TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES) (6 page)

Courtney rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try it, cuz. You are one of the most weight conscious people I know.”

“That might be the case, but I’m also someone who’s just found out she’s pregnant.”

“Pregnant!” Courtney exclaimed, nearly jumping off the bed. She fought the tears from her eyes. Sonya was her cousin who’d always swore marriage and motherhood wasn’t for her. But that was before Mike.

“Yes, pregnant. Mike and I just took the test. Needless to say, the soon-to-be dad is over here strutting on cloud nine.”

“I can imagine. I am happy for the both of you,” Courtney said happily.

“Thanks, you and Lake’s day will come.”

Courtney glanced over at Lake and smiled. “Yes, our day will come.”

* * *

Barbara smiled as she hung up the phone. She had gone to her attorney first thing Monday morning to send a letter to Ron about her intent to sell their home. Evidently Mr. Phillips hadn’t wasted any time sending the notice out since Ron had just called her. And he wasn’t a happy camper.

Although he’d tried to remain pleasant, she could tell he was upset when he invited her out to lunch to discuss her decision, saying he thought she was making a mistake in wanting to get rid of their home. Not that she cared what he thought, and she’d told him in no uncertain terms that her mind was made up and there was nothing to discuss.

And when he suggested that they get together for lunch anyway, for old times sakes, it had given her extreme satisfaction to let him know she already had a lunch date and had quickly ended the call.

She knew that he figured that divorce or no divorce, sooner or later they would get back together. Today wasn’t the first time he’d called to invite her out and no matter how many times he called, she would always turn him down, figuring eventually he’d get the picture.

Barbara refused to dwell on Ron and his foolish thoughts; especially when the man who’d taken her to dinner and a movie on Saturday and the same man who’d sent her a beautiful bouquet of flowers yesterday, was taking her to lunch today.

She gazed at the beautiful arrangements of mixed flowers that sat on her desk while she slipped into her jacket. Sensations rumbled through her stomach at the thought of seeing Rick again. They had talked briefly on the phone that morning and to save him the trouble of finding a place to park and then catching the elevator up to the 5th floor of her building, she suggested that he pick her up out front.

She glanced at her watch, grabbed her purse and then walked out of her office. She waved goodbye to her secretary as she crossed the lobby floor to the bank of elevators. Her secretary knew she had a lunch date and probably assumed it was with Ron since he’d called earlier. She inwardly smiled at just how wrong Lila was. Some would be surprised to know that since that day she walked out of the hospital after letting Ron know she would be filing for divorce, their paths had crossed only once in the past eight months. And that had been when he’d shown up unexpectedly at Courtney’s house one day while she was there.

She knew that he had endured rigorous physical therapy after his surgery and that living in an apartment hadn’t been easy. She’d known all about his bout with depression as a result of losing his job with the university. She also knew he was undergoing therapy sessions for what he categorized as a sexual addiction, and that he was supposedly not seeing Ashira Wilson anymore. But none of those things mattered to Barbara. Whatever love she’d ever felt for him had been destroyed. Whoever said nothing could destroy true love, had not been married to Ron.

When the elevator reached the lobby floor she stepped off and headed toward the exit. It might be the middle of November with snow falling in many of the northern states, but here in Florida, although the air was a little cool, the sun was still shining bright in the sky.

She saw Rick’s Corvette the moment she breezed through the revolving doors and smiled as she approached the vehicle. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said opening the door and gracefully slid onto the leather seats. Her gaze swept over the man and not for the first time she felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach when she looked at him.

“No, I just pulled up so you’re right on time.”

Rick looked at Barbara for a long moment as she snapped her seat belt in place. He had never felt this excited about picking up a woman and taking her to lunch. His gaze flicked over her and he thought that as usual she looked nice. Her skirt had inched up a little while she was getting in the car and he could only appreciate the glimpse of her shapely brown thighs.

“So, where are we going?” she asked after her seat belt was securely fastened.

“It’s a surprise,” he said smiling, while moving the car forward to pull away from the curb. “I hope you like surprises.”

“I do and I want to again thank you for the surprise of yesterday. I love my flowers.”

“I’m glad. I just happened to see them and thought about you.”

She gave him a sideway glance as her lips curved into a smile. “And you just happened to be at a flower shop?”

He grinned. “Actually, yes. Yesterday was my volunteer day at the hospital and I dropped in the flower shop just to get something special for you.”

“That’s sweet. Thanks.”

He wasn’t sure she believed him but that’s really the way it had been. When he’d passed the flower shop he had paused after thinking of her. She was a woman who deserved flowers. “So how has your day been going?”

She smiled. “Wonderful. I got a call from my niece earlier to let me know that I’m going to be a great-aunt in about seven months.”

“That’s wonderful. Congratulations!”

“Thanks and I’m happy about it. Of course my sister is ecstatic. She didn’t think she would ever see Sonya, who we always considered a wild child, settled down and married with children. Both were bad words to her and she would practically tear them off your lips if anyone was brave enough to suggest such a thing around her. But all that changed after she met Mike. I imagine it wasn’t easy, but he was able to crack every single stone surrounding her heart.”

“Was there a reason for such strong animosity toward the institution of marriage and the thought of parenting?” he asked.

“Her parents’marriage for one thing. Her father Joe wasn’t a good role model. He asked my sister Peggy for a divorce to marry a woman who’s younger than Sonya. Needless to say it was a difficult time for all of us. Peggy didn’t take the divorce well.”

He nodded. “I can imagine.”

“My marriage to Ron wasn’t too much better as far as setting a good example for my own daughter to follow. I’m glad she met Lake.”

“He seems like a nice guy,” Rick said, stating his observation of the man from the few times their paths had crossed during the investigation.

“Yes, he is. He’s older than Courtney by ten years and just what she needs.”

When the car came to a traffic light he glanced over at her. He held her gaze for one assessing moment before asking. “And what type of man is it that you need?”

He could tell his question surprised her and watched as she drew in a deep breath. He was glad they had reached a busy intersection which meant he could continue to watch her for a while as he waited for her response. Since Gail’s death there hadn’t been any woman he’d been taken with more than her. Even with her sitting so close and breathing in the fragrance of her perfume that was reaching out to him in a definite manly way, he felt like giving into impulse and lean over and kiss her lips. He was so totally aware of her.

For a moment he thought she wasn’t going to answer and then she said, “Can I be honest with you?” she asked, as they still held each other gazes.

“Yes.”

“I really don’t know. But I do know I can’t accept another Ron. The thought that I’ll get back into a relationship like the one I just got out of, actually frightens me.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that happening.”

She drew in another breath and asked, “Why are you so sure?”

“Because I know for a fact that experience is the best teacher and most people who’ve had a bad experience with anything usually don’t go for a repeat. That’s not the case in all situations but nine times out of ten it is.”

He paused and then added. “And I would like to go on the record to say that I’m nothing like your ex Barbara. I consider myself a one-woman man. Gail and I met my first year at the FBI academy. She worked there as an administrative assistant while taking classes at Howard. Five years later we were married and we were together for twenty years. There were some highs and lows like there are with any marriage, especially during the time I was out in the field and she was practically raising our son Antron alone. I made my family a top priority by taking a teaching position at the FBI facility in Denver and other than harsh weather that would hit at times, life was good.”

Barbara nodded and then said, “I guess you can say that I considered myself a one-man woman. I got pregnant with Courtney in my last year of college. Ron and I married and I graduated and even went on to obtain my masters degree. Life was good, at least that’s what I thought until I found out about the other women. And then there were the babies he fathered, as well as that one time I actually walked in on him with another woman in my bed.”

“Yet you stayed with him.”

“Yes, I stayed with him mainly because I loved him and my mother had raised me to believe that no matter what a husband did, you stayed and made your marriage work.”

“And now?”

Her lips turned up slightly into a smile. “Like you said, experience is the best teacher. I’ve learned from my mistakes. I won’t be helping another man make child-support payments.”

Rick returned his gaze to the road thinking that he had a lot of work on his hands where Barbara was concerned but he was convinced she was worth it. She had erected barriers around certain aspects of her, but they were barriers he intended to tear down and the first thing he was determined to do was to make her acknowledge the fierce attractive between the two of them.

The trendy restaurant that sat on Sampson Lake was filled to capacity, and Barbara was glad Rick had made reservations in advance. It had been quite a while since she had been here and could remember the night she, Courtney, Peggy and Sonya had come. It had been a girls’ night out with dinner and a movie.

“Thanks,” Barbara said when they were shown to their table and Rick pulled out her chair. The sensual scent of his aftershave almost gave her an adrenaline rush. She couldn’t believe she was responding to him this way. She wasn’t a twenty-something-year-old girl but a fifty year old woman who was past the stage of getting excited over a man, or sniffing one out, which was what she felt she was doing each time he got close. Ron’s cologne never had this kind of effect on her.

After placing glasses of water in front of them, their waiter presented them with menus. Barbara marveled at the vast selection of lunch entrees. She glanced up from looking at the menu to find Rick staring at her. She cleared her throat before taking a sip of her water and then she said, “Everything looks delicious, doesn’t it?”

Holding her gaze he said in a deep, husky voice. “Yes, everything looks delicious.”

Barbara took a deep breath and forced herself to breathe. Was she imagining things or had he alluded to something decadent? Okay, there was no denying there was a pretty strong sexual attraction between them. It had been hard getting through dinner and the movie on Saturday, but she had been married to Ron long enough to know she was not a woman who elicited strong sexual urges in a man.

“What have you decided to get?” she asked after concluding that the silence at their table had stretched much too long.

“I think I’ll try their baked tilapia with sweet potatoes and a salad. What about you?”

She smiled. “That sounds delicious and I think I’ll have the same.”

When the waiter came to take their order Rick provided him with their selection. She enjoyed hearing the sound of his voice and recalled how soothing and relaxing it had been during the investigation when he’d asked a series of questions. It hadn’t had the harsh, accusing tone of the one belonging to his partner.

She thought about that time during the investigation, when Ron’s life had barely hung in the balance and the police hadn’t a clue who had wanted him dead. It had been a difficult time for her after finding out about her husband’s ultimate betrayal and knowing that no matter what, she had to continue being the dutiful and caring wife until his condition improved. It was only when the doctors had assured her he would live, although there would be some permanent disabilities, had she walked away.

When she had strolled out of his hospital room that day she had done so with the resolve that she had been a good wife, but that he had been an asshole of a husband and that she hadn’t deserved what he’d done. But still, that hadn’t kept the doubts at bay, hadn’t kept the what ifs from rearing their ugly head.

“So how have things been at work this week, Barbara?”

She loved the way Rick said her name and found herself answering, telling him how busy she’d been in the past three days and how she and her staff were getting ready for the lighting of the Christmas tree which drew a large number of people to Universal Studios.