A light rain began to drizzle as Josh headed for the entrance of the Dancehall. Shrugging raindrops off his jacket, he entered the club and wasn’t surprised to find it empty. It was three in the afternoon, after all. But Josh hadn’t come here for a drink. With a determined lift of his shoulders he made a beeline for the counter.
Vivian had her back turned to him and he took a second to admire the way her long blonde hair fell over her shoulder blades. He loved her hair. Loved the way it felt between his fingers. Hell, he loved everything about her.
“Can I help you?” the man behind the counter asked, cocking his head toward Josh.
Vivian turned around instantly, her eyes widening at the sight of him “Hi, sweetheart,” he said smoothly.
Her eyes grew wider and she shot a quick glance to her bartender, who discreetly moved to the end of the bar. “What are you doing here?” she asked, sliding off her stool. “I thought you’d be—”
“Gone?” he finished. His confidence grew. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
She just stood there, looking sexy as hell in a pair of snug jeans and a pink T-shirt that stretched over her breasts. Trying to keep his gaze on her face and not that spectacular body, Josh removed his jacket and tossed it on a nearby chair. Then he moved closer, pleased to see the swell of Viv’s chest as she inhaled a sharp breath.
“Where’s the phone?” he asked.
The startled look on her face made him bite back a laugh. “The phone? Do you need to make a call?”
“Nope.” He grinned. “But you do.”
“What?”
“Your daughter is expecting your call, Vivian. I suggest you don’t keep her waiting.”
The confusion in her eyes gave way to alarm. “Tanya? Is she okay?”
“She’s pretty upset, actually.” He offered a casual shrug. “I just got off the phone with her.”
“Oh God, is this about her scholarship?” Without waiting for a reply, Vivian swiveled around and bent over the counter. She turned with a cordless phone in her hands. “Is she at home?” Vivian asked urgently.
“Yep.”
Vivian stared at Josh, wondering what the hell was going on. She wasn’t sure she liked that strange little grin on his face, and she sure as hell didn’t like his out-of-the-blue phone call with her daughter. With shaky fingers, she dialed Tanya’s number and waited.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey, it’s me. Is everything all right?”
“No, actually it’s not.” Tanya paused. “Why didn’t you tell me about you and Josh Dawson?”
Viv stared at Josh with daggers in her eyes, then managed a steady voice as she replied, “I…didn’t want to upset you.”
“Well, guess what, Mom, I’m upset.”
A snake of guilt slithered up her chest, making it hard to take a breath. “I’m sorry, honey, I—”
“How could you possibly think you’re too old for him?”
Vivian froze. “What?”
“You heard me. Josh called and told me you’d broken things off because you think you’re too old. Because you think I’d be embarrassed to see you two together.”
She looked at Josh again, torn between slapping him for going behind her back and speaking to her daughter, and applauding him for taking control of the situation. “I thought…”
“You thought wrong,” Tanya announced. She sounded seriously annoyed. “I want you to give him a chance, Mom.”
“Did he put you up to this?” She glanced at Josh, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he simply offered her a careless shrug.
“No, he didn’t.” Tanya’s tone was firm. “You deserve to be happy, Mom. God knows you worked hard enough all your life to earn that. And if Josh makes you happy, you should see where things go. I’ll be furious with you if you don’t.”
A smiled warmed Vivian’s lips. She’d said those same words to her daughter—I’ll be furious with you if you don’t—when Tanya had hesitated about applying for law school, and she got an odd sense of pride hearing those same words being repeated back to her. She’d underestimated her own kid. She’d thought Tanya would be horrified by the way she’d been carrying on with Josh, and Vivian had to wonder if maybe she’d been using what she believed would be her daughter’s reaction to mask her own insecurities.
God, she felt immature.
Into the phone, she said, “You really wouldn’t think I’m…”
“You’re what?” her daughter cut in. “A wonderful, beautiful woman dating a man who obviously adores her? Come on, Mom, I thought you knew me better than that. I only want the best for you.”
“You’re really an amazing young woman, you know that, Tanya Rose Kendrick?”
“I had a pretty good role model.” Tanya’s sigh rang out from the other end of the line. “Now don’t screw this up, Mother. Like I said, Josh is a hottie. Not only that, but he’s smart, kind and totally into you.”