Jennifer studied her thoughtfully. “Yes, he is. Have you two been dating long?”
Claudia shook her head. “This is only the second time I’ve been out with him.”
“Really? I thought—” Jennifer broke off. “Obviously, I misunderstood.”
Claudia would have liked to pursue this statement, but just then, Philip walked up to them. “I hope you’re telling Claudia what a great guy I am,” he said to Jennifer.
She laughed. “Oh, you men. You’re impossible. You think the entire world revolves around you, don’t you?”
“You mean it doesn’t?” This came from John, who had also walked up behind them. He put his arm companionably around Philip’s shoulders.
Jennifer rolled her eyes.
Claudia laughed.
“Now where were we?” Jennifer said to Claudia.
“You were telling her what a great guy I am,” Philip said, grinning.
“On that note, I think I’d better check on the food,” Jennifer said. “Last time I looked, the potato casserole was fast disappearing.” She was laughing as she walked away.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave, too,” John said. But he didn’t look as if he wanted to go.
For a moment, no one spoke. Because of the silence between them, Claudia became aware of the music playing. It was an old rock tune, one of her favorites. “Now’s your chance to impress me, Philip. I’d love to dance.”
“Me?” He gave her a look of mock horror. “I have two left feet. But John’s a good dancer.” He turned to John. “Can I trust you with her?”
Claudia’s heart did a little skip as John’s gaze met hers. “Of course you can, said the big bad wolf,” John answered in a deep voice.
All three laughed and John took her arm, leading her out to the small area that had been cleared for dancing.
Claudia soon discovered John was a great dancer. He had a loose body with a natural rhythm that couldn’t be taught. Claudia loved to dance, so when “Proud Mary” wound up and the next song was a slow ballad, she allowed herself to be drawn into his arms for that one, too.
“Having a good time?” he asked.
He was wearing some kind of woodsy scent—aftershave or cologne—she couldn’t tell which. Whatever it was, she liked it. “Yes, I am.”
He pulled her just a fraction closer. “Me, too.”
Claudia closed her eyes. She had a feeling it might be a mistake to indulge in any fantasies about John, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
Why didn’t you give me the right business card?
She was acutely aware of their bodies touching. No wonder some religions banned the activity. Dancing had to be one of the sexiest things two people could do.
She forced herself to smile brightly when the song ended. “Thanks. I enjoyed that.”
Philip was waiting right where they’d left him. He reached for her hand. “That’s enough. I want her now.”
“I don’t blame you,” John said lightly. He bowed to Claudia. “Thank you, ma’am.” Then, with a little salute, he headed off in the direction of the kitchen.
For the remainder of the evening, Claudia didn’t see much of him. He was either outside or in another room, and she decided that was for the best. Whatever might have been if they’d been able to connect seemed to be a closed chapter.
It was probably best to put him out of her mind for good.
On the way home, Philip was in a talkative mood. “So what did you think of John and Jen?”
“I liked them both a lot.”
“And they liked you.” He smiled. “Jennifer said she thought you were terrific.”
“I think she and I could be friends.” And John…was it foolish to think they could be something more than friends?
“She’s a really nice person. I wish something good would happen for her the way it has for me.” He reached over and squeezed her hand for a moment.
Claudia knew he was referring to meeting her, and that made her uncomfortable. Yet she couldn’t think of anything to say without making too big a deal out of his comment. “Why? Did something bad happen to her?”
He didn’t answer for a moment. When he did, his voice had sobered. “Two years ago her fiancé was killed. He was an Air Force pilot whose helicopter was shot down in Iraq only days before he was supposed to be sent home.”
“Oh, God, how terrible.”
“Yeah, it was. She had a really rough time. She’s still not over it.”
“That’s just awful. Is she dating at all?”
“Not that I know of.”
She waited a few moments before saying, “What about…John? I take it he’s not involved with anyone, either.”
“Nope, not now. He was seeing somebody pretty steady. In fact, they were living together. Everyone thought he was finally ready to make a commitment, but they broke up in August.”
“Oh?” August was when Claudia met John. “What happened?”
“All he said was that something made him realize he wasn’t in love with Allison. So he broke it off.”
Claudia told herself she was indulging in a romantic fantasy to even consider that John might have been referring to meeting her when he said something had happened to cause him to break off his relationship.
You sure have a high opinion of yourself, don’t you? Men like John do not break off long-term relationships because they exchange a couple of words with you! Then again, she had no idea what John was really like, now did she?
“Jen and her mother were both glad when they broke up,” Philip continued.
“Why’s that? Didn’t they like Allison?”
“They both thought Allison was too negative and moody.” He laughed. “But I think those two feel no one is good enough for John.”
Claudia wanted to keep asking him questions about John, but they had just pulled up in front of Claudia’s condominium complex, so her window of opportunity was over.
“Thanks for inviting me to the party,” Claudia said when they reached her door. “I had a really nice time.” Opening her purse, she withdrew her keys.
“I’m glad,” he said. “I did, too.”
She unlocked the door. “Well, good night, Philip.”
“Good night, Claudia.” And then, before she could avoid it, he leaned over and kissed her. Unless she wanted to make a huge thing out of it, she couldn’t pull away. So she closed her eyes and pretended it was John kissing her. Even that didn’t help. There were just no fireworks, at least for her. Gently, she broke the kiss before it could go on too long. The last thing she wanted to do was send the wrong message.
“I’d better go in,” she said. “It’s late.” Because she felt she sounded too abrupt, she smiled. “See you Monday.”
If he’d been like some of the guys she’d dated in the past, he would have tried to change her mind, but Philip obviously wasn’t that kind of person, because all he said was, “Sweet dreams,” and then he turned and walked away.
Inside, Claudia leaned against the closed door gratefully. She hated dating. There ought to be some kind of test you could give a person