She raised her hand. “Thanks.”
He called out as she rounded the corner to the elevators. “Should I be expecting Miss Riley, too?”
“No, she’s got a hot date!” She knew Riley would kill her for that. “I’m the last of the posse.” The door opened and Laine pushed the number for Winnie’s floor. When she exited the elevator, she could hear Tamyra banging and screaming from down the hall. She ran to her and grabbed Tamyra’s hands away from the door.
“Leave me alone!” she heard Winnie yell.
“We’re going to, Winnie,” Laine said.
Tamyra slapped at her. “No, we’re not, Winnie! We’re coming in there just like we did earlier.”
“You are not! I’ll block the door with the sofa!”
Laine wrapped her arms around Tamyra’s waist and pulled. “My word, woman, you’re big,” she said as she dropped her in the hall away from the door. She stared up at Tamyra and pointed her finger. “You’re going to listen to me even if you have to look down at me. We’re leaving her alone.”
“But we can’t—”
“I said, we’re leaving her alone. She has to come to terms with this herself. This is a place she has to deal with. You can’t do it for her. Just like she couldn’t do it for you. You had to break down and get honest with her over the fact that you’re dying.”
She saw Tamyra’s eyes bug out. “She told . . .”
“She didn’t tell me a thing. Your actions told me everything I needed to know. I study people for a living, Tamyra. You were an easy one. Now, we are leaving her alone.” Laine leaned against the door and spoke to the woman behind it. “We’re leaving, Winnie. You just take your time. We won’t bother you anymore. Just know if you need us, we’re here.”
There was no sound from the other side.
Laine grabbed ahold of Tamyra’s arms and pulled her down the hall. “Come on. Let’s go.” She pulled her across the carpet and down to the elevators.
“It’s all my fault.”
“Yes, it is all your fault. You set the woman up. On a date she didn’t want to go on in the first place.”
Tamyra removed her wrist from Laine’s grasp. “Don’t hold back, Laine. Tell me what you really think.”
“I will. But you know what? It was good for her. Maybe this is what she needed to finally let Sam go.”
“So you don’t think I’ve destroyed her?”
Laine pushed the Down button for the elevator and laughed. “No, Winnie’s a big girl. No pun intended. She will be fine. But Albert, on the other hand . . .”
Tamyra walked into the elevator and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, my word. What I did to him was horrible.”
“Yes, now that was horrible.”
Tamyra rolled her eyes at her.
“You need to go apologize to him.”
The elevator doors opened and they walked back out into the foyer. Gerard was still standing there. “All is well, Gerard. All is well,” Laine informed him.
“So Miss Riley really had a date, huh?” Gerard asked, following her to the doorway.
Laine turned and gave him a big smile. “Yes, with that Christian Manos guy.”
His black eyes widened and his white teeth overtook most of his face. She was shameless.
* * *
Riley licked barbecue sauce from her fingers.
“Southern girls like ribs, huh?” Christian laughed.
She could feel her face flush. Bertha’s Go-Go Ribs was a local hangout on the island. And had the best ribs in town. “I’m sorry; I hope I’m not embarrassing you.” She picked up her napkin and wiped her hands.
“You’re not embarrassing me. I did a little research and found out what Southern girls like. Guess I got it right.”
Charm seeped from him. Right along with sincerity. An odd pairing. “Fry it or barbecue it and we eat it.”
“Tell me about growing up in the South, Riley.”
He picked up another rib and took a bite. But his eyes came straight back to her. They had been on her all night. And she had determined about thirty minutes ago that if there were going to be eyes on her, she’d couldn’t think of any she would rather have than these. She shook her head. “It is a world all its own. In the South all girls ‘come out.’” They both laughed at that. “That’s too long a story for this pile of ribs. Fathers are icons. Mothers are . . . How shall we say it? Involved.”
He laughed. “Involved? That is new to me. Do you go home often?”
“Haven’t been back since I left. But that’s because I needed to settle in here. I think my parents are coming to visit soon, and I’ve got some old demons back there I’m not ready to confront.” She gave a cautious laugh.
“Old demons?”
“Another long story.”
He raised his napkin and wiped his mouth. “One I hope you’ll tell me someday.”
Riley leaned back in the booth. Music from the jukebox played hits of the eighties. “Why have you been so persistent?”
He took a drink and leaned back. “Persistent? What do you mean?”
“About having dinner with me.”
She caught his coy grin. “I see something in you, Riley. Something I don’t see in many women.”
“What? I don’t swoon over you?” His expression registered his uneasiness. Her words had been careless. She leaned forward quickly. “Sorry, Christian. I didn’t mean to insinuate that you are a womanizer. It’s just evident by the way women look at you that most find you extremely attractive.”
“Attraction is easy to come by, Riley. Depth, not so much.”
She laughed. “Okay, so now really why me?”
“I’ve watched you. Even when you didn’t know I was watching. The way you care for your guests. The way you care for Gabby. You have a way about you. A sensitivity that only comes from knowing pain. At least that’s what I’ve discovered. Most people are so self-absorbed because they’ve never
