Page 10 of The Present

5

Hal arrived at Tess’s apartment a bit early and hoped that wouldn’t be a problem. He’d always had to contrive to be late picking Janice up as the one time he arrived before the appointed time, she wouldn’t open the door for him, saying she’d be ready when she’d said she would. Hoping Tess was truly unlike her sister, he knocked on the door then stood back.

Almost immediately the door opened revealing Tess, looking ravishing in a short lacy red dress and pink bunny slippers. Stunned, he stood ogling her in a way he thoroughly enjoyed. All he could think to say was, “Hi.”

“Hi.” Her smile was big, genuine. “Come on in. I’m almost ready.” She motioned him in then disappeared into another room.

“It’s my fault. I’m early.” He took in the small living room, sparsely furnished but with good modern pieces. “But I brought a peace offering.” Her rescued coat lay over his arm. In her haste to finish dressing, she’d overlooked it.

“Oh, yeah? Have a seat. I’ll be out in a sec,” she called from the depths.

Sauntering over to the sofa, covered in a medium blue cut velvet that was softer than it looked, Hal took a seat and peeled off his driving gloves. The apartment was scrupulously clean, everything neat, looking as though it had been thoughtfully placed. Quite a change from Janice’s haphazardly decorated and often chaotic apartment. He’d always known when Tess had been by to clean.

“I hope you’re hungry.” He picked up a magazine and leafed through it without really looking at it. “I managed to get reservations at one of my favorite restaurants.”

“Where?” Tess emerged, her short hair sleekly styled, make-up now flawless. Her red lips mesmerized him—all he could think about was kissing them.

“AuBerge.” Exquisite food and a sexy dinner date. Who could ask for a better Christmas Eve? “Have you ever been?”

Tess shook her head. “Kinda out of my price range.” She smiled, but he caught some hesitation.

“Not tonight it’s not. Here.” He held out her coat.

“Oh, my God.” She grabbed it, her eyes tearing up. “How did you manage to get it? Did you break into her apartment?”

He’d had no idea that coat would mean so much to Tess. It was nice enough, but nowhere near new. A long, wool coat, rather plain in a shade of tan that would fade from memory as soon as you glanced away from it. Warm against the Chicago winters. But maybe not warm enough.

Tess finally seemed to notice his coat as well. “You got yours too.” Her eyes widened. “You must be some good cat burglar.”

“Sadly, the truth is as boring as fiction sometimes is.” He held his hand out and after a moment’s hesitation, she handed her coat back to him. Hal smiled and held it out for her to slip her arms into. He always wanted a woman to be well taken care of when they were out with him. It might seem cheesy to some, but old-fashioned manners made an impression on women, even in this day and time. “I went to her apartment and asked for them back.”

“That’s not boring, that’s brave.” Genuine awe in her voice, Tess rubbed her hands up and down the worn coat. “When Janice is angry, she’ll go to any lengths to get even. Trust me, I know.”

“I think she tried to do that today, but I refused to play along with her nasty little scheme. So, I took the coats and ran—literally. Are you ready to go?” He really hoped she was. Everything about her looked perfect. So much so it made him want to rip the red dress off her and do all their eating in here tonight. Mentally, he shook his head. Don’t rush it, dumb ass.

“Now I am.” She patted the coat once more then reached for the doorknob, but he beat her to it.

“Allow me.” He opened it and nodded for her to go ahead of him.

Pulling her coat close and tying the belt, she preceded him out of the apartment and down the hall to the elevator. “I thought I’d have to break out my jean jacket—and freeze before the night was over—until you showed up with this.” Tess ran her hand down the arms of the garment. “Thank you so much for rescuing it.” She glanced up at him. “And me.”

“You? How did I rescue you?” She’d been the one to save him last night, or at least save him from the embarrassment of Janice’s outright rejection. Tess had made his bit of revenge…fun.

“From Janice, really.” Tess hit the button to call the elevator. “I’ve never stood up to her before, even when I knew what she was doing was sketchy. She’s always managed to coerce me into doing things for her I’d never do on my own.”

“Like what?” Hal cocked his head. What kind of shit had Janice been up to all her life?

“Oh, kid stuff when we were young. Covering for her with our parents when she’d been off somewhere up to no good with her friends. Writing papers for her when she was in college.” She avoided his eyes as they stepped into the elevator.

“What papers?” So, the perfect Janice wasn’t quite as foolproof as she wanted everyone to believe.

“Oh, English lit papers mostly. I loved reading the books. She always got into the Honors classes that had more challenging titles.”

“Why didn’t you get into Honors classes?” He’d have thought she’d have aced any class.

She shrugged. “My grades in high school weren’t that great. I had problems when our parents divorced, so I didn’t do very well my senior year. I was lucky to make it into college at all.”

“Somehow, I find that hard to believe, Tess. You’re obviously very intelligent.” He didn’t want to sound condescending, nor belabor the point. Not a very romantic beginning for a first date. “So why did you go into Human Resources if you were interested in English?”