Yearning for Love (4 page)

Patty’s face appeared in the mirror behind her fingering her ginger-colored layer-cut, hair.  “I think Walker is smitten with you,” she said with a wide smile.

Nicole continued to primp her own hair in the mirror. “You’re being funny right?”

“No, I’m not being funny.  Walker doesn’t have a problem expressing his interest in a woman.  That distinct twinkle his left eye gave when I introduced you….said it all.”

She turned to face Patty. “I’m not interested in meeting anyone.  I have no room on my schedule for me these days.”

“Is it because he is white?”

Nicole frowned turning her lip upward. “Be real.  If I had a problem with that, you and I would not be standing together in this bathroom.”

“Okay, if that isn’t it, is he not handsome enough for you?”

“Patty, he is very handsome.  Anyhow, I just met the man and you are asking me if we have a future together.”

“I’m just trying to get a sense of what you think about him?”

Nicole tapped a finger to her chin.  “From what I’ve seen so far, he is charming and a bit of a flirt.”

“So you like him?”

“I wouldn’t have a problem liking him if I were looking to get involved.  Besides, he saw me faint.  What kind of impression did that send to him?”

“It was obviously a big enough one to affect him in a major way.  Nicole, we aren’t best girlfriends, and you have no reason to trust me with any man advice.”

Zipping her makeup case and placing it in her purse, Nicole attempted to thwart Patty giving her words of dating wisdom. “Patty, while we’re in here talking, he is waiting to take me to the hotel.  It would be rude of me to keep him standing in the hall wondering if I’m ever going to leave the bathroom.”

Patty threw her hands in the air. “I get it; you don’t want to hear what I have to say because you aren’t interested in Walker.”

She released a deep echoing sigh. “That is not true.  I personally don’t feel this is the right time to discuss your brother-in-law.  He told me his girlfriend dumped him tonight.”

Patty’s mouth dropped opened then closed with her teeth biting down on her bottom lip doing a fist pump.   Nicole crossed her arms amused with the reaction over news that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“Um, Patty, am I missing something?  You appear to be happy about their breakup.”

“I am freaking ecstatic,” she said dancing around happily. “The witch is gone—the witch is finally gone from our lives.  “God, I hated that woman and I think she knew it.”

“Wow, I have never seen two people so happy to have a person ousted from existence.”

“Walker wasn’t devastated when he told you?”

“No, he was calm as a cucumber and seemed relieved.  I mean he said the way she did it was tacky, but he didn’t appear broken over it at all.”

“He hides his emotions from people, including family.  It probably affected him a little, but he refused to let her know how much.”

“If that is the case, why didn’t he stand up to the ex-husband and declare his love for the woman?”

“He doesn’t love her ass. It was her kids he’d become attached; not her.”

“Oh yeah, he did say they had kids together.”

“Did he say anything else about Mary Ellen and Gary?”

“I shouldn’t be telling his business, Patty.”

“You’re right.  He confided in a stranger instead of his brother.  Well, I’ll have to wait until he is ready to talk about it, and I won’t pressure him.”

Nicole gave the bathroom counter a once-over making sure nothing was left behind. “I’d be prone to believe you if you’d remove that smirk from your face.”

Patty slapped her cheeks. “Smirk is gone and I will behave. I promise I will not open my mouth because I was a Girl Scout and we don’t renege on promises,” she said holding up two fingers.

Nicole laughed opening the bathroom door. “If I can’t trust a Girl Scout, then whom can I trust?”

Walker was standing across from the ladies’ room holding Nicole’s coat open for her to slip into. “Is everything okay?” He asked adjusting the coat over her shoulders.

“We were talking.  You know how it is when two women get together in a bathroom,” Patty answered before Nicole could open her mouth.

“I got worried for a minute then I heard laughter. Ms. McLin if you’re ready to go, my chariot waits in the parking lot.”

Buttoning her coat, she didn’t make eye contact with Walker. “Thank you.  It is nice to know not all men believe chivalry is dead.”  She hugged Patty.  “I’ll make sure he is back in time for dessert.”

Patty winked her eye at Walker.  “I will come by your room soon as I’m done here.  We’re still having girl’s night in my suite as my bachelorette party.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Nicole said.  A flash of heat prickled her skin as Walker’s hand rested on her lower back as they walked through the lobby of the restaurant.  Nicole felt such a touch was allocated for people comfortable in each other’s personal space.  They were strangers and she couldn’t imagine she would learn the personal side of Walker during the next forty-eight hours.

*****

The temperature had dropped to near zero when they exited the restaurant.  Nicole placed the hood of her coat over her head to block the freezing cold and blowing snow from whipping around her head.

Walker stepped off the curb and stopped. “Stay here while I’ll get the car.  The snow is ankle-deep, and your dainty boots are not made for treading through this stuff.”

Nicole stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat. She had left her gloves on the front seat of the rental car parked at Patty’s house.  “I’d prefer to walk with you than stand here and freeze.”

Walker pulled off his thick gloves handing them to her.  “Put these on if you’re gonna walk with me.”  She didn’t refuse the heavy fur-lined pouches of warmth.  “I walk fast,” he said bending his arm at the elbow for her to take hold of. “Give my arm a tug and I’ll slow down for ya.”

She slid her arm through his as they sloshed through the deep snow covering the parking lot. “I walk fast myself and my boots are perfect for this weather.”

He snorted causing the heat of his breath to steam the cold air. “Pardon me for making an unfair assumption about your boots.”

“You are forgiven.  It really is nice of you to volunteer to take me my hotel.  I feel bad you will miss the dinner.”

“I’m not missing much.  I see the majority of those people at every holiday event or funeral.  And even then that’s too much for me.”

“Am I to presume you aren’t into large family gatherings?”

“I like to choose which family activities I attend.”

He used the key remote to unlock the pickup truck’s doors and remote start the car. Opening the passenger’s side door to his midnight black Toyota Tundra, he waited for Nicole to get inside.  Trotting to the driver’s side, he slid behind the wheel cranking the defroster to high, before exiting the car to clean the windows.

Swishing the soft snow from the windshield, Walker watched Nicole scroll through her cell phone.  He wondered if she was looking for calls or text messages from her boyfriend.  He didn’t ask if she was involved and Patty didn’t say what her status was either.  Jeremy’s remark about her being not the type of women he’d date, offered speculation she probably dated slick-talking tycoons or super intelligent men.

He finished cleaning the window summing up, if he wanted to know about her, he would ask.  He didn’t want second-hand information but information straight from the source—her.

He got in the truck blowing and rubbing the chill from his hands.  Nicole put her cell phone away looking at her hands drowning in his large gloves.  “I have your gloves.  I’m so absent-minded at times.”  She pulled them off giving them to him.  “Warm your hands.”

“Nah, I’ll live.  I work in the cold with my bare hands.  What hotel are we going to?” He asked driving from the parking lot to the snow-covered street.

“The Beachwood Courtyard Marriott,” she answered.  “I never would have pegged your occupation to be a mechanic.  Do you possess a love for fast cars?”

“I love cars period.  Taking them apart to see how they work has been an interest I’ve held since I got my first Hot Wheel’s garage set when I was tot.  How did you get started in fashion?”

“Gosh, the day my nanny let me help her make a dress.  Before she worked for my parents, she was a seamstress and made beautiful dresses and suits.  As I got older, I discovered I could draw and began designing clothes for my dolls.  As an only child, I’d spend a lot of time alone and my imagination would go wild.  The clothes I made for Barbie and Ken to wear would be hot numbers at Fredrick’s of Hollywood,” she laughed.

He took his eyes off the road briefly to look at her. “Is that right?  Did you design sexy stuff for you to wear?”

She released a mellow but racy internal snigger. “Let’s say I had to keep my drawing pads hidden from my nanny.  If I’d gone to my prom, I definitely would have been sent home for indecent exposure.”

Her naughty snicker told him she was not as reserved as Jeremy wanted him to believe. “I’d be interested in seeing those drawings.”

“I still have them.  I actually created a line of lingerie that sold out the first day I put them on display in the window of my shop.”

“You own a dress shop?”

“Not anymore.  These days I answer complaints from executives and support staff members who can’t find the off button on their computers.”

“Wow, you’re a user support analyst?”

“That is part of my job title at AeroFusion.  I’m technically a computer engineer specializing in software development but since AeroFusion has downsized, I offer user support and teach software applications.”

Walker arched a brow and smirked. “A computer geek; I never saw that coming.”

“Yes I am. Well, I tried my hand at my dream and it failed.  I had to return to the real world to support my habit.”

“What’s your habit?”

“Eating and living indoors. Um, Patty doesn’t know I had to give up the shop.  She had her heart set on a wedding dress no other woman would ever wear. It’s my fault I didn’t have the heart to tell her I made her dresses in my tiny apartment.”

“Damn, she has a big wedding party.  How did you pull it off?”

“I enlisted help from my former employees.  We worked around the clock to get the dresses finished.”

He hesitated to ask, but she seemed free with talking about herself. “Why didn’t you to go to family for help?”

Nicole removed her hood and fumbled with the gloves lying on her lap. “I don’t ask my parents for anything.”

“You’re an only kid…you should be spoiled rotten.”

“One would think so,” she replied without explaining.

Walker heard the angst in her voice and decided not to push the envelope.  It was apparent she only let people see one side of her.  Patty and Jeremy saw a woman living her dream.  He was seeing a different side of Nicole McLin.  She was definitely strong, a little stubborn, yet vulnerable.  But, inside her closet, there were skeletons she did not want released.

Exiting the highway, he pulled into the drive-thru of Burger King.  Bringing the truck to a halt before the large menu, he scanned over the choices.  “What do you eat from this joint?”

She shook her hands refusing. “I don’t want anything, thanks.”

“A salad you say?  And, add grilled chicken for protein?”

“Walker, I ate a boatload of pasta.  I’m too full to eat anymore tonight.”

He ignored her and pulled to the speaker to place his order.  Ordering a Whopper with the works and a chocolate shake for him, and a grilled chicken salad and diet coke for Nicole, he paid and handed her the cardboard cup carrier with the drinks and the bag of food so he could continue the drive to the hotel.

He detected her stare burning a hole in the side of his head. “Walker,” she said and his name left her lips in a strict tone.  “You are hardheaded.”

“You need to eat and once the hen party starts, you won’t eat again.  Tell me, I’m wrong?”

She shook her head.  “If I eat this food on top of what I ate already, it will push me in the other direction; I’ll pass out from hyperglycemia.”

“Save it for later; especially if you’re drinking tonight.”

“I don’t drink, per se.  I might have a glass of wine or a fruity mixed drink, but no hard liquor.  Diabetics should avoid alcohol or use their head and stop after one or two drinks.”

“I guess you’re the designated driver when you’re out with friends.”

“Yes I am when I spend an evening with the girls.”

The hotel’s bright lights guided Walker through the curvy path to the guest parking lot. Locating a space close to the front door, he gathered the food, and they hurried inside.  The massive lobby consisting of polished marble floors and tall ceilings was nearly empty except for the service personnel hanging around the front desk.

The older woman behind the service desk called to them. “Excuse me; may I help you?”

Walker didn’t stop his stride towards the bank of elevators. “Nope, she knows the way to her room.”  He chuckled as the old bird’s head lowered, and her eyes peered over the rim of the wired glasses teetering on the end of her nose.  It was the twenty-first century, and a number of people still had issues with different races mingling together.

The brass-colored elevators doors opened, and Nicole pressed the button for the fourteenth floor.  The soft hum of the elevator was the only sound circulating in the compartment.  Walker cleared his throat.  The question he wanted to ask had to be done; it was now or never.  “Nicole, may I ask a personal question?”

“Sure but my honest answer will be dependent on how personal the question is.”  The elevator doors opened to the desired floor.  “My room is around the corner, can your questions wait until we are there?”

“Yeah, it can wait.”

Nicole stopped in front of door 1401.  A block of rooms on the floor had been reserved for Patty and Jeremy’s out of town guests and the bridal party.  Digging inside her purse, she found the keycard.  “Let me do that for you,” Walker said handing her the food and drinks. Opening the door, the room was basic but furnished nicely with a couch, chair, double bed, desk, and a 32-inch flat screen television.