The Proposal & Solid Soul - Brenda Jackson [96]
“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.
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