Earning Yancy (9 page)

I felt my face heat and cursed my fair skin. When I was around him, I seemed to blush at the drop of a hat and my pale face showed the faintest change in color. “Me too.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

Again, I nodded in response and turned to go to my office. I felt his eyes on my back the entire time. I glanced over my shoulder as I unlocked my door and he was still standing in the hall, watching me. Then he smiled and sauntered away.

After I entered my office, I sat at my desk and wondered what I was going to wear tomorrow night. When I realized I’d been sitting there, daydreaming, for the last five minutes, I shook my head and got back to work. There would be plenty of time tonight for me to figure out what to wear on my first dinner date in over three years.

Later that afternoon,
I realized my only issue wouldn’t be picking an outfit. I texted all three of the teenage girls who usually babysat for me, but they were all booked. I wouldn’t ask Kathy because she worked enough hours during the week.

I sighed when I realized I had two options and neither of them were my idea of great. I could call my mom or my sisters, who would be ecstatic I was dating again and completely, infuriatingly nosy. Or I could call one of my girlfriends. All four of them were great and I knew I could trust them to take wonderful care of my baby. They were also nosy, just in a less annoying way.

I decided that my friends were the lesser of the two evils. Knowing my mother and sisters, they would grill Charles as soon as he arrived to pick me up then turn their hoses and lights to me after I came home. My girlfriends would only grill me once Charles dropped me off and wouldn’t get offended if I told them I had enough.

I assumed Lucy would have plans with Chris, so I didn’t bother to call her. I knew she would cancel her plans for me and I didn’t want to piss off her brooding boyfriend. I called Chelsea, but she had a date. Then I called Grier, who was inexplicably out of town. She was on vacation a couple of weeks ago, so I was surprised to hear that she was gone again. I had a feeling something was going on with her, but I would have to wait until she was back to find out what.

That left Tanya. I loved Tanya, but even she said that kids were not her thing. I hated to ask, but I would definitely call her before I called my sisters.

I selected her name on my phone and waited as the line rang.

“Hey, Yancy. What’s up?” Tanya seemed cheerful, but it sounded forced.

“Hi, Tanya. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just tired. I’ve got this case that’s keeping me up late. What are you doing?”

Now I felt guilty about asking her to help me out. She worked too much as it was, sometimes sixty hours a week. I shouldn’t ask her.

“Ah, nothing, just calling to see how you were.”

There was a pause. “You do realize I’m a lawyer and I hear lies enough to know when you tell me one, right?”

I chuckled but didn’t answer. Maybe if I played dead…

No such luck. “Spit it out.”

I sighed. “I need someone to watch Carolena tomorrow. All my back-up babysitters are booked and none of the other girls are free. I really don’t want to call my sisters or my mom because they’ll start asking Charles questions about his education and life goals before he even gets me out the door.”

“No problem. What time do I need to be there?”

“No, no, it’s okay. You’re swamped right now and I can tell you’re tired. I’ll just call…”

Tanya snorted. “Shut up about that and tell me what time to be there.”

“6:30. He’s picking me up at 7:00.”

“Okay. Have you figured out what you’re going to wear?”

I laughed. “Not yet. I’ll figure that out when I get home.”

“I’ll be there at 5:30. You’re going to need my help.”

“I think I can pick out my own clothes for a date, Tanya,” I said dryly.

“Maybe, but I have a feeling you’ll go for the dress that looks nice and sweet rather than the sexy number you should be wearing to keep his attention completely on you.”

I hummed quietly. She was right. I chose flattering clothes, but nothing overtly sexy or revealing. “Okay, fine. Come over early and help me, but I reserve veto rights.”

“You only get two vetoes.”

“Three,” I fired back.

“Deal. Now, it’s almost the end of the workday, so I need to get back to work because I refuse to be stuck here after 5:30 for even one more day.”

“Thanks for this, Tanya. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. However, this means that I expect to be maid of honor when you marry Mr. Wonderful.”

I laughed. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if Charles happens to propose to me on our third date. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Damn straight. See you then. Bye!”

I disconnected the call and winced when I saw the time. I didn’t have a great deal of work to finish, but I needed to get my ass in gear if I wanted to finish up by five. I put thoughts of my date tomorrow out of my mind and got busy.

B
y 5:30 the
next evening, I was running after Carolena in my robe with my wet hair hanging in stringy chunks around my face.

“Get back here, you rascal!” I shouted.

She laughed and kept up her mad dash from the living room to the dining room, my ringing cell phone in her hand.

I should be frustrated, but she was so cute with her chubby little legs pumping and her gut-busting giggles that I found myself smiling as I finally caught up and scooped her up into my arms.

“You little stinker, give me that phone.”

She grinned, her dimples popping and her little teeth gleaming, and handed me the phone. It was no longer ringing. It beeped and I saw I had a new message. I squeezed Carolena tight, making her squeal, peppered her face with kisses, and set her on her feet with a little pat on her diapered butt. She wheeled out of the dining room, squealing and yelling incoherent babble.

I laughed and listened to my voicemail, following her into the living room. It was Tanya, letting me know she was on her way but running a bit late. Considering I was still in my bathrobe with wet hair, I couldn’t complain.

I had just finished putting on my underwear and slathering lotion on my skin when the doorbell rang. I threw on my robe again and carried Carolena downstairs with me to answer the door.

Tanya stood on my porch in black skinny jeans, a black long sleeved shirt, bright red ballet flats, and a matching red bag on her arm. She looked exactly like what she was; a worldly, stylish woman. I wondered how long her outfit would stay pristine.

“Hey! Come on in.” As she entered, I saw the label on her bag and my brows rose. “You might want to put that bag in a place where Carolena can’t reach it. She has no respect for Louis Vuitton.”

“Noted.”

At that moment, Carolena decided she’d been ignored long enough.

“Tata!!” Her arms flew up and she lunged toward Tanya.

“Oof! You’re getting so big!” Tanya said as she hitched Carolena on her hip. “Are you gonna help Mama and me pick out her dress for tonight? She needs to look pretty.”

“Yaaawww!” Carolena raised her fist up in the air as she yelled.

I shook my head at their antics. “Okay, well, it’s 5:45, so we better get started.”

We all trooped upstairs and I settled Carolena on the floor in my bedroom with some toys. Tanya shooed me into the bathroom with instructions to dry my hair while she picked out my outfit. I was certain she wanted me out of the room so I wouldn’t start nixing her choices as she went through my closet, but I let her shove me into the bathroom anyway.

I took the time to smooth in product and use a large round brush as I dried my hair. I stepped out of the bathroom to find three dresses on the bed. I looked in the walk-in closet, where Tanya was going through my shoes, muttering to herself.

When she saw me, she pointed to the bed. “Pick one. If you veto all of them, I have a dress in mind for you.”

I knew then and there it would be wise to choose one of the dresses on the bed. I only had three vetoes, then I would have to wear whatever she picked. I gave her a sidelong look when I realized that all three were outfits I hadn’t worn since before Carolena was born. I chose a black dress with a low, narrow V-neck. While it showed quite a bit of the skin from my chest and arms, there was very little actual cleavage. The top of the dress bloused over a gathered waist and the skirt fell almost to my knees. It looked like the type of dress a Greek goddess might wear, only black instead of white. I figured it was the outfit most likely to fit me since having a baby had changed the shape of my body completely.

“Good choice,” said Tanya.

My level stare was her answer and she laughed as I went into the bathroom. The underwear I’d chosen was perfect beneath the dress, both the panties and bra were black satin and the straps of my bra wouldn’t show even though the dress was sleeveless.

I removed my robe and slid into the dress, zipping the side zipper. Though the waist and bust were a bit tighter than I remembered, it still fit well. When I looked in the mirror I wanted to march right back into the bedroom and tell Tanya I would choose my own damn outfit. Since my breasts were larger after having Carolena, the dress was no longer quite as loose at the waist and it revealed my shape a lot more than I expected. In fact, I looked curvy and a lot sexier than I felt comfortable with.

I exited the bathroom with what had to be a mutinous expression on my face. Tanya looked me over.

“You look fantastic!” she cried.

“I look like a Marilyn Monroe wannabe.”

She scoffed. “Quit complaining. Most women would kill for your figure and Marilyn was a sex symbol. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” She held up a pair of black pumps with a silver stiletto heel. “And where in the hell have you been hiding these?”

“I’ve been saving them for a special occasion.”

“Well, I’d say this is it.”

I had to agree. “I’ll put them on last. I don’t want my feet to be killing me before I even leave the house.”

“Good plan.” She set the shoes on the bed and clapped her hands. “Okay, make-up. You need something dramatic.”

I held up a hand to stop her and pointed to Carolena, who was still playing on the floor. “You watch the baby, I’ll do my make-up myself.”

She sighed. “Fine, but I reserve the right to make adjustments.”

I didn’t bother to argue. She was the lawyer, she would win anyway. I went into the bathroom and pulled out my make-up bag. While I usually kept it simple for work and hadn’t had an occasion in a long time, I loved to play with make-up and I used to try different looks all the time.

Since Tanya made the Marilyn Monroe reference, I decided to do a neutral eye with a thin black line of liquid eyeliner and a nice red lip. Then I applied my concealer and foundation. Fifteen minutes later, I was done.

When I entered the bedroom, Tanya’s eyes widened. “You look amazing, Yancy. I’d say you should fancy yourself up more often, but you’d make the rest of us look bad.”

I shook my head at her exaggeration and walked to the bed to retrieve my shoes. “Whatever.”

As I slid the pumps onto my feet, Carolena stood up and toddled over. Looking up at me, she fingered the material of my skirt. “Pwetty.”

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Thank you, baby.” I grinned when I saw my red lip print on her skin and gently rubbed it away.

Tanya came over and handed me a pair of pearl drop earrings and my pearl bracelet. “I took the liberty of choosing jewelry and a bag for you.”

I managed to hold back a sigh. She was almost as pushy as my sisters. “Thanks.”

I put the earrings in my ears and clasped the bracelet around my wrist. Tanya handed me my only evening purse, which was plain black satin embellished with jet beads. We all headed downstairs and I transferred my phone, ID, some money, and my red lipstick into the tiny clutch. I glanced at the clock and realized that it had taken me a lot longer than I expected to get ready. Charles would be here any moment.

Quickly, I gave Tanya a rundown of what she needed to do for Carolena. “I’ve already bathed the baby and given her a breathing treatment. You’ll need to feed her a little after I leave. I left her plate in the fridge. She’ll have a sippy cup of milk about 7:30. Her bedtime is 8:15, so change her diaper around 8 and rock her for a few minutes before you put her down. The baby monitor is in my bedroom, but you can move it to wherever you want. All of this is on a sheet of paper on the fridge if you forget anything. Any questions?”