by Scott, Lisa
Harper shivered, even though she’d buttoned up her winter coat. “I can’t.” She stomped her boots in the snow.
“Oh, sorry. Do you have a boyfriend?”
She shoved her hands in her pockets. “No, it’s just not a good time.”
He took a step back. “Okay. Be sure to let me know when it is.”
Her breath came out a steamy puff in the air. “Oh.”
***
The scuba instructor pulled Claire aside after class. “This is the second week you’ve failed the swim test. Are you going to try again next week, or do you want your money back?”
What else would she do with this stupid one-piece bathing suit? But then she thought about getting her two-hundred-dollar class fee back, and all the money she’d save not renting scuba gear. She’d be happy just snorkeling on her next Caribbean vacation—whenever that was going to be. She held out her hand. “Let’s not waste anyone else’s time. I want out.”
He patted her on the back. “I think that’s the best decision for all of us.”
She didn’t want to go home and face Harper, who was bound to have eighty questions about her class, so she found herself back at the bar. Nate smiled when he saw her. “Ah, its my favorite fish swimming by for a visit.”
Claire pouted. “Give me a quit-tini. The instructor strongly suggested I leave the class and get my money back.”
“Ouch. Sorry to hear it. But I am glad you’re drowning your sorrows here.” He started mixing a drink for her while she pouted; it certainly wasn’t her best look, but it didn’t matter, did it? She wasn’t looking to hook up with a guy, not even a hot, friendly, funny guy.
“I feel terrible. I’m totally letting the girls down. We were supposed to learn something fun and new. The only thing I learned is that I’m a terrible swimmer and probably too old for something fun and new.” She stirred her rum and Coke with the red swizzle stick. “Plus, if I don’t go to class my roommate will know I dropped out. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Come here instead. How will they ever know you dropped out? It’s not like there’s a scuba graduation, right? How would you ever keep the cap on in the pool?” He slid a new drink in front of her.
“True. You willing to put up with me every Thursday for a while?”
“It’ll be the highlight of my week.”
Mine too.
When Claire got home, Harper was waiting for her. She closed the giant book she was reading. “How was class?”
“Great. Super fun. Wish I’d done it years earlier.” She gave Harper a great big smile. That was probably a dead giveaway that she was lying.
Harper cocked her head. “Why isn’t your hair wet?”
“Oh, they have hair dryers there.”
Harper nodded, tapping her fingers on the book cover. “How are you doing with no man action?”
Claire went into the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge. “Fine. I’m fine. It’s not a problem at all.” She pressed the can against the back of her neck.
“I know. It’s a huge relief, really. I’m so glad we did this.”
The two of them stared at each other, smiling.
“Can’t wait to hear how Lori’s doing,” Claire said.
“Maybe we’ll decide on Valentine’s to keep this up,” Harper suggested.
Claire felt her smile waver. “Who knows?”
***
At the end of the third class, Tom asked Lori to wait. The few women still left—taking their time packing up, probably hoping for a minute alone with their teacher—quickly gathered their things and trudged out into the night.
Lori’s heart kicked up a notch as she walked up to him. “What’s up?”
He piled up some papers and looked up at her. “There’s a new movie opening this weekend. Saw 15, I think. Want to go see it?”
“Yes,” she said before realizing she was agreeing to a date.
His grin was huge. “Great.”
Well, she couldn’t back out of it now, could she?
“Let’s go grab a drink. Want to meet over at Vibe?”
The original site of her resolution to ditch men for a while? Major guilt trip, but she could handle it. Guys like Tom were as rare as a mint-condition Chippendale camelback sofa. Plus, she was learning so much from him about antiques and refinishing furniture. She’d be signing up for a second class for sure. “Sounds good.”
The phone rang as Lori followed Tom to the bar. She grabbed it without looking. “Hello?”
“Lori, it’s Harper. Want to meet me and Claire out for a drink? Your class is over, right? We’re going to Vibe.”
She almost drove off the road. “Right now?”
“Yeah, we’re heading there right now.”
“I can’t. I…” She sucked in a deep breath, searching for an adequate lie. “I totally screwed up the tufting on the back of my chair, and the teacher is nice enough to help me redo it.”
“That’s the old guy you told us about?”
“Yeah, he’s old.” She had twisted the truth just a bit when they’d asked about class. “Really old and cranky.”
“Bummer. We wanted to catch up. We’re still on for Valentine’s right?”
“Of course. Just the girls.” Lori hung up and followed Tom into the parking lot. How was she going to get out of this?
He got out and opened her door for her. She stood up, just inches away from him. She shivered as a freezing gust blew past. Oh, how nice it would be cuddled up in his arms. “Listen, I’m not really in the mood for a noisy bar tonight.”
He raised an eyebrow. “We could have a drink at my place. I don’t live far away. And I could show you the Chippendale set I refinished.”
Well, this was in the name of reupholstering education, wasn’t it? “Perfect. I’ll follow you there.” She wasn’t sure, but she swore she saw Harper’s car pulling into the lot as she was pulling out. She scrunched down in her seat.
Patrick’s place was a beautiful old colonial with stained glass windows, crown molding, and gorgeous furniture. He came out of the kitchen with two glasses of wine as she wandered around his living room.
She took the drink from him and swallowed a healthy gulp. Her hand shook a bit holding the glass. “It’s such a fantastic place and so many beautiful pieces of furniture.”
“Thanks. My ex hated antiques.” He laughed. “Not sure how we ended up together. Have you ever been married?”
She took another long drink. “No. Not even close.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s true what they say: good men are hard to find.”
He took a step closer. “So are mint Art Deco chairs, but they’re out there.” The way he smiled at her made her stomach flip.
She sat down on the couch and he sat next to her. This was too much to ask, resisting this handsome, interesting man.
He set down his wine and it was like their lips were drawn to each other. He snaked his hand through her hair and kissed her. It was a soft, warm, passionate kiss, but she pulled back, catching her breath. “Maybe I shouldn’t kiss my teacher. I wouldn’t want it to affect my grade.”
He laughed. “There are no grades in my class.” He pulled her to him and kissed her again. This time, she didn’t hesitate in kissing him back. She pushed her friends’ disappointed reactions out of her mind. How was she going to face them now?
***
By the fourth week, it was clear that Patrick was actually a very good belly dancer. Since you danced with your knees bent, like you were trying to sit on a chair, the best dancers had strong legs. And Patrick appeared to have very strong legs. He was totally the best shimmier in class and he wasn’t afraid to flaunt it.
He caught her checking him out several times during the class, and she snapped her gaze away, certain she could hear him chuckling.
“I’m just trying to follow your moves,” she whispered to him one of the times he caught her eye.
He danced closer to her. “I can giv
e you private lessons if you think it’d help.”
That sent her heart rate up higher than the dancing.
When the class finally ended, Patrick lingered, taking his time gathering his things. She did the same, until it was just them and the teacher.
Vivienne struggled to hold back a sly grin. “You two can stay and practice if you’d like.”
“Excellent idea. I think we will,” Patrick said.
Vivienne slipped out of the room and Harper sucked in a deep breath. “You really don’t have to.”
He crossed his arms, and his muscles bulged. “You’re right. But I want to.” He took a step closer. “Then I can demand a private recital when the class is over. Or at least invitation to the one you’re giving your friends.”
She gulped and nodded. “I’m not sure you can help me. If you haven’t noticed I’m pretty pathetic. When I’m doing my ribcage circles, I look like I’m convulsing. I’m surprised no one has called 911.”
He laughed. “But your arm waves aren’t bad.”
“You’re just being nice. Plus, Vivienne took the music with her. This probably won’t work.”
“Not a problem. Maybe the music’s distracting you.”
That’s not what’s distracting me. Truth was though, she’d been horrible even before he’d shown up in class.
He came up behind her, and his fingers hovered over her hips. “May I?”
She nodded, and he placed his hands on her hips. She stiffened. “Don’t worry,” he whispered.
Letting out a breath, she tried to be not so rigid. “Okay. Now what?”
“Close your eyes.”
That only made her widen her eyes. “Why?”
“Just do it.”
She closed her eyes, and Patrick slowly moved her hips in a figure eight. His chest grazed her back, and that set her heart pounding. She was stiff and resistant at first. This wasn’t breaking the resolution, was it? It was tutoring.
Then she felt his lips brush her ear. “Relax. I have a feeling you haven’t done that in a while.”
She blew out a long breath. “You’re right.” She felt her shoulders ease, and let herself be moved by Patrick’s hands. Slowly, he took his hands away. “Keep going,” he told her.
Her hips kept moving in the same rhythm. Her eyes flew open. “I’m doing it!” Feeling brave, she added an arm wave, and started moving across the room.
“You look great!” He waited until she got closer, grabbed one of her hands, and pulled her to him.
She didn’t resist. He twirled her in an impromptu dance and then dipped her. When he pulled her back up, she was face to face with him. He swiped his lips across hers. “Please tell me now is a good time.”
She exhaled, then frowned.
So did he, dropping her hand. “If it’s not a boyfriend, then what is it?”
“Remember how I told you for New Year’s my friends and I resolved to try new things?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we also resolved to give up guys. Until Valentine’s Day.”
“Seriously?”
She nodded.
“That’s only a few weeks away. Does that mean you’ll go out with me on Valentine’s?”
She could meet the girls afterward for a drink after their date and fess up. After all, they did say until Valentine’s Day. “Absolutely.”
“Great. My sister owns this flower shop and they’re having this make your own arrangement and dinner event. She wanted me to go, but I told her I didn’t have a date. But now I do. She’ll be thrilled.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “I don’t think my flower arranging is going to be any better than my dancing. I’m a mathematician. Numbers and facts? Sure. The creative stuff? Not so much.”
“A mathematician. What do you do?”
“I work for the government. I’d have to kill you if I told you exactly what I do. Well, it probably wouldn’t be me killing you; but I think they have people for that.” She twisted her lips. “Unless my boss was kidding. He does like to play jokes on me”
He laughed. “I’ll take my chances. You can be in charge of counting the flowers.” He kissed her again. “Want to grab something to eat?”
Backing away, she shook her head. “We have to wait.”
He held up his arms in surrender and laughed. “Okay. Then let’s keep practicing.” He wrapped his arms around her this time, and they moved together in a slow figure eight hip roll that was the sexiest damn thing she’d done in a long time.
***
With two weeks left in the scuba class she was no longer taking, Claire was actually looking forward to her visits with Nate. This was the longest time she’d ever spent talking to a guy and getting to know him without kissing him. Or more. Usually more.
Inspired by their lonely-tini, he’d been trying new drinks on her to use as new specials. “Today we’ve got the lust-tini.”
She caught his eye and smiled. The week before it had been the smitten-tini. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with next week.”
“They’re selling well, I can tell you that. Probably because they’re inspired.”
“I’d say the flirt-tini should be next, if you’re going for inspired drinks.”
“But they’re all inspired by you. Just you.”
She took this week’s drink from him and sipped it, closing her eyes. “Nice. The taste really lingers.” She set the drink down. “Just how long are you intending to give up women? We’re only doing this until Valentine’s Day. That’s when I’m back on the market.” She blinked at him. “If you know what I mean.” She rubbed the condensation on her glass. “Or, maybe I could end a little early. The girls wouldn’t have to know.”
“But I’d know. No, we’ll wait until Valentine’s Day.”
Claire took another drink. “So, you want to do something on Valentine’s?”
“I’ve got to work, of course. But we could go out late.”
Truth was, she didn’t really want to go anywhere but his place. She didn’t need a long, romantic dinner to get to know him better, to decide if he was kissing material—or more. She already knew that. In the four weeks they’d been visiting for a few hours on Thursdays, she’d learned that he thought he could be a vegetarian if he didn’t like meat so much. He totally understood her guilt over enjoying steak. He hated camping, which was great news, because she wouldn’t be sleeping in the woods for anyone, killer blue eyes or not. And when he told her he loved cats—Siamese cats in particular, and her favorite—she knew this guy was more than fling material.
She sighed. “Okay, so it’s agreed. Nothing more than talking until Valentine’s Day.”
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “You won’t regret it.”
“We’re actually meeting here that night, since that’s where we planned this whole damn thing, so pretend we haven’t been mentally undressing each other the past few weeks.”
“I hate to tell you this, but I’ve mentally been doing more than that.”
She reached over to whack him but missed. “Alright, since you’re keeping our relationship in your head until then, give me an agony-tini.”
He laughed. “How about a worth-the-wait-tini.”
“Just give me a drink—since you won’t give me anything else.”
***
Lori couldn’t help it. She’d been seeing Tom before class, after class, and several days in between classes. How was she going to admit this to the girls after telling them her teacher was an old cranky guy?
They sat in front of his fireplace, leafing through a photo album of furniture he’d refinished. “Do you want to go to some estate sales with me when the class is over? We could look for your next piece to refinish.”
She leaned against him. “That would be great.” Would she have to admit to him some day that she’d broken her own resolution? She wasn’t sure what he’d think. She felt guilty, but her feelings for him certainly overshadowed that.
“What are we going to do for
Valentine’s Day?”
She smiled at his question. There didn’t seem to be any doubt in his mind that they were a couple. But how was she going to explain that she had plans with her friends that night? She couldn’t exactly call them and say, ‘Sorry, I’m going out with my secret boyfriend.’
He set down his wine. “Do you not want to go out on Valentine’s Day?”
“I do. But I had promised my girlfriends we’d go out. They don’t have boyfriends.”
“That’s okay. I understand. But could you stop my shop before you meet them out? I’ve got a present there for you for Valentine’s Day.”
“A present for me? I think I can squeeze you in. I’m just not sure what to get you.”
He kissed her. “Nothing. You’re present enough.”
Oh, she was so glad she broke her resolution.
***
Harper tried not to check the clock too often. She was meeting the girl’s at nine, and their flowers-and-dinner affair at Your Heart’s Desire had started at six-thirty. Patrick’s sister, Lynn, was thrilled he’d brought a date, especially since it was the first time they’d tried something like this. Lynn’s new worker, Marnie, had come up with the plan, and she and her boyfriend were dressed up as cupids as they wandered around serving drinks and hors d’ oeuvres. The whole thing was quite fun.
She’d been right that flower arranging wasn’t her thing, but Patrick had amused her by chomping on a rose and waltzing her around the room. She tried to keep up and ended up laughing and collapsing in her seat.
“At least I didn’t make you belly dance.” He looked at her and winked. “Later.”
Their dinner of surf and turf was lovely, and he’d fed her the lobster tail he didn’t want. They were quickly lapsing into a sickening sweet couple and it was all because they were so desperate to kiss. She was impressed by her will power.
When dinner finally ended, Harper hugged Lynn and thanked her for a fabulous time. She heard Lynn whisper to Patrick, “She’s a keeper.”
They held hands and handed for the door. “This is the part where I turn into a pumpkin. It’s time to meet my friends out.”
“And then after that, you’re all mine,” Patrick said, moving in for a kiss.