Taking Heart (15 page)

It was her turn to lean in, their lips mere inches apart. “You should
give yourself more credit, Eric,” she said softly. “I did.”

As they kissed again, he took the glass from her hands and set it down
with a clink. He grasped her butt with both hands and lifted her up onto the
counter. Her hands were swift and she made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt,
her lips never leaving his. She was a great kisser, and if he remembered
correctly, was also fantastic in bed. But as he kissed her neck, he couldn’t
help but remember the last time he’d been in the same position, when the person
he’d been kissing had made his heart feel full once again.

“Karen.” He grasped her hands, putting an end to her frantic movements.
“Let’s take things slow, okay?”

Her breath came out in rapid gusts, and her lipstick was smeared a little
when she said, “Okay, yeah. That’s probably the best plan of action.”

Wetting a paper towel, he reached up and wiped her lips gently, cleaning
away any traces of red. He had handed her the towel and she did the same for
him. “Thank you,” he said when she was done. He kissed her cheek then began to
button his shirt.

She jumped down from the counter and studied him with a cocked head.
“You’re different, Eric.”

“What do you mean? Because I said I wanted to take things slow?”

“Well, that, and there’s just something new about you. In college, you
would never have told me half the things you did tonight. Back then, trying to
get you to talk about anything even remotely concerning emotions was like
pulling teeth.”

“Are you saying that’s good or bad?”

“I’m saying it’s different,” she said. “And I kissed you back, so
obviously I wasn’t repelled by it.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” They held hands as she walked him to the
door. “It was great to see you again, Karen.”

“You, too.” She leaned on the doorjamb as he stepped outside.

“I’ll call you,” he said, tracing a cross on his chest. “Promise.”

She grinned ruefully. “Well, you know my number.”

“Goodnight.”

chapter
ten

Ren could feel it in her gut: it was going to be a day from hell. From
the moment she’d woken up, everything had gone wrong. First she discovered a
flat tire on her bike, then as soon as she stepped foot in the bakery, Padma
informed her that a customer had cancelled a huge wedding cake order, one that
they had already begun to prepare for. Then Jolene called in, saying that Nina
had been throwing up all morning from a mysterious bug that was going around at
preschool. The final straw was when the rustic table that held their pretty
macaron and cupcake displays collapsed, scattering a rainbow of pastries all
over the bakery floor.

“I don’t know how this day could get much worse,” Ren said as she handed
Padma the broom and dustpan. She carefully made her way past the pastry warzone
and squatted by the fallen white table. “Looks like one of the legs just
decided to bite the dust.” She held up the broken leg and rued the day she’d
brought it home from a garage sale. The seller had told her it only needed a
coat of fresh paint. He hadn’t mentioned anything about fractured legs that
could make it appear as though a unicorn farted all over the bakery floor.

“I guess we’ll just need to buy another table,” Padma said and tsk-tsked
about the wasted food. “Those were some good looking cupcakes too.”

Ren picked up the edge of the table and rolled it to the corner of the
store. “I think it can be fixed,” she said, running her fingers along the beautiful
scalloped edge that had sealed the deal for her purchase. “I’d hate to waste
it, since it’s so beautiful.”

“Renee,” Padma said with a hint of a smile. “You’re the only one who
thinks that table is beautiful.”

Ren walked in a half-circle as she contemplated Padma’s words, but
couldn’t see anything other than the charming small dinette she’d seen
potential in. “Well, I think it’s lovely, so I’m going to try and save it.”

“Do you know of anybody who can fix it?” Padma asked.

Her dead father aside, Ren knew of only one other person who worked with
furniture. “Yeah, but he lives in California,” she said with a sigh.

“Oh, that table is definitely not worth a plane ticket,” Padma said and
continued to sweep. “Don’t worry, Renee. We will just buy a new one from
Craigslist.”

Late that afternoon, an hour after the store had closed and Padma and
Lisa had gone home, Ren sat alone in the back office and stared blankly at the
computer screen. She was supposed to be doing some minor bookkeeping but, for
the life of her, she couldn’t force the columns of numbers to make sense.
Instead her mind was occupied with thoughts of the table and the person that
she had in mind to fix it, and suddenly, it struck her that she hadn’t thought
of Ben all day. The realization hit her like a punch in the gut, replacing the
air in her lungs with hot guilt.

“But this is what I’m supposed to be doing, right?” she asked the quiet
room. She picked up the phone and dialed Eric’s number, needing to hear
something other than the low hum of the computer.

A few rings later, the messaging system beeped. “Hey,” Ren said,
realizing that she hadn’t rehearsed what to say. “It’s me. I just, I had a
heinous day and I guess I just wanted to hear a friendly voice tell me that I
need to put on my big girl panties and deal.
But maybe some
other time.
Well, I hope you’re doing well. Goodnight.”

She tried to focus on the task at hand, wondering why, out of the three
sisters, she had been delegated to bookkeeping duties. Certainly it wasn’t
because she was good with numbers. Thirty mind-numbing minutes later, she
finished the task and turned off the computer.

As she stood up, the phone began to ring. “Hello?”

“Ren!” Eric’s voice was joyous, just the sound she needed to hear after
her day. “You said something about panties?”

She laughed. “Leave it to you to zero in on that one word from my entire
message,” she said, sinking back down onto the chair.

“Sorry I couldn’t answer. I had company over.”

“That’s fine. You just caught me, actually. I was just about to walk out
the door.”

“Do you want me to call you at home?”

“No. I’m headed over to my sister’s to visit my niece.”

“So, what’s up? You had a horrible day?”

Ren recounted everything that had gone wrong, including the broken table.
“I know it all sounds so trivial, but all of it happening at once, it just made
my day truly suck.”

“So put your big girl panties on and deal with it,” he said
matter-of-fact. “Though I’m hoping your niece gets over her bug quickly.”

“Thanks.” She toyed with the row of three Disney princess bobble head
dolls on the desk. “So, can you fix my table?” she joked.

“Uh, not unless you can mail it to me.”

“Darn. I guess I’ll just have to find some other hot friend to do it for
me.”

“You think I’m hot?” he asked with a surprised lilt to his voice.

“Did I say hot?” A smile crept onto the corners of her mouth. “I meant so
horribly grotesque that no woman would ever go near him, let alone kiss him.”

“Oh, ouch, that hurt. You’re doing a hell of a job of convincing me to
fix your table.”

“I’ll pay you in cupcakes?”

“Forget it. You called me horribly grotesque. My self-esteem will never
recover.”

“You’ll get over it. Probably.”

“For what it’s worth,” he said. “I think you’re horribly grotesque as
well. Like, more disgusting than women here in Hollywood.”

They talked for a little while longer and sure enough, after she hung up,
Ren felt unburdened from her issues. Somehow she could always count on Eric for
that.

The good feeling carried over to the next day, and everyone around her
seemed to be able to sense her mood. Ren was in the kitchen tying a ribbon
around a pastry box when Jolene called out from the office. “Oh sister mine,”
she said in a
sing-song
voice. “Did you get laid?”

Lisa’s eyes got wide as she hastened to chastise their youngest sister.
“Will you shut your trap? They can hear you out front you know!”

Jolene was grinning when she emerged from the small room. She walked over
to Ren and leaned against the metal counter. “But did you?”

Ren's brows knitted as she shook her head. “First of all, that’s a really
random question to ask on a Wednesday morning. And second, what in the world
would make you think that?”

“You just seem different. You have that glow about you, like you just had
some hot sex.” Jolene turned to Lisa, who was putting the finishing touches on
a naughty bachelorette party cake. “Don’t you think?”

Lisa looked up and regarded Ren through slitted eyes. “Hmm, a little.
I’ve noticed you smiling more and being more pleasant with the customers.”

“I’m always pleasant with the customers,” Ren said defensively. “Is there
something wrong with me just having a good day for once?”

“No,” they said in unison.

“It’s not wrong, just odd,” Lisa said. “Considering how gloomy you’ve
been since you got back from Colorado.”

“She was kinda gloomy before then, too.”

“Yeah, but not quite as bad.”

“Maybe she’s starting to really heal.”

“Maybe. Hopefully.”

Ren threw her hands up in exasperation. “Hello! I’m standing right here.”
She grabbed the beribboned box and stomped off. “I don’t remember putting on my
Cloak of Invisibility this morning.”

“That’s more like the Ren we’re used to,” Lisa said.

All of a sudden, Padma came in through the swinging door. “Ren? Someone’s
out here asking for you.”

“Who is it?” Ren asked.

Padma shrugged. “I guess the guy you hired to fix the table? His name is
Eric.”

“Eric? But…?” Ren spun around on her sisters just in time to see their
eyes widen in surprise. “Don’t you dare go out there!” she said, knowing that
the chances of that happening were basically nil.

“Yeah, sure,” Jolene said, racing across the kitchen and stopping right
before she reached the swinging door. Lisa was quick to follow.

Ren’s heart thumped wildly as she walked towards her overly curious
sisters. She nudged past them and, with her breath held, pushed open the door.

“Ren!” Eric greeted with a wide smile on his handsome face. He was
wearing brown boots, jeans, and a red plaid shirt, looking like the most
striking lumberjack she’d ever seen in her life.

“Eric,” she said, her voice breaking a little. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to fix your table,” he said with his arms outstretched. He
grinned and pulled out his signature sunglasses from his shirt pocket. “And
look, I even managed to put these away.”

“Well, baby steps I suppose,” she said, approaching him slowly as if he
were a dream. “But really, what are you doing here? Weren’t you in L.A. last
night?”

“I caught a flight early this morning.” His arms remained outstretched.
“Well, don’t leave me hanging here.”

Ren cautiously stepped in front of him and was immediately wrapped in his
arms, his familiar scent filling her nose. Like it or not, she had missed that
smell of ocean breeze and grass. Her arms went around his waist and she
instinctively hugged him back, pressing her face against his chest.

Her eyes flew open when someone cleared their throat. She pulled away as
her face went up in flames.

“Hi,” Jolene said, stepping closer with an extended hand. “I’m Jolene,
Ren’s younger sister.”

“Eric Sorenson,” he said, shaking her hand. He turned to Lisa and shook
her hand as well. “You must be Lisa, Ren’s middle sister?”

“Oldest, actually,” Lisa said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Well, we still have to finish decorating cakes,” Jolene said, casting a
wink in Ren’s direction and nudging Lisa simultaneously.

Eric grinned. “Well, it was pleasure to meet you two.”

Ren’s sigh of relief as her sisters made their way back towards the
kitchen proved premature when Jolene turned on her heel. “By the way,” she said
with a mischievous smile that froze Ren to the spot. “Ren, remember that
tonight’s our weekly dinner.” She turned to Eric. “We always have dinner at my
house on Wednesday nights. It’s tradition.”

Ren swallowed, feeling the quicksand pulling her under but unable to do
anything about it. Struggling was futile.

Jolene turned her gaze on Eric. “Do you want to come, too? We’ll have
plenty of food. I’m making lasagna.”

“I’d love to come,” he said.

“Awesome. Then we’ll see you tonight at six-thirty.” With a triumphant
smile, she turned and disappeared through the door.

Eric took a deep breath and turned towards Ren with a warm look. “Hi.”

She could do nothing else but smile back, her face still hot. “Have you
really come to fix my table?”

“Good to see you too,” he said, reaching out and tucking a strand of hair
behind her ear. His eyes never left her face. He moved closer; she would have
moved too,
was
she not rendered immobilized by shock.

Thankfully, a man with one little girl dressed in princess garb came
barreling in to the store and interrupted the charged moment. “Cookie
emergency!” the little girl cried. She ran to the glass display case in her
plastic jewel-encrusted slippers and pressed her hands against the glass. “We
have a cookie emergency!”

Ren broke from her trance and pointed to the broken table in the corner.
“Well, the unfortunate table is there. Let me just take care of the emergency
really quick.”

As the little girl and her father explained the true nature of the cookie
emergency—that her birthday party was in one hour and her mom had managed
to burn the cookies in the oven—Ren watched Eric out of the corner of her
eyes. For his part, he seemed to be truly interested in the broken table. After
the examination, he waited by the counter with the damaged leg in hand and
waited patiently as a self-conscious Ren took care of the customers. She could
feel his eyes on her the entire time, making her anxious and jittery.

“Thank you so much,” the father said with a box of the freshest chocolate
chip cookies in his hands. “Caroline, what do you say to the nice lady?”

“Thank you! You saved my life!” the little girl said, and with a dramatic
swish of her pink dress, turned around and ran to the front door.

“That kid has a future in showbiz,” Eric said once the customers were
gone.

“That’s exactly how Jolene was at that age,” Ren said, fiddling with the
change in the till, doing everything and anything to avoid facing Eric.

He placed the busted table leg on the glass counter. “I think this is
done for, but maybe we can find a replacement leg at the hardware store.”

“Sure,” she said, “but we’ll have to wait till the shop’s closed. We’re
kind of swamped right now.”

Ren could have sworn she heard crickets chirping when Eric looked
pointedly around the store. “Sure looks that way.”