Earning Yancy (21 page)

Friday evening came
too quickly. Charles texted me that morning to say that he would come by at 7:00 and make me dinner. I didn’t mention that Carolena would be out of the house. I was too busy freaking out about it myself. My daughter was usually in bed when Charles came over, but I still felt as though her mere presence in the house was a buffer between us.

I felt apprehension take root in my gut as the day dragged on, and, by five, I was a mass of nerves. I was glad that I didn’t run into Charles as I left the office. I hurried home, changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and tidied up the house a little.

At six on the dot, the doorbell rang and Leslie stood on my front porch, grinning. Her smug smile faded when she saw my outfit.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” she asked and I could hear the hint of disdain in her voice.

“Charles is coming over and cooking for me, so I didn’t think I needed to pull out the stilettos and mini skirt.”

She shook her head as she came into the house. “I’m beginning to think there’s no hope for you. That’s
exactly
when you should wear an outfit like that. You’re in the house alone with a gorgeous guy. You don’t want him to be able to keep his hands off you.”

I sighed, but didn’t respond and Leslie made a sound of disgust in her throat.

“Never mind,” she muttered. “Where’s my niece?”

Just as she asked, Carolena flew around the corner, screaming, “Leelee! Leelee!”

Leslie scooped her up. “Hey, Jelly Bean! You wanna come to my house tonight?”

Carolena clapped her hands and squealed in delight.

“Great, let’s go get your stuff,” Leslie said, heading up the stairs.

I followed her. “I have a bag of diapers and wipes for her by the door.”

My sister didn’t spare me a glance as she said, “Great. I just need to get her pajamas, toothbrush, and some clothes for her to wear tomorrow.”

“What?” I asked, scrambling up the stairs after her. “What do you mean, pajamas and toothbrush? You’re just keeping her for a few hours.”

Leslie stopped just outside Carolena’s room and smirked at me. “I never said that. I’m keeping her over night.”

“No, Leslie. She needs her breathing treatment and…”

“Well, go ahead and give her the treatment while I get her stuff together and then you can pick her up tomorrow morning…or early afternoon.”

I started to argue, but Leslie put a hand on my arm.

“Yancy, she’ll be fine with me. You know I’ll call you if there are any problems. Now that I’m looking at you, you definitely seem like you need a night to yourself.” She studied me carefully. “Is everything okay?”

I lowered my head so she wouldn’t see my eyes. “Yeah. Just busy at work,” I lied. I would tell her about Coop later. I didn’t want to go through the Inquisition when I wasn’t even sure what was going to happen. It would only cause them anxiety and multiply mine.

“Okay, well, get started with her treatment and I’ll pack her a bag.”

I did as I was told. The entire time I was having a mini, internal meltdown about the fact that, in a Carolena-free house, I could have sex with Charles. While my logical brain reminded me that I wasn’t wearing matching underwear and hadn’t showered since that morning, my body was asking me what the hell my problem was because I hadn’t had sex in over a year. Damn my sister for making me think about sex.

At 6:50, Leslie carried a smiling and waving Carolena out to her car. Before she got in, she looked back at me.

“I left you a present on your nightstand. Maybe you and Mr. Wonderful can use them tonight!” she yelled.

I immediately knew what she meant. That sneaky heifer left condoms in my bedroom. I shook my head and managed to resist flipping her the bird. I loved my sisters but they were nutty. Of course, while I’d been buried in books in high school, Leslie attended a liberal arts college and I think her minor was sleeping with every bum on campus. Fortunately, the bum she chose to marry turned out to be a decent guy once he graduated, shaved off his chin pubes, and got a job. Still, she had always been more sexually adventurous than I and I should have known that she would pull a stunt like this.

As they drove away, Carolena waved at me out the back window and tried to blow kisses. I smiled, but it still hurt a little to watch her leave. It always shocked me how well my little girl acclimated to my absence. It also made me a little sad, because it meant that she was used to it.

Feeling a little melancholy about my baby growing so quickly and a lot freaked out over a box of condoms on my nightstand, I went back into the house and did a quick tidy up of the kitchen. I didn’t bother to go upstairs because I knew seeing the box would just make my anxiety worse. The doorbell rang at seven on the dot. Charles stood on my porch, two grocery bags in his hands and a smile on his face.

As soon as he saw me, his smile faded. “What’s wrong? Did your ex bother you today?”

He came inside, put the bags on the floor, and, as he wrapped his arms around me, kicked the door shut with his foot. I stood in the circle of his arms for a few seconds before I relaxed into his embrace. I buried my face against his pectoral and looped my arms around his lean waist.

“Yancy?” he prompted.

I realized I hadn’t answered his question. “No, I haven’t heard from Coop since Monday. It’s just that my sister came by and picked up Carolena for a sleep over at her house. I don’t know why it made me sad because she’s done it before.”

The muscles in Charles’ torso tightened slightly before they released. “I’m sorry.” He cuddled me a little closer, stroking a hand over the back of my hair. He didn’t say anything else, which I appreciated.

All the doubts and questions I obsessed over earlier in the week faded. Charles wasn’t like Cooper and I knew better than to think he was cut from the same cloth. I’d decided that weeks ago, yet, as soon as I had to face Coop again, I lost my inability to trust men. That wasn’t Cooper’s shortcoming, that was mine. The reaction spoke to my own insecurities.

Finally, Charles released me. “Better?” he asked, brushing my hair off my face.

I nodded.

“Good. I brought steaks, broccoli rabe, and potatoes. Ready for me to make you dinner?”

I smiled. “Sure. What’s broccoli rabe?”

Charles laughed and grabbed the bags from the floor. “One of the few green vegetables that taste good. I heard about it on a show on Food Network.”

“You watch Food Network?”

“Yup. I’m a single guy. It was either fast food or cook for myself. Since fast food was giving me a gut, I decided I’d better learn how to make my own food.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Makes me an awesome catch, don’t you think?”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Maybe, if you weren’t so arrogant.”

“You like me,” he countered playfully.

I stared at his back as he walked toward the kitchen and murmured, “Yes, I do.”

I
sat on
the counter and drank an excellent pinot noir while Charles got to work making our dinner. He wouldn’t even let me get utensils for him. He asked me to point to the cabinets where he could find them.

He was surprisingly adept in the kitchen. I watched as he put fingerling potatoes on a baking sheet, tossed them with oil and seasoning, and put them in the oven to roast. He seasoned the steaks and put those on a plate. Finally, he washed the broccoli rabe, which looked like baby greens with little florets of broccoli throughout. He put it in a sauté pan with garlic, oil, salt, and pepper.

While he cooked, we talked about everything and nothing. The conversation was light and fun. I quickly realized that he was trying to take my mind off of everything that had happened in the last week and I appreciated it.

Something else struck me, and not for the first time. Yet again, I was thinking that this was what I expected when I married Cooper. Not him cooking for me all the time, but sitting in the kitchen together while one or both of us made dinner. Nothing special, just the two of us together, talking. Now, it was Charles giving me what I’d always wanted.

My heart felt as though it were expanding to twice its size, and I recognized what I was feeling as happiness. While I had been content in my singleness for the past year and happy with my daughter, I knew something was missing. Something I seemed to be finding in Charles Faulkner, a man I’d disliked for the first few weeks I’d known him.

He started to move past where I sat on the counter, but I reached out and snagged his shirt, pulling him to me. He moved between my thighs, his arms coming around me. We simply looked at one another, saying nothing. Then, I kissed him.

It was sweet and tender, and it made tears prick the back of my eyelids. Charles released my mouth and one hand came up to tuck my face into the curve of his neck. He held me for a few moments.

After a while, he lifted his head and asked, “Better?”

I nodded and he kissed my forehead before returning to his culinary duties. I realized he thought I only needed comfort. He had no idea I was well on my way to falling in love with him.

I watched as he went about making dinner, thinking that falling in love with Charles wouldn’t be a mistake, even if we didn’t work out. He was the kind of man that would make me a better woman.

Suddenly, I was very glad my sister decided to take Carolena for the night.

Dinner was delicious.
Charles insisted we eat it in the formal dining room and he lit the tapered candles I’d placed in the center as decoration. The steak was perfectly cooked, the potatoes crisp, and I learned that I liked the flavor of broccoli rabe. I also drank two glasses of wine. When we finished eating, Charles carried both of our plates into the kitchen and brought back two bowls of ice cream.

He set one in front of me. “I brought gelato from Paciugo. I didn’t know your preferences so I have panna cotta and pistachio.”

My mouth began to water. I loved going to Paciugo, especially during the summer. It was like an upscale ice cream shop, only with gelato, which I thought was better than ice cream. “Pistachio is my favorite flavor, but I also love the panna cotta and the tiramisu.”

Charles grinned. “Great.”

After we finished our gelato, I really was stuffed.

“Oh God, I’m full. That was so good, Charles. Thank you.”

He chuckled. “All part of my plan.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Plan?”

“Well, you see, one of my favorite movies came out on DVD this week and I was hoping we could watch it tonight.”

“What is it?” I asked, wondering if he was going to make me watch something really gory or violent.

“
August: Osage County
.”

I laughed. “I would love to watch that.”

He winked at me and carried our bowls into the kitchen. I followed him, thinking I’d tidy up before we began the movie, but Charles grabbed me and steered me toward the living room.

“No. You and I are going to sit down, relax, and watch a movie. There will be time to clean the kitchen later.”

I didn’t argue as he led me into the living room and sat me on the sofa. He left the room and came back a few minutes later with the DVD. Charles loaded it into the player and turned out the overhead lights, leaving a single lamp lit.