Lucky: A Love Lane Short (4 page)

“
My grandparents helped
when they could and sent money. They tried to convince Mom to move
back home constantly, but she was determined to make it work, and
for the most part, she did. They passed away when I was in high
school, but I know they were proud of her and all of her
accomplishments.”

“
Wow,” I say, taking a
breath that I didn’t realize I was holding while listening to him
talk. “She sounds like she was an amazing woman.”

“
She really was. She would
have really liked you, Kate. You both have similar personalities:
fun loving and kind.” At that, my hearts breaks a little for
Henry.

How did I go six months
working side-by-side with this man and not know anything about his
personal life? Part of me feels kind of crappy for not making the
effort to get to know him better. Regardless of my own failing
relationship, it would have only taken minutes to ask about his
day. I am here now, though, and the more I get to know Henry, the
more I see that his beauty goes much deeper than just his blue
eyes.

As he continues talking
about his mother, I have the sudden desire to show him some
comfort. Reaching out, I take hold of his left hand with my right.
He stops briefly, looks down where we are joined, smiles, and then,
without a missing a beat, continues to walk and talk.

“
She was worried about me
toward the end, knowing her passing was going to be hard on me. She
didn’t want me to be alone,” he says with a squeeze of my hand.
“She kept trying to convince me to go out and find someone, but it
wasn’t the right time, and I wasn’t in the right frame of mind,
anyway.

“
I don’t want to sound too
much like a momma’s boy, but I liked that it was just the two of us
at the end, just as it always had been growing up. I used that time
to not only say my goodbyes, but to also thank her for everything
she had ever done for me. She gave up her youth to raise me, and I
don’t think I can ever repay her for that,” Henry ends; his eyes
shimmering with unshed tears.

“
I can’t even imagine how
tough it was for you. I come from a big, Irish-Italian family on
Long Island where family gatherings are more like a three ring
circus than a quiet evening in. It’s loud and exhausting and
loud.”

“
You said loud twice,”
Henry replies as he gives me a shoulder bump.

“
Yeah, well, it’s really
loud, so it needs to be said twice for effect,” I respond and Henry
laughs.

“
Sounds like a lot of fun
to me.”

“
For the most part, it is.
Believe me, I wouldn’t trade any of them, but being the youngest of
five sisters, I would have loved the undivided attention of my
parents, even if it was just for a day. I was treated like a baby
for most of life. Even now that I am living on my own, my older
sisters still feel the need to give me unsolicited advice on
everything from who I should date to how I should dress,” I finish
right as a new thought pops into my head and out of my mouth
without hesitation.

“
Oh, hey, you should come
with me to my parents’ house. They host a monthly family dinner
with everyone: all my sisters, their husbands, and my twelve nieces
and nephews. It’s mass chaos, but it comes with cake and coffee at
the end of the evening, so it’s totally worth it.” I chuckle. “The
next dinner is in two weeks, and my mother cooks enough food to
feed a small army. They would love having you, and I would love
having some backup when dealing with my sisters.”

Henry now has the hugest
smile on his face. “That sounds really great, Kate. I would love to
come.”

Stopping at the next corner,
our official ‘tour’ completely forgotten in place of getting to
know each other, Henry turns to face me. His deep blue eyes feel as
if they are penetrating my soul. I am suddenly very nervous, and I
hate to admit it at such an inopportune moment, but I am also a
tiny bit turned on. He looks so serious and so very sexy right now
with the bright sunshine illuminating him from behind.

I bring my coffee cup to my
lips since I honestly have no clue what to do as Henry begins to
speak.

“
I just wanted to say thank
you for listening. I haven’t really spoken about my mother since
she died, and this was really nice, so thanks.”

Swallowing my mouthful of
coffee along with my lust, I respond with a barely audible whisper,
“Anytime.”

Chapter Five

After our very serious
moment on the street corner in Brooklyn, things between Henry and I
lightened up, and I finally got my official tour of the
neighborhood. Henry took me past all the important locations, like
the corner market, dry cleaners, pharmacy, as well as pointed out
his favorite pizzeria.

“
Is the crust thin and
crispy?” I ask. “I am very picky about my pizza. I have very
specific cheese to sauce ratio requirements,” I say in all
seriousness.

Henry only rolls his eyes
and laughs.

“
Don’t laugh at me. Great
pizza is an art form and the right amount of cheese to sauce is
what differentiates it between a Van Gough and something my
2-year-old niece would draw. ” I say with a huff. “You can’t call
yourself a New Yorker and not understand this.”

Henry simply keeps smiling
like he isn’t buying anything I’m saying.

“
That’s it!” I toss my
coffee cup in the nearest garbage can. “Pizza is practically a
religion in New York, and I don’t think I can be friends with
someone who doesn’t get that.”

Henry stares at me like I
have two heads. “Did you just say that pizza is a
religion?”

“
Yes, I did. Do you have a
problem with that?” I respond as a stubborn child would, with arms
across my chest.

“
Nope, not at all. Amen to
pizza.” Henry raises his hand in a sign of prayer up to the
sky.

We both break out into fits
of laughter then continue our walk.

“
I had this friend my
freshman year of college who was originally from Chicago. He was a
die-hard deep-dish lover.” I say, a shiver of disgust rolling
through my belly as I continue to postulate about pizza. “He tried
really hard to convince me of its superiority until I dragged him
onto the train and headed over to Ave. J.”

“
Di Fara’s?” Henry asks
with a knowing look.

“
Yep. He had tears in his
eyes after the first bite. He said that one slice of pizza was
right up there with the best sex he’d ever had,” I say with an
amused smile.

“
Seriously?” Henry asks. “I
don’t think the guy is having the right kind of sex
then.”

“
Why would you say that?
Just thinking about all that hot delicious pizza really gets my
naughty parts tingling.” I say jokingly, drawing out each syllable
and using my most breathy sex voice. “The combination of crispy
crust, the sweet tang of tomato bursting with hints of oregano all
covered in lush melted cheese. The way it slides down your throat
warming your belly.”

“
I can hurry and order a
pie if you want to test it out.” Henry says with a sly gleam in his
eyes.

“
That’s actually not a bad
idea. It’s been a while since I’ve had both, good pizza and good
sex.”

“
I’m right there with you.
Well, maybe not the pizza part. I just had Di Fara’s last week but,
definitely the sex part.” Henry responds and I can tell he is
trying to make light of his lack of recent intimacy but I can hear
the sadness in his tone. He sounds forlorn at having missed out on
so much while caring for his mother.

“
We sound so pathetic right
now”.” I say with a chuckle while giving a supportive nudge to
Henry’s shoulder.

“
Wow, we really do, don’t
we? This pizza talk is getting depressing all of a sudden.” Henry
replies
facetiously
. He
quickly follows that up with a
more serious turn. “We deserve great sex, both of us. It’s not
right that two good, hardworking people like us are suffering
through a drought. We deserve the kind of sex that comes from
having a real connection, not pizza. It’s all about looking into
your partner’s eyes as you sink into them, feeling every breath,
every push and pull, the heated whispers of passion, the gentle
caresses and the declarations of love. We need the whole
experience.”

Henry says all of this while
looking directly into my eyes. I can only imagine what he sees in
return - eyes glazed over, face flushed, nipples peaked and
pressing against my too tight tank top. I’m standing on the
sidewalk nervous all of a sudden and very much turned on, wishing I
still had my coffee cup to distract myself from his penetrating
gaze. Perspiration is starting to trickle down my back and it’s not
just from the sweltering July sun. I desperately want everything
that Henry has just described and what’s more, I want it all with
him.

Trying to distract myself
from wayward thoughts of Henry, pizza and naked bodies I turn my
gaze away from his and hastily change the subject all together. I
don’t want him to see how much his words affected me so I begin
mindlessly chatting about work and my family. When I tell Henry
about signing the lease for Love Lane he is genuinely happy for me.
We then continue to walk and talk in more detail about my upcoming
move, all thoughts of pizza and sex now forgotten.

As the morning sun moves
higher across the sky, we begin the loop back around to where we
first started and pass a quaint little bakery on the way with the
most deliciously indulgent chocolate brownies I have ever had. With
each bite I try to keep my moans of delight to a minimum, but it is
seriously hard. These are some damn good brownies. After I lick my
fingers clean of all the leftover gooey bits and snag a few more to
take home Henry walks with me the next few blocks to the subway
entrance. Standing at the top of the stairs, I turn to thank him
for spending the day with me, for the fabulous tour and for the
great conversation. I can’t remember the last time I had this much
fun and felt this carefree. I’m as giddy as a teenager at the end
of their first date and I think Henry feels the same way. He
returns a grateful smile and before I even have time to think about
what I am doing I step closer, inch up on my toes and plant a
chaste kiss to Henry’s cheek. And wouldn’t you know it, Henry
blushes and my heart does this curious little jump in my
chest.

As I lay in bed later that
night, thoughts of Henry once again invade my mind. His strength
and selflessness while caring for his mother is unbelievably
honorable. I have a whole new respect and understanding for him
now. I am so grateful that I took a chance and went for coffee.
Those damn tingles in my belly are back with force, and I am really
starting to like having them there.

***

“
Good morning, sunshine,”
Mindy calls out as I make my way past her office.

She got the full rundown of
my tour ‘date’ with Henry while on the phone Sunday afternoon.
After each sentence, I got the same response, “I told you he was
perfect, didn’t I?”

“
Yes, Mindy, Henry was
great, and we had a fabulous time. Now stop repeating yourself;
it’s getting old.”

“
Fine, but I always knew
the two of you would be perfect for each other. Just don’t
overthink it too much like you sometimes do, and go with the flow.
”

“
Goodbye, Mindy. I’ll see
you at work tomorrow.”

“
Okay, bye, babe.” With
that, we hung up, and I found myself actually contemplating a
future with Henry, and man, did it feel good.

“
Hey, Mindy, how’s it
going?” I respond as I stop at her office door.

“
Well, it’s Monday, and I
have a meeting in about five minutes with the client from hell, but
other than that, I’m great. Did you see lover boy yet this morning?
Did he say anything about your date? Did he ask you out
again?”

“
Wow, take a breath and
relax. No, I haven’t seen Henry yet today. I just got in, and
please stop because now you’re making me nervous to see
him.”

“
Okay, sorry. I’m just
super excited for you. I haven’t seen you looking this happy for a
long time.”

“
I am happy. It was a great
weekend, and I’m glad that I went out with Henry, but I don’t want
to force anything. I am just going to take this slow and see how it
progresses. Henry has had it rough over the past year and I want to
let him set the pace.”

“
Well, I personally think
you should just jump him and get it over with already, but I’ll be
good,” Mindy says nonchalantly with a shrug of her
shoulders.

“
You are impossible. I am
not even going to dignify that with a response. You better get to
your meeting before you’re late.” I walk away, shaking my head,
which is now filled with images of Henry and I in bed.

This is going to be a long
day.

***

Henry

“
Hey, Mom. I brought your
favorite today—pink roses.”

Sitting down on the fluffy
patch of green grass, I place the roses in the fluted plastic vase
that sits at the base of her tombstone. Mom always loved flowers;
it was the one thing she would splurge on for herself. When she got
sick and started chemo, fresh flowers weren’t allowed due to risk
of infection, so instead, I covered her walls with photographs of
every variety of flowers I could find. Now I always make a point to
pick up a bouquet before I visit.