They were in cahoots. Apparently both had the matchmaking gene and were using it enthusiastically on him, trying to fix him. But that wasn’t going to happen. His heart was shattered into pieces, and so many were missing, putting it back together again would be impossible.
“Look, I know you love me. And your intentions are good. But stop throwing women at me.” He blew out a breath in frustration. “It’s awkward and not fair to them.”
“Oh, Gabe, you need to make an effort. It’s way past time for you to get back in the saddle.”
“No, Mom.” Anger churned inside him. Since Margo had died, that emotion had been his constant companion, a shield against more complex feelings he ignored. “I’m not interested. You have to stop. Please.”
Was that begging? It sounded a lot like desperate begging to him.
“Lillian, can you talk to your nephew? You’re the one who could always get through to him. I’m only his mother.”
“Mom, come on—”
“No.” She tossed down the dish towel. “You have no idea how hard it is for a mother to watch her child hurting and not be able to help. Especially when he won’t help himself.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do.”
“When you have children you’ll understand.” She walked over to him and put a hand on his cheek, then smiled sadly and walked out of the room.
She loved him. Gabe was keenly aware of that. She also knew him better than anyone except Aunt Lil, which was why those particular words opened a pocket of guilt and sent it pouring through him. Because he was selfish and had wanted a little more time for his career before having a child, Margo never got what she wanted most—to be a mother. If they’d had a baby, he would still have a part of her with him. Being alone was his punishment to bear.
He looked at his aunt. “I’m not trying to be difficult.”
“Neither are we.” She let the water out of the sink. “It’s just when you love someone, you worry about them. And you know what they say about stress and worry.” She waited a beat and filled in the blank. “It can take years off your life.”
Great. Just what he needed. More guilt.
The last thing he wanted was for his family to worry, but love? It wasn’t for him. No way. So, rock, meet hard place. What the hell was he supposed to do? He had no desire to go down the dating road again.
He remembered glibly saying that to Courtney Davidson when she was venting about her daughter pushing her to meet someone. His flippant suggestion had been to date. Go through the motions. He was in the same predicament with his family—and suddenly the idea light switched on.
Chapter Three
The downside of grounding your teenager was being cooped up with said teen. Ava had taken the bus to a place she wasn’t supposed to be. And she’d lied about being at a friend’s house. Courtney thought a week for each offense was fair, but seven days later she was starting to rethink that decision. This wasn’t about going soft or the enforced proximity with a hormonal fourteen-year-old girl. But when she got home from work and found a note on her laptop listing five reasons Ava should be ungrounded, doubts started to creep in.
Courtney felt a tightness in her chest at the salutation. Ava rarely called her Mommy anymore. When she did, everything inside her melted.
Dear Mommy,
I hope you will read this with an open mind, because I think you are being totally unfair. It’s not like I was drinking or doing drugs.
1) You don’t know what I’m going through. My social life will never recover. I’ll never have a boyfriend because you’re too strict.
2) I’ll call you gorgeous and the best mom ever in the world for a whole month.
3) First-time felon should get leniency.
4) I’ve learned my lesson in only a week.
5) I promise to work harder in math and bring up my grade.
Love,
Your daughter, Ava
It was time for a mother-daughter chat. Courtney was an optimist and believed there was a chance that if she explained her reasons, her daughter would understand why she had to stick to her guns. There would be no commuting her sentence.
She set the pizza she’d brought home on the granite-topped kitchen counter and walked upstairs to Ava’s room. Courtney loved her town house, partly because it was hers and she’d bought it by herself. But it was also open and cute and suited them perfectly. The downstairs consisted of kitchen, dining, living and family rooms.
There were three bedrooms on the second floor, and as she walked up, she smiled at the hanging framed photos of Ava from infancy to middle school graduation. This girl was her life, and she never felt as if she was a good enough mom. If she’d done a better job, maybe Ava wouldn’t have lied. Should she ground herself for being a bad mother?
That train of thought was unproductive.
She stopped in front of the first door at the top of the stairs and took a deep breath before knocking. “Ava?”
“Come in.”
Courtney did and braced herself for the chaotic mess her girl seemed to prefer to neat and tidy. It was a surprise when neat and tidy greeted her. The light beige carpet was visible because no clothes littered the floor. White shelves were organized, and childhood books straightened and dusted. The plum-and-green floral comforter was neatly pulled up to cover the sheets and blanket on the full-size bed. Schoolbooks were open along with Ava’s laptop. The teen was sprawled out on her belly, fingers poised over the keys as if she’d been doing homework.
“Your room looks so organized. A place for everything and everything in its place.”
“It’s not like I have anything else to do.” There was only a small amount of bitterness in her tone. Apparently Ava recognized it and instantly smiled brightly. “You’re home. How was your day?”
“Not bad.” She held up the note. “This is impressive. But, I gotta say, it could backfire on you. Because you’re really using this time productively. Your room is spotless and homework is done without a fight. And the part about never having a boyfriend doesn’t break my heart. Your grounding is working for me in a very big way.”
“Seriously, Mom—” She sat up in the middle of the bed. “I’m not going to get pregnant like you did.”
Courtney hoped not. She hadn’t been much older than Ava when it happened to her, and she’d been forced to grow up way too fast. That’s not what she wanted for her daughter. Oh, how she wished for the terrible twos back. She couldn’t wait for that stage to pass, but she’d take it over this teen stuff in a heartbeat.
But she’d always tried to be open and honest about everything. “I can’t help worrying about it, Ava.”
“I promise I won’t make the same mistake.”
“Oh, sweetie—” Courtney walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. “You’re not a mistake.”
“I sure wasn’t planned.”
“You’re not wrong about that, but it doesn’t make you a mistake.” She tucked a silky brown strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear. Gabe had said that Ava blamed herself for Courtney being alone. How could she convince this amazing girl that wasn’t true? What combination of words would get through to her? Like she used to do when Ava was small, she ran her finger over a soft cheek then lightly tapped her turned-up nose. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Then unground me.”
“I have to admit that you make a compelling case. Especially number two—gorgeous mom—and number five, working harder on math. Those two are my favorites, and I’m tempted.”
“Then go for it.” Ava looked hopeful and pathetic at the same time.
“Sweetie, I have to make a point here. What you did was dangerous.”
“No, it wasn’t. Mr. Blackburne is a really cool guy. I knew that because I talked to him at school that day.”
“Yes, he seems n
ice.” Courtney had met him, too, and fought the flirty feeling. He reminded her of the guy in high school, the cute and funny boy who made you eager to go to class every day. Then to have her daughter show up at his office to get help finding a man for her? That was awkward, uncomfortable and embarrassing. Not to mention worrisome. “What if you’d been wrong about him being a nice man?”
“I wasn’t.”
This was getting her nowhere. Maybe another perspective would help. “Did it occur to you that I was embarrassed?”
“Why?”
“Because my child involved strangers in my personal life in a way that was less than flattering.”
“I don’t see how.” Ava shrugged dismissively as only a fourteen-year-old could.
“Okay. Let’s see if I can explain this.” She thought for a moment. “Imagine you had a crush on the most popular boy in school—”
“Nick Perino.” Ava’s eyes took on a dreamy expression.
So, that didn’t take her long, Courtney thought. “You have a crush on Nick and you’re talking to him at lunch. In the crowded cafeteria. You’re standing and drop something. You bend over to pick it up, and your jeans split open.”
Dreamy eyes suddenly went wide in horror. “Oh my God—”
“You see where I’m going with this?” Courtney felt as if she was getting somewhere. To bring her point home, she said, “It would be so mortifying. You might never want to show your face at school again.”
“So, you have a crush on Mr. Blackburne.”
“What? No. I was just trying to explain how awful I felt because of what you did.”
“But it’s like you said,” Ava told her. “You don’t have to see him again.”
Courtney actually wouldn’t have minded seeing Gabe again, but now that he knew what a romantic loser she was, he would probably rather poke a sharp stick in his eye than be caught talking to her. And she knew this child was bright enough to get the concept. This dense stubbornness was a facade. It was time to get tough. “The second and arguably most important reason you’re grounded is because you lied to me. You were not where you told me you would be.”
“It was a lie of good intentions,” Ava defended.
“But sooner or later I was going to find out what you did. That never occurred to you?”
“By then I figured you’d be excited about going on a date.”
“That backfired on you big-time, didn’t it?” In her mind, Courtney was beating her head against the wall and hoped it didn’t show on the outside. She counted to ten slowly, then said, “It turns out that dating isn’t as important to me as making sure my child grows up to be honest and truthful.”
Ava huffed out a breath. “Mom, what do you have against dating?”
“It’s not going out that I have a problem with.” It’s going out with irresponsible, lying, weasel-dog men, she thought. But saying that out loud would put her squarely into crushing-romantic-dreams territory.
“Okay, then,” Ava cried. “So you will go out on a date.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Come on, Mom. Just one date and I’ll quit bugging you for a month.”
“Tempting.”
Ava’s eyes lit up. “If you actually get a boyfriend, I’ll back off for an entire year.”
“Can I get that in writing?”
Her daughter pulled a notebook from the backpack on the bed beside her, opened it and started to write. Out loud she said, “I, Ava Davidson, do solemnly promise that if Courtney Davidson, my mother, goes out on a date, I will—”
“Stop. I was joking.”
“This isn’t funny, Mom. My social future is at stake.”
“I thought this was about me being happy.”
“It is. But we could both be happy at the same time. Wouldn’t that be good?” Ava could be as charming and sweet and funny as she was pouty and brooding and persistent.
Courtney knew that a bratty attitude was just one negative answer away. She’d had a long day at work and was tired and hungry. Now she could add frustrated to the list, and her reserves of patience were used up.
“Nice try, kiddo. But you’re still grounded. For another week.”
“But—”
“Keep it up,” Courtney warned, “and there will be an essay added to your sentence. The topic will be why lying to your mother is wrong.” She held up a finger to forestall any pushback when Ava opened her mouth. “Not another word.”
Before Ava could test her yet again, Courtney walked to the door. “I brought home a pizza. I’ll make a salad to go with it.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Suit yourself.”
A sulking teenager who gave her the drop-dead-bitch look. Yup, Courtney thought sarcastically, she was hands-down the best mom ever.
In the kitchen, she deleted the five reasons to be ungrounded note and closed her laptop. Then she pulled salad makings from the refrigerator. Carrots, cucumber, avocado and lettuce wouldn’t make her feel as good as kettle chips and cookies, but veggies had a lot fewer calories. Taking the nutritional high road would have to be enough.
She’d just finished tossing the salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil when her cell phone rang. A robocalling telemarketer was just what she needed to make her deteriorating mood complete. Blocking the number would give her great pleasure, but she had to make sure this was someone she never wanted to talk to again.
“Hello.”
“Courtney?” A man’s voice.
“Yes,” she said suspiciously. “Who’s this?”
“Gabe Blackburne.” There was a hesitation. “Are you okay? You sound really ticked off.”
“Sorry. It was one of those days.” Why did every interaction with him seem to happen on one of those days? But just hearing his deep, warm, melted-chocolate voice punctured her bitterness balloon and let all the anger out. On top of that, her heart actually skipped a beat. As a cardiac nurse, she should know.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Good. But, I have to admit, a little surprised to hear from you.”
“Yeah. There’s something I’d like to run by you. Are you busy right now?”
“Not if you don’t count negotiations with a grounded teenager who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word no.”
He laughed. “Ava is giving you a hard time?”
Courtney looked at the crumpled note in the trash and sighed. “Let’s just say she could have a future as an attorney. Making an argument is what she does best.”
“Oh?”
“On top of bargaining for a reduced sentence for lying to me, she’s still on my case about dating. Relentless is her middle name.”
“I see.” There was another pause. “As it happens, I just might have a fix for the problem.”
“Really?”
“Can you meet me for coffee?”
If he had a solution that would stop the insane harassment, he could definitely count her interested. “I can do that. As long as this isn’t a date.”
“Heaven forbid.”
“Okay then.”
They agreed on a time and place, and Courtney hung up. She stared at her cell phone for a few moments. That was completely unexpected. And she was equal parts excited to see him again and curious about what he had to say. She was tempted to change out of her scrubs but didn’t. Feeling flirty was one thing. Acting on it was a road she didn’t want to go down.
* * *
For his meet with Courtney, Gabe chose a little shop not far from the hospital. Coffee Break wasn’t one of those commercialized franchise places but a cozy, independently owned business. The walls were decorated with a mural of coffeepots and steaming cups. Booths lined the wall across from the dessert case, and circular tables filled the center of the room. It was crowded in spite of the fact that it was dinne
rtime for most people, and a lot of the customers were wearing scrubs, a clue that they worked at the hospital.
He picked a booth and sat facing the door so he could see Courtney when she arrived. Since it was dinnertime he’d suggested meeting a little later, but she insisted a break from her hostile first-time felon was just what she needed. Would she still feel that way after he pitched his proposal?
When he called, she’d sounded pleased to hear from him, but that could change when he told her what he had in mind.
A teenage server came over. Her name tag said Toni.
“Welcome to Coffee Break. What can I get you?”
“I’m waiting for someone,” he said. “Can you come back when she gets here?”
“Sure thing.”
He folded his hands on the table and settled in to wait, wondering if she would actually show or stand him up. The idea of her not coming made him realize that he was actually looking forward to seeing her again. That thought had barely crossed his mind before she walked in, still wearing her scrubs from work. Courtney looked around, obviously not seeing him at first, and frowned. When she spotted him, she smiled, a look that transformed her from pretty to beautiful. She had killer dimples. Really killer.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed them, first when they met and again in his office, but somehow he’d overlooked this fact. He hadn’t felt awareness of any woman for a long time, even though there were attractive women at his mother’s house on a regular basis. But there he shut down, and that had rusted out his ability to recognize this for what it was. Courtney was different. She was interesting.
She walked over to the booth and slid in across from him. “Hi.”
“Thanks for coming. Hope this place is okay. I figured you would know it.”
“You figured right.” She settled her purse beside her on the bench seat. “The hospital cafeteria is handy, and the food’s not bad. But sometimes you just need to get out and clear your head. This place is just what the doctor ordered.”
“No pun,” he teased.
“Right.” Her dimples flashed when she smiled. “And, frankly, I owe you one. You rescued me from a very hostile environment.”
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