“That Chad and I were engaged when it happened.”
“But why didn’t you tell him that?” Regan paused in brushing her hair mid-stroke. The roommates were all getting ready for work, but they’d said they couldn’t possibly leave the house until they got Laurie’s report. She was learning that it was hard to put on makeup and talk at the same time.
“I don’t know. Maybe I don’t trust Logan enough yet to tell him stuff like that. Or maybe I didn’t want to look even more gullible than I already did. I mean, seriously, who gets engaged to the guy who’s stealing her schoolwork?”
“Laurie, you weren’t gullible. He was a charmer. Anyone would have fallen for his line.” Morgan wrapped her arm around Laurie’s shoulders. “Do you want me to call my mob connections to go get him for you?”
Laurie chuckled. “You have mob connections?”
“Hey, I think I’m at least part Italian. I must have some mob connections somewhere.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I think we’re good. I’ll let you know, though.”
Despite Morgan’s assurances that Laurie had nothing to be ashamed of, she did still feel ashamed. Chad had been her first real romance, the first guy she ever kissed. Thank goodness she’d never been intimate with him—that would have been even more of a slap in the face when he turned out to be the jerk he was.
She finished putting on her makeup and pulled her hair back into a bun, deciding that was as good as it was going to get for the day. It was Friday, after all, and that meant it was okay to be a little more casual, right?
The appointment book wasn’t too full, so Laurie took advantage of the lulls to show Willa the basics of writing up a sale. That, along with bridal consultations, was something Willa wouldn’t be doing on her own for some time yet, but Laurie wanted to make sure that she understood how it was done. Then she and Willa went through the stock room and made sure that all the dresses were hung up where they belonged and that the dress bags were zipped up properly. This was probably more busy work than anything—Laurie needed something to keep her hands occupied while her brain was free to roam.
Logan had been amazing the night before. She didn’t even know it was possible, but he’d been warm and caring, and it really touched her heart that he’d put her needs over the talk he was having with his boss. She hoped that wouldn’t come back to bite him—he deserved better than that.
He might even deserve something else, too—another date. But she wanted to see him once, just once, without any accompanying drama. Life, by itself, was dramatic enough without other people or things adding on to it. A simple date, just time to get to know each other . . .
She smiled. She could manage that.
When she checked her messages on her lunch hour, she was surprised to see a text from Brennan. Dinner at Frannie’s tomorrow. Pick you up at five thirty. Can’t wait.
That’s right—she’d promised Brennan another date. Could she really go out with him another time when her heart and head couldn’t stop obsessing over Logan? She wondered if she should walk down to the jewelry store and talk to him again, but she stopped that train of thought before it ever left the station. She should tell him over dinner, at a time when they weren’t likely to be overheard. Telling him at work would be too tacky and might embarrass him, and he didn’t need that from her.
She texted back. See you then.
Then she visited the website of Logan’s law office and pulled up his e-mail address again. What do you say we try this date thing one more time?
He responded almost immediately. What did you have in mind?
Leave that to me. Be at my place Sunday afternoon at four. Dress casual, and bring a jacket. She paused for a moment before adding, Leather.
* * *
Laurie wished Brennan had chosen a less-expensive restaurant for their date. She didn’t want to run up a huge bill while telling him she wouldn’t be dating him anymore. Maybe if she just got a salad, she’d feel less guilty. And maybe if Aspen Ridge had more eating establishments . . . but she couldn’t blame the town for this predicament. There were a few empty lots at the east end of Main Street, not to mention those on the side streets—more restaurants were bound to come soon. She’d once heard that a town isn’t really a town until it has a McDonald’s.
She smoothed down her burgundy dress and then stepped into her black heels. She’d left her hair loose, tired of the buns and ponytails she usually wore to work, and she liked the way she looked. That was a little bit of a change—usually she found something to criticize. It was nice to cut herself some slack.
Brennan wore a gray suit with a forest-green tie, and he looked really nice. He held the front door and then the car door open for her, and he would have held the door to the restaurant open as well except that Frank beat him to it. Laurie didn’t think she’d be so nervous, but she was. She could barely concentrate on the menu.
“I’ll take the chef salad,” she told the waiter.
“And I’ll have the crab salad,” Brennan said.
Laurie toyed with the stem of her water glass, trying to figure out what to say. Brennan beat her to it, though.
“Laurie, I don’t know if Cara ever told you this, but I’ve had a crush on you for a long time.”
That was really a terrible way for a conversation to start when you’re getting ready to stop seeing someone.
“And now that I’m getting to know you better and I can see how warm and loving and kind you are, it makes me like you all the more.”
Mayday . . . Mayday . . .
“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m really not interested in seeing anyone else, and I’d like to make this exclusive, see where it goes. I don’t think either of us is ready to leap into a full relationship, but I think the seeds of something really great are here, if we wanted to pursue it.”
No. Oh, no. This was so much worse than she’d thought. What should she say . . . What could she say? Even if Logan wasn’t in the picture, she couldn’t say yes. It wouldn’t be fair to Brennan. But with Logan in the picture, things were even more complicated. She was turning down one amazing, kind, thoughtful man to have a date with a man who was still trying to get out of the doghouse he’d built for himself with his arrogance. How stupid would that be? But how stupid would it be to keep seeing Brennan? She was getting a headache.
“Laurie?”
She glanced up, realizing that Brennan had been waiting rather anxiously for an answer. He needed her to say something now, not after she’d worked it all out in her head—that could take months. And probably additional therapy.
“I’m sorry. You just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
“In a good way, I hope.” He grinned.
Laurie took a sip of her water. Her stomach was in knots—even the fragrance of the breadsticks didn’t tempt her.
“Oh, I see. Not in a good way.” Brennan’s voice still had a touch of humor in it, but he was clearly disappointed.
“Brennan, you are an amazing guy, and I’ve had so much fun with you. Honestly, you treat me so well, and I’m really grateful for that. But my heart’s just not feeling the things yours is, and I’m not sure if it ever will.”
He nodded slowly. “I wondered if I was feeling more than you were.”
“I wish I could feel it too. You’re perfect for me in absolutely every way except for one—I don’t love you. I respect you and I admire you and I like you a whole lot, but not in a romantic way. Can you forgive me?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What’s to forgive? You can’t make yourself fall for me—the heart wants what the heart wants, as they say.” He reached out and touched her hand where it lay on the table. “You haven’t changed my opinion, Laurie—I still think you’re fantastic. And I’ll probably go home and watch too many reality TV shows until I get over it, but that’s not your fault either—I blame my roommate for getting cable. So, how about we eat our dinner as friends, and just enjoy each other’s company?”
“I think th
at sounds great,” she said, feeling very much relieved. She also felt hungry now, and she picked up a breadstick.
“To friendship,” Brennan said, picking up a breadstick for himself and holding it in the air. Laurie touched her breadstick to his in a toast, the irony not lost on her that they were “toasting” with a bread product.
The waiter brought their food and they began to eat. “So, now that we’re best friends, tell me about Logan,” Brennan said between bites.
Laurie froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. “Um, Logan? What do you mean?”
“I saw the way you looked at him when we ran into him at the Nuggets game—kind of a mixture of loathing and awe. And then the work event the other night. What’s going on there?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I wish I could figure it out. One minute, he’s driving me nuts, and the next minute, he’s driving me more nuts. But what about you? How was your afternoon with Kelly?”
Brennan exhaled loudly. “All I can say is, thank goodness Jake was there too. I thought I was going to lose my mind by the time we were done. Every single sentence started with, ‘When I was in Europe’ or ‘That’s not how we did things in Europe.’ I thought she wanted to talk about backpacking, but what she really wanted was to talk about all her amazing connections ‘on the continent.’ I think she was just trying to find solid footing again after her breakup and was trying to cheer herself up, but it was definitely an awkward date.”
Laurie pointed at him with her fork before remembering that was considered rude and lowering it. “See, that’s one of the things I like about you. You had a terrible date with a girl who was boring you to tears, but you’re trying to see things from her perspective and cut her some slack. You’re a good guy, Brennan.”
“Why, thank you.” He inclined his head slightly. “So, what are you thinking for dessert? I’m working my way down their menu and I believe I’m on raspberry cheesecake now.”
“Sounds good to me.” All breakups should be this easy.
* * *
Logan showed up right on time, and Laurie couldn’t help the bubble of unexplainable excitement that had risen up inside her. She’d packed a nice picnic and gathered up a blanket, and she’d chosen her outfit carefully to reflect cute casual—a nice blouse, capris, and her brown sandals. Logan nodded appreciatively when he saw her and then took the basket from her hands, which was really nice because the blanket under her arm was slipping and the whole thing was about to go crashing to the floor. Not exactly something you want to happen when you’re trying to create a non-drama date.
They climbed into Logan’s car and she directed him where to go.
“Are we going to the lodge?” he asked as they climbed higher into the mountains.
“We’re going past the lodge. Just go straight instead of turning off at the main entrance.”
They wound around the hairpin turns until they reached Laurie’s favorite picnic spot, a little patch of grass that overlooked the valley below. It wasn’t too far different from the place where she and Logan had stopped on their drive home from Denver, but this time it was daylight so they could actually “see what they were looking at,” as her grandfather would have said. She spread the blanket on the grass and then took the food items out of the basket one at a time. Her thoughts flickered back to the picnic Brennan had made for her, and she smiled. He really had turned out to be a great friend, even though she knew she’d hurt him. She’d feel bad about that for a long, long time.
“Wow,” Logan said, taking a seat beside her. “This looks great.”
“I’ll admit, I bought most of it. Here, I’ll give you the tour. The fried chicken is from the diner—Sloane says hi, by the way. The donuts are from the bakery—oh, Quinn says hi—and Millie sent the brownies. I told her we already had donuts, but she insisted. And she said hi. The potato salad is from the deli at the grocery store. I don’t think I talked about you there, so I have no messages to deliver. And I made the green salad.”
Logan nodded. “I appreciate all the greetings, although I am a little saddened that you didn’t talk about me at the grocery store. Are you mad at me?”
“No! Well, not at the moment. It’s just that I didn’t know the cashier very well.”
“I see.” He smiled. “Maybe we should stop by on the way back and introduce ourselves.”
“Sure. Let’s do that. Because that wouldn’t be weird at all.”
Logan chuckled and picked up the paper plates, handing one to her before beginning to fill one for himself. This felt a lot better than a stuffy office party. The sun was warm and made everything look like it had a yellow glow, the mosquitos were cooperating for once, and there were no time constraints or social obligations to fulfill. Laurie sighed, feeling content. It had been far too long since she’d headed up into the mountains, which was crazy since she lived right at the base of them.
“I have to say, this green salad is probably one of the most excellent green salads I’ve ever had,” Logan said a few minutes later. “The balance of lettuce and tomato, and then the surprise of cucumber—I’m impressed.”
“Why, thank you, kind sir. I worked really, really hard on it. I even had to grab a pair of scissors to open up the lettuce bag.”
“Wow. I’m honored that you’d do that for me.”
“I felt like I owed you, after how great you were the other night. Did Mr. Clements come down on you for leaving the party early?”
Logan reached out for another piece of fried chicken. “He wasn’t very happy about it, but that’s as far as it went. He knows he has to keep his employees happy if he wants a successful firm—we’re the ones doing all the work.”
“Good. I’d sort of built it up in my imagination that you’d lose your job over it or something.”
“No, that wouldn’t happen—not at this firm, anyway. His bottom line is money, and as long as I’m making money, he won’t let me go. But if he had, well, some things are worth it.”
The change in his tone made Laurie look at him more closely. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “If a guy can’t help out a damsel in distress without getting punished for it . . . A damsel, I might add, who was defending herself beautifully and just needed a getaway horse . . .”
Laurie grinned. “Thank you again, Sir Knight. And now let’s put that awfulness behind us and talk about something else. You said you wanted a chance to start over, right? Let’s pretend like we’ve never met and start from scratch. Hi, I’m Laurie.” She held out her hand for a shake.
Logan took it, but held it for a moment before letting go. “The pleasure is all mine.” He looked deeply into her eyes, and her heart rate began to pick up. This man, this confusing man, made her feel alive and befuddled all at the same time. If she lost herself to him, it would be one wild ride and she wouldn’t be the same afterwards—but did she want to be? He leaned forward a little, just a little, and her breath caught in her throat when his lips parted. “Is there any more chicken?”
“What?” Laurie blinked. “Um, chicken. Yes, there’s more in the basket.”
“Great. Here, you take first dibs so I don’t eat it all.”
Laurie chose another piece for herself and laid it on her plate next to the first one she hadn’t gotten around to yet. Then she busied herself with her salad while trying to erase the blush from her cheeks. She really thought he was going to kiss her, and she wanted him to—badly—and the disappointment was hard to hide. But a moment later, Logan set down his plate, took hers out of her hands and set it on the blanket, and pulled her close. It happened so fast, she only had time for a quick gasp of surprise before his lips touched hers. His arm encircled her back and his other hand stroked her hair, and all she could think about was the sweetness of it and how very right this felt.
He let her go a moment later and sat back, studying her face. She knew it was pink again and raised her hand to her cheek to make sure—yep, it was warm. He laughed and reached out to play with her fingers. “I�
��m sorry for stealing your lunch like that—you just looked so kissable, I had to do something about it.”
“Heaven forbid I should look kissable without someone to do something about it,” she replied, wondering if the fact that her heart was beating a million miles an hour was visible from where he sat.
“This is my point exactly.” He set her plate back on her lap. Oh, that’s right—they were supposed to be eating food. She picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite, enjoying it more than she ever had enjoyed chicken in her life. She glanced up to see him grinning at her. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, what?”
“You just look like you’ve never been kissed before. You have, haven’t you?”
If she thought her face was red before, she was sure it was flaming now. “Of course I have. Just never by you. It’s different.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Eat your food before it gets cold.”
“It’s supposed to be cold.”
“Eat it anyway or I might steal your plate again.”
Laurie picked up her fork and ate, and he snickered.
After they’d eaten the main course, they packed up the leftovers, leaving the donuts and brownies on top of the basket, and drove a little higher on the mountain. “You can almost see Denver from here,” Logan said, parking on the crest of a rise. Mountain after mountain rose before them in varying shades of green and blue, some with snow-capped peaks even though it was summer. They got out and spread the blanket in the shadow cast by the car, the cool shade feeling good on Laurie’s arms.
“Brownie or donut?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She handed him one of each on a napkin and they munched while they watched the birds soar through the air, spreading their wings and floating like paragliders. When they drew closer, Laurie was able to make an identification. “Those are red-tailed hawks,” she said, watching them bank and swoop like the wind was their personal playground.
“They’re beautiful,” Logan said, his eyes focused on the sky and wonder in his voice.
Laurie had the sudden impulse to lay her head on his shoulder, but couldn’t decide if she really should do it. Maybe he was the kind who liked to initiate all the physical contact in a relationship. What if he thought she was being clingy? But the urge persisted, almost like a magnetic pull, and she had to listen to it. She scooted over a few inches and waited, trying to talk herself out of it—unsuccessfully—and then went for it. But she needn’t have worried. As soon as her head touched his shoulder, he brought his arm around her and held her close, and together they sat watching the birds and eating their dessert. Laurie had never felt more content.
And Something Blue (Main Street Merchants Book 1) Page 11
