Way to Her Heart

chapter 5

After locking the door behind Lucas, Sherri tidied up the living room. It should have taken just a few minutes, but she had too much on her mind. She had to draw on all of the analytical abilities she’d developed in years of college and med school for her to sort through what had just happened. As she took the tray into the kitchen, she tried to make sense of everything. She poured out the iced coffees and washed the glasses, then put the uneaten brownies into a ziplock bag. She opened the refrigerator to put them away after she removed one and took a big bite. Chocolate always helped her think more clearly.

On the one hand, it was no big deal, right? All she’d done was act like a normal, fully functioning woman for a change. She’d gone out with a handsome, very sexy guy and had a good time. He’d brought her home and they’d kissed a few times. No big whoop; this was just what her friends had been telling her to do for years and she’d finally done it. So what? She wiped off the counters in the kitchen, put away the wooden tray and glanced around to make sure that nothing was out of place. Taking a deep breath, she turned the lights off and went into the living room.

Everything was tidy, as usual, but that didn’t stop her from fluffing every pillow on the sofa and two chairs, straightening every magazine and picking off every dead leaf on the many plants that adorned the room. She’d always been an organized person and now, with her active little girl and her busy career, it was paramount that she stayed on top of the mundane chores that kept the condo neat and homey. She paused by the ficus tree with its glossy leaves and smiled. It was such a nice addition to the greenery she and Sydney adored and it would always remind her of Lucas. And that was the other hand, the thing that made her current situation rather uncomfortable.

She plopped down on an ottoman near the stairs and looked at the pretty plant with a frown on her face. Of course it was normal for a healthy woman to enjoy a flirty night of dancing and kissing with a big hunk of man, but the whole thing had much more meaning for Sherri. Lucas was the first man she’d kissed since the night she and Trevor conceived Sydney. More to the point, he was the only man she’d wanted to kiss. Many men had pursued her over the years and she was always able to send them on their merry way without a second thought. Her priorities were firmly in place, as were her totally justifiable fears of abandonment.

She knew for a fact that men could be craven cowards who ran out on a woman rather than owning up to their responsibilities. After Trevor’s betrayal and subsequent disappearance, she’d made herself a promise that she’d never, ever allow herself to get so caught up in a man that she put all her trust in him. They just weren’t worth her trust—that’s what she’d decided. And after Sydney’s birth she’d renewed that vow with a codicil. She would never let any man get close enough to her or her precious baby. No man would ever have the chance to break her daughter’s heart the way hers had been shattered by Trevor. Giving up a love life had been a very small sacrifice to make for Sydney’s sake. Not once had she regretted choosing her little girl’s happiness over sex. Not until the first time Lucas touched her hand.

She groaned loud and long, dropping her head into her hands. After a moment she had to laugh at herself. Pushing the ottoman back into its normal spot, she went to do her usual house check, turning off the music and then making sure that all the doors and windows were locked and that the alarm was set. Filling a thermal glass with ice and water, she went upstairs to bed. She undressed slowly and thoughtfully before getting into the shower. There was nothing like a hot shower to send her to sleep. Tonight, though, the shower did nothing but remind her of what Lucas’s touch did to her. When the spray of hot water hit her skin it was like being stroked with his strong fingers over and over. All over. She directed the handheld shower over her body, lingering in all the places she wanted him to touch and to taste. With her eyes closed and the sweet scent of her body gel wafting up to her sensitive nose, all she could think about was what they’d be doing right now if not for the condom shortage.

She ended the shower with a punishing cold blast of water as though it could put an end to her wayward thoughts, but her ploy didn’t succeed. Wrapped in a big pink towel, she sat on the edge of her bed and started applying the coconut oil she liked to use. The oil melted into her skin and gave it a delicious scent, which only increased her sexual angst. Who knew that all of her desires would come galloping back after one kiss? That wasn’t strictly true, though; the second their hands connected something had happened to her deep inside. It only got more intense every time their skin made contact, and tonight was the most explosive reaction she’d ever registered. Even Trevor, who considered himself to be an accomplished lover, hadn’t had the same effect on her libido.

Once she was moist from head to toe and smelling fantastic, she slid under the covers without a stitch on. Sleeping nude was one of her favorite things, although she didn’t do it when Sydney was home. Normally she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, but tonight all she could think about was Lucas and what it would be like to have him next to her in the bed. A litany of “if onlys” went around and around in her head and she couldn’t seem to cut them off. If only she wasn’t convinced that sex couldn’t be a part of her life. If only Lucas wasn’t so damned sexy. If only he was a dimwit and a bore instead of such a charming man; she wouldn’t be tossing and turning right now if he was a loser. She sat up straight and drank deeply from the glass of water before taking one of the cubes out and rubbing it down her throat and between her breasts. Like it or not, Lucas VanBuren’s kiss had awakened something deep inside her psyche, something she hadn’t realized was even there. She put her head back on the pillow, sure that she wasn’t going to sleep that night.

* * *

Luckily she did manage to fall asleep, but her dreams were not only erotic, they were highly specific and centered on Lucas. She didn’t have time to dwell on the X-rated cinema of her mind, though; today was a busy day. Sydney was ready and waiting to be picked up after her sleepover and she was her usual cheery, chatty self. After thanking her friend Lisa’s mom for having her over, saying goodbye to Lisa and kissing her mother hello, Sydney was buckled into her seat in the car.

“Mommy, did you bring my swimsuit and things for swim class?”

“Of course I did, sweetie. Your bag is in the trunk and everything is in it.”

Satisfied with her answer, Sydney plunged ahead to more important matters. “Did you have fun last night?”

Startled, Sherri’s cheeks flamed as she was trying to formulate an answer, but Sydney kept talking.

“I mean did you have fun on your date with Uncle Lucas, Mommy. Where did you go? What did you do?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t call it a date, Sydney. Lucas and I went to Sweet Tea and had barbecue and then we went to a club to listen to music and dance. Then he brought me home.”

“That sounds like a date to me, Mommy. Did he come and pick you up?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Did he bring you a present?”

“Well, he brought me a really pretty plant, but that’s not exactly a gift, I don’t think.”

“He took you out to eat and he took you out to dance and he paid for everything, right?”

Sherri’s eyes were brimming with laughter as she answered. Sydney might make a very good attorney one day if she kept up her interrogation skills. “Yes, he did. But that doesn’t mean it’s a date-date. It just means it was a friend-date.”

“No, Mommy, you’re wrong. That’s a real date, trust me.”

“What do you know about real dates, little one? Where are you getting your information?”

“Everybody knows that stuff, Mommy.”

They had reached the athletic center where Alexis taught weekly swim classes, so further conversation was forestalled as they went in and joined the class. Sydney had so much fun that it wasn’t until later, when she was getting her hair done at Sanctuary Two, that she brought up the subject again. This time she addressed Alexis in an innocent voice.

“Auntie Alexis, what’s a date?” she asked sweetly.

Alexis was separating Sydney’s abundant hair into four equal parts so that she could blow-dry each section. “A date is when two people who like each other spend time together.”

“Did you and Uncle Jared go on dates before you got married?”

“Sure we did, cutie. We went on lots of dates.”

“Did he pick you up and bring you a present and take you somewhere and pay for everything?”

Alexis smiled at her warmly and agreed that, yes, he had. Sydney gave her mother a triumphant grin and said, “See? I told you, Mommy. That was a real date you had with Uncle Lucas. I told you so.”

Sherri was glad that they were in the private area Alexis used for her clients. If they’d been in the main styling area the whole salon would have heard her business being announced.

Alexis could tell by the look on Sherri’s face that there was more to the story. Giving her friend the look that meant that a long session of girl talk was on the agenda for later that day, Alexis grinned and said, “You’re absolutely right, cupcake. It was a real date and I’ll bet they both had a great time. And Mommy’s going to tell me everything as soon as I get done with your hair.”

Sherri suddenly got really interested in her magazine and pretended that she didn’t hear the two of them chattering away. But behind the cover of the latest issue of InStyle, she hid a secret smile.