“Go get it, then,” she said. “I don’t want to do all this work for nothing.” She was so tired. As soon as he left, she decided she needed a break and rolled over onto her back, closing her eyes against the bright sunshine. She could almost go to sleep just like this.
She thought she heard Tommy return, even though he’d only been gone a few minutes and couldn’t possibly have gotten home and back again. Without getting up, she called out, “What did you do? Did you decide you don’t need the poundy thing after all?”
But it wasn’t Tommy’s voice that answered.
“Poundy thing?”
She scrambled up, embarrassed, to see Jake standing there in his fancy real estate suit. She was too flustered to say a word. The man did have a knack for seeing her at her worst. He, on the other hand, had never looked better. He didn’t have dirty smudges on his face. He could have posed for the cover of a magazine right away without the least bit of touching up.
“I, uh, came over here because I owe you an apology,” he said.
Lori had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say next.
“My mother gave me hell, and I have to say I deserved it. A client said some ugly things about you, and I should have known better than to have just taken his word for it. One of your colleagues knows my mother, and told her the whole story. I’ve behaved unforgivably, but I wonder if you might be able to forgive me anyway.”
Lori thought that sounded like a carefully rehearsed speech.
“I can assume you were selling a house to someone we nurses like to call Dr. Grab-Ass. And I have a pretty good idea of what he said to you. I can also assume Harriet told your mom a few choice details about the doctor.”
“My mom liked you a lot. She was pretty fired up after Harriet talked to her.” A tentative smile moved across his face. Even that little smile, she found, was almost enough to melt her heart. Almost.
“Your mom is right. You shouldn’t listen to ugly gossip. Some of it can be very hurtful.”
“I’m very sorry. I like you a lot. Do you think you could give me another chance?” He took another step toward her. Lori knew all she had to do was step toward him and he’d kiss her. God, he was gorgeous. “Besides, you look even more beautiful with a little mud on your face than you do without makeup,” he said, reaching a hand toward her as if to wipe it off.
Lori took a step back. “You could have asked me, but you didn’t give me a chance,” she said. “I was so excited to close on the house. Partly because I love the house. But partly because I was under the impression that we were going to get to know each other better once the closing was over. Do you know how that felt? For you to just blow me off like that, with no explanation?”
The smile was off Jake’s face now.
Part of her wanted to tell him it was OK, she understood. But part of her knew it wasn’t OK. Was this a sign of how he’d treat her in the future? She felt she’d come too far in her feeling of independence to back down now.
“I’m sorry, but I need to feel more respect than I feel like you can offer me.” She said nothing more, just continued to look him right in the eye. She didn’t recognize herself as this strong woman who was turning down a man she had been dreaming about for weeks.
“I guess I better leave,” he said. She continued to say nothing. He turned around, looking deflated, and left.
She felt tears gathering but she dropped to her knees and began attacking the brick path again. She had pulled herself together by the time Tommy returned with the “poundy thing,” which turned out to be an apt description for it. It looked like a pole sticking out of a heavy, square-shaped piece of flat metal; a bit like a giant potato masher, except solid. Together, they spread coarse sand over the bare path, and then they took turns pounding the sand so it would not settle further once they’d placed the bricks on it. It was a good way to work out frustration, she found, but in no time her arms were aching. She was glad for Tommy’s youth; he was doing most of it. She began replacing the bricks in the same pattern they’d been in before. That wasn’t especially easy, but compared to pounding sand it was. By the end of the day, they’d finished everything except covering the new path with sand and sweeping it into the cracks. She decided that could wait for another day; even the thought of sweeping sand sounded far too difficult right now.
She paid Tommy and trooped into her freakarific bathroom for a long soak in the tub, adding liberal amounts of bubble bath. Her glass of wine sat on the edge of the tub, and even raising it to her mouth seemed difficult. She knew she was going to pay for this tomorrow. Thank goodness it was a work day! She certainly had never thought of a day in the ER as a break before. But today she’d done the hardest physical work she’d ever done; and maybe the hardest emotional work, too.
She closed her eyes and thought of all the Jakes she knew — the fancy guy in the designer suit. The casual guy wearing jeans and a T-shirt, drinking a working-class man’s beer. The caring man helping take care of his disabled brother. He was all of these things, and she could scarcely believe he’d shown up to apologize and she’d turned him down. She remembered the kiss they’d shared in his parents’ kitchen. She thought about Harriet, who had apparently intervened by talking to Jake’s mother. That had been nice of her, but she couldn’t forget Jake’s coldness at the closing. He’d so easily swallowed ugly rumors about her before; how could she ever trust him again?
She lowered herself deeper into the hot water, submerging her sore shoulders. Probably she should be icing them, but the heat felt better. She’d need ibuprofen to get through work tomorrow, and she’d go to bed early tonight. She didn’t even want dinner. A peanut butter sandwich was all she felt she could commit to. What on earth had she done with herself before becoming a homeowner? Every day off and every evening was full of cleaning, landscaping, organizing and planning.
One answer was that she hadn’t had a boyfriend in a while. The house had become her relationship, she realized. It was all-consuming. She devoted all her time and attention to it. But she knew it wouldn’t be like this forever. Soon enough she would be all settled in and would have time for other things. Maybe even enough time to date, though that thought had lost its luster. Really, what she wanted was to see Jake. But he certainly wouldn’t be coming around again after she’d sent him away today.
Chapter 15
Lori caught a break the next day at work. It was steady enough to keep her thoughts occupied but not busy enough to stress her out. It was like the work gods had decided to be kind to her, for once. She was suitably grateful. She and Harriet took their lunch break together, Harriet going for lasagna and a side salad and a big chocolate chip muffin, and Lori opting for a big green salad with grilled chicken. The apple just didn’t cut it anymore; she was doing too much physically demanding work to be satisfied with just a piece of fruit. She’d started eating it during her shorter morning break — when she got one — and had been doing her reading before bed instead of during lunch.
“So, you’ve been quiet, but is there anything new and interesting in your life?” Harriet asked, with the air of one who thinks she knows what’s coming.
Lori’s answer took the smile off Harriet’s face. “Nope. Nothing new.”
“You didn’t get a visit from a certain good-looking real estate guy?”
“I did, as a matter of fact.”
“And?”
“And I told him I need more respect than he apparently can give me.”
“Oh. Oh, dear. Estelle must be so disappointed. She was really hoping you two were going to work out. She told me you were her favorite of all the girls she’s ever seen Jake bring home.”
“He didn’t take me there to meet his parents, though. I was there to help take care of Josh in a pinch.”
“Oh, come on. There are plenty of nurses they could have called. Obviously, when you have a family member like Josh, you keep a list of resources you can turn to. You are not the only nurse in the world. Do you really not realize Jake a
sked you there specifically because he wanted to get to know you better?”
“I don’t know about that. I do know he was pretty ready to believe whatever garbage Dr. Grab-Ass was spewing.” She picked at the last few pieces of radicchio, finally giving up when the fork failed and surreptitiously using her fingers. Whoever said salad wasn’t finger food had never tried to eat it with the blunt forks at Fairview Medical Center’s cafeteria.
Harriet sighed.
“Lori, Lori, Lori. You know, I’ve seen you date some really questionable guys. Doctors, yes, but some really classless ones, in a few cases. I’ve seen you put up with some who didn’t … well, let’s just say some of them didn’t show you a great deal of respect. Now you have a chance to date a really good guy, and you’re really not going to give him another chance? I thought you really liked Jake.”
“I do. I like him a lot. Or I did, anyway.”
“What would it take for you to decide to give him another chance?”
“I really don’t know. I guess it would take more than just an apology. I would need to really understand how he could like me but be so ready throw me away after hearing one rumor.”
“I understand,” Harriet said. She had finished her lasagna, left half of her salad in the bowl and had moved onto the chocolate chip muffin. “Well, I’m a little disappointed, but it’s up to you who you see, of course.”
“I’m really not in a hurry to see anyone, honestly. I’ve been putting all my energy into fixing up the new place. I go to bed exhausted most nights.”
“Are you still planning to have a housewarming party? We’re all dying to see the place!”
“Yes, absolutely. I just want to wait until I have it pulled together a little more.” She explained about the reupholstery work she was having done on her sofa.
“Loveridge’s, huh? I’ve seen that shop downtown. It’s been there forever. Must have been her dad running it years ago. Doesn’t seem like a job for a woman, taking apart heavy furniture. She must be what we used to call ‘a sturdy woman.’”
“No, actually, she’s a tiny little thing, but strong. And you should see her upstairs living quarters. Downstairs is a workroom, but the upstairs is amazing. Looks like a fairy wonderland, or maybe a gypsy paradise.”
“I think her family background is gypsy, actually. Or Romany, I believe is now the correct term. I don’t know exactly where her dad was from, but I seem to remember he had some kind of accent. She must have an interesting family story to tell.”
“Could be. We didn’t talk about it. But once she’s finished my sofa sectional, I’m going to have a housewarming party, and you’re definitely invited. There will be a ’70s theme to it, so I hope you kept your go-go boots.”
“Too bad I didn’t. But I think it would give people a heart attack to see ’70s Harriet.”
“Actually, I would love to meet ’70s Harriet. You should bring her to the party,” Lori joked.
“You know who you should invite? Jake. He comes from a very good family. I wish you would give him another chance.”
“I sent him away. He’s definitely not coming to my party,” Lori said. “Which is too bad. I did really like him.”
That evening, Lori didn’t feel like going through boxes in the basement or cleaning or doing anything at all. She decided to grant herself a lazy night. If anyone deserved it, it was her. She poured herself a glass of wine, took a long bubble bath, put on a racy teddy, poured herself another glass of wine, and settled into bed with her latest romance novel. This one was a Regency romance, in which a woman outsmarted all the men around her and ended up living her own life with a man she chose for herself rather than the rich old man her family wanted her to marry. Everything ended up just peachy for the heroine, of course. Lori knew that wasn’t how it usually worked for women in the past, and felt grateful that she lived in a time when women could more easily make their own life choices. Yet, here she was, looking sexy as hell but drinking her wine all alone in the middle of a bedroom clearly not designed for solitary sleep. She looked up at herself in the mirror and was pleased at what she saw. Well, even if nobody else was going to appreciate her, she pleased herself. There was something to be said for that at least.
Her thoughts turned to Jake. He was one of the sexiest men she’d ever met, looking equally as good in old jeans as in expensive suits, and equally at home in family and business settings. And she remembered his kisses. Best kisser she’d ever known in her life, without doubt. She thought about the heroine of her novel, Victoria. What would Victoria do if transplanted into modern life? Well, she probably wouldn’t be drinking wine all alone in a red lacy teddy. Would she give Jake another chance, or would she simply move on to someone else? She didn’t know. Victoria seemed to go to a lot of balls, where there was one delicious man after another ready for the chance to sweep her off her feet. Lori spent her days checking vital signs and wiping up body fluids and her evenings painting trim and organizing a basement full of someone else’s old stuff, most of it crap but with enough keepers to make it worthwhile to go through it carefully.
Lacking the London social season and fancy dress balls, she had treated the hospital’s staff of doctors as her pool of eligible men to choose from. But she’d run through all the good ones, and around half of the new doctors were women these days. Maybe she should go dancing more often. But her whole body ached most of the time. Dancing did not appeal. Anyway, she wasn’t sure that was an effective way to meet the right kind of man. Maybe she just needed to adjust to the idea of staying single.
Jake had seemed sincere when he apologized. She thought for the first time of how much courage it must have taken for him to come to her house unannounced, swallow his pride and admit he’d been wrong. Was it really so unforgivable for him to believe a rumor? She remembered thinking on first glance that Dr. Grab-Ass — she thought of him as nothing else now — looked charming. He probably had made an excellent first impression on Jake.
She also thought of how many serial sexual harassers outed in the media had maintained strong reputations for years with others. The unsavory side of people could often be hidden quite successfully. In fact, maybe that was what Jake had concluded — that Lori had simply been successful in hiding her unsavory side, and that he’d been taken in.
She herself had initially decided not to report the doctor’s sexual harassment of her because she assumed he’d be automatically believed over her. So why was she so upset when a man who didn’t know her very well did believe the man over her? It wasn’t as if they’d spent enough time together for him to have solid evidence of who she really was. They had spent a little time together looking at houses and dealing with documents, and they’d had a total of one long talk in his parents’ kitchen, followed by one long string of kisses.
Ugh. This line of thought was getting her nowhere. She drained her wine, drank a glass of water, brushed her teeth and went to sleep.
The next evening she resolved to get right back to the basement organizing, which was maybe halfway done. She’d filled her garbage can with seemingly tons of absolute junk, and repacked numerous cartons of things she intended to donate to charity. She’d hauled a small number of items upstairs. Among these were some vintage lamps, a collection of old Christmas tree decorations that would fit right in, and a huge, somewhat gaudy, but nevertheless interesting gold-framed mirror that she hung over the fireplace mantel. A text from her friend Caroline interrupted her in the middle of sorting a box of moth-eaten old clothes.
“Clipper tonight? 7?”
Lori hadn’t been out in what felt like forever, so she texted back that she’d be there. She ate a small salad, fixed herself up a bit and headed over.
Caroline was seated at the bar, as usual, chatting with Ashley.
“How about … oh, I guess tonight I’ll have a pina colada. Extra cherry on top. I deserve it,” Lori said.
“Two-cherry day, huh?” Caroline asked.
“I’ve been working my tail off on the hous
e. I want to get it all ready for the housewarming party.”
“When is it? I can’t wait to see the place.”
“Soon, I hope. I’m just waiting to hear that my sectional is all reupholstered. It had some, um, interesting stains on it. You know that house was basically a small-town, small-budget version of the Playboy mansion. I decided I wanted new upholstery.”
“Good choice. Well, anyway, I will come if I’m not in prison for murdering Johnny.”
“What’s he done?”
“Nothing! That’s basically the problem. I know he’s busy at work, but still. For God’s sake. He comes home, eats dinner, and starts playing video games. Meanwhile, I come home from work, cook dinner, do laundry, clean up the kitchen, vacuum, whatever. I spend the whole evening doing all the un-fun stuff and he just amuses himself.”
“Typical man, from what I hear.”
“Yeah, well, I’m getting sick of it. I don’t need a man to take care of. We were talking about getting married next summer, but now I’m not so sure. It sounds like a great deal for him. He has a clean house, home-cooked meal, all his clothes picked up off the floor, washed and put away. All I do is take care of him.”
Kiss & Tell (Small-Town Secrets-Fairview Series Book 2) Page 9