Drawn Deeper (5 page)

“Okay, I’m almost done. You shouldn’t have married the first woman you slept with.”

I arched my brows. “You guys have mentioned that four or five hundred times already.”

“I’m not saying you should get married again. Not this soon. But you could use a friend with benefits, you know?”

An image of Meredith flashed before my eyes.

“You’ve got one already,” Mason said, grinning. “I can see it all over your face. Why didn’t you tell me, you bastard?”

I shook my head. “I don’t. I’m too busy with the boys and work to think about that stuff much . . . but . . .”

“But?” Mason’s brown eyes, the same shade as mine, were wide and eager.

“I . . . looked at a woman the other day and thought about it a little. I mean, not about having sex with her, but about how attractive she was. I haven’t looked at another woman like that since Kim.”

Mason nodded slowly. “Okay, that’s progress. I think you need to get another look. Who is she?”

I rubbed the stubble on my cheeks and sat back in the booth, smiling sheepishly. “Uh . . .”

“Fuck, man, you’re killing me. Who is it? Is she married or something?”

“No. It’s just, uh . . . kind of weird.”

His gaze darkened. “It better fucking not be April.”

I glared at him. “You really think I’d look at your girlfriend like that, you prick?”

“I guess not.”

Margie returned and set down two glasses of iced tea before darting off again.

“Who is it, Kyle?” Mason said. “I’m your brother, we tell each other everything. I told you about Cassidy Solomon farting in my face while I was eating her pussy that one time in high school. You can tell me this.”

I busted out laughing at the memory. “Oh hell, I’d forgotten about that.”

“It wasn’t funny, man.”

“It was
awesome
.”

“You know what else is awesome?” Mason said in a low tone. “Getting your dick sucked. And I have, and I do . . . a lot. You know what that’s like? Oh, that’s right, you don’t, because you’ve only been with a psycho bitch who wouldn’t do it. I’m trying to help you out here.”

“I don’t need your help. And I don’t want to talk about this here.”

He shook his head. “You’re gonna feel like shit when I tell you why I asked you to have lunch with me today.”

“I doubt that.”

“I want you to be my best man.”

His words sank in, and I smiled. “You and April are getting married?”

He nodded. “In five weeks.”

“Holy shit, that fast?”

“We’ve been together a year and a half. I always knew we would, but . . . a few days ago I was having a shitty day at work, and she came into my office and rubbed my neck and sat on my lap and told me she’d make chicken potpie for dinner that night. I love her chicken potpie. I just proposed right there, with her straddling me on my lap.” He smiled. “I knew I could never be with anyone else.”

“I think that’s great. I’m so happy for you guys.”

“Thanks. I’ve got a pretty amazing girl.”

“She’s close to thirty, bro. May be time to consider her a woman.”

He shook his head, still grinning foolishly. “She’ll still be my girl when she’s eighty years old.”

“A month, huh?”

“Yep. We’re having the wedding in Mom and Dad’s backyard and then going to Tahiti for two weeks.”

“Nice.”

“So, on the best man thing?”

“Of course, man. Of course. I’m not throwing you a wild bachelor party, though. We’ll go on a hunting trip or something.”

Mason’s expression was loaded with disbelief. “It’s like you
want
to stay celibate. A bachelor party in Vegas would be
prime time
to get you laid. I can’t do anything but look, but you . . .”

“Not my thing, man.”

“Sex isn’t your thing?”

I looked behind me to see who was in the next booth and then glared at Mason. “Would you keep it down?”

“Tell me who she is.”

I sighed heavily. “Meredith.”

Mason’s mouth dropped open with surprise. “Meredith? Meredith Hobbs?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, shit.” Mason’s laughter reminded me how off-limits Meredith was.

“Look,” I whispered. “I just said I find her attractive. I’m not doing anything about it.”

“Might as well. She’s single, right?”

“I don’t know. She’s helping the boys with their homework after school.”

He nodded. “Maybe in an effort to get closer to you?”

“No. It’s just to help the boys.”

“Tell her you need some sex education.”

Margie was approaching with our food, so we both went quiet.

“You guys need anything else?” she asked as she set down the plates.

“No thanks, we’re good, Margie,” Mason said.

Once she was out of earshot, Mason started back in. “Do you, uh . . . need some advice on how to close the deal?”

I furrowed my brow with disgust. “You mean Meredith? No, you dumbass.”

He put his hands up in feigned innocence. “It’s been like twenty years since you’ve hit on a woman, I’m just trying to help.”

“If I wanted to hit on her, I’d figure it out. But I can’t go there. Not with my brother’s ex-fiancée.”

“Have you asked Reed if he minds?”

“No, because I’m not going there.”

“You need—”

I cut him off. “Let me worry about what I need, okay? Right now, I just need you to stop blabbering so I can eat my lunch. I have to get back to work.”

He shrugged. “You seem tense. Cranky, even. I feel relaxed and happy. You know why?”

“Enough,” I said with a serious glare. “I’m sure you got laid this morning, congratulations.”

“I just want to see you happy.”

“I
am
happy. I’m fine. Now let’s talk about this hunting trip for your bachelor party.”

Finally, he conceded. “Maybe some hunting and fly fishing in Montana?”

“Sounds fun. The boys can come. I’ll rent us a lodge for a few days.”

We talked about the trip and the wedding until the end of our lunch. But on the drive back to my office, I was thinking about Meredith’s wide, pretty smile. It lit up her whole face. She was a woman with many beautiful features, but her smile was her best one.

I shouldn’t have been thinking those thoughts about my brother’s former fiancée. It had probably been a one-time thing, just a fleeting moment of attraction. And it wasn’t like she felt it back, so there was nothing even to think about.

I had patients to focus on, and I needed to decide what to make for dinner tonight. I forced my thoughts from Meredith to those things.

Meredith

My workday so far had been nothing but numbers. I’d started working on monthly and quarterly sales reports first thing this morning and had taken a quick break to eat a sandwich for lunch. Now it was almost three p.m., and my eyes were feeling the strain from all the hours of staring at a computer screen.

I turned my desk chair so I faced the wall. Unlike the offices of my coworkers, my wall was empty. Some of the salesmen had posters of cars or drawings their children had made hanging up and framed family photos on their desks.

My wall had nothing. It was a metaphor for my life—empty. Helping the Lockhart boys with their homework for the past week was the most fun I’d had in a long time. When I left their house every evening, usually to go home to my empty house, I was even more aware of how alone I was. I was happy for the opportunity my sister had gotten for a new job in California nearly a year ago, but I missed her.

A knock sounded on my door, and I turned my chair as someone opened it and looked in.

“Hey,” a man said, smiling sheepishly.

“Hi. Can I help you?”

“Uh . . .” He opened the door a little wider and stepped in. “Can you tell me where the bathroom is?”

“Sure, just walk through the showroom, and you’ll see it on the left.”

“Thanks.” He opened his mouth and closed it again, still standing in the doorway.

After a few seconds of silence, I was about to ask if he needed anything else when he laughed nervously.

“Actually, uh . . . I don’t need to find the bathroom.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I . . . Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

He walked into my office and looked around, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m here buying a car. The guys in your detail shop are finishing it up for me now. When I was talking to a salesman about the car earlier, you walked across the showroom and I forgot all about the car.” He grinned. “I asked the salesman about you, and he said you’re single, so . . . would you want to go out sometime?”

His nervousness flattered me. He was about my height, with curly blond hair and a receding hairline. He had to be at least ten years older than me, but his bright blue eyes had a youthful gleam.

“I’m John. Guess I should have said that before.”

“I’m Meredith. Nice to meet you.”

He nodded and held my gaze, his expression hopeful.

“You’re not from Lovely, are you?” I asked.

“No, I’m from Fairbury.”

I wondered if I should tell him I hadn’t been asked out in
years
. In other towns, I would have been Meredith Hobbs, single woman, but in Lovely, I was
the Hobbs girl who left Reed Lockhart at the altar
.

But then I remembered the wall I’d just been staring at. If I never put myself out there, that wall would stay empty forever.

“Sure, John. I’ll go out with you.”

“Great. Can I get your number?”

I wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to him.

“So . . . I’ll call you then,” he said.

“Okay.”

He left, closing the door behind him. I smiled as I went back to the reports on my computer screen. John seemed like a nice enough guy. And for the first time in a while, I felt hopeful. Optimistic, even.

Later that afternoon, Eric Lockhart walked into the dining room with both hands behind his back. I pretended not to notice since he looked like he had a surprise.

“Meredith,” he said, walking sideways to keep me from seeing behind his back.

“Yeah?”

“Guess what I got on my spelling test?”

“Hmm . . .” I pretended to consider. “A B-minus?”

He whipped a paper out from behind his back, grinning. “A! I only missed one!”

“Wow! Great job!”

“My teacher gave me a sticker,” he said proudly.

“All that studying paid off, didn’t it?”

He was already on to something new. “You’re going swimming with us today, right?”

“When we finish homework, I will.”

“We don’t have homework. Tomorrow’s the last day of school.”

“It is? Already?”

He nodded. “We’re having a picnic tomorrow.”

“That sounds like fun.”

He furrowed his brow, looking concerned. “Will you still come over if we don’t have homework?”

“Sure, if you want me to.”

“I do. Especially if you bring cookies.”

I couldn’t help laughing at that. “Deal. So let’s tell Jordan we’re going swimming.”

We found Jordan, and we all changed into our swimsuits. The boys’ babysitter was so engrossed in her phone that she didn’t even notice what we were doing. I was less than thrilled with Stephanie. She never paid attention to the boys.

The backyard was an absolute paradise. It had been the talk of Lovely when Kyle and Kim had put in a large in-ground pool with a small waterfall a few years ago. There was also a hot tub sunk into the deck, a paved patio with lawn furniture, and landscaping that looked like it belonged in a home design magazine.

It was stunning—but not as lavish as the rumor mill had made it out to be. The guest cottage was beautiful, but it was very small, not the luxury-sized home I’d heard it was.

“Hey, Meredith,” Jordan said.

I turned toward him and saw a giant water gun pointed right at me. He wasted no time, hosing me with cold water from head to toe.

Once the water gun was empty, his expression was tentative. I could tell he was wondering what my reaction would be.

“I think there’s something in my eye,” I said, squinting. “Will you see if there’s anything there?”

Jordan came close enough to look at my eye, and I wrapped my arms around him and threw both of us into the pool. When I swam back to the surface, Eric was laughing hysterically.