Wrong Way Renee (28 page)

“They d
on't bite or anything, you know.
”
Chantelle
went back into the kitchenette.

Mrs. Goldstein came inside
and sat in Becky’s chair
.
“Becky, darling, how is your
mother
?
”

“She's fine, thank you.
Did Naomi tell you she came in for a manicure?
”

“My
Nao
mi? No, she didn't.”

“She met Renee at a party. Naomi's boyfriend and Renee
's boyfriend are good friends.”

Mrs. Goldstein wrinkled her nose.
“That Wyatt. I don't think much of
him. He's a fireman, you know.”

“I heard. What's wrong with that?
”
Becky turned the chair so her client's head was over the sink.

The older woman raised one eyebrow as she regarded Becky.
“For my daughter, a fireman? He's not even Jewis
h, Becky. She could do better.”

“
He’s very nice,”
Renee sa
id
.
“
He owns a home and he's good to Naomi. She could certainly do worse.
”

“One could always say that. I suppose a crack head would be better than a murderer, right? But I don't want my daughter dating a crack head either.
A mother always wants her daughter to stay with her own kind. I’ll never accept him as a son.
”
She waved her hand in the air, signaling an end to the conversation.

Becky turned toward Renee and
grimaced as
she worked the shampoo into a lather.

Would her parents ever accept Joe? With him being not only a different race, but a different class as well, would they be able to see past that? What should matter to them was that he made her happy. Not that she had any guarantee things would progress to a more serious level between her and Joe, bu
t she had a feeling they might.

If her family was as set against him as Mrs. Goldstein was with Wyatt, she didn’t know what she’d do. She sank from the weight of it.

* * * * *

Renee
adjusted her black velvet
skirt before climbing into Cleave’s car Saturday night
.
Her stomach
did
flip flops
. Tonight
she planned to tell him she couldn't see him any more. She’d tried twice to break up with him over the phone but she’d chickened out.
Again. But this was it.
“Where are we going?”

“You'll see. I've had a priv
ate, romantic dinner arranged.”

W
hat the heck was he up to
? They passed Lake Henrietta Shores so she had a sneaking suspicion they were going to the club. What could she do? She squirmed in the seat, hoping she was wrong.

Please let it not be the club
.

Unfortunately, her prayers went unanswered. They pulled into the country club and
Cleave
parked next to the clubhouse.

“We're eating here?
”
She wrung
her hands.

“In the private dining room.”

“
I didn't know they had one.
”
A bead of sweat ran down her face.
“Cleave, can we talk first?”

He patted her hand. “Plenty of time for that over dinner.”

She held a hand to her stomach. “I’m not feeling well. I think I need to go home.”

He pinned her with an impatient
stare.
“Look, let’s go inside and have a drink. It’s important to me.”

“But—”

He silenced her with a kiss. She kept her lips
tightly
closed.

Without another word, he got out of the car and came around to her side. Offering her a hand up, he nodded. “Come on. If you’re not feeling better in a little while, we’ll leave. I promise.”

Dread enveloped her like a straight jacket.
She accepted his hand, aware that hers had grown clammy.

When they entered the restaurant,
Cleave
pulled the
maître
d' aside and whispered something in his ear. Renee strained to try to hear what they said, but couldn't. She had a bad feeling about this.

Cleave
returned to her side.
“You look like gloom and doom are abou
t to befall you. What's wrong?”

“Nothing.
I told you, I don’t feel well
.
”
Her gaze roamed the large dining room. Couples dressed in the finest designer clothes leaned close to each other. Was everyone in the world having a romantic evening tonight?
She’d been there several times and she’d never seen a chef come out of the kitchen. Even if Eloise was working tonight, chances were miniscule that she’d see her.

“
I’m sure you’ll be fine once you have something to eat. You’re probably just hungry
.
”
He placed his hand on the small of her back.

The
maître
d' came over to tell them their table was ready. He led them through the restaurant to a door in the back. They entered a small room with a single table set for two. There were candles on the table and the lights were dimmed. A floor to ceiling window provided a view of the pool, which was illuminated by colored lights.

The
maître
d' held Renee's chair for her.
“Mr. Nichols has already chosen the menu for this evening,
”
he told
he
. He turned his attention to
Cleave
.
“Ar
e you ready for the wine, sir?”

“Yes, Rolf, thanks.”

Rolf left the room, returning a moment later with a bottle of wine, which he opened and poured.

As soon as he left,
Cleave
held up his glass.
“To us. And to a beautiful evenin
g.”

She
tapped his glass with hers, then drank
the entire thing
.
Maybe the alcohol would give her the courage to say what she needed to.
Had
to.

A waiter arrived and laid out small plates with a basket of bread. In the center of the table, he set
down a small platter of pate.
“Pate de Foie Gras.
”
The man
backed out of the room.

Renee licked her lips.
“Wow. I've
only had this stuff once before.
”

Cleave
spread some of the delicacy on a piece of toasted French bread then handed it to her. He fixed the same for himself and took a bite.
“Perfect. They made this here. It's superb. As good as when I had
it in Paris.”

“
Paris?”

He took her hand across the table. “I hope we’ll visit the city of lights together
.
”
He
took a long sip of his wine and cleared his throat.
Beads of sweat dotted his forehead yet the room was cool.

“Are you all right? You seem
…
agitated.” She was the one who ought to be nervous.

He cleared his throat again.
“Renee, I'd like to
…
I'd like you to
…
do you think we could go back to my place and you could spend the night?
”
He dabbed
at his forehead with a napkin.

She said a silent thank you that he hadn't
asked something more difficult
. She couldn't stand the thought that she was going to break his heart. Maybe tonight wasn't the right time.
Only
she knew she couldn't put it off any longer. This would have to be their last date. Her throat was dry and her hands
slippery
.
“
Cleave
, I'm not
…”

“Renee, we've been dating a couple months now. I think you know where this relationship is heading. I'm crazy about you. I want to be with you more. I want to wake up in the morning next to you. I want us to have dinner every night together.
F
rom the first moment I saw your picture in your father's office, I knew I wanted you.
W
ould y
ou consider moving in with me?”

“I
…
well, I
…
I have my cat.
”
It was the only thing she could think of.

“Your cat can come too.
”
He
leaned
back in his chair.
“Duke will get used to it. Animals adjust.
My sister
had a cat for years before my father brought home this adorable lab puppy. They fought at first, but eventually they learned to live together. You could stop paying rent. Hell, you could stop doing nails i
f you wanted
, be a silent partner in your shop or s
ell your half to your partner.”

Now that was going too far. She furrowed her brow.
“I'm not ready to have someone support me and certainly not to have all the shots called for me. I love having my own business. I love having my own place.
”
She took a deep breath
, distilling the conversation
.
“Wait. Y
ou knew you'd like me from my picture? Without even knowing anything about me?
”

“Sometimes you know these things. I knew you were attractive, I knew I liked your parents, so it stood to reason that you and I would fit.
”

Now her stomach really was upset
.
She wasn’t a thing a man should pick out from a photo like people bought clothes from a catalog or something.
“Fit? What if I had turned o
ut to be a dumb, spoiled brat?”

He
waved away her comment
.
“I knew you wouldn't be.
And when I met you, I knew I had to have you.
”

The waiter knocked lightly on the door, then entered with their dinner.

As soon as he left, Renee studied her plate.
“It looks good. But what is it?
”
She tried not to sound rude or ungrateful.
Cleave had obviously gone to a lot of trouble so she tried to put a damper on her irritation.

“It's pheasant with sherry sauce. I went hunting when I was in Georgia and had it sent here. I had the chef prepare it special.
”
He
puffed out his chest
.

“You did all that?
For me?
”

“I'd do anything for you, Renee. You must know how deeply I care for you.
I'm falling in love with you.”

She
swallowed hard, unable to meet his gaze another moment.

“Does that bother you?
”

“I'm not…
feeling what you are.
”
She pulled her hand away.

“It's okay. I'll wait. As long as it takes, I'll wai
t for you.”

She sighed. Thi
s was not going as she'd hoped.

They ate their dinner and drank the rest of the wine.
She
resolved to
tell him she couldn’t see him anymore after
dinner was over.
Why ruin the meal he’d worked so hard to plan?
.

The waiter
came to clear the dishes away.

“Please tell
the chef everything was superb.” Cleave filled his wine glass.

“Yes sir.
”
The waiter left, closing the door as he went.

“Okay. So I can't talk you into moving in with me, yet. How about spend
ing the night with me tonight?”

She squirmed
.
“No, I can't. And I need to tell you somet
hing. I don't want to hurt you
, but
…
”

He cut her off again.
“I
can be patient when it comes to you moving
in, but how long do you think I can wait for
…
”

There was a knock on the door. A woman in a white uniform walked in. To Renee's horror, she
realized
it was Eloise. All the
blood
drained from her face.
Her whole body stiffened.