Dating A Saint (26 page)

“So now the truth is out,” Jim said, acting resigned, fighting not to laugh at the snort beside him.

“I don’t need your money. I have my own money,” Lauren said easily. “And Alexa is determined to help me make more. I didn’t even take a settlement from Jared. No—I’m not interested in your wealth. I was just curious.”

“I’ll have my assistant make you a copy of my latest quarter earnings and losses,” Jim told her seriously, watching to see how she reacted. He wanted to laugh at her pained expression.

“Wonderful. Got someone on your staff who could explain them to me? I would have no idea what I was looking at, Jim. My favorite assets of yours are definitely not the ones in your financial report,” Lauren said dryly.

She laughed loudly when Jim turned his head and looked at her like he was going to pull the car over to the side of the road.

“There’s a motel on the outskirts of Sykesville. I’d be more than happy to show you the full range of my assets right now, especially if you show me yours,” he said to her.

“No way,” Lauren said, removing her hand from his thigh. “I’m already nervous enough about meeting Cassandra and Sam. I refuse to do it smelling like sex. That’s the limit of my ability to thwart convention.”

“I’ll wear a condom,” Jim offered. “I’m sure they sell them there. They might even have the textured kind. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“No—do you hear me? No.” Lauren said, as she saw the motel sign up ahead. “And they probably don’t have your size anyway.”

“Wow—you think I need a special size? I’m even better than I thought I was,” Jim said dryly. “I assure you my size is quite common.”

“Just drive, Gallagher. We’ll talk about the size of your assets later. When we get back to Virginia, I’ll pay homage and make you feel like a real man,” Lauren promised, crossing her arms over her chest.

After he stopped laughing, there was still a smile on his face. This much enjoyment was like a drug to his system.

“Sam said Cassandra is very nervous too. She’s afraid you won’t like her,” Jim said, already spying the familiar sign.

Lauren closed her eyes and shook her head. “I guarantee I’m more scared of her than she could ever be of me. I am fully aware of the magnitude of this situation,” she said quietly.

“Here we are,” Jim said, pulling into the parking lot. “Whatever happens today, I just want you to know how much it means to me that you would do this.”

“Who’s the good-looking guy?” Lauren asked suddenly, glossing over what Jim said so it wouldn’t make her cry. “It looks like he’s waiting for us.”

“I’m starting to think Lydia might be right about Alexa’s and Regina’s influence on you,” Jim teased. He looked around, spotted the man, and shook his head. “Sorry, he’s not eligible for your chart. He’s twenty-six and married with kids. That’s Sam’s son—Hector Gonzalez.”

“Don’t get your shorts twisted. I wasn’t scoping out his assets and comparing them to yours. I was just saying he was a nice-looking man. You can’t possibly still be jealous after the last two days,” Lauren protested, climbing out of the SUV and walking to wait for Jim on the sidewalk.

“Being possessive about you is being encoded into my DNA every moment we spend together. I resent every male who comes within ten feet of you or catches your eye,” Jim said, lifting his hand to Hector, who started walking toward them.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Are you just trying to get me to stop at the motel on the way out of town?” Lauren asked, crossing her arms again.

He laughed at her stance and her question. “Maybe,” Jim said finally, wondering if it were true.

Lauren lowered her arms and relaxed her stance when the young man walked up and looked from one of them to the other with a kind of awe.

“Sorry,” Hector said. “It’s just you two look quite striking standing together. It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Ms. McCarthy. Jim told me about you but did not say you look like an angel.”

“An angel? What a wonderful compliment. Call me Lauren, please. Anything else makes me feel like my mother,” she said. “And you must be Hector.”

Hector smiled at her pleasant, accepting tone, and inclined his head. “I took the afternoon off to spend with my father and Sandy. They needed a lot of extra reassurance for your visit. They will not need more after today, I think.”

“Of course not. I’m not intimidating at all,” Lauren said, waving a hand for emphasis, while Jim snorted at her side. “Don’t pay Jim any mind. He’s having some issues being calm himself.”

Hector inclined his head, sneaking a look at Jim out of the corner of his eye. The man was carrying himself like a skyscraper, taller than Hector remembered. Of course, with such a woman walking at your side, he supposed there was no other choice.

The couple they were there to meet was waiting in what appeared to be a comfortable lobby. Lauren sighed, and Jim took her hand in his to pull her forward. He had to let go when Sandy all but attached herself to Lauren.

“Wow! Just look at you! You’re every bit as beautiful as I imagined,” Sandy said.

Lauren felt her belly flutter when Jim’s wife grabbed both of her hands and squeezed them joyfully. Not even Regina was that giddy.

“Jim didn’t tell us you were almost as tall as him.” Sandy’s awed gaze fell to Lauren’s feet. “And you’re wearing flat shoes. I bet in heels, you are as tall as my brother. I’ve always thought it would be lovely to be tall.”

“I enjoy my height until I have to buy clothes,” Lauren said, letting the woman hold her hands because she didn’t know what else to do.

“Jim, introduce us please,” Sandy said, turning a beaming face to him.

Jim stepped up and took a deep breath. “Lauren, this is my sister Cassandra Gallagher-Simpson and her better half, Samuel Simpson. Sam, Sandy—this is my girlfriend, Lauren McCarthy.”

Lauren watched the silent exchange between Sam and Jim over Sandy’s head. The yellow-haired, blue-eyed china doll beaming at her missed the exchange. She also had yet to relinquish her grip on Lauren’s hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Could you excuse me a moment? I’m sorry to be so rude, but I need to find the ladies’ room,” Lauren said with a smile.

“I’ll show you where it is,” Sandy said.

Lauren felt herself being pulling along by the hand Sandy refused to drop. Jim’s startled gaze met hers, but Lauren smiled and just shook her head at him before looking back at Sandy.

“Jim didn’t stop the whole way here,” Lauren told Sandy on a laugh.

Sandy smacked Jim smartly on the arm as they walked by him. “I’m telling mother about your bad manners.”

“Lauren—you never said you needed to stop,” Jim complained without thinking, exasperation with her in his tone.

“Did you want her to beg for a chance to go the bathroom? Really, Jim,” Sandy said, exasperation in her tone. “You should know to ask.”

Sam and Hector both laughed at the utter shock on Jim’s face at being chastised over his treatment of Lauren.

“Will they be all right alone together?” Jim asked, when the women had rounded the corner.

Sam and Hector looked in the direction of the bathrooms, turned to Jim and shrugged.

“You two are not helping,” Jim said, running a hand through his hair. “Tell my mother on me? Did you hear what Sandy said?”

“Si,” Hector said. “Is your mother here in the facility as well?”

“What? No. My parents are both dead,” Jim said, the truth rolling out uncensored, concern for Lauren swamping him. “Sandy’s talking about her mother. Her mother and father are residents here. I moved them here right after Sam and Sandy moved in. They’re in their seventies.”

“Jim,” Hector said reverently. “You care for Sandy’s parents as if they were your own?” Hector’s mind trailed off at the new knowledge, something tickling at the edges of it. All the little hairs on his body stood up. It was a feeling he had come to value in his life because it meant he was going to receive an answer.

“What? Hector, did you ask me something?” Jim voiced the question, but his mind was occupied with thinking of all the things the women could potentially be saying to each other. Lauren had no practice at dealing with Sandy’s quirks.

“When are you coming back after today, Jim?” Hector asked, his mind racing. He needed time.

“Probably next Tuesday with Ben and Casey,” Jim replied absently.

Sam laughed boldly, startling Jim out of his concern.

“Relax, Jim. Sandy’s not going to do anything to Lauren,” Sam said with a shake of his head. “Except love her to death maybe.”

It was bizarre for Sam to be comforting him instead of the other way around, and for a few moments Jim was speechless. When his presence of mind returned, he looked warily at the two men.

“So what do you think of Lauren?” he asked them, striving for some normality in the situation.

“Your woman both looks and acts like an angel,” Hector said with a smile. “You can tell she had a good heart.”

“And she fills out her jeans
really well
,” Sam said seriously, looking off in the direction of the bathroom again, as if looking would make the women return sooner.

“Si, padre. You are right. Lauren does look very good in her jeans,” Hector agreed.

When it came to beautiful women, men were all the same, Jim thought, no matter what was going on with them.

“Great. Just great. I’m sorry I asked,” Jim said at last, his tone sarcastic. “I just wanted to know if you two thought she was nice.”

It didn’t help his peace of mind when both of them just laughed at his comment.

*** *** ***

Sandy was leaning against a mirrored counter when Lauren exited the stall she’d used.

“Do you mind if we just talk for few minutes before we go back out?” Sandy asked. “I’m sure Jim is wondering why I came with you, but I wanted to talk to you alone.”

Lauren walked to the sink and started washing her hands. What choice was there except to talk with the woman? “Okay. Sure.”

“Tell me your story. How did you meet Jim?” Sandy began.

“We met doing some charity work. I’ve actually known him for a couple of years, but I didn’t—we just recently got together at a friend’s engagement party. I asked him to dance,” Lauren explained, giving Sandy the abbreviated version.

“Did Jim tell you he was married once?” Sandy asked, picking at the buttons of her shirt.

Lauren swallowed hard. Her throat was almost too tight to talk. “Yes. Jim has told me about his life. I was married once too. It’s something we have in common.”

Sandy was nodding her head, looking worried. “Jim is very secretive about his marriage, even with me and our parents. I don’t know what happened, but I think he’s still working through it. I just wanted you to know that my brother is a very sensitive man. His feelings run deep. He can be—really intense sometimes.”

“I figured that out for myself, and I agree, Jim can be very intense,” Lauren said truthfully, taking a seat on small couch in the sitting area. “He told me about your parents as well. I’m glad they get to live near you.”

“Jim takes good care of all of us. Did he tell you about my—problems?” Sandy asked, head down. “I’m not really in the retirement community here. Sam and I are what Jim calls
special residents
. He doesn’t know I’ve heard him call us that, but it’s okay. I know it’s just the way he explains us to people who don’t know.”

Lauren could see Sandy biting her lip, and compassion unwound the knot in her belly. Whatever the problems, whatever the reasons, underneath the delusion this woman loved and cared about Jim.

“Jim said you had some problems at one time, but that you were happy with Sam and doing great here. Every conversation we have that involves the two of you—well, it’s easy to tell how much you mean to Jim. I was worried about meeting you, wondering if you would like me. If you didn’t, I can’t imagine Jim keeping me around. He’s very devoted to his family.”

Lauren saw her soft laugh and light words had the desired effect of putting Sandy more at ease. Though the woman’s eyes widened at the thought of Jim choosing her and Sam over Lauren.

“But you see, that’s my brother’s problem,” Sandy said, her voice dropping to a conspiring whisper. “Jim thinks I have issues, but his problems are just as big. You’re the first woman he’s been with in years—or at least that I know about. When I’ve asked him before, he just said there was no one else, that he was too busy for a relationship. I think he’s still getting over his divorce.”

Lauren smiled. Close enough to the truth, she thought.

“Jim and I have that in common as well. I got divorced seven years ago but only recently starting dating again. I will never forget the day Jim asked me to not to date anyone but him. It was very romantic.”

It would be very easy to forget this woman was still legally Jim’s wife, Lauren thought, especially since it was very obvious Sandy didn’t think of herself that way. In fact, it would be all too easy to buy into the life Sandy was leading, and not the real one Jim had to contend with all the time. While it was a luxury Lauren might crave, it was not one she could indulge in, or one that would ultimately do Jim any good. He needed a friend to help bear the load, not a needy woman pining for a type of commitment he wasn’t free to give.

Sandy laughed and nodded. “My Samuel is romantic too. He lights a candle when we sit down to eat, and double-checks all the doors twice before he comes to bed. I am a very lucky woman.”

“Sam sounds wonderful,” Lauren said sincerely. “Is there anything else you want to ask me? I think we should hurry before Jim sends someone in to check on us. Like every other man, he’s probably intimidated by two women potentially plotting behind his back.”

Sandy giggled at the thought. “I just have one more question. Are you planning to come back?”

Lauren thought carefully about what to say, what would be truthful, but not too promising—just in case.

“Jim and I have only been together a little while, but I already care about him more than any other man I’ve known. If things do work out between us, Jim’s entire family would be important to me because I know how important they are to him. I would gladly come back whenever I was wanted.”