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“Aunt Tricia!” Molly shouted, then dropped Julie’s hand and went running. Julie told herself not to be jealous that her daughter had a new favorite person when it had always been her mommy before. She knew Molly was getting to that stage where she wanted a little independence.
Tricia stood and scooped Molly into her arms and swung her around, both of them erupting in high-pitched giggles.
“Hey, Julie,” Kaylee said. “You meeting Rachel for tennis?”
“Yes. And I saw Charlene here on my way over. Are you up for doubles?”
“Can’t today,” Kaylee said. “I’ve got to run as soon as I down this food.”
“I thought dancers didn’t eat before class,” Julie said to Tricia as she returned to the table.
“I’ve been teaching since seven this morning and need my protein,” Tricia said, sliding into her seat and picking up her burger. Molly proceeded to steal a few fries.
Standing here in her designer tennis outfit of white shorts and top, Julie was somewhat jealous of Tricia in her leotard under wrinkled cargo shorts and Kaylee in a bathing suit top with skinny jeans. Although this club was far less conservative than the old-schoolers, there still seemed to be an unspoken dress code. Clean cut and not too revealing. Never jeans, God forbid. And preferably designer label outfits. Being a boarding school alum, Julie was used to the nonsense and compliance came easily to her.
But she loved the way Tricia and Kaylee managed to slide through the cracks on that. As employees rather than members—Tricia running the dance and exercise classes here and Kaylee teaching computer skills—they were not included in the networking or status games of the members, so being ostracized was not an issue.
Julie squinted her eyes at Tricia. “I am still mad at you for escaping to Costa Rica to marry my brother and not even inviting me. You too, Kaylee. Keeping it secret from everybody.”
“It was more fun that way,” Kaylee said, a teasing smile on her cocoa brown face.
Tricia and Kaylee had been housemates and when Julie’s brother struck up a close friendship with Kaylee’s fiancé. The four of them had recently escaped together to have a double elopement-style wedding in Costa Rica.
“Well, I haven’t forgiven any of you yet,” Julie said.
“My mother has not let me hear the end of it either,” Kaylee said. “But we promise, our upcoming party will have all the trimmings of a real wedding reception.”
“And we’ll both aim our bouquet toss at you,” Tricia added with a laugh, while stuffing the last of her French fries in her mouth.
“No, thanks,” was Julie’s automatic response.
How could it not be after the two disastrous dates she’d had in the last two weeks? The first was lunch with a guy she had met at a literacy charity—and after an hour of listening to him talk about his research papers on the French philosopher Merleau-Ponty, he said he was late for an appointment and left her with the tab. The second man was from the singles event she’d attended and he had asked her to meet him for a drink at eight the following evening. He did not show up until eight thirty, then got drunk and started interrogating her about her trust fund and how much her house was worth. Yuck.
Since then she’d been reminding herself about the many successful children raised by single moms and was pretty much ready to scrap this stupid quest for a man.
As if the universe somehow knew that, Rachel sidled up to her and said, “You have got to come see the new eye candy on the tennis court. And he is single.”
Hearing Rachel’s comment, Tricia grinned at Julie and said, “Go ahead. Give me your bag. I’ll put it in a locker and help Molly get dressed for class.”
“Mommy, did you bring my swimsuit?” Molly asked.
“Yes, sweetheart. We’ll meet for a swim afterward.”
When Julie got to the tennis courts with Rachel, she joined a group of other women who were ostensibly waiting their turn for a court, but in truth they were watching four men in a heated match, oogling the new guy in town.
Julie went silent when she saw who it was.
Noah Taylor.
In shorts and a Henley tee dripping with sweat that stuck to his muscular torso, he moved with the speed and grace of a panther. He laughed a couple times and, geez, the sound of it reminded her of so many intimate moments they had shared. After seeing him again at Dr. Nizer’s office she could not help putting herself to sleep at night with memories of what a wonderful lover he’d been.
Noah had always been an ideal combination of a guy who worked out as well as read and used his mind. Now, having hit what would be about thirty-three, if she remembered correctly, he had acquired a manly confidence that made him even sexier.
“He’s a doctor,” Leanne, one of the club regulars, said.
“All four of them are on the maternity wing at the hospital,” Rachel said. “Too bad I’m done having babies.”
The women laughed and Julie wondered if she should disclose the fact that she knew Noah, but when Leanne said, “I haven’t even had my first kid, so I’m calling dibs on the new guy, ladies.”
