I nodded.
“When it comes to you, I’m not sure that offer would ever be off the table, Mel,” he said, and the tone of his words matched the earnest expression on his face.
Good God, that was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever said to me.
“How about tonight?”
Will smiled. “Tonight is… Shit. Tonight is bad.”
My smile fell. He reached out and grabbed my hand, a tingle shooting up my arm at first contact.
“No. I mean, I really wish I could. But I promised my sister I’d babysit my niece tonight through Sunday morning. She’s pregnant with their second and wants to take a little couple’s trip before the new baby comes.”
My smile came back at the thought of him and his niece.
Jesus. Why don’t you just swaddle my heart, God?
“Monday?” he offered, and I winced. I’d promised Janet I’d go shopping in New Jersey for a new set of weights on Monday night. She’d understand, but something inside me was too nervous to deal with switching plans with my mother.
“I can’t.”
“Tuesday,” we both said at the same time.
But it was his next words that would stay in my head for a good long while. “Tuesday is perfect.”
Tuesday is perfect, he’d said. And in that moment, I’d thought, Yeah, Tuesday is perfect. But as I stood in the guest bathroom applying a fresh coat of lipstick, a flock of nervous butterflies took up residence in my stomach. Tuesday may have been perfect in the sense that it was our first free day, but it was completely fucked in the sense that I’d had three and a half days to run every stupid dimension of this scenario through my mind.
Was this really a good idea? Dating Will?
It hadn’t been that long ago that I was living in Portland and in a long-term relationship with Eli. And Will wasn’t some random guy I’d met on a night out. He wasn’t just some random guy at all. He was my boss. Yesterday and today at work had given me plenty of goddamn time to reinforce that one. Sure, he was carefree and respectful and totally trusting of my skill and capability, but he was still the guy in charge of my checks.
Does that make me a hooker?
“What time is he picking you up, honey?” my mother shouted from the hallway. “Do you think he’ll want something to drink? Oh! Maybe I should make a quick batch of muffins!”
I sighed. “Will doesn’t want muffins, Mom.” Muffins. Fucking muffins. Will was a thirty-four-year-old man. Not a fifteen-year-old boy in the middle of a growth spurt.
“I’d love some muffins, Jan!” my father called out.
A part of me wondered if my biggest issue with going on a date with Will right now was that he’d have to pick me up at my parents’ house. Maybe that was really why I’d turned him down in the first place.
I wasn’t a fan of introducing potential lovers to Bill and Janet before I’d had the chance to actually go on a date with them…or see them naked. Meeting the parents was something reserved for date five, not before date one even got started.
The intercom buzzed, and my mother’s giddy voice filled my ears. “Oh! I think he’s here, Mel!” I could practically hear her skipping toward the front door from the bathroom. “Sit up, Bill, and look presentable.”
My father groaned. “Christ, Jan, he’s not the king of England.”
“Come on up!” my mother singsonged into the intercom, and then moments later, chastised my dad. “Stop being so cross, Bill.” Her voice went from angelic to possessed in an instant. “It’s like you’ve completely forgotten that he’s Dick and Savannah’s son. Sheesh.”
“Forgetting and caring are two different things,” my father muttered to himself.
“What was that, Bill?”
“I said, I can’t wait to meet Dick’s son.”
Oh boy, this was going to be interesting.
Instead of moping, I put on my big girl panties and finished applying an extra coat of mascara before grabbing my purse off the bathroom sink. I took one last look at my appearance in the mirror, taking in my long, wavy locks resting on my shoulders and my soft but classic makeup.
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t put a lot of effort into my appearance. Hell, it’d taken me a good thirty minutes to decide on my outfit—black thigh-high boots, black skirt, and a fitted, rose gold blouse. I’d put far too much thought into what was the perfect yet appropriate amount of cleavage. Going by the finished product, apparently, there was nothing wrong with a healthy amount of boob.
It’s not like he hasn’t seen them before.
“Ready or not, Mel, there’s no going back now,” I whispered to my reflection and took a deep breath before walking out into the hallway and toward the living room.
Will stood in the doorway, smiling down at my mother as she prattled on about something that was the opposite of important. The instant my heels hit the hardwood floor of the entry, his eyes met mine and a soft, handsome, erotic smile crested his lips. Good God, just his face held the power to make your panties disappear. Maybe he is Dr. Obscene.
“You look beautiful, Melody.”
So do you, I thought, my nipples perking up noticeably.
He did. Will Cummings cleaned up nicely outside of the office. Like, real nice. Put him in a dish, and I’d eat him with a spoon kind of nice. Between his gorgeous blue eyes, his sexy hair, and the button-up lilac shirt that fit in all the right places, I didn’t know which I liked best.
“You’re not looking too bad, either,” I teased with a wink, and Will grinned. “I see you’ve already met my wonderful mother, Janet.”
“I did.” His grin grew wider. “For a second there, I thought she was your sister.”
“Oh, Will!” Janet giggled and gently tapped his shoulder. “I don’t like fishing. Thank you so much for inviting me. Maybe we can do something else.”
Fishing? He asked my mother to go fishing? Confused, I looked at Will and noted the puzzled expression on his face. Yeah, he didn’t ask her to go fishing. It was just Janet’s hearing issues acting up again.
Will’s eyes shot to me in question, and I tapped my ear as discreetly as possible. The last thing I needed was my mom catching me in the act.
Two minutes into their meet-and-greet and she was already in love. If I didn’t move quickly, she might try to go on the date without me. “All right, let’s get a move on it,” I insisted, raising my voice to avoid further confusion, and moved toward Will’s side. I half hoped we’d be able to slide out the front door without my father leaving his perch on the couch.
“But wait,” my mother urged and glanced back toward the living room. “Bill!” she whisper-yelled through gritted teeth. “Get off the couch and meet Melody’s date.”
My father groaned and moaned and finally gave in to her demands, getting up off the couch and shuffling toward the three of us.