Page 10 of Passion’s Song

April barked out a laugh. “No, he isn’t. He just has no interest in dating right now.”

“So he came to see you? Yikes.”

“I already told you that we’re friends. There’s no reason for me to be upset or offended.”

So what if most women would be offended if a handsome, sought-after bachelor called on them because they were not interested in getting involved with anyone. She was bigger than that, wasn’t she?

No. No, she was not.

But she would save the wall-kicking and raging at the ceiling for tonight, when she was in the sanctuary of her own home with copious amounts of chocolate, wine and Nurse Jackie binge watching to keep her company.

“Whatever you say,” Nicole said. “Oh, I’m doubling up on my hip-hop dance class tomorrow because a bunch of the kids are going to Saint Michael’s Youth Day thing on Friday.”

“Oh, that’s this weekend?”

“Yeah, there’s a bus bringing them over to the Northshore.”

“Hi, ladies.” LaDonna stuck her head in the door. “I heard Damien Alexander stopped in today. Is he still here?”

April threw her hands in the air. “Oh, for crying out loud. Did someone send out a group text as soon as he walked through the door?”

“It was a Snapchat video,” LaDonna said, coming into the room. “Get with the times.”

“I don’t even know what Snapchat is,” April said. She barely remembered to check her Facebook page. “But, to answer your question, no, Damien isn’t here. He had to get back to his office. He was only here because he wanted to ask a favor of me.”

“I’m sorry I missed seeing him,” LaDonna said. “I would have liked to thank him personally for his donation last year.”

“Too bad you missed it. He was something to see,” Nicole said, fanning herself.

April rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have to go break Simeon’s heart again?”

“Hey,” Nicole said with affront. “It’s not my fault he’s still trying even after I told him I wasn’t interested.”

“Maybe if you weren’t giving him all these mixed signals,” April said.

“I do not!”

“Yes, you do,” April and LaDonna said at the same time.

“Case in point, the meeting at my house the other night,” April said. “I know my living room isn’t big, but don’t you think you could have found somewhere else to sit? There was no need for you to plant your behind right next to him on the floor.”

Nicole’s lips scrunched up in a frown. “Fine. No more mixed signals. But it shouldn’t count if I don’t even realize I’m doing it.”

LaDonna put a hand up. “I’m tired of this conversation. Back to Damien Alexander. How well do you know him?” she asked April.

“Well enough. We went to high school together. I used to tutor him in English.”

LaDonna perched her hip on the desk. “This may be just wishful thinking on my part, but do you think there’s any chance you can get him to join us here at A Fresh Start?”

“As in...?”

“As in volunteering,” LaDonna said.

April shook her head. “He has a business to run. He can’t—”

“I know he’s busy,” LaDonna said, cutting her off. “And I’m not talking about full-time, everyday volunteering. I’m talking about an hour a week, maybe on Saturday mornings.

“I’ve been reading all these blogs about ways to increase your chances of winning a grant, and having a well-rounded program seems to be key. We have a nice assortment of recreational programs for the kids, but think of how it would look on our grant application if we had a prominent businessman teaching the kids about money management.”