“Did you see the look on his face?” Maria said over the phone as I wiped the kitchen counter.

“Who?” I feigned ignorance.

“Bear. He almost swallowed his tongue.” She chuckled.

“I know,” I finally admitted. The poor guy—he did look like he was about to hyperventilate when he finally caught a glimpse of me.

It had been a long time since I’d seen a man look at me that way. Ray used to, but that was before he became an uncaring asshole. It felt like as soon as the wedding ring slipped on my finger, he lost his manners and stopped courting me.

But Bear made me feel sexy again. My belly did that weird thing where it flipped a few times, and my fingers tingled just from the way his eyes crawled across my skin. It wasn’t lost on me, and based on Morgan’s reaction, it wasn’t lost on him either.

“You should invite him over for dinner again.”

“Maria! I just had him over yesterday.” I was protesting too much, but the thought had crossed my mind since I walked out of ALFA PI.

“So what? Live a little, Franny.”

“What about Johnny?”

“Were you two even dating?”

“Not really. We’d go to dinner, and sometimes, we’d end up in the sack.”

“There’s your answer. It’s not like you’re rebounding or anything.”

She was right, but I couldn’t give in so easily. “But what about Morgan? Bear’s his friend.”

“Now you’re just making excuses.”

I was, too. Bear wasn’t normally my type. I don’t even know if I had a type anymore. “We’ll see. Let me figure out what to do and do it in my own time.”

“Fine. Be a pussy.”

“The mouth on you.”

She laughed loudly. “Your brother taught me well. Speaking of the devil, he just walked in. I got to run.”

“Bye, Mar. Say hi to Sal for me.”

“Will do. Bye.”

With the dishrag still in my hand, I stared out the windows overlooking my backyard and thought about what to do next. Last night had been nice. Bear wasn’t exactly the man I thought, and I wanted to know more about him. But was it the right time to go down that road?

Maybe I’d read the signals wrong. I’d never chased a man. Not even Ray. It wasn’t my style, but my daughter-in-law Race told me it’s what women do in the twenty-first century. My mind was still stuck back in the seventies where there were rules and proper etiquette.

My phone rang before I even had a chance to put it back on the charger. “Hello,” I said after seeing it was Race calling.

“I heard you made quite a splash today.”

“He already called you.”

“He’s worried, Ma.”

“I’m an adult, Race.”

“I know. I think it’s cute.”

“It’s payback from that brat.”

“Are you going to ask Bear out?”

“I don’t know. I was just thinking about it.”

“Do it. He’s a great guy.”

It seemed like the women in the family were conspiring against me. If Morgan knew Race was calling me, he’d be livid. “How would Morgan feel about that?”

“Who cares? You deserve to be happy too.”

“Someone’s at the door, Race. I gotta run.” I lied because I wasn’t ready for this conversation. Everyone was chirping in my ear, and I didn’t need their opinions.

“Maybe it’s Bear,” she said through her laughter.

“Bye, busybody.”

“Bye, Ma.”

The sky was dark in the distance as the usual afternoon thunderstorms started to roll in. I walked to the mailbox, trying to beat the rain, when my neighbor Meredith caught me before I could sneak back inside.

“You’re looking nice today,” she said, her eyes raking over me, but not in a complimentary way.

“Thanks, Mer.”

Her tiny mouth, one so small I wondered if she was ever able to suck a dick, pursed. “I saw a motorcycle in your driveway last night. Did you have a man over?”

Living in an older-resident community had its disadvantages, and this was a prime example. It was filled with a bunch of bored, nosy people who had no life but to spy on their neighbors.

I plastered a fake smile on my face. “Just a family friend.” Thunder sounded in the distance, and I saw my out. “I better get inside before it storms. Take care.” I started to walk away, waving over my shoulder at her.

“Bye,” she grumbled from behind me, still standing near the driveway where I’d left her.

After I walked inside and flipped through the mail, I tossed it on the countertop and noticed I’d missed a phone call. My eyes widened when I saw the name. Bear. Maybe I hadn’t interpreted his vibes wrong. After all these years, maybe I still had the ability to read a man.

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I waited for his voice mail to play. “Hey, Franny. It’s Bear. I wanted to touch base with you and let you know that we may have a possible lead on Johnny. I know you’re upset and would want to know what’s going on. Call me back…ya know…if you want.”

For a moment I was sad because I was hoping for something a little bit more…flirtatious. Even though it wasn’t what I’d hoped to hear, I called him back anyway.

“Hey, Bear. It’s Franny,” I said as soon as he answered the phone.

“I know.” He laughed softly.

“I wanted to say thank you for the update.” I paced around my living room. “Morgan hasn’t really been telling me much.”

“He’s just busy. Cut him a little slack.”

“I know.”

“Hold on one second.”

The phone became muffled, and I could hear voices in the background.

“No go?” Bear asked and then a pause. “Fuck.”

A few more things were said, but I couldn’t make them out no matter how hard I pressed the phone to my ear.

“I’m back,” he told me. “False alarm on the lead, but don’t worry… We’ll find him.”

“I know you will. Was that Morgan?”

“Yeah.”

I smiled because Bear hadn’t told him that I was on the other end of the phone. “Well, I better let you go. I know you guys are busy.”

“Hey, Franny?” he asked softly.

I stopped pacing, and butterflies filled my stomach. “Yeah?”

“Want to grab a beer tonight?”

I moved the receiver away from my mouth and took a few quick, deep breaths. “I’d love to.” My feet started to move on their own, breaking out in a cross between a happy dance and the running man—but more of a senior version.

“Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“I’ll be ready.”

“Later.”

“Bye,” I said, and when the call disconnected, I stared at it like maybe I’d heard him wrong. But when I realized I hadn’t, I broke out into a full-on celebratory dance in my living room.

Wait.

Was this a date?

Fuck. I didn’t know how shit worked anymore. I’d spent my good years at home after Ray left me. I couldn’t even look at another man for a long time. Then Morgan joined the military, and all I could do was think about him. I didn’t have time to get involved in a relationship, and I figured, why bother since I was in my forties.

I thought Johnny and I were dating in the beginning, but he made it quite clear that he didn’t want any type of relationship. I couldn’t understand why, but now it’s completely clear.

I guess, with Bear, I’d just have to wait and see. Maybe he was only being nice to me because I was Morgan’s mom, and I was feeling so much guilt for not seeing Johnny for the lying, cheating asshole he was.

I’m either going to have to grow a pair and ask what his intentions are or just wait it out and hope that he wants more than just a drink and a hot meal.

---

When I heard his bike pull into the driveway just before seven, I ran into the bedroom so it wouldn’t seem as if I’d been waiting for him. I had been. I’d been ready for a half hour, and I’d been pacing back and forth in the living room, checking outside for any glimpse of him.

“This isn’t a date,” I told myself as I waited for him to knock. “It’s just a drink.”

My heart leapt when he knocked on the door, and I took one last look at myself in the mirror. I had on the same jeans from the office earlier today, but I had changed my top to something a little more revealing.

I leaned forward and checked my cleavage, heaving it up with my hand and giggling. The bra Maria picked out really did help them reach a height I hadn’t seen since my twenties. Bear was probably used to women much younger, and if this padded, underwire-lined thing ever came off in front of him, he’d be shocked at where they swung.

I hummed the tune to “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” as I walked toward the door. When I finally worked up the nerve to open it, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

“Good evening, Franny.” Bear held out a small bouquet of flowers as his eyes traveled down my body. “You’re looking stunning.”

I graciously took them and gave them a quick sniff. “Thank you. They’re beautiful,” I told him. “Would you like to come in while I put these in some water?” My voice wavered.

He nodded. “Sure.”

I tried not to skip to the kitchen from excitement. Bear brought me flowers. I don’t think anyone, not even Ray, had ever brought me a bouquet. “I’ll be quick.” I bent over and grabbed a vase from under the sink and caught a glimpse of Bear standing behind me. His eyes were glued to my ass, and I slowed down to give him a longer look.

He cleared his throat when I started to stand and turn around. “How was your day?” he asked as I started to arrange the flowers in the clear vase, and I noticed the redness in his face.

“Busy. Yours?”

He turned his body, adjusting himself and trying to be discreet but failing completely. “Busy too.”

“So where are we headed?” I couldn’t stop myself from chattering because I was so nervous. There was an awkwardness tonight I hadn’t felt before.

“I thought we’d head down to the little place by the beach.”

I smiled because the sun would be setting soon, and it’d been too long since I’d watched it descend below the horizon of the Gulf of Mexico. “That sounds lovely.” Suddenly, I sounded more like June Cleaver than Fran DeLuca.

“Ready?” he asked, jostling back and forth on his feet, just as nervous as I was.

“Yeah. You?”

“Yep.” His answer was short, and he was heading to the door before the vase was entirely filled with water.

I heard him mumbling to himself in the front room. He was giving himself a pep talk, and I could only make out a few words. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I set the flowers on the table near the window. A man like Bear never seemed to have a problem with self-esteem, and I found it endearing that he had to give himself a talk.

“Let’s hit it,” I said as I breezed into the living room to a pacing Bear.

When we went outside and I locked the door, he asked, “Are you good with being on a bike?”

“It’s been a while, but yeah.”

I hated bikes, but I didn’t tell him that. I knew the man rode his faithfully, and who was I to stop him? Ray had one too, but after my third time on the bike, I never went on it again. I ended up punching him in the ribs when he took a turn a little too sharp for my liking. After that, he never asked me to go with him on another ride, and I was perfectly happy riding in my car instead.

After Bear got situated, he held out his hand like a perfect gentleman and helped me climb onto the back. I set my hands on his shoulders and waited.

“You have to wrap your arms around me,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at me. “And hold on.”

“Sorry.” I smiled, and as soon as he turned around, I swallowed hard, looked up toward the sky, and said a silent prayer.

Wrapping my arms around Bear was like anchoring myself to a mountain. His chest was so wide that my fingers barely clasped in front of his chest. The muscles underneath my hands flexed when my arms tightened. The butterflies that had fluttered in my belly earlier started to move as if they were on hyperdrive. My body slid forward, pressing my chest against the warmth of his back. I wanted to lay my head against him and close my eyes, but I didn’t want him to think I was a weirdo—even though I was.

“You good, babe?” he asked and patted my hands.

“I’m good,” I whispered softly, shimmying my body so there wasn’t a sliver of space between us.

He slid on his glasses that had been hanging near his handlebars and started the bike. The roar of the engine caused the entire machine to vibrate, sending tiny shock waves of pleasure through my system.

I wondered if that was part of the charm of a motorcycle and having a woman on the back—the closeness, the large vibrator in the form of a bike, and the wind through our hair. It was like an aphrodisiac that couldn’t be replicated by anything else.

As we pulled out on to the street, I couldn’t stop myself from resting my head against his back and closing my eyes. The mix of fear, adrenaline, and lust had me light-headed.