Hot Buttered Yum (25 page)

The call was an
incoming Skype. From Gracie.

Roni’s throat
tightened as she thought about Lucas almost asking her to go home with him to
meet Gracie that morning. She didn’t know if she was ready for that.

But she wanted
to be.

She swiped the
screen to end the incoming call, but accidentally swiped it the wrong way, and the
next thing she knew, Gracie’s face smiled back at her.

“Hi,” she
chirped, loud enough for all the tables around them to hear. “You’re my daddy’s
friend.”

Mortification
filled Roni as all heads turned in her direction.

Heat drenched her
cheeks and she shot up out of her seat and ran for the door. The chatter at the tables in her
section had gone silent and she knew that every single one of them was watching
her sprint out of the room.

Once she was in
the hallway, she slumped back against the wall and squinted her eyes tightly
closed.
Ohmygod
, she’d answered
Lucas’s daughter’s call.

She had to talk
to her. How could she not?

“Hello?” the
young voice called out. “Are you there? All I sees is green.”

Roni had on a
dark-green skirt and the phone’s camera was pointed at it.

Slowly, and
praying that she didn’t say the wrong thing or do anything that Lucas wouldn’t
like, she lifted the phone to her face.

Big blue eyes
and the cutest curls Roni had ever seen filled the screen. Gracie was perfect.

“You’re his
friend, right?” Gracie asked again. “His special one? The piano player.”

Roni chuckled
softly and nodded.
His
special friend?
Had he talked about her to his daughter? “Hello,”
Roni managed to squeak out. “It’s nice to see you again, Gracie.”

An exuberant
smile shone between two chubby cheeks. “It’s nice to see you again too,” Gracie
politely chimed. “My Daddy said I might get to meet you. But
not on the c’puter. I didn’t know I would get to talk to you on the
c’puter again. Are you coming home with him to see me? He said you might.”

An invisible restraint
held Roni against the wall as she listened to the girl chatter, and she caught
herself smiling along with her. Oh yes, she wanted to go home with Lucas and
meet this child. Every time Gracie asked another question, Roni found herself with
the urge to know more about her.

“My Daddy isn’t
going to get me a dog anymore, did he tell you that?” She sighed dramatically. “We
talked ’bout it and we’re gonna wait for Santa to bring me one. He will, too. Cause
Grandma took me to see him yesterday. I told him a dog was what I wanted more
than anything in my whole life.” Her blue eyes blinked back at Roni from the
screen. “And a Barbie. The kind with a swimming pool.
Did you have a Barbie with a swimming pool when you were little? Do you want to
play wif’ mine wif’me?”

Gracie finally
took a breath, and Roni managed to get in a word. “Were you calling your dad
for a specific reason, Gracie?”

From what she
understood, he normally talked to Gracie in the mornings, and again at night
before she went to bed. His daughter knew that he was busy in the afternoons.

“Oh.” She nodded
and one of her curls dropped down so that it hung in front of her eye. “I
wanted to ask him if Gran’pa could take me to pick out a tree or if we should
wait ’til he gets home. He’s gonna be home in four days, but Gran’pa said he’d
take me today if I wanted him to. He said Daddy wouldn’t care, but I wanted to
be sure. We use’ly pick it out together.”

Oh
my
.
Roni could so fall in love with this angelic child.

She had to go to
Dallas and meet her. She would tell Lucas tomorrow night. They had a date planned
for after they finished for the day. She intended to tell him about Zoe before
the night was over. Seemed it might be the right time to ask if she could meet
his daughter too.

“Are you my
Daddy’s girlfriend?” Gracie suddenly asked.

Roni looked at
the heart-stopping face and bright-blue eyes and felt a little piece of her
heart already finding its way to Dallas. She nodded. “I am.”

“I thought so!”
Gracie shouted. “I told Grandma you was. She said we’d see. But I knew.”
Gracie’s head nodded excitedly. “Wait ’til I tell her.”

“Maybe you
should let your dad tell her.” Worry began to churn inside Roni. She bit her
lip. Should she not have said anything?

Gracie suddenly
went quiet. It was an interesting sound coming from the child. Then she shook
her head, and said, “No. I’m gonna tell her, ‘I told you so.’ I’ll tell her
it’s a secret, though. I gotta go.”

The call disconnected
as quickly as it had started, and she was left standing alone in the hall. She
pulled the phone to her chest with both hands and dropped her head back to the
concrete wall. She wanted this so bad.

What had
happened with Zoe was the past. She’d moved on, and she could handle whatever
life threw at her now. She’d just needed the time to get there.

She heard cheers
come from the other side of the wall and smiled, assuming Lucas had finally
presented his soup to the judges. She wanted to move on in her life with Lucas.
And Gracie.

A Tim McGraw song blasted from the sound
system of the Two-Step Bar and Grill as Lucas twirled Roni around the dance
floor. It was their date night and he was trying his best to show her a good
time. The day’s competition, in honor of Two Turtle Doves, had been a two-step contest
between the final four contestants. After finishing at the convention center, he’d
had the brilliant idea to come over to the Two-Step. Dancing,
dinner. Then a long, snuggling walk along the beach.
Sounded romantic enough.

Only, the bar
hadn’t been a unique idea. A crowd had shown up with them.

He and Roni shuffled
counterclockwise along with the rest of the dancers on the floor, and though he
had their upcoming conversation on his mind, priority number one at the moment was
the way she looked. And smelled. And had tasted when
he’d managed to steal a quick kiss from her.

They hadn’t seen
each other the night before—Roni and Ginger had spent the night with Andie at her
aunt’s house. And who knew missing one night with a woman he’d only known for ten
days could make a man crazy? But crazy he was. Her short dress and cowboy boots
weren’t helping matters any either. Her toned thighs had attracted the
attention of every male who’d looked in her direction.

He wanted her so
badly he was about ready to drag her to the middle of the crowded floor and get
down to business. Only, the place was so crammed full that he doubted he could
get her to the middle of the floor if he wanted to.

“You must be
excited,” she said. “About being down to the final two.”

Her head tilted up
to his, and as he peered down into her dark gaze in the low light of the room,
he didn’t care one iota that he was one of the two remaining men. With her
dress gaping just enough that he could see the plump swells of her breasts, all
he could think about was being buried deep inside her. Without
a condom.

And how he
hadn’t wanted to pull out yesterday morning.

It had thrown
him that the thought of continuing had even passed through his mind. He should
have learned his lesson years ago.

Yet Roni was
different from other women. She fit him.

And he wanted to
get her pregnant.

Whoa
. He looked
away. He didn’t need to go there. Not yet. There were still hurdles to cross. Specifically, a couple of important conversations to have, and then
convincing her to meet his kid.

“Yeah.” He
nodded. He stared off across the crowded floor. “Absolutely. The money would go
a long way for the kids and families who need it.”

Roni grew quiet in
his arms and he didn’t try to fill the void. He had to get them out of there. “How
about we—”

He cut off his
words at the feel of someone poking him in the arm. He looked down, then jerked his gaze to Roni. Mrs. Rylander shuffled along
beside them. He willed Roni to read his mind.
Get rid of her. She’s seen me naked.

She’d also seen
him hilt-deep inside Roni.

That was not
something he wanted to relive.

But instead of
reading his mind—or maybe she did and she was just being evil—Roni turned loose
of his hand and stepped back with a gracious smile. “I think Mrs. Rylander
would like to dance with you, Lucas.”

Was she kidding
him? He burned a look into her, but it didn’t stop her. She was gone, and left standing
in her place was five feet of ornery.

And to think,
he’d once thought this woman was sweet.

What was she
even doing out late at night in a bar?

“You’d better
give me your hand, young man; we’re about to get run over,” she informed him.
She stood there with her right hand in the air, fingers up, and a black patent
pocketbook dangling from her elbow.

Lucas put up his
left hand. He didn’t make eye contact. “Do you even know how to two-step, Mrs.
Rylander?”

“
Humph
,” she mumbled. “Best call me Audra
since I’ve seen your goods.” Her fragile hand fit itself to his. “And don’t
shortchange me none, either. I want some of them twirls and do-si-dos.”

He just shook
his head and clasped his fingers around hers. Do-si-dos were not in the
two-step. They were nowhere near the two-step. He positioned his other hand on
her shoulder blade, and away they went. Surprisingly, her feet flowed instantly
into the quick-quick-slow-slow rhythm of the dance.

“
Humph
,” she said again when he didn’t
comment on her apparent knowledge of what she was doing.

He kept his gaze
trained over her head, and shot Roni an evil look anytime she came into his view.
She was now dancing with Gus Thompson, contestant number one, and Lucas didn’t
think he liked that at all. Gus was the other man left standing in the
competition, but that wasn’t what bothered Lucas. It was seeing Roni smile into
the younger man’s eyes. She could be such a flirt when she wanted to. He also
didn’t like how the two of them looked a little too perfect together.

Jealousy and
horniness were apparently the name of the game for him tonight.

He flicked a
quick glance at his partner and added impatience to his list. The little old
lady was wearing him thin.

She’d been in
the house the morning before when he’d come back out of the bedroom—
dressed
—and though he hadn’t looked at
her, he’d felt her staring a hole through him. She’d been measuring him up. The
woman was eighty, for crying out loud. What was he supposed to do with an
eighty-year-old checking him out?

“Do you love
her?”

The simple
question was enough to finally pull his attention to her. “Excuse me?” he
asked.

“Roni,” she
stated plainly. “Do you love her?”

It was a good
time for one of those twirls she’d wanted. He sent Mrs. Rylander on a spin, but
when she came back the same look was plastered on her face. It was a mix of
determination and protectiveness. Wow. Who knew the little thing had it in her?
She was going to protect Roni from him?

Like Roni would
need it. His heart was the one that would get broken, if anybody’s
did.

“I saw that
hickey you put on her neck,” she tossed out. “As well as what else you were
doing to her.” She shook her head. “Your generation.” Her tone was filled with
disgust. “It’s always about the sex.”

“It’s not about
the sex,” he said. It had been, yes. But then … Well, maybe it had never
been, to be honest. He’d had a strong pull to Roni from day one.

He shook his
head and didn’t say anything else. Instead, he set his mouth and refocused his
gaze on the crowd. He saw one of the twins he’s met at the party that first
night. With her long, dark hair flowing down to the middle of her back and her
body-hugging dress, she was a looker. He hoped she was the single one instead
of the owner of the bar.

If not, the way
she was wearing one of the other contestants almost as tight as she wore her dress
would be highly inappropriate.

His mother had
taught him manners in his early years, so guilt began gnawing at him for
ignoring Mrs. Rylander the way he was. With a sigh, he grudgingly looked back
down and responded to her question.

“Forgive me,” he
said as politely as he could muster, “but I don’t see how my feelings for Roni
are any of your concern.”

She was still watching
him. She was like a hawk. “Well,” she began, “seeing as how someone has to
watch after her, I’ve gone and made it my concern.”

Another twirl.
This time a double, and amazingly the woman kept up. He went for cordial when
he brought her back around, and didn’t point out that Roni had her own mother who
could look after her. “Did you and your husband dance, Mrs. Rylander? You’re
very good at it.”

A slip of a smile
appeared between the wrinkles, and she nodded. “We used to push the furniture
back against the walls and dance in the middle of the living room.” They both
grew quiet as she disappeared into her memories. When she came back, she looked
up at him and said, “He never put me up on the counter, though.”

Lucas’s eye
twitched. She could stop reminding him that she’d seen that particular show.

“But I can’t say
as I wouldn’t have liked it if he had,” she mumbled. Lucas ignored her.

The song ended
and he thanked her and tried to excuse himself, but she kept a firm hold. “Not
so fast, hot stuff. You didn’t answer my question yet.”

He ground his
teeth together and started moving with the flow again, while on the other side
of the floor Roni switched partners. She now danced with the twenty-one-year-old
who had been kicked out of the contest within the first few days. Lucas didn’t
remember his name, but he did remember how he’d seen the kid looking at Roni. The
same way the boy was looking at her now. Every time his gaze dipped down the
front of her dress.

Lucas’s grip
must have tightened because Mrs. Rylander let out a small “ouch.”

He jerked his
attention to her and loosened his hold. “I’m sorry,” he apologized sincerely.
Then he caught sight of another contestant standing on the sidelines with his
eyes on Roni. This one had been kicked out of the contest earlier today and
hadn’t taken it well. He was eyeing Roni as if he blamed her for his loss.

“I certainly don’t
see what she sees in you if this is the kind of attention you pay your dance
partners. And here I went and told her that she should keep you.”

“You what?” He
shifted his gaze between the jerk watching Roni and Mrs. Rylander.

The white head
nodded up and down. “I said you were a good one. But I might just retract that.
She listens to me, you know? She’ll do what I tell her.”

Her words
pointed out that he most definitely was not being a gentleman to his partner.
He shouldn’t be ignoring her. His mother would have his hide. With the little
amount of patience he had left, he forced himself to ignore the other side of
the floor and focus on Mrs. Rylander instead. Had she just said that Roni
listens to her? He chuckled lightly, shoved Roni from his mind, and took Mrs.
Rylander for a couple more twirls, then tried a sweetheart move that left her
facing the same direction as him.

She laughed with
delight as she followed his lead, so he pushed a bit more. With every move, she
was right there with him. A bit slower than some of the other women around them,
but she most certainly knew what she was doing.

“I think I
misjudged you, Mrs. Rylander.” He leaned his head down to hers as he teased.
“Too bad I didn’t have you as my partner today doing the two-step. I suspect
you would have wowed the crowd.”

“I know I would
have,” she agreed without hesitation. “And I darn well should have been your
partner. I bought ten tickets today. And I put all of them into your basket.”

Entry into the
daily lottery had changed a few days ago to allow participants to buy as many
tickets as they wished, and to choose which contestant they wanted to try to
win. It had tripled the amount of money being raised each day.

He stopped
dancing with her declaration and stared at her. “You bought ten tickets and put
them all in for me?”

“I did.” She
turned her nose up proudly.

They were bumped
from behind and he scooted them over to the edge of the floor. Dancing
continued beside them.

“Why?” he asked.
He suspected it was to tease him about seeing his bare ass.

“Because I want
to make sure you don’t hurt her.”  

She was serious.

He shook his
head and took her hands between his. He was serious too. “I won’t hurt her,” he
promised. “I swear.”

Mrs. Rylander
nodded. “Be careful. I think she’s been hurt before.”

“I do too.” He
was certain of it. “But it won’t happen again. Not on my watch.”

“So you do love
her?” she asked.

He looked at the
older woman, then gave a nod. Yes, he did love her.
And he intended to tell her.

Her hand clasped
his. “Dote on her,” she urged. “A woman needs a man to dote on her. Love her
with your life. I want her to have someone like my Henry.”

Lucas studied
the woman, who suddenly looked frail, and made her a solemn promise. “I don’t
know your Henry, Mrs. Rylander, but I can guarantee that if Roni will allow me,
I’ll dote on her for the rest of my life. I’ll be there for her. Always.”

And he knew that
he meant it.

He had no
concerns about how she and Gracie would get along. They’d apparently talked on
his phone the day before while he’d been busy making soup. Roni had explained
the slipup when she’d shoved his phone back at him after he’d finished at the
senior center. She hadn’t gone into specifics about the conversation, but whatever
had been said, Gracie had loved it. She couldn’t wait to meet Roni. Now all he
had to do was get Roni to Dallas.

“Be careful if
you have kids, though.” Mrs. Rylander’s words grew almost too quiet to hear in
the loudness of the bar, and Lucas leaned in close so she could talk directly
into his ear. “Show them they’re special too.” She patted his hand as she
talked. “And don’t be too hard on them. Let them be kids.”

He pulled back
and looked into the pale eyes of the woman and recognized sadness in her
depths, as well. Seems Roni wasn’t the only one who had been hurt in her life.
He nodded. “I will. And I’ll tell you a secret that I don’t share with many
people.” He put his mouth to her ear. “I already have a child. Her name is
Gracie and she’s the most beautiful person in the world.”

Mrs. Rylander turned
her head to look at him and her eyes suddenly watered. “She loves you?”

“She’s four. She
thinks I walk on water.”

“Don’t ever let
her know that you don’t.” She patted his hand again, and then pulled his face
to hers and pressed a cool kiss to his cheek, lingering for several seconds.
“And you take care of my Roni.”

Before he could
say anything else, she turned, and with her head held high, marched to the
front door of the bar and disappeared out the other side. Had she been there tonight
only to talk to him?