Blueprint for Romance

by Shannon M Harris

  Most guests were considerate and would tip nicely but there were always those few that believed since she got paid to clean the room, they could trash it. The church groups were the worst. She had one guy that stayed every weekend and loved mini candy bars, but instead of throwing his wrappers in a trash can, he would throw them on the floor. To top it off, he wasn’t even a tipper. That wasn’t even considering all the borderline crazy people she’d encountered.

  “Doors are opening,” Haley said.

  Dylan stood at the ready in her pressed black pants, crisp white shirt, blue and white checkered bowtie, hair up off her neck. She had worried about the clothes accentuating her excess weight, but Haley had promised her she looked good. Hopefully this night wouldn’t drag on when all she wanted was to go home and sleep.

  “Tell me again why we’re going.” Kat smoothed her hands over her stomach as she looked in Briley’s bedroom mirror. She didn’t have a lot of occasions to dress up since changing jobs, but she still enjoyed it. Tonight, she’d opted for the same black lace, fit and flare dress she’d worn at the dance last year and had to admit she looked good. Since starting the tiny house business, her muscle definition had improved. She’d always been fit but had to admit she liked the new definition.

  “If you’re through admiring yourself in the mirror, we need to go,” Briley said.

  Kat narrowed her eyes at Briley. “Don’t you look nice.”

  “This old thing.” Briley twirled.

  “The suit looks good on you.”

  Briley had on a pair of cream-colored trousers and a low-cut red camisole with a jacket over top. On her feet, she wore a pair of black kitten heels.

  “You look great, Kat.” Leah entered the room, wearing a pink A-line dress. Leah and Briley looked good together.

  “Thanks, Leah. Besides feeling like a third wheel, I also feel like the weird fourth cousin that no one wants to invite to parties, but they do so out of pity.”

  “Not fourth,” Briley said, waving her hand in the air. “More like first.”

  “Your reassurance will always mean so much to me, Bri.”

  “As it should.”

  They walked into the living room where Evan and Griffin were seated on the couch.

  “Don’t you all look spiffy.” Evan stood and took several pictures.

  “You’re pretty, Mommy.” Griffin bounced on the couch.

  “Thank you, sweet pea,” Leah said.

  “You never answered my question. Why do we have to go?” Kat asked.

  Briley rolled her eyes even while accepting Griffin’s kisses. “Because the gala is for an important cause and we’re both business owners. It will be good to network.”

  “You can always stay with us,” Evan said. “And Disney and eat.” He made a drumming motion with his hands. “Get it. Netflix and Chill.”

  “I got that,” Kat said, even as Briley ushered them out of the house. “I can drive, you know.”

  “Don’t be silly. We’ll all go together.” Briley climbed into the passenger seat of Leah’s Escalade. Kat climbed into the back seat.

  She had no problem going out but wouldn’t have minded staying at home. The past week was long, and she had a feeling it was going to be an even longer night.

  Twenty minutes later, Leah pulled up to the venue and left their car to the valet. Once inside, Kat followed Briley and was cordial when Briley would introduce her to someone new. She scanned the area and sucked in a breath when she spied Dylan at one of the serving tables. Oh, my. She wore a bowtie. What were the odds they would keep running into each other?

  “What has your attention?” Leah handed her a glass of cider. “Is that the woman from the Burger Café?”

  Kat sipped her drink. “It is.”

  “Are you going to stare at her like some kind of creep or are you going to go talk to her?” Leah took a sip of her cider.

  “Well, Briley creeping on you worked out.”

  “That’s a bit different. I knew Briley was a bit off when she approached me. This woman doesn’t know you. Not really.”

  “I see your point, but she’s working. I don’t want to get her in trouble.”

  “Kat, I had hope for you when you took the reins and helped Briley and I get together. But it looks like you’re are as hopeless as she was.” Leah took the drink out of her hand. “Go.”

  “Okay.” She cleared her throat. “Okay.” As she walked across the room, she glimpsed the tulips, then whipped out her phone to research tulip color meanings. Yellow tulips represented happy occasions. She plucked one out of the vase, gave herself an internal pep talk, but felt positive when she stepped up to the table that it had failed. Dylan was beautiful.

  “Meatball?”

  “Uh…okay.” She handed the tulip over. “This is for you.”

  Dylan accepted it and smiled. “I’m not sure you’re supposed to take these from the tables, but I appreciate the gesture.”

  “Oh.” Kat felt only slightly embarrassed, then grabbed a saucer and held it out, Dylan putting two meatballs on it.

  “More?”

  “What?” Why was this so awkward?

  “Do you want more?” Dylan gestured with her fork to the meatballs.

  “No thanks.” Kat pulled the saucer back and licked her lips. “Dylan, you look pretty tonight.”

  “That’s what I told her when she arrived tonight,” Haley threw in.

  Kat cut her eyes to the woman standing beside Dylan. Probably a few years younger than them in a girl next door sort of way. Kind of like Briley. She slowly turned back to Dylan. “It’s…yes, well. I should…”

  “I guess you should.”

  “Okay.” She turned to leave when Dylan called her name. “Yes?”

  Dylan held out a fork. “You’re going to need this.”

  “Yes.” Kat made sure to grab the fork low enough that her fingers brushed against Dylan’s. “Could I have a dance with you later?”

  Dylan paused, then answered. “I would like that…but I’m working.”

  Crashed and burned. “Of course. Sorry, I don’t want to get you in trouble. Have a good night.” She turned quickly and practically flew across the room to join Leah and Briley, who were seated at a small table. Kat sat and placed the saucer on the table top.

  “The flower was a nice touch.” Leah grabbed the fork from her hand and speared a meatball. “But I take it that didn’t go well?” She slipped the meatball in her mouth and chewed.

  “What a disaster.” Before she could eat the other meatball, Briley ate it. “That was mine.”

  “You weren’t going to eat it,” Briley said.

  “Whatever.”

  “Kat.” Leah touched her hand. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

  “Well, my speech reverted back to a toddler and I stared at her a lot, probably with my jaw dropped. I can’t remember, and, like an idiot, I asked her to dance, knowing she was working. Besides, she might not even be gay.”

  “Only one way to find out is to ask her,” Briley said, then smirked. “An idiot is right; I wasn’t even that weird around Leah.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better, Bri.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t know. Maybe I should forget about her and this tiny crush.”

  “Tiny crush,” Leah said, rolling her eyes.

  “More like you can see it from the moon,” Briley added.

  “You know, you two really know how to make a girl feel good.” Kat downed the rest of her cider, then grabbed another one from a passing waiter. “I complimented her looks.”

  “Now that,” Leah said, “is a start.”

  “All right.” Kat held out her hand to Leah. “Would you like to dance?”

  Leah placed her hand in Kat’s. “I would love to.”

  Dylan pasted on a fake smile at yet another drunk man as she placed two more meatballs on his already full plate. Another fifteen minutes and her night would be over. After the appetizers, everyone would move into the adjoining
ballroom where the Mayor and a few people would speak, and the donations would be collected.

  More than once, her eyes had sought Kat out and she hadn’t been disappointed. Most of the time, Kat danced with Leah and a couple other women and they all seemed to be having a good time. One part of her wished she could dance with Kat and another part was glad she didn’t. Her crush was getting a tad bit out of control. The tulip was a nice surprise, though. After their run-in at the nursery the previous week, she had a feeling Kat knew exactly what she was doing when she gave her the yellow tulip and not the pink one.

  Having someone interested in her felt nice, but she had so much going on now.

  “Hallelujah,” Haley said as the last guests walked into the ballroom. “Let’s get this stuff into the kitchen so we can clean up then divide the food.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Fifty minutes later, the tables were stacked, the food was divided, and the kitchen cleaned. Nobody had wanted the meatballs, so she had two large Styrofoam containers filled that she would be able to divide and freeze for a quick snack for Emma for the next couple of weeks. There were a few beef rolls left and she and another woman split them. They each were given a small container with an assortment of desserts.

  “Here,” Gayle said, handing her another container. “It’s for Emma. I know how much she likes my cream puffs. There weren’t many left, but I wanted to make sure she got them.”

  “She’ll love them. Thank you.” Dylan slipped the container and the check Haley gave her into her purse. “If you ever need any help, give me a call.”

  “I will. Have a good night.”

  “What did she give you?” Haley asked while peeking at her bag.

  “The last of the cream puffs.” Dylan almost laughed at the look on Haley’s face.

  “I asked her if there were any left and she said no.”

  “Well, there weren’t any. She gave them to Emma.”

  They both grabbed their purses and their bags with leftovers. Dylan waved to the other two workers and walked out with Haley. “It’s a beautiful night.”

  “That it is. I could have covered for you if you wanted to dance with Kat.”

  “While I appreciate the sentiment, I would never do that while I was working.”

  “I get it.” Haley paused. “She likes you.”

  Dylan shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “No, Dylan. The way she looked at you said it all. She likes you. That was clear as day. Don’t be scared to like her back.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “That’s all I ask. You deserve to have someone in your life that’s going to look at you like Kat does.” At their cars, Haley squeezed Dylan’s arm. “That’s all I’m going to say on that subject. I’ll see you at work on Sunday.”

  “I’ll be there.” Dylan unlocked her car and set the bags in the passenger seat then climbed in and started it. She laid the tulip on top of her bag. As she pulled out, she had hoped to get another glimpse of Kat but was glad she was going to be getting home an hour earlier than planned.

  She hadn’t expected Kat to be so tongue tied and found it endearing. As many times as they’d met, Dylan had a feeling it wasn’t the last time she would be seeing her. At least, she hoped it wasn’t.

  Kat crossed her arms and glared at the beast in the field in front of them. Stupid Briley and her stupid ideas. If she knew this is where they were going, she would have never gotten up so early. The previous night she’d kept Griffin, but she’d woken up from a nightmare and insisted on being taken home. Kat had tried to calm her down, so as not to interrupt Briley and Leah’s date night, but Griffin wasn’t having any of it.

  “Kat, really. Why so glum?” Briley asked, while sporting a feral grin.

  “I hate you.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  When Briley had called her this morning and asked if Kat wanted to join them for the day, she’d readily agreed. Her first clue something was up happened when Briley wouldn’t tell her where they were going and kept avoiding her eyes. They’d arrived at their destination first, with the promise of Leah, Evan, and Griffin to follow.

  “Briley, I don’t even like horses.” Kat groaned. “You don’t like horses.” She pointed to the corrals in the distance. “Can Griff even ride?”

  “Don’t be silly. They’re only animals.” Briley waved her hand dismissively. “And no, but she’ll enjoy being here.”

  At Briley’s tone of voice, Kat turned and looked at her. Briley projected an air of calm, but Kat had known her long enough to see beyond the exterior and zeroed in on the tenseness of her jaw. “Well, at least we’re both in this mess.”

  “Shut up.”

  Kat laughed. “What did Leah have to do to get you to agree to this?” They hadn’t ridden since the disaster during their vacation to Colorado when they were kids, where they were both thrown from their horses. Briley ended up with a broken wrist and Kat suffered a mild concussion. It was the worst vacation they’d ever been on.

  Briley sighed and adjusted her ball cap. “She asked.”

  “Christ, Briley, you’re whipped. Why invite me?”

  “Don’t be stupid, Kat. Why wouldn’t we invite you? You’re my sister and we love you.”

  That made her feel a little better. “Thanks.” She placed her arm around Briley’s shoulders.

  “Besides, there is no way I’m doing this without you. You should be as traumatized as me. It’s only fair.”

  “Figures.” Kat turned at the sound of a car pulling up, then focused back on Briley when it wasn’t Leah’s Escalade. However, she spun back around as a familiar voice came from the direction of the car.

  “What is it, Kat?” Briley questioned and turned to look at what she was staring at.

  Dylan exited the car, Kat taking in her long hair put up off her neck with a clip and noticed she wore a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a red, paisley button down top over it.

  Kat stopped breathing when Dylan smiled and briefly waved at her. Even from this distance, Kat could make out those cute dimples before Dylan focused her attention on Iris, who exited out the back seat of the car. Once more, Kat turned back to her sister and gestured at the car.

  “Fifth time’s a charm,” Briley said. Apparently, Briley was keeping count. Evan must have filled her in on the encounter at the nursery.

  “Don’t remind me. I can’t believe I chickened out last time. Even Evan has more game than I do.”

  “Tis true. Go say hi.” Briley gave her a nudge, but Kat stood her ground when she spied Leah’s SUV pull into the lot. Then her gaze swung to the other car as Dylan opened the passenger side door and helped a small child out. The little girl had a huge smile, but the prosthetic on her right leg held Kat’s attention. Dylan bent over and kissed her on the forehead, then nodded at what the little girl was saying.

  “Aunt Kat.”

  Kat barely had time to catch the whirlwind that was Griffin, who hugged her legs tight. Kat feigned nonchalance, then bent down, lifted a squirming Griffin into the air upside down and dangled her until they were face to face. “Hello, monkey.” Kat kissed a laughing Griffin’s nose, then set her upright on the ground.

  “Horses.” Griffins small frame vibrated with excitement as she bounced on her feet.

  Her excitement was palpable, but Kat still wasn’t looking forward to what she’d gotten herself into. “I know. Ready to have some fun?” Griffin bobbed her head then lifted her arms to be picked up.

  “She’s been clingy since her nightmare last night,” Leah said, then kissed Kat on the cheek. Kat slipped her arm around Leah’s shoulders, then turned to find the others. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed Briley and Evan were standing beside Dylan, Iris, and the little girl. “Let’s go see what they’re up to.” She squeezed Kat. “It’s okay to like her.”

  Kat licked her lips. “Okay.” She didn’t know why she was so nervous. The woman was a stranger. Well, by this point, more like an acquaintance.
Good grief, she wasn’t some nervous person who let her feelings or thoughts get out of control. With each step in their direction, her body felt weighted down. Dylan talked to a tall, rugged man, wearing a cowboy hat. They stopped beside the small group.

  “Hello.”

  Kat looked down at the voice, then smiled. The joy that radiated off the small face instantly made Kat feel lighter. A face that looked exactly like Dylan’s, down to the dimples. “Hello.”

  The little girl held a hand out for Kat. “I’m Emma. Are you going to ride a horse today too?”

  Kat held Griffin on her left hip while she took the small hand in a gentle shake. “I’m Kat, and I hadn’t planned on it.” Kat was aware of the other people’s eyes on them both.

  “Of course, she is,” Briley cut in. “It’s a family day.”

  “What’s the matter, Aunt Kat? Are you scared?” Evan said, then did a handstand much to Griffin’s delight, who wiggled to be put down. Kat put her back on the ground and watched while she ran into her brother’s arms. He threw her in the air and caught her.

  Kat pushed her hands in her pockets. “Those are fighting words, Evan. And if you knew the experience Briley and I had when we were younger, you’d understand my reluctance.”

  “Oh?” Leah slipped off her sunglasses and nibbled the ear piece as she looked from Kat to Briley. “Does this have to do with Colorado?” She looked again from Briley to Kat, who both wore grim looks on their faces and made the sign of the cross.

  “We don’t talk about some events of that trip, Leah,” Briley said, softly. “At least not in public. I’ll tell you later.” She adjusted her glasses.

  Kat agreed. “Not in public.” It always amazed her that with everything Briley had shared with Leah, apparently, Briley never told her about all that happened in Colorado. Kat figured that was about to change.

  “You’re funny,” Emma said.

  Kat pivoted then bowed her head toward Emma. “Why thank you, little lady.” Emma giggled, and Kat looked up when a hand was thrust in her direction.

  “Good to see you again, Kat,” Iris said.

  “You as well, ma’am.” Kat wiped her hand on her pants before taking the elegant older woman’s hand. Kat breathed out when Iris took her hand back, then she met with the amused eyes of Dylan. “Dylan, it’s good to see you again as well.”