“This is where we say good-night,” Renae informed Mike. “We’re going to stop in here for a short visit with our neighbors before we go home. It was nice seeing you tonight, Mike.”
“Yeah, you, too, Renae. Maybe we’ll see each other again soon?”
It was as broad a hint as he’d given her yet. She kept her smile friendly without being particularly encouraging. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other at the school. Good night, Mike.”
He nodded in resignation. “See you later, Daniel and Leslie. Enjoy the rest of your Halloween.”
“Thanks, Mr. Bishop,” Daniel said.
As had been arranged previously, Daisy and Maxine invited Renae and the twins in for hot chocolate and homemade cookies to finish off their outing. Waving goodbye to Cooper and Jackson, they entered happily. Having just given out the last of their candy, Lucy walked over to join them for this end-of-Halloween-evening celebration.
Chattering excitedly, the twins showed their grandmother the candy they’d collected, telling her stories about all the friends they’d seen and what everyone had worn and how funny Mike had been as he’d accompanied them. Daisy and Maxine sat them at the little round kitchen table with marshmallow-topped mugs of cocoa and a plate of oversize sugar cookies decorated with brightly colored frosting to resemble smiling jack-o’-lanterns. Renae insisted the twins have no more than one each.
“They’re big cookies,” she said when they frowned. “One cookie and the hot chocolate is plenty of dessert for tonight.”
She knew the sisters would send cookies home with them. Between that and the haul of candy, she would be portioning out sweets for the next month—and would then have to start all over for the next round of holidays.
Maxine picked up a tray holding steaming, fragrant mugs of chamomile tea and four cookies. “We older ladies will have ours in the living room,” she told the kids. “Call out if you need anything.”
Renae blinked rapidly.
Daisy chuckled in response to what she must have seen on Renae’s face. “She didn’t mean you, of course, dear. She was talking about the rest of us older ladies.”
Renae managed a strained smile and followed them into the living room. Accepting her tea and cookie, she took a seat by the large-screen television on which the sisters watched their many favorite programs. Because it was currently turned off, the screen was dark, and she could see her own reflection there.
She had to drag her eyes away.
Despite being the mother of first graders and a widow for almost seven years, she was only thirty years old. That was still young, she reminded herself fiercely, especially in comparison to the other women in the room. Was she really ready to live the same way they did—content with work and family and household chores and television? Shouldn’t there be more? Fun? Excitement?
Passion?
Was it wrong of her to feel this way when she had so many wonderful things in her life? Was she tempting fate to take something away when she still wished for more?
She closed her eyes for a moment, and she could almost feel Evan’s mouth against hers again. Could feel her heart racing in her chest, a flush of arousal on her cheeks, a shiver of awareness deep inside her belly. The memory made her feel young again. Desirable. Hungry for something more than a Halloween cookie.
Mike Bishop’s flirting hadn’t made her feel anything like that.
From the kitchen came a spate of sugar-fueled chatter. At the same time, she heard Lucy laugh musically at something one of the other women had said. Her eyes opened and she frowned hard at that hazy reflection on the television.
She had so very much to lose, if she wasn’t very careful.
* * *
Standing outside Evan’s door on the Wednesday after Halloween, Renae drew a deep breath and smoothed her hands down the sides of the long-sleeved, snugly fitted, brown-and-rust knit dress she had worn to work that day. Though she usually wore pants, she did occasionally wear dresses, so her coworkers hadn’t expressed surprise.
Now she wondered if she should have just donned her usual sweater and pants that morning, rather than this admittedly flattering dress. She adjusted the deep cowl neckline, smoothed her hair—then dropped her hand, chiding herself for her primping.
So she’d wanted to look good today for Evan and Tate, she told herself impatiently. She was honest enough with herself to admit that it was probably because her ego was still stinging from Maxine’s innocent faux pas. There was no need to stand here second-guessing her choice of clothing when the guys were waiting for her to get the meeting started.
Evan opened the door to her. His gaze swept her and she knew he hadn’t missed a detail of her appearance. The appreciation in his expression when he met her eyes again made her feel that the extra few minutes she’d taken that morning had been worth the effort, even as a ripple of nerves and awareness coursed through her.
“You look very nice,” Evan said, his voice sounding a bit deeper than usual.
“Thank you.”
He, of course, looked as appealing as always, though he was dressed very much as usual in a blue shirt and dark slacks. She stepped past him in the apartment, glancing around the living room. “Tate’s not here yet?”
“Tate’s not coming.”