by SJ McCoy
Diego dug him in the ribs. “That smile say that there’s a story to tell. Who was she? What was she like?”
“It was just a fleeting moment.”
Diego sighed. “Those are the best kind.”
Ted had to laugh. “You’re such a romantic.”
“And what’s wrong with that? I’m not ashamed of it.”
Ted knew he wasn’t. It was one of the things he admired about Diego. He was a passionate man. Big and macho, not afraid to voice his opinion about anything—or to laugh, yell or cry. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“I know. So, tell me more about this fleeting moment.”
“I was in the gym this morning. Riding the bike and she came and peered through the door. She was …” He smiled. “A beautiful mess. It was only five-thirty, she didn’t look like she was even properly awake. Her hair was a mess, no makeup on, wearing a track suit that she might have slept in. But for all of that, she set my heart racing.” He wasn’t going to tell Diego what other effect she’d had on him. It’d taken a while before he could sit comfortably on the bike again after she left. “She moved like a dancer … her eyes held a kind of sadness … She didn’t even see me at first, and she looked embarrassed when she did … I don’t know.” He shook himself. He hadn’t thought about her since.
“We should find her! She must be staying at the hotel.”
Ted laughed. “Like I said, it was just a moment. And anyway, I’m sure she’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
Diego shook his head. “That wouldn’t have to matter.”
“You’re the romantic; I’m the realist, remember?”
“I suppose so.”
Chapter Three
Audrey paused before she opened the door to go into the Boathouse. She was looking forward to this evening, she reminded herself. She wasn’t going to let Richard being here spoil it for her.
“Are you okay?”
“Thanks, Izzy. I’m fine.”
Izzy laughed. “You can say that again. You’re looking real fine, girlfriend.”
“This thing …” She looked down at the dress. “I think it’s magical somehow. It makes me feel great.”
“You’re the magical one; the dress just reminds you of that. Let’s get in there, and you’ll see what I mean. Everyone will notice how good you look.”
She looked around when they went inside. It was already busy. She recognized a few of Ally and Brayden’s friends and smiled and waved to them. Then her daughter appeared out of the crowd.
“Wow, Mom! You look amazing!” Ally wrapped her in a hug.
“Thanks. I think the word you’re looking for is fabulous.”
Ally laughed. “It is, you’re right. Wow! Where did you get that dress? It’s gorgeous and it fits like it was—wait, you didn’t have it made for you, did you?”
“No! Izzy and I did a little shopping this afternoon.”
“You bought that here?”
Izzy smiled. “At Hayes, over at the plaza at Four Mile Creek.”
“Oh, wow! I haven’t been in there yet. I went in the one in LA once. It’s a bit outside my price range.”
“You know I don’t usually splurge on clothes, but when I tried this on …”
“Absolutely! Whatever you paid for it, it was a bargain.”
“Thanks, love. I didn’t want to let you down by being your frumpy old mom. Where’s your brother? Is he here yet?”
“He’s around somewhere.” Ally made a face. “Dad collared him to go and say hello to Natalee.”
“That’s nice.”
“Mom! You are such a bad liar! It’s not nice at all. I wish they weren’t even here. It was Brayden who said we had to invite them—you know what he’s like, always trying to be fair and keep the peace.”
“And that’s how it should be, Ally. He is your father.”
“Yeah. And most people wouldn’t invite their parents at all. We wanted to invite you because—well, because you’re you. I don’t see why it means we have to include him. He’s definitely not you.”
“Thanks. You know I can’t comment. Other than to say thank you. It means the world that you guys want me here.”
“It wouldn’t be the same without you. Oh, no! Why the hell is he bringing them over here?”
Audrey followed her gaze. She’d hoped that by turning up a little later, she’d be able to avoid running into Richard and Natalee. The plan might have worked, too, except Brayden was bringing them over. She loved her son dearly, but sometimes she had to wonder what he was thinking.
“Hey, Mom. Aunt Izzy.” He wrapped Audrey in a hug and then pecked Izzy’s cheek. “I’m so glad you could all make it. Isn’t this great?”
“It’s wonderful.” Audrey forced herself to smile at Richard and Natalee. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Thank you.” Natalee looked relieved and smiled at her gratefully. She was probably a nice enough person.
“It’s good to see you, Audrey.” Richard gave her what seemed like a genuine smile. “You look great.”
Audrey didn’t miss the way Natalee’s smile faded when he said that.
“Thanks.” She wasn’t about to say that he did. He was still handsome, still in great shape, but there was something—maybe it was just the way she saw him that had changed, but there was nothing attractive about him anymore.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” he asked.
She frowned. “Introduce you? Who to?”
She didn’t miss the glint in his eye. “Oh. I’m sorry. I assumed you’d be bringing a date.”
“No.” If that was his attempt to gloat about the fact that she hadn’t found someone new, well, it worked.
Izzy gave him an evil look. “I asked if I could come instead.”
“Right.” Richard looked pleased with himself.
Audrey was aware that the silence was lengthening to the point of becoming uncomfortable, but she was done with being the fixer of the family. The kids were grown, and Richard was no longer her responsibility.
It was Izzy who broke the silence. “We’ll catch you later, kids. We were about to snag a table while we can.”
Audrey smiled politely at Richard and Natalee and hugged Ally and Brayden one more time before following Izzy to one of the high-top tables.
“I’m so glad you’re rid of him.”
Audrey laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing myself.”
“You were? That’s great. Are you finally there?”
“I’ve been there for a while now … you know that.”
“I know you’ve said that, but on the few occasions we’ve seen him, it didn’t seem like you were completely over him.”
Audrey thought about it. “If I’m honest, I was over him, but not over the loss of my marriage—of being married, you know? Maybe not even the married part. I just hadn’t accepted that I wasn’t—that I’m not—loved by someone anymore. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah. It does.”
“It’s not even that I want or need to be loved by someone. More, that it was a part of my identity for more than thirty years. I was over losing Richard, but I wasn’t over losing that part of myself.”
“And now you are?”
Audrey looked down at the gorgeous dress Roberto had found for her. It wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary. It was a cornflower blue number with a crossover top. It wasn’t tight fitting, but it showed off her not-so-slender-anymore figure in a way that made her feel … sexy. It was strange to say, but it was true. She laughed. “In this dress, I’m happy to say goodbye to that part of myself and figure out who the new me is going to be.”
Izzy laughed with her. “That’s the spirit. I told you that a new wardrobe can make for a whole new you.”
“And you were right. Though, Roberto has to take most of the credit. I see regular trips to LA to shop at Hayes with him in the future.”
Izzy raised her glass. “I will happily drink to that. Oh, look. It looks like the band’s about to star
t.”
Audrey looked up at the stage where two guys were putting their guitar straps over their heads.
Izzy waggled her eyebrows. “I always wanted to be a groupie.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Audrey smiled to herself when she saw a girl getting up on stage and going to the darker haired guy. She slid her arms up around his neck and pulled his head down for a kiss that left Audrey feeling flustered just watching. She’d just told Izzy that she didn’t want or need a man to love her, but watching those two up on the stage made her wonder what it would be like to be loved like that. “My guess is that she’s his wife, and she’s sending a signal to all the wannabe groupies that he is off limits.”
Izzy shrugged. “That’s okay. I like the other one better anyway. You really think she’s his wife? Would a wife do that?”
Audrey thought about it, and her answer surprised her. She could see where Izzy was coming from. Girlfriends were more passionate and territorial, while wives were more passive—at least in her way of looking at things. But those two on the stage weren’t just being passionate; there was love in that kiss, no mistaking it. “I’d put money on it.”
“Look at you. You really are coming out of yourself, aren’t you? I’ll take you up on that bet. You owe me twenty when we discover that they’re not married.”
Audrey held out her hand to shake on it. Normally, she would have backed down, content to let Izzy be right. But something about tonight—maybe about wearing this dress—made her want to bet on herself.
Izzy watched the girl go back behind the bar. “She’s the bartender. It’s probably a workplace romance.”
“Why don’t we go and get ourselves a drink and we can find out?”
“Okay. It looks like we’ll be waiting a while to get served if we stay here.”
When they got to the bar, the girl greeted them with a smile. “What can I get you ladies?”
“Champagne,” said Izzy.
Audrey gave her a puzzled look. “What are we celebrating?”
“The new you!”
“That sounds like something worth celebrating,” said the girl behind the bar. “Especially if the new you just bought that dress. Damn, girl!”
Audrey had to laugh. “Thank you. I did. I love it.”
“And so you should. Is it champagne, then?”
“Yes, why not. What do you have?”
“I’ll bring you the list and then be right back with you. I’m Kenzie by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Kenzie. I’m Audrey, and this is Izzy.”
Izzy looked over the wine list. “I think we go should go with a Veuve Clicquot.”
Audrey raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m a grand dame?”
“No! I was thinking more along the lines of their marketing slogan—let life surprise you.”
“Oh! Yes. I think that fits the bill.”
Izzy pulled up a stool. “Shall we sit here until the band takes a break?”
“Why not?” Audrey didn’t normally like to sit at the bar, but it seemed that this weekend was a time to break out from her normal. She pulled out a stool and managed to elbow the man sitting beside her.
“I’m sorry.”
The man turned and smiled. It was quite a smile, too. He was a very handsome man. Big, muscular, dark hair and dark skin—Latin looking. Handsome as he was, all his smile did for her was remind her of the man in the gym this morning, and the way he’d smiled at her.
“That’s okay. No problem,” he said and turned back to his companion who Audrey couldn’t see, but who she was suddenly convinced was probably some young blonde thing. She shuddered as she turned back to Izzy.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking about Richard.”
“That explains the look on your face. What are you doing thinking about him?”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Good. And I’m sorry. I was trying not to say anything, but the man is an absolute asshole. What he did back there? Pretending that he thought you were here with a date? Total asshole move!”
Audrey shrugged. “Yeah. It was. But—”
“Don’t give me any buts; don’t make excuses for him.”
“I wasn’t about to. I was about to say that it doesn’t matter to me.”
“It matters to me. I wish I could find you some gorgeous guy that you could flaunt in front of him. That’d wipe the smile off his face.”
Audrey chuckled. “I appreciate you being so protective of me, but I doubt he’d care anyway.”
“Oh, he’d care all right. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw you in that dress.”
“Why would he notice his ex-wife when he’s now married to the young and lovely Natalee? She’s so pretty.”
“She might be pretty, but like I told you, you, my friend, are beautiful. She’s a girl; you’re a woman.”
“Thanks.”
~ ~ ~
Diego turned to say something to the woman who’d just sat down beside him, and Ted prepared himself for the flirting that was no doubt about to commence. To his surprise, it didn’t. Instead, Diego turned back and jerked his head, indicating that Ted should take a look for himself. He waited a few moments and then tried, but he couldn’t see anything other than the back of her head. Her shoulder length brown hair was nice, but other than that … He turned to look in the mirror behind the bar, and his heart thudded to a halt when he saw her. It was her! The woman from the gym this morning. He’d known then that her track suit didn’t do her justice, but he’d had no idea just how beautiful she’d look when she was dressed up.
Diego smirked at him and mouthed Wow!
Ted shook his head rapidly. He couldn’t let Diego go getting any ideas. She was his! He bit down on his bottom lip and told himself to reel it in. She was hardly his. But he couldn’t let his opportunity go by, and there was no way he could let Diego take it from him.
“What?”
Ted struggled to keep his voice down and yet still be heard over the band. “That’s her.”
“Her who? Oh!” Diego grinned. “Your friend from the gym? Your beautiful mess?”
Ted nodded.
“So, what are you waiting for?” Diego began to turn around, but Ted caught his arm.
His heart was still racing; he needed a moment to compose himself—to figure out what to say. “Give me a minute.”
“If you say so.”
They both stayed quiet, and Ted strained to catch her conversation with her friend. After a few moments, Diego raised an eyebrow at him. He was eavesdropping, too.
“Did you hear that? I think you should make her friend’s wish come true. She’s seeking a gorgeous man that your beautiful mess can flaunt in front of her ex-husband. Can I tell her that she’s found one?”
Ted shook his head. That really wasn’t his style. He’d bide his time, find a moment to introduce himself properly. He watched as both women fell silent and listened to the band.
When the song ended, the friend waggled her eyebrows. “Come on Audrey, you can’t tell me you’d turn the drummer down if he asked you? He’s hot!”
Audrey. He liked the name. He turned to watch her face in the mirror, expecting to hear her say that yes, she found Eddie as hot as her friend did.
What he heard instead made his heart feel as though it might beat out of his ribcage.
“Obviously, I can see the appeal. But you know younger guys don’t do it for me.”
Ted let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
He smiled when he saw her chuckle. “You know me, Izzy. That guy is your type. I, on the other hand, wish I could meet his father.”
Diego spun around to look at him with a big grin on his face. “Sorry, mi amigo, but I must.” He turned back toward the women, put his hand on Audrey’s shoulder and said, “Wish granted.”
Ted watched the confusion on her face. She probably thought Diego was making a move on her, and there was no way h
e could ever be taken for Eddie’s father. She gave him a puzzled smile and he leaned back in his seat so that she could see past him to Ted.
Her gaze locked with his, and his heart clenched in his chest. She took his breath away; she was just that beautiful.
He got down from his seat and went to shake her hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. I’m Ted.” He jerked his head toward the stage. “And that’s my son, Eddie.”
Chapter Four
Audrey felt as though time stood still. She was staring into his eyes and she couldn’t look away. They were such kind eyes. His hand was still wrapped around hers. She knew she should say something. She cleared her throat. “It’s nice to see you again.”
He looked as though he was expecting her to say more. What did he want? To hear just how thrilled she was to see him again? That he looked even sexier tonight than he had in the gym this morning? Did he want to know that the warmth from his hand—which still hadn’t let go of hers—was spreading all through her, touching parts of her that hadn’t felt any heat in way too long?
Izzy kicked her foot, startling her back to her senses. “I’m Audrey, and this is Izzy.”
Izzy grinned and leaned forward to shake first Diego’s hand and then Ted’s. “How do you two know each other?”
Ted turned his head toward her, but his eyes never left Audrey’s as he replied. “We met briefly this morning.”
“Oh! You’re the guy from the gym!”
Audrey’s heart raced. Trust Izzy! Now he’d know that she’d talked about him after seeing him this morning.
His smile said he didn’t mind. In fact, he seemed quite pleased. His friend confirmed that impression.
He held his hand out to shake with Izzy and nodded at Audrey. “I heard about this brief meeting, too.” He gave Izzy a conspiratorial smile. “I’m Diego, by the way. Since Ted seems to have forgotten to introduce me. Can we buy you a drink, ladies?”
Ted raised an eyebrow at Audrey, and it sent shivers chasing each other down her spine. Her wayward imagination got the impression that he was inquiring about more than buying her a drink.
Izzy waved the bottle of champagne. “We’re fine for drinks, thanks. But we’d love for you to join us.”