27
Jeremiah had started sending Thea flowers. The first bouquet had arrived the day after he’d had her and the girls for dinner. Her daughters had still been at the house when the flowers arrived and had been impressed with his thoughtfulness. All three agreed that Jeremiah seemed like someone their mother should get to know better.
The girls had returned home days ago, but the flowers kept coming. This was the third arrangement she’d received this week. Eric had never given her flowers except on Mother’s Day. And in the early years of their marriage, on Valentine’s Day.
As she sat in her recliner in front of the fireplace, she couldn’t help pausing every so often from reading to glance over at the flowers. They were beautiful.
She had called to thank him. From the noise in the background, she could immediately tell he was at the barber shop. He told her he would call her when he left so they could have a more private conversation. But he had stepped in the men’s room for a second to ask her something. He told her he didn’t need an answer right away but wanted to make sure she thought the question over thoroughly. The question was, what type of man did she want in her life?
It was something she’d often thought about since her husband’s death, so she had no problem coming up with an answer for him. She wanted a man who would be her friend as well as her husband. A man who would see her as his equal, as well as his partner. A man who would have confidence in himself, as well as in her. He would have to be a man she could see spending the rest of her life with.
But now that he’d asked, she couldn’t help wondering what type of woman he wanted in his life…and if she qualified. Tonight, they were going out to dinner at a restaurant downtown. Afterward, instead of going to a movie, they were coming back to her place to watch a show on television together.
She had been around Jeremiah enough to know he was a good man. A man who loved his family. A man who would love, cherish and honor the woman in his life. A man that a woman who wanted a second chance at love would scoop up in a heartbeat.
And Thea knew she was that woman.
“Thanks for dinner, Jeremiah.”
He glanced over at Thea as they walked toward her front door. “You’re welcome. I’ve never been to that place before. I’m glad you liked it.”
Jeremiah figured there was no need to tell her that Carrie had suggested it, saying it was one of her and Connor’s favorite eat-out spots. At first, he thought it would be too trendy for his taste, but after a while, the place grew on him and he’d enjoyed it.
He glanced at his watch while she unlocked the door. “The program doesn’t start for another twenty minutes, so we made good time.”
“Good,” she said, opening the door, and going inside. He followed her.
When she’d discovered there was a Diana Ross movie marathon on TV, she’d invited him to watch it with her. He’d told her what a big fan he was of Diana. As it turned out, Thea was a huge fan of Diana’s leading man, Billie D. Williams. “Do you know which movie is playing first?”
“Lady Sings the Blues and then Mahogany, followed by The Wiz,” she said, placing her purse on the table. “The remote is by the chair. You get things set in here and I’ll start the popcorn and iced tea.”
“Okay.” Jeremiah watched her walk away, admiring the sway of her hips. He shook his head. He wasn’t a horny twenty-something sniffing behind a woman, although he would admit that his woman smelled, well darn good. He loved whatever perfume she wore.
While trying to find the station, he caught the scent of popcorn in the air, but his mind was still on hers. He glanced at his watch and then called out, “Movie starts in less than five minutes.”
“I’m here,” she said, entering the living room carrying a huge bowl of popcorn. She placed it in the middle of the coffee table. “I’ll be right back with the tea.”
“Need help?”
“No, thanks. I can manage.”
Over the next few hours, they watched three movies back to back. By the time he clicked off the remote, it was close to three in the morning. It had been years since he’d been out so late and he definitely hadn’t been with a woman. He stood and stretched, then glanced down at Thea. There had been parts of all three movies that had made her cry. Luckily, he’d had his handkerchief for her.
“I enjoyed tonight, Thea. Only I didn’t realize the movies would end so late.”
She waved off his words. “I don’t have a job to go to tomorrow. Do you?”
He chuckled. “No. Those days are over.”
“Then you don’t have to ever worry about how late you leave here, Jeremiah.”
Suddenly the room seemed to pulsate with a tantalizing warmth, and he couldn’t help wondering if her words had a double meaning. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He would do more than that. He would lock it deep in his memory. Each time he was reminded of her words, he would also recall how they’d sat beside each other on the sofa, so close their knees touched, while eating popcorn and sipping iced tea. Something so simple yet so intimate.
“You want to walk me to the door, Thea?”
She eased her back off the sofa but didn’t stand up. Instead, she tilted her head back to look up at him. “You want the truth?”
Something about her words combined with the look in her eyes got to him, firing his blood. “Yes, I do,” he said, not taking his gaze off her.
“Then no, I don’t want to walk you to the door. Do you know why, Jeremiah?” she asked in a whispered tone, one that felt like silk rubbing across his skin.
He eased back down on the sofa beside her. “Tell me why,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“Because right now, I’d rather do this.” And then she leaned in close and pressed her mouth to his.
For the life of her, she’d never been this bold with a man, Thea thought, deepening the kiss. Not even with Eric. He had been used to leading while others followed, and the way he handled his marriage had been no different. But Jeremiah was letting her do her own thing, even though she wasn’t sure what that thing was. But over the years, she’d watched enough soap operas, and read enough romance novels, to know how to kiss. Actually, she’d always known how she wanted to be kissed, but she’d never come close to getting it. Until tonight.
She’d discovered Jeremiah had no such qualms about kissing and how to do it. Even now, he was slowly consuming her in a way that had every cell in her body sizzling. And she’d discovered from their first kiss, he had no problem using his tongue, something he was making good use of at this moment.
She moved closer, or at least tried to, then felt him lifting her up to slide her onto his lap without breaking the kiss. This kiss was hotter than anything she’d ever experienced before, and she was glad he was holding her upright. All she could do was wrap her arms around his neck and hang on. Once, the thought that they were too old for this popped into her mind, but she quickly pushed it away. They weren’t too old—they were as young as they felt, and Jeremiah was making her feel like a teenager in the throes of first love. He was reminding her just what desire was all about.
When he finally released her lips, he started placing miniature kisses along her mouth and throat, before taking the tip of his tongue and tracing a path down the column of her neck. Instinctively, her head fell back and she moaned his name as all kinds of sensations raced through her.
“I’m here, Thea,” he said, his words a whisper against her lips.
“I – I…” How could she tell him, make him understand that in all her sixty years, she’d never been kissed like this before, with such passion, such longing?
Suddenly, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged. “You do things to me, Thea.”
He did things to her as well. He stared at her for the longest time, then stood and placed her on her feet. “Come walk me to the door, whether you want to or not. Tonight, I know what’s best for the both of us.”
Thea decided to let him make that call. He placed his arm around her shoulder and she walked beside him, hip to hip. Before opening the door, he took her hand and in a low, husky voice he said, “This might sound crazy, but I want a future with you, Thea. I hope we can continue to do things like this, go out, stay in, just spend quality time together. I believe in my heart that if we continue on this path, one day we will know when the time is right to do more.”
He hesitated for a minute, then added. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Thea, and more than anything, I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh, Jeremiah, I’ve fallen in love with you, too. Yes, I will marry you.”
Jeremiah pulled Thea into his arms and kissed her. When he finally pulled away, he said, “So we agree on continuing as we’ve started, with plans to one day marry?”
Thea nodded. “Yes. I believe our children will give us their blessings.”
He smiled. “I think so, too. I can’t wait for you to meet my sons. We won’t tell our kids anything for now, to keep them out of our business. We will let them know of our plans whenever we’re ready to tell them. In the meantime, we will continue to build our relationship.”
She nodded, smiling happily.
Jeremiah pulled her into his arms and gave her another deep kiss. Then he stepped back, said good-night, and walked down the steps, whistling.