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The Only Shark in the Sea

Date Shark #3

By

DelSheree Gladden

1: The Why

There was something about Stephanie's glare that made Vance want to laugh. He held it in, knowing she wouldn't speak to him for the rest of the night if he didn't. He slid his tie into place and turned to face her. "Steph, why are you so annoyed about this? I've been helping Guy with the date shark thing for months. You've never minded me stepping in with the difficult clients before, so why now?"

Crossing her arms, she pursed her lips at him. "This time is different. You're going alone."

"It wasn't my choice." Vance sighed. Walking over to his upset girlfriend, he tried to pull her to him, but she resisted. "Guy's flight back from the conference was delayed by weather and it was too late to cancel with his client."

"I know all of that," Stephanie said, pouting, "but I still don't like this."

"Why?"

Vance was honestly surprised by Stephanie's resistance. He had been helping his friend with his dating coach business since his wife, Charlotte, was released from the hospital after complications of her chemotherapy treatment. That was four months ago. She had never once complained or felt threatened by Vance helping Guy out with some of the more challenging cases that needed more than what a few rounds of coaching could provide.

Guy usually called him in when one of his clients exhibited deep-seated emotional issues that were affecting their ability to form and keep proper relationships. Because Guy's psychiatry background was mainly in the hospital setting, he liked to get Vance's opinion on some of his clients during what he referred to as the "date night," where he would take his client on a practice date and coach them through the evening on behavior and boundaries.

Since college, Vance had chosen to specialize in helping patients recover from traumatic experiences, which often included abuse or troubling childhoods. Many of Guy's difficult clients fell into one of those categories. As he thought about the client he intended to meet, his brow furrowed.

"That's why," Stephanie said, drawing him out of his thoughts.

Confused, Vance look at her intently. "What?"

"The look you just had on your face. I heard what Guy said when you were talking about her last week."

Vance shook his head. "All he said was that she was different." He shrugged, not understanding at all.

"Exactly," Stephanie snapped. "That's what Eli said about Leila when she hired him, and that's what Guy said about Charlotte when they met. Now they're both married!"

Unable to stop himself this time, Vance laughed. Stephanie scowled and immediately shoved him away. He caught her hand before she could storm off, though. He was still chuckling when he pulled her back to him. Even though she was glaring at him, he kissed her anyway.

"Are you actually worried about me getting snatched away by this woman?" He laughed and kissed her again, even though she was trying to push him away. His lips rested right against her ear as he held her. "I have been trying to convince you to marry me for the past five years. I haven't given up yet, so why would you think this client would change that?"

Red crept into Stephanie's cheeks. "This stupid date shark business, there's something about it. It's cursed or something."

Vance laughed before he could stop himself, making Stephanie even more angry with him. "Cursed?" he laughed. "Eli and Guy end up married, happily married, and you think it's cursed? Most people would be saying the opposite."

"I'm not most people," she snapped.

Unable to argue, Vance could only smile at her. No, Stephanie was not like every other woman. If she was, she would have accepted his proposal years ago. She also wouldn't believe in curses, and she wouldn't think that ending up with a ring on her finger would be something to have a meltdown about. Vance understood her fears, though, and his smile faded to an expression of concern.

"Stephanie, you know I love you, and you know I am happy being with you whether you ever marry me or not. I'm not going anywhere. You don't need to be worried."

Much of her anger fell away in the face of his honesty. "It's hard not to." The corners of her mouth pulled down and her fingers dug into his arms a little more tightly, as if she was truly afraid to let him go.

"Steph, I don't want you to be upset about this," Vance said softly. "The client tonight, Guy said she's different because he thinks something bad has happened to her and she needs some serious counseling. I'll most likely be taking her on as a regular patient, so there's no chance of anything happening between us, right? You trust me enough to know that."

She didn't hesitate to nod. They had been together since their sophomore year in college. They knew each other inside and out. Never once in all their years together had Stephanie ever worried about Vance getting involved with a patient, and he had never given her reason to be concerned. This was different. He understood why, but it was hard for Stephanie to combat everything she had been through as a child.

"Do you want to come with me?" Vance asked.

For a moment, Stephanie didn't say anything. He could tell she was considering it. He didn't pressure her one way or the other. If she wanted to accompany him, she could model proper behavior. If she didn't, he knew she would enjoy going out with the girls. It was the last one they would have for a while with everyone since Leila was getting closer to having her baby. Charlotte would be beginning her next round of chemo the following week as well, and might not feel up to going out for a while. Even Sabine was in town for the girls' night. Vance knew how much she loved their get-togethers, but if she felt she needed to come with him, he had no problem with that.

"No," Stephanie finally said. "I...trust you. You're right. There's nothing for me to be worried about."

"You don't sound very convinced," Vance said.

Stephanie frowned. "It's not about you leaving me for whoever this woman is, Vance. I know you love me. It's the other stuff."

"Would it really bad so bad if we ended up married?" Vance asked, though he already knew the answer. The twisted grimace on Stephanie's face made and old familiar ache in his chest rekindle.

He hadn't been lying when he said he would stay with Stephanie regardless of her limitations. He loved her more than anything else. She was his life. That didn't stop him from wishing things could be different, and lately it had been more difficult to push those emotions away. Having grown up in a traditional family, his parents didn't understand why he and Stephanie weren't married, but they loved her almost as much as he did. Aside from his younger sister, who had always been too opinionated for her own good, his family was very accepting of Stephanie even though they were living together and not married.

"Well," Vance said, shaking off his subdued mood, "if you're going to pick up Charlotte, you better get going. You know Sabine will complain if you're late to the restaurant."

Mention of Sabine stole some of Stephanie's melancholy. Normally, Stephanie was vibrant and cheerful, chatty to the point of exhausting some of his friends. Only at times when her past crept back to the surface did she fall out of her normal chipper state of being and back into how she had been when they first met. Sabine was almost always a sure cure for such days. There was precious little Stephanie loved talking about more than clothes and fashion. Sabine, being a European fashion model, always had plenty to talk about with Stephanie. Add Leila into the mix with her new fashion line launching in the spring, and Vance doubted Stephanie would even think about him for the rest of the night.

"I'm sorry about tonight," Stephanie said. "I shouldn't have even said anything."

Vance shook his head. "Yes, you should have. It's okay that you're concerned."

He pulled her back into his arms and ran his hands down to her hips. She smiled as she pressed herself against him. Dressed up for a night out, she looked amazing. Her dark blonde hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, but it was her lips that were his weakness. He loved that she was confident enough to wear the cherry red color. Resisting them was impossible.

"I love you," Vance said before brushing his lips across hers. Stephanie immediately melted against him at the feather-light touch. He smiled, kissing just her bottom lip. She whimpered at his teasing. He loved that he knew her so well. He was grinning as he kissed the ridge of her cheekbone, the tip of her ear, and then just behind her ear.

When his lips touched her earlobe, her fingers tightened around his shirt. "Vance, if you don't stop it right now, I'm definitely going to be late picking up Charlotte, and you're going to be late for your meeting. One more kiss, and I swear I'm not letting you out of this room for at least an hour."

Knowing she meant it, Vance slowly pulled back with a sigh. Stephanie shivered as his breath washed across her flushed skin. "I'd rather stay here with you, but..."

"I know," she said with a soft smile. She stepped out of his grasp reluctantly, but smiled devilishly as she reached for her purse. "Let's pick this back up later, okay?"

Vance scoffed at her. "Yeah, right. You'll be out until the wee hours of the morning again and I'll be asleep."

"We won't be that late," she argued. "We're just going to dinner tonight. We've got a pregnant lady about to pop. How late do you really see Leila staying out? Charlotte's not much of an all-nighter, either."

Vance laughed. "Didn't stop you ladies last time."

Giggling at the memory of the men all waiting up for them until one o'clock in the morning last month, Stephanie just shrugged. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to wake you up when I get home," Stephanie said.

She started to walk away, but Vance grabbed her arm and yanked her against him. "You better."

He kissed her once more, not gently this time, and sent her on her way. He sincerely hoped she would keep her promise as he walked out to his car a few minutes later. As he drove toward the restaurant, his thoughts slowly turned toward the client he was about to meet. Guy had given him the basics the previous week, when he asked him to help him out. Natalie Price hadn't listed anything noteworthy in her personal history, but Guy suspected she was hiding something. Vance's main question wasn't so much what she was hiding, but why. Years of working with his patients had taught him that the why behind a secret was often more damaging than the secret itself.

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