Opposite Attraction (4 page)

Carlos and Curtis both walked through the door to the kitchen, each with a beer in their hand.

Carlos stepped in behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. He placed a kiss on her neck and Simone watched her lean back against him.

"
Whose winning the game? " Madeline asked on a sigh.

"
Dunno. Don 't care. " He kissed her again.

Curtis didn 't say a word as he walked past Simone and stood behind Cynthia. He placed his hand on her waist and just as Carlos had done to his wife, and lingered kiss on her neck, just above her collar bone. Cynthia laughed and shrugged him off, but a sharp pain hit Simone in the chest. She knew what that felt like to have his lips pressed to her skin.

Curtis pulled from his beer and nodded in Simone 's direction. "You two met? "

Cynthia elbowed him in the gut. "Yes. At least your sister has some manners. "

Regan propped Tyler up on her shoulder and patted his back. "Simone, come sit with us. "

At that very moment she wasn 't sure she could. Her legs had stiffened and her stomach churned. She 'd be damned if she 'd show weakness in front of him, even if she did want to run to the bathroom and throw up the very little bit that she 'd been able to eat at lunch.

With the grace she 'd been trained to have, she took a seat next to Regan.

Tyler had quickly fallen asleep on his mother 's shoulder and Regan rubbed his back. "Simone, will you hold him? I need to fix my shirt. "

There was no time to say no. Regan lifted him from her shoulder and handed the sleeping baby to Simone. The only option was to place him against her shoulder, just as Regan had done.

Curtis knew Cynthia had felt him tense beside her, but she didn 't call him on it. Not yet. But he couldn 't help the feeling that had washed over him when Simone cradled Tyler to her shoulder. It was completely unnatural, but at the same time, there was a peace to her he 'd never seen. He wasn 't even sure she knew she 'd kissed the top of his head and closed her eyes.

Clara dropped a spoon as she carried silverware to the table and that seemed to snap him from his lock on Simone, but not before she raised her eyes and caught his stare.

Damn. What had that woman done to his heart?

Regan stood from her seat. "Oh, Clara, let me help you. If this family gets any bigger we 'll have to rent a banquet hall. "

Emily shook a finger in the air. "I have four grandkids and four children. I should have many more grandkids than I already do. "

Curtis felt the heat on his back begin to rise. "I 'm going to step outside and get some air. " He looked down at Cynthia. "C 'mon. "

The look she shot back at him said he 'd be due for a fight later, but she followed him out the back door.

As soon as the door was closed she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. "You 're sure bossy tonight. That little French things got you all giddy. "

"
That little French thing? God, you 're as bad as everyone else. " He raked his fingers through his hair.

"
What was with your reaction to her holding the baby? I 'd think you 're getting sentimental on me, Keller. "

He didn 't like her tone. He didn 't like his reaction. There was always one way to fight a fire, with another fire.

Curtis turned and gathered Cynthia 1in his arms and pressed his mouth to hers. When she 'd found her balance she wrapped her arms around him and accepted his heated kiss. He took it deeper, pushing her up against the railing of the porch.

With his teeth he nipped at her bottom lip. His hands dug into her shirt pulling her closer to him.

Finally, she put her hand on his chest and pushed back until their lips parted.

Cynthia sucked in a deep breath. "Damn. She has you more riled up than I thought. "

Curtis took a step back and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "What does that mean? I 'm kissing you, not her. "

"
Right. " Cynthia nodded, but her lips turned up in a grin. "Don 't think I didn 't have plans to keep you all night, but, honey, I 'm not where your heart is. "

"
She dumped me on a yacht in the middle of the damn ocean. "

This time she laughed. "And how many men can say that? "

"
How many men want to? "

"
Get over it. Something happened to make her leave you in the middle of nowhere. She 's here. Get to the bottom of it. "

Perhaps that was the most sense he 'd heard out of anyone since the incident happened.

He nodded. "I 'll do that. "

"
Good. Now can we go back inside and help with dinner? Unless you wanted to roll behind those bushes by the garage. "

Now she was sassing him and it felt normal.

"
Maybe later. Mom 's got a pie in the oven. Pie first. " He wrapped his arm around her waist and they walked back into the house.

Simone listened to Carlos and his family share their stories of the honeymoon they had all taken. Zach had confided in her, before their wedding, that he was sending them to Disney World in style. They were a1 family, and they deserved to celebrate the union of their marriage as such.

She felt bad now, listening to them discuss the trip in enthusiastic detail, that she 'd laughed at Zach. A honeymoon was to be spent on a beach, or on a yacht. She 'd thought she 'd always wanted to go to Fiji and spend her honeymoon naked in a hut with her husband. But she could see again, her upbringing was getting in the way of what the rest of the world thought was perfect. For the Kellers, Disney World was the perfect oasis to spend their second honeymoon as a family.

Carlos and Madeline held hands atop the table among the many dishes that were passed around with ample amounts of food on them. Simone watched as their eyes settled on each other, and their lips were permanently turned into smiles. She wondered if anyone would know what they 'd been through and that they 'd been in love since they 'd been fifteen.

Divorce, second marriages, and cancer hadn 't kept them apart in the end. What was it like to love someone so much?

She turned and looked at Zach and Regan who balanced a toddler between them as they reached for food and added to the conversation happening around them. There was a peace - a comfort -between them that Simone had never seen in her home growing up. They worked together as the executive team that they were. But love radiated between them.

Emily Keller sat at one end of the crowded table and her husband Alan sat at the other. They didn 't look at each other. They passed plates and talked to their children and grandchildren, and yet, love resonated in their voices. Simone knew nothing about them, really, except that they 'd brought together this eclectic family with love and compassion. And the fact that they would all gather together once a week for dinner said something about their marriage. You didn 't have a family like the Keller family without understanding true love.

The food on Simone 's plate began to look unappetizing. Not because it was ill prepared or unpalatable, but because she realized how out of place she was at the family table. Her parents despised each other long before they divorced and married others. Simone 's family had been the children at school, and of course the awkward American boy who had been thrown into the a mix of friends at an early age. Zach and his parents had shown her a compassion she 'd never known, and yet it was nothing like the Kellers.

Zach passed her a plate of mashed potatoes and gave her a comforting smile. "Everything okay? "

"
A bit overwhelmed. "

"
I 'm glad you 're here. It 's a very important night. "

He turned back to his wife, but his words stuck with her. Had she missed something? Was there something more than Sunday dinner or the fact that Madeli1ne and Carlos had returned? She lifted her head and looked at Curtis and Cynthia who shared a laugh between them.

Simone felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of her neck. The room had grown hot. What if the important night had something to do with Curtis and Cynthia? Could she keep her emotions in tact when they announced they were going to get married? Obviously he 'd moved on from her. Perhaps she 'd been a fling to him, and not the other way around as she 'd convinced herself. What was she going to do now?

A moment later Zach stood up from the table. He looked down at his wife and then out at the others at the table who had grown quiet.

He pulled Regan to his side and took Tyler from her, balancing him on his hip. "Regan and I have been waiting to share some news with all of you. " He wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head against his shoulder. "We are expecting another baby. "

The moment his announcement had been made, the rest of the family at the table stood and rushed the small family to Simone 's side. They hugged and kissed them. Madeline and Emily cried. Carlos slapped Zach on the shoulder. Even Cynthia embraced them both and planted a noisy kiss on Tyler 's cheek.

But Simone sat quiet, afraid of what she 'd say.

Zach sat back down and the platters of food began to move around the table again. He touched her arm. "Are you okay? Aren 't you happy for us? "

"
Oh, I am very happy for you. " She forced the smile that was deserved by a friend. "Congratulations. "

"
Can you imagine how beautiful my daughter would be if she looked just like her mother? " And it was words like that which had always set her heart a flutter when it came to Zach, but now she sat next to him feeling the sting of jealousy as if she were a sister.

He shifted a gaze to his wife and Simone thought she might burst into tears. Would a man ever look at her like that? Would Curtis ever look at her like that or would he hate her forever?

It wasn 't that she wasn 't happy for them. No one deserved such a happy moment more than Zach and his wife. But her own predicament had her heart filled with bitterness, her stomach churning with fear, and a cloud of loneliness enveloping her.

Curtis slammed the front door of Cynthia 's house when they arrived after dinner at his parents ' house. She turned and glared at him with anger brewing in her eyes.

"
Was that necessary? "

"
Sorry, guess I have a little adrenaline running through me. " Curtis ran his hands over his head and rested them on the back of his neck. He could feel the tension in his shoulders and it ran across his chest. "Too bad the gym isn 't open. "

Cynthia tossed her purse on the couch. "I 'd offer to take care of that for you, but since I know it 's a woman who has you so worked up, I think I 'll save my offer for another day. "

Curtis dropped his arms and she crossed hers over her chest. "Did you think I didn 't notice how worked up you got over Simone? Oh, she 's got you all tied up in knots. "

"
Well she worked me over. "

Cynthia dropped her arms and her eyes softened. "She got into your heart. "

"
Bite your tongue. " The woman was delusional. What was wrong with the women in his life?

She laughed and shook her head as she moved toward the kitchen. "Men are dumb. "

There were still towels lining the floor where they had sprayed each other and to catch any leaks from the dripping faucet. She gathered them up and headed to the laundry room.

Curtis followed her and when she dumped the towels into the washer she turned back around and ran right into him.

"
What 's with you? " She nudged him out of the way. This time she headed for the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. She held it out to him and he waved it off. "So are you staying or what? "

"
I didn 't think there was much of an invitation. "

"
There is always an invitation. But I think tonight it 's just a
sleep
over. Your head is in the clouds and your mind is wrapped around that little French lady. "

"
French, maybe. Lady? That 's a stretch. " He jammed his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the counter. "Did you see how she reacted to Zach when he announced the baby? "