by Merry Farmer
“And now we’ve got little Angie Jones to be proud of too.” Mrs. Brown stepped away from Dennis to bring her deeper into the room. In fact, she scooted Angelica all the way over to Dennis. “What’s this I hear about you going to work for the same company as Dennis, Angie?”
Angelica flushed and let out a wry laugh. “Don’t rush me, Mrs. Brown. I’ve got offers from Paradise Space Flight and NASA both.” And she had a feeling she knew exactly what Mrs. Brown was up to, setting her so close to Dennis.
“Paradise Space Flight,” Mr. Fellowes said, a look of rapture on his face. “I like the sound of that.”
“It was no surprise to anyone that both of you made big names for yourself in science,” Mr. Jeffries added. “You two were thick as thieves when you were kids, setting off rockets, fiddling with that telescope out on the street corner in the middle of the night in all weather.”
“We’re just surprised nothing else came out of all the time you two spent together,” Mrs. Brown added with a wink.
The two older men shared her teasing, suggestive look.
Dennis laughed sheepishly and glanced down. “Angelica was the only one who liked science the way I did.”
“And look at the two of you now,” Mrs. Brown said.
All three of the elders studied them. All Angelica could hear in her head was “Mrs. Cracker, Mrs. Cracker, Mrs. Cracker.”
“So Dennis, want me to give you the grand tour, show you all the work we’re doing on the house?” Angelica jumped in when the teasing looks started to feel like too much.
“Sure,” Dennis was quick to answer. “Leon was telling me all about fixing up this house and a few others on the block.”
“I don’t know what we’d do without our Angie,” Mr. Fellowes threw in another shameless plug. “She’s done so much for all us old folks.”
“It’s Latoya’s project, really,” Angelica said, grabbing Dennis’s hand in an effort to get him away from the prying old people as soon as possible. “She’s trying to build up her contracting business by renovating a few houses on the block as advertisements.”
“Cool.” Dennis twisted to wave to the old folks. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Oh, take your time,” Mrs. Brown called after them.
“Let me show you the bathroom we updated last week.” Angelica charged up the hall stairs. Latoya was in the kitchen, and she wasn’t ready to face her friend’s saucy looks with Dennis there just yet.
It wasn’t until they reached the top of the stairs that Angelica realized she was still holding Dennis’s hand. Or that her hand felt good in his. He had big hands, warm hands, the kind of hands you wanted to feel all over your body.
At that surprising thought, she dropped his hand and skittered into the upstairs bathroom. “Latoya and I installed a new toilet and sink last week. Well, Tee did most of the work. I learned a thing or two in the process, though. Imagine that, installing a toilet last week and getting a PhD in Astrophysics this week.” She finished with a nervous laugh.
“You’re a true renaissance woman,” Dennis said with a smile. He looked around the room, stepped over to the sink, turned the faucet on and off. “Good job.”
Silence fell between them. It was one thing to be at a loss for words in a crowded auditorium, surrounded by people. It was quite another to be alone in a bathroom with no idea what to say to the guy she hadn’t realized how badly she’d miss until he was gone. Not helping was the fact that Dennis was clearly uncomfortable as well.
“So, uh,” he began, slipping his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. That only frazzled Angelica’s nerves even more. Dennis had been dressed in a suit the day before, but now he was wearing jeans that fit him a little too well. Putting his hands in his back pockets not only made her think about touching his butt, it did a pretty good job of showing off the fact that he was big all over. If she hadn’t already been sweating from work and heat, she would have been dripping then.
“Dennis, I just want to say—”
“Have you given any more thought to Paradise—”
They spoke at the same time, then each stopped dead. The air bristled between them, like the electricity right before a thunderstorm. She looked up at him, swallowing at the sight of his cheery eyes, marveling at how his baby-round face had hardened into a man’s.
“Do you like working in Wyoming?” Angelica was surprised to get any words out at all, but those were not the best she’d ever blurted.
Dennis let out a breath, taking his hands out of his pockets, arms relaxing at his sides. “Yeah, surprisingly enough. In a few ways, it reminds me of home.”
“Really? Wyoming?” She crossed her arms, falling into her sassy-girl stance out of habit.
“Not the terrain or the climate, obviously.” He leaned against the sink. For a second, Angelica was afraid it would break right off the wall, thanks to her shoddy workmanship. It stayed put, though. “It’s flat there, until you hit the mountains, and really dry.”
Angelica snorted out a half-laugh. “Unlike here.”
“But the people are incredibly nice,” Dennis went on. “The Haskell family has run the town since it was founded in the 1860s. They like to treat everyone like family. They have a baseball league and a hockey league, everyone gets together for community events, like potlucks and things. And actually, they have a long and rich history of supporting a black community that goes back to day one.”
“In Wyoming?”
“Yeah. In fact, you need to come meet the Templesmith sisters, Sandy and Rita. Their family has owned the town bank since forever. Sandy’s a lawyer and Rita’s a psychologist. They’re friends with some of the people I hang out with.”
A stab of jealousy hit Angelica. “Really?” She hugged herself tighter, her mind jumping to ways she could bring the sisters down.
Which, of course, was a ludicrous reaction to Dennis telling her about his friends. Still, she wanted to ask if he was seeing either of them. She wanted to ask if he was seeing anyone. And then she’d hunt down whoever that was and—
“I don’t know what NASA is offering you, but Howie wanted me to stress to you that coming to work for PSF means joining the family and, in his words, not mine, having fun,” Dennis went on.
“Fun. Huh.” She studied him, worked to interpret his smile, the easy light in his eyes. Was he putting on an act to get her to come work with him? Was that a genuine smile, or underneath it was he seething with righteous resentment over the girl she’d been and the way she’d treated him? Did he want her or was this all about business? And what did she want?
Only when the silence grew thick, and the heat in the room oppressive, did Angelica realize he was studying her like a thermal dynamics text book. It terrified her to think what conclusions he must be coming to about her. And at the same time, that girlish part of her was dancing with delight that he was standing there, right in front of her, where she could reach out and squeeze him if she wanted to.
“You never wrote to me.” It was supposed to be a thought, not living words. She winced inwardly.
“I didn’t think you wanted me to,” he answered. Now it was his turn to cross his arms as he leaned against the sink. “You didn’t show up when Mom and I packed up the van and drove off.”
Acid filled her stomach. Promising Dennis she’d kiss him goodbye and then not showing up was the worst thing she’d done in her life. And it wasn’t because her popular friends had invited her to do something else or because she had an extracurricular activity, or even because her parents needed her for chores. She’d let him go without saying goodbye because she was plumb chicken.
“Sorry,” she said. For so much.
Dennis smiled, pushing himself to stand straight. “It’s okay. All water under the bridge now. I’ve got degrees I enjoyed earning and a job I really love in a town that feels like home. And I’m here to sell you on that whole idea too.”
Here to sell her on Paradise Space Flight, not Dennis Long, not picking up where
they’d left off. Not that she wanted that…exactly.
“I really haven’t made up my mind yet.” She didn’t know what made her do it, but before sense could kick in, she asked, “You maybe wanna have supper tonight and catch up on old times?” She even added a signature sassy smile to seal the deal.
“Don’t you have dinner with that NASA guy tonight?”
Disappointment flopped into Angelica’s gut. “Oh. Right. Maybe we can do it tomorrow night?”
Dennis laughed. “Leon’s mom invited me for supper tomorrow night.”
“Monday night?”
Dennis’s brows shot up. “Well, we do need to talk business at some point. That’s why I’m here.”
Damn. She was making herself look too needy. And why did it matter so much whether she got together with Dennis for something other than business talk anyhow?
Because it did. There was no point denying it.
“I tell you what.” She shook her head, waving her arm like she was batting away a fly. “Now that I’m free for a bit before deciding where I’m going to work, I promised I’d help Latoya until this house was done. We’re going to be back at it on Monday morning. You’re welcome to come volunteer with us if you want to. You can sell me on Wyoming then.”
“Really?” Dennis lit up like a jack-o-lantern. “Cool. I haven’t hammered anything in years.”
Angelica’s mind instantly took that in all the wrong ways, supplying her with a flood of images of the grown-up man he was now hammering her in every which way. Her face went blazing hot.
“Yeah, come on downstairs and we’ll ask Latoya where she needs you.”
She hurried Dennis out of the room and over to the stairs. Now was the perfect time to shove her friend into her muddle of crazy feelings. She wasn’t sure that being alone with Dennis was the best idea for her sanity. The sweet, moon-eyed boy that she couldn’t let go all those years ago had turned into a man that part of her couldn’t wait to get her hands on. And yet, he didn’t show the least sign of being as fired up to see her again as she was to see him.
Chapter Four
Mary Mac’s Tea Room, in a slight variation from its name, was one of the hottest restaurants in Atlanta. As Angelica walked in—dressed well enough to look professional, but not so nice that Nathan Holstein would get any ideas—she drew in a deep breath and held it. The noisy crowd comforted her, chatting, laughing, and scarfing down everything from catfish to corn bread to fried green tomatoes, one of her favorites. This was home, everything she loved about Atlanta, from the food to the company to the nostalgic photos on the walls.
That didn’t stop her from pressing a hand to her stomach to calm the butterflies, though. What had happened with Dennis that afternoon? It’d been hard to keep her thoughts in order and even harder to keep her eyes off him as he caught up with Mrs. Brown and the others, shot the breeze with Latoya and then also with Leon when he showed up, and even pitched in with a hammer, despite not being dressed for it. And had she actually stood there and begged him for a date?
“Hey, Angelica, there you are.”
Nathan Holstein approached her from one of the dining rooms to the side of the waiting area. He was dressed in what could only be described as upscale casual, with black jeans and a crisp, maroon, button-down shirt. His hair was neatly combed, and a tiny nick near the back of his jaw told her he’d recently shaved. Overpowering cologne wafted off him and struck dread into Angelica’s gut.
“Or should I call you Angie, like your friends were doing after graduation?” Nathan asked, his grin too familiar.
“Angelica will do just fine.” She smiled, tight though it felt, extending a hand to shake his. If he didn’t get the hint that this was a business dinner after a handshake, then he would just be shooting himself in the foot.
“I’ve already gotten a table.” Nathan pivoted and touched the small of her back, extending his other hand to lead the way into the dining room. “This place looks fabulous. Everything looks and smells amazing. It’s a shame that it’s so loud, though. Maybe we should have gone someplace more private.”
Angelica rolled her eyes as he led her to a table deep into the room full of noisy diners. She had to give him points for holding the chair for her to sit, but his manners didn’t stop her from questioning his motivation.
“Mary Mac’s is an institution,” she said as he took his own seat. “You can’t come to Atlanta without eating here. Outside of my mama’s cooking, this place has the best southern fare you’ll ever eat.”
“With such a glowing recommendation, I’m bound to love it.”
Inwardly, Angelica breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like the man had some sense after all.
As soon as a waitress came to take their order and brought them their drinks, Nathan launched into his NASA pitch.
“I’m sure you know that NASA is the most prestigious aerospace organization in the world,” he said with a sly grin. “Nothing else compares.”
“NASA certainly has the most recognizable reputation,” she answered, playing it as cool as she could. “I’m just not sure working for such a large organization would give me the opportunity to stand out the way I’d like to.”
“Are you kidding?” Nathan leaned back in his chair, gesturing a little too widely and nearly hitting a couple that was being shown to their table. He barely registered the faux pas. “Of course you’d stand out at NASA. I mean, look at you.”
Angelica’s back went up so fast that she felt tingles in her hands and toes. “Excuse me?”
“You’re an original,” Nathan went on, not a clue that he’d said something questionable. “How many black women reach your level in a field like this?”
She gaped at him even harder. So she hadn’t been imagining his implication. He really was looking at the wrapping instead of the package.
“Mr. Holstein,” she began, blinking rapidly and marshaling all her calm. “I earned my doctorate with highest distinction. The research I’ve done to seek out ways to build more compact plasma engines that provide enough propulsion to reach speeds sufficient for interplanetary space travel has revolutionized the field.”
“Exactly.” Nathan’s smile gave Angelica the sense that there might not be much but plasma between his ears.
“I’ve worked as part of a team that is redefining our goals for long-term space missions—”
“Uh huh.”
“—and you’re sitting there telling me that it would be nice for NASA to have a black woman on their team?”
“Yes.” His smile grew.
Angelica sat back in her chair, stunned by the man’s obliviousness. She would have shaken her head if she weren’t too shocked to move.
“Black women have a rich and important history with NASA,” he went on, digging his grave deeper. “The West Computers were vital to the early days of our space program, and they’re finally getting the recognition they deserve. Don’t you want to be a part of that?”
Angelica opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Far past Nathan’s shoulder, the restaurant door opened, and Dennis walked in. With Latoya, who looked like a million bucks. The two were laughing over something. Dennis smiled at Latoya, giving his undivided attention to whatever she was saying.
“Well, don’t you?” Nathan prompted her.
Angelica shook herself and fixed her eyes deliberately on Nathan and not Dennis and her traitorous friend. Although a voice in the back of her head whispered that Latoya had as much a right as she did to grab some dinner with an old friend. The sudden shock had popped a hole in the righteous indignation Nathan’s plug for NASA had raised in her. Maybe that was a good thing.
“Mr. Holstein, I don’t want to work for someone who only wants me because of my gender and the color of my skin.” She worked to stay focused on what she needed to say instead of counting the number of empty tables in their section of the dining room. “I know that NASA is the pinnacle of this industry and that the work they do sets the standard for the world. But if I’m
only there as a showpiece, then what would be the point?”
Nathan’s smile melted. “Oh. No! No, I didn’t mean that we want you for demographic reasons.” He had the good sense to squirm in his seat as reality hit him between the eyes. “That’s not it at all. We definitely want you for your mind and the value you would bring to the team. But…” He squirmed a little more, fiddling with his napkin on the table. “But don’t you want to be a representative for your people?”
“And who exactly are my people?” she challenged him. Her glance slipped to the side as the hostess led Dennis and Latoya into the dining room. She wanted to growl in frustration. This was not the kind of distraction she needed with Captain Oblivious sitting across the table from her, making a fool of himself.
“Well, uh, women?” Nathan fumbled, obviously avoiding race.
“Hey! Look who it is,” Latoya said, stopping beside Angelica’s table as the hostess led them past.
Angelica could only hope that the intensity of her anger at Nathan, and hurt at seeing Dennis there with someone else, translated as extra exuberance as she plastered on a smile and stood to hug Latoya. “Hey, girl. What are you doing here?”
The hug lasted just long enough for her to hide her face while steadying her emotions and bringing her expression under control.
Latoya let go and took a half step back, her smile a little too bright. “Dennis mentioned that he was all alone for dinner tonight, so I thought I’d take him out for some home cooking.”
“Taking him out for home cooking?” Angelica arched a brow and planted a fist on her hip, aching to use that fist to hit someone.
Latoya touched her arm. “You know I’m useless in the kitchen. Unlike you.”
The brightness of her smile didn’t go away. In fact, the intensity of it raised all sorts of suspicions in Angelica’s mind. Tee’s eyes glittered. If she didn’t know any better, she would say her friend was up to something.