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Authors: Doreen Owens Malek
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the change and felt responsible for it.
Neither one of them was happy. They were getting nowhere, time was passing, and their forced proximity was putting both of them on edge.
Kelly then made a decision.
He knew about Amanda’s rich family, her photo op fiancé, the estate outside Philly and the uberconnected Daddy. He knew that she lived in a different world from his.
But Kelly also knew that Amanda started nervously every time he came near her, that she watched him fixedly when she thought he wasn’t aware of it, and that she looked to him for reassurance and help whenever anything went wrong.
The attraction was definitely there. There were a multitude of reasons not to follow up on it, but if he’d wanted to lead a safe life he would never have become a cop.
Sheer courage was his strongest suit.
He had always had the guts to go for anything he really wanted.
So he was going to try.
* * * * *
On the Friday of that week Tom was waiting for Mandy when she got back to her condo; he was sitting on the sofa already dressed in his tuxedo.
“You’re late,” he said to her, glancing at the rococo clock on her living room wall. “We’re supposed to be there by eight.”
“I had to stop off at my office to pick up some files,” she said. “I’m going right in to change.”
“We’re sitting at the table next to the governor’s aide,” Tom told her with satisfaction.
Mandy sighed inwardly as she pulled her dress out of the closet. Tom was obsessed with social position and getting the right spot at one of these charity functions was very important to him. Tonight was their third one this year, muscular dystrophy.
“And your parents are directly behind us,” he called in to her.
Whoop-de-doo, Mandy thought. More interrogation time for Margaret Torquemada Redfield to zero in on her daughter.
Mandy showered quickly and dressed in an off-white Grecian style knee length dress with a gold belt, and yanked her hair up into a topknot. She applied makeup rapidly, surprised that she was able to achieve a decent result so quickly. She was fixing gold hoops studded with diamonds to her ears when Tom appeared in the doorway and said, “I left the key in the bowl on your dresser.”
Mandy nodded. He liked to be able to let himself into her apartment but she insisted that he always return the key.
She wasn’t sure why that made her feel better, but it did.
They drove to the convention center in silence. Tom was quiet because these occasions made him nervous, as he wanted to implement the strategy he had planned in advance and had to calculate how to do it on the way to the event. Mandy was also lost in thought, preoccupied with the look on Kelly’s face as she left his office that day.
He had looked wistful, as if he didn’t want her to go.
As if he were going to miss her.
Mandy shook her head and tried to clear it. She had to concentrate on the event she was attending and stop thinking about Detective Kelly.
They pulled up to the entrance of the underground garage and a valet took the car. Mandy and Tom went up in the elevator to the main floor, where the guests for the fundraiser were milling about in the lobby. A sign by the bar directed them to the correct room and Tom started shaking hands and greeting constituents immediately. Mandy nodded and smiled, playing the role of political consort, until the group responded to some unknown signal and started to go inside to take their seats.
That’s when she saw Kelly. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a starched white formal shirt and a black silk foulard tie, and hanging on his arm was his date from Pirro’s, the sultry Janet Grady. She was wearing a deep red cocktail dress which flattered her dark coloring with a fringed shawl of the same color and polished silver earrings. She looked stunning.
Mandy’s heart was racing. Had Kelly known that she was going to be at this fundraiser? He’d said nothing about it.
Mandy couldn’t tell if Kelly had
Neither one of them was happy. They were getting nowhere, time was passing, and their forced proximity was putting both of them on edge.
Kelly then made a decision.
He knew about Amanda’s rich family, her photo op fiancé, the estate outside Philly and the uberconnected Daddy. He knew that she lived in a different world from his.
But Kelly also knew that Amanda started nervously every time he came near her, that she watched him fixedly when she thought he wasn’t aware of it, and that she looked to him for reassurance and help whenever anything went wrong.
The attraction was definitely there. There were a multitude of reasons not to follow up on it, but if he’d wanted to lead a safe life he would never have become a cop.
Sheer courage was his strongest suit.
He had always had the guts to go for anything he really wanted.
So he was going to try.
* * * * *
On the Friday of that week Tom was waiting for Mandy when she got back to her condo; he was sitting on the sofa already dressed in his tuxedo.
“You’re late,” he said to her, glancing at the rococo clock on her living room wall. “We’re supposed to be there by eight.”
“I had to stop off at my office to pick up some files,” she said. “I’m going right in to change.”
“We’re sitting at the table next to the governor’s aide,” Tom told her with satisfaction.
Mandy sighed inwardly as she pulled her dress out of the closet. Tom was obsessed with social position and getting the right spot at one of these charity functions was very important to him. Tonight was their third one this year, muscular dystrophy.
“And your parents are directly behind us,” he called in to her.
Whoop-de-doo, Mandy thought. More interrogation time for Margaret Torquemada Redfield to zero in on her daughter.
Mandy showered quickly and dressed in an off-white Grecian style knee length dress with a gold belt, and yanked her hair up into a topknot. She applied makeup rapidly, surprised that she was able to achieve a decent result so quickly. She was fixing gold hoops studded with diamonds to her ears when Tom appeared in the doorway and said, “I left the key in the bowl on your dresser.”
Mandy nodded. He liked to be able to let himself into her apartment but she insisted that he always return the key.
She wasn’t sure why that made her feel better, but it did.
They drove to the convention center in silence. Tom was quiet because these occasions made him nervous, as he wanted to implement the strategy he had planned in advance and had to calculate how to do it on the way to the event. Mandy was also lost in thought, preoccupied with the look on Kelly’s face as she left his office that day.
He had looked wistful, as if he didn’t want her to go.
As if he were going to miss her.
Mandy shook her head and tried to clear it. She had to concentrate on the event she was attending and stop thinking about Detective Kelly.
They pulled up to the entrance of the underground garage and a valet took the car. Mandy and Tom went up in the elevator to the main floor, where the guests for the fundraiser were milling about in the lobby. A sign by the bar directed them to the correct room and Tom started shaking hands and greeting constituents immediately. Mandy nodded and smiled, playing the role of political consort, until the group responded to some unknown signal and started to go inside to take their seats.
That’s when she saw Kelly. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a starched white formal shirt and a black silk foulard tie, and hanging on his arm was his date from Pirro’s, the sultry Janet Grady. She was wearing a deep red cocktail dress which flattered her dark coloring with a fringed shawl of the same color and polished silver earrings. She looked stunning.
Mandy’s heart was racing. Had Kelly known that she was going to be at this fundraiser? He’d said nothing about it.
Mandy couldn’t tell if Kelly had
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