Page 36 of A Perfect Pairing
Sunday afternoon, Natasha, Serenity, Dana, and Terri sat around a picnic table at Seaside Meadows Park, eating ice cream. Natasha had called her besties, in need of some advice and bursting at the seams with her good news. “Antonio and I had dinner together last night.”
“Really? It must have been somewhere other than here, because I haven’t heard one peep,” Dana said.
“No, we were here. At his place. We cooked together.”
There was stunned silence for a few seconds. Then they bombarded her with questions.
“Can he actually cook?”
“Does this mean you two are ready for the town to know?”
“And what kind of cooking did you doafterthe meal? Oh, and can you or Serenity send one of them to my house for lessons because Jon can barely boil water.”
Natasha held up a hand and laughed at the last two questions, which had come from Terri. “Yes, he can actually cook. Yes, we’re going to take the wraps off at Mama Nora’s party next weekend, as planned. Though it’s going to be hard pretending we’re nothing more than friends every time I see him. Terri, we’ll see about the cooking lessons, and we didn’t do anycookingafter the meal,” she said with a grin. “But not because I didn’t want to.Bay-bee, the man’s kisses are beyond amazing.” She pretended to swoon, then fanned herself.
The women broke out into a fit of giggles.
Serenity bumped her shoulder playfully. “Girl, I am so happy for you two.”
“So am I,” Dana said. “But there are going to be quite a few women who aren’t, and I can’t wait to see their faces when they find out.”
“Dana, you are so bad.” In the back of Natasha’s mind, she’d wondered what would happen as well. While in high school, several of the girls who had fancied themselves in love with Antonio had done everything they could to break them up, from “accidentally” leaving notes he’d supposedly written to them for Natasha to see to outright telling Natasha to her face that he could do better and to watch her back. Most of them still lived in town, and a few were divorced or single and on the hunt. She just hoped that those women acted like the thirtysomething-year-olds they were, rather than the catty teenagers they used to be in school.
“What? You know it’s true.”
Terri laughed. “I guess that kind of foolishness wasn’t limited to the big city.”
“Right,” Serenity said, shaking her head.
“I’m still a little scared we’ll end up the same way as before,” Natasha confessed. She pushed the ice cream around in her cup. “What if we find out we’re too different now?” Last night she’d been caught up in the moment, but this morning everywhat-ifscenario ran through her mind.
Serenity laid a comforting hand on Natasha’s arm. “Sis, you know you can’t go into this expecting it to fail, just like you told me when I was going through the same thing with Gabriel last year.”
“I know, and I’m trying. But this time what I’m starting to feel for Antonio is so much stronger than when we were kids.”
Dana brought a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth. “I know I’m the only single one at the table, but it should feel that way. You both have grown and matured, and this new relationship should reflect that change.”
“See, this is why I called y’all. I needed somebody to talk me off the ledge.” She had gotten so worked up earlier, she’d been tempted to call Antonio and tell him she needed more time before letting the town into their lives.
“That’s what sister-friends do,” Terri said. “Just take it one day at a time like you’ve been doing and don’t let all thewhat-ifs consume you. Everything will work out.”
Natasha smiled. “Thanks, Terri.” She finished the last of her ice cream. “Okay, subject change. You all are going to the party, right?”
The women nodded, and Terri said, “I was honored to be invited since we’ve only lived here a few years. I met Antonio’s grandparents when they brought his grandfather to the emergency room. Mrs. Hayes told me I would always hold a special place in her heart because of the way I took care of the man who was her heart. You know, I started crying right there in the hallway.”
“She’s an amazing lady,” Natasha said. “I’m just sad Mr. Hayes won’t be there.”
“So am I. They’ve been married forever and are still so much in love. Those aregoals.” The women all agreed. Then Serenity said with a sly grin, “Now, you know we have to go shopping this week. We’ve got to find a dress that will make Antonio’s eyeballs fall out.” This brought on more laughter and chatter about the kind of dress Natasha should wear.
“We’ll coordinate our schedules.” A smile curved Natasha’s lips. She knew exactly the type of dress she needed.
CHAPTER 15
Friday afternoon, Natasha could barely contain herself as she waited for Serenity at Brenda’s Bake Box. Only one more day.
“Hey, girl. Sorry I’m late.” Serenity slid into the chair across from Natasha. “Are you getting something?”
“Just a couple of apple-cinnamon muffins to go. I’m ready to shop.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
