Jared steps closer and whispers, “We can take it on the highway.”
She blows out a breath, making her bottom lip puff out. Jared’s heart is pounding. He wants to kiss her so bad, but doesn’t want to spoil their new connection. The one he feels is growing every time they meet. She’s not only sexy, but she is smart enough to know what she wants and probably knows what he wants. He’s never met a woman who is not only attractive, but polite and interesting to talk to. And although Meghan is direct and speaks her mind, she is kind and delicate.
Would she be upset if I kissed her?
Jared has never put so much thought into kissing a woman before. Why is she getting to him? Why does she make him think of consequences?
“So?” he asks. What does she need to think about?
“So, what?”
“Don’t you want to go for a drive?”
“Not tonight.”
It is like a flash of light hits Jared’s face, widening his eyes and opening his mouth.
“You don’t?” he asks, not believing her.
“What is it with guys and their cars?” she asks. Her lips are pulled at one side as though she’s trying hard not to grin.
And women.
“I don’t know.” Okay that was a lie, he thinks. An expensive ride and a hot woman is a combination of sexual fantasies. “What guy can resist? Cars are fun.” That might have been a lame thing to say, but how can he tell her he wants her so bad. They can go for a drive, find a hideout, and have fun. That’s the fun he’s talking about.
She nods and smiles, letting out a chuckle.
Her relaxed disposition makes Jared at ease and he chuckles with her.
“How ’bout another night?” he asks. How can she say no to that?
“Maybe.”
“Oh, here we go,” he teases. “I’m going to hear, ‘That depends.’”
“I’m not the only woman you’ve asked to go for a ride. You’ve heard this before, have you?”
“Well, I—”
“I’m teasing. I don’t expect you to answer that. I don’t care,” she says.
“I will answer,” he says, standing straighter. “I haven’t had anyone in the passenger seat. I just bought it.”
“Is that right?” she asks, looking at him mysteriously.
“Yeah. Wanna check it out?” He gives her a half smile. If he can take her hand in his, pull her close, and whisper her name, he could kiss her....
“How about another time? I really should get going. I have an early morning. Lots to do. I’ve got a meeting to set up with the media and phone calls to make. I need to get a good sleep.”
Jared takes a step closer. Raises her chin with a sweep of his fingers. She freezes. “I’ve wanted to kiss you,” he whispers, but his mouth is already on hers. She doesn’t tell him to stop, so he closes his eyes, enjoying the moment. Surprisingly, she kisses him back. Her lips are as soft as he imagined. Her bottom lip hugs his, making his body on fire. He slowly puts his hand behind her head, not wanting her to let go and he rubs his hand on her hair, bringing his fingers to her ponytail.
Meghan closes her mouth and pulls away. “I’m still not taking a ride with you.”
“I was hoping you’d change your mind.”
She holds a grin. “I get the feeling you’re after something more.”
“Only if you’re willing.”
Meghan opens her car door. “You’ll be disappointed.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
She smiles as she sits in her car and turns the ignition. “Good night, Jared. See you tomorrow.” She shuts her door and drives away.
Jared runs his hand through his hair. Meghan’s going to be a tough sell. How is he going to make her want him?
Chapter 9
Meghan gathers strings of balloons, tying a bunch together. She gets a tingle up her spine just thinking about last night as she holds her phone between her ear and shoulder.
“Is he a good kisser?” Brie asks on the other end.
“Yes! Really good! I couldn’t stand still,” Meghan tells her friend.
“And he asked you to go for a drive?”
“He did!”
“But you didn’t?”
“No. I had to keep a clear mind. That’s what happened with Stu. He took me for a ride on his motorbike on our first date and then that’s all he wanted to do.”
“You didn’t go home with him?” Brie asks. “Are you crazy?”
“I can’t. I have this job.”
“Who cares! It’s Jared Landry! He wants you!”
“No, he doesn’t,” Meghan says. “He was just looking for a one-nighter. You know how guys are.”
“But it’s Jared Landry! He should be the exception.”
Meghan won’t admit that she was a little disappointed for not taking Jared’s offer, but she wants more from a guy than his car and a one-night stand. “You know that’s not me.”
“It would be good for you.”
“I want something more and I’m not sure he can give me what I want.”
“Listen to you! He’s a hot guy who wants you!”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Yes, he does! Go for him! This is good practice for you.”
“I’m not changing my ways.”
“You’re crazy not to,” Brie says.
Meghan switches ears as she tries to tie a bunch of weighted balloons together. “It won’t last.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do.”
“And you’re looking for a guy to marry you?”
“It would be nice,” she says, dropping the balloons in place behind the table and chairs. “Although, not from a guy who has women all over him. That’s what he wants, someone to be hanging off him and be his girlfriend on a string. That’s not me.”
“It beats going out with Stu, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t think he’s for me.” Meghan holds back saying Jared’s name in case anyone is listening.
“He’s hot, isn’t he?”
“Uh-ya.”
“And he drives a fancy car, probably lives in West Van. What’s not to like?”
“Oh, I like him. I just don’t think we want the same things.”
“You don’t even know him! What’s going on with you?” she shouts.
“Nothing.” Meghan looks around her to see if anyone is nearby and is listening to her conversation.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“No . . . well, maybe a little.”
“You should take him up on going out one night and then you can say if you like him or not, but I think it’s clear, you like him a lot.”
Meghan drops the weighted balloons beside the autograph table. “I don’t think he wants me like a girlfriend. . . .” Her voice trails as she drags the banner in position. “I think he was testing me to see how I would respond to him. Guys get their kicks from that like they give themselves a reward for who they sleep with,” she says softly.
“If he asks you again, you better take him up on his offer or you’ll miss your chance.”
“I’m okay with it.”
“Are you?”
There’s a pause.
“Sure. He’s not after someone like me.”
“Get out! Of course he is! You’re attractive and smart. He would be stupid not to ask you out.”
“That’s nice. Thanks, Brie.”
“You are! Is he there at your event?”
“Not yet. He probably won’t show.”
“Is it not his thing?”
“He hasn’t been showing up to every event. Frustrating. He said he would be here.”
Meghan cups her phone and swings her head around to see who’s beside her. Keri. Her face warms.
“He will if he knows you’re going to be there,” Brie says.
“I better go.”
“Jared’s there, isn’t he?” Brie asks with excitement.
“Nope, but I better run.”
&n
bsp; “Mike’s having a Halloween party. You should see if Jared wants to go.”
Meghan laughs.
“Ask him!” Brie tells her. “It’ll be fun. This year, Mike hired a DJ and even has a floating floor for dancing he’s going to set up in the living room.”
“I hate dressing up.”
“Go as a nurse. Guys like that. You’ll for sure have Jared all over you.”
“That’s not what I’m after.” Meghan can’t stop giggling.
“Right. Well, you have a couple of weeks to think about your costume.”
“What are you going as?” Meghan watches Keri talking to someone.
“Mike is going as a caveman and he wants me as his cavewoman.”
“I’ll let you know if I’m coming,” Meghan says.
“You have to! I might have a mermaid costume from a few years ago you can borrow.”
Keri makes eye contact.
“Brie, I gotta go!”
“Call me later!”
Meghan hangs up and tucks her phone at her side.
“How’s it going so far?” Keri asks.
“Great! Everything is going well. The players are here.” Meghan pauses. “Except Jared. He’s a no-show, again. But everyone else who’s on my list is here.”
“It looks good. We have a great response,” Keri says. “Before I forget, I wanted to remind you that a bunch of my girlfriends are meeting for drinks tonight if you want to join us. I thought that maybe if you weren’t too busy, you’d want to come out.”
“Thank you. I just might,” Meghan says, hoping it will ease the concern of personal calls at work. She wouldn’t want Keri to think she’s not working hard enough.
“We’ll be at Buckley’s. My friend Lauren works there. Make it easy for her.”
Lauren? She hadn’t heard that name in a long time.
Meghan recalls her old childhood friend. She had the life every girl dreamed about. Clothes that sparkled, a playhouse that had real furniture—wood, not plastic—and dress-up clothes that were really fancy costumes.
A man approaches and Keri turns around with a smile.
“Keri? I’m Bill Braxton, reporter for the Vancouver Daily newspaper. I want to ask you a few questions.”
“What do you want me to do?” a male voice whispers in her ear.
The hairs behind her neck are all prickly. She looks up to see Jared standing there. “Hi. I wasn’t sure if you were coming.”
“I told you I’d be here,” Jared says, casually dressed in jeans and an unzipped jacket.
She watches his lips move, bringing her back to last night. Those lips . . . on hers . . . They were warm lips, smooth and eager, which made her want to kiss him longer, except she couldn’t. It would be too easy to fall for him when he doesn’t want her permanently. Flashbacks of Stu are a reminder of what she doesn’t want.
“I wasn’t sure,” she says, gazing at him.
“So, what do you want me to do?” he asks again.
Kiss me again.
She’s caught in his admiring eyes. They are so blue and deep-set that she can’t take herself away. She blinks and takes a step backward. “We can go downstairs and see if there are more books to hand out.”
“That’s not what I was thinking,” he says as they walk together down the corridor toward the stairs.
“What do you mean?” Her stomach feels all fluttery.
“I came by to see you.”
“Me?”
“I thought we could grab a bite after this, seeing as last night didn’t work out.”
“I thought it worked out just fine.”
He saunters with his head hanging. His hair curls below his ears where she notices a small scar on his jawline. “Okay, look, I won’t—”
“Where do you want to meet?” she interrupts, remembering what Brie said. He wants her, that’s why he showed up. She has a hard time believing it though. He wants something from her, but what? She wishes she knew. Meghan reaches for the railing as they make their way down the stairs.
“Why don’t I pick you up?” he asks.
“Okay.”
“Are you all right with that?”
“For sure.” She’ll have to cancel with Keri.
She smiles at him, taking in his charm. It’s good practice for her. Flirting worked, now a practice date. She has a date with Jared! How did that happen? What is she going to wear? “What time will you come by?”
“Is six okay? I have a game tomorrow and I have a schedule . . .”
“Sure. Yes. Six it is.”
“I need your address,” he says, taking out his cell phone from his back pocket. “What is it?”
They exchange addresses and phone numbers. “Are you going to stick around for a bit?” she asks.
He nods. “What do I do?”
Meghan reaches her hand into an open box of children’s books. “Hand out one per person and it doesn’t have to be a kid,” she tells him. “We’re promoting literacy and reading to children. Take two, one for Becks and one for ah, for Jane, in case she has another.”
She looks up at him watching her and freezes.
“She told you, didn’t she?”
“Told me what?” Meghan plays coy.
“That’s she’s pregnant.”
“She might have mentioned it.” She passes him a book. “You may be asked to autograph something, that’s why there are tables set up.”
“Jane doesn’t normally tell people . . . stuff. We’re a little alike.”
“That’s why she didn’t want to skate.”
Jared nods. “I stand here and hand out books? Is that all I do?”
“There are newspapers, too,” she says, turning around and pointing to the stack beside them.
They hang out at the table with other players, talking to the public. An hour has passed and from a distance she sees Keri talking to a blond woman, and players chatting with their fans.
Meghan leaves to see if she can find any more boxes of books, and when she returns, she tries to catch a glimpse of Jared, but she doesn’t see him. Could he be gone already? What is it with him and public appearances? She needs to know. What’s the big deal? People come to see the team—they’re fans—and they don’t even get to meet him. That’s disappointing for some.
Meghan walks over to Keri. “Sorry, Keri, I’m busy tonight, but maybe another time?”
“Are you going out with Jared?”
Meghan’s face feels warm. “Uh, well.”
“I saw you talking to him. I guessed by the way he was looking at you.”
Meghan can’t help the smile planted on her face. “I don’t think it’s anything to talk about.” She tries to push the idea aside, afraid that people will start talking about something that doesn’t exist.
“I’ve never seen a player talk to one of us so extensively. He hasn’t left you alone. Are you sure there isn’t something between the two of you?”
Meghan shakes her head.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely!” Meghan replies.
“Be careful. He breaks hearts.”
“You told me. Thanks. It’s just one . . . date.”
“That’s all it takes.”
“I’m just about done here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She picks up the leftover newspapers and leaves them on the table while she takes down the banners and signs. She tells two employees to inform the players they are free to go and to fold up the tables and stack the chairs to be returned to the office.
Lauren’s face pops into her mind. Is it possible that the woman she saw earlier was her childhood friend? The only way to find out is to talk to her. If only she had time to stop at Buckley’s before meeting Jared, it would give her the answer she’s dying to know. If it is Lauren, could they be friends again?
Meghan decides to drive home to shower and change for her date. She laughs at the thought, not quite believing it, although her body has been filled with jitters since she spoke to him. Where
is he planning to take her? What should she wear? Meghan decides on a pair of jeans and long-sleeve sweater. As she opens her closet, she sees her wedding dress. She touches it. The white satin with a sequined bodice was what caught her eye in the store window. It was sleeveless, a mermaid style with shimmer along the skirt. She fell in love with it. The saleslady had commented on the dress, saying the style was perfect for her small frame.
Meghan takes the dress down from the rod and holds it up to her body, staring at herself in the mirror. She imagines herself wearing it again one day. Without a wedding of her own—it’s too fancy to wear out—the dress had to stay at the back of her closet. She sways in the mirror, remembering how excited she was to buy this dress. She loved it so much. It was too hard to sell it and now she realizes she could never wear it again. The dress reminds her too much of Colton, her ex-fiancé, unless she alters it in some way, she thinks, hanging up the dress. Thankfully, she didn’t marry him and Meghan came to her senses in time. The dress and all the planning were pricey, but not as expensive as marrying someone who wasn’t a good fit for her.
She met Colton at a casino. It was Brie’s birthday dinner and, afterward, the women decided to try their luck with slot machines. Although, after losing twenty bucks in five minutes, Meghan wandered over to the roulette table, nudging herself beside Colton where he had the best luck of all. She was drawn into his fast predictions and landing on the winning calls. She remembers smiling and laughing along with him, feeling his excitement and energy that seemed to last for hours. She stood beside him watching the game and found herself cheering him on. When it was time to place his bet, Colton handed her a stack of chips and asked her to pick some numbers. She didn’t know how to play, but she placed her chips down as quickly as she could, gritted her teeth, and waited for the outcome. The next thing she remembers is Colton shouting, throwing his hands up and giving her a kiss on her lips. Three years into their relationship, Colton started to hang out with new people and Meghan found herself seeing little of him and paying for everything, even their wedding. Colton said he wanted to contribute, so Meghan thought it was best for them to have a joint bank account. Once she saw the statements of his personal finances, she wondered how she could marry someone who was so careless with money and didn’t care about saving for their future. She wanted a house and a family one day. If Colton didn’t take their earnings seriously, then he didn’t care enough about her. She found out he was spending more time at the casino and a lack of funds was what drove them apart.
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