The Perfect Dish (16 page)

“Thanks, Aunt Viv.” He chugged the rest of his orange juice, wiped his mouth on the linen napkin then stood. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies. I need some male bonding time.”

As soon as he left, the questions began anew.

“All right, spill it. What were you doing with the cowboy so late?”

“Did you kiss him? Or did he kiss you? Was it good?”

“Where are you two love-birds off to this afternoon?”

Shaking her head, Meredith held her hands up in a call for silence. “You women are killing me, you know that?” The looks she got in return offered no reprieve.

“I really did go to Sedona to have dinner. I thought about it and well, I hate to say it but you’re right, all of you. There’s no reason why I can’t have some fun.”

Celia clapped and Viv opened her mouth to speak but Meredith silenced her with a raised finger. “That does not mean I’m jumping into bed with him the first chance I get. I don’t think I’m ready to be compared to the twenty-somethings he’s used to dating. The man’s probably never seen a real live stretch mark in his life.” And wasn’t that a terrifying thought? “Anyway, I made the decision to give it a go.”

“Well done,” Celia said. “Now tell us everything. And don’t censor it.”

“I was hungry, so I went to Sedona to eat and have a little chat with Kelly but he was headed to Gauchos so I ended up going down there with him—”

“Another ride on the motorcycle?” Viv asked.

Celia’s head swiveled back and forth between Viv and Meredith like a tennis spectator.

Meredith held Viv’s gaze. “Yes.” She glanced at Celia. “He has a Harley Davidson. Beastly machine.” One she was almost starting to enjoy.

“How exciting,” Celia said.

“No, it’s not exciting. It’s dangerous.” And exciting. She pinched her leg to quell the giggles.

“Did he kiss you?” Celia whispered the words and for a moment, she looked like she was sixteen.

The smile refused to be held back any longer. Meredith griped the edges of the table, tipped her head back slightly and smiled.

“Yes. Oh yes. Oh my.”

Chapter Fifteen

Celia squealed and clapped a hand over her mouth. Viv nodded with approval and leaned forward. “American or European?”

“What?” Meredith knit her brow.

“She wants to know if there was any tongue.” Celia blushed.

“Celia! What kind of talk is that for a proper young heiress?” Meredith stared at her friends. They’d both gone nuts. Freaking, flipping nuts.

“As if,” Celia said. “You know I love gossip and this is first hand stuff, so spill it!”

“Yes, now that Jason’s gone, tell us all the juicy details.” Viv held up her cup as Swan came around with more coffee.

“You’re not going to let this drop, are you?” There was a hunger in their eyes that worried her. “Why are you so interested in my lov—my social life?”

“Well for starters, you haven’t had one in the last two and a half years,” Viv said.

“Excuse me for not joining Singles Anonymous right after Michael’s funeral.”

“You know what I mean.” Viv’s exasperated tone gave Meredith a little buzz of satisfaction.

“And, Mer, honestly for me it’s just so...so...exciting, I guess.” Celia shrugged. “Chef Spicer is an absolute studmuffin. There isn’t a single woman in the city who wouldn’t want to date him.”

Pleased by her friend’s assessment, Meredith smiled softly. “I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“I don’t.” Celia shook her head. “Every time he’s in the society pages they call him the city’s most eligible bachelor. And have you seen the posts on his Facebook fan page? Or the way his female followers flirt with him on Twitter?” Celia’s addiction to social media was no secret.

With a sigh, Meredith eyed her friends. If they wanted a little vicarious thrill, who was she to deny them?

“Yes, there was kissing and…” She cradled her forehead in one hand to shield her eyes. “Yes, there was tongue.”

Celia squealed with laughter. Meredith looked up.

Viv’s expression wavered between proud mother and mother superior. “Anything else you’d like to tell us?”

“I didn’t want to tell you that much.” A wash of delight swirled through Meredith, a soft, lifting feeling. “He is the one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen.”
And I’m dating him.
For a moment, she almost forgot she was using him for her own purposes.

“All your men have been lookers, Mer. I swear, you have the best luck finding husbands.” Celia snagged a grape from the fruit plate and popped it in her mouth.

“I’m not looking for another husband.” A subtle twinge of guilt took the edge off Meredith’s pleasure. She didn’t doubt her heart could hold more than her son and the two men she’d said “I do” to but she wasn’t willing to suffer losing another husband. The pain could almost kill you if you let it, and she worried that if she lost another love, it would.

* * *

Meredith came home from brunch via Viv’s limo. The ride back with Jason, now on his way to the airport, had been spent in companionable silence. She missed him already.

In an hour, Kelly would be downstairs waiting for her. She laid her clothes out on the bed. Her new jeans, white tank top, a butter yellow French terry tunic-style sweatshirt and sneakers. Even though the shoes were a few years old, they were blindingly white. She couldn’t remember when she’d worn them last.

She stared at the outfit. Maybe it was too casual. She grabbed a white collared shirt and threw it beside the terry sweatshirt. Now the sneakers looked out of place. Or did they?

Where was Lizza when Meredith needed her? She called Viv.

“Walthem-Chatsford residence.”

“Hi Swan, may I speak with Viv?”

“Sure thing, Miss Meredith.”

She heard Swan put the phone down then some muted conversation in the background.

“Miss me already?” Viv asked.

“Yes. My life feels so incomplete when you’re not around.”

“Sarcasm causes wrinkles, you know.”

Meredith laughed. “I’m having a clothing dilemma.”

“For this afternoon?”

“Yes. I’m not sure what to wear.”

“Where are you going again?”

“I don’t know, remember? It’s some big surprise.” Ugh. She hated surprises, mostly because they usually came in the form of a phone call telling you your husband had just had a coronary embolism.

“Did he hint?”

“He said casual with comfortable shoes.” Meredith heard cheering in the background. Jack must be watching sports of some kind.

“So what were you planning?”

“Jeans, a French terry tunic, polo shirt and sneakers?”

“Polo shirt?” Viv sighed. “You’re going to look like someone’s mother.”

“I am someone’s mother.” Meredith rolled her eyes. “What’s wrong with that?”

“The collared shirt under the tunic sounds too soccer mom. You don’t want Kelly to look at you and think mini-van, you want him to think garage-kept European sports car.”

“I don’t even begin to know what you’re talking about.”

“What color is the top?”

“Pale yellow. It’s that one I bought at Saks last year when you told me I needed some color in my life.” She hadn’t worn it, though. Yellow seemed too cheerful a color even after Michael had been gone a year.

“That cute one with the split sides and the deep vee neck?”

“Yes.” How did the woman remember details like that? Meredith couldn’t remember what she’d slept in.

“With your new jeans and sneakers, that’s definitely casual. Just no collar underneath, okay? Wear something that shows off the girls.”

“I had a tank picked out. I’ll go with that. Talk to you later.”

“With details, I hope.”

“Hah. Bye.” Meredith clicked off, hung up the polo and snagged the white tank. She tried it on and checked herself in the mirror. Once again, Viv was right.

She spent the next hour cleaning and straightening up. Not that Kelly would be seeing it. Far too early to invite him up here. If ever. He’d think she wanted to sleep with him.
Which you do.
No, she didn’t. That was just her hormones talking.

Half an hour to go. She dressed and checked her outfit in the mirror. She looked sixteen. Not that looking younger was a bad thing when you were dating a man twelve years your junior.

She touched up her makeup and fluffed her hair. Timothee did good work, even if he did refer to himself in third person. The highlights made her eyes seem brighter. Or maybe it was...no. Kelly had nothing to do with that. She finger-combed the hair around her face. It was just a great color job, that’s all.

Her intercom buzzed. She went over to answer it. “Yes?”

“Dr. Black, you have a visitor waiting for you in the lobby. Do you want me to send him up?”

Her pulse increased. He was here. She checked her watch. And he was early. “No, I’ll be right down.”

She threw her purse over her shoulder and took one last glance in the mirror. The black Coach bag looked out of place. Her hands trembled as she tugged her I.D., a credit card and some cash out of her wallet and tucked it in her back pocket.

Too much coffee, that’s all. But that was a lie. Not enough Kelly is more like it. She smiled. Well, that was about to be remedied, wasn’t it?

She stepped out of the elevator, into the lobby and into a knee-weakening grin.

“Hey beautiful.” Kelly filled the entire space with his All-American good looks and lanky form.

Her mind buzzed around the word beautiful, amplifying her already zinging nerves. “H-hi.”

“You look great.” He glanced down at her feet. “I wasn’t sure you owned sneakers.”

She looked down at his shoes. “I could say the same thing about you.”

He laughed and gave her a quick kiss. “I don’t always wear boots.”

The kiss caught her off-guard so much she couldn’t even respond to it. She glanced at Lou. The doorman smiled as he read his paper.

“What’s that?” She pointed to a large, lidded basket sitting at Kelly’s feet.

“Part of the surprise.” He hoisted the basket with one hand and offered her his other arm. “Shall we?”

She slipped her arm through his and they walked out onto the street. The day had warmed into one of those perfect spring afternoons that made the world seem newly born. She tipped her face into the sun.

“Great day, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said as she met his gaze. The sky seemed a shade lighter compared to his eyes. “So what’s in the basket?”

“Sex toys,” he said without breaking stride.

Meredith stopped short. “What?”

He laughed hard and tugged her along. “You should see the look on your face.”

“You’re not funny.” She reached for the basket lid but he pulled it away.

“I’m hilarious and you know it.” He slipped his arm around her waist as they walked. “We’re going to the park, finding a nice spot on the grass and having a picnic.”

“Really?”

“Why, would you rather the sex toys?”

“No.” Her cheeks heated. “The picnic sounds great.” It really did. She couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do than sit in the sun with this gorgeous man beside her and eat his cooking. Well, at least not anything else that could be done in public.

Her nerves subsided a little and she reached for the basket again, trying to peek in. “What did you make?”

He held her tight so she couldn’t touch it. “Bad girls don’t get dessert.”

“That explains how Clarissa stays so thin.”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “I didn’t realize she’d made such a big impression on you.”

“Well, she’s younger and prettier and yet you’re dating me. She’s very good for my ego.”

“Younger yes, prettier no.”

Meredith smiled. “You’re very good for my ego, too.”

“Damn, I was hoping you’d say libido.”

She laughed. “I think I’ll refrain from commenting on that for right now.” If only he knew. She’d had thoughts about him that would make Dr. Ruth blush.

They crossed the street and headed into the park. A cluster of guys her son’s age tossed a football. Nearby, a group of girls sat around on blankets reading and chatting--the girlfriends, judging by the occasional clapping and cheers for the ball players. Couples walked dogs and children ran by playing tag. A day this beautiful deserved to be enjoyed.

“Where should we sit?” He ducked to avoid a frisbee. “Somewhere out of the line of fire, preferably.”

“How about over there?” She pointed opposite of the jogging path where the lawn narrowed beside the tree line.

“Looks good.”

They stopped by a large rock, a spot far enough away from other people to be private. He opened the basket and unfurled a blue plaid tablecloth onto the grass beside the boulder.

“That’s not very big.” The rectangle didn’t look large enough for two people and food.

He slanted his eyes up at her as he smoothed the corners. “Guess you’ll have to sit on my lap.”

The man was full of good ideas, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “You’re right. You are hilarious.”

He twisted himself around, sat down with his back against the rock and stretched his legs out. He held his hand up to her.

She took it and moved to sit beside him. Instead, he tugged her into his lap. “Hey!”

Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled his mouth against the tender skin of her neck. His warm breath teased goose bumps out on her arms.

Her protests died unspoken. She shuddered, purely out of pleasure. His mouth was wicked and wonderful. She parted her lips to sigh. “Bad boys don’t get dessert.”

Soft laughter tickled her ear. “Bad boys don’t need dessert.”

Chapter Sixteen

Kelly trailed kisses along her jaw until he found her mouth and claimed it. He loved kissing her. And since she’d started kissing him back, he’d come to understand just how sexy a confident woman could be. Her sureness stoked his blood with a heat that rivaled a summer day in Texas.

In her soft top and jeans, she looked closer to Shelby’s age. Not that Mery’s age mattered. It didn’t. If any thing, it made her a little unpredictable to him, and damn, if he didn’t find that sexy as all get out. She kept him on his toes, something no other woman had ever done.

His groin tightened and he shifted, hoping she wouldn’t notice. He didn’t want her to think he was unable to control himself even if she did make him feel like a horny teenager.