But as she peeked at him over the top of the heavily embossed folder, laughter lighting her eyes, he didn’t regret asking her to join him for lunch here. Her sense of the ridiculous made her amusing company.
He’d spent far more time with her and the twins than he’d intended. Not that it would affect the article. Liking the woman didn’t alter the truth.
Rather than let the waitress get herself into more of a tangle trying to finish the lengthy list, he held up his hand. “Thank you, Louise. Tell me, what’s the simplest, most satisfying meal we can get here?”
That won a genuine smile from the girl. She pointed to the menu. “This one’s actually burger and fries.”
The description ran from lovingly prepared organic boeuf hache from the finest grass-fed cattle through ancient grain ciabatta baked in a wood-fired oven to freshly handpicked delicate mesclun. All before the chef started on what must be ketchup, mayo, and fries.
Despite the eye-blinking price, he nodded. “That’ll do fine.” He glanced across the table at Samantha Rose. “What would you like?”
She grinned at the waitress. “As I have no idea what any of the other dishes are, I’ll have the same. Which one is the burger?”
Her eyes widened when the girl pointed it out. At the wordy description or the cost? “Oh my. I’ll just have water to drink, please.”
So it was the price.
As soon as the waitress took the menus and scurried away, he reassured her. “If we discuss your blog, this meets the criteria for a business lunch. I’ll pick up the tab and charge it to expenses.”
“You weren’t supposed to guess the price surprised me.” She crinkled her nose in that cute little mannerism of hers. “It’s just that the time I’ve been spending with the girls and blogging, plus trying to keep house and learning to cook, hasn’t left me with much time to work. The blog’s popularity has brought in more design requests, but I’ve had to turn most of them down. And the cost of hosting it has skyrocketed. So many page views chew up bandwidth.”
“So the newspaper owes you.” He smiled. “It’s our fault, after all.”
“Are you sure?” Her brow creased. “Maybe I should have ordered something less expensive? I’m glad I didn’t bring the girls along.”
He was too, though not because of the cost. This was the first time he’d been with Samantha Rose on her own since their initial picnic.
Truth was, he couldn’t be sure Meg would consider this a permitted expense, but it didn’t matter. He shrugged. “When my boss ordered me into the wilderness for a month, she told me she’d pay. If she doesn’t, I’ll cover it. You’ve provided me with meals. Think of this as payback time.”
“Okay. I’ll have to.” Her smile wobbled at the edges. “But at that price, and with that description, it better taste good.”
Grinning, he patted his tummy. “Liz and Maddie’s cooking has spoiled us.”
“Me, too. It’s going to be tough reverting to a diet of pizza and rice pops.” She picked up a breadstick and broke it, examining it critically.
“Maybe some of Liz’s cooking lessons will stay with you?”
Misplaced optimism. Though since she’d stay in Sunset Point after he left and would have more lessons, it wasn’t quite impossible.
He’d miss her when he left. The thought hit him surprisingly hard, like a punch to the solar plexus, snatching his breath and hollowing his gut.
No. You’re wrong, Novak.
He wouldn’t let himself miss her. He’d be too busy chasing new leads to think about her. Forget Meg’s talk about a fork in the road. He knew which road he wanted to stay on, and it didn’t include Samantha Rose.
No matter how much he’d enjoyed their time together.
“I hope Liz can teach me. I haven’t forgotten the meal I have to cook you.” Though she smiled, apprehension shadowed her eyes, dulling their blue.
“I’m sure whatever you prepare will be interesting.” His emphasis stated “interesting” didn’t necessarily mean tasty.
She wrinkled her nose at him again. The message hadn’t been missed. “Even the best teachers fail sometimes. My mother couldn’t teach me. I’ll have to pray and hope. Which reminds me…” Bowing her head, she closed her eyes.
He was used to her routine now. Giving thanks before she ate. At least she’d stopped expecting him to join her. A long time now since he’d shut God out of his life.
Right around the time he’d discovered the truth about his oh-so-holy crook of a father.
Samantha Rose raised her head and nibbled on a tiny piece of breadstick. Her mouth turned down. “I hoped they’d be something special. These don’t taste any different from normal breadsticks. Though they’re probably some unpronounceable grain lovingly slow-baked in a wood-fired oven.”
He selected one and crunched on it, straightening his face into his most serious expression. “Oh yes, I can definitely taste those unpronounceable grains. Most distinctive.”
She chortled. “Really?”
“No. They taste like normal breadsticks to me, too.”
“Phew! I thought for a minute there I had something wrong with my taste buds.”
Their waitress arrived with their meals, grinning as she deposited them on the table. “Enjoy. But please don’t tell the chef I called his creation burger and fries.”
Daniel stared at his plate. It looked like a decent serving. But he’d never been served burger and fries with flowers before. Those must be rare and expensive flowers to justify the price tag.
Samantha Rose stared, too, but with a happy smile. “Oh, pretty. I’ve read about edible flowers. I wish I had my camera with me.”
“Here.” He pulled out his cellphone and showed her where to click.
While she took a few shots, he poked doubtfully at the flowers. “Are you sure they’re edible?”
Nodding, she picked up a big orange flower. “This one is nasturtium. It’s supposed to have a peppery taste. And the little pinky-purple ones must be chives.” After a thoughtful nibble, she smiled. “Yes, tastes oniony. I’ll post this on the blog. Steph will be intrigued.”
“I think I’ll give eating flowers a miss.” Pushing them to one side, he took a bite of the burger and chewed slowly. Though it looked unusual, the taste wasn’t unique enough to justify the price. At least it was edible.
No matter what she said, he wasn’t sure about those flowers.
His companion seemed less unsure, munching on the orange flower with unfocused eyes. “Not bad. Tastes like roquette.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
She waved the flower at him. “These would be tasty with a cream cheese stuffing. You’re missing out on a new experience.”
“I’ll live.” If he wanted this to pass as a business lunch, he’d better keep his mind on business, instead of on how pretty she looked. “You mentioned your blog is costing you. Don’t most bloggers monetize their sites through endorsement deals, ads, or affiliate links?”
“They do. I’ve set up ads for other bloggers many times.”
She didn’t quite answer his question. He could see for himself the links on her site weren’t affiliate, but she mentioned brands a lot. Paid endorsements?
“So why aren’t you? At least to cover your costs.”
“Because that would be cheating.” A blush colored her cheeks, but her steady gaze didn’t waver. “I haven’t ’fessed up and let readers know I didn’t cook any of the meals I’ve photographed. Or that the house looks neat and tidy less than a minute a day. It feels wrong to make money from them. And once I tell the truth, I’ll probably lose all my readers, so I won’t have an audience to monetize.”
“So you do plan to tell the truth? When?” So he sounded accusing? Since he’d started, he may as well pursue his questioning. Make good on the expenses claim he intended to file.
Besides, he hadn’t forgotten Liz’s mention of all the endorsement offers she’d seen Samantha Rose delete. Trusting old ladies could be way too
gullible. He’d learned better than to be taken in by a pretty face.
He hoped.
“Of course.” She threw him a puzzled glance as if surprised he’d asked. “As soon as Steph is on her way home, I’ll make that my final post on the blog. I can’t tell the truth yet, for the twins’ sake.”
“I hate the belief deception can be justified, provided the reason is good.” He shot the emphatic words at her, knowing the bitterness in his voice wasn’t really aimed at her.
His father used similar excuses. What really stuck in Daniel’s craw was the way Dad beat honesty into him, insisting a single lie would send him straight to hell. And all that time, he’d been embezzling from the charity.
“I’m not justifying it. It doesn’t sit easy on my conscience. My reason is good, but I never chose to deceive anyone.” Her headshake set tousled blonde hair dancing around her face. “My sister knows I couldn’t cook those meals. She’s just relieved to see her girls well fed and happy. There are millions of blogs. How could I guess mine would go viral? I did nothing to make it happen.”
An edge of anger sharpened her tone, and she put down the burger she’d been about to take a bite from.
“A lie is still a lie. You’re kidding yourself if you think otherwise.”
A thoughtful frown puckered her brow. “Hmm, okay, maybe I did intend some deception. And not just for the girls’ sake. I guess I wanted to prove I could look after them and keep house. Finally join the secret club of proper homemakers. But really, it was only myself I intended deceiving. You’ve seen how miserably I fail at anything domestic.” She shuddered. “Those cooking lessons!”
He blew a long, slow breath. What she’d done was still deception, but at least she wasn’t like his father, insisting she’d done nothing wrong.
Unless she had taken advantage of those endorsement offers, after all. Since Liz told him, he’d watched for any evidence. “You might still manage to bake your pie.”
“I hope so.” She pressed her two hands together under her chin, like a praying child, her eyes troubled. “Daniel, I can’t help wondering, what made you so hot on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? It seems you’ve made it your personal mission to be a caped crusader rooting out lies wherever he goes.”
So close to what Meg said when she sent him here. What was it with these women that they couldn’t understand? Truth was the most important thing of all. “Because someone has to. I despise lies and hypocrisy.”
A smile laced with regret twisted Samantha Rose’s lovely lips. “Well, I don’t like them much, either. But what I’m asking is why? Who lied to you?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. The only person he’d told was Meg, and only because it happened while he was on his internship. For a long moment, he stared at the whitecaps picking up on the lake. Did he really want to confess this? To an interview subject, of all people?
Though if she’d lied, his internal lie detector needed a tune-up. Since he had no evidence to prove she’d been anything less than truthful with him, she deserved his honesty.
“My father.” The words creaked out of him like a door with rusty hinges.
“What happened?” Her gentle tone suggested she really cared, and her hand reached out across the table to rest over his, clenched on his fork.
Swallowing hard, he squared his shoulders and met her concerned blue gaze. “Dad set up a charity in Mom’s name after she died from pregnancy complications. You might have heard of it, though it closed down years ago. The Rebecca Jane Foundation?”
“I think I saw something about it, yes.” She studied him, head tilted to one side. “You were the sad-eyed little kid in their ads?”
He nodded. “Dad kept using those photos of me, even when I was college age. I was still proud of him and what he did, then.”
Her warm fingers pressed on his, encouraging him to continue.
“The charity was supposed to help kids who’d lost their moms, provide things like home help and assistance with medical bills and education. My college fees were paid from the charity, an educational scholarship. That money was donated for needy kids, not me. But Dad had plenty of reasons to justify why it was okay.”
Samantha Rose nodded slowly, but said nothing.
“Then he died suddenly — heart attack. When a real accountant examined the books, Dad’s more creative accounting came to light. He’d set up a slew of fake bank accounts to siphon off donations. The only motherless kid the charity helped was me. It never went public. The trustees simply closed the charity. That’s when I lost my faith. And that’s when I decided what I wanted to do with my life. Make sure other liars and cheats didn’t get away with hiding what they did.”
Eyes bright with tears, she gazed at him. “Oh, Daniel. I’m sorry. Now I understand. No wonder you think what I’m doing is so wrong.” A soft sigh escaped her, and she bit her lip. “It’s hard for me. I want to tell the truth, really I do. But the girls will be miserable with Nancy.”
“You don’t think their grandmother is a good person to look after them?” His tone changed from his earlier questions, inquiring rather than accusing. He picked up his burger for another bite. Seemed her sweet sympathy restored his appetite.
Munching on a fry, she crinkled her nose. He doubted she was making up a lie, just deciding how best to tell the truth.
“I’m sure she’s a very good person. If anyone is the perfect homemaker, it’s her. But she likes things a lot more rigid and regimented than the twins do. My sister is wonderfully organized, but Nancy takes it to a whole new level. She wouldn’t let them have Bear, for example. He might mess up her yard too much. And as for letting him in the house…” Her theatrical shudder said it all.
Suddenly, the article he had to write looked a lot more challenging. He’d seen how much the twins loved their dog. He had no choice but to tell the truth. Samantha Rose hadn’t set out to lie, but once her blog went viral, she unintentionally deceived thousands of readers. And continued doing it. They deserved to hear the real story.
The way the donors to Dad’s charity had — and never did.
But when he looked at the woman sitting opposite him, filled with concern for him and for her nieces, sending Meg the piece he knew he had to write felt more and more like kicking a puppy. At least he’d be gone from Huckleberry Lake before the article ran.
His relief felt suspiciously like running away.
He’d broken his professional code — no involvement with subjects. This was what an enforced vacation led to. Losing his edge. He couldn’t start worrying about how an article would affect the subject.
And who knew, maybe she’d succeed in baking her pie. Then he could write a different story. Unless, of course, he saw proof she’d lied about profiting from her blog.
“So, enough questions. I won’t spoil our lunch with more. What are your plans for the rest of the summer?”
Samantha Rose snorted. “That sounds like a question to me. Unless the word means something different to folks in the East?”
“No more tricky questions,” he amended. “For today, anyway.”
“Phew!” A grin lit up her face. “I know it’s your job, but surely even caped crusaders take a day off now and then.”
He mimed The Thinker pose, frowning and holding his head. “Sure, I take days off. Last one was in 2010.”
Her merry laugh rang out. She really was adorable.
Though he should have, he hadn’t wanted to let go of her hand after helping her from the boat. Truth was, he wanted more than that. He wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her like he’d never kissed anyone before. So she couldn’t cook? There was always takeout.
A woman like her — amusing, warm, and caring — would be worth tolerating a little domestic chaos for.
Samantha Rose had him thinking thoughts he’d never once considered. Thoughts like marriage, children, and coming home every day to a cottage with a white picket fence. Thoughts that not only smashed his professional cod
e, but would also kill his career.
Meg had one thing right. For people like them, it was career or marriage. Not both. For the first time in his life, he regretted the fact.
Besides, after she read his article, he’d be the last man on the planet she wanted to kiss. Most people couldn’t handle facing the truth. Ms. Samantha Rose would be no different.
Time to thump his professional code and his dedication to the truth firmly back into his brain. And remember it.
Nothing to bias his judgment when he wrote.
And nothing he’d regret when he returned to NYC.
Chapter 7
Sam tried to suppress her grimace as Claire, the local teacher, announced the teams for the noodle hockey games and handed out pool noodles. Once again, she’d been paired with Daniel.
It wasn't like they were the twins’ parents. It wasn’t like he was the only single guy in town. It wasn’t like she’d see him after next week. Yet at community events, they always got pushed together.
Today, a vacation activity afternoon and cookout to raise funds for the one-room Sunset Point elementary school, proved no exception.
The girls insisted they join in every wacky race and game. And every game so far, from the potato-and-spoon relay to the balloon-between-the-knees race, they’d been treated as a foursome. As if they were a family team.
She hadn’t managed to catch Claire standing still long enough to say anything. Besides, she suspected if she did, the teacher would only laugh and tell her how lucky she was to be teamed with such a cute guy.
Just — how come everyone seemed determined to matchmake them?
Not that she minded exactly. Her feelings for Daniel had grown into a lot more than liking. But it would be nice if people weren’t quite so obvious about it.
No wonder he’d backed off since their not-really-a-date lunch across the lake.
When he held her hand as they walked into the restaurant and then shared such personal truths about his past, she’d begun to hope. Silly hopes her sensible, logical brain hadn’t quite managed to talk her heart out of yet. Even praying about it hadn’t changed her hopes.
Come to the Lake Page 18