Just One Night Part 17

As their pa.s.sion built, she reached behind her, clasping one of the bedposts, as though it could keep her tethered to earth. He raised his hand, found hers and clasped it and the mahogany post as they rocketed to heaven together.

16.

"I DON'T EVEN WANT to go home," John said. He and Julia were trying a new Thai place that had received good reviews. It was the second time this week they'd grabbed dinner. "My wife did all the decorating. I'm living in a box with beige walls and the furniture my ex didn't want."

"How bad is it?" Julia had to ask.

"Pretty bad."

He'd been good to her. So the online dating thing hadn't turned up much in the way of dates; she'd found a friend. And it was nice to have a man to go to a movie with and hang out with.

"I'd be happy to come over and give you some ideas."

"Really? Because I was totally hinting."

She chuckled. "I got that."

"Would tomorrow afternoon work? You could give me some ideas and then we could go for dinner somewhere."

"No hot dates?" she teased.

"Not hardly. You?"

"I'll be at your place at two o'clock."

"Great."

When she arrived at his house a little after two-thirty, she quickly realized he hadn't exaggerated. The place he'd bought was a standard bungalow with every interior wall painted the same shade of beige.

The place had definite possibilities though.

The rooms were a good size, the original oak floors had been refinished and large picture windows let in a ton of light.

The furniture, however, was pitiful. The kind of bad rec-room stuff you banish to the bas.e.m.e.nt until you have the money to upgrade. Seemed like he and his wife had never got around to upgrading.

His bedroom furniture consisted of a queen-size mattress on the floor.

After ten minutes of walking through the house, she said, "I need a budget.'

"Already?"

"Yup. I need to know what you're prepared to spend." She took out her computer tablet. "There are emergency items, essentials and nice to have. We'll prioritize."

"Let me put it to you this way. If I let you do everything you want, how much would it cost?"

She smiled. "That's the sort of budget I like."

When he opened his mouth to protest-probably-she said, "Okay, okay. Here's where I want to start. First, the reason I was a teeny bit late is that I had some paint leftover from another job. And it's ideal for here. We'll do the main downstairs rooms in a color called linen. Don't worry, it's very neutral. Masculine in fact. You'll love it. I also snagged some mascarpone. That's for woodwork and trim. If you feel like a handyman project, you can do those horrible kitchen cupboards yourself. Otherwise, we send them out." She patted his shoulder. "So the paint's free."

"Why do I get the feeling that nothing else is?"

She tapped on the computer tablet in her hand. "I get a discount on furniture at several terrific places. Honestly, John, you need to get rid of this c.r.a.p. Now."

He leaned against a beige wall and folded his arms. He had nice, muscular arms, she noticed. "That sounds like shopping. I hate shopping."

"You could give me your credit card and stay home."

"I can do shopping."

"Let's go then."

He looked alarmed. "What? Now?"

"There's no better time. And trust me. When you have a home that suits you and feels comfortable, you're going to enjoy being here."

"You're the professional. Let's go."

YOU LEARNED A LOT ABOUT a person when you attempted to remake their home as Julia knew from experience. In John's case he was easy to deal with, accepting all her suggestions and only quibbling when she tried to get him to move his big-screen TV out of the living room.

"Absolutely not," he said. "I watch games in here. I'm the one that does the living in the living room. What's the point of sticking me in a spare bedroom? The fireplace is out here. It's close to the kitchen. The big screen stays."

"Fine," she said. It was his house, after all, and his argument made sense. Once they'd chosen the furniture-well, she'd chosen, and he'd pulled out his credit card-they were ready for a break. As they headed for a local Mexican restaurant that she loved, they walked past a trendy menswear shop. She glanced in the window, then at her companion who wore his usual collection of unfortunate clothing choices.

Should she?

She glanced at him walking beside her. He had a great body, but he always camouflaged it in a series of clothing disasters. He'd been good about letting her redecorate his home. Maybe?

"John," she said, her tone tentative.

"I don't like that look in your eye. I'm not buying three identical white vases to place on the mantel."

"No. It's not about vases. Honestly. I was just wondering whether you'd like to check out this menswear shop."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why would I want to do that?"

She shrugged. "No reason. I think those jeans would look really good on you."

He wasn't fooled. "Are you trying to stage me, too?"

She nibbled her lower lip. Truth or not? She decided, since they were friends and not lovers, that she could afford honesty.

"I don't mean to be rude, but you could look so much better. You've got good bone structure, a nice body, but your clothes aren't doing you any favors."

"I like to be comfortable."

"And that was fine when you were married. Now that you're single, I think you should work on presenting your best package."

He snorted with laughter. Realizing what she'd said, she blushed. "I don't mean that package... Oh, you know."

He stared in the window. "If I put those jeans on, they'll definitely be all about my package. Those things are tight."

"At least try them on."

She coaxed him into the store and soon she had him in a fitting room with a selection of jeans, sweaters and shirts.

He emerged wearing jeans that actually fit. She couldn't believe the difference. He had a seriously nice body. And, she couldn't help but notice there did seem to be a pretty nice package in there.

She pushed him in front of the full-length mirror. "See how much better these look?"

"They'd better. They cost almost as much as that sectional sofa you talked me into."

Still, he had a half smile on his face.

In half an hour she'd talked him into a pair of jeans, black pants for going out, a casual shirt, a sweater and leather shoes that could be casual or dressed up. As a wardrobe went it was pretty basic. However, like her decorating project, you started with the emergency list. There were plenty more items she could add to bolster his wardrobe. At least he had a start.

"And there's a really good stylist near my office called Savoir Faire. Felix is the owner's name. He does terrific men's cuts. I could-"

He held up a hand. "Enough. I can only take so much improvement in one day."

"SO HE HELD UP HIS HAND and said-" and here Julia lowered her voice in a truly bad imitation of a man "'-Enough. I can only take so much improvement in one day.'"

Hailey laughed dutifully. Well, it was funny, but she was having trouble concentrating. She really needed to pull herself together. She and Julia were shopping. Hailey for something to wear on her date with Dennis, who'd checked out the hottest new eateries before inviting her. She liked that he'd taken the initiative, and not used the fact that she was the local and he an out-of-towner as an excuse to make her choose the restaurant.

She'd heard nothing but rave reviews about Gastronome, raves on everything but the prices, which were steep.

Julia was shopping mostly because she loved shopping.

"John sounds like a nice guy," Hailey said to Julia, who was currently flipping through a rack of red and black tops as though she didn't already own enough black and red.

"Oh, he is." Julia glanced up. "And I think there's a surprisingly nice-looking man hiding under all that c.r.a.p."

"Not for you?"

Her friend shrugged. "I'm regifting him to some deserving woman." Then she found a short black c.o.c.ktail dress. "Ooh, I bet Dennis would love you in this."

Hailey would not feel guilty. She would not feel bad that she had accepted a date with her latest client. Why shouldn't she date?

It wasn't as if Rob had anything to offer her. Except the greatest s.e.x of her life and an intimacy between them that was about so much more than s.e.x.

If only he were a stay-at-home man.

Or she were a different kind of woman.

If there was one thing Rob had done for her, it was get her thinking about schedules and life plans and how perhaps hers was too rigid. It wasn't as though she could plan that in five years, when her business was more successful and she felt settled and ready, her ideal man would suddenly appear. Instead, she was beginning to realize that a little flexibility was a good thing, whether in life, in business or in love.

She was bending her own strict rules and dating a client. So what?

She found herself staring at a dress she didn't even like. "I don't know. I feel like I want to stay away from black."

"Right." Julia went to put it back on the rack, then said, "Maybe I'll try it on. I wonder if they have my size."

As Hailey flipped through dress after dress, she tried to imagine dating Dennis.

He was intelligent; he was charming; he loved Bellamy House almost as much as she did. What was it to Rob who bought the place? He clearly didn't want to keep his grandmother's house.

She tried not to contemplate what it would be like to date a guy who owned Bellamy House. One who wasn't Rob. She couldn't picture being with anyone else in that wonderful home. Somehow, in her mind, it would always be his.

Well, as Gloria had reminded her, she needed to stop wasting the present by worrying about the future. Everything would work out, she was certain of it.

Dennis had been suddenly called out of town for a few days but had made her promise she'd call him if any other serious buyers for Bellamy House appeared. She'd agreed. And had also agreed to postpone their date. Since she and Julia had already decided to go shopping, however, they'd kept that date.

She felt so torn. So messed up. And suddenly she realized that that was why women have each other. To talk to.

"Hey, how about we ditch the shopping and grab lunch early? I need to talk."

"Of course," her friend said, instantly putting the dress back.

Maybe a few days was exactly what she needed to get some perspective. Sleeping with Rob a second time had been the mistake she'd known it would be.

Well, she kind of thought her big mistake was sleeping with him in the first place. Her plan hadn't worked, not at all. Think about him less once she got him into bed?

She snorted at her own foolishness.

Over lunch at a little bistro around the corner she told Julia all of it.

Her friend opened her eyes wide. "You had s.e.x on that single bed?"

"Yes."

"And that was the best s.e.x of your life? On a single bed?"

She nodded.

"With a man with a bullet hole in his leg?"

"Uh-huh."

Julia stared at her as she sipped her tea. "Can you imagine what he'd be like in a real bed? With all his limbs working properly?"