Chapter Eleven
Gloria stared at herself in the full-length mirror. Since she’d started training with Landon, she’d lost fifteen pounds and was down a dress size. The weight was slowly coming off, but the loss of inches was more noticeable. She couldn’t remember the last time she looked this good in her blue halter dress. Maybe she’d never be a small woman, but Landon made her feel beautiful. He never ceased to compliment her at any given opportunity.
Whenever she was with him, he treated her as if she was the only woman in the world. They could be in a room surrounded by women clad in string bikinis and his attention would be focused solely on her. She liked the way he found excuses to touch and kiss her. Gloria didn’t know what she’d done to deserve someone like him, but what they shared transcended age and any other trivial issue. She, in fact, found him more mature than most men her age.
Cordell’s harsh words of the past no longer haunted her. She’d learned in the past few months from dating Landon that she was worthy of love and no one could take that away from her.
“You look pretty, Mom.” CJ walked into her bedroom and flopped on the bed.
Gloria beamed, running her hand over her outfit. She felt pretty. “Thank you, honey. How does my hair look?” She patted her fresh twist out that she’d pinned up in the back, hoping it would hold up.
“It’s nice, but I like your hair down.”
“Hmm.” She removed the pins from her hair and let her tresses fall to her shoulders. “You’re right, it does look better this way.”
“I bet your date will like it, too.”
“I hope so.”
“You don’t need to worry, Mom. I still think you’re beautiful no matter what.”
“Aww, thank you, baby.”
CJ made her proud to call him her son. Someday he would make one young lady feel very lucky.
She turned back to the mirror to study her appearance again, making sure she looked just right. It was important that everything be perfect tonight. Not only did she plan on giving herself to Landon, but it would be the first time he’d meet CJ. Gloria had not wanted to make the introductions until she was sure of the relationship. She took a seat on the bed next to her son and stroked his head. “Are you sure you’ll be okay tonight? I probably won’t get back until late.”
“Sure, I’ll be okay. Grandma is coming over and Aunt Rae will be home later. Although, I’m old enough to stay by myself,” he grumbled. Her mother had babysitting duty tonight because Rae was also currently out on a date with someone she’d recently met.
Gloria smiled, stroking his cheek. “You’re only nine.”
“But you said I’m mature for my age.”
“I know, but it’s for my peace of mind, okay? It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s the bad guys out there who worry me. You have my number, just in case you need to reach me.”
“Mom, stop worrying. I’m not a baby.”
“You’ll always be my baby.” A brief silence fell between them. Gloria cleared her throat before tackling the subject she wanted to discuss with him. He was aware she was dating someone, but she hadn’t told her son everything about Landon. “CJ, before you meet Landon, I think you should know something about him.”
“What?”
“He’s a little younger than me.”
CJ frowned. “How much younger?”
“Ten years.”
He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “That’s not so bad. He’s old enough to drink alcohol, at least.”
She raised a brow. “And, what would you know about that?”
“Aw, come on, Mom, I’m not stupid.”
“No, you’re not.” She sighed with relief that he’d taken it so well, but would he be so congenial about her other bit of news. “Honey, Landon is white.”
“I know.”
“You know? How?”
He rolled his eyes. “I saw him one night from the window when he dropped you off. Didn’t you teach me it wasn’t the color of the skin, but the content of the character?”
“I sure did.”
“So why would I care about something like that? I want you to be happy, Mom, and since you started dating Landon, you smile a lot more. You weren’t like that with Dad, so he’s cool with me as long as he treats you right.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. Gloria knew her son was growing up and maturing fast, but sometimes, she didn’t realize how much. He was truly a blessing. “How did I end up with such a wonderful son?”
“Dunno. Luck?”
Gloria laughed, wrapping her arms around CJ’s slender shoulders. “I’m very lucky indeed.” She dropped a kiss on top of his head.
He pulled out of her embrace, his embarrassment evident. “Aww, Mom. You don’t have to get so mushy.”
“Hey, I’m your mother and it’s my right to get as mushy with you as I can, any time I want.”
The doorbell rang.
“That must be your grandmother.” She stood and glanced at herself in the mirror one last time before going to answer the door. “Hi, Mom.”
Gloria’s mother gave her a hug. “Hi, baby. You look fabulous.”
“Thanks. I haven’t been able to fit in this dress in ages.”
“It looks like your training is doing you a lot of good. Wendell and I are thinking about signing up for some sessions ourselves. But is it the training or the trainer? You’re glowing.” Her mother winked at her.
CJ rushed out of his bedroom. “Hi, Grandma. I learned a new piece on my trumpet. Would you like to hear it?”
Lena Redmond smiled. “Of course. Just let me have a talk with your mom, first. Why don’t you take my things to the guest bedroom?”
“Sure.” CJ picked up the suitcase and carried it out of the room.
Lena turned to her daughter. “So, tonight I finally get to meet the elusive Landon.”
Gloria took a deep breath. “Yes.”
“Don’t be nervous, baby. I can see he’s done you a world of good. There’s a spring in your step and a sparkle in your eyes. This Landon must really be something.”
“He is, Mom.” Gloria had already told her mother about the age and race thing and she seemed to accept it, so when he came there’d be no surprises.
“Rae and I were talking and we’re both glad things are over between you and Cordell. The only thing that boy cared about was himself.” She shook her head, her lips tight with displeasure.
Gloria had always suspected as much. Rae had never bit her tongue where Cordell was concerned but Lena had been more diplomatic. “You never said anything before.”
“How could I? You were in love, or, at least, you believed you were. If I would have said anything, you might have stayed with him to prove me wrong. As much as it hurt me to see you go through what you did, I knew only you could make the decision to leave.”
Gloria laughed without humor. “He made that decision for me. But it turns out, that was the best thing to ever happen to me besides having CJ and reconnecting with Landon.”
“The only good thing that came from that union is CJ. I’m glad he takes after you. I guess what I’m trying to tell you is, whether your Landon is 25 or 105, I’m happy for you as long as you are.”
They hugged. “Thanks, Mom.”
The bell rang again, making Gloria jump. “That’s him.” Nerves shot through her. This was it.
“Go ahead and answer the door.”
When she opened the door, her heart beat at a rapid pace. Dressed in black from head to toe, with a stray lock of blond hair falling over his forehead, Landon looked so fucking hot. His green eyes lit up as they raked over her in appreciation.
He handed her one of the bouquets he held and gave Gloria a light kiss. “You look fantastic, babe.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself. Come in and meet my mom and son.”
Landon entered her house and Gloria introduced the two.
“Landon, this is my mother, Lena Redmond. Mom, this is Landon Barnes.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Redmond.” He handed her the second flower arrangement.
“Please, call me Lena. Thank you for the flowers. It’s nice to finally meet you. Gloria has told me so much about you.”
Landon grinned. “Good things, I hope.”
Lena smiled back. “Of course.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Gloria. “You didn’t tell me what a good-looking young man he is.”
Gloria wanted the floor to swallow her up. Her mother had a way of making her feel like a teenager all over again. “Mother!”
Lena waved her hand dismissively. “Well, he is.”
Landon seemed amused by the interchange. His grin widened. “Thank you. You aren’t the only one Gloria’s been keeping things from. She never told me how lovely you are. You two could be sisters.”
Lena giggled like a schoolgirl. “Gloria, if you don’t watch out, I’m going to steal him away from you.”
Gloria rolled her eyes heavenward. “I think Mr. Wendell would object.” Wendell was a man Lena had apparently been dating for months but had recently only decided to introduce to Gloria by inviting him over to Sunday dinner. Lena had said that she wanted to make sure that the relationship was going somewhere before she sprung him on the family. From what Gloria could tell, her mother was extremely happy and Wendell was a nice guy. He was a retired lawyer who was looking forward to traveling the world with Lena by his side.
Landon took her mother’s hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m sorry, Miss Lena. As tempting as stealing you away from your boyfriend sounds, my heart already belongs to your daughter.”
His answer seemed to please Lena. “Please take care of my little girl. She’s been through enough and I don’t want to see her hurt again.”
Gloria groaned. She loved her mother to death, but sometimes she could be a little over-protective. “Mom,” she said in a warning tone.
“It’s okay, Gloria. Lena, I would rather die than hurt your daughter. She means a lot to me.”
Gloria caught movement from the corner of her eye and saw her son enter the room. “CJ, come and meet Landon.”
Her son’s expression was unreadable as he held out his hand to the older man. “How do you do?”
Landon took the offered hand. “Very well, thanks. It’s nice to finally meet you. I look forward to getting to know you. Are you a gamer?”
CJ nodded. “Yes, I have a gaming console but I don’t have time to play it that much because I’m currently conducting a few scientific experiments that require most of my attention.”
“Wow, your mom said you were a genius and from the sound of it, she wasn’t kidding. I’d love it if you could show me these experiments sometimes. I find science fascinating.”
The boy smiled. “I’d like that a lot. Thanks.”
Gloria knew Landon had made an instant friend by mentioning his affinity for science. She turned to her mother. “Okay, Mom, I think we should be going. I should be back by midnight.”
Lena smiled and winked. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll understand if you don’t come home tonight, I’m staying over anyway.”
“Mom!” Heat surfaced to her face. Gloria’s mother was old-fashioned in many ways, but sometimes she was full of surprises.
“What did I say?” Lena batted her eye lashes in mock innocence.
“You know.” Gloria kissed CJ and her mother goodbye, before tucking her arm in under Landon’s.
Once they were outside, Gloria felt the need to apologize for her mother. “I’m so sorry about that. My mom can be a bit outspoken at times.”
Landon smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I found her very charming. I like her a lot.”
“She seemed to like you, too. So did CJ. I didn’t realize you were into science.”
“Well, I’m no Einstein but I do like watching programs about that kind of stuff.”
Landon opened passenger door of his SUV and waited for her to get comfortable before closing it. “So, are you ready for tonight?” he asked once he slid in next to her.
“Yes, considering you’ve been so secretive about it. Where are you taking me anyway?”
“If I told you, it would no longer be a surprise.”
She slumped in the seat. “The suspense is killing me.”
“You won’t be disappointed. I made a promise, I’d make this night enjoyable for you and I have every intention of keeping it.”
Gloria intended it to be a special night, all right. Since they began dating, the furthest they’d gone was kissing and heavy petting. It soon became obvious to them both it wasn’t enough, not when they knew how it could be between the two of them. That time in the gym told Gloria that sex with Landon would be out of this world.
A shiver ran up her spine as she thought of what it would be like between them. All during class today, she hadn’t been able to think of anything except her date. She’d even forgotten to assign homework for the weekend, which she was sure her students were grateful for.
A smile touched her lips. She’d waited this long, what was another twenty minutes or so? “I guess, I’m just looking forward to having this time alone with you.”
He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Thank you.”
Their eyes locked and she knew everything would be okay.