Page 41 of Missing

He cupped my face and stared deep into my eyes before asking if he could kiss me. His deep husky voice would have removed any resistance, if I’d had any. When I nodded—my ability to speak had fled—he stepped closer and closed the distance between us one painful inch at a time.

Our eyes stayed locked until we were close enough for our lips to touch if one of us puckered them. Then he closed his eyes.

When our lips met, it was electric. It robbed me of my breath as electricity shot through my body.

It started off sweet, just his lips gently pressed to mine. I wanted more, so I parted my lips in invitation. Not needing to be asked twice, Doug deepened the kiss.

I’d been so absorbed in his kiss, I lost all track of time as we stood there, lip locked.

He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine.

“Beth.” His voice was a throaty whisper as his hand massaged the back of my neck.

The bell above the door chimed, snapping me back to the present. I shouldn’t be thinking about kissing Doug at work.

As I made a latte for the customer, I grinned. I’d been fantasizing about Doug for months; now my fantasies were based on reality, not speculation.

‘Have a good day.” I handed the latte over the counter.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. We had a date tonight. At his apartment. Doug was making me dinner, and if I didn’t chicken out, he’d make me breakfast too.

But first I had to get through my shift at Grannie’s.And Chase’s tee ball game.

An hour before my shift ended, I got a text from Nina. She was sick and couldn’t sit tonight. My heart sank as I read her text for the third time. I wasn’t mad; she was reliable, and Chase liked her. I was disappointed because there was no way I’d be able to find an overnight sitter at the last minute on a Friday night.

“Everything okay?” Mary asked.

“Yeah, well, no. Nina’s sick and can’t watch Chase tonight, so I have to cancel my date with Doug.”

“I’m so sorry. I’d offer to watch Chase, but John and I have dinner plans.”

Mary understood how hard it’d be for me to find a replacement at the eleventh hour.

I thanked her before she tried to explain. “I just hope Doug understands.” This was one of the reasons dating me, a single mom, was hard. Our dates were dependent on my babysitter.

“I’m sure he will.” She asked, “Want to go call him?”

“Yeah, I should do it sooner rather than later.” I walked to the break room with my shoulders slumped forward.

As expected, Doug understood. He was busy at work so we couldn’t talk, but he said he’d call me later. I thought about asking him to come to my place but stopped myself. Chase would be there, and I wasn’t ready to cross that line yet.

In an effort to forget my disappointment, I deep cleaned the dining room during our slow period. It didn’t help. My mindkept replaying Doug’s response, looking for clues that he was more upset than he’d let on.

Later, during Chase’s tee ball game I got a call from Meg.

“Hey Beth. I heard Nina had to cancel.”

Doug must have said something because I hadn’t told anyone but Mary. Though it wouldn’t have been out of character for Mary to tell Meg.

“Unfortunately.” I couldn’t keep the disappointment out of my voice.

“Well,” she dragged out the ‘e’ for effect, “I just talked to Jack and he’s good with us having a sleepover with Chase tonight.”

Did she just volunteer to take Chase for the night? And save my date?

“Are you sure?”Why am I asking?

“We’re sure.” I could hear her smile through the phone.

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