Wrong Way Renee (22 page)

Her
mother’s
eyes sparkled.
“
Cleave
tells me you
two have been out a few times.”

“Yes
, but it's none of your concern.
”
She
smiled as she said it, tired of her
mother’s
attempts to squish her life into
the
cookie cutter
one she’d envisioned for her daughters
.

Elizabeth scowled at her.
“You
are
my concern, dear.”

Cleave
raised an eyebrow.

Her dad
walked over wearing a tuxedo with a flashing reindeer pin on the lapel. He carried a drink and kissed
her
on her cheek.
“He
llo, sweetheart. You look lovely.”

“Hi, Daddy. You’re so handsome
in your tux.
”
She gently pinched his cheek.
“Are Gary and
Char
here?
”

“Not yet. Gary was still working when I left the office. He's almost as bad as you,
Cleave
,
”
her father
said.

“I work hard and I play hard.
”
Cleave
glanced sideways at Renee.
“I'm trying to convince
Luther
to start a firm softball team
.”

“Good luck.
Mama
's been trying to get him to exercise for years,
”
Sh
e
grinned
at her father.

“You know what they say about all work and no play. I hope you all will excuse me while I steal a moment with this beautiful
lady.
”
Cleave
led her away, but not before she noticed how
her parents positively beam
ed.

She
rolled her
eyes at them
. Perhaps it was a last vestige of her teen rebellion that she didn't want to do what they wanted her to, she didn't want to fit in the pigeonhole they'd carved out.

The pool area sparkled with tiny lights strung through the trees. Red and green spotlights illuminated a fountain in the center of the water.

He
took a gold box with a red velvet ribbon out of his jacket pocket and handed it to
her
.
“Merry Christmas.”

A lump of pure emotion lodged in her throat. “That’s so sweet, Cleave.”
She pulled the ribbon and opened it to find a gold bracelet with two tiny c
harms hanging from it. One was an R
. She had to hold the other one to the light to see what it was. It was a tiny golf cart.
She bent over, laughing.

“T
hank you.
I love it.
”
She let him hook it on her wrist. She could get used to being treated like a princess.

“I plan to get you a gold charm for each special or memorable moment we have together from now on. I hope it's filled up soon.
”
He kissed her
forehead. Rubbing his hands up and down her back, he drew her closer then brushed his lips over hers.

He smelled like the woods in autumn.
She
rested her chin on his shoulder. Looking past him into the dining room, she saw her
mother
staring out the window at them, a big smile on her face.
Closing
her eyes,
she
savored the moment and tried
to
forget
that she was doing exactly what her
mother
wanted.

After a few minutes, they headed back inside.
Char
and Gary had just arrived.
Char
was radiant in a knee length emerald sequined dress.

“You look great, Renee. Doesn't she look great,
Cleave
?
”
Gary asked.

“We're so lucky to have the three best looking
ladies in the place right here.
”
Cleave
draped
his arm over
her
shoulder.

She relished the feeling of standing so close to him, breathing in his cologne and feeling the fine fabric of his jacket rubbing against her skin.

Char
pulled Renee away from the men and whispered in her ear.
“Looks like things are moving right along
with you two. How's it going?”

Renee wasn't going to give
any information up to
her sister. Since they'd been teenagers,
Char
had to know every minute detail of her li
fe and it got on
her
nerves
.
“We hired a new hairdresser. He started this week.
”

“I mean with you and
Cleave
. Don't pull that shi
t again with me.”

“What shit would that be?
”
She
grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.
“Merry Christmas.
Want the rest of this? I have to drive soon.
”
She handed
Char
her glass, still half full, then rejoined the group.

Char
followed.
“Where are you going? Didn't
Cleave
bring you?
”

“No, I came alone.
”
She
walked away, leaving her sister
with way more questions than answers
. Renee rejoined the rest of the group.

“So, Renee,
Cleave
tells me you have to leave early,
”
her mother
said.

She gulped.
“Yes.”

“Your poor, lonely friend
Toy
needs your support, eh?
”
Elizabeth's eyes bored through her.

Renee glanced
around the room.
“Anyone care to join me at the buffet?
”
She was anxious to escape her
mother
's glare. The woman knew her too well.

After she and Cleave sampled the food
, they strolled around the pool area, talking and laughing.
Sh
e
was enjoying more and more
the easy rapport they shared. At seven-thirty, feeling like Cinderella leaving the ball,
sh
e said her goodbyes
then
headed home
to change
.

By eight-fifteen, she was dressed in tight-fitting black jeans with a white turtleneck under a Christmas-themed black vest. Joe arrived to pick her up for the second party of the evening.

“Aren't you the festive one?
”
Joe
said
when he got there to pick her up
. He
looked sexier than usual in
jeans
and
a long sleeved red denim shirt.

Wrapping her arms around his muscular torso, she pulled him to her and kissed him. Her hands slid down to his jeans pockets
of their own volition
and she felt the muscles in his cute tush tighten.

“Maybe we
should arrive fashionably late.
”
He guided
her onto the couch.

“Perhaps we should.
”
She
sat on his lap and nibbled his earlobe
.

“What's this?
”
He
lifted
her wrist to examine the gold charm bracelet
Cleave had put there a few hours earlier
.
“Is this new?”

A stab of guilt mixed with a healthy dose of fear inside her
. Dammit. Why
hadn’t she remembered
to take that o
ff? She took back her hand.
“It's no
thing. A friend gave it to me.”

“Why a golf cart?”

“We played a couple times, that's all.
”
The lies were
beginning to pile up
.
Along with
shame. She eased
off of him
and stood
.
“We should probably go.
”

“I was just starting to have fun here.
”
H
e looked at her with the cutest puppy dog eyes.

“You don't want Wyatt to be mad at you for being late, do you?
”

He
scowled
.
“No
, I guess not. Okay, let's go.”

They headed toward downtown in the police cruiser.
Sh
e slumped in the seat, hoping to avoid anyone she kne
w. She silently chided herself for being
so concer
ned with what other people thought.

You’re not your
Mama
. Stop acting like her.

“Are you embarrassed to ride in a police car?
”

“
No, I’m…y
es.
”
She
glanced
out the window at the cheesy plastic holiday decorations hanging from lamp poles as they went.
Last thing she wanted to see was the disappointment she knew she’d find in
hi
s expression.
She didn't want to be the kind of snob her
mother
was, but Elizabeth seemed to be winning the battle from afar.

“Why? Is it beneath you?
”

Was she really
that much of a snob
? Did she look down her nose at the blue-collar sector of society of which she had become a member? “I guess it's my upbringing. I'm
sorry
. My
mother
would be mortified if she knew I was going on a date in a police car. Not that I give a rat's ass what
she
thinks.
”
But she knew, deep down, that she did. And she hated herself for it.

“Apparently you do. I guess I won't be meeting your parents any time soon, with yo
u being ashamed of me and all.”

She
faced him
.
“No, Joe. I'm not ashamed of you. I'm proud of you. You've already rescued me once.
”

“If you're ashamed to ride in the car, that must mean you're ashamed of my uniform and the job I do.
”
He kept his eyes trained on the road. He wouldn't absolve her of any of
her
shame.

The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. She had to get past this if they had any chance of a future. In her heart, she knew he was the type of person she was proud to be with. Why did outward ap
pearances still matter so much?
“
I'm as blue collar as you. I'
m a nail tech, for God's sake.”

“Maybe yo
u see yourself above all that.”

“No, no I don't.
”
But
his words held some truth
. She thought about his job and all the risks he took, all the courageous acts he must do everyday, all the dangerous situations he had to encounter. Where was the shame in being a hero?

She sat up straighter.
“You know what? You're right. I never realized I felt that way. I'm going to work on that starting now.
”
She took his hand, hoping she hadn't
inadvertently damaged
what they had together. Her heart
lifted
when he squeezed her
fingers
.

His expression softened.
“D
oes this mean I get to meet your family?
”

His question hit her like
the sound of an air horn
. What would her parents think if they knew she was dating two men?
They were so enamored with Cleave.

“You wouldn't like them. They're very
…
stiff, not your type at all.
”

“I see.
”
The air grew cooler inside the car.

“Joe
…
try to understand. Anyway, I haven't met your family yet.
”

“Now that you mention it, I was hoping you'd come to dinner at Dad's on Christm
as Eve. Is that a possibility?”