Seascapes and vegas mist.., p.6
Seascapes and Vegas Mistakes, page 6
"No."
"Oh."
Kirk ran a hand over his salt-and-pepper head and shot her a slow smile.
"Sorry. I shouldn’t bother you, I suppose, but I'm trying hard to work up my nerve to ask you out. It’s taking me longer than I thought it would."
A laugh bubbled out of her before she could stop it. "I think the lighting here has messed with your eyes, Kirk. You do realize I'm older than you, right?"
"Does that matter? You're beautiful. I noticed you sitting here as I walked down the pier and I…I don't know, I knew I had to meet you."
She tilted her head to one side and tried not to be flattered. "And now that you're close enough to realize I'm not a young woman, you're stuck trying to figure out a way to gracefully excuse yourself from the situation?"
"Have I tried to leave yet?"
His bright smile tilted his lips up at the corners and made his eyes twinkle from the lights around them. She couldn’t tell what shade they were, only that they were dark. "Are you here on vacation?"
That was one of the problems with living in a beach town. Singles and family men alike came to visit, often looking for a little companionship or a vacation fling while they were in town but never anything more serious.
"I'm a local, actually."
"Really?" She wasn’t sure why she was surprised but she was.
"Yeah. Well, okay, I’m a transplant originally, but I think five years makes me a local now. Does that mean you'll consider having dinner with me after all?"
Her heart raced in her sixty-two-year-old chest, and she couldn't help the surge of warmth his question brought. It was silly of her to think anything would come of it, but what would dinner hurt? An evening with a good meal and a handsome man for company?
"I can tell you want to ask, so I'll get it out of the way. I'm forty-nine."
Oh. Wow. More than ten years younger. "Kirk, I'm beyond flattered that you'd ask but I don't think—"
"Don't think," he said. "Just say yes. Come on, take a chance. You never know, I might be the man of your dreams."
"I don't even know you."
"Isn't that the point of dating? Getting to know someone?"
It was. And since her last husband had died several years ago, all she'd done was throw herself into work. After three strikes, she figured she was out of chances to find happily ever after.
Did she dare? Just for fun?
"Come on, beautiful. Say yes. We'll have dinner. Take a walk on the beach. Whatever you want," he said.
The engaging smile on his too handsome face and hopeful look she couldn't ignore left her nodding. "Okay, yes."
He clapped his hands together once in his excitement that she'd accepted his request, and she laughed at his exuberance.
She hoped she wasn't making an embarrassing mistake. "Tell me, Kirk. What do you do besides flatter old women on the boardwalk?"
Kirk reached across the expanse of the bench and plucked her hand from her lap, carrying it to his lips.
"I only see a beautiful woman. As for what I do..."
Chapter Six
The following morning, Everett knocked softly on Izzy's door. He heard grumbling on the other side and smiled.
The door opened after a few thumps and Isabel's sleep-tousled head appeared. She wore a tank and shorts with a short, lightweight robe thrown on top. Seeing him on her doorstep, she hastily crossed the robe over her front and tied it.
"What are you doing here?"
"Escorting you to brunch," he said, entering her apartment without waiting on an invitation. When he stepped next to her, he held up a freshly brewed coffee from downstairs and watched as Isabel licked her lips before sinking her teeth into her lower one. The sight made him want to do that to her himself.
"You can't get on my good side with coffee."
"You sure about that?" he asked, tilting the cup to and fro to tease her.
She frowned harder, and he had a difficult time holding back a chuckle. Even grumpy, with her hair pulled up in a messy bun, she was beautiful.
"Gimme."
Another chuckle emerged from him, and he liked that she could pull that kind of response. He knew he took life far too seriously, but having grown up the way that he had, someone had needed to be serious. It was the only way of keeping his grandfather’s legacy alive after his father’s bumbling through women had nearly destroyed it in the early years.
Everett closed the door behind them and watched as she made her way over to a round, puffy chair. He studied her apartment with interest, wanting to take in every detail that might give him more insight into her.
The windows were covered in blinds but then had a gauzy fabric draped over them as well. Her faded blue velvet sofa held an assortment of pillows. Some furry, some sparkling, and some simply woven. The coffee table was made of driftwood covered with clear glass, and atop it was a stack of tabletop art books and what looked to be art supply catalogues.
The small living room backed up against the kitchenette, divided by a bar with a couple of stools. Her actual dining area was filled with an easel, table, crates, paints, canvas, tools, and other odds and ends piled high on every surface.
"Nosy much?"
The grumbled query brought his attention back to her, and he stared at the long stretch of her bare legs where she'd curled them up on the chair. "You love your art."
"My mother calls it a decorating nightmare."
"All I see is a need for more space."
"Yeah, well, space comes at a premium when you live at the beach." She took another sip of her coffee and eyed him over the rim. "Why are you here, Everett?"
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his casual slacks, an appropriate choice for brunch with her family at the beach, he thought, and tilted his head to the left as he regarded her. "I thought we should talk before heading over. Discuss our Vegas story in detail?"
She'd lifted the cup to her lips for another drink but froze at his words.
"I thought we'd agreed on keeping our stupid mistake a secret."
"We did. But at some point, someone could ask what we wound up doing in Vegas after your show."
Isabel squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her head back on the cushion behind her.
"Drinks. That's all we have to say," she said, running a hand over her hair. "And as far as staying married, we’re not. Besides, what are the odds that my one and only one-night stand would result in a pregnancy?"
He could give her the statistics but doubted she actually wanted to hear them.
"As far as brunch goes, our story is that you know Michael, he mentioned me having a show there, and we met when you introduced yourself and had drinks after the show. End of story."
"Your aunt saw me kiss you last night."
"We're friends. No big deal."
"Do you kiss all of your male friends?" Jealousy spiked through him, a surprise to say the least. He'd never felt enough about a woman to be jealous of what she did or with whom, but here he sat with a woman he barely knew yet was married to, and the thought of her kissing other men made him want to growl and claim her like a caveman.
One slim eyebrow rose on her face, and he watched as she shrugged.
"I didn't kiss you. You kissed me. Don't do it again and we'll be fine."
He pondered her words for a moment but decided, in an effort to keep things honest, he had to say more. "Yeah, that doesn't work for me, Isabel."
He watched as she swallowed, the delicate muscles of her neck moving with the action.
"I'm sorry, what?"
He stood and moved over to where she sat, stretching out a hand she reluctantly accepted, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Go get ready. It's almost time for our date."
"We don't have a date. We have brunch—with my mother. Are you going to behave yourself?"
He grinned and lowered his head to brush a lingering kiss across her lips, reveling in the softness despite her sharp intake of breath. Point proven that he would steal kisses whenever he could, he released her and stepped back. "I guess not."
Tessa smoothed a hand down the tunic dress she'd chosen to wear for the brunch, feeling every bit her age when her best friend's home began to fill with their children and grandchildren.
It wasn't that she was jealous of the girls, she'd been twenty and thirty something once herself. It was just that somewhere along the line she'd gotten old, and she'd never felt that as completely as she did this very moment.
What was she thinking, agreeing to go out with Kirk? Why on earth would she set herself up to be the subject of the island’s gossip? Were women over sixty called cougars? Or something worse?
"Hey, you okay? What's that about?" Mary Elizabeth asked.
Tessa glanced at her friend and slowly crossed the floor to accept the mimosa Mary Elizabeth held out for her. "What's what about?"
"That look."
"What look?"
"Uh-huh. What happened?"
Of all the Babes, Tessa was closest with Mary Elizabeth. Adaline and Rayna were twin sisters and always together, and while Cheryl was friendly with all five of the ladies, Tessa and Mary Elizabeth had always just been there for one another.
But knowing she needed to give her friend an answer that did not include Kirk, she said, "I saw him again."
Mary Elizabeth—MeMe—raised the delicately arched eyebrow Tessa had just waxed earlier that week and gave her a stare down as only a lifelong friend could. "And?"
"And...I was on a date and it made me uncomfortable. Why do I keep seeing him?"
"It's an island, Tessa. You’re going to run into your ex-husband."
That had also occupied her mind on the walk here. What had Bruce thought of her date with Kirk? It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Kirk was younger.
Why do you care what he thinks?
Tessa rolled her head to one side to ease the tension. "I know but…during all these years, I haven't seen him that often. Now it's like he's everywhere I turn."
"I think the real question is why does it bother you?"
Tessa glared at her friend and shook her head. "Do not go there."
"It’s a simple question."
"You’re implying more."
"That's your conscience prodding you," Mary Elizabeth said, straightening from her leaning position against her gorgeous quartz countertop when Cheryl and her mother, Georgia, the last of the living Babe mothers, walked in. "Welcome! Ms. Georgia, I hope you came hungry."
"I did, my dear, I did," the ninety-two-year-old spitfire said. "I'm sorry I missed the shower for Isabel's sweet friend, but my volunteer group had snagged those tickets ages ago, and I couldn't back out on them."
Mary Elizabeth kissed Georgia's softly wrinkled cheek before stepping back so that Tessa could take her turn. All of the mothers—and fathers for that matter—had passed except for Ms. Georgia, and the loving woman had taken each of them as her own as only a loving mama could.
Much to Cheryl’s chagrin, her mother wasn’t always the polite southern belle she’d been raised to be. No, with age had come feistiness, and Ms. Georgia was a woman who spoke her mind no matter the situation or the surroundings.
"It's fine. Amelia wouldn't have wanted you to cancel your plans," Mary Elizabeth said.
"Well, I left a gift for her in the foyer. Please give it to her and give her my best."
Tessa smiled at the woman's gesture and held up an empty glass. "Of course. Mimosa?"
"None for me," Cheryl said, going on to greet the others in the room. "Orange juice has been bothering me lately."
"I'll take one. Make it a double," Georgia said with a wink.
"Hadley sends her apologies as well," Cheryl said.
"You've talked to her?" Tessa asked, knowing Cheryl was concerned as to why her only child hadn't visited from Raleigh for nearly a year despite it only being a two-hour drive.
"Briefly. She says the kids are involved in absolutely everything, and she doesn't want to miss out since an empty nest looms," Cheryl said.
"Well, we can certainly understand that," Mary Elizabeth said. "Can't we, ladies? We've all been there."
"I would've held on to Zoey's legs as she left for college if I wasn't so afraid she'd kick her way free," Tessa offered as a joke. "Let Hadley enjoy what time she has left with her baby girl under her roof. I'm sure they'll be here once summer comes and things settle down after graduation."
"Exactly. One last hurrah and all of that," Mary Elizabeth said.
"So what were you two girls discussing when we walked in?" Georgia asked from the chair where she now sat. "You both looked awfully serious."
Mary Elizabeth shot Tessa a teasing look and ignored Tessa's head shake.
"Tessa keeps running into Bruce, and it's giving her the flutters."
"What's this now?" Cheryl asked, eyes going wide before narrowing shrewdly.
Tessa felt her face heat like a schoolgirl. "That wasn't nice," she said to MeMe. "And I'm not getting anything," she said to the others. "I simply mentioned that in the last little while I keep running into him. Even though I’ve only run into him a handful of times over the years.”
“Maybe it just means you’ve both stopped avoiding one another. It’s about time,” Rayna Jo said, joining the conversation as she moved to greet Georgia.
“Yes, well, the focus today is on Isabel, remember?” Tessa desperately tried to steer the conversation away from her first husband and back to something less personal. At least for her. “I just happened to spot Isabel kissing her friend yesterday evening as I left.”
“Really?” Mary Elizabeth asked, a frown pinching her eyebrows together above her nose even though a sparkle entered her gaze.
“There’s definitely something going on there,” Tessa added. She felt a little guilty for throwing Izzy under the bus, so to speak, but desperate times and all of that.
"Let's hope we find out more today then," MeMe said. "He did make a good first impression, didn't he? Very mannerly, well dressed... Oh, a mother can only hope. Especially given the ones she’s brought home before."
"The party's here," Michael called out as he and his fraternal twin, Logan, entered the house.
Greetings were returned from throughout the room, but Adaline separated herself from her husband's side and moved to greet her sons.
Handsome men, both of them.
As they made the rounds, the boys greeted Georgia and complimented her before helping themselves to drinks.
"So, we hear you know Everett," Mary Elizabeth said to Michael. "Tell us everything."
Michael had just taken a sip of his drink and smiled as he shook his head at them while lifting the glass and a single finger to point toward the door.
"I've got a better idea," he said after he'd swallowed. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Isabel felt every eye in the room lock on them the instant she and Everett walked into the kitchen area. She took a breath and pasted on a shaky smile, determined to get through the brunch and out of there as quickly as humanly possible.
Her nerves wouldn't last long, especially not after the kiss Everett had given her at her apartment before she'd hightailed it to her bedroom and locked the door behind her.
What was up with that?
How could Everett think they'd ever have anything more than Vegas? Not only were they strangers but he was a New Yorker, for pity's sake! And like any true southern girl, she hated the cold and snow.
The open windows carried the seventy-degree breeze that tousled the balloon arch remaining in the living room from last night's shower.
Had it only been last night?
With a start, she realized it had. Even though it felt like time traveled at warp speed.
And once today was over, Thanksgiving would be next.
With Everett determined to stay in town until she knew for sure she wasn't pregnant, which factored into the holiday with gut-clenching accuracy.
"Everyone, this is Everett Drake, Isabel and Michael's friend," Mary Elizabeth stated, introducing him.
"I’m Izzy’s father, Adam," Adam said. "Welcome. Come meet everyone, Everett."
Isabel watched as Everett left her side to join her father and the other men, but not until after a gentle squeeze of her arm. That came after he slid his hand from her lower back, neither of which went unnoticed by any of the women in the room.
Izzy stifled a groan and fought the urge to turn on her heel to leave but forced herself to approach the group of women eyeing her like they mentally sized her for wedding dresses and booked venues.
The Babes surrounded the chair where Ms. Georgia sat, Isabel's sisters nearby, looking as curious as the mothers.
She hadn't had any luck getting an answer out of Sophia last night as to what she was keeping from the Babes. Hopefully she'd be able to corner her sister sometime soon and try again. Like Izzy, Sophia knew to keep her private life private or else suffer the consequences of the Babes getting involved on an even larger scale than if they found something out on their own.
Rayna Jo's daughters, Dara and Devon, rarely came to events seeing as how Devon lived in New York City working as a television show host and Dara lived—where was it now?—and worked for a private security company called Guardian Group. Only Izzy, Allie, and Sophia were local, as well as Michael and Logan.
That meant when it came to family functions of any sort, they carried the slack of the others, as their attendance was mandatory rather than optional.
Which brought them to today.
Izzy greeted Ms. Georgia and asked about her health before turning to face the sea of women waiting for her to give them the details of her companion. Isabel rolled her eyes and sighed. "Really? I don't even get a drink first?"
Sophia grinned silently and quickly handed Izzy a filled flute.
"He's very handsome."
"Those dimples!"
"His eyes are quite compelling, too. It's those dark, sooty lashes," Tessa added. "They give him a bit of mysterious air, don't you think?"
