Wrong Way Renee (31 page)

“No problem.
I don't have anyone after you.” She headed to her station and got out her supplies.

Pam set her jacket over the chair then sat down.
“Good. You get out a little early today, huh?
”

“Yeah. I have a date to go antiquing.
”
She chipped away t
he loose acrylic on Pam's nails and tried to think of a way to steer the conversation to
Pablo
.

“Still dating the cop?”

“Nope. This is a different guy.
”
Sh
e filed, avoiding
her
gaze.
“
H
ave you seen
Pablo
lately?”

“We have a date tomorrow night. He's taking me
to a comedy club in Kissimmee.”

“Why so far away?”

“He said there's a c
omedian he wants to see.”

She
suspected his motives were to stay away from town, where he might be recognized.
It was the perfect opportunity to bring up the subject of Pablo’s marriage, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything about it. “
What else is new?”

“I went shopping this morning.”

“Yeah, you said that already.
”

“For maternity clothes.
”

Renee
dropped her jaw
. Oh, God, no.

“Aren't you going to congratulate me?
”
A big smile light
up
Pam’s
face.

“Y
-y
eah. Congratulations. When did you find out?
”
Sh
e tried to school the shock from her face.

“I did a test yesterday
. I'm so excited.”

“D
-d
oes
Pablo
know?
”
Sh
e kept her eyes on the woman's hands, afraid she'd give away her total abhorrence about
the
pregnancy.

“I'm going to tell him tomorrow over dinner. We're eating at a French restaurant. I think it'll
be a romantic setting.”

Renee tried to keep her voice level
.
“What do you think his reaction will be?
”

Pam shifted in her seat, pulling her hands back a little. Renee tugged them toward her.

“We haven't discussed it since that first night. But
I think he'll be excited, too.”

“Have you though
t about what his role will be?”

“I guess that's up to him.
”
She frowned
.
“Why are you being so
…so pessimistic?”

“I'm just asking about your expectations. I'm not be
ing optimistic or pessimistic.”

Pam suddenly jerked her hands away.
“I have to use the bathroom. I'll be right back.
”
She picked up her purse and stomped off.

Renee wondered if she'd gone too far. She was too chicken to tell Pam the truth. Maybe honesty wasn't always the best way. It clearly wasn't the easy way.
Pablo
was making a fool of
her
, but there was nothing Renee could do to stop
him
.
For now she’d have to
keep her knowledge of
Pablo
to herself. If she didn't, she feared she'd lose a client. Suddenly telling
Cleave
the truth didn't seem like such a good idea.

Pam returned a minute later
wearing
a sullen
expression
.

“I'm sorry if I've upset you.
”
Renee dipped her brush in acrylic liquid, then dabbed it into a jar of white powder to form a bead of acrylic.

Pam's eyes were red.
“I want everybody to be excited. So far, no one is but me. That
's like a major bubble buster.”

“Bubble buster?
”
She
placed a ball of soft acrylic onto the base of Pam's pinkie nail, then flattened it into place.

“You know what I mean. I feel like everybody's judging me.
”

“I'm sorry
. I'll try to be excited.
Who else have you told?”

“A couple of my friends at the hospital. And my siste
r. She's just jealous, though.”

“I really hope
Pablo
reacts the way you want him to.
”
She squeezed Pam's hand
and offered up a silent prayer
.

“Me too. I’
ll do this on my own if I have to. But I've realized something. I want
Pablo
there with me and our child.”

“That's only natural
. I'm sure it'll all work itself out.
”
But she knew better.

“Of course it will. Look, sometimes things happen for a reason. Maybe it’s fate or kismet. But when the universe throws something at you, you have to be prepared to catch whatever it is.”

She
tried to keep her expression and her words positive
as they discussed happy baby things like cribs, gender-neutral decor and shower ideas.

As she cleaned up after Pam left, she thought about what her client had said about fate. Perhaps there was a reason she’d lost Joe, even though she was suffering through the loss and the fact that she’d hurt
him
so badly.
But she had to consider the possibility that her getti
ng caught with Cleave had been
divine intervention, the universe trying to push her into Cleave’s arms.

Maybe her family had been right after all. Cleave was wealthy and black and close to her family.
She could make things work with him, couldn't she?

Somehow she was going have to forget about Joe and move on with Cleave.

Chapter Ten

“I like this one.
”
Renee pointed to a French provincial buffet
at the antiques mall.

Cleave
gave it a quick glance, then checked the price tag.
“That'll work.”

After he’d arranged to have it delivered, t
hey walked through the halls, holding hands, marveling at some of the pieces.
Sh
e helped him pick out ornately carved end tables for the living room, an Art Deco bedroom set for one of the unfurnished bedrooms as well as the buffet. He deferred to
her
judgment on every piece. It felt good, having him value her advice.

After they'd made their purchases, they drove to Mount Dora, a quaint nearby village filled with boutiques, antique shops and turn-of-the-century architecture. They
strolled
the charming streets until they found a restaurant with a lake view.

“
I'll have the salmon,
”
Renee told their waiter
, although she hadn’t had much of an appetite for days now
.

“Make mine the broiled Mahi
.
”
Cleave
closed his menu, dismissing the waiter with a nod.
“I want to thank you f
or all your help today, Renee.”

“I enjoyed it. I think it'll all look fantastic in your house.
”
She was proud of her knowledge of antiques. It was ra
re that she got to show it off.

“Me too. You know what else wou
ld look fantastic in my house?”

“What?”

“You.
”
He took her hand.

She blanched, still uncomfortable with all his compliments. Time for a subject change. She told him all about her trip to Daytona and Becky's meeting with her son.

Cleave
gave her a brief rundown including only the permissible details
about a case he was working on. They had a pleasant di
nner and drive back to Orlando but her mood wouldn’t lift past the blah range.

He walked her to the door and gave her a goodnight kiss. She waited for her toes to curl, but
her body refused to
comply.

She
invited him
in for a glass of wine. Since
sh
e had resolved to give the relationship a chance, she
kept reminding herself of his attributes
. He was funny and
charming and
interesting to talk to. After the wine, he reluctantly left, kissing her tenderly. She tried to feel the butterflies, but they must have been sleeping.

Soon, she assured herself. If she dug really deep, maybe she’d find that zing she’d felt with Joe from the very first kiss.

* * * * *

“The adoption ball is officially rolling,”
Melissa said, during her Tuesday morning manicure.
“We've started on an adoption book.”

“What's that?
”
Renee massaged her client's hand.

“
You gather pictures of all your family members and write a little something about them. Then there's a section for photos of our house, where we work, pets and stuff like that. It's for a birth
mother
to see what type of home her baby will be entering. The lawyer told us the book can be the deciding factor when a birth
mother
is choosing between several adoptive families.
”

“Would you stay in contact with the birth
mother
?
”
Ever since she
’d
met Becky's son, she was fascinated with the subject.

“That would depend on what we think of each other. I mean that's something the birth
mother
and the adoptive parents have to work out. Ultimately, it goes the way the birth
mother dictates since she holds all the cards.”

“Did the lawyer give you any kind of time line?
”

“I
f we get lucky we might find a baby within six months. But it could take over a year.
”
She wrinkled her nose.
“Of course
, we're hoping for right away.”

Renee shrugged.
“You'd wait nine mo
nths even if you had your own.”

“Right. And we're okay with that. We're very lucky we can afford all this. Take a
guess what the price range is.”

“I don't know. Ten thousand?”
Sh
e
sipped
her coffee.

Melissa shook her head.
“Try up to thirty. The legal fees are phenomenal. And we'd be paying the hospital bill for
m
ama
and baby.
”

“Wow. Out of
the question for most people.”

“I'm sure it is. You can always go the public route, but it takes much longer and it's harder to get a baby. If you're willing to take an older child, it's quicker. But an older child probably has lots of issues. They've been in the system and were probably abused on some level. Thank God there are folks willing to take on some of those kids, but that's not what R
ich and I are looking for.”

“W
hat's your next step?”

“A
home study done by a social worker. That could take a while. They make several visits to your house to make sure you'
re not a slasher or something.”

“That's the part that'll get you,
”
sh
e teased.

Melissa snickered.
“Right. They'll find me out, for sure. The lawyer will get us as much information on the birth
mother
and her family as he can. Then you pray for the best.
”

The massive cost involved in adoption got her thinking about finances. She’d been handling paying the salon’s bills and they were barely making it. She hadn’t mentioned
their precarious financial position to
Becky
because she’d been so preoccupied with meeting Justin. Although the money problems had begun before that. But she was now the stronger, more honest Renee so she had to come clean with her partner.

After she finished
with Melissa,
she
f
ound Becky in the kitchenette.
“Got a second?
”
She sidled
onto the stool next to her friend.