Free Treading Water by Marie Force

mean.
She’s a client.”
    “ She’s the employee of a
client.”
    He scowled playfully at her. “She also lives
a thousand miles from me and is dating someone at home.”
    “ Oh,” Frannie said,
grinning. “So you asked, huh?”
    “ It came up.”
    “ Is it serious?”
    “ Apparently, it’s
new.”
    “ I’m still not hearing a
convincing argument of why you can’t see her.”
    “ How about this then: what
woman in her right mind would want to take on the mess that comes
with me?”
    “ Um, maybe the one who’s
been sneaking peeks at you the entire time you’ve been talking to
me?”
    Jack’s eyes darted to the other side of the
pool, and sure enough, Andi was watching them. He smiled at her,
and she smiled back.
    Frannie laughed watching the exchange. “Got
yourself a little crush going on, do you?”
    “ I don’t know,” he said,
flustered as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Maybe.”
    “ Go for it, Jack. What’ve
you got to lose?”
    “ I’ve already lost so much.
I’m not sure I could take that kind of risk again.” His face
clouded with tension that he made a valiant effort to shake off.
“Anyway, what’s up with you and JB?”
    “ I have no idea what you
mean.”
    “ He said something that
left your mouth hanging open.”
    She rolled her eyes and
started to walk away. “What ever .”
    Taking her arm, he stopped her and raised a
questioning eyebrow.
    “ If you must know, he asked
me to have dinner with him tomorrow night.” She pulled her arm
free.
    “ Well, isn’t that
interesting? Are you going?”
    “ I haven’t decided. I have
no interest in joining his harem.”
    “ He’s been over his Barbie
phase for a while now. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I
saw him with any woman. Our boy might just be growing up. Maybe he’s looking
for a woman of substance.”
    “ Is that what I am? A woman
of substance ?” She
pretended to be offended as she scooped the burgers onto a plate.
“Burgers are ready,” she called out and handed the plate to
Jill.
    “ Go out with him. See what
happens.”
    “ What if it doesn’t work
out? He’s your best friend and one of my best friends, and he has
been for years .”
    “ I see what you mean, but
look at it this way: what if this is what you’ve both been looking
for, and all these years it’s been right under your noses?” He
tweaked her nose. “It’s just dinner. Go with him. If you don’t,
you’ll always wonder what might’ve happened.”
    Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Did he
pay you to plead his case?”
    Laughing, Jack raised his hands to fend her
off. “He hasn’t said a word to me about this. Honest.”
    “ Okay, okay, I’ll go, but
if it turns into a mess, remember I tried to tell you it
would.”
    “ That’s a great way to
start something, looking for a mess. Good strategy, Fran.” He
patted her head and went to join the others.
    Frannie watched him go, her heart soaring as
she watched Andi smile when she saw him coming. Things were
definitely looking up.
     
    After dinner Jack lit the poolside
fireplace, and Andi sat next to him on a double-sized lounge chair
to watch the fire. Her coworkers entertained his daughters with
stories about some of their bigger design challenges. The girls
were hooked on the decorating shows on HGTV and chatted about their
favorites with the eccentric interior designers.
    Jack laughed at Maggie charming Andi’s
coworker, Michael, into taking “just a quick look” at her room. She
had totally bamboozled the comical designer.
    “ Watch out for her in a few
years,” Andi whispered.
    Jack groaned. “She’ll be the one to give me
gray hairs. Jill and Kate have had boys flocking around for years,
but neither of them has really singled one out. They usually prefer
to hang out in groups, which is fine with me. Maggie, on the other
hand, terrifies me.”
    “ She’s adorable,” Andi
said, laughing at his distress. “So what were you badgering Frannie
about