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He rang the bell and waited. Less than ten seconds later the door opened. He was face-to-face with his date for the evening.
He gave her a quick once-over, returned his attention to her face and offered her a smile. ‘‘Good evening, Beth. I’m Todd Graham.’’
She was much as he’d expected. Maybe a little younger looking, but not by much. Her dress was navy and cream. It hinted at a full figure, not fat, but more curvy than he was used to or liked. The red hair was interesting, although he preferred blondes. She had great eyes, a nice deep blue. She looked like what she was—an attractive suburban middle-aged woman. It was, he reminded himself, only one date.
‘‘Nice to meet you.’’ Her voice was low and a little tense. ‘‘I, um—’’ She hesitated. ‘‘Would you in?’’
He absolutely didn’t want to, but he was determined to be polite. ‘‘Sure. Just for a minute. We have reservations in town.’’
‘‘How nice.’’ She stepped back and motioned him inside.
He moved into a small foyer. He had a brief impression of uninteresting furniture, smallish spaces, not much in the way of decorating. Again, about what he’d expected. ‘‘These are for you,’’ he said, and handed her the florist’s box.
She opened it and stared at the long-stemmed red roses. ‘‘How lovely. Thank you.’’ Her smile was as tight as it was insincere. ‘‘I’ll just go put them in water.’’
Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she headed for what he assumed was the kitchen. He glanced around again, taking in a bag with in-line skates by a hall closet door. Beth didn’t strike him as the in-line skating type. Then he stiffened. The woman had children. Of course. Most women her age did.
He wasn’t sure what to think. Children. He hadn’t been around them since he’d been one himself. Some of his friends joked that his string of female friends were young enough to be classified as children, but he knew their comments all sprang from jealousy.
Beth returned. ‘‘I’ve put them in water. Thank you again. They’re lovely.’’ She picked up a small handbag from a table by the door. ‘‘Shall we go?’’
‘‘Certainly.’’
He waited while she locked the front door, then escorted her to the car. R.J. held the rear door open for them. Beth slid onto the seat, and kept moving until she was practically pressed into the far corner.
Todd settled into the soft leather, then motioned to the champagne chilling in an ice bucket. ‘‘May I offer you a glass?’’
Beth shook her head. ‘‘I’m sure it’s nicer than anything I’ve ever had but…’’ The car started moving. She clutched at the door handle to her left. ‘‘I just don’t think I should.’’
Todd frowned. Was she afraid he was trying to get her drunk? ‘‘Beth, you are perfectly safe in my company.’’
Her blue eyes widened. She gave a little laugh that turned into a strangled moan. ‘‘Like I don’t know that,’’ she said.
‘‘Then I don’t understand.’’
She angled toward him, although he noticed she was careful to keep herself anchored in the corner. ‘‘I mean this in the nicest possible way, Mr. Graham, but I really don’t want to be out with you tonight.’’
He was so stunned he could barely speak. ‘‘You don’t want to be on our date?’’ He couldn’t believe it. While it was fine for him not to want to be there, he couldn’t believe that she wasn’t thrilled.
‘‘I think I would rather have a root canal…without the painkiller.’’
That was telling him, he thought, and longed for the respectful, often shy, young women he dated. ‘‘Then why did you bid for me at the auction?’’
‘‘I didn’t.’’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘‘Some very well-meaning friends bought this evening for me. They thought it was time for me to start getting out into the world, and this seemed like an easy way to make that happen.’’ She shook her head. ‘‘Easy for them. They aren’t the ones who are going to throw up in the car.’’
Throw up? He inched back slightly. ‘‘Would you like me to roll down the window?’’
‘‘No. I’m fine. I meant that more in an emotional way than physically, although it’s why I don’t want to risk the champagne.’’ She looked at him ‘‘To be honest, I haven’t been on a date in twenty years. I don’t remember what to talk about, or how I’m supposed to act. I don’t imagine I’m your idea of the perfect partner anyway, what with me being well over twenty-five.’’ The last comment was delivered with a slight smile. ‘‘From what I’ve read, younger would be your preference.’’
He didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. ‘‘So you know who I am.’’
‘‘It’s hard to live in Houston and not have heard about you, Mr. Graham.’’
‘‘Then we’ll agree that I’m the expert in this dating situation?’’
Her gaze narrowed. ‘‘Maybe.’’
She didn’t trust easily and she wasn’t a fool. Despite her obvious nerves and the fact that she was so ill at ease, she was saying awful things about him, Todd had to respect her honesty. ‘‘I’m going to give you some dating advice.
Use my first name. Mr. Graham makes me feel like I’m the high school principal.’’
She stared at him, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. A flush of color crept up her cheeks. ‘‘I have been calling you that, haven’t I?’’ She shook her head. ‘‘I don’t think I should do this. I wasn’t good at dating when I was young and I know I haven’t improved since then.’’
He liked her vulnerability. Maybe this evening wasn’t going to be so horrible after all. ‘‘It’s like riding a bike— everything will come back to you.’’
‘‘You say that like it’s a good thing. I’m not so sure. I distinctly remember being tongue-tied and incredibly nervous in high school. I don’t want to go back to that.’’
‘‘How about if I handle the difficult parts? I’ll introduce topics of conversation and keep things running smoothly. All you have to do is remember to breathe and respond where appropriate.’’
Some of the stiffness left her body. ‘‘Should I take notes?’’ she teased, as she flashed a smile that momentarily made her quite attractive.
‘‘I think you’re smart enough to remember the highlights.’’
‘‘Keep the instructions in single-syllable words and I’ll be fine.’’ She leaned forward a little. ‘‘Actually, I do have a few dating questions, if you wouldn’t mind answering them.’’
‘‘Not at all.’’
‘‘Do you like all the dating you do? Don’t you get tired of all those different women? And how on earth do you keep their names straight? I’ve always wondered about that. Do you use a common endearment? Are they all honey, or in this case because they’re so young, baby?’’
Todd’s first instinct was to be insulted. If one of his male friends had asked him the last question, he would have decked the guy in about two seconds. But Beth wasn’t one of his male friends, and as he gazed at her, he realized she wasn’t trying to be rude.
‘‘I’m only asking because your life is so different from mine or from anyone’s I know.’’ Her mouth turned up at the corners. ‘‘I was married, all my friends are married. The most romantic excitement at my house is when there’s a good love story on television.’’
‘‘Flash cards,’’ he said, pretending seriousness. ‘‘I have my secretary write out flash cards on each of the women I date, then I memorize the information. If I start to get confused, I just pull it out for a quick review. Of course it gets more difficult in the bedroom, what with me not having access to my pants pocket. In that case, I either tuck it between the mattress and the box spring, or under the pillow.’’
Beth stared at him for a long time, then she smiled again. The smile broadened and soon she was laughing. He joined in. His gaze drifted over her face. She was prettier than he’d first realized. Her blue eyes seemed to signal her emotions in the most charming way.
‘‘Flash cards,’’ she said. ‘‘What a great idea. Should I ever find myself in your situation, I’ll remember that. Although the odds of it being a problem are quite slim.’’
‘‘I think you’ll do fine. You’re all right now, aren’t you?’’
Her hands rested in her lap. He stared at her long, bare fingers and could easily imagine a slender gold wedding band on the ring finger of her left hand. Beth was one of those women born to be married.
‘‘If I’m not fighting nausea, it’s because of you,’’ she said.
‘‘A compliment to warm my heart.’’
She returned his smile. ‘‘I’m being serious.’’
‘‘I can tell.’’
‘‘No, really,’’ she insisted. ‘‘I never thought it would be like this.’’ She motioned to the limo interior, then to him. ‘‘I didn’t think everything would be so nice or that I would be able to talk to you.’’
‘‘What were you expecting?’’
‘‘I thought you would be kind of a snob, and that you would be angry that I wasn’t some young girl…you know, a bimbo.’’
Todd couldn’t remember the last time someone had insulted him so completely, all the while apparently unaware of what she was saying.
‘‘Oh, no,’’ Beth said quickly. ‘‘You have this tight look on your face. I said something horrible, didn’t I? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.’’
‘‘I’m not upset,’’ he told her.
‘‘Then what?’’
He looked at her. ‘‘You don’t have a very high opinion of me. So far you’ve implied that I date younger women, that I call them all baby because I can’t remember their names and that they must be bimbos.’’
Beth covered her face with her hands and made a sound low in her throat. ‘‘I should never be allowed out on my own,’’ she moaned. ‘‘Especially not in a situation like this.’’
She raised her head and stared at him. Remorse darkened her eyes. ‘‘I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be insulting. That’s not even what I was thinking. I guess it’s because I don’t think of you as a real person. I mean I’ve read about you in the newspaper and everything. You’re like a movie star or a celebrity—very much larger than life. I don’t think of you as being like everyone else.’’
He wasn’t sure how to take that. In a way, her opinion was flattering. He liked the fact that she saw him as larger than life, but he didn’t want her to be intimidated. But before he could figure out how to respond to her, the limo pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant.
Beth glanced out the window, and read the discrete lettering on the awning. ‘‘I’ve heard about this place,’’ she murmured. ‘‘It’s very expensive.’’
Todd leaned close. ‘‘I can afford it,’’ he whispered.
She looked at him. Their faces weren’t that far apart and he had the sudden urge to kiss her. Startled by the impulse, he pulled back.
A uniformed doorman reached for the rear handle and opened the door. Todd stepped out, then paused to assist Beth. He took her hand in his as she stepped out, then released her.
‘‘I’m sure you meant to reassure me when you told me you could afford a place like this,’’ she said as she walked next to him toward the double doors. ‘‘But it didn’t work.’’
‘‘So you think this would be easier if I was a truck driver or maybe a schoolteacher?’’
She tilted her head slightly as she thought. ‘‘Maybe. Although I can’t imagine dating ever being fun. But yes, I would like it if you weren’t so…’’
‘‘Successful? Rich? Incredibly good-looking?’’ he offered helpfully.
She came to a stop on the walkway and stared at him. ‘‘Not to mention modest.’’
But there was a smile tugging at her lips and she wasn’t as tense as she’d been before. Todd bent his arm, then drew her hand up to the crook of his elbow. ‘‘You’ll be fine,’’ he promised. ‘‘I won’t let anything bad happen to you.’’
‘‘You don’t know how much I want to believe you.’’
They headed toward the wide double door. A young woman held it open for them. Once inside, they were greeted by Lucien, the owner of the restaurant, who knew Todd on sight and quickly showed them to their table. Todd nodded at the several patrons with whom he was familiar. For a moment he didn’t know what to do. Should he introduce Beth? If she’d been someone he was dating, he would have paused to talk with his friends. But she wasn’t a real date. She was… He frowned as he realized he didn’t know what she was. A fulfillment of an obligation?
But as he took the seat across from her and stared into her wide and wary blue eyes, he realized she was much more than an obligation. Despite the fact that he’d dreaded the evening and had wanted to think up an excuse to cancel, now that he was with her, he found himself having fun.
‘‘Well, that confirmed everything,’’ she said, when the waiter had placed the napkin on her lap before retreating to give them a few minutes to discuss their drink order. ‘‘What do you mean?’’ Todd asked.
‘‘Just that if I hadn’t been completely sure I wasn’t your type, all those interested stares and raised eyebrows just confirmed the truth.’’
Annoyance threaded through him. Not at her—every-thing about this situation was designed to make her feel uncomfortable—but at his supposed friends who had looked down at her.
‘‘Now it’s my turn to apologize,’’ he said. ‘‘I should have picked a different kind of restaurant.’’
‘‘Fast food?’’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘‘I assure you, I know which fork to use.’’
‘‘Not at all. Just a place where we could get a quiet booth in the back and talk.’’ He motioned to their seats in the center of the room. His usual table put them on display. Normally he enjoyed that, but not tonight.
He found himself in the unusual position of actually liking Beth. He thought she was bright and funny. She had dreaded their date as much as he had, yet she was being a good sport about everything. He liked that he could hold a conversation with her, which he realized didn’t say much about the other women he dated. He didn’t really think of them as younger, although he was starting to realize that while he’d gotten older over the past fifteen or twenty years, the age of the women he’d dated hadn’t changed at all. Maybe he was going to have to do something about that.
‘‘What would you like to drink?’’ he asked Beth.
She’d opened her menu and was staring at the selection. She leaned toward him. ‘‘There aren’t any prices.’’
‘‘I didn’t ask you what anything cost, I asked if you would like a drink.’’
Her hair was short and layered, with wisps of bangs across her forehead. Perhaps as a child she’d had freckles— most redheads did—but hers had long since faded until her skin was pale and creamy.
‘‘But I’ve never ordered from a menu that didn’t have prices,’’ she persisted. ‘‘I have to know how much I’m spending.’’
‘‘Why?’’
She opened her mouth, but no sound emerged.
‘‘Are madame and monsieur ready to order a cocktail?’’ the tuxedo-clad waiter asked as he silently reappeared by their table.
‘‘Beth?’’
She stared at him. ‘‘I don’t know. Maybe a glass of wine?’’
‘‘I thought I’d order a bottle with dinner. Would you like something else before?’’
She shrugged helplessly. ‘‘I guess.’’ She lowered her voice. ‘‘I suppose a margarita would be tacky, but that’s the only cocktail I drink.’’
‘‘How about a Cosmopolitan,’’ Todd offered. ‘‘I think you’ll like it.’’
‘‘Fine.’’
He ordered that for Beth and a Tanqueray on the rocks for himself.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until the drinks were delivered. Beth stared at the reddish-pink liquid in the martini glass. ‘‘I was worried about not being sophisticated, but I guess my drink is sophisticated enough for the both of us.’’ She took a sip, then pressed her lips together. ‘‘Actually it’s very nice. Thank you for suggesting it.’’
‘‘You’re welcome.’’
The waiter hovered. ‘‘Would madame and monsieur like to hear about the specials?’’
What Todd wanted was a few minutes of conversation with Beth…alone. But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. ‘‘Sure,’’ he said.
The well-trained server spoke about the appetizer of the day, then the soup. Todd watched as Beth visibly blanched at the mention of bone marrow flan as an accompaniment with the boeuf du jour.
When the waiter had left them to discuss their choices, she swallowed hard. ‘‘Did he really say bone marrow flan?’’
‘‘It’s just a side dish with the roast beef.’’
‘‘Just a side dish. Great. Maybe I could get my entrée delivered on a plate that has never been contaminated by bone marrow anything.’’ She shuddered. ‘‘I was going to tease you by saying I just wanted a hamburger, but I wouldn’t trust this place with something like that. Who knows what they would put in it.’’
He grinned. ‘‘The salmon seems safe enough.’’
‘‘Right. It’s probably decorated with little fish teeth.’’
‘‘I don’t think fish have teeth.’’
‘‘Sharks do.’’
‘‘Then don’t order the shark.’’
Her gaze held his. Despite her complaints, he could see the humor lurking in her eyes. ‘‘I don’t get out much,’’ she said. ‘‘But you get out way too much.’’
‘‘Maybe.’’
‘‘There’s enough jewelry in this room to send my daughter’s entire grade to college for four years.’’
He glanced around the room. He hadn’t noticed before, but Beth was right. Many of the women wore large, glittering stones set in earrings, bracelets and necklaces. In contrast Beth was simply dressed. Her only jewelry was a pair of pearl earrings.
‘‘It’s okay to state the obvious,’’ she told him. ‘‘I don’t fit in here.’’
‘‘Of course you belong here,’’ he said automatically, and knew it was a lie. Even though he didn’t want her to be, he knew she was right. ‘‘I should have planned something different,’’ he said, then realized he hadn’t planned this at all. He’d asked his secretary to make reservations somewhere nice. He hadn’t cared enough to participate in the planning more than that. But now he was sorry. He wanted Beth to be having a better time.
‘‘We could start a food fight,’’ he offered. ‘‘That would change the atmosphere.’’
‘‘I don’t let my kids do that at home, so I’m not going to let you do that here.’’ She pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. ‘‘Excuse me, Todd. I’ll be right back.’’
He watched her cross the carpeted floor as she headed for the ladies’ room. If someone had told him just three hours ago that he would actually care about the outcome of his blind date with a middle-aged housewife, he would have laughed in his face. But now he found himself in the uncomfortable position of wanting to make Beth happy for the evening and not having a clue as to how to make that happen.
* * *
Beth told herself to keep breathing but the instruction wasn’t helping. She could feel herself panicking. She didn’t belong in this restaurant. ‘‘Or with that man,’’ she murmured, trying to ignore the fact that the lounge of the ladies’ room was not only better decorated than her house, it was also about the same size as her living room.
The walls were papered in an expensive print and the furniture looked custom-made. She didn’t want to think about how nice the actual bathroom area might be. It was all too depressing.
She faced the mirror and pretended to fix her makeup. Several women came and went as she wasted time and tried to gather the courage to face Todd Graham again. What on earth must he think of her? Not only was she completely unprepared to be anyone’s date, let alone that of a notorious bachelor like himself, but she’d put her foot in her mouth at least a half dozen times. She still couldn’t believe that she’d confessed she might throw up in the car, or the fuss she’d made about the menu not having prices, or her horror at the mention of bone marrow flan. Of course the latter explained why so many rich women were thin. If that’s all they had to eat, starvation was a far more pleasant state of being.
He probably thought she’d never been outside of the Sugar Land city limits, let alone out of the state. Her only saving grace was that she didn’t actually have hay in her hair.
They had nothing in common. She’d suspected they wouldn’t. But suspecting and knowing were two very different states of mind. She’d never felt so out of place in her life. These people were different. Even the waiter in timidated her. The worst part was Todd was being so nice. If he’d stayed true to character—a jerk only interested sleeping with young women—she might have survived the experience. But he was kind and funny and that made her want to make a good impression on him. Something that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
If only he weren’t so rich…or so good-looking. If only she hadn’t felt heat clear down to her ankles when he’d pulled her hand into the crook of his arm. The old-fashioned gallant gesture had made her feel special and important; then his nearness had nearly taken her breath away. For a moment she’d felt sixteen again, and about as polished.
She gazed at her reflection. Men like him weren’t interested in women like her. Plus, she was a widow. She didn’t have any right to be attracted to another man. It was wrong, not to mention indecent and incredibly disloyal. How would she survive drinks, let alone the meal? With her luck, she would choke on the entrée and end up dying right there on the plushly carpeted floor.
‘‘I can’t do this,’’ Beth murmured to herself.
She reached into her small evening bag and pulled out a tissue. Then she wrote quickly. She was rude and insensitive and fifteen different kinds of coward. She was also leaving.
* * *
Todd impatiently tapped his fingers against the table. Beth had been gone nearly fifteen minutes. Had something happened? Should he have the waiter send a female member of the staff into the rest room to check on Beth?
Just as he was about to flag the man over, the waiter appeared and pressed a limp tissue into his hand. ‘‘Madame asked me to give you this,’’ he intoned in a voice that dripped with disapproval.
Instantly Todd knew what it was going to say. He opened the note and read it just to confirm his gut’s intuition.
Sorry, Todd, but I’m just not ready for this whole dating ritual. You’ve been kindness itself and I really appreciate that. As far as I’m concerned, you have fulfilled your bachelor auction responsibilities completely. I hope my leaving doesn’t cause you any embarrassment. Some of us aren’t meant to leave the suburbs and I guess I’m one of those people. Please accept my apology.
Beth
* * *
‘‘Is there a problem?’’ the waiter asked.
Yeah, there was a problem, Todd thought to himself. For the first time in his life, he’d been stood up.
Chapter Three
Beth paid the cabdriver then stared up at her two-story house. It was barely eight o’clock. Both her children were going to know that something was up. She would never have returned this early unless there was a problem. However, the idea of lurking in the shrubbery for two or three hours was even less appealing than confessing all, or at least part, of what had happened, so she headed for the back door.
As per her instructions, it was locked. That made her relax a little. While her lone foray into dating had ended in disaster, at least her kids seemed to be growing up into wonderful, responsible teenagers. Given the choice, she would pick her kids’ success and happiness over her own, any day.
She inserted her key and turned it, then opened the door and made her way to the family room. ‘‘Just me,’’ she called.
Her daughter, Jodi, and her friend Sara both looked up at her in surprise as she stepped into the room.
‘‘I know I’m a little early,’’ she said, careful to keep her voice bright and breezy. ‘‘Everything is fine. I told Todd I would prefer it if we ended our date quickly.’’
Jodi frowned at the VCR clock, then returned her attention to her mother. ‘‘A little early? Did you two even have time to eat?’’
While Beth was willing to stretch the truth slightly, she wasn’t going to out-and-out lie. ‘‘We had drinks.’’
‘‘I thought he was supposed to be buying you dinner.’’ Beth crossed the hardwood floor and kissed her daughter’s forehead. ‘‘He offered and I declined. I’d rather be home.’’ She grabbed a cookie from the plate between the studying girls. ‘‘I’m going upstairs to get changed. Don’t worry about me.’’