Vaughn nodded. “I should be home by six.”
“I’ll expect dinner since you aren’t paying for my services.”
“Fair enough. But don’t expect anything fancy.”
“I know your limitations.” Benita gave him a teasing smile before slipping onto her driver’s seat.
She couldn’t wait for tomorrow night. Operation Lure Vaughn Brooks to L.A. was in full swing.
Vaughn needed to get off TFU’s campus. It was half past four o’clock on Thursday evening. Benita would be at his house by six P.M. He wanted to clean up and start dinner before she arrived. It wasn’t a date. He knew that. They were getting together to review their casting choices for Mystic Park. But there was no reason he couldn’t look nice while they were doing that.
He shut down his laptop computer and stood from his desk. The knock on his office door was unexpected. “Come in.”
Olivia Stark stood in his doorway. Her fist gripped his doorknob. “Can I interest you in dinner?”
Why would having a beautiful woman invite him to dinner make him tense? Because she wanted something he couldn’t give her.
“Can I have a rain check?” Vaughn found a smile. “I have a meeting.”
“I understand.” Olivia laughed nervously. “I’m not usually spontaneous. Actually, I’m never spontaneous. But I thought I’d try it today.”
“And I would’ve loved to have joined you.”
“But you have a meeting.” Olivia’s gaze wavered. “Is it just a meeting?”
“What do you mean?” But he thought he knew.
“I’ve been asking about you around town.”
That couldn’t bode well. Vaughn gestured toward his guest chair in an invitation for Olivia to make herself more comfortable. “What’ve you found out?”
“You
recently broke up with Benita Hawkins, a woman you’ve been dating since high school.” Olivia settled onto one of his gray cushioned chairs.
“You learned a lot.” Vaughn sat. He thought he’d been prepared to hear her say that. He’d been wrong.
“It had been a long-distance relationship.” Olivia watched him closely.
Vaughn was afraid to blink. “Benny and I went to separate out-of-state colleges. After college, I came back to Trinity Falls. She didn’t.” Vaughn forced himself not to shift on his seat.
“May I ask why you broke up?”
The question hurt, but he understood Olivia’s need to ask it. They’d dated a couple of times. He’d thought he could move on, but he hadn’t been able to. And she could tell. Olivia was an attractive, intelligent, charming woman who seemed to enjoy living in Trinity Falls. On the surface, she was perfect for him.
Then why am I allowing Benita to come between us?
“We want different things out of life.” Vaughn worked hard to keep his voice steady.
“But you still love her.” It was a statement, not a question.
“We’re not together anymore.”
“The two of you dated for half of your life. You don’t just wake up one day and decide you’re over the other person.”
“I wish it was that easy.” Vaughn looked away from Olivia.
“Each time we went out, I sensed someone else was on your mind.”