Love a Little Sideways (4 page)

“Did you tell him—”

“No.” He shook his head. “He doesn’t need any more fuel in his fire when it comes to you guys.”

“I wonder if my mom knew he had the hots for her? Rosie said they never dated as far as she knew, and she knows almost everything.”

“I don’t know. But I guess wanting a woman and not being able to have her sticks with a guy.”

The second the words were out of his mouth, he wanted them back. Wanting Liz and not being able to have her was sticking with him, that was for sure. But she didn’t seem to read anything into what he said.

The department’s secretary stuck her head into his office. “Sorry to interrupt, Chief, but you have a meeting at the town hall in ten minutes.”

“Thanks, Barbara. Hey, can you get a copy of the police report I left on your desk this morning? Kowalski, Elizabeth S.”

“That sounds very official,” Liz said once Barbara returned to her desk. “It’s still a little weird to me that you’re not only a cop, but the chief of police.”

“Sometimes it’s still a little weird to me, too. I think Mitch and I were voted Most Likely to Be Felons back in high school.”

Barbara came back and handed the paper to Liz. “I’m glad you didn’t get hurt, honey.”

“Thank you.” She had very vague memories of Barbara as a child, but she couldn’t quite place her.

“Elementary school secretary,” Drew supplied helpfully once Barbara was gone again.

“That’s right. I think I liked her.” She gave the paper a quick scan and then stood. “I’ll let you get to your meeting. Thanks again.”

“It’s my job.”

She gave him a warm, genuine smile that made him feel like a mini marshmallow dropped into a mug of hot chocolate. “I think the car goes above and beyond.”

“Not for you.” The words hung between them, and he waved them off before she could question his meaning. He hoped. “You know, being Mitch’s sister has to have some perks to make up for what a pain in the ass he is.”

For a fleeting second, he thought she looked almost disappointed, but then she laughed. “As perks go, that car’s pretty sweet.”

After she was gone, he took a second to put his thoughts back in order. He had a meeting to go over a grant he was trying to get to buy the department an ATV so they could help, along with the ATV club’s unofficial trail patrol, police the influx of riders they’d seen lately.

Instead, all he could think about was what a dumb thing he’d said.
Not for you.
It was pretty sappy, and he could only hope he’d covered it in time. Liz wasn’t for him, and any kind of flirting or innuendo was strictly off-limits in the future.

“Chief.” Barbara had her arms crossed, giving him the look that had almost made his first-grade self wet his pants. “Meeting.”

“On my way.”

It wasn’t far to the town hall and the weather was nice, so Drew decided to walk. He’d still make it in time, as long as nobody tried to stop him on the sidewalk and bend his ear. Halfway there, he heard a familiar horn and turned to see his car coming up the street.

He watched as the Mustang rolled by, doing at least five miles per hour under the speed limit, and his body tightened when Liz gave him a saucy grin and waved.

He’d been right when he lent her the car. Seeing her drive it—seeing her fingers curled around the wheel so perfectly molded to his hand—triggered some deep, primal thrill inside of him. Maybe because, out of all of his belongings, the car was the most personal and seeing her in it meant something he didn’t want to analyze too much. Or maybe it was just seeing a sexy woman in a sexy car. Either way, he liked it.

Chapter Four

Nobody could pull together an impromptu family dinner like Rosie. Liz was summoned to the lodge Friday night because Mitch was home, and Ryan and Lauren were driving up. They usually met Lauren’s ex-husband halfway from their home in Brookline, Massachusetts, so her son Nick could visit his dad, but Ryan had cleared his afternoon to make the drive up for dinner.

His truck, with Kowalski Custom Builders painted on the side, was already there when she drove up the lane and she parked between it and Katie’s ancient Jeep.

The aroma made her stomach growl the second she opened the front door, though she felt it rather than heard it due to the noise level. In honor of her return home, Rose had made a traditional New England boiled dinner and the blend of ham and cabbage and other goodies made Liz’s mouth water.

When she stepped into the kitchen, the conversation and laughter stopped as everybody had to give her a hug and welcome her home. She went down the line, from Mitch and Paige to Ryan, Lauren and Nick, then to Katie, who squealed and threw her arms around her.

“Josh told me you seemed lonely when he visited you in New Mexico. I’m so glad you came home where you belong.”

“Me, too.” Though Katie had spent a lot more time outside than Liz growing up, they’d been the only girls against four boys, so they’d been thick as thieves.

Josh, the only sibling younger than she was, pulled her into a quick hug. “Sorry we’re eating on the early side. We’ve got guests coming in tonight and the first ones will probably get here about six.”

“I don’t mind.”

“You all go sit down,” Rosie said, making a shooing motion with her towel. “It’s almost ready and I can’t move in this kitchen with you all underfoot.”

Liz trailed the others into the big dining room, where Rose had already set out the good dishes. She cringed a little because the good dishes couldn’t go in the new dishwasher Andy had installed for her and that was a lot of hand-washing.

There was a lot of shuffling before everybody was seated where they wanted to be. Even though he was the youngest, as the one who’d stayed and run the lodge, Josh had sat at the head of the table since their dad passed away. Mitch sat at the foot and they all paired off around the table.

Somebody had counted wrong, Liz thought as she looked around the table. There were two seats across from her she guessed were for Rose and Andy, who would help her serve, and then there was a place set next to her with nobody in the chair.

Then Drew walked in and it made sense. And lucky her, she got to sit next to him since everybody else was paired off as couples.

Once everybody had hollered out a greeting to Drew and he’d popped into the kitchen to say hello before being shooed back out, he pulled out his chair and sat down. There wasn’t a lot of space and Liz realized she’d probably spend the entire meal trying to avoid her leg brushing his.

They all cheered when Andy carried in the huge soup tureen filled with boiled goodness, and Rose followed with a basket of buttered bread slices from what Liz would bet were freshly baked loaves.

It wasn’t the kind of dish that could be passed around the table, so they took turns standing and leaning in to ladle the ham and veggies into their bowls.

“It looks amazing,” Liz said as she watched Mitch fill his bowl and then Paige’s, before handing the ladle to Ryan who also filled Lauren’s. “Smells good, too.”

“I don’t usually make it in the summer, but my girl’s home, so her favorite dish it is.”

“You’re the best, Rose.”

When the ladle came around the table, Drew stood and took it. He filled Liz’s bowl first, and then his own, before passing it on.

“Thanks,” she said, feeling oddly pleased he’d done the same for her that the other guys had done for their women. Not that she was Drew’s woman, but it made her feel good to not be the only female who ladled her own soup.

Then she looked across the table and saw Rose watching her with what could only be described as rampant speculation.
Uh-oh.

If Rose got it in her head Liz and Drew would make a good couple, especially considering she knew there was physical attraction between them, they were doomed. If not for the fact Liz’d watched her family mill around, deciding where to sit, she would wonder if being next to Drew was Rosie’s doing.

“Did I tell you I Skyped with Emma yesterday?” Katie asked once everybody was served. “Johnny’s getting so big.”

“I need to go see them again soon,” Rose said, and Liz was relieved to see her focus shift away. “My sweet grandbaby and he’s hours away. And Nick’s not only in Massachusetts, but teenage boys are fast on their feet when you’re trying to smother them with kisses.”

Even though she sounded mournful, Liz smiled. It didn’t matter that there was no blood between Rose and the Kowalskis. She was Grammy Rose and Liz had no doubt Sean felt as strongly about that as Rosie did. They all would.

“I need some grandchildren here in Maine, too,” she continued with a pointed look in Mitch and Paige’s direction.

“Hey, we’re working on it,” Paige said. “Maybe Katie or Liz will beat me to it.”

Liz swallowed a chunk of bread that went down hard, shaking her head. “Maybe you don’t get how the whole making a baby thing works, Paige.”

“Explains why she’s not pregnant yet,” Ryan said, and they all laughed.

But Paige was always the optimist. “Hey, you could fall in love tomorrow and start making babies.”

Now Rose was giving her that look again, and Liz fought the urge to squirm in her chair as the woman’s gaze bounced between her and Drew. That so wasn’t happening. “I really doubt I’ll fall in love tomorrow but, even if I did, there won’t be any babies. Not for a while. I’m doing other things right now.”

“Like what?” Ryan asked.

“I don’t know. I might go back to school or take some online classes or take up skydiving. Since I don’t know yet, it would be pretty dumb to have a baby.” She wanted out of this conversation. Badly. “I can picture a playpen in the corner of the barbershop, though.”

Katie pointed her spoon at Liz. “Oh, no you don’t. Josh and I aren’t having a baby until after our honeymoon.”

“Where are you going?” Liz asked.

“We don’t know yet.”

“When are you going?”

“After the wedding,” Josh replied.

“Which there’s no date for,” Rose said. “I’m going to have to call Mary and arrange to go visit again so I can kiss my baby grandson.”

And on that note, Liz decided it was time for a subject change. “Lauren, do you know who’s been mowing the lawn? I didn’t see a lawn mower anywhere and I wasn’t sure if the real estate agent was having it done.”

“The boy three houses down does it, actually,” Lauren said. “He wanted to earn money mowing lawns but his mower didn’t really work. When I moved I sold him mine in exchange for him working off the cost. I think you have two more mows and then you’ll have to negotiate with him yourself or buy a mower.”

“Good to know.” She shifted in her chair, then shifted back when her knee brushed against Drew’s. “I’ll probably have him keep doing it.”

“He’s a really good kid.”

They talked about the house a bit, while other conversations went on around them. She was aware of the rich timbre of Drew’s voice as he talked to Josh about the ATV trails, which made it hard to concentrate on what Lauren was telling her about the heating system in her house. She’d probably have to ask her again when it was time to turn it on.

“It’s a problem when my officers can’t get to the folks doing something wrong,” Drew was saying to Josh. “I’m trying to get a grant to buy the department a four-wheeler, but I think we’re going to see more of a presence on the state level, too. We’re drawing enough of a crowd to keep a game warden busy.”

Liz leaned forward to take a couple more slices of bread out of the basket and, when she did, her entire leg brushed the length of Drew’s. She was off balance, so she couldn’t pull away, leaving her keenly aware of the contact.

Sitting back down, she slowly ate her bread, avoided making eye contact with Rose and tried not to touch Drew again.

* * *

If Liz’s leg didn’t stop touching his, Drew was afraid he’d jump out of his skin right there at the dinner table.

Even worse than the touching was her soft laughter. She was obviously enjoying being back with her family and, as she talked with each of them, she’d occasionally laugh and the sound seemed to vibrate through his entire body.

It was a reaction he had to completely hide, of course, since Mitch was sitting at the other end of the table. And he kept catching Ryan watching him, giving him a look that seemed to bore right through him and he wasn’t sure why.

He made a mental note to have more police business scheduled at the same time as Kowalski family functions.

After wrapping up a conversation with Josh, who he worked closely with regarding the ATV trails they’d opened to give access to the town, he did his part helping to clear the table.

Mitch loaded up with an armful of cold beers from the fridge and the men made a break for it as the women argued over who was doing the dishes. When they made it to the front porch without being called back, Mitch started handing out cans.

“None for me,” Drew said. “I’m out of uniform but I’m covering a shift, so technically I’m still on duty.”

“All work and no play, my friend.”

“Are you calling me dull?”

“I think he was,” Josh said.

“I get to carry a gun. That’s not dull.”

Mitch smirked and popped the tab on his beer. “I blow stuff up.”

Drew wasn’t alone in rolling his eyes. It was hard to win the whose-job-is-cooler contest when a guy owned a controlled demolition company. “Imploding’s not as cool as exploding.”

“Whatever you say. It all goes boom.”

Drew relaxed into one of the rockers as the trash talk turned to sports, tuning them out a bit. The brothers could get rowdy when it came to second-guessing professional coaches and Drew didn’t care enough to immerse himself in the debate. Especially sitting on the front porch on a beautiful summer afternoon.

He should put a porch on his house, he thought. It might not have the view the lodge had, but it wasn’t a bad way to close out a day. It’d be nicer if he had somebody to sit out there with, but he hadn’t put much effort in looking for that somebody.

Thinking of the way his body reacted when Liz’s leg brushed against his, he shifted in the rocker. What he wanted was a woman who made him feel the way Liz made him feel, but who wasn’t talking about going back to school or jumping out of airplanes before she’d even think about having children.

“Hey.” Mitch kicked his ankle. “Where’d you go?”

“Oh, just thinking about work,” he lied. “Paperwork and shit.”

He hated lying to Mitch. There wasn’t a single time in his entire life he could remember that he hadn’t been totally honest with his friend, until he had a weak, stupid moment and slept with Liz.

The lying felt like crap, but all he could do was keep his relationship with Liz one hundred percent platonic in the future and focus on putting himself out there in the dating world a little more. Once his mind was on anybody but Liz, it would be a lot easier to face her brother.

They all shot the bull for a while, until Josh started checking his watch every few minutes and keeping an eye on the end of the driveway.

“We should get out of here,” Mitch said, “before guests start arriving and Josh puts us to work.”

“Yeah, we’ve got a long drive ahead of us,” Ryan agreed.

“You’re not staying here?” Drew knew the family rooms were still kept separate, so there was plenty of room.

“Not this time. We have a few things we wanted to get done around the house this weekend while Nick’s with his dad.”

The guys went into the kitchen, which was where most of the women were gathered. The dishes had been dried and put away, except for a plate on the counter covered in crumbs.

Katie smiled at them. “If you all hadn’t run away so fast so you didn’t have to help with the dishes, you would have known there were brownies. Now they’re gone. Sorry.”

“You don’t look sorry.” Josh slapped her on the ass.

Since it looked like the goodbyes were going to take a while, Drew took that opportunity to duck out of the kitchen for a bathroom break. He went through the living room, but as soon as he turned the corner to the hall, he almost ran smack into Liz.

He came to an abrupt halt, struck by how similar this moment was to the last time he and Liz had been in the lodge at the same time.

“Wow. Déjà vu, huh?” Liz said with a tight laugh, as though she’d been thinking the same thing.

“Yeah.” The last thing he wanted was for the awkwardness to rear its head again. “Except this time the fact you ladies ate all the brownies will give me the willpower to keep on walking.”

She narrowed her eyes and the corners of her mouth tilted up in a wicked little smile. “What if I tell you I didn’t have a brownie?”

He should have run, he thought. Maybe not literally, but when he saw her, he should have stepped around her and kept on walking. He wasn’t sure his willpower could withstand blatant flirtation from her, so he needed to nip it in the bud. “Not twenty minutes ago, I told your brother I was thinking about work when I was really thinking about you. Lying to him feels really shitty, so I don’t want to add to the list of things I’m hiding.”

“I was just playing, Drew.” The tightness replacing the flirtation in the set of her mouth made him wonder if he wasn’t the only one lying. “The last thing I want to do is cause any more trouble between you and Mitch.”

She tried to brush by him, but he stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. “You have no idea how much I wish things were different.”

Her eyes met his for a few seconds and he thought he saw a shimmer of regret there, but then she shrugged. “It is what it is. I’m your best friend’s sister and you’re a guy who wants a lot more commitment than I have to offer. So we’re going to be friends and stop beating ourselves up about something we can’t go back in time and change.”

She started walking again, but he said her name and she stopped. “Even if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change what happened between us.”