Lia waved in the general direction of the house. “Her brother.”
“I thought Maverick was her brother.”
“She has more than one.”
He nodded before holding out his hand. “I’m Jacob, by the way. This one’s Wesley.”
Lia shook the proffered hands. Wesley had to be within spitting distance of twenty like Watts, while Jacob outpaced them both by a good decade or so. “What brings you to the DC area?”
Wesley’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, a bright red Christmas tree. Or maybe a stoplight.
Jacob tossed a glance at the younger man before shaking his head. “So her name’s Watts. She has a brother named Maverick and another brother named Ferris?”
“And the Rottweiler you see sunning himself on the other side of the yard is Rambo Two.”
“Two?”
“Yep.”
“Was there a one?”
Maverick’s scowl made its way into her line of sight as he moved across the lawn. “Um, yeah. He’s in doggie heaven now.”
Wesley found his voice. “I don’t get it. What’s the big deal with the names?”
Jacob grabbed a soda out of a nearby cooler and tossed it to Wesley. “You’re too young. Don’t worry about it.” Then he gave his attention back to Lia. “For the record, I’m too young, too, but I grew up with a mess of older brothers.”
“Brothers might explain how you recognize the names Maverick and Ferris. Even Rambo. But Watts? You’re not secretly into chick flicks, are you?”
“Yeah, I sit up late at night with my pink slippers while I eat ice cream out of the tub and watch girl movies.” He rolled his eyes. “So what is it with this family and the ‘80s?”
Jacob’s puzzled expression brought a smile to Lia’s face. “Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt love the ‘80s. They even used to have a cat named Buttercup.”
“Let me guess. Kitty heaven?”
Lia chuckled. “Sadly, there was no sequel.”
Jacob was still shaking his head when Maverick walked up and tapped Lia’s elbow. “Can I have a word?”
Was he grinding his teeth? Lia nodded to Jacob and Wesley. “Please excuse me for a minute.”
Maverick held the door for her, and Lia slipped into the house. When he shut the door and marched past her without speaking, however, she’d had enough. Lia spoke with the bluntness that a long friendship awarded her. “Either something’s terribly wrong, or you’re being terribly rude. I hope it’s the former.”
He got to the living room and pivoted to face her, the lines of his body taut. His face, normally open and friendly, was stiff, his lips drawn in a tight, bloodless line. “Do you realize what Watts brought them here for?”
Lia glanced over her shoulder for a second even though she couldn’t see outside. “You mean Jacob and Wesley?”
“Who else would I be talking about?”
“Maverick, what’s gotten into you? You’re not acting like yourself. Did you get more word about your job?”
“She brought them to introduce to you. She’s trying to fix you up.”
“I’d really rather talk about your job.” She wasn’t clueless, but she’d kind of hoped everyone else would be.
He ran a hand through his hair and scowled at her. “Watts. Those men are from her squadron. They’re paratroopers like her. She brought them to meet you. She’s trying to find you a boyfriend. How can you not see that?”
Lia stared from Maverick to the wall that blocked her view of the back patio. “I know what she’s doing. I just don’t understand why.”
“You mentioned your dating woes in some of your emails to her. She vetted the men in her squadron and picked a couple. She’s planning on bringing them all here eventually so you can meet them and pick one.”
Acid churned in her stomach. Someone she used to babysit was now trying to fix her up. Her life just hit a whole new level of pathetic. “What your sister is attempting to do is between me and her. Whether I like it or not is irrelevant. I’m not going to be rude—” She gave him a good glare. “—to those men out there just because I wish Watts didn’t have an ulterior motive in inviting them.”
“You should leave.” Maverick waved her toward the front door.
“I want to catch up with Watts. She’s my friend, and I haven’t seen her in months.”
“Fine.” He bit out the single word before heading for the door himself. “I’m going for a walk. Tell Mom I’ll be back in time for the food.”
He was gone before Lia realized he genuinely meant to leave.
“Is everything all right in here?”
Lia circled to see Jacob standing in the open space between the living room and kitchen, hand tucked into his pockets. “I’m not sure. I think I missed something important.”
He nodded toward the door Maverick had exited through. “He seems like an okay guy.”
“He is. Usually.”
Jacob gave her a solemn stare. “You didn’t know Watts was trying to find a boyfriend for you?”
Lia felt the heat climbing into her cheeks. Curse her fair skin. “I might be the only one who didn’t know.”
He snorted. “Trust me. Wesley didn’t know either. He only has eyes for Watts. As soon as he realized why we’d been invited for the weekend, he transformed from an affable guy into a sullen teenaged girl. Kind of like your friend Maverick.”
“A teenaged girl? I’m pretty sure Maverick would take exception to that.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he just go storming out the front door because you wouldn’t leave this little get-together?”
He had a point.
“Take it from a guy. He didn’t leave because he felt like taking a Sunday afternoon stroll. He left because you wouldn’t.”
On those parting words, he pushed himself off the wall and strode easily back through the kitchen and to the door that opened into the backyard.
He left because you wouldn’t.
What did that even mean? She couldn’t get a date to stick around, and now not even her best friend wanted to be around her?
With a sinking heart, Lia started toward the back door. The reflection in a mirror snagged her attention, though. She wasn’t exactly looking her best today. She frowned as she forced her shoulders back and sucked her stomach in. It helped some, but not as much as she wanted. Was half a burger going to be a menu option at this meat-lovers’ grill fest?
Chapter 10
Maverick stomped his way up the steps to his parents’ house. He cracked the front door open and let the silence wash over him before he crossed the threshold. Maybe everyone was so busy fawning over Watts and her friends that they hadn’t paid any attention to his absence.
He made his way through the house and peeked out the kitchen door. They were all crowded around the patio table as they ate and laughed with one another. He would need to apologize eventually, but for now he hoped he could slip into the last open seat without too much fuss.
Of course, Lia sat between Ferris and one of the men Watts had dragged home with her.
Deep breath. He could do this.
Maverick pushed through the door, strode over to his mom, and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “Sorry I’m late. My short walk ended up being longer than I expected.”
His mother frowned at him, worry in her eyes. “It’s alright, dear. Sit down and get yourself some food.”
He slid into the seat between his mother and the younger of Watts’ two friends. “Which one are you?”
The man’s gaze snapped to his, and for a second Maverick looked into a mirror. That boy was eaten up with jealousy. “Wesley.”
Maverick followed Wesley’s line of sight and couldn’t decide if he was staring at Lia or at Watts. Maybe this weekend wouldn’t be such a loss after all. “How did Watts convince you to come with her?”
The young man’s jaw clenched. “By not telling me the real reason she dragged me along with her.”
Maverick glanced back over at Watts.
“Didn’t realize she wanted to set you up with someone, huh?” It wasn’t particularly Christian of him, but Wesley’s irritation sure did brighten Maverick’s outlook on life.
Wesley snorted. “Set up? Sure. Just not with a complete stranger old enough to be my…”
Maverick cleared his throat. “Careful there.”
Wesley’s ears became a vivid example of why the color fire-engine red belonged on fire trucks and not people. “You know what I mean.”
Ha. Not only did Maverick understand what the kid meant, but he knew what he was going through, too. Jealousy. Pure and simple. “Does Watts have a clue how you feel?”
Wesley sputtered.
“The only way she’ll know is if you tell her.”
“She’ll figure it out. She’s smart.”
Maverick almost wanted to smile. “The thing with women is that they have this reputation for being all intuitive and stuff, but they can be downright dense sometimes. You can wait for her to realize how you feel if you want, but you’ll be waiting a long time.”
Wesley’s gaze cut to the side. “Nah. Watts is smarter than that. She’s practically one of the guys.”
Maverick tried to hide his laughter behind a cough. Wesley was in for a rude awakening.
Of course, that didn’t say much for Maverick, either. He had zero intention of telling Lia about his outside-the-friend-zone thoughts. What was that word that described him? Oh yeah. It started with an h and ended with ypocrite.
“You’re halfway to insane, and don’t you dare try to tell me otherwise.”
Maverick’s baby sister had decided to help him wash dishes, and that was her conversation starter?
“Me? You jump out of airplanes for a living, and you’re calling me crazy?”
Watts’ eyes shone with her smile. “Can you believe it? I’m a paratrooper. Does life get any better than that?”
Maverick shook his head. “You’re still a kid. You still have a lot of life left to live.”
Watts waved her hand dismissively. “I can’t imagine anything more fun than my life right now.”
“Why are you meddling in Lia’s life if yours is so perfect?”
His sister picked up a plate and began drying. “She sounded down in her last couple of emails. I wanted to help. Why were you such a jerk to her earlier?”
“Ouch.” Leave it to Watts to spit out the truth like a mouthful of rusty nails. Of course she’d call him on it. She didn’t do subtle.
“So?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Jumping out of an airplane at high altitudes is complicated. Being nice to someone who’s been your friend since you were first potty trained shouldn’t be.”
“I had a rough week at work. And we haven’t known each other that long.”
“Since when does a bad week make it okay to be mean to people?” Watts should apply for a transfer. She needed to be a drill sergeant. “And you were what? Five when you met?”
“It doesn’t. I’m going to apologize.” He sighed. “We were six, not five.”
Watts set the towel back down, the dishes only half-dried. “Make sure you follow through and tell her you’re sorry because she’s my friend too, and if you drive her away, she’s not going to be the only one hurt.”
His flighty baby sister had gone and turned into a woman of wisdom somewhere along the way. The whole world was topsy-turvy, and Maverick couldn’t find his motion sickness pills.
Maverick sat in the booth and stared at the empty seat across from him. Lia wouldn’t stand him up… would she? She’d left his parents’ house before he could speak to her. The ER had been swamped all week, too. Every time he’d gone looking for her, she’d been running from one cubicle to another.
So he’d messed up last Sunday. That wasn’t enough for her to write him off.
He glanced at the clock over the diner’s front counter.
He’d even suffered through two dates so he would have something to tell Lia about, something that didn’t involve his sudden preoccupation with her.
The clock read half past their normal meeting time. She would have texted to say she wasn’t coming if she intended to bail on him. They’d had disagreements before, and she’d never gone AWOL. Unless he’d blown it even more than he thought.
Torn between ordering something and just leaving, Maverick reached for the sweetener packets. He should mix them all up so Lia would have something to do with her hands. She was happier when she could fidget.
“Sorry I’m late. I subbed in the nursery, and we had a visitor who about wanted to talk my ear off. I think she’s been stuck at home with her new baby so long that she was desperate for adult conversation.” Lia breezed into her usual seat. “Did you order, or were you waiting for me?”
Maverick pushed the sweetener packets aside. “You came.”
“Was I not supposed to?” Her eyes dimmed.
“I thought my foul mood from last weekend might have scared you off.”
She gave him a wink. “It takes more than one surly day to get rid of me.” Lia picked up her menu, but before she started reading, she peeked over the top at him. “Did you hear the announcement about the mission trip this summer?”
Maverick stretched his arms out along the back of the booth. “Yeah. I’m thinking of doing it.”
“Maybe that mission girl you dated would like to go with you.”
He tapped his fingers on the table. “Nah. We’re not seeing each other anymore. Besides, Alexa’s heading off to a mission trip in the Ukraine later this month. What about you? Give it any thought yet?”
Lia’s head angled to the side. “I wouldn’t have even paid attention to the announcement if it wasn’t for you going on that mission date. Now I kind of want to go.”
“We could go together.” Uh-oh. Wasn’t that how he landed himself in the online dating nightmare that had become his life? He shook his head and opened his mouth to retract his words.
It was too late, though. Lia’s eyes had already brightened. “You think so? If you’re gonna do it, I’ll sign up too. It’ll be like the online dating.” Color made its way up her neck as she chuckled. “Only more successful. We hope.”
Someday he would learn to say no. Tomorrow was good enough. “Sure. Let’s do it.”
Her smile wiped away the last of his doubts. It would be a worthwhile trip. Serving God with a friend by his side? In a way, that defined the Christian walk.
Lia waved her hand in front of his face. “Where’d you go there?”
Maverick gave his head a small shake. “Got distracted by something shiny. What were you saying?”
“Did you get the email about the Holy Hearts fundraiser?”
He’d seen something in his inbox but hadn’t paid attention. Maverick pulled his phone out to peruse his email while Lia scanned the menu. Why she read it was a mystery. She always ordered a salad.
“Huh.” Holy Hearts had partnered with hospitals across the country in a fundraising effort designed to bring couples together while raising funds for medical needs. “A bachelor auction?”
Lia gave him a bright smile. “I signed up to help the day of the auction.”
“Why a bachelor auction?”
She gaped at him as if he’d grown a second head. Or a third. “Because it’s a fantastic way to raise money.”
“Yeah, but… Why auction off men? Why not auction off women? Wouldn’t that make even more money?”
Lia’s head whipped from side to side. “No way. That’s demeaning.”
“So auctioning off a woman is demeaning, but auctioning off a man is perfectly acceptable?”
She gave him a pert nod. “Now you’re catching on.”
Maverick shook his head as the waitress approached. “What’ll it be?”
“Double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and an extra side of bacon on the side.”
The waitress angled her head toward Lia, pen poised.
“I’d like to try the…” She flipped the page of her
menu. “Um…” She flipped another page. “This’ll be on a separate check. Give me the hot turkey sandwich with a side of fruit instead of fries, please.”
“Are you sure?” The waitress’ eyebrow lifted.
Color climbed Lia’s cheeks.
The waitress clucked her tongue. “Hot turkey sandwich with fruit. I’ll have it out in a minute.”
Maverick’s knee started moving under the table. “So, did Mike ask you out yet?”
“Mike?”
“Single dad, cute kid.”
“Mark, not Mike. How do you do that? You can’t keep names straight, but you can remember all the technical computer mumbo jumbo words.”
He waved the question away. “Whatever. Did he ask you out?”
Her shoulders slumped the tiniest bit. “He’s decided to try another church.”
“What does that have to do with dating?”
Lia slapped her hand down on the tabletop, drawing the eyes of neighboring patrons. “That’s what I wondered. What if he’s leaving the church to avoid me? Is that my superpower now? Repelling eligible men? Is that why the singles’ group has turned into an uninhabited wasteland?”
“He’s an idiot.”
Lia smiled. “He’s not, but thanks for saying so.”
Maverick swallowed. “I need to apologize.”
Lia stared across the table, her grey eyes shining. “For what?”
“For last Sunday. And for making a big deal out of what you eat. It makes you uncomfortable, and I should stop.”
She lifted one shoulder. “Last Sunday’s forgiven. As for the food… It’s something I struggle with. I didn’t realize how much until you pointed it out to me.”
“I can be dense sometimes, but not about this. You always look great. What’s the struggle?”
Lia reached for the sweetener packets. “Did you know I had an eating disorder in high school?”
Her words pushed Maverick back into his seat. “No. How…? I don’t…” He took a deep breath. “Want to tell me about it?”
The pink ones were all in order now. “There’s not much to tell. The mirror showed me all the flaws. I never saw what was right. I saw all the excess body fat that needed to come off. So I’d skip meals and stuff. At the same time, it wasn’t really about weight.” She sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I can give you the longer version or the short version.”
Love at First Laugh: Eight Romantic Novellas Filled with Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After Page 23
