Okay, so he looked good in a pair of shorts. Big deal. What did she care how he looked? She was a happily engaged woman. Maybe she could pretend she hadn’t seen him. She slipped off the bike, ready to sneak to a far corner of the gym.
But too late, he’d spotted her. He got a goofy grin on his face and started her way. Great.
Be polite, said her inner mother.
She smiled. Politely.
“I didn’t know you came here,” he greeted her.
“I just joined.”
“Getting in shape for the big day, huh?”
The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her upcoming wedding with Dan Rockwell. In fact the last thing she wanted to do was talk with Dan Rockwell. Period. Just because he hung out with her family at Christmas and she’d come through his checkout line a few times, it didn’t make them buddies. “Something like that.”
He nodded.
“I’m done here if you want to use the bike,” she said. Then she turned and hurried away.
But she couldn’t escape him. As she made her way around the gym using the different pieces of equipment, it seemed she saw him everywhere. It felt like he was following her. Of course he wasn’t, and it was only coincidence when he wound up running on a treadmill right next to her.
“You’re in pretty good shape,” he observed as they jogged along.
Couldn’t he see she was listening to her iPod? She kept running and pretended not to hear.
He kept on talking like she could. “All that running probably relieves the stress,” he commented.
She frowned at him. “What stress?”
He gave a half-grin like he’d known all along she was hearing him. “They say planning a wedding is way up there on the stress charts.”
“They who?”
“I don’t know. I just heard that somewhere. Not surprising, though. It’s a big commitment. What if you get it wrong? Then you’ve got all that grief, a messy divorce. If you’ve got kids …”
“I’m not getting it wrong,” Erin said. “Adam is perfect.” She’d had enough of this. She turned off the treadmill and hopped off.
Dan kept running. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said, leaving the polite completely out of her voice. She grabbed her towel and started to mop the back of her neck.
“How come you never smile, then?”
“What?”
“If he’s so perfect how come I never see you smiling?”
“You hardly see me enough to know whether I smile or not,” Erin snapped.
“When I do see you, you’re not.”
“Maybe that’s because when you do see me you’re always saying something to tick me off.”
“If you were really happy, maybe I couldn’t do that,” he said, looking straight ahead.
She marched around to the front of his treadmill. “You could make Mother Theresa mad. And you don’t know anything about me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I watched you grow up.”
“That was a long time ago, and seeing me at Christmas when Brett’s home or in the Safeway checkout doesn’t exactly count for much. You don’t know me now.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Kind of too bad, isn’t it?”
“Not for me,” she said, and left him there, running nowhere.
Adam called her on her cell as she was walking out the door. “How are things at the hospital?” she asked.
“Busy. I just wanted to let you know I won’t be able to do anything tonight. I really need to study.”
Her spirits fell. She’d been looking forward to having some time together. But becoming a doctor wasn’t easy. Adam needed her support. “No problem,” she said.
“You sure? You’re not out buying something fancy for dinner right now, are you? If you are, I could probably manage dinner.”
“Always time for a free meal?” she teased. “Well, too bad. I’m not shopping. I’m just leaving the gym,” she added, hunching her gym bag over her shoulder. “I was working out.”
“You didn’t tell me you were going to join the gym.” His tone of voice sounded pleasantly accusing.
“You’re not going to give me a bad time about that, are you? I so need to lose weight.”
“No, of course not,” he said. “I’m proud of you for wanting to get in shape.”
“Good,” she said with a smile. “Thanks for not giving me grief about spending the money.”
“Oh, come on. I’m not that bad,” he said, now sounding pleasantly irritated. “But I did think we were going to discuss any big-ticket items before spending any more,” he added.
Erin frowned. “I didn’t think the gym counted as a big-ticket item.”
“That’s because you’re not good with money, babe.”
Her frown deepened. “I wasn’t living on the street when you met me.” She opened her car door and tossed in her gym bag with more force than was necessary.
“And you don’t want to be. Look. Everybody has stuff they’re good at. Managing money isn’t your thing. I don’t think you get how much you’re spending …”
Oh, boy. Here they went again, back to the wedding. “We can’t do this for nothing, Adam. We really can’t. Weddings cost money.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Had the call been dropped? “Adam?”
“I’m here.” Some of the pleasantness had fallen out of his voice.
She scowled and started her car. “Well, say something.”
“I’m trying to figure out what to say that won’t make you mad.”
“That’s easy,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “You say, ‘It’s your day, baby. I want you to be happy.’”
“If I say that we’ll end up with a fifty-thousand-dollar wedding bill. I’m just trying to keep a lid on things.”
Is that what he called it? “I’m not going to spend fifty thousand dollars, Adam. I plan events for a living. I know what I’m doing. Why can’t you just trust me to do it?” Why was this the one thing they fought about?
He sighed. “I never said you didn’t know what you’re doing, but you’re not planning this for some corporation that has unlimited funds. And if I’m part of this, too, why don’t I get any say in it?”
“It seems to me you’ve had a lot of say in it, and mostly you’ve said no. I’m beginning to think that if it was up to you, we’d just go to the courthouse and get married in our jeans.”
“I’m not that bad,” he insisted. “But I don’t think we need to try and compete with Paris Hilton. And you’re wanting to keep spending money we don’t have like it’s water. Now you’re going through enough chips and salsa to stock a restaurant. I’m starting to worry that you’re spinning out of control.”
Out of control? She was out of control? Out of whose control? “Adam, I just exercised my butt off so I could fit into my wedding gown and not rack up any more expenses. You know I’m not going to see the inside of a bag of chips for months. I am not spinning out of control.”
“Then how come you’re yelling?”
She was. She never yelled. This was not the way it had been when they were first together, when he was her rock, her shoulder to cry on, her best friend. What was she saying? He still was.
A sudden terrible thought burst into her mind. Maybe he wanted out. “Adam, do you still want to marry me?”
“Of course I want to marry you.”
Well, good. But if he did he shouldn’t be such a wedding wet blanket. “Then quit trying to ruin our wedding day! I can do this if you’ll just quit stressing me out.”
“Okay, fine,” he snapped.
“Fine,” she snapped back.
Fuming, she shut her cell phone and stuffed it in her sweatshirt pocket. Why did they have to fight every time they talked about the wedding? Why, why, why? She gunned the motor and backed out of her parking place. And something went thump against her car.
What on earth? She slammed on the brakes and looked over her shoulder and her heart stopped. O
h no, oh no, oh no!
Five
Erin jumped out of her car and ran around to the back where Dan Rockwell was picking himself up off the ground after bouncing off her rear bumper. “Oh, my God, are you all right?” she cried, taking his arm.
He gave his head a shake and examined his palm. It was shredded. Looking at it, Erin felt suddenly woozy.
“I think I’ll live.” He started brushing off the back of his sweats.
She looked around at the back of him. She could see his skinned-up thigh through the rip in his pants. Heaven only knew what he’d have looked like if he’d only been wearing the shorts he’d had on inside the gym. She could have cracked open his head. Just the thought of it—now her head was spinning. “Oooh.”
He put his one good hand to her back and bent her over. “Here, put your head down.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see you back there,” she said to his feet.
“Well, I put on my invisibility cloak on the way to my truck.”
If only he hadn’t been walking to his truck. If only he’d already been in it. She straightened up and that didn’t do much for her head, either. He grabbed her arm to steady her and the kind gesture made her start babbling. “Dan, I’m so sorry. Have you broken anything? Sprained anything?” He needed medical attention. She tried to tug him toward the gym. “Let’s go back in. They’ve probably got a first aid kit.”
“It’s okay. Really,” he said, resisting her efforts. “I’ll go home and dump on some hydrogen peroxide and I’ll be good as new.”
“You could get infected before you get home.” She gave another tug. She’d almost squashed him. The least she could do was make sure he got immediate medical attention.
“Okay,” he said and finally quit resisting.
All the way, she kept talking. “I feel terrible. Are you sure you didn’t break anything? Does it hurt much?”
“Only when I laugh.” She made a face and he sobered. “Seriously, it’s not that bad. You sent me flying, but I’m tough.”
“Sent you flying. Oh, God,” she whimpered.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to sue you,” he teased.
She hung her head. “You should. I was mad. A person should never drive when she’s mad.”
They were inside the gym now and the man at the reception desk took one look at Dan’s hand and grabbed the first aid kit. “I’ll let you know how the surgery goes,” Dan cracked as the man led him away.
Erin’s shaky legs deposited her onto the nearest chair. She would never drive angry again. Never.
That meant, at the rate they were going, she would have to never talk to Adam before getting into a car again as long as they both lived. Her cell rang and she pulled it out of her sweatshirt pocket and checked the caller ID. Adam, of course. She was surprised it had taken him this long to call back. She couldn’t deal with him right now. She returned the phone to her pocket unanswered and settled in to wait for Dan.
Five minutes later he was back with his hand wrapped in gauze.
Her phone had rung twice more while he was gone and she’d finally set it to vibrate … which it was now doing about every thirty seconds. At the sight of him, she jumped up like a relative in a hospital waiting room, anxious for the doctor’s report.
He smiled at her and held up his hand. “All better.”
“Take care, man,” said his honorary doctor.
Dan nodded, then turned his attention to Erin.
“I am so sorry,” she repeated. “I shouldn’t have even started my car with the mood I was in.”
“Maybe you need some anger management training,” he joked.
“Maybe I do.” She’d never thought of herself as an angry person before. Was she?
“I suggest a session right now over coffee.”
That’s suspiciously like a date, cautioned her inner mother, and you are engaged.
I almost killed him, she argued, and it’s the least I can do. She should probably offer Dan free morning coffee delivery for life. Or at least the next year. She nodded. “Okay. Are you sure? You don’t want to go home and ice your hand, take a pain pill?”
“Nah. Like I said, I’m tough.” He smiled. He’d always had a cute smile. It wasn’t as gorgeous as Adam’s, though. Nobody’s was.
It went without saying that they’d go to the Coffee Stop, which was right around the corner on Lake Way. She got in her car, backed up—carefully—and followed Dan to the ivy-covered brick cottage that housed one of the community’s favorite gathering spots. It had started to rain, and they dashed across the parking lot and into the coffee shop. Warm air and the aroma of freshly ground coffee greeted them.
As always, the place was doing a brisk business, with friends chatting at the many small tables and a couple of stray older men hiding grizzled beards behind newspapers. Dan pointed to a table in the far corner by the gas fireplace. “Why don’t you stake us out a place and I’ll get the coffee.”
“This is a shrink session. I’ll buy the coffee,” she said. He opened his mouth to argue and she added, “It’s the least I can do after trying to run you over. Please.”
He smiled. “Okay. A tall Americano.”
She watched as he threaded his way among the tables. A couple of women smiled at him as he passed, then kept right on checking him out. Obviously not everyone in Heart Lake thought Dan Rockwell was a dork.
She got his Americano and a white chocolate latte for herself, then hurried after him, anxious to sit down and give her nerves time to settle. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked as she set the drink in front of him.
He smiled up at her. “I’m fine. And thanks.”
“Pretty cheap shrink session, if you ask me,” she said, “especially since I almost killed you in the parking lot.”
He leaned back in his chair, long legs sprawled in front of him, and took a sip of his coffee. “Well, I like to take a charity case now and then. So, tell me. Why were you so angry?”
She took a sip of her latte. Geez, the adrenaline was still bouncing around in her. She could tell by how jumpy she felt. So let’s add some caffeine and sugar to that. She set down her cup. “I was having a bad morning, that’s all. It happens.”
“Yeah, sometimes it does.” He raised his cup in salute. “Well, here’s to your day getting better. Mine already has.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “That was a sweet thing to say.”
“It’s true.” He grinned at her. “I’m drinking coffee with a hot woman. It’s a hell of an improvement over sweating on a treadmill.”
Now he’s complimenting you, observed her inner mother. Remind him you’re engaged.
He already knows, Erin replied. She decided she needed that caffeine and sugar after all and reached for her cup.
“I haven’t had much chance to talk to you since you moved back,” Dan said. “Why did you? I thought you were happy living it up in the big city.”
“My aunt offered to let me live in her rental house for free. It gives me a chance to save for the wedding.” There. Now he’s been reminded. Happy, Mom?
“Oh, yeah. The wedding. How’s that coming? Got all the champagne ordered?”
“We’re going with sparkling cider.”
Dan gave a snort. “Since when don’t you like booze? Oh, wait, don’t tell me, let me guess. McDoodoo doesn’t drink.”
“It’s McDreamy, and he drinks,” Erin said, irritated. “But champagne is expensive. We may do champagne punch,” she added, suddenly inspired. That would be a nice compromise.
Dan nodded slowly. “Good idea. When you’re doing a big wedding all those bottles of champagne can get pricey.”
“Well, it’s not going to be all that big.”
Dan nodded again. “Anyway, you don’t have to drink. People just take advantage of the free booze and get all sloppy. Sparkling cider goes with anything. Come to think of it, I went to a wedding just last year where they served sparkling cider. The food was so good nobody seemed to care.
Well, not much anyway. They had those jumbo shrimp and little egg rolls and for dinner they served salmon and …” He slowed to a stop and studied her. “No jumbo shrimp and egg rolls and salmon?”
“Tortilla appetizer wraps and fruit platters?”
“Fruit’s good.”
She sat up a little straighter. “It is. Anyway, we don’t want to start out with a lot of debt. What we save on the wedding we can put in savings toward a down payment on a house.”
“True,” Dan said diplomatically, and suddenly became fascinated with the contents of his coffee cup.
What was he doing, reading her future in there? “What are you thinking?” Erin prompted.
“Nothing.” He appeared to give himself a mental shake. “You don’t need a lot of food anyway. Everybody’s dieting these days. They won’t miss it. They’ll be busy dancing and stuff. Got a band yet? I know these guys …” He stopped, eyebrows cautiously raised. “No band?”
“Well.” She still hadn’t told Adam about getting the Heart Lake Lodge for the reception. Maybe she could tell him she’d gotten the band along with the lodge—a package deal.
“Of course, you don’t need a band,” Dan said. “Most people have DJ’s these days anyway.”
She nodded.
“When are you getting married again?”
“June. We have lots of time.” She hoped she sounded convincing.
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Um, so, who’s going to give you away?”
“Brett.” Her dad hadn’t been a part of their lives since she was four. And Brett was excited to have the honor.
“And my uncle is marrying us,” she added. Uncle Jake had been better than three dads. If she asked him, Uncle Jake would pay for enough champagne to fill Heart Lake, but she wasn’t going to ask him. He and Aunt Mellie had done enough for her over the years.
Bikini Season Page 5