Never Saw it Coming

by Bernadette Marie

  “Yeah, and now it’s important for you to let me swing back into my routine.”

  “This check is nearly an extra two months’ pay.”

  “It’s exactly two months’ pay. Go on vacation for spring break. Get your car fixed. Buy Jason something nice.”

  She ran her hands over thighs. “I want next week off to take him skiing.”

  “Good. Done.”

  “You’re too good to me.”

  “We’re a good team.”

  They were, she thought, as her lunch was delivered from the kitchen.

  She listened to the bustling around her. All familiar sounds, but sweeter somehow when she was on the other side of the bar.

  Aware that the table behind her had been seated, she kept her focus on the TV over the bar. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a set of hands gripped her shoulders and spun her around on the stool.

  A moment later her mouth was covered, and the familiar feel and taste of Mike had her relaxing until she realized he was kissing her in front of Gabe.

  Her hands came between them, and she pushed him back. It wasn’t hard to figure Gabe saw what had happened. He stood just on the other side of the bar, his mouth gaping open.

  Then he smiled. “So this is new?”

  Mike laughed, and she felt the heat from the anger brewing, but couldn’t justify it. “Got a problem with it?”

  “Not in the least. Think it’s a great thing actually.” He moved down the bar and Mike continued to grin at her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “We’re celebrating. So bring your beer and your lunch to the table.”

  It was then she noticed the grinning pair of ladies seated at that table behind her. Tracy and her mother beamed from what they’d seen. Well, she thought, there was no easing into it now.

  Mike picked up her plate, and she her beer. He set it at the table, and she kissed her mother on the cheek, then did the same to Tracy.

  “So, you all own a house, huh?” she asked, hoping to ward off any questions about Mike nearly sticking his tongue down her throat in public.

  “We do,” her mother said. “1904, all brick, hardwood floors, solid as the day it was built.”

  “Good. You won’t have to do too much to it, right?” She looked at Mike.

  “Still plenty to be done. It’s been abandoned for a long time, but it has potential. Even if I gutted it, we still have a heck of a prize on our hands.”

  Gabe brought drinks to the table. He knew what he was serving to each of them, and that was part of his charm, she thought. There was a beer for Mike, and one for her mother. He set a mug of hot water in front of Tracy, who then pulled out a homemade tea packet, which Chandra was sure she’d concocted herself.

  “Mike told us that Austin got a DUI and rummaged through the house,” her mother confronted her before they could even dive into the possibilities of their new purchase.

  “Yes. And you don’t have to tell me what a mistake it was to…”

  Her mother placed her hand over Chandra’s. “I wasn’t going to. It’s quite evident to us that you’ve moved on,” she said smiling up at Mike.

  Mike cleared his throat. “We’re trying it out,” he offered.

  “Good.” She turned toward Chandra. “And so that you know, I’m not moving back in with you. You and Jason will be fine. Mike says he’ll be helping him with the house after school. Gabe is back, and you won’t be working all the time. It’ll be good to get back to normal.”

  “You’re always welcome in my home—our home—your home,” she corrected.

  “I know, but I’m having a great time being a free woman.”

  The way her cheeks blushed, and so had Tracy’s, Chandra didn’t even want to ask what that was about.

  A runner from the kitchen brought out three entrees and set them on the table. She’d never heard them order, but then again, she could have placed those orders out of memory too.

  “Oh, and I’ll be picking up Jason today after school, and he’s staying with Tracy and me for the night.”

  Chandra frowned. “Why? I can do it.”

  “It’s all planned. You have a date.” She grinned, and that had Chandra turning toward Mike, who was smiling equally as wide.

  “I’ve had a big day. I want to celebrate. Jason will be alright with your mom. She’s only a phone call away if anything happens.”

  She wasn’t worried that he’d cut his finger or choke on a Lego—not anymore. She was worried that Austin would go looking for Jason. She’d wanted to be the one there to pick him up.

  She kept her eyes on Mike’s face. Those soft dark eyes and the glow of his smile resonating in them, how could she possibly refuse?

  “I’m not sure it’s a good idea. But okay,” she agreed.

  Mike’s hand rested on her knee under the table. The heat that transferred to her turned her insides to absolute mush. They were right. Jason would be okay. This thing with Mike might be new or at least acknowledged, but she wanted to find out what kind of heat it held. And from the flutters in her stomach, she was damn sure it was going to be a very good night.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chandra had confirmed that her mother had indeed picked Jason up from school and that he was starting in on his homework. She was pleased that it had annoyed him that she even asked about homework. Her job was done, she thought as he told her about his day and about the substitute they’d had in gym.

  She listened as she tidied up the kitchen in Mike’s apartment. Not that it needed it. He was a fairly neat housekeeper, but she was going stir crazy just sitting there.

  Gabe had kicked her out of the restaurant, and Mike had borrowed her car to run an errand. She was stranded.

  “Be good for Grandma,” she said one more time.

  “I will. Hey, Mom,” Jason said, his voice dropping in volume. “Is Dad okay?”

  She let out a long breath. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I don’t know where he is or what has happened. I only know, you’re safe with Grandma, and until I hear from him, I don’t want you to go with him, okay?”

  “I get it, Mom. I do. I just hope he’s okay.”

  “I know you do. I’ll talk to you in the morning before school.”

  She blew a kiss through the phone and disconnected.

  Again, she looked around the small apartment. He wouldn’t be living there much longer, she supposed. Once he got a room in the old house done, he’d live and work there. She’d grown accustomed to him being only a few feet away.

  Brushing her braid over her shoulder, she pulled it back and ran her hands over it.

  Perhaps she’d make herself up a bit before her date. Obviously, it hadn’t been too important to Mike that she was glamorous or not. She certainly didn’t hold a candle to his ex-wife, she thought, recalling the photo he’d shown her. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t look a little put together.

  Chandra walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror. In her bag, she knew she had some lip gloss and mascara. There might not be too much more to it.

  Pulling the band from her hair, she brushed her fingers through the braid to release it into waves.

  Her dark hair, only slightly speckled with the new gray she’d been finding, flowed over her shoulders in waves. For a moment she looked in the mirror admiring herself. She didn’t need all the fancy makeup and such. Her mother had always told her she was a natural beauty, and for the first time, in a long time, she actually believed that.

  “You’re beautiful,” Mike’s voice came from behind her, and she turned to see him leaning against the doorjamb.

  “I thought I’d try to look nice for our date, which, so that you know, I hate surprises.”

  He moved to her, moving his hands from her shoulder down her arms to capture her hands. “You might have to get used to them. I like to do them.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I want to show you something.”

  “I only have jeans and T-s
hirts,” she warned.

  “Don’t ever think that’s not okay.” He raised his hand to run his fingers through her hair. “When you wear your hair down, you seem delicate, and that’s not saying you’re harsh. It’s saying that it’s different.”

  “I am harsh. You’ve met my mother. Hippie on the back of a Harley. I’m not much different.”

  He smiled. “It’s part of your charm.” Taking a step back, he kept his gaze on her face. “Where we’re going, it doesn’t matter what you wear. You might need a coat, though.”

  “I have one.”

  “Good. Oh, and we have to take your car.”

  “Of course,” she laughed.

  “I might need to look into getting one. Though Denver has a lot of mass transit options, I’m finding that it just isn’t convenient enough.”

  “True.”

  Mike found that Chandra didn’t say much when she was unsure of a situation. But she was mindful of every turn they took and every word he said.

  No doubt some self-defense mechanism, though he couldn’t help but wonder who would mess with her. Just her attitude alone said don’t mess with me. The usual braid, sculpted arms, and tattoos would ward him off.

  He chuckled to himself. Who was he kidding? They’d turned him on, which was a first. Usually, he didn’t go for that type, but damn, wasn’t it a great surprise to find out that he actually did like it? And to her credit, an older nerd didn’t seem like her style either. But once she’d let her hair down, so to speak, he shined in her eyes. He saw it—and he loved it.

  “Why are we near my house? You’re taking me home to clean my house, aren’t you? I’m not as neat and tidy as you are.”

  He laughed as he drove down the street, then through the alley, and parked behind the abandoned house he’d bought with her mother and Tracy. “No. You’re not going back until we know it’s safe, and then we can talk about cleaning up. Not because you’re messy, but because a mess was left for you.”

  “You’re good with words.”

  “I try,” he smiled in the dark.

  “So why are we here?”

  “I want to share this with you. I want to walk through the house and tell you all my plans. At least pretend you’re excited.”

  She laughed. “I can’t wait to hear what you have in store.”

  Mike turned off the engine, climbed from the car, and by the time she’d opened her door, he was standing there. Chandra wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to his gentlemanly ways. Though after so many years of just being a discarded partner, she decided it was worth trying to get used to it.

  He took her hand and walked with her to the back door. Fishing for the keys in his pocket, in the dark, he finally found the key and unlocked the lock. When he pushed open the door, he reached his hand inside and flicked the switch which turned on a single light in the room.

  “This is like a mud room next to the kitchen. I’m not sure about keeping it,” he said as he stepped in and then waited for her to cross into the house.

  The smell of vacant house filled her nose. Dust, dander, and water stained wood. She saw and smelled, old house. Now she was curious what her mother, Tracy, and Mike saw.

  With her hand still in his, he shut the door and began to guide her into the house.

  “The kitchen will be a complete demo job. Everything in here is too old, and the electricity will need to be redone.”

  He continued to the front of the house which consisted of a large living room and dining room.

  “The wood in here is amazing. Carved original work on the mantel and railing up the stairs. I think a few comfy couches and chairs. Perhaps a book case of different kinds of books,” he said as he pointed to a wall where the wallpaper curled away from the wall. “I’m juggling with a big family style dining table or little two or four person tables. I can’t decide, but it’s bottom of the list right now.”

  “How many rooms are upstairs?”

  “Five bedrooms upstairs. There is one on the main floor too. Lots of rooms for guests. I’ll have to work the bathroom situations. Honestly, the one thing my parents found was that guests liked to have their own facilities. It might cost me a room, but I can live with that.”

  As they continued their tour, he came to the room at the bottom of the stairs. Ornate wooden French doors closed off the room behind them.

  “This is really what I want you to see.” Mike pushed open the doors and turned on the light. She could only assume her shocked silence was what he was expecting.

  The room was clean. It had been dusted, and the wood cleaned, as much as possible. The lemon scent gave that away.

  In the middle of the room was a large wooden spool covered in a lace table cloth. There were place settings of china and crystal glasses.

  “Mike, when did you set all this up?”

  He placed his hand on her back. “Just a little errand I had to run.”

  She laughed as she turned into his arms. “I can’t believe you did this.” She turned back to look at the table. “I assume you planned to eat here?”

  “Shortly. Nothing fancy, except the china which is your mother’s.”

  Now she moved from him and went to the makeshift table. “I would have figured that out,” she said with humor lit in her voice.

  “I ordered pizza. One of the first things I did was replace the light bulb out front. Hopefully, they’ll find us and deliver.”

  “I have to admit, when I met you, I never would have pegged you for the optimistic kind.”

  “It was a bad day.”

  “Was it?” she asked and the words caught in her chest.

  His eyes grew dark as he pulled her to him. “No. No, it wasn’t bad at all,” he said as he gently brushed his lips over hers.

  She let the sensation linger there a moment. His breath on her mouth, his hands on her back. God, if just a kiss from the man, and the simplest touch, could make her swoon as she was, what might the full package do to her? She’d be drunk for days she supposed.

  Pulling his phone from his pocket, he swiped the screen and pushed something that sent it playing gentle music. Mike set it on the table, then spun her back into his arms, into an easy dance.

  “I don’t know how to dance,” she argued as he swayed with her.

  “Seems like you’re doing a good job.”

  And like that, she felt like an entirely different person. Her hair swayed just as her body did. Mike’s heartbeat drummed against her cheek, and he kept her close. Yes, she could get used to being treated like a princess. This man was a Godsend.

  Chapter Thirty

  No fancy restaurant would ever be as impressive as dinner on the old wooden spool in the library of a decrepit old house, Chandra thought as Mike drove back to his apartment.

  They had danced to music on his iPhone, dined on pizza and wine, and they’d kissed. Oh, they’d kissed until she thought the heated breath in her lungs just might make her explode.

  There was no miscommunication as to what the night might bring. They were two adults, falling in love, with a night alone in an apartment.

  Perhaps she should have had him take her to Tracy’s, but she couldn’t resist seeing what might be next.

  At what point over the past few weeks had she fallen in love with this perfect stranger? And perfect seemed to be the keyword.

  Though every nerve in her body wished he’d just pull the damn car to the side of the road and take her there, she knew that perfect meant patient. There would be no quick pleasure. It would be slow, drawn out, and appreciated.

  And even though it sickened her to think that she’d been with someone else only a short time ago, she knew that this romantically entranced version of her was still a virgin—and Mike had not even touched her yet.

  His hand rested easily on the seat next to him. Unable to not touch him, she tucked her hand into his. As he stopped at a light, he slid a hot glance her way, and she melted with it.

  They were four blocks from his apartment, and she
didn’t know if she could last.

  Silence filled the space between them, and she assumed each of them weighing what was bound to happen in their own minds.

  Sex was always a turning point, and it scared her a little bit. Mike was important to her, her mother, her son, and Gabe. If she messed this up…

  She just wouldn’t consider that it was going to get messed up. It was time she found something true in her life, something that brought her happiness. Mike possessed that something.

  Still, no words were spoken as he pulled up behind the restaurant and parked her car. They each sat for a moment before opening their doors and stepping out into the alley. Mike moved to the door, his keys in his hand, and unlocked the lock.

  In the dim glow of security lights, he lifted his eyes to her. Did he see what he needed to see? Or did the worry in her head cloud the need she felt in her body?

  He pushed open the door to the stairwell and turned on the light. She passed through and heard him close the door behind them, and lock it as she started up the stairs. He met her at the top and unlocked his apartment door.

  Pushing it open for her, Chandra crossed the threshold, and that was when the silence subsided.

  The moment she heard the click on the door closing she turned, and he pulled her to him, turning her and pushing her up against the door. His mouth was hot and on hers, sucking out any reserve she’d had.

  Chandra went to work on peeling off his jacket. He reciprocated by managing hers off without ever leaving her lips. Then, with frantic need, they both began to undress the other.

  She fumbled with the buttons on his shirt as he pulled the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head, only to return right back to her mouth.

  As his hands touched her bare skin, she found it harder to breathe or to focus on the task at hand. When his hands moved to her back and unclasped her bra, she was sure she’d felt her knees buckle, and she pressed against the door as he touched her, so as not to fall.

  Mike’s mouth moved from hers to her neck. And she thought it should have given her a moment to catch her breath, but it did the opposite. Her head was spinning in the pleasure of his hands roaming over her sensitive skin, and his mouth—his breath—doing the same.