by Romes, Jan
He punched his pillow. Maggie was a challenge; exactly what kind was yet to be determined. Belinda was an obsessed hell-cat. Pfft. He’d date Steve before he’d go out with her.
Sweet, delectable Stella was another story altogether. She heated him up with just a look, and damn, he liked it. He wouldn’t mind spending some time finding out what made her tick. But there were at least a dozen reasons to stay away from her too.
He needed to give some serious thought to his stepdad’s offer to ward off the crazy that had become his work life. If he was smart, he’d cut things off with Blonde1 too. He’d met her on the Internet for God’s sake. Well, technically it had been a hookup through Ramsey, but it was still online. She seemed like a remarkable woman. But he’d learned early on, that if someone appeared to be too good to be true, they weren’t.
Chapter Seven
Stella hurried across the restaurant to where her sister was sitting. “Sorry I’m late. I turned my alarm off instead of hitting snooze and the traffic on I-270 funneled down to one lane.”
Misty grinned. “I just got here too.”
Stella looked around while she pulled off her coat and scarf. “Where’s Mom?”
“She decided you and I need to spend some time together.” Misty’s hazel eyes twinkled with laughter.
“Translation?”
“She wants me to find out if you’re dating anyone. You know Mom, she’s not happy unless she’s digging into our love lives.”
“So true.” Stella slid into the booth.
A waiter with flirty brown eyes and an equally flirty smile placed menus in front of them. “Good morning, ladies. What can I get you to drink?”
“Coffee. Lots of it,” Stella said.
Misty handed her menu back to the waiter. “I know what I want. Oatmeal and a tall glass of orange juice.”
Stella handed hers back too. “I’m going to be bad. Two eggs – sunny side up, bacon, hash browns, and wheat toast.”
After the hunky-waiter left, Misty broke into wide-open amusement. “Can you say clogged arteries?”
Stella gave her sister a vigorous smirk. “I’m having wheat toast. Aren’t I? Besides, what’s the point of having breakfast out if you’re going to order oatmeal and juice?”
“I’m going to be a doctor; I have to set a good example.”
“Stinks to be you.”
“I’m protecting my heart, something you should be doing too.”
Stella messed with the paper napkin-ring holding her silverware together. “Are you referring to the bacon or something else?”
Misty lifted a curious brow. “The bacon, I think.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “Okay, we might as well get this over with. Are you seeing anyone?”
“Are you?” Stella volleyed back.
“I asked you first.”
The waiter brought a decanter of coffee and a glass of orange juice.
Stella poured a cup of piping hot coffee and took a sip before obliging her sister. “I’m not dating anyone.”
Misty’s sharp eyes assessed her but moved to question number two. “Do you currently have your sights set on anyone?”
Stella looked under the table. “Do you have a check-off list on your lap?”
The corners of Misty’s mouth bowed. “I promised to get the skinny, so start talking.”
“I have my sights set on someone. Sort of.” Two someone’s to be precise. She chewed her bottom lip. One great looking bonehead and a charming cyber-friend.
Misty’s interest inched up. “I was afraid I’d have to tell Mom you were floundering, and we couldn’t have that you know. After all, she and Dad want …”
Stella finished the sentence. “…grandkids.” William and Barbara Matson often reminded their daughters that they were the only couple in their group of friends who couldn’t brag about grandkids. She quickly changed the subject. “When do you start your internship?”
Misty beamed with excitement. “Second week of January. I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.” She raised two perfectly shaped brows. “Clever dodge, Stella. You’re taking the focus off of you by asking about me. Nice try. I’m going to prod you until I get what I want. Correction, what Mom wants.”
“Tell her I wouldn’t budge.”
“Lie to our mother?” Misty grinned over her glass of juice.
Stella was happy their breakfast arrived to put a temporary halt to the inquisition.
Before the waiter moved away he winked at Misty.
Stella took a turn at brow-arching. “I’ll bet there’s drool in your oatmeal.”
Misty narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “When did you get so good at sidestepping?”
Stella slathered raspberry jam on her toast. “I’m not sidestepping. He’s clearly into you.”
“Ole brown-eyes can wink or do the hula. Doesn’t matter. I’m already involved.”
Stella widened her eyes. Maybe she should be grilling Misty, instead of the other way around. “You’re dating someone?”
Misty raised her eyebrows up and down with mischief. “Nope. But I’m in love…with medicine.”
Stella smiled. Her sister had wanted to be a doctor since she was old enough to know what one was. She could picture her in a white lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck. “Sick,” she teased. She was about to indulge in her first bite of toast but Misty laid a hand on her arm.
“No toast until you dish the goods. I won’t give Mom everything, just the highlights.”
Argh. How could she divulge she was looking for love on the Internet or had a major infatuation for a guy at work who clearly wasn’t interested?
Misty took additional measures to get Stella to talk by pushing her coffee cup out of reach. “I’m waiting.”
“You’re the little sister. I’m supposed to be concerned about you. Not the other way around.”
Misty used her serious face. “You’ve had my back for a lot of years, Stella. It’s time I had yours for awhile. So tell me what’s going on and we’ll sort it out.”
A lump formed in Stella’s throat. “Pathetic way of trying to extract information.”
Misty smiled with guilt. “Did it work?”
“Yes. Now can I have my toast and coffee?”
Misty unhanded the toast and pushed the coffee cup back.
Stella enjoyed a couple of bites. “This part isn’t for Mom.”
Misty leaned halfway across the table.
Stella sighed and let the craziness of her world roll out. Misty’s eyes widened when she said she’d met someone online, thankfully she didn’t interrupt with judgment.
“You might not have anything concrete with either of those guys, but I have a feeling you will.” Misty lowered her voice. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for awhile. Keep an open mind, okay?” She waited for Stella’s nod. “Jace Fairchild was a clueless pinhead. I know you loved him, but he was a self-centered, egotistical bastard. With him out of the picture, the possibilities for you are endless…if you allow them to be.”
“I’m over Jace.” That was mostly true. The side effects of Jace still lingered. “But I’m afraid to let my guard down.” Although, going online and dressing like a floozy was a couple of whacky steps in that direction.
“Normal reaction, Stella.” Misty stole a piece of bacon. “You owe it to yourself to find someone who isn’t a rat bastard. The only way to find him is to take a chance.” She helped herself to a forkful of hash browns. “One more thing. You might want to invest in a web-cam.”
Stella sputtered in her coffee. “I don’t think so.”
Misty shrugged. “What’s wrong with a web-cam? Or maybe you could go on Face Time. At least you’ll be able to see who you’re dealing with.”
“Looks aren’t important,” Stella said staunchly.
“Riggght.” Misty wadded a napkin and tossed it at Stella. “Eat. We have credit cards to max out.”
* * * *
‘Step outside the box, Stella’.
Her sister’s voice was in her head while she read Mr. Right’s email asking her to please go on the trip to Key West. The voice of caution was also there. Go. Don’t go. Live a little. Don’t be hasty. See what he looks like and then decide. Stella wished her brain had a refresh-button to clear her thoughts.
She traipsed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Instead of returning to the computer she made her bed, cleaned the bathroom mirror, folded a load of clean towels and straightened the magazines in the rack by the couch. Inevitably, she went back to the computer and clicked into the chat room. Before she could scan the users-list, a private message box popped on her screen.
“I was hoping you’d wander in.”
Soooo…had he been lurking in case she might come in?
“Couldn’t stay away,” she said.
“Ditto.”
Stella smiled but the word made her think about Alex. She’d said “Ditto” to him the day he came to the department. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She did not want to be attracted to Alex, but she was. Completely attracted. Gah! She was doomed to make a shambles of her heart yet again. Attracted to a guy online. Attracted to a guy at work. Who was next? The barrister at her favorite coffee shop? Or the produce-guy at the market down the street?
Mr. Right interrupted her thoughts. “Tell me about your day.”
“Prepare to yawn.” Stella ran him through a gauntlet of tiny details, including being scolded about bacon for breakfast, the new gray outfit she bought for work, the traffic tie-up at Sawmill Road and a dozen other mind-numbing particulars.
He threw an occasional ‘really’ into the conversation which gave the appearance of listening. He might not be yawning, but she was. If she was on the receiving end she would’ve zoned out for sure. Stella pictured Mr. Right skimming the newspaper or shadow-boxing while she rambled on.
To her surprise, the second she finished, he shared his day. He’d made a trip to the barbershop to clean up his scruffy neck, braved the Christmas shopping madness at the Polaris Mall for about an hour and spent the rest of the time watching football.
“We were at Polaris too,” she said.
“Maybe we walked right by each other.”
“Maybe.” Sharing non-essential scraps of information was strangely adding depth to their relationship.
“Any thoughts about going on the trip?”
She had plenty of thoughts. In fact, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. “It sounds like fun, but I haven’t made a decision.”
“You could bring along a friend. I have someone I could bring too. Red says we have to let her know by Friday.”
Stella went back to her conversation with Misty. Her sister urged her to go for it with Mr. Right but also urged her to take Trish along to meet him. Misty clarified that it wasn’t a safety issue since he was the step-cousin of Trish’s co-worker. Stella snickered. Could life get any crazier? “You’ll have my answer by Thursday night.”
“Want to know what I look forward to the most about meeting you?”
Please don’t say how I look. Stella shifted in the chair. “I’d love to know.”
“Hearing your voice.”
Good answer. “Same here. I mean yours.”
Mr. Right directed her to look out the window. Heavy snow was coming down like someone above had tons of it to get rid of.
“It’s beautiful.”
“We’re supposed to get four inches tonight and another two tomorrow. Yet another reason to get out of Dodge for awhile,” he said.
“Agreed.”
Next, Mr. Right started a humorous game of who-knows-the-most-useless-information. He spouted that a pig’s orgasm lasts for thirty minutes.
Stella minimized the chat room long enough to research Trish’s new buzz word. “Did you know armadillos have four babies at a time and they’re always the same sex?”
“Didn’t know. Thanks for bringing me up to speed. Ha. Ha. I read where seventy percent of women would rather have chocolate than sex. Is it true?”
“What kind of chocolate?” Stella laughed herself out of her chair.
“Good one.”
The snarky game came to a close and Stella tiptoed away long enough to refill her coffee cup.
“So this gray outfit, is it sexy?”
She pictured the gray suit she’d hung in her closet no more than an hour ago. “About as sexy as knee-high hosiery. LOL. But my sister said it makes my green eyes stand out.”
“You have green eyes?”
Stella scooted to the edge of the seat. “Uh-huh. And you?”
“A weird shade of blue.”
Her curiosity took a forward leap. “Hair color?”
“Black.”
Dark hair and blue eyes? Maybe his nickname should be Mr. Perfect. “Nice.”
“I was thinking the same about you. It’s hard to believe we’re just now getting to this. What color of blonde?”
Stella hoofed it to the bathroom to look in the mirror. She’d seen her hair a million times, but never narrowed down the color.
“Honey.” She backspaced over the word and went with, “The color of honey.”
“Can’t wait to see. Are you tall or lower to the ground?”
Stella chuckled. “Let’s just say I’m tall enough to ride the rides at Cedar Point. You?”
“Yeah. I can ride them too.”
Stella chewed on her thumbnail. They were getting a mental image of each other. She pictured tall, dark and handsome. She wondered what he pictured. She didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“You sound stunning.”
She couldn’t stop smiling. “I hate to yank that daydream out from under you, but I’m very plain.”
“Doesn’t matter what you look like. You’re a fascinating woman, and I’d love to get to know you better over a cup of coffee, or on an express catamaran headed to Key West. Hint. Hint.”
This guy knew which Stella-buttons to push. He was making her lower the fence so he could step over. “I have this huge grin on my face.”
“Me too. I’m trying to keep the friend thing going, but when I see your name, my mind goes crazy and I want to meet up with you so I can kiss you.”
Not one second’s hesitation. “I’d love to be kissed by you,” she said.
“For the record, I’m no light-kisser. When I kiss a woman, I want her to know she’s been kissed.”
Stella became a blend of panic and delight.
“We’d better stop talking about kissing or we’re going to melt each other’s computer screens.”
Thank goodness Mr. Right had a grip on things. A small part of Stella wished he didn’t. “Good plan.”
“I’m sure I’ll fall asleep thinking about you. Any chance we could talk tomorrow night?”
Stella’s heart engaged in a series of somersault. “Yes.” Yes. Yes. Yes.
“Goodnight blonde-girl with green eyes. My friend. That I want to kiss.”
“Goodnight hot guy who pays attention. My friend. That I will eventually kiss.” After clicking out of the chat room, she buried her face in her hands. There was something wild and wonderful happening and she felt powerless to stop it. The only thing that kinked the excitement was his friend-comment. How could they kiss and stay just friends? This was turning into the strangest relationship ever. No way would she allow it to become friends with privileges. That was just a bogus way of having it all without the commitment.
Chapter Eight
Soft laughter floated from Stella’s cubicle. Alex leaned out for a look. His pulse went into a thumping frenzy when he saw those long legs twisted around the base of her chair. He frowned at his reaction and rolled back into the cubicle.
Maybe the rapid heartbeat wasn’t for Stella. Maybe he was having a heart attack. There was no tightness in his chest or pain running up his arm to indicate it was a heart attack. He fished his cell phone from his pocket just in case.
A glutton for punishment, he eased to the edge of the cubicle to take another look.
>
Stella was holding a phone conversation by way of a headset and messing with the clip holding her hair.
She clipped and unclipped it a handful of times. Whatever she was trying make happen, wasn’t. She tossed the clip on the desk and let the curls tumble.
“Holy mackerel.” Why did she keep that bounty restrained with a stupid clip?
Stella messed with a manila folder while she continued to talk into the headset. Finally, she gathered her hair and secured it with the clip again. Alex was tempted to stroll by and set it free. While he was there, he wouldn’t mind taking another whiff of her. Last Friday, when he popped over to satisfy his curiosity about her eyes, his nostrils fell in love. Stella smelled sweet yet sexy.
She laughed again and it dawned on him that she might not be talking to a customer. The thought of a boyfriend made his eyes narrow.
Now he wanted to unsnap the clip and unplug the phone.
* * * *
Monday’s should be banned, Stella thought fuzzily, balancing the drink carrier in one hand, and trying to wiggle the strap of her purse back on her shoulder.
The elevator dinged open and Maggie rushed in. She eyed the four cups of coffee stowed in the carrier. “Any chance one of those is for me?” Before Stella could exit the elevator, Maggie pushed the button for the parking garage.
“Three are up for grabs.” Obviously Stella wasn’t the only one in need of a caffeine-fix. She’d been running late this morning and shot to her desk instead of the cafeteria. When she got a break in the action, she made a mad dash to buy a cup of coffee. She pulled in her lips to keep from telling Maggie it was a four-cup morning.
Maggie looked like she was set to make a mad dash too. Coat on. Briefcase in hand. And looking at her watch every couple of seconds. She took a cup and gave Stella a swift half-hug. “You’re an angel.”
Stella pointed to the creamers and stir sticks, Maggie shook her head. “I need mine black and strong today.”
“Everything okay?”
“Kid trouble. Husband trouble. Boss trouble. My typical day.” Maggie glanced at her watch again. “I have to get moving. Thanks for the coffee.”