Wrong Way Renee (24 page)

“I think it's more than that, though. I'm not so sure I'd be in any hurry for
my mother
and
Char
to meet Joe, even if there were no one else in the picture.
I’ve never dated a white guy. I still don't know what to do
. I love being with
Joe. He turns me on and he makes me laugh
. But
Cleave
's
so sweet. He treats me like a princess. You should see his house. Oh my God. He lives in Woodlan
d Heights.”

Toy
nodded
.
“I used
to date a guy who lived there and he was freaking loaded.”

“It's nice. He wants to move things along fast, though. My family would be ecstatic if that relationship continued and say
, we got married or something.”

“I've been in a similar position. Before I married
James
, I was
dating that doctor. Remember?”

“
That
was like a million men ago. Y
ou had to choose between a doctor and an accountant. B
ut they both had money, right?”

“Right. But you know what helped me
decide between them?”

“What?
”
Sh
e leaned
toward her friend
, hoping for some elusive wisdom.

“The doctor had an ex-wife and a child. That w
as the deciding factor for me.”

Renee sat back in her seat, wondering if
Toy
could relate to her current situation.
“What would y
ou do if you were in my shoes?”

“For me it would be easy.”

“
You’d pick Cleave, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah.
He’d
win hands down. You know how high maintenance I am. A cop's s
alary would never work for me.”

“
You earn good money.”

“But for how long? When you model, you have to start early and end early. No one wants a
wrinkled for
ty-year-old woman in their ads. I have to marry someone who can keep me in the style I'm accustomed to for the long haul. I'm hoping my next trip to the altar will be my las
t.”

Their
food arrived and they ate in silence for a couple minutes
.

Renee tried unsuccessfully to spear a crouton, instead crushing it into crumbs.
“So, what's going on with you? Are you single again?
”

“Actually, I met a really nice guy on my last job. He's in publishing.
”
She took a tiny bite of her salad.

“Really? What was the job?”

She
laid down her fork
.
“I'm ashamed to say.”

“
Toy
, are
you
doing nude stuff or something?
”

“Oh,
please
. You know I hate my body. Do you think I'd ever d
o that? They want these little T
winkies who are barely eighteen for that work. I posed as the teacher for some textbook photos.
There, I've said it out loud.”

“Why is th
at something to be ashamed of?”

“
Because I was a schoolteacher, not a young, sexy, vampy woman, like I used to be.
”
She slumped in her seat
and pushed
a piece of lettuce around the bowl with her fork.

“God
, you make it sound like that's the only type o
f
job
you'll get from now on.”

“You
don't know this business
. I'm alm
ost over the hill. M
y search for a husband has
taken on
a whole new urgency.
”

Sh
e knew her friend was probably right.
“What was all the buzz a few years ago that the media was making a generation of girls who were obsessed with their bodies and their youth? I thought we were going to see older models and ones with a little meat on their
frame. What happened to that?”

“I think they were trying to be responsive to the public outcry. But it was only lip se
rvice. Just smoke and mirrors.”

“So,
tell me about your publisher
man
.”

A smile found its way to
Toy
's face.
“His name is Wesley and h
e's a few years older than us.”

She knew her friend well enough to suspect that meant ancient.
“How old is that?”

She pursed her lips.
“He's about fifty
-five
.”

“Fifty
-five
?
A
re you attracted to him or are you just looking for another occasion for your friends to drop
a bunch of money on a wedding?”

Toy
stuck out her tongue
.

“Sorry. But I thought you
were going for love from now on.”

“Who ever said love and m
oney are mutually exclusive?”

“You know what I mean. Is this guy attractive? Or is he just wealthy.
”
She
scoope
d up the last bite of her salad and eyed Toy’s.

“He's very attractive. He has dark hair
and eyes and he's
educated
—
and v
ery nice. He's got a yacht.”

“Wow. I wish you luck,
girlfriend
.
”
Unfortunately,
sh
e left just as confused about her dilemma as when she’d arrived. As soon as the holidays were behind her she’d make her choice. Then she’d bow out of one of her relationships. She had to.

* * * * *

Christmas Eve day
everyone and
their mother needed her hair and
or nails done. Pam came next for Renee to fix a broken nail
mid-morning
.

“What do you have going on for Christmas?
”
Renee asked her.

“Going to my folks' place. You?
”
She yawned
as
her gaze roamed the salon.

“Same
. Have you seen
Pablo
recently?”

Pam's
face fell
.
“Not for a week or so. I've left two messages on his cell phone
but he hasn't called me back.”

“What's his last name?”

“Why?
”

“No reason, I met a fireman named
Pablo
this weekend.
”
She
patted acrylic into place on Pam's thumb.

“Colon. What was the
last name of the
Pablo
you met?”

She held back a gasp.
“I
-I
don't remember
. But I don't think that was it.”
How could she tell
her
that
the love of her life had married someone else?
Even though it was for the be
st since
Pablo
was obviously an asshole, Renee ached for the inevitable
pain the situation would cause her client
.

As Pam was leaving, Joe
came into the salon
.
He stood
at the desk in uniform looking around for her.
She swelled with pride at how handsome he was. To show him she wasn’
t ashamed of him, she walked over and planted a big kiss on his lips.

His face reddened as he glanced around the shop. “Hey, I'm in uniform.”

“I can see that. To what do I owe this pleasure?
”
She wiped
her lipstick off his upper lip.

He shrugged.
“I was in the area so I thought I'd stop by to see where you work. Plus, I could really use a haircut. I also wanted to see if you'd be dropping by my dad's this
evening. Rather, I was hoping.”

A
ll eyes in the shop were on them, but she didn't care. Luckily, everyone had a client they were working on so no one said anything to embarrass her.

Antoine walked his client to the door
and gave
her a kis
s before she left. He looked
Joe
over
and raised his hands
in mock surrender.
“I give up, officer. Please frisk me. I might be packing heat
.”

“Ignore him,
”
Renee told Joe.
“Antoine, this is Joe.”

Antoine held out his hand, palm down.
“Pleasure to meet you, Joe. I've heard a lot about you, honey.
”

Joe shook his hand.
“Yeah, same here.”

“
H
e needs a haircut. Do you have time?
”
Renee asked
him
.

Joe
silently pleaded
with her not to make him go with Antoine.

“Today is your lucky day,
handsome
. Come on back.
”
Antoin
e looped his arm through Joe's and led
him to
his
station
. Joe glanc
ed back at
her
, silently begging
for rescue.

“It'll be fun,
”
she whispered, following him.

As Antoine trimmed Joe's hair, Renee discusse
d the evening's plans with him.
“Dinner at my folks' is at seven. I should be able to sneak out by nine. I
s that too late?”

“No, not at all. Do you want me
to pick you up at their house?”

“No, no,
”
she said a little too quickly.
“
Just give me your dad’s address
. I'll meet you there as soon as I can get away. I don't want you to have to leave your fa
mily's celebration.”

“Okay.
This place is really nice, Renee.
”

Becky walked by and stopped when she saw Joe. She waved into the mirror at him.
“Nice to see you again. Merry Christmas.
Renee, can I speak
to you when you have a minute?”

“I have a minute now.
”
Sh
e followed her to the kitchen.
“What's up?”

“I need your opinion o
n something. Something personal.”
She
sat on a stool and kept her voice not more than a whisper.

“What is it?”

“I can't talk about it here. Do you think maybe you can come
by my house tomorrow evening?”

“Sure. Is everything okay?
”
She searched Becky's face, hoping for a clue to set her mind at ease.

“
Don't worry or anything. I need a sounding board. You're my best friend. You know me better t
han anyone. Six or seven okay?”

“
Fine. I'll call before I come.”

“Thanks.
”
Becky's smile didn't find its way to her eyes.

Renee saw only worry there. The muscles in her sho
ulders tightened.
She returned to Antoine's station to find Joe looking better than ever after Antoine worked his magic. After
a scorching kiss next to his patrol car, she headed back inside and
did
three more services
before
calling
it a day. For a change, she was the last one out.

After shutting down the computer, she sat at Becky's station, twirling in the chair. It wasn't like Becky to be so secretive. Could she be sick? Maybe she wanted to sell the shop or move away. A million scenarios played out in
her
mind, all of them bad.

Chapter Eight

“Aunt Renee, Aunt Renee, merry Christmas. Santa's coming tonight.
”

“
What did you get us? How does Santa get down the chimney?
”

“
Do the elves make everything?
”