my glass and shook my head at the waiter’s offer for more.
“Nonsense. You’ll do great here! There’s year-round wedding activity and a ton of convention hotels. You already have some clients here, and I’m sure you’ll be able to keep some of those from Atlanta, won’t you?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I will. I do feel better now that I found a great facility. I can’t wait to show it to you.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” I said as my phone vibrated on the table. I recognized Dax’s number from his call earlier, and a flutter of excitement danced in my chest. “Do you mind if I take this?”
I didn’t wait for her response, putting the phone up to one ear as I pressed my finger into the other to block out the background noise of the restaurant’s dinner crowd.
“This is Maggie.”
“Well, hello there. Dax here. I guess I owe you another apology. Sorry about this afternoon. I didn’t realize it was gonna take so long for pictures.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry for bolting without saying goodbye. I needed to get back to the office.”
I turned my head to avoid Sandy’s intense gaze.
“No problem. You mentioned you’d been out all morning, so I understand you couldn’t wait. But I would like to take you to lunch to make it up to you.”
My initial happy reaction was immediately drowned out by reservation. I dropped my head back and closed my eyes.
“That’s so kind of you, but it isn’t necessary. Really. I grabbed a taxi and made it back fine.”
“All right, then can I take you to lunch just because I’d like to see you again?”
I smiled as I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers, my eyes still closed. “Oh. Um.”
Sandy kicked me under the table, and my eyes popped open to look at her.
“Who is that?” she mouthed.
I waved her off, turning in my chair so I couldn’t see her.
Dax cleared his throat. “Unless, of course, you don’t—”
“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just a busy week at work. I’ve got a lot of meetings and going out to lunch pulls me away from the office. Everything gets backed up.”
Sandy leaned around the table and snapped her fingers to get my attention. “Who is that?” she mouthed, audibly that time.
I frowned at her.
“Got it,” Dax said, his voice quieter. “No problem. I just figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“No, right. I mean, I’m glad you did. I just…it’s busy, that’s all.”
My cheeks, already warm from the wine, flushed hot as I realized how badly I was botching the phone call.
“Okay, well I tell ya what,” he said. “My calendar is usually pretty flexible, so when you see you have an opening, give me a call, and we’ll grab lunch.”
“Sounds good. Thanks for calling.”
“Enjoy your evening,” Dax said, and I could picture him smiling as he said it.
I smiled back.
“You, too. Thanks again.”
I stared at the phone for a moment with the oddest sensation of missing his voice.
“Who. Was. That?” Sandy asked, sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed as she grinned at me.
“Oh,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ear and avoiding eye contact. I still wasn’t sure why Dax Pearson affected me the way he did, and the last thing I wanted was a million questions from the person who knew me better than anyone. “It was something to do with Galen’s wedding.”
“What? No,” Sandy said. “There’s something you’re not telling me. C’mon, spit it out.”
“What? It was the guy who owns the ranch where Galen is thinking of having her wedding. Why are you being so weird?” I put my silverware on my plate to signify I was done and folded my napkin on the table.
Sandy laughed. “Why am I being weird? Why are you being weird?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
"Oh my gosh, Maggie! Just tell me already. Who is he?" She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, playfully cupping her hands behind her ears. “I’m all ears.”
I downed the remainder of the wine in my glass. “No one. I swear you’re barking up the wrong tree. It’s just the guy that owns the ranch.”
“Why would he ask you to lunch? And where did you see him earlier today?”
I met her eyes for the first time since I’d ended the call. “Am I being interrogated? What, are you my mother?”
She laughed again and waved the waiter over for more wine.
I shook my head. “No, Sandy. No more wine. You only have to walk to the hotel elevator. I have to get in my car and drive home.”
“So, stay here with me, and we can have a slumber party while you tell me who this guy is that makes your entire face light up when you take his call. And you took his call, by the way. That was the first clue. You never interrupt our dinners to take a call unless it’s from one of the kids.”
“It was about the kids! It was for Galen’s wedding.”
She watched the waiter
pour the wine in our glasses and then motioned for him to leave the bottle on the table. “Not buying it, Mags. You forget who you’re talking to? I know you, lady. I’ve never seen that look on your face when your phone rang. You were practically giddy. Which brings me to my next question, even though you haven’t answered my others so far. Why did you turn him down for lunch?”
“How do you know he asked me out to lunch?”
She tapped her ears. “Did you forget what good ears I have, Little Red Riding Hood? It was tough to make out with the background noise, but I caught the gist of it.”
“You’re terrible.”
“And you’re holding out on me. You didn’t tell me you met someone! Spill it. Who is this guy?”
“I already told you. He owns the ranch.” I took another sip of wine, despite my protests before he poured it.
“You’ve said that. Where did you see him earlier today?”
“Well, Mom, if you must know, we both attended a luncheon at the hospital.”
“Ah. So why don’t you want to go to lunch with him?”
I sighed and waited as our waiter cleared the dishes from the table, politely refusing his offer for dessert.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I told her when he’d left.
“Why? Is he hideous?”
Dax’s wet torso flashed through my mind with a brief glimpse of his grin, and I laughed.
“No. Definitely not hideous. Far from it.”
She nodded, and I blushed under her scrutiny and the additional glass of wine.
“No personality?”
I recalled our brief conversations with a smile.
“Oh, he’s got plenty of personality.”
“How old is he?”
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “This is why I’m glad you never had children, Sandra. They would hate dating under you.”
“You didn’t answer. What? Is he a lot younger? Older?”
I looked to the ceiling and smiled. “No. I don’t know. I don’t think so. He looks to be our age.”
“Well, hell, at our age, that could be a range of forty to sixty depending on how well he’s held up.”
My mind replayed him pulling his shirt over his head, and I grinned. “He’s held up pretty damned well, but I’d say from the salt in his hair and the lines at his eyes that he’s gotta be pretty close to us.”