Lena couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips. “So you think she has an ulterior motive for wanting to go?”
“Hey, remember I was young and in love once, and when you are their age, you look for every opportunity to be together, whether you’re under your parents’ watchful eyes or not.”
“Yes, that could very well be, but at some point you’re going to have to start trusting her, Kylie. You can’t continue to judge Tiffy by the way you behaved with Sam. The more you do, the more she’s going to resent it.”
There was anguish in Kylie’s eyes and a wee hint of guilt. “It’s so hard being a parent these days, Lena. You want the best for your kids and you go on the premise that experience is the best teacher, but then you’re faced with the question of how you can be there to protect them without suffocating them.”
Lena nodded, clearly understanding. “I think for you it’s more difficult because Tiffy is all you have. Over the years she has become your life. Have you given thought to becoming involved in other things?”
“Other things like what? I have a florist shop to run, Lena. It’s not like I don’t have anything else to do with my time.”
“Yes, but only when Tiffy is at school. Other than that you’re a full-time mother who really doesn’t have a life other than her child.”
Kylie knew where this conversation was leading since they had been down this road several times. It was the one topic she and Lena didn’t agree on. Lena felt it was a crying shame that she didn’t have a man in her life and hadn’t had one since high school.
Her thoughts shifted to Chance Steele and how much she had enjoyed his company on Sunday. It had felt strange sharing her time with anyone other than Tiffany, but she had to admit it had felt good, too. Too good. After they’d eaten they’d played a game of volleyball, the young against what Marcus and Tiffany had considered as “the old.”
Kylie had been surprised at how much energy Chance had. The kids had been surprised, too, and she and Chance had won the game, showing Tiffany and Marcus that age was nothing but a number. Afterward, they had eaten ice cream and the cake she had baked.
As much as she had enjoyed Chance’s company, she knew it was out of the question for something to develop between them. There was no way she would start depending on him or any other man for her happiness. She had done so once and refused to go that route again.
“I don’t want a man in my life, Lena, at least not now,” she decided to say. “Maybe when Tiffany leaves for college I’ll feel differently and I’ll get involved with someone, but I’m not interested now.” She then turned her attention back to her meal.
“Okay,” Lena said, placing her glass of iced tea aside. “Tell me about Chance Steele.”
Kylie looked up again, giving her friend an uncomfortable stare. “What do you want me to tell you about Chance that you don’t already know?”
“Well, Tiffy couldn’t stop singing his praises when I picked her up from school yesterday. He definitely made a positive impression on her. She thought he was cool and fun to be around.”
Kylie smiled. “She’s right. He was a lot of fun.”
She quickly resumed eating her meal, afraid that Lena might see all the lust that filled her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to tell Lena that Chance was the cause of her surging hormones lately. Which was exactly why she didn’t think going on a camping trip with him, Marcus and Tiffany was a good idea. The longings he stirred within her could be relentless at times, and it took all the will power she could muster to hold on to her sanity. Her needy libido and her out-of-control hormones confined in a cabin for the weekend with Chance Steele were way too much to ignore. Especially when she’d have to stay focused on Marcus and Tiffany.
“Chance is not a bad catch you know, Kylie. He’s good-looking, wealthy, intelligent and generous to a fault.”
Kylie glanced up. “Umm, sounds like someone you should be interested in, then.”
A sad smile tugged at Lena’s lips. “You know the story of my life. Because of Mom’s failing health, the two of us are a package deal and not too many men want that. At least none I’ve met so far. The moment I mention that I’m my mother’s caretaker, they conveniently drop out of the picture. However, I do believe Chance would be different, but he and I never connected that way. I can only see him as a friend and nothing more.”
Unfortunately, Kylie could see Chance as a lot more than a friend but she blatantly refused to go there. But right now, at that moment, her main concern was not the issue of her and Chance. It was Lena. She silently searched her mind for something to say that would ease the raw pain she’d heard in her best friend’s words.