“You’re just telling me this now? You should’ve brought those out the minute I walked in.”
Lauren followed her sister into the kitchen. As they sat enjoying the chocolaty desserts from the town’s best kept secret, they talked mostly about the upcoming birth of Kelly’s first baby and the baby shower Kelly’s co-workers had thrown for her. Despite the pleasant conversation, Lauren’s thoughts routinely drifted back to their conversation in the nursery. While what Kelly said was partially true, she’d never admit it aloud. On some level she’d never stopped loving Nate. She’d tried countless times to vanquish the feelings, but a tiny seed of love for him always remained. Eventually she’d assumed her residual feelings toward him were normal. They’d grown up together and he’d been her first love. Surely it was normal for your first love to always have a place in your heart. But regardless of what Kelly said, her inability to find love had nothing to do with Nate. It simply was a matter of not yet finding the right man. Just because Kelly had met and fallen in love with her husband while in college didn’t mean everyone did. People met in all kinds of ways and at different times in their lives. Who knew? A year from now she and Kevin may be madly in love with each other. So what if she was not in love with him yet. She enjoyed spending time with him, and they had fun together. That type of relationship could easily turn into love. Not all relationships started off with fireworks.
Biting into the rich brownie, Lauren tried to picture herself with Kevin ten years from now. No matter how hard she tried, the visual wouldn’t form. While she could picture herself several years from now sitting in her living room watching a movie while cuddled up next to someone, Kevin’s face wasn’t the one sitting beside her. Instead, Nate sat on the sofa, his arm around her.
Without stopping to consider what her actions might tell her sister, Lauren popped the last bite of her brownie into her mouth and reached for a second. For years she’d kept thoughts of Nate Callahan blocked out, safely stored away. Now, though, she couldn’t get him out of her head.
***
Nate pressed down on the accelerator of his Mustang as he hit the apex of the turn on Breakneck Hill and grinned. It’d been a long time since he’d driven the curvy road, but he still knew where each and every turn was. Man, it felt good to be home. Until the weekend before when he’d moved back into the apartment over his parents’ garage, he hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed Ridgefield.
Crossing over the town line into Slatersville, he turned onto Milford Road toward the center of town and Elm Street. He’d gotten Lauren’s address from his mom the day after the retirement party. When he’d asked if she knew where Lauren lived, she hadn’t asked any questions. Instead she’d given him a small smile, pulled out her address book, and wished him luck. He’d wanted to stop by that afternoon, but an appointment with a realtor made that impossible.
Turning right onto Elm Street, he slowed the car so he could check house numbers. All the homes on the street were either small capes or ranches with small yards. A few homes had swing sets or pools in the backyard, but for the most part it was your typical cookie-cutter neighborhood.
A mailbox with flowers painted on the sides and a large number four told him he’d reached his destination. Turning into the driveway behind a red Mini Cooper with a bumper sticker that read “Love to Dance,” he killed the engine. Nervous energy shot through him as he studied the well-kept ranch before him. From the looks of it, the home had been recently painted, perhaps that past fall, and squat shrubs sat in a row in front of the farmer’s porch. Right now the shrubs were still bare, but in the summer he imagined they’d be alive with color. A flagpole with an American flag was attached to the home and a black lamppost sat at the end of the brick walkway.
Getting out of the car, he slammed the door shut. Beneath his boots the gravel crackled as he strolled up to the walkway. The sound of a nearby wind chime and children playing outside a few houses down faded away as the blood thundering in his ears increased. Polite but distant described her behavior at the party. While she’d reacted much differently in his dreams, her initial reaction to his return didn’t shock him, but it did disappoint him. A lot of time had passed since their last summer together. How would she react today?
Despite the cool temperature, a trickle of sweat ran down his back as he pressed the doorbell. Immediately, he heard a dog bark inside. As he waited, the dog inside continued to bark, but Lauren still didn’t appear. Was she out? Had her date from the party come by and picked her up? With all the noise the dog made, she had to know someone was outside if she was home.
Damn it. He wanted to talk to her tonight. He’d already waited longer than he wanted. Inside, the dog became silent. Was it worth it to try the bell again? If his first attempt combined with the dog’s racket hadn’t told her she had a visitor, would a second attempt make a difference? On the other hand, he had nothing to lose by trying again.
Nate’s finger zeroed in on the doorbell, but he stopped when Lauren opened the door. She was dressed in a long dark pink sweater with black leggings, and her ash blonde hair hung in a wet tangled mess around her shoulders. A black dog stood next to her, its tailing wagging back and forth. For a heartbeat or two, they both stared at each other, neither saying a word. Even with her uncombed wet hair and shell-shocked expression, she looked more beautiful today than she had when they’d dated.
“Nate?” Lauren’s forehead creased. “What . . . why are you here?” She shook her head. “How did you know where I live?”
“I asked my mother.” Starting with the simple questions seemed best.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
Did she plan to invite him in? Standing in front of the open door with wet hair, she had to be cold. “Mind if I come in?” While he’d stand on the front step and talk all day if he had to, he figured they’d both be more comfortable inside.
Lauren blushed and took a step back. “Sorry. You surprised me. Come on in.”
Although she let him, she didn’t move from her new spot near the door or ask him to sit. “So, uh, what are you doing here?” Lauren pushed a clump of wet hair away from her face.
Nate glanced around the room briefly, searching for the right words before looking back at Lauren. Confusion and unease radiated from her expression. “I hoped we could talk,” he said, wishing that he’d practiced what he wanted to say. “Catch up and stuff. I’ve missed you.” Okay, so he’d never get a job writing romantic greeting cards, but he’d been honest with her.
Lauren frowned up at him. “Now isn’t a good time. I’m getting ready to go out. When you rang the bell I was in the shower. I still need to fix my hair and do my makeup.
Jealousy exploded around his heart. “The snob from the party taking you out?” Nate tried to keep the anger from his voice, but the surprise on Lauren’s face told him he’d failed.
“Kevin, my boyfriend, will be here soon.”
He didn’t miss the slight pause before she said “boyfriend,” as if it was the first time she’d referred to him that way.
“We’ll have to catch up some other time.” Lauren added, her arms crossing over her chest. She glared at him.
Nate wanted to kick himself. This visit wasn’t going the way he’d intended. “Lauren, I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.” He took a step toward her, but stopped when her dog moved to sit directly in front of her. “I didn’t come by to argue. I came here to talk. I hoped we could go out and catch up.” Ignoring the dog standing guard, he took another step toward her. “I’ve missed you.” Reaching for her hand, he intended to pull her arms away from her chest, but the moment he reached for her, she took a step back.
“You’ve missed me?” Lauren asked with disbelief. “How can you say that when not once in fifteen years did you contact me?”
Guilt slammed into him. “It’s not that I didn’t think about it.”
“Thinking and doing are two different things, Nate,” she said. Her light brown eyes narrowed and her voice
turned cold.
Prepared to apologize, Nate opened his mouth but the doorbell rang, and he didn’t get the opportunity to say anything. Once again the dog barked wildly as Lauren groaned and threw up her hands.
“Great. Kevin’s here, and I’m not ready.” Without another glance in his direction, she walked around him to the door.
As if this visit weren’t already going downhill fast, now he had her boyfriend, or whatever he was, to contend with too. Turning toward the door, he watched her welcome Kevin inside.
“I’m running a little behind.” She closed the front door behind Kevin. “You remember Nate from the other night.” She nodded in his direction. “He stopped by to say hello.”
Nate glanced back and forth between Lauren and Kevin. So far, neither had shown any display of affection. Not a hug or a kiss? Strange. Either the two of them were only friends despite Lauren’s claims otherwise, or their relationship was still in its early stages. Both options worked for him, although the first could make his task much easier.
“Nice to see you again.” Kevin extended his hand.
“Nate was just leaving,” Lauren said before he could say or do anything. “Give me ten minutes, and we can leave too.” Lauren took a step toward him. “Thanks for stopping by. It was good to see you.” Lauren clasped her hands behind her back as she met his gaze. “Sorry we couldn’t talk longer.”
The confusion and apprehension in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. She obviously wanted him as far away from her as possible right now.
“That’s okay. We’ll catch up some other time.” He took a step back toward the door. Retreat. The word rolled through him along with disgust. He wasn’t the kind of man who retreated. Yet at the moment he had no other option. She’d made that quite clear.
***
The theater exploded in another roar of laughter when Lisa Jones, the comedian on the stage, delivered the punch line. Lauren, however, remained silent. She had missed the first half of the joke, so the punch line made no sense to her. Actually, so far that night, she’d missed most of the jokes. Sure, she’d heard the comedian’s words, but she hadn’t processed most of them. Instead, her thoughts returned time and again to her past two conversations with Nate.
When she’d opened the door that night, her first instinct had been to throw herself against him and wrap her arms around him. But that emotion quickly changed, and the urge to slam the door in his face took over. Thanks to sheer willpower, she’d avoided doing both.
Who did he think he was just dropping by like that? He could have called first. His mother, also her boss now that she’d become principal at the elementary school, not only had her address, but also her cell phone number. How could he think she’d believe his line about missing her? He’d been the one to end things all those years ago, not her. She would’ve stayed with him as he went through the Naval Academy and whatever else the Marines required from him.
A smooth warm hand settled over hers, and Kevin’s breath spread across her cheek. “Did you hear me?”
Lost in her own thoughts, she’d tuned out the rest of the room, including her date. “Sorry. I’m a little tired tonight.” She gave him a small smile. “I spent most of yesterday helping Kelly decorate the nursery, and then I worked on this week’s lesson plans.”
The house lights overhead came up, filling the refurbished turn-of-the-century theater with light. “There’s a fifteen- minute intermission. The cafe probably has some decent coffee.”
“Sounds good.” Lauren stood.
Kevin kept a hand at the small of her back as they weaved through the crowded theater. Judging by the long lines outside the restrooms most patrons were making a bathroom stop before doing anything else.
“Your sister is due soon, right?”
They’d had this conversation twice already. How could he have forgotten again? “Three weeks.” Lauren sat down at a covered table.
“What do you think of the show?” Kevin took the seat next to her and handed her a coffee.
“Great,” Lauren said, although she didn’t have an opinion. So far she’d managed to miss the entire thing. “Lisa Jones is hilarious. I don’t know how she manages to keep a straight face.” At least the few times she’d seen her on television she’d managed to get out the most over-the-top jokes without cracking a smile. Why would tonight be any different?
Kevin draped an arm across the back of her chair, his hand brushing against her arm. “I preferred Carl Patterson myself. I thought Lisa’s jokes bordered on redneck territory.”
Lauren shrugged. Truthfully, when she’d seen the show performed on a cable comedy channel, she’d much preferred Lisa’s down-to-earth comedy to Carl’s politically laced humor. Yet it didn’t shock her that Kevin either didn’t or couldn’t appreciate Lisa’s jokes. Even before the last two comedians went on tonight, she could guess which one he’d favor. The four comedians had been touring for years together and had done many television specials despite their different styles.
“Are you driving back to Providence tonight?”
Kevin sipped his latte. “No, I’m heading to my parents for the night. I have a meeting in Boston tomorrow morning, so I figured I’d stop in to say hello and spend the night.”
Ah yes, his elusive parents. They’d been dating for months now, and she still hadn’t met them, even though their estate in Weston was less than an hour from her house. She’d hinted at wanting to meet them, but so far he’d not caught on. Or maybe he didn’t want her to meet them. Every time she thought that, she pushed the idea away. Still, the more time that passed, the more it popped up.
Lauren once again pushed the unpleasant thought away. One of these days she’d meet his parents. “Does that mean you’ll be around this week?”
“Unfortunately, no. After my meeting, I’m flying to Dallas for a few days.”
Holding back a sigh of disappointment, she reached for her coffee. How did Callie do it? Dylan traveled a lot. Even early in their relationship when they’d done the long distance thing, Callie hadn’t complained. Yet it drove Lauren insane. Trying to make a long distance relationship work was difficult enough, but adding in Kevin’s frequent travel made it harder.
“But I’ll be back in Providence late Friday night. Why don’t you come down Saturday morning and spend the weekend?”
Something akin to giddiness swept through her. He’d never before invited her to the city to visit him. Instead, he always made the trip up to her. “I’d love to.”
Leaning closer, Kevin kissed her cheek, the musky cologne he wore wrapping around her. “Excellent. If they’re not busy, perhaps Callie and her husband would like to join us for dinner Saturday night. We could meet them halfway.”
Over the theater’s intercom, a bell rang signaling the end of intermission. “I’ll check with her.” In all honesty, she didn’t want them to have dinner together. Sure she adored Callie and thought Dylan was a great guy, but considering the amount of time she and Kevin got together, she didn’t feel like sharing him. But as they headed back into the theater for the remainder of the show, she pushed all the negative thoughts away. Kevin had asked her down to the city. It appeared as though their relationship was taking a more serious turn.
Chapter 3
Nate rounded the corner of Main Street and Union, his feet pounding the sidewalk. At the end of the leash, Maggie, the Boxer-Lab mix he’d adopted earlier that week, ran along beside him. He’d grown up with a dog in the house. During his time in the Marines he’d missed the constant companionship a dog provided and promised himself he’d adopt a dog as soon as he settled in back home. The night after he confronted Lauren, he’d stopped in the local animal shelter. After hearing the story of how Maggie had been abandoned at a truck stop, he’d taken her home. While the shelter workers claimed the young dog was leery of strangers and had possibly been abused by her previous owner, she’d immediately taken to Nate. Since coming home with him, she hardly left his side when he was around.
If
only he could win over another female as easily. His last conversation with Lauren had been a disaster. She’d made it clear she didn’t want him back in her life. Lauren had moved on without him. And while a part of Nate urged himself to fight for her, to not give up on them being a couple again, he saw no other option at the present time.
Continuing on Union, Nate waved back at Mr. Crooks, his seventh grade gym teacher, who pulled grocery bags out of his car. Like many in New England, it looked as if the former gym teacher had picked up some extra food in preparation for the rare late winter storm the meteorologists were predicting for tomorrow. A few houses down, he glimpsed Steven Fowler and his son tossing a football around in the front yard. He’d run into his former high school buddy earlier in the week and had been shocked to learn that the guy had a son. Of all the guys he’d hung with in high school, Steven Fowler was one of the last he’d expected to see with a child.
With a throw reminiscent of his days playing high school football, Steve tossed the ball back to his son at the far end of the yard and waved in Nate’s direction.
Nate nodded and waved but didn’t stop as he approached the house.
“I expect to see your ass here tomorrow night for the Celtics game,” Steve called out when Nate got within hearing.
Nate nodded again and turned the corner. In high school he, along with Steve Fowler, Ben Fitzgerald, and Mitch Johnson, had always hung together. They’d played on the same teams and always gathered to watch their Boston sports teams on television. While he’d lost touch with his buddies, they had stayed tight over the years and still got together regularly. When he’d run into Steve, the guy immediately invited him to join them for the Celtics game as if no time had passed.
But time had passed. A lot of time. Damn it. At eighteen he’d had it all figured out. Before he and Lauren started their life together, he wanted to accomplish something. Be a part of something that was bigger than himself. So he’d applied to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. In his mind he’d get a degree from the Naval Academy and then serve with the Marines before joining the reserves and coming back for Lauren. And in his self-absorbed eighteen-year-old mind, she would be waiting for him. Then 9-11 happened and destroyed his well-ordered plan. He couldn’t let his fellow Marines, his brothers, fight and die while he returned home. So he remained and convinced himself Lauren would still be there. That she would forget the past and welcome him back as if no time had elapsed.
The Billionaire's Best Friend (The Sherbrookes of Newport) Page 4