His phone pinged within seconds. It was a testament to how well his mother knew him that she’d been waiting for his message. Her response had him smiling.I love you, too. And BTW, nobody gets to call my son an idiot, not even him.
He grinned. No one had ever defended him or his brothers more fiercely than she did.Message received. Good night, Mom.
Feeling better, he wrapped his hands and started punching the heavy bag as he lost himself in the familiar rhythm. He’d keep pounding until he’d burned up the last bit of his energy and all of his frustration. Tomorrow would be soon enough to decide what to do about Natalie Kennigan and those irresistible dimples of hers.
—
Natalie set her dinner of fruit, cheese, and crackers within easy reach and checked the temperature of the water before climbing into the tub. Perfect. Exactly the right amount of heat to soothe her aching muscles, especially when she turned on the jets to set the water swirling around her. After tossing in a double handful of her favorite bath salts, she leaned back against the curved edge and closed her eyes.
It had been a long day, but a good one. They’d made a lot more progress at the site than she’d expected. The sign-up sheet for next Saturday was pretty close to full, so she wouldn’t have to spend time during the week trying to drum up more volunteers. Tino’s name hadn’t been on the list, but she hadn’t wanted to push too hard. It could be that he already had plans for that day.
Maybe she shouldn’t have been so quick to accept his invitation to dinner and a movie, but she didn’t regret her decision. She loved her work at the foundation but needed something more in her life. Something fun. No, make thatsomeonefun in her life.
She couldn’t remember when she’d laughed as much as she had with Tino Gianelli, especially considering how little time she’d actually spent in his company. Those killer brown eyes of his didn’t hurt either. He wore his dark hair on the short side, probably a habit left over from his time in the military. Even so, there was just a hint of wave in it. Nothing like her own corkscrew curls, though.
He was taller than most of the guys she’d dated, not that she had anything against tall men, per se. But at half an inch over five feet tall, she got tired of looking up at everyone. All things considered, she was willing to make an exception in Tino’s case. There was just something about him she liked. Maybe it was the way he hadn’t treated her like an empty-headed piece of arm candy like her ex-fiancé had sometimes done. Of course, she’d have to see if that was true when they were out on an actual date instead of a few stolen moments in the midst of a work party.
No doubt it was a girl thing, but she was already fretting about what to wear Thursday night. With her ex, she’d never had that problem, mainly because Benton had never once done anything unexpected. Not only had they grown up in the same social circles, their parents were close friends. Sometimes she thought the two of them had simply drifted into their engagement, because that was what had been expected of them, not just by their folks, but by their friends, as well.
Her decision to break up with Benton had sent shock waves rippling through their little world. Most of their friends had sided with him, offering Benton their sympathy and their support. From what she could tell, she was the only one who didn’t think her decision to end their engagement was a huge mistake. Too bad. Her only regret was that she’d waited so long.
But back to Thursday night. Maybe telling Tino to surprise her hadn’t been a smart idea.
What if she wore a dress and heels, and he showed up in jeans? Or the other way around? Either way, it could prove interesting.
Her cellphone chimed, signaling that her mother was calling. It was tempting to let it go to voicemail, but her mom would only keep trying.
Surrendering to the inevitable, she picked up the phone. “Hi, Mom. What’s up?”
“I wanted to remind you about Friday night.”
As if Natalie would’ve forgotten. Her mom had been talking about the event for weeks. They were all going to opening night at a local gallery, which would be showcasing an up-and-coming artist whose work her mother really admired. She would undoubtedly expect Natalie to use the foundation’s money to buy at least one painting as a show of support.
“I’ll be there. It starts at seven, right?”
“Yes, but you should get there early. We’ve been asked to be part of the receiving line to greet the other guests as they arrive.”
Great. Another evening of smiling until her face ached while she made endless small talk with people she barely knew.
“Who are you bringing as an escort?”
All right. Now she knew the real reason her mother had called. For a second, she considered asking Tino if he’d be interested in going with her. No, that wouldn’t be fair to him, especially when he barely even knew Natalie.
“I’m coming by myself. In fact, do you want the extra ticket back to give to someone else?”
Silence.
It was too much to hope that the call had been disconnected, accidentally or otherwise. No doubt her mother was busy regrouping, looking for another plan of attack to get Natalie to do what she wanted. That wasn’t going to happen, but the woman was nothing if not determined. It would be easy to resent her mother’s attempts to manipulate her if she didn’t know that her mother honestly just wanted Natalie to be happy.
The problem was that lately her mother’s idea of what would make Natalie happy wasn’t anywhere close to her own ideas on the subject.
Here it comes. Drumroll, please.
Sure enough, the next words out of her mother’s mouth were exactly what Natalie expected. “I’m sure Benton would be glad to act as your escort. His mother happened to mention the other day that he hasn’t shown any interest in dating since you gave his ring back.”
Meaning that it wasn’t too late for Natalie to come crawling back to him. So not happening. “Mom, sorry, but that ship has sailed. I won’t ask him when I have no interest in getting involved with him again. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of us.”
On impulse, she added, “Of course, I could always ask Grandpa Cyrus to come with me.”
