“Don’t be bagging on my sister-in-law. She finally tamed my brother and convinced him living in his hometown wasn’t going to kill him,” Mindy said, shaking her head. “Chloe’s the best thing that ever happened to Cam.”
What was that like? Having a woman come into his life and change it irrevocably. He’d never had any sort of life-changing moment with a woman. He’d been in a solid relationship, he’d had great sex, and he was perfectly happy with his life.
But what would happen if a woman knocked him off his feet with merely a glance, a touch, a simple kiss on the lips? He’d talked to Cam a little bit about Chloe. Cam had flat-out admitted he thought nothing of her until that summer he’d come home to find her so damn tempting he couldn’t resist kissing her.
That had been it. One kiss and he’d known he wanted Chloe and no one else, though he’d been reluctant to admit it. Cam’s admission had blown Josh away only because he didn’t quite understand how that had happened. It seemed completely beyond his logical brain’s comprehension.
Now he wished he did understand it. Could he have something like that with someone? With Mindy?
You’re crazy for even thinking it.
They talked about her family for a bit, Mindy giving him tidbits of gossip since she had the inside track, stuff he would’ve never known had it not been for her. He asked after her parents and she did the same. Funny how easily they fell back into the friendship roles. He enjoyed talking to her, catching up on the past, learning how much had changed within the McKenzies.
His good friend and coworker Christian Nelson was a part of the family, though they hadn’t talked in a while. Chris’s life was wrapped up in work, his wife, and her children. Plus, Jane was a couple of months pregnant, Mindy confessed, though it hadn’t been discussed much. They were letting Chloe have her moment in the sun first.
M
indy had a good family, a good life. So why did she beat herself up so much? So she left Marty and there really wasn’t much divorce in their family, big deal. Wasn’t it better to be out of a bad relationship than stuck in one?
“Well, you’ve been here for three hours,” she said with a faint smile. “And guess what? Still no tow truck.”
“Are you surprised?” He arched a brow at her. There had been no traffic outside for over an hour. She kept the front window uncovered most of the time and it overlooked the road that wound around the lake. Not a single car had passed.
“No, I guess not.” She smiled and plucked at an invisible string on the knee of her jeans. “So I suppose you’re stuck with me for the rest of the night.”
Yeah. Sounded like a complete hardship. Not. “I’m gonna call the tow company again. See if they can give me an ETA.”
“So official.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She looked worried and he wasn’t sure why. “And I doubt they’ll make it tonight, Josh. The wind outside is positively howling.”
It was. He’d been so enraptured with Mindy and their conversation he hadn’t paid particular attention. “I hate to put you out by my being here.”
“Your being here is entirely my fault. Well—” She glanced over to an overstuffed chair where Spike the orange tabby cat sat, curled into a ball and sleeping, blissfully unaware. “More like Spike’s fault.”
“I think you might’ve been pissed if I’d hit him,” he said, glaring at the cat, who didn’t so much as flinch.
Lucky little bastard. Looked like he had a rough life.
“He drives me nuts most of the time so maybe it would’ve been a relief.” She shook her head, a little huff of laughter escaping her. “I don’t mean that. The boys consider Spike their cat. They would be devastated if they lost him.”
“Guess it wasn’t his time to go then.”
“Guess not.” She clasped her hands together, wringing them as if she might be nervous. “So…I wish I had a guest bedroom to offer you but I don’t. I’d suggest sleeping in one of the boy’s bedrooms but…” She wrinkled her nose. “Their rooms smell like dirty socks and sweaty boy.”
He laughed and stood and Mindy did the same. “I think I remember my mom saying that exact same thing about my room.”
“Well, I don’t know what us girls see in you sweaty, messy boys.” She wrinkled her even more, squinting her eyes and the breath caught in his throat. She was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.
Josh quietly approached, until he was standing directly in front of her. “I guess we’re lucky you see something in us, right?”
She tilted her head back, her soft green gaze meeting his. “Absolutely.”
The urge to touch her was near overwhelming, and he curled his hands into fists. “You don’t mind me staying the night, do you?”
“No.” She slowly shook her head. “I don’t mind at all, Josh.”
He liked the way she said his name. He also liked the way she looked at him.
And he realized, right then and there, he was most definitely not over Mindy McKenzie Fenton. Not by a long shot.