Wrong Way Renee (12 page)

“How many can you accommodate?”

“Two more. We have four stations. If we can find two, I'm going to see if Becky will agree to hire a receptionist for the busi
est days, Friday and Saturday.”

“Okay. Now I know what you do for
work. What do you do for fun?”

“Hmm.
I told you I paint. I shop, you know about that one, too.
”
She rolled her eyes.
“I do lunch with my girlfriends. Although I haven't been for a while, I love going to the beach. Especially at night.
”
She thought about how romantic it would be to take a walk on the beach with
him
.

The intensity of his stare set her heart pounding.
Had he been thinking the same thing?
When the salads arrived, they took a break from the conversation.

Sh
e broke off a piece of garlic bread, held it in her hand and wondered if she should eat it. She didn't want to have garlic breath in case he wanted to kiss her good night, which she was reasonably sure he would. S
o s
he
dropped
it back in the basket.

Joe picked it up and handed it to her. Their fingers touched, sending a jolt of electricity coursing through her.
“Go ahead. My garlic breath will cancel yours out.
”

T
hat pesky butterfly
in her stomach
took to flight again.

“What
else do you do for excitement?”

Taking the bread from him, she bit off a small piece
, waited until she’d swallowed it
.
“Sometimes I go to cat shows at the fairgrounds. My friend
Toy
has a Russian Blue, so she got m
e into it, the cat show scene.”

“But you're not into p
urebreds, are you?”

She shook her head.
“
Just tabbies and mixes. Purebreds remind me of the snobby girls in high school who never spoke to me. You know, those
Barbie Doll types.”

“I know what you mean. I was never worthy of them either. I wasn't a jock.
”
H
e leaned back against the seat.
“Tell me about your family.”

She
gulped
at the notion of introducing them to
him
. Not that they were anywhere near that point. “
My dad is a lawyer. He's from New York originally.
Mama
grew up here. She doesn't work, although she's on several boards of directors and does charity work. I have an older sister,
Char
, who is married
to one of my father's partners
. Gary is from Alabama or Mississippi. I always forget which. He's a bit of a redneck. They have t
wo kids, Gary Junior and Alyssa—
both brats.
Char
is following in
Mama
's footsteps. She doesn't work. In college when people asked her what her major was, she said husband-finding. And she was serious. Gary was in law school when they met. Right after she graduated with her bachelor's degree in home economics, they wer
e married.”

The waitress arrived with their food. Joe picked up a fork full of his fettuccini and held it up to Renee's mouth.
“You've got to try this. It's out of this world.
”
His stare focused on her lips.

Powerless to resist, she
let
him feed her the pasta. His hand lingered a moment too long near her
mouth
. Heart thumping, she sucked in the end of a noodle, then licked the sauce from her lips.

Time stood still. The world disappeared.
Finally he
withdrew his fork. Their gazes held until
she
looked away, overwhelmed by the intensity of the exchange. He wiped the corner of her mouth with his napkin. The heat that
simmer
ed inside her spread across her face.

“It's delicious.
”
She slowly let out the breath she'd been holding. She concentrated on recalling what they'd been discussing only seconds earlier.
“So, why did you become a cop?”

His features hardened a little.
“I've always wanted to go into law enforcement. I played cops
and robbers when I was a kid.”

“Let me guess. You were always the c
op?”

“Not always. Sometimes I let Velma White be the cop. She liked my toy handcuffs.
”
He lifted a suggestive eyebrow.

Sh
e cleared her throat, afraid her voice would fail her.
“I won't
ask what ever happened to her.”

“I think she works at a topless c
lub now.”

“Really?”

He chuckled.
“I have no idea. I'm messing with you.
”
That adorable smile
lit up his face
. Her heart did a little flip every time she saw those dimples.

After they finished eating, Joe paid the check and took her hand as they left the restaurant.
“What would you like to do now?
”

She didn't want the evening to end, but she was too tired to go anywhere but home.
“How about a drink at my place.
Just
a drink.
”

“You mean you
won't show me your
etch
ings?”

“Not tonight, sorry.”

“Velma would have.
”
He swung her hand high as they walked.

“You don't see me taking off my clothes at a strip club, now do you?
”

“Maybe a private showing? I seem to remember you asking if my handcuffs were coming along.”

She pulled her hand away and playfully slapped his arm. When they returned to her apartment, Renee noticed the light on the answering machine was blinking but she chose to ignore it, fearing another drunken message from Dan.

“All I have is Chablis.
”
She got down two wine glasses out of the cabinet
.
“Do you like that?
”

“I'd drink sewer water if I ca
n be with you a moment longer.”

Could he really be this sweet and adorable?
“Oh, you say the silliest things, sir.
”
She feigned a southern accent as she poured them each a glass of wine. She handed Joe one and took a sip of hers.

“Wait, wait,
”
he said.
“I want to make a toas
t.”

“O
ops
.”

He raised his glass.
“To the beginning of something special.
”
He tapped his glass to hers, then drank.

She raised her brow, wondered what was wrong with him. He couldn't be this good. She took a sip, then set the glass on the coffee table. Apple jumped on the couch, squeezing between them.

“She gets jealous,
”
she
explained.

“So do mine. Would you like to meet th
em? Are you free Sunday night?”

She sat back in her seat and gulped.
Cleave
was taking her out Sunday. “Uh, no. I have a
…
family thing Sund
ay. Another night maybe?” Could
h
e
see the duplicity in her eyes?

“
How about next Friday.
”

“That would be lovely.
”
She was having second thoughts about
Cleave
. She wasn't a convincing liar. Her
Mama
always knew when she was bending the truth. But she had no commitment to Joe or to
Cleave
. She'd just met them both, for goodness sake. As she mulled
it
over, she felt Joe's hand on her cheek. He leaned toward h
er and softly kissed her.

His was different from any kiss that had come before. His tongue slid along the seam
of her lips then dove inside. Stubble scratched her jaw in a good way and the heat from his body held a world of promise.

He explored her mouth, coaxed her to dance or play
. Then
he pulled her
onto his lap
, so close she felt the hard bulge of his arousal.

She moaned and let him deepen the kiss.
Oh yeah, this man knew exactly how to seduce a woman. She eased back but he caught her
in his
arms and held her possessively
where he wanted her
. God,
her whole body was weak with longing
.
Good thing she was sitting down.

It was the most sensual, demanding and giving kiss all rolled into one
until
…

Brrrringgg.

The phone startled her and she bit down on his tongue.

“Ah, ow
…
”
H
e pulled back and his hand flew to his mouth. He touched his finger to his tongue, staring at the dot of blood he drew.

She jumped up.
“Oh my God. I'm sorry
…
the phone
scared me.
”
Some first kiss.
She ran to answer it.
“Hello?
”

“I’ve been calling you for an hour. Why didn’t you answer your cell phone?”

“
Hi,
Mama
,
”
she said quietly.
“I was having dinner.
Is everything okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine. I get nervous when I can’t reach you. I was wondering what you thought of Cleave?”

She glanced at Joe as he checked out some of her antique furniture. “Um, can I call you later?”

“Is someone there? Are you on a date with Cleave?” The excitement in her mother’s voice irritated her.

“No, sorry to disappoint you. I have…a friend over.”

“Hmm. Okay. Don’t forget to call.”

“R
ight, bye.”

Joe clasped his hands.
“Maybe this would be a good time to say goodnight.
”

What?
No.

Could she have scared him off by biting his tongue? Not that she’d blame him.
She glimpsed his empty glass on the coffee table.
Damn. Had she done something wrong?
Why was she always the last to figure this stuff out?
“W
hat about your wine?”

H
e took her hands in his.
“
I have to work in the morning. My shift begins at six.
I had a great time
. I'm looking forward to Friday. Can
I make you dinner at my place?”

At least he had a credible excuse.
And he was asking her out for another date. Okay, so maybe it really was the fact that he had to work early.
“That would be great. I'm sorry about
…
”

He gingerly leaned toward her, quickl
y giving her a soft, sweet kiss
.
“Night.”

“Night.
”
She walked him to the door and let him out. Her whole body tingled with excitement. She knew she'd be counting the hours until she was with him again. She wanted to be with Joe Sunday night, not
Cleave
. But she'd give
Cleave
a chance.
He was exactly what her family wanted for her—a black man from a good family with a high-paying job.
What could it hurt to go on one date with the guy?

* * * * *

Pam came in
Saturday
after lunch for her fill, telling Renee all about
Pablo
standing her up for her
family Thanksgiving.
“Why does he do this to me?
”

“You so don't deserve that,
”
Renee commiserated.
“He has no idea how much he hurts you, does he?
”

“I think he does. He doesn't care. When we're together, we have like earth-shattering sex. I can tell he loves me. Not just in bed, bu
t all the time we're together.”

How could
her
the man was a slug?
“Pam, how old are you?
”

Her
eyes clouded.
“I know what you're going to say. I'm thirty-three years old and I'm not getting any younger. I'm wasting my best years on this asshole. Soon I'll be too old to meet someone, get married and have kids.
I've he
ard it all before, believe me.”