ONE NIGHT ONLY

Chapter 6

"You’re a sticky mess," Rosa told her gooey-faced five-year-old son Brennan early the next morning. She watched him swirl his fork in the half-inch puddle of syrup on his otherwise empty plate, not sure whether to be amused or disgusted. "And that’s enough with the syrup."

Brennan looked up at her, his wide eyes hopeful. "Can I have more pancakes?"

"No." Rosa moved to the kitchen sink and began to rinse dishes. She was well aware of Brennan’s furtive fork-licking, but chose to ignore it. Drinking excess maple syrup was one of the biggest joys of childhood and a rare weekend treat for Brennan.

"Bacon? Eggs?" Brennan persisted.

"You are done." Exasperated now, Rosa turned off the water and flicked Brennan with a handful of suds. He ducked, squealing with laughter and revealing a two-inch gap in his front teeth. "Now get outta here and get ready for your shower. And your haircut."

Brennan clamped his tiny hands on either side of his head, anchoring his overgrown sandy curls in place. "I don’t need a haircut."

"Okay." She shrugged. "Maybe we can use a barrette to keep your hair out of your eyes. I have a nice pink one you can borrow."

That did it. Brennan hopped down from his chair and, shrieking, ran for his life, his feet in their footed pajamas slip-sliding around the corner as he disappeared down the hall.

Rosa turned back to the dishes and was still chuckling when her mother-in-law, Lucille, appeared in her fluffy blue bathrobe, her salt-and-pepper hair still pinned under its sleeping net. Lucille had moved in following Jake’s death because the heartbroken women had needed each other and now, two years later, Rosa couldn’t imagine life without her. Rosa considered herself lucky to have Lucille’s loving support with Brennan, who was a handful on a good day.

"Good morning." Yawning, Lucille accepted Rosa’s peck on the cheek and a steaming mug of coffee. "How was your date?"

"Not good. I ran into Philip. He’s back in town."

"Umm." Lucille sipped her coffee, her expression neutral.

That noncommittal umm put Rosa on heightened alert because Philip and Jake had grown up together and Lucille considered Philip something of a second son. "You knew he was back?"

"Yes."

"You’ve seen him?"

"Well," Lucille said, with the kind of nonchalant expression it took years of practice to master. "Philip likes to stay in touch. See how we’re all doing. You know."

This information made Rosa feel sulky. So much for his wanting her "for so long," or whatever he’d claimed; he hadn’t even bothered to let her know he’d moved back in town. "He never liked me," she grumbled, but then, from nowhere, a flash of memory streaked through her mind.

"Philip, this is Rosa," Jake said.

Smiling and thrilled to finally meet the famous Philip, her fiancé’s best friend, Rosa extended her hand and found herself staring up into a pair of stunned and stunning brown eyes. Wow. Jake had never mentioned how handsome Philip was, but of course that wasn’t the kind of thing men talked about.

"I’ve heard a lot about you, Philip." She tried not to gape, tried to regulate her breathing, tried not to feel the spark of hot awareness that traveled up her arm as he took her hand in his firm grip. "I’m not sure whether any of it’s true or not, though."

Philip stared at her. There was no other word for it. His welcoming smile now seemed frozen in place and Rosa flushed, wondering if she had lettuce from dinner stuck between her teeth. What else could account for this reaction? But then, when enough beats had passed for the moment to become awkward, he sobered, blinked and cleared his throat.

If he’d ever smiled at her again between that moment all those years ago and last night, Rosa had missed it.

"Jake told me about you, too, Rosa. He said you were beautiful." There was a strange look in Philip’s eyes now, a new sadness that she couldn’t understand and wondered about later. "He didn’t get it even half right."

"Rosa? Stop your daydreaming, dear." Lucille’s voice intruded on her thoughts, jarring her back to the present with an unpleasant jolt. "Philip’s car just pulled up out front. He must be here to see you."