| The Courtyard Chapter 3 |
| Hanna laughed lightly as Lance finished his story, then dipped her spoon into the tub of ice cream that sat between them. “So Sarah’s your oldest, right?” He nodded. “Sarah’s thirteen, then Willie is eight and Carol is five.” “Carol? Now, I didn’t see her at the party, did I?” “No. She was in bed before everyone started arriving. I wasn’t going to let Willie stay up either, but he’s at that stage where he thinks he’s a man even though his body keeps telling him he’s still a boy. I didn’t think that he would make it all the way to midnight, but I suppose it’s easy to keep yourself entertained when you get to humiliate your sister in front of all her friends.” Hanna laughed, then thought about Sarah and her stained skirt. She had a similar experience once when she was in high school, so she could sympathize. “Did you manage to get the stain out?” He shook his head. “We tried everything, but it wouldn’t budge.” “So what’s Carol like?” she asked, enjoying the look of absolute love and devotion that she saw on his face when he talked about his children. “Carol’s my little romantic. She loves giving out hugs and kisses. She’ll curl up in your lap like a little kitten when you read her a story. She’s my princess, but she’s a real handful too. She’ll go out and pick a bunch of wild flowers and give them to you, roots and all. She’ll be standing in the middle of the room with a trail of dirt behind her and she looks so innocent that you just can’t get mad at her.” He laughed softly as his pictured his daughter. “Or she’ll draw hearts all over a piece of paper and fold it a half a dozen times to give it to you as a card. She’s my little angel.” He glanced back up at her face, then shook his head. “I’m sorry. I must be boring you to death going on and on about my kids.” “Oh no! Not at all,” she reassured him. “It’s refreshing to see a dad so involved in his kids lives. It’s seems like parents are programmed to be super people these days. They get so involved in everything to be more a part of their children’s lives and end up losing even more precious time with them. If you’re not in the PTA or a school booster, then you’re don’t care about your children.” “Exactly,” he agreed. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached to be on the PTA board. Everyone makes it seem like it’s my responsibility as a concerned parent, but all I can see is that it’s another three to four hours a week out of my private time with the kids. Granted, I am concerned about their schooling and I never miss a parent/teacher conference, but my work takes me away from them more often than I’d like without adding to it.” “I don’t see how you manage at all being a single parent. Somehow, the prospect of being a parent seems far too daunting to me.” “Oh I wouldn’t be able to manage anything without Gertie,” he admitted. “She was hired on as a housekeeper, but she does a lot more than that. When her husband and her split, she moved in with us and has been there ever since. She has two kids of her own, both grown, but I think she missed being a part of a family so this arrangement worked out well for both of us.” He paused for a moment as the memories came flooding back. “I don’t know what I would have done without her when Debbie died.” Hanna watched the play of emotions across his face. There was still pain in his expression and she knew that he still loved his wife even though she was gone. “How long ago did she die?” she asked softly. He thought about that for a moment. “Almost five years,” he answered, surprising himself. Had it really been that long? It seemed like only yesterday that Carol was born. “Debbie was an ER doctor and she had only been back to work a week when some kid strung out on drugs came in and started shooting up the place.” The memories of that night were so intense that he shook his head to scatter them before they could suck him in again. “She didn’t even get to see Carol’s first birthday.” “That’s awful,” she said as she reached out to touch his arm gently in sympathy. “I think it was worse on the kids than it was on me,” he said with a shrug, trying to lighten the mood. “Sarah went into this major rebellion. She chopped all of her hair off, had her ears pierced several times, started wearing heavy makeup, leather jackets, the works. Then Gertie actually found a joint in her clothes when she was washing and I really didn’t handle that well.” He sighed heavily as he thought of the fierce argument that they had that day. “Everyone told me that it was just a phase that she was going through, but that phase is still going strong years later. I get more attitude than answers out of her these days.” “From hurt little girl to angry teenager.” She shook her head. “I don’t envy you one bit. I know what I was like at thirteen when my hormones started going wild. I was hell on wheels and my parents dropped to the bottom of the heap of people I respected and listened to.” She dug her spoon into the bottom of the ice cream carton, then took a bite before going back for more. “What about you?” Lance turned the tables to encourage her to continue when he realized that he had been doing most of the talking. “Have you ever been married?” “For a whole six months,” she returned, then shook her head. “It was a mistake from the moment that we first started dating. Where I really went wrong was listening to all of my friends who said that we were perfect for each other. I was stupid enough to buy into it even though I had my doubts and the second he landed a new job working with fashion models, he was out the door. That’s how my last twelve months started out and it was all down hill from there. The magazine I was working for went bankrupt, my car caught fire, my apartment was robbed.” She shook her head again. “It’s a sad, sad story and I won’t bore you with it.” “Your car caught fire?” he asked incredulously. “Were you in it at the time?” “Nope. It was just sitting out in the parking lot at work and burst into flames. The fire department said that it was probably an electrical short. I felt like breaking out the marshmallows and having a cook out,” she added and smiled when he began to chuckle. “Sometimes when things get so bad, I just have to laugh. It seemed like someone was out to get me and I can only stay angry for so long. The company going bankrupt was the final straw, though. I figured it was time for me to cut my losses and come home.” “Well, I’m glad you did,” he returned, reaching out with his arm on the back of the couch to touch a lock of her hair. She stared into his eyes for several long moments, then had to drop her gaze. “You have a way of making me feel comfortable and nervous at the same time,” she confessed as she stared down at her ice cream. “Nervous?” he repeated. “I make you nervous?” She nodded, then tried to explain. “You just seem like such a perfect guy. Like Nicki said, handsome, rich, straight and single,” she teased and received a quiet laugh in response. Her eyes searched his again as she leaned against his palm as it caressed her cheek. “I feel so comfortable with you and that scares the hell out of me.” “You too?” he asked with a lift of his brow, then they both laughed. “I keep picturing you on New Year’s Eve. You were so incredibly beautiful in that short black dress especially when you were trying to tug the hem line down.” “Oh no!” she groaned as she covered her eyes, then slid her hand up to her forehead and into her hair before dropping it back into her lap. “You saw that?” “Only once or twice,” he returned. “When we had lunch this afternoon, I knew that I had to see you again. You absolutely intrigue me,” he confessed, smoothing her hair with the gentle touch of his fingers as he took in every curve, every angle of her face. “I haven’t felt this way in a long time and, yes, it scares the hell out of me. But that’s one fear that I’m more than willing to face.” “You have got to be a figment of my imagination,” she said trying to break the tension that continually mounted between them, then scooped up a spoonful of ice cream to feed to him. “So what about lately?” she asked, changing the subject back to him. “Have you been a good little Franciscan and partied regularly? A different woman on your arm every night?” “Well, not a different woman every night, but I was pretty close on that one,” he admitted. “I’ve only been in one semi-serious relationship since Debbie died, but then I found out that the lady was already married.” “Ouch,” she commented and he nodded. “I’m not really into the party scene though. I’ll go when it’s a close friend or whenever a client has an opening like Friday at the restaurant. We just finished construction right before Christmas and the owners are having an invitation only party for their opening night. I was planning on just stopping in, but then I thought that it would be the perfect place to take you so you would be properly impressed.” “Oh, you’re trying to impress me?” she said coyly as she scrapped up the last bite for him at the bottom of the carton, then looked into his eyes as she fed it to him. “You’ve already done that. I can’t imagine how you could improve any more.” “Was it my dazzling wit or the attentive father bit?” he returned jokingly, wiping a trace of ice cream from his lips with her finger. “It was your tie,” she countered swiftly. “I’ve always had a thing for guys who have the guts to wear a tie that lights up.” “The tie, huh?” He nodded as he smiled. “Give me a break. It was a Christmas gift from Carol and she made me promise to wear it at the party.” “Give you a break?” she shot back, discarding the empty ice cream carton onto the coffee table. “I don’t recall you giving me one New Year’s Eve.” “So this is going to be a combative relationship, is it?” he asked teasingly, then they both sobered instantly. There wasn’t any question for either one of them that something special was developing between them, but neither one was ready to voice what it was. Both of them had been hurt in their own ways and they were cautious about how well things were going. “I hate to do this, but I should be going. Willie has a problem getting to sleep when I’m not there. I don’t think that he really remembers the night that Debbie died, but subconsciously he knows that his mom didn’t come home one night.” She gave him an understanding smile. “I think it’s great that you put your kids first.” She stood with him and followed him out into the hallway where he turned to her once more. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promised, then leaned over to give her one last kiss. “Just like a man,” she teased. “Eat all my ice cream than run. I feel so used.” He laughed, then gave her one more quick peck before leaving. * * * “Wow,” Hanna said softly as she glanced around the restaurant while Lance helped her to remove her coat, then handed it off to the lady waiting for it. The classic look of extravagant opulence was combined with the clean, modern look of glass and brass. She felt like she was standing in the hall of a palace and she was tempted to take a second look at her dress to make sure that it was suitable, but refrained. It was too late now to do anything about it. “Wow is good. I’ll take wow,” he said lightly as he put his arm around her waist and moved to the edge of three steps leading down to the main floor. From there, she was able to take in the entire view which was precisely why he had designed it that way. “This is absolutely beautiful Lance,” she complimented him. He gave her a nod in acceptance. “Thank you. This place was a bit of a challenge. The owners wanted something ridiculously lavish with a modern edge.” She laughed at his description. “And this is what you came up with?” He nodded as he glanced around himself. “It wasn’t easy creating the illusion of space when there isn’t any. Everything is in such close proximity around here that actual square footage is limited.” “And here’s the man of the hour!” a thin, rather flamboyant man announced to everyone within hearing distance as he stood at the bottom of the steps looking up at Lance. “Everyone is raving about the restaurant,” he said with pride. “That’s always good to hear,” Lance returned with a smile, then gestured to his date. “Edward, this is Hanna Miller. She just moved back into town after being away for several years so I’m attempting to get her back into the swing of San Francisco,” he said, then turned his attention to Hanna to complete the introduction. “This is Edward Blues, co-owner of this establishment and the man with the vision to know exactly what this town loves.” “Any friend of Lance,” Edward said politely as he took Hanna’s hand and gave it a tender peck. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she returned. “This place is positively fabulous,” she told him. “Lance Kline is an absolute genius,” Edward complimented lavishly. “I just told him what I wanted and it’s like he read my mind. I couldn’t be happier.” “Thanks for the build up Edward. I’ll give you your twenty bucks later,” he teased. “Don’t let this man fool you,” he told Hanna. “He has far too much modesty and I could go on for hours singing his praises, but I don’t want to keep you standing around when I know that you’ve come here to eat. If you will follow me, I’ve saved you the best table in the house,” he said as he started to make his way through the tables. “The buzz around town is that you have another project in the works,” he commented over his shoulder to Lance. “Something about a villa?” “Word does get around,” he smiled in return. “You wouldn’t happen to be friends with Nicki Peyton, would you?” “Everyone who’s anyone knows Nicki,” he said with a toss of his hand. “She sent me an invitation to your cleaning party, but I’m afraid that I just can’t make it with the restaurant opening.” “That’s understandable,” Lance returned. “Does that mean that you won’t be able to cater either?” he asked and received a surprised look in return. “That may be a possibility,” he said with gleam in his eye. Edward was a full fledged member of the party set and he couldn’t begin to say how disappointed he was to be missing anything that Lance was involved in. “I won’t make you any promises, but, if I can get the people together, I’d be happy to cater the soiree. Just give me a couple of days to tap my sources and I’ll let you know.” Edward pulled out a chair for Hanna at a table in a secluded corner as he signaled for the waiter to come over. The waiter was immediately at hand and Edward gave him instructions to bring them the best of everything, then disappeared to see to his many patrons. “He’s a little tornado, isn’t he?” she asked once they were alone again. “Edward is always on the move,” he returned. “I’ve known him for almost a year and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him sit down for more than thirty seconds.” “Are you really going to have the cleanup party catered?” His head tipped briefly to the side. “For that many people, it would be the easiest way to feed everyone. Then we can keep working while the food is being prepared.” “Ah, now I see your evil plan,” she teased. “You’re a slave driver and you’re trying to cover up your dirty deeds by plying us with food and drink.” “You’ve found me out,” he returned. “My stock of chained workers are thinning out down in the mines and I need to find replacements.” “I knew it. You just had to be too good to be true.” She smiled as she looked around the restaurant again. “If you were trying to impress me, you succeeded,” she said sincerely. “Is this typical of the work that you do or is this something of a rarity?” He glanced around the room himself as he considered her question. “Well, I’d say that this place is an example of what I’d like to be doing more of. It was fun. It allowed me to be creative and you just don’t have that many opportunities in my business.” “Excuse me? Isn’t being creative a major part of your business?” “I’ve found that most of my clients tend to be a bit conservative,” he returned. “They either don’t want to put out the extra money to do something really special or they’re set on having a traditional building without any frills. It’s budding entrepreneurs like Edward that have the guts to take a risk. They’re in it for all or nothing.” “Kind of like following a dream,” she said softly. His eyes trailed over her face as he leaned a little closer. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” he asked. She dropped her gaze from his as she smiled. “Yes, but that’s something that a woman can’t hear enough.” “I just may have to test that theory,” he said lightly as he reached out to take her hand. “So how was your day today?” he asked solicitously. “Did you ever manage to get the living room painted?” She looked a bit sheepish. “I sort of skipped out on that again today. I went to see Jodi’s dad about a job in the advertising department instead.” “Oh? How did that go?” “Parker is great. Jodi’s dad,” she explained and received a nod. “We ended up talking more about the good old days than the position. He said that it’s waiting for me whenever I get ready to start back to work, but I think I’m going to take a couple more weeks off. I’m having too much fun being lazy.” “Have you made any specific plans for your lazy time or are you just catching up with your friends?” he asked as he traced his thumb over the curves and contours of her hand. “I’ve been toying with the idea of driving down the coast. Maybe spend the night in Santa Barbara. It’s been so long since I’ve been here that I just want to take in the sites. I use to love to watch the sunset on the beach and I’d like to catch a few before I have to get back to the daily grind.” “That sounds like the perfect way to spend a day,” he commented. “Are you planning on going alone?” She smiled softly as she peeked up at him through her lashes. “Is that your subtle way of asking if you can come along or of finding out if there is someone else I’m seeing?” “Just concern,” he returned with a smile of his own. She searched his face for any hidden meaning before finally taking him at his word. “I’m careful. I know the places to avoid and I’ve taken self-defense classes. I’ve lived by myself for years so I know how to take care of myself.” “Well, that’s good to know.” They both glanced up when the waiter arrived with a bottle of wine and a plate of appetizers. “That was fast,” Hanna commented to the man. “When Mister Blue insists on the best, I provide,” he responded with a smile, then poured their wine before disappearing again. The conversation turned to general topics, the food, the wine, the service as they were given one dish after another to sample. Hanna balked at the escargot, but Lance teased her until she took a taste and she discovered, surprisingly, that she liked it. They talked and laughed together for hours, completely unaware of time passing until they noticed that the other patrons in the restaurant were reduced to only a handful. After leaving a healthy tip, Lance searched out Edward once more to congratulate him on his opening night, then took Hanna home. “Would you like to come in for a minute?” she asked, feeling a nervous flutter in her chest as she unlocked the door. This was one of those moments when she prayed that he would take her up on her offer as well as praying that he wouldn’t. “I think I have some coffee or maybe some tea.” “I’d love to, but it’s late and I need to get back to the kids,” he returned with just the right amount of disappointment in his tone. Hanna leaned back against the door jam as she looked up at him and gave him a smile. “I really had a great time tonight. I just hate that it has to end.” “I do too,” he said, then lightly stroked his fingers across her cheek and down the line of her jaw. “I was planning on going out to the villa on Sunday and I’d love it if you could join me.” “A private tour?” she asked, then pretended to give the suggestion some thought. “I can’t think of a better way to spend the day.” He smiled as he put his hands on her waist and gently pulled her toward him. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Maybe I can talk you into taking me along on your trip to Santa Barbara,” he teased and gave her a light kiss on the lips, then he hesitated as he looked back into her eyes. He slipped his hands around to the small of her back as his mouth molded with hers in a more satisfying embrace. Hanna’s heart was pounding in her breast, her entire body sensitized to his caresses. It was even an effort to draw breath when he looked back into her eyes once more. “Good night,” she whispered softly and backed into her apartment. Perhaps it was a good thing that the latter part of her prayer was answered, she thought. With the way her body reacted to just a kiss from his lips, she wasn’t sure that she could trust herself. Lance waited at the door until he heard the solid click of her dead bolt, then he turned to leave. * * * “I can’t believe that I have been here for two hours and you haven’t said one word about Lance,” Jodi complained as she dipped her paintbrush, then continued stroking the living room wall in blue. “Here I am trying to bore you to death with talk about my family, then, when that didn’t work, I started talking about how Greg and I met. Then I go on and on about how exciting it is to be starting out in a new relationship and still nothing!” She glanced over at Hanna who was finishing up on her wall. “Just how many hints do I have to throw?” she asked. “When are you going to crack and give me some details about your date with Lance?” Hanna smiled secretively as she soaked her paintbrush one last time. “There’s not much to tell,” she hedged. “We just went out to dinner.” “Oh now I know that there’s something you’re not telling me,” Jodi countered as she covered the last patch of white and dropped her brush into the paint tray. “The only time you clam up on me is when you’re in love.” “Don’t be ridiculous!” she shot back as she discarded her own paintbrush and started wiping her hands on an old towel. “I’ve seen Lance a total of four times. You can’t seriously think that I could fall in love that quickly.” “Wait a minute,” she said as they moved over to sit on the drop-cloth-covered couch. “Four times? There was New Year’s and the lunch with Nicki and Toni, then dinner. Where was number four?” Hanna looked a little shamefaced. She had gotten so use to not having anyone to share her personal life with that she forgot how good it felt to share her excitement with a friend. “The same night that we had lunch.” “And you didn’t tell me?” Jodi asked incredulously. “I’m going to have to go find your diary if you don’t start talking,” she warned. She laughed softly, then looked over at her friend with a dreamy expression in her eyes. “He’s wonderful, Jodi. In fact, he’s so great that I keep waiting to find out that he’s a mass murderer or something. Do you know that, when we went out to dinner, he asked me how my day went? Tommy would always tune me out if I tried to tell him what happened during the day, but Lance really acted like he wanted to know.” “Don’t even get me started on Tommy,” Jodi said in disgust. “I knew that he was wrong for you without even meeting the man. You never got excited when you talked about him. It was almost like he was an anecdote to your life, not really a part of it.” “I wish you would have told me that before I married the guy. You would have saved me from six months of hell.” “Like you would have listened. Let’s not get sidetracked with Tommy.” Jodi stalled that conversation before it went any further. “Tell me about Lance. What happened that night after you had lunch with Toni and Nicki?” “Well,” she said and paused to draw on the memories of that night. “He stopped by here after work completely unexpected and, of course, I’m sitting around here acting like a junk food junkie in shorts and a T-shirt.” “Oh no! Not the comfortable clothes?” she asked in mock distress. Hanna nodded. “I couldn’t have looked worse,” she said, then caught a glimpse of her paint splattered clothes and hands. “Well, except for today,” she amended and they laughed briefly. “He told me that he couldn’t wait another day to see me.” She smiled when her friend gave a appreciative groan. “All we did was sit on the couch, eat ice cream and talk. It was perfect. He was perfect. I mean, it’s scary how well the two of us get along. He’s charming and funny and so interesting. I could sit for hours and just listen to him talk.” “He’s pretty good for a boring architect then?” she asked jokingly. She gave Jodi a stern look for bringing up her faux pas on New Year’s. “This man is anything but boring,” she admitted. “And, it’s the strangest thing, but I feel more interesting just being with him.” “That’s so sweet,” she said in all sincerity, then motioned for her to speed up. “Now let’s get to the good stuff. I assume that you’ve kissed?” she asked expectantly. “Jodi!” she returned, then blushed slightly. She knew that there was no point in protesting. Her friend would keep grilling until she got a satisfactory answer. “Let’s just say that I get butterflies in my stomach and weak in the knees, all that cliché stuff,” she answered evasively. She thought about that for a few seconds, then nodded her approval. “I’d say that he must be doing something right if you’re getting weak in the knees. It feels pretty great to be falling in love, doesn’t it?” She leaned back on the couch as his image danced before her mind’s eye. “Is this what it feels like?” she asked in innocence. Jodi paused for several seconds, surprise by her question, then she gave her a sympathetic look. “You never had this with Tommy, did you?” “Well, I was attracted to him and it felt nice when we were together,” she said in her own defense, “but he just didn’t bring up the wide range of emotions that Lance does. I mean, I want to laugh out loud when we’re together because I’m so happy and I just want to hold onto him when we have to say good night.” “Then you have to find something to do just to get through the next minute without him,” Jodi added with a nod. “Exactly!” she said and sighed. “That’s what love feels like. Even when he’s not here, you can’t help thinking about him, wondering what he’s doing.” “I’ll tell you what, I thought I was going nuts seeing his face in my mind every second of every day. I jump when the phone rings and I’m disappointed when it’s not him.” “It sounds like you’ve got it bad,” she diagnosed, her smile growing wide when she actually saw her friend jerk at the sound of the door bell chiming. “With the way I look, it’s probably Lance,” Hanna said jokingly as she stood to answer the door. Then Jodi was on her feet moments later when Hanna returned with a huge bouquet of white roses. “Those are so beautiful!” Jodi exclaimed as Hanna dug out the card. She passed the flowers over to her friend as she opened the tiny envelope. “I was just thinking about you, Lance.” She read the brief note aloud to Jodi, then smiled as she looked at the two dozen roses. “You see? This is exactly what I mean. He’s so perfect.” “I think it’s wonderful,” she pronounced. “With the whole world worried about whether or not something is politically correct, it seems like everyone has forgotten what romance is about. Lance is one in a million.” “That he is,” she agreed, taking the roses back into her arms and inhaling their light fragrance. * * * |