he’d charge half price for a procedure. And his mother? She was always looking for a way to charge her clients more than the basic six percent.
“Face it,” Cynthia said. “You’re a closet nice guy. It’s time to come out of the closet.”
Russell frowned. “Well, I’m not sure I like the way that sounds, but…”
All at once he realized she was staring at him with those big Betty Boop eyes, and for some reason they suddenly looked sweet and charming in a way he’d never noticed before. It was as if he was seeing her through another lens, a lens that seemed to have fire around the edges, bright reds and oranges, so bright it made his face hot.
He swallowed hard. “So does this mean you’re coming back?”
“I said I’d think about it.” She frowned. “You don’t listen very well, do you?”
Being with Cynthia was like having a permanent case of whiplash, but for some reason Russell felt exhilarated just to be going along for the ride.
“I have things to do now,” she said, which he took as his cue to leave.
He dug himself out of her sofa. As he followed her to the door, he realized he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had somebody in his life who looked at him as if he truly mattered, somebody who cared enough to really know him no matter how horribly flawed he was. He thought back to the cupcake with the single candle Cynthia had given him. If she could remember his birthday, why was it so hard for the people in his life who were supposed to be important to him? He was nothing but a footnote in his parents’ life and an afterthought in Shannon’s. Why couldn’t they be more like Cynthia?
He pushed open her screen door and stepped onto her front porch, feeling just a little bit dazed. He started down the steps.
“Dr. Morgensen?”
He turned back.
“I thought about it.”
“You did?”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
She gave him a little smile, and the elation he felt at that moment nearly knocked him flat on his back. She closed the door, and as he walked to his car, he was smiling, too. So she was coming back tomorrow. That was good.
Very good.
But he didn’t know why, really. She was just an employee. A good office manager, to be sure, and it would be hard to replace her, but just an employee nonetheless. But for some reason, his heart was still going crazy. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her big, brown eyes, those lush lips topped by that little cupid’s bow, and the way she always smelled like Starlight mints?
He didn’t know exactly. Women confused him. They always had. All he knew was that he couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
And he couldn’t wait to see her again.
Chapter 21
By the time Luke was four hours outside Rainbow Valley, the highway had begun to hypnotize him, letting his mind wander to places he didn’t want it to go. Never had he felt so utterly exposed, so utterly foolish. The last thing the people in that town had seen of him was the sheriff hauling him off to jail. How much more could he have humiliated himself?
No. Forget him. How much more could he have humiliated Shannon?
It’s done now. Let it go. Concentrate on where you’re going, not where you’ve been.
He forced himself to conjure up his favorite fantasy, the one where they’d hand him that belt buckle, that big check, and everybody would be clapping and cheering and calling him a champion. He’d stand on that stage and take in all the accolades, letting them rain over him like ticker tape during the most spectacular parade the world had ever seen.
This time, though, the picture changed. The fantasy became blurry, out of focus. It began to slip away, replaced by an odd, surrealistic chain of events radically different from anything he’d ever imagined. Just like before, he saw people shaking his hand, slapping him on the back, acting as if the Second Coming would pale in comparison to what had taken place there that night. Then for some reason, their words seemed strangely garbled, their touch ice cold. Women were everywhere, smiling seductively, offering themselves in ways that left nothing to the imagination, but he shrank away from their grasping hands.
Then the applause died down. People began to leave. Soon the arena was empty, leaving him standing alone on the stage. One by one, the lights in the stands went out.