Then He Kissed Me (Whispering Bay Romance 2)

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt anything,” Lauren said, feeling like she should give them some space as a couple.

“Like I said, it’s not a problem,” Nate repeated in a no-nonsense tone that made Lauren feel foolish. He didn’t seem the type to offer unless he meant it. Maybe they didn’t want to be alone right now. As awkward as it would be accepting a ride from Nate, she couldn’t imagine how awkward the ride between Jessica and Nate would be by themselves.

“All right, thanks. Um, we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Lauren Donalan,” she said, extending her hand to Jessica.

“Jessica Hart. Nice to meet you,” she said, putting an uncomfortable emphasis on the word meet. Her handshake was dry and firm. Perfect for a corporate attorney.

The valet brought around Nate’s car, a modest looking SUV. Jessica got in the front, while Lauren climbed into the back seat. “Where do you live?” Nate asked, putting the car in gear.

“Barcelona Court, right near Seville.”

Nate met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I live on Seville.”

“Oh, really? Well, I’m renting for now. It’s a great old neighborhood.”

“If you have money to fix things up,” Jessica said in an overly bright voice. “I prefer something more modern. Brand new, to be exact.” She turned in her seat to face Lauren. “So you went to high school with Nate? What was he like?”

Lauren noticed Nate’s hands tighten around the steering wheel. “I’m afraid we didn’t really know each other that well,” she said.

“What? In a town this size? I bet everyone knows everyone, right? Oh, c’mon, tell me a story about him. I’d love to hear anything you can remember.”

Lauren racked her brain for any little anecdote that would put Nate in a good light. “Well, he was really smart. And he won the science award our senior year.”

Jessica giggled. “Tell me something I don’t know. What about girlfriends? As in, did he have any? He says he didn’t, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have had a crush on someone.”

“Lauren had better things to do in high school than keep tabs on me,” Nate said, looking straight ahead at the road.

“Oh, phooey! You’re no fun.” Jessica turned back in her seat. The rest of the drive was blessedly quiet.

Nate turned onto her street and Lauren showed him which house was hers. He pulled into the driveway. Lauren gathered her things. “Thank you again for the ride. I really appreciate it. And…it was nice meeting you, Jessica.”

Je

ssica gave her a look she couldn’t interpret, except to say that it was definitely not the friendly face she’d shown her earlier tonight in the bathroom. Nate waited while Lauren opened her front door. She waved goodbye then he pulled out of the driveway and took off.

“Thank God, that’s over with.” She put away her leftovers, then kicked off her heels and made her way to the bedroom, zipped herself out of the dress and carefully hung it back up. Within a few minutes she was in her comfiest set of pjs, sitting back in front of the T.V. It felt weird not eating popcorn while watching her favorite movie, but she’d eaten so much tonight she could barely move. It occurred to her that tonight had been her first date since the divorce and her first “first” date in over twelve years.

What kind of man put a bumper sticker on his car that read MY OTHER TOY HAS TITS? No, thank you. If that’s what was available out there, she’d stick to Jimmy Stewart and her black-and-white DVD collection.

Her cell phone buzzed. It was her mother. Lauren put the movie on hold. “Hey, Momma.”

“Why are you picking up your phone? Aren’t you still on your date?”

“If you thought I was still on the date, then why did you call?” Momma didn’t have an answer for that, so Lauren continued, “My date was over a half-hour ago.” Actually, her date had been over almost the minute it had begun.

“Well? So, how was it?” Momma’s voice nearly shook with anticipated glee. Lauren hadn’t heard her this enthusiastic in a long time. She tried to put herself in her mother’s shoes. Her husband of almost forty years had Alzheimer’s and, according to the specialists they’d seen, the disease was only going to progress. Her only daughter was divorced with no prospects on the horizon, and now her ex-son-in-law was happily engaged to someone else, which meant he was moving on and said only daughter wasn’t. In Maureen Handy’s world, things couldn’t get much worse. Lauren couldn’t tell her mother what had really gone down tonight. She just couldn’t.

“He was…nice, Momma, but I don’t think we have much in common. Thanks for trying, though.”

“Oh,” Momma’s voice drooped, but quickly perked up again. “You’re right, Ted is definitely not your type. But don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll find you someone better next time.”

Next time? Lauren wanted to tell Momma, please, no next time necessary, but it seemed to mean so much to her. And if it kept her mind off Daddy’s troubles then it was a small price to pay.

“All right, well, I’m counting on you,” Lauren said.

“You are? Oh, baby girl, I’m so happy you’ve decided to let me help you with this. You’ll see, by the end of the year, you’ll be engaged, too!”

Lauren grit her teeth. Not if she could help it. But it was a cause Momma seemed all too ready to put her energy into. “I love you, Momma,” Lauren said.