An Accidental Kiss (Dearly Beloved) Read Free

eyes closed, wishing she could rewind the past few minutes of her life and avoid making such a pathetic idiot of herself.
    ****
    Frank had so much to do the next day—mail to answer, paperwork that needed signing, and a rather important phone call to make before lunch with his publisher. Usually, he was focused and methodical as he went about his work day, efficiently taking care of each task.
    Today was different.
    Today he stared out the window above his desk, going over the previous evening again and again. He thought of Marcy’s sweet, rueful smile, her habit of tucking her wavy hair behind one ear, only to have it tumble loose. He’d wanted to reach out and tuck it behind her ear himself, found himself wondering what would happen if he did exactly that, and smiled. She’d probably have blushed—she was one of those women who colored easily, her cheeks blooming a deep pink.
    The smile faded as he recalled their kiss, the sweetness and passion of those brief moments when their lips touched. It was as if his black and white existence had suddenly blazed into dazzling technicolor. Now she was gone, and his life had faded back to gray. Forcing his attention toward the pile of paper on his desk, he wondered what she was doing at that very moment.
    The phone rang and he picked it up absently.
    “How did it go?” his sister blurted with no attempt at a greeting.
    “Good afternoon, Lillian,” he said. “How are you today?”
    “Fine. How did your date with Marcy go?”
    Thinking of the fortune cookie crumbs clinging to Marcy’s pink and very kissable lips, Frank said, “She’s a nice lady.”
    “Nice?” Lillian echoed, sounding disappointed. “She’s more than nice. Her mom has told me how special she is, how Marcy has raised her child alone, held down a job, plus she’s beautiful and smart and—”
    “Well, her mom’s bound to be biased, isn’t she?” he cut in smoothly. “I was just in the middle of something. I’ll talk to you later.”
    Frank hung up and sighed deeply, wondering why he suddenly felt as if he had a very large problem.
    ****
    At that moment Marcy despondently nibbled on a tuna sandwich in the library's break room. A coworker popped her head in the door. “Call for you.”
    She leaped to her feet, dabbing at her mouth, filled with a wild hope and excitement. She went to the phone and grabbed it up. “Hello?”
    “Hey, pumpkin!”
    “Oh. Hi, Mom.” She wanted to weep.
    “Well? How’d it go?”
    “It was nice, but—”
    “You’re seeing him again?”
    Suddenly Marcy felt tired. Tired of being sad and alone and disappointed. Tired of feeling like a loser. “No, I won’t be seeing Frank again,” she said. “His choice. Look, I’ve got to go, Mom. Bye.”
    She put down the phone, wanting nothing more than go home and climb into bed, pull the covers up over her head and stay there for a very long time. But she was at the library, her lunch hour was over, and it was time to get back to work.
    ****
    February
    One week after their date at the Jade Wok, Frank decided that calling Marcy was probably the right thing to do. They’d kissed, after all, and sometimes women could let their imaginations get the better of them. It was best if he made things crystal clear. Explain to her that although they’d kissed, it was just one of those things and meant nothing. Just two lonely people, a moment of weakness, and a beautiful, snowy night.
    He picked up the phone.
    Once again, Justine answered. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, after Frank’s greeting. “Look, I don’t know what went down between you and my mom over the weekend but she is in, like, a totally crappy mood.”
    “Could I speak to her?”
    “Can I ask you a favor? Seeing as how you’re dating my mom and everything?”
    “We’re not exactly—”
    “I’ve got this project for school,” Justine rushed on, “we have to interview somebody. I totally do not want to have to choose a random old person so … maybe could I