Desire and a Bottle of Merlot: (Like Sisters Series Book 5) Chick Lit: A Romantic Comedy (12 page)

“I asked if you minded if I wiped the paint off your nose.”

Tina instinctively pulled back as he reached for her face. “That’s okay. I’ll clean up in the house. I’ve got to go.”

Tina walked away without looking back. She grabbed the brushes and rollers and ran into the house.

“Damn it,” she snarled as she went inside and stomped down the hall to the bathroom across from the kitchen.

“What’s wrong, Tina? We’ll be right back, Mom.” Sasha and Mia followed Tina into the bathroom.

“For the first time in years, I approached a guy to have a friendly chat. I’m trying to change my ways. Did I have the slightest idea I was covered in paint? I looked like an ass in front of Dan.”

“You don’t look like an ass. You look like someone who was painting the nursery. Quit being so hard on yourself.” Mia gave Tina a hug.

Hot tears stung Tina’s eyes as she warmed a washcloth and washed her yellow-speckled face.

“What did Dan say?” Sasha asked.

“He laughed at me.”

“I highly doubt that. Maybe you read him wrong.”

“Whatever… do you need any more help, Sasha? If not, I’m going home.”

“You don’t have to go. Stay for dinner. We’re having pot roast. Josh is leaving for a little while with Dan, then he’s going to pick up J. J. on his way back. J. J. hasn’t seen you for a few weeks.”

“Maybe another time, I’ll talk to you guys later.”

The guys finished working on the deck just after four o’clock. Bill and Jeff left while Dan cleaned and organized the tools in his work van. He milled around, hoping to get another chance to talk to Tina. He approached the house to let Josh know they were finished when he noticed Tina’s car was gone.
There goes my chance today
, he thought as he banged the doorknocker three times.

“I’ll be back with J. J. in an hour, honey. See ya, Mia.” Josh bolted out the door and led the way to his house with Dan close behind.

Once there, they walked through the house, Dan taking note of the furnishings he could use. “Yeah, there’s a lot here I can take off your hands if you really don’t want the stuff. It will make moving much easier. Actually, I like the man-cave style. I’ll be living alone anyway. So, how well do you know Tina?”

“We all grew up in Tarrytown, but we didn’t really hang out in the same group of friends. She’s nice enough but different in a way. She seems distant a lot of the time except with the girls. They all get along great. Sasha actually lived with Tina when she moved to Tarrytown.”

“Really? Where does Tina live?”

“She’s got a cute bungalow on Scenic Drive. Oh yeah, you aren’t from Tarrytown. It’s not far from here, near the mall. Anyway, I better get going. I have to pick up J. J. from crazy Candy’s apartment. She’s one person you never want to meet,” Josh laughed as he locked the front door. They said good-bye and drove off in different directions.

Dan headed the van toward Route 9 to go north to Croton-on-Hudson. He pulled over to the curb and typed in Scenic Drive on his cell phone’s navigation app. He felt weird about driving to Tina’s street to see where she lived, as if he were checking her out, but she’d piqued his curiosity ever since the day he’d met her at Sasha’s house. Of course, he’d run into her once before that, literally, but at that time their eyes hadn’t met.

The navigation showed he was only five blocks from Tina’s street. He had to check it out since he was so close anyway. He cautiously drove down Scenic Drive. He didn’t want Tina to see his van and get the wrong impression. But he was curious to see her home and possibly get an idea of her lifestyle. He stopped at the intersection of Jamestree Road and Scenic Drive when he saw her. Two houses ahead of him on the left was a cream-colored bungalow with red brick trim. It had a large front porch, and Tina sat there alone, looking out at the street. Dan had to think fast before she looked his way and recognized the van. He checked the rearview mirror and backed up, turning around in a driveway behind him. Luckily, she didn’t see him. He was sure she would be upset if she did.

Dan drove Route 9 to his parent’s house, thinking about Tina all the way. He couldn’t figure her out. There had to be a way to become friends, at least to start. Inviting her to have coffee seemed innocent enough if he ever got the chance. But there was earlier, when she’d approached him at the van. If she hadn’t been embarrassed about the paint, she might have stuck around.
It could have led to me asking her out for coffee.
Dan vowed to try asking on Tuesday since Tina always showed up on her day off. He knew he didn’t have many more opportunities. Their work at the Victorian would be complete in a few weeks.

Power tools and hammers could be heard from one end of Sunrise Avenue to the other. Sasha and her parents sat on the front porch, where the sound wasn’t quite as deafening as it was inside the house.

“Why don’t you guys take the truck and go downtown?” Sasha said. “You can relax in the town square or go to Amelia’s for coffee. It’s way too loud here. I’ve got to stick around because the baby furniture is being delivered this morning. Go ahead—I don’t mind. Tina said she’d stop by and help me set up the nursery, and the delivery guys should be here in an hour.”

“Are you sure, honey? We don’t want to abandon you.”

“Papa, it’s okay. Tina’s going to be here soon.”

With her parents gone, Sasha went back inside to watch the guys work. Wearing a dust mask, she sat back twenty feet to avoid most of the plaster particles that floated in the air, coating everything with white powder. Earplugs were jammed tightly into her ears, at least while the reciprocating saws were engaged. Every few minutes, she looked out the leaded glass window in the dining room, watching for Tina. Sasha caught a glimpse of Tina’s car pulling through the intersection a block up the street and went out on the porch to greet her.

“What the hell?” Tina asked when she was close enough to see Sasha coated with a fine, white powder. “Been baking?” She laughed.

“Nope. C’mon inside. I’ve been watching the guys work. You’ll need to put on a dust mask for your own safety and a pair of earplugs. It’s actually pretty cool to see how they take out an entire wall. I can’t wait until the sliders go in. I’m sure I’ll pee my pants from excitement. We’ll have a kitchen again and a convenient way to get back and forth to the deck.”

Tina laughed and followed Sasha into what used to be a perfectly good kitchen. The room resembled something a tornado blew through. “You do know you look like the Pillsbury doughboy, right?”

“You think I’m bad? Look at the guys.” Sasha pointed to the three men, coated from head to toe in white dust. The only part of their bodies that remained skin toned was their eyes, which fortunately had goggles protecting them.

Tina stared at them for a second before she burst into laughter. The men stopped working. They looked at her, then at Sasha, and finally at each other before they joined her, laughing too. Dan set down his saw, casually walked over to them, and grabbed Tina, shaking dust all over her.

“There—now you’re one of us.”

She screamed and ran out of the kitchen, begging him to stop, while he chased her. When they returned, Tina looked as white as the rest of them.

The knocker banged against the oak door. “Crap. The delivery guys are here,” Sasha said, wiping the tears of laughter from her powdery face.

“You’re going to pay, Dan,” Tina threatened as she bent over and shook the white powder out of her hair. “Count on it.”

“I can’t wait.” He chuckled as they got back to work.

Sasha answered the door, surprising the deliverymen with her unusual appearance. Tina came up behind her.

“Delivery for Martha Destiny,” the overweight man wearing tan coveralls said dubiously. A second man stood at the back of the delivery truck, waiting for the okay to begin unloading.

“Yep, I’m Martha Destiny,” Sasha replied, still laughing. “You can bring the furniture upstairs. Just follow me.”

Sasha paid extra to have the men assemble the cribs and take away all the protective plastic and cardboard. Then they left, and Sasha’s parents returned. An hour later, Sasha, Alina, and Tina stood in the nursery with two fully assembled cribs, two dressers, a changing table, two nightstands, and a rocking chair. The closet was full of accessories from Baby Heaven. Now the fun was about to begin. The baby-boy side would be to the left of the door, and the girl side would be to the right. The large maple rocking chair was situated under the center window. Sasha placed a nightstand next to each crib with a circus animal lamp on one and a carousel lamp on the other. The dressers sat side by side on the east wall, and the changing table was placed next to the closet. They hung pictures of teddy bears and building blocks. Because the floors were maple, Sasha bought three thick yellow fuzzy rugs. One went in front of each crib, and the last one was placed in front of the rocking chair. They covered the crib mattresses with colorful sheet sets and matching blankets. A yellow pillow and throw waited on the rocker for the day they would be needed. The three women stood at the doorway looking over the room, deciding if anything needed to be tweaked, or not.

“What do you guys think?” Sasha asked, her hands neatly resting on her widening hips.

“I think the room looks beautiful, darling. You’re going to be such a wonderful mother.”

Sasha felt her bottom lip quivering.

“Sasha, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Alina asked.

“You and Papa won’t be here for the delivery. Who knows when you’ll be back?”

“Dear, that’s something you’ll have to discuss with your father. He has a schedule to uphold, but he’s working less all the time. I’m sure we’ll be back soon. Don’t even worry about it. There’s a good chance we can return in October when you’re due.”

“Really?” Sasha asked with new enthusiasm.

“Really… so, Tina, what do you think of the nursery, dear?”

“I love it. We did a great job. To be honest, I don’t think one more piece of furniture could have fit in here. The room is packed, but perfect.”

The sound of footsteps ascending the staircase caught their attention. The girls turned to see Karen coming their way.

“Check it out.” Tina chuckled. “She didn’t even bang the door knocker.”

“I’m learning. If there are cars in the driveway, somebody has to be around. In a house this size, who knows if you would have heard it anyway with the racket in the kitchen? I need to see this nursery—step aside. Oh my God—it’s wonderful and so happy looking. You guys nailed it. I’m sorry I wasn’t around to help paint, but Mario and I went to Hunter over the weekend. He’s staying there until Saturday, then I’ll go back and pick him up. His ribs are starting to feel better, and his right hand is coming around.”

“That’s good to hear. At least he won’t be wearing a sling with his tux.” Tina smirked.

“No kidding, right? I have to see what’s going on downstairs. They’re knocking out the wall today, aren’t they?”

“Oh yeah, the wall is already gone. Now they’re framing in the patio doors. I bought the type of sliders that have a bunch of window panels in them. They fit in better with the style of the house—not so modern looking. By tomorrow, they’ll be putting on the decorative molding and replastering the walls, then we’ll be painting the kitchen. The painters are scheduled to start the deck on Thursday, so it’s coming around. Everything will be finished and absolutely gorgeous by this time next week.”

That means Dan will be gone and off to some other project,
Tina thought.
I doubt if I’ll ever run into him again… literally.

“Are you coming?” Karen looked back at Tina, who was still standing in the nursery doorway.

“What?”

“We’re going downstairs. I’ve got to check out the kitchen.”

“Yeah… sure.”
If I’m ever going to get the nerve to talk to Dan again, I have to do it soon. He’ll disappear in a few days, moving on to the next job. I’m going to lose my only opportunity to stay in touch with him.

Downstairs, the women found the crew taking a short break. The dust had settled a bit since they’d moved on to framing in the sliders. Karen was impressed with the progress and chatting with Bill and Jeff as they showed her the deck. Tina heard the front door close. Sasha and Alina walked out to the porch to join Gerard. Tina was left alone in the kitchen with Dan smiling at her.

Now was her only chance, so she had to say something. “I’m sorry I laughed at you guys earlier when you were covered in dust. Thinking back to Sunday when I had paint on my face, I’m sure I looked a mess, too. I shouldn’t have gotten so defensive when you laughed—it was just paint, for Pete’s sake. I’ll admit, I was a little embarrassed, but the way you guys looked today, you just took it in stride. I guess you have a better sense of humor than I do.”

Dan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Tina started to walk away thinking he had to make a call. “Hold on, Tina—I was only checking the time. We have another hour of work before our lunch break. Are you still going to be around? How about sitting out by the truck with me while I eat? I’ll share my sandwich with you.” He chuckled.

“It depends,” she said.

“On what?” He laughed happily.

“On what kind of sandwich you’re having.”

Now Dan’s face flushed red through the pale-white powder remnants. “Well, I am a single guy, you know. My mom quit making sandwiches for me back in middle school, so I grabbed whatever was easy.”

“Yeah, and what was that?” Tina blew the dust off of one of the chairs and sat down.

“Peanut butter and jelly, but at least it’s on whole-wheat bread.”

“Okay, I’ll hang around. Come and find me when you’re ready for lunch.”

Tina headed toward the front door to join everyone on the porch. Karen was making her way outside, too. “Did I miss something since I was gone a few days?”

“What does that mean?” Tina couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah, right… you and Dan looked kind of cozy sitting in the corner having your little private conversation.”

“I’m sure you’re imagining things. To be honest, he just asked if I’d sit with him outside while he has lunch. Pretty innocent, really, but it’s a step in the right direction for me. I’ve got to get on board. Everyone else is coupled up, for crap’s sake.”