Happy Hour: From the Black & White Collection (2 page)

unprofessional fantasies.

The last few times they’d gotten together for happy hour, he’d dropped a quarter in the jukebox and

managed to shanghai her into singing the Diana Ross part in “Endless Love” while their friends cracked up at his overdone Lionel Ritchie. To make it even funnier, they used their thumbs as microphones.

“I only sing while under the extreme effects of alcohol.”

“Even better,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I’ll get you drunk and have my

wicked way with you.”

“Good luck with that,” she teased.

He picked up the pitcher and topped up her mug. “Drink up.”

She swatted his hand away from her glass playfully while Cheryl laughed. “What’s Maddie up to

tonight?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? She went away for the weekend with Jessica’s family. They own a cabin on the

lake. Sort of a last hurrah for the two of them before graduation.” Grace’s heart gave a painful lurch as it

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Mari Carr

always did when she remembered her days with her daughter were numbered. Maddie would graduate from

high school in one month. For weeks now, Grace had suffered from pre-empty nest syndrome. Her

colleagues who’d already sent their children off to college had assured her it would only get worse before it got better. Some consolation. On top of that, there was a tiny part of her that was terrified about the prospect of being alone for the rest of her life.

“Good for her,” Cheryl said. “She’s worked hard this year. She deserves a little fun time.”

Grace nodded, acknowledging the truth behind her friend’s words. Maddie was a straight-A student,

active in too many clubs to list as well as the pitcher for the Varsity Softball team.

“She’s a good kid,” Jamie added and Grace realized that over the past two years, her daughter had

become less child and more friend. They’d always been close—fate and circumstance had pretty much

assured that. Losing a husband and father had bound them together in ways no one should ever have to

experience. Maddie had only been twelve when they’d lost their beloved Drew in a car accident. Since

then, Grace had taken on the role of both mother and father, and now friend.

“She sure is. I’m lucky.”

Cheryl shook her head. “Nope, you’re a good mom. Luck had nothing to do with it.”

“Amen,” Jamie whispered low enough that Grace was certain she was the only one who’d heard. She

gave him a grateful smile and thought for a moment he was blushing. “I’m going to go throw a few quarters in the jukebox.”

Grace nodded as he stood up. One of the best things about Tully’s was the old-fashioned jukebox. She

wondered how much money their small group had thrown into the machine at these Friday afternoon get-

togethers.

“You sure you don’t want a beer, Cheryl?” Trey offered.

“No way. I’m Grace’s DD tonight. She drove my drunken ass home last time and I still have the

headache to prove it. Remember?”

“Hey, that was a special occasion,” Lucas said. “We won the state basketball championship. It was

your God-given duty as a teacher at that school to get ripped.”

Cheryl shook her head. “Yeah, you suckered me in with your line of bull that night, hence the

hangover. I’m too damn old to drink like that. I’m fine with my diet soda, thank you very much. Besides, Jeff is still teasing me about the way I acted that night. Gonna take years for the man to forget about it.”

“That sounds like your hubby,” Grace joked. “You really were funny that night. I had no idea you

could dance like that.”

“Christ,” Cheryl muttered. “Don’t remind me.”

“Come on, Trey. We better make sure Jamie picks some decent dance music. Otherwise, we’ll be

listening to fucking Jimmy Buffett all night,” Lucas said. He and Trey walked across the room to where

Jamie was bent over the machine, making his selections.

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Mari Carr

Happy Hour

“So I totally think you should try to hook up with Jamie.”

At Cheryl’s unexpected comment, Grace choked on the sip of beer she’d just taken. “W-what?” she

asked.

Cheryl gave her a wicked grin. “Thought that would get your attention. I’ve been watching you two

lately and I think he’s got the hots for you.”

“Yeah, right. And the Pope is Jewish.” Grace spoke the words lightly, trying to hide how much she

wanted Cheryl’s observation to be true.

“I’m being serious.”

“He’s young, handsome and definitely
not
looking for an older widow with a teenage daughter. I’m toting too much baggage. Trust me.”

Cheryl shook her head. “I don’t think that’s true. I swear sometimes it’s like he seeks you out. There

could be twenty teachers standing around in the cafeteria and he’ll make a beeline for you.”

“We’re friends. We have the same twisted sense of humor. Plus, have you ever considered the idea

that I’m not a threat to him? You’ve seen how the new female teachers flitter around him like a swarm of flies around a sugar cube, hoping to get his attention. He’s probably just using me as a buffer to keep them away.”

“How many single guys do you know who
try
to keep hot young women away from them?” Cheryl

scoffed. “He doesn’t want them because he wants you. You two are perfect for each other. Mark my

words.”

“Well, I hope you’re wrong because I’m not interested.”

Cheryl burst into a fit of loud laughter. “Jesus. Sell that shit to someone who doesn’t know you, sweet pea. I’ve seen you flirting tonight. You’re as hot to get in his pants as he is to get into yours.”

Grace narrowed her eyes. “Why am I friends with you again?”

“Because you don’t want to grow up any more than I do, Peter Pan. Neither one of us is going down

without a fight.”

Grace had to agree with Cheryl’s assessment. The older she got, the younger she felt. She wondered

lately if there was something wrong with her. Wondered if by being widowed so young, something inside

her had been broken and it stopped her from maturing the way she should. Of course, Cheryl was definitely going through the same phase, which proved that assumption false as her friend was happily married. If

anything, Cheryl had it worse than her. At forty-five with two kids in college, it seemed sometimes as if Cheryl was reliving her youth all over again, attending rock concerts and even getting a tattoo.

Grace sighed. “Unfortunately I think the cruelty of nature is going to win this battle. I’ve got crow’s feet around my eyes and my breasts are definitely succumbing to gravity.”

“You’re gorgeous, Gracie. I’ve known you for nearly fifteen years and it’s safe to say you’ve never

looked better. After Drew’s death, you made it pretty clear to everyone that raising Maddie was your

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Mari Carr

number one goal. You made that girl the center of your universe because she needed you and you needed

her. But she’s going to go away to college in a few months and that’s going to leave you on your own for the first time in your life. It’s time to open yourself up to some new experiences.”

“Cheryl—” Grace interjected, but her friend waved her off.

“Hear me out. All I’m asking you to do is consider what I’m saying. You’re a beautiful woman with a

lot to offer any man lucky enough to snatch you up. You’re smart, funny and sexy. Hell, if I wasn’t happily married and getting sex three times a week from Jeff, I’d do you.”

Grace laughed.

“Forty is the new thirty,” Cheryl continued, “so stop hiding behind that number and get out there

again. Besides, you weren’t made to live alone. All that nurturing and loving shit would come bursting out at the seams if you didn’t have someone to smother with it.”

Grace considered her friend’s words and knew they were the truth. She’d never lived alone, leaving

her parent’s home for a college apartment with roommates. She’d married Drew shortly after graduating

from the university and since his death, she’d had Maddie to come home to. Cheryl’s words struck a chord as she realized some of her sadness over Maddie’s leaving was the idea that she would be alone and she

dreaded it.

“Okay. You’ve made your point and it’s a good one. I’ll think about what you’ve said.”

Cheryl shook her head and placed a friendly hand on hers, gripping it tightly for just a second. “I

wasn’t telling you to think about it, Grace. I was telling you to
do
something about it. Those are two different things.”

The guys returned to the table, ending their conversation, and Grace considered her friend’s words.

Do something.

Cheryl was right. Since Drew’s death, she’d lived her life for her daughter. Tonight she was going to

start living for herself again. She only hoped she could remember how.

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Chapter Two

Jamie snuck a glance across the table at Grace. She seemed more relaxed tonight than usual and he

wondered about the change in her demeanor. She was always easy to be around—low-key, laid-back—but

tonight she was different. Hell, she was the life of the party—telling jokes and laughing loudly. He’d always known she had a terrific personality, but it was more vibrant tonight, more animated…and more

attractive.

He tried to covertly adjust his tight jeans over the half-hard cock he’d been sporting ever since they’d walked into the bar. His friends teased him mercilessly for what they referred to as his crush on the cougar.

He usually told them to go fuck themselves when they got on a roll. Jamie didn’t mind being the butt of their jokes occasionally, but he got annoyed when they acted as if Grace was too old for him. She was only eight years older, though he knew she viewed that gap to be as vast as the distance from New York to

California.

“Last softball game on Monday,” she said to him. “What do you think your chances are?”

“So long as Maddie doesn’t injure her pitching arm at the lake this weekend, I think we’ve got a

pretty good shot. Our record is a bit better than theirs and they don’t have much on the mound.” Maddie was his star player and he never ceased to be amazed by Grace’s support of her daughter’s talent. When it had become apparent Maddie’s interest in the sport wasn’t just a flash in the pan, Grace had asked Jamie to teach her the finer points of softball, so she could pass the lessons on to her daughter. He’d given Grace an old catcher’s mitt of his so Maddie could practice her pitches and Grace had never missed a game.

“Damn, I didn’t even think to warn her about the waterskiing. Maybe I should call her and tell her not

to—”

He cut her off. “Grace. I was joking. Let her have her fun this weekend. We only have one more game

and it’s not like we’re making the playoffs this year. Not with the rocky start we had.”

“You’ve got a great team, Jamie, and they’ve grown so much over this season. I know Maddie’s

learned a lot about the sport from you.”

He smiled at her compliment. “I hope I’ve been telling her the right stuff, considering she’s signed on to play in college. Hate to have some big-shot university coach telling her I’ve taught her all wrong.”

“I don’t think there’s any danger of that.”

As he looked at her, Jamie recognized how much the mother and daughter favored each other.

Maddie’s hair, like Grace’s, was long, wavy and blonde. However, while Maddie’s eyes were dark, Grace

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had bright blue eyes that sparkled when she laughed. She also had a smooth complexion that belied her age and the sexiest body he’d ever seen—curvy in all the right places.

“You look pretty tonight.” He wasn’t sure where the words had come from or why he’d chosen that

moment to say them, but he knew they were true.

“How much have you had to drink?”

He tapped her nose with his finger and she laughed at the playful gesture. “You suck at taking

compliments.”

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything else. He studied her face and tried to put his finger on

what was different about her tonight.

Grace had been a good friend to him over the past few years. He’d only been teaching a couple of

years when her husband passed away. Around the same time, his fiancée, Maura, had dumped him. They’d

had the same planning period that year and a lot of that time had been spent talking about how much their lives had changed. Their friendship had solidified as they’d discussed what they were going to do with their uncertain futures and it had only grown since then.

Unfortunately, so had his feelings for her. He’d managed to shove them aside, ignore them as he dated

other women. A few months ago, after another failed relationship, Trey had made an innocent comment

that had haunted him ever since. After watching him drown his sorrows in a bottle of Jim Beam, his best friend told him it was going to be hard for Jamie to find a woman who was better suited for him than Grace.

Trey suggested he pull his finger out of his ass and ask Grace out for a date.

The waitress delivered yet another pitcher and a heaping plate of wings just as the jukebox started

playing “LoveGame”. Trey grabbed Grace’s hand and the two of them hit the dance floor. Jamie laughed as Trey spun her around while she sang along with the music. The image of his best friend and Grace trying to dance together was priceless. Trey’s taste in music ran in one direction—rap—and his dancing was

confined to lots of hip-thrusting and bobbing in place. At the same time, Grace looked like an extra from the set of
Footloose
, bouncing around and swinging her arms.

Lucas stood up. “Hey, I think I just spotted Scott Barker over at the bar. I’m gonna go say hi.”

Jamie and Cheryl glanced over and nodded, and then Jamie’s gaze traveled back to Grace’s face. He