The Nerd Who Loved Me

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  She'd be fine, Harry told himself. But he didn't want her to go.

  "I should leave," she said.

  He wanted to hold her once more, but not in front of an audience. "Yeah. It's time."

  "I'll see you back here when it's over." "Yep."

  "It'll be fine." She stood on the balls of her feet and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye."

  As he watched her get in the car and drive away, he wondered why there had to be assholes like Joey in the world. Then again, if it hadn't been for Joey, Lainie wouldn't have moved to Vegas. So maybe even assholes had a purpose in life. Joey's purpose was over, though, so he could get the hell out of here any time now. Harry would love to assist him out the door.

  "Let's go, kid," Leo said. "We don't want to be late for the party."

  With a nod, Harry climbed in the back seat of the Jag. Dudley had probably never ridden in a car like this, so Harry gave him the front seat. Sure enough, Dudley had a ball adjusting the seat, tuning the radio, and rolling the window up and down as they headed off toward town.

  Glancing at his watch, Harry tapped Leo on the shoulder. "Let's speed it up."

  "I'm over the limit, now," Leo said. "Relax. We're al­most there."

  Harry sat with his hands clenched as they rounded the bend leading into town and the coffee shop patio came into view. "She's not there." He quickly scanned the people sitting at the tables. "Neither's Joey. Maybe I should get out and—"

  "Take it easy," Leo said. "It's not ten yet."

  Harry's gut was a twisted mess. "I know, but she should be there by now." Then he saw her, about two blocks away, hurrying toward the patio. "Damn, she must have had trouble finding a parking spot."

  "Which would be our problem, too." Leo cruised slowly down the street, getting farther away from the coffee shop.

  "I'm getting out," Harry said.

  Leo shook his head. "Don't do that."

  "I am doing that." He unfastened his seat belt. "Ei­ther stop the car or don't, but I'm getting out. You can circle the block all you want, but I need to be there when she meets Joey."

  "There's a parking garage down a ways," Dudley said. "If it's not full, that is. Sometimes—"

  "I'm getting out." Harry opened the door.

  Swearing under his breath, Leo jammed on the brakes. Tires squealed behind them. As Harry jumped out of the car, he heard the clunk of bumper hitting bumper. Well, he was sorry about the Jag, but being there for Lainie was more important than a fender-bender.

  He crossed quickly to the sidewalk and headed back in the direction of the coffee shop. He would keep out of sight, but he wanted to be close enough to do something if he had to. Sure, Leo had guys stationed around the area, and maybe they were professionals who knew ex­actly what they were doing.

  Harry, on the other hand, was only an accountant with no experience in this kind of thing. But he was the only person around who was in love with the woman sit­ting alone at a table in her new running shoes, white shorts, and a stop-sign-red T-shirt. And he figured that made him the most valuable guy on the job.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Lainie had noticed the silver Jag go by as she hurried toward the coffee shop. Catching a glimpse of Harry in the back seat had helped settle her butterflies a little bit. Then she'd heard the squeal of tires and had turned just in time to see Harry jump out of Leo's car and a blue station wagon hit the Jag's bumper with a sickening thud. Poor Leo.

  She didn't have time to find out what happened after that, and certainly didn't dare wait for Harry to catch up with her. Instead she walked even faster toward the cof­fee shop. Once there, she looked around for Joey and didn't see him.

  Okay, this was it. Trying to breathe normally instead of like a long-distance runner, she looked for a table. The place was packed, but right then a couple left a table shaded by a large green market umbrella. Lainie made a beeline for it, barely claiming it ahead of a family of four.

  She ignored their glares as she sat at the table alone, with no coffee, no excuse for being there. Then she couldn't decide where to sit. She tried all four chairs be­fore settling on the one facing the street.

  A cop car went by, no doubt headed for Leo's fender-bender. Lainie could imagine Leo down there fuming, ready to strangle Harry for getting out of the car so fast, which probably caused the accident. But Lainie thought it was wonderful of Harry to be so worried about her that he couldn't wait for Leo to find a parking space.

  She'd known the minute she'd driven into town that parking would be a problem. For some reason no one had thought to plan for that, and yet they should have. They were in the height of the tourist season, and crowds were everywhere.

  But no Joey. At least not yet. Trying to calm herself, she looked to her left at the spectacular view of red rocks and pine-covered mesas that had so inspired her the first time she'd seen this vista. Today the inspiration was lost on her. But maybe if she concentrated on the panorama long enough, she'd recapture that sense of awe. She could use some awe about now.

  She forced herself to focus on the rocks, hoping the natural beauty would soothe her. Didn't work. Soon her attention was skittering all over the place as she looked for Joey. She studied every approaching male figure, but nobody looked even slightly like him.

  So he wouldn't be here by ten. That wasn't surpris­ing. He was never on time, and she should have remem­bered that and told Leo. Too late now, though. But if Joey hadn't arrived yet, maybe she could figure out where Harry had stationed himself.

  Once she spotted him she would have laughed if she hadn't been so nervous. He'd picked out a bench in front of a store close by, and he was using an open newspaper to shield the upper part of his body. It wasn't a bad dis­guise, except that the newspaper was upside down.

  The upside-down newspaper indicated exactly how shook up Harry was about all this. Someone as method­ical as Harry had to be pretty upset to open a newspaper upside down. She watched him, thinking that eventually he'd notice what he'd done and rotate the newspaper so it was right-side-up. Then, for a few seconds, she'd be able to see his face. That would calm her far more than the view.

  When he sat up straighter on the bench, she figured he'd realized he needed to fix the paper before someone decided he was nuts. One chance to look into his eyes was all she needed. Maybe she'd smile at him, to let him know that she'd seen him and appreciated his being right there. If only—

  "As if finding a parking place isn't already a bitch, now a couple of bozos run into each other on the main drag. This place is full of idiots."

  Lainie's stomach pitched at the sound of Joey's voice. When she could finally bring herself to look up, she wondered how on earth she'd ever found this guy at­tractive. Five years of late nights and great quantities of booze had left his skin blotchy, and he was starting to get a belly on him, too. His mirrored shades covered his eyes, but she'd bet they were bloodshot.

  "Hello, Joey."

  "Yeah, hi. Listen, I need coffee bad." He glanced down at the bare table. "You're not having any?"

  "No, thanks." She noticed he hadn't offered to buy it for her.

  "I'm getting some, then. Hold down the table." He headed for the entrance to the shop.

  Had he always ordered her around like that? She ad­mitted to herself that he probably had, and she'd been too insecure to question it. Harry would never dream of speaking to her in that tone of voice. She glanced over toward the bench and noticed the newspaper was right-side-up now.

  As she stared at Harry, he slowly lowered the newspa­per. With sunlight reflecting off his glasses she couldn't see his eyes, but she didn't need to. From the tense set of his shoulders she could imagine how his eyes would look—filled with the same kind of concern as before, when he'd sent her off in his car.

  Obviously, he'd fallen in love with her the same as she'd fallen in love with him. It was as plain to see as an upside-down newspaper. And for a little while, she bathed in the glow of that. Even though their relation­ship was doom
ed, she drew strength from knowing that a man like Harry loved her. Then a crowd of people piled out of a bus and the sidewalk between Lainie and Harry filled up with tourists. She couldn't see him any­more.

  "There are too damn many kinds of coffee these days." Joey set his cup on the table and plopped into a chair opposite Lainie. "I don't know what the hell this is going to taste like, but at least it's caffeine, so I'm going for it." He took a swig and swore again. "Shit, that stuff's hot. Took off half my taste buds."

  Joey, she realized, was mad at the world. He'd been mad at the world when she'd met him, and that had been okay with her, because she'd felt rejected by her parents and only too happy to find a bitching buddy. But being a parent herself, now, she understood her mom and dad a little better. They wanted good things for her, and they didn't think being a showgirl was a good thing.

  They'd tried to use disapproval to get her to change her mind, but instead it had driven her away. Then both she and her parents had hardened their positions so that the gulf between them grew wider every year. She didn't know if she could bridge that gap now, but maybe one of these days she'd give it a try. Dexter should know at least one set of grandparents.

  Joey's next sip of coffee was more cautious. Then he set the coffee down and looked at her. "Emil's gay."

  So he was going straight to the heart of the matter. Good thing he'd abandoned any idea of charming her into getting back together. She did her best to act sur­prised by his announcement. "Really? Wow. What a shocker that must be for your family."

  "My dad disowned him." Joey sat back, his expres­sion smug. "So that leaves the door wide open for yours truly."

  "I guess it would, at that." If you hadn't pickled what little brain you have.

  Joey reached for his coffee and took another careful sip. "The thing is, dear old Dad wants to be sure the busi­ness stays in the family. I've seen several doctors, and they all say the same thing. Dexter was a fluke. The chances of me having another kid are next to nil."

  "I see."

  "I hope you do. Here's how I think this could work so everybody benefits. We get married."

  She felt sick to her stomach. "Joey, I don't—"

  "Don't worry. I wouldn't expect you to act like a wife except in front of my parents. Hell, I want my freedom to do whatever, too, you know."

  She didn't know what she'd expected him to ask of her, but this was horrible. "I couldn't do that. But even if I could, I wouldn't want that kind of life for Dexter. Kids sense things. He'd know immediately we're not a devoted couple."

  "Okay, he might, but I'd be away a lot. And think of this, before you get all high-and-mighty on me. Dexter would have anything a kid could want. My mom and dad would dote on him. I'm guessing he's never had that, unless you've suddenly made up with your folks."

  Her stomach knotted up. "My relationship with my parents is none of your business."

  "I'll bet they'd be a whole lot happier with you if you married the father of their grandson," he said softly. "And you'd have access to the Benjamin money, too, Lainie. You could move your parents into a place right near our house. Then Dexter would have it all."

  Oh, God. It would have been easier if he'd tried to pretend he still wanted her. That she could have dealt with. Instead he'd described the charmed life Dexter would lead if she'd simply agree to go along with his plan.

  She didn't believe money was the answer to happi­ness, not by a long shot. But the senior Benjamins could provide private schools, music lessons, trips to Europe, all the things Dexter would relish. She'd struggle to give him a tenth of those opportunities.

  Then she also had to consider the shaky legal posi­tion she was in, taking Dexter out of New Jersey without getting written permission. For all she knew, if she didn't cooperate with Joey, he'd use that against her to get custody. Because he was basically lazy, he wouldn't want to go that route unless he had to, but if pushed to the wall, he might.

  No doubt about it, Joey had tremendous motivation to claim his son. If she thought he could find a way to sep­arate her from Dexter, she'd be wise to grab this first of­fer no matter how much she hated the idea. At least this way, she'd be with her child.

  "I can see you're thinking about it," Joey said. "Don't be dumb about this, Lainie. Think about the kid."

  She wished he'd take off those mirrored sunglasses. "Are you thinking about him?"

  "Sure I am. I think about him all the time."

  "Do you think about him, or what he means to you, now that you have a chance to get control of Benjamin, Inc., someday?"

  Joey snorted. "Like, how am I supposed to separate those two?"

  "A loving father would have no trouble separating them."

  "Oh, for Christ's sake. I'm a loving father, okay?"

  She didn't think that deserved a response. She just looked at him, hoping against hope that there was some decency left in him, some kernel of real caring for this little boy he'd helped create.

  He cleared his throat. "In fact, I've been meaning to ask you. How's he doing?"

  "Fine."

  "Have you bought him a computer?"

  Now there was a sore point. She lifted her chin. "Not yet." Another thing that she'd thought about and hadn't been able to afford. Another thing Joey could use in court to convince a judge he'd make a better parent.

  "Kids these days need computers. Especially a smart little guy like Dexter." He paused to take a drink of his coffee. "Tell you what. I know this is hard for you, be­cause you've never met my parents. Maybe it would help if you talked to my mom."

  Her eyes widened. "You want me to do that?" She'd never anticipated this move.

  "Yeah. She's so excited to meet you and her grand­son."

  "You told your mother about me? What did you say?"

  He shifted in his chair. "Well, I had to change things around a little. You know how moms are."

  Or fathers. She remembered his stories about Doyle, a guy who made the Puritans look like partying fools. "Does your mother know I'm a showgirl?"

  "Not exactly. I said we dated five years ago, and you left without telling me you were pregnant because you didn't believe in forcing a guy into marriage. I told her I've been looking for you ever since."

  Lainie stared at him, unable to believe that he could ever pull off such a big, fat lie, even taking into consid­eration a mother's willingness to believe.

  He shrugged. "She bought it."

  Lainie pictured a woman so desperate to think well of a son run amok that she'd accept any wild and woolly story, if it was what she wanted to hear. "Okay, so she bought it. What does she think I do for a living?"

  "She, um, thinks you're a secretary, but it totally doesn't matter, Lainie, because after we're married you won't have to work a day in your life. You'll be on Easy Street. Dexter, too."

  "But I love to dance." What he was suggesting felt like throwing herself over a cliff. But this change could be exactly what Dexter needed. She'd never have to hire another babysitter. She could be available twenty-four/ seven.

  "So dance around the house! You'll have a big house."

  She wouldn't expect him to understand her passion for dancing, so she decided to let that part of the discus­sion go. Nobody wanted her to dance, it seemed. Her parents hadn't approved, and she was afraid Harry didn't want a dancer for a wife, either. Now, in order to set up Dexter for life, she'd have to forget doing what she loved.

  "Talk to my mom." Joey pulled a cell phone out of a holster on his belt and punched in a number. "Mom? It's Joey. Yes, I have her right here." Then he handed the phone across the table. "Her name's Celeste, by the way," he added.

  Lainie hesitated, as if taking that phone would be the signal for a jailor to swing the prison doors shut with a clang, locking her in forever.

  "She's Dexter's grandma," Joey said.

  That much was true, at least. Lainie took the phone. "Hello?"

  "Lainie, how wonderful to talk to you at last!" Ce­leste sounded very youthful.
<
br />   Lainie had wondered if she was a child-woman, be­cause Doyle seemed to rule the roost. "It's, uh, good to talk to you, too, Celeste."

  "And I can hardly wait to see little Dexter! I've already started shopping for toys, and clothes, and... every­thing!"

  "That's very generous of you."

  "Not at all. I'm his grandma! How soon will you be coming to meet us?"

  "I, uh ..." Lainie couldn't help herself. She looked over at the bench where Harry had been sitting, needing the reassurance of that comforting presence. He wasn't there.

  She couldn't scan the area and risk letting Joey know she had protectors lurking around. Harry might have changed locations so he wouldn't appear suspicious. That made sense, but she desperately needed to see him right now, even though he couldn't really help her with this.

  No one could help her with this. She had to make the decision by herself. And if this woman had already bought presents for Dexter, how could Lainie refuse to take him back for a visit?

  "Soon," she told Joey's mother. "We'll come soon. We'll let you know when we have plane tickets."

  "That's wonderful news. Just wonderful. We'll have such fun. We'll go ... we'll go to the beach! And play in the sand. I can't wait. Bye, now."

  Lainie disconnected the phone and handed it back across the table. Suddenly she felt exhausted. Until now, adrenaline had kept her going, but the thought of flying back to New York and pretending to be Joey's wife drained all the life out of her.

  "I heard you talking about plane tickets, so does that mean you're gonna play ball?" He watched her as if he expected her to bolt at any minute.

  "Joey, what about your father? Does he know any­thing?"

  Joey shrugged. "He'll come around. It's better if we work through my mother. Once she gets a look at Dex­ter, it'll be a done deal. And my father's partial to boys. He'll be fine."

  The whole business made her uneasy, and she decided to leave herself an escape route. "Okay, but in case he's not fine with it, here are my conditions. You can tell your parents we're married if you want, but don't make me go through with a ceremony yet, okay?"