A knock signaled their arrival. He opened the door to the little family. “Your third wheel is ready.”
“Fourth,” said Paul. “You’ve been bumped as honorary third wheel. Sorry.” He motioned to Aurora in one arm. She was dressed in a tiny pair of jeans and a red shirt that said ‘1984’ in stark numbers.
“She’s reading Orwell now?”
“Charlie got that for her,” Alice said. “She said her T-shirts were a little heavy on the poetry.”
“So, she’s not even two and poor thing is being tugged between two geekdoms.” Charlie was a long-time employee of By the Book, and although she was in her senior year in college, she also worked on and off for ScreenStop as a game designer. He could see her making it a personal mission to make sure Aurora’s attire properly represented the science fiction genre.
Andy reached out for Aurora and she launched herself at him. He thought she said his name but it was absorbed in a high-pitched squeal so he couldn’t be sure.
“Huh. I hardly ever get that reaction.” Paul crossed his arms.
“It’s because I slip her Twinkies when nobody is looking,” Andy said.
“You do, you die.” Alice gave him a kiss on the cheek as she passed. “How’s the bachelor pad?”
“Needs a good cook, but other than that, it’s great,” he said.
Aurora reached out for a handful of his hair but he leaned back. “Watch it, grabby hands.” She had a fascination with his stick-straight blonde hair, maybe because both Paul and Alice had dark, nearly, black curls.
He knew he was probably prejudiced toward his goddaughter but to him she was the most beautiful baby on the planet. A perfect combination of Alice’s green eyes and full lips, and Paul’s tan skin and arched brows. The personality was all her own.
“Everything out of the oven? Nothing in the toaster?” Alice asked on the way to the kitchen.
“In my defense, that was a bad toaster.”
“And the other seven times you’ve set off the smoke alarm?” Paul asked.
“Maybe I shouldn’t try out new games and cook at the same time.”
“Or try to cook at all?”
“Hilarious. A guy’s gotta eat. Just because you married a woman with skills, doesn’t mean everybody’s so lucky.”
“You’ve just got to make friends with the neighbor,” Paul said with a wink.
“I think that only works once.”
“Actually, I was thinking about that today.” Alice was back from her kitchen reconnaissance mission and apparently she was satisfied that Andy hadn’t left the oven on broil. “You and Paul lived here when we met. Then it was Henry living here when she met Gideon. And then it was Austin living here when he met Charlie.”
“So, you think the place is cursed?” Paul asked.
Alice shot her husband a look.
“I mean, brings true love to the inhabitants?” Paul amended hastily.
“I’m simply saying that so far, anybody who lives here falls in love within a few months.”
Andy shook his head. “Not happening. I can’t even understand what anybody is saying.”
“Maybe you don’t need to.” Alice slipped her arm around Paul’s waist and he smiled down at her. “We got along lot better when we stopped trying to talk over each other.”
Watching them, Andy felt a sudden dissatisfaction with his current situation. His single life had never looked so unappealing. But the odds of it changing were definitely not in his favor. There had always been a worry in the back of his mind, a cautionary voice whenever he got close to a woman. But since he’d received the tests from the genetic counseling center, that cautionary voice had turned into a blaring alarm.
Aurora took advantage of Andy’s moment of inattention and grabbed a handful of his hair. He managed to untangle her fingers and said, “Ouch, and no, I’ve got enough on my plate.”
“Well, I refuse to give up,” Alice said.
Alice stepped into the hallway. “You can’t meet your true love if you don’t get out. So, let’s get going. She’s probably down there eating crawfish right now.” She paused. “Unless you just don’t like the locals?”
“Honestly, it’s not the women here. It’s me. I’m just not really looking.” Andy said.
Paul frowned. “You’re not? Since when?”
“Since always.” He grabbed his phone and slipped it in his pocket.
Aurora waved both hands in the air as if she knew they were headed out to a party. “Phone!” she said.
“Wow. That’s a new one.” Andy couldn’t help grinning. Aurora seemed to be learning new words every day. It was mind-boggling how fast she was adding to her vocabulary. “You like phones? You need a play phone?”
“Phone!” she said.
“No,” Alice said at the same time. “She’s not going to be addicted to screens like other toddlers. No screen time until she’s six.”
Andy looked at Paul who carefully avoided his eyes. Andy had seen Paul hand his phone to Aurora plenty of times. He’d also seen Aurora playing on the touch screen tablets in their office at ScreenStop. “None at all? But how can she avoid it? They’re everywhere.”
“Easy,” Alice said. “Paul plays his games after she’s in bed. We don’t watch movies when she’s around. So many studies have shown that simply using a search engine changes the way your brain works. Aurora is going to get a good start before she has to work with anything electronic.”
Paul was still looking anywhere but at Andy and Alice. “We should get going. Anyway, I missed the fact you weren’t interested in women when we were hanging out with all those pretty models. Or when you had that thing for the red-headed manager from Microsoft.”
“Let’s not talk about the models in front of the wife, okay?” Alice said.
“They couldn’t hold a candle to you, then or now.” Paul kissed her on the forehead.
Andy almost rolled his eyes at the two of them. They were so in love they didn’t notice him struggling to lock the apartment door while trying to keep his hair out of Aurora’s hands. The place had its own private entrance and it was unlikely anybody would get this far into the building if they weren’t invited, but with all the expensive equipment in there, he wouldn’t take a chance.
“Oh, hey. Just in time. I can introduce you to your neighbor.” Alice tapped his shoulder and he looked back.
At the end of the hall, he saw a woman closing the heavy oak door to the other apartment. Her hair hid her face as she focused on the lock, just as he had moments before, and his first impression was a short, stylish ninja. Her black leather jacket matched the curls that fell to her shoulders, and her black jeans were tucked into dark, heavy soled boots that had suffered just the right amount of abuse to look like a fashion statement and not like she worked construction.
As if feeling the combined weight of their gazes, the woman turned around and looked down the hallway. She was a stunning combination of burgundy lips, dark eyes, and an appraising look that was the polar opposite of the local custom of hugging first and asking questions later.
She lifted a hand when she saw Alice and Paul, but then seemed to freeze in place as she met Andy’s eyes. If a smile could falter, then this one did. In fact, she looked a little shocked. Andy searched his memory for any trace of this woman, but there was none. He would have remembered her, surely.
Paul was nudging him forward. “Roxie, this is my friend Andy McBride. He’s the chief financial officer and co-founder of my company.”
“And your next door neighbor,” Alice added. There was hint of laughter in her voice.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. Aurora made a grab for his hair again but he shifted just in time. Andy held out a hand.
“So, you’re the one setting off the fire alarm.” Her hand was soft, but the grip was not.
“And I’m enjoying your early morning shower serenades.”
It was just as he’d imagined it, except for the snort. “I’m a better singer than I am a dancer.”
&nbs
p; He wasn’t sure how to respond. The singing wasn’t very good.
“I’m a terrible dancer,” she said.
“I hope you won’t stop singing in the shower just because I can hear you.”
“If you knew me, you wouldn’t be worried.”
“Stubborn, huh? Then you must be headed out dancing.”
She laughed outright. “Stubborn is my middle name. But I’m not going dancing because I want to flaunt my lack of skill. I got dragged into showing up at the festival, but hopefully just for a few hours.”
“Same,” he said, nodding.
“We’re still here, you know.” Paul waved a hand.
“Excuse my husband,” Alice said, tugging on his elbow and pulling him down the hallway. “We’ll go on ahead. You two can catch up.”
“Hey, I’m coming.” Andy watched them hustle down the hallway and turned around with a sigh. “I’m sorry about that. Apparently, I’m on Louisiana’s version of The Bachelor.”
“They only want the best for you. It’s amazing we singles keep getting out of bed in the morning, our lives are so devoid of meaning.”
Her tone held just the right amount of sarcasm. She clearly understood that Paul and Alice didn’t consider themselves superior. “Right. The lingering hope of reaching the nirvana of marriage is the only reason I ever get off the couch and put on some pants,” he said.
“Pants are a must when entering the dating scene. Not that you need any pointers. You’ll have plenty of candidates if you keep holding that baby.” She fell into step beside him.
“Aurora? Why?”
She glanced at him, as if to see whether he was serious. “You’ve never seen that old rom com movie where a guy borrows a kid so he can find a girlfriend? Women can’t resist a man holding a baby.”
“I thought women looked for a good provider, a man who can earn a lot of money.”
“Maybe consciously they do. But subconsciously, it’s all about the babies. It’s a primal thing. They’re geared to choose a mate on their potential as parents. We see a man holding a cute baby and the hormones kick in and…”
They’d reached the top of the stairs and he turned toward her. He waited for her to finish her sentence but she said nothing, her cheeks growing pinker. She dropped her gaze and started down the long, wooden staircase.
“Anyway,” she went on, “men aren’t the same. They see a woman with a baby and their hormones take a dive. It’s like a ‘no trespassing’ sign. Some other guy has already staked his claim.”
“You’re quite the romantic.”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re asking me what I find attractive in a woman?” Andy scrambled for something to say. He’d had this conversation with Paul a dozen times, but that was completely different. Relationship talk between guys was sacred, protected by a seal of silence, and hadn’t prepared him at all to have the same discussion with a woman. He wasn’t even sure how the conversation had happened.
“And be honest. I can see you trying to find something to say that puts all of your kind in the best light.”
“My kind?” He was level with her now and Aurora reached out, hoping to grab some of those curls.
“You’re stalling.” She caught Aurora’s hand and wiggled it. Her dark gray fingernail polish matched the gemstone in her ring.
“You first.”
“But I already said. Maybe you weren’t listening.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“You told me how women love a man with a baby. You didn’t say anything about you, personally. If you want me to answer honestly, I think you should go first.”
She said nothing and they stood there for a moment in verbal gridlock, each refusing to give way, Aurora caught in the middle.
She smiled. “I like a man who reads the classics,” she said, letting go of Aurora’s hand and continuing down the stairs.
“Like Dickens? Or Hemingway?” Andy followed behind and thought about how he barely remembered the classics from college and now only really read modern thrillers. And Dante. He couldn’t really count that because it was research.
“Older.”
“Like Gilgamesh?” There was that old video game from the eighties that followed the ancient Mesopotamian epic tale, but he couldn’t remember any specifics. He scoured his memory for anything else on the king of Uruk, but only came up with a vague memory of how a player was supposed to rescue a princess, and he wasn’t at all sure that was in the original.
“Not that old.” She reached the back door and turned around. He was still standing on the last step and was at least a foot taller now. “Now, your turn.”
“Well, I suppose that... Really...” He considered himself a modern, educated man but everything that flashed through his head when he looked at her was somehow inappropriate.
She held up her wrist and tapped the front of an old watch, the black leather band soft with years of wear. She was trying not to laugh. “You have three seconds.”
“I―” He was the guy who thought best under pressure, who could pull off the really important sales pitches while Paul sat at the end of the table and watched.
“Two,” she said.
He worked best when someone had already written him off but her eyes said she expected a good answer from him, something that was worth her time.
“One.” The way they were standing in the stairwell, she barely reached his chest. He wished that they were on equal footing. He wished he could step down next to her, not loom above like some awkward crane. Or maybe he was a stork, holding Aurora. He had a flashback to high school when he’d try to dance with a girl and felt like he was solely made up of elbows and knees, all uncoordinated angles. With the loud music and at that height, the girl remained a mystery far below.
“Time’s up.”
“Tall,” he blurted. The next second he wanted to fall through the floor. She said she wanted a classics reader. He said he wanted someone tall.
“Ah,” she said. She gave a polite, if vaguely pained smile. Turning toward the back door, she pulled it open without further comment.
He dropped his head for a moment and Aurora let out a soft sound, as if she somehow knew what a ridiculous comment he’d just made. The baby didn’t even make a grab for his hair but rested her hand on his shoulder.
“Write that down,” he whispered to Aurora as he crossed the entry way. “Apparently, my perfect woman is tall.”
He stepped through the door and out into the early evening. The music was much louder, the sun was starting to set, and the breeze gave some relief from the warm weather. Spices filled the air but even though his stomach had been growling minutes before, his appetite had vanished.
Andy paused outside the door, hoping his new neighbor would spot her friends and rush off without another word. Paul and Alice had intercepted her and looked like they were trying to convince her to join their group. He’d met women like her before at parties thrown by some up-and-coming artist in the Bronx or a corner of Queens. These women were sharp, urban, successful, and didn’t waste time on the socially inept. Perhaps the only difference is that this woman’s words didn’t carry the usual aftertaste of smugness.
Andy shifted, trying to catch Paul’s eye. He didn’t need any more opportunity to say something stupid. Usually he held his own, but tonight he’d managed the conversation about as well as a dog knits a blanket.
Paul looked up, a question in his eyes, and motioned him to come closer. Andy let out a sigh. If all went well, he and the new neighbor would spend a few more awkward minutes together and avoid each other completely until one of them moved out.
Whatever Alice wanted to believe about the building bringing couples together, it wasn’t going to work on its two newest residents.
Chapter Five
Home is the place we love best and grumble the most. ―Billy Sunday
“We’re going in the same direction, so why not walk with us?” Alice asked, threading her arm through Roxie’s. Her landlady
was charmingly persuasive without even trying, and she was definitely trying now.
“I don’t want to get in the way.”
“You won’t. Not at all,” Paul said.
Roxie glanced back at the handsome stranger and saw the tension in his face. He was taking his time joining them, clearly waiting for her to leave.
When he’d left her standing there on the street corner that afternoon, Roxie was sure she’d never see him again. As she showered and dressed for the festival, she’d almost found some peace in the idea of this Dante-quoting, kind-hearted man being gone forever. As much as she wished it would be different, she’d managed to offer a prayer of gratitude and let go of what her heart wanted. He had been a gift, at a time when she was struggling to make it through another minute. She’d told herself she couldn’t expect anything more. Life wasn’t like a movie. Not everybody got a happy ending.
And then he was there, just a few feet away, as if it weren’t a coincidence so far-fetched as to be in the realm of the impossible. There was no mistaking the same blonde hair and blue eyes, the same expressive mouth, the same deep voice.
She’d wanted to see him again, wanted it more than anything in her life, but she’d never imagined that they’d meet again and he wouldn’t know she was the girl in the costume. At any moment, relatives or old classmates could show up. One wrong word and he’d know just who had benefited from his act of mercy. She wanted to know this man, but on her own terms.
“We really need to go out to lunch so I can get to know you better. I’m sorry you’ve been here a week already and we haven’t had a chance to really talk.” Alice pulled her back from her thoughts. “I see you head out running in the morning but there’s no way I’m going out there with you. We’ll have to find something more sedate to do together.”
“Like eating,” Paul said. “Come on, hang out with us until you find your friends.”
“Oh, I shouldn’t,” Roxie said. Really, really shouldn’t. “And it’s just my grandma and my aunt and a few cousins.”
“Andy, what are you doing over there?” Paul called out, waving him over. He turned back to Roxie. “We promise not to take over your party.”
Along the Cane River: Books 1-5 in the Inspirational Cane River Romance Series Page 82