“And you hated it?”
He shook his head. “On the contrary, I loved it. That conference changed my life.”
Her eyes went wide. “It did? How?”
“That’s where I met your Aunt Marie.”
“Really? I didn’t know she was a scientist too.”
“She wasn’t,” he said, his voice turning a little whimsical. “She worked at the hotel where the conference was being held. Her job was assisting the event coordinator. She spent a lot of time walking around the convention center and checking on the rooms and making sure everything was stocked and clean. Those first few days I was there, I always found a room that wasn’t in use in between my workshops and just sort of sat by myself to decompress a little.”
She didn’t push him to say more—knowing he was getting lost in his own memories.
“The first time I talked to her, I was kind of a jerk. I was so prepared for her to tell me to get out of the room that I sort of went on the attack first.” He shook his head and let out a small chuckle. “When she said she completely understood my need to hide out for a little bit, I relaxed. So I went back to that room the next day in hopes of seeing her again.”
“And did you?” Brooke asked, finding herself getting engrossed in his story.
He nodded. “She came in, and this time I helped her move chairs around. We talked about her job, and she asked about mine and if I was enjoying the conference. At that point, I hadn’t done much, but I told her it was okay.”
“Did you go back there again the next day?”
Howard grinned. “I did. And this time I brought some snacks and drinks for us to share. We had a little picnic.”
“That sounds nice…very sweet.”
“It was. I asked her to dinner that night, and she said yes. Believe it or not, she was the first woman I ever asked out who wasn’t a colleague.” He smiled and shook his head. “I was so damn nervous. We ate at a restaurant right across the street from the hotel because I didn’t rent a car and I didn’t want her to drive us anywhere—I’m old-fashioned that way. And we stayed out all night talking. When the restaurant closed, we just went back across the street to the hotel and sat outside by the pool until the sun came up.”
Brooke gasped. “That’s amazing!”
“It certainly was. Luckily she didn’t have to work that day. I had lectures to go to, and when she left to go home, she said she’d see me later. Imagine my surprise when she showed up at our room during my break.”
“Wow,” Brooke sighed. “I love that.”
“But I lived in Chicago, and she lived in San Diego, and I knew at the end of the week I’d be leaving.”
“So what did you do? I mean…I know she eventually came to Chicago, but how long did it take?”
“She flew home with me that weekend.”
“No!”
Howard smiled broadly. “Yes,” he said. “It was something we both felt strongly about. Neither of us wanted a long-distance relationship.”
“But…how? I mean…you barely knew each other!”
“Scandalous, right?” he teased. “Actually, the hotel set up a transfer for her to one of its properties here. The manager wasn’t happy to do it on such short notice, but her supervisor was a friend and pulled some strings. And up until that point, Marie had been staying with a friend because her apartment lease ended the month before and she hadn’t found anything new. It was perfect timing.”
“Aww…I still can’t believe you moved in together so quickly!”
“Oh, Marie didn’t move in with me.”
“She didn’t?”
He shook his head. “I paid for her to stay at the hotel for a week, and we found her a small apartment close to mine. And once she was settled in, she sort of…drew me out of my shell. She forced me to get out and socialize. I started making friends with people I didn’t work with. We traveled. We went to plays and movies and galleries, and for the first time in my life, I was living.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest because of how passionately he spoke.
“Your aunt? She was an amazing woman. And if I hadn’t gone to that conference, I never would have known her. I never would have experienced the greatest love of my life.” He sighed and looked at Brooke with a sad smile. “And it doesn’t matter that we only had ten years together. I wouldn’t change a thing. She made me a better person.”
Tears stung Brooke’s eyes as she reached out and squeezed one of his hands. “You were very lucky to have found each other.”
They sat in silence for several long moments before Howard straightened in his seat. “And that’s why I see myself in Owen. He’s choosing to close himself off, and I hate to see that for him. He’s young, and he’s in a bit of a rut. I know he travels on these lecture tours, but even when he goes someplace new, he’s not…he’s not connecting. He’s not interacting.”
“You can’t force him to,” she heard herself say, even though it was exactly what she wanted to do for Owen herself.
“I know I can’t,” he looked up at her pleadingly, “but it’s hard to stand back and watch someone make the same mistakes I did, you know? I was hoping with a little nudge in the right direction, he’d see that there’s another way.”
“I know you meant well—”
“I shouldn’t have involved you. I’m sorry for that.”
She shook her head. “It’s all right. I understand why you did.”
He gave a mirthless laugh. “Do you? Because I’m a little ashamed of myself. I got your hopes up about the job and I was trying to play God with a friend.” He shook his head again. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were looking out for some of the people you love. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Normally I would agree, but in this case I hurt the both of you.”
For a minute, Brooke wanted to linger on how Owen was feeling, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. Not yet. “I’m fine. Really. I just have to start looking at other ways to get to the desert that make everyone comfortable.”
The smile he gave her was sad. “You know there’s going to come a time when you can’t please everyone, right? You’re going to have to start living for you.”
“I know,” she said, nodding. “But not on this.”
Howard’s phone beeped with an alarm reminding him of a faculty meeting. “Where does the time go?” he wondered as he stood up. “If I were stuck in my office for lunch, the time would be dragging, but now that I’m out and enjoying a meal with a delightful girl, it flies by.”
Brooke chuckled as she stood and joined him, linking her arm through his. “I’m glad we did this.” She rested her head on his shoulder as they started to walk. “And thank you for introducing me to this culinary delight.”
That made him laugh out loud. “It was my pleasure, Brookie.” He kissed the top of her head, and they walked out into the sunshine and began to make their way back toward the campus.
Neither spoke on the walk back other than to comment on the weather or the sights, and Brooke was good with that. It had been a bit of an emotional lunch, so the relative silence was a blessing, though it did leave her mind free to wander toward thoughts of Owen and why he didn’t tell her himself about not wanting to hire her on as his assistant—and not wanting to go on the trip, period. She had thought they’d crossed that hurdle from strangers to friends, and being that he knew how much she had riding on the position, it would have been polite to tell her to her face.
Rather than having her uncle break the news to her.
Once they were back at the entrance to the faculty building, they stopped, and Howard hugged her. “What are your plans for the rest of the day? Anything exciting?”
“There’s a showing at a gallery Dr. Kennedy told me about that opens tonight. I’m planning on checking it out.”
“Wo
nderful! What time are you heading out?”
“If it’s all right with you, I think I’m going to go home and relax for a bit and then come back this way and grab a bite to eat before going to the gallery. So I’m afraid you’re on your own for dinner again.”
He smiled. “No worries there. I’m quite used to it. Although I’ll admit I’ve been enjoying sharing meals with you since you arrived.”
That warmed her heart. “I have too. I’m just in the mood to explore the city a bit tonight and see what other shops or shows I can find.”
“Is anyone going with you?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.
As much as she hated for anyone to worry, this was going to be one of those times she was doing something purely for herself. “Nope. Just me—playing the bohemian tourist.”
Howard frowned.
“Wasn’t it just you a few minutes ago—”
He held up a hand to stop her. “You’re right, you’re right. Go and enjoy yourself.” He kissed her on the forehead before turning to walk into the building.
Brooke stood there for several minutes as she tried to decide what to do first—go straight home and make some calls or go straight to Owen’s classroom and demand he talk to her. With a steadying breath, she turned to go when her phone rang. Rummaging through her purse, she pulled her cell phone out and sighed. Swiping the screen, she lifted the phone to her ear and put on her cheeriest voice.
“Hi, Mom!”
* * *
All day Owen felt ill at ease—like he was waiting for something bad to happen.
Maybe an angry mob would hunt him down or something.
Actually, that would be preferable to the ways he was torturing himself.
After leaving Howard’s office, he had felt anxious and a combination of angry and sad. All of which were pretty much out of the ordinary for him. Not the anxiousness—he felt that sometimes on a daily basis—but the anger and sadness definitely weren’t part of the norm.
It wasn’t as if he expected Howard to fight his battles for him. He didn’t. But in this particular case, Owen had hoped his friend would take pity on him and help him out of a difficult situation.
Wasn’t that what he was already doing with Brooke?
Damn. Owen hated it when his subconscious had a point.
Okay, so he left Howard to break the news to Brooke about not coming on the trip with him. It was the coward’s way out, and Owen knew it, but there was no way he could have done it himself. One look into her blue eyes, and he would have caved—just so he’d have the opportunity to spend time with her.
He scrolled through the text messages on his phone—the ones she had sent him over the last week. Smiley faces, friendly greetings, and a picture of a starry night from several days ago. Each one of them had made him smile. Most of the time he hadn’t responded. Didn’t know how. There wasn’t anyone in his life he just…texted with for no reason. It was a common form of communication—he was aware of that—but normally that communication had a purpose.
So did hers. She was reaching out to you!
And he’d felt unsure of what the proper etiquette was for responding back or how to respond without sounding uncomfortable.
The constant seesawing he was doing where she was concerned was giving him motion sickness, and it had to stop. Class was over, and the rest of his day was free—as was his weekend—and that meant he was able to go back to his hotel and find something to do to distract him. Collecting his things, Owen left the lecture hall and made his way out to the parking lot to his car.
Friday afternoon traffic was fairly brutal, but he wasn’t in a rush. His hotel wasn’t that far from the campus—a couple of miles tops—but right now it could have been ten miles away. The roads were pretty much like a parking lot, which left him time to think.
What do do…what to do…
There were several books he had planned to read. Maybe he could download them to his tablet and settle in for a night of relative escapism. Boring but still a viable option. He didn’t have to be back at the campus until Tuesday, so he had three and half days to himself. Maybe he’d look into taking a flight home to see his family. He shook his head. Too much time wasted in travel to make it more than a rushed event.
He inched along in traffic and sighed. You’d think in such a busy city he wouldn’t have any trouble trying to come up with something to do. But that’s what happened, he supposed, when you weren’t the outgoing and social type.
You could be…
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He’d had the option, and he’d thrown it away. It was self-preservation. At least…that’s what Owen was telling himself. There was no way he could take on going to Red Rock and spending time with Brooke—time he knew was going to do nothing for him but make him want her more—and then watch her walk away when they were done. He was many things, but a masochist wasn’t one of them.
He turned off the main road and felt relief when the hotel came into sight. Within minutes he had parked and was walking through the lobby toward the elevators. While waiting for the elevator to arrive, Owen realized he was no closer to having something to do for the weekend. He walked back toward the concierge desk, intent on getting some suggestions for things to do—outside of the hotel.
He could read anytime.
“Excuse me,” he said softly and then cleared his throat and spoke a little louder. “I was wondering if you could recommend something to do this weekend.”
The young man behind the desk had a ready smile. “Absolutely! Tell me what you’re looking for—museums, shopping, restaurants, tourist attractions, something off the beaten path…we’ve got everything!”
He was a little too upbeat and perky for Owen’s taste, but Owen could mildly appreciate his enthusiasm for his job. “I’m thinking more along the lines of museums or something equally quiet.”
“Ah, give me just one minute.”
And sure enough, a minute later Owen had a handful of brochures and literature about a local history museum, an art museum, a natural history museum, and even a nature museum.
“As you can see, we have quite a few museums to choose from,” the concierge said. Then he handed Owen a map of the area. “This map specifically details how to get from the hotel to each of the museums. Several are within walking distance.” He stopped and chuckled. “Or at least a somewhat reasonable walking distance. It’s easier than dealing with the traffic.”
Owen nodded.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No, but thank you. I appreciate the information.”
“Anytime. And enjoy your weekend, sir.”
After another murmured thank-you, Owen made his way back to the elevators and went up to his room. All of this information he could have easily found himself online, but he was trying to make himself interact with people more. And honestly it hadn’t been…terrible. Huh. How about that?
Once inside his room, he got comfortable and sat down to look at all of the brochures. He was a fan of museums—any museum, really. It was very satisfying to spend the day immersed in history or learning something new, and suddenly Owen felt some excitement for the weekend.
His plan was to relax for the night—order some room service and do some reading—and then spend the next three days touring the Field Museum, the Chicago History Museum, and then the Museum of Science and Industry. With that decision made, he spent a few minutes ordering and downloading the books he had wanted, and when he looked at the clock, he saw it was almost six.
“Dinner,” he said and reached for the room service menu. Scanning it, he quickly realized nothing was appealing—at least not tonight. A BLT was always an option because…well…bacon. And even though it would have been fine, it wasn’t what he wanted. Owen wasn’t sure what specifically he was in the mood for, but it wasn’t on this particular menu. There went his perfectly planne
d evening. But rather than letting that stress him out, he decided to try to go with flow. A quick walk around the block to find something interesting to eat would not only kill some time, but it would give him an opportunity to enjoy more of the great spring weather.
When he stepped out onto the sidewalk a few minutes later, he took in the sights and smells of the city, something Owen didn’t normally take the time to do. But he was trying something new—trying to break out of his little comfort zone and see what else was out in the world for him to experience.
So far? He wasn’t overly impressed. There were a lot of traffic and a ton of people walking all around him, and it felt a little chaotic and crowded, and he shuddered with discomfort but decided he was going to deal with it. He needed dinner, and if this was how he had to go about getting it, then so be it.
The first block didn’t have anything that piqued his interest. The second block either. Next thing Owen knew he was almost to Grant Park, which he knew was almost a mile from his hotel! His stomach was growling, and he couldn’t believe he’d walked so far and hadn’t found a single place where he wanted to eat. He stopped on the corner, looked around, and decided he was going to pick a place right then.
A diner.
There, on the opposite side of the street, was a diner. Most diners had hundreds of selections on their menu, so Owen had no doubt he’d find the perfect dinner and be back in his room enjoying his book in no time.
He crossed the street with a little pep in his step, and even though there was a crowd of people waiting, he wasn’t deterred. He was a single person, and if there was a counter, he’d be more than happy to sit there. Maneuvering his way through the crowd, he made his way up to the podium and waited for the hostess to come back and take his name.
“Owen?”
He froze. It couldn’t be.
Slowly he turned around, and there were those eyes—those blue eyes that had captured him from the start and had been haunting him for weeks.
One More Kiss Page 38
