The Complete Where Dreams - Volume 2 of 2

Chapter 8-4

Bill stared back at the phone message. The meeting continued around him, but what had been a fascinating snarl of problems to unravel just moments before had turned into a meaningless buzz.

Clothing emergency was cute and funny. He could hear Perrin’s voice declaring it like a national crisis or an incoming missile attack. It had made him smile until he scrolled the message enough to see the last line.

P.S. Perrin wants her fourth kiss soon.

His daughter had just told him that a woman, who he’d met less than two weeks before, had told his teenage daughter that she’d kissed him three times. And wanted to do it again.

What kind of a game was Perrin Williams playing at?

There was no possible way this could be happening. Perrin was right. Not about being toxic, but about how he should be much more cautious about letting his kids come in contact with her. What if things didn’t work out? What if she was a crappy parental figure? Which the present message sure pointed to.

And this sure as hell wasn’t his definition of slow. She was bonding faster with his daughter than she was with him. How was he supposed to trust someone who did that?

What if she hurt the kids somehow? Not intentionally. She’d never do that, there wasn’t a mean bone in her body.

And it wasn’t helping matters in the slightest how much he couldn’t stop thinking about her body. The way she had responded to him for that one stolen hour. It had been incredible, as if every touch not only seared him, but her as well. He’d never responded so strongly in his life, maybe not even to… Damn it! He really had to cut that out. Adira was only diminished by the fading of memories over time. That’s all that was happening. Whereas Perrin Williams was so vibrant, so alive, she shone like one of her costumes.

“Everything okay, Bill?”

He looked up at Timothy Winters, the Opera’s Production Manager.

“Uh, don’t know yet. Give me a sec.”

He read the message again.

I’m with her.

He wondered if that was Tammy’s voice or Perrin’s? Perrin’s. She’d been making sure that he knew she was keeping Tammy close and safe, no matter what else was going on. Maybe she was being an okay authority figure after all? She had been the one who made sure Tammy called him within minutes of entering her shop. She’d also made it clear that she’d already straightened his daughter out on lying about where she was. That was actually far above and beyond the call of duty for a girlfriend.

It was only the last line that was pure Tammy. Somehow, Perrin had decided that telling his daughter that they had kissed each other was the best option. Then, instead of any emotional storm Tammy had signed with a Love you. That was something he hadn’t seen in far too long. Then he understood, Tammy was teasing him about Perrin. Not something she’d do if she was mad or overly shocked.

For a moment, he wondered if Perrin knew about the last line. Bill had to smile. If she didn’t, he’d bet that Tammy would find a way to tell her. Kids never missed an opportunity to get back at adults.

Welcome to my world, Perrin Williams.

“What do you think, Bill? Do we have time to get these plates punched or do we need to spend the extra to get them drilled?”

Bill keyed an answer into the phone, hit send, and began juggling the production schedule versus the painting and staging schedules so they could save the money with punching.