Something Better

by Gail R Delaney

  "Your mother..." Andi arched her eyebrows and tilted her head. "Do I know your mother?"

  "No, but I'm sure you will if she has anything to do with it."

  Katherine, who had spent the majority of this conversation peeking at Andi over the edge of the table, suddenly jumped up with a brilliant smile and wide eyes. "Mama! Mama! Look!" She pointed past Andi in the general direction of the café. "It's Uncle Davey!"

  Andi snapped her attention to Maggie, who already stared back. Then Maggie grinned and followed Katherine's exuberant pointing. "Look, Andrea... it's Uncle Davey."

  Katherine scrambled past her mother and bolted around the end of the table in a dead-on run. "Uncle Davey! Uncle Davey!"

  Andi stood, turning to see the little bundle of enthusiasm plow straight into David's legs as he desperately tried not to drop the coffees in his hands.

  "Whoa, Katie," he laughed as the little girl dropped to sit on his foot and cling to his right leg, her arms and legs wrapped around him like a spider monkey. She giggled as he attempted to walk the final steps to the table, looking between Andi, Sarah, Caroline and Maggie. "Hi..."

  Andi took mercy on him and relieved him of the coffees, setting them on the table before she folded her arms and winked at him. "I'm going to go out on a limb here, make a wild guess, and assume these ladies are your sisters?"

  David untangled Katherine from his leg to pick her up and she immediately planted a loud kiss on his cheek. He walked around the table to hug Sarah first, shifting Katherine onto his hip to do so. "Yeah, and I'm wondering how the heck you knew I was here."

  As he moved on to hug Caroline, Sarah answered with a snide, "Typical David Bishop, thinking we're here for him. We came to meet Andrea." With a slight pause, she added, "Mom's orders."

  "How would she even know--"

  "Oh, puh-lease." Sarah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, cocking one slender hip. "You aren't exactly attempting to hide anything. The fact that you called out her name after your..." She smirked. "Little accident -- nice shiners, by the way -- was enough to make Mom curious. And then today--"

  "Sarah, don't get into that just yet--" Caroline cut her off.

  "And why do you smell like bubble gum?" Sarah continued, not even pausing to acknowledge her sister. They just kept plowing over each other.

  They seemed to do that a lot.

  Another customer approached the table, the Rise of Dawn books held to her chest. She scanned the small crowd warily and Andi motioned her forward just as David set his hand on Caroline's shoulder and led both his sisters away from the table.

  "Hi. How are you today?" Andi asked, trying to focus on the young girl. She couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen years old, and stared -- in turn -- between Andi and David where he stood clustered with his family.

  "I'm glad I caught you," she said in such a soft voice, Andi almost didn't hear her. "I got out of school at 2:30, and rushed over here. Is that... is that David Bishop?"

  Andi took her books from her, opening the first as she glanced at them again. Diverting her attention again, she saw Maggie watching her with an annoying smirk. Clearing her throat, Andi looked at the girl. "It is, yes."

  "Who is he with?"

  "His sisters," she answered absently. "To whom?"

  "Oh, sorry." The young girl blushed bright red and giggled nervously. "Joni. J-O-N-I"

  Andi signed the books, forcing herself not to glance in their direction. Even when she heard David's voice rise high enough to carry to her. She couldn't make out what he said, but he didn't sound very happy. Not angry, just... not pleased.

  "I've been watching online for photos from the movie shoot. Do you get to be there because you wrote the books?"

  "Yes. I think everyone will be pleased with the film. I'm very happy with the adaptation."

  Another girl rushed in the store door, running down the short space to them, obviously joining Joni. She was flushed and breathing heavy, but smiled wide. "Oh, I'm glad we made it!"

  "I just told her that," Joni said. "Check it out. David Bishop is here."

  The new girl looked to where Joni pointed. "He's so hot."

  Andi grinned, capping her pen, but chose not to comment.

  "Miss Parker just told me she gets to be on set when they film," Joni told her friend, sounding almost proud for being able to share that bit of information.

  "Well, duh. Of course she's on set. They're... you know... together."

  "Oh, but, I--" Andi started, raising her hand.

  But Joni had already gasped loudly -- actually, it was more like a squeal -- and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh. My. God! Seriously? How do you know this and not me?" she demanded of her friend.

  "Hello? Google alerts."

  Andi caught David's shift of attention back to her at the girl's outburst. He still held his niece on his hip, but his eyes met hers, and he raised an eyebrow. Andi smiled and shrugged, just a tiny movement, and he smiled.

  "Do you think we could, Miss Parker?"

  Andi blinked and looked away from him, back to the girls. "I'm sorry. What?"

  "Could we take a picture? We'd like one with you, if we can... but..." Joni's friend blushed. "Do you think we could take a picture of you and David Bishop together?"

  "Here," Maggie offered. "I'll even take the picture."

  Andi walked around the table and stood between the girls, putting her arms behind their backs -- feeling suddenly short because these teenage girls stood a good two to three inches taller than her -- and smiled as Maggie snapped a few pictures; some with just them, some with the girls holding up their books and putting on over-exaggerated grins.

  "Come on, boyo," Maggie called over her shoulder, and David looked their way. "Get over here and show us your million dollar smile."

  David set Katherine down, said something to his sisters, and jogged over. The girls were thrilled to have their pictures taken with them, and Joni giggled until she was beet red when he put one arm around her shoulder, the other around Andi. When the unnamed girl whispered something about getting these on the 'Net before anyone else, Andi didn't have the heart to tell them that at least two-dozen similar shots had been taken throughout the day. Finally, when she couldn't see straight for all the camera flashes, Joni retrieved her camera from Maggie.

  "Thank you so much. We thought we'd miss you, and this ended up being the best afternoon ever."

  David hooked his arm behind Andi's neck, pulling her to him to press a kiss to her forehead. "My sisters want to go to dinner. Feel free to say no." He said it quietly, so it was between just them.

  Andi leaned back to see his face, hoping to see what answer he wanted to hear. But as soon as she tipped her chin upward, he captured her lips. At first, it was just lip-to-lip pressure, but then he drew in a sharp breath and his hand cupped her jaw. The pad of his thumb teased the corner of her mouth and she opened for him. Andi's insides quickened and her fingers curled of their own free will into his shirt. Had only been a few hours since he'd kissed her like this?

  Which one of them initiated the slowing of the kiss, she wasn't sure... maybe they didn't need one or the other to be the 'strong one'. After what he'd told her that morning -- that she was too special to him to rush anything more than kisses that made her toes curl and her breath short -- they didn't need to explain anything anymore. David punctuated the long, deep kiss with several short ones before moving across her cheek to her ear before finally leaving one lingering kiss below her ear.

  Andi raised her arms to wrap them over his shoulders, lacing her fingers into the short hair at his nape. "I don't think I'm ready to say good-bye yet," she said softly, and he tightened his arms around her.

  Another flash went off, but Andi found she didn't care.

  Not until someone cleared their throat did Andi feel the need to move. Since she knew the distinct sound of Maggie drawing attention this way -- and knew it wasn't Maggie -- that left few possibilities. David loosened his arms to look, but held her c
lose to him still.

  "Yes?" he asked with a grin.

  "You're drawing a crowd and pretty soon we're going to charge admission," Sarah snarked. "Are we going to dinner, or what?"

  David arched his eyebrows and Andi nodded. Maggie had drifted off to thank the store staff, and two clerks already worked on breaking down the table and display. As they walked to the parking lot, they discussed where to go, and since Caroline and Sarah were in one car with Katherine -- and the three of them had come in Andi's big RX -- the Bishop sisters would follow them to a local restaurant. The place they chose was fairly common, nothing special, but Andi had recommended it because the booths were high and tended to allow for more intimacy.

  Since it was Monday, and only mid-afternoon, the restaurant was nearly empty and they were seated immediately in a large, horseshoe shaped booth. Andi slid in, following David and Maggie sat on the outside of one end. Katherine scrambled into the booth to site between David and her mom, and Sarah was the other placeholder to close the semi-circle. It took all of about fifteen seconds before Katherine scrambled into David's lap and launched into a story. All Andi could catch was that it was about Katherine's best friend Stacy and a rabbit named Mr. Fluff. David nodded frequently, prodded with questions when Katherine paused to breathe, and laughed with her descriptions turned into a form of six-year-old interpretive dance.

  All the while, he held her hand on his thigh and Andi watched him with his niece, enjoying the sensation of warmth that spread through her chest.

  "Your boy is every woman's dream. Even the youngest fall beneath his charm," Maggie said, leaning toward her.

  "Oh, I think it's David who's fallen beneath Katherine's charm."

  "Hey." Maggie nudged Andi with her elbow until she turned and looked at her friend. Maggie smiled, setting her chin on her palm. "Have I mentioned lately how I like that glimmer in your eyes?"

  "What glimmer?" Even as she asked the question, Andi smiled.

  Maggie chuckled. "That glimmer. But, you know what the best part it?"

  Andi shook her head.

  "He's got the same glimmer."

  *****

  "When are you going to show me the real reason you came out here?" David asked, pushing his plate away from him. "You said at the store that mom read something that fired her up."

  Andi looked up from her plate, glancing between him and his sister. "Your mom is upset about something?"

  "We didn't say upset... just fired up. Which, for Mom, can mean a lot of things."

  David leaned back and slid his arm behind Andi so it rested in the warm space between her back and the seat. She shifted just slightly closer to him, settling against his side, and David smiled. But he kept his attention on Caroline while watching the smirk that Sarah made no attempt at hiding.

  "I talked to her on Friday night about the accident on set. What's happened since then that would set her off?"

  His sisters exchanged glances, and without a word Caroline opened the large bag she'd been carrying around, pulling out a folded newspaper. If it could be called a newspaper because he immediately recognized the name of the publication emblazoned across the top in large yellow block letters. A gossip rag. They reported every dirty, gory and embarrassing detail they could dig up on any celebrity with even the smallest amount of recognition. And if they couldn't dig up facts, they made them up. Whatever sold a paper. More than once, David had been forced to endure their scathing reports and outright lies. He'd been everything from a drunk to a drug addict, anorexic to gay. And everything in between.

  He mumbled an abbreviated curse -- for the sake of young ears sitting beside him -- and reached for the magazine. But Caroline moved it out of his reach.

  "No, hang on. I waited to show you for Andrea's sake." She looked directly at Andi, and tried a smile. "I don't know how you handle this stuff, being in the public eye and all. It would drive me nuts. It's bad enough watching them do it to my brother."

  "I don't handle it," Andi answered with a shrug. "Authors don't really draw hordes of paparazzi and screaming fans. They come to our book signings, they post comments on discussion boards, but we're pretty much faceless."

  "Not any more," Sarah said before loudly draining her glass of soda with her straw.

  This time, when David held out his hand, Caroline relinquished the folded rag. David took his arm from behind Andi to unfold the paper. Andi immediately gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.

  "What?" Maggie demanded.

  Taking up almost the entire front page was a grainy but unmistakable picture of David and Andi. In the parking lot of Chez Nous -- after the date. The only word he could think of was erotic. In a heartbeat, his mind remembered the moment -- of having her body pressed against him, her hands beneath his jacket pulling him closer, the sweet sound of her hitched breath when he tasted her neck, the thrust of arousal that had shot through him at holding her so close -- and his body immediately responded. He couldn't deny then how much he'd wanted Andrea Parker any more than he could deny it right now.

  And just as quickly, the arousal turned into fury at the headline.

  BISHOP HELPS NOVELIST WITH HER SEX SCENES

  "Son of a bitch."

  The paper disappeared from his hand when Maggie yanked it free. "Damn."

  At the same time, a distinct twitter came from Andi's purse and she scrambled for it, her hands visibly trembling. He studied her face as she avoided his -- and everyone else's -- eyes. "Jake," she whispered softly before finally retrieving the phone.

  She took a sharp breath and curled her hair behind her ear before putting the phone against her cheek. "Hi, honey." He commended her. The tremor in her voice was barely audible. The shimmer in her eyes, on the other hand, couldn't as easily be hidden.

  "Mom, has something happened?"

  The volume on Andi's phone was high, high enough that David heard Jake's voice carrying to him. He didn't know if his sisters could hear, but there was no doubt both he and Maggie could.

  "Why, sweetheart?"

  "Mom, he's really mad about something. He's been slamming stuff around downstairs, and I keep hearing him say your name. Did you see him since last night?"

  Andi hunched forward, putting her elbow on the table to support her forehead against her shaking hand. "No, I haven't seen or talked to your father since he picked you up. What's he saying, honey?"

  "I don't know. I can't tell. Oh, crap... it sounds like he's coming."

  "You don't have to worry, Jake. You can call me whenever you want, he can't--" There was a shuffling sound on the phone, and Andi sat up again. "Jake? Jake?"

  "What the hell are you exposing Jacob to, Andrea? What the hell kind of debauchery and whoring around are you involved in since you came out here? How can you look your son in the eyes when he has to see crap like this?"

  Andi closed her eyes, and while he watched everthing change in her expression -- the angry ball in his gut growing bigger by the second -- he caught the exchange of glances between his sisters and assumed they could hear the conversation as well.

  "Lawrence--"

  "Don't even try to justify this, Andrea. You and I are going to deal with this. How the hell are we supposed to rebuild our family when you're slutting around?"

  "We aren't--" She had to stop when her voice cracked, and a tear squeezed from her closed lids.

  David laid his hand on her knee, not knowing what else he could do at that moment that didn't involve telling Lawrence Bonherre to rot in hell. Despite his burning desire to do so, he knew it wouldn't help anything. Not right now. But, God help Larry the next time they came face to face and he tried to speak to Andi like that.

  "We have nothing to discuss, Lawrence," Andi said through clenched teeth, the words practically a hiss. "You don't get to 'deal with' anything in my life. It's my life."

  "We'll see about that."

  Then David heard nothing, and Andi lowered the phone from her ear, slapping it shut.

  "Andi--"

  "
Let me out," she suddenly demanded, practically shoving Maggie out of the way to be free of the booth. "Let me out!"

  Maggie stood and Andi scrambled from the seat, heading for the front of the restaurant. David moved to follow.

  "No." Maggie held up her hand to stop him. "I'll go to her."

  "I can't just let her go like that!"

  "I know." Maggie offered a sympathetic smile, but it did nothing to calm him. "But, I've been picking up these particular pieces for a few years now. Just give her a little time to breathe. Then we'll figure out things."

  David drew in a breath, forcing himself to ease back into the seat as he released it. Maggie nodded, picked up both her purse and Andi's, and headed out of the restaurant. David watched her go until she rounded the corner and disappeared.

  "Your friend looked sad, Uncle Davey," Katherine said softly, shifting closer so she could reach up and touch his cheek. "Was she sad?"

  "Yeah," he managed to say without his entire face cracking with the force it took to smile at his niece. "She was."

  "What an A-S-S-H-O-L-E," Sarah spelled out. "Who the hell was that?"

  "Andi's ex husband. Well, first it was Jake... her son." David forced himself to take another breath. "He's eleven."

  "David." The tone of Caroline's voice made him look at her, and he caught the glimmer of tears in her eyes. Not enough to spill over, but enough to make her blue eyes shine. She smile, small and shaky, but with sincerity. "Do you love her?"

  David looked back through the restaurant to where Andi had disappeared. He swallowed, and nodded his head in answer before he could actually make his mouth form the words. "Pretty sure I do, yeah."

  "Then that's all Mom really wanted to know."

  David slumped into the booth, scrubbing his face with his hands.

  Chapter Eleven

  Andi managed a cursory glance in both directions before she leaped from the sidewalk and ran across the parking lot toward her SUV, offering a perfunctory wave to the one car that had to slow in order to keep from hitting her in her mad dash from the restaurant. She wasn't sure what would overpower her first: the tight knot of nausea in her gut that threatened to make her sick, the vice-like pressure at the base of her skull, or the war waging in the center of her chest between vicious rage and gut-wrenching humiliation.