Least Likely to Fall in Love (10 page)

Lindy reached over to pat his hand, and he wrapped both his hands around hers. “You’re lucky she’s such a smart girl. I think—I know when she mentioned Rob and his wave in the cafeteria, something changed for her. And for me. Rob was kind of a victim, too. He made the wrong choice, but he’s just figuring things out. Maddie would have made the wrong choice too if I’d missed what happened and you’d listened to her pleas. Just like I made the wrong choice.”

Lindy snorted. “I mean, the wrong
choices
. I had plenty of opportunity to make a change but I didn’t.”

Ryan frowned. “So, you’re here to tell me that you’ve switched from being mad at me to being mad at yourself?” He leaned his head back. “Am I supposed to be mad at you too?”

Lindy tried to yank her hand away. “You better not.” When he kept a firm grip but rolled his head to smile at her, she added, “And not mad exactly.”

She tried to ignore the light teasing swirls his thumb was tracing on the back of her hand. But it wasn’t easy. “Instead of pretending that nothing affected me, I should have tried to stop it, told somebody, punched you in the nose, something.”

“Ow. Escalating to violence is never the answer.” He reached up to rub his nose with his free hand. “I’m glad you didn’t do that. Would have ruined my classically handsome profile.”

“And that would have been a real shame.” She was glad her voice had the proper tone of dry amusement.

“Why didn’t you? Say something? Do something? You never seemed to be bothered by anything I said.” He grimaced. “Which just made me worse.”

Lindy was quiet as she tried to decide just how far she was willing to go here.

Some days she still had trouble making sense of it all. She turned to face him and pulled one leg up under her. “Did you know I was not always this put together?” She swept a hand up and down in a television demo kind of way. “Hour-long sessions with a professional were required. I finally got fed up with feeling so out of step and just…wrong. We talked about a million different things, but we kept circling back to the same conversation, the real issue.”

“That’s how you knew that Maddie needed someone to talk to right now.” Ryan turned to face her fully.

“Right. I had all this stuff I hadn’t handled and it was messing me up. I sort of had this feeling that I was weak. I should have everything together.”

“I don’t get that.” Ryan grabbed both of her hands. “Everybody’s got something they’re dealing with. Why’s it such a problem for you to struggle, too?”

Lindy blinked her burning eyes.
I’m not going to cry. I should never have gotten into this. I’m not going to cry.
“After my parents divorced, my dad wasn’t around much. Even before my mom moved to Lincoln, my family didn’t spend much time together, but whenever I stayed with him for the weekend, I learned to pretend I was having a blast, no matter what. Anything less ruined our time together. He didn’t know much about girls, except that they liked to buy things and eat chocolate. He just wanted me to be happy, but he didn’t know me well enough to make it happen. For that matter, neither did my mother. She just worked. So hard. Hurting his feelings made me feel awful, especially since I never knew when I’d have another chance to spend time with him.

“So, for both of them, I learned to pretend that everything was okay, that nothing hurt me. And if it did, I could go to the mall and buy something I would look terrible in. My mother never had the time or the money to help, and my dad was happy enough to drop me off, even if he couldn’t figure the rest of it out. And then, after the high of retail therapy, I’d follow it up with something sweet. Instant happiness. Everything was easier for a while.”

Lindy shook her shoulders to release the tension. “None of that is your fault. I learned to pretend nothing bothered me and to take care of myself. I didn’t learn much about boys, how to handle them, or the proper way to punch one in the nose, so…”

“It’s not your fault either, Lindy.”

Lindy blinked to chase away the tears. “Of course not. And if I’d told my mother, she would have done something. I wanted to be a help, not one more trouble.” Lindy rolled her eyes. “And of course, to her I was always the prettiest girl ever.”

Ryan shifted on the couch. “Somehow I feel even worse now than I did before we started this. No little girl should raise herself.”

Lindy growled. “There. That. That’s why I have to forgive you. Maddie’s lucky to have you.”

Ryan didn’t smile at her frustration and the intensity in his eyes surprised her. “Being a good parent is like walking through a mine field without a map. You just take careful steps and hope you don’t blow something up.”

“After talking with Rob, I know more about where this whole thing started.” Lindy ran a finger across both cheeks to chase away any stray mascara smudges and sat straighter. “I wondered if Coach Ford had encouraged his players to act more aggressively. Too many movies, I guess, but Rob made it clear that Coach has a zero tolerance policy for aggression off the field. Which is a relief.”

When Ryan didn’t answer, she studied his face but instead of teasing her or encouraging her, it was blank.

“So I think it might be something about Blake. He’s the captain of the team. Maybe he’s pressuring the team to…” Lindy sighed. “I don’t know, but I should talk with Coach.”

Ryan rubbed his forehead. “Is this an attempt to ask me about my own coach? The one who happened to also be my father, doctor?” Lindy raised her hands to wave off the suggestion, but he added, “Because the reason you think coaches can do that, encourage football players to act like kings with zero rules or consequences, is because you saw it in action. My father would have cackled with glee at a situation like this one with Maddie and told you what you could do with your punishments. Then Rob and Blake would have been held up as examples. And if I’d done anything other than clap with admiration, he’d have told me what a disappointment I was. Football players are men. Men are tough. Anyone who gets in the way deserves what he gets.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “My test for how to handle Maddie always starts with picturing my father’s face at my decision. If it’s screwed up in disgust, I know I’m on the right track.”

Lindy had to remind herself to breathe while she watched his face. Ryan didn’t look at her, but she could tell he was embarrassed by sharing as much as he had.

Finally, he waved his hand. “Anyway, it’s not a big deal. I didn’t want her around him so I stayed away, but now I’m glad to have the chance to help my mother out without worrying about what it’s doing to Maddie.”

Her mixed up emotions were impossible to hide.

“Now that you pity me, will you be able to forgive me?” His bottom lip pooched out as he did his best pleading face.

Tempted to let everything pass with the opening he was offering, Lindy tried to come up with the right words. “So, is this a normal first date for you? I can’t remember ever doing so much baggage-handling right after dinner like this.”

He clapped and pointed his fingers. “A date! Gotcha! Been so long for me that I’m going to have to defer to you.”

Tempted beyond reason to squawk at the idea that this man hadn’t dated in that long, Lindy said, “Well, just one thing… Whatever you’re doing with Maddie, it’s working. She’s great.”

“Of course she is. I’m awesome.” Ryan winked at her. “And I’m ready to prove it all to you, now that you’ve forgiven me.”

Now that the tension in the room eased, Lindy took a deep breath. “Right, forgiveness for  calling me Large Lindy.”

He cringed and covered his face with both hands.

“I forgive you for stealing my Mountain Dew at least once a week for years.”

He grimaced.

“I forgive you for nominating me for homecoming queen in order to make me the school joke.”

He raised a finger. “Technically, that wasn’t me.”

“But it was a football player.” He nodded. “And you were captain of the team.” He nodded again. “So you know who it was and you didn’t stop it.” He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Do you want to be forgiven for that, too?” She hoped her tone said clearly that he should want that. It did. He nodded quickly.

She wasn’t ready to bring up the note he’d put in her locker. She might forgive him, but she had no desire to talk about her breasts here and now.

“All right. I forgive you. But here’s the problem. I’m not sure I can forget.” She yanked her hands out of his and clenched them in her lap. “In addition to the very valid reason that the school principal should not date a parent, this past we have… Even if I understand myself and you better, I don’t know if I can get over it enough to try a relationship. To work together at school, yes. To not want to cut out the eyes of all your pictures so you look like a soulless demon, definitely. Trust you with my heart? I don’t know.”

“No longer a soulless demon. That’s progress.” Ryan’s lopsided smile was irresistible. “How about dinner? Could you trust me with that?”

Ryan crossed his fingers that she would be unable to find a way to say no. If he looked at things from her perspective, she had no good reason to say yes.

When he was lying awake tonight worrying about Maddie and a million other things, he’d replay everything he’d shared with Lindy and want to kick his own ass. He could imagine the disgust on his father’s face and wondered if that meant it had been the right thing to do.

To be sitting here, face to face with her, on the couch in his living room was monumental. The quiet and the comfort felt right. Civil, friendly, even intimate conversation had seemed as possible as flying to the moon when he’d realized who she was the first time they’d met in her office.

Now the knot inside loosened. He couldn’t change the past, but he could be damn certain to never make the same mistakes.

And he wanted to kiss that mouth. Still. Now he was almost close enough to do it.

She looked at home perched there, like he could imagine that was her spot. He was in his. And if he ever got anything else set up in this room, they could spend time in it together. Reading. Or watching television. Together. It was a seductive thought.

Seductive? Reading together on the couch? With a solid flash of dismay, he wondered if he should just head for the old folks’ home right then. Seductive was imagining her, this couch, and guaranteed privacy. She’d be soft and warm. And he would be hot. So hot. Burning up with hot. He had no trouble picturing any number of ways they could get seductive right here.

If there were no teenagers in his world. But there were. And the idea that he’d find it almost as nice to have her curled up next to him while they talked about everything or nothing… Well, it was weird.

And the fact that nothing she’d said, all of which added up to more baggage than would fit in an overhead bin, made him want an easier option convinced him he needed to try. One baby step at a time, he was going to keep working on her.

He wasn’t ready to pack it in. Not yet. He was ready to spend the time and effort to get to know a beautiful woman. Intimately.

After an eternal pause, she shrugged.

“So a real-life, no guessing, this is it… A date.” She licked her lips. “It would be downright cowardly to say no, right?”

“We couldn’t have that.”

He could feel the stupid grin spreading across his face, but it was as if it had a mind of its own. At this point, he wanted to play it cool. Overreacting would just convince her that she’d made the wrong decision. When a smaller but no less irresistible smile spread across her face, he wanted to clap his hands and jump up to run a lap around the mostly empty room. Instead, he gripped both knees hard enough to leave bruises.

“Tomorrow then? We could go for Mexican and margaritas. There’s a live band murdering music over at La Tia’s on Fridays.” He coughed into a hand. “Or so I hear.”

“I am a huge fan of badly played music. I listen to it all the time at work.” As soon as she said it, she clapped her hands over her mouth and looked around like she expected the principal police to jump out.

Ryan rolled his eyes. “I could pick you up at seven. On time. Well dressed. We will have a respectable time. And if anyone mutters about the principal dating a parent, I will pay the band extra to play ‘Juan Tanamara’ a few extra times, up close and personal, so that we can make our escape.”

“Let’s just both hope it doesn’t come to that.” Lindy slowly straightened her legs and stood.

When Ryan followed, he took her hand in his. “Oh, believe me, I do.” He was ready to do a little celebrating with a nice kiss when she slapped her free hand on her forehead.

“I can’t believe I forgot. There’s a game tomorrow. I can’t miss that, Ryan.”

The coming refusal was clear on her face. “You wouldn’t say no now, would you? I mean, you just told me you’d forgive me.” He blinked at her innocently.

“You do know that I work with teenagers all day long, right?” Lindy rolled her eyes. “I am immune to both guilt trips and patently false innocent acts, Myers.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Ah, a tough cookie. How about seduction? I could totally try that next.” Lindy laughed like he wanted her to. The dimple flashed in her cheek, and the weird flutter in his stomach was back.

“Rain check. You, me, Mexican. Some other time. Tell Maddie I said goodnight?” She was doing her best to project stern principal.

Resisting the urge to argue like a four-year-old who wanted his toy now, he nodded. “I will. I have no desire to interrupt the party, so I’ll wait for it to disband all on its own.”

“Good plan.”

They both froze at the door. Lindy wanted to say something else, and he wasn’t ready to call the evening over so he stood there, holding her hand. Happy just like that.

“I’m not going to forget your promise, Lindy. I will ask again.” The second time she opened her mouth only to abort the effort, he pointed down at her boots. “I like these.”

“You wouldn’t believe how many outfits I went through tonight trying to find the clothes that made me feel both principally and attractive. What would I wear on a real date?”

He snorted. “Well. Here’s the thing. I don’t mind going clothing optional for this date, but we’re definitely going to have to change our plans. La Tia’s will require both shoes and a shirt.”

She didn’t smile. But she did tilt her head down to give him her best principal’s piercing stare. He shrugged a shoulder. “You started it.”

She heaved a sigh and opened the door. Ryan refused to let go of her hand and followed her to her tiny red car.

“This is cute.” He opened the door for her and looked in at the seats and console.

“I know. Tall girl. Tiny car. I like it even if it does sometimes make me feel like I’m tumbling out of the clown car.”

He leaned back out to face her. “You in no way resemble a clown. Not unless there’s a new kind of clown, one with flawless skin and beautiful brown eyes. Plus, your nose has no honk. Does it?” He thought about reaching up to give it a try. Then he realized he wasn’t in ninth grade anymore.

She huffed a quiet laugh, and he was pretty sure he’d made the right decision on that one.

“Why don’t you just say whatever it is that you’re trying to work up enough courage to spit out?” He traced his thumb over the back of her hand. “You don’t have to be afraid. I promise.”

He rocked back on his heels and watched the emotions cross her face. Worry was the easiest to read.

When she shook her hands free of his, he swallowed a discontented sigh. This was going to take some time. He could be patient. He tilted his head down to smile at her and nearly jumped when she slid her arms around his neck.

“I’m not sure how to say it, so if it’s okay, I’m just going to show you.”

No matter what it was, he wanted her to show him. Right here, right now. He wrapped his hands around her waist to join them in the small of her back and then tugged her closer. When she stretched on her tiptoes, she was pressed against him from chest to knees. And it was good.

Neanderthal Ryan wanted to plunder, to invade her mouth with his tongue and steal her breath. New and improved Ryan, the patient one, knew there’d be a nice payoff if he could just wait.

Her eyes were locked to his as she slowly eased closer. When her mouth perched on his, he fought to keep his breaths even. Her tongue teased his lips and he gave up the fight. First kisses should be sweet and easy. Instead, he went from frozen to flames in a heartbeat. As their tongues flirted, he slid his hands back over her hips and up her sides before he slid one into her silky curls and tilted her head with the other.

As his control increased, so did the heat. His tongue tangled and teased, but Lindy didn’t retreat. She met each invasion and her hands slid over his chest and around to slide into his back pockets. When she gave a solid yank, Ryan nearly groaned at the exquisite torture. He rested against her soft stomach and one leg settled in the warm V of her thighs. When he slowly slid his thigh up and down, hoping the friction there would drive her wild, Lindy gasped for air.

He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her to run his hands up and down her back. “Much as I hate to say it, Lindy, we’re outside.” He kissed the end of her nose. “And I’d dearly love to say ‘So let’s just go back inside’ but I’ve got a gaggle of teens upstairs.” He moved back a step and groaned when her hands slid from his pockets. She crossed her arms in front of her, and he massaged them from shoulder to elbow before he took another step back.

“Sorry.” She touched her top lip. “I should have…handled that differently.”

Ryan scratched his chin as he considered that and then slowly shook his head. “No. No. That was pretty damn perfect. Express yourself like that any time. Damn the consequences.”

She laughed. “Except when Maddie’s around. Or when we’re out in front of...” She looked up and down the dark street. “Well, who knows who’s watching?”

“Probably no one because there’s never been anything to see here, but let’s work our way up to exhibitionism. Step one, a date. Someday.”

Lindy slid into the driver’s seat and Ryan closed the door behind her. He patted the door and stepped back. Lindy waved quickly and then backed down the driveway. Ryan watched her taillights disappear before he went back inside.

Just as he closed the door, a herd of giggling teenagers nearly ran him down. “Oh, hey, Dad. Everybody’s leaving. Did Principal Mason go already?”

Ryan waited for all the shouting and waving to finish and all the extra teens to be waved out the door before he answered. “Yeah, she said to tell you good night.”

Maddie carried her stack of empty plates and silverware into the kitchen.

“Did you get a lot done on your
project
?” Ryan drifted after her and slid onto the seat at the island. Maddie never invited friends over without telling him. And she hadn’t told him this time because he would have said no since they all had school in the morning. But then she’d used the single excuse that he might have had trouble arguing with: her project.

Maddie was changing. She’d always been smart, but now… He’d have a hard time protecting her if she decided to use her powers for boys instead of homework. She ignored his question, and he experienced the cold chill of a father facing a daughter who was just about to enter the mysterious land of woman.

And when she loaded the dishes without a single order, request, or wheedling whine, Ryan wondered if he’d crossed over into opposite world. There could be a portal somewhere. First, there was the kiss. Now, an empty sink. He needed to find the portal and close it quick.

When she was done, Maddie leaned across the island from him. She twirled a dish towel. “And? How did your not-a-date go with Principal Mason?”

Ryan was relieved to hear the question. If she and her new posse had seen anything, he was pretty sure he’d have heard the giggles from the second floor. But Maddie wasn’t a good liar. He should be able to tell if she knew more than she was showing.

He slid off the stool and started his version of an end-zone victory dance. Since he didn’t have a ball, he spiked the dish towel on the counter. When he finished the dance, Maddie was wearing an amused smile.

“We’re going out tomorrow. Football game. You’re coming, too. She doesn’t know about it yet, but it’s going to work.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Cute. And?”

“And it’s going to be awesome!” he said in a singsong voice.

Maddie crossed her arms.

“Aren’t you happy for me?”

She pursed her lips. “Well, you could spare a minute to say thank you to the person who got you this far.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you…” Ryan grabbed Maddie and spun her around the kitchen. After two revolutions, he pushed her onto the stool and went to start the dishwasher.

“Gotta say, Dad, I didn’t think it would be that easy.” Maddie raveled one edge of the towel.

“I’m not sure it’s all going to be a walk in the park yet, but I am happy, happy, happy to get it started. My kiss may have turned the whole thing in my favor.”

Maddie wrinkled her nose. “Eew. And way to go. I can’t decide which one to go with so both.”

“Hit me with it. If you don’t want me to go, I’ll…” He wasn’t sure it was going to matter at this point. “Well, I’m not sure what I’ll do. It’s kind of a new thing for us, but we can figure it out.”

She yanked on the bottom of her shirt and shifted back and forth. “Things have to change, I guess.”

That wasn’t the answer he was hoping for. But it wasn’t a no either.

“Mom wouldn’t want you to
never
remarry, right? She’d want you to be happy and I do, too.” She wasn’t convinced.

The memory of Anna and her jealous rage flashed across but he ignored it. His happiness had never been a huge priority for her. His daughter’s was for him.

“So we’ll just take it slow then.” He nearly snorted. He would have bet very good money that a relationship with Lindy Mason would have moved at a slow and steady pace. Then she kissed him. And slid her hands in his back pockets. And squeezed. He wasn’t sure how fast this roller coaster was going to go anymore, but he was going to hold on and enjoy the scenery.