“On a Saturday?”
She nodded. “I have to impress a new boss.”
“All day?”
Reluctantly, she whispered, “Half.”
“Are you afraid of hanging with me?” I teased James, but it hurt me that she was scared to get close.
“A little. You’re the Big Bad Wolf, ya know? And I’m Red Riding Hood, sitting and waiting for you.”
“All the better for me to eat you…isn’t that what they say?” I winked, trying to lighten the moment. James might have been trying to joke, but I could tell her emotions were scattered. “Look, I know you’re skeptical, but let’s feel our way through this. I promise to only be a wolf when you want…”
“Where are you staying?” she asked quickly, her mind clearly on my wolf side.
A small part of me wanted her to offer up her place, but the current situation called for a gentleman, not an animal. “The Four Seasons.”
“I should have assumed.” She smiled and looked to the ground.
We’d had a great night, but this moment felt awkward. “Better than the apartment my mom rented. That place only smacked of bad memories.” I don’t know why I brought up my mom because it only led to discomfort.
“Does your mom know you’re here?”
“No, but she will. Listen, I want you to have your job back at the hospital.”
She’d told me about her new opportunity at dinner, but I didn’t want her to feel robbed of the hospital gig.
She shook her head. “I like my new job. It’s a challenge and something I can make my own.” Running her fingers through her waves, she pushed her hair back behind her ear.
“You’re beautiful and smart,” I said, drawing my hand down her cheek, the town car idling next to the sidewalk. “You should have the job you want. The one you deserve. Don’t push me away when I ask what you want. I will make it happen.”
“Ford.” She breathed my name. “I need to do this on my own. I lost my job. I did what my boss wanted and went against your mom, and in the end no one won. I have a new challenge, and I’m making it work. I’m not the scholarship kid anymore.”
“I know.”
I kissed her. My lips came down on hers, making promises I didn’t know if I could keep. But I was going to try.
Jamie
Iclosed my laptop and squeezed my eyes shut. The morning had gone well and the audience loved my talk, but at the moment, visions of Ford kissing me at my door last night filled my mind like Sugar Plum Fairies on Christmas Eve.Hey, even women who have lived half their lives can dream about the boy.
The boy—who was now a grown man, acting like a chivalrous gentleman—would be here in an hour to pick me up for our golf outing. His idea, not mine. He said he wanted to do something outside and enjoy the beautiful weather with an even more beautiful woman.
Sigh. Also, his words, not mine.
I’d only played a few rounds of golf over the years. I knew the basics—my job required I do so—but to say I was good was a huge stretch. He mentioned driving the hour back to his family’s private club and asked if I knew the dress code. I assured him I didn’t show my midriff or wear my hat backward.
Now, I slipped into a white golf shirt tucked into a navy golf skort. A white cardigan finished the outfit off. I’d purchased it before a golf outing for the Diabetes Foundation my old boss had me attend. The same boss who’d asked me to attend Ford Conway’s funeral and then fired me.
Swiping on my lip gloss and finger-combing my waves, I tried to forget my boss. Using the new hair wand I’d purchased, I fixed a few of the waves. My hair salon had been the first place I wallowed after getting fired, having them strip the color and restore my natural red. All the chemicals helped to reverse the Brazilian straightening crap, and after a few hours I resembled Little Orphan Annie again, which was essentially who I was. Ramon, my hairdresser, recommended this wand to keep the curls from springing up so much, and he wasn’t wrong.
When I’d finally fixed myself up for my job interview, I’d come to love my new-old look.
Of course, right now I wasn’t sure. Would they accept me at the club? The anxiety over being accepted never seemed to dissipate despite becoming one of them.Thembeing society people. As a development person, I ran in the same circles as these people.
My doorbell rang, jarring me from my nasty stroll down memory lane. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, I went to answer the door.
“Finish all your work?” Ford asked, walking into my place like he’d done it a thousand times.
