“Oh,” Serena said. “Right. Well, thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
Serena made sure she had her purse and all her things. She picked up the vase of flowers and sat down in the wheelchair as Lance came back into the room.
“Ready?” he said.
“You paid for my room upgrade,” she said.
He smiled and looked down at the floor. Serena could have sworn he blushed. “It was the least I could do,” he said. “It was my store you were injured in. I guess I was hoping you wouldn’t sue.”
She laughed and they left the room. He pushed her to the elevator, and they went to the lobby. He parked the chair by the door while he went to get her car from the garage. While she waited, she wondered about the handsome man. She was a total stranger, yet he’d been so kind to her. Of course, he’d also taken off all her clothes while she’d been unconscious. Context, Serena, she said to herself. But she wondered why he was doing this. Was he just trying to get into her pants? The way she reacted to him, she didn’t think he’d have too much trouble. She should just try to stay away. No relationship, casual or serious, was worth the pain that would inevitably come later.
Lance pulled her little Volkswagen Beetle up to the curb, and she stifled a laugh as she watched him unfold his tall frame from the driver’s side. Sam hadn’t been kidding. Lance came and took her bag and put it into the trunk. Then he took her hand, helped her to the car, and set the flowers on her lap. He closed her door and returned the wheelchair to the lobby before squashing himself back in.
“Where to?” he asked.
Serena gave him the directions to her apartment and then they drove in silence. Serena was keenly aware of how close his hand came to her knee every time he switched gears. Her heart was pounding, and she had an odd rushing sound in her ears as the blood surged through her head. Just a side effect of the concussion, she thought. But the tension between them was palpable. Once or twice when she tried to sneak a glance at him, she found him sneaking glances at her, too. When they finally reached her building, Lance parked the car in her spot and then helped her out. “I’ll help you upstairs and then come back for the rest of your things.”
He slid an arm around her waist, and every point of contact felt as though it were burning. She decided to indulge herself a little and leaned against him. God, he smells good! She inhaled deeply, loving the scent of his aftershave. They made their way to the elevator and then rode up to her floor, still in silence.
“I’m home!” Serena called as they opened the door.
“Mom! Mom! Mom!” Sam yelled as he came barreling toward her from the living room.
“Whoa, buddy!” Lance said, holding his hand out to stop the boy. “You don’t want to knock her over.”
Sam slowed himself and then hugged her. “Hi, Lance. Do you want to see the fish tank?” he asked, and then he raced off again.
Lance chuckled. “Cute kid.”
“Most of the time,” Serena agreed. She set the flowers down on the dining room table and sat at one of the chairs while Lance went to look at the aquarium.
“Looks good, buddy,” she heard him say. “Did you put in the bacteria supplement?”
As Sam and Lance discussed the finer points of fish care, Serena sat and watched. Lisa sat down beside her. “He’s good with kids,” she said quietly.
“Don’t even start,” Serena said. “No relationships.”
“Serena, you’ve been by yourself for eight years. Don’t you think it’s time to find someone?”
“As long as I have batteries, I don’t need anyone.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” Lisa said. “But I don’t think this guy is going to let it go that easily. And I don’t think you want him to.”
Serena frowned. Was Lisa right?
Lance returned to the dining room. “I’ll go get your things,” he said. Serena nodded and watched his butt as he walked out the door. He was back soon enough. Serena found she was a little disappointed when he said he already had a cab on the way.
“Thank you for all your help,” she said.
“Anytime,” he replied. Their eyes met and held for a few moments before he disappeared out the door again.
“I need to get going, too,” Lisa said. “Do you need anything before I go?”
“No. Thanks for watching Sam.”
“No problem. Just try to keep yourself in one piece, okay?”
Serena spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch with her e-reader. She was a sucker for romance novels but didn’t like to keep print copies around in case her son found them. Her tastes ran more toward the explicit stuff. As she read, her mind kept wandering back to Lance, imagining him as her romantic hero who would sweep her off her feet and fuck her senseless, and then they’d live happily ever after.
Yeah, right. Happily ever after is a crock of shit.
But it was nice to dream.
Chapter 4
Serena awoke the next morning to Sam banging around in the kitchen. “Sam!” she called. “What are you doing?”
“Just a second!” he hollered back. He appeared at the door a moment later, carrying a plate with two pieces of toast slathered in peanut butter. He set it down on her nightstand. “Hold on! I’ll be back!” When he returned, he was walking carefully with a big mug, which he set down beside the plate.
“I wanted to make you breakfast in bed,” he said, hopping onto the bed to hug her.
Serena’s throat constricted and tears welled up in her eyes. How could this boy be so wonderful and thoughtful when his father was a total asshole? “Thanks, sweetie,” she said. The coffee had a bit too much sugar but she didn’t think she’d had a better cup in a long time. They sat together as she ate, watching cartoons on the TV in her room.
Finally she said, “Time to head off to school, sweetie.”
“But you’re staying home today. Why can’t I?” he whined.
“Because I need a day of peace,” Serena said. “I made your lunch last night. It’s in the fridge. Hurry up, because Jamie and his mom will be here soon to meet you.”
He grumbled and trudged off to get his things. Serena pulled on her bathrobe and went to stand with him at the door while they waited for Sam’s classmate.
“What happened to you?” Jamie’s mom exclaimed when they came down the hall.
“Mom fell at the fish store and hit her head,” Sam said.
“Oh my goodness! Are you all right?”
“She had to go to the hospital in an ambulance,” Sam told her.
Before Jamie’s mom could react again, Serena held up her hand. “It’s okay, Sandy. I have a concussion, so I’m just going to take a couple of days off, but I’ll be fine.”
“Well, if you need anything, let me know,” she said.
Serena thanked her and waved as they walked to the elevator. Then she locked the door and headed back to bed.
When Sam got home from school, he brought his homework into Serena’s room and sat on the floor beside the bed. He hadn’t been working long when they heard a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it!” Sam said, bounding off.
“Check through the peephole first!” Serena called after him. She listened and heard him squeal with delight as he opened the door. I guess I have to get up, she thought.
Sam raced back to her bedroom door. “Mom! You’ve got to come see this!” And then he tore out again. Serena chuckled and stood up to head to the bathroom when she heard a deep, rich voice from the living room.
“Fuck,” she whispered to herself. She dashed into the bathroom and ran a brush through her curls before putting her hair up in a clip. She pulled on the big, fluffy bathrobe and went into the living room.
“Look, Mom!” Sam called. He was pointing to the aquarium. Floating in the top of it were three plastic bags. Lance was standing beside the tank. “Lance brought us some fish!”
Lance smiled at her. “I felt bad that Sam didn’t get a chance to f
inish picking his fish,” he said. “I saw your tank yesterday and brought over a few I think will do well. I’ve also got some food here for them. I’ll show Sam what to do.”
Sam was staring into the tank, watching the fish try to swim out of the clear plastic bags and then darting around when they couldn’t.
“Lance, would you like a coffee or something else to drink?” Serena asked.
“Sure,” he said.
Serena turned and headed for the kitchen. She took a pod out of the basket on the cupboard and popped it into the machine. She set a mug under the spout and turned to get the cream from the fridge. She yelped when she found Lance standing right behind her. His arms shot out to steady her, and she looked up at him. She was breathing heavily, her heart racing, and she was sure he could see her face burning as desire coursed through her. The seconds seemed to stretch out forever, and she found herself leaning closer to him, turning her face upward…
“Mom, where’d you put the net?” Sam asked from the kitchen doorway.
Serena jumped back from Lance and took a shaky breath. “It’s in the basket under the end table,” she said softly.
“Thanks!” he called.
“Do you take sugar?” Serena asked Lance, turning back to the cupboard.
“I like my coffee the way I like my women,” he said.
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Let me guess—hot and sweet?”
“Creamy,” he replied suggestively.
Oh, God. It was the cheesiest line she’d ever heard, but it got her juices going. She jumped when she felt his hand on her back.
“Serena, I’d really like to get to know you better,” he said softly.
She turned slowly and looked up at him. He was bringing his face down to hers, and though it killed her to do it, she put a hand up between them and gave him a gentle push, signalling that she wanted him to stop.
“I can’t do this right now,” she said.
“Then let me take you out,” he said.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I can’t have a relationship right now.”
“Oh,” he said and straightened up a bit. “Is there someone else?”
She shook her head. “I’m just not ready.”
He frowned slightly, but nodded and moved away from her, for which she was grateful. It was hard to think clearly when he was so close. She handed him his coffee and then hurried out to the living room to see how Sam was doing.
He had one of the bags open and was trying to scoop the fish out with the net, but he ended up dropping the bag. When it hit the bottom, the fish surged upward and into the freedom of the larger space.
“Rats,” Sam said.
“Let me help,” Lance said.
Serena watched as the older man fished the bag out of the water and helped Sam put the other two fish in. They cleaned up together and then Lance instructed Sam in feeding the fish. When Sam was settled in front of the tank, Lance turned to her.
“I’ll go now,” he said. “Let me know if you need anything.” He paused. “For the fish, I mean.” And then he disappeared out the door.
Serena sighed. She knew there were all kinds of things he could help her with and very few of them had to do with the fish. She sat down to listen to her son tell her about the fish.
“I’m going to name the grey one Fin because he’s got one fin that’s a bit bigger than the other one,” he said. “And the orange one is gonna be Wave, ’cause I like the way his tail waves.” He turned to Serena. “What should we call the molly?”
“How about Molly?” suggested Serena.
Sam grinned. He turned back to the tank and said, “Hi, Molly!”
* * * *
“Mom! Mom! There’s a baby fish in the tank!” Sam shouted as he leapt onto Serena’s bed the following morning.
“What?” she said sleepily. She was so not a morning person.
“There’s a baby fish! Or maybe two! But one fish died. You’ve gotta see this!” He ran out of the room.
Serena lay in bed, trying to get her brain to process the information. Baby fish? How could there be baby fish?
“Mom! Come on!” Sam yelled from the living room.
Serena groaned and pulled the blanket back over her head. But her son had no intention of letting her sleep anymore and she soon stumbled out of bed and into the living room. Sam was sitting, staring at the tank with rapt attention. Such a cutie, she thought as she walked over. She crouched and peered into the tank.
“There!” Sam said, pointing to a small speck near the surface. As she watched, the speck began zipping back and forth.
“Wow!” Serena said. “It really is a baby fish.”
“I already told you that,” Sam reminded her. “And Molly’s dead.”
Serena followed his finger and saw the black and white spotted fish lying near the bottom of the tank. It wasn’t moving except with the ebb and flow of the current created by the filter. Its eyes looked dull and lifeless.
“I thought they floated at the top when they died,” she said.
“No, that’s only if they’ve been dead for a while,” Sam said. “Can we take it back?”
Sam will be really disappointed if we don’t get another fish. We should go. Her desire to return to the aquarium store had nothing whatsoever to do with the handsome man who had been so helpful.
“We can take it back after school,” she said. “Now let’s go have breakfast and get you ready to go.”
When he arrived home that afternoon, he was disappointed to find Serena still in her pajamas.
“Mom, you said we could go to the store, and you’re not even dressed!”
“I never said we would go the exact second you got home,” she said. “Just let me go have a shower and then we’ll leave.”
Serena settled Sam at the table with his homework and then climbed into the shower. It was the first one she’d had since the day she fell, and it was wonderful to finally be so clean! When she was done, she pulled out the diffuser dryer and spent a long time drying her hair to make the curls stand out without frizzing. She hadn’t finished before Sam started knocking on the door.
“How much longer are you going to be?” he called.
“I’m just drying my hair!” she yelled back.
“But you never dry your hair! You always say it takes too long!”
“Quit bugging me and I’ll be able to finish faster!”
Serena fiddled with her hair, arranging it to cover the bruise on her forehead. She went to her closet and decided on a pair of tight jeans and a red shirt with a neckline much lower than she usually wore. Underwear, she thought, going to her dresser. The red silk push-up bra and thong set she had bought on a whim because it was on sale caught her attention. She had never worn it, but now seemed like a good time. She slipped them on, enjoying the feel of the fabric against her skin. When she had slipped into the jeans and shirt, she stood admiring herself in the mirror. Her butt didn’t look too big and her cleavage showed nicely. She added a simple necklace with a pendant that dangled between her breasts. A touch of lip gloss and mascara and she was done. She really wasn’t sure why she was making the effort after having told Lance she didn’t want to see him. She was debating taking the outfit off again when she heard Sam calling from the hall.
“Let’s go, Mom!”
She sighed and left everything the way it was.
Sam was sitting by the door, ready to go and holding a small plastic container with the dead fish. He jumped up when he saw her. “Finally!” he said.
When they arrived at the store, Serena did a quick check in the car mirror and they headed inside. Disappointment flooded through her when she saw the young woman behind the cash register. But they were here to pick up a new fish, not see handsome men, she reminded herself. She followed Sam to a tank of bright red fish and was watching them dart around. She became aware of a strange sensation, like a prickling at her neck but much more pleasant. She turned and jumped when she saw Lance standing right behin
d her. He was so close that she had nowhere to go. She looked up at him, to find his eyes glued to her chest. Heat raced through her as he lifted his gaze to meet hers. Her focus narrowed, and he was suddenly the only thing she saw. As she stared, she heard his deep voice say, “What happened to this guy?” and Sam beginning to respond when it occurred to her that she hadn’t seen his lips move. With a frown she glanced toward her son and saw another man who looked just like Lance standing a short distance away.
Holy fuck, she thought. There are two of them.
She looked from one man to the other. They were indistinguishable from each other. So had it been Lance that first day, or his brother? And who was standing in front of her right now? Her head was starting to hurt again.
“We haven’t been formally introduced,” said the man in front of her. “My name is Liam Dalton.” He held out his hand and she took it. Tingling radiated up her arm and she felt her body reacting automatically, dampening her panties and hardening her nipples. She quickly withdrew her hand.
“Nice to meet you,” she stammered.
“The pleasure is mine,” he replied, glancing down at her chest again.
Serena squirmed as light spasms ran through her pussy. “So, were you the one—”
“With the hard-on the first time you came in here? Yes, that was me.” He had leaned close to whisper it and his breath caressed her ear.
Serena turned bright red. “Oh.”
He laughed, a low, sexy chuckle that made her stomach do flip-flops.
“Can I do anything for you today?” he asked, straightening. He was speaking the way any salesperson might, but Serena heard a deeper meaning in the question.
“The fish died,” she said stupidly, gesturing toward Sam.
Liam thankfully turned his attention away for a moment, and it gave Serena a chance to breathe. She’d been having a hard enough time resisting them when she thought they were the same person. Why was Liam hitting on her when she’d already turned Lance down?
“She probably died giving birth,” Lance was saying to Sam. “These fish have live births instead of laying eggs. I wouldn’t expect the babies to live too long, though, not in a brand new tank.”
Landing the Big Ones [Hedon Falls] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4