Page 16 of Reckless Curves
“Even when he loved you and left you?”
“Sex is not love. The love word never crossed his lips.” She could not blame him for that either. “You mean when I chased him so hard, he finally gave in? He never made me any promises, and I knew he was leaving the country the next day.”
“I love how you constantly defend him. You’re still in love with him.”
Tears stung Kendra’s eyes and she closed them. “Yeah. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him. God, he was so hot. He’s even hotter now.”
Stella’s snicker made Kendra open her eyes. “Boy, you got it bad. I doubt he loves you. If he did, why has he ignored you this past year?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. I think he’s too scared to love anyone. I’m simply the mother of his child, who he wants in his life and this is the way to get his son.” It was the ghost in the room when he’d suggested getting married. His proposal wasn’t accompanied by a ‘I love you’ and Kendra wanted that. Wanted it badly. Her parents had a marriage not based on love and she refused to ever end up in a marriage where separate bedrooms were the norm and you lived separate lives too. The children usually suffered. It was far better to tell them the truth and live separately.
Her face must have said it all as Stella added, “Look, don’t rush into anything, but maybe you should explore a relationship with Tom.”
Kendra shook her head. “Is that so? If not for Connor... If he’d wanted me, he would have come for me by now. He’s been in LA almost a year. I bet he’s never even thought about me over the years. I was a one-night romp. I don’t blame him for that. I chased him like crazy. I’m not about to repeat my performance.” She paused. “Plus, you know his rep with the ladies. A different one every night. I don’t think he’s the marrying kind. What happens if he cheats on me? I’d leave and Connor would be heartbroken.”
Stella waggled her eyebrows. “Keep him happy in bed and he won’t want to cheat.”
“You know that’s not true.” But her suggestive remark made Kendra laugh. “I can’t believe you just said that. Yuck. You’re encouraging me to get hitched to Tom after all the nasty things you said about him.” Her smile died. “Besides, there is more to a relationship than sex. I want a partner, not just a bedmate.”
“I’m not saying to jump right into it.” Stella crossed her legs. “Just keep your mind open to the possibility that things could work between you. Try dating him, where is the harm in that?”
Kendra pondered Stella’s statement as she looked her over. Stella’s blonde hair was swept back on the sides and her fringe of bangs brushed her perfectly shaped dark blonde eyebrows. It was simple and stylish. Her outfit of satiny red blouse, knee-length gray skirt, and black high heels was smart and sexy.
Looking down at her black jeans, pink tank top, and black sandals, Kendra remembered the days when she’d dressed like Stella. That had been when she’d had the money to buy nice clothes and go to upscale hairdressers and spas. Now, all her money went to pay for bills, groceries, and whatever Connor needed. There wasn’t room in her budget for expensive clothes. She still had some nice outfits from a few years ago, but she didn’t have much occasion to wear them.
Her old clothes were not what she needed, except perhaps her sexy La Perla lingerie. Tom hadn’t been able to resist her in the silky lace. But she wanted more than a man lusting after her. Could she make a man like Tom fall in love with her?
“How did your piano lessons go today?” Stella asked, changing the subject.
Grateful for the change of topic, Kendra started telling her about how funny little Amy Phillips had been. As she talked, Kendra tried to throw off her negative thoughts and be grateful for what she had.
It worked as long as Stella was there, but it wasn’t long before she left, and loneliness settled over Kendra. Conner was in bed, and none of her other friends would brave her neighborhood at night. Sighing, Kendra poured more wine and settled on the couch with her laptop.
Logging onto Facebook, she saw that she had a new friend request and clicked on the notification icon. Her heart flipped over when she saw that it was from Tom. Why would he do that? Marcus would see that they’d become friends and wonder why. She hovered the pointer over the approve button, but couldn’t bring herself to hit it. Instead, she clicked on the button to bring up a message box.
She mulled over what to say and then typed, “I can’t believe you sent me a friend request. Are you crazy?” and sent the message.
It wasn’t long before Tom sent a reply.I’ve been called that. Are you going to accept it?
Kendra pursed her lips in annoyance.No! Marcus will see that we became friends.
Tom:Just set our relationship to private. No one will know. Besides, you know Marcus hardly gets on here.
Kendra typed, “Not true. He keeps in touch with his racing buddies. Besides, I won’t take the chance. Someone else from the garage might see it and comment on it.
Nothing came back for several moments, and she could almost feel his irritation coming through the Internet.
Tom:What’s your number?
Kendra:You don’t have it?
Tom:Why would I have it? Marcus would never give it to me.
He had a point. A couple, actually. Why would he need her number when he’d cut her out of his life? Plus, Marcus would want to know why Tom wanted it. Marcus would explode once he knew the truth, which she would not let happen until she’d made some decisions, and when she and Tom were sure about their future.
But how long would Tom keep their secret? He’d said that he wanted to marry her so they could give Connor a good life. Kendra knew he meant well, but getting married just for a child was a stupid idea. She had to make him see that, before the identity of Connor’s father became public. They needed to be on the same page before that happened.
Kendra typed in her phone number and a few moments later, her phone rang. Getting a grip on her emotions, she answered it. “That was fast.”
