Her body hummed with anticipation for the night ahead of them. She couldn’t wait to get him alone again. The odd thing was, as much as she’d enjoyed the sex, her favorite part of the night had been falling asleep in his arms.
She splashed some water on her face and ran a brush through her hair before heading back out. When she turned the corner to the front room, she saw that Lance, Owen, and Thor weren’t there.
“Owen wanted to show Lance Thor’s tricks.” Rebecca pointed out the glass sliding doors.
Leah saw the three of them out in the backyard. Owen lifted his hand and Thor sat. Then the kid circled his finger in the air and Thor turned around. He lowered his hand and Thor immediately lowered to the ground. He lifted both hands and Thor stood up. Then, Owen made a handgun, pointed it at Thor and Thor dropped to the ground on his back with his legs up in the air, playing dead.
“Whoa!” Leah exclaimed and clapped.
Lance must’ve heard her through the glass because he turned his head. His expression revealed he was just as impressed as Leah. He shook his head in disbelief.
“You two make a really cute couple,” Rebecca observed.
“Oh, we’re not a couple. He’s just…” How did Leah explain who he was? “He’s just a friend.”
She wasn’t even sure if they were that, but she wanted to believe that they were. She definitely had more hope since he’d decided to come on the trip with her. But she hadn’t inherited Bea’s hopeless romantic gene. She was a realist. She assumed, and he hadn’t said anything different, that he’d be leaving to go back to Florida as soon as they got home, since that was the plan before they’d left.
“We’re just friends,” Leah reiterated, not sure if she was trying to convince Rebecca or herself.
“Does he know that?” Rebecca tilted her head toward the backyard.
Leah looked back and saw Lance’s gaze was still locked on her. His expression had changed to the look. The look that she’d missed him giving her over the past week that he was keeping his distance. It was the same one he’d had on his face when she’d seen him in the laundry room.
“Lance, watch!” Owen exclaimed as he did another hand gesture and Thor rolled over.
Leah realized in that moment that saying goodbye to Thor was hard, but saying goodbye to Lance after this trip was over, she feared, was going to be impossible.
Chapter 21
The wooden sidewalk creaked as Lance and Leah walked to the café they’d seen when they drove into town. Their plan was to grab a bite to eat and then check in at the Mountain Ridge Resort. He glanced over and noticed a single tear falling down her cheek. He wasn’t sure if the tear was a happy or sad one. Probably both. Reuniting Thor with his family had been an emotional roller coaster, and not just for Leah.
He’d gotten choked up more than once. The worst was when they were outside in the backyard. Owen was showing Lance all the tricks Thor knew, and all of a sudden he dropped to his knees and hugged the dog’s neck. Lance heard him apologizing for having to leave him behind and promising that he would never leave him again.
Leah’d been quiet since they left Rebecca’s, which was unusual for her. What was also unusual was that he missed hearing her talk. After being in prison, he didn’t do well sharing confined spaces or being in confined spaces for long stretches of time, period. That was a big part of why he’d gotten a bike, he’d get claustrophobic in cars, even spacious SUVs like Leah’s. It got to the point that he started having panic attacks.
But he hadn’t had even one attack in the twenty-five hours he’d spent driving over the past two days. And it was more than not feeling anxiety—he’d actually enjoyed himself. He knew the reason. It was Leah.
She’d come into his life when he’d least expected it and sure as hell hadn’t wanted it. In the span of a couple of weeks, he’d grown closer to her than he’d ever been to anyone else in his life. She made him feel things that no one had ever made him feel.
When he was with her, he felt safe, peaceful, content. She made him forget that the rest of the world existed. One smile from her dulled pain he’d been harboring for nearly two decades. She was quickly becoming a drug and he feared that he was already addicted.
She sniffed as another tear fell.
Placing his hand on her lower back he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “That was bittersweet, huh?”
“Yeah.” She sniffed and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “That’s the perfect word. I just can’t stop thinking that when we go home, Thor won’t be with us.”
As much as he liked hearing her say home, like it was theirs, he wasn’t about to assume that she meant it that way.
“But I know he’s where he belongs.” Leah wiped her cheeks and lifted her chin.
Damn, seeing her try to put on a brave face was fucking endearing, but he hated seeing her this upset. He wanted to take her back to whatever room they were staying in tonight and make her forget everything except him. But she needed food. Real food, not the junk food that she insisted was a “necessity” for any road trip.
They entered Sue Ann’s Café and an old fashioned bell rang above their heads. Like the town itself, the small restaurant was quaint and homey. One glance around told him that they stood out like a sore thumb. Him with his tattoos covering his arms, neck, and hands, and Leah with her bright pink hair, jeans and tank top. It wasn’t that she was dressed provocatively. A garbage bag on Leah would be sexy.
There were a few head turns when they walked in, but then the customers went back to their meals.
A sweet woman wearing a long floral skirt that reminded him of his nonna was at a far table taking an order. “Hi, there. Sit anywhere ya like, hons.”
He let Leah choose their table and he pulled out the chair facing the front of the restaurant so she’d have a view of the town and mountain range. He hoped it would soothe her ragged emotions. Once she was seated, he sat across from her, his back to the door.
They’d just picked up their menus when the woman who’d greeted them approached their table.
“Hello, there. Welcome to Sue Ann’s, I’m Sue Ann. Can I start you folks off with something to drink?”
Leah turned the menu over. “Do you have any hard liquor?”
“Tough day, sweetie?” Sue Ann asked, radiating nurturing energy.
“Yes.” Leah’s eyes watered.
“Let me see what I can do.” Sue Ann winked before turning to Lance. “And what about you, young man?”
It was funny hearing someone call him ‘young man.’ “A Coke sounds good.”
“Comin’ right up.”
She disappeared behind a set of wooden swinging bar doors.
It took Lance less than thirty seconds to decide what he was ordering. When he looked up he saw Leah biting her lip as she studied the menu, fully engrossed in making her culinary decision.
Leah was usually a very “aware” girl. People noticed her and she noticed people noticing her. If he, or anyone, was looking at her, she knew it.
Except for when she was sleeping, he hadn’t had the opportunity to see her when her guard was down. But he had one now and he took full advantage of it. His eyes scanned over her full lips, the divot in her chin, the graceful line of her jaw, the curve of her high cheekbones. He was still drinking her in when her eyes lifted to his.
“What?” She lifted her hand and wiped her cheek and jaw. “Do I have something on my face?”
“You’re beautiful,” Lance breathed, unable to stop himself from stating the obvious.
“Thanks,” Leah smiled and went back to reading her menu.
Leah wasn’t a girl that suffered from low self-esteem. She knew that she was attractive. But he honestly didn’t believe that she had a clue just how stunning, how breathtaking, she was. “Every time I close my eyes, I see your face. It’s a masterpiece. A work of art. You’re a modern day Mona Lisa, Helen of Troy, Aphrodite.”
Her eyes lifted to his and her cheeks flushed as a privat
e smile lifted on her lips. “I think the lack of sleep is making you delusional.”
He was about to offer a different explanation—that it wasn’t delusion talking, it was love—but thankfully, he didn’t get the chance. There was no way he should be feeling the things he was feeling for someone he barely knew.
“Okay, one special Tough Day cocktail, on the house.” Sue Ann set a whiskey colored liquid in front of Leah. “And a Coke. Have you two decided, or do you need a few more minutes?”
They put in their orders and Leah stared at him. It looked like she was trying to solve a puzzle.
After several minutes, she asked, “So what’s your deal?”
“You’re gonna have to be more specific.”
“Do you have a girlfriend? Fiancée? Wife?”
“Do you think I would’ve done what I did last night, and this morning, if I did?” he asked, trying very hard not to be offended. That wasn’t something he usually experienced. He didn’t give a shit about what most people thought about him, but Leah was different.
“You’d be surprised what some people will do,” she said flatly.
She had a point. “No. No girlfriend. No fiancée. And I’ve never been married.”
“But you’ve been engaged?”
He didn’t answer right away, unsure of how much he wanted to say.
“You said no girlfriend, no fiancée, and you’ve never been married. So that means you have been engaged. Otherwise you would’ve said no girlfriend, and you’ve never been engaged or married.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“So what happened? What did she do?”
“What makes you think she was the one that did something?” Typically, people blamed the man for relationships ending.
She shrugged. “Just a hunch.”
“She lied to me.”
Leah’s left brow lifted. “Is that a deal breaker for you?”
“It depends on the lie.”
“Touché. What did she lie about?”
“Being pregnant.”
Leah’s jaw dropped. “She lied about being pregnant?”
“I think she felt me pulling away. My mom had just died—”
“I’m so sorry.” She reached across the table and covered his forearm.
“It’s fine. Honestly. After I lost her, I didn’t really have any reason to keep coming back to Brooklyn. I’d already moved down to Miami to be close to Nonna. I was planning on breaking up with Astrid when she told me that she was pregnant. So instead of breaking up with her, we got engaged.”
“How did you find out she was lying?”
“Her cousin told me. She said that Astrid had ordered a positive pregnancy test online—”
Leah looked horrified. “You can do that?!”
“Apparently. I confronted her about it. She denied it. I was prepared for that; I had four pregnancy tests and told her to take them in front of me. She broke down and admitted what she’d done.”
“So what was her big plan?” Leah shook her head. “That’s not exactly a sustainable con.”
“She said that she was hoping she’d get pregnant or we’d get married before I found out.”
“Wow.” Leah raised her glass, “Cheers! Here’s to the crazy bitch’s plan not working out.”
Lance chuckled. Leah always said the most unexpected things.
They set down their glasses and Lance heard the chime above the entrance behind him. When he did Leah got the strangest look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” He was sitting with his back to the entrance, so he turned his head to see what had gotten her so spooked. For a split second he thought that Astrid had walked in. Even though it made no sense. Leah would have no idea what she looked like. Was it one of her exes? Why would they be here in Hope Falls? Before he could see what or who had her looking like she’d seen a ghost, he felt her nails digging into his forearm as she squeezed him tightly.
“Don’t look,” she said through clenched teeth.
He turned back to her and found her staring at him with wide eyes; she spoke without moving her lips. “I think Karina Black just walked in.”
“Oh.” He’d heard the name before and knew that she was a singer but he’d never listened to her music. He was sure that he’d heard her songs, but he wouldn’t be able to tell you if they were Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry or some other pop princess.
“Oh?!” she questioned indignantly, obviously not appreciating his lackluster response.
Before he could defend himself and say that, as a thirty-two-year-old man he wasn’t exactly Karina Black’s demographic, Sue Ann once again appeared at the table. “Fried chicken with a side of mashed potatoes for the lady.” She lowered the plate in front of Leah. “And cheeseburger, well done with onion rings for the gentleman. Steak sauce, ketchup, and mustard are on the table. Is there anything else I can get for y’all?”
“Is that Karina Black?” Leah was still not moving her lips as she spoke to Sue Ann.
Sue Ann looked over her shoulder. “It sure is. Karina, honey, come over here.”
“You know her?” Leah’s eyes were now bulging out of her head.
“I’ve known Karina Blackstone since she was a baby. I changed her britches.”
“Please stop telling people that.” Karina smiled good-naturedly as she stepped beside Sue Ann.
“And then Miss Karina Blackstone went and married my grandson. So now, she’s family.”
“Your grandson is Ryan Perkins?!” Leah exclaimed.
Lance didn’t know who Ryan Perkins was, but Leah sure did.
“He sure is. Karina this is, I’m sorry dear, I didn’t get your name.”
“Leah, Leah Porter and this is Lance—”
“Taylor.” Lance finished out of habit. He never introduced himself by his tatting name.
“Lance is a tattoo artist,” Leah blurted out.
Lance’s eyes shot to Leah, trying to get a clue as to why she’d said that. But he found her gazing at Karina with stars in her eyes.
“Oh,” Karina observed as she scanned his arms and nodded. “Yeah, that tracks.”
He liked Karina. He was good at reading people, and she seemed down-to-earth and chill. Not at all what he would’ve assumed someone of her pop princess status would be like. It was just another example of why he tried to never judge people based on things like appearance or status.
“Lance is amazing!” Leah continued, “His specialty is portraits but he can do anything!”
“Portraits? My drummer Dray was just talking about getting a portrait done by a guy last week. He said that he was doing a guest spot near him. I think he was named Lance too. Lance…”
“James!” Leah filled in the blank excitedly. “Lance James!”
It was funny seeing this side of Leah. She was usually so cool, calm, and collected. Seeing her so rattled and starstruck was one of the cutest things he’d ever witnessed.
“Yes,” Karina nodded, looking back at Leah. “That’s it.”
“That’s him!” Leah pointed across the table. “He’s Lance James.”
Karina’s brow knitted as she shook her head and looked at him. “I thought Dray said that you were in the Chicago area. That’s where he lives.”
“I was in that area last week.”
“Oh, he said that he tried to get in but you were booked.”
“He was. Totally booked.” Leah agreed.
“Are you his PR rep?” Sue Ann asked.
“No. But she should be.” He smiled.
“He doesn’t need one.” Leah looked at Lance for the first time since Karina had shown up at their table, and the look of respect and adoration in her stare stole what was left of his heart. “He’s that good.”
“It’s too bad Dray missed you. He’s had a tough year. He lost his mom to cancer and he wanted to get her portrait.”
“Tell him to DM me.” Lance had planned on leaving Harper’s Crossing as soon as they made it back, but he was starting to think
that he should stop making plans. “We’re just here for the night. We’re headed back to Illinois tomorrow.”
“Karina!” A booming voice sounded from across the room.
Leah looked up and had the same look she’d gotten on her face when she’d seen Karina. “Is that Kyle—”
“Austen Reed.” Sue Ann and Karina finished in unison.
Kyle Austen Reed was someone Lance would recognize—the guy was a huge movie star. Lance looked in the direction the voice had come from and sure enough, Kyle was sitting in a group of six other people. He looked to be holding court.
“Do you want to meet him?” Karina offered.
“No!” Leah shook her head and waved her arms. “I don’t think my brain could handle that.”
Karina smiled sweetly. “If you change your mind, stop by our table. It was nice meeting you both, and Lance thank you so much. Dray will really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Lance assured her. “Nice meeting you, too.”
When Karina joined the table of her friends and Sue Ann left to take care of other customers he looked at Leah who had a sheepish look on her face.
“I’m so sorry.”
“About what?”
“About outing you as Lance James.” Leah cringed. “I just wanted Karina to think I was cool.”
Lance smiled. He couldn’t help himself, Leah was fucking adorable. “You wanted to look cool, so you used me to do it.”
“Afraid so. You were collateral damage in my fangirl explosion.”
“I’m glad I was, if not, I wouldn’t have known about Dray.” Lance’s favorite part of his job was helping people heal from tragedy. It’s not like what he did took away all their pain, but even if he just made it more bearable, it was worth it.
They ate in comfortable silence, until Leah set her fork down, declaring, “It’s so good but I can’t eat another bite. I think I might be slipping into a food coma.”
Unlike Leah, who still had about a third of her meal left, Lance had cleaned off his plate. The hamburger had a backyard BBQ quality that he’d never had in a diner or café.
“So,” Leah leaned forward. “How did you ask her?”
Leah’s question came out of the blue.
Just One Look - Leah and Lance (Crossroads Book 15) Page 19