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“I think that’s wise. You need to for work, and we’ll be fine.”
Exhaling deeply, I give her my full attention. “I know. It’s just a bad time at work, and it’ll take a lot of coordination with you to help with Bri.”
“I’ve already told you that I’ll adjust my schedule, Dean. You need this conference for work as part of your continued education. I’ll stay at your house with Bri, get her off to school, and then head to work myself. She’ll still go to Miss Nancy’s after school and I’ll get her when I get off work. It’s for, what, three days? I think I can manage for thirty-six hours. We’ll be fine.”
And they will be, I know it. It’s just that I’ve never left Bri for that length of time. The occasional sleepover with my mom is one thing, but three whole nights? When that’s all you’ve done for just over five years, it’s hard to let someone else take the wheel for a few days.
But she’s also right that it’s required of me for my job. I’ve put it off three times now, and I’m unable to get out of not going any more. My boss and one of the owners of the firm gave me strict orders to attend this conference or else. And since I require my job to, you know, buy groceries and pay my mortgage, I guess it’s off to Richmond I go.
“I know, Mom. I just hate the thought of leaving her.”
Jenna delivers our food and all conversations turn to Bri and her animal drawings. She’s obsessed with everything animals from barnyard to the ones in the wild. Her room might be pink but there’s animal posters covering parts of the walls and an array of stuffed dogs, cats, horses, cows, monkeys, and even a zebra on her bed.
“When do you leave?” Mom asks when the plates are being collected.
“Just over two weeks. It’s a Wednesday through Friday conference,” I say as I grab the check in the center of the table. “This one’s on me.”
“You got it last week,” she chastises with a frown.
Mom found a steady, decent paying job several years back, and while I know she can easily pick up the check at lunch, I still prefer to get it. Call me chivalrous or old fashioned, but I just think the man–or in my case, son–should pay.
“You can get next week if you’re quick enough,” I retort with a grin.
“I thought I raised you better than to be a wisenheimer. At least let me cover the tip,” Mom says as she pulls two fives from her purse.
“Fine,” I say before turning towards Bri. “Time to go, pumpkin.”
“Grab your jacket, Bri, and I’ll help you get it on while Daddy goes up and pays the check.”
“‘Kay, Mimi. Can we go to the park?” I hear my daughter ask as I head up to the counter.
Glancing over my shoulder I watch my mom take Bri by the hand and head outside to wait for me. The café is always busy for Sunday lunch, and today is no different. As I collect my change and head towards the door, a familiar face is walking through. I stop in my tracks at the first sight I’ve had of her in several weeks. She’s stunning in a light blue sweater that hugs her glorious chest, tight dark jeans covering my favorite pair of legs, and tan ankle boots that I wouldn’t mind seeing wrapped around my neck.
She’s a vision.
And when those dark green eyes lock on mine, I’m a goner. Completely smitten and she doesn’t even know it. My chest burns as oxygen fails to move through my lungs. Her smile starts hesitant but spreads sincerely to light up her heart-shaped face. There’s warmth and familiarity reflecting in her eyes until a woman walks in and stands beside her.
She instantly closes me off, shutting down the flutter of happiness I saw starting to settle on her face. She warmly greets her companion, a woman whose resemblance is uncanny. A sister, probably.
Instead of letting this moment turn uncomfortable, I offer them both cordial greetings and head towards the door. Before I can breach the threshold, however, I can’t help but turn back and glance over my shoulder. She’s there, standing beside a table filling up with people I can see as her family, but her eyes are on me. They lock for several heart-pounding seconds before the corner of her mouth turns upward. I can’t stop my own smile from cresting my lips.
Winking at the woman that I often run into in my dreams–and those day ones when I’m alone in the shower–I turn and step out into the sunlight. Jupiter Bay is a small town, and I’m never prepared for the way my body reacts to seeing her. My libido fires to life and my blood starts to hum. I’m always caught off guard when I run into her, but I’m left yearning for more. She gave me a taste, and I’m left wanting. More of everything.
More Payton Summer.
