Better Than Before (RightMatch.com Trilogy) (11 page)

She knew Spence’s response would come soon. Like her, he checked his email several times a day. She wondered how he did it, being on a construction site. She’d have to ask him.

You’re kidding, right?
he answered promptly.

No way. The Sky Coasters are playing at Pelican’s on the lake tonight. The kids are with Keith. I don’t have to work. How about it?

Smiling as she pressed send, Annie marveled at how free she felt to pursue this relationship with Spence. To do the asking. She’d never been the initiator when she and Keith had been dating, and she hadn’t had a serious boyfriend other than him.

Hmm,
came the reply.
Would I get to hold you on the dance floor?

Uh-huh. And afterward, if you’re lucky.

Three hours later, she and Spence were lazily embracing on a crowded patch of floor at Pelican’s, a restaurant and bar on Lake Ontario. “It’s not so bad, is it?” she asked him, nuzzling into his chest. This close, she could smell his aftershave, something woodsy and male, a scent that by itself aroused her. Along with tons of other things about him.

“Nothing could be bad with you so close.”

“I told you.”

He chuckled.

“Did you go dancing with your wife?”

“No. She wasn’t much of a dancer.” He gripped her a little tighter. “Did you and Keith?”

“Once, for a Governor’s Ball at his country club. For six weeks, we took ballroom dancing with several other couples. Which would have been fun if Keith hadn’t criticized me so much.” She giggled.

“Why does that make you laugh?”

“Because I was better than he was, and it drove him nuts. So he fell back on criticizing me.”

He peered down at her with a combination of tenderness and lust that warmed her heart
and
her body. It was how he looked at her most of the time, and his gaze was so intense, she knew he was focused totally on her. There were still some odd things—once in a while he’d close down; occasionally he’d say something totally out of character. And she noticed material things about him that didn’t fit in with a construction worker’s income, like that expensive-looking golf shirt he wore with khakis tonight or shoes which reminded her of the kind that Keith favored.

The song ended, and after getting drinks, they found a table being vacated by customers. When she sat, facing the entrance to the big room, Annie saw them. “Oh, dear.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“My friends are here.”

Tracking her gaze, Spence stiffened. She covered his hand. “Don’t worry, they love me. They’ll be nice to you.”

The scowl that breached his face was directed at her. “Did you arrange this without telling me?”

“No, I mentioned to Lauren where I was going tonight. I guess they decided it was time to meet you. No big deal, Spence.”

As her two best friends worked their way through the crowd, she noted how attractive they were: Lauren with her auburn hair and slim build and Julia, a petite brunette whose size disguised a personality just shy of Attilla the Hun’s.

“Hey, there,” Annie said when they reached her table.

Lauren kissed her on the cheek. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Green eyes and deep brown ones focused on Spence.

“So this is Mr. Perfect, huh?” Lauren teased.

Annie blushed. “I never said that.”

Spence smiled. He had an innate graciousness, a comfort with people that she admired. “I’m far from that. But I am happy to meet you two.” He tugged Annie close. “After all, you brought her to me.”

“Which is why we’re here,” Julia put in. “We decided to check you out in person.”

A shadow crossed his face.

“We’re kidding,” Lauren added as she shot a quelling look at Julia.

Spence retrieved vacant chairs from a nearby table and the women sat down. Conversation drifted along, there was some joking, but Annie noticed Julia hadn’t said much. A bit later, she tugged on Annie’s arm. “Come with me to the ladies room.”

“Uh-oh, a private grilling.”

“What do you mean?” Spence asked as she stood.

“She wants to talk about something that she won’t say in front of you.”

“I don’t think—” Spence began, but Julia was already dragging Annie away.

Inside the ladies room, her friend leaned against the counter in the lounge area and crossed her arms over her chest. Her dark eyes were troubled. “I’ve seen that guy before.”

“Where?”

“I can’t remember. But I know I have.”

Annie frowned. “Did he build something for you? In your neighborhood?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Where else would it be? You don’t run in the same circles.”

“I suppose.”

“In any case, what’s the problem?”

“It makes me nervous. You spend a lot of time with him now and I worry about you. In some ways you’re such a babe in the woods.”

“I’ve grown up fast in the last two years. Don’t worry about me.”

Julia shook her head, sending dark locks to kiss her chin. “I don’t know….”

Annie shrugged. “I love that you care about me, but I’m fine.” She glanced at the door. “Ecstatic, really. I like him so much, Jules.”

“Yeah, I can tell. I just wish I didn’t have this niggling feeling.”

“Chalk it up to your overprotective instincts about me. Come on, let’s go back. The more you get to know him, the better you’ll feel about him. He’s not like Keith and is so suited to me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

o0o

By now, Spence knew the drill. She’d ask him out once, but he had to make the next overture. God, she was cute. As was their custom, he issued the invitation online.…

Cole needs a sitter tomorrow night. Want to come over after your shift at the restaurant? He’ll be out late.

Needing to go into a finance meeting, Spence nonetheless stayed at his desk in front of the computer as he waited for her reply.

Oh, yeah. I love babies.

Of course she did. He knew what was coming next.

Spence, do you want kids? You must be sad that your wife couldn’t have them.
Another whopper he’d told her.

I’m sad about a lot of things that did or didn’t happen in the past.

Another parsing of his words, which was wearing on him more than he could remember anything wearing on him in a long time.

And then there had been the thing with her friend Julia. Damn it, why did she have to recognize him? And where did he know her from? It could have happened in a myriad of places, since she traveled in the same circle as he.

See you around ten?

I can’t wait.

o0o

On Saturday night, Spence paid the first of his debt to Cole by agreeing to babysit Ellie. When he arrived at his brother’s apartment, he found his mother holding the baby on the L-shaped couch. He kissed both their cheeks, then said, “What are you doing here, beautiful?”

“Your brother asked me to come. I think he’s nervous about you taking care of Ellie alone.”

“I can watch a child by myself.”

“Of course you can. Maybe we can convince him of that. I backed out of dinner with Rick and another couple, but it’s not too late to meet them.”

Cole came out of the bedroom. “Did I hear you mention dinner?”

“Mom had plans tonight that she changed for you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to spoil your date by worrying about Ellie.”

“If I’d known, I never would have asked.”

Taking the baby from his mother, Spence held her in the crook of his arm. “Mom’s not staying.”

His brother eyed them nervously. “You sure you can do this?”

“Give me a break. I took care of you when you were born and I was only twelve, then. Didn’t I, Mom?”

“Yes, you did. You were a big help.”

“I have memories of you traipsing around with me so I could get my Boy Scout badges. I was about seven, but I don’t remember much before that.”

“In any case, I can watch Ellie without a chaperone.” Spence angled his chin at the door. “Now, go on. You’re going to be late picking up your date.”

Cole kissed Ellie’s head. “She can go down soon, but she’ll need a bottle later.”

His mother gestured to the coffee table. “Your single-spaced, two-page list gives minute-by-minute instructions.”

Finally, Cole went out the door.

Spence peered down at the tiny bundle in his arms. Ellie was four months old now. Solid, pink and cooing. “She looks like Cole did as a baby,” he said to his mother.

“You had a hard time with him when he was little, didn’t you?”

“How did you know that?” He’d never told anybody how tough it had been for him after Cole had arrived and how jealous he’d felt about the new baby. Joey had been a playmate, then a friend, but Cole had been an intruder.

“Mothers know these things.”

“I got over it when Cole grew up some.” Still, he wasn’t as close to Cole as to Joey. “Can you believe it, sweetheart? I was scared of a little one like you?”

Ellie babbled and batted his chin.

The two of them played with the baby until she started to yawn. Spence put her to bed. When he came back out, his mother was still on the couch.

“Don’t you need to leave for dinner?”

“Yes, but before I do, you’re going to tell me what’s bothering you. I’ve waited for weeks, but now I’m not taking no for an answer.”

He stared at his mother. It was hard for him to let this woman down, to have her think negatively about him. But if he took this step tonight, without going into the sordid details, then he’d be forced to tell Annie the truth. His mother wouldn’t allow anything else. And deep in his heart, Spence wanted that. “I…met someone. A woman.”

“You’ve met and dated a lot of women.”

“She’s different, Mom. I like her. You would, too.” He shrugged as if he was a little boy confessing his first crush. “She’s coming over tonight.”

Ellison gave him a motherly smile. “I can still skip the dinner and wait to meet her.”

“No. She and I, um, need to have a conversation first, then if she still wants to see me, I’ll arrange a time with you.”

“This sounds ominous.”

“I don’t mean to be so vague. Suffice it to say, I haven’t been completely honest with her about who I am.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s a long story. I don’t want to get into it now. But I’ll get you up to speed once I talk to her.”

“Tell me this. Can you rectify the lie you told?”

“I hope so, Mom. But not tonight. We could get interrupted by the baby, Cole could come home early. We’ll need a lot of time to work through this.”

“All right. Make a date to tell her.”

“I will. I promise. Thanks for not pressing me.”

After his mother had left, Spence went to work, scouring Cole’s apartment for any picture, document or other traces of who Spence really was, careful to leave out some innocuous photos. And he felt damned guilty about it. By the time the doorbell rang, he was seated in front of the large screen TV, ostensibly watching MSNB but preoccupied by his deception of Annie.

“Hi,” he said to her when he opened the door, then gave her a onceover.

“Hi. What’s wrong? You’re frowning again.”

“Is that what you wear at the restaurant?”

Entering the apartment, she kissed his cheek. “Yeah, sure. Why?”

“The skirt’s pretty short. And the heels are high.”

Glancing down at the outfit, which she wore with dark stockings, she stepped away and did a pirouette. “But how do they make my legs look?”

“Unbelievable.” Near celibacy was getting to him. He wanted this woman, badly, and he wasn’t used to denying his physical needs. Tugging her to him, he kissed her long and slow. “I don’t think you should tease me right now. I’m having enough trouble controlling myself.”

“I am, too.”

“Oh, that helps.”

The evening was fun. He ordered a pizza, and once again, Annie ate with gusto. They tuned in to a movie on TV, this time an action film for Spence, which Annie seemed to enjoy, though she did close her eyes at the violent parts.

And later, as she fed Ellie her bottle and Spence took in the sight from the other end of the couch, a completely different kind of need took hold of him. One that wasn’t sexual but was almost as potent and primitive.

And it scared the hell out of him.

When she was ready to leave, he grasped her around the waist and kissed her thoroughly again. “I wish we had more time together. You’re so busy with work.”

“Hmm, I’ve been thinking about that.” She moved in and plastered her body to him. “I’ve been thinking about us spending more time together.”

He drew in a breath. “And?”

“Keith’s got the kids starting Friday night. He’s taking them to his parents’ home in the Adirondacks. I can ask for the weekend off from the restaurant and spa. If you’re free.”

Spence would move heaven and earth to be free for a whole weekend with her. And for whatever else she was implying. “This could lead places, sweetheart.”

“Let’s see if it does.” At his arched brow, she added, “I care about you—a lot—Spence. I see you babysitting tonight, taking lunch to your mother, how fondly you talk about your brothers, and I know we have the same values. Besides, my friends have been telling me I’m too cautious, too withholding. So let’s throw caution to the wind and see where it leads us.”

His throat got tight, mostly because the man she described wasn’t the real him.

Annie walked out, grinning.

Closing the door, Spence leaned against it. His emotions were in a whirlwind. He understood after telling his mother the broad strokes of what he’d done, he’d have to tell Annie who he was. And now, with a romantic weekend in the offing, he was even more convinced that a confession was necessary. If she wanted to make love to him, he knew in his heart he had to tell her the truth first.

But…could he do it? Could he risk losing her now? If there was a way he could bind her to him first, make her really part of him, then she’d be able to accept the new him. But how?

Hyde reared his head.
You have the perfect way to do it. She just handed it to you on a platter. Making love will accomplish that and more.