“Yes, I do,” Renee admitted. “He’s such a good man, Lorna. I never knew men like Alex existed.”
“Not to mention his nice butt,” Lorna said. Renee burst out laughing. “Oh, come on now. You know you’ve checked out his butt.” Her aunt smiled.
“On occasion,” Renee answered, handing Lorna a set of dish towels that her aunt slipped into the small kitchen’s only drawer. “Regardless of his nice … posterior, I’m still not sure I know him well enough to fly away with him to the Virgin Islands. What if I’m wrong about Alex?” Renee asked.
“You’re a better judge of character than that,” Aunt Lorna said with a dismissive wave.
“Remember who you’re talking to. For the longest time, I thought any man who didn’t bash me in the head was a prince. Didn’t matter that he treated me like crap.”
Lorna leaned a hip against the kitchen counter and folded her arms over her chest. “So you haven’t had the best judgment when it comes to men. Don’t let a few mistakes dictate the rest of your love life, Renee. And you can’t allow what your father did to control you, either.”
Renee shook her head. “It took me a long time to get over everything I went through with that man,” she said, refusing to call him a father, not after seeing how a real father like Alex treated his daughter.
“I wonder if you’re really over it,” Lorna said.
“I am,” Renee asserted. “It took a few years and thousands of dollars in counseling, but I’m finally in a place where I can let it go. I refuse to be like your sister. I’d rather be strong, like you,” she said, giving her aunt’s shoulders a squeeze.
“Of the two of us, who would have ever thought I would be the one you would look up to?”
“Well, I do. So, help me make a decision about this trip.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is.” Aunt Lorna shrugged. “You like him, and you’re having fun. There’s no reason you shouldn’t go.”
Her aunt was right. She did like Alex, and she could hardly put into words the fun she had when she was with him. When she’d called to get Penelope’s input, her friend had used the same line of reasoning. But something in the back of Renee’s mind told her to watch herself. It was starting to feel like more than just a strong liking where Alex was concerned. That could be a dangerous thing.
But could a few days in paradise hurt?
“Mama’s sixtieth birthday party was off the chain,” Toby said as he motored the golf cart past a bunker on their way up the course.
“We did good,” Eli agreed. “Remind me to e-mail ya’ll the pictures I took Saturday night. I caught a great one of her when she came through the door. Mama didn’t have a clue.”
“She had a good time, though. Everybody did, even you,” Toby added, looking over at Alex.
Eli felt the need to add his two cents. “He still didn’t dance.”
“Bad shoulder, here.” Alex motioned to his arm.
“How’s that shoulder doing?” Toby asked.
“It’s healing,” Alex answered.
“You’re making better progress than I thought you would,” Eli added from the backseat of the golf cart. Even though he still couldn’t participate in the game, Alex had chosen to join his brothers on the golf course. Their golfing expeditions were rarely about the game, anyway. They were more of a way to catch up with what was going on in each other’s lives.
“You ready for the big day?” Toby asked Eli as he parked the golf cart.
“Oh yeah. Wait until you see the place we rented. It’s the bomb.”
“I can’t wait to get out there,” Toby said. “I’m going to convince Sienna to recreate the scene from that movie with those two people getting busy in the sand.”
“From Here to Eternity,” Alex supplied. His brothers both looked at him as if he were crazy. “What? It was on television the other night.”
Eli shook his head. “You scare me sometimes, Alex. You really, really scare me.”
Pulling a four iron out of his golf bag, his brother took a couple of practice swings before sending the golf ball down the fairway.
“Nice shot,” Toby said.
“I’ve been practicing. So, you and Sienna are flying down to St. Martin on Saturday morning, right?”
“Yeah. Keep your fingers crossed that nothing happens with Aria’s flight. She’s not scheduled to get in until a couple of hours before the wedding.”
“It’ll only be family there. We can delay the wedding if we have to wait for her.”
This would have been a good time to let his brothers know there would be one more person joining them at the wedding, but Alex decided against it. He’d made the decision that he would just have Renee show up at the airport and explain her presence then.
God, he hoped he was doing the right thing. Knowing his family, they would probably embarrass the hell out of him.
Toby took his shot and they climbed in the cart to make their way to the seventh hole.
“Hey, Alex, what exactly did Mama tell you the other day when you asked her about her boyfriend?”
“Her what?” Toby turned, jerking the wheel and nearly causing the golf cart to tip over.
“Watch it!” Alex and Eli yelled.
Toby righted the wheel. “What’s he talking about?”
“Eli thought Mama had a boyfriend,” Alex explained. “But she said she doesn’t.”
“Monica told me she did,” Eli said. “That would explain why she’s been acting so strange.”
“You calling Mama a liar?” Toby asked.
“No, but why would Monica lie?”
Alex had asked himself that question more than once. It seemed that between the two of them, either Monica or his mother was not being completely truthful. The question was, who would gain the most by lying?
“I think Mama’s the one who’s lying,” Alex said.
“What are we going to do about it?” Toby asked.
“Should we do anything?” Alex was as surprised to hear the words come out of his mouth as his brothers were. Hadn’t he just argued this same point with Renee? But Renee had made some valid points, too. What was so wrong with his mother finding someone to make her happy?
“Hell yeah, we need to do something about it,” Eli said.
“E’s right,” Toby agreed.
“Why?” Alex asked them. Neither said anything, so Alex continued. “Have either of you thought about how lonely Mama must be in the house by herself?”
“She’s not lonely. She’s got her church group,” Eli said.
“On Sunday and Thursday nights? Come on, E. Mama is still relatively young. I don’t want her to live the rest of her life alone. Maybe it’s not a bad idea if she had another man in her life.”
“Did you fall and hit your head or something?” Toby asked. “This is Mama we’re talking about.”
“I know that, but think about it, Toby. She just turned sixty, and she looks good for her age. I’m sure a lot of men Mama’s age find her attractive. Let’s just hope she’s found one who’s treating her right.”
“I don’t like this, Alex. What if they’ve … you know?” Toby shivered.
“I don’t even want to think about it,” Eli said. “I’ve convinced myself that Mama only had sex three times in her life.”
“Don’t say ‘Mama’ and ‘sex’ in the same sentence,” Toby said.
“You two are acting like children,” Alex said.
“Are you telling me you would be okay with her seeing some man?” Toby asked.
“If he made her happy, and treated her right?” Alex shrugged. “Yeah, I think I’d be okay with it.”
“Well, I don’t like it,” Toby huffed, pulling the golf cart up to the edge of the rough.
“That doesn’t matter,” Alex said. “It’s up to Mama. And if she is seeing someone, I think we should support her. Now, can you two get back to the game? You know it’s the only time either of you will ever get to say you beat me.”
Alex’s crack of l
aughter at the foul language both his brothers shot his way traveled down the fairway.
Alex had decided he and Mama would have a heart to heart when he picked up Jasmine, but discovered Mama wasn’t home when he arrived at the house. Ebony Collins, the teenage granddaughter of one of his mother’s church group members and Jasmine’s occasional babysitter, was curled up on the sofa with a sleeping Jasmine snuggled up next to her.
“Hi, Mr. Holmes,” Ebony greeted him in a hushed whisper.
“Hey there, Ebony. I didn’t realize you would be watching Jasmine.”
“Mrs. Margo called me a couple of hours ago and asked if I could come over.” She gently extricated herself from Jasmine, laying his baby on the sofa.
Alex took his wallet from his back pocket and fished out a twenty. Ebony waved him off. “Mrs. Margo already paid me,” she said.
Alex stuffed the money in her hand. “That’s for being honest, and for watching Jasmine on short notice.” She shrugged and pocketed the money. Smart girl. “Did Mrs. Holmes say where she was going?”
Ebony shook her head. “She said she’d be back in a couple of hours, but I’ve been here going on three hours now. She must have been held up.”
“Thanks for coming.” Alex walked her to the door. He pushed the curtain aside and watched while Ebony made her way to her house down the street. He took out his cell phone and called Mama’s number. She didn’t answer.
“Mama, what are you up to?” he whispered into the phone before shutting it and shoving the cell back into his pocket.
He walked over to the sofa and tried to lift Jasmine, but he wasn’t far enough into his recovery to pull it off. Pain shot to his shoulder.
“Pumpkin.” Alex shook her arm. Jasmine stirred, then turned over and buried her face into the sofa cushions. Alex shook her again. “Come on, Jazzy Bean. It’s time to head home.”
Jasmine rolled onto her back and stretched her arms up, yawning. Alex stooped low and tickled her under her arm.
“Stop, Daddy.” She squirmed and giggled.
“Maybe I’ll stop,” he said. “But only if you get up.”
Jasmine pushed herself up and into a sitting position. She kicked out her feet. “Daddy, Ebony painted my toenails. You like ’em?”
“They’re beautiful, just like my Pumpkin Face,” Alex said. “Put on your socks and tennis shoes so we can go home.”
“My tennis shoes might mess up my toenails,” she complained.
He wasn’t up to arguing with a vain six year old. Alex knew which battles to fight, and which to concede. “Go check in the hall closet; I think you left a pair of sandals here.”
Jasmine scooted off the sofa and headed for the closet. Alex tried calling Mama again, but his call went unanswered. He left a message asking her to give him a call, then left a note on the kitchen table just in case Mama still had not learned how to check her cell phone’s voice mail.
Fifteen minutes later, when he pulled into his driveway, Alex’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of Renee’s car parked in the spot next to where he parked his truck. She was leaning against the driver’s side door, a plastic grocery bag in her hand.
“Daddy, it’s Ms. Moore,” Jasmine yelled. She was out of the car in a shot.
Alex moved a bit more slowly, using the time to get his body’s reaction to seeing Renee under control. She was smiling when he rounded his truck, and his effort to maintain a sense of calm became even more difficult.
“Hi there,” she said.
“Hi to you, too,” Alex answered. He motioned to the bag. “What’s that?”
“Popcorn and Mike and Ike’s,” she answered. “Movie watching food. I was hoping I could talk you into checking one out with me,” she said.
“Yay!” Jasmine jumped up and down, clapping her hands.
Okay, so he hadn’t expected his first date with Renee to include his daughter, but then again, who said this was a date? Alex stared at Renee, and concluded that this was definitely a date. She kept her gaze innocent enough to fly under the radar of a six year old, but Alex spotted the hint of desire in her eyes.
“That sounds like a plan,” he said.
Alex prepared Jasmine’s bath while she and Renee made miniature peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to go along with the other movie watching food. Jasmine proceeded to take the fastest bath known to mankind while the popcorn popped. Soon, they were all seated on the sofa watching one of Jasmine’s favorites, Lady and the Tramp, on the fifty two inch plasma. Both of the movies Renee rented from the video store had a PG-13 rating, which Alex refused to allow Jasmine to watch.
“I haven’t seen this movie in forever,” Renee said, holding a throw pillow to her chest and releasing a contented whimper as the credits rolled.
“I saw it three times last week,” Alex said. “Jasmine goes through Disney movie phases.”
“Yep.” Jasmine nodded. “We can watch Mulan next.”
“You can watch your dreams next,” Alex corrected her. “It’s nine o’clock, time for you to head to bed.”
“But I thought it was movie night.” Jasmine pouted.
“One movie a night is your limit,” Alex said. He nudged her. “Scoot.”
Jasmine huffed, but that was the extent of her resistance, probably because she couldn’t argue through all that yawning. She put her arms up for a hug. Alex wrapped his arm around her and planted a loud, sloppy kiss on her neck.
“Yuck, Daddy,” she laughed; then she turned to Renee, her arms outstretched.
Renee’s eyes widened as she encased Jasmine in a hug. She looked at Alex over Jasmine’s head, a mixture of confusion and relief in her eyes. Alex could not think of a way to accurately describe the sensations that rushed through his blood as he watched Renee and Jasmine together. He had never allowed himself to picture another woman here, helping him raise his daughter. But he could see Renee as Jasmine’s stepmother all too clearly.
“Good night, Ms. Moore,” Jasmine said. “I’m happy you’re coming to Uncle Eli’s wedding.”
“So am I,” Renee answered. “Good night.”
“I’ll be right back,” Alex said, taking Jasmine by the hand.
“I’ll be right here,” Renee answered.
That sounded really good to him.
Renee settled back on the sofa, taking in her surroundings. She’d been to Alex’s house a few times over the past month and a half, but other than the first time when she’d come to see Jasmine’s closet, it had only been for a few minutes at a time. The spacious living room was tastefully decorated, just like the rest of the house.
A picture of his wife cradling Jasmine as an infant sat on one of the end tables that flanked the butter soft leather couch. Renee lifted it and stared at the breathtakingly beautiful woman. She could see how Alex would fall for her.
“You were so stupid to mess up what you had with this man. But thanks,” Renee quipped as she placed the framed photo back on the table.
“You weren’t lying,” Alex said as he reentered the living room.
“Meaning?”
“You’re still here.” He smiled.
“Told you I would be,” Renee said. “Are you up for watching another movie, or are you ready to get to bed as well?”
He stared at her, the wanting in his eyes unmistakable, but there was also a hint of regret. Before he could voice his concern, Renee stopped him.
“Alex, I meant you in your bed down the hall, and me in my cramped little bed in the trailer.”
“I want more than that,” Alex said. “Just not yet. Not with Jasmine in the next room.”
“I understand,” she reassured him. “You need time to adjust to the idea almost as much as she does.”
“It will happen,” he promised, taking her by the hand and pulling her up from the sofa. He pressed a firm kiss to her closed lips, urging them to open.
Renee shook her head and pulled away. “Let’s not start that,” she said. “We both know what happens between us when there’s a
sofa near.”
“And dusty cardboard boxes,” Alex added.
She burst out laughing, but had to agree. “So, another movie? Something with higher than a G rating? We don’t have to watch the ones I brought if you’ve got something else you feel like watching.”
Alex walked over to the wall and pressed the wainscoting. A door popped opened, revealing several shelves lined with DVDs.
Renee gasped. “Look at that, you genius carpenter you.”
“I try.” Alex grinned. “I’m pretty proud of this one. You have to look really close to see where the break is.” He pulled out a DVD case. “Along the lines of Mulan, I thought we could stay with the Asian flavor.”
“You actually have Memoirs of a Geisha on DVD?”
“If you tell my brothers, I’ll deny it,” Alex said. He slipped in the movie and Renee followed him down on the sofa, snuggling her back onto his broad chest.
“It’s too bad they weren’t offering an Asian history course in my program,” Alex said. “I would have aced it. I love Eastern culture.”
“You ever been?” Renee asked, mesmerized by the graceful fan dance the actress performed on the screen.
“No.” Alex absently stroked her arm. “I’d love to go one day.”
“So would I,” she said.
Renee could not hold back the image of trekking along the Great Wall of China with Alex by her side. As her husband.
It scared her, just how much she longed for that. When had she started thinking of this man she’d known for less than two months as husband material? When had she started considering anyone as husband material? She had never completely denounced the idea of marriage, but after she’d witnessed the atrocity that was her parents’ marriage, it was not high on her list of priorities, either. She was happy right here, single and free to make her own choices.
At least Renee thought she was happy. Until Alex. Being with him had given her a glimpse of what life could be like with someone who knew how to make a woman happy.
“Speaking of school,” Alex said, knocking her out of her blissful daze, “I received some pretty high marks on that paper.”
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