Then He Kissed Me (27 page)

“Are you going to say anything?” she asked, then hiccupped.

He hesitated, remembering that time Lanie had mimicked his voice by imitating a robot. He felt anything but robotic at the moment. He was almost afraid to open his mouth for fear that he’d sound like a raving lunatic. “I’m not a businessman,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “But that doesn’t matter, because you’re a businesswoman, and whatever you decide to do will be the right thing.”

She nodded. “That’s it?” she said.

“No, I have a lot more to say, actually.”

She looked over at him, surprised. Her soft blue eyes were red rimmed by her crying, but Nate didn’t think she’d ever looked lovelier. “Do you remember the first night we made love?”

She perked up. “Of course I do. It was the night of couples Bunco.”

“And that next morning, when I told you that I knew when I kissed you that we’d end up sleeping together? That wasn’t exactly true. I knew that back in the restaurant.”

“You did?” She wiped a stray tear off her cheek.

“I knew it when I told you the real reason I became a doctor. I’ve never told that to anyone. Not to my mom. Or Lanie.”

“Or Jessica?”

He snorted. “Especially not to Jessica.”

“But, you didn’t really know me then.”

“I know. It sounds crazy, but, there it is.” He picked up her hand. “And I know you think that I haven’t had enough time to get over Jessica, but that’s not true. I think I was over Jessica a long time ago, way before I ever proposed to her. It’s like, I’ve gone through a lot of my life just being this person who did what he thought he was supposed to do. Graduate from med school. Marry my girlfriend. Start a family. Like some rote script I was following, only I was just going through the motions. That’s why when she turned me down, it was like…
nothing
. I actually felt relieved.”

He shook his head. “Saturday night, when you told me that if we broke up now, no one would get hurt, it felt like someone had ripped the floor out from under me. I wanted to puke. But I couldn’t let you see that. So I put on this face to make you think it was all okay. But it’s not okay. Not if we don’t end up together.”

“Go big or go home,” she said.

“What?”

“It’s what I want, Nate. I want a
big
life. I want to take risks. I want to use that money to buy that land and I want to work hard to make my company successful. But, I also want what my parents have. I want a big love, too. And…I want that with you.”

He cupped her face with his hands. “I love you, Lauren. More than I thought it was possible to love anyone.”

He went to kiss her when the sound of a screeching car made them both turn their heads toward the parking lot. Nate watched as Jessica’s car came to a halt just inches from his SUV. She got out of the car and slammed her door.

“Nate! What the
fuck
! I got to the house and all my things were on the front porch.”

Lauren and he looked at one another, and sighed. She stood up from the bench and smoothed her skirt out. “Please, allow me to get this one.”

“Are you sure about that?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

He grinned. “In that case, she’s all yours.”

Still holding hands, they walked toward her. “Hello, Jessica,” Lauren said. Hector growled at her.

Jessica’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, I get it. How cute. You’re a
couple
now.” She glared at Nate. “Real classy, locking me out of the house and all. Go ahead, Blondie, have your little
victory
,” she said, making air quote marks on the last word. “But we’ll see who gets the last laugh when South Side Ventures buys the land your dump of a shop is on.
Oh
? You didn’t know I was the attorney representing the deal, did you?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, Jessica, but my Daddy’s cousin, Nora, who just so happens to own that land, is selling it to me.”

“
You
? That can’t be possible.”

“I’m afraid so.”

Jessica seemed speechless. For once. Nate had to admit, he was impressed, but he also knew that unfortunately, it wasn’t going to last, either.

“But—”

“Jessica,” Lauren said sweetly, “I’m afraid you’ve left me
no
choice, really. I’m going to have to play
hardball
here. Nate has made it perfectly clear to me that he’s just not interested in you anymore. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s for the best. Trust me, one day, you’ll be on your knees thanking him.”

H
er parents’ fortieth wedding
anniversary party took place on a clear cool December evening. Lauren and Felicia had decorated the pool side area with over a thousand Christmas lights. There were tables set up with food and a small jazz trio played everything from holiday classics to Sinatra oldies. They’d opted for a small, intimate group, but there were still plenty of people. Doc was there, of course, and his wife Arlene and all the office staff, and Momma’s friends from the country club and most of the Bunco Babes, Tom and Allie, as well as Nate’s mother and his sister Lanie, and Dhara, too.

A lot had happened in the last six months. After Lauren sealed the land deal with Nora and Vince, Ted Ferguson had scurried off into the sunset to lick his wounds, and thankfully, no one had heard from him since. With the land deal blown, South Side Ventures had decided they didn’t need a legal presence in the Florida panhandle and Simon and Simon recalled Jessica back to Miami. The last Lanie had heard (because Lanie liked keeping tabs on the “enemy,” as she called her), Jessica had been dating her plastic surgeon. Good riddance, as far as Lauren was concerned.

Baby Got Bump was doing far better than anyone could have predicted and, besides a renovation, they were already adding on to the building. Dhara and Lanie were still together, and Momma, being Momma, took credit for it, although no one could recall that she’d actually done anything to get them together in the first place.

The November elections had been brutal. Despite the Billy Brenton flop, Bruce Bailey had refused to go down without a fight. But despite his attempts to discredit Mimi, she’d come out victorious and next month she’d be sworn in as Whispering Bay’s new mayor. Lauren and the rest of the Bunco Babes couldn’t have been prouder.

The past six months had proven to be a challenge for the Handy family, as well. Daddy’s bouts of confusion were coming on more frequently, but he still had his good days, too. Like today. He wore a crisp navy blue suit and a lemon colored tie and he looked so handsome. Momma, naturally, looked beautiful. Lauren had convinced her to wear a vintage outfit—a tea length nineteen-sixties champagne satin dress that made her look not only elegant, but “incredibly slim” as well (Momma’s own words), so it had been a win-win all around.

As for Lauren, she wore the same lime chiffon dress she’d worn that night on her date with Ted to The Harbor House almost a year ago. It was only the second time she’d had an occasion to wear it. And it wasn’t the dress’s fault that evening had ended so miserably. On the other hand, that was also the evening she and Nate’s lives had begun to intersect, so maybe the dress was a good luck charm, after all.

Momma’s eyes glowed with happiness and Lauren was grateful that the evening had been a success. Henry acted as host whenever Daddy wasn’t readily available. Her almost thirteen-year-old son looked every inch the budding young man in the dark suit and tie Nate had helped him select.

Lauren was the first one scheduled to make a toast. As their friends and family gathered around them, she felt her palms dampen. She’d rehearsed her little “speech” for days now but she still couldn’t help but feel nervous. The band quieted down to play
The Way You Look Tonight
softly in the background.

The servers they hired for the evening made sure everyone had a full glass of champagne. Everyone watched her, including Nate, who stood next to her father. He smiled at her in encouragement and there went those dimples! Lauren sighed. In contrast to the other men in the room, Nate wore an old-fashioned tuxedo, complete with black pants and a white jacket. The outfit had been a total surprise. He looked unbelievably gorgeous and Lauren couldn’t wait to get him alone tonight.

She cleared her throat and raised her glass. “First, I want to thank each and every one of you for joining us in this lovely celebration tonight. All of you mean so much to me and to my parents and we’re grateful for all the love and support you’ve shown us over the years. Today, my parents celebrate forty years of marriage. It’s a feat not easily accomplished.” She paused and eyed the crowd. Mimi, who just last month had won the mayoral election (in a landslide, no less!), nodded in agreement.

“I might not have the wisdom of my parents, at least, not yet,” Lauren said to a smiling crowd, “but I do know that life is made up of lots of different moments. Some, like today, are moments that we cherish and remember forever. Some moments, however, a
lot
of moments, are the stuff of everyday life. The ups and downs…the sad times. Those are the challenges we all face. It takes a great love to live through those challenges. To flourish through them, actually. I’m happy and
proud
to say that my parents have that kind of love.” She could feel her throat begin to tighten. Just a few more seconds, and she’d be done. “Please, raise your glasses with me and join in this tribute to my Momma and Daddy.”

The crowd raised their glasses in salute and everyone began to cheer.

Nate winked at her and Lauren felt a weight lift off her shoulders. There just wasn’t any way that tonight could get any better.

Then, suddenly, Daddy came to stand beside her. Lauren felt a moment’s hesitation. She had thought that Momma was going to speak on their behalf.

“Thank you for that lovely speech, Sweet Tea,” he said softly. She kissed him on the cheek. Daddy put his hand in the air to get everyone’s attention.

“On behalf of my beautiful wife Maureen and myself, thank you.” It was all he was supposed to say, but instead of stepping back to join Momma, he looked as if he was going to continue. Lauren held her breath, afraid of what might come next. “A while back, Lauren’s beau, a young man both Maureen and I have come to love and admire came to me with a question. I said yes.” He smiled at Lauren. “And I hope you will, too.”

The crowd began to hum with excitement. Nate came forward and shook Daddy’s hand.

Lanie edged her way to stand in front of them and raised her cell phone in the air. “Just so you know, bro, I’m taping this,” she said gleefully.

Nate shook his head at his sister and grinned. Then, with a serious expression on his face, he took Lauren’s hand and went down on one knee.

Oh My God
. Lauren began to hyperventilate.

“Not only did I ask for your father’s permission, I want you to know that Henry has given me the green light, as well.”

Lauren glanced up in a daze to see Henry give her a big thumbs up, causing the spectators to laugh.

“You asked me once, well, maybe more than once, what the world would be like if I hadn’t been born.” He turned and explained to the crowd. “It’s a game Lauren and I play from time to time. In case you don’t know, it’s from her favorite movie,
It’s a Wonderful Life
.” His gaze zeroed back on her. “I don’t think I’ve ever come up with a really good answer. Not until tonight, that is. You told me once you would only marry again if you were crazy in love with someone who was crazy in love with you.” He reached inside his jacket pocket to produce a ring. It was a platinum band with a row of five diamonds set side by side that nearly made her eyes pop out. Yet, it wasn’t gaudy. It was elegant and utterly beautiful.

Lauren couldn’t help herself, she began to cry.

“Don’t cry, baby,” Nate said softly, so that only the two of them could hear. “If I hadn’t been born, then you’d never get married again. Because I can guarantee you this, there isn’t anyone on earth, now or anytime in the future, who’s as crazy in love with you as I am.”

He turned and looked at his sister. “Are you getting all this, Lanie?”

“Yep! Every word, bro.”

“Good. You have my permission to put it on YouTube, or wherever else you want.”

Lauren swiped the tear off her cheek. “That was the most…perfect proposal ever.”

“Does that mean it’s a yes?” Nate asked.

“
Yes
!
Yes
! A thousand times yes!” she laughed. Nate slipped the ring on her finger and picked her up and twirled her around while the crowd clapped furiously.

“I told you!” Momma said, wiping away her own tears. “Didn’t I tell you you’d be engaged by the end of the year?”

The crowd began to descend upon them, some of them crying their own tears of happiness. Mimi and Allie and Pilar and Frida and all her friends. Daddy looked ready to burst with pride and Momma just kept telling everyone who’d listen how this had all been
her
doing. And in that one moment of pure and unbelievable happiness, surrounded by the love of her family and friends, Lauren knew that life was never more wonderful.

M
imi Grant was up
to her eyeballs in trouble. It had barely been a week since she’d been inaugurated as Whispering Bay’s newest mayor and the city was already falling apart.

It was her first official city council meeting and she’d been looking forward to it the way a kid looks forward to the first day of school (a nerdy kid, that is). After eighteen years as a stay-at-home mom, she was ready to begin a new phase of her life. She just hadn’t expected the bullies to declare themselves so early.

Bruce Bailey—ex-mayor and six term incumbent whom Mimi had soundly beaten for the job last November—sat across from her at the other end of the freshly waxed oak table with a smirk on his face.
You wanted this, you got this
, his expression said. Mimi might be thirty-five and the mother of two, but she wasn’t above sticking her tongue out at Bruce. At least, not in her fantasies, she wasn’t.

There were four members on the Whispering Bay City Council, and as the most current former mayor, Bruce was automatically given a spot. The idea behind that had been to foster continuity. Bruce, however, was a sore loser. He’d love nothing more than to see Mary Margaret Grant, a PTA housewife with no previous political experience, fall flat on her ass.

Mimi imagined Bruce wasn’t the only good citizen of Whispering Bay who’d love to see her fail. Not that she didn’t have lots of supporters. Over half the town had voted for her. It was the biggest election turnout in Whispering Bay’s history and she was proud to be the inspiration behind it. But she was also the town’s first female mayor and the pressure was on to make her gender proud.

Besides Bruce, the other council members consisted of Gus Pappas, a local plumber and a member of Whispering Bay’s senior citizen activist group, the Gray Flamingoes. Gus was a sweetheart and just like Mimi, newly elected. Larry Jefferson (a long time member of the council and a crony of Bruce’s) and Denise Holbert made up the other two spots.

Mimi shifted around in her chair to tug on her black linen skirt. For most of her adult life she’d worn the typical mom uniform—jeans, T-shirts, and an occasional sweatshirt when the north Florida weather got cold enough. Skirts and heels were saved for special occasions. Although the mayoral position was only part-time, as the new “face” of Whispering Bay she was expected to be on twenty-four/seven. Skirts, heels (and Spanx) were now her daily look and she needed to get used to it.

She nervously jiggled one high heeled foot in the air as she listened to Larry Jefferson read the minutes from the last meeting. The city budget was in shambles. Which wasn’t her fault. Technically, it wasn’t Bruce’s fault, either. The mayor wasn’t directly involved in fiscal matters. That job belonged to the city manager. But it was the mayor’s responsibility to work alongside the city manager and the rest of the council to keep the budget in check. Paul Amos, Whispering Bay’s city manager for the past twelve years had resigned before the previous council had been forced to fire him. His replacement, a hot shot from the St. Augustine area had been hired to clean things up.

Mimi glanced to her left to find Doug Wentworth (said hot shot), staring at her. Or rather, staring at her legs. At least, she
thought
that was what he was doing. The last person to study her legs this intently was Doc Morrison. She and the kids had been hiking in the St. Joseph National Park a few months ago and she’d come away with a bad case of poison ivy, the worst part below her knees. So of course Doc had checked her out. But what excuse did Doug have?

Did she have a run in her hose?

Then she remembered, she wasn’t wearing hose. It was early February, but north Florida was having a not-unheard-of warmer-than-warm spell. It had reached seventy-five degrees today and half the town was in shorts. Maybe Doug found her foot jiggling a distraction.

She immediately stopped her fidgeting.

Doug caught her gaze and smiled in a way that made Mimi’s cheeks go warm. He was probably her age, mid-thirties, above average height with short brown hair and hazel eyes. Nice eyes, if Mimi were being honest. She didn’t know much about him except that he was originally from Kansas and had been wooed by the council after Paul’s resignation. Supposedly, he’d cleaned up a similar fiscal mess in Old Explorer’s Bay, a city south of St. Augustine on Florida’s east coast.

Doug passed around copies of a thin bound notebook to the table’s occupants. Besides Bruce and the other three members of the council, Pilar Diaz-Rothman, Whispering Bay’s attorney (and Mimi’s good friend and fellow Bunco Babe) was also present.

Bruce picked up his notebook and frowned. “What is this?”

Mimi began flipping through the pages. “It appears to be a city budget.”

“Well, I can see
that.
” Bruce scanned the notebook then carelessly flung it back onto the table. “You’ve been here all of a week,” he said to Doug, “How on earth could you have put together a budget in that amount of time? You don’t even know what our priorities are yet.”

In his non-mayorly life, Bruce served as vice-President of the Whispering Bay Community Bank, as well as current president of the Rotary Club. He was in his late forties and married to Bettina Bailey, PTA mother extraordinaire. Over the years, Mimi had had several run-ins with Bettina, mostly over how to spend the proceeds from the annual elementary school bake sale. The fact that Mimi was now in a position to spar with Bruce over a multi-million dollar budget made her palms go damp.

You’ve come a long way, baby
.

Boy, had she ever.

“I realize I haven’t been here long,” Doug said smoothly, “but if you look at those numbers a little closer, you’ll see I’ve done my homework.” He paused to take a drink of water, which was cue for everyone at the table to open their notebooks again and begin perusing.

Mimi had to hand it to Doug, he didn’t seem intimidated by Bruce, which scored him some major brownie points in her book.

“As I said before, I haven’t been in Whispering Bay long, but I come from a situation very similar to the one you have here. Five years ago, I was hired as the city manager for Old Explorers’ Bay, a town almost identical to your demographics. A population of about ten thousand with a heavy residential tax base. No real industry to speak of, except some minor tourism. But I was able to turn things around within two years.
And
leave them with a substantial bank account.” He eyed each member of the table. “I plan to do exactly the same thing here.”

Pilar leaned over to whisper in Mimi’s ear. “I like this guy’s confidence.”

“We’ll see,” she whispered back. She liked Doug’s confidence, too. But actions spoke louder than words. And results spoke the loudest of all.

The other members of the city council began talking at once. Doug sat down and caught her gaze again, holding it even longer this time.
What?
She’d had a spinach salad for lunch.
Oh, God
. Did she have spinach between her teeth? That must be it.

“Maybe this is a good time to take a break,” Mimi suggested.

Pilar immediately stood. “Good idea. Let’s take a break.”

The rest of the table reluctantly murmured in agreement.

Mimi hit the bathroom with Pilar on her heels. She checked herself out in the bathroom mirror. No spinach in her teeth. Nothing else out of the ordinary, either.

“Do you think my skirt is too short?” she asked Pilar. “Or maybe there’s something wrong with my legs? I should have worn panty-hose, right? I’m thirty-five years old. I need to wear panty-hose.”

Pilar smoothed back her chin length dark hair, touched up her lipstick, then turned to give Mimi a thorough inspection. “You look great. What makes you think you need to wear panty hose?”

“Nothing.”

“By
nothing
, do you mean have I noticed that Doug keeps checking you out? He’s about as subtle as a kid in the third grade. Next, he’ll try to pull your hair. Speaking of which…your hair looks different. What did you do to it?”

“I colored out the gray.”

Pilar rolled her eyes. “What gray? You and Claire could be sisters,” she said, referring to Mimi’s seventeen-year-old daughter.

“Ha! I wish. And the gray was there, believe me.”

“Well, your hair looks great. Just like the rest of you.” Pilar lifted Mimi’s hands and smiled in approval. “Look at that. You even got a manicure!” The smile quickly vanished. “Where’s your wedding ring?”

Mimi automatically rubbed her left thumb up against her ring finger. After nearly eighteen years of marriage it felt strange not wearing her ring. “I took it off this morning.”

Pilar’s face fell. “Oh, babe. I know you and Zeke are having problems, but please tell me you’re having it cleaned or resized or something.”

“I took it off this morning to do dishes and forgot to put it back on.” Pilar looked like she didn’t believe her. “No, really, I was just so nervous about this meeting I would have forgotten my head if it wasn’t attached.” Mimi swallowed hard. She’d never been a good liar, and Pilar was too shrewd for her own good. “It’s the truth,” Mimi said, avoiding Pilar’s beady eyed-stare. “But…you’re right about Zeke and me. We’re still having problems. We’re kind of in a time out.”

“A time out? From what?” Pilar demanded.

“From our marriage.”

“Does Zeke know that? Because I saw him at The Bistro this morning and we had an entire conversation about couples Bunco.”

Mimi and Pilar belonged to Whispering Bay’s oldest established Bunco group, affectionately known around town as the Bunco Babes. Every Thursday night the group rolled dice, drank frozen margaritas, and gossiped. It was the best girls’ night out in town. The group consisted of twelve members, all fierce and loyal friends. Once a year every April they allowed their significant others to join them. The men liked to pretend that they had to be dragged along, but it was all an act. The truth was, everyone looked forward to couples Bunco. Even Zeke, the original grumpy cat.

“Believe me, Zeke knows we’re taking a time out. He’s sleeping at the office.” At least, she assumed he was sleeping at the office. She hadn’t asked and he hadn’t offered up the information.

“But this is temporary, right? I mean, you guys are going to work it all out.”

That’s exactly what Mimi had thought when they’d first gone to counseling. But that had been a year-and-a-half ago and nothing had changed.

Mimi gave her friend a shaky smile. “It’s hard to work out your problems when one of you doesn’t think any exist.”

“Who else knows?” Pilar asked softly.

“No one yet. Zeke asked me to wait. But I can’t hold off forever. I mean, people are going to notice he’s not living at the house. We’re telling the kids first, of course, then our families, and then…everyone else.”

 “So Allie doesn’t know either?”

Allie was Zeke’s younger sister. Although Mimi was only four years older than Allie, she felt more like a mother to her than a sister-in-law. Allie would take the news hard. She was engaged to marry her high school sweetheart Tom Donalan this summer and Mimi had promised she would help with the wedding, a promise Mimi would naturally keep. Just because she and Zeke were having problems didn’t mean her relationship with her sister-in-law would change.

“I’m having lunch with Allie tomorrow. I plan to tell her then.
After
I have a couple of stiff drinks.”

 “You don’t think Zeke has already told her?”

“This is Zeke we’re talking about. Remember?”

Pilar smiled sympathetically. Like the rest of Mimi’s close friends, Pilar knew Zeke well enough to know that when it came to discussing his feelings (or anything else remotely personal), Zeke was the poster boy for the strong and silent type. Allie might be his sister, but like the rest of the people in Zeke’s life she was on a need-to-know basis. And there was precious little Zeke Grant thought people needed to know. Plus, there was the fact that Zeke was still hoping this whole time out thing would blow over and they could pretend it never happened.

“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Pilar drew her into a tight hug. “And
pretty please,
and I’m speaking as both a friend and a lawyer here, don’t do anything rash.”

“I promise,” Mimi said, swiping away a tear. “Oh, God. Do mayors cry? Because I’m pretty sure they don’t.”

“Mayors do whatever the hell they want. It’s part of the benefit package.”

THAT MAN OF MINE