Meant To Be (3 page)

“Nothing. I just got home.”

He leaned over and kissed her. Her lips were smooth and soft beneath his.

She put two envelopes aside then started pulling folders from her briefcase.

He ran his fingers up her back, trying to help her relax.

She leaned against his hand and sighed. “I have too much work to do.”

“You could take a break for a while. It’ll be more fun than work, I promise.” He brushed her hair aside and nuzzled her neck. “We could practice making a baby.”

Justine squirmed out of reach. “A baby is the last thing I need.” Her ice blue eyes flashed at him, matching the chill in her voice.

Daniel raked his hand through his hair, trying to quiet his frustration. “Have you eaten?”

“Yeah.”

Daniel opened the refrigerator and pulled out the leftover pizza from the night before. “That reminds me. I invited Frank and Marienne to come over Friday night.”

Justine’s brow furrowed. “What for?”

“Takeout and pool.”

“I meant why?”

“Because they’re our neighbors. Aren’t you at all curious to meet them?”

She raised her eyebrows.

“It’ll be fun,” he said.

She scowled. “We’ll see.” She pulled another stack of papers from her bag. “I’m going up. I’ll probably fall asleep reading this.”

“I’ll be up in a bit.”

He watched as she walked down the hall. His stomach rumbled. He debated heating the pizza but decided not to bother. He took a bite. It was cold and rubbery, not at all what he was craving. He missed living two blocks from the Original Ray’s.

The summer breeze caught his attention and he glanced out the window. The lights were on at Frank and Marienne’s house. He was looking forward to Friday. A hot meal and some conversation were sounding better by the minute.

Chapter Three

Daniel placed the beer in the fridge. He’d picked up two six packs and two bottles of wine, unsure what Frank and Marienne liked to drink.

“What time did you tell them to get here?” Justine asked, leafing through a catalog on the kitchen counter.

“I didn’t. I said come over after work.”

“Well, I hope they get here soon. I’m starving.” She tossed the catalog into the trash. “What does Frank do again?”

“He’s a trader at Goldman Sachs.” Daniel could see the wheels turning behind her stormy eyes; she was always interested in meeting people who handled money. “Marienne is a graphic designer, I think. Not sure. You should ask her.”

“I will.” She glanced at the clock above the stove. “Can’t we at least order the food now?”

“I have no idea what they’ll want.” The sound of knocking interrupted him.

When he opened the door, he thought Marienne had decided not to come. All he saw was Frank, holding a bottle of wine. He felt a twinge of disappointment.

“Hey,” Frank said, stepping into the house.

Marienne was right behind him, holding what appeared to be a picnic basket.
Oh, good. She’s here.
She looked nervous, her eyes extra-wide, but she smiled as he held the door open for her.

Daniel made the introductions.

Marienne hoisted the picnic basket onto the kitchen counter. “I know you said we were ordering Chinese, so I made an Asian style snack mix. I didn’t know what you liked for dessert, so I brought fresh pineapple with caramel sauce… and brownies. Brownies go with everything.”

She was babbling, which Daniel found charming. He did the same thing when he was nervous.

Justine pried open the Tupperware of snack mix and popped a few pieces into her mouth. “Mmmm. You made this?” She plucked out more.

“It’s easy. Teriyaki sauce and spices tossed with rice crackers and pretzels. You bake it and then throw in wasabi peas.”

Daniel eyed the brownies, but took a handful of snack mix instead. “Wow, that’s good.”

Marienne smiled. “Do you mind if I put the fruit in the fridge?”

“Please. Allow me.” Daniel held out his hand to take it from her. “Can I get you a beer? Glass of wine?”

“Beer would be great. Thanks.”

Justine picked up the bowl of caramel sauce. “Did you make this, too?”

Marienne nodded, blushing. “I like to cook.”

“She’s a great cook.” Frank said, scooping up a handful of snacks. “That’s why I married her.”

Marienne smiled, but threw Frank a look.

Daniel opened two beers and handed one to Marienne. Frank poured wine into the glasses Justine had set out.

“So, who wants what for dinner?” Daniel held up the takeout menu.

While they waited for the food to be delivered, Justine suggested a game of pool.

“Nice table.” Frank said, running his hand over the mahogany edge. “Where’d you get it?”

“It came with the house,” Daniel said. “I think the previous owners didn’t want to have to pay to move it. It weighs a ton.”

“Good deal.” Frank selected a cue stick from the rack.

Justine tossed him the chalk. “It’s the only piece of furniture I’d have agreed to let them leave. The rest of their stuff was all God-awful oversized antiques.”

Marienne tucked her hair behind her ear as she leaned forward to sniff the vase of roses on the bar. “Are these from your garden? Your rose bushes are amazing.”

Daniel smiled. “Yes. That’s one of the things that sold me on the house. The whole place reminded me of my grandmother’s home in England. She had rose bushes just like these in her yard. As soon as I saw them I knew this was the right house.”

“It was a sign,” Marienne said.

“Yes.” Daniel nodded.
That’s precisely what I thought.

“I don’t believe in signs,” Justine said. “I believe in good investments. There were four other bids on this house when we tried to buy it.”

“Break.” Frank took the first shot, sending balls scattering, and pocketing two striped ones. “Stripes. You’re lucky you got the house if there was that much interest in it.” He lined up and sunk another.

“I wasn’t worried.” Justine took a sip of her wine. “Daniel on the other hand, was a wreck. We were in the realtor’s office waiting for the verdict, and he was so tense it was getting on my nerves. I had to perform an…intervention.”

Daniel stared at her.
Don’t…

“What’d you do?” Frank asked.

“I waited till the realtor went down the hall to confer with her boss.” Her eyes gleamed. “Then I gave Daniel a blowjob.”

Frank’s cue stick skimmed the ball and jammed into the edge of the table.

Daniel’s eyes slammed shut.
I can’t believe she said that.
Humiliation washed over him.

“It worked like a charm.” Justine brushed past him. She sank her shot. “By the time the realtor got back, Daniel was quite relaxed.”

“I’ll bet.” Frank stared at her, obviously in awe.

Daniel couldn’t even look at Marienne.
What must she be thinking?

****

Marienne felt her jaw drop when she heard Justine’s statement. She glanced at Daniel. His head was down, his hair swooping low over one cheek, but not enough to hide the deep flush. He looked so embarrassed Marienne felt compelled to rescue him.

“Guess you sucked the tension right out of the situation,” Marienne said.

Everyone laughed, and Daniel threw Marienne a grateful smile.

The doorbell rang and Daniel went to answer it. Marienne watched as Justine skillfully banked a shot, much to Frank’s apparent dismay.

“Man, am I out of practice,” he lamented as they walked into the kitchen.

Daniel was already at the table, unpacking cartons of lemon chicken, twice cooked pork and chow fun noodles. “Who wants chopsticks?” he asked.

“Fuck that, I need a fork,” Frank said.

Daniel laughed. “I think of chopsticks as my way of giving the food a fighting chance.”

Marienne giggled. She was glad to see that he seemed to have recovered. She snapped her chopsticks apart and began rubbing the edges together to smooth out any splinters.

Daniel grabbed a dumpling, and it tumbled out of his chopsticks, bouncing off the edge of his plate and onto the tile floor.

Frank snorted. “Dumpling—one. Daniel—zero. Sure you don’t want a fork, buddy?”

“Your granite countertops are beautiful,” Marienne said.
Six burner stove. Subzero refrigerator. I’d love to have a kitchen like this.

“Thanks.” Justine nodded between bites of snow peas. “The kitchen was the first thing I changed. You should have seen this place when it was all covered in wallpaper. Ugh. It looks much better now. Only room I can’t get Daniel to agree to change is his office. All those built-ins and the window seat with the cupboards underneath. It’s so old fashioned.”

Marienne scooped a spoonful of fried rice onto her plate. “I have a window seat in my office. I’d sit there all day if I could.”

Daniel smiled. His office was his favorite room. The only one Justine hadn’t modernized.

“Daniel tells me you’re about to launch your health club,” Frank said, shoveling noodles into his mouth.

“It’s a women’s day spa,” Justine said, “called
Just in Time
. Full spa services plus yoga and Pilates rooms. It opens Tuesday. If the first one does well I plan to franchise.”

“She’d like her own empire if at all possible,” Daniel said.

“An empire would be great. For now I’d like another dumpling.”

****

Frank challenged Justine to a rematch. Daniel was pleased that Marienne stayed in the kitchen to help him put away the leftovers.

“Do you mind if I use your microwave?” she asked.

“Of course not,” he said.

She grabbed the bowl of caramel sauce out of the fridge and folded back the plastic wrap. The microwave beeped as the turntable started to spin.

“Spoon?” she asked.

“But we barely know each other…”

Marienne blushed and laughed.

Daniel handed her a spoon. “Shall I uncover the brownies?” He had yet to stop eying them.

“Sure. Have one.”

He needed no further encouragement. “Oh my God.” He moaned as he took the first bite. “That’s fantastic.”

She smiled and opened the microwave door.

“Seriously. Brownies are one of my favorite things. I’d never heard of them ‘til I was twelve, and we visited the states.”

“Were you vacationing here?” She stirred the caramel and set the timer for another twenty seconds. The room filled with the buttery sweet smell.

“My mum’s best friend, Anne, married an American. We used to visit her every few summers. She lives right here in New Jersey, close to the shore. She made brownies for dessert one night. I thought they were the best thing I’d ever eaten. Yours are even better.” He popped the last bite into his mouth, already considering grabbing a second.

“Thanks. You know, you’re right, I lived in Oxford for a while when I was a kid, and I don’t ever remember seeing brownies.”

“Oxford?” he asked. “As in England?”

“Yes,” she said. “My father taught at the university as a guest lecturer for two semesters when I was twelve.”

“Oh my God. My mother worked at the university, in admissions. I practically grew up on campus.”

Marienne’s eyes grew huge.

Daniel realized his mouth was hanging open. “Did you ever go to the toy shoppe in Westgate shopping center?”

“Over by Oxford Castle?”

“Yes,” he said.

“I loved that store. What was it called. I can still see the awning….”

“Hawkin’s Bazaar.”

“Yes,” she said.

“Because Life’s too Serious,” they both quoted the slogan, then burst into laughter.

“Oh my God, that’s too bizarre.” She shook her head.

“You mean too Bazaar…”

“Both.”

“That was my favorite shoppe,” Daniel said. “I would beg my mum to take me there. I loved looking around, even if I didn’t buy anything.”

“Me too.” She paused. “I wonder if we were ever there at the same time.”

“It’s certainly possible.” Daniel tried to imagine a young Marienne, browsing through the aisles.

“Wow. That’s crazy. I wonder if we’d have become friends if we’d met.”

Daniel was about to answer, but Frank and Justine returned from their game. The look on both their faces made it clear that Frank had won this time.

“That’s more like it.” Frank popped a piece of pineapple into his mouth, grinning proudly.

“Lucky shot.” Justine scowled. She took a skewer of pineapple and swirled it in the caramel sauce. “Oh that’s good.” She closed her eyes as she chewed. “We have to have you over more often.”

Marienne smiled. “That reminds me, I was going to ask if you wanted to have dinner at our house next Friday. We don’t have a pool table, but we could watch a movie.”

“If you’re cooking, I’ll be there.” Justine dipped another piece of pineapple, cupping her hand beneath it to keep the caramel from dripping.