Despite their barely-there kiss, the temperature in the room seemed to skyrocket. When she drew away, Seth felt as if he was living in some sort of haze.
“Months ago?” she asked.
Seth blinked, trying to recall what she was asking about. Oh, yeah. “Christmas Eve, to be exact. You were hard not to notice, but I wasn’t looking to date anyone. Then you came into work wearing red heels and Christmas ornaments for earrings, and I couldn’t help but pay attention.”
Gwen grinned. “They weren’t Christmas ornaments—just little earrings painted to look like them.”
He kissed her temple. “Whatever.”
“And if I remember right, you were really grumpy that night.”
“You remember that?” He looked at her in surprise.
“What was wrong?”
“Um, not sure, it was a while ago.”
“Yeah, I agree,” she said. “That’s kind of a long time to be interested in someone without asking them out.”
“I guess I’m good at waiting.” He winked, then ran his other hand up her back. He leaned in for another kiss.
But she placed her hand on his chest, stopping him. He put his hand over hers, knowing she could feel the rapid beat of his heart.
“I think you should leave now,” she said, but it was with a smile.
“You’re right,” he said. “My thoughts aren’t exactly pure.”
Her cheeks tinged pink. “Yeah, I’m guessing that. Nothing about me is easy.”
Seth chuckled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He moved to his feet before he could talk himself out of his resolve.
She stood and unexpectedly leaned in and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He didn’t hesitate to pull her closer and rest his chin on top of her head. This was nice.
“Thanks,” she said in a quiet voice. “The shelter was fun, and everything else. Even you asking nosy questions.”
“I should be thanking you for spending the day with me.”
She drew away and looked up at him. “You’re welcome.”
He didn’t want to leave, but more than that, he didn’t want to push this new relationship too fast. He wanted Gwen to be sure about him, to trust him, and to feel comfortable sharing anything she wanted to. So he released her and stepped away.
Moments later, he was in his car, texting her. Lunch tomorrow at my place? No parents allowed.
She replied before he pulled out of the parking lot, so he glanced at his phone to read it.
I’ll be there.
Seth wasn’t sure if he stopped smiling the whole way home. He didn’t know if he’d be able to sleep now, but he didn’t care. Some things were better than sleep.
When he arrived home, he unloaded the bags of vegetables and washed them all. Then he pulled out his laptop and started to type up a couple of recipes he’d been mulling over. Gwen had been right about not including a Thai-specific dish on the menu, but what if it was inspired by Thai food?
He wasn’t sure what time he’d finally crashed, but he was glad he’d set his alarm, or he would have slept in. Something about Gwen was affecting him. He couldn’t remember ever sleeping past 8:00 a.m.
By the time Gwen texted him that she was at the bottom of the hill, he’d taken his car to the shop to get a new tire and had returned home to start on lunch preparations.
“Hey there,” he said when he arrived at the bottom of the hill.
“Hi.” She climbed into his car, dressed in a light blue sundress and white-and-blue earrings that looked like miniature clouds. She also smelled like sunshine.
Seth wondered if they’d reached the stage in their relationship where he could greet her with a kiss. But she was looking down on her phone, distracted with something else. In fact, she seemed out of sorts.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
She looked over at him, her blue eyes connecting with his. “I opened my parents’ cards and letters last night after you left.”
Surprise jolted through him. “Really?” He parked in the driveway and turned to her to give her his full attention. “What did they say?”
She looked past him, and he wasn’t sure how to read her. Did the cards make things worse? Or was there hope?
He waited, unsure if he’d been too nosy.
Finally, she said, “The first couple were apologies for not letting me choose what I wanted to do after high school.” She shrugged.
“That’s a start, right?” Seth said in a quiet voice. He took her hand.
“Yeah.” She still wasn’t looking at him. “The next ones were more casual and friendly, as if we were regularly exchanging letters—all one-sided, of course.” Her gaze flitted to his, and he nodded encouragement for her to continue.
“The last one was kind of surprising,” she said.
“How so?”
“They’re moving.” She adjusted something with her hair. “Or they probably have by now. It was the last letter I received, and it’s about two months old.”
“Did they say why they’re moving?”
Gwen blinked rapidly, and Seth’s stomach knotted. She looked like she was holding back tears. He grasped her hand.
“They said that I was right, and when they started learning about the problems other families around them had, they realized that our problems were pretty small. My desire to make choices wasn’t the worst thing in the world.” She gave a sad smile. “They said they want a fresh start in a neighborhood where neighbors actually help each other rather than judge each other.”
She leaned her head back, exhaling. “It’s weird to think I can never go back to my childhood home. Not that I was really planning on it.” Her fingers tightened around Seth’s. “It’s also weird that my parents could be living in a new house, and I have no idea where it is.”
“Their cell numbers would be the same, right?”
She nodded.
“And it sounds like a good change overall,” he added.
“Yeah.” She looked over at him, the sadness mostly lifted. “I’m starving. I hope you cooked me something.”
He laughed. “Be careful what you ask for.”
She smiled, then released his hand and opened the door of the car to climb out. He joined her as they walked toward the house and up the front steps. Before he opened the front door, she said, “Thanks for encouraging me to read the letters.”
He gazed down at her. “I’m glad you did. Maybe . . . Well, I’m not going to boss you around.”
“Ha. I don’t believe that for a moment.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms about his waist, surprising him. “Thanks, Seth.”
He pulled her close and inhaled lemons and sunshine. This day was starting out pretty much perfectly.
A car came up the drive, and for a moment, Seth didn’t move, until he realized it was his parents.
Gwen drew away and looked over at the car. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“I’m not, but it seems my parents are home a day early.” He suddenly wished he’d taken Gwen somewhere to eat. The kitchen was in shambles, and that was sure to set his dad off. Coming home a day early wasn’t a good sign of how his dad’s latest business deal had gone.
Sure enough, his dad climbed out of the car, and by the glower on his face, Seth knew exactly what type of mood he was in.
Gwen had only met Mr. Owens briefly when he came through the restaurant, and then again at the short interchange at the Fourth of July barbeque. But the man coming toward her now appeared as if he was about to barrel through the door.
“Seth,” he barked.
“Hi, Dad.”
Mr. Owens stopped at the top of the steps, and his gaze slid to Gwen’s. “What are you doing?”
Although he was looking at her, Gwen knew the question was for his son.
“Making lunch, are you hungry?” Seth said.
“No.” He continued past them, opened the door, and went inside.
“I’m so sorry,” Seth’s mom said, ar
riving in her husband’s wake.
Fortunately, Seth seemed to take after his mom in personality. Mrs. Owens paused on the porch and faced them. “You’re Gwen, right? One of the waitresses?”
“Yes,” Gwen barely managed to say when Seth cut in.
“Don’t apologize for Dad,” he said. “Whatever deal he lost doesn’t excuse his being rude to my girlfriend.”
Gwen snapped her gaze to Seth. Girlfriend? When had that happened? Didn’t there need to be a discussion about it first? Her pulse rose another notch as she saw the surprise on Mrs. Owens’ face.
“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Owens said, recovering her surprise nicely. “Things went sideways with Coleman’s bid. He underbid like we told him to, but then several of the board members voted against your father and chose the Feltons.”
Seth exhaled. “Dad’s got to learn that under-the-table deals go south at some point. He shouldn’t have told Cynthia’s dad to underbid.”
Mrs. Owens’ cheeks pinked. “Well, business can be complicated, dear. You know that. I should get in and see if your father needs anything.” She paused. “It’s nice to see you again, Gwen.” Then she disappeared inside.
Gwen was speechless. She didn’t know what to say—about either Seth’s declaration that she was his girlfriend or his accusation toward his father.
“Sorry.” Seth shook his head, then looked at her. “Sorry about this. Hopefully, they’ll not join us for lunch. Things will be strained.”
He reached for the door to open it, but Gwen caught his hand, stopping him. “Girlfriend?” she asked.
He scrubbed his other hand through his hair. “Yeah, uh, that sort of slipped.” Leaning close to her, he said in a quieter voice. “Do you want me to take it back?” His eyes searched hers.
Gwen’s instinct was to say yes, but for some reason, she didn’t have the heart. “I’ll let you know.”
His gaze softened, and he pulled the door open. “After you.”
Gwen knew her way to the kitchen, of course, and neither parent was in sight, so she took courage and walked in.
Once they were in the kitchen, it was as if a load had been lifted from Seth’s shoulders. He was more relaxed, and Gwen was glad to see it.
“So . . .” She eyed the array of veggies that she recognized from the farmer’s market, and a bag of brown rice, a steaming rice cooker, along with several bottles without labels that must have been homemade sauces. “Looks like you changed your mind about the vegetable soup.”
Seth bent and retrieved something from a lower cupboard, then set a wok on the counter.
“Stir fry?”
“Better than stir fry.” His gaze connected with hers, and he raised his eyebrows. “Do you want to chop?”
“Sure.” She moved to his side of the counter, and they stood side by side, chopping one vegetable after the other. It wasn’t the standard peppers, onions, and carrots, though. They cut up eggplant, cantaloupe, and kiwi, along with red pepper, broccoli, and water chestnuts.
Once everything was chopped, Seth dumped in thin strips of chicken he must have cut up before, and the wok sizzled to life. He added sauce from one of the bottles, and the fragrance blossomed. Gwen leaned against the counter, watching Seth in his element. He was like an artist as he added each type of vegetable to the wok at certain times.
The diced cantaloupe was the last to be added, and the scent got even better. Gwen’s stomach literally grumbled.
“Try it?” Seth asked, spearing a chunk of meat and one of the veggies.
She smiled and moved toward him.
“Careful, it’s hot.” He blew on it before he offered it to her.
Now Gwen’s stomach was fluttering for a different reason. She took the bite, and it was still hot, but also delicious.
“Good?” he asked.
“You’re magic,” she said and leaned toward him.
He met her halfway and gave her a soft kiss. It was sweet, and a warm shiver traveled through her body. They weren’t even touching anywhere else, but it was like she was wrapped in everything Seth.
The sound of heels clicking on the wood floor brought them apart.
“Oh, uh, Seth dear,” his mother said.
Seth blinked, then turned to face his mother. “Yeah?”
Gwen was sure her face was red as she looked over at Mrs. Owens. She and Seth had barely started dating, and now his parents had witnessed their hug on the porch, and now a kiss. Mrs. Owens just smiled, although there was something in her eyes that Gwen couldn’t read.
“Your father wants a minute with you,” she said. “He’s in his office.”
Seth exhaled. “After lunch. Why don’t you join us?”
His mother hesitated but kept the smile on her face. “We have a dinner appointment in a few hours, so we’re fine.”
Seth nodded. “All right.”
His mother turned and left the kitchen, her clicking heels fading as she went into another room.
“What’s going on?” Gwen asked in a quiet voice. “Things seem pretty tense . . .”
“Sorry.” He grasped her hand and looked down at their linked fingers. “There are a lot of layers here—and none of them are pretty.”
Gwen took a step closer. “Well, if I’m your girlfriend, don’t you think you should tell me?”
His eyes refocused on her. “My dad won’t eat when I cook at home. He’d rather eat takeout than something fresh from me.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s his way of getting his point across that he never approved of my culinary sabbatical.” He shrugged. “And he’s still set on reuniting me and Cynthia—that’s why he’s always trying to kiss up to her father, so that they’ll keep a favorable impression of our family even though I’ve broken up with her.”
Gwen stiffened. “So, me here isn’t a good thing.”
Seth slipped a hand on her waist. “You being here is the best thing. My dad needs to face reality.”
Gwen tilted her head. “And reality is . . .”
“Reality is that we’re dating now, and maybe, eventually . . .” He leaned close to whisper in her ear, his cheek pressing against hers. “I’ll stop there for now, because I don’t want to scare you off.”
Gwen smiled against the warmth of his skin. Seth could pull out all the charm when he wanted, and she was falling for every bit of it.
Her stomach chose that moment to protest.
Seth lifted his head and chuckled. “I’d better feed you.”
He grabbed a couple of bowls from the cupboard and loaded up the brown rice, then topped it with the steaming stir fry. They sat at the counter next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, as they ate.
“This is really good,” Gwen said as she finished up. “Is this another potential restaurant menu item?”
“I might try a few variations, but it’s promising.” He nudged her shoulder. “Want to do something after this? Out of the house?”
“Like go to another farmer’s market?”
“You choose.” Seth rose and collected their empty bowls.
Gwen smiled. “I’ll clean up, since you cooked. You can go talk to your dad.”
“Are you sure?” He paused at the sink before rinsing out the bowls.
“Yeah, then we can get out of here.”
He grinned and set the bowls in the sink. “Sounds like a plan.”
After Seth walked out of the kitchen, Gwen scooped the rest of the stir fry into a storage container, then packed up the leftover rice. She scrubbed out the wok and the rice cooker, then put all the cooking utensils into the dishwasher. There weren’t enough dishes to start it, so she wiped down the counter and put away the sauces.
When she finished, she was surprised Seth wasn’t back yet; but she didn’t want to hang out in the kitchen by herself when his mom might return any moment. So she decided to go outside and sit on the front porch. She’d text Seth so he didn’t have to look for her. But first, she needed to find the bathroom. She remembered it was
down the short hallway off the front entrance.
She moved through the kitchen, found the hallway, but before she went into the bathroom, she paused. Loud voices reached her—an argument that had to be between Seth and his dad. The voices were coming from farther down the hall, where Mr. Owens’ office must be. The door was shut, but it was quite clear they were speaking about her.
Heart hammering, Gwen moved down the hall, closer to the office. Everything told her not to eavesdrop, but then Mr. Owens said, “And you bring that trash in here?”
“Enough,” Seth replied, his voice steely. “You don’t know anything about Gwen.”
“After all you had with Cynthia?” his dad continued. “You can’t even compare the two women.”
“I’m not comparing,” Seth said. “Cynthia and I are never getting back together. I don’t know where things will go with Gwen, but Cynthia is permanently out of my life.”
“If that’s true, then find a woman who’s worthy of you, one you can have a future with,” his dad said. “Stop messing around with waitresses. It’s beneath you, and it’s embarrassing our family and will jeopardize the restaurant’s image.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Seth cut in. “A job doesn’t define a person.”
His father gave a bitter laugh. “Keep telling yourself that, son. We’ll see where you are in five years. Still living here, still paying off loans, no equity to your name.”
Gwen wiped at her cheeks; she hadn’t even realized tears had started falling. If Seth came out now, and he and his father found her listening and crying, she’d be mortified.
She turned and hurried down the hallway. Trying to not make any noise, she opened the front door. She considered sitting on the porch until Seth came out, but the tears wouldn’t stop. The irony of all ironies is that Gwen grew up like the Owens family—a life of privilege and money—yet, she’d never heard anything so cruel as what Mr. Owens had said about her. Not even her own parents had ever been that cruel to anyone.
Gwen kept walking. Down the porch steps, along the driveway, until she was walking down the hill to Marge. Gwen was okay with her life being her and Marge for now. Marge might have her bad and good days, but Marge didn’t break hearts.
Waiting for You_Pine Valley Page 14