Her Lifelong Dream (7 page)

Leedy shrugged. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Good," he said, turning to go. "I'll see you there. I'm
the class instructor."

The classroom was crowded and noisy when Leedy arrived. The room was buzzing with lively conversation from
far more students than she had expected would be there.
She found an empty desk in the third row, close enough to
keep an eye on the attractive instructor, but not too close
as to appear overly enthusiastic. She spotted Terry as soon
as he arrived in the classroom. He had been blessed with
a charisma that allowed him to walk into any room at any
time and have everyone's eyes turn to him. He had a way
of making his presence known with minimal effort, even
in a crowded and noisy classroom. He set his briefcase
down on the desk in the front of the room and looked at
his watch.

The sight of him took her breath away.

Terry spoke amicably to the pupils hovering about his
desk. His blue eyes were alive with enthusiasm, his brown
curly hair was tousled in a boyish disarray and he was, at
least from Leedy's point-of-view, incredibly handsome. "Rats," she thought to herself. "Why does he have to be so
gosh darn good-looking?"

As if he could read her mind, Terry looked up and
glanced in her direction. He moved his eyebrows up and
down in a greeting and beamed. He was pleased to see her.

"All right everyone," Terry said, standing up and facing
the students. "We've a lot of material to cover tonight, so
let's get started." The classroom quieted to a murmur of
shuffling papers and shifting chairs as everyone settled
down and took their seat. "My name is Terry Foster," he
continued, flashing his gorgeous smile. "And I'll be your
instructor for the next six weeks."

He wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a blue buttondown oxford shirt. Leedy liked how he looked in his casual
clothes. Like a college boy, only sexier. She scanned the
room. There seemed to be an unusually high ratio of young
women in the classroom, most of whom were watching
Terry with ardent interest. One woman in particular caught
Leedy's eye. She was sitting in the front row, directly in
front of Terry's desk. She was attractive, with perfectly
coifed blond hair and dark sultry eyes. She wore an expensive brown suede skirt and a plum-colored silk blouse.
Leedy wished she had worn something more flattering than
the faded blue jeans and navy blue turtleneck she had chosen. Suddenly she felt out of place, as if she had shown up
to a ladies' tea party wearing army boots. She watched as
the blond woman shook her long shiny hair and fluttered
her eyelashes at Terry, all the while smiling at him seductively.

"As I'm sure you all know, this is a class in Small Business Management," he said, returning the blond woman's
smile with one of his own. "I've spoken with many of you and I know you're here for different reasons. By way of
introduction, I would like to go around the room and have
each student introduce him or herself, and tell everyone
why you're taking the class." Terry nodded to the woman
sitting on the farthest corner of the first row. "Betty?"

"I'm Betty Fulbright," said a soft-spoken woman. "I'm
hoping to start up a custom-made quilting business on the
internet."

"Joyce Clay," said the woman seated next to her. "And
I'm just here to expand my professional horizons."

"A noble ambition," Terry noted. "Next?"

"I'm Krissy Montgomery," cooed the blond woman in
front of him. "I'm a financial planner in town and I run my
own office. I'm here to learn more about my customers'
small business needs so that I can better serve them." Leedy
fought the urge to roll her eyes. Krissy Montgomery's voice
and manner, like the rest of her, was perfect. Even her name
was adorable.

"I'm Brad Mercer," said the man seated at the desk next
to Krissy. "I want to get a better handle on my homeimprovement business."

"Charlotte Renner, and I'm opening a day care center."

"Mike Lawrence. I have a small accounting firm in town
and I'm here to better serve my customers. Just like Miss
Montgomery." The man gave Krissy a meaningful look,
which she ignored. It seemed she only had eyes for the
instructor.

The students took turns, one by one, introducing themselves and telling why they were taking the class. Leedy
was slowly coming to the realization that she was not the
only one in the room with a lifelong dream.

"Leedy Collins," she said shyly when it was her turn. "And I want to open a restaurant someday." Krissy Montgomery looked over her shoulder at Leedy through wary
eyes. Her mouth turned down tightly for just a brief second;
then she looked away.

The woman sitting next to Leedy looked up suddenly
and smiled at her. "I guess it's my turn," she said. "My
name is Jo Anne Phillips, and I want to open a restaurant
someday too."

Leedy and Jo Anne Phillips examined each other for a
long moment. "We'll have to talk," Jo Anne whispered.
Leedy nodded in agreement.

The rest of the class sped by. Leedy quickly forgot to
worry about the blond in the front row because she was too
busy taking notes. Terry led a lively discussion about the
planning and implementing of a new business which raised
points she had never considered. She wrote down every
word with many asterisks and parentheses, noting the many
things she wanted to further research later.

It ended all too soon. Before she knew it, the class was
over and it was time to go. Leedy was still fervently writing
in her notebook when she heard a voice behind her.
"Ahem," the voice said, and she looked up to see Terry
standing in front of her desk.

"Oh," she said, startled. She had been so lost in her writing she had not noticed that the class was almost empty.
Even Jo Anne was gone. "I'm sorry I'm taking so long,"
she said. "I just wanted to write down an idea I had for the
restaurant while it was still fresh in my mind."

"That's okay," he said. "I'm glad to see you found the
class so inspirational. May I walk you to your car?"

Her heart skipped a beat at the prospect of Terry walking
her anywhere. "Okay," she said. She looked around the room. The other students had all shuffled out of the room
and some were lingering in the hallway. For a fleeting second, Leedy thought she spotted the blond-haired woman
from the front row-Krissy somebody-lingering just outside the door to the classroom. But by the time Terry had
helped her collect her books, the shadow was gone. She
pulled on the pumpkin orange sweater her mother had knit
for her and they headed out the door.

The night was cool as they walked toward the parking
lot. The temperature had dropped, letting everyone know
that winter was on the way. Leedy shivered from the sudden chill, yet she delighted in the cool dark sky. The autumn air felt good against her face as she and Terry fell
into a relaxed, comfortable pace. It felt so right, so good,
to be walking next to him. It felt as comfortable as the soft
wool of her sweater and as effortless as the beating of her
heart. She could almost imagine slipping her hand inside
of his as they walked along.

"So?" Terry asked. "Aren't you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me about the idea you have for your restaurant?"

"The idea?"

"Yes," Terry said. "You said you were writing down an
idea for your restaurant ..."

"Oh!" She blushed. Something about being around this
incredibly handsome man turned her brain into mashed bananas. "Oh ... um ... I was thinking about the open house
I'd have after my restaurant finally gets started. A grand
opening extravaganza."

"Sounds interesting," he said. "Tell me all about it."

"I would serve a buffet. A very elaborate buffet. With every dish on the menu and maybe a few that aren't. It
would be a buffet like you've never seen before."

"Yummy," he said. "It sounds delicious. But I don't remember you allocating for an open house in your start-up
costs. How do you plan to pay for this, Miss Money Bags
Collins?"

"Oh, no!" she groaned. "You sure know how to take the
wind out of a girl's sails, Mr. Black Ink Foster. We're not
going to talk about money again, are we?"

"Yes," he said, taking his fleece jacket off and slipping
it over her shoulders. "You better take this. It's getting
chilly out here."

"Thank you," she said, feeling the warmth of the fabric.
"Well ... of course I would charge admittance to the open
house," she said. "But the idea of having a grand opening
is to get as many people in the door as possible. The more
people I can get to come into my restaurant, the better the
chances they'll be back, right?"

"Right. Will you serve wine?"

"Yes, but I won't go crazy. Just a few special vintages
I know of ... priced appropriately, of course."

"Of course. How about desserts?"

"So many desserts it would make your mouth water."

"And you'll take all of that into account when you set
the price for the open house buffet, correct?" Terry asked.

"Correct," she nodded. "It will have to be a good price
or people won't come. Maybe I could charge a discounted
admittance price and include most of the open house costs
with my loan application figures. Do you think the bank
would approve something like that?"

"The bank might raise an eyebrow," he said. "But they'd
understand that establishing a client base is important to your new business. They'd probably go for it." Terry
stopped, putting a hand on each of her shoulders. "Now
you're thinking like a business woman, Leedy," he said,
squeezing her arms gently. It was the second time he had
taken her by the shoulders that way. And she liked it.

"Well, I'm glad you finally recognize my business
savvy," she said, beaming with pride.

"Don't worry," Terry said, falling back into step beside
her. "I've noticed your business savvy, along with all your
other fine qualities." They walked on through the quiet
night. "You should also talk with Jo Anne Phillips," he
added.

"I plan on it. Do you know her?"

"Yes. I met Jo Anne when her husband came to the bank
asking for help in starting up his dental practice. She has
been a soccer mom for a few years, but before that she had
fifteen years of experience as a restaurant manager. Maybe
you and Jo Anne can ... What's the matter?"

She couldn't help it. Something about Terry's expression
as he talked made her burst into peals of uncontrollable
giggles.

"What's so funny?" he asked, defensively.

"Nothing," Leedy said, trying to stop laughing. "I'm
sorry . . . I don't mean to be rude."

"Well, you find something hysterically funny," he said.
"Come on, now. Spit it out. What is it?"

"Okay," she said. "But you asked for it ... I thought, for
a moment, that you were flirting with me, Mr. Foster. But
now I realize it was only my imagination."

"But I was flirting."

"Ha!" she said, between peals of laughter. "You were
too busy talking about business stuff, Terry. As usual. You can't flirt, because you have a one-track mind that can think
of one and only one subject."

"A one-track mind? Me?"

"Yes, you," she said triumphantly.

"What are you talking about?" Terry asked, an expression of both exasperation and delight on his face. They had
stopped walking and were standing on the outer edges of
the campus parking lot.

"I suddenly realized that ever since the moment I first
met you, you have talked about one thing and one thing
only. Hence, my theory that you have a one-track mind."

"You misunderstand. I have been a perfect gentleman,"
Terry said, inching closer to her. "And it hasn't been easy
on me."

"All the same," Leedy said, enjoying the warm feeling
of his body so close to hers. "You do have a one-track
mind. Unfortunately, that track is for business matters
only."

"Business?"

"Yes, business."

"Is that so?" he said, looking wounded.

"Yes!" She knew they were both flirting shamelessly, but
neither one of them seemed to care.

"Business matters only?"

"That's what I said."

"That's a dirty lie," Terry said, moving closer toward
her. His face was inches from hers. So close she could
almost feel the end-of-the-day stubble on his cheek. He slid
his arm around her waist and pulled her gently to him.

"It isn't a lie," she said breathlessly as she squirmed
away from him.

"Is too," he said. He was as close as he could be now, his face about to touch hers when, suddenly, a loud blast
of a car horn sounded, making them both jump. The car
horn blared again, and she looked up and saw a car in the
far parking lot. An arm went out the window and waved,
then the car pulled away.

"Who was that?" Leedy asked.

"Probably someone from the class," Terry said, frowning.

"It is getting late," she said. "There's my car right over
there ..."