Forever Starts Tonight

by Barbara Freethy

  "And I have yours."

  Their food was just being served when they returned to the table, and the conversation continued to jump around as they discussed everything under the sun from babies, to brides, men and jobs. It was girl talk, and as much as some of it made Jessica uncomfortable, she also loved the depth of their conversation, the real friendship that they shared, and she was happy to give pregnancy and baby advice to Liz and Andrea. It would be fun to see all their worlds expand. And it would be nice to have someone else in her mom club as Maggie had called it.

  As they paid the check, Kate turned to her and said, "Have you met anyone interesting since you moved here, Jess?"

  "She means men," Liz put in from across the table.

  Reid's image flashed in front of her eyes, and she paused a second too long.

  "That's a yes," Andrea said, surprise in her voice. "And you haven't said a word about him."

  "What's his name?" Maggie asked, a gleam in her eyes.

  "There's nothing big to report. I might have had a conversation with a guy, but that's it."

  "A good-looking guy?" Maggie inquired.

  "Very," she couldn't resist saying. "He has light-brown hair with streaks of blond, a great tan, and the most amazing blue eyes. He's a firefighter."

  "So he's got a great body," Liz put in.

  "From what I've seen so far—I'd have to say yes."

  "How did you meet?" Kate asked.

  She was not about to share exactly how they'd met. "He's teaching a community class on emergency preparation, and I'm representing my school at the class."

  "Did he ask you out?" Liz asked.

  "Yes, but I said no, because I have a kid."

  "You can still date," Andrea said.

  "It's a lot more difficult when you have a seven-year-old. There are a lot of things to consider. Anyway, probably nothing is going to happen, so we don't need to talk about it."

  "You should bring him to our annual pizza cook-off next Saturday," Andrea said.

  "Yes, you should," Liz said.

  "It would be fun," Julie agreed.

  "And introduce him to all of you and your guys—I don't think so," she replied with a shake of her head. "We haven't been on a date, at least not just the two of us."

  "What have you done together?" Maggie asked curiously.

  "We went to the beach with Brandon. We had some coffee. That's it."

  "Well, think about it," Kate said. "See how this week goes. And if you want to bring him, bring him."

  "And don't forget, we have a teenager ready to watch Brandon and however many of his friends you want to bring," Andrea put in. "Alex's game room is a kid's dreamland. Trust me, Brandon will not be bored."

  "It's really nice of you to do that."

  "It's not a big deal."

  "Well, thanks. Brandon will love it, and I probably will bring a friend along for him."

  "Great."

  She pushed back her chair. "I have to go. I only have the babysitter for another twenty minutes."

  "You all have to stop at my car on the way out," Kate said, as they gathered their things and stood up. "I have the bridesmaid's dresses. I want everyone to try on their dress tonight and let me know what you think about the sizing. We'll probably have to make alterations closer to the date for Liz and Andrea, but now that I know that will be an issue I'll make sure to have a seamstress on call."

  As they walked out of the restaurant, Maggie pulled Jessica aside. "I can't believe you held back that juicy tidbit about a hot firefighter."

  "Don't make more of it than it is. Reid is a very attractive man who could get any woman he wants."

  "Maybe he wants you. I'll make you a deal," Maggie said. "I won't make more of this if you won't make less of it."

  "What does that mean?"

  "It means give him a chance. Someday you're going to have to let someone else in. Maybe this is the guy."

  A little shiver ran through her as she thought about Reid. Was he the guy? Did she have the guts to find out?

  Seven

  Monday afternoon, Reid checked his watch for the sixth time in about that many minutes.

  "You have somewhere to go?" Bill asked, as he looked at him across the table in the kitchen of the firehouse. "Because our shift isn't over for another twelve plus hours."

  "I know," he muttered, setting down the newspaper that he hadn't been able to concentrate on.

  "Want to play some five-card draw?" Bill asked, shuffling the pack of cards in his hand.

  What he wanted to do was see Jessica and Brandon walk through the door. It was a little after four, and they were supposed to come by after school. School had ended at three. Even if Jessica had had to work after that, it was still getting late.

  Maybe they weren’t coming. She'd made it pretty clear she didn't want to get involved with him or start something that might end up in complicating her life and hurting her son. But Brandon would be disappointed if she didn't bring him to the firehouse. Surely, she didn't want that.

  "What is wrong with you?" Bill asked, giving him a speculative look. "You're more restless than you usually are. Is something going on?"

  "No, just—bored," he said. "It's been a long, dull day."

  "Considering our work, it's a good day, Reid."

  "You know what I mean."

  "Did you look into the Chicago job yet?"

  "Not yet," he said tersely, wondering why he hadn’t done that.

  "I'm surprised you didn't get right on it," Bill said, raising a speculative eyebrow.

  "You know, maybe I'll do that now."

  Before he could act on that thought, the sound of a female voice brought him to his feet. He couldn't believe how happy he was to see Jessica and Brandon come through the door. She wore black jeans, boots, and a dark-purple sweater, her hair loose about her shoulders. Her beauty stole the breath out of his chest.

  Jessica gave him a tentative smile as she came forward, while Brandon's excited grin spread from ear to ear.

  "Hi, Reid," Brandon said, running over to him.

  He caught him and swung him up in his arms. "I'm glad you made it," he told him.

  "Mommy took forever," Brandon complained.

  "He's right. Sorry we're late. My after-school meeting ran long," she said. "Is this still a good time?"

  "It's a great time." He looked over at Bill and saw his friend smile as he got up to shake Jessica's hand, a knowing gleam in his eyes. "Do you remember Bill Carlton?"

  "Of course. Hello again. I'm Jessica Blake. This is my son, Brandon. Reid kindly offered to show us around."

  "Well, Reid is known to be kind," Bill said with a laugh.

  "Can I sit on the fire truck?" Brandon asked.

  "Absolutely," he said.

  For the next hour, he showed Brandon and Jessica around the firehouse and introduced them to the other guys. He got more than a few sideways winks; he'd never asked a woman to come by the firehouse before, and he was going to get a hard time later, but he didn't care. It felt oddly good to share his work life with Jessica. Not that she was here for him. It was all supposed to be for Brandon.

  As for Brandon, he was over the moon when he got to put on a helmet, try on Reid's big boots, and explore the fire engine. Reid had done a lot of tours with kids Brandon's age, but somehow this time felt different—personal.

  "Thanks for the tour," Jessica said, as he put the gear away. "I know your dinner is almost ready, so we should let you eat."

  "It will keep. I'm used to reheating food."

  "Well, you don't have to do that tonight. I should get Brandon home. He has homework."

  "I'll walk you out. Did you park in the lot?"

  "I did. I hope that was okay."

  "Absolutely."

  They walked out to her car, and Brandon quickly hopped into the backseat. Jessica shut his car door, then turned back to him.

  "Don't thank me again," he said quickly.

  She smiled. "You should stop being so nice if you d
on't want to be thanked."

  "I was nice, wasn't I?"

  "Yes," she said a little warily.

  "Instead of saying thanks, why don't you have dinner with me one night? How about tomorrow?"

  "Tomorrow?"

  "I know it's soon, but why wait? I'm off tomorrow, so it works for me."

  She hesitated. "Uh, I don't know. I'd have to see if I could get a babysitter. I only know one girl who lives across the street, and she's pretty busy."

  "Why don't you ask her?"

  "I just don't think it's a good idea, Reid. This—whatever this is—it can't go anywhere."

  "I just want to take you to dinner, Jess. There's a great Italian restaurant on Main Street. Best homemade pasta you'll ever eat. Do you like pasta?"

  "I do. You're talking about Pasta Perfect."

  "I am. Have you been there yet?"

  "No, but all the other teachers rave about it."

  "Then you should see if it's worth all the great reviews."

  "It would have to be just dinner. And I can't say yes for sure until I talk to Hayley."

  "Then say maybe and let me know."

  She let out a breath. "You're very persistent. Why?"

  "I don't think a woman has ever asked me why before."

  "Well, I'm asking. Why do you want to take me out?"

  "Because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

  Her cheeks flushed and her dark eyes brightened at his words, making her even prettier. She had no idea how beautiful she was, how appealing, how desirable. She couldn't get away from being a mom, but he saw the woman she was, not just her role as Brandon's mother.

  "It's hard to say no to that," she murmured.

  He gave her a slow smile as their gazes met. "You asked me why; I answered. Now why don't you give me your number, and I'll give you mine, and we'll touch base tomorrow after you check with your babysitter?"

  "Okay," she said, taking out her phone so they could exchange numbers.

  They'd just finished doing that when a silver Toyota Scion came squealing into the parking lot. His heart quickened.

  "Who's that?" Jessica asked.

  "My sister," he replied, as Tara jumped out of the car. Dressed in skinny jeans and a knit top, her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked young. She also looked pissed off, her green eyes spitting fire.

  "What the hell is she thinking?" Tara demanded when she got within ten feet of him. "Do you know what she's doing now?"

  His gut clenched. "Are you talking about Mom?"

  "What other crazy person would I be talking about?" Tara retorted. "She just texted me. She's getting married. Yes, that's right. She's going to marry the yoga guy who took her to India. It's happening in two weeks in India. She's not even coming back here. And then she's going to go on a honeymoon—to Morocco, of all places."

  "That's ridiculous." As he finished speaking, his phone buzzed—a message from his mother.

  "That's her, isn't it?" Tara asked.

  "Look, I should go," Jessica interrupted. "I'll leave you to this."

  "Wait," he said. "Jessica, this is my sister, Tara."

  "Hi, Tara," Jessica said somewhat awkwardly.

  "Hi," Tara muttered, barely giving her a look.

  "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he told Jessica. "Make a plan for our evening."

  "Maybe you need to deal with this."

  "Trust me, I'll be dealing with this before then." He moved Tara away from the car as Jessica got into her vehicle and pulled out of the lot. Then he read the message on his phone.

  "Well?" Tara demanded. "Did she tell you anything different?"

  "No, just what she told you. I'll call her." He punched in his mother's number and let it ring.

  "She won't answer."

  "She has to be awake; she just texted me."

  "And she knows if she speaks to you that you'll try to talk her out of it."

  His mother's phone went to voicemail. He didn't leave a message. Instead, he texted her back: We need to talk. Tara is upset and so am I. You owe us a call. We're together now, so call me back.

  Tara paced around the lot. "I can't believe it. How can she do this, Reid? How can she marry someone I've never even met? I'm her daughter. And I'm not even going to be there for her wedding."

  He looked into his sister's eyes and saw not just anger but also pain. "She's impulsive, you know that. She's not thinking."

  "What if she doesn't come back at all?" Tara asked, fear replacing the anger and pain. "It's my senior year. What am I supposed to do? Live by myself? Stay with my friends? Move in with you?"

  None of those options sounded good to him, but Tara wasn't really looking for an answer from him. She needed to vent, so he let her.

  "How can she just leave me? The winter formal is in two weeks. I wanted her to go dress shopping with me and take pictures and do what the other moms do." Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes blurred with tears, and suddenly she wasn't seventeen anymore—she was five, and he was the big brother who wanted to take care of her.

  He threw his arms around her and gave her a hug. "It's going to be okay. We'll talk to her. She'll come back."

  "With him? With this man I don’t even know?"

  He wished he could say no, but how could he? His mother did what she wanted most of the time. Maybe he could find a way to talk her into waiting until Tara left for college.

  Tara pulled away from him with a sniff. "I don't matter to her at all."

  "You do matter. She loves you. She just doesn't always think before she acts. She gets caught up in her quests, and she forgets that there are real-life responsibilities to take care of. Speaking of which, do I need to step in on bills? Do you need money?"

  "She paid a bunch of stuff before she left, and she gave me some cash."

  "All right. Well, you tell me if you need more or anything else." He glanced down at his phone again, but there was no answering text. His mother hated conflict, especially with her kids. "Why don't you come inside? Mason is making chili, and it's always good."

  She shook her head. "I look ugly now," she said, wiping her eyes.

  "No, you don't."

  "Well, Melanie and I are going to study for a test tomorrow."

  "Okay. I will get a hold of Mom. I promise."

  "It probably won't matter. I texted her, too. She didn't answer." She drew in a deep breath and let it out. "Sorry I'm being a baby. I just couldn't believe it."

  "I understand. It's shocking. I remember when she told me she was getting married on a getaway weekend to Vegas. You were seven and I was nineteen."

  "She made you come home to watch me. I remember that."

  "Well, I wanted to be there for you."

  "You took me to the pumpkin festival, and I rode the ponies and we ate pumpkin pie and pumpkin cookies and pumpkin ice cream."

  "And then you got sick," he said with a laugh.

  "Yeah," she said, grinning back at him. "I've never eaten pumpkin anything again."

  "Jerry was a nice enough guy."

  "He was, but I knew him before they got married. This new guy I haven't even met. I probably shouldn't worry. Jerry lasted five years. This guy probably won't even last that long."

  "You might be right." He was happy to see that she was calmer now. "Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together. You're not alone in this, Tara."

  "Thanks, Reid. So, who was that woman you were talking to?"

  "That was Jessica."

  "She's pretty. Are you dating her?"

  "I'm trying," he said with a smile.

  Tara gave him a doubtful look. "Trying? No woman says no to you."

  He laughed. "Some women do. Now, are you sure I can't talk you into some chili?"

  "No, I'm going to eat at Melanie's."

  "Okay, drive more slowly on the way there. I don't care how pissed off you are. You need to be responsible behind the wheel."

  She rolled her eyes. "I'm a very good driver, Reid."

  "Let's kee
p it that way. Call me if you hear from Mom."

  "You do the same, but I'm not holding my breath. The next time she gets in touch, she'll probably already be married."

  He had a feeling Tara might be right. His family drama never seemed to end. Every time he thought it was coming to a close, something else happened. He hated that his mother was putting his sister through this. Six more months, he told himself. Then Tara would move on with her life, and he could move on with his.

  * * *

  She was tempting fate, Jessica thought, as she slid into the chair across from Reid at Pasta Perfect on Tuesday night. She'd had twenty-four hours to find a way out of their date, but she hadn't come up with anything, so against her better judgment, here she was.

  She told herself it was just one date, and then that would be it. She also told herself that she was paying Reid back for being so nice to Brandon, but that wasn't really the reason she was here.

  She'd wanted to see Reid again. She'd wanted the chance to spend more time with him. And now she had that time. But her heart was beating a million miles a minute, her palms were sweating, and there were butterflies in her stomach.

  Reid didn't look nervous at all. He just looked mouth-wateringly attractive. His hair was styled back, his face cleanly shaven, his blue eyes sparkling with humor and mischief. He was a troublemaker, no doubt about it. He was also a happy person, and she liked being around that. Kevin had been more of a moody guy; she'd always had to tread on eggshells around him, not sure what he was thinking or how he would react to something.

  Reid seemed like a much more direct person. He asked for what he wanted, and he stated his intentions. Those intentions made her wary, but they also made her pulse pound in a way that it hadn't in a long time.

  As the waitress came over to take their drink order, she took a glance at the cocktail menu but decided to stick with a glass of red wine. Reid did the same and told the waitress they would need a few more minutes to decide on dinner.

  "What's good here?" she asked.

  "Everything. I've had most of the pastas. The minestrone soup is also excellent, and the bread is magnificent," he added, as the busboy set down a basket of warm focaccia bread and a plate of oil and vinegar.

  She couldn't resist snatching a piece of that warm bread and popping it into her mouth. "It tastes amazing."