by Various
“I love you.”
He said it so casually, with such little effort that he surprised himself. It caught him off guard. So much so that he grabbed Genevra’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and stopped her movements by turning her face to his.
“I’ve probably said that to five people in my life. And it's never come out easily.” He licked his lips, wanting to say more, but it was hard to get the words out around the lump in his throat.
Eyes the color of aquamarines brightened as she smiled up at him. “I understand,” she said, “and you can just lean in to that, Hale. Because I am never, ever going to leave you.”
Son of a bitch.
He released her chin so he could wipe the tears from his eyes. How could she know what was so deep inside of him, when he didn’t even have a clue?
Just then a loud thump resounded over their heads along with a muffled curse. Then feet pounded across the floor above them and the shower sprang to life. A crash of cosmic proportions echoed around them from above. Hale and Genevra looked at each other and said, “She’s up!”
Hale quickly put himself back together, allowing Genevra to drag a brush she pulled from her purse through his short locks. He relished the sensation of her fingers running across his brow as she fixed his hair just where she liked it. He went back to the tiny table tucked into the far corner of the kitchen and straightened the chairs. Finding her tattered panties lying on top of the table, he folded them into a tiny package and stuffed it in his shorts pocket. He sat down and gazed at his bride-to-be who primly touched up her makeup as she went commando underneath her short skirt. Her words ‘I like it a little rougher’ came back to him and his insides jolted with the knowledge that his pretty, rule-following accountant was turning into an out-of-control firecracker.
“I should have never kept you a secret from her,” Genevra said, wringing her hands.
Ah, the rule-follower was back.
“Mom! Are you here?” Lolly yelled from upstairs.
Hale raised his eyebrows. “Show time.”
The staircase above them came alive with cascading footfalls and a giant thump at the end. Hale sank back into his chair, more curious than worried as Genevra went to greet her daughter.
“Lolly, Sweetsie, there’s someone—”
“I am in such trouble!” Lolly announced as she blustered into the kitchen, passing her mother in a nonstop effort to reach the Keurig coffee maker. “Vance is probably already angry. I’m supposed to be on the court right now, but I’ve overslept. And I overslept because….”
Hale sat up straighter in appreciation of the unexpected phenomenon whirling though Genevra’s kitchen. She was long and lean and pretty. Her dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail with a red ribbon tied in a bow with the tails hanging down the length of her hair. Her all-white tennis dress was sleek and fashionable, and her red Converse tennis shoes had him gaping at the whole picture.
“I couldn’t get to sleep,” she said, apparently finding her preferred K-Cup and inserting it into the machine. “At first I was up worrying about you and your mystery date––I swear he better not be married!”
“Well, Sweetsie, that’s what we—”
“But Vance isn’t just going to be angry that I’ve overslept. No.” She went on flouncing about the kitchen, opening doors and drawers and setting a piece of bread into the toaster. All the while her back was kept toward Hale. “Vance is going to kill me because Brooks threw his book on strategies in the dumpster….”
Lolly fumed throughout the kitchen so that she never noticed him sitting there, and the attempts her mother made to interrupt her were completely futile. She was so alive and vibrant in her tirade that Hale decided to sit back and enjoy the show. In fact, he was wondering how he might inspire Genevra into a similar turmoil. The two looked quite a bit alike and he wouldn’t mind seeing that heightened color on Genevra’s cheeks or watching her spin herself into a frenzy. Then Lolly’s tirade hit too close to home.
“Because Brooks was not at all happy when I told him I kissed Vance.” Lolly grabbed up some peanut butter and a plate and pulled honey from a cabinet.
“You kissed Vance?” Genevra’s eyes flew wide and landed on Hale.
“Yes, I kissed Vance! I am only human you know. After an entire week of his slick-tongued come-ons, I snapped.” Her toast popped up and she began spreading the peanut butter and honey on it.
“What do you mean, snapped?”
“I threw myself at him and hopefully he’s learned his lesson now.” Lolly licked the knife clean of peanut butter and honey before she dropped it into the dishwasher. “He, of course, made me out to be the bad guy and now that Brooks knows I’m not sure how that’s all going to work out.”
Hale had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.
Seeming to simmer down, Lolly said, “Actually, Brooks reminded me that I’m in charge of this Vance thing, so it really doesn’t matter if I’m late because Vance is about to have his comeuppance.” Lolly took a bite of her toast. However, it didn’t take another moment for the twirl to wind itself back up.
“But, then Brooks––Brooks! That’s why I was up all night! Thinking about Brooks! And what he did. I’m not even sure it was legal. And he thinks he’s the good cop? It is a ruse, I tell you.” She pointed at her mother. “The whole town thinks Brooks Bennett hung the moon and can do no wrong. Well, he’s good, all right. Good at being bad. Very, very bad. I swear to God I have half a mind to have Vance lock him up.” She turned and went about pouring her coffee into a to-go cup and Hale once again pressed his hand against his mouth. He loved this girl!
“Lolly. We have company….”
“And I can’t have you making me crazy too, Momma. Don’t you understand? The two of them are far more than I can handle. Your throwing me out of the house last night was just plain crazy. You have got to tell me who this man is you are dating, or I’ll just explode.” She stomped her foot in emphasis.
Genevra came and wrapped her daughter in a hug, whispering in her ear. “Sweetsie, I want you to meet Hale. Hale Evans.” She turned her daughter around and he watched as Lolly went from shock to embarrassment to her natural default southern belle hospitality.
“Mr. Evans,” she nodded.
Hale stood, taking her hand. “Lolly, I am so pleased to meet you.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you sitting there.”
“I understand perfectly. Your mind was elsewhere.”
Lolly nodded, her eyes shifting as if trying to remember all she had said. She shook her head then. “So you’re the one who’s been dating my momma.”
“I am,” he smiled, reaching out for Genevra, who came into his arm and slid hers behind his back.
Lolly’s gaze shifted from one to the other. “The two of you make quite an attractive couple,” she said with no hint of approval. “So why the secrecy? Who are you?”
Hale’s response was slow and measured. “I’m divorced. I have businesses all over the country, so I haven’t spent a lot of time in town over the last many years. Your mother and I met when I was looking for investment opportunities closer to home.
“As for the secrecy,” Hale went on, “that was simply to give the two of us time to get to know each other. Your mother suggested your uncles can be a little overbearing.”
“So you’re divorced. Not married.”
“That’s correct.”
“But you’re from Henderson? And your paths have never crossed until now?”
“I’ve kept a low profile since my divorce. And I’m usually out of town most of the week.”
“Why don’t we all sit down?” Genevra asked, and indicated the table.
Lolly looked at her watch. “I really am late for my tennis partner.” She looked at Hale, then at her mother. “I should probably call him and cancel.”
“No. That’s not necessary,” Hale insisted. “If you are free this evening, I’d love to take you both to dinner. That way we can get to know e
ach other a little better and answer all your questions.”
Lolly blushed. “Sorry…about the questions. It’s just….”
“That’s okay.”
“Thanks,” she said sincerely. Then she turned her attention to the more pressing matter. “Momma, may I borrow your car?”
“Can you drive a stick shift?” he interjected.
“Yes,” Lolly said, hesitantly.
“Then take my car. You might enjoy driving it and it will certainly get you to your tennis date fast.” He held out the keys he took from his pocket.
“What kind of car is it?” she asked, looking wary, but taking the keys.
“A Corvette.”
“And you’re letting me drive it?”
“I figure I owe you, keeping you in the dark and all.”
Lolly smiled. Not a full-on grin, but Hale was happy to get what he could.
“Fun! And thanks,” she said, turning quickly and picking up her coffee and equipment. “I’ll definitely be at dinner,” she said, looking at the two of them before she raced out of the kitchen.
Hale and Genevra held their breaths until they heard the screen door slam. Then they both exhaled loudly.
“Do you think that was a good idea? You do know what’s going to happen when Vance sees her pull up in that car, don’t you?”
“Yeah. He’s going to have his hands full,” Hale replied. “But better him than me,” he said, shaking his head. “Lolly scares me.”
Genevra laughed out loud.
Chapter Seventeen
Lolly didn’t have to wait to be educated by Vance. She stood on the top step of her momma’s porch, looking out at the orange Corvette. She knew exactly who it belonged to.
Vance’s dad.
There could only be one car like that in all of North Carolina, much less Henderson. And she’d already been in it.
It took her a moment to get it added up, but the total came to the whopping shocker that her momma was dating Vance’s daddy. Which, was fairly obvious given that the man standing in her mother’s kitchen right now was hot, she thought as she walked in a shell-shocked daze toward the vintage sports car. Hot and looked like Vance. Not to mention that he had the same last name. Duh!
He is freaking hot, she thought with a short, sputtered laugh. She maneuvered the driver’s seat forward and hooked the seat belt over her hips. No wonder her mother wanted to savor it. Lolly stuck the key in the ignition and fired up the Vette.
She wasn’t in the proper frame of mind to gun the sucker. Her whole world had slowed to about three miles an hour, so she had trouble doing more than that. She crept her way along toward the Club, all the while adjusting to the knowledge that Hale Evans was Vance’s dad, that he was hot, and that he was dating her mother. Her mother, who didn’t come home last night.
But he wasn’t married. Simply divorced. And the two of them looked happy, she thought, trying hard to remember anything through the swirling confusion in her mind.
She found a parking spot close to the tennis courts, but sat for a long while staring out the windshield of the car. Something was tugging for attention at the back of her mind. Something pulling at her beyond the identity of the Mystery Date. Something else. Before she could put her finger on it, Vance was at her side, stooping down beside the car so he was at eye level, his arm resting across the open window.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “You okay?”
She turned her head and looked at him. Yep. There was no doubt she’d just met his father. “This is your dad’s car, isn’t it?”
He nodded seriously.
“Are you aware that it also happens to be my mother’s boyfriend’s car?”
He cleared his throat. “I am.”
“Are you now? Did you just find out? Today?”
Vance stood, opened the car door, and took her arm to help her out. “Lolly, I had dinner with the two of them last night.”
“Oh,” she said. Vance leaned in behind her to gather her tennis gear and coffee.
“Here.” He handed her the to-go cup. “Your mom is smoking hot, by the way.”
She cracked a small smile at that, touching her lips to the rim of the cup and feeling a little more grounded with Vance’s unsurprising references. “I was thinking the same thing about your dad,” she acknowledged.
They started walking toward the tennis courts.
A buzzing sounded from Vance’s pocket. He pulled out his cell and read the text. He smirked and then handed it to Lolly. ‘Possible powder keg heading your way. Please treat with kid gloves.’
“Powder keg? I feel more like a zombie. Why would he say powder keg?” And then it hit her. The nagging at the back of her mind.
Hale Evans had just witnessed her tirade about all things heinous, including her volatile relationship with both Vance and Brooks. She stopped dead in her tracks and sucked in a breath like she was going underwater. Her whole body began to shake as she tried in vain to remember exactly what she’d said. Exactly what Mr. Evans had heard.
“Oh!” she gasped as she remembered claiming without conscience or remorse that she had thrown herself at his son and kissed him.
“Oh My God, oh My God, oh My God,” she repeated before finding herself surrounded by strong arms that pulled her close.
“It’s okay—shhh—it’s okay,” Vance soothed her, rubbing his hands up and down her back. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
She hid her face against his shoulder. “Easy for you to say,” she moaned. “I have managed to make a complete spectacle of myself.”
“A spectacle?” When she looked up, his grin was from ear to ear. “How does a girl in the twenty-first century manage to make a complete spectacle of herself?” He laughed.
“Trust me. I was worried about being late for you, so I didn’t notice your father sitting at the kitchen table. Your dad is very quiet,” she accused. “And I imagine I resembled something of a powder keg as I allowed all my…my…crap to spill out of my mouth and onto my mother.”
“What?”
“Oh,” she sighed, “I’m pretty sure I told her…well, them, about throwing myself at you and kissing you yesterday.”
“Now that sounds like an interesting story,” Duncan James interrupted from behind.
Lolly spun inside the circle of Vance’s arms to find a none-too-pleased Duncan frowning at the two of them. Next to him, Annabelle Devine lifted her black designer shades from her eyes and tucked them up into her luxurious red curls. She had a grin on her face like she’d just opened an unexpected present.
“You two sure make a good-looking couple,” she said in her full-blown southern belle accent.
Vance’s arms dropped immediately. “Hey, y’all. Glad you’re here,” he said a bit too jovially. Lolly eyed him curiously as he reached his hand out to Duncan. Duncan took it, saying something about being a little early. Then he looked over at Lolly like he suspected she had his grandmother’s silver hidden up her dress.
“Lolly,” he acknowledged. Not, ‘Hi, Lolly.’ Not, ‘Good to see you, Lolly.’ Just, ‘Lolly.’ And a very disapproving ‘Lolly’ at that.
She searched Annabelle’s face as the two men walked toward the courts. Annabelle smiled empathetically. “Sounds like you’ve had your hands full this summer.”
“Oh.” Lolly sighed long and hard. “That’s becoming an understatement.”
Annabelle might only be a year older, but she placed a kiss on Lolly’s forehead as if she was her fairy godmother and could make all Lolly’s troubles disappear. “Tell me all about it,” she said as they started walking toward the women’s locker room. “We’ll let those two warm up without us. Give Duncan a chance to blow off steam.”
And Lolly did indeed tell her everything.
She told her about her first date with Brooks and her second date with Brooks and Vance. And then backtracked to how she had stumbled into meeting Vance in the first place and how his magic hands had healed her feet. Then she gave an overview of her time spent
running with Vance and how she ended up kissing him out of sheer exasperation. Next she explained how Brooks took the news of all that fairly well considering he only threw the book in the trash, not her physically. And how he still took her on the most romantic date of her life with the falling stars and then undid her with his…tongue she finished, blushing profusely.
“Oh and….” Lolly added as Annabelle repeatedly blinked her long lashes, digesting all she’d heard. “I just found out this minute that my mother is dating Vance’s dad.”
“Your mother is dating Mr. Evans! Wow! Oh. Wow! That’s…that’s…fantastic!”
“Yes. For my mother, I guess. She seems quite enamored. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Right?”
“Right!” Annabelle laughed. “Oh my gosh. This is big news. What’s everybody saying?”
“Nothing yet. I just found out myself.”
“Hmm,” she murmured, thinking. “I wonder why no one introduced them before? I mean, with your mom being widowed so young and what Vance’s dad has been through….”
“You mean about his wife leaving him and Vance?” Lolly hadn’t remembered that until just now. She tilted her head. “No wonder the two of them looked so happy. And they really are a gorgeous couple. I was standing there looking at the two of them and thought God, they look sexy. I mean, really sexy…like they’d just had….”
Lolly looked at Annabelle, startled.
“Okay. Time for us to play a little tennis,” Annabelle coaxed. Lolly jumped at the chance.
***
Three sets later, Vance and Lolly emerged victorious, Duncan’s mood had shifted back into his usually chipper self, and Lolly had left whatever stress she’d brought on the court way back in the second set tie-breaker. With the adrenaline from the win coursing through her system, she felt too good to worry about anything. Not only was she happy she’d held her own during the tennis match, but she’d pulled rank on Vance when he got cocky or tried to bully her during the game. Physical activity worked wonders for the mind. And her competitive spirit helped to tamp down everything that had been weighing heavily on her. When Annabelle suggested a celebratory drink to go along with their lunch, Lolly figured she deserved it.