Maybe his luncheon with Dana hadn’t gone well. Maybe he’d changed clothes as soon as he got home because Dana had dumped linguine carbonara on his head.
He cocked his head and furrowed his brow. “Who’d you think I was asking?”
Nick LeCrone had asked her on a date, not to a chess match at the local library, but to the theatre for singing and dancing.
“I’d love to go!”
“Don’t get too excited. The writer, choreographer, and actors are locals, but I’ve seen their work before and it’s entertaining and well done. It’s called A Way with Waltz.”
“Thank you.” She swallowed down emotion, jumped up from her chair, and moved to the bed. With two hands, she lifted a small box wrapped in blue paper covered with stars. “This is for you. Ignore the happy birthday words. It’s all Nancy could find, other than the paper for your mother’s gift.” She moved closer. “A small gift in appreciation for all you have done for me since I fell apart over Jason while you were in my office. The Lord guided you well, and I’m thankful.” She handed the box to him and returned to her chair.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I did. Open it.”
He eased his finger under the tape on one side. If he unwrapped presents like he thought about her marketing proposals, they’d miss the show. He picked at the tape from the other side.
She glanced at his face. A smug smile deepened his dimple. He slowly slid his finger under the center tape.
“Nick LeCrone. You’re doing that on purpose.”
He chuckled.
She lifted her face toward his and crossed her eyes. “Open it.”
He gently pushed her face away. “OK. OK.” He ripped the paper, shook the box, and removed the lid. “No way.” His chuckle grew into laughter.
“I noticed your desk at work lacked one.”
He lifted a mahogany sticky note holder, complete with a fresh pad of yellow stickies. “I will definitely think of you every time I look at it.”
“I know you believe I’m self-centered for getting you something I like, but I’m not, because I already have one.”
“You do? I’ve never seen it.”
“Yes, I do. It’s exactly like yours.”
“Yours must be buried under a few hundred papers.”
“I’m more organized than you think, because I know which hundred my sticky holder is under.”
He held up the gift. “Well, thank you.” He chuckled again. “Shall we go down for turkey sandwiches?”
****
Nick glanced across the kitchen island, where Cisney built her sandwich on make-your-own-turkey-sandwich night. She stood between Dad and Grandma Thelma and looked radiant.
If he’d known taking her to the theatre would help her forget Jason, he’d have asked her to the famous one in Richmond the night Jason dumped her. Then she might have gone on the ski trip with her friends and saved him from his family matchmakers. And from the way Nancy scooted out of Cisney’s room, skiing would have rescued Cisney from them, too.
Grandpa added a pickle wedge to his plate. “So is everyone ready for the big Chinese checkers game tonight?”
Nick dropped more turkey slices on his stack and peppered them. “Today, someone gave me two tickets to a musical at The Warehouse. I thought I’d show Cisney what our locals in Cornelius can do in the performing arts.”
He cut his sandwich in half. No one responded. He looked up to six pairs of eyes staring at him. “What? We can join tomorrow night’s Chinese checkers game.”
“Someone?” Nancy said, the word dripping with attitude.
His gut sagged. Which family members, besides Nancy, had snooped out the window and had seen him in Dana’s car?
Now, wait just a minute. Where, or why, he went with Dana was none of their business. Neither were the tickets Dana had given him. The luncheon with Mark and Dana at The Palm was a mere formality. They wanted him. And he wanted the challenge they offered. Whether his family liked it or not, he might just take the job where Dana worked.
“Yeah, someone,” he said. “What’s the big deal? Someone I had business with today couldn’t use the tickets and asked if I wanted them. I thought it would be nice to show Cisney something of the Lake Norman communities.”
All went back to loading their plates, except Cisney. She held his gaze. Did she know about Dana? Was that why she acted strangely in her room about the tickets? She thought he was going out with Dana?
10
Cisney retrieved her red dress from the closet and slipped into its silky folds. She stood away from the slanted ceiling and spun around before the mirror on the closet door, even though it cut off her head. Her skirt billowed, and then settled around her legs. She smiled. Wearing her favorite dress always lifted her spirits.
The marimba played. Her muscles tightened as her gaze went to her phone on the bedside table. Why hadn’t she assigned separate ringtones to the people in Favorites and avoided these moments of not knowing who called? Please, please don’t be Daddy. I want to be happy tonight.
She grabbed her cell and looked at the display. Jason? Her heart outraced the marimba beat, as she paced and stared at his name. Should she take his call?
She had two more rings before the call would go to voicemail. Lord, guide me.
The music stopped.
She halted and let out a long breath. Safe. For a while.
What did Jason want? Had he forgotten the combination to his ski lock? Start at two. Left to ten. Right to thirteen. Or was he bored on the beginner slopes with his new little lady? Or maybe he felt guilty for leaving her stranded for Thanksgiving. Could he want her back?
She dropped to her knees and rested her elbows on the bed, interlocking her fingers under her chin. “Father, you are the God of comfort. Thank you for consoling me through Nick and his loving family. Lord, would you now please ban thoughts of Jason for the next few hours?”
Her heart calmed. She rose, grabbed her black clutch purse, and scooted down the first flight of stairs. She paused on the landing and took the second flight at a pace worthy of royalty.
Dressed in his dark suit, Nick stood at the bottom of the stairs like a handsome prince waiting for his tower princess. She smiled at him.
His upturned lips looked…pained. He didn’t like her red dress?
After she descended a few more steps, lights flashed in quick succession, startling her. Blinded, she gripped the handrail and made it to the bottom step, where her sight recovered and she took in the smiles radiating from Nick’s family. She hadn’t felt like this since prom night.
“You look stunning.” Ellie took her hand and positioned her close to Nick.
So, he’d inherited the hand-pulling habit from his mom.
“Come on,” Nancy said, extending her camera. “Can’t you put your arm around her, Nick?”
Nick narrowed his eyes at his sister.
Digital cameras fired off lightning-bright explosions.
“Nick, honey, you could put your arm around Cisney for the next photo,” Grandma Thelma said, her camera at the ready.
Nick grabbed Cisney’s hand and whisked her out the door. Flashes followed them. He opened the passenger door for her, and then jogged to the driver’s side, holding his hand out to ward off flashes. “Paparazzi!”
“Have fun, honey!”
“Enjoy the musical!”
“Be home before curfew!” Nancy said.
Laughing, Cisney waved until the family was out of sight. “You have the greatest family.”
He kept his eyes trained on the road.
“Why so aggravated, Nick?”
He glanced at her. “Don’t you feel the pressure?”
“No. I feel the love.”
He wrenched his tie loose. “I need my family to sign a privacy agreement.”
Her princess dream fizzled. “We don’t have to go, Nick.”
He stared forward, and then turned to her, his face softening. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spoil your
evening.”
“I don’t want to go, if your evening won’t recover.”
If she wanted a depressing night, she could have stayed in her room and gnawed her newly painted fingernails over why Jason had called.
****
Every time Nick forced his attention to the dancers on stage, his gaze drifted back to Cisney. She looked beautiful in that red dress. A miniature Nancy sat on his shoulder and nagged him. If you think she’s beautiful, tell her. Reason sat on his other shoulder. Guess who he trusted more. Sorry, Nancy.
Although he recognized his growing attraction to Cisney’s genuineness, her affection for his family, her playfulness, and her good heart, did he really want to start something with her?
He could picture it. If he told her how nice she looked, she’d think he was interested and, say, she responded agreeably. Then he’d start calling her, and they’d date, and in the end, he’d take a job in Charlotte, and they’d be in a long-distance relationship exactly as he’d been in with Dana. Only the direction he drove would change. Experience told him that nothing could be dumber than repeating a disastrous scene with a different leading lady.
He drew his gaze back to the stage. The music and the dancing were good.
Cisney was mesmerized, her gaze following the waltzing couples. At least this evening, she could focus on something other than Jason.
Her hands were loosely folded over her little flat purse in her lap. Her fingers were long like Dana’s, but stronger looking, as if they had the energy to play “Flight of the Bumblebee.” While they’d looked at the photo album, he’d noticed her nail polish was feminine and pretty, not brash like Nancy’s.
LeCrone, eyes on the stage.
****
The musical’s waltz tune whirled in Cisney’s head while Nick inched the car from the crowded parking lot. The polka had been silly fun yesterday, but to waltz in the arms of a handsome man had to be one of Webster’s definitions of romance. Funny, how the more she knew Nick, the more he fit the handsome man.
He looked over at her. “Want to go for ice cream?”
A dark suit and a flowing red dress begged for a dance floor, but the little town of Cornelius probably lacked a place to go dancing.
“Ice cream sounds good.”
Nick ushered her into the ice cream parlor minutes before closing. They sat in his car in the parking lot and worked on their treats.
Cisney savored her rich cappucino-blend. “Does Nancy live with your parents full time?”
“Yep.” He wrapped his napkin around his vanilla cone.
“Does she have a man in her life?” Nancy hadn’t mentioned a love-interest during their shopping trip. She seemed to focus on her brother’s love life. Well, in the LeCrone family, who didn’t?
“She corresponds with a soldier in Afghanistan she met in the young adult Sunday school class a couple of weeks before he shipped out. They’ve been writing for about six months.”
“I hope things work out for them. I know she thinks a lot of her big brother.”
“You know that, huh?”
“Yes. And I hate to criticize you, but…”
He chuckled. “But you will, anyway.”
She turned in her seat to face him and tucked one foot under her. Time to draw one of those delightful laughs from him, one where his dimple deepened. “I was shocked to hear this about you, Nick.”
“Oh, I’m sure you were.” He licked his sugar cone in several spots, keeping ice cream from running down its sides.
Let him play indifference, but inside that head of his, he had to be wondering what Nancy revealed about him. How long could she drag out the suspense?
She planted her spoon in her frozen dessert and placed the cup on the dash. “I’m talking a serious flaw in your character, Nick.”
He cocked his eyebrow toward her. “You mean, that I wouldn’t let her drive my car after she got her license?”
“Interesting.” She pronounced the word as if she were a lawyer responding to a hostile witness. “But no, that’s not the act that has tainted your character.”
“Then spill it, before you bust a gasket.”
She tapped his arm. “Look at me, Nick.”
He shifted his brown eyes to gaze into hers. Her heart flipped. Focus on the prize, girl.
She contrived a frown. “Why didn’t you make one tray of oatmeal cookies without raisins for your dear little sister, before you put raisins into the rest of the cookie dough for your own self-pleasure?”
His laughter thrilled her. She had her prize. Relishing his dimple, she grinned and snatched her ice cream from the dash.
“I’ll defend myself on that case.” He cleared the cone of drips with his napkin. “At first, I made oatmeal cookies without raisins. Each batch was for a week’s worth of after-school snacks for Nancy and me. But too often I came home from high school to find Nancy and her junior high buddies had polished them off. So, to protect my snacks, I loaded the cookies with the one thing I knew she wouldn’t touch. So you see, Miss Smarty-pants, her character flaw reaped her consequences.”
She laughed. He played a great straight man for these silly routines.
Cisney scooped up a spoonful of ice cream. “The music and the dancing were enchanting tonight.” Enchanting sounded corny, but didn’t it go well with the idea of a charming prince and a tower princess? “Thank you for inviting me.”
“My pleasure.” He stopped working on his vanilla cone, and regarded her. “You look…beau-beautiful.”
Had Nick just stuttered? His voice sounded as if a vanilla bean had lodged in his vocal cords. Nick didn’t stutter, and Nick didn’t give personal compliments. Each pump of her heart stretched its lining to the limit. What was going on?
She dipped her head. “Thank you. You look handsome in the suit. Uh, your ice cream is dripping onto your hand.”
He wiped his hand with his napkin and licked the source of the trickle.
They worked on their frozen delights in silence.
She’d pay her whole fishbowl of pennies back home to know what was going on in his head. Well, asking cost nothing, right? “What are you thinking about?”
He popped the tail of his cone into his mouth and wiped his lips with his napkin. “I told you, my love life is off limits.”
“You were thinking about your love life?” Of course he was. His lunch date with Dana had to stir up old feelings. Her princess balloon deflated.
“No. I was thinking about how state workers install mile markers.”
She punched his arm. “Be serious. What were you really thinking about?”
“Will I have to ask you to get in line behind Mom to sign a privacy agreement?”
She rolled her eyes.
“I told you what I aspired to in my youth,” he said. “It’s your turn. What did you always want to be?”
No way would she let him change the subject. “I wanted to be a princess who danced with the other handsome prince at Cinderella’s ball.”
“You’re serious?”
“No, but I’m seriously intrigued to know what goes on in an actuary’s mind when he’s not calculating risk.”
“Oh, but I was calculating risk. And I think it’s significant.”
****
Nick held the car trash bag while Cisney stuffed her paper cup inside. She cocked her head, her dark hair falling away from her face and revealing a dangly gold earring. Her arched eyebrow confirmed she was waiting for him to expound on his love-life thoughts.
Somewhere between Richmond and Cornelius an alien had snatched his body. By the hour, it was taking over more and more of him. It spewed words he’d never allowed outside his skull. The creature, not Cisney, brought up his love life tonight. How could he blame her for latching onto the subject? The beast messed with his speech. Since when couldn’t he get the word beautiful out of his mouth? Why had the word bumbled forth, anyway?
And now the alien ignored his resolve to avoid getting involved with Cisney. Between perio
ds of feeling guilty through no fault of his own, he enjoyed every moment in her company.
He needed to regain control of his body. His mind. And his heart.
He fired up the engine. “If we leave now we can get in on the Chinese checkers tournament.”
Cisney turned her head toward the window, her heavy exhalation fogging the glass.
Let her huff. She’d thank him later for silencing the alien. She didn’t need to know he was glad Dana had found a man she wanted to marry. That he’d learned one person with a penchant to plan out everything, like himself, was enough for one couple. And Cisney didn’t need to know he was drawn to her, that she had awakened his lighter side, a refreshing experience.
Reason assured him he could appreciate Cisney’s qualities without entangling himself. He had career decisions to make without complicating his life with Cisney Baldwin.
He turned into a curve, and the vehicle rode rougher and rougher.
Great. A flat tire.
****
The dashboard lights facilitated Cisney in observing Nick’s face as he pulled off the road. If a flat tire had happened to Jason, he’d have blown several blood vessels, and her eardrums. How would Nick handle the frustration?
His hands resting on the steering wheel, Nick turned to her. “I guess we won’t be playing Chinese checkers tonight.” Standing outside his open door, he removed his suit jacket, laid it over the back seat, and then reached in and turned on the flashers. “This won’t take long.” He closed the door.
Trees lined both sides of the road. At least someone entering the curve would see their flashing lights.
Nick’s reaction to the flat seemed to come from a man who had God’s perspective on many things—except maybe on his family’s fondness for her. And communicating information. But if she had to share a flat tire with someone, she’d want it to be with Nick.
She got out and walked around to the back of the car. Nick had rolled his white shirtsleeves up to his elbows.
“Stay inside where it’s warm.” He extracted the spare from the trunk. The upright tire bounced an inch when it hit the pavement.
Calculated Risk Page 12