Chapter 28

Piper

I was working in the office again with Jules; she had nearly finished the work I had her do for the commission. She had completed most of the panels and had only two or three remaining before I could deliver them to the customer.

I had begun telling her about my visit with my mom the day before. She would find it hysterical when I told her about Kyle, Mom’s neighbor.

I had laughed about it all the way home. I had not seen Kyle for maybe two or three years, and then out of the blue, he bumped into me and asked me out. Had he been thinking of me that way the whole time he’d known me? Or was he just trying to grab any chance he could for a date?

It’s funny how men’s minds work. They are not logical like women’s. Not in the dating department!

“How is your mom, anyway?” Jules asked.

“You know Mom,” I said. “She’s fit as anything, considering her age.”

“I don’t know how she manages it; I’m shattered now half the time. God help me when I’m old.”

I giggled to myself. Good old Mom. She’d tried so hard to get me interested in Kyle. She’d never give up trying to find me a man. She was desperate to make sure I didn’t end up in the same situation as her, even though I had chosen to be a single parent.

“What’s up?” Jules asked, grinning. “And why are you chuckling to yourself?”

“Mom’s neighbor, Kyle,” I said. “I parked in front of his house. He came to Mom’s, told me to move it, and then asked me out. He was so determined. As much as I said ‘no,’ the more he tried. It was comical really. If it had not been for the city doing road work, I would have thought she’d set the whole thing up. He even gave me his business card.”

“Wow, business card, how romantic,” Jules said, laughing.

“Nah, he is okay though. I’ve known him since I was a kid. He had a bowl cut, big teeth, glasses, and was really skinny in those days.”

“Let me guess,” Jules said. “The ugly little duckling turned into a swan. Now, he’s six-four, solid body, and the bulge in his pants is huge?”

I laughed. “You’re not far off. Just not sure about the bulge.”

“Well, from the way your mom was pushing you to give him a chance, he’s probably a good catch. Maybe even perfect husband material. And if you’re lucky, he is still a virgin.” Jules laughed.

“Mom did say he had a decent job,” I said.

“He works for someone else? Yuck, I thought everyone these days worked for themselves. Don’t tell me, he is an accountant?”

I burst out laughing. “Oh my god, that’s funny. He is an accountant. How did you guess?”

“It’s obvious. He works for someone else, lives in a decent neighborhood, and has a business card. Come on, Piper. An obvious accountant.”

It was uncanny that she had guessed exactly what Kyle’s occupation was. I could see the method in her madness for working it out. It made a lot of sense.

“Why don’t you take him up on his offer?” Jules asked with a wink. “It could be a change and a bit of fun. And you never know what might happen.”

“I can’t,” I said. “It’s wrong. I’ve never liked the thought of dating two guys at the same time.”

“Well, you and Evan are not exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, are you? And nothing is stopping you from giving this Kyle a call. It’s not like you’re tied down by anything.”

I turned a deaf ear to Jules’ comments about dating Kyle, or anyone else for that matter. I couldn’t remember if the contract actually mentioned anything about me being able to see other people. But knowing Evan, there was probably something that tied me down so I could be at his beck and call for additional servicing.

“It’s not in me to date two guys at the same time,” I said. “I just couldn’t face myself. I would be dishonest to someone else and to myself. How do you show feelings for two people at the same time? I mean, it’s impossible to like two people equally, isn’t it?”

I thought about the contract to see if I remembered anything that said if I could or couldn’t see other people. I knew it said no sex with other people, but dating them was an entirely different thing altogether.

I moved to my desk and rested my chin on my shoulders. I could hear something as I was daydreaming. I snapped out of it as Jules began yelling at me from the far side of my office.

“Pick up your damned cell phone, will you?” she called.

“Sorry, I was daydreaming,” I said.

I picked up my cell phone and answered.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hi, it’s me,” Evan said. “I really need to talk to you, seriously.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Not on the phone. We have to talk face to face. When are you available?”

“I’m just with Jules at the office, so any time you want. I’m easy. I have nothing major to do this afternoon.”

“In that case, if you can come and pick me up from the golf course. I was with Tyler, and he vanished with my car and a waitress.”

“Sure, I’ll leave now and pick you up,” I replied.

“I’ll see you in about thirty minutes,” he said.

“Okay, no problem,” I said, excited to hear his voice on the line.

“I’ll be outside waiting. It’s one of these strict clubs, dress code, and all that.”

I entered the gates to the golf club. The long winding drive appeared to be going nowhere. I drove over the brow of the hill, and there it was. Wow, an old Victorian-styled clubhouse sat in a sea of green. The grass looked as if it had been painted onto the landscape. It was that short. And it was immaculate.

I reached the parking lot and wove my way through all the expensive cars. Ferraris, Bentleys. You name it, it was there. All of them, and I was in my trusty Toyota.

I approached the front doors, and Evan was perched on top of a raised garden bed. He looked so sporty in his golfing outfit.

I stopped the car, and he climbed inside.

“Where to?” I asked.

“Home is as good a place as any. I could do with a shower after that workout.”

“You said you wanted to talk face to face about something?” I asked.

“I was with Tyler, and I was bandying a few things around in my mind. And then I started to think about us again.”

“And what were you thinking about?” I asked.

“It was about—”

I glanced to the side to see why he’d stopped talking. Evan picked up Kyle’s business card from the air vent where I had shoved it. He read the front and turned it over in his hands.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“It’s from an old neighbor I bumped into and had a chat with,” I said.

“Do you make a habit of talking about old times with many old acquaintances? Or neighbors who just happen to be male?” Evan sounded angry.

“Don’t be silly. He was just saying hello. I went to visit my mother and parked by his house. When I came out to move my car, we talked for a while. Then, at the end of it, he asked me out and gave me that card to call him.”

Evan looked upset. He was like a child who had their favorite toy confiscated for being naughty. He frowned and pouted his lips. If he had not been upset, I would have thought he looked sweet; almost human.

“There is no need to be jealous,” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything. I turned him down and never intended to call him. I was actually going to throw his card away. I just forgot to do it earlier.”

“A likely story,” Evan said. “How many men give you their number when nothing is intended?”

“I told you he asked me out,” I said. “And I told him I wasn’t dating anyone at the moment.”

The expression on Evan’s face changed. I could see he was upset, and it was not like him to get like that.

“You could have told him you were seeing me,” he said.

“And why would I do that?” I asked.

“Just because,” he mumbled.

“Anyway, I thought it was one of your rules in the stupid contract to not talk about it,” I said, my voice getting heated. “You can’t just change the rules when you see fit.”

“You didn’t have to mention the contract to him. You could have just said you were seeing me, that’s all.”

“Sometimes, Evan, you don’t make sense to me,” I said, angrily.

“That guy or any guy only has to know that you’re seeing me,” he said.

“Is that what you’ve been telling your clients while you have been dodging me for the past few days?” I yelled.

Evan glared at me, and I could see he was now pissed. He lifted his ass and reached for his cell phone. He flicked against the screen. He mumbled while he was searching for something.

“There you go, have a good look at this,” he said, angrily.

I pulled over. I could see the pictures of two really stunning girls. It was evident these were replies from his website in one form or another.

“That is what I have been dodging while I have not been in contact,” he barked.

I had to trust him at his word; there was no way to prove it. Even if he had told the truth, he was still getting requests. And how many would he have before his urges took over and he gave in? It wouldn’t be long before he replied to one of those potential clients. I was sure his intentions were right, but after years of doing the same thing, I wasn’t sure. I’m sure one day he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Maybe I should stop turning people away and get back to normal,” he said. “Then we could both know where we stand.”

We continued the drive in silence. His phone received another message. Evan looked at me, and I looked at him. Neither of us was sure what to say.

The moment was comical, even though we had just been arguing. I chuckled to myself inside but showed no sign that I found any of it funny.

“You better check what it is, don’t you think?” I said.

“I better,” he said. “It could be important.”

I glanced from the corner of my eye. I watched him open his message box.

“It’s the hotel,” he said.

“What do they want?” I asked.

“They said there’s a package at the reception desk for me,” he said.

I looked at his face, and he looked really puzzled at the text.

“Can you take me to the hotel, please?” he asked.

“I guess I’ll have to!” I replied.

Evan frowned, clearly puzzling over what it could be.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“No one leaves packages at the hotel unless they have been instructed to. I have no idea what’s waiting for me there.”

We arrived at the hotel, and I stopped at the front doors.

“You can go now,” Evan said.

“You’re joking,” I replied.

“Just leave me, and I’ll deal with,” he said.

“No chance,” I said. “We’re not finished yet.”

Evan stepped from the car, and the valet came to open my door. I got out of the car and followed Evan into the lobby.