The Calendar Brides (11 page)

“Pleasure.” There was a sweet crispness to his voice. British? “Richard Talon.”

“Talon, as in a claw?”

“Never considered that.” He grinned and Jane’s stomach fluttered. Maybe she was hungry for lunch herself. “I like to think of myself more as focused.”

“Ah.”

“Sharp as a—”

“Tack.”

“I was going to say pencil, actually.”

“Pencil?”

“Mentally.”

“I see.”

“Finely hewn.”

“With a fair sense of modesty.”

He adjusted his glasses and stared at her. She couldn’t discern the color of his eyes, but thought they were light blue. “Precisely.”

“What do you do, Mr. Talon?”

“I’m a political cartoonist for the
Globe
.”

“And you’re here for…?”

“I thought that was clear.” He gestured to a poster on the wall. “To find the castle of my dreams.”

“Well, then.” She gathered some papers on her desk and slid them into a manila file folder. “It seems you’ve come to the right place.” She motioned for him to take a seat in one of the chairs facing her desk. “Single family or a condo?”

He sat and stroked his chin, considering. She couldn’t help but notice the dimples set at either side of his mouth. They deepened when he smiled but were there all the time, like tiny invitations to touch his face, or trace a finger across his lips. Gosh, he was a good-looking man.

“Miss D’Amato?” he asked, startling her out of her reverie.

“Huh?” She caught herself quickly reverting to her professional tone. “I mean, yes?”

“I replied to your earlier question.”

“Of course you did.”

“And I said…” He leaned forward and raised his brow. “What? Exactly?”

Jane pinched her nose and met his gaze. She had a fifty-fifty chance with this. He was young. Single. Okay, darn it, she’d checked. No wedding ring. “It sounded like you wanted to explore the possibilities,” she hedged. “Keep your options open.”

He smiled and those damnable dimples deepened again.
 

“I knew I’d waltzed into the right place.”

Six months later, they were married. After having exhausted all the real estate possibilities in Chandelier, Richard had finally decided on a loft on the trendy south side. It sat above some shops on the main boulevard, and was easy walking distance to the coffee shops he hoped to frequent. Richard did most of his work at home, and only traveled to the office sometimes. That’s why he’d wanted to get away from the city and settle someplace more bucolic. Besides, Chandelier reminded him a tad of the small town where his boarding school had been located. Not that all of his experiences there had been grand. The other boys had teased him mercilessly over his surname.
Hey Bird Boy, are you from Planet Talon? Do you speak Talonese?
But he didn’t mind. He’d claimed it only made him tougher. And that’s what Richard was, too. Tough as a nail and sharp as a tack. He’d told Jane she was pretty solid herself. She was a
smart cookie and a tough cookie, in fact any other type of cookie I can think of.
And so, he’d given her the nickname and it had stuck. Though it was only used privately between them.
 

Richard kissed her lightly on the forehead and snuggled her in his arms. They were still on the sofa and both half dressed. “What time is your showing?”

She checked her watch and saw it was half past. “Oh, no! In fifteen minutes.”

He gave her a light squeeze and nuzzled her neck. “Better get going, Cookie.”

She sat up to button her shirt. “You’re a terrible distraction.”

He lay back on his arms, folding them behind his head. “I think you’ve got that adjective wrong.”

Jane laughed and shook her head. “Okay, fine. You’re a
wonderful
distraction, but a distraction nonetheless.”

She climbed off the sofa and stepped into her jeans. Once she’d slid them on, he slapped her bum. “Hurry home!”

“I’ve got my dress fitting at four, and you know it.”

His face fell in an exaggerated fashion. “Why do they have to fit your dress? It was made just for you.”

“Two
years
ago, Richard.” She self-consciously tweaked her nose. “We have to be sure nothing’s changed.”

He gave her a sexy perusal. “Nothing’s changed from here.” He grabbed for her hand, but she stepped away.

“Stop that! And let me get going.” But inside, she was smiling—all the way down to her piping hot toes.
 

“Under one condition.” He took his glasses from an end table and slid them on.

She waited.

“That you come back to your man.”

“No worries on that.” She bent forward to plant a solid kiss on that heavenly mouth. Then, she regretted she’d done it. It was too easy to think of getting carried away again, of falling back into his arms. She felt those arms around her, tugging her down toward him. Jane placed her palms on his shoulders and pushed back with a laugh. “Oh, no, you don’t, tiger. Not this time.”

He surveyed her eyes. “Are you saying I’ll have to drown my sorrows in a cup of coffee?”

“Maybe you should think of working while you’re at it?”

“Oh, yeah. That.”

“You do have a job, you know.”

“I thought my job was loving you?”

“It’s a chore, is it?”

He grinned and her stomach fluttered. “Never.”

Chapter Nine

Tiny

“Sorry. No girls allowed!”

Tiny tucked the basketball under her arm and glared at the obnoxious fourth grader. Just because he was a year older that didn’t mean he was any better at shooting hoops. In fact, he was far worse. She’d seen him in action. “Then what are
you
doing on the court?”

A chorus of admiring
ooohs
echoed from the sidelines where two of his buddies stood watching.
 

“Very funny,” Jimmy said. She’d heard the others call him that, but had never met him personally. He was new in town and had moved here over the summer. “What are you, a chameleon or something?”

“A what?”

The boys nearby snickered.
 

“You know.” Jimmy jutted out his chin, which was scraped, probably from falling off his skateboard. That’s all these dumb boys did. “Funny guy?”

“I thought you said I was a girl?”

His eyes widened, palms in the air. “Yo! Look at the dress!”

She resisted the urge to flinch, hating the fact that she wore it. If it hadn’t been Nona’s seventieth birthday, she never would have dressed like this. But it was, and her family was scheduled to leave in thirty minutes. She’d gotten out of the house to blow off steam after a fight with her little sister, Zoe. Zoe always yapped at her for eating too much and taking all the food, especially for loading up on double helpings of dessert. “Anyways, the word is
comedian,
smart stuff. Maybe you should look it up in the dictionary?”

Was it her imagination or did his ears tinge red? He studied her small frame, then smirked with agitation.

“What are you? Something like a first grader?”

“I’m in third grade, and probably a whole lot smarter than you.”

“Oh, yeah?” He stepped forward, and she did, too.

“Yeah.”

“Prove it.”

Tiny locked her eyes on his, which were chocolate brown, the same color as his short dark hair. He wore it parted on the side like his mama made him do it. But it was slicked down with gel and he stank of sweat. She shoved her basketball into his stomach, causing him to double forward with an
oomph.

“Hey!” He angrily snatched it away, holding it high beyond her reach. “What was that for?”

She nodded toward the hoop. “Why don’t you prove it first?”

“I don’t get what you mean?”

“Go on,” she urged. “Let me see you shoot.” Tiny set her hands on her little hips.
“Big
man.”

Jimmy huffed and glanced at his friends, who were watching, wide-eyed. “Aren’t you guys going to say anything?”

“Why not?” the taller boy asked. “Go ahead and show her.”

Tiny impatiently tapped a sneaker, pretending to be bored. Tree limbs swayed above, as sun peered through the foliage dancing in orangey browns. Jimmy looked her way for just a second before setting his brow in concentration. Then he began to dribble, but a little too fast. He didn’t have control of the ball as he raced forward, and it slipped away, bouncing off into the bushes.

Tiny gave a high shrill whistle. “Nice.” Then she sauntered to the edge of the court and pulled the ball from the underbrush.

She met Jimmy’s eyes and smiled, then bounced the ball once…twice…three times. Next, she took off down the court, doubling back to circle around him, before beelining for the goal and—ta-da!—achieving the perfect layup. The ball swished through the net, landing nearly at her feet. She reached out and grabbed it, turning to face Jimmy full on. If he hadn’t been working so hard to keep it shut, she was sure his jaw would be on the ground.
 

Tiny rested the ball on one hip and pinched a smile. “Score,” she said mildly.

Jimmy’s voice was husky above her as he pinned her against the locker. It was six years later and both were in high school. They’d been going together since that very first November. “Score…” he said, lowering his head toward hers. Tiny flattened a palm against his chest, holding him back. “Jimmy!” she said, but she was laughing. It had become a code word between them and could mean anything. Mostly now, it meant Jimmy wanted to kiss her. Or maybe even make out more heavily. Tiny didn’t know how he could entertain those thoughts in school. Then again, he sort of always seemed to entertain them. Maybe that was on account of the fact that he was sixteen. Her cousin Emma had already informed her about the ways of teenage boys. Not that Tiny really needed the tutorial.

Jimmy pried the hand from his chest and pressed it to his lips. “I’m going to marry you one day.”

Tiny’s heart crashed against her rib cage and her pulse raced like a locomotive. “What did you say?”

“I said…” He leaned closer, this time smelling of cheap cologne. “I’m going to make you my wife. Just as soon as we’re outta here. Once we’re both past eighteen.”

Of course she loved Jimmy. Everyone knew that. But it was a little nervy of him to just assume. Wasn’t there supposed to be a proposal or something, complete with hearts and flowers? Instead of some macho bull crap, saying he was going to take her home like some sort of object? She tried to disguise the hurt in her voice and defiantly met his eyes. “How do you know I’ll say yes?”

A sly grin lifted one corner of his mouth. “Because you’ve never met a better guy.”

There was Jimmy again, being his old self-assured self. Yet the more she pondered it, the more Tiny fumed. First off, she wasn’t ready to get married any time soon. Second, when she was, she’d want a real proposal, the kind with a ring and the guy dressing up in a suit. Jimmy didn’t even own one! This was crazy and annoying, and Tiny had a test in ten minutes. She didn’t need Jimmy’s type of aggravation just now. She’d put him in his place, she would. Tiny tilted her chin with a snide look. “Maybe I haven’t had time.”
 

Jimmy squinted, like he couldn’t believe she’d said that. In a way, Tiny wished she hadn’t. The air between them went dead still and the bottom dropped out of her stomach. She didn’t even hear the bell ring or see the other kids passing by them in the hall, but they must have because now the hall was empty and it was just the two of them, with the assistant principal walking briskly in their direction. Jimmy glanced at the approaching administrator, then turned to Tiny.

She’d never wanted anybody but him. She’d never
loved
anyone but him.

He dropped her hand and shrugged. “Take all the time that you need.”

Tiny swallowed hard as he scooped his books off the floor. “Jimmy, I—”

“No, you’re right.” For the first time his warm brown eyes looked cool. “Maybe it’s good for us to take a break. In fact,” he said, “it’s been a long time coming.”

“But I didn’t say—”

“Six years together. No other experience. Hey, you never know.” He shot her a derisive look and strode away. “I might find somebody better, too.”

Tiny pursed her lips as moisture built in her eyes. But she wouldn’t do it. Wasn’t about to start crying here. “Yeah!” she shouted after him, her voice cracking. “You just might!”

“Miss D’Amato,” Mr. Wharton said, “I’m going to have to insist you get to class.”

Instead, she pulled away from his gaze and raced all the way home, where she sobbed in her room until midnight, skipping supper.

“What ya thinking about?” Tiny looked up from her soup bowl at Jimmy, who sat across from her. They were having homemade chili with extra jalapenos. It was Jimmy’s specialty and Tiny always devoured it. Tonight, she’d barely touched a bite. He wasn’t too different now from how he was back then. Only now, he was a better kisser. Tiny tried not to think about all the girls he might have gotten experience with between the time when they broke up in high school, and when they’d reconnected five years later. She comforted herself by remembering that no other girl would ever get to experience Jimmy again. He was hers now, for better and for worse. They’d said their vows last year. She’d never loved anyone else. Not even for a minute. The entire time they’d been apart her heart was breaking. When Jimmy came back into her life, he’d pieced it back together. He’d never loved anyone else either. He’d bought a nice suit and a tie and gotten down on one knee to say so. Complete with a bouquet of flowers.