The July Guy Read online

  Anita shoved the beads to the side to look into the closet. A few dresses and shirts still hung there. A couple of pairs of platform shoes had been kicked off on the floor. A black and pink motorcycle helmet sat on a high shelf. She’d probably never ridden a motorcycle again.

  There was a desk in the other corner of the room, part of the same white bedroom suite. Anita imagined her mother spending hours doing her homework at this desk. She sat down on the hard wooden chair and opened the center drawer. A few pens and pencils rolled around inside. She pulled out the piece of lined paper lying on the bottom. She traced her finger around the fat red hearts Patty had drawn around Tony’s name.

  Anita had often wondered if her parents had ever really loved each other. If they’d just had sex and gotten married because oops, Patty’s pregnant. But after the stories she’d heard yesterday, she knew Patty and Tony had loved each other. That was something, even if things hadn’t worked out.

  No, it wasn’t. Hadn’t that been her mother’s point all along? Love didn’t make everything wonderful. Love created impossible choices. You couldn’t have it all.

  She flipped the paper over. On the other side, written in the same red ink, her mother had written names over and over. She’d put her dreams down in writing, the dreams that had died.

  Patty Delgado.

  Patty and Tony Delgado

  Mrs. Tony Delgado.

  Dr. Patricia Delgado.

  Drs. Antonio and Patricia Delgado.

  Anita cleared her throat and shoved the paper back into the drawer. Sweeping an objective gaze around the room, she told herself it would be easy to get ready. No need to strip the walls or even paint them. Haul everything out of here, and it would be good to go.

  She’d be good to go.

  But before she left the room, Anita gathered the photographs in her arms and carried them down the stairs. And she didn’t go back into the studio.

  …

  Stripping wallpaper sucked.

  Anita didn’t care how much easier it was supposed to be if you gently scored the paper first with a handy-dandy roller before you wet it down. It was still tedious, messy work. And for every strip that peeled off smoothly, there were at least two that tore someplace on the way down, leaving ragged bits on the wall.

  The dining room furniture had been pushed to the center of the room. Plastic drop cloths covered the floors. Anita and Noah were working around the room to the hits of the nineties playing from his smartphone. Hammering from the carpenters framing up the new lakeside porch made an offbeat background rhythm. Another crew was scraping the siding on the other side to prep it for painting.

  She cursed when a skinny, uneven strip ripped off in her hand. “Now I know why I’ve never stripped wallpaper before.”

  “Come on. You love new experiences, right?” His tone was way too cheery. “Isn’t that why you travel to a new place every year?”

  She frowned and scraped at the stubborn piece of wallpaper left behind. “You’re saying I should smile and enjoy the experience?”

  “Sure. Think of it as a new skill you’ve acquired.” He was quiet for a few minutes as he wet the next section of wallpaper. “Did you send a message back to your dad?”

  Where did that come from? “No. He ignored me all this time, why should I jump when he finally leaves a message? On a freaking Facebook page?”

  Noah dropped the sponge in the bucket and turned to her. “Maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s reaching out now.”

  “I don’t care what he has to say.”

  He nodded to the pink note they’d found under the china cabinet when they moved it that morning. It must have fallen off the dining room table and drifted under the cabinet.

  I wish we could have shared a meal and some stories together.

  “Are you going to wait until your father’s dead and then hope you can learn something about him through little sticky notes?”

  “I know all I need to know.” Ricky Martin was livin’ la vida loca from Noah’s phone. “This was one of my favorite songs.”

  “I’m sure it was,” Noah said wryly. “Tell me what you do know about your father.”

  “We’re stripping wallpaper.” Not the best time for that conversation.

  But apparently, Noah didn’t agree. “We can talk and work at the same time.”

  “Fine.” She whirled around, and her shoes slipped on the plastic underfoot. She caught herself on the wall. Wet glue residue slicked her palm. She grabbed a rag to wipe it off in angry swipes. “I know he loved my mom. I think he loved me. I remember big bear hugs and bedtime songs with lyrics I didn’t understand.” The stickiness was long gone from her hands, but she kept wiping. “I know love wasn’t enough for him. He had a wife and daughter, but we weren’t important enough to stay with. He left the country, and I never saw him again.”

  “Why do I imagine it might not have been that cut and dried?”

  “That’s it. My mom told me the whole story.” Over and over again.

  “Your mother also told you Aggie died before you were born.”

  “I know.” How many lies had her mother told her? Anita dropped the rag to the floor as she debated how much to tell Noah. Hadn’t she promised herself she wouldn’t lie or evade? What would it hurt to tell him the rest? “My father set up an account for me.”

  She grabbed the next strip of wallpaper, and it peeled off in one long piece. Noah turned to face her. “A bank account?”

  “I didn’t know about it until I turned twenty-five. Apparently, he put money in a trust fund for all those years. When the lawyer contacted me, there was a note from my father that said to use it any way I wanted, but—”

  “Another note? My family talks to each other face-to-face.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Just an observation. Go on. Use the money any way you wanted but…?”

  “He said he hoped I would use the money to see the world for myself instead of the narrow view of it he knew I’d get from my mother.”

  “That’s how you’ve been able to travel every year?”

  “Yeah. My mom was furious. Like she hadn’t been furious at him for years already.”

  “And you don’t think your father was reaching out to you by doing that?”

  “That was him easing his conscience.”

  “So in all your travels, you never went to Spain? To see your father? Or even just to see where half of your ancestry is from?”

  “No. I’ve never been to Sweden, either.” There were plenty other places to go in the world that had nothing to do with family.

  “It sounds to me like your father gave you a way to see him.”

  “You’re reading too much into this.”

  “Don’t you see? He was giving you your independence.”

  Back then, she’d been shocked but had seen it as her due. He’d abandoned her. She’d had to live with an unhappy mother who encouraged her to live her own life even as she kept her from spreading her wings. It was the money that had given Anita her freedom. She’d never thought that her father had done it for any reason other than to assuage his guilt.

  “I don’t want to talk about my father anymore.” It was too much to think about while surrounded by slimy walls and piles of wet wallpaper, boy-band tunes, and a handsome salvage man.

  “Okay.” He picked up the sponge again. “So where was your all-time favorite place to visit?”

  She almost sighed with relief when he changed the subject. “I can’t pick a favorite. I love them all for different reasons.” The sidewalk cafes in Paris. The pyramids in Egypt. The temples in Kyoto.

  “Because of the men you were with?”

  “What?”

  “Didn’t the men you spent time with influence the way you felt about the place?”

  “I don’t know. I never thought about it that way.”

  “They weren’t an important enough part of the experience?”

  Now he sounded upset, and she wished sh
e knew why. “Of course they were. They were great guys, but they were just part of the fun. None of them affected my life. It was never serious. I’ve already told you that.”

  When Noah didn’t respond, she glanced his way. He was wetting the last section of wallpaper with vicious strokes. What was his problem, anyway? Maybe he was frustrated she hadn’t answered his question.

  She cleared her throat as she tugged on another strip of wallpaper. “One of my favorite trips was to Arizona, back at the beginning. The Grand Canyon was mind-blowing. Hank was a park ranger and showed me lots of out-of-the-way places. I painted some incredible scenes that year.”

  “Somehow, I can’t see you with a guy named Hank. Doesn’t sound like your type.”

  “I was young. I didn’t have a type yet.”

  “You have a type now?”

  She yanked on the last strip of paper. Thank God, it came off in one piece. “Now who’s trying to pick a fight?”

  His chest rose with the deep breath. “You’re right. Sorry. Looks like we’re done for today. Let’s get this cleaned up, and we’ll take care of the kitchen tomorrow. I’ll see how they’re doing outside, and then I’m heading out. I’ll bring some coffee for both of us with me in the morning.”

  “You’re not going to stay tonight?” It hurt more than she could say that he was leaving. No, she was just disappointed. Sorry they wouldn’t have some sex and snuggling tonight.

  “I can’t drop everything for a fling,” he snapped.

  Anita caught her breath. That hurt.

  He looked tired, looked like he was sorry for the words he’d blurted. Hey, maybe he was picking up some habits from her. The talk-without-thinking part, at least. But he didn’t apologize.

  “I spent the whole day here, Anita. I have things I’ve got to get done.”

  She hoped her wide smile looked real. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

  They finished cleaning up, and she didn’t walk him to the door. He knew where it was. She poured a glass of red but let it sit on the counter. Wine was what she drank with Noah. Something to sip as the air simmered around them, as her blood warmed and anticipation built.

  Tonight, she needed something stronger.

  She’d walked into countless bars all over the world without knowing a soul, but she didn’t feel like drinking alone tonight. She wanted to go somewhere with someone who’d make her laugh. Who’d distract her from the unwelcome fist clenched in her stomach.

  Anita pulled out her phone and called Ginny, glad they’d exchanged numbers in case something came up with the campaign. She’d mentioned a girls’ night out. Anita was going to take her up on it. Noah’s cousin answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, Anita. I’m leaving work. Something wrong? Did Ethan pull another lousy trick?”

  “I haven’t even looked at Facebook today. Noah and I have been stripping wallpaper all day, and he’s gone now. Do you have plans for tonight? I’d like to go somewhere for a drink, but I don’t know where to go. And…I’d like the company.”

  “Girls’ night. I’d love to. I have to go home and change first.”

  Anita glanced down at the damp work clothes she wore. “Yeah, I need to shower and change, too. In an hour? Where should I meet you?”

  “Can I pick you up? I’d love to see what’s going on with the house. And if it’s okay, I could take some pictures. You know, post pics of the work in progress?”

  “Sure. See you then.”

  Anita disconnected and tossed the phone on her bed. Take that, salvage man. She could go out and have a good time without him. She wouldn’t sit around waiting for a man to come to her bed just because he’d agreed to a fling with her. She didn’t need him.

  But she wanted him.

  …

  Noah should have told Anita about his meeting with Sam Hernandez tonight. But he’d seen red when she’d come right out and admitted the men she’d had her flings with didn’t matter to her at all. He’d thought those men had been using her for their pleasure, but he could see now she’d been the one using them to scratch her itch while she was in town. They’d been her tour guides, chauffeurs, drinking companions, itch scratchers. Nothing more.

  What man didn’t want to think he was more than that?

  He had time for a quick shower and a change before meeting Sam at the Avenue, a casual restaurant on Maple. Sam had been a year behind Noah at Lakeside High and now was a small-animal vet in town. He’d arrived ahead of Noah and found a booth in the back.

  After they placed their orders, Noah laid it on the line. “I’m flying blind here. I don’t have a clue how to campaign.”

  “Just get out there and be yourself,” Sam told him. “People like you. They know your family. They know what you’ve done for the village. Those are a lot of points in your favor.”

  “That’s why I agreed to run. We need a mayor who has respect for the village and its residents. Ethan wants to turn Lakeside into some vacation town full of his condos and touristy boutiques like Helen’s. But I don’t know if I’m doing the right or wrong things to build up voter confidence.”

  “You’re doing fine. I have to admit I thought you’d made a mistake taking up with Aggie Swanson’s granddaughter, but most of the community seems to like following your romance.”

  Romance? Noah wanted to roll his eyes but resisted. “Not the reason I want voters to choose me to be their mayor.” Especially since Anita was leaving at the end of the month.

  “But it’s all part of who you are. People like seeing you happy. They like being invested in their representatives’ lives.”

  “Invested? Is that another word for nosy?”

  Sam laughed. “Maybe. Voters like transparency in their candidates. They don’t want hints of any secrets. Still, there needs to be a balance between hiding your relationship and getting physical in public.”

  Right now, Noah wanted to be with Anita, getting physical. He’d overreacted when he practically stomped out of her house earlier. He knew she wasn’t looking for a serious relationship. Not in the past, and not now. She’d been upfront about that since the beginning. He was the one who wanted to change the rules midstream.

  Sam was still talking. “People trust you. Ethan may be throwing a lot of money around right now, but I don’t think many of the people in Lakeside trust him.”

  “He’s got quite a few influential backers.”

  “But the common man is behind you.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I think it was a smart idea to use Aggie’s house for publicity. Keep posting about the renovation work on the village page. I hear people talking about it all over town and in the clinic.”

  “Really? Okay. I’ve got crews working on the outside right now, so the changes will be visible quickly. And Ginny’s doing a great job with the Facebook posts and keeping up with comments and with posts from the opposition.”

  “Ginny’s doing that?”

  “I jumped at her offer to be my campaign manager.”

  “She’s a great person to have on our side. Everyone knows Ginny, and she’s not afraid to speak up and say what’s on her mind.”

  Their burgers and fries were delivered, and they took a break from strategizing while they enjoyed their meal. He wondered what Anita was having for dinner. Had she planned something for the two of them before he stormed out? What would she do once the kitchen was torn up?

  Maybe he should invite her to stay at his place once the crews started working on the inside. He could picture her sipping coffee in his kitchen. Curled up in a chair in his sunroom. Sharing his bed. The place wouldn’t be so lonely. He’d have to call the girls tonight.

  Anita wouldn’t be there for long, either. Maybe he was going to have to make the effort to get out and date. Maybe he should sell the big house. Maybe he should move to Philadelphia.

  Noah choked on his iced tea at that thought. It was the second time that had popped into his head. He didn’t want to move away from Lakeside. He loved his tow
n so much he was running for mayor. His family was here. The business was here. It was his life.

  He took another long drink and wished it were something stronger. The salvage company shouldn’t be his life. That’s why he’d agreed to Anita’s proposal in the first place. Still, it was an important part of his life. One he’d worked hard at for as long as he could remember. Not something he wanted to give up.

  He hadn’t expected to fall for her so fast. If he wanted a chance at a future with her, he had to give her a reason to want to stay.

  He had to be different from the rest.

  “The signs have been printed and will be going up this weekend,” Sam said. “When are you planning to do the door-to-door?”

  “Right. Door-to-door. Let me get the renovations going smoothly first.” But he couldn’t put it off forever. “Should be able to start next week.”

  “Good.” Sam threw his napkin down on the table. “Really, watch the PDAs. There are a lot of voters, especially the older ones, who are turned off by them. Being seen together and holding hands are fine. Try not to get caught in any compromising positions.”

  “Right,” Noah replied wryly.

  “I know. I can’t believe I’m saying this to Noah Colburn. You’re one of the steadiest, most noncontroversial guys I’ve ever known. But then, I never thought I’d see you licking someone else’s ice cream. Or having your hands on her ass in public.”

  “Sam—”

  “I get it. I do. I haven’t had a lot of action since Tracy left, either. But you have to think of the image you want to project to the community.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t care where you put your hands. But as long as you’re running for mayor, keep it in private. Got it?”

  “Yeah. Got it.”

  Sam’s cell beeped a notification. He glanced at the screen and smiled. “Ginny’s been busy.”

  “What?” Noah pulled out his phone and brought up the village page. She’d posted a picture of the scaffolding the painters had erected on the side of the house. Another picture showed the bones of the new porch being built on the lakeside. “Noah Colburn—salvaging Lakeside.”