Long Time Coming

Tessa rolled her eyes upward. “My home is in Brooklyn, not Mount Vernon.” Why couldn’t Lucinda Whitfield accept that she was no longer a child but a thirty-one-year-old woman running a very successful business? “I don’t want to cut you short, but I have a client I have to talk to.”

“You’re conducting business during a blackout?”

“Yes. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“You promise, sweetheart?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“Love you, Theresa.”

“I love you, too, Mama.”

She hung up before her mother could lapse into a diatribe as to why she shouldn’t have set up Signature Bridals in Brooklyn. After all, her sister Simone ran a successful floral business out of her home in White Plains. All of her life she’d fought for her independence. Her parents—her father in particular—believed a woman couldn’t survive without the protection of a husband.

Although Tessa refused to conform to their outdated views, her older sister had. Simone had married her high school sweetheart, yet the union didn’t survive their fifth wedding anniversary. Tessa smiled. What she found incredible was that Simone and her mother had perfected the role of vapid female to an art form.

Micah thought because she owned and operated her own business she had to be a liberated woman. She was liberated—not in the literal sense of the word; however, what she’d done was fight a long and at times arduous battle to determine her own destiny. And during her personal struggles she’d had to make sacrifices in order to make Signature Bridals a success.

She had sacrificed love and marriage.

Tessa turned to find Micah staring at her as if he had never seen her before. “Do you need something?”

Micah blinked as if coming out of a trance.

I love you.

Whenever he heard a woman say the three words, he usually turned and headed in the opposite direction. He was able to accept a woman’s passion and companionship until she opened her mouth to profess her love for him. It was thirty-six years and he still hadn’t accepted his biological mother’s abandonment.

Evelyn Howard had hugged and kissed him as they’d sat waiting to be seen in a large, noisy hospital clinic; she’d told him that she loved him and that he was not to move while she went to the restroom. He’d sat in the same spot for more than four hours waiting for her return. It wasn’t until a nurse noticed he’d been alone that he’d realized his mother wasn’t coming back.

He became a ward of the state of New Jersey for three years, until at age seven he was adopted by Edgar and Rosalind Sanborn. His new mother learned quickly that although he would permit her to hug and kiss him, she couldn’t tell her adopted son that she loved him.

Micah successfully camouflaged his inner turmoil with a smile. “I need a corkscrew.”

Tessa searched a drawer and gave him the corkscrew, checked the potatoes and then turned on the stove-top grill to heat up. At that moment she wished she had a battery-powered radio on hand to break the stilted silence. She did have a small portable TV/radio, but it was in the space on the top floor that was her sewing room. She wanted something—anything—to distract her from Micah’s presence.

Micah Sanborn was the first man in a long time whose presence reminded her that she was a woman, one who’d denied her femininity for far too long. She would share her dinner with him, address some of his sister’s concerns about her wedding and then escort him out the door.

Picking up a candleholder, she cupped her hand around the flicking flame. “I’m going upstairs to get the flashlight.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Tessa forced a smile. “No, thank you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Are you sure you don’t need an escort?”

Her smile widened. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said as she took small, measured steps and she left the kitchen.

Micah sat opposite Tessa, thoroughly enjoying his meal and his dining partner. The grilled steaks were the perfect complement to the oven-baked seasoned potato wedges and accompanying salad. As soon as he drained his second glass of Merlot he felt more relaxed than he had in a very long time.

“Thank you for dinner. You’re a very good cook.”

She inclined her head in acknowledgment. “Thank you.”

Her cooking skills were adequate; but it was her first cousin Faith Whitfield who, as a professional chef, had become a renowned cake designer. Tessa, Faith and her floral-designer sister Simone completed the threesome that made up Signature Bridals.

The sheet of paper with his scribbled notes lay next to Micah’s plate. He moved a candle closer, glancing at the first notation. “Bridget and Seth want an interfaith service. My sister is Catholic and her fiancé is Jewish.” He ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. “Will that pose a problem for you?”

Tessa shook her head. “No.” And it wouldn’t because she’d coordinated countless interfaith marriages. “Have they selected a priest and a rabbi?”

“Seth’s cousin is a rabbi, and Bridget has requested her local parish priest be present, along with a coworker who is also an ordained minister.”

Tessa laughed. “It looks as if they’ve covered all of the bases.”

He glanced at the paper again. “She’d like you to take care of everything with the exception of food. Mom has a friend who’s a caterer.”

“What about a cake?”

Micah studied his notes, attempting to decipher what he’d written. Tessa was right. His handwriting did look like hieroglyphs. “She didn’t say anything about a cake.”

“We’ll take care of the cake,” Tessa told him. “How many attendants do they plan to have?”

“They’ve planned on a maid of honor and a best man.”

She mentally filed away this information. “How about a ring bearer or flower girl?”

Micah shook his head. “No.”

“Do they plan on having music?”

He smiled. “What would New Year’s Eve be without music?”

Lowering her gaze, Tessa smiled. “You’re right about that. How many guests do they expect to invite?”

“The last count was eighty.”

“I’ll plan for one hundred just in case they want to add a few more names,” she said in a quiet voice. “Signature Bridals will assume responsibility for mailing the invitations and securing the services of a photographer, a florist and a reputable band. Does she have a dress?”

Micah shook his head again. “I don’t believe she has because I recall her telling Mom that she had to go look for a dress.”

“I have dresses.”

“You have dresses here?” he asked.

Tessa smiled. “Yes. I have at least twenty dresses on hand at any given time. However, it is imperative that I meet with Bridget as soon as she’s off jury duty to set up a realistic wedding budget and timeline.”

Tracing the rim of his wineglass with his finger, Micah fixed his gaze on the delicate glass. “Money’s not an issue. My parents are prepared to pay for whatever Bridget wants.”

Tessa wondered if Bridget Sanborn’s impulsiveness came from her being spoiled and/or pampered. “Time is more important than the money. Your sister has less than twelve weeks in which to plan a formal wedding. Do you have any idea when she’ll be available?”

Lifting a broad shoulder under his white shirt, Micah said, “The judge has just sequestered the jury, so hopefully they’ll reach a quick decision.”

Propping her elbow on the table, Tessa rested her chin on the heel of her hand and stared directly at Micah. She had to admit that the diffuse light flattered the sharp angles in the face of the man sitting opposite her. He was well-spoken and urbane—two traits she’d found missing in some of the men she’d come in contact with. Either they were one or the other.

“There’s not much I can do until I meet with her. There are too many questions and details to go over that only she’ll know. But there is something I could check out now.”

“What’s that?”

“I need to see the wedding site.”

“How soon do you need to see it?”

“Like yesterday.” There was a hint of laughter in Tessa’s voice.

A small smile played at the corners of Micah’s firm mouth. “That can be arranged.” He stood up and reached for the jacket he’d left on the stool. Retrieving his cell phone, he scrolled through the directory. Within seconds he heard Rosalind Sanborn’s dulcet greeting.

“Mom, I’m here with the wedding consultant.” It took less than three minutes for Micah to give his mother an update on what Tessa needed for Bridget’s wedding, Rosalind promising to help when and wherever she could. There was no mistaking the excitement in her voice.

Covering the mouthpiece with his thumb, he met Tessa’s questioning look across the table. “Are you available to come to New Jersey with me on Sunday?” She nodded. He removed his thumb. “Yes. We’ll see you Sunday.” Ending the call, he placed the tiny phone in his shirt pocket.

Tessa expelled an inaudible sigh. She’d just scaled one hurdle in the Sanborn-Cohen nuptials. She didn’t have to scramble to look for a place in which to hold the reception for eighty.

“What time is your mother expecting us?”

“My mother is always up early, so maybe we’ll get there in time to share brunch with her and my father. And if Bridget is finished with jury duty, she’ll also be there.”

Tessa spent the next hour outlining minute details of a formal wedding, from invitations, prewedding parties, hair and makeup to ceremony, reception flowers, photographs of the ceremony, reception and music. Some of the candles on the table were sputtering when she finished.

She pushed to her feet and Micah stood up with her. “I need to clean up the kitchen.”

Micah caught her wrist as she picked up a plate. “Sit. I’ll clean up.”

“No.”

He tightened his hold, registering the fragile bones under his loose grip. “You cooked, so I’ll clean.”

She shook her head. “No, Micah.”

Not releasing her hand, he rounded the table. “Yes.” He hadn’t raised his voice, but the single word was pregnant with authority.

“Must I remind you that you’re in my home?”

Attractive lines fanned out around his eyes when he smiled. He let go of her hand. “There’s no way I’d ever mistake your place for mine. I live in a studio apartment above a garage that’s about the size of your kitchen and pantry. The bathroom is no larger than a closet. It’s a good thing I’m not claustrophobic, because there’s only enough room for a convertible sofa, a table and a chair.”

Tessa’s naturally arching eyebrows lifted as she smiled. “A single chair?”

Micah returned her smile, nodding.

“Have you always lived in Staten Island?”

“No.” Taking the plates from her, Micah walked over to the sink. “I moved there four months ago.”

Tessa gathered up the glasses and silver. “Where did you live before?” She wasn’t chatty by nature, but talking was preferable to complete silence.

“Da Bronx. “

She laughed softly. She’d grown up hearing Bronxites refer to their borough as da rather than the. “I assume you’re a Yankees fan?”

Shifting, Micah stared at Tessa in the muted light. The flickering flames turned her into a statue of gold. “I didn’t grow up a Yankees fan, but after living in the Bronx for almost half my life it was safer to root for them than the Mets.”

Tessa joined Micah at the sink, filling it with water and adding a dollop of dishwashing liquid. She rinsed the dishes and glasses, passing them to him as he stacked them in the dishwasher.

“Did you grow up in the city?” Tessa asked, continuing with her questioning.

His eyebrows lifted when he realized she’d called New York City the city. “No. I grew up in New Jersey.”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “How did a Jersey boy find his way across the river to the Bronx?”

His hands halted placing serving pieces in the dishwasher. “My, aren’t you inquisitive.”

“You can say that I’m just a little curious about a man willing to do dishes.” She was very curious about Micah Sanborn because he was the first man who’d offered to help her in the kitchen.

“Good home training.”

She smiled. “Good for you, and kudos to your mother.”

“You can tell her when you meet her Sunday. To answer your question as to how I came to live in the big city, I lived with an aunt in Manhattan while I went to college. After graduating, I rented an apartment in the Bronx. Eventually I bought a two-bedroom condo not far from the Throgs Neck Bridge. Earlier this year I moved from the Bronx to Staten Island. Where did you grow up?” he asked, deftly shifting the focus from himself to Tessa.

“Mount Vernon.”

“What brought you to the city?”

“It’s the same as you. I came to go to college.”

“What college did you go to?”

Before Tessa could answer the question, the power returned; the lights flickered off and on for several seconds, then went out again. She let out an audible sigh. “It looks as if this is going to be a long night.”

Several of the tea lights sputtered, fizzled and went out. Micah replaced the burned-out candles from a supply in a large plastic bag. “I’d better light a few more candles or we’re going to be in the dark again.”

The doorbell rang, startling Tessa and Micah. They stared at each other as a slight frown appeared between her eyes. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Reaching for the flashlight, she flicked it on.

“I better see who that is.” She turned to make her way out of the kitchen, Micah following. Without warning, she stopped. He plowed into her and she dropped the flashlight. “What are you doing?” The query came out in a hissing sound.

Micah picked up the flashlight. “I’m coming with you.”

“There’s no need for you to follow me.”

Ignoring her reprimand, he held her hand in a firm grip. “There’s no way I’m going to let you answer the door when you don’t know who’s standing on the other side.”

“You’re a bossy somebody, aren’t you?” she said accusingly.

“Hell, yeah.” There was laughter in his confirmation.

She struggled to free herself, but she was no match for his superior strength. What little she’d been able to glimpse of Micah Sanborn before the power went out was a tall, slender man whose tailored clothes artfully concealed a lean, muscular physique. When he’d held her during his call to One Police Plaza, she hadn’t been that traumatized that she hadn’t taken note of the comforting crush of his solid body.

“I’d answer the door by myself if you weren’t here with me,” she countered angrily.

Training the beam of light from the flashlight on the floor, Micah steered her down the hallway to the front door. “Thank goodness that I am here. There are some folks who’ll use a blackout as an excuse to act the fool.”

Tessa rolled her eyes at him even though he couldn’t see her. “This happens to be a safe neighborhood.”

“No neighborhood is that safe. There is crime in Brooklyn Heights.”

“I suppose you would know the statistics.” A tapping on the door and a man’s voice calling Tessa’s name cut off Micah’s reply. “It sounds like one of my neighbors. May I open the door?” she asked facetiously.

He stepped back and handed her the flashlight. She unlocked and opened the door. Intermittent flashes of light sliced through the pitch-black streets. He could make out the shapes of people out with flashlights or candles, standing around in small groups. A slow-moving car with high beams came down the street, the slip-slap of tires on the roadway breaking the eerie silence.

Tessa smiled at the man standing on the top step, his luminous blue eyes illuminated in the glow of a lantern. “What’s up, Jacks?”

Micah peered through the opening in the door. He wanted to tell Tessa that he knew her neighbor.

“Some of the folks have gotten together to throw a block party.”

Tessa gave him an incredulous look. “How are we going to party in a blackout?”

“I bought a generator after the last blackout. Come on over and get your eat and drink on.”

It wasn’t often that Tessa socialized with the residents of her close-knit neighborhood because of her hectic schedule, but she decided getting together with the people who lived on her block was preferable to sitting in the dark waiting for the power to come back on.

“I’ll be over as soon as I lock up here.”

“Do you want me to wait to walk you over?”

Micah stepped from the shadows for the first time. “That’s all right, Jacks, I’ll see that she gets there safely.”

Jackson’s smile faded as his gaze narrowed. “Sandy?” Those familiar with Micah Sanborn had shortened his name to Sandy.

“Long time no see, Jacks,” Micah said to the man who’d entered the police academy with him and later graduated with him. Time appeared to have stood still for Jackson Cleary.

Jackson reached for Micah and grabbed him up in a bear hug. “Where the hell have you been? Since you left the department it’s like you dropped off the face of the earth.”

Tessa watched in astonishment as the two men greeted each other like long-lost buddies. She knew Jackson Cleary was a New York City police officer, and when she registered his comment about Micah leaving the department she assumed Micah also had been a police officer.

Micah thumped Jackson’s back. “I’m working with the Brooklyn D.A. Where are you now?”

“Internal Affairs.”

“So you decided to join the rat squad,” Micah said softly.

Frown lines appeared between Jackson’s eyes. “Look, why don’t we talk about this when we’re alone?” His frown vanished quickly. “I didn’t know you knew Tessa, but you’re welcome to come.”

Micah turned and stared at Tessa, who nodded in agreement. “We’ll be over in a few minutes.”

“Later,” Jackson called over his shoulder as he made his way down the stairs.

Tessa stared up at Micah, trying vainly to see his expression. “I need to put out the candles before we head over to Jacks’s place.”

“I’ll help you.” He held out his hand. “Please give me the flashlight.”

She handed him the flashlight at the same time his free hand went to the small of her back. She stiffened before relaxing against his splayed fingers, the heat warming her skin through her cotton dress.

Chapter 3

Tessa and Micah, his suit jacket draped over her shoulders to ward off the cool night air, joined the modest crowd that’d gathered in the backyard of the brownstone in the cul-de-sac. Floodlights lit up the area like daylight.

The smell of broiling meat was redolent in the crisp autumn night as Jackson manned a gas grill, flipping franks, hamburgers, sausage links and steaks. The waning full moon in a clear sky competed with the flickering flames from lighted candles in the many windows of the buildings lining both sides of the street. After the 2003 blackout most New Yorkers had learned to stockpile candles and battery-operated devices in the event it would happen again. And it had, but not to the proportions that had affected the entire city.

Tessa found it ironic that the brother of a client she had yet to meet was on a first-name basis with one of her neighbors. The adage about it being a small world was certainly true. What were the odds of her running into someone she hadn’t seen in years in a city that boasted a population of nearly eight million?

Grasping the proprietary arm Micah had draped around her waist, Tessa smiled up at him. “I’m going inside to see if Irena needs some help.”

More people had begun to crowd into the Clearys’ backyard; they hadn’t come empty-handed, many carrying trays of meat, fruits and vegetables.

Lowering his chin, Micah smiled at the alluring woman pressed to his side. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he teased.

She affected an attractive moue. “Why wouldn’t I? Especially with several members New York’s finest in attendance. Yours truly included in the mix.”

“Former NYPD,” he corrected softly.

“Are you still in law enforcement?”

Dipping his head, he pressed his mouth close to her ear. “Instead of arresting the bad guys, I now prosecute them.”

There was something in his voice and the way he stared at her that permitted Tessa to shed her professional persona and enjoy the moment and the man under whose sensual spell she’d fallen.

Her family always complained that she was too serious and that was why men tended to stay clear of her. What most had refused to understand was that her priority was growing her business, and that love and marriage—if it was in the cards for her—was always a possibility no matter her age.

“I have a parking ticket I need you to fix for me.”

Micah went completely still. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not,” she replied, her voice even and her expression deadpan.

“I can’t help you. And even if I could, I wouldn’t.”

A hint of a smile touched Tessa’s lips. Micah Sanborn had just gone up several more notches in her approval category. He was no doubt quite ethical.

“And I wouldn’t want you to.”

He lifted black expressive eyebrows. “Then why did you ask me to help you?” His gaze narrowed. “You were testing me,” Micah said intuitively as she placed a hand over her mouth to muffle the giggles. Tessa nodded. “And did I pass?”

Lowering her hand, she placed it on his shoulder, feeling the heat from his skin through his shirt. “Yes, you did.”

“What do I get as a prize?”

She angled her head. “I don’t know. I suppose I’ll come up with something appropriate.”

“If you can’t come up with anything, then may I make a suggestion?”

Sobering, Tessa kept her features deceptively composed. Seeing Micah in the light, albeit artificial, had changed her opinion of his looks. He was handsome and very sexy, the combination having a lethal effect on her senses. Before the loss of electricity she hadn’t been able to glimpse the attractive slashes in his lean cheeks, the stubborn set of a strong chin and the smooth texture of his close-cropped hair.

“What?” The single word came out in a breathless whisper.

“Let me return the favor of you cooking for me by taking you out to dinner.”

“I…I can’t,” she stuttered.

“Why can’t you? It’s only dinner.”

She flushed like a nervous schoolgirl and remained silent for several seconds, pondering how she was going to reject Micah’s offer when she knew she would continue to come into contact with him until his sister’s wedding.

“I don’t date.” The three words rushed out of their own volition.

“You don’t date?”

The heat in her face increased. “What I mean is that I don’t date or get involved with a client or anyone associated with that client. It’s not good for business.” Her gaze was drawn to his teeth when he smiled. “What’s so funny?”

Micah dipped his head. “You are,” he said in a quiet voice. “I’m not asking you out on a date or to get involved. I just want to repay you for your very gracious offer. You didn’t have to share your food with me.”

“What did you expect me to do? Show you the door?”

“You could’ve, but you didn’t.”

There was a spark of some indefinable emotion in the dark eyes staring at Tessa, and in a moment of madness everything she professed about maintaining a professional perspective toward her clients was forgotten.

“Okay. I’ll go out to dinner with you.”

Micah wondered why it sounded as if Tessa were doing him a favor when he’d felt as if it were the reverse. He did want to repay her for sharing her dinner, but what he couldn’t admit to her and didn’t want to admit to himself was that Tessa Whitfield fascinated him.

She was beautiful, intelligent, reserved and confident. At forty-one, he’d known his share of women, but there was something about the wedding planner that was different from any other woman he’d ever known.

He inclined his head. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? It will be at your convenience—of course.”

Tessa visually traced the outline of his mobile mouth and said, “Of course.”