by Susanna Carr
“No,” Sydney said.
“Yes!” Isabel answered.
“Really?” Laura’s voice rose. She didn’t expect a split decision. “Which is it?”
“Well, first things first,” Sydney said. “Why do you think you’re not the right woman for him?”
Dread curled heavily in her stomach. “He wants a traditional family life and I can never fit into that box.”
“Are you kidding?” Isabel asked. “You are traditional when it comes to your family.”
“No, I’m not.” She paused. Was she? She wasn’t the most obedient daughter but her family always came first. She was actively involved in her sisters’ lives and she worked hard to make the family business a success. But she didn’t think that was being traditional. That was just being a Dawson.
“But what if we’re wrong?” Sydney asked, ignoring Isabel’s offended look. “What if his attraction has been stimulated by the aphrodisiacs? Connor and Laura’s relationship made a giant leap while she was feeding him those foods. Maybe he believes he’s in love but he’s really making decisions based—”
“Ladies—” Doris Brown walked around the edge of the bookshelf “—my mother always said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
Laura stiffened when she saw that the town’s worst gossip stood in front of them. Silence reigned in the corner as they stared at the short woman. She might look like a kindly grandmother with her floral dress and orthopedic shoes, but Doris Brown was a force to be reckoned with.
“Miss Doris,” Laura greeted weakly. “How long have you been there?”
Doris patted her curly white hair. “Long enough to know that this is exactly why the reading circle banned the cookbook.”
They were screwed, Laura decided. There was no way out of this. The last thing Laura and her friends wanted was to prove that the reading circle members were correct in their fears. That would give them too much power. “Please don’t tell anyone about this,” Laura pleaded.
“Why do you need dating advice, Laura? I heard you and Connor were already dating. Never mind,” the woman said as she readjusted her glasses, “that news pales in comparison with this.”
“Okay, Miss Doris,” Sydney said, her voice strong and clear as she crossed her arms, “what do you want to keep this quiet?”
Doris slowly turned to Sydney and appeared to give the matter some thought. Hope clenched Laura’s chest as she realized there might be a way to avoid their book club causing another scandal.
“I want to join your book club,” Miss Doris said.
“What?” Isabel’s voice cracked like a whip.
“The reading circle’s selections are the worst.” Doris groaned and shook her head. “If I have to read one more book about death and trauma, I will lose my mind.”
Isabel stared at her in horror. “Join...our book club.”
“You see, Miss Doris...” Sydney fumbled for words.
“And I want to pick the next book to read.” The older woman pushed her eyeglasses to the bridge of her nose. “That is not negotiable.”
“The group is very selective,” Sydney explained. “It’s a whole process.”
Doris pursed her lips, the lines around her mouth deepening with displeasure. “You allowed Sean Hawkins.”
“He only lasted one meeting,” Sydney pointed out.
Miss Doris’s eyes twinkled. “I think my sensibilities can handle your meetings.”
“But can ours?” Isabel muttered.
Laura raised her hands in surrender. “Fine, Miss Doris. You win.”
“Laura!” Isabel whirled around. “This is something we should vote on. In private.”
“We are way past that point,” Laura explained. “She can use this information against us.”
Isabel gestured to the older woman. “She can also use our book club discussions against us. Which do you think is worse?”
Laura’s gut instinct told her that Doris Brown was not looking for dirt. Not this time. She was looking for a chance to be with different people. To read different stories. Hear different points of view.
“She can join us after a trial run,” Laura suggested.
“You may pick the book,” Sydney said, “but it has to have been blacklisted from Seedling. We only read books that have been banned in this town.”
“Not a problem. There are a lot of books to choose from.” Miss Doris rubbed her hands with glee. “There’s a paranormal romance that I know you’re going to love. Let’s just say that the man’s anatomy is magically enhanced.”
“I think I read that one,” Sydney said as Isabel groaned in defeat before she rested her forehead on a bookshelf.
“But first, you have to give me advice on what I should do about Connor Adams,” Laura said. “You have to. It’s part of the book club’s tradition.”
“Oh, that’s easy.” Doris Brown flicked her wrist as she considered Laura’s problem. “You need to do an experiment.”
“That’s what landed me into trouble the first time, Miss Doris.”
The older woman gave a snort of disbelief. “Nonsense. Trouble always follows you, Laura Dawson.”
Laura gave a nod. She really couldn’t argue with that.
“Go on your date with Connor but do the unexpected,” Miss Doris said. “Act very traditional and watch how he responds. He’s expecting a fun and sexy time. Do the opposite. And—this is very important—don’t wear anything suggestive. You should also find the least romantic location for your date.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard to find in Seedling,” Sydney said.
Miss Doris gave her a sidelong glance and Sydney pressed her lips together.
“Well...” Laura tried to rack her brain for the least romantic spot in Seedling. There were far too many options. “I do have to watch my nephew play baseball tonight.”
“Perfect,” Miss Doris announced.
Laura grabbed her phone from her pocket. “I’m going to text Connor right now and invite him to the ball game.”
“Do you hear yourselves?” Isabel asked to no one in particular. “You’re advising her to become the one thing she is not. This is going to be a disaster.”
Doris reached up and patted Isabel’s shoulder. “You can tell me all about your theories while you order four copies of that paranormal romance through the interlibrary loan system,” she said as she guided Sydney away. “You would not believe why this book has been banned in Seedling. There is one love scene where...”
* * *
A SENSE OF ANTICIPATION washed over Connor as he knocked on Laura’s front door. But he was also trying to ignore the uncertainty that was slithering down his spine. It had come to life the moment she had hesitated to go on a date with him. Laura was not one to hesitate. She never hesitated. Laura acted first and thought of the consequences later.
He heard the crinkle of cellophane as he clenched his hand around a bouquet of flowers. He looked down at the gerbera daisies. They were Laura’s favorite flowers; he suspected she was drawn to the bold colors.
A whisper of doubt flitted through his mind. The flowers were probably overkill. Too formal for a night watching kids play baseball.
But he wanted to signal to Laura that this night was different from the other times they’d watched her nephew play. Tonight they’d be on a date.
Heat flashed through him when Laura opened the door. He felt the kick of exhilaration just as he always did when he saw her. And it was the same for her, he realized with deep satisfaction as he noticed the pleasure glow in her brown eyes when she looked at him. The tension in his chest began to relax. Everything was going to work out.
“Connor,” she said with a smile. Connor followed his impulse and bent his head. He captured her mouth with his. The gentle touch was like a
burst of summer. She tasted of fun and sunshine. Of sweetness and spice.
Laura leaned into him, and it felt as though that was where she belonged. But he wanted her to melt against him. Connor dipped his tongue past her lips. She moaned with delight and bunched his shirt in her fists as she drew his tongue in deeper.
He was about to wrap his arms around Laura and hold her close when she tensed. Her fingers slowly uncurled from his shirt and she reluctantly stepped away.
Connor frowned when he noticed she wasn’t looking at him. “Come on inside,” she said, her tongue darting along her reddened lip. “I just need to get my purse.”
He wordlessly followed her into her home and tried to tamp down the concern gnawing at him. Something was off. She was being too careful with him.
“I should warn you, this game isn’t going to be a nail-biter,” she said as she went to the hall table to get her purse.
He murmured something as he watched her walk. Her arms were close to her body, shoulders hunched, and she had dipped her head. That wasn’t like Laura. She always walked with bold purpose.
Connor studied her carefully as she spoke about the poor season her nephew’s team was having. His gaze lingered on her curves, which were concealed behind a white long-sleeve T-shirt and dark jeans.
Her outfit put him on full alert. The tension wrapped around his chest, tighter than ever. Something was definitely off. She wasn’t wearing any bright colors. Even when she’d been sick with the flu earlier in the year, she’d worn neon greens and yellows. And why had she put on jeans instead of shorts or a miniskirt? She wasn’t even wearing a shirt that proudly showed off her curves. It was almost as if she was hiding.
But why would she hide? He wondered as he followed her to the hall table. Why hide from him, of all people? Connor narrowed his eyes. He was going to get to the bottom of this.
“I brought you flowers,” he said quietly.
Laura halted. He felt the surprise shimmer from her as she slowly turned around. She blinked as he thrust the orange, pink and red flowers at her.
“Thank you, Connor.” She accepted the bouquet and clasped it to her chest. “I’ve never received flowers before.”
Seeing the pleasure bloom in her face, Connor silently vowed that he would give her flowers for every occasion and for no reason at all. He would grow an entire garden of gerbera daisies just for her enjoyment. “Consider them the start of a tradition.”
She paled as her gaze swiftly met his. “Excuse me?” Laura’s fingers fumbled against the bouquet and she set it down on the table next to her.
Connor took a deep breath and braced himself. “Okay, Laura, what’s going on? What are you hiding from me?”
“Hiding?” She scoffed at the suggestion. “What gave you that idea?”
“Where do I start? You aren’t looking me in the eye, the clothes you’re wearing are not you and you’re pulling away from me.”
Laura sighed with defeat and thrust her hands into her fire-engine red hair. “I should have known I couldn’t get away with this. I could never fake it with you.”
“Fake? Fake what?” Not her affection. Not her desire. He knew those were real.
She dropped her hands and squared her shoulders back. “Connor, I can’t be with you.”
Her words were like a punch in the gut. “Why not?” he asked roughly.
“I shouldn’t have accepted this date.” She shifted from one foot to the other as if she wanted to bolt. “It was wrong of me but I couldn’t resist. I thought if I declined you wouldn’t ask me again.”
“I don’t give up that easily.” He forced himself to ask the next question. “Why can’t you be with me?”
“My relationships don’t last long because I bolt the minute a guy starts having expectations. In fact, my friendship with you is the longest relationship I’ve had with a guy. But that’s because you didn’t expect me to be a certain type of woman.” She took a deep breath. “You deserve the woman of your dreams and I’m not her. I can’t give you what you need.”
“I need you, Laura,” he explained as he took a step closer. “You are always there for me, you make me question everything and life is never boring around you.”
“I can still offer that in your life and just be your friend.”
“No, Laura, that won’t work anymore. I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you. I can’t go back to being friends when I want to share my bed and my life with you.”
“You wanted me the moment we met? That’s not true,” she said in a grumble.
“You were dating someone at the time and I was determined to find someone who was ready to settle down.” He had hoped his desire for her would fade but instead it had only intensified each day. “I was happy to have you as a friend and didn’t allow myself to want anything more. But I can’t imagine my life without you.”
She slowly shook her head. “You might feel that way now but you will change your mind. I’m not going to fit into your life.”
“No, Laura. You are my life. I’m not going to keep holding back because I’m afraid I’m going to ruin something great. And you shouldn’t, either.”
“I’m not the nurturing type,” she pointed out.
“You are, just in a different way.” He should have seen it earlier. Maybe he had but hadn’t examined it too closely.
“I don’t cook,” she reminded him. “I hate housework and the only children I can tolerate are my nieces and nephews.”
He drew her closer and she didn’t resist. “But you love me.”
She didn’t deny it as she leaned against his chest. “Your dream didn’t include sharing your life with ‘the other Dawson’ girl.”
He slid his hand under her jaw and tilted her chin so she had to look at him. Connor’s heart gave a sharp little twist when he saw the hope and the concern in her eyes.
“Laura, I’m not making a compromise to be with you. I don’t want you to be like your sisters. All those things that make you different are what make you special. You should be proud of that.”
She straightened her shoulders. “You’re right. I should be proud of that. But you’re sure you want to be stuck with the ‘naughty one’?”
“Laura, I don’t see you like that.”
“How do you see me?”
“You are ‘the one’—the only one—for me,” Connor vowed as he kissed her.
One month later
IT WAS QUIET before the dinner rush at Dawson’s Diner. A few customers were at the counter enjoying their coffees and slices of pie while Laura and her friends were in a booth on the other side of the restaurant. Laura rested her arms on the table and leaned forward. “So, what do you think?”
Isabel rubbed her chin, her square-cut diamond engagement ring catching the light, as she considered the question. “I say yes. What about you, Sydney?”
Sydney had her chin propped on her hand as she stared out of the window. “Hmm?”
“Don’t mind her,” Laura told Isabel. “She’s been like this since she eloped with Matthew last week. I’m surprised she tore herself away long enough to attend the meeting.”
Sydney scowled. “You said it was an emergency meeting. I thought Laura was going to share some big news about Connor.”
“I only moved in with him yesterday.” Her smile widened as she remembered the pleased look on Connor’s face when he saw the explosion of her colorful clothes take over the closet. He was thrilled to have her there and making her mark on the house, and she was beginning to believe that it was possible for someone to love her. “I’m fast but not that fast.”
“What’s your vote, Laura?” Isabel asked.
“It’s a yes. Sydney?”
“Absolutely.” Sydney smacked her hand on the table. “I thought Miss Doris was going to cause trouble but she’s actu
ally a great addition to the book club.”
“She’s really a romantic,” Laura said. “Did you see how she got Valerie and John to clear up that misunderstanding? She’s a sneaky matchmaker.”
“I did notice that,” Sydney said as she sat straighter. “Do you think she was working behind the scenes to match me up with Matthew? I mean, what other reason would she have had to give him my erotic diary?”
“Or when she gave me advice on how to deal with Connor? It pushed me in the right direction.”
They were silent as they considered the possibility before Isabel scoffed at the suggestion. “I doubt it. Anyway, Miss Doris doesn’t like Sean. She made it very clear that she didn’t approve.”
“So she says,” Laura added. Doris Brown may claim she didn’t like Sean but the older woman always seemed to have a secret smile on her face when she saw Sean and Isabel together. “But maybe I’m reading too much into it.”
“So it’s official. Miss Doris is a member of the Blacklist Book Club,” Isabel declared. She paused and tilted her head. “Are we making the right decision?”
Laura shrugged. “Of course. What could possibly go wrong?”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from A SEAL’S SECRET by Tawny Weber
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