Their eyes met. The air sizzled, all but crackled between them. An unspoken, as yet unacknowledged attraction existed in each gaze.
“Never mind. Have a nice afternoon.”
A little over an hour later, Terrell returned to the office. He walked behind Miss Marva, grabbed her by the shoulders and smushed her hair with his chin. “Get on away from me with that foolishness,” she playfully chided, swatting blindly behind her while Terrell dodged and laughed. With a final squeeze, he let her go and walked to a set of file cabinets. Opening one, he began browsing through folders.
“May I help you, Mr. Drake? I know you think you own the world, but this office is my domain.”
He retrieved a file, set it on top of the others and opened it. “You’re absolutely right about that, Miss Marva. I’ll soon be out of your way.” Finding the desired document, he pulled out his phone. “I had to run earlier and just want to follow up on our latest registrant, Mr. Kyle—” a glance at the paperwork “—Robinson.”
Miss Marva folded her arms, her mouth now as twisted as her lovely chignon. “And just what kind of follow-up do you think is needed?”
“The general kind, you know, answering any questions his mother may have regarding our program.”
“Mmm-hmm. I’ve known you since you were crawling, Terrell Drake. And I am sure that the questions you want to ask that pretty lady have nothing to do with this center.”
He tapped a button on his phone, placed the paper in the folder and placed the folder back in the file cabinet. “They absolutely do.” He struck a professional pose—chin up, back straight. “And if those questions get asked over, say, a glass of wine or two, well—” he shrugged “—all the better, wouldn’t you say?”
Marva’s mouth untwisted into a lovely smile. “I’d say you’re full of it and then I’d tell you to take her out and have a nice time. She seems like a sweet girl.”
“Thank you, Miss Marva.” After a quick look around, he lowered his voice. “And...let’s keep this between us, okay?”
“I appreciate your stating the obvious, but this old trap has never sprung a leak.”
Terrell went into his office, closed the door and tapped the number he’d entered into his phone.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Aliyah. It’s Terrell, from the community center.”
There was a pause. “Yes?”
“I had to rush out earlier and wanted to call and make sure everything regarding your son’s enrollment went smoothly.”
“Oh.” Another pause. “Yes. The administrator, Miss Marva, handled everything just fine. Gave us a little tour and explained the program. We’re all set.”
“Good, that’s real good.”
A second ticked by. And then another.
“Is there...anything else?”
“Actually, Aliyah, there is. I’d like you to help me do something. Though it isn’t very difficult, it doesn’t happen often.”
Suspicion coated the words she delivered. “Like what?”
“I’d like you to give me a second chance to make a first impression.”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“I know. But I’d like to do it anyway—prove I’m not the cad my comment may have led you to believe. Something simple, say, dinner tonight. Casual. Jeans.”
“I guess I can do that.”
Terrell sat back with a satisfied smile.
“As long as regarding one thing we’re perfectly clear. The part of my anatomy you found so intriguing will not be on the menu.”
Later that night Terrell was still thinking about Aliyah, surprised and a bit annoyed that she’d stayed on his mind. Sure, she was fine, but so were all the other women he’d dated. She was intriguing, but it was something more. An indefinable trait Terrell couldn’t quite identify. He shrugged, focusing back on the computer screen and the news website he’d pulled up. It was just dinner. No big deal. That’s why he’d suggested they meet at the Cove Café, the town’s family-friendly diner, instead of the more upscale Acquired Taste or the always remarkable Paradise Cove country club. He didn’t want to come off as trying to impress or anything. Why would he? Good looks aside, she was the parent of a student at the community center, with attitude to boot. Not mixing business with pleasure was Playboy Rulebook 101. With all of the women constantly trying to hook up with him, was a get-to-know-you dinner with her perfectly formed buns worth the messiness to his personal life that decision could potentially cause?
Yes.
Terrell ignored this answer that popped into his head, and the excitement that flowed through his other head as well. He wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend and had enough friends with benefits to keep him more than satisfied.
So why was he taking Aliyah to dinner?
By the time he’d broken out his favorite pair of jeans, paired them with a navy button-down complemented by a platinum bracelet and thin chain, whipped out his solitaire diamond stud, removed his five-o’clock shadow and splashed on an exclusive blend of designer cologne, he’d convinced himself that he was just being a nice guy. That and he was hungry. Everyone had to eat, right?
He gathered his wallet and keys, and was heading to the door of his west wing suite when the estate’s intercom sounded in his room.
“Terrell?”
“Yes, Mom?”
“Are you joining us for dinner, dear?”
“No. I’m heading out.”
“Dinner meeting?”
He paused. “Something like that.”
“Oh, I see. Have fun on your date, dear.”
“Who said anything about a date?”
The sound of Jennifer’s light chuckle made him smile. “Indirectly, you did. ’Bye now.”
“’Bye, Mom. Love you.”
“I love you more.”
* * *
Aliyah pulled into the crowded parking lot, found a space and cut the engine. Grabbing a sweater from the backseat to ward off the slight October chill, she was pleasantly surprised to see the café Terrell had suggested was a homey-looking diner and not a swanky five-star restaurant. After getting Kyle enrolled in the community center’s fall program she’d returned home, gone online and typed Terrell Drake in the search engine. What she’d seen there would impress most women. She was no exception. But it hadn’t made her excited to meet him. She was all too familiar with men like him. Those who had the world by the tail, and thought they ruled it, from a family that practically owned the town or at least helped build it. One brother a grape grower and rancher and another one the mayor? Elite affiliations and country clubs for sure. The more she’d read, the more she’d been tempted to cancel their meeting. When he’d called and boldly requested dinner, and she accepted, it was to possibly secure a west coast casual who could periodically scratch her sexual itch. It had been months, she had been busy and a woman had needs. But now? With his lifestyle sounding so much like the ex whose family made it clear that she didn’t and could never fit into their world? Why pull the scab off of a sore still healing? Because the attraction she’d felt in the community center office earlier was greater than her fear. So here she was.
She saw him right away, standing in a bar area with a group near