His lips firmed into a straight line, and he swiveled and walked out of the café. Meredith yanked her hand away from Mark’s hold, what she should’ve done the second he took possession of it.
What had she been thinking, taking the risk and agreeing to date Linc?
She simply hadn’t. She should’ve maintained her distance from him. She wouldn’t be hurting now if she had. Again, her judgment about men was off. She should’ve just stuck to her original plan and had a child on her own with an anonymous donor.
“What was that all about?” Mark asked.
“What was what?” Of course, she knew what he was asking about, she just didn’t want to answer it.
Mark sat back and picked up his coffee, taking a sip while he studied her over the lid of his cup. “I think I have an answer to my question about trying again.”
Her shoulders slumped, and she tried to smile, but she imagined her lips were turned more into a grimace than anything friendly. “I’m sorry, Mark. It would never have worked out. We already broke up and reconciled, and then broke up again. You actually did us both a favor when you ended the relationship.”
“It didn’t take you long to move on.” The mulish tone of his voice grated on her nerves. Of all the nerve to say something like that to her. She welcomed the anger again. It beat the numbing pain she’d carried with her since she’d seen Linc in the street.
Damn him.
Damn Mark.
Damn all men.
“Like you can talk,” she scoffed. “How long after we reconciled did you take up with another woman? A week? Two? I’m sure you didn’t spend months on end pining for me. So don’t sit there and pout and be mad at me for moving on.” She stood and picked up her drink and purse. “Bye, Mark. I do hope you find someone special. It’s just not me.”
She walked out with her heart still breaking, but proud she’d stood up to Mark. For a while, she thought she’d had something magical with Linc. How had she read it wrong? Just like all the other times she let her guard down and let someone in, they treated her like an afterthought.
Acting the way she had with Mark was wrong. She shouldn’t have done it, but the hurt at Linc’s betrayal had ripped all rational thought from her.
So what if for the last couple of days, she’d envisaged a future where she and Linc lived in her house with babies and Buster and his dog, Mack?
Yes, the fear of that future had freaked her out, but after seeing the pain Isabella went through last night with Ethan’s deployment, it hit her that she was doing what she’d accused Isabella of—hiding away from life.
That was why she invited Linc back to her place. Why she’d spent the night in his arms and wakened with her mind full of a future that, a few hours later, was shattered.
Anger at herself for taking the risk with Linc replaced the numbness of seeing him with another woman. She should’ve stuck with the plan she’d formed when she’d flown back from Guatemala—have a child on her own.
At least then she’d be in control of everything. It was time to pick up that dream and not toss it aside when something bright and sparkly presented itself, because the sparkle always dulled over time.
Chapter Sixteen
Linc went through the motions of the exercises with Mack, but he wasn’t really paying much attention. When he almost stumbled over the dog, he pulled his mind out of his ass and concentrated on his job.
The last thing he wanted was to get fired. Although, Mack had connected to him and seemed to know Linc wasn’t in the right frame of mind after he’d returned from his aborted lunch with Meredith. His partner had been extra attentive when Linc opened the door on his kennel. Maybe the stumble hadn’t been accidental, but a deliberate action to get Linc’s attention.
He squatted down and petted Mack between he ears. “You’re on the ball, aren’t you, boy? You are going to be an amazing dog. Do you know that?”
Mack’s ears twitched and his mouth opened, tongue lolling to the side, giving the impression he was smiling in agreement to Linc’s assertion.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. No way was he taking a call on his second day on the job. Even if part of him hoped it was Meredith. The chances of that happening would be unlikely. Not after what he’s seen in the cafe.
Linc didn’t think he’d ever forget the sight of her hand held against another man’s cheek.
Hurt slashed his insides again. He’d been so excited to see her at lunch. To tell her that, even though it was way too soon, he was in love with her and hoped over time she’d fall in love with him.
When he’d imagined the scene in his fantasies, Meredith would lean over the table and tell him she loved him, too, before kissing him.
He was so pumped when he’d taken off for lunch. Linc could’ve danced down the sidewalk. And that was on top of the fact that his sister waited outside to surprise him. He had no idea April was coming in from New York for a visit. He’d seen some shadows in her eyes, though, and he should’ve pressed her for more information, but he’d been so damn happy to see her.
Wait?
Could Meredith have seen them together?
No. She’d looked pretty cozy with that guy at the café. They had drinks in front of them, indicating they’d been there longer than the ten minutes he’d been standing out in front of the building talking to April.
Why would Meredith do this to him? To them?
Why would she go to the place she knew they were going to meet for lunch?
Had it been a deliberate move to break them up? In all the time they’d spent together, Meredith didn’t seem the type to deliberately set out and hurt anyone.
And who was the guy anyway? Someone she obviously felt comfortable with to have such a public display of affection.
Mack barked, drawing Linc’s attention again, and he noticed Kirk standing in the doorway, observing him. God, he was seriously going to get fired if he didn’t get his act together. And wouldn’t that just be perfect? Once again, his judgment was off. He should’ve just stuck to his bachelor life.
He raised his hand at the man and started leading Mack around the arena, giving him basic commands. Once Mack mastered those, he started on more exercises of hiding various items of his clothing and encouraging Mack to find them. Each time the dog sniffed out one, Linc rewarded him with praise instead of treats.
By the end of the day, Mack’s training had come a long way, yet Linc’s heart was still in a million little pieces.
“Okay, boy, in you go.” He spoke quietly but firmly to Mack so he knew the day was over and he could rest.
“Why don’t you take him home with you,” Kirk said from over his shoulder.
Linc stood straight and Mack sat on his haunches, alert and ready for action. “Pardon? Did you just say I could take Mack home?”
Kirk sauntered toward him. “Yep. You’ve surpassed my expectations. Normally dogs aren’t doing any retrieval exercises until at least the second week with a handler. You got Mack to do that on your second day.”
“Well, thanks. He just seemed bored, doing the same thing over and over. Although I know it’s all part of his training, making sure he has the basics under control. But I thought I’d just test him out. It’s why I brought the bag of dirty clothes.”
Kirk chuckled. “I wondered if you were going to head to the laundromat after work. But, like me, you’re ex-army, so you always do something with an end purpose in mind.”
Linc’s chest swelled at the compliments from Kirk. “Well, I’d love to take Mack home, but I’m not quite prepared for it and my sister arrived in town today, so she’ll be staying with me. It might be too much for him. But if the offer is still there, I’ll take him tomorrow.”
“That works.” Kirk walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “Even though you were distracted, you’re doing well. I have a feeling you and Mack will be our crack team and you’ll be headed out on your first assignment very soon. Have a good evening.”
The ot
her man walked away, leaving Mack and Linc alone. Linc squatted and stroked a hand down Mack’s wiry back. “Well, bud, looks like starting tomorrow night, you’ll have a new home. You ready for that?”
The dog nudged his head against Linc’s chest in agreement. If only people were that easy to please.
*
A pounding on her front door made Meredith burrow further under her blanket fort on the couch. Even Buster just picked his head up off his paws, gave her a look, and then rested his head back on her feet. The fact that he didn’t jump up and run to the door was evidence enough that he knew his owner wasn’t feeling up to visitors.
“Meredith, I know you’re in there. Please open the door.” Isabella’s voice echoed down the hallway.
God, half the neighborhood must have heard her.
She’d been avoiding Iz’s calls and texts for the last day and half, ever since she’d stumbled inside from her encounters with Mark and Linc.
Sleep had been elusive, and food—well, she hadn’t eaten anything that could be called substantial. At least she had made sure Buster ate.
Another loud knock sounded and any chance of Isabella leaving quietly was unlikely.
Fine, she’d open the door, tell her friend she wasn’t dying and that she was fine and Isabella could go on her way and Meredith could get back to her grieving.
She pulled the door open. “What?”
“You look like shit, Mere,” Isabella commented as she thrust Marnie’s stroller forward and Meredith had to jump out of the way so that her toes didn’t get squashed.
“Well, I suppose that’s one way to get into a house. Use your child as a weapon,” Meredith muttered as she closed the door.
“You wanna tell me what’s going on?” Isabella demanded when she joined her friend back in the living room. “Have you been camping out on the couch?”
Meredith stood a little straighter and smoothed down her top. A futile effort, seeing as it was creased like someone had spent two days in it. Which she had, but it was her house and she could do what she wanted. “Nothing’s going on. I just haven’t felt like going anywhere.”
Geez, even to her own ears that excuse sounded super pathetic.
“Right, and I’m married to Prince Harry. How about you cut the bullshit and tell me what’s going on?”
In all her time, she’d never known Isabella to be so forthright and direct. “Well, look who’s picked up some of their bossy military man’s attitude.”
“I bring it out only when I have to and now looks like an appropriate time.” Isabella walked toward her and the closer she got, the more Meredith could see the sympathy in her eyes. She swallowed hard. “What’s going on, Mere? Why won’t you talk to me?”
Her tears spilled over and she sobbed in her best friend’s arms. While she released all her pent up emotions, Isabelle rubbed her back, as if she were soothing her daughter.
After a few minutes, the tears lessened and Meredith pulled out of Isabella’s hold and sat on the couch. Immediately, Buster jumped up on her lap and licked her face. She chuckled and pushed his snout away. “No licking,” she admonished the little animal. Buster gave her one last look before curling up on top of her legs.
“I never would’ve guessed you were a dog person, Mere.”
“I wouldn’t either and I probably wouldn’t have been if it wasn’t for L-L-Linc.”
God, how pathetic stuttering over his name. That small tell would give Isabella everything she needed to know about what was wrong with her.
“You know he’s pretty miserable too.”
Meredith shrugged and plucked at a knot of fur near Buster’s neck. She didn’t want to hear that Linc was hurting. He was the one who did wrong by her, not the other way around. Although, yes, she did lash out and try to hurt him, but didn’t he have his other lovely lady to heal his disappointments?
“You two are a pair.”
“Why do you say that?”
Isabella had rescued Marnie from her stroller and the little baby was reaching out to touch Buster, who was being very accommodating. “Be gentle, Marnie,” Isabella cautioned her daughter before looking again at Meredith. “Because Linc is as miserable as you.”
“You don’t know that.” But her heart raced and a tiny seed of hope sprouted. If he was hurting, that had to mean he cared, didn’t it?
The last thing she needed to do was give herself false hope, and that was exactly what she was thinking and doing.
“Yes, I do, because we had dinner with him and April last night and he was anything but his usual jovial self. Oh, he tried, but he remained detached the whole time he was there.”
April.
She had a name now, and how could Isabella be so blasé about naming the woman Linc betrayed her with? More to the point, how could her best friend have them over to dinner?
“Who the hell is April and why are you inviting her into your home?”
Isabella untangled Marnie’s hand from Buster’s coat before she answered. “April is Linc’s sister from New York.” Not waiting for Meredith to respond, Isabella continued, “Anyway, she’s left her job and is staying with Linc for a while to sort out what she’s going to do next. She arrived two days ago.”
Meredith’s mind whirled.
April was Linc’s sister and she arrived two days ago.
Oh no, had she made a huge mistake? Was the girl Linc appeared to be so excited to see his sister and not another girlfriend?
“What does she look like?”
“Who? April?”
Meredith nodded, a lump in her throat making it impossible to speak, her fingers gripping the edge of the blanket so tightly her knuckles were turning white.
“Well, she’s almost as tall as Linc. Blonde hair, really pretty.” Isabella must have noticed the tension consuming Meredith, because she leaned over and looked her in the eye. “Why do you want to know all this? What have you done?”
Meredith closed her eyes and a tear trickled down her cheek. She could argue with herself that she’d been stupid to make an assumption without knowing all the facts. But to anyone walking by who didn’t know them, Linc and April acted like a couple. They must have been close growing up to be so free with their affection toward one a another.
“I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life.” And it was. It was even bigger than spending two years with Mark. Linc had crept under her defenses, without her even being aware, and lodged himself in her heart.
How stupid was that? She hadn’t even known him that long. She’d thought she was in love with him that day she’d seen him with April.
A warm hand closed over her tense one, giving it a slight squeeze. Meredith opened her eyes and met Isabella’s compassionate gaze. “Mere, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think. And whatever you think you’ve done can be fixed. Most things in life are fixable, even broken hearts.”
She might have a broken heart, but did Linc?
Sure, Isabella said that he was hurting, but just because he was hurting didn’t mean his heart had been shredded like hers was.
“I don’t know what to do, Iz.”
Ironic how the roles were reversed for her and Isabella. But that was what friends were for.
“Well, the first thing you’re going to do is take a shower. You may think Marnie’s dirty diapers stink, but girl, that smell coming from you is just as offensive.”
“I’d get offended if I weren’t turned off by my own stench. After I’ve had a shower, what should I do?”
“I’ve got to ask you something. Do you have feelings for Linc, Meredith? What happens to you when you think about him?”
“I love him.” She spoke without hesitation.
Why fight what she’d finally come to accept while sitting on the couch? If she didn’t love him, his supposed betrayal wouldn’t have hurt her as much as it had.
“You still look confused even though you just blurted out you loved him without even thinking.”
Meredith plopped Buster on th
e ground, stood and began to pace the room. “When Mark told me he’d met someone else and that our relationship was over, I won’t deny it hurt. I mean he begged for another chance. But it didn’t hurt as much as it should’ve. It didn’t hurt as much as this.” She turned to her friend and voiced the concerns that she’d thought of moments ago. “What if it were another woman? Would it be stupid of me to want him back? How could I trust him if he could so easily go from my bed to another woman’s arms?”
“If it weren’t his sister, I wouldn’t be here telling you about how he’s feeling, and encouraging you to chase your dream. I would be here planning how to make him suffer a long and painful death.”
Meredith laughed for the first time in a couple of days. This was what best friends did for each other. “Thanks, Iz, for everything. I’m glad you’re in my life.”
Isabella grabbed a blanket from the stroller and placed Marnie on it before hugging Meredith. Meredith returned it, squeezing her friend hard. “Hey, you were there the times I needed you when I was unsure about Ethan, and now I’m here for you. If you love him, fight for him.”
If you love him.
There was no if about it, she did. But…
“What if he doesn’t love me?”
“Mere, the man who sat across the dinner table from me last night looked nothing like a man who was happy with his lot in life. If he’s not in love with you, I’m not married to the hottest K-9 handler the air force has ever had.”
This time, Meredith rolled her eyes. “What do I do now? I should go over to his place. I should explain to him why I let Mark hold my hand against his cheek and made it seem li—”
“Wait! What? You did what? I think you need to start from the very beginning,” Isabella interrupted, her voice rising a few octaves, high enough to startle her daughter, who started to cry. She plucked her from the floor and cuddled her tight. Meredith’s heart clenched. She wanted that so badly. And she wanted it with Linc.
The last thing she wanted to do was explain to Isabella her stupid action in the café, but that was exactly what she did.
The Matchmaker’s Match Page 16