OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE (21 page)

“Nanci,” her mother said as she settled back into her seat, “I saw this neon yellow vibrator on Ebay last night.  I think it was called the ‘Dancing Banana’.”

Her friend’s
eyes lit up.  “I don’t have that one yet.  When does it go off?”

“Tomorrow.”

Kelsie’s gaze shifted from her mother to her best friend.  Okay, so maybe she wasn’t destined to ever live a quote unquote ‘normal’ life.  Despite their quirks, she wouldn’t trade her mother or Nanci for all the normalness in the world.

*
              *              *

The bell over the
waiting room door rang, drawing Kelsie’s gaze to the glass window separating the waiting area from the office. 

“Mom?” she mouthed in surprise.

Her mother waved as she walked up to the window.

Kelsie slid the window open.  “Hi.  What’s up?”

“I just finished showing a house in the area and thought I’d stop by and say hello.”

Her mother never just stopped by to say hello.  “Why are you really here?”

“Well,” she said, looking guilty, “I wanted to make sure you hadn’t forgotten about your date with Max.”

How could she forget?  Her mother brought it up every time they spoke.  “I haven’t.”

The bell rang again and Kelsie looked past her mother to see that her next patient had arrived.  “I have to get back to work.”

“Okay
, honey.  I’ll talk to you later.” 

She
slid the window shut with a sigh. 

“Max, huh?” Heather repeated
with a grin as she stepped over to the filing cabinet and pulled open the top drawer.

“No comment or I’ll ask my mo
ther to fix you up with a guy, too.”

“O
oh, shudder at the thought,” the younger girl replied with a feigned shiver.

Dr. Andy stepped into the office with Nanci trailing right behind him.  “
Is my patient here?”

“No,” Kelsie replied.  “Just mine.”

“I thought I heard the bell a few times.”

“You did.  It was my mother.”

“So who’s the lucky guy this time?” he asked with a knowing grin.

She
shrugged.  “Some guy my mother knows.”

“His name is Max,”
Nanci tossed out.  So much for her keeping her big mouth shut.

“Max, huh?”
Dr. Andy repeated. 

“Maybe he’ll be hot to the max,” Heather teased.

“I’m betting not,” Nanci said, casting a sympathetic glance Kelsie’s direction.

He
flipped through the appointment book.  “So where’d your mother find this one?”

That was a good question.  Her mother really hadn’t said
where she’d met this guy.  “Probably through work.  Anyway, I guess he and my mother were talking and he mentioned to her that he needed to find a date for his company picnic.  That was all he had to say to set my mother into matchmaker mode.”

“
A company picnic,” Heather said, her tone oozing with sarcasm.  “Sounds like that promises to be a real exciting date.”

Dr. Andy snickered
.   

Nanci just stood there grinning.
 

“Go ahead, laugh all you want,”
Kelsie told them.  “This is your last opportunity to find humor in my mother-driven love life.”

Dr.
Andy stopped laughing and turned to face her.  “What do you mean by that?”

“It means
her mother has promised to stop fixing her up with blind dates if she’ll do her this one last favor and go out with this guy,” Nanci explained.

Both
Dr. Andy’s and Heather’s eyes widened.

“Your mother actually said that?”
he said in disbelief.

She
nodded.  “Sure did.”

“She did,” Nanci concurred.  “I was at her mom’s for dinner and heard her say it with my own ears.”

“Wow,” Andy gasped.  “She must be pretty sure this guy’s going to be ‘the one’ to make that kind of promise.”

Heather
pushed the filing cabinet door shut.  “I don’t know, Kelsie.  I think I’d be a little worried.  If the guy can’t get his own date for his company picnic, he’s got to be a real loser.”

Nanci nodded
in agreement.  “You can pretty much bet he’ll be a loser.  But she’s off the hook after this one last date.  And who knows, maybe he’ll end up being
the one
.”

Kelsie
snorted.  “Don’t count on it.”

Dr. Andy chuckled. 
“
The one
doesn’t exist as far as Kelsie’s concerned.”

Heather nodded
in agreement.  “Yeah, even if he was perfect, he wouldn’t be in her book.”

“You got that right,”
her friend muttered.

Kelsie
pushed away from the desk and stood.  “I’d love to stay here and continue discussing my pathetic love life, but I have a patient to see.”

Despite the ribbing she received from her co-workers,
she left the office smiling.  She didn’t care what her blind date looked or acted like just as long as it put an end to her mother’s matchmaking attempts.  She couldn’t wait for the weekend.  Just knowing this was going to be the last date her mother ever set her up on gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘dream date’.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Kelsie climbed into Nanci’s car, more than ready for a night out on the town.  Hell, she’d settle for a night of dumpster diving if it meant no calls from her mother about her blind date with Max the next day.   

“Let’s go
before she catches me here,” she told Nanci.  “Hurry.”

Nanci
hit the gas and pulled away from Kelsie’s place.  “Who’s going to catch you?”

“My mother
.  That’s who!”

“You’re running from you
r mom now, too?”

“Leave Cole out of this. 
And for your information, I’m not running from my mother.  I’m simply trying to avoid her until this weekend’s over.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s determined to drive me crazy.”

Nanci
laughed.  “Why?  What’s she done now?”

Kelsie
eased back against the passenger seat.  “Let’s see,” she said as she buckled her seatbelt.  “Where to start?  How about the fact she left Post-it notes on my car windshield, my apartment door
and
on my refrigerator while I was at work today.”

Nanci arched a brow.  “I’m thinking the only logical re
sponse at this point would be – why?”

“They were to remind
me about my blind date tomorrow.”

“Guess she’s determined to make sure you don’t blow
him off.”

“
Rest assured I won’t be blowing anything.”

“Never say never,”
her friend teased with a grin.

“
Believe me, ‘never’ is the perfect word choice.  There will be absolutely nothing going on between Max and me tomorrow.”

“Think about it, Kels.  It’s like the lottery.  Odds are your mother has to pick a winner sometime.”

“If we’re comparing my blind date compatibility to the lotto, then odds are I’ll have to go out on a million or so more dates before my mother finally hits the jackpot.”

“I’m
trying to think positive here.”

“That makes one of us.”

“It’s a good thing we’re going out on the town tonight.  A couple of drinks, a little dancing, and you’ll be in a much better frame of mind.”

“
The last time we had drinks together I had no mind left by the time I got home.  I’m sticking to Diet Coke tonight.” 

Nanci shrugged.  “Suit yourself.  You can be my designated driver tonight.
  I feel like letting loose tonight.”

Kelsie laughed.  “Tonight? 
Who are you kidding?  You always let loose.”

Her friend’s
gaze shifted her direction.  “Something I’m trying very hard to teach you to do.”

She’d let loose with Cole and look what happened.  She’d slept with him. 
The memory of his large hands caressing every inch of her naked body had her fighting the urge to squirm in her seat.

Kelsie groaned.

“You okay?” Nanci asked as she pulled her cell from her purse.

“Just a little tired.”

“Well perk up.  We’ve got a big night ahead of us.”

She
forced all thoughts of Cole from her mind.  Or, at least, shoved them as far back in her mind as she could.  What was it going to take to make her forget about Cole Maxwell?

Nanci punched a few numbers into her phone and brought it to her ear.

“Who you calling?”

“
Joe.  I told him I’d give him a call before I went out tonight.”

“Hmm, this thing with Joe sounds serious.  Almost commitment-like.”

“Hardly,” her friend replied, though not convincingly enough for Kelsie to believe her.

“
Well, when you talk to Joe just remember I’m not with you.”

“What
are you talking about?”

“I don’t want Cole showing up wherever
it is we’re going.”

“
He doesn’t seem the stalker type.  Besides this is girl’s night.  No men allowed.”  Nanci laughed and tipped her head away.  “No, I wasn’t talking to you.”  She mouthed Joe’s name before turning her attention back to her phone call and the road ahead.  “I was talking to Kelsie.”

“So much for him not knowing I’m with you,”
she muttered.

“He doesn’t know where we’re going.  You’re safe.”  She laughed again and glanced her way.  “Yes, she’s still in hiding.”

“I’m not hiding,” she said in her own defense.  “Just avoiding the inevitable.”

“
Joe wants to talk to you.”

She
wanted to strangle her friend as she reached for the phone.  After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Hello?”

“
Cole really is a good guy.  I wish you’d give him a chance.”

Awkward.

“Look, Joe.  I know you and Cole are really good friends.  If I were in the market for a great guy, he’d top the list.  But I’m not looking for anyone right now.”

“Guess it’s a good thing he’s moving on then.”

“Moving on?”  Joe’s words stabbed at her heart.  She had no right to feel that way.  After all, she was the one who’d ended things with Cole.

“I think he
’s finally realizing that things would never go anywhere with the two of you.  He’s looking for a woman willing to share his future with him.”

Well, that hadn’t taken him long.  If a man could move on that easily, she was better off without him. 
“I’m happy for him,” she said, forcing the lie out with as much believability as she could muster.  “I’ll give you back to Nanci now.”

Nanci reached for her
phone.  “What the hell did he say?”

“Cole’s over me,” Kelsie
muttered, hating the prick of tears at the back of her eyes.

Her friend frowned. 
“If I had known you were going to tell her that, I wouldn’t have put you on with her.  Men,” she grumbled.  “I have to go.  Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”  She snapped her phone shut and shoved it back into her purse.  “Sorry about that.  I had no idea what Joe was going to say, though I assumed it had something to do with Cole.”

Kelsie kept her gaze pinned to the passing buildings outside.  “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.  I thought he was going to try and convince you to go out with Cole again.  If I had known...”

“Really, I’m okay with it,”
she lied. 

“Yeah, I can tell. 
I didn’t realize Cole had moved on.  I was sure you and he...  Well, damn.”

“I ended things between us.  He has every right to move on?”

“I suppose, but I really thought he might be the one.”

“How many times
do I have to tell you ‘
the one
’ doesn’t exist?”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Are we talking about my love life or yours now?”

“Joe is...” she sighed softly, “the total package.  And if I was done sowing my wild oats, he would be
the one I’d consider sticking with for the long run.”

“You’re falling for this guy.”  What was it about firefighters that
made it so easy for them to steal women’s hearts?

“
He’s nothing like the other guys I’ve dated.  They could all be whipped so easily.  But Joe, he takes control and I like it.”

Nanci had never allowed any man to get that close to her heart.  She just hoped Joe wouldn’t break it.  “F.Y.I. - Women don’t have oats to sow, so you can settle down anytime you’re ready.”

“We do too.  You just forget how to sow them.  Wait, I take that back.  You managed to do quite a bit of sowing with Cole.”

“Let’s leave my oats out of this.”

“Ah, so you admit you have some.”

Kelsie rolled her eyes.  Sometimes Nanci could be as exasperating as her mother. 
“So where are we going anyway?” she asked, determined to change the subject.

“
Some of my patients have been talking about a new dance club called Wicks they’ve been to.”

“Where’s it at?”

“Near downtown Columbus.  It’s supposed to have great music.  A huge dance floor.  And half price drinks for ladies on Friday nights. I thought we’d give it a try.”

“
Sounds like fun.”  And far enough away from Worthington to risk running into Cole and whoever it was he’d moved on from her with.

*
              *              *

Cole
paused to check his answering machine as he had done every day since Kelsie ran out on him.  No messages.  Not that he expected to hear from her.  Women on the run didn’t stop to leave messages for the guy they were running from.

Grabbing the bucket
he’d filled with sudsy water from the kitchen sink, he headed outside to wash his truck.  It was a mindless task and right now he didn’t want to think about anything.

Fifteen minutes later,
Joe pulled into the drive behind Cole’s truck.  “Guess who I just talked to,” he called out through the open window.

Cole
looked up from the bumper he’d been washing. This was easy.  Who else put a smile on Joe’s face like that?  “I’m guessing Nanci.”

“Guess again.”

He straightened and leaned against his truck.  “I’m not up for guessing games.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a hint
.  It usually comes with frosting on it.”

“Joe,” Cole warned.
 

“
Nice try but you’ll only find me with frosting on me when Nanci is in her kinky mode,” he replied with a chuckle.

He
tossed the soapy sponge his friend’s direction.

“Hey!”
he exclaimed as he ducked to avoid the foaming missile.

“Just tell me
,” he said, reaching for the hose to rinse his truck off

“Cupcake.”

That had Cole’s head snapping around.  “You talked to Kelsie?”

His friend nodded.

“Where did you see her?”

“
I didn’t.  I spoke to her on the phone a little while ago.”

Cole rolled his eyes. 
“You called her?  Damn it, Joe−”

H
is friend threw up his hands.  “Hold up there, buddy.  Before you go getting all pissed at me, I didn’t call her.  Nanci called me and Kelsie was with her, so I asked to talk to her.  You know, to put a few good words in for you.”

He groaned. 
“You didn’t.” 

“I did
,” his friend answered without hesitation.  “I told her what a great guy you were and that it was too bad things didn’t work out between the two of you.”

What was he talking about?  Things weren’t over yet. 
“In case you’ve forgotten, I haven’t given up on Kelsie yet.”

“I know.  That’s why I told her that you had
and that you were moving on.”

“You what?”
he snapped.  “What the hell were you thinking?”

“
Relax, buddy.  I wanted to see how she’d react to the news.”

It took a moment for his friend’s words to sink in.  Joe wasn’t carelessly flinging words around.  He was trying to gauge how Kelsie really felt. 
“And?” he asked, hoping Joe’s good mood meant her reaction was what his friend had hoped for. 

“Let’s just say that she wasn’t exactly thrilled by the news
you had decided to move on.”

Cole
’s worried expression gave way to a wide grin.  If Kelsie wasn’t happy about him deciding to see other women, there was definitely more than a flicker of hope left for him to cling to.

Joe laughed.  “Nanci gave me hell for upsetting Kelsie, but she’ll get over it once
I have a chance to explain things to her at the picnic.”

“You didn’t tell her about the blind date?”

“Not yet.  But I warn you if she gets even the slightest inkling that something’s up she’ll get it out of me.”  His mouth quirked up.  “She has ways of making a man talk.”

“
Something tells me she has ways of making you do more than talk.”

“No effort needed there.”

Cole aimed the hose at his truck and squeezed the trigger, rinsing the drying suds off his bumper.  “Thanks for checking to see where Kelsie’s head is at where we’re concerned.” 

“
You would have done the same for me.”

Joe
was right.  They would always have each other’s backs, both professionally and in their personal lives.

*
              *              *

“Wow,” Kelsie said as they
pulled into the freshly paved parking lot in front of Wick’s.  “Nice place.”

The
mirrored windows at the club entrance were lit up with tiny pink and black lights.  Judging by the few parking spaces remaining, this was the place to be.  Thankfully, the building looked big enough to accommodate a lot of people.