The Best for Last (4 page)

They'd met a few years after he'd moved to Tampa. He and Dave were just getting started in the construction business and they were making good money. Terrie was a real-estate attorney, a few years older than he was, and divorced with a young son. She'd encouraged Steve to invest in a company with one of her clients, Ted Ferguson, a hotshot land developer from south Florida. Dave hadn't wanted in on it, so Steve had kept his two businesses separate. It didn't take long for the investment to pay off. Before Steve knew it he'd made his first million, and the money just kept on coming. The relationship with Terrie had flowed naturally. She was attractive and they'd started sleeping together. He thought the fact that she had a son and was professionally stable was a good omen. But the minute they'd said “I do” things had gone downhill.

“My God, it's hot out there!” She made a face then sat down, leaning over just enough to give him a deliberate view of her cleavage. “I detest Florida in summer.
Thank God
for air-conditioning.”

The waiter brought him his beer and Terrie fluttered her fake eyelashes at him. “Will you be a sweetheart and bring me a water with lemon, please?”

The poor shmuck smiled right back. He brought her the water and they proceeded to order.

“Tell me about the offer,” Steve said, getting down to business.

“It's a hundred thousand less than the asking price, but I don't think we're going to do much better than that.”

He tried to hide his irritation. “I told you that two years ago.”

When they'd first put the house on the market, he'd insisted that they price it to sell. The faster they got rid of the house, the better. But she'd squawked at every offer that came along, refusing to consider any kind of negotiation. After a few months, the offers stopped coming. Not that it was any skin off her nose. He'd paid for every square inch of that house with his own cash, although technically, according to the state of Florida, the place was considered joint community property. Terrie stood to make a very nice undeserved profit at closing.

“Yes, well, you were right.” She gave him a well-practiced smile. “We should have priced it better.” It was the closest she'd ever get to admitting that she'd been wrong.

The server brought them their food. Steve waited until he left before he said, “So what changed your mind? Let me guess. You need cash.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You're revolting. Is everything about money to you?”

He shrugged. This was one game he wasn't going to let himself be dragged into. When they'd been married, she'd loved to rub his nose in the fact that he barely had a high school education. She hadn't minded his money, though. She'd spent that like his wallet was on fire.

“I still haven't heard anything that we couldn't have talked about over the phone,” he said.

“I just… I wanted to make sure that you understood that we
need
to accept this offer. If you must know, I have an opportunity to invest in a land deal in south Florida, so yes, some extra cash will come in handy now.” She looked over at him through her lashes. “What about you? Isn't it about time you got a place of your own? You must be tired of playing house with what's her name.”

Terrie knew damn good and well Kitty's name. Last year they'd been forced to work on a real estate deal together.

“I'm happy where I am now, thanks,” he said tightly.

She shook her head sadly. “Oh, Steve, I really hope you're not leading that poor girl on. I mean, she doesn't think that you're going to
marry
her, does she?”

He stilled. “That's none of your business, Terrie.”

“Not technically, but as a former wife of yours, let's just say I know what I'm talking about.” She sighed. “I know you must hate me and I
forgive
you for that, but I'm just trying to be your friend here.”

She forgave
him
? What a joke. He didn't hate her, though. Hate implied strong emotion and what he felt for her was barely more than mild irritation. Still, she knew how to get under his skin. He counted to three. “Really? You want to be my friend?”

“Is that so hard to believe? Think of all we've been through together. It wasn't all bad, was it?”

“You mean like when I walked into your office to see you on your knees with your mouth wrapped around Ferguson's dick? Yeah, good times.”

“I only did that because you made me!” She looked startled, as if she hadn't realized what came out of her mouth until after she'd said it. She glanced around the restaurant but with the exception of an elderly lady sitting in the table next to them, no one paid them any attention.

He laid down his fork. “I made you give Ferguson a blow job?” He laughed. “Now that's rich.”

She managed to reclaim her composure. “I had a long talk with my therapist the other day about you and it all came out in the open.”

“You talked to a shrink,” he said slowly. “About me?”

“How do you think I've been able to get past that disaster we called a marriage? What I did was wrong, I admit that, but I would never have cheated if I was getting the kind of affection I deserved. You might have been a good provider, and you were certainly no slouch in the bedroom, I'll give you that, but a woman needs more. She needs to feel loved and appreciated. She needs a man who can express his
feelings
. Something you are totally incapable of. So, I overcompensated by spending your money and trying to get affection elsewhere.” She managed to squeeze out a tear. “My therapist says I was emotionally abused by you.”

Was she for real? He'd almost forgotten how special she was.

“Let me get this straight. You spent my money and fucked around on me because I made you do it?”

“You don't have to be so crude,” she spat.

“Hey, if I remember right, you used to like crude. A lot.”

Her cheeks reddened.

Okay, so now he was just being a dick. It was way past time for him to walk out on this conversation. He stood. “Thanks for an enlightening lunch. Tell the realtor we'll take the offer. We'll split the money and never have to see each other again.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but he was already walking away.

#

A woman needs more. She needs to feel loved and appreciated. She needs a man who can express his feelings. Something
you
are totally incapable of
.

He shouldn't let her get to him. She was his ex-wife, for God's sake. Of course she'd have nothing good to say about him.

Steve slowed his truck and got into the right lane. He was just a few minutes away from Panama City where he had a construction crew working on an addition to the local mall. Maybe he should stop by and check up on their progress. Pick up a hammer and do some real work. Not that what he did at his desk all day wasn't work. But he'd love nothing better than to pound the crap out of something right now.

He parked his truck in the small lot across the street from the construction site. A cream-colored stucco building with a red-tiled roof caught his attention, but it was the sign above the door that made him stop cold.

His chest suddenly felt like it was on fire. Damn indigestion. Maybe he shouldn't have eaten that fried grouper.

My therapist says I was emotionally abused by you
.

He snorted. Right.
Her therapist
. It was probably some quack that Terrie paid a hundred bucks an hour to agree with everything she said.

Still…

She needs a man who can express his feelings. Something you are totally incapable of
.

So he was a man of few words. So he didn't like to go around wearing his emotions on his sleeve. What guy did? Actions should speak louder than words, right?

Except, Kitty was going to need those words. And soon.

He glanced once more at the sign. Dr. Joanna Carson, LCP, Family Therapist.

Aw, hell.
He was probably going to regret this.

He backtracked, opened the door, and walked inside.

CHAPTER FOUR

K
itty stared at the dresses she'd flung on her bed in disgust. In less than an hour, she and Steve would meet her father and his “surprise” at The Harbor House for drinks and dinner, and she wanted to look good.

No. Scratch that. She needed to look
spectacular
.

Her father's last girlfriend had been twenty-two with a body even a Playboy pinup model would envy. Was it vain of her to not want to be shown up by her sixty-five-year-old father's trophy girlfriend? Nope. Not vain at all.

She'd showered, shaved, washed and straightened her hair, and had on a new matching bra and underwear set. A nude-colored, lacy number she'd gotten at Victoria's Secret. She'd just slipped on her black heels when she heard the garage door open and close.

It was about time! If they didn't leave soon they'd be late.

A few minutes later, Steve came walking into the bedroom. He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest. “Personally, I kind of like this look, but if you think I'm going to let you walk into The Harbor House like that then you're crazy.”

“Ha-ha.” She scooped two of the dresses off the bed and placed them side by side for his inspection. “What do you think? The green or the blue?”

He tugged off his shirt. “Either one. Do I have time for a shower?”

“A quick one,” she said, opting for the blue. Or should she wear the black?

She was about to try it on when he spun her around and drew her against him. “Or better yet, do we have time for a shower together?” he asked huskily.

“Tempting, but I just spent forty-five minutes getting my hair to look this way and I don't want to get it wet again.”

“Seriously?”

The heat in his dark eyes could melt the polar ice caps. And she was only human, after all. “Well…” He began to kiss her neck. “Not fair. You know what that does to me,” she panted. Maybe a little wet hair wouldn't be so bad…

Her cell phone buzzed. She glanced over at the bedside table. “That's probably my dad.”

“Maybe he's going to be late,” Steve said. “Or better yet, maybe he's canceling.”

Her phone buzzed again. She reluctantly tore herself from Steve's arms to pick it up.

Got in early. Already at the restaurant. Can't wait to see you!

She showed Steve the screen.

“Give me three minutes in the shower.” He stripped off the rest of his clothes and headed into the bathroom.

Sigh
. Shower sex would have been so lovely. She opted for the blue dress, then touched up her makeup in the bedroom mirror. “How did the interview with Tom go?” she asked loud enough to carry into the adjoining bathroom.

“He took the job,” he said over the noise from the shower.

“Great! I tried calling you this afternoon to see how it went, but your phone went straight to voicemail.”

He didn't answer back. Not that her statement required an answer, but Steve was in the habit of calling her every afternoon, just to see how her day was going. It was a sweet gesture and she'd gotten used to it. So when he hadn't called today, she'd missed talking to him.

He came out a couple of minutes later with nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips. She watched as he quickly dressed in a pair of dark dress slacks and a blue, long-sleeved shirt. He looked so handsome it made her bones ache. It made other parts of her ache, too. They were definitely having shower sex when they got back from dinner. Or bed sex. Or couch sex. It didn't really matter where.

She cleared her throat. “How did lunch with Terrie go?”

“Looks like the house is going to sell. We accepted the offer this afternoon. If all goes well, we should close in thirty days.”

Kitty sat down on the edge of the bed. “Are you sad? I know you really loved that house.”

“Not really.” He shrugged. “I mean, yeah, it was a great house, but I'll build another one.”

Now that was a surprise. Steve had never talked about building another house before. A house for them? Or one just for
him
? She couldn't imagine living anywhere but here in Whispering Bay. But if he asked her to move, would she?

The answer was so clear to her.

Yes
. She'd go anywhere he asked her to. But would he ever ask?

“You know, I think today was the first day in almost a year that you didn't call me in the afternoon.” She sounded whiny, but she couldn't help herself.

He glanced away to adjust the cuffs on his shirt, which was odd because he'd done that already. “Sorry, I was out at a construction site and there was no cell phone service. Did you need something?”

For a second, she didn't know what to say. Had Steve just
lied
to her? He'd never lied to her. Not that she was aware of. But he was suddenly having trouble meeting her gaze. “Um, no, I just wanted to know how the interview with Tom went.”

His right eye twitched. “Like I said, I hired the guy.”

Okay. There was definitely something off. His answer bordered on almost hostile. What was going on here? If they weren't already running late, she'd take this conversation further.

She picked up her clutch purse. “Okay, I'm ready.”

She'd turned to walk out the door, when he grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips, gently kissing her knuckles. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound abrupt. You know I would do anything to make you happy, right?”

She swallowed hard. He sounded so sincere. So loving. She should feel reassured. But for some reason, she felt the exact opposite.

#

The Harbor House was Whispering Bay's fanciest restaurant. Located directly on the gulf, it boasted a superb view from nearly every table. That, and the elegant (aka, expensive) seafood and extensive wine list, put it on nearly every restaurant magazine's best places to eat in the Florida panhandle.

Kitty plastered a huge smile on her face as Steve escorted her into the packed dining room. The hostess guided them toward the back of the restaurant. She spotted her father first, but he didn't notice her. He was too busy laughing at something his companion was saying.

She could do this
. She could smile and make nice with her father's latest conquest. No matter how young or silly or inappropriate she might be. She would do it because he was her father and she loved him. Simple as that.

“So here you are,” the hostess chirped as she handed them their menus. “Enjoy your dinner!”

Dad stood and enveloped her in a hug. He wore a suit and tie and smelled like expensive cologne. Even at sixty-five, Alan Burke could still be considered handsome, with a full head of salt-and-pepper-colored hair and smiling brown eyes. He pulled back to inspect her. “Sweetheart! You look fabulous!”

“So do you, Daddy.”

He stretched his hand across the table toward his date. Kitty turned to greet her and for a moment…
No
. She blinked. Then she blinked again.

The woman holding her father's hand and smiling back at her shyly was old enough to be Kitty's mother!

“Sweetheart, this is Sharon Ackerman,” her father said. “Sharon, this is my little Kitten. Well, not so little anymore, I suppose.” His smile had enough wattage behind it to light up a stadium.

Steve shook hands with her father and Sharon. Kitty, on the other hand, must have seemed like a deaf mute because after a few seconds, Steve put his hand on the small of her back and exerted just enough pressure to snap her out of her stupor.

“Um,
hello
! Sharon, so nice to meet you!” Kitty managed to say.

Sharon reached out and hugged her. It was similar to being in some sort of weird dream where she saw herself hug Sharon back, only it didn't seem to be really happening.

“Sorry! I'm a hugger,” Sharon said in a warm southern accent. She was medium height with blonde hair cut into a sophisticated chin-length bob. Her blue eyes (with the crow's feet around them!) glowed with happiness. Her red linen dress with a simple scarf and pearl earrings showcased her toned figure, but the skin on her neck and arms revealed the normal loss of elasticity for a woman of about sixty. Kitty would bet her last dollar this lady had never seen the inside of a plastic surgeon's office.

“Well!” Dad slapped his hands together, rubbing them briskly. “I think this calls for some champagne!”

No. This called for vodka!

What was her father
doing
with this woman? Yes, she was close to his age and attractive, and she certainly seemed nice enough, but this wasn't his usual style at all. What was going on here?

“I love champagne!” Sharon smiled and patted the seat next to her. “Kitty, sit here so we can talk better. I'm so excited to finally meet Alan's daughter! He's told me so much about you.”

“He has?” she asked weakly.

Her father ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon and they all laughed at something Steve said. Kitty glanced over to see Steve looking at her with concern in his eyes. “Are you all right?” he whispered.

She nodded. Yes. Of course she was all right! She was just in shock, that's all.

The waiter made a big show of uncorking the champagne and her father raised his glass in a toast. Something about being happy to have everyone here for this most special night, yada, yada…

“How did you two meet?” Steve asked.

Sharon and her father exchanged a secret smile. “Your father tried to buy some drugs off me,” she said.

Kitty nearly choked on her champagne. Her dad slapped her on the back. “You okay?”

“I'm good,” she croaked.

“Now, Sharon, honey, you can't say it like that. The truth is, I was nearly on my deathbed with one of the worst sinus headaches of my life, so I dragged myself down to the drugstore and tried to buy a couple packages of that stuff they use to make crystal meth with…what's it called again?”

“You mean Sudafed?” Kitty asked.

“That's the stuff!” Dad said.

Sharon's blue eyes twinkled with mirth. And something else that Kitty found a little disconcerting. Sharon was looking at her father as if…as if… She crossed that thought immediately out of her brain.

“Dad, I think you've watched one too many
Breaking Bad
reruns.”

Her father laughed. “So, back to my story. I tried to the buy the stuff and out from behind the counter comes this gorgeous angel of mercy.” He winked at Sharon, who blushed furiously.

Kitty reached out and refilled her own champagne glass.

“I'm a pharmacist, and we have to make sure we're not selling those kinds of products to any minors,” Sharon explained.

“Minors,” Kitty muttered. “Nope, I think Dad is
definitely
of age.”

“We hit it off immediately. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I asked her out, and it must have been my lucky day because she said yes,” Dad said.

Steve grinned. “Nice story.”

“Isn't it?” Sharon said. “My daughters absolutely
adore
Alan.”

“Hey! Let me show Kitty the new baby.” Her father pulled out his cell phone. A pretty young woman with blonde hair and a big smile, holding a newborn in her arms, graced the small screen. “This is Ginny, Sharon's youngest daughter, and Madison, the newest grandchild!” her father exclaimed proudly.

Grandchild? Her father was doing the nasty with a
grandmother
! Not that Kitty wasn't relieved that her father had finally found someone his own age, but for as long as she could remember her dad had been living like some Hugh Heffner wannabe. What had happened to change him?

Dad went on to talk about the rest of Sharon's family and what a great bunch they were. Apparently, they'd all gone on some kind of mini-vacation just a few weeks ago. He regaled them with a funny story about a golf game gone bad. And remember that time they got lost driving to Atlanta for the weekend?

The whole thing sounded incredibly cozy, as well as completely foreign. She'd spoken to her father just a couple of weeks ago and he'd never once mentioned Sharon.

“Exactly how long have the two of you been…um, dating?” Kitty asked.

“It will be three months tomorrow,” her father said, his voice thickening with emotion. “Sweetheart, I know this will come as somewhat of a shock to you, but I wanted to tell you my big news in person.” He paused for what must have been just a couple of seconds, but long enough for Kitty to see her life flash before her eyes. “Sharon has made me the happiest man on earth by agreeing to be my wife. We want to get married as soon as possible. Just a small ceremony. Sharon's family and you. And, Kitten, I want you to be my best man.”

“
Me
?”

“I know it's a rather untraditional role for a woman, but there's no one I'd rather have standing next to me on the most important day of my life than my own daughter.”

Steve shook her father's hand. “Congratulations,” he said. “Just last night Kitty was telling me how she hoped you'd find a nice woman and settle down one day. Isn't that right, babe?”

“Of…course! Yes, um, this is
fantastic
!” Because, well,
it was
, right? She leaned over and gave her father a hug. And then, because it seemed like the thing to do, she gave Sharon another hug as well.

“I know this must seem fast to you,” Sharon said softly, “but I hope you'll be happy for us.” She reached out and took Daddy's hand in hers. “My husband died of cancer eight years ago when I was fifty-three. We'd been married for almost thirty years. I thought after Phillip's death…well, I'd just lost the love of my life. What did I have to look forward to?”

Kitty nodded, still dazed, and took another big swig of her champagne.

“Eventually, I realized my life was pretty good. I got to see my two beautiful girls get married, got to witness the birth of my grandchildren, and I still had my career as a pharmacist. After a few years, the girls even talked me into trying that Internet dating thing, and I went out with some very nice gentlemen, but no one came close to shaking things up until that day your father walked into my drugstore and rocked my world. It was like…the sun had been hiding for a very long time and finally decided to come out again. I knew on our first date that I was in trouble. Because if this beautiful man didn't return my feelings, I was going to get my heart broken. Luckily for me, I was wrong. You
can
find the love of your life a second time around.”