Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5) (7 page)

He smiled.  “I like to read too.  Traveling is probably what I love to do most, when I can.  I love history, learning about different cultures, looking at different architecture.”

“That makes sense given your career choice.”

“Here we are,” he said as they arrived to the bar.  “Have you ever heard of this place?”

She looked up at the name and shook her head.

“I’ve heard good things about it,” he said as he opened the door. 

They entered into the intimate club and found a seating area in the back.  Once they were settled, they ordered and waited for their drinks.  The next fifteen minutes were spent continuing their earlier conversation about their likes, dislikes, their families.

By the time the second set of drinks arrived, Tiffany was feeling comfortable, like she’d known Todd forever.  She didn’t feel one bit of nervousness around him.  She couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.

About 45 minutes in, the conversation made a turn.

He leaned forward, his fingers playing with the bottom of his martini glass.  “So, will you be bringing someone to the fundraiser at the end of the month?”

She smirked.  “No.  I’ll have too many things to worry about that night without having to make sure a date is comfortable.”

“Unless your date was someone who was already going to be there and knew how to take care of himself,” he said pointedly.

She thought of Drew.  He would be there because he was going to be one of the volunteer instructors.  But she knew Todd was referring to himself and she was trying to extricate herself delicately from the situation.  Todd was handsome, interesting, and very sweet, but she didn’t feel any sexual feelings toward him.  She didn’t want to lead him to think otherwise, but then she mentally sighed.  He
was
a really nice guy, and was certainly easy on the eyes.  But if there was one huge lesson she learned from her marriage, it was honesty.

“True.  But I do think it would be best on that night not to be focused on anything or anyone other than my goal for the evening, which is to make lots and lots of money to help little girls in Harlem.”

He smiled sheepishly.  “You know what I’m asking, Tiffany.”

She smiled back.  “I do.  And just for the record, I think you’re a great guy.  Handsome, smart, and really nice.”

“Ugh,” he chuckled.  “I know where this is going.”

She laughed.  “I like you, Todd.  But I’m not sure I like you in that
way.
”  She gave him a sympathetic but honest look.  “I’m having a good time tonight, and I enjoy your company and appreciate our friendship.  I just don’t know if it will go past that.  If you’re okay with that, then I hope we can continue to be friends.”

He leaned back and studied her.  “I should be thankful that you’re a straight shooter, and a woman who doesn’t play games.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ in there?”

He smiled.  “No ‘but’.  Just disappointed.  Wishing I can change your mind.”

She looked at him and sighed.  “Attraction is a strange thing, isn’t it?”  She propped her chin on her hand.  “There are some people you’re immediately drawn to, who affect you on a chemical, biological, and sexual level.  There’s that spark, that hum of awareness.”  She pictured Drew.  “And there are others you can’t stand being around, who suck all of the positive energy out of a room leaving you exhausted after your encounter with them.”  She pictured Richard.  “Then there are others you simply feel good with, comfortable with.  There’s a sense of familiarity and warmth which just makes you feel content.  You’re one of those people.  I feel very comfortable with you.”
for scar tissue and infection.11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

He sighed in a self-effacing way.  “I was kinda hopin’ for that first description.”

She chuckled.

“Listen,” he said, leaning forward and zeroing in.  “Can we just try something?”

She gave him a tentative look and he took her hand.

“Just hear me out,” he said, squeezing her hand.  “We like each other.  We enjoy each other’s company.”

She nodded, and smiled knowingly.  He continued.

“So let’s just hang out.  Get to know each other more.  And maybe,” he said as he played with her fingers, “maybe things will change and I can find my way into that first category.”  His eyes probed into hers.

“Todd,” she began.

“You’ve been honest with me.  I know where you stand.  I just wanted you to know where I stood.  Let’s go out sometimes.  And I would love to take you to the fundraiser.  I can take care of you that night, be your assistant,” he chuckled, sending her a charming look.

She sighed.  “You’re persistent, Mr. Nielson.  I’ll give you that.”  It’s not like she was dating anyone.  And he was really sweet.  Drew was off the market so what the hell did it hurt?  There wasn’t anything wrong with hanging out.  “Okay.”

“Okay?” He looked pleasantly surprised.  “I didn’t think you would agree,” he smiled.

“I enjoy being with you.”

“Good.  I feel the same way.”  He gave her a cute look.  “And if there had to be a second place in your relationship descriptions, I would definitely take that third description over the second.  But maybe I can move up the ladder a little,” he said with a smile.

She chuckled.

It was his turn to prop his chin on his hand, and he took a big sigh.  “Well, now that that’s all figured out, let’s talk about how you’re gonna make lots of money at that fundraiser so you can make a difference in some little girls’ lives.”

They smiled, ordered another set of drinks, and enjoyed friendly conversation for the next hour.  They walked home afterwards and when they arrived to her building, he walked her in to the empty elevator area.  She began to thank him for the evening and his fingers stroked her cheek, stopping her words.

“Can I kiss you?”

Um...
She hesitated slightly as his hands found her waist.

“Please,” he murmured, then he leaned over and softly touched his lips to hers.  The press lasted for only a few seconds, a slight pressure with barely a nibble.  It was chaste.  It was sweet.  It was
nice.
  And then he backed away and smiled at her. 

She sighed.  It had been a while since the Drew kiss, which had practically blown her socks off.  Although this one didn’t compare, there was nothing like having the attention of a good looking man. And she could tell that if he’d chosen to really lay one on her, he’d know what he was doing.

He squeezed her waist then stepped back even more.  “Have a good rest of your night.”

“Thank you.”

Then he walked away.

The next morning, Tiffany sat in her office at the warehouse nursing a raging headache.  She’d either had too much to drink the night before, which wasn’t likely, or she was stressing over her situation with Drew and now Todd, coupled with details for the fundraiser.  Either way, she was feeling the effects, and after popping two ibuprofen, she went through her checklist of things she needed to get done that day. 

One of the appointments coming up in the next hour was an interview with one of her old friends from Columbia where Tiffany had gotten her business degree.  Her friend was on the faculty at the School of Social Work at Columbia University, and it was Tiffany’s hope that the
Renaissance Girls
foundation could be a placement for one of the Social Work interns in the graduate program.  Tiffany already had one friend who was a school guidance counselor prepared to offer a couple of hours a week, but it would be great to have a student there for additional hours to help out with general counseling, advice, and working through the red tape of the system when necessary.  In addition, the intern could learn the ropes as well.

She continued working, filling out paperwork when her text went off.  She grabbed her phone.

DREW: 
Do u have a sec to talk?

Tiffany felt butterflies, then took a deep calming breath.

TIFF:
Yes.

Her phone rang a minute later.

“Hello, Dr. Huntington,” she answered, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Good morning, Ms. Daniels.  How are you doing today?”  Drew’s voice sounded like rich dark chocolate.  She could hear the smile in his tone.

“I’m great.  How about you?”

“I’m good.”

“No surgeries this morning?”

“Not until noon, then I’m going until nine or ten tonight, so I wanted to call you when I had the chance.”

“Okay.  What’s up?”  She settled back into her chair, thankful that she wasn’t babbling.

“I talked to my sister, and she’s totally up for meeting you and talking about the foundation.  Why don’t I bring her to the warehouse on Saturday?  Does that work for you?”

Tiffany tamped down her excitement at the fact that she would see him in a few days.  “She is so sweet for doing this.  What’s her name again?”

“Carly.”

“Okay.  I really just want to ask her about what to look for in a consulting firm and things like that.  I’m pretty good with asking people for money in the political world,” she chuckled dryly, “but I’d like to get some ideas from someone who knows the non-profit world, just the same.  She’s such a gem for doing this.”

“She’s happy to help out.”  He paused slightly.  “I’d told her about the mentoring program for the boys when that started up and when you started solidifying your ideas for the foundation, I’d mentioned it to her.  She’s looking forward to meeting you,” he said casually.

Tiffany bit her lip to stop herself from talking too much.  She wanted to ask what he’d told his sister about her, but instead, she said, “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her too.  What’s she like?”

He laughed lightly.  “Loud.”

Tiffany let go of a gut laugh.  “Loud?”

“Yes, loud.  She definitely got the extrovert gene in the family.  Well, her and my mom, and –” He stopped suddenly, then redirected his thoughts.  “She’s a lot like what my mom was like.”

Tiffany’s heart sank a little at his sad tone.  They’d never talked about his mom before.  Just his sister and dad.

“Is your mom –?”

“She passed away a couple of years ago from cancer.  By the time they discovered it, it was already stage four.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said quietly.

His voice took on a reminiscent quality.  “Thanks.  Yeah, she was something.  She was a community organizer down in Baltimore where I grew up, and she was louder than Carly,” he laughed softly.  “You would’ve liked her.”

“She sounds like she was a great woman.”

“She was.  We still miss her.  But she was a happy woman, very optimistic.  And when she went, she went fast.  She definitely preferred it that way.  She always told us when she went to those pearly gates in the sky, she wanted to get there in a Corvette, not a station wagon.”

Tiffany smiled but said, “Still.  It must’ve been hard.”

“It was.  Still is sometimes.”

“I bet.”

There was a moment of silence.

“So Carly is loud.  Check.  What else?”  Tiffany wanted to keep the conversation going.

“She’s married to her high school sweetheart, Doug, and has a five year old daughter who is taking after her mother and grandmother,” he said dryly.

Tiffany laughed. “What’s your niece’s name?”

“Deidre, after my mom.  She’s actually going to be hanging with my dad this weekend while Carly comes up to New York.  Doug’s going away for a boys’ weekend and Pop will be watching her.  He can’t wait.  He’s going to spoil her rotten.  Deidre has that poor man eating right out of her hand.”

Tiffany smiled.  “Granddaughters have that effect on grandfathers.  And spoiling her is what a Pop is supposed to do.  I’m sure the two of them will have a blast.”

“No doubt.  Pancakes for dinner, ice cream for breakfast,” he said good-naturedly.  “So, what time will work for you on Saturday?”

“Why don’t you let Carly decide?  She’ll want to sleep in, I’m sure and I don’t want to throw an even bigger wrench into your plans if she had her heart set on doing certain things while she was visiting with you.  If you’re available late morning, I could get bagels and whatnot, and we can have them over here at the warehouse so she can see the place, or if you guys don’t have dinner plans before the concert, we can meet up at the warehouse first then eat somewhere.  Or I’d be happy to have you guys to my place?”  She calmed her breathing to stop her words from spilling.  She was wondering if she should include Katrina in the invite as well, but he answered before she could continue.

“I’ll ask her and see what she says.  I’m sure she’ll want to see the warehouse and so would I.  How late can I call you tonight?”  She tried to tamp down her excitement at the prospect of talking to him again. “I was actually going to call you last night after I first talked to her, but I didn’t know if it was too late.”

“I’m usually up until eleven, or so.”

“Okay.  If I settle things up with Carly before then tonight, I’ll call you after I get back from the hospital.”  He paused, then said, “Did everything go okay with your check up yesterday?”

“Yes, sir.  Clean bill of health, Dr. Huntington.”

“Good,” he said sincerely.

There was a long pause and then they both started talking at the same time.  They laughed, then Drew said, “You go first.”

“I was just going to say thanks for contacting Carly.  I know her expertise will be a great help.  You’re a good man for sharing her with me this weekend.”

“She’ll thoroughly enjoy talking to you about all of it.  It will break up the monotony of spending all of her time with her brother,” he laughed.

“I’m sure she loves being with you.”  She waited, then, “What were you going to say before?”  She couldn’t believe she was having a normal conversation with him.  Even though she felt butterflies and that electric current of sexual awareness, she was actually talking at average speed.

“I was going to say,” he paused significantly, then murmured, “I’m glad you’re ready to date.  It’ll be good for you to get back out there.”

Why didn’t that comment make her happy?  It was the way he said it.  She couldn’t help but sigh, a sadness at what ‘could’ve been’ spilling over her. 
Should I tell him I went out with Todd last night? 

Instead, she said, “Yeah.”

“You don’t sound too happy about it,” he said.  She thought she heard a smile in his voice.

“I’ve been thinking about New Year’s Eve and the way I acted.  You were so wonderful to me that night.  And,” she paused.  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I ran away.”

“You weren’t ready.  Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

She remained quiet for a moment then spoke.  “If I hadn’t run away, I imagine things would be very different right now.”

“Maybe,” he agreed.  “But maybe it wouldn’t have been for the better,” he said in a soothing voice.  “It was clear that you weren’t ready, and if I had forced the matter, something may have started only to have fallen apart shortly after.  Our friendship would’ve been damaged.  That didn’t happen.  So now, at least, you’re healthy, you’re ready, you can move forward…and we’re still friends.”

Yeah, but now you’re dating someone else. 
She swallowed and made an ‘uh huh’ sound, trying to shake herself out of her pity party.

“I’m kind of glad nothing happened,” he said.

She blinked and almost lost her breath at the pain she felt at his comment.

He swore softly then continued.  “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.  Let me explain that better.  I obviously wanted something to happen back in January.  What I mean is I’m glad nothing happened which may have led to our friendship being hurt.  I’d be really sorry if we weren’t able to be friends because I pushed you too hard.  I value our friendship.”

She was still silent, trying not to spiral down into the vortex of depression that was taking over.  He definitely sounded like he had moved on.  After an awkward moment, she finally said, “I value our friendship, too.”  She heard him sigh on the other end and she figured it was time to finish the call.  She brightened her voice.  “Well, listen.  Thanks again for contacting Carly.”

He hesitated.  After a moment he finally said, “No problem.  I’ll call you later tonight or tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds good.”  She swallowed again, feeling like something was lodged in her throat.

There was another awkward pause, then he said, “Okay, then.  Talk to you later.”

“Bye, Drew.”

“Bye, Tiffany.”

Tiffany leaned back in her chair and felt the prick of tears.  She blinked rapidly to stay them.  Then she pulled up her message box and texted Emily, Janie, Ayanna and Ryann with a group message.

TIFF: 
I need major advice.  Girls’ night tonight?  I’ve got wine and chocolate.  Who’s in?

Within ten minutes, she’d heard back from all of the girls.  A time was set for them to get together at her place that night at seven.  Once that was taken care of, she shook herself out of her funk and got ready for her meeting with her girlfriend from Columbia.

……

“Holy Toledo.  There’s a lot of stuff you just said, so let’s take this one chunk at a time.  First things first.  Dr. Drew.  Let me get this straight,” Janie said.  “You never really came out and told him you were interested?”

Tiffany sighed deeply while tucking her feet under her on the sofa.  “No, not technically, but come on.  He’s a doctor.  How stupid can he be?  I told him I was sorry that I messed up on New Year’s and that I was now ready to date –”

“And, wait,” Ayanna said, swooshing her hand in the air.  “Did he say anything about what happened on New Year’s with you guys?  Like he’d wished something more happened, or anything?”

“Not when we were talking at the hospital.  We didn’t get that far because that’s when I met Katrina.”  Tiffany couldn’t keep the sadness from her voice.  “She’s a pretty little Latina thing.  Very sweet and bubbly.”

“Bitch,” Ayanna joked, a mock scowl on her beautiful latte colored face.

They all snickered.

“I thought he understood what I was getting at when I said I was ready to date, but we didn’t talk much after Katrina stopped by the table.  It was a little awkward, especially after he’d said they’d been friends for years.”

Ryann made a thoughtful face then said, “Tiff, there may be a chance that he doesn’t know you’re interested in him.”

“How is that even possible?” Tiffany asked, exasperated.

“Because you’ve run from him every chance you’ve had.  I mean, think about it.  Every time he’s made a move, you’ve turned him down.  Maybe his ego is a little wounded.”

“I haven’t run from him every time,” she pouted.  “I’ve had dinner with him, and I went to the New Year’s Eve party.”

“What I mean is you haven’t necessarily encouraged him every time you’ve been with him,” Ryann pointed out.

“How can his ego be wounded?  He’s such a confident guy.  He’s a surgeon.  Is it even possible for a surgeon not to be confident?” Tiffany asked.

All of the girls murmured, but Ryann was the one who kept speaking.  “I didn’t say he wasn’t confident.  I said maybe his
ego
is wounded.  You avoided him for practically two months after New Year’s.  There’s only so much rejection a guy can take.  And he is a guy.  Sometimes you’ve got to spell it out for them.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Janie snorted, then looked at Tiffany.  “I had to practically dance naked in front of your brother before he knew I was interested in him, remember?”

Tiffany groaned at the imagery and swigged her wine, then closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the pillow.  Her thoughts tumbled around in her head.