great.” Feeling dry-mouthed and sick, Tangela gulped down a mouthful of soda. Anticipating his next question, she cut him off. “I learned Spanish, toured most of the country and made some great friends.”
“Who’s she?” Rachael asked, motioning to Alexis. “Someone you met at work?”
Warrick wanted Rachael to leave and tried to communicate his wishes with his eyes. When his sister didn’t get the hint, he put a hand on her back and guided her to the open patio door. “Davis has been looking all over for you.”
“Really? Is he all right?” Rachael downed the contents of her cocktail glass. “Hubby’s been fighting a migraine all day. I’ll go check on him, then come right back.”
Tangela watched Rachael hustle inside.
“That spread in People magazine was really something. Every man in America will be dreaming about you tonight.” Staring at Tangela, Warrick reflected on their seven-year relationship. Their intense, emotional bond had seen them through the most difficult times and he missed having Tangela to talk to. It still bothered him how things had ended, but he didn’t share his thoughts with her. More than ready to put the past between them, he suggested they sit down on the wicker love seat. “We should catch up. It’s been a while and I’m curious about what you’ve been up to.” He added, “Besides appearing on magazine covers, of course.”
“I should go before my date starts looking for me.”
“What are you doing with him, Tangela? He’s not your type.”
“Exactly.” Defensive, she glared openly at him. “I finally abandoned that silly Hollywood notion of true love and decided to find someone nice.”
“What about love?” Warrick couldn’t believe those words had actually come out of his mouth. Before he could correct himself, Tangela tossed her head back and laughed in his face.
“I forgot how funny you were.” Her tone was sarcastic and her smile was ice-cold. “Like you know anything about love.”
“You sound a little bitter.”
Her hand shook when she lifted her glass to her mouth. “No, I’m just cautious.”
“But don’t you want to be with someone you’re in sync with?”
For a long time she didn’t speak. There’d been a time when they were two minds with a single thought. Scintillating conversation and scorching sexual chemistry had kept their relationship strong for almost a decade, but in the end, that hadn’t been enough to keep them together. “Chemistry’s overrated. I want somebody who’s going to be there when I need him. Someone committed to me and our relationship.”
Warrick winced. Why didn’t she just come right out and call him a jerk? Smirk in place, he recovered quickly, saying, “I guess I’m looking at the next Mrs. Butkiss, then. Congratulations! I wish you nothing but the best.”
Tangela regarded him coldly. She heard the humor in his voice, but resisted playing the role of the bitter ex-girlfriend. He’d love it if she embarrassed herself in front of their friends. It wasn’t going to happen. Doing everything in her power to keep her composure, she made a point of peering over his shoulder in search of a more suitable companion. Her eyes landed on their lively host. “Mr. Hawthorne promised me a dance and I’m going to go cash in.”
“See you around.”
“Not if I see you first,” she mumbled, stepping past him.
Chapter Three
Tangela avoided Warrick like the bubonic plague. To ensure their paths didn’t cross again, she stuck to her girlfriends like glue. But when she spotted Warrick’s date perusing the dessert table, her curiosity got the best of her and she went over. “Everything looks so good,” Tangela gushed, peering at the pumpkin-shaped chocolate cake. “I don’t know where to begin.”
Alexis glanced around, then leaned over and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m on my fourth goblin truffle. If I’m not careful, I’m going to split the zipper on this costume!”
The women laughed.
“Are you a friend of the Hawthornes’?” Tangela asked, picking up a plate.
“No, I came with Warrick Carver. Do you know him?”
Squinting, as if trying to place him in her mental Rolodex, she shook her head. “I can’t say that I do. Is he your boyfriend?”
“I wish. If he wasn’t so obsessed with his work, I’d be all over him.” Alexis bit into a pecan spider cookie and chewed. “And I think he’s still hung up on his ex. I can’t be anybody’s rebound. Not even for a hottie like Warrick.”
Convinced she’d misheard, Tangela inched closer and blocked out the other voices in the room. “What kind of things does he say?”
“Not much really. He said she kept the house clean and had dinner and a cold beer ready for him when he got home from work.” Laughing, Alexis raked her fingernails through her hair. “She sounds like a fifties housewife if you ask me! Pa-th-e-tic,” she sang, rolling her eyes.
Tangela had always questioned her unwavering devotion to Warrick and hearing Alexis, a perfect stranger, belittle her, made her feel like a fool. Instead of ironing his dress shirts and scrubbing the kitchen floors to a shine, she should have been working her way up the corporate ladder. “So, there’s no chance you and this Warrick guy might hook up?”
“Not as far as I can see. He has this Tangela chick on a pedestal and I’m not about to compete with Ms. Doubtfire.”
Tangela winced. She remembered when she was Alexis’s age and she’d never, ever been that together. Young, insecure and desperate for love, she’d put all her hopes and dreams on hold to plan her future with Warrick. Married at twenty-six. First baby at twenty-eight. Dream home by thirty. It was too bad he’d turned out to be a toad instead of her Prince Charming.
“Well, it was nice talking to you.” Alexis wiggled her fingers. “Tootles!”
As she watched the woman saunter off, feelings of regret settled in. Tangela wished she’d made better decisions, but refused to beat herself up over the past. Thrilled to be working at American Airlines but wanting more, she knew it was just a matter of time before she got a management position. And once she found Mr. Right, she’d have the loving, caring family she had always longed for. The one she’d never had but knew existed.
A lump formed in her throat. Three years ago her mother had died of heart failure and as she’d watched her mother’s casket being lowered into the ground at the funeral, she’d decided she, too, wanted, needed someone to care for her in her last days. Two days after the funeral, she’d sat Warrick down and told him to pick a wedding date. He’d refused. His dad was in the hospital, he was swamped at work and his family needed him. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Knowing she’d never be strong enough to move out if Warrick was around, Tangela rented a trailer the day he left for New York, loaded her things and left town.
Even now, after all this time, she remembered their last conversation. The anguish in his voice was unbearable, but she’d been strong. No, she wasn’t coming back. Yes, she was sure this was what she wanted. Her eyes burned at the memory, and to loosen the tightness
