What it Takes (29 page)

“Is this the friend who gave you the flowers?”

“Yes,” Kelsey replied and Patrick realized they were talking about him. He purposely made his tread a little heavier as he came down the steps.

“Well then,” the man stated. “When do I get to meet him?”

Kelsey looked over her father’s shoulder. Her eyes met Patrick’s and her lips lifted a little. “Right now,” she said as Patrick walked into the room.

He briefly held her gaze then turned to her father. “I’m Patrick Lyons, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said and Kelsey felt butterflies as Patrick shook her father’s hand.

“George Morgan.”

Patrick took a step back and George turned to his daughter, eyebrows raised. Kelsey gleefully met his look then turned and walked to Janelle’s side.

“So, you worked with Kelsey in her movie?”

“Yes, we worked together.”

“And what do you do?” George asked. He rarely went to movies and when he did, it was for the storyline and the action. Kelsey used to laugh that her father could barely remember the characters’ names, let alone the actors who played them.

Patrick chuckled good-naturedly before responding. As they continued to talk about Patrick’s career, childhood, and family, Janelle and Kelsey prepared grilled cheese sandwiches. Janelle lightly elbowed her sister and Kelsey looked up into her grinning face. Kelsey shook her head and tried not to laugh as Janelle put the finished sandwiches on the plates in Kelsey’s hands.

Kelsey placed a cup of mandarin oranges on Zoe’s plate and set it on the counter in front of her. George took a seat at the island, Patrick took a seat beside him, and Kelsey placed two sandwiches in front of each of them. They were deep in conversation and Zoe watched them as she ate.

With all the sandwiches made, Janelle sat on the last stool beside Zoe. Kelsey leaned against the sink, picking her sandwich apart and eating while she watched Patrick and George. The topic had made its way to football and Kelsey knew her father could sit and talk about that all day. Patrick glanced at her then stood. He offered his seat to her and when she shook her head “no,” he slid his stool around to the front of the counter anyway. As he stood and continued to talk to George, she sat and tried not to notice that her father was fighting a smile.

“Who’s dat?” Zoe whispered, as a child does when trying to stay quiet . . . loudly.

“That’s a friend of Aunt Kelsey’s,” Janelle replied quietly. “He’s from Hollywood.”

Zoe studied Patrick, her little feet swinging back and forth, her long blonde hair swaying as she tilted her head side to side. “He’s pretty,” she stated and took a bite of her sandwich. Kelsey’s eyes widened at the innocent observation as she quickly covered her mouth to hide her laugh and not choke on the bite of food she’d just taken. Janelle looked at the wall behind Zoe, lips thin and pressed tightly together, her eyes dancing with mirth. Zoe continued to eat, very proud of herself for her observation. Janelle glanced at Kelsey for just a second and giggled.

The corners of Patrick’s mouth twitched as he tried to focus on his conversation with George. He’d never been a huge fan of football, but luckily his brother-in-law, Adam, was. Thanks to Adam, Patrick knew enough to be able to ask the right questions and not say something stupid. As George went on about his favorite team’s post-season chances, Janelle and Kelsey began to participate in the conversation.

Patrick inwardly laughed as he watched the sisters argue football with their father. George seemed to find it funny, too, and teasingly accused them of “raining on his parade.” Patrick hadn’t known Kelsey knew so much about the game. He’d often wondered how she’d spent her Sunday afternoons in Tennessee. Now he knew.

George laughed heartily at his daughters. “I thought I raised you girls better than this. At least neither of you grew out of watching it.”

“Of course not,” Kelsey said flatly. “We didn’t know we could watch something other than football on Sundays until we went to college.” Patrick chuckled.

“I hope you’re raising my grandchildren right,” George said to Janelle

“Of course,” she muttered with a nod.

He looked at his empty plate, sighed heavily, and pushed away from the island. “I guess I should get home. Your mother will be wondering where I am.” Kelsey rose, picked up her father’s empty plate, and took it to the sink as he shook Patrick’s hand again. “Patrick, it was a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure we’ll get to see you again while you’re here.”

“I look forward to it.”

George walked around the island. “Zoe, you have a good nap.” He kissed her forehead and she nodded. He gave Janelle a hug and kissed her cheek, then walked over to Kelsey. He wrapped Kelsey in his arms and whispered something to her before going to the door. “I’ll talk to you girls soon,” he said with a wave as he left.

“Bye, Dad,” Kelsey and Janelle said in unison before the door closed.

Kelsey leaned against the sink and, with a look of peace and happiness on her face, watched Zoe finish her lunch. Patrick ogled her, feeling less restless than he had in weeks, just being in her presence. He picked up his plate and walked toward her. She met his eyes and held them as he reached around her and put his plate in the sink.

“Here, Kels,” Janelle said and Kelsey turned to her and took Zoe’s empty plate. “Naptime, sweetie.”

“I don’t wanna nap,” Zoe whined. “I wanna stay up.”

“Zoe,” Janelle said sternly.

“I wanna meet Aunt Kelsey’s pretty friend.” Zoe slid off her stool and walked over to Patrick. She looked up at him with big aqua eyes and held her hand out. Something in her attitude reminded him of her aunt. “Hi.”

Patrick happily squatted down to look her in the eyes. “Hi,” he said and shook her hand. “My name’s Patrick.”

Kelsey’s heart leapt to her throat as she watched the interaction. She was briefly reminded of the trip to the hospital and how he’d interacted with the boy in the cast. A lazy smile crept across her lips.

“I Zoe.”

“Well, Zoe, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She grinned from ear to ear. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Good.” She turned to Janelle and held her arms up. Janelle picked her up and took her upstairs.

Patrick moved to lean against the counter directly across from Kelsey. “Your dad seems nice.”

Kelsey nodded. “I think he likes you.”

“I hope that’s a good thing.” He was studying her face as she slowly began to frown. “You don’t think so?”

“No, him liking you is a good thing.” Kelsey hesitated and bit her bottom lip.

“But?” He closed the gap between them by a step.

“But I’ve never had a coworker come to see me, so I don’t know what he’s going to think of your visit.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?” He took another step. “What would you tell him if he asked?”

“The truth,” she said. “That we’re friends.” She swallowed hard, feeling more and more like they should change that.

“Right. Friends,” he agreed with a wink.

He took another step and they were almost close enough to touch. As he leaned closer, she stood taller to meet him, her hands tentatively reaching for him. When they heard Janelle coming down the stairs, he closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and stepped backward to the kitchen island.

“I think I’m going upstairs to grab a quick shower and maybe a nap. It’s been a long morning,” Patrick said.

Kelsey nodded as he turned and walked away.

Seventeen

A
n hour and a half later, Zoe was napping, Patrick was upstairs, Janelle was in the living room watching television, and Kelsey was in her office, going through e-mails and waiting for faxes from Michelle. The phone in the other room rang and she listened for Janelle to answer it. When she did, Kelsey picked up a script and started to pace as she read through it. It was extremely difficult for her to focus when her thoughts were on Patrick, and the fact that he was probably sleeping in her bed. She wandered to the window and looked out at the driveway, forgotten script still in hand.

Her eyes were closed, her thoughts on Patrick’s lips and hands, on her, in her bed, when the sound of a clearing throat brought her back. She turned and saw Janelle in the doorway.

“Working hard?” she asked.

Kelsey nodded. “Trying to.”

“Just go upstairs and do whatever it is you were thinking of,” she teased.

Kelsey shook her head and turned back to the window to hide her rosy cheeks. “Who called?”

“Dad.” Janelle came into the room and put her back to the window.

“Let me guess,” Kelsey murmured. “He talked to Mom and now wants to lecture me on Patrick’s less-than-favorable reputation, right?” She rolled her eyes at the thought.

“Yes and no,” Janelle answered and turned her head to look at Kelsey. “He told Mom, but didn’t mention a lecture. They’re coming over for dinner.”

Kelsey suddenly felt frozen.

“Mom wants to meet him.”

Kelsey took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Great.”

Her tension raised a notch. She had no idea what to expect from a meeting between her mother and Patrick. Kelsey was all too familiar with Mary’s disdain for her job. The only thing Mary hated more than Kelsey’s job was gossip about her family, something else Kelsey was all too familiar with. This meeting wouldn’t go well.

The one thing Patrick had going for him was Mary’s love of celebrities. It wasn’t to the point of worship but wasn’t far from it. The idea of meeting him had probably thrilled her beyond belief.

“You knew it would happen,” Janelle pointed out. “It was just a matter of time.”

“I know.” Kelsey laid her temple against the window and looked at Janelle. “I was just hoping it would be later rather than sooner.”

“What difference would that make?”

“I don’t know,” Kelsey grumbled. “I could’ve had time to prepare.”

“Prepare Patrick?” Janelle asked with a laugh.

Kelsey smiled a little. “No, I’m pretty sure he can handle it.” Janelle’s green eyes probed for more. “You know she’ll make assumptions.” Kelsey sighed at Janelle’s smirk. “She treats those tabloids like they’re the weekly news.” Her lip curled in disgust. “The question is, will those assumptions be a good thing or a bad thing?” Kelsey walked to the sofa and lay down with an arm over her forehead.

“I guess it depends on how accurate they are,” Janelle stated as she sat in the desk chair and rolled closer to Kelsey.

“Like that’ll matter,” Kelsey scoffed.

“What does that mean?”

“Patrick and I aren’t dating,” Kelsey said and Janelle gave an unladylike snort. Kelsey rolled her eyes. “We aren’t, but we both know that mom would expect that because she wouldn’t think I was good enough for him. After what happened with Tim, she’d see that as a fault in me.” Janelle opened her mouth to interrupt and Kelsey held up a finger. “And if we do start dating, then I’m woman number whatever, another notch on his bedpost, and it’s entirely my fault for giving in to him.”

“That could be fun,” Janelle teased. Kelsey glared at her, unamused, even though the idea was becoming more appealing. “Sorry,” Janelle mumbled.

“I’m not sure what she’ll think about seeing me in her weekly papers.” Kelsey studied the ceiling, her legs crossed on the couch.

“You
know
she’d enjoy it,” Janelle said. “She could brag to everyone at her bridge club.” She laughed and Kelsey was mildly amused.

“Maybe, if she thinks our dating’s a good thing. But she wouldn’t even be happy about that for long. You know she doesn’t think I can do anything right and she’ll be waiting for me to screw it up,” Kelsey mumbled.

Janelle sympathetically nodded. “Do you think we could lock her out of the house?” Kelsey turned to see the corners of her lips slightly upturned.

“Now that’s an idea,” Kelsey agreed, and they started to giggle. She looked at the ceiling and closed her eyes. “We have antacids, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, I’m gonna need ‘em.”

“You know, most women worry about their father’s reactions. That didn’t even faze you,” Janelle said.

“Dad’s reactions are predictable. He’s laid back. He goes with the flow. And the best part is, Dad didn’t know his reputation so he met Patrick without any preconceived notions.” Kelsey inhaled slowly. “Mom never acts the way we expect.”