Life After Perfect (11 page)

Someone grabbed her arm and she spun around.

Derek grinned, his cheeks still smooth, not even a hint of a five o’clock or seven o’clock shadow. “Come on. Thought you’d left!”

What were the odds he’d have still been there, or even spotted her in a crowd this big. “I’m back.” She wasn’t sure if it was the blackberry wine, or the light, but the way his mouth moved when he talked made her want him to just keep on talking. “Hi.” The tingle that tickled her nerves made her laugh from the nervous excitement.

He pulled her into the middle of a giant twisting conga line that seemed to weave in and out of the entire block. “It’s fun. See!”

She could barely hear him above the hooting, hollering, and loud music, and the sound of her own laughter. That blackberry wine definitely had a little something to do with it too.

Above, the soft breeze blew the strung lights like psychedelic fireflies over their heads as they congaed through the streets.

She set her plastic wine glass down on a nearby table, then looped her fingers through his belt to not lose her grasp. They skipped and kicked and by the time the music shifted, they’d made it darn near to the other end of the block, and she was out of breath from laughing so hard.

That DJ must have played that song back-to-back three times.

The tempo dropped from the fast, almost-Caribbean sound to Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.”

People started peeling away and she let go of Derek’s waist. “That was fun.” She stepped back and started to walk toward the curb.

“Uh-uh. Get back here.” He tugged her hand and gently pulled her into his arms and swayed to the beat of the music.

Nose to nose, she recovered from the quick surprise of his unexpected move. “You can dance.”

“I’m not sure I’m good at it, but I think it’s fun.” When the song stopped, he placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her away around, facing away from him, then leaned into her neck and said, “Come on. I want to show you something.”

She let him guide her forward until they made their way out to the edge of the crowd of enthusiastic festivalgoers.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, stepping around her to take the lead moving through the crowd before she could even answer.

Eat? That was like a date. She was married. Kind of. What the hell was she doing? “For a snack, maybe. What do you have in mind?”

He was moving faster than her feet would go, making her do triple steps to keep up, like he was sensing her trepidation.

He laughed as if sincerely amused. “You always answer a question with a question?”

She squeezed his hand. “Why do you ask?”

“Good one.” He glanced down at her and snickered as he pulled her hand tighter into his own. “What, are you a lawyer or something?”

Game on. She was determined to come up with another question to his question if it killed her. “Do I look like a lawyer to you?”

“You’re killing me,” he said, but with an easy smile that melted her defenses.

She took satisfaction in the little victory.

“Come on,” he said with a gentle squeeze to her hand. “Don’t want to lose you in the crowd.”

He tugged her toward a small building with a brick front and pushed the door open. “It’s a lot quieter in here.”

She pointed over her shoulder. “But all the action is out there. I thought we were going to get some festival food.” She didn’t even know this guy. What was she doing?

She withdrew her hand and turned back toward the crowd.

“I’m sorry. Did I scare you?” He paused and stepped back, giving her room to breathe.

“Well
. . .
”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. This is a restaurant—Bella’s.” He pushed the second door open and there were several tables with some people seated at them, but not many. “See?”

She let out a sigh of relief, and let her arm, which had tensed at his last tug, relax.

“Same dishes right here, and a few even better ones,” he said, leading her to a table in the middle and pulling out a chair. “And you don’t have to balance a paper plate and eat with a plastic fork.”

“Oh. Okay. Yeah, count me in, then.” Seemed innocent enough, and she’d never been a real fan of plasticware.

He led her to a table and pulled out a chair for her.

She sat and placed a cloth napkin in her lap. “Come here often?” she teased, trying to make up for acting like he was an ax murderer.

“Some. Can I order for us?”

“By all means. Have at it.” It was nice to just let go of the wheel. Katherine might have thought she needed to control the situation, but Katy was enjoying it immensely.

A waiter stepped to the table with two martini-type glasses of a frosty purple concoction. “Complimentary.”

“Thank you,” Katy said and took a sip. “Fabulous.”

The waiter nodded, looking pleased that she liked it. “Enjoying the festival?”

“Very much,” she said.

Derek didn’t bother with the menu. “We’ll have the blackberry spinach salad, pork chops with blackberry port sauce, and sweet potato–quinoa cakes.”

“Sounds delicious,” Katy said. “But it also sounds like a ton of food.”

He folded his hands in front of him on the table. “Not that much. You’re in for a treat.”

“Thanks.”

“So you are just passing through?” He placed his napkin in his lap and pushed the candle between them off to the side. “I’m glad I bumped into you.”

“Me too.” She sipped from the frosted glass. “I really needed this.”

“Where you headed?”

“Just taking some time off,” she said, choosing her words carefully. He seemed to be waiting for more, but what more could she say? If she said she had no idea where she was going, she’d sound like a fruit loop. Even just thinking it in her own head sounded a little ridiculous.

“What do you do?”

“Nothing for the next few weeks if I stick to the plan,” she said. “I’m on a little hiatus.”

He lifted his glass to hers. “To vacations. And fun. And new friends.”

She took in a deep breath. “To new friends.”

The waiter came back to the table. “You liked the drink?”

“I did,” she said.

“Would you like another, perhaps with a little shot of something fun? Or we have blackberry wine as well.”

“Oh, blackberry wine sounds great.” She looked to Derek. “I just had my first taste ever out there. It was amazing.”

Derek looked at the waiter and held up two fingers. He was off without a word and back before they had even picked up a new thread of conversation.

Right behind that the food arrived.

Katy leaned over the plate. “Who knew you could make so many things with blackberries in them? I mean, desserts, yes, but main courses . . . vegetables . . . who knew?”

“That’s why it’s worthy of a festival. And the chef here, Roarke, he’s one of the best chefs in the region. He worked at the Biltmore for years before retiring here.”

“The Biltmore? Impressive. What brought him to Boot Creek?”

“His daughter moved here. He wanted to be near her and his grandchildren after his wife passed away. He named the restaurant after her. That’s why it’s called Bella’s.”

The romantic notion made the cold edge of her own heart soften a little.

He leaned toward her. “Where are you from?”

She knew he meant where she lived now, but she didn’t want to talk about that. Besides, right now, technically she didn’t live anywhere. “Virginia Beach. I grew up just a block from the beach.”

“That must have been great.”

“It was. Have to admit I like the beach in the winter the best. All those tourists during the summer, the traffic—that’s all too much. Give me a quiet morning at the north end any day. The feeling when you’re walking at the edge where the surf is crashing, it’s empowering.” It had been too long since she’d taken the time to do that. Ron had never been much of a beach fan. “Making the only footprints—the feeling of the sand under my feet, the gulls singing above me. It’s so . . . freeing. So fresh. So . . . I don’t know . . . so honest.”

He took a bite of the quinoa cake and nodded. “I think I’d like walking on the beach the way you just described.”

Though she’d done it a million times by herself over the years, she and Ron had never taken the time to walk on the beach as the sun came up, pants rolled up, but damp nonetheless from the waves breaking at their ankles.

It was tempting to promise to take Derek for that first walk, but she stopped short. She’d just met the guy. She took another sip of wine to keep her mouth out of trouble.

She hadn’t thought about the beach like that in such a long time. Those were good memories. Maybe she’d spend some time there while she had the time off work. Soon.

Katy and Derek finished the meal and were both so full that they had to turn down dessert. They did opt for blackberry wine to go, however.

He got out of his chair and moved quickly around to her side, pulling her chair out as she stood. He peeled off some bills and dropped them on the table for the server, then led her to the register.

“Let me get my half of the bill,” she said.

“No way. My treat. I insist.” He paid and then opened the door for her.

The memory of Ron holding that door for that girl, her ducking under his arm made the blackberry treats she just consumed swim upstream a little. She shook it off.

That was then.

This is now.

Then they were swallowed into the crowd, walk-dancing through the streets.

Maybe she could get used to this kind of treatment.

Chapter Ten

Derek and Katy belted out the words to Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” Being equally out of key just made it more fun.

Four songs later they wandered down to an area fenced off for adults, so they could get a drink refill. A quick look at their driver’s licenses and paper bracelets put them closer to the music and the bar. They stood to the side and sipped on blackberry wine slushies as a large group of people started line dancing.

A country tune filled the night. Katy swatted his arm playfully. “You got the boots. That your thing?”

She was teasing him, but he kind of liked it. “Nah. You’ve already enjoyed the extent of my dancing skills. How about you? You want to teach me?”

“No way. I might be pushing my luck with walking after the amount of wine we’ve had tonight.”

“You aren’t planning to drive anywhere tonight, are you?”

“No. I’m staying at a little inn. Out by the creek for a few days.”

His hopes rose at those words. A few days. He didn’t even know her, but he liked the idea of maybe bumping into her again. She was easy to be with. Down to earth. Not the type who tried too hard.

“They’ll be closing things down here shortly. Could I talk you into coming back to my place? Just to chat.” He raised two fingers. “Scout’s honor. I’m just not ready to call it a night.”

She looked relieved, but still hesitant.

A wrought iron table for two opened up near the railing. “Come on. Let’s grab that.”

They talked about pretty much nothing at all, but they did it for long enough that the DJ announced he was playing the last song. The crowd had diminished significantly since the last time Derek had even taken notice of what was going on around them.

Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the twinkling lights. Or maybe it was just the right time, but he surprised even himself when he leaned in and kissed Katy softly on the lips.

She seemed startled at first, her lashes tickling his cheek, but she’d kissed him back.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes.

She licked her lips and inhaled. “I might have had too much to drink.”

“Are you ready to call it a night?”

Her brows pulled together. “I don’t know.”

He stood and held his hand out. “Come on. I promise I’ll be a gentleman.”

She started to say something, but then she didn’t.

“We’re less than fifty yards away.”

“From what?”

“My truck.” He took her hand and they walked up the sidewalk. Other couples, stragglers from the last call and vendors closing up shop, went by without a word, weary from the long day.

Katy looked across the street at the large church on the corner. He saw the flicker of recognition. If she’d parked where he’d suggested, she was probably parked there, but she didn’t say a word.

She shouldn’t drive after the amount of wine they’d had, but his desire to have her come home with him was not from reasons so pure. He longed to feel her next to him. That familiar warmth of another body close. And that surprised him. Damn near scared him to death, really, because he hadn’t yearned for that in a long time, and certainly not with anyone but Laney.

He brushed his thumb across the top of her hand as they approached his truck. He could just take her to Justin’s place, but he wanted to take her home.

Derek opened the passenger door and helped her in.

They didn’t talk on the short drive to his house. The landscape bulbs were the only light around as he pulled into his driveway.

He shut down the truck and they both got out.

“Wow. You can see every star in the galaxy from here.”

“You watch long enough you’ll see a falling star. Get your wish ready.”

She looked at him with questions in her eyes. “I have one,” she said, then let out a sigh.

He let her soak up the night. He’d gotten used to being in Boot Creek again, but he’d felt kind of the same way after first moving back. It was easy to forget how peaceful it was in this small town compared to the city, where stars were masked by the reflection from all the glowing electricity.

Derek held his hand out to her and she folded hers in his. He led her up the front porch stairs.

He could hear her breathe as he unlocked the door and turned on the soft lights on the fireplace wall. Even they seemed like a cop’s flashlight beaming on them after being outside in the dark.

They stood in the foyer. “Your home is lovely,” she said.

“Thanks. It’s still a work in progress. I didn’t move back all that long ago.”

“Where did you live before?”

“Durham. My wife died.” He hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but there it was.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Me, too. I stayed in Durham for a long time, but then I decided to move back here. This was my hometown.”

“So you
can
come back home.”

He laughed. “Yeah. I guess you can. You should have seen this place. I bought the place sight unseen, because I thought I knew it. I mean I’d lived in this town my whole life. Only what I didn’t know was that Clancy Jennings’s widow had gone hog wild for pink.”

“The color pink?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve spent the better part of the last six months with a paintbrush in my hand changing every darn Pepto-Dismal piece of wood and trim inside and out to the deep burgundy you see.”

“That’s hysterical. You really didn’t know?”

“Not until the day I showed up to move in.”

“That’s so funny. I bet the town had a big laugh about that.”

“Yeah, they still haven’t let me live it down. In the daylight you’ll notice that even all the flowers in the yard are pink, but they might just have to stay that way.”

She chased a yawn. “Excuse me. I’m suddenly so tired,” she said.

“The night air will do that.” He took her hand and led her toward the stairs.

She hesitated for a split second, but she let him lead her upstairs.

When they got to the landing he pulled her into an embrace. Her heart was pounding so hard, and he didn’t think it was from the walk up the stairs. She was nervous. Hell, he was too.

Don’t rush things, he told himself.

“Maybe we should just call it a night. That okay?”

“Great.” Relief ran through him that she agreed.

“You can have this room.” He nodded toward the master suite. He’d sleep in the guest room. Alone. Not exactly how he’d hoped, but now with the sobering night air, it made more sense. He flipped on the light for her, glad he’d taken the time to make the bed this morning. That wasn’t always the case. Living alone made a guy lazy sometimes.

She nodded and walked into the room. “No fire truck bed. That’s a good sign.”

He laughed. “Yeah. No fire truck bed. I outgrew it along with the race car bed.”

She kicked off her shoes and crawled on top of the comforter fully dressed. “I definitely had a little too much to drink tonight,” she said.

“Sleep well.” He turned off the light, and started to walk across the hall.

“Wait.”

He stepped back in the doorway.

She rolled over on her stomach. “Are you tired?”

“It’s been a long day. I could sleep.” The moon cast a hazy glow through the curtains.

“I’m wide awake. Maybe you could just lie here with me,” she said. “And talk.”

“You’ll have to help me take my boots off first.”

She bounced out of bed. “I can do that.”

“Oh, you’re an old pro at this?”

She sat on the floor at his feet. “No. Never done it, but how hard could it be?” She tugged on his boot but nothing was happening. Not even a slip or a wiggle. Finally she stood up with her hands on her hips. “You go sit on the edge of the bed,” she ordered.

He did as he was told, wondering exactly how she was going to get his boots off. She walked over and lifted his foot in the air and pulled unsuccessfully. Then she spun around, straddled his leg, and with her well-rounded hind parts right at eye level, she reached between her legs and tugged on the heel of the boot. It came free, sending her stumbling forward.

“Easy there, girl.”

She turned around laughing. “You weren’t kidding. That’s a job. Give me the other.”

She used the same proven method to pull the other one off, only this time she’d centered her weight so she wouldn’t go off balance.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said reaching for her hand and then pulling her down on the bed next to him. “So tell me what you’re thinking.”

“That you might be a little dangerous.”

She seemed nervous, but he was too. “I’m harmless,” he said trying to reassure her. Maybe himself too. “You don’t really think I’m dangerous, do you?”

“I think . . . I’m glad I bumped into you this morning.”

“Me too.”

“And I really needed to laugh tonight.”

“Laughter is good medicine.” A doctor joke. A bad one, but then she didn’t even know he was a doctor, so at least that one slid by.

“Then we should be pretty healthy for the next couple of weeks at least.” She paused, and quietly said, “I’m more sleepy than I thought.” Her voice drifted off and he liked that she was so easy to be with.

He closed his eyes. The way she lay in his arms didn’t remind him of Laney at all. Laney would have had her butt to him. Spooning. They always spooned, but lying with Katy in the crook of his arm, her warm cheek on his chest, was nice.

Different. But nice. Really nice.

In just a few short minutes she was asleep—her breathing barely audible, her body warm against his. He pulled his arms around her and fell asleep feeling hope for the first time in as many nights as it had been since Laney got sick.

When Katy woke up she wasn’t sure how long she’d slept since it was still dark, but it surprised her that she was in the exact same position she’d been in when she fell asleep. She was usually a wiggly sleeper. All over the bed. Ron accused her of chasing him in the dark. He’d spend his whole night dodging her. Maybe that should have been a warning flag. But she didn’t want to think about him right now. He’d been her whole life. Her whole teenage and adult life. It was going to be hard to not weave him into every scenario, but she needed to make that break. Things would be different from now on.

“Are you awake?” Katy whispered.

“Barely,” he breathed into the nape of her neck.

His body felt warm against hers. Ron always complained she was too hot, and sleeping in a king-sized bed may as well be like sleeping in another room if you’re not going to snuggle. “I like this little bed,” Katy said.

“Not a fan of a king-sized bed. I’m man enough to sleep in a queen,” he teased.

I bet you are, she thought, but she kept it to herself. It was so quiet. No cars. Just the subdued sounds of a bird a little too happy in the middle of the night and random chirps and buzzes. Her mind wandered back to her situation. Life could change so fast. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be in a steady state like a good software program. Maybe we were all fighting and resisting change that was supposed to happen. “Your wife. Had she been sick?”

“Mmm-hmmm. For a long time.”

“That must have made you feel so helpless.”

He pulled his arm around her. “You can’t begin to imagine.”

Pain tinged his voice. She lifted a hand and rubbed his well-defined bicep, then gave it a squeeze. “It feels good to snuggle.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Funny how something so simple can make you feel like everything is okay.”

He shifted. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like anything was okay.”

“You must have loved her so much,” she said.

“More than anything. We were soul mates. I knew it the first time I laid eyes on her.” He looked up like there was a movie playing on the ceiling. “We were just kids. Friends first, then inseparable. I knew she’d be my wife someday. She was special.”

“What was she like?”

“Kind. Positive. She could bring a smile to any situation. Supportive. Tireless. Creative. Perfect.”

“It must feel amazing to be someone else’s perfect.” She’d thought for a long time she was Ron’s, but then she didn’t really have anything to compare it to. Had she been fooling herself? Or was it just that she’d rushed in to life with Ron before her soul mate found her? She wondered what his wife had died from.

He paused. The word came out quietly. “Cancer.”

Like he read her mind. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

Katy felt the hurt in his voice. It must be awful to lose your loved one like that.

“Cancer seems to touch all of us at some point. It’s scary.”

She felt him nod. “People marvel how we’re all connected by six degrees of separation. If they considered cancer the connection point, I bet we’re even closer than that.”

“So unfair,” she said.

She hugged his arm, snuggled back against his body, and slept until sunshine shot through a sliver between the curtain and the wall at just the right angle to swathe across her face. “Good morning,” she said turning toward him.

“Good morning.” He pulled his arm up under his head. “I slept well. Did you?”

“I did, but I probably should go. You probably have to work, and I—”

“I don’t work on Sundays.” Awkward. Morning after wasn’t anything he’d ever had to deal with. He and Laney had been together their whole adult lives. “That’s fine. You ready to get your car? Or you can hang out. I’m not trying to get rid of you.”