What's Life Without the Sprinkles? (21 page)

Well, at least he was talking to her. She picked up the cordless and wished she hadn’t.

“Hello, Claudia. I just wanted to make sure we were on for our weekly date tonight. You know how I don’t like to miss out on the prime rib on Wednesdays.”

What the hell was going on? Edward sounded like nothing had happened between them over a week ago. Didn’t he remember she had dumped him and stalked out of the restaurant? That hadn’t been a figment of her imagination. Had it?

“Edward, we aren’t dating anymore,” she said. She didn’t want to be hurtful, but she also wasn’t going to beat around the bush, either.

“Well, of course we are, Claudia. Just because you got into a bit of a snit before doesn’t mean I’m going to let you throw away our whole relationship. Now, should I pick you up at the regular time?”

She took the phone away from her ear and stared at it, then put it back. “Um, no?”

“So, you’d rather meet me there? I’m not sure I like that, Claudia. I’d rather pick you up.”

“Edward, we aren’t seeing each other anymore.” She figured she’d try one more time before hanging up on the lunatic.

“Oh, you were serious?”

Duh. “Um, yes, yes, I was, Edward. I think you need to move on with your life and find someone who would appreciate your special brand of caring.” More like smothering, but she wasn’t going to go back to that now that he sounded rational.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, dear. I thought we were good together.” He sounded sincere.

Claudia took about a second to let her heart bleed a little for him and then moved on. “Well, good luck with life.”

“You, too, Claudia.” And he hung up.

That went a lot better than she had thought it would when they started the conversation. She did not need anything new happening right now.

As if in defiance of what she wanted, Claudia’s cell rang with a punk song from the ’80s. Nate. Well, at least this wouldn’t be a bad conversation, hopefully.

Picking up her cell phone, Claudia settled into the couch and answered the call.

“Hey, Claude. How’s it going?”

Snuggling down in the cushions, Claudia rested her head back against the couch. “It’s going okay except for Justin now wanting to be called Bastard Justin.” She explained the afternoon to him and loved the way he laughed. “Oh, and Edward called to see if we were still going out on our weekly date.”

“That’s bizarre. I guess on top of the hair plugs, he also has hearing issues.”

Now she was the one to laugh. “So how’s it going? What have you been up to today?” Conversations with Nate had always been a highlight of her day, but now they’d have a little extra zing, like a touch of lemon in a plain vanilla cake.

“Well, you’re not going to like this, but I’m going to have to cut out of the dinner with Justin. My dad has a meeting out of town on the books, one he didn’t tell me about, and I’m going to have to go with him. Do you think Justin is going to be pissed? Can you take him? I won’t be back until late Friday night at the earliest.”

Justin wasn’t going to be happy, but she could take him. And it wasn’t as if Nate often went back on his promises. Not to mention he did own the company with his dad, and if they had meetings then they had meetings. “I’ll take him, but maybe you could take him somewhere when you get back, so it will lessen the blow a little.”

“Absolutely. We’ll go to a ball game or something. I promise. Hell, I’ll take him to Hershey Park for the day, if it will make him happy. We’re having trouble on this out-of-town build, and I have to be there to smooth over feathers. You know how my dad can be sometimes.”

Yes, she did, and was very thankful that Nate had not inherited that temper. “These things happen.” She wrapped a fringe from the afghan around her finger. “When did you say you were going to be back?”

“Friday night late. Do you have plans on Saturday? I just realized I never took you out to dinner for the big sale at Decadence, what with the madness going on with my grandma. We should rain-check it. Maybe have some cake as dessert.”

“Definite rain check for Saturday, then. I’ll look forward to it.” The sly tone in his voice when he said “cake” made her every nerve tingle. But she did not want to come off as a nympho or overly easy, so she kept the rest of the conversation light. They talked for a little while longer, and Claudia felt a sense of contentment with how they were connecting. No, it wasn’t great balls of lust and sparkly conversation. But it was good conversation and sharing, two things she had always valued in Nate as a friend and that she would hopefully soon value in him as a lover.

Cake tasting would begin Saturday.

****

Nate hung up with Claudia and rested back against his headboard. Maybe this would actually work, being Claudia’s cake. They had a lot in common and a lot of years under their belts. It wasn’t like a new relationship, he thought as he flipped channels on the TV hung on the opposite wall. It wasn’t all pounding hearts and blind lust, but he’d felt a definite zing down below as he talked with her, and that was a bonus. While he wouldn’t admit it to any of his buddies, he did have to acknowledge that the more he thought about his past, the more he realized he was committed to Claudia on a level he had never thought too much about.

They’d been friends for years, but on closer examination, he realized he had never let another woman in the way he did Claudia. Never took dating seriously. He’d always assumed it was because he wasn’t interested in the whole family and responsibility thing, but maybe it was more than that. Maybe Claudia was his “more.”

Saturday felt a world away, but the anticipation would all be worth it.

Chapter Ten

Peter could do without this pressure. He’d been here for nine days and already he was ready to go home. If only his sister would let him go without all the guilt. “May, I have to leave soon. I can’t hang out here indefinitely helping with Dad’s house. Most of it is cleaned out and organized. If you need anything else, I’m sure Brad could help you.”

“I’m only asking for a day or two more, not your entire life. I want to try to get everything done before you go. Brad has a lot going on at work, and I’m not supposed to lift heavy stuff, since I’m pregnant. I thought you had another week of vacation. Besides, you said you wanted to spend some time with Justin before you went back home. It’s only Thursday. Why don’t you at least stay through the weekend?”

Yeah, and hadn’t that first attempt gone well, with the boy calling him a sperm donor and Peter not having any idea what to say to the boy who looked so much like him? Four more days would not make that situation any better.

“I think maybe it’s time to go.”

“But you just got here.” May put a hand on his arm and he couldn’t find it inside him to shake her off.

“I know, but I didn’t find what I wanted here.”

“And what did you want?”

Looking into her eyes was too difficult. He’d wanted... Well, somewhere in his mind he’d thought he’d be able to come back here, hook up with Claudia again, take his son under his wing, and have the life he should have had ten years ago but hadn’t been smart enough to keep at that time. He had been delusional. And those delusions were shot down when Claudia would barely even look at him.

But he couldn’t tell his sister that. So, instead, he said, “I just think I should get out of here. I’m not doing anyone any good.”

“That’s not true.” May’s heart was in her eyes, as it always was, and he felt bad about giving her trouble. But there was no use hanging around.

The phone rang in the living room. May gave him one more pleading look, then dove to pick up the receiver. He listened with half an ear as she said hello. Her side of the conversation made almost no sense and didn’t hold his attention as he foraged in the refrigerator for something to snack on before he went to pack his bags.

When he backed out of the fridge, he bumped into something. Turning around he found a beaming May standing behind him with the cordless phone tucked against her chest.

“I have a big favor for you to do,” she said breathlessly. “It’s something you can’t turn down.”

He didn’t know if he liked that phrase, or the light in her eyes. This visit hadn’t gone at all the way he’d thought, and anything she added to it wouldn’t make things better.

“Claudia’s on the phone and she wants to talk to you.” May kept the phone against her chest. “She wants you to do her a favor, and you better not say no.”

That put his back up even more, but his curiosity was piqued by what Claudia could possibly want from him, someone she hadn’t more than a handful of words for just days ago. But he put his hand out for the phone and tried to wait patiently while May timidly handed the phone over.

“Be nice,” she whispered.

He yanked the phone out of her hand and put it up to his ear. “Hello, Claudia.”

“Peter.”

The line hummed with a tense silence. A silence he wasn’t going to fill, since he wasn’t the one who’d called.

She cleared her throat. “I have something to ask, and please really think about it before you say no.”

Why did everyone assume he was some coldhearted asshole? Yeah, he’d been dumb when he was younger, but he’d learned a few things since he was eighteen and ran from the prospect of a lifetime of raising a child.

“What?” he said, a little more harshly than he’d intended.

May whacked him on the arm, and he scowled at her.

Claudia cleared her throat again, and something about the sound sparked low in his gut. She needed him. For something. What he didn’t know. But he did know she needed him, and this might be his way into her good graces. Perhaps he could even win her back if he did this thing for her, whatever it was.

“I need you to do something for me.”

He could list a number of things he wouldn’t mind doing to that fine curvy body he’d looked at all during lunch. He’d been an idiot to walk away. “What?” He made his voice lower, gentler.

“Justin would like you to take him to a father-son dinner on Friday if you’re still in the area.”

“But I’m just the sperm donor.” It slipped out before he could stop himself. He tried to correct his colossal mistake before she hung up on him. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant to say. Please don’t hang up on me.”

“And why shouldn’t I? I ask you for one little thing after you made that great speech about what a mistake you made, how things should have been different. But as soon as I ask one little thing, you have a freak attack.”

He could just imagine her arms crossed over that impressive chest and her lips pouting. It had been a look she’d perfected years ago.

“I’m not having a freak attack.” He blew out a breath and turned away from May who looked like she wanted to take the phone from him and bop him on the head with it. “You just caught me off guard.”

“So?” Her tone had turned harder, probably waiting for him to disappoint her, let her down again. He had a chance here, one he would be incredibly dumb to turn down.

“Yeah, of course I’ll take him.” He asked for the details, and she gave them freely. May had a piece of paper under his hand and a pen ready and waiting before he even thought to ask. After writing everything down, he thanked Claudia and told her he’d be there to pick up Justin right on time. But he couldn’t help pushing just a little bit more. “How about we have dinner sometime this week? You know, while I’m here. Catch up on old times. You can tell me all about what you’ve been up to the last few years.”

There was another telling silence across the line. Until finally she said, “I don’t think I’ll have time for that right now. I have a bunch of stuff to take care of for some different events coming up.” She hesitated, and he read a wealth of dismissal in that moment. “But thanks for helping out. Justin will appreciate having a male to take him to the dinner. I’ll call you if I think of anything else.”

And just like that, she hung up the phone. He stood with May at his elbow for a long moment before clicking off the phone in his hand.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Yeah, no big,” he said absently. But inside he was in turmoil. What was he going to do with the child he barely knew for the unknown number of hours this dinner would last? How was he going to interact with a ten-year-old he didn’t even know? He hadn’t been around children since he was one himself. This might not have been his best idea, but now he was stuck, and without the prize of dinner with Claudia dangling at the end.

****

Claudia hung up the phone and leaned her head against the cabinet in the kitchen. What had she just done? She’d asked a favor of the man she’d sworn never to give even another thought. And now she felt beholden to him. When he’d mentioned dinner, it occurred to her that it might not be a bad idea for them to be on better speaking terms, if Peter was going to be a small part of Justin’s life again. But she didn’t want to give any of her limited time to a man she didn’t want to have anything to do with. She’d much rather spend that time with Nate.

Nate, who was not available to talk to because of being out of town. He’d left this morning after giving her a kiss that would have to see her through to Saturday. Her lips were still tingling. No matter how much she wanted to pick up her cell and call him, just to hear his voice, she wouldn’t lay this on him when he couldn’t do anything about it. Especially since he’d felt bad enough about not taking Justin in the first place.

Claudia had offered to take Justin, since things with Nate had fallen through, but Justin had thought about it and asked for Peter.

Jeez, had that been a blow to her ego.

Or maybe it was a testament to the way she’d raised him. Either way, it appeared she wouldn’t be going to this dinner and Peter would. She only hoped it would be fine, and that Peter would be the adult. Justin was smart and would know if his biological father didn’t have an ounce of interest in him. Her head hurt just thinking about all the complications that could crop up on this outing, and nerves pounded behind her eyes.

Please let this work out. Justin deserved a break lately. He’d actually taken the news about Nate pretty well, even though Claudia had expected him to have some sort of complete breakdown. Hell,
she
was on the verge of some kind of complete breakdown. Now she might feel the need to go out with Peter, just to be nice to him after he’d so quickly agreed to help her out.