Before she could reply, he leaned over and took her face in both hands and kissed her again. This time there was no gentle brush of his lips on hers, but a real kiss, one that set her head spinning and caused her breath to catch in her throat.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you, Fourth of July last year,” he told her.
Athen’s shaking fingers dropped her keys, and they clattered on the concrete steps. Amused, he bent to pick them up and held them out to her. She found the door key and turned it in the lock.
“Thanks for dinner,” she managed to say.
He smiled and planted one light kiss on the top of her head, then swung the door open for her.
“I’ll be in touch.” He walked backward for two or three steps before turning toward the street and heading to his car.
She watched through the curtains as he drove away, the headlights hazy under the streetlamp’s glow. She sat on the sofa in the darkened living room, grateful to have the house to herself. The evening had left her with a lot to think about.
She touched her fingers to her lips where Quentin’s mouth had been, acknowledging that she was more attracted to him than she wanted to be. She was glad that they’d put their animosity behind them, but wasn’t sure she should have told him about Mary Jo. It had been so easy to confide in him. Would she later regret it? Would his journalist’s desire for a story be stronger than his loyalty to a promise? Would he knowingly take from her the only weapon she had to hold over Dan’s head? Or would he prove to be a man of his word?
Quentin aside, there was this news of Ms. Evelyn’s latest project. Athen couldn’t help but wonder what the woman was up to, and if it somehow tied into the creative plan Diana still insisted Ms. Evelyn would come up with to garner support for the shelter. Then again, Ms. Evelyn might have given up on that entirely. Maybe she’d decided to put all her energy into the community garden, which would require no approval from Council.
Athen raised her fingers to her lips again, and wondered when, or if, he would call her, and tried to remember just how long it had been since she had waited for a man to call.
QUENTIN WASN’T SURE WHETHER THE buzz in his head was due to the company he’d kept for the past few hours or the bombshell Athen had dropped in his lap. He’d dated his share of beautiful women in his day, but he couldn’t remember any of them being remotely like the one he’d just kissed good night.
For one thing, she was a woman he could have a conversation with. Not small talk, not flirty talk, not self-centered “enough about you, let’s talk about me” talk that he’d had to endure on more occasions than he liked to recall. Athen had seemed genuinely interested in the book he was writing, though he suspected that interest might have been influenced by Ms. Evelyn’s connection to the subject matter. Still, there were no awkward pauses when he’d had to work to keep things going, and he appreciated that. What guy liked to be mentally sorting through a list of possible conversation starters when all he wanted was a nice dinner and some easy talk with a woman he was interested in?
And he was definitely interested in Athen.
Yeah, the conversation had flowed easily, and he came away with the feeling of only having scratched the surface where she was concerned. But that was all right, too. He wasn’t in any hurry, and he had the feeling that she was more comfortable taking her time getting to know him, too.
That he’d misread her right from the start had been his mistake. He cringed with embarrassment every time he thought back to the way he’d treated her. It had taken him awhile, but he’d finally had to admit to himself that his initial response had been to hold Athen up to Cynthia and compare. Athen doted on her daughter, was involved in Callie’s life in ways that Cynthia never had been involved in Tim’s, even when he was a baby. Cynthia had gone back to work after their child’s birth before her maternity leave had ended because she was afraid she’d miss something—a plum assignment, an opportunity that might not come again. When Quentin first met Athen, she was a stay-at-home mom, and after Cynthia’s abandonment of Timmy, Quentin had been impressed by Athen’s devotion to Callie. Then she’d let that creep Rossi talk her into running for mayor, and his image of her as a sort of modern-day Madonna was shattered, and that was where the trouble had started.
God, he’d acted like an ass.
Except for Cynthia, he’d never been so wrong about a woman in his life. Athen really was the sweet woman he’d first thought her to be. He knew he was lucky that she’d been willing to give him a second chance.
Still, he wasn’t unaware of the conflict between her job and his interest in her, and tonight he’d made a conscious effort to keep an even balance. He’d promised not to bring up anything to do with City Hall and he’d kept to that. Not that it had been easy. There were several times when he’d almost slipped but he’d managed to keep his word. Until, of course, she brought up that whole Mary Jo Dolan thing.
Mentally, he’d been writing the first paragraph of that story all night. But he wouldn’t, under any circumstances, betray Athen’s trust. He had the feeling that she was testing him, dropping a scandal like that in his lap after making him promise not to touch it. As juicy a story as this was, it was going to be a test of his willpower.
Quentin cursed Dan Rossi under his breath. The man was a crook and should go to prison. Surely if they dug deeply enough they’d find proof that Dan had been dallying with Mary Jo while she was still underage. As much as he was sure that even Athen would like to see Rossi fry, he knew she refused to use the information she had because of the pain it would cause an innocent party.
Surely no one would be happier to see Dan Rossi go away than Athen. Who else in her position would pass up an opportunity like that because it went against her personal code of ethics?
Who acts like that?
Well, since she wasn’t going to go public with the Mary Jo Dolan story, she was just going to have to find another way to topple the giant. It would give Quentin great pleasure to help her in any way he could. For one thing, it bothered him that Rossi had taken advantage of an innocent person and used her to maintain his grip on the city. Athen hadn’t deserved to be treated that way by someone she trusted, and it pissed off Quentin every time he thought about how Rossi had duped her. All the time Athen had thought she was doing something good, Rossi was just using her so that he could get his office back in two years.
Yeah, finding a way to bring down Rossi would be sweet.
The fact that it would probably win him major points with Athen would be the icing. He’d really enjoyed kissing her, and had every intention of kissing her again at the very first opportunity.
Still, it was going to drive him crazy to have this great story—his mind had written the second paragraph and was well into the third—that he couldn’t use. He’d have to take comfort in the belief that a man like Rossi had more than one dirty secret in his background. If he couldn’t use the one he had, he’d just have to find another.
That would be fine, too, as long as in the end Dan Rossi got what he deserved. Quentin drove through the gates of his mother’s home thinking how good it would feel to help Athen deliver the blow that would bring the man to his knees.
19
Mom!” Callie made a face. “Mr. Forbes is on the phone.”
Athen took the receiver and tried to talk, feed Hannah, and make dinner at the same time. The call was brief and to the point.
“Why’s he calling you?” Callie asked suspiciously after Athen hung up.
“I guess because we’re friends,” Athen replied.
“You have to be friends with him just because he brought flowers when you were sick?” Callie’s hands rode high on her hips as she interrogated her mother.
“No, Callie, we’re friends because we … well, I guess because we like each other.” Athen avoided her daughter’s eyes. “We had dinner together last night.”
“You had dinner with Timmy Forbes’s father?” Callie asked incredulously. “M
om, how could you?”
“Callie, Quentin Forbes is a very nice man.”
“You didn’t used to think he was so nice,” Callie jabbed.
“Yes, that is true. I didn’t used to like him.”
“But now you do?” The statement, delivered flatly, sounded to Athen’s ears like an accusation.
“Yes, I do.”
“Is he the same Quentin Forbes who used to work for the newspaper? The one who embarrassed and humiliated you?” Callie asked pointedly. “That’s what you told Aunt Meg, right?”
“Yes.” Athen tried to ignore Callie’s sarcasm. “And he still works for the newspaper.”
“How do you know he won’t embarrass you again?”
“Well, I guess I don’t know for sure, Callie, but sometimes you just have to give people a chance.” She set the pan of moussaka on the table.
They ate in silence. Athen knew how sensitive Callie was as far as her father’s memory was concerned. Did Callie think she was being unfaithful to John because she’d shared the company of another man?
“Grandpa used to make this better,” Callie muttered.
Before Athen could think of a way to approach the subject of her dating, Callie asked, “Are you planning on seeing him again?”
“He asked me if I’d be at the spring concert at school on Wednesday night,” Athen told her. “I said I would be.”
“If he asks you out again, will you go?”
“Yes. I will.”
“Oh, God.” Callie pushed her plate away and left the room, moaning loudly, “My mother is dating the butthead’s father. I hope this doesn’t get around school.”
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE she took office, Athen found herself looking forward to the Wednesday morning press conference, knowing Quentin would be there.
“How do I look?” she asked Veronica before she set out for the large conference room.
“You look great.” Veronica seemed puzzled. Athen never asked about her appearance. “You always look great, Mrs. M.”
“Thanks.” Athen took a deep breath and headed for the elevator.
She smoothed the collar as she stepped off the elevator and walked into the room where the press conferences were held. Quentin was there, in his usual spot in the front row, when she entered. She had some difficulty sticking to her agenda, knowing he was there. She cleared her throat and reminded herself to focus.
There were a few announcements that day, so the question-and-answer session was uncommonly brief. Quentin hadn’t asked any questions, though she was pretty sure the reporter two rows behind him had identified herself as being on the Woodside Herald staff.
He caught up with her in the hallway.
“Will I see you tonight at school?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“Can I pick up you?”
Recalling Callie’s horror at her mother’s having had dinner with him, Athen thought it best to pass on the ride.
“No thank you, I may have to rush from work. I have a meeting at four that might run a little late.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you there.”
She tried to act surprised when she found him waiting for her in the school lobby.
“Want to sit with me?” he asked.
“Sure.” Callie would be onstage and would be none the wiser.
The band performance was an exercise in discipline for the audience, which tried desperately to refrain from open laughter at the inharmonious renditions of several tunes that neither Athen nor Quentin could identify. They finished up with a version of “Yesterday” that no one who’d ever heard the original would have recognized. The auditorium filled with cheers of gratitude when the instrumental nightmare concluded.
“God, that was bad.” Quentin shook his head. “I’d say Timmy needs a few more lessons on that trumpet.”
“They’re just kids.” Athen stifled a giggle. “They’ll get better as they get older.”
“Lord, I hope so.” He moved his leg so that it rested against hers. “We have, what, seven or eight more years of concerts to endure?”
The choral group was much better, though it appeared that some of the younger members got off track a time or two and sang from the wrong page.
Athen couldn’t keep from watching Quentin out of the corner of one eye. Keep your feet on the ground, she cautioned herself. You both have jobs to do, and children to raise.
But he is so handsome—she sighed softly—with those little lines that crinkle around his eyes when he smiles, and shoulders big enough to stand on. …
“It can’t go on too much longer.” Quentin squeezed her hand, forcing her thoughts back to the auditorium and the performance.
“It does make me wonder what they were doing, all those days Callie stayed after school for rehearsals.”
Then, yes! The finale, with a beaming Mr. Halterman bowing at center stage to the audience.
The smiling parents were invited to the reception room to share refreshments while they waited for their offspring. Athen and Quentin were standing somewhat apart from the others, deep in conversation, when Callie and a few of her friends joined them. Callie rolled her eyes when she recognized her mother’s companion.
“Well, that was some show,” Quentin told her as she approached.
“It stunk and you know it,” she said flippantly.
“Callie!” Athen protested.
“Would it make you feel better if I said that you were terrible?” Quentin asked matter-of-factly, unruffled by her rudeness.
Her efforts to get a rise out of Quentin having failed, Callie shrugged her indifference and addressed her mother impatiently. “Can we go home now?”
“In a minute.” Athen was becoming more and more annoyed with her daughter’s ill manners. “Why don’t you get some punch?” It was a command and not a suggestion.
“Yech. School punch. How appealing,” muttered Callie as she walked off to get a cup.
QUENTIN, I’M SO SORRY.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He smiled good-naturedly. “I suspect that Callie’s a good kid, but it looks like I bring out the worst in her. But it’s perfectly understandable. Timmy was the same way the first time I went out with someone after his mother left. He got over it. Callie will, too.”
“I hope so.” Athen watched her daughter, who was sharing some whispered secret with her girlfriends.
Timmy joined his father, and Athen couldn’t help comparing his courteous greeting to Callie’s curt one.
Maybe Quentin is right, Athen thought. Maybe it’s just because he’s the first man I’ve gone out with since John died.
“Mom, I have a science test tomorrow.” Callie pointedly ignored the boy’s presence. “Can we please go?”
“Yes, Callie, we can go.” Athen sighed.
“We’re leaving too,” Quentin said. “We’ll walk out with you.”
Callie rolled her eyes to the heavens for the second time in just under ten minutes.
“Do you have a science test tomorrow too?” Athen asked Timmy as they walked through the parking lot. “Aren’t you in Callie’s class?”
Before he could answer, Callie snapped, “No, he is not. He’s in the brainy section.”
“I thought you were in the top section.” Athen fell in step with her daughter as they approached their car.
“I’m in the smart section,” Callie told her with great exasperation. “But Timmy’s supersmart. He takes classes with the upper grades.”
“Not for everything.” Timmy sounded defensive. “I only take math and science with them. Everything else I take with you, so if I’m a brain, what’s that make you?”
Callie ignored him and leaned against the car door, waiting for her mother to open it.
“How about dinner Friday night?” Quentin whispered. “You think she’ll let you out?” He nodded in Callie’s direction with more good humor than she had any right to expect, considering her daughter’s behavior.
“Let me get back to you on that
,” Athen replied and opened the car door.
Quentin waved good-bye to Callie, who stood with her arms folded across her chest.
“Callie, you really embarrassed me,” Athen told her the minute the car doors were closed.
“Well, you embarrassed me, too,” Callie grumbled.
“How did I embarrass you? Was I rude to your friends? Did I insult anyone?”
“You did not have to go off in a corner with Mr. Forbes,” Callie snapped.
“We were not off in a corner.” Athen negotiated the turn onto the main road.
“You’re my mother.” Callie struggled with her temper. “You know how I feel about Timmy.”
“Callie, what is wrong with Timmy? He’s nice, he’s polite, he’s …”
“Oh, please.” Callie groaned dramatically.
“Then what is it?”
“Timmy is the smartest kid in the entire school. He’s the best at every sport. He gets to ride horses every day ’cause his grandmother owns a lot of them. And he’s rich.” Callie ticked off the litany of Timmy Forbes’s offenses.
“Sounds like jealousy to me.” Athen turned into their driveway and came to a stop.
“I am not jealous!” Callie was out of the car even before Athen turned off the ignition. “He is the perfect kid, Mom. He never gets anything wrong on tests, he never swears.”
“Do you?” Athen interjected.
“Do I get things wrong on tests or do I swear?” Callie turned the outside light on over the back door so that Athen could find the keyhole. “Sometimes I do both.”
Athen pushed open the door, and Hannah, aroused from sleep, barked as she ventured into the kitchen to investigate.
“Mom, Timmy doesn’t talk to anyone or go out of his way to be friends with any of the other kids,” Callie told her.
“How can you make friends with people who make fun of you?” Athen tossed her purse halfway across the room to the counter. “And has it occurred to you or your friends that maybe Timmy is shy? It isn’t easy coming into a new school in the middle of the year, when everyone already knows everyone else. And he’s had a hard time these last few years, Callie. His mother left them.”
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