Propping her chin in her hand, she gave Lena a serious smile. “There’s a man out there for you, Lena, who will be more than happy to take you and whatever and whoever comes along with you. I’ve always known that if I got interested in someone, that person would have to love Tiffany as much as he loved me. For some men it’s easy to accept a package deal. For others it’s not. And those who can’t are the ones that women like us do better leaving alone.”
Lena reached across the table and took her hand. “And I believe that there’s a man out there for you, too, and believe it or not, he can be depended on. I know Sam and your dad let you down but you can’t continue to judge all men by their actions, Kylie. Every young girl needs a good male role model in her life. Because of Dad’s death, I missed having that, and you’re cheating Tiffy of having that as well. I think as a single mom you’ve done an admirable job in raising her. But don’t you think at some point she needs to see you in a loving relationship with a man?”
Kylie looked Lena squarely in the eye. Conversations like this tended to expose emotions that she would rather keep under wraps because along with the emotions came the memories of the hurt and pain that Sam and her father had caused.
“Even if I did, Lena, that man can’t be Chance Steele. For heaven’s sake, he’s the father of the boy that my daughter thinks she’s madly in love with.”
Lena placed her elbows on the table and laced her fingers together. “And what does that have to do with anything? More specifically, what does it have to do with you and Chance?”
“I don’t want to confuse her, nor do I want to send out a negative picture about anything.”
Lena shook her head. “Your daughter and my goddaughter is a lot smarter and mature than you think, Kylie. Kids these days know the score. They aren’t as naive as we want to think they are. If something is going on between you and Chance, she’ll be able to pick up on it, and personally, I doubt if she’ll see anything wrong with it.”
“She might not see anything wrong with it but I will. How am I going to lecture her about the difference between love and lust when I’m having problems knowing the difference between the two myself?”
Lena smiled. “So you are attracted to Chance.” It was a statement and not a question.
“Yes, more than I want to be,” she said, deciding to finally be completely honest with her best friend. “Around him I feel things that I’ve never felt before, Lena. We’ve kissed. Twice. And I’m not talking about a little kiss, either. The man takes kissing to a level I’ve never experienced before. All he has to do is get close enough to breathe on my mouth and my lips automatically open. Isn’t that pathetic? Now can you understand why I’m hesitating about going on that camping trip?”
“Yes and no.”
At Kylie’s confused expression, Lena explained, “Yes, I can see why you’re hesitant about going, and no, I don’t agree with your assessment of the situation. So what if you have the hots for Chance? You’re both adults and should be able to do whatever you want to do. Your attraction to him shouldn’t have any bearing on what’s going on between Tiffany and Marcus and how you’re handling their situation. I know you and no matter what you do, you will always set a good example in front of Tiffany. However, what you and Chance do in private is your business. But then, like I said earlier, I think it’s important for Tiffy to see you in a loving relationship with a man, and I can’t think of a better person for that man to be than Chance Steele.”
“There are bound to be complications, Lena.”
“Only those of your own making, Kylie. Take it from someone who knows. Good men are hard to find, so if you meet one who’s interested, you better grab him, hold on tight and not let go.”
Later that night Kylie got into bed, wrestling with the knowledge that the main reason she didn’t want to go on that camping trip was because of her growing feelings for Chance. She had to finally admit those growing feelings to herself after having lunch with Lena.
Their discussion had made her realize two things. She found Chance attractive and sexy, and thought he had a body that was all that and a bag of chips. But there was more to him than that. He’d already proven that he was dependable, unlike Sam and her father. When Chance and his girlfriend had been faced with a teen pregnancy, instead of leaving her in a fix like Sam had done to her, Chance had done the noble, honorable and responsible thing. He’d made whatever changes the situation called for to make a home for his wife and child. She could tell by his relationship with Marcus that he was a good father and from what she read in the business section of the Charlotte Observer, he was also a highly respected businessman. And she wanted to believe if he had shown up at her shop that day to tell her that their kids were involved in an unplanned pregnancy versus a plot to cut school, he would be angry, true enough, but nothing would make him turn his back on his only child, as her father and mother had done to her.