Chapter Four

Asa closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Mim always said be careful what you pray for, cause you just might get it. Maybe allowing Simeon to tear down the house had an upside. She took a deep calming breath before opening her eyes again. The jagged hole in the ceiling remained as did the plaster on the floor.

Her phone chimed from her nightstand. She leaned the mop against the wall, grabbed the phone and scanned the screen. Simeon’s named flashed in capital letters.

“Simeon, how are you?” she cooed into the phone, happy to be relieved of clean-up duty even for just a moment.

“I enjoyed our lunch yesterday.” His sexy baritone vibrated in her ear.

Yesterday they had talked about everything but the house over lunch. After filling her in on all their classmates, he talked about his projects. His eyes sparkled with excitement, as he described each one.

“I did too. It was fun. Your stories had me cracking up. I had no idea our senior class president wanted to open up a brothel in Bristol, of all places.”

“Oh, I’ve got a lot more stories. I’ll share them over dinner, tonight?”

“I’m looking forward to it. But I want you to know, I’m onto your plan.”

“My plan?”

“Aren’t you trying to distract me so I won’t pressure you about the house? You know with all the wining and dining stuff?”

His deep laughter resounded through the phone, making her smile. “Umm, I hadn’t thought about it, but that sound like a good plan.” He paused for a moment. She could hear him breathing. “I’ve got a late meeting, so I hope you don’t mind meeting me there.”

“It’s not a problem. I’ve got some stuff to take care of this morning.” She eyeballed the pile of wet plaster in the middle of the hall. “See you there at seven.” Asa disconnected the call.

Heat raced through her veins like an out of control fire. Simeon’s infectious charm ignited the dry tinder buried in her heart. The spark had already begun to mushroom.

“Hey, where are you?” Dakota called from downstairs. The dog released a loud yap as he charged out of the room. His barking grew fiercer as he neared the stairs.

“Up here, come on up.” Asa responded before reaching for the mop.

She watched Dakota’s lip curl in dissatisfaction. Scruffy’s barking only added to the chaos.

“When did you get a dog?” Dakota stood in the upstairs hallway with her hands on her hips.

“This is my ghost. I adopted him a few nights ago.”

“Can’t you shut him up?”

“He doesn’t like strangers.” Asa made a wide swipe with the mop.

“You were a stranger to him until a few nights ago. Give me a break.”

“I’m kinda getting used to having him around. It’s a good thing, too because the animal shelter says he doesn’t have a chip and no one has any idea where he came from.”

“I saw the flyers pinned to the trees as I drove up the block. Maybe you’ll get a response.” Dakota pointed to the water and plaster on the floor. “Now, what happened here?”

“I wish you called me before you dropped by.” Asa continued to mop up the water. “I would have asked you to buy trash bags to put this stuff in.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on here?” Scruffy gave Dakota another growl before running into the bedroom.

“The roof leaks. The ceiling fell in from the weight of the water. What in the world am I getting into here? The house is a wreck.”

“Umm hm, I told you this wasn’t a good idea. How are you going to stay here? Are you crazy?”

Asa swallowed her sharp retort. Instead she said, “Are you going to help me clean up this mess or are you going to stand there and watch me? I have an appointment downtown with a realtor.”

Dakota snatched the broom leaning against the wall. “I’m going to try to talk some sense into your head.” She pushed the soaking wet plaster into a pile. “You go from one harebrained scheme to the next. Why don’t you just come and stay with me?”

Asa chuckled. Dakota was always the messy one. “It’s just a little rain, Dakota.”

“Today it’s rain, tomorrow the walls might cave in, or the floor might buckle. Honey, maybe this house can’t be saved. Have you thought about that?”

“Nope, not once.”

“What about Simeon? Has he said anything positive?”

“Nope, not once,” she repeated. Asa stopped mopping. With one hand she swept her hair away from her face. “Let’s see... where do I start. I’ve seen him twice, we’re having dinner tonight at the most expensive restaurant in the city and he still hasn’t shown his hand. The house is still on the chopping block.”

“He invited you to dinner tonight. That sounds pretty serious to me.” Dakota made a large swipe with the broom.

“If he’s serious, he has a funny way of showing it. So far he’s given me a brotherly hug or a simple kiss on the cheek. I think all this attention has more to do with letting me know he doesn’t intend to change his plans.”

“Don’t be silly. He could have said that on a phone call, he’s got something on his mind. You.” She lifted a brow.

Asa shook her head.“Don’t give me that look. I know what I’m talking about.”

Dakota leaned the broom against the wall. “Besides this manual labor, what can I help with?”

“I might need help finding the best location for my studio. The realtor has several properties for me to look at this afternoon.” She glanced at her watch. “If I don’t take my shower and get out of here I’m going to be late. Don’t you want to take Scruffy for a little walk so he can handle his business?”

“Not on your life. I don’t do dogs.” Dakota scurried down the stairs. “Good luck with Simeon tonight.”

Asa laughed hearing the door close.

§ § §

Asa drummed her fingers on the plush linen tablecloth. Her first dinner in the Hotel DuPont Green Room and she couldn’t take her eyes off the gold gilded ceiling or the elegant decor. A woman played a harp on the small balcony overlooking the dining room. The heavy brocade drapes over the large domed windows blended well with the room décor.

Simeon was late.

Why would he pick one of the most expensive restaurants in Wilmington for dinner? She fumbled with the place setting before running her hands along her black crepe peplum dress.

The blaring alarms from passing fire engines barely penetrated the serene surroundings of the dining room. Everyone continued to eat and drink, ignoring the emergency vehicles outside.

She glanced at the list of exquisite entrees trying to choose one before Simeon arrived. This way he wouldn’t have to witness her indecisiveness.

“Ma’am, would you like to order a drink while you’re waiting?”

“Mmm, yes, I guess so.” Around the restaurant, tables were filling up. The noise level increased two octaves. Why would Simeon keep her waiting so long? “I’ll have a sour apple martini.” Before he could walk away, she raised her hand. “No, no make that a desert pear martini.”

The server nodded and hurried away. The host escorted a middle-aged couple across the dining room. Their arms were linked at the elbow. They reminded Asa of her parents and the love they shared.

The phone in her purse vibrated. After fishing around, she pulled it out and noticed Eric’s number illuminating the screen. Instead of taking the call she silenced the ringer and slipped the phone back in her purse. The love she’d thought she and Eric had shared faded before their first year was through. He’d get the message soon enough.

She craned her neck looking for the server with the martini. He was just arriving. She accepted the delicate stemmed glass from the server and took a long swallow before setting it on the table. Asa squeezed her eyes shut for fortification as the vodka slid down her throat.

From this side of the dining room, she couldn’t track the activity at the entrance. Each time the host escorted someone to their seat Asa glanced up to see if Simeon had arrived. He was twenty minutes late. If this meeting wasn’t so important she would drop some money on the table and walk out. Ten more minutes. She would give him ten more minutes to show up.

She suppressed a smile, if sitting a few more moments guaranteed her some time with Simeon then she was content to wait. She swung her foot to the slow melody of the harp and took another sip of her drink. The next gulp of her martini didn’t require a squint.

She finished the rest of the drink then pulled her pocketbook off the back of the chair. She extracted twenty dollars from her wallet, placed it on the table and raced toward the exit. If Simeon thought she would give up this easy, she had a surprise for him.

Two could play this game.