Rachel kept her focus on Andrew, her curiosity piqued more by the seriousness of his expression than the words. “What is it?”
But he shook his head. “It can wait.”
“You’re sure.”
“Positive.” He touched his lips to hers again. “I’ll call you.”
“Tonight?” she asked hopefully.
“Tonight.”
* * *
“Obviously things went well on Saturday,” Holly commented when Andrew had gone.
“It was close, but the Wolfpack emerged victorious,” Rachel said.
Her friend rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t asking about the game.”
“You know I’m not the type to kiss and tell.”
“Yes, you are—at least to your best friend.”
Rachel laughed, because it was true. “You probably have more to tell than I do.”
Holly smiled. “That depends on whether or not you can top five orgasms.”
Rachel’s jaw dropped. “You met this guy on Saturday and you slept with him already?”
“Actually, there was no sleeping involved.”
“None?”
“I got a few hours after I sent him home.”
“You had sex with him and then kicked him out of your apartment?”
“I like my space,” Holly said, just a little defensively.
“You like sex without intimacy.”
“Thanks for that dime-store analysis.”
She sighed. “You’re never going to find the right guy when you keep looking in all the wrong places.”
“And you’re so busy looking for the perfect guy that you overlook a lot of really great ones.”
Rachel frowned, wondering if there might not be some truth in what her friend was saying.
“Andrew is a prime example,” Holly insisted.
“A prime example of what?”
“The prime male. He’s tall, dark and incredibly sexy. His shoulders are broad enough that a woman would feel confident that she could lean on him, his arms are strong enough that she would feel safe in his embrace, and he looks as if he walked off the cover of a men’s magazine. But most importantly—he’s single.”
“Widowed,” Rachel clarified, not sure if she should be impressed or annoyed at the observation skills that had allowed her friend to so accurately catalog his physical attributes. “And you were the one who warned me not to rush into anything—that a man who still buys flowers for a wife who’s been gone more than three years is probably still in love with her.”
“I did say that,” Holly acknowledged. “I changed my mind.”
“On the basis of what?”
“The way he looked at you.”
“How did he look at me?”
“Like he was picturing you naked.”
“He almost had me naked Saturday night,” Rachel admitted.
“Seriously?”
She nodded. “One kiss, and I felt as if my clothes were going to melt off my body.”
She still didn’t know if Andrew was the right guy, but he certainly knew how to push all the right buttons. It had been more than sixteen months since she’d decided to take a break from dating. And in all that time, she hadn’t thought too much about sex. Certainly she hadn’t lamented the fact that she wasn’t having any.
One kiss from Andrew Garrett and she was thinking about it a lot. Not sex in general but sex with him in particular. If he was half as good a lover as he was a kisser, he would be spectacular.
“So why’d you put the brakes on?” her friend wanted to know.
“Why are you so sure that it was me?”
“Because I saw the way he looked at you,” Holly said again.
“Okay, it was me,” she admitted. “Because I couldn’t imagine getting naked with a guy who was still wearing the ring put on his finger by another woman.”
Holly nodded. “I can understand that. But I saw something else today when he looked at you.”
“What’s that?”
“He isn’t wearing his wedding ring anymore.”
* * *
Andrew didn’t expect the absence of the gold band on his finger would go completely unnoticed, but he was surprised that his youngest brother was the first to comment on it.
Shortly after he got back from lunch with Rachel, Daniel stopped by the office in which Andrew felt compelled to spend at least a few hours every day.
“What brings you into the hallowed halls of Garrett Furniture?” he asked his brother, because it was a well-known fact that Daniel preferred to keep as much distance as possible between himself and the family business.
“I need a favor.”
Though there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for either of his brothers, experience cautioned him to ask, “What kind of favor?”
“I’m going to ask Mom and Dad to release my trust fund.”
Before their maternal grandfather, Randall Willson, passed away more than a decade earlier, he’d set up trusts for each of his three grandsons. By his own admission, Randall had been a reckless and foolish young man. As a result, he’d decided that instead of the money being released when the beneficiary reached the age of twenty-one or even twenty-five, it should be held until the beneficiary was thirty—or legally married.
“Okay,” Andrew said cautiously.
“I’m not asking you to support my request—I’m just asking you not to oppose it.”
“Why would I oppose it?”
“I hope you won’t,” Daniel said again. “Because I want to invest in the ownership of a stock-car racing team.”
The announcement didn’t really surprise Andrew. His brother had always loved racing, and he’d made more than a few comments over the years expressing interest in getting involved in the business. But this time, it sounded as if he had a solid plan.
“I have no objection to whatever you want to do,” Andrew assured him. “And even if I did, I doubt my opinion would factor into Mom and Dad’s decision.”
“You think they’ll say no,” Daniel guessed.
“I think, when you tell them what you want the money for, they’ll shut you down faster than a red flag,” he admitted.
“What if I start out talking about their fortieth anniversary party?”
“Have you started making plans for it?”
“Not exactly,” his brother hedged.
“Then I wouldn’t open with that,” Andrew warned.
“This isn’t fair,” Daniel grumbled. “I’m twenty-seven years old, and I have to ask my parents for money.”
Andrew wasn’t unsympathetic. His brother had always wanted to do his own thing, make his own way. He’d deliberately chosen a career path separate from Garrett Furniture. He lived on his own and supported himself, but there was no way he made enough money to buy a racing team.
“What did Nate say about this?”
“He said that he would consider throwing in from his own trust fund if Mom and Dad turned me down.”
Andrew considered that for a minute. “I could probably do the same, if I liked your business plan. Although I’ve already tied up half of my trust in a new fund for Maura.”
“I’ll keep that in mind as an absolute last resort, but I was really hoping to do this on my own.”
On his own—but with money given to him by his grandfather. Andrew wondered if his brother even recognized the inherent contradiction in the statement.
“You know, if Mom and Dad say no, there’s always the marriage provision,” he teased.
Daniel shuddered at the thought. “I don’t think so.”
Andrew pushed away from his desk and went to refill his coffee mug. He gestured to the pot. “Do you want a cup?”
His br
other shook his head, then his gaze narrowed on the hand that was wrapped around the mug. “You’re not wearing your wedding ring.”
“I’m not married anymore.”
“You haven’t been married for three years,” Daniel pointed out, not unkindly.
He nodded in acknowledgment of the fact. “I wasn’t ready to take it off before now.”
“So who is she?”
He could pretend not to know what his brother was talking about, but what was the point? “Her name’s Rachel.”
“Is she the one you went bowling with on Valentine’s Day?”
“Honestly, you and Nate gossip about my love life like a couple of high school girls.”
Daniel snorted. “You don’t have a love life. Or has that changed?”
“I’m hoping to change it.”
His brother considered, nodded. “Good for you.”
“Really? That’s it—no other snide remarks?”
“Nope. I’m happy for you.”
“It’s early stages yet,” he said, cautioning himself as much as his brother.
“Does Maura like her?”
“I’m sure she will.”
Daniel’s brows winged up. “She hasn’t met her yet?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I haven’t actually had a chance to tell Rachel about Maura.”
“You’ve been dating this woman since Valentine’s Day and she doesn’t know you have a child?”
“We haven’t been dating since Valentine’s Day.”
His brother frowned. “So this is someone else?”
“No. Rachel is the one I went out with on Valentine’s Day, but I didn’t see her again after that until this past weekend.”
“And while you were with her this past weekend, you didn’t manage to slip something into the conversation along the lines of ‘by the way, I have a daughter’?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Daniel shook his head. “Man, even I know that’s a recipe for disaster.”
“I was planning to tell her at lunch today.”
“Obviously that didn’t happen.”
“Our plans got changed,” he said, aware that he sounded more than a little defensive.
“When this comes back to bite you in the ass, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
* * *
Andrew did call Rachel Monday night, and then again the next night, and the night after that. She enjoyed talking to him on the phone. She hadn’t realized how rarely she had a telephone conversation that lasted more than a few minutes with anyone, even her family. It seemed like everyone preferred to communicate via text message or email these days.
Most of the time, Rachel appreciated the benefits of electronic communication, especially the convenience of sending or responding to messages on her own time. But she could easily listen to Andrew’s voice for hours.
And even when she wasn’t talking to him, she was thinking about him—and thinking about the kisses they’d shared. And she couldn’t help wondering what she’d be thinking about if they hadn’t stopped after those few kisses.
It was easy enough to imagine the feel of his hands on her, the weight of his body pressing down on hers. But she didn’t want to imagine; she wanted to know. And she felt like a hypocrite that she’d chastised Holly for sleeping with a man she barely knew when she was thinking about doing the same.
Unfortunately, she didn’t see that happening anytime soon, especially when they couldn’t seem to coordinate their schedules to get together again during the week. He was available Wednesday night, but she had a book-club meeting. She would have happily skipped the meeting to see him, except that she was hosting this month. She suggested they might be able to get together on Thursday, but he had already committed to helping his brother with something.
“Do you like art?” she asked, when he called her after her book club on Wednesday.
“It depends on who’s defining the term art.”
“I think, in this case, it refers to metal sculpture.”
“That could have potential,” he allowed.
“Elaine, one of our part-time employees, has an exhibit opening at the art gallery this weekend. I figured I should go check it out and be supportive, and I thought, if you didn’t have any other plans, you might want to go with me.”
“When?”
“Saturday afternoon.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, sounding genuinely regretful. “But I can’t make it.”
She was undeniably disappointed—and curious as to the reason behind his refusal. It didn’t bother her that he had other plans, as he apparently did, but she wondered why he seemed unwilling to disclose what those plans were.
“Maybe we could get together Sunday afternoon,” he suggested.
She and Holly tried to set a schedule so that they each got one weekend day off, but this week, Rachel’s day off was Saturday. “I’m scheduled to work on Sunday.”
“I wish I could switch my Saturday plans, but I can’t.”
“I might be able to get Trish to fill in for me at the shop,” Rachel offered. “She’s usually happy to get extra hours.”
When he called her Thursday night after what he described as an unsuccessful meeting with his brother, she confirmed that she’d made the arrangements with Trish, and he said that he would pick her up at noon on Sunday.
She went to the art gallery on Saturday as planned, then she met Holly at the movie theater. It was the opening weekend for the film they’d chosen to see and the theater was rapidly filling up, so they went to find their seats before worrying about snacks. Since Holly had bought the tickets, Rachel left her to hold their seats while she went to get popcorn.
She was on her way to the concession stand when she saw him. “Andrew, hi.”
He looked equally startled to see her—and not entirely pleased. “I thought you had something at the art gallery today.”
“I did,” she confirmed. “And I’m glad you didn’t let me drag you along. Elaine is great with flowers, but I don’t think the lumps of metal she put on display would fit anyone’s definition of art.”
He smiled, but it seemed forced, as if he wasn’t really listening to what she was saying. It was then that she realized he was standing directly outside the entrance to the ladies’ room, as if waiting for someone.
Probably the same someone with whom he was going to share the large popcorn and two drinks he carried.
“Oh.” As all the pieces clicked into place in her mind, hot color filled her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize...”
She trailed off, hurt and embarrassed and frustrated with herself for apologizing to him. Why was she sorry? She wasn’t the one who had made some lame excuse about having plans in order to spend the afternoon with someone else.
He frowned. “What didn’t you realize?”
Her cheeks burned hotter, but combined with the humiliation was anger that he would make her spell it out. “Obviously you’re here on a date.”
He was shaking his head before the words were completely out of her mouth. “No. I’m not.”
But she didn’t want to hear his denials. She didn’t want to know how close she’d been to falling for yet another man who didn’t know how to be honest.
“Enjoy your movie,” she said, and started to move past him to the concession stand.
“Rachel, wait—” Andrew began.
But she’d already turned away and, in her haste, nearly bumped into the child who had exited the ladies’ room and was moving toward him.
Then she heard the little girl say, “I’m ready now, Daddy.”
Chapter Seven
Daddy?
Rachel froze, her shocked gaze moving from Andre
w to the little girl and back again.
Was it possible that she’d misunderstood the child’s words? But no, she could see it now. The familial resemblance wasn’t obvious, but it was there—in the shape of her eyes, the curve of her mouth, and even the way she tilted her head when she looked at Rachel.
She was a beautiful girl with cornflower-blue eyes, a light dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose, and a cupid’s-bow mouth. Her shoulder-length blond hair was held away from her face with butterfly barrettes. The puffy purple coat she wore was unzipped to reveal a lilac-colored fleece sweater with a bouquet of pink applique daisies on the front and pink corduroy pants. If she had to guess, Rachel would say she was around seven years old, but all of the details that buzzed around in her mind were insignificant compared to the fact that this child was undoubtedly Andrew’s child.
“This is my daughter, Maura,” he confirmed. Then, to the little girl, “Maura, this is Rachel.”
The child’s eyes widened and her mouth curved, as if she was both surprised and sincerely pleased to meet her. “Are you going to see the movie with us?” Maura asked her.
“No,” Rachel and Andrew answered quickly and in unison.
Maura’s smile faded and she looked to her father, as if for an explanation.
“I didn’t know Rachel was planning to be here today,” he said. “And I’m sure she’s not here to see The Pixie Princess.”
“I’m not,” Rachel confirmed.
“Okay.” The little girl accepted the explanation easily. “Maybe next time?”
Her hopeful tone piqued Rachel’s curiosity.
“Maura,” her father said sternly.
“Speaking of movies,” Rachel said. “Holly’s probably wondering where I disappeared to, so I should get back to my seat before mine starts.”
Andrew looked as if he wanted to say something, but then he only nodded.
Rachel shifted her gaze back to the little girl and managed a smile. “It was nice to meet you, Maura.”
“It was nice to meet you, too,” the child echoed politely.
She’d only taken a few steps when she heard Maura speak again. “You were right, Daddy. She’s really pretty.”
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