Invitation to Love (17 page)

“I
hadn’t thought about it. With all the moving and everything, it totally slipped
my mind.”

“I
guessed as much. It’s still not too late to register them. They could go to a
private one if you prefer.”

“No,
public is fine.”

“How
about tomorrow, then? Around lunch time?”

“The
girls will love it. So—good-night,” she couldn’t say those last two words fast
enough as she rushed across the floor pass him.

“Oh,
Taryn.” The deliberate soft play of her name halted her steps.

In
the middle of the hallway late at night she stood, her body hot from the feel
of him obviously studying her from behind. She braced herself in anticipation
of him wheeling her around, holding her tight in his arms, begging her to
completely fulfill her part of the bargain and make love to him.

“Yes?”
she slowly turned.

“The
toy company called. The swing-set will be here by the end of the week.”

(Swing-set!
Is he kidding?)

“Uh—thanks.
Good-night.”

“Good-night,”
she heard him say as she hurried for her room. Once inside her safe haven, she leaned
against the closed door and exhaled with great relief. After the strength
returned to her legs, she gathered up the soft material and went to sit at the
edge of the bed. That’s one for him for that cool composure he maintained. But,
that’s also one for her, because not once could he take his eyes from the
length of her body. He obviously felt something; And, that fact had her smiling
for the longest.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

It
was the usual hot, July day. An excited Remi  and Rachel were eager to see what
their new school looked like. Mrs. Rague, the principal of the charter school Hill
Elementary was more than happy to welcome the two new students, and give them a
tour of the facilities. Afterwards, they ate lunch at the Spaghetti Factory
where the girls flooded them with questions as to when school would start? Can
they ride the bus? And when is Taryn going to get the supplies they needed? She
promised them that if they quieted down and ate, she would take them to the
mall and buy them new school clothes. Much to her relief, it worked.

“Will
you be home for dinner, Michael?” Remi asked as the limousine steered through
the city traffic to drop him off at the office.

“Sure
will.”

“Good.
I like it when we eat like a family.”

He
looked over to Taryn and smiled. “So do I, pumpkin.”

The
driver pulled in front of the building’s entrance and stopped.

“Behave,
girls. Bye, Taryn.”

“Michael,
aren’t you going to kiss Momma good-bye? You haven’t been doing that, lately.”

 Taryn’s
mouth almost dropped open as she glanced at her loquacious child.

“Thank
you for reminding me, Remi,” he slid back into his seat, leaned over, and
planted a short kiss on her mouth. “See you tonight.”

She
ignored the girls’ snickering as he left out.

“Mummie,
are you going to buy me new shoes for school?”

“New
shoes, new socks, new…, oh, goodness,” she rummaged through her purse. “Michael
forgot to give me the other card I need. Driver, would you please wait? I have
to run inside for a moment.”

“Very
well, ma’am,” he touched his cap to her.

Gracey
wasn’t at her desk when Taryn passed it for his office. It was empty inside, so
she stood and waited.

“Taryn,”
Chris strolled in and dropped a folder on the desk. “You waiting for Michael?”

“Yeah.
I’m taking the girls shopping. I forgot to ask him for the card.”

“He’s
right behind me.” Just then, a wide grin lit across his face. “Women and credit
cards. What a dangerous combination. I hope Michael has a massive limit on
his.”

“Tease.”
She tilted her head to one side and eyed him closely as the gears in her
inquiring mind began turning. “Mind if I ask you a question?”

“Ask
away.”

“Why
aren’t you married? Or are you one of those single-to-the-end types?”

One
eyebrow lifted as he regarded her. “No, I wouldn’t say that. Just haven’t met
the right woman, that’s all.”

“Are
you sure you’re looking hard enough?”

“Not
so much of not looking hard enough, as I’m taking my time. You have to sift
through a lot of princesses to find your queen.”

“Oh,
my goodness,” she couldn’t help laughing at that.

“No,
seriously, being single has its advantages. Marriage and children don’t enter
my thoughts much these days. When it does, maybe I should head for Nashville
the way Michael did. He’s done extraordinarily well for himself.”

She
blushed under his handsome grin. “Do you have a date tonight?”

“No.
Why?”

“Would
you like to have dinner with us?”

“Sounds
great, I’d love to.” His eyes then narrowed. “You’re not planning on surprising
me with a blind date, are you?”

“I
don’t even know anyone, yet. How could I?”

“You’ve
got a point there. Then I shall be there promptly,” he bowed playfully.

“Taryn,”
Michael walked in. “Are you looking for me?”

“You
forgot to give me the household card.”

He
reached into his coat pocket and drew out his wallet.

“Better
give her the Black one, Michael,” Chris added with a teasing glint. “Just to be
on the safe side.”

While
she waited for the elevator to take her to the lobby floor, she found a place in
her wallet for the card then placed it back in her purse.

“David,”
she was caught by surprise when the doors slid open to him standing on the
other side.

“I
was hoping you were in this one,” he smiled. “I saw you in Michael’s office, so
I came down to the lobby to wait for you.”

“Oh?
Did you want to speak to me about something?”

“Not
really, just wanted to say hello. I’ll walk you to the car if you don’t mind.
Where are you off to?” he asked as they strolled across the high-glossed floor
for the glass doors.

“Michael
and I registered the girls in school this morning. I’m taking them to the mall
to buy clothes.”

“If
I weren’t so busy right now, I’d join you.”

“You
can’t really enjoy shopping,” she shot him a look of astonishment.

“I
know most men find it tedious. But, I don’t mind—as long as the company’s
right.”

She
looked away from the intimacy playing in his eyes. Now, she’s really beginning
to feel uneasy about his many compliments; And, he
does
seem to make a
special effort to seek her out. Maybe, Michael’s right. Maybe, she should
distance herself before it gets out of hand.

The
chauffeur opened the door for her when they reached the car.

“Hello,
girls,” David said to them when they peeked from the dark interior. “See you
later, Taryn,” he touched her arm.

“Momma,
do you like him?” Remi asked as the car rolled away.

“Who,
David? Yeah.”

“I
don’t,” she turned up her small nose then scooted to her side of the car to
inspect the outside world.

“Me,
neither,” Rachel agreed.

Taryn
gave considerable thought to their words. Children are so perceptive; They have
the ability to detect something in one’s character that’s lost on most adults.
If she wasn’t convinced about keeping David at a distance before, she is now.

Three
adventurous hours later, Taryn shouldered the front door open, arms filled with
bags of all sizes and colors. Just as she entered the house, the phone in the
living room rang.

“I’ll
get it,” Remi pushed passed her, almost knocking everything to the floor.

“Rachel,
would you take a few of these, please?”

“Momma,
it’s Aunt Nora.”

She
allowed the rest of the sacks to slide to the floor, and went to the phone.
“Nora?”

“Hi,
Taryn. I know it’s not our regular day to talk. I tried your cell phone but it
kept going to voice-mail.”

“Is
everything okay?”

“Everything’s
fine. My card club is still fizzing with excitement about your debut on
television, and the pictures in those tabloids. The girls can’t get enough of
it; You’re a star. Speaking of which, how’s that extremely good-looking husband
of yours?”

“He’s
fine.”

“We
all think so. Anyway, the reason I called is to ask when school starts there.”

“The
first week of August. Why?”

“I
was wondering if you would let Remi and Rachel come out to spend a week with us
before then. Bobby misses them terribly; He’s so lonely. I thought it would
cheer  him up to be with his cousins.”

“Poor
Bobby. Why didn’t I think of that? Remi and Rachel misses him, too. Sounds like
a good idea.”

“Great.
And just think, you and Michael will be able to spend some quality time
together.  You didn’t have much of honeymoon, you know.”

“You’re
right; We do need this.” Taryn’s eyes closed briefly from the grip of that lie.
What a relief it’ll be to finally tell her everything.

“Say
next week then? I can send Jerry by plane to get them, or I can come myself.”

“There’s
no need for that, Nora. They’re big enough to get on a plane by themselves.”

“Don’t
worry, we’ll be right there waiting when they land.”

After
an hour of chatting, Taryn finally said good-bye. Although the news of spending
a week with their cousin thrilled Remi and Rachel, the thought evoked fear from
her. The girls are her safety barrier. With them around, the flashing, pink
elephant—the strain on her and Michael’s relationship—is easily ignored. Most
of the attention is on them. Without them, her needs will become useless: The
need to hide behind hectic, uncontrollable days; The need to have them interact
with Michael when she’s too afraid; The need to use them as an excuse not to be
alone with him for more than ten minutes.

“Momma,
is this how you fold a napkin?”

It
was later that evening. Taryn was standing at the stove preparing dinner. She
turned to view her handiwork. The fold wasn’t exactly right, but creative.

“That’s
good, Remi. Now, fold all of them that way.”

“Mummie,
see how clean this glass is?” Rachel held the crystal goblet up for her to see.

“Very
good, Rachel. Make sure all of them look like that.”

“Taryn,”
Michael came sauntering into the kitchen. “I can’t seem to get this top button
to fasten. Would you mind?”

“Sure,”
she wiped her hands dry. Her fingers brushed against his smooth neck as she
tried to get the button through the small hole of his black Nehru shirt. She
scolded herself, and pleaded silently for them to cooperate to get the darn
thing fastened. But, her eyes couldn’t stop their tracing along his fresh
shaven face, and the captivating form of his mouth. That flash of pleasure
jolting through her wasn’t helping, either. (He smells so good)

“There,”
she touched at it.

“Thanks,”
he half smiled.

“Michael,
did I tell you we’re going to visit Aunt Nora?”

He
strolled over to watch as she worked on the last napkin. “Yes, you did. Three
times, now.”

“I
can’t wait.”

“That
much I’m aware of,” he tugged at her ponytail.

“Will
you promise to do something while I’m gone?” she stopped folding to look up at
him.

“What?”

“Would
you protect Momma, and keep that man away from her?”

His
brows crimped. “What man?”

Taryn
turned all the way around to hear the answer herself. “Who are you talking
about, Remi?”

“The
one that walked you to your car today. David. I don’t like him.”

Suddenly,
the air in the room swelled and crackled with tension as Michael’s entire frame
stiffened. Taryn held her breath, having forgotten all about that. (Great)

“Remi,
Rachel, would you take the glasses and napkins into the dining room and finish
them there? I want to talk to your mother. O.k?”

While
he helped them load everything onto the trolley, Taryn turned back to the stove
in pretense of checking on the boiling pasta.

“You
saw David today?” That rather stern question drifted across the room.

She
inhaled from the impact, stirred at the pasta once more then turned to face
him. “He was in the lobby when I got off the elevator. He walked me to the car,
that’s it.”

“I’m
surprised he didn’t offer to go with you.”

She
remembered he did, but why poke the beast with that bit of information?