“You’re still up,” she finally uttered, then felt like a complete idiot for stating the obvious.
“I was waiting for you.” He ascended the deck stairs, his bare feet leaving wet marks on the cedar. “I thought I’d take a quick dip to pass the time.”
The closer he came the faster her heart thumped. His body looked as if it had been sculpted out of marble. Rock-hard and chiseled.
“How did it go with Ellie?” he asked.
“It was awful.” Obvious torment washed over her features and when Josh took a step toward her she knew he’d seen it. Before he could pull her into his arms she jolted back.
Uncertainty shone in his dark-blue eyes. “What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong? There were so many things wrong here she didn’t even know where to begin. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” she said simply.
“Why don’t I like the sound of that?” He bent to pick up the towel on the patio chair then ran it over his bare chest. “So what have you been thinking about?”
His stab at nonchalance didn’t fool her. “That it’s time for you to go.”
He set his jaw. “I see.”
“Look, your sister is furious with me, and I don’t blame her. But I still believe firing her was the right thing to do. I think she’ll be coming home any day, which means there’s no reason for you to stick around.”
“No reason?” he echoed. “What about us? Isn’t that reason enough?”
“There is no us. We had a nice dinner, shared a few kisses, but that’s all. What did you think, that we’d get married?”
He remained silent.
“The bottom line, Josh, is that I’m too old for you. Not only that but I don’t have time to screw around. I have a club to run, and you have a law practice to go back to. We’re in different places in our lives. Truth is, we always will be.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s reality. Marriage aside, what about kids? You can’t tell me you don’t want children.”
He chuckled. “You’re not that old, sweetheart. Women far older than you are still having babies.”
“But I don’t want to have any more babies.”
“Then we won’t have kids.”
Frustration seeped into her body and swirled down to her gut. “What’s it going to take to make you realize it won’t work between us?”
“A hell of a lot more than flimsy excuses.”
Her temples started throbbing. Damn it, why did he have to be so stubborn? Why couldn’t he just accept it wasn’t going to be?
Before she could open her mouth to speak, the sound of the telephone rang out, muffled through the closed patio door. Vivian’s frustration instantly transformed into alarm. It was nearly four in the morning. Nobody called her this late unless it was an emergency.
Without another word she spun around and entered the house. The phone was sitting in its cradle and she snatched it up quickly. “Hello?”
“Mom, it’s me.”
Her alarm deepened. “Tanya, is everything all right?”
“Everything is great!”
To Vivian’s relief, excitement poured out of her daughter’s voice. “Jeez, sweetie, you had me worried. Do you realize what time it is?”
“I knew you’d be working so I waited until I was sure you were home.”
She sighed, wanting to scold her daughter for giving her such a scare but at the same time touched that Tanya had stayed up to the wee hours of the morning to call her. Obviously she had some big news to share. “So what’s so urgent you had to lose sleep over?”
“I got into law school!”
A balloon of pride inflated in Vivian’s chest, causing her heart to soar. “Oh my God! I thought the letters weren’t being sent out for another month.”
“They’re not. But I got a personal phone call from the head of admissions at…” Tanya paused for effect, “…Harvard Law!”
As Tanya’s words sunk in, Vivian resisted the urge to let out a loud shriek of joy. God, she’d worked so hard for this. Scrimping and saving to pay for Tanya’s college tuition, pouring over those applications with her for a week straight, and it had all paid off. Her baby girl’s dream had come true.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am, sweetie.” She clung to the phone tightly, wishing Tanya were standing in front of her so she could give her a big hug.
From the corner of her eye Viv saw Josh enter the room, still clad in swim trunks. For a moment all she could do was shoot him an excited smile, her happiness over her daughter’s news taking precedence over everything else. Her smile soon faded at Tanya’s next words.
“I think I’m going to give Josh Dawson a call.”
The phone shook in her hands. “Oh. Uh, Ellie’s brother?”
“Yeah, you remember him, right, Mom? He’s a lawyer so I thought I’d arrange to get together with him, you know, get his advice and ask for tips about making it through law school alive.”
Vivian swallowed. “That’s a great idea, sweetie. I’m sure he’d love to help you.”