There was an inherent strength about his face with his compelling gray eyes, the set of his square chin suggesting a stubborn streak and full sensual lips secretly making her wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
“No, you’re a very attractive man,” Dana finally answered.
“Well, that’s a weight off my shoulders.” Sheriff Arness smiled as his hand slid behind her neck pulling her closer to him. “I would hate to think the woman I’m about to kiss thought I was ugly.”
“Wait you can’t—” Her words were cut off as the Sheriff caught her mouth in a kiss.
Her calm was shattered with the hunger of his kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips sending shivers of desire racing through her entire body. Sliding closer to him, Dana gave herself over to the passion of the kiss blocking everything else out of her mind.
Raising his mouth from hers, Sheriff Arness gazed into her eyes. “Do you think I changed your mind about going out on a date with me?”
Dana still felt the heady sensation of his mouth on hers despite the kiss only lasting a few minutes. She was shocked by her own eager response to the touch of his lips on hers. What was she supposed to do now?
“Sheriff—”
“Matt,” he quickly cut in stopping the rest of her sentence. “I want you to call me by my first name. Enough with the Sheriff Arness.”
“Matt, I would love to go out on a date with you,” Dana said shocking herself and clearly Sheriff Arness from the way he leaned away from her.
“You aren’t telling me this and will cancel at the last minute on me, are you?”
A newly awakened sense of adventure filled her at the thought of going out on a date with Matt. She was certain now that she hadn’t been giving Matt enough credit. He was an outstanding Sheriff and good guy. Why wouldn’t he make a good date for dinner?”
“How about we catch a movie and then get some dinner tonight?” Matt suggested. “I get off early tonight. There’s a new movie I’ve wanted to see and then we can go to dinner afterwards.”
“Dinner and a movie sounds wonderful to me,” Dana agreed with a soft smile. “I’ll leave work early and leave my manager in charge of closing up.”
“I’ll be at your house around six o’clock to pick you up.” Grabbing his hat off the seat, Matt placed it on his head then got up from his seat.
“I’ll be ready,” Dana answered before Matt shocked her by bending down and giving her another kiss.
“I can’t wait.” He breathed against her lips before standing back up to his full height. He gave her one final look before turning away. Matt eased away from her and went towards the front door letting it close behind him.
After Sheriff Arness was gone, Dana sat there still feeling the affect his kisses had on her body wondering why in the hell she had waited until now to accept a date with him. She must have been out of her mind!
Chapter Thirty-One
Walking around Travis’ huge loft apartment, Renee admired all of his work displayed proudly on the walls. She sipped on coffee while he was in the kitchen working on cleaning up the dishes from their late breakfast.
“Are you sure that you don’t want me to help you?” she yelled back towards the kitchen.
Travis dark head peeked around the corner and he grinned at her. “No, I just want you to keep looking sexy in my shirt while I finish the last of these dishes up. I told you earlier I got this.”
“Travis, you know that I can’t stay like this all day. I need to shower and head back to my gallery. Sheriff Arness has probably been looking for me. Besides, I need to go over the details for the show at Dana’s Café.
“I still don’t know how I let you talk me into having that in two weeks. God, there isn’t enough time to get everything together. My clients won’t be able to get here that fast. I usually give them at least a month’s notice.”
“Sweetheart, Sheriff Arness isn’t going to lose his mind if he talks to you later on this afternoon. Also, Dana and Cruz will help you get everything together within the two week period. Have more faith in them. Anyways, this is the first time you’ve stayed all night at my place and I want to get a little more pleasure from the sight of you here,” Travis told her before he went back inside the kitchen.
Renee wanted to disagree with Travis, but she couldn’t. It had felt wonderful waking up wrapped up in his strong arms this morning without a worry in the world for a few seconds.
Going back over to the black couch in the corner of the room, she took a seat tucking her legs underneath her body. For the past week or two Renee hadn’t been feeling that well; however, right now she felt a lot better. Actually, just yesterday she’d made a trip to the drug store and stopped in front of the pregnancy tests. She stared at the box a few minutes before walking away. There was no way she could be pregnant, not at her age. She was so glad she hadn’t brought up her crazy idea to Travis.
Renee smiled as Travis sang along to some song coming from the radio. He’d worked so hard yesterday keeping different things going on throughout the day to keep her mind off her problems. After they left the museum he’d taken her to play mini golf and she had never acted so silly in her life.
Travis let her talk about anything she wanted whenever they were together. She appreciated she had a companion who listened to her and was such a good sounding board for all she had to express. The more time she spent in his company their age difference was starting to fade away.
Another thing she was beginning to appreciate about Travis was he never tried to tame her personality. She loved roaming around to find out about new sights and adventures, something that could be used as future ideas at her gallery once it was back to its glory. It might help that Travis shared similar interests as her. For her, variety was the spice of life. Honestly, she didn’t know what to expect from Travis next and she loved how he constantly kept her on her toes.
“Renee, can I talk to you about something?” Glancing to the side, she noticed Travis coming towards her with a very serious expression on his handsome face. “I was going to bring it up over breakfast, but decided then wasn’t the time. So, I waited until after I finished clearing up the kitchen. I hope you’ll be willing to do it with me.”
“Sure, what is it?” she scooted over on the couch so he could sit down next to her.
“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me at my parents’ house tomorrow night.”
Renee barely sat the coffee cup down on the table before it almost fell out of her hands. Travis wanted her to have dinner with his parents. Were they even at that stage in their relationship yet? She was extremely nervous at what Travis parents might have to say about their twenty-nine year old son dating a forty-two year old woman.
“You want me to have dinner with your parents?”
“Yes. I can’t wait for them to meet you. They’ve been so worried about me not getting back out and finding someone to date. I know they’ll be thrilled you’re in my life now.”
She wasn’t so sure about that. She wished that she had the confidence about this meeting that Travis did. “Have you told your parents about me?” she asked.
“Not yet. I didn’t want to tell them you were coming until I got your answer first,” Travis admitted. “So, will you come? I know they’ll love you. How could they not? You’re so perfect.”
Yeah, she was perfect in the eyes of a twenty-nine year old man, but his parents might see her in a totally different light and Travis was too caught up in the newness of everything to see the forest for the trees when it might come to his family’s reaction.
“Are you sure this is a good idea to spring me on your parents like this?” Renee asked, trying to think of a nice way to turn down his offer.
“I’m not springing anything on them at all,” he replied as if the answer was obvious. “I want to bring the woman I’m dating over for a family dinner. Why are you trying to back out of going?”
“Travis, you have to understand that your mother and fat
her might not be too happy with us being together,” Renee pointed out. “A lot of people here aren’t even pleased with us dating, so how do you think your parents will react?”
His brow pulled together in an affronted frown as he moved away from her. “Are you trying to tell me my parents won’t like the fact you’re black?” he demanded.
Shaking her head, Renee reached out to touch Travis on his leg but he jumped off the couch putting some distance between them. “No...that isn’t what I meant at all. I think they’ll have a problem with our age difference. What mother wants her twenty-nine year old son dating a woman her age?”
“How can you judge them before you even meet them? My parents are open minded people and raised me to be the same way. Do you really think I would have pursued being with you the way I have if I thought my mother or father wouldn’t like you?
“Besides what if you are right and they don’t like that I’m dating you then that is their problem and not ours. I love my parents dearly but they don’t run my love life. I take their advice on some things but not everything. I’m almost a thirty year old man and I can date who I want. I thought I had picked the right woman, but now I see I might have been wrong about you.”
Hurt slammed into the middle of her chest at Travis’ harsh words. He sounded like he was thinking about ending things between them. Had she just made a huge mistake by not trusting him?
“Travis, listen to me.”
“No, Renee you listen to me this time. I knew what I wanted from our time together each and every second I was around you. Don’t you think if I ever thought I wouldn’t be able to cherish you and give you all the support you craved that I would have stayed? I have never been the type to rush head-on into anything in my life.
“I never thought you would be judgmental when it came to knowing more about my family. Didn’t I accept Dana and Cruz as your friends without any problems at all? I hope if either one of them ever told you to stop dating me for our age difference that you would have told them no, but now I’m seeing you might not have done it.”
Jumping up from the couch, Renee hurried towards Travis but he took a retreating step back from her. “Please give me a chance to explain more.”
“I think we should take a couple of days apart from each other. I need time to think about what happened here today. Here I was trying to introduce my parents to the woman I’m falling in love with and she would rather find a way not to even have a two hour dinner with them.”
Renee blinked back the sudden tears in her eyes as she watched Travis turn away from her and head for the door leading out to his patio. She had really messed things up without even knowing it.
“I’m going outside. Could you please be gone by the time I come back inside?” Travis asked as he opened the door and then went out closing it softly behind him.
Standing alone in the middle of Travis’ living room, Renee wondered what in the hell she had just done. She might have lost the most romantic, exciting and exceptionally fun man she ever had the pleasure to be with in a long time.
****
“Have you talked to Travis since your huge fight last week over his parents?” Cruz asked as he glanced up from the client list he was working on. “I know he wouldn’t miss this show. He was the one who finally got you to agree to having it at Dana’s café.”
“No, I haven’t heard a word from him. I’ve gone by his apartment several times and even where he paints in the woods. There was no sign of him at either place.” Renee sighed. “I think he’s found a good way to avoid me.”
“Stop being so negative,” Dana said walking into the room. “Travis is crazy about you. He’ll be here next Friday. He’s probably just sorting through some stuff.”
“How can you be giving anyone dating advice and it took you forever to see how much Sheriff Arness wanted to sample your special tea?” Cruz teased and then ducked when Dana threw a sugar packet at him.
“Shut up Cruz,” Dana laughed then sat down across from Renee.
“No, seriously, how are things going with you and Sheriff Arness?” Renee asked wanting to get her mind off her own problems.
The smile that spread across Dana’s face lit up the whole room. “We’re doing wonderful. Our first date was perfect and everything has only been going uphill since. I’m really happy with Matt.”
“I’m glad for you. I would love to have the two of you over for dinner after the show.”
“Oh, I think Matt will love having dinner at your house. He’s been working so much lately that I haven’t been able to fix him many home-cooked meals. Let me talk to him and I’ll get back to you.”
“Hey, did you forget about me?” Cruz asked.
“If I’m not mistaken weren’t you just at Renee’s last night having dinner with her?” Dana winked at her. “Did you forget how to turn on a stove or something?”
“What man is going to turn down a meal cooked by a beautiful woman? Anyways, I was there when the fire marshal came by with his final report about the fire. I didn’t think Renee needed to be by herself after she found out about the arson.”
“Now, all I need is the proof Robert was the one who set the fire, “Renee said. “He’s walking around town with this smug look on his face. I saw him yesterday out with Shelia acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. God, I never hated someone as much as I hate him. How in the world did I stay with him for so long?
“I thought I was in love but now I know what true love is after being with Travis. I really need to find him and talk things out with him. He thinks I was being judgmental about meeting his parents, but I wasn’t. I was only thinking about what they would think and might say when I showed up.”
“Why would you even care?” Dana asked. “You’re the one dating Travis, not his parents. If they can’t see what an incredible person you are then there is something wrong with them. Who cares about the age difference? As long as Travis is happy with you that’s the only thing that should matter to them.”
“Where were you when I needed to hear this stuff seven days ago?” Renee asked.
“Probably on the back of Matt’s motorcycle as he took me to his cabin in the woods,” Dana replied.
“Can the two of you take a break from relationship talk for a minute and help me finalize this client list for next week? We can only invite one more person and I’m having a hard time deciding between Victor Mature and Gregory Mitchell. Both are men who love buying pricey art. Which one should get the invitation?” Cruz asked.
“Invite both of them,” Renee said. “They love having bidding wars against each other. The last time I only invited one of them, I got an email from the one I didn’t invite. I’m pretty sure one extra body won’t hurt the café all that much.”
“Are you sure about this? The last time those two art lovers were in a room together the insults were flying all night,” Cruz pointed out to her. “I’ll never forget how the rest of the guests stopped and stared at them.”
Gathering up the rest of the information for the show off the table, Renee shoved it into her bag. “Yes, I think everything will be fine and if they act up again we can always get Dana to have Sheriff Arness throw them out,” she teased, getting up from the table. “I need to get going. I called a contractor about the gallery. He should be there in about ten minutes. I don’t want to be late.”
“Is that today?” Cruz asked. “I thought Mr. Ellis was coming tomorrow. Do you need me to go with you?”
“No, I can handle this by myself. Stay here with Dana and get those final two invitations in the mail and then decide how to rework the room for next week. After I’m done with the contractor I’m going to head home.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Dana questioned. “You just don’t seem like yourself lately.”
Her friend’s concern touched her but there wasn’t any need for it. She was doing just fine. She wasn’t going to allow her fight with Travis to hinder everything else going on in her life. “I’ve been more t
ired than usual but I think it’s from the stress of rushing to get everything done. I promise you that I’m doing okay. Please don’t worry about me.”
“Well, if you say so. But I’m going to stop by later before my date with Matt. I wouldn’t be able to have any fun if I’m worried about you all night.”
Renee thought about telling Dana not to come over, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good because once her best friend got her mind set on something there was no changing it. She might as well get ready for her visit.
“Come on by. I’ll be home. I need to figure out how I’m going to display the paintings Cruz saved from the fire. I don’t have anything else to do with my time for the next several days.”
“Stop thinking like that. How do you know Travis isn’t going to call you in the next couple of days? Don’t give up on him. You know how men are. Sometimes they just need time alone to think things through before they come back.”
“Dana, you are so positive. But right now, I need to stay focused on what we’re doing. I can’t be thinking about Travis, it will only throw me off track.” Renee gave Cruz a smile and then touched Dana on the shoulder before she left the café.
Pausing by the side of her car, Renee took a few minutes to pay attention to everything going on around her. Most of the time, she was in such a hurry to get back to the gallery she never stopped to notice anything. Now, she had more free time on her hands than she knew what to do with.
How did she manage to lose her business and Travis within a week of each other? Was her need not to fall in love again pushing true love away from her.
Whatever happened she wished for another chance to fix things with Travis. The gallery could be rebuilt and new paintings could be hung on the walls, but would she really be able to find someone like Travis again in her lifetime? Sighing, Renee unlocked her car door, got inside her car and pulled out of the café’s parking lot but before she headed home there was something she needed to do.
****
Me And Mrs Jones Page 16