Me And Mrs Jones (8 page)

Reaching into the kitchen cabinet, she pulled out a glass and filled it with water from the sink. After taking a long satisfyingly drink, she rested her back against the sink and thought about what would happen once her first date with Travis was over.

Would this date with Travis lead to many more
?

Intelligent and interesting men were the ones who attracted her mind the most and Travis definitely had abundance of both coursing through his well-built body. She knew Travis would be able to carry on an intelligent conversation with her during dinner.

Renee paused for a minute with the glass halfway to her mouth. Wait a minute. What if she was wrong about him? What if Travis was all talk and no action? Would he drop the ball on her when she least expected it?

No...Travis might be worse than that. He could be the kind of guy that when he was out in a crowded restaurant would be a show-off or worse, brag about himself so much that it came across as overly self-important.

All kinds of thoughts raced through Renee’s mind as she took another sip of water before she finally shut her mind down. She was doing it again. This thing she promised herself not to do when it came to her date with Travis. She was envisioning the worst before the date even happened. During her conversations with Travis, he never once came off as any of those things. So, why would he take a drastic change on their date tonight?

Usually she spent so much time giving things around her so much attention that she missed the forest for the trees; however, tonight none of that was going to happen. Renee promised herself to take things slowly with Travis.

.No thinking about tomorrow or the day after that.

“I can do this,” Renee said to herself as she set the glass inside the sink. Taking a deep breath, she shoved her doubt and nervousness to the back of her mind because there was no place for it tonight.

Squaring her shoulders, Renee walked out of the kitchen and headed for the living room just as the door bell rang letting her know Travis was right in time. She stopped in her tracks as her heart sped up in her chest so fast that she felt like she had just come from running a marathon.

“Okay, this is it,” Renee whispered to herself as she smoothed her hands over the dress and then slowly made her way to the front door. Without giving herself a chance to find a way to back out, she wrapped her hand around the cool metal doorknob and opened the door.

Chapter Ten

Instead of ringing the doorbell when he first arrived at Renee’s house, Travis decided to stand on her front step for a minute or two so he could get his racing thoughts pulled together. He didn’t want to say anything dumb to make Renee regret agreeing to this date.

However, his entire well thought out speech disappeared from his mind the instant he laid eyes on Renee’s killer figure in the body hugging dress. She looked like a flawless gift waiting to be opened by him.

Travis never thought Renee could ever look more beautiful than when he first laid eyes on her at the café, but she truly looked stunning in front of him right now. He almost wanted them to stay at her house, so no other man would get a chance to look at her.

“You look breathtaking,” Travis said as his eyes wandered over Renee’s body in the olive colored dress. He had always been a fan of the color green, but he was even a bigger fan of it now.

“Thank you.” Renee opened the door wider. “Why don’t you come in?”

“Thanks.” Travis moved past Renee and went into the house. He waited until she closed the door before he handed her his present. “These are for you. I wasn’t quite sure which ones to get, so I finally decided on these.”

“Yellow roses are my favorite,” Renee said, taking the flowers from him. She took a whiff smiling at him over the top. “Please have a seat and let me put these in some water. Then we can go.”

Walking past him, Renee went into the kitchen but instead of sitting down like Renee asked he followed behind her. He wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to see her toned ass in the dress.

Standing halfway inside the kitchen, Travis watched as Renee found a vase in the cabinet and took care of the flowers. He loved how her beautiful face lit up with a huge smile when her eyes landed on them. He knew right then he had made the right choice.

“You have a beautiful home. I love the Spanish decor. How long have you lived here?” Travis asked as Renee placed the yellow roses down on a table in the breakfast nook by the back door.

“I lived here with my ex-husband. I got it in the divorce since it was the only thing I wanted from Robert,” Renee said, glancing back over her shoulder at him.

Travis hated hearing about Renee’s ex-husband. After their kiss at the gallery, he wanted to know more about her so he asked around a little and found out a lot about her ex-husband and his treatment of her.

What man in his right mind would have an affair on a woman as sexy as Renee?

Tonight, Travis wanted to work hard to show Renee that all men weren’t as unworthily as her ex-husband. He wondered how she was going to like his surprise for their first date. Several ideas for the spot had crossed his mind and then he’d finally decided on this location.

A bad first date location was what could make or break getting a second date and Travis knew he was going to want a second date with Renee.

Easing across the room, he closed the space between him and Renee until he was within touching distance of her. He was trying to keep his distance but he had to touch her or he wouldn’t be able to make it through the date.

“You have something right here,” Travis said, touching the corner of Renee’s mouth with his index finger.

“What is it?” Renee’s soft hand reached out to brush it away, but he grabbed her finger before she could make contact.

“My lips,” he whispered then kissed her.

Renee wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued to kiss her. Slipping his tongue between her full lips, Travis sucked Renee’s tongue back in his mouth loving how she readily followed his every move like she had been starving for another kiss from him.

Her reaction made him feel ten feet tall; it showed him that the bundle of sexiness in his arms craved him just as much as he desired her.

The memory of their kiss from this morning lingered in his head so much that he couldn’t even paint anything when he had gotten back to his campsite. All he could think about was getting back to Renee, in hopes they might end up like this again.

Travis wanted Renee with a fever that shocked him, but he didn’t want to move too fast and scare her away before whatever was going on between them got started. Gently, he eased his mouth away from hers and rained a series of kisses at the side of her mouth and along her neck.

“Renee, as much as I would love to continue this,” he whispered against her silky vanilla scented skin, “we need to go or we’ll be late for our date.” Travis eased back from her soft body staring down into her upturned face. The look of desire in her eyes pleased him.

The tip of Renee’s tongue peeked out from between her teeth and she ran it across her lips. The innocent movement made Travis’ cock jump and swell.

The idea of staying here and making out with Renee some more crossed his mind, but he really wanted to surprise her with their first date. He would have time again later before the night was over for him to have another taste of her.

“Are you ready to go?” Travis asked, touching the side of Renee’s face with his fingertips.

“Yes, I just need to get my stuff out of the living room on the way out,” Renee answered, taking a step back from him.

“Let’s go beautiful,” Travis said, grabbing Renee by the hand. “Your night of surprises is waiting for you.”

Chapter Eleven

“How did you do all of this?” The shock was loud and clear in her soft voice.

Renee stood frozen in the park as her eyes stared at the twinkling lights hung on the low branches of the trees. The entire patio was set up for a romantic meal for two. Music played softly in the background while a chef was busy at the side preparing their food. She took her time taking in everything.

“I did a painting for the man who’s the groundskeeper and he opened it to me for tonight,” Travis asked as he came up to her. “I wanted to do something special for our first date. I didn’t think you’d have ever eaten a romantic dinner by a pond, so I tried my best to make it happen.”

Spinning around, Renee smiled up at Travis. No one had ever done something so unique and touching for her
ever.
Not even her ex-husband Robert had thought about doing something like this for her.

Travis was right. This would be a night that would stay in her mind for the rest of her life.

“Travis, this is stunning. I will remember this forever,” she said, glancing around the area again.

Pulling her to him, Travis ran his hand down the side of her neck. “I want to do a lot of amazing things with you Renee. I don’t know why I’m so drawn to you, but I’m not going to fight it. I’ll let it happen and see where we end up. Are you willing to take the same plunge as me, or am I in this alone?”

The suggestion intrigued her making Renee wonder when the last time was that she’d truly taken pleasure in being in the company of a man. She had sensed there was something special about Travis from the very beginning, but was she ready to explore it to the fullest?

Travis looked as if he was battling himself not to ask her the question again; however, what surprised Renee the most was her own driving need to agree to what he wanted. For the past months, she had been so swamped with work that she never thought there would be any time for romance in her busy schedule.

The thought barely crossed her mind before another followed. Could she handle work and trying to date Travis? An even more terrifying realization washed over Renee. She wasn’t scared to give it a shot. If it didn’t work out, so what, but she wasn’t about to lose this chance. Sometimes things only came by once in lifetime and this was going to be her chance.

“I’m willing to take the plunge with you,” Renee answered. “Just don’t move too fast. I really want us to get to know each other.”

A faint light twinkled in Travis’ eyes as he grinned at her. “I’ll try my best to take it slow with some things, but kissing isn’t one of them. I love how your mouth tastes. I want to sample it as much as possible.” Lowering his head, Travis kissed her again to prove his point.

The soft kiss consumed Renee making her wrap her arms around Travis’ wide shoulders. She didn’t think about anything else but getting lost in the kiss and how it felt to have Travis’ arms around her.

A voice interrupted them. “Excuse me, sir.”

“I think someone wants our attention,” Travis whispered, staring down at her.

“I do too.” Renee smiled.

Turning her around in his arms, Travis hugged her to his body as he looked at the waiter. She was guessing their food might be ready.

“Yes, Antonio,” Travis said.

Chef Antonio smiled at her then addressed Travis. “Your meal is ready and already placed on the table as you requested. The dessert is in the container on the table and the wine is chilling in ice by the side of the table. If you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll be leaving.”

“I’ll be right back,” Travis whispered in her ear before moving away.”

Standing back, Renee watched Travis as he walked away with Antonio to take care of whatever was left for their date. She took a whiff of the air loving the smell of freshly cooked food that filled it. She was such a sucker for a well-prepared meal. She had skills in the kitchen, but sometimes it did feel good to have someone else cooking for you.

Moving over to the railing surrounding the patio, Renee glanced down to the water below. She loved being outside with the sounds of the world around her. She couldn’t have planned a better first date with Travis if she planned it herself.

Tonight was turning out pretty good and she hadn’t even sat down to dinner yet. What else did the night have prepared for her? Could it possibly get any better than this?

“What are you doing way over here away from me?” Travis asked as he came to stand next to her.

Renee turned so she was facing Travis. “I was only thinking.”

“Want to share what it was about?” His eyes were gentle and understanding as he watched her.

Smiling, Renee placed her hand in the middle of Travis’ chest. She was done allowing her doubts to spoil this beautiful night. “It wasn’t anything important. How about we head over to that delicious smelling food?”

“Only on one condition,” Travis told her.

“What condition would that be Mr. Cole?”

“You’ll dance with me.”

Renee didn’t have a problem with that at all. In fact, she really liked anytime she got a chance to be in Travis’ strong arms. She had never felt more secure or sexy than when she was against him. Which completely surprised her since Travis was so new in her life.

Were endorphins taking so much that she couldn’t control her reactions
?

“How can I turn down such a wonderful suggestion?”

Chapter Twelve

Wiping her mouth, Renee placed the napkin down on her empty plate. She couldn’t eat another bite. “Travis, you have to tell me where you found Chef Antonio because his Tarragon Chicken was out of this world. I loved it.”

Travis he poured them some more wine and grinned at her. “I’ll pass on your compliment. We went to college together. I was there for art and as you call tell, Antonio was there for food. He’s about to go overseas in a few months to finish studying in Paris. He did this dinner tonight as a favor for me. Antonio was there for me through a rough patch I was having back then.”

Renee noticed the far away look that came into Travis’ eyes as he placed the wine bottle back into the bucket. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, reaching across the table to touch his hand.