Chasing Charlie: A Romantic Comedy (The Texas Two-Step Series Book 1) (3 page)

"I think you’re mistaken. Isn’t he, Charlie?" He smiled victoriously at Davis. "I’m her date."

Charlie understood how a tender morsel felt when being chewed over by two dogs. The room choked with male hormones. "Philip, I told you this morning that I’m not going out with you any more."

"What about the roses?"

Charlie shook off the hands of both men, then dashed down the hall to Joanne’s room. She grabbed the bucket of roses, returned to the living room and pushed the pail into Philip’s arms. "Here."

"I don’t get it."

"I’m allergic to them."

Joanne, still standing at the open door, laughed her head off. "There aren’t any others coming, are there? And you said you’d planned a quiet night in front of the TV."

"Very funny," said Charlie as Joanne shut the door.

"I wouldn’t have missed this for anything." She crossed the foyer and joined Philip, glaring at his flowers. Davis looked smugly arrogant.

"Do you have another bucket for these?" asked Davis as he held out a dozen daisies. How had he known they were her favorite flowers?

"I’ll take care of them," Joanne assured him.

"Grab your shoes and let’s go, Charlie," said Davis. "I don’t want to wait around for more competition to arrive."

Joanne shoved the shoe box into his hands.

Charlie fought for control. Had she been plopped into some stage farce and not given her lines? She couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

Philip pulled a ring box from his pocket. "I thought we had something special, Charlie. I know I waited a long time before declaring myself, but when you broke our date, I knew the time was right."

As he started to go down on the proverbial bended knee, Charlie grabbed Davis by the arm. "Get me out of here."

"You got it, babe." He stuck the shoe box into Charlie’s arms; then, like a caveman, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the door. Joanne ran ahead and opened it. Davis grinned as he left the apartment.

Philip ran behind them. "I think I deserve an answer, Charlie!"

Davis turned back. "I just took her over the threshold, old man. Personally, I’d take that as a sign if I were you." Then he crossed the small lawn to the parking lot and tossed Charlie into his convertible Mustang. Thankfully, the top was down.

Charlie couldn’t believe what was happening to her. It had to be the dress. It had to be.

Joanne came running out to the car and waved good-bye. "When I told you to take some risks, kiddo, you took me seriously! Have a great time!"

D
avis grinned to himself
. Things couldn’t have worked out better if he’d planned ’em that way. He had the girl, and she was a knockout. The only catch was that between here and the country club, he had to convince her to be his fiancée for a night.

He shrugged. Piece of cake.

If only she’d stop muttering something about having planned to take small steps, and let him get a word in edgewise. When it seemed she’d calmed down a bit, he spoke up. "I really appreciate you doing this, Charlie. If you ever need a fiancé, be assured, I’ll be there for you, too."

"What?" She looked over at him as if she’d just become aware of where she was. "You don’t expect me to go through with that fiancée business, do you?"

"Well, yeah. I sort of thought that was the game plan."

"Oh, sheesh." She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "I might have known I couldn’t have a quiet night just to myself. I wanted to shampoo my hair."

"We could stop at my house on the way." Davis couldn’t help teasing her. When she got miffed, that darn dimple peeped out, and he had a hankering to see it again. "A scalp massage might be a great way to start our engagement."

Charlie crossed her arms over her chest and tossed her head. "Don’t go getting any ideas."

"I can’t help it. You look gorgeous in that dress." And she did. He shouldn’t have teased her because it made fantasies come into his head about kissing the hollow at the base of her throat.

He swerved to avoid a car. He had to get his mind back onto driving and off such dangerous-to-bachelorhood thoughts. Charlie wasn’t the kind of woman a man daydreamed about unless his intentions included wedding chapels.

And the only wedding he planned to attend was his mother’s.

Who’d have believed a librarian could get to him this way? "We’re almost there, Cinderella. Better put your shoes on."

"They’re not mine. They’re Joanne’s." Charlie dived into the shoe box, then leaned down to put the shoes on. "These stilettos will be the death of me. I’ll probably be crippled for life."

Davis glanced her way. She had such an endearing quality about her. He took a deep, steadying breath, finding it nearly impossible to pull his gaze away. He forced himself to look down at her shoes.

"Far be it from me to complain, Davis, but shouldn’t you be watching the road rather than mentally unbuckling my shoes?"

"I have everything under control." Davis turned back to the road, a little embarrassed by being caught staring. "I was checking to see if you needed help."

Charlie snorted, a most unladylike sound.

Davis drove on in silence for a moment; then temptation got the best of him. He chanced another look at her, then gulped, thoroughly distracted.

A crunch sounded and the accompanying jar drew his attention to the mailbox he’d just crashed into.

C
harlie watched
Davis carefully fold and refold the warning citation, then place it neatly into his wallet. Thankfully, his car hadn’t suffered much damage, which couldn’t be said for the mailbox he’d hit. Bricks lay tumbled all over the sidewalk.

As the police car drove off, the officer giving her a little wave, Charlie couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer.

"I don’t know what you find funny about the situation," groused Davis.

"Well, you did get off with a warning."

"Yeah, and a receipt for hundreds of dollars in mailbox repairs." Davis slammed his wallet into the glove box and closed it with a loud snap. "This is all your fault, you know."

"My fault?"

"Yeah, you heard what the officer said."

"He’s someone I know from the library. Of course he’d say that." Charlie felt color creeping over her face again. The whole time Lieutenant Brown had lectured them about driving more carefully, she’d been unable to keep from blushing.

"Oh yeah? That you’re dangerous in that outfit and creating a public nuisance?" Davis shook his head and grinned. "Got to admit he had a point. Librarians like you should not be allowed out dressed like that."

"Just take me home, then."

Davis shook his head. "Not on your life. This whole evening has cost me a fortune. At the least, I’m going to get what I need out of it. You’re going to meet my mother, no matter how many mailboxes I have to knock down in order to get there."

"Okay, but I draw the line at pedestrians." Charlie had to hand it to Davis; he was taking this all pretty well. "But I want to leave early."

"No more than I do." Davis shifted the car into reverse and backed out onto the street. He shot a glance at her through the corner of his eye. "Just pull down your skirt, will you?"

"Aye, Captain." Charlie tugged the skirt as low as she could, which wasn’t saying much. She shifted and tucked her legs as far under the seat as possible. Then she giggled. "It’s nice that you like my legs."

Davis growled, put the car in forward and shot down the street.

"I think we should talk," mused Charlie. She needed to know a lot more about Davis before meeting his mother. Like his birthday, for starters. His mother’s name might be a bonus.

"What do we need to talk about? If you’re going to harass me about my driving, forget it. Until now, I’ve never even been in a fender bender."

"You said your mom won’t marry the man she loves until you’re settled. Why don’t you just get married?"

"Women are all alike, aren’t they? The first thing they want to know is why any single man prefers to keep it that way—single. I’m enjoying myself. I’m having the time of my life." Davis carefully turned a corner. Despite having run off the road, he appeared to be a very careful driver.

"Besides," added Davis, "I haven’t had time for romance. I’ve been too busy making a living. And now, just when I get a chance to do what I’ve always wanted, buy my ranch, this comes up. Mom wants to marry Jim Turner and won’t because she doesn’t want me to be lonely. They’ll be moving to Tokyo."

"I should at least know your mother’s name."

"Ellen Murphy."

"Is there anything I should know about her?" Charlie felt as though she were groping around in the dark and Davis was blowing out the matches.

"She’s my mother. What’s to know?"

"So tell me about yourself. I should know something about you if we’re engaged."

Davis turned down the drive leading into the country club, then pulled up to the valet parking attendant. Davis handed over his keys to the attendant, then rushed around the car to help Charlie out. Opening her door, he reached in and took her hand.

She liked the feel of his hand. Firm without being coarse. Gentle without being soft.

"You don’t need to worry," said Davis. "I’ve got this all figured out."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It was love at first sight. The moment we laid eyes on each other, we knew it was destiny."

Destined to become fast enemies was more like it, thought Charlie.

Davis shot her a reproving look. Her cynical expression must have given her away. She schooled her face to show no emotion.

"Mom’ll eat it up," he insisted. He placed his hand on Charlie’s back as he led her into the building.

Charlie shivered, unused to having a man’s warm hand touch her in such an intimate way. She sped up her pace, feeling threatened by the possessiveness of his touch.

Davis didn’t take the hint. He merely increased his own step to match hers, leaving her with a feeling of breathlessness when she needed to be logical. "I don’t know anything about you other than your propensity to knock down mailboxes. Won’t your mom notice?"

He grinned. "We haven’t known each other long. We just know it’s right between us."

"Oh, that’s good." She had to admire his approach, since it would cover any awkward lacks of knowledge one would generally expect in an engaged couple. How could his mother argue against love at first sight? Rather than guessing the engagement was a ruse, she’d be worrying about Davis acting impetuously. He was more cunning than she’d given him credit for, and after the way he’d spirited her out of her apartment, that was saying a lot.

She fought to keep her jaw from dropping when they entered the large country club ballroom. The main color theme—scarlet red—was the exact same shade as her dress. Valentine hearts of various shapes cascaded from strings tied to the ceiling alongside pink, red and maroon balloons. Round tables, dressed in what appeared to be white Brandenburg lace over scarlet linen, created a doily effect. A string ensemble, clad in tuxedos with scarlet cummerbunds, played classical music discreetly in one corner of the chandeliered ballroom.

"What is this?" asked Charlie as she gazed at the cupid cutouts placed strategically on the walls. "The Rocky Horror Country Club?"

"Think of it as the lifestyles of the cheap and tasteless." Davis pointed at the mirrored ball reflecting red lights as it twirled over the dance floor. "Better hurry, it’s the flashing red light special."

"I’d love to meet the decorator," replied Charlie, relieved that Davis hadn’t been offended by her reaction.

"Rodney Dangerfield’s dresser?"

Charlie grinned up at him. "No, I’m sure it was done by Weird Al Yankovich. Are you sure your mother is here?"

"Yeah, she joined during her Howard Stern period." He gazed around the room. "I think that’s Jim and her under the plastic mistletoe in the corner."

Davis took Charlie’s hand. "Feeling nervous?"

Butterflies danced up a frenzy in the pit of her stomach, if that could be called nerves. How had she gone from wanting to play it a little less safe to the point where she was pretending to be engaged to a man she didn’t even know? She took a deep breath. "A little, but it might be because the decor is so overdone."

Davis gave her an encouraging smile and pulled her toward the mistletoe.

"Is that your mom waving to us?"

Davis nodded. "Time to enter the lion’s den."

"She looks sweet."

"Oh, she’s a great sport. I’m certain you’ll like each other." Hadn’t that been the main reason he’d been determined to convince Charlie to be his fiancée?

"I can understand now why you needed me," she commented as they wove between tables.

"Because you and Mom will hit it off?"

"No. If this place is similar to your taste in women, I’d be leery of bringing ’em home to Mama, too."

Davis bit back a retort because they’d reached the plastic mistletoe. He wiped the annoyed expression off his face and traded it for a big toothy smile, which was the best he could do to cover his frustration. "Hi, Mom, Jim."

After exchanging the customary hug and handshake, Davis introduced Charlie, who’d wiped the naughty smile from her eyes and was doing her best to act like the perfect fiancée. He just hoped they weren’t overdoing it. As he helped her into the chair, he said, "Let me help you, dear."

"Why, thanks so much, darling," she replied, batting her eyelashes at him, then turning to give a huge smile to Ellen and Jim.

"I live to do things for you, precious," he said, wanting to even things up a little. But Charlie stabbed his foot with her stiletto heel. That was a bit much, considering it was her one-upmanship that had made him forget what they were trying to accomplish here. Trying not to limp, he took his seat.

Ellen and Jim watched them both as if they were trying not to laugh. So much for their first impression. Davis couldn’t think of a thing to say and Charlie just sat there, giving him a vapid smile, the troll.

Finally, Jim jumped into the silence. "I can see now why Davis was in such a hurry to catch up with you yesterday, Charlie. You’re prettier up close than you are from a distance, and that’s saying a lot."

Charlie colored slightly. "Thank you. I’m pleased to finally meet you both. Davis has told me so much about you."

Davis was impressed with the way she appeared so composed. She shot him a look from under her lashes, which he took to mean she knew what she was doing. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Charlie said, "He mentioned that you’ll soon be going to Tokyo, Jim."

Jim nodded, his jaw tightening, reminding Davis of what he wanted to accomplish. Davis cleared his throat. "We need some champagne. I have some news you’ve been waiting a long time to hear, Mom."

His mother captured his gaze with her own. Her deep brown eyes were a lot like his, but Ellen’s had more crinkles at the corners, and a warm loving light seemed to pour out from them whenever she looked directly at him.

Davis placed his arm around Charlie’s shoulders and drew her closer. "Mom, Jim, Charlie has agreed to become my wife."

He held his breath, waiting for their reaction.

"What? How wonderful!" Ellen reached across the table to take one of Charlie’s hands. "I’m so thrilled to welcome you to our family, dear."

Davis released Charlie and his breath. His mother did seem pleased. That was step one. The next would be to get Jim to pop the question again. Right now, he looked uncomfortable, and on the verge of blowing everything. Davis had to find a way to prevent that from happening.

His mother asked, "Have you set the date yet?"

Charlie said, "No," at the same time as Davis said, "Sometime in the fall."

They both laughed nervously. Davis added, "Well, you can see I’ve got my work cut out for me getting her to the altar." He reached forward and took her hand, then drew it to his lips. "I’m just glad she’ll have me at all."

"Well, I’d love to hear all the details," Ellen said.

Charlie cast him a look not unlike a frightened colt’s. She pulled back her hand and stood. "If you’ll excuse me, I need to powder my nose."

Ellen asked, "Do you want me to show you the way?"

"Oh no," Charlie quickly reassured her. "You’ll have a lot to talk about with Davis. I’ll only be a few minutes."

Leaning down and kissing his cheek, she said, "Parting is such sweet sorrow. Try not to miss me too much, dear."

Davis hissed, "Chicken."

She patted him on the head and shot him a wide grin as she walked away. Davis turned back to face his mother.

"She seems perfect for you, Davis."

"So, you like her?"

"I don’t really know her yet, but I’m sure with time we’ll become the best of friends." She grinned at Jim, then looked back at Davis. "It’s obvious you belong together and I couldn’t be more delighted that you’ve finally found that right someone."

Jim looked a bit less upset. Instead, he wore a grin that didn’t bode well. "I agree. You suit each other, and if I’d picked a woman for you, I couldn’t have done better. I hope you know how lucky you are."

"Davis, why don’t you run to the bar and get us some punch?" asked his mother. "I want to toast your happiness."

Reluctantly, he pushed back his chair, giving Jim a warning look.

Jim winked. "I think they’ve got punch in a fountain on the buffet."

Davis didn’t have much choice other than to obey their implied order to scram, no matter how much he wanted to stay and make sure Jim didn’t give the game away. One way or another, Mom was going to have her chance at love. Celebrating her nuptials was something he very much intended to do before too long.

C
harlie waited
for ten minutes before leaving the ladies room, hoping that would have given Davis time to answer any of Ellen’s questions. She was certain Ellen would want to know all the details, and Charlie wasn’t ready yet to provide any, especially since she didn’t know them herself.

She left the ladies room and made her way back to the table. As she got closer, she wondered where Davis had gone. Ellen and Jim were in quiet conversation. Charlie felt reluctant to join them just yet. Hanging back a bit, she heard Davis’s mom say, "I know it’s in here."

Jim laughed as Ellen patted his jacket pocket. "You know me too well."

"That’s one of the things I love best about you." She reached into his jacket and pulled out what appeared to be a ring box from his inner pocket. Pushing it into Jim’s hand, she looked into his eyes. "Ask me again."

Jim gulped.

"You don’t think you’re going to run off to Tokyo without me, do you? I’m certain your head would be turned by all those women in kimonos and you’d quickly forget me. I can’t take that risk." Ellen leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. "Ask me, Jim."

Jim looked as if he was afraid to say anything for fear the spell might break.

"If you don’t do it, you’ll force me to ask you and I’d really rather not. It would set a bad precedent." She ran her hand down the side of his face. "Please, Jim?"

Jim whispered something, but Charlie didn’t catch the words, although she knew the meaning. She saw Ellen nod, tears of joy spilling from her eyes and Charlie felt her eyes well up, too.

She hated eavesdropping but in some way was glad she’d done so. Davis had been right that the issue of him being settled was what had prevented Ellen from making a commitment to Jim. Down deep inside, rather than being part of a bogus engagement, Charlie longed to find the love and contentment with a man that Davis’s mother had with Jim.