Twenty-Two
The Girl Next Door
D amn, but he missed Hallie. He’d really blown it with her. He’d recognized his mistake the moment his eyes met hers and she’d escaped into her house. He’d seen neither hide nor hair of her since, which was quite a feat considering how often they ran into each other most of the time. They usually met at the mailboxes at the end of the day or walking out to their vehicles in the morning. Hallie must be avoiding him, and Steve found that thought damned depressing.
Even the kids had noticed. “Is something wrong between you and Hallie?” Meagan asked the weekend before Mary Lynn’s wedding.
“Wrong? What makes you ask that?” He pretended ignorance rather than admit he’d insulted Hallie. It didn’t help that she’d attacked him just after he’d been sucker-punched by his ex-wife.
Mary Lynn had come to him just the way he’d dreamed she would. Only that was as far as his romantic scenario matched what had actually happened. She’d come begging, all right, but not to ask him back into her life. She’d needed a favor, a rather large one as it turned out. Instead of rejoining his family, he would act as guardian while his ex-wife honeymooned with her new husband. He adored his kids; it wasn’t that. His feelings had nothing to do with them and everything to do with Mary Lynn. Her remarriage was real to him now, and it meant that hope was truly over. He’d become just a convenience to his ex-wife.
Hallie’s lecture afterward had felt like a kick when he was already down. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t have said what he did. It was all too easy to recall the hurt and disappointment in her expressive brown eyes.
“Dad?” Meagan waved a hand in front of his face. “I was talking to you about Hallie.”
No use trying to hide it any longer. “We had a, uh, minor falling-out.”
“That’s what Hallie said.”
Steve brightened. “Hallie mentioned it?”
Meagan shrugged. “Not really. I asked her if she wanted to come to Kenny’s baseball game. It’s boring there without someone to talk to, and I thought maybe Hallie could come. I think she might’ve too, if it wasn’t for what you said.”
“She told you that?”
“No.” Meagan shook her head emphatically. “Just that you were angry with each other.”
Kenny walked into the house and slammed the front door. He threw his baseball mitt on the floor. “It’s raining,” he said, sounding thoroughly disgusted. “How am I supposed to play ball when the weather’s like this?” He fell onto the sofa, not bothering to pull off his muddy shoes.
Steve sat down next to his son. Everyone had been short-tempered this weekend, and he suspected it had little to do with the weather.
“We need to talk,” he announced. “You, too, Meagan.”
“Yeah, Meagan,” Kenny taunted.
“About what?” She ignored her brother and sat in the chair crossing her arms defensively, just the way Hallie had the last time they talked.
“We’ve all been in a bad mood,” he began. “And—”
“Not me,” Meagan insisted.
To be fair, she’d been the most even-tempered of anyone, including him.
“You think you’re perfect.” Kenny glared at his sister and probably would have stuck out his tongue if Steve hadn’t been watching.
The corners of Meagan’s mouth edged upward. “That’s because I am perfect.”
“I think I know what’s wrong,” Steve said, unwilling to wade into an argument between his children.
“It’s the rain,” Kenny said. “It rained last week during the game and I played terrible.”
“You are terrible,” Meagan muttered.
“I’m a lot better than you!”
“Kids, please,” Steve said, waving his arms in referee fashion. “I think all this has to do with your mother marrying Kip.” He dove into the conversation headfirst. At least he had the children’s attention.
“I know how you feel,” Steve told them, putting his arm around Kenny’s shoulders. “But I want you both to know that nothing’s going to change with the three of us. It doesn’t matter who your mother marries. I’ll always be your dad.”
“I don’t like Kip,” Kenny said sullenly. “He doesn’t know how to throw a ball and he can’t catch worth beans.”
A perverse part of Steve was thrilled to hear it. “But he was willing to try, and that’s all that counts, isn’t it?”
Kenny lowered his eyes rather than answer.
“How can you say nice things about Kip?” Meagan cried, and to his shock, his daughter’s eyes filled with tears. “Mom’s marrying him when she should still be married to you.”
That more or less summed up what Steve felt, but he couldn’t say as much. Mary Lynn had her own life to live and she’d chosen to live it without him.
“Your mother has a mind of her own and she’s in love with Kip, so much in love that she’s decided to marry him. Now it’s up to the three of us to accept her decision and be happy for her.”
The words stuck in his craw, but he managed to say them with enough conviction to sound as if he meant it.
“But I don’t like Kip,” Kenny said for the second time.
“Give him a chance,” Steve urged. His children had to live with Mary Lynn’s new husband, and it would behoove them to make their peace with him. “I’m sure he isn’t so bad once you get to know him,” Steve added.
“He isn’t you,” Meagan said, getting to the heart of the matter.
It hurt to let go of the dream of getting back together with Mary Lynn. It hurt like hell. That was one thing, but having Kip step into the role of stepfather to his kids was another.
“I love you both,” Steve whispered and held out his arms. Meagan and Kenny crowded next to him on the sofa. He wrapped an arm around each one, loving them with an intensity that made his heart ache.
“Nothing’s going to change between us,” he promised, struggling to find the words to reassure them. “I’m still your dad. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what happens.”
“I wish Mom—”
“Shh,” Steve said, and pressed Kenny’s head against his shoulder.
“You’ll always be my dad, no matter what?” Kenny repeated. “Do you promise?”
“You can count on it, son.”
“Even if you get married again?”
Steve couldn’t see the likelihood of that happening. “Even if I get married again,” he vowed. Nothing on earth was strong enough to keep him from his children.
“Feel better now?” he asked after a few moments.
“I do,” Meagan confessed.
“Me, too,” Kenny said.
Mary Lynn stopped by to pick up the kids an hour later. Steve didn’t walk outside to chat with her the way he did most Sundays. Frankly, he couldn’t see the point of it. Why torture himself?
School was out for the summer, and the kids were at the stage where they weren’t sure what to do with themselves yet. He’d make a point of seeing more of them and concentrating on being a good father. Actually he was looking forward to having his children with him the two weeks Mary Lynn and Kip were away. It might help ease the loneliness—his, anyway.
The silence that followed their leaving seemed to echo in Steve’s mind. He turned on the television, hoping to fill the place with noise, but that depressed him even more than the quiet had.
He decided what he needed was a workout, so he donned his running shoes and sweats. Every once in a while the urge to jog hit him. And right now, pounding out his frustrations on the pavement suited his mood perfectly.
He left the house just as a car pulled up in front of Hallie’s—one of those new BMWs he’d admired from afar. The Z3, the one from that James Bond movie.
It took Steve a couple of minutes to realize that the well-dressed man who’d stepped out was Hallie’s date. Steve did a number of warm-up exercises, which were little more than an excuse to stick around long enough to get a good look at the guy she was dating this time.
He had to admit this character was better-looking than the others had been. Successful, too, judging by the car he drove.
Steve hoped things worked out for Hallie. And he hoped he and Hallie could be friends again. He missed the laughter she brought to his life and the companionable hours she’d spent with him and his kids.
Yeah, he should’ve kept his damn mouth shut. He wished he knew how to repair the damage, but he was at a distinct loss when it came to letting a woman know he was sorry. His marriage was a good example of that.
He set off on his run, getting his heart rate up to aerobic level in a few minutes. He soon discovered that his mind was filled with thoughts of Hallie. Not Mary Lynn. Hallie.
He wasn’t sure if he should be grateful or infuriated.
On impulse, Steve left a one-word note on her windshield the next morning.
SORRY.
Nothing happened. He was convinced she hadn’t noticed. And then, the following morning, he found a piece of paper tucked under his windshield wiper. He unfolded it.
YOU’RE FORGIVEN.
Smiling, Steve stuck it in his pants pocket and headed for work. Todd noticed his improved mood right away.
“You’re in good spirits this morning,” he commented.
Steve poured himself a cup of coffee. “What do you think is appropriate for a man to give a woman when he wants to apologize. Flowers or candy?”
“What woman?”
“Never mind. Flowers or candy?” Steve repeated.
Todd frowned. “Does this have something to do with that neighbor of yours? Sally? Hattie? No, Hallie, that’s it. Hallie.”
“How’d you know?”
“Come on, Steve, you talk about her practically every conversation we have. She must be a comedian because you’re constantly going on about something funny she’s done. I expect to hear you two are hot and heavy under the covers any time now.”
“Me and Hallie?”
“Yeah, you and Hallie.”
Lovers? The two of them? He thought about it a moment, then shook his head. “Nah. It wouldn’t work.” It was kind of unfortunate, because he liked her. And because he knew instinctively that they were well matched in ways that mattered.
“Why not?”
“Well…” A long list of excuses crowded his mind. So many that he found it difficult to sort through them all and spit out just one. “Mainly because she’s seriously looking for a husband.”
“So?”
“Been there, done that, bought a T-shirt,” Steve returned flippantly. “I like her as a friend, but I don’t want to complicate our relationship with anything physical.”
“That sounds like a pretty weak excuse if you want my opinion.”
“I don’t,” Steve said. Then he shook his head. “You see, I don’t know if the friendship would hold up if we mixed the two.” Why ruin a good thing with sex?
“That’s not the way I see it,” Todd said. “Friends often make the best lovers. The sexual aspect of the relationship is enhanced by familiarity.”
“Maybe.” Steve was willing to concede that much. “You never did answer my question. Flowers or candy?” He wanted to divert Todd from the subject of sex, which only served to remind him how long he’d gone without it. Months. Many months. Longer than any other period in his adult life.
“Flowers,” Todd said, adding a tablespoon of sugar to his coffee mug. “Definitely flowers.”
Steve was leaning toward candy, thinking Hallie would want to share. He’d had a craving for chocolate truffles lately. Todd was right, though; flowers would be for Hallie, but he would’ve been the one eating the candy.
On his way home from work Steve stopped at an upscale grocery store and bought a single red rose, a small box of chocolates and, to be on the safe side, a bottle of chilled white wine. That way he’d covered all the bases.
He showered, changed clothes and waited until he was certain Hallie was home. Grabbing the wine and chocolates and placing the long-stemmed rose between his teeth, he rang her doorbell.
Hallie answered, took one look at him and laughed. Her smile was like sunshine, and Steve basked in its warmth. “Friends?” he asked.
“Friends,” she answered softly, and let him inside.
Even though they’d only been on the outs a week, it felt like a month. He was lighthearted with relief now that the friendship had been rescued. But a rose between his teeth was one thing; a heartfelt apology another.
“What I said about getting yourself a husband before offering me marital advice,” he started, then cleared his throat. “I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. I’m sorry, Hallie.”
It seemed to him that her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly, but he might have been wrong.
“What you said was true,” she told him, her voice impassive. “I spoke out of turn.”
“Not really. Besides, letting you fall off the bike when Mary Lynn arrived wasn’t one of my finer moments. You had every right to be upset.”
“Let’s put it behind us.”
“Fair enough.” He handed her the wine, the chocolates and the rose.
“Thank you,” she said, and stepped forward to kiss his lips. It was a feathery kiss, a light kiss, a kiss without passion.
It was just like the other times they’d kissed.
Which made the heat soaring through his blood difficult to explain. He resisted the urge to reach for her shoulders and pull her back into his arms. Resisted the urge to kiss her again. He longed to feel the pressure of her mouth on his, and the soft and feminine imprint of her body.
Something was definitely very wrong.
Steve could feel his pulse pounding in his temple and was grateful when she suggested they drink the wine on her patio. The evening was lovely, with a cloudless blue sky and the gentlest of breezes.
Hallie sat back on her folding chair gazing up at the sky, her legs stretched out in front of her.
Steve relaxed, too. “You dating Bill Gates these days?” he asked, thinking about the man with the fancy car.
“Bill Gates is married.”
Clearly she wasn’t going to be forthcoming with the information he wanted. “Who drives the Z3, then?”
“Oh, you mean Arnold. Arnold Vance, Dateline’s latest offering.” She glanced at him. “You two met?”
“No, I went out for a jog a couple of nights ago and saw him parked outside your house.” He hated to reveal how curious he’d been, but there wasn’t much point in hiding it now. “He looked like the perfect candidate for a husband.”
“You think so?” She sounded surprised. “Arnold’s polite and sensitive, a very nineties kind of man, but I didn’t feel we hit it off the way we should have.”
“Are you seeing him again?”
She nodded but without a lot of enthusiasm. “Next Wednesday. You know what irritates me? This guy is everything a woman could ask for, and all I can manage is token interest. He leaves me yawning.”
Steve put a concerned expression on his face, but inside he was grinning widely. So, the car didn’t make the man.
“Donnalee’s experiencing the same thing,” Hallie was saying. “She’s dating this real-estate broker she’s known for years. A catch with a capital C, and for the life of her she can’t dredge up any excitement.”
“Why?” Steve asked.
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be sitting here drinking wine with you.” He smiled, remembering a similar smart-ass remark the night she’d looked after her baby niece.
This felt good, sitting out on a warm summer evening with his friend. “So,” he said, “did you miss me?”
“I did,” she said without elaborating. “It surprised me, too. You worked hard at avoiding me all week, I noticed.”
“I didn’t. I thought you were avoiding me.”
“No, but my schedule was crazy,” she said. “I left early and got home late.” The smile was back in place, and Steve noticed, not for the first time, how pretty she was when she smiled. “In case you’re interested, I not only missed you, I felt miserable and guilty. I hope you’re satisfied.”
“So did I,” he said, figuring that if she was willing to be open and honest, he wouldn’t be anything less.
They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, then chatted about this and that—the kids, the neighborhood, movies they’d seen. Eventually the subject of vacations arose.
“I’ll be gone a couple of days at the beginning of next week,” she told him. “Would it be too much trouble for you to pick up my mail?”
“I’d be happy to.” He’d get her mail, water her plants and miss her, too. Sipping his wine, Steve found himself studying Hallie with fresh eyes. He remembered what Todd had said earlier in the day.
Lovers? He and Hallie?
She was attractive. Tonight she wore shorts and a blouse with a V neckline. By lifting his head just a bit, he could see the swell of her breasts. His gaze lingered there far longer than it should have. He caught himself thinking about her breasts and how he’d like to see them and—
For heaven’s sake, this was Hallie! Steve frowned as he reminded himself. His friend and neighbor. He resisted the impulse to shake his head to clear it.
She continued chatting, and Steve listened with half an ear while she told him about the short business trip she’d planned—to attend a trade fair in San Francisco. He noticed small things about her that he hadn’t paid attention to in the past.
Her mouth was incredible; her lips were perhaps the most perfectly shaped he’d ever seen. He studied them as she spoke, noticing the way she moistened them with the tip of her tongue. It was a purely innocent movement, not intended to be seductive at all. Furthermore, he’d seen her do it a thousand times and it’d never affected him like this.
“Mary Lynn’s getting married this weekend.” Steve wasn’t sure what prompted his sudden statement.
“You okay?” she asked with a gentleness that was like salve to his battered soul.
He shrugged. “I don’t have any choice but to accept it.”
“What about the kids?”
“They aren’t happy, but they’re young and they’ll adjust. I told them to give Lard Butt a chance to prove himself.”
“Steve!”
“What?”
“You didn’t actually call Kip Lard Butt, did you?”
He chuckled. “Not out loud.”
“I should hope not.” She threw him a schoolmarm’s disapproving glare.
He sighed and gazed up at the heavens. “So Mary Lynn’s getting married.” He said it again. “Can you imagine her and Lard Butt in the sack together?”
“Steve!”
“I hate to tell you how long I’ve been without sex,” he muttered, downing the last of his wine in one gulp.
Hallie glanced his way. “I’d hate to tell you how long it’s been for me.”
“Really?” That surprised him, seeing that she’d been dating a long line of men practically from the moment he’d met her.
“Don’t act so shocked.”
“What about Mark and Larry and the others?”
She pressed her lips together in annoyance, and Steve decided she’d missed her calling. Hallie really should’ve been in a class room; she had looks some teachers couldn’t imitate.
“I don’t sleep with every man I date.”
“Don’t get all bent out of shape. How was I supposed to know that? A lot of women do.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said to me, Steve Marris.”
“Sorry,” he said, meaning it. He reached for the wine bottle and replenished their glasses. “I certainly didn’t want to offend you.”
“I’m not offended…just, I don’t know. You sometimes say stupid things.”
The wine was affecting her, he observed. Her cheeks were flushed with color and a sheen of perspiration had moistened her brow. He could see the outline of her breasts and her nipples, pearl-hard, through her thin cotton blouse. She probably wasn’t wearing a bra, which was a thought he’d rather not entertain in his present deprived—or was that depraved?—state of mind.
“Well, how about this?” He paused, grinning. “Are you interested?” Hell, it didn’t do any harm to ask, and she might surprise him.
“Interested in what?”
“Sex, the two of us,” he suggested nonchalantly. Maybe it was time to test Todd’s theory about friends making the best lovers.
“You’re joking!”
“Am I?” His brows rose.
If her face was flushed earlier, it bloomed a deep shade of scarlet now.
He gave a lazy indulgent sigh. “Hey, I didn’t think it’d do any harm to ask.”
“That’s not exactly a turn-on, you know.” She wrinkled her face and gave him a goofy look. “‘Duh, come on, baby, let’s do it’? No wonder you haven’t had sex since God knows when.”
Since he’d only been joking, Steve didn’t take offense. “How else does a guy ask a woman to go to bed?”
“Not like that!”
“If I got down on one knee and said pretty please, would you reconsider?”
“No!”
He laughed. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s what I thought.”