28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
“Thanks for keeping Jacob this afternoon,” David told Valerie when she let him into her house.
“You’re welcome,” she said. Then, her eyebrows drawing together at his appearance, added, “You look … tired.”
It was a little past 6 p.m., and he wasn’t tired, he was exhausted. After Paige had finished her breakfast sandwich, the two of them had busted ass for three hours, getting the room ready. Then, instead of leaving like a sane person would have, he’d decided to stay for half of the reception.
He’d done it mainly because he was having a good time. Seeing Paige in her element was a bit of a turn on—as was her letting it slip that her changes of clothing at the office did not include undergarments, so he knew she was still wearing the Agent Provocateur lingerie under her sweet, conservative dress.
But he’d also stayed because he wanted to see the kids that reminded Paige of her and David, and when he did, he had to agree. Not only was it their young age, but it was also their obvious love for each other which David hoped would last a lifetime.
“Did we look that awkward?” Paige had asked him, as the newlyweds swayed through their first dance together as man and wife. “It’s adorable, but …”
“I’m sure we did,” he’d answered. “That’s how it’s supposed to look, though. I don’t trust those people who take dancing lessons beforehand.”
Paige had chuckled, then said, “Actually, now that I think about it, we might have looked more awkward, because he isn’t stepping on her dress.”
“Ouch.”
“Speaking of which … how many times did you step on mine?”
“Only two or three times, thank you. Maybe five. But in my defense, your skirt was too long.”
“That was the train, and they’re supposed to be long. Anyway, it would’ve been fine, if you hadn’t kept twirling me around like we were in a Fred Astaire movie.”
“Well, I had to do something, otherwise we would’ve looked like … that,” he’d told her, giving a quick head tilt to the bride and groom, who’d been basically just holding onto one another and barely moving at that point.
Paige had been on the verge of saying something, when one of her waitstaff came up and whispered in her ear.
“Oh, shit, no,” Paige had groaned. “I’ll be right there.”
“What’s wrong?” he’d asked.
“The cash bar somehow became an open bar, and—”
“Oh, I did that. I made it an open bar.”
“You did what?”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to pay for it.”
She’d stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Why would you do that?”
“It’s not a big deal. Hell, it’s only beer for the most part. And if the bride and groom are strapped financially, I imagine most of their guests, are too. So, I’m just helping out.”
She’d practically knocked him over with a hug, then left on the pretext of needing to check on the bar anyway, but not before he’d seen how much his kind generosity had meant to her.
All in all, it had been a good afternoon, but now, David was about ready to die; he didn’t know how Paige did it almost every weekend.
“I am tired,” he told his mom as they made their way into the kitchen, where Jacob was eating his dinner. After rubbing the top of his son’s head, David gratefully took a seat at the table and accepted a bowl of macaroni and cheese. Not wanting his mom to think he was worn out from twenty-four hours of sex with Paige, he explained why he’d needed to have Jacob watched all afternoon. “Something came up with a … friend. They needed help at work, so I decided to help them set up a room for a reception—”
“What’s that?” Jacob asked, a mouth full of macaroni.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” David automatically corrected him, before answering. “It’s like a party.”
“A birthday party?”
“Sort of.” David turned back to Valerie. “Anyway, that’s what we were doing. It’s a lot of work, but I didn’t want them doing it alone, so …”
“Your … friend … must have really appreciated your help.”
“They did. And honestly, I don’t know how they do this all the time. And in heels—”
“Heels?” Jacob asked.
“They’re shoes,” David answered. “And,” he said to Valerie, “when I left, they still had another party to get through.”
Jacob set his spoon in his bowl. “I’m done.”
“All right,” David told him. “Put your bowl on the counter by the sink and then go pack up your stuff. Then make sure your bathroom is clean—” he stopped at Jacob’s look of dismay, to add dryly, “I’m not asking you to mop the floor or scrub the toilet, just to round up your bath toys and put them away. You play, you put away, right?”
“Right.”
Looking like he’d been sentenced to hard labor in a Russian gulag, Jacob put his bowl on the counter and then left the kitchen.
“So, how was the rest of your ‘date’?” Valerie asked when they were alone.
David took a bite of his macaroni, mainly to buy a few seconds before tackling the loaded question. “It was good.”
Valerie’s smile practically lit up the room, which was bad enough, but her eyes also took on a suspicious sheen.
“Don’t,” he ordered sternly.
“What? I can’t be happy that your date was good?”
“No, you can’t.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I don’t want you getting your hopes up.”
“It’s too late for that.”
“Mom, please. We went over this just last night—Paige and I are casually dating, remember?”
“Of course I remember. I thought it sounded like bullshit then and my opinion hasn’t changed. If anything, it’s only getting reinforced every time you tell me how casual it is. So, why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”
David leaned back in his chair and sighed in frustration. He briefly thought about introducing his mom to Mrs. Harte—they’d probably get along like a house on fire. “I’ve told you what’s going on. There’s nothing more to say.”
Valerie didn’t respond to that and at first, David was grateful. However, when she continued to be unresponsive, he began to grow extremely uncomfortable, to the point that he finally had to glance over at her. As soon as he did, he knew he’d made a tactical mistake when he found her staring at him with an I’m just about done with your crap expression on her face. It was the look she’d always given him whenever he’d been working her last nerve; it was a look he was very familiar with.
“Fine.” He pushed his bowl away and rested his arms on the table, conceding defeat. “What’s really going on is that I have a plan, but it’s—”
“What kind of a plan?”
“To make a life with Paige.”
Valerie’s eyes grew even more damp and she quickly wiped at them. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
Hearing her say that wasn’t surprising, and yet … “You really don’t think that’s weird?”
“Not at all. In fact, I think it would be perfect,” she said, then changed the subject slightly. “You know, when you asked me about marrying Ashley, and I told you only to marry for love, part of my saying that was because you didn’t love Ashley. But part of that was because I’ve always hoped you and Paige would find your way back to one another. And now that it could really happen—”
“Could being the operative word, here, Mom, so slow down a little. Actually, slow down a lot. My plan is rather complicated and there are a bunch of moving parts … and while I have high hopes it’ll work, there’s no guarantee my plan actually will work,” he told her. “Paige and I might be technically dating, but I’m not joking when I say it’s casual, or that it might not go anywhere.”
“Why do you think it might not go anywhere? It seems like it already is going somewhere, since you two spent the night together.”
He did not want to be having this conversation with her. Rubbing at his face, he said, “I’m not going to say our spending the night together wasn’t a step in the right direction, because it was. But it’s like the first of a thousand steps in my plan, and anything can happen from this point on, including … nothing.”
“I don’t believe that. You’re meant to be with her.”
“I agree, which is why I’m going to do everything I can to, uh … reel her in. But that doesn’t mean I’ll succeed.”
“Well, I have faith you will, because I’m sure you know how to … reel.”
David inwardly groaned, knowing an innuendo when he heard one, and gave Valerie a blank look. “Mom.”
She gave him an innocent smile in return. “And if there’s anything I can do—like watching Jacob—let me know. I’m more than willing to have him stay with me anytime, so that you can have some quality … reeling … time with Paige.”
Getting to his feet, he ignored her amusement and picked up his empty bowl and took it to the sink to rinse it out. Down the hall, he could hear Jacob in the bathroom, sounding like he was engaged in demolition work, instead of gathering rubber bath toys and putting them in a plastic bucket. When David turned back, it was to find Valerie now looking serious.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked, her voice low.
“Sure.”
“How is she?”
He could tell from her expression, that the answer mattered a great deal. “She’s fantastic. She’s still everything you loved about her but now she’s complete. Healthy. And kind of a badass.”
Valerie sniffed and looked away to wipe her eyes again. “That’s good. That’s great, actually.”
“It is,” he agreed.
“I really do miss her, you know.”
“I know. And she misses you, too.”
“She does?”
“Yes. She told me so.”
“I wish I could reach out to her,” Valerie said in a wistful voice. “Do you think maybe—”
“Hell no. Don’t even think about it,” David quickly cut her off. Paige was already anxious that Valerie knew they were ‘dating’ so if she were to reach out now, it would make Paige suspicious, as well. “Not yet, anyway.” At Valerie’s disappointed expression, he added, “Hopefully, one day down the road you’ll be able to, but right now it’s too soon. For one, I’m afraid it would put an end to my ‘reeling’, and two, I don’t think I could trust you not to leak my plan to her.”
Valerie was now looking rather affronted. “I wouldn’t do that. I’m a vault.”
“You’re a what? Oh, Mom. No. You’re not a vault.”
“What do you mean, I’m not a vault?”
“I mean, you’re not. Remember when you told Paige I was so nervous playing a carrot in my first grade play, that I threw up on stage in front of everyone?”
Valerie pressed her lips together, either trying to stifle laughter, or a smile, or both. “When did this alleged incident take place?”
“Alleged?”
“Yes, alleged. I don’t recall telling her that.”
“Uh, the weekend I brought Paige home, right after we got engaged. Does that jog your memory?”
“Nope. Sorry.”
“What about the time you told her all about my braces and acne phase? Hmm?”
“I don’t recall that, either.”
David shook his head at his mom’s obvious lies. “Whatever. Anyway, you can’t reach out to her yet. If she and I get to the point where we’re more than casual, then you can, and if she and I never get to that point—”
“David.”
“—then you can still reach out to her. But you have to wait until she and I land on one side or the other.”