Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5) (10 page)

Tiffany nodded, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say to him, but she feared the moment had passed.  He watched her for another moment, then finally said, “Thanks for letting me stop by.  I know it’s late.”  He shifted in his seat and grabbed his glass, swallowing the last of his wine.

“No problem,” she murmured, watching his head tip back to finish off his drink, her eyes mesmerized by his Adam’s apple bobbing on his neck.  She licked her lips.

He stood and they both brought their wine glasses into the kitchen where he snagged another cookie and popped it into his mouth.  “These are really good,” he mumbled around the food in his mouth.

“Here, just take them.  I won’t eat them.”  She began grabbing a baggie to make a little travel bag for him.

“You don’t have to do that,” he protested.

“No, I insist.”  She put them in the bag and sealed it, then handed it to him.

“Thanks.  They’ll probably be gone by the time I get home,” he laughed.  They made their way to the door where he stopped to hug her again.  She could hear him inhale.  Her body was flush with his, the pinpoints of her breasts smashed decadently to his hardened chest.

He felt so good against her, then he gave her a brief nuzzling kiss to her temple.  She held in her sigh.  He was content with Katrina.  She didn’t dare tell the girls that she didn’t come clean with him.  They would be furious with her for not telling him her feelings. 
She
was furious with herself, but she just didn’t feel right telling him while he so obviously cared for Katrina.

God, she totally screwed this up.

He finally leaned back, his scent teasing her nostrils and his gaze heating her blood.  “I guess I’ll see you Saturday then.”

“You bet,” she smiled.

He smiled back, grabbed his bag then walked out.

She stood there like the idiot he said she wasn’t only moments earlier, and looked at the empty doorway, eventually closing the door.  Leaning back onto it, she caught her breath.  His stare alone made her sigh, and now she’d be counting the hours until Saturday.

……

By early evening on Friday, she was finishing up some of the many details still needed for the foundation to be up and running by the end of March, all be it part-time.  It looked promising that Columbia’s program would be able to participate with their interns and provide a graduate student to help by late summer.  The final piece to the puzzle was to finish recruiting another person or two to the board as well as solidifying the security firm she’d be using.

While sitting at her desk, her stomach grumbled.  She looked at her watch.  Almost seven.  Time to head home and get some food.  Her thoughts were interrupted by a text from Todd.

TODD:
Hey.  What are u doing tonight?

She smiled.  Although she had to admit it was nice to be on the receiving end of a man’s attention, it was Drew’s face she pictured, not Todd’s.

Time to get over it, Tiff.  Move on already.

TIFF: 
No plans.  Why?

TODD: 
Where are u right now?

TIFF: 
At the warehouse.  Leaving in a few.

TODD:
Don’t.  I’m nearby and will pick u up.  You want to grab a bite to eat?

She smiled.

TIFF: 
Sure.

TODD: 
See u in a few.

She took a deep breath and began packing up her things.  True to his word, he arrived only moments later, getting out of a cab which stayed idling at the curb.  She walked over to the door to let him in.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” she said.  “I just have to grab my stuff.”

“Cool.”

She got her bag and jacket then they both walked to the cab.  Once in, the driver headed south.

“Where do you want to go?” she asked.

“There’s a great burger joint down on 70th.  Does that work for you?  They’ve seriously got some of the best burgers.”

“Sounds good.”  Her mind immediately jumped to the fact that Drew lived in that area.  She knew she wouldn’t see him.  He’d be out with his sister tonight, she was sure.  But just knowing she’d be in his neighborhood made her blood pump hotter.  “How was your week?”

“Awesome.  Just got a contract to work on an old brownstone in Brooklyn.”

“Nice.  Congratulations,” she said sincerely.

“Thanks.  It’s going to be quite a job.  We’re hauling over the whole thing.  It will take lots of time but it will be beautiful when it’s done.”

“That’s great,” she smiled.

“And how was your week?”

“Good.  Got lots of things off my checklist which always makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.”

“The rest of the punch list for the warehouse should be done by next week.  Just in time for the fundraiser.  The painters and contractor will be there Monday morning.”

“Yup.  I’m ready for them.  Not long now,” she said, rubbing her hands together in excitement.

He bumped her shoulder.  “You should be proud.”

She shrugged a little, trying not to be embarrassed.  “I am.  This foundation represents a lot of really necessary changes I’ve needed in my life.  It’ll be nice to finally be settled in, you know?”

The cab slowed and pulled up outside a happening place.  Todd was right.  It was just a burger joint, but it was popular on that Friday evening.  They bustled in and grabbed a table and once they’d ordered, they settled in to finish the conversation that had started in the cab.

“How many people did you invite to the fundraiser?”

“There are about fifty on the guest list.  A smattering of City council folks, along with local celebrities if you will.  That’ll bring in some money, I’m hoping.  I just need to finish up hiring the security firm and finish up all of the final legal logistics.”

“I’m glad you have Emily for that.”

“Yeah, she’s great.”

“I know she’s volunteering to do Krav Maga with the girls.”

“Yeah.  She’s going to teach those little buggers how to kick some ass.”  She laughed.  “But it’s also teaching them control, self-esteem, and Mike will be with her too.  So, the girls will be able to learn how to protect themselves even when someone bigger than them tries to hurt them physically.  Em will teach them ways to outthink and combat them.”  She smiled and said, “The two of them are a great act, so there’s the entertainment factor, too.”

“Mike’s her fiancé?”

“Yeah.  He’s a sergeant with the police department.  I grew up with him and he’s a character to say the least.  He’ll be helping her teach the self-defense class.  And because he’s well over six feet tall, watching her five foot frame take him down is an awesome sight.”

They both chuckled at the visual.

“Who else do you have teaching classes?”

“A lot of them are my closest friends,” she shrugged.  “They’re a group that has a ton of interests and talents between them.”  She took a deep breath and began telling him about them.  “Ryann is an artist, so she’s going to teach sketching and drawing.  Jem does carpentry.  Actually,” she interrupted herself.  “His name is Jeremy McCallister.  Does his name ring a bell?”

“Yeah, but I can’t figure out why.”

“He runs the
M Gallery
and is the son of Tabitha Lowe.”

“Yeah, that’s right.  I’ve heard about him in architectural circles.”

“I’ve been friends with his family forever.  He’s best friends with my brother.  So anyway, Tabitha was gracious enough to donate a painting to auction off at the fundraiser.  All proceeds will be going to the foundation.”  She was truly excited about that.  Knowing how popular Tabitha had become in the New York art world and beyond, it was an absolute blessing to get her help. 

“Wow.  That’s awesome.”

“I know.” 

“Who else will be volunteering?” he asked.

“Well, you already know Jonathan through Mark.”  Since Todd knew Jon’s brother Mark due to their architectural connections, he was acquainted with their whole family.  “Jon will be teaching a class about money.  Ayanna and Janie are going to do some cooking and baking classes.  And my brother is going to be around to talk about business and fashion, and the whole lifestyle thing.  We’re still trying to figure out how he’ll fit in.”  Her twin was an entrepreneur who ran
GSoul
, which stood for ‘Gotham Soul’, a conglomerate of local New York City boutiques and retail stores featuring independent artisans, along with lifestyle and cultural aspects that represented life in the City, such as wineries and food.  In fact, Janie’s catering company just became the ‘go to’ catering vendor for
GSoul
.

“Nice.”

“Yeah.  And the last person,” she took a calming breath, “is a doctor.  He’ll be doing a class on safety awareness and CPR type stuff.”

She grabbed her glass of water and took a huge gulp.  Thankfully, their food arrived by that time.  She immediately began eating to calm her nerves, only to nearly choke a moment later.  Because snagging her gaze was a man standing with a smaller curvy woman talking to the hostess...and he looked eerily like the good doctor himself.

Just then, the familiar man turned his face toward the seating area and his stare collided with hers.  A look of surprise, then happiness, then wariness hit his expression all at the same time while his eyes slid to Todd.  Drew’s smile tightened as the woman next to him, whom she assumed was Carly, continued chattering away.  He finally looked down at her and said something back, then they began walking through the crowded room.

Todd was asking her something but for the life of her, she had no idea what he was saying.  His hand touched hers and she finally looked at him, forgetting for a moment that he was sitting across from her.

“You okay?” he asked, concerned.

She nodded, smiling brightly.  “Yeah.  I thought I saw someone I knew.”

“Oh, yeah?  Who?”  He looked around.

“Uh...”

In her peripheral vision, she saw Drew fast approaching the table, the woman walking behind him.  When it became evident that he was only a foot or two away, she finally looked up at him.

“Hey stranger,” Drew said with familiarity, and a look that she couldn’t quite decipher. “Fancy meeting you here.”  His eyes drilled into hers.

She swallowed.  “Hey there,” then she smiled confidently.  “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.  We decided to grab a quick bite to eat.”

He hadn’t explained the ‘we’ yet and as if on cue, Carly cleared her throat dramatically, a smile playing on her lips.  She was cute, with long curly hair and a bright happy smile lighting up her face.  It was obvious she was Drew’s sister, since she sported the same facial features and skin coloring. However, where Drew was tall, Carly was short.

“Sorry,” Drew murmured.  “This is my sister, Carly.  Car, this is Tiffany.”

Tiffany stood politely and smiled.

“What a coincidence,” Carly bubbled and leaned up to hug her.  “Of all the burger joints in the world, huh?  So great to meet you a day early,” she laughed.

Tiffany already knew she would get along greatly with this woman who exuded life and vitality.

The hug was interrupted by Todd, who stood and put out his hand to Drew.  “Hi, I’m Todd.”

Drew put out his hand.  “Nice to meet you.  Drew.”  He paused.  “Are you the architect?”

Todd nodded.  “Yeah,” he said, sounding a little surprised.  “How do you know Tiffany?” he asked casually, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Todd, this is the doctor who’ll be volunteering at the foundation,” Tiffany provided.

“Oh.  The one you were just telling me about?”

“Yeah.”  She fought down the nerves.

“Huh.  Small world.”

A moment of awkwardness passed as Drew looked between the two of them then back at Tiffany.  “Carly just drove in and we decided to run over and get some food.”

“Todd says the food here is great, so enjoy.”

“It is.  I come here often, actually,” Drew said. “I’m only a block up, so...”

“I’m looking forward to us hanging out tomorrow,” Carly interrupted.

“Me, too,” Tiffany said with a sincere smile.  “Thank you for helping me out.  I really appreciate it.”

“Trust me.  I’m thrilled to help in any way I can.  Drew’s told me so much about you so I was really looking forward to meeting you,” she grinned, giving Tiffany what appeared to be a knowing look.

Tiffany blinked in surprise, trying not to show all of her cards and covering up quickly with, “Ditto.  And I can’t wait to glean some knowledge from your brain.”

“Well, listen, don’t let us interrupt your dinner.  Have a good one.”  This came from Todd.

“We will,” Carly said, looking up at her brother with a raised eyebrow. 

His sister was about as subtle as a freight train.  If Tiffany wasn’t so nervous about the implications of Carly’s apparent and abundant knowledge of her,
and
her obvious desire to talk to her brother about it, she would be laughing.