Winter Interlude (7 page)

“You’re just not ready to marry.”

Judith sighed
.
“I wish it was that easy
.”

“It has to be
.
James is perfect for me and I’m perfect for him
.”

“And a weekend in Tahoe is going to make him realize this?”

“Yes
.
He’s
so
different when we’re skiing and away from the daily grind
.”
Her words and tone filtered past her ears, as she noticed a woman pushing a stroller past their table
.
In seconds, the yearning for more intensified and she wondered
.
Who was she trying to convince
?
Herself or Judith
?
Doubts returned
.
How pathetic to have them
at all
at this point
.

Just then
,
their waiter interrupted, asking if they wanted another glass of wine
.

“Yes, please,”
Kate
said.

Judith shook her head and when he was out of earshot, added, “Maybe, but face it,
Kate
.
You’ve been ready for commitment since you met him.”

That wasn’t totally true, but she didn’t dispute the fact
.
As far as Judith knew, she’d decided James was
perfect for her
within hours of meeting him
.
P
art of his appeal
had been
that he wasn’t ready to settle down, which worked to give her time to accomplish her own goals
.
But now
?
James was in his early thirties and his business was going gangbusters, so it was time to cut back on work and think about their future
.
S
he only hoped she could convince him of that
.
Not wanting to think negatively, she smiled and said, “We’re going to have so much fun
.
You’ll see.”

“I hope so,” Judith said
,
rolling her eyes
.
“I’ll have a hard enough time getting Paul to back off after this
.”
She started drumming her fingers on the table, thinking
.
“Relationships just shouldn’t be so much work,” she finally said
.

By the time the check arrived, their plans for the next weekend were set and the conversation
switched to
a new art gallery opening
.
The two decided
to
check it out during the week.

They left the restaurant and strolled down the block, looking at the passersby
.
It was a beautiful clear night with a light wind
,
a little on the chilly side for ambling, but
Kate
thought it was a perfect end to a wonderful dinner
.

Neither spoke until they reached the street where the two separated to go in different directions.

“Thanks for agreeing to the trip,”
Kate
said.

Judith smiled
.
“Hopefully, the weekend will be all you want it to be.”

They hugged, added kisses
,
and said their good-byes.

“I’ll let you know the time on Wednesday for the gallery
.
I’ll drive so you won’t have to hassle with it, okay?” Judith said over her shoulder.

Kate
nodded and hurried away, not wanting to think about the doubts now clouding her mind, most of them centering on one question. Would her plan lead her to the altar
?

Judith is right
.
She frowned
.
Relationships shouldn’t be this much work
.

J
ames Morrison braked hard and swore under his breath at the driver in front of him who was paying more attention to his cell phone conversation than to the heavy traffic. He wished he had one of those signs that
read,
‘
Drive, don’t talk
.
’
The bozo in front of him needed a warning. He was still yakking, with no idea his veering out of his lane had almost caused a pileup.

Unfortunately,
clueless drivers and an upcoming traffic snarl weren’t Jame
s’
only concerns.

The entire time his Toyota Sequoia inched along I-275 on his way into the city to pick up
Kate
, he wondered why it felt as if the world was closing in on him, much like the cars surrounding him.

Face it
,
Morrison! It doesn’t take a genius to understand why
.

Kate
was excited about their
upcoming
weekend in Tahoe. Not that he didn’t want to go, but he knew what was in
store once he got there. She’d
push the commitment button again.
She
wanted
marriage
. She’d been vocal about it ever since her sister announced her wedding plans.

H
e should be
totally ready for
wedded bliss
after six years. Yet, the idea of
t
ill death do us part
s
cared the hell out of him.
What if she
wasn’t
‘
the one
’
?
The more he thought about it, the more he questioned
their
relationship.

Unfortunately,
Kate
was tenacious when chasing a goal. In the past, he’d always gone along with her demands because it was easier than all
-
out confrontation.
H
e couldn’t do that
this time
. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he didn’t want marriage either.
James
ha
dn’t know
n
how to
voice
his reservations, so he
’d taken
the coward’s way out
and
backed off
, which only made him feel guiltier
.

Now he needed to grow a spine.

Despite her bulldog nature, he did love
Kate
and enjoyed being with her. What wasn’t to love? She was gorgeous, bright, supportive
,
and successful. A woman any man would give
his
right arm to have standing by his side.

The traffic started flowing again and he sped up.
As he drove, his thoughts swirled. The only solution to his
predicament
, he decided,
was to take
time
this
weekend
to
explain his feelings
to
Kate
.
As he
wound his way through Golden Gate Park
, his
grip on the steering wheel
tightened
. He had to prepare himself for the
prospect of letting her go
.
If he couldn’t commit, she deserved the chance to find someone who
w
ould. It was only right, he decided,
as he headed
through the Presidio and
eventually
took
the turnoff to Marina Boulevard.

Once on
Kate
’s street, every square inch of
curb
space held a car. He drove around the block searching for a parking spot,
only to become
more edgy and frustrated. The ordeal reminded him of why he left San Francisco and moved south to San Mateo.

After another lap, he finally parked illegally.
H
e
jump
ed out,
leaving the car running,
stalked to the door
,
and jabbed the buzzer to
Kate
’s apartment.

“James? Is that you?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t find a spot, so can you just come down? I’m in your
building’s
driveway.”

“Sure, I’ll be right there,” shot through the intercom.

~

K
ate
sighed, wondering why he sounded so grouchy when his client had raved about his designs the day before.

As she walked to meet him, her thoughts
drifted back
to their last date, right before she left on her buying trip. He hadn’t spent the night and
was
rather distant. Work. That was the problem. He really needed a break
.

She turned the corner of the stairwell and spied James through the glass door of
her
apartment
building’s lobby
, pacing
impatiently
. When he saw her, he waited until she unlatched the lock, helped her guide the heavy door open
,
and held it as she stepped through.

They both
hopp
ed into
the SUV at the same time.

“Traffic’s a bitch and
there weren’t any
open
sp
ace
s
,” he said,
as he put
the car in gear and
backed
out. “God, I hate coming into the
c
ity.”