Toys and Baby Wishes (4 page)

"Flo Grayson, huh?  She's pretty good lookin'."

Realizing the serious part of their conversation was over,
Josh stepped closer to the table.  Seeing him, Lexa stood.  So did Milt.  She
introduced Milt to Josh.

After a handshake, Milt said, "I'm goin' to go get me
some of them chocolate chip cookies.  Lexa, I'll see you around.  Josh, don't
be a stranger.  You play poker?"

"Now and then."

"Some afternoon you got free, you come join us."

Josh smiled as Milt ambled to the snack table.

"Have you met Clare's housemates?" Lexa asked.

"Yes, I have.  In fact the three of them are going back
to Clare's apartment to discuss decorating plans."

Lexa smiled at Josh's expression.  "That's not one of
your interests?"

He grinned.  "Paint shades and stenciling patterns
don't turn me on."  Lexa's wide eyes seemed to ask him what did.  A devil
inside him said, You.  He grimaced inwardly.  At least he hadn't said it out
loud.

Alexandra Kittredge intrigued him and he still wasn't sure
why she devoted so much time to helping others.  "While Clare and her
friends plan, would you like to have a drink with me?  There's a quiet pub down
the street."

"Oh, I don't know.  I have mounds of paper work at
home--"

"One drink?  I'm sure Clare would like us to get to
know each other better."

Lexa glanced at his aunt happily chattering with Edna. 
"All right.  Maybe a cup of coffee."

If Lexa was as friendly as she seemed to be and willing to
talk to him, what could she have to hide?  His heart felt lighter.

Josh took Lexa's coat from the table and held it.  As she
slipped her arms into the sleeves, his thumbs brushed her neck.  He felt her
start in response.  So soft.  So touchable.  Her eyes met his.  There were
golden sparks in her gaze that said passion lurked not far below the surface. 
The thought excited him.

He reached out and straightened her lapel.  When she wore
high heels, her eyes were almost the same level as his.

He smiled and motioned toward the door.  "Shall we
go?"

After their good-byes to Clare and her friends, they walked
the short block to the pub.  The fall breeze tossed Lexa's curls.  The street
light flickered through them making the blondest strands glow.

Her high heels clicked on the pavement.

"Have you lived in Chambersburg all your life?" he
asked casually, needing to start somewhere.

"No.  I came here with a friend one year on spring
break.  I liked its size and the people."

"How did you know your business would work here?"

"Research.  I put surveys in restaurants and at the
YMCA.  I talked to local business owners."

She was thorough and inventive.  "Starting a business
isn't easy."

She stuffed her hands in her pockets.  The night air was
getting colder.  "I know.  Especially when the only credit rating I had
was my good standing on my car loan."

"You couldn't get help from your family?"

"I didn't want help from my family."

"You have problems with them?"

She glanced at him.  "Doesn't everybody?"

"That's a side-step if I ever heard one."

She met his gaze for a moment.  "My father and I don't
see eye to eye."

"And your mom?"

"She died when I was ten."

They had something in common.  "I'm sorry.  That's a
rough break for a child."

"Clare told me you lost both your parents."

"When I was twelve.  Thank God I had Clare."

"She means a lot to you."

"More than I can say."

When they reached the pub, Josh opened the heavy steel door
and let Lexa precede him inside.  He waited until his eyes adjusted to the dim
lighting, then found them a table in the back.  There were a few patrons
sitting at the bar, but only two of the ten barrel-like tables were occupied.

After Josh hung Lexa's coat on the rack, he pulled out her
chair.  She looked surprised as she sat and murmured, "Thank you."

He picked up the menus and handed her one.  "Their
sandwiches are good."

"A cup of coffee will be fine."

The lights from the globed candle on the table glimmered in
her eyes.  "I didn't take time for supper.  Did you?"

She shrugged.  "Yogurt."

He couldn't prevent his gaze from lingering on her rose
sweater dress.  It showed every curve to perfection.  He smiled.  "Hasn't
Clare lectured you about eating balanced meals?"

She laughed.  "All the time.  You, too?"

"All the time."

The waitress approached and asked for their order.

Lexa decided on a bowl of corn chowder and a cup of coffee. 
Josh ordered the roast beef club.

He enjoyed Lexa's company, but he wasn't here for that.  He
was here to find out more about her.  "You really care about the people
you work with, don't you?"

"I enjoy what I do.  I like helping people."

"It's more than that.  I was listening when you were
talking to Milt."

She shrugged.  "There are so many people, especially
older people, who don't have anyone to listen to them.  It only takes a few minutes
and it makes them feel better."

He wanted to know what made her so fiercely compassionate. 
"And who listens to you?"

"What?"

"Everybody needs somebody.  Who do you talk to?"

"Lots of people."

Josh gave her a considering look, not believing her.  It
seemed to him she was fairly independent.  If she wouldn't even take help from
her family to start her business...

Their waitress brought their food.  Josh's sandwich was
enormous, at least two inches thick.  Potato chips were piled high in the
middle.

He offered her a wedge.  "Go ahead.  I don't want my
jeans to get any tighter."

The amusement in his voice brought a pink blush to her
cheeks.  "I'm sorry about some of the things I said."

"Which ones?"

"About you thinking only of yourself.  I don't know you
well enough to judge.  Your relationship with Clare is your business."

"But you'd fight like a tigress to see her happy. 
Why?"  The question he'd been wanting to ask.  Yet it came out differently
than he'd expected.

"Clare's the type of person I'd imagine my mother to be
if she'd lived."

What the hell could he say to that?  Could he doubt the
brightness of Lexa's eyes, the sincerity in her voice?  What could she possibly
have to gain by befriending his aunt?

Lexa ate the wedge of sandwich.  She couldn't believe she'd
told him that.  She never disclosed personal information indiscriminately.  But
something about the directness of Josh's blue eyes had gotten through her
defenses.  She looked down at her pink-tipped nails.

She had seen male interest off and on in his gaze tonight. 
She wasn't immune.  When he'd helped her with her coat and his fingers brushed
her neck, the ripple of electricity had sent heat from her head to her toes.

But none of that mattered.  Her life was in transition.  She
couldn't get involved with anyone now even if she wanted to.  And Richard's
rejection had hurt her deeply.  It had also opened her eyes.  If a man wanted a
family, she couldn't get involved with him.

Lexa crossed her legs under the table.  Her knee brushed
Josh's.  The look in his eyes made her search for a safe subject to discuss.

"Do you and Clare always have such a...volatile
relationship?"

"If we can't talk things out, we shout them out." 
His grin spread across his lips.  "It's always been that way."

She and her father hadn't had a meaningful conversation in
years and they'd certainly never shouted at each other.  Maybe the Flannigans'
Irish temperaments had something to do with it.

"Why did you open a job counseling service?"  Josh
asked nonchalantly.

Lexa could see through his questions.  He still wasn't sure
about her relationship with Clare.  Maybe if she answered them, she could put
his mind at ease.  "When I was in college, I worked as a girl Friday in a
social services office.  The system is overloaded, overworked, bogged down in
red tape.  But what I had learned for myself was reinforced--work gives dignity
and pride."

"That's not merely a theory to you, is it?"

His eyes caught hers, trapped them and compelled her to
answer.  "No.  My dad wouldn't let me work when I was in high school.  I
felt he was denying me a right."

"Why didn't he want you to work?"

"I don't know.  He said he worked hard to provide for
us, and we should take advantage of it...enjoy being young.  But I wanted a
job.  Anything.  The summer after freshman year at college, I took a
waitressing job."

"How did your father react?"  Josh's interest
seemed genuine.

"He couldn't or wouldn't understand my motivation.  He
couldn't understand why I didn't want to spend the summer at the country club
swimming and playing tennis like Dani–my sister.  But I didn't want to do
that."

"Is your sister older or younger?"

"Younger."  And she'd always been a handful.  Lexa
had seen her through more crises than she wanted to count.

The strains of a popular ballad spilled from the speaker
over her head.

Josh wiped his mouth with his napkin and pushed his plate
away.  Then he leaned back and asked, "Would you like to dance?"

Lexa considered for a moment.  Dancing with Joshua Flannigan
could be very risky business.  Should she take the risk?

CHAPTER THREE

Josh was taking a risk and he knew it.  He was attracted to
Lexa though he still didn't understand what she was all about.  But she touched
him.  He wanted to hold her in his arms.  So this was an experiment.  Possibly
a dangerous one, but an experiment nonetheless.

She started to shake her head.  "I really should get
home."

He stood and held out his hand.  "One dance."

Lexa took Josh's hand, stood, and let him guide her away
from the table.

He surrounded her with his arm while he tucked her hand into
his chest.  His cheek brushed her hair and he caught his breath.  She was soft,
perfumed, feminine.  So feminine his senses reeled.  It had been a long while
since he'd held a woman like this, wanting to keep her in his arms for more
than a minute.  Somehow the past few years, finding a long loving relationship
hadn't seemed worth the trouble.

His body tightened.  Uh-oh.  This experiment was turning
serious.  He released her slightly and leaned back to look into her incredibly
brown eyes.  "Do you do this often?"

"What?  Dance with a strange man in a bar?"

He grinned.  "I beg your pardon.  This is not a bar,
it's a pub.  And I'm certainly not a strange man, though you'd better not ask
Clare her opinion.  If I were strange, I'm sure you wouldn't be dancing with
me."

As his thighs brushed against hers and his chest grazed her
breasts, he saw her swallow hard.  She asked, "Is dancing what we're
doing?"

He dipped her back until she almost lost her balance and
then pulled her up.  "Yep.  That's what we're doing--dancing.  Relax and
enjoy the music."

Who was he to tell her to relax?  Josh thought.  He must be
crazy.  With his body pressed against hers, her breath quickening, the
intoxicating experience of having a soft, lovely woman in his arms, how could
he relax?

He closed his eyes for a moment, simply enjoying the
sensation he knew he'd have to soon bring to an end.  She was a career woman, a
busy woman.  He wanted scads of children and a wife who would enjoy taking care
of them.  He was beginning to believe that elusive lady was a figment of his
imagination.

Their bodies melded magically, moved smoothly, became
acquainted.  He rubbed his chin along her ear.  "You're a very sexy
lady."

She raised her head and there were doubts in her eyes.

"You are."

They seemed to be frozen in time.  Her eyes flickered with
emotion and he saw indecision.  He sensed that she could put a man off with a
look if she wanted to.  She was responding to him and he wanted to keep her
responding.  He wanted to kiss that beautiful, curvy pink mouth...

Damn!  What was he doing?  He didn't know her.  She didn't
know him.  This could only lead one place and though that might be satisfactory
for one night, he suddenly realized it wasn't what he was searching for.

She must have sensed his change in mood.  Raising her head,
her gaze asked what he wanted.

Hell if he knew.

She pulled her hand from his and stepped away.  "I
really have to go."

He didn't disagree.  But he also felt drawn to spend more
time with Lexa.  He took her coat from the hanger and held it for her.  Like
before.  Only this time he didn't touch her.  "You'll have to let me give
you a tour of The Toy Tank some time."

"Sure."  She looked as if she wasn't certain it
was a good idea.

Josh left money on their table for their bill and tip and
escorted Lexa to the door.  There was an awkwardness between them that hadn't
been there before.  He didn't like it.

As they walked back to the senior center, he said, "I
saw Clare's property today."

"You mean Friendship House?"

Josh chuckled.  "So they've named it."

"What did you think?"

The contractor had informed him the structure was sound, the
insulation was adequate, the siding provided an almost maintenance-free
exterior.  The roof should last another ten years.  "It's big.  Four
bedrooms."

"But there are three people.  They'll fill it.  You're
still not sold on the idea, are you?"

"It's a huge decision.  And with the economy the way it
is, Clare might not be able to sell her share if she wants out."

"She might never want to sell it."

That was true.  Clare could live out the rest of her life
happy and content in the old house.  He was beginning to think about that
possibility.