He showered, dressed in the Oxford-gray suit with a white shirt and yellow tie. He put on his gray Chesterfield-style overcoat, a remainder from his affluent days, and gave thanks that, in his lowest moments, he hadn’t sold it or exchanged it for a hot dog. He’d been wearing it when he’d met Philip. A glance at his watch told him he had thirty-two minutes. He made it to the florist in eleven minutes and cooled his heels while the florist chatted with a neighbor. Vexed, though he knew it was the way of life in a small town, he turned to leave, and the man asked if he could help him. He bought an American beauty rose, had it wrapped in cellophane and tied with a red velvet bow.
He felt like a teenager about to take his girl to his first prom. What had happened to his resolve to stay away from her, his concern that associating with her might jeopardize his case against Brown and Worley? I can’t help it, he said to himself. Right now, I need to be with her.
If Reid was able to rationalize his way out of his dilemma about Kendra, she had no such success, but admitted her strong attraction to him and the trouble in which it would one day land her, and figured that she would have no choice but to take it on the chin when it came. She hoped he’d be worth the price she had to pay.
She looked through her closet and pushed aside the sedate business suits and tailored dresses she wore to work until she found the red silk sheath that fit snugly until it passed her hips and then flared out sassy and flirtatious. Its low-cut bodice promised a delicious tidbit if she let him get that far. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. What was she thinking when she bought that advertisement for sex? No wonder she’d never worn it.
What the heck? He wants me, and I want him. Might as well be an adult about it. She combed out her hair and brushed it until it curved under at her shoulder, put on a pair of gold hoops, dabbed perfume in strategic places and took a deep breath. Did she dare wear those spike-heel sandals in weather that was below freezing? And could she drive while wearing them? I can kick off the right one, she said to herself and slipped her feet into the shoes just as the doorbell rang.
She opened the door and, to her delight, his eyes lit up and his long, sharp whistle made her heart sing. He stepped inside, closed the door with his foot, and she’d never seen a happier look on a man’s face than when he gazed down at her. She felt her tongue rim her lips, and then his big hands were on her seconds before he lowered his head and she rose on her toes to meet his mouth. He came down hard on her, but she didn’t care because she felt his need of her.
“Open up to me, sweetheart. Let me feel myself inside you.”
She parted her lips, took him into her mouth and as he began to dance and twirl inside her, one of his hands moved down to her hips and the other locked around her bare shoulders. Oh, the feel of his hands on her naked flesh. She sucked him deeper into her mouth, holding him, caressing him while her nerves began to riot and the blood sizzled in her veins as it raced to her vagina. She heard her moans, but didn’t care. She wanted him as she’d never wanted anything in her life.
He stopped kissing her and looked down at her. “Sweetheart, if we don’t cut this out, we’ll never get anything to eat.”
Frustrated and not bothering to hide it, she poked his chest. “You shouldn’t have started it. I opened the door, and you didn’t even say hi, just like you never bother to say goodbye to me.” His grin settled around his eyes, and it was all she could do to stop herself from putting her arms around him and hugging him. “Would you mind driving? I don’t think I should unless I take off these shoes.”
He looked down at her feet. “No wonder you seem taller. I’ll drive.”
When he handed her a red rose, she kissed his cheek. “You’re such a sweet man,” she said and turned away, intending to get a vase and water for the rose, but he grabbed her arm.
“Do you think I’m sweet, or were you making small talk?”
“Yes, I think you’re sweet, Reid, and I’d…We’d better leave it at that.”
Chapter 3
“You haven’t asked where we’re going,” Reid said as they headed out of Queenstown. “Aren’t you concerned?”
“Not really. As long as I can eat when I get hungry, I’ll be happy. Besides, a really sweet man will do whatever he can to make me comfortable.”
“Let’s see. You told me that you’re almost forty. Haven’t you ever misplaced your trust?”
“I did once, and thereafter I protected myself, but while I was protecting myself, life passed me by. Do you get my drift?”
“Yeah. Are you saying you’re willing to take a chance with me?”
“If you want the truth, Reid, I have not let myself face that question. In fact, I have skated all around it, and very skillfully, I might say.”
“That’s two of us. There’re a lot of reasons why we should avoid each other, and you know all of them. But that’s what I think when I’m being logical. The rest of the time, I want what you gave me when I walked into your house this evening.” He drove into a roadside restaurant, parked and turned to her. “I want that and more, and I know that wanting you has nothing to do with the number of women I’m acquainted with in Queenstown. I would want you if I lived in Baltimore, where I know a slew of people, male and female, or for that matter, if I lived in Paris.”
This man was telling her that she should take him seriously; that he wanted her and was bold enough to go after what he wanted. Taken aback by his bluntness, she stammered, “Oh…I think you’re ahead of me.”
“And if I did what I want to do right now, I’d take you in my arms and kiss you until I’m drunker off you than I was forty minutes ago.”
She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, but she didn’t want that to be the basis of their relationship and she decided to tell him so. “Do you think you can slow down, Reid? I confess that I want you, but I am not going to allow that to be the basis of a relationship with you. I need more. I need friendship, companionship and…and…okay, I’ll say it…and love. I need caring and affection, and I’m dying to give all that in return. I want to make love with you in the worst way, but I’ve learned how to deny myself, so…let’s go eat.”
He gazed at her until she began to wonder at his mood. Suddenly, he said, “I’ll buy that.” His face transformed itself into a smile, and she wondered whether she’d be able to handle him if she ever needed to. He held her hand as they walked into the restaurant, a large but cozy room with hanging chandeliers, upholstered chairs, tables spaced far apart and the sound of soft, easy-listening music flowing around them.
“It’s beautiful, Reid. How did you find it?”
“I saw it when I drove to Caution Point this morning and noticed that it was used for wedding parties, so I figured it would be nice. I called and made a reservation.”
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” she repeated, “and so are you. You clean up real good, as they say.”
His smile told her that he appreciated her compliment, but he added, “Thank you, Kendra. I’m beginning to feel like my old self, but when I look at you, knowing who and what you are, I’m humbled. You are so beautiful. I love you in that dress.”
She nearly lost her breath, although she knew there had to be more to that sentence. The maître d’ seated them in a corner near a fireplace, one of several in the room. The place was bound to be expensive, but she didn’t intend to insult him by suggesting that they split the bill. She ordered white wine, and he asked for a wine and club soda spritzer. “I’m driving,” he told the sommelier when the man looked at him disparagingly.
A waiter took their order, and she noted the frown on Reid’s face when the man allowed his gaze to linger on her cleavage.
Reid raised his glass. “Here’s to the loveliest of women.”
“And here’s to the nicest, sweetest man I know.”
“Okay,” he said. “I won’t push you. You don’t have to say anything about my…er…charm and—”
“Then, I won’t. Did you rent a car today?”
“My bo
ss let me use a company car.” He leaned forward. “Kendra, I have so much to tell you. The day got better by the hour.” He told her about his visit with Marcus, of Marcus’s request that he design a building for him, about his boss’s agreement allowing him to do it.
“Kendra, Jack invited me to lunch. He loved the sketch I did for the airport terminal in Caution Point, and another one that he thinks he can use for a deal he’s trying to make. But, Kendra, even before he saw my ideas for that airport terminal, he and Connerly, the junior partner, had decided to raise me from assistant to full architect with double the pay. Do you—”
She interrupted him. “I think I’m going to cry. I—”
“Cry? Why, for heaven’s sake?”
“I’m so happy for you. I…I’m…excuse me.” She stumbled from the table and rushed to the women’s room, where the tears flowed. Now maybe there was a chance for them. He would be his own man, the company recognized his value and he didn’t have to look up to anyone. She patted cold water on her face, dried it with a paper towel, buffed her skin and headed back to the table.
The maître d’ intercepted her. “Is Madame all right?”
“Yes, indeed,” she said, and looked up and saw that Reid stood by the table waiting for her. If she had been at home, she suspected that she would have run to him, but she remembered who and where she was, controlled the urge and let her smile communicate to him her feelings.
He walked to meet her. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Reid. Forgive me for letting it get out of control.”
He assisted her in sitting down and walked around to his own chair. “I’m glad you’re fine, but I need to know what happened.”
She took a deep breath. “Not since I met you have I seen you so…so full of…of hope, so happy, just bursting with joie de vivre. Seeing you that way, almost watching years fall away from you. I couldn’t help it. I’m so happy for you. It’s the first time I’ve ever cried because I was happy.”
“You were crying for me?” He reached across the table and grasped her hand. She didn’t answer him. Something was happening between them, and neither of them would be able to alter its course. He repeated the question.
“Yes. Silly, aren’t I?”
His gaze—fiery, turbulent—bored into her, refusing to release her, and she couldn’t glance away. “I guarantee you that if I had you alone and in a private place right now, I would make love with you, and I wouldn’t stop until you were mine.”
“Could I…may I have some more wine, please?”
“Of course you may. I see you haven’t disagreed with me. We’re going to be lovers, Kendra. Maybe not soon, but you can bet on it.”
“I’ve never had a man talk like this to me, so I don’t know what to say to you right now.”
“You haven’t told me that I’m out of line. Am I?”
“I don’t…no. You aren’t out of line, but it’s best you don’t push me. I can get stubborn, even against myself.”
A smile lit up his face, and it seemed as if a spotlight shone on him. He squeezed her fingers. “I won’t push you. I’m a patient man, or at least I have been in the past. I hope I’ll be able to boast of my patience six months from now. Something tells me I’ve never been tested.”
She leaned back in her chair and looked at him. “When we met, I had trouble getting you to utter a sentence that had more than six words. Now you’re very expressive. You talk to me. I like the change. Now if I can just get you to tell me goodbye when you leave me.”
“That day probably won’t come, Kendra. My mother was the last person to whom I used those two words. She’s been gone since I was sixteen.”
She turned over her hand so that her palm caressed his. “I’m so sorry, Reid. Who raised you after that? I mean, who saw you through school?”
“My dad. He’s gone now. It happened while I was fighting that class action suit.”
She’d like to know what it was about the man that got to her so thoroughly. I’m not in love with him, so what is it?
“Would Madame care for dessert?” the waiter asked. “Our dessert chef is world famous, sir,” he said to Reid, who ordered a floating island.
“I’ll have raspberry and peach sorbet,” she said, pleased with herself for having resisted the sour lime pie.
“If we were in Baltimore,” Reid said as they left the restaurant, “I would take you dancing. I don’t know any nice place around here, and that’s a pity. You look so lovely that I don’t want to take you home yet.”
“There’ll be other nights, Reid. At least, I hope so.”
“And there will be, if I have my way. Say, do you have a regional map in the glove compartment?” She opened it and removed an AAA map. He took her hand, walked over to the light and examined the map.
“We can be in Elizabeth City in twenty minutes to half an hour at only moderate speed. What do you say?”
She loved to dance; imagined dancing with him. “I’m for it.”
Half a mile down the highway, he filled up the gas tank, got back into the car and drove off singing, “God Didn’t Make Little Green Apples.”
“Can you cook?” she asked him, though she didn’t know why the thought had occurred.
“I’m a pretty good cook. I like to eat, so I taught myself to cook. Cooking is a special kind of chemistry,” he said, warming up to the subject. “It’s a matter of putting together the right flavors and avoiding combinations that will blow up in your face. Right?”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but that’s close enough. Did you like chemistry in school?”
“I tolerated it. I loved physics.”
They talked of their likes and dislikes in music, art, dance, literature and hobbies, and they shared their dreams. By the time they reached Elizabeth City, nearly an hour had elapsed, but neither noticed. He drove into a gas station and asked the attendant if he knew where a man could take a lady dancing.
“This lady is a judge,” he told the man, “so it has to be a clean and classy place.” He held a ten-dollar bill in his hand where the attendant could see it.
The guy peeped in the car. “Man, she don’t look like no judge to me. Uh, sorry, sir. No problem, sir. Check out the Skylight Roof on top of the Wright Hotel. You won’t find any riffraff there. Go straight till you get to a circle, turn left, drive four blocks. You’ll be there.”
She laid her left hand on his forearm. “Thanks for thinking of the quality of the place, Reid. It’s been so long since I went anywhere special that I didn’t think of it.”
“When you’re with me, Kendra, I’ll do everything I can to take care of you, and I know you’d do the same for me.”
When they reached the hotel, Reid said to the doorman, “Do you have a band tonight?”
“Yes, sir. Every night, sir.”
He looked the man in the eye. “My date is a judge. Is it all right for me to take her in there?”
“Yes, sir. We cater to only the most discriminating guests.”
She loved the room. Pink chandeliers cast a soft glow over the white tables, each of which held three white calla lilies in a slender vase. “I don’t want anything to drink,” he said, “but I’ll order something for you if you’d like.”
“Thanks. I’d like a ginger ale on crushed ice.”
“I think I’ll have the same,” he said and beckoned for the waiter.
“What kind of music do you prefer to dance to?” he asked her.
“I love jazz saxophone, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll enjoy it no matter what they play.”
Why was he looking at her that way? She wished she knew him well enough to read him. The band leader announced a fox-trot, and Reid stood. Just before his arms went around her, he kissed her with his eyes, warmed her with his repressed desire and a riot of sensation sent tremors throughout her body.
“Easy, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I’m already drowning in your aura, so don’t pour it on too heavily.”
He
was drowning? “If we get into trouble, we’ll save each other.”
He missed a step. “Honesty and straightforwardness are among the things I like about you, but I’d appreciate it if you would choose your times to be candid.”
The piece ended, and the orchestra leader announced “Solitude,” a Duke Ellington song from the 1930s. She moved into him then. She couldn’t help it, for the alto saxophone moaned and cried, haunting, harnessing the blues for posterity. She gripped his shoulders and swung to his rhythm as if she had danced with him from the moment of her birth. Soon, she didn’t hear the orchestra, only the music of his body moving with hers. When at last the music stopped, she looked up at him.
“If I didn’t know better,” he said, “I’d swear we’ve danced together for years. It’s uncanny. I’ve known you a little over a month, and I feel as if I’ve known you for years and years.”
“Seems that way to me, too. I think we ought to start back. It’ll be after midnight when we get home.”
They didn’t talk on the way home. Normally, she loved silence, because it allowed her to think. But not this mocking quiet, so intense that it spoke with the power of thunder. At last, they reached her house, and he parked and handed her the keys.
“I want to spend the night with you, Kendra, but I know this isn’t the time. My body feels as if it’s in a prison, locked behind bars and rearing to get out, but in a way, it’s a good feeling. I’m alive, and I couldn’t have said that before I met you. Come on, I’ll see you into your house.”
“Wait here,” he said when they entered her foyer, issuing orders as usual. “I’ll take a look around.” As if she didn’t walk into that house alone almost every time she entered it. He came back to her. “All clear. I’ll see you tomorrow at eleven, and we’ll walk down to the Sound, that is if you still want to.”
“I want to. I had a wonderful time tonight, Reid, and I…Thanks for sharing your good news with me.”
“Being able to tell you about it means more to me than you can imagine. See you in the morning.”
One Night With You Page 5