Chapter Twenty-Eight
The first time she woke in the middle of the night, Trent stroked her hair, and helped her fall back asleep. She curled next to him like a cat and murmured his name as she dozed. The second time Trent didn’t think she would remember. He felt her stirring beside him and realized he’d rolled over while he slept. Once he pulled her close, she settled.
He sat awake after that for some time. He’d had his share of nightmares since Jamaica, but never more than one in a night, and only a couple per week in the beginning. In the past month he could count on one hand the times his sleep had been interrupted with memories. Although he hoped her restless night was a rarity, he heard Jack’s words in his head and knew it probably wasn’t.
Trent kissed the top of her head and dropped off again.
The sound of water flowing in the pipes of the apartment woke him. Inside the bathroom he heard Monica humming and Trent felt a smile on his lips. What would it take to slip into the shower with her?
His body responded to the thought and he rolled over with a groan. Had he actually agreed to a no-sex relationship with the most beautiful woman he’d ever known?
God, he must have been desperate last night to agree to that stipulation. Then it dawned on him, he’d suggested it. Maybe he had drunk too much yesterday.
Trent slipped out of Monica’s bed, pulled on his pants, and padded with bare feet into her kitchen. He found her supply of coffee and prepared a pot.
The apartment was well laid out. The furniture looked to be new, the flat-screen TV would do a game day proud. There were silk flowers instead of live ones and a few childish art pictures hanging on her refrigerator along with a magnetic picture frame housing the artist. He was sipping his coffee and studying the picture of what Trent thought was a boy holding the leash of either a really big dog, or a very skinny horse. “To Auntie Monica,” was written on the bottom followed by, “From Danny.”
The fresh floral scent of Monica’s skin preceded her into the room. She walked into the kitchen and Trent forgot to breathe. Her skin was pink and scrubbed clean, her face was void of any makeup, and her hair was still wet, dripping. A small bead of water fell down to her shoulder, past the slim spaghetti strap of the small top she wore, and disappeared between her breasts.
He set his cup of coffee down before he dropped it. She wore yoga pants that fit like a second skin. Her toes peeked out from below, with pink sparkly polish finishing her off. As his eyes roamed back to her face he found her hungry gaze on him. She held a towel to her hair but had stopped attempting to dry it as she took a moment to look him over.
One step and he had her up against the wall and his lips on hers. It’s just a morning kiss. A good-morning-where-have-you-been-all-my-life kiss. She tasted like mint and smelled like spring. His body raged with the need to put more than his tongue in her, but he pushed those thoughts aside and just kissed her.
Just kissing with his hands on her breasts and over the curve of her ass. Her hand fisted in his hair and pulled him tighter and when her hips pushed into his he came up for air.
“This abstinence thing is really hard,” she said.
“It’s just a morning kiss.” He returned his lips to hers to prove it, and he would completely ignore the hard parts of him seeking the warm soft parts of her. Just kissing.
She was the one to pull away the second time. “Morning tonsil hockey is more than a morning kiss, Barefoot.”
“Want me to stop?”
She shook her head and he dipped down for further exploration of her clean teeth and tasty lips.
Minutes later, pulling away was one of the hardest thing he’d ever done in his adult life.
Her laughing eyes sparkled when they looked at him. “Two adults really should have more control,” he scolded the both of them.
“You’d think.”
He reached down and picked up the towel she’d dropped on the floor and handed it back. “I think I’ll take a shower.” Because if he stayed there, he’d have Monica horizontal and naked… or vertical and naked.
He groaned and adjusted his pants to accommodate his need.
Monica chuckled as he walked away.
Monica dropped Trent off at Joe’s to pick up his rental car. The yellow Jeep made her laugh. “Not leaving anything to chance,” Trent had said.
With a list of errands to run and a physical therapy session to occupy her day, Monica knew she’d have plenty to keep her mind busy for the few hours she’d have by herself.
Trent had kissed her again as she dropped him off.
“I’ll pick you up at six,” he told her between kisses.
“You will?”
“For dinner. Wear something nice.”
She huffed out a breath, pretending disgust. “What, you don’t like my workout clothes?”
He ran a hand down her back and cupped her butt in his palm. The sparks his touch created were better than any Fourth of July.
“These clothes make my mouth water.”
She kissed him, tasted the water he spoke of.
“Are you asking me out on a date, Barefoot?” she managed once she came up for air.
“Do I need to ask?”
She thought about that. Releasing some of the control in her relationships had always been hard. With Trent, it felt right. Even if it was just asking if she wanted to go out. She knew she wanted to spend time with him. He knew it, too. “You don’t need to ask.”
“Good.” He managed one more quick kiss and opened the door of her car.
Physical therapy wasn’t as daunting as it had been two days before. The therapist thought they’d have her walking fast on a treadmill before her follow-up appointment with the orthopedic. She was one step closer to her morning runs, and one step closer to being released from disability and able to return to work. It was one thing to not be able to work and not have a job, it was quite another to be physically able to work, and be told you couldn’t.
Monica shoved those thoughts aside while she prepared for lunch with Katie and Jessie. They hadn’t brought the kids over when they’d all but ambushed her for an intense “girl talk” session. But that was yesterday afternoon, before Trent had found her… before he spent the night and didn’t sleep with her. Well, didn’t make love to her. She was thinking about their no-sex deal as she walked into the restaurant where she was meeting her family for lunch.
The Morrison Family Inn was the brainchild of Jack. It wasn’t the luxury hotel that the Morrison chain promoted itself as, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t posh in many ways. The family-friendly and family-affordable accommodations were evident in every foot of the establishment. All the rooms were at least one-bedroom suites. There were rooms pre-equipped with cribs and Murphy beds, hide-a-beds in the sofas, everything a family could need. The grounds were a child’s paradise. Even the restaurant Monica was walking into had families on the mind when it was laid out. The round tables left room for toddlers to move around without bumping into others. The lower ceilings helped muffle the noise of the room and instead of every television in the room hosting the local sports team, half of them were dedicated to kids’ television. Although the restaurant was part of the hotel, it had become an instant hit with the suburban community of Ontario.
For Monica, it was always a pleasure to eat with her family. Danny always had a smile when he was with them. Which might have less to do with the fact that mac and cheese was on the menu, and more to do with the fact that Jack had named the restaurant “Danny’s.”
Monica noticed Jessie waving at her from one of the booths across the restaurant and made her way to their table. Danny jumped up from his seat and ran to her with a hug. She missed her nephew and knew that one day those hugs and kisses would become gross and out of the question, so she made the most of them now and kissed his cheeks until he pushed her away, laughing. “Hey, cowboy.” She tilted the cowboy hat he wore down on his head a little farther. Ever since Gaylord had bought the hat for her nephew, he hadn’t taken it off. “How is your restaurant running?”
“It’s not really mine, Auntie Monica. It’s just named after me.”
She didn’t want to correct him. He’d own that restaurant and more when he grew up.
“Hey,” she said as she approached the table.
“Someone looks happier today,” Katie said.
“That’s because I get to see the kids.” She leaned down and dribbled kisses over Savannah’s cheeks. “Look who grew a foot.”
Savannah was nearing her second birthday and stringing enough words together to actually understand her.
Monica settled next to Jessie made a fuss out of looking at the pictures Savannah and Danny were creating. Savannah was great training for Danny. Monica had commissioned a custom T-shirt with Brother in Training written over the front. He’d loved it.
When the table grew quiet, Monica looked up to find Katie and Jessie staring at her.
“What?”
“What’s up with you? Yesterday I wasn’t sure you had teeth for the lack of smiles. Today you’re… you’re…” Jessie squinted her eyes as if searching for the answers would be easier by wrinkling the skin on her face.
“I’m what?”
“Happy,” Katie managed.
“Auntie happy,” Savannah giggled at Katie’s side.
“Almost glowing,” Jessie said.
“There are only two reasons a woman glows and I don’t think you’re pregnant,” Jessie told her.
“I’m not preggers.”
Jessie glanced at her son and asked, “Any special hugs you wanna talk about?”
Monica thought of all the hugging, which was special, but not that special. “There was some hugging.”
Katie’s eyes grew wide. “Trent?”
She sighed. “He came to the apartment last night after you guys left.”
Both the other women squirmed and glanced at their kids. Monica knew they had a thousand questions and they’d all be asked in code. As to keep the delicate ears and even more transparent tongues of the kids from listening and wagging.
“He did?”
“How did he find out where you lived?” Jessie asked.
Monica glanced between the two women. “Someone told him that I used to hang out at Joe’s after work.”
Katie shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I haven’t seen him since I picked you up at the lawyers’.”
“No phone calls?” Monica asked.
“No.”
She glanced at Jessie. “Not a word with him since Florida.”
“Well someone has talked to Trent. There are plenty of afterwork options for a drink.”
Danny bumped Monica’s leg as he bent down to retrieve a crayon from the floor. “Trent’s nice,” he said.
The three of them focused on Danny.
“You met Trent?” Jessie asked her son.
“Yesterday. He and Daddy were at the hotel when Grandma dropped me off.”
Jessie closed her eyes and shook her head. “Busted.”
Monica had to laugh. Poor Jack didn’t stand a chance. “Go easy on him,” Monica suggested. “He didn’t give Trent my address, just a hangout. He hung out, ran into Walt, and finagled a ride to my place.” It was just this side of romantic how hard Trent had worked to get her address. The thought had her smiling again.
“So what happened?”
“I’ll give you details later, but let’s just say there was a really good reason he spooked and ran off. Once he realized I wasn’t engaged when we met, and hadn’t lied to him, he wanted a chance.”
“A chance?”
“To see me, to date.”
“And hug?” Katie asked.
Monica shook her head. “No, actually. We’re not going to hug.”
Jessie looked at her like she was crazy. “Not hug?”
“I always hug first and get to know the guy later. Which usually ends up with the it’s-not-you-it’s-me talk.” It had always been her and not them.
“Wow!”
The waitress gave their conversation pause as they ordered.
“So if there’s no hugging going on, why are you glowing?” Jessie had always been so observant.
“Can’t a girl be happy about a guy and glow?”
“I guess.”
Their drinks arrived, and Monica sweetened her iced tea while she talked. “It helps that I slept last night. I didn’t realize how much Trent taking off in Florida bugged me.” She sipped her tea. “When I dropped him off at Joe’s this morning, he told me he’d pick me up at six tonight for a date.” She laughed. “I never let guys tell me we’re going out.” The memory of his take charge tone had her thoughts drifting from her current company. When Monica glanced back up, the girls were staring at her again. “What?”
“He spent the night?”
“Uh-huh.”
“On the couch?” Jessie asked.
Monica rolled her eyes. “Aren’t there nights you and Jack sleep without hugging?”
“We’re married,” and as if the bump in Jessie’s belly wasn’t obvious enough she patted it and said, “and pregnant.”
Monica laughed. “You don’t have to be married or pregnant to sleep without hugging.”
The code talk was making Monica dizzy, and the confused expressions on Katie’s and Jessie’s faces were priceless. “The glowing might be from all the kissing without hugging.”
“And he agreed to this?” Katie asked.
“He suggested it.”
“Seriously?”
Monica laughed. “Crazy, huh?”
“Certifiable.”
“Maybe. But it’s kind of nice. I’m not sure how long it will last, but it’s fun.”
Katie disregarded Monica with a flick of her wrist. “You’re nuts.”
Katie looked at Jessie and held out her hand. “You owe me five bucks.”
When Monica asked why, neither woman said a word.
Their food came and the conversation shifted to Katie and Dean and their decision to move back to Texas. The thought would have saddened Monica if there wasn’t a real possibility of her moving away soon as well.
They ate lunch and then took the kids to the swimming pool and continued talking for hours. In what felt like no time, Monica had to break up girl time to get ready for her date.
As she left the hotel, Monica glanced in the rearview mirror and caught her reflection.
She glowed.