KEITH WENT HOME AFTER they’d said good night to Eva and turned off her light.
He would have liked to stay. He would have liked to hang out with Serena. Talk or listen to music or watch TV or have a glass of wine. He didn’t want to leave her, and she certainly wasn’t pushing him toward the door.
In fact, she’d asked him straight out if he wanted to stay for a while. Her eyes had looked gray in the lamplight, and her hair had been rumpled deliciously around her face. Her invitation had been sincere. She wasn’t secretly hoping for him to leave and give her some time alone. Nothing that had happened today—not even that awkward moment washing dishes when she’d clearly seen what he’d been trying to hide for so long—had changed the fact that she loved having him around.
But Keith wanted to be with her right now so much that he knew it was a potential danger. She was too beautiful. Too sweet and smart and generous. Too Serena. And feeling the way he had all day would make it very difficult to resist the temptation.
She didn’t want that. Not right now anyway. And he’d never push her in ways she didn’t want.
So he told her he was a little tired and couldn’t help but be gratified by the disappointment on her face. He gave her a brief hug and a light kiss on the cheek and made his escape to his apartment next door.
He closed the door behind him with a loud click. Then he locked the dead bolt for good measure. He stood staring at the medium brown wood for several seconds before he found the will to turn around and walk down his hall.
He took off his clothes. Took a long shower. Jerked off under the spray to release some tension and tried not to imagine Serena’s face as he came.
Afterward, he pulled on a T-shirt and pajama pants and got a beer from his refrigerator. He’d been trying to read a book about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Serena had given it to him a few weeks ago, and she’d asked a couple of times if he’d read it yet. The history and details were engrossing, but Keith’s mind was whirling too much from the day and he couldn’t focus on the sentences.
She’d responded to him. Physically as well as emotionally. He was almost positive that she had. He couldn’t be so completely wrong about this. He’d know if there was no hope at all between them.
For a long time, she’d genuinely never thought about him like that. Back in school, he’d known for sure there was never even a chance, so he’d contented himself with their friendship and he’d looked for romance elsewhere.
Then she’d gotten married—in her freshman year of college—and she’d been entirely out of reach. So he’d done the work to resign himself to never having her the way he wanted. He would have been fine. He was sure he’d have been fine that way, even knowing that Scott didn’t deserve her. He’d settled into a perfectly good life with a job he loved and a group of friends and plenty of possible dates if he wanted to have sex.
But Serena’s marriage had fallen apart, and she was suddenly free and available again, reigniting a small hope. That was when everything changed for him.
And he could no longer find convincing reasons for not acting on his desires.
She’d been wounded by her failed marriage and by the way that asshole Scott had treated her. She needed time to heal. He didn’t blame her for any of that—or even for using it as an excuse for not recognizing what had been growing between them.
But it was hard to be patient when he could sense matching emotion in her too.
He took a long drag of beer and closed his eyes with a groan. Maybe he was just imagining it. Maybe he was letting his hopes cloud his reason. Maybe that was why she’d pushed him away.
He was mulling over this possibility—and not believing it—when there was a knock on his door.
There was only one person it could be, so he jumped out of his chair and strode over to let her in.
It was indeed Serena. She’d changed into pajamas too and looked lusciously soft and curvy in pale blue fleece pants and a gray tank top.
She wasn’t wearing a bra. He noticed that immediately and had trouble dragging his eyes away from the full curve of her breasts and the outline of her nipples.
She grinned at him, completely unaware of the route his thoughts had taken. “Hey, you weren’t already in bed, were you?”
“No. I was reading. But you look like you were in bed. What’s going on?”
“I was in bed, but then I got news and had to come tell you.” She was flushed and glowing.
Her excitement was contagious. Keith’s heartbeat accelerated. His breathing picked up. It felt like something good was about to happen, and there was only one good thing on his mind at the moment.
Serena.
And here she was at his door, looking like she’d just tumbled out of bed.
Just for him.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice a little too gruff. But there wasn’t anything he could do about that.
“I got you a date!”
His galloping heart dropped with a thud to his gut. “What?”
“I got you a date!” she repeated, brimming with warm feeling. “She’s absolutely perfect for you. You’re really going to like her.”
Keith had a bad few moments when he felt like he’d been socked in the stomach. Winded. Exactly like a blow. But he pushed through it enough to ask with a semblance of normalcy, “Who is she?”
“Her name is Kelly. She’s another teacher at Weston. She’s an art teacher, and she’s really artistic and creative. She’s lovely and smart and sweet, and I know you’ll like her. Kelly and Keith.” She hauled in a breath after that torrent of words. “Wouldn’t that be cute?”
Keith managed not to groan. “I’m not sure a successful relationship can be based on names beginning with the same letter.”
“I know. Don’t be grumpy about it. I know you’re not as excited about this as I am, but I really think it’s worth a try.” She blinked, peering at his face. “Did you change your mind about it?”
Yes. Of course he had. He’d never wanted to do this to begin with. He didn’t want to go out with anyone but Serena.
“No, I haven’t changed my mind. I just wasn’t expecting it to happen so fast.”
“Well, I figured why wait? So I texted Kelly a few minutes ago and told her about you. She said she’d be happy to hear from you if you want to touch base with her and ask her out.”
This time he couldn’t quite suppress the groan.
“Don’t be that way,” Serena told him firmly, giving his arm a gentle punch. “Someone has to look out for you, so I’m doing it. Kelly wants to get married and have kids.”
Keith’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure—”
“Oh my goodness, don’t be ridiculous. She’s not going to expect anything serious right away. I’m just saying she’s a nice girl who wants the same kind of future you do. So if y’all hit it off, then you’ve got that going for you.”
Licking his lips slowly, Keith waged a mental debate, and his wise and sensible side won out over the howling animal who wanted nothing but Serena and resented any attempt to keep them apart. “Okay. Fine. Text me her contact info, and I’ll give her a call.”