Debbie Macomber_Blossom Street 04 (20 page)

O
n Monday evening Barbie purposely stayed away from the movies. It wasn’t easy, but she felt she had no option. Last week she’d left her business card with Tessa; now Barbie felt the next move had to come from him.

In a way Mark
had
made the next move by having flowers delivered, although she considered that an indirect, even cowardly approach. The flowers were a lovely gesture, but she’d been looking for more—like an apology or an invitation to meet again. By ordering the floral arrangement he’d managed to communicate his interest, yet keep his pride intact.

Maybe…the gesture
was
enough. For the moment.

She recognized what he was trying to tell her. He’d made a move in this elaborate game of theirs; the next one was hers.

She knew a little more about him after a Google search. He was an architect with an independent practice and lived in a downtown condo he’d designed himself.

Barbie felt encouraged by his interest. No, she was ecstatic. Still, she had to restrain herself, not let him have the upper hand. She decided she’d return to the movies again, but not right away.

Tuesday afternoon, she thought she’d register for the belly dancing class being held at the Seattle Fitness Center. This was her first trip here, and she was surprised to find an Olympic-size pool, along with a huge gymnasium and several activity rooms. As she walked down the hallway to the office, she passed a shop that sold workout clothes, swimsuits and other exercise paraphernalia.

After filling out the paperwork and paying her fee, Barbie began to leave the building, feeling positive and determined. She was making her wishes come true. Smiling to herself, she rounded the corner and stopped abruptly as a man in a wheelchair moved toward the pool.

Mark Bassett.

Coincidence? Fate? Barbie wasn’t about to question it. Her heart felt as if it had shot all the way up into her throat. Without conscious thought she did an about-face and headed back, toward the shop. Within five minutes, she’d purchased a swimsuit and towel. Gaining entrance to the pool was a bit more difficult; before she was allowed to swim, she had to buy a six-month fitness membership. She slapped her credit card down on the counter, impatient to get into the water before Mark.

He
had
to believe this meeting wasn’t staged—which, in truth, it wasn’t. Okay, so her showing up at the pool might be a bit manipulative, but when life presented you with an advantage, you had to grab it with both hands.

Barbie changed into the swimsuit, a sleek blue one-piece, in the women’s dressing room and walked out as though she was strolling along a Caribbean shore. The
suit, thankfully, was a perfect fit. She squared her shoulders and silently thanked her mother for every lesson she’d taken at that expensive charm school.

Using the railing, she lowered herself into the water and cringed at the temperature. Her own swimming pool was kept at a comfortable eighty-five degrees. This was eighty, eighty-one maximum, and in her opinion downright cold.

When she’d entered the pool area, the attendant had explained that this was the adult lap swim. As soon as she got into the water, Barbie realized these noontime swimmers were serious about their workout. They wore goggles and bathing caps, and to her they resembled nothing so much as a bunch of insects with their smooth shiny heads and large round eyes.

Barbie refused to allow her hair to get wet. She needed to go back to work right afterward, and she couldn’t arrive with dripping hair.

The minute she broke away from the side of the pool, another swimmer streaked past her, quickly followed by a second. It was quite apparent that no one appreciated her rather lazy form of breaststroke.

A third swimmer went by, kicking wildly, splashing her face and hair. Barbie swallowed a mouthful of chlorinated water and choked violently. She felt like she was about to cough up her tonsils. So much for making a sophisticated appearance.

She muttered a curse, treading water for a moment while she caught her breath. When she could breathe normally again, she wiped the water from her eyes. She’d given up even trying to keep her hair dry.

As she finally reached the other end of the pool, she saw Mark hanging on to the side, watching her. Clearly
her antics were a source of amusement to him. His gaze found hers and he actually smiled.

Mark had
smiled
at her!

Since her hair was already ruined, Barbie stopped worrying about it and started swimming for all she was worth, face fully in the water. Her mascara was probably running, too, but she no longer cared.

Mark was waiting for her.

“Fancy meeting you here,” she said, hoisting herself up on the side of the pool. She gave him what she hoped was a dazzling smile.

“Yeah, some coincidence.”

“Come here often?” she asked.

“Every day.”

“Me, too,” she lied. “I can’t believe we’ve never run into each other before.”

“Every day?” He arched his eyebrows in disbelief. “Since when?”

She wasn’t fooling him, so she might as well own up to the truth. “Since today.”

He not only smiled at that, he laughed. The sound was deep, pleasant to the ear. She had the impression that he hadn’t done a lot of laughing in the last few years.

“I come here to swim,” Mark told her. “Keep up if you can.”

“Hey, you’re going to have to catch
me
,” she shouted after him.

That was a joke if there ever was one.

Mark took off and with impressive upper body strength sliced through the water. His ease and grace were mesmerizing. Barbie didn’t make the slightest effort to catch up with him. When he’d passed her twice, he stopped, waiting for her in the deep end. By then, Barbie had swum
two laps and was too exhausted to swim anymore. Her breath came in shallow gasps. She grabbed the edge of the pool and felt her heart pounding hard against her ribs.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re really here?” he asked.

“Belly dancing.”

“I beg your pardon?” He sounded incredulous, and she wondered if he thought she was making fun of him.

“I signed up for a belly dancing class.”

“At the Fitness Center?”

Propping her elbow on the ledge, Barbie pushed the hair away from her face. “Just as I was leaving, I saw you and had the overwhelming urge to take a dip.”

“You’re a member?”

“I am now.”

Almost everyone had left the water. Barbie looked around, astonished to discover that only the two of them were still in the pool. When she glanced back at Mark, she saw him frowning.

“Why?” he asked.

Barbie didn’t know how to answer him. “Don’t
you
feel it?” she asked him instead. Judging by his puzzled expression, he either didn’t understand or didn’t want to, so she continued. “That first night in the theater… I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

“You’re imagining things,” he snapped.

“No, I’m not.” She wasn’t going to let him lie to her, let alone himself. The attraction between them was too intense to ignore.

“I realize you’re not happy about this,” she whispered. “You’ve made that pretty obvious.”

“Then leave me alone.”

“I wish I could,” she said, “but I just…can’t.” She
hadn’t meant to reveal so much, but the words slipped out before she could stop herself. Their eyes met, and she could see the warring emotions inside him.

Using his free arm, he reached for her and slid his hand behind her neck and then slowly, as if fighting her every inch of the way, he brought his mouth to hers. He gave her ample opportunity to pull back.

She didn’t.

Barbie wanted his kiss, hungered for it. She opened her mouth to welcome him, and then she was crushed in his embrace, arms and legs entwined, mouths joined.

Their kiss was better than she ever would have dreamed. They abandoned the effort to stay afloat and started to sink. Clinging to each other they sank far below the surface, their mouths straining, searching, devouring.

By the time they broke the surface again, Barbie was gasping for air. Because his legs were paralyzed, Mark needed to move his arms to remain afloat. All Barbie needed to do was kick her feet.

The sheer exhilaration of his kiss overwhelmed her. But he didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm. His look was fierce, angry…afraid. He glared at her in much the same way he had the evening they’d first met.

“That was wonderful,” she said reverently. It was very different from any sensual experience she’d shared with Gary, and she felt no guilt, no regret. Only gratitude.

He didn’t respond.

“Mark?” His name was a soft plea on her lips. She couldn’t bear it if he said or did something to destroy what she’d found to be an intensely moving experience.

Without speaking he kissed her a second time, and they sank into the clear blue water, wrapped in each other’s arms. After a moment, they bobbed to the surface again.

Mark released her and Barbie sagged breathlessly against him, her head on his shoulder. It’d been so long since a man had held her or kissed her….

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” he whispered, but even as he spoke the words, he caressed her wet hair. He was braced against the side of the pool and she held on to him.

“It’s a brilliant idea! Stop arguing with me.” The sheer joy of being in his arms rang in her voice.

“Barbie—”

She shushed him with a kiss. “I mean it. Stop arguing.”

He laughed again, the sound echoing in the cavernous room.

“I’m turning into a prune,” she said, “and I love every second of it and all because I’m with you.”

“You’re very beautiful,” he murmured.

“Even with wrinkled skin and mascara running down my face?”

“If you only knew…” Then, seeming to reach some kind of decision, he slowly exhaled. “Listen, Barbie, this is all very flattering, but—”

She interrupted him again, kissing him full on the mouth, using her lips and tongue to steal his very words. After coming this far, she didn’t plan to let him get cold feet and a cold heart now.

His eyes were still closed when she broke off the kiss.

“You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for. You—”

“I won’t tolerate a man making decisions for me. If you think I’m going to allow you to decide what I do and don’t know, then you’re sadly mistaken.”

The edges of his mouth quivered with the effort of suppressing a smile. “So you know everything there is to know about my disability.”

“Of course I don’t.”

He ignored her response. “You read a few things on the Internet and you think you know it all.”

“Well…okay, I read a few things.”

His eyes narrowed. “Like what?”

A flush rose in her cheeks. “Mainly, I was interested in how we’ll make love.”

Mark gasped—or perhaps it was a groan, she couldn’t tell which. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself.”

“Probably,” she admitted. “But that’s what I was most curious about.”

His face somber and apprehensive, he smoothed a wet tendril from her cheek. “I should tell you…I haven’t…since the accident.”

“Then it’s about time.” Barbie couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. Even more unbelievable was the fact that she could speak so openly and boldly about lovemaking with a man she barely knew.

Mark held her gaze a long moment. “Where do we go from here?”

“Where do you want to go?”

A smile twitched his lips. “Now, that’s a leading question if I ever heard one.”

She slapped his shoulder. “What I mean is we should probably get to know each other a little better.”

“Must we?” he asked with pretended chagrin.

“Yes!”

“We can’t go to bed first and ask questions later?”

“I’m not that kind of woman.” Although considering the way he kissed, she might think about converting.

“I was afraid of that.”

“You swim every day?”

“Every day,” he assured her. “You too, right?”

“Right.” This schedule change was going to take some adjustment. “Except Monday and Wednesday, when I’ll be in my belly dancing class. Okay, I’ll swim two or three times a week.”

“Right.”

“I could meet you afterward.” Her staff was going to be putting in a lot of extra hours. That wasn’t a problem; Barbie had been planning to give them more hours, anyway.

“You’re sure about this?” Mark didn’t seem convinced.

“I’m positive and if you ask me once more, I’ll—”

“If you want to punish me, all you have to do is press that perfect body of yours against mine.”

“That’s nice to know.” She moved closer and slid her right leg between his thighs. Her breasts brushed his chest as she spread eager kisses along his jaw.

“I suggest you stop now,” he muttered. “There’s a seniors’ class coming in soon.”

“Can’t. I’m thanking you.”

“For what?”

“The flowers you sent.” She wouldn’t have found the courage to confront him this afternoon if he hadn’t made that move.

Mark went very still. “I didn’t send you flowers.”

“But…the card had your name on it.”

He muttered something she couldn’t completely hear; she caught the gist of it, though. Mark’s sister or perhaps his mother was responsible for that bouquet.

“So, you
didn’t
send the flowers,” she confirmed.

Mark wound his fingers into her hair and dragged her mouth to his. “Let’s just pretend I did.”

Barbie was more than willing to do exactly that.

L
illie Higgins stared at the phone, then groaned in frustration and turned away. This should be easy. Everyone seemed to think there was nothing to it. But try as she might, Lillie couldn’t make herself call Hector.

In desperation, not knowing how else to manage this, she’d contacted the dealership instead, with a list of imaginary complaints about her car. The receptionist she spoke with made her an appointment for Thursday morning at ten. By the time she arrived at the service department, her stomach was tied up in knots a sailor couldn’t untangle.

A man she didn’t recognize came out to discuss the trouble her car had supposedly been giving her.

“Could you explain again what the problem is?” he asked, studying his clipboard.

Lillie had a panicky moment before she remembered what she’d told the receptionist yesterday when she’d made the appointment. “There seems to be a hesitation….”

“Coming from a full stop?” he asked, glancing up from his notepad.

“Yes, that’s it. From a full stop.”

“How often has this happened?”

She didn’t want to overplay the situation. “A couple of times.”

He jotted that down. “Just twice.”

“No, more. Four or five times.” Her hands were clammy and her mouth had gone dry and she had the most compelling urge to turn tail and run. If she hadn’t handed her car keys over to the mechanic, she would’ve made an excuse and left before she looked like an even bigger fool.

He wrote something else on the chart.

“This won’t take long, will it?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he assured her.

Inside the waiting area, Lillie got a cup of coffee from the machine and picked up that day’s paper. Although she’d come for the express purpose of seeing Hector again, now she prayed she wouldn’t. How could she possibly explain what she’d done?

Lillie liked to think of herself as mature and sensible. Never in all her life, not even as a teenager, had she indulged in such a ridiculous deception over a man. Her face burned with mortification. She’d lied about her car—told an outright lie in a futile effort to see Hector Silva again.

Fifteen minutes later, the receptionist came to tell her that her vehicle was ready. She immediately went to pay the bill but found there was no charge. Eager to be on her way, Lillie hurried out of the building to the lot, where her car was waiting for her.

She nearly stumbled when she saw Hector standing next to it.

“Lillie,” he said, his smile warm. “I’ve personally checked out the car and I can’t find anything wrong with
it. I thought if we took a drive, the problem might reappear and I could analyze it.”

The offer to spend time with him was tempting, but she’d frittered away enough of his morning. “If you say it’s in fine working order, then I’m sure it is. I trust you.”

“I wouldn’t mind, Lillie.”

“Hector.” Her face shone as brightly as a lighthouse beacon. “There’s nothing wrong with my vehicle,” she said, making a spontaneous decision. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have wasted your time.” The most important thing at the moment was getting away with her dignity—or what remained of it—intact.

Hector nodded. “We don’t need to test your car, then?”

“We don’t.”

He opened the driver’s door for her, and she climbed in. Her hand trembled as she inserted the key in the ignition. The door was still open.

“Do you…have you ever gone bowling?” The words came at her in a rush.

“Bowling?” she repeated, frowning. “Oh, sure, of course.” This must be a day meant for lies. In her entire life, she’d never even stepped inside a bowling alley.

“I know it’s short notice… I hope you don’t mind my asking…”

“I don’t mind.” How eager she sounded. Her heart did a silly dance while she tried to disguise her excitement at his invitation.

“Tonight?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Six?”

“Okay.” She mentally reviewed her closet filled with Misook and St. John suits. What did one wear bowling? Barbie would know.

Barbie would help her. Then she realized she couldn’t tell Barbie.

Not yet. Later maybe, after she’d gone out with Hector.

He grinned. “Perhaps we should meet there?”

“That’s fine.”
Anywhere
was fine.

With a verve that was almost boyish, he shut her door, but not before giving her the address of the bowling alley. “I’ll look forward to seeing you this evening,” he said.

“Yes.” Lillie didn’t know if she was going to dissolve into tears or giggles. Either way, her actions today had been embarrassing—but she didn’t care.

She was going to see Hector tonight, and they wouldn’t be talking about cars, either.

That evening, thanks to her navigation system, Lillie located the bowling alley and got there at ten minutes to six. She wore beige linen slacks and a soft teal cashmere sweater with a floral silk scarf around her neck. Earlier in the afternoon, she’d purchased tennis shoes and white cotton socks. With her makeup she’d gone for a light, natural look, and she’d worn her hair neatly tied back. Every detail of her appearance had been closely scrutinized.

Hector, dressed in a suit and tie, was waiting outside the entrance, and when he saw her, his eyes lit up. Lillie knew exactly how he felt, because she felt the same happiness at seeing him.

As she approached, he held out his hands to her, and for a moment neither of them spoke. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me.”

“Thank you for asking me.” A little worried, she glanced at his suit. He looked as if he was about to attend a wedding. Lillie hadn’t realized bowling was such a formal sport.

“Should I change my clothes?”

Hector shook his head. “No, no, you look perfect.”

“But you’re wearing a suit….”

His cheeks reddened slightly. “My daughter said I should never have suggested bowling. She said you must think me a buffoon. Would you care to dine with me, Lillie? I apologize if I offended you by offering to take you bowling. It’s been many years since I invited a woman out. I don’t know how such things are done now.”

All Lillie really wanted was to be with Hector. It didn’t matter to her if they were in a five-star restaurant or knocking down pins in a bowling alley. “Hmm. That’s quite a decision.”

“Shall we have coffee and then decide?”

She nodded. “That’s an excellent idea.”

Next they needed to figure out where to have coffee. They chose the café in the bowling alley, since that was the simplest alternative. Hector led her to a booth in the corner. The menu was shaped like a bowling pin and the salt and pepper shakers were empty beer bottles. Lillie was enchanted.

He slid into the booth across from her as she glanced happily around. The atmosphere reminded her of a fifties diner, the kind of place where the day’s special was a double bacon cheeseburger with greasy fries. When she read the chalkboard, she saw that the special here was actually two cheese enchiladas with rice and beans.

Hector raised his hand and the waitress brought coffee.

Lillie leaned forward. “There was nothing wrong with my car.” She’d told him as much earlier, but she wanted him to understand the reason for her pretense.

“Oh, I knew that all along.”

“You did?” That made it even more embarrassing. “I wanted to see you again,” she said bluntly.

Hector spooned sugar into his coffee. “I wanted to see you, too.”

“But you didn’t phone, you didn’t ask…. My daughter and my friends urged me to contact you. They say that’s how it’s done nowadays.”

“You
didn’t
call me.”

She avoided eye contact. “I wasn’t sure how. I’ve never called a man—well, other than a professional or a friend.”

“My daughter said if you agreed to see me after tonight, it would be a miracle. She crossed herself when I told her I invited you to go bowling.”

Lillie laughed. The cheerful clatter from the bowling alley made her curious and she noticed that everyone seemed to be having fun. “I have another confession to make.”

“Two confessions in a single night?”

“Two,” she said with a smile. “I’ve never been bowling.”

This didn’t appear to surprise him, either. “Would you like to learn?” he asked.

“Only if you’re going to be my teacher.”

From across the table he grinned at her and she was mesmerized. He’d captured her imagination and her senses with his unfailing courtesy, genuine charm and with his kindness.

When they finished their coffee, Hector procured them a lane, fitted her with rented shoes, and then proceeded to show Lillie how to bowl.

By the end of the evening, Lillie had to admit she hadn’t laughed this much in twenty years. It was gratifying—and completely unexpected—to discover that she
had a certain knack for the sport. What they both found nothing short of hilarious was the fact that her ball rolled at the speed of an earthworm. She’d release it just the way Hector instructed, return to her seat and wait while the bowling ball slowly but surely trundled down the narrow lane. After what seemed like minutes, the ball would connect with the pins. They’d fall lazily over, one at a time, almost in slow motion, knocking into one another.

People stopped to watch when the ball finally made contact and the pins started to tumble. Once she managed to knock down nine pins, and the people in the next alley actually broke into applause.

Hector—who was obviously an accomplished bowler, as his succession of strikes made clear—claimed he’d never seen anything like it. Apparently, no one else had, either. The place was growing crowded, and Lillie was unaccustomed to all the attention, which embarrassed her. All she could do was laugh.

And when she laughed, Hector did, too.

In the last frame of their final game, Lillie achieved her first strike. It took nearly a minute for all the pins to fall and when the last one spun around and around and eventually toppled, she jumped up and down like a schoolgirl. Hector hugged her and then self-consciously stepped back.

After that, they turned in their bowling shoes and balls. She could hardly remember a time she’d enjoyed more. When they left the lanes, it seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to take her hand.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, dangling his suit jacket over his shoulder.

“Famished.”

“I am, too. Do you have a favorite restaurant?”

“Yes, I do,” she said and smiled over at him. “It’s right here.”

“Lillie, please allow me to take you to a real restaurant.”

“This one looks real.”

He hesitated. “My daughter suggested Gaucho’s. She said they have an extensive wine list and a pianist who plays classical music.”

“Are you planning to wine and dine me?”

“Yes, it’s what you deserve. I want only the best for you.”

It was such a sweet gesture, but she couldn’t let Hector spend that kind of money. Besides, she wasn’t dressed for anyplace formal. “I’d love some cheese enchiladas,” she told him.

Hector squeezed her fingers. “If you insist, but if my daughter asks, please tell her the choice was yours, not mine.”

“Rita?”

“Yes. Before I left this evening, she gave me a long list of things I should and shouldn’t do. When I dated my wife, it was nothing like this.” He stopped abruptly. “I don’t mean to imply…”

“I know,” she assured him. “I feel just as nervous as you.”

“Really?”

She laughed. “You mean you can’t tell?”

“No.” He seemed genuinely surprised. “I have a confession to make.”

“You?” Well, she’d already made two of her own.

“When I look at you,” he said in a low voice, “I forget to breathe.”

She wondered if he realized the effect his words had on her—or that she felt the very same way.

“Me, too,” she whispered. She might have said more but a booth became available and they slid inside.

They each ordered the enchiladas and lingered over coffee, chatting until after one in the morning. Only when Lillie couldn’t hold back a yawn did Hector suggest they call it a night.

He walked her to her car, which was one of the four or five still in the parking lot. The entire time Lillie prayed Hector would want to see her again. When he didn’t mention it, she was sure this would be their one and only date.

“I had a lovely evening,” she said, fumbling for her keys.

“So did I.”

“Thank you for everything.” She opened the car door and got in.

He nodded, stepping away as she started the engine.

Lillie’s heart was in her throat.

“Saturday,” he blurted out just as she was ready to drive away.

“Pardon?”

“Would you like to attend a lecture at the museum with me this Saturday?”

The relief was so overwhelming, she nearly broke into tears. “That would be wonderful, Hector.”

Wonderful
didn’t begin to describe it.