Missed Connections: Stepping Out (8 page)

In a low voice, he apologized, “I’m sorry about dessert.”

“We had that first, remember?”

“I’m not likely to forget.” He cleared his throat. “But this is not a good time to remind me of that. My body tends to misbehave when I think of you.”

“Good.”
Back at ya
. She thought about him too much. Especially for not really knowing him all that long.

“Witch.” He chuckled. He sounded tired but good. “I still owe you that dessert. I have work to do tomorrow, stuff to catch up on. How about Friday night?”

“I’m pledged to Trent’s eatery. He’s having a promotional thing to celebrate four years in business.”

“Oh, right. He told me about that.”

She thought about it and decided it was okay to like Conlan. Okay to want to spend time with him too. “We could go together.”

“I like it. I can pick you up, then we can swing back to my place for some sundaes.”

“So I have to pack a bag.”

In a lower voice, he said, “You won’t need clothing.”

She grinned. “I meant a bag of the goodies we never got to eat.” Feeling naughty, she added, “I’m a fan of chocolate. Nothing better than melting it and licking it up.”

“Cut it out,” he warned. “Jesus, I can’t be walking around with a hard-on. My sister will definitely notice something’s up.”

“Literally.” She laughed. “Okay, Romeo. Go take care of your sister. I have some prep to do for my spot on TV. Karen filled you in on that, right?”

He blew out a breath. “Yeah. We each do a separate spot, and in a few weeks, we’ll come together. She wants me to be confrontational. Man’s point of view.”

“And I’m supposed to defend all women everywhere from you
dogs
.”

“Touché.” He gave a low, sexy laugh. “Wear the rose dress. Trust me; you’ll get a lot more viewers. But lose the high hair and zombie makeup.”

“Thanks for the tip. And here I thought you were just a pretty face. Not a fashion mogul.”

“Ha-ha. I have to go. Lisa’s back.”

“Okay.”

“Wait.”

She waited for him to say something else. When he didn’t, she prodded, “Waiting…”

“I’ll miss you. See you soon. Friday at six work?”

She blinked hard.
I’ll miss you too
. “Sounds great. See you.”

Disconnecting and floating back to earth, she cleaned up the house, making sure to leave the kitchen spotless, and took an early night. Mind-blowing sex in the kitchen. She’d definitely left her man-hating phase far behind her. Giggling with exhaustion and flat-out satisfaction, she dreamed about Conlan, for once excited to be with a man again.

* * * *

Her brief interview for the local news surprised her by being fun. She’d worn the tight-fitting red rose-print dress and had received more than her share of compliments. A hint of makeup that the television staff upgraded, as well as wearing her hair down straight, made her look more sophisticated, less crazy. Her moderate heels added the right amount of sass. Even Mia had given her stamp of approval.

After telling the moderator how much better women were than men at handling relationships, and comparing herself as the trainer while assigning Conlan to the role of trainee, she thought she’d sufficiently given the viewers some hints at the conflict sure to rise when she and the
Insider
’s go-to man for relationship advice came together on their joint project.

He Said-She Said
would have its own daily run in the paper, as well as a huge spread in the
Bend Voice
. Next week they’d air Conlan’s interview, and the week after, a segment where they both answered questions from viewers on live TV. Together.

Part of her was unnerved to act in front of tens of thousands of viewers, while the rest of her knew how beneficial the programming would be for her livelihood. More viewers meant more readers for her blog, hence more money in advertising.
Ka-ching.

The segment wrapped up, and after making sure they had everything they needed, she turned to leave. She’d made it to the outer lobby of the studio before she stopped in her tracks. A pregnant woman looking a lot like Conlan stood by the security desk.

When the woman saw her, she smiled.

Oh boy. Is she here to talk about Aaron or Conlan?
Nervous, though she could always outrun the pregnant woman if trouble drew too close, Gwen pasted a smile on her face and walked toward Lisa.

“You must be Gwen Wilcox.”

“I am if you’re happy to see me.”

Lisa smiled, but underneath the humor, Gwen saw tiredness as well as a sense of recognition when she lingered on the dress.

“I am. Could we go somewhere and talk, do you think?”

Gwen nodded. “Sure. We should go somewhere so you can sit down, anyway. You are Lisa, Conlan’s sister, right?”

Lisa flushed. “I’m sorry. Yes. I’m Lisa Dawson.” She held out a hand, and they shook before leaving the building. “Would you mind coming to my house? I’d like privacy to talk, and you seem to be an impartial observer. My girlfriends are no help, and my brother…” She huffed. “I want to brain him as much as I want to hug him.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“Yes, well, he explained about Aaron. I know he didn’t want to upset me, but it’s not like I’m going to get any happier about Aaron cheating on me.”

“Er, well, your ex and I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t even at that party when he—”

Lisa held up a hand. “I know. I’m not mad at you at all. It’s just, well, this sounds pitiful.” To Gwen’s horror, Lisa started to cry.

“Oh, Lisa. Come on.” She helped Lisa to her own car and settled the woman inside.

“I’m sorry. It’s the baby. Makes me emotional all the time.” Lisa dug in her purse and pulled out a bunch of tissues.

“Trust me, you have every right to cry. My ex cheated on me with a good friend five months ago, and I bawled like a baby for weeks. Of course, I also had to be talked out of setting his stuff on fire. I ended up sending him to jail instead.”

Lisa blew her nose, then gave her a watery smile. “You’re someone who’ll understand.”

Gwen nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

“I’m okay now. Follow me home, will you?”

“Sure.” Not like Gwen had anything else pressing. She just hoped Conlan wouldn’t be mad at her for talking to his sister. It wasn’t as if she’d instigated the conversation. Truth to tell, she felt for Lisa and wanted to help her. That, and Lisa was an insight to Conlan that Gwen would be a fool to pass up.

After Lisa left the car and started her own, Gwen followed her to the west side, just a few short miles from her own house.

Once inside, she sat while Lisa insisted on making them herbal tea. They sat in the dining room, and Gwen helped herself to a cup of peppermint tea.

“I confess, Gwen. I wanted to meet you to talk about Aaron
and
Conlan.” Lisa smiled, a genuine show of pleasure. “I think my brother is head over heels for you.”

Gwen’s heart raced, and she did her best not to jostle her cup as she took a sip of tea. “Oh?”

Lisa sighed. “My brother, you, me, we’ve all been a victim of someone else’s lies. It took him half a year to bounce back. From what you said, it took you just as long. But I can’t just ‘bounce back.’” Lisa rubbed her rounded belly. “Not with the baby on the way.”

“Aaron might be a jerk, but because of him, you have a gift.” Gwen reached across the table to grab Lisa’s hand. “You don’t know me from Adam, but I have to tell you that from what I know of Conlan, you have one firm guy to lean on when the baby comes. He sure loves you.”

Lisa smiled and looked ready to cry again. “I know. My dad too. He’s on vacation right now, but he’s so sweet. I just hate feeling like a failure.”

Lisa cried, pitiful sobs that wrenched at Gwen’s heart because they were so soft, so wounded. “Oh, Lisa. It’ll get better. Getting Aaron out of your life will make everything—”

“That’s just it. I’m not sure what I want. I know he cheated on me months ago. That you aren’t the only craigslist ad he’s posted. He flirts, and he’s fun. I know why women want to be with him.”

“Um, yeah, about that.” Gwen hated that Lisa thought she’d actually tried to date her fiancé.

“He hurt me, but he can also be so loving. I sound like a total wimp. Heck, you nearly set your ex’s things on fire. I kicked mine out of the house. But I’m not sure…”

“Even after what Conlan told you? Lisa, this is none of my business, but if a man clearly can’t commit to me, and he doesn’t want my baby, I’m not staying with him.”

“What?”

Gwen frowned. “You know. That Aaron doesn’t want the baby. He’s not ready…? Conlan talked to Aaron the other day. You said he told you.”

Lisa’s lips pinched.

Shit.

“Conlan told me about what happened with you and your cousin, the mix-up at Donton’s. What’s this about my brother meeting with Aaron?”

“Ah, I don’t think it’s my place to—”

“Tell me.” Lisa turned their grip around so that she was holding on to Gwen’s hand. The little pregnant lady had fingers as tight as a vise.

“O-kay.” Gwen eased her pained fingers from Lisa’s. She explained exactly what Conlan had told her. “So you see, Conlan planned on telling you, but then you had that stay at the hospital. He was scared of upsetting you and hurting the baby.”

Lisa seemed to listen, because her frown faded. “No one believes that I can know my own mind.” She snorted. “But I don’t know if I can blame them. I don’t know what I want.”

She paused, then stared at Gwen with a gaze eerily similar to Conlan’s. Her eyes were so dark brown, so rich, but so sad.

“Aaron really said he doesn’t want the baby? That he can’t imagine not being with other women?”

“I think so.”

“That he loves me?”

“He also said he’s a sex addict, and women can’t help being attracted to him. That cheating is not his fault.” Finally, a small fire in Lisa’s eyes.

Lisa scowled. “He tried that on me, but I wasn’t buying it. He’s too lazy to be addicted to anything but staring at himself in the mirror.”

And this is the guy you want to marry?
Gwen kept silent, listening. If she’d learned anything from her experiences, it was that sometimes you just needed to shut up and be there, a silent sounding board. Mia had been that, and she’d helped more than Gwen could say.

“I’m sorry.” Lisa wiped her eyes. “You’re probably wondering what the hell you’re doing here. We’ve never even met before, and I’m burdening you with my life story.”

“No. Talk to me. It’ll help. What do you want? Not what your family or your friends want. What do
you
want?”

Lisa was quiet for a moment. “I want what my parents had before Mom died. I want what a few of my friends have. Love to last. I don’t want a man to be with me for my baby, but because he loves me. And I need him to be faithful.” She blew her nose. “I tried to overlook Aaron’s flaws. He loves me, I know he does. But he’s…he’s selfish. Not intentionally cruel, but mean all the same. It’s all about him and what he wants.”

“You can’t turn off love.” Gwen sighed. “When Perry ditched me for my friend, I was hurt. I’d loved him. He used me and lied to me, but I couldn’t stop caring. And I kind of hated myself for that.”

Lisa nodded.

“I mean, I’m a strong woman. I’m smart, independent. Like you. So why hadn’t I seen what he’d been doing sooner? Why couldn’t I just hate him and move on?”

Lisa brushed her cheeks. “Exactly. I do my dad’s books. I’m a CPA with stock in our family stores. I’m smart.”

“Pretty.”

Lisa smiled. “Pregnant too.”

“There is that.”

Lisa laughed. “I should just kick him out and be done with him. But something holds me back. My friends don’t understand it.
I
don’t understand it.”

“You need time. All this just happened. The question you need to ask yourself is what you want for you and your baby. Do you want a selfish person in your lives? A man who will teach his son or daughter that dishonesty is something to aspire to? I don’t know Aaron. But I know he tried messing with my cousin at a party with you right there. That’s not cool, Lisa.

“You have to make up your own mind about him. Just make sure you can live with what you decide. Screw everyone else. Be strong for you. Because don’t you deserve what your parents had?”

“I do.” Lisa shuddered on another sob. “I really do.”

Gwen circled the table and hugged Lisa when she broke down. After some time, she sat back in her chair while Lisa calmed.

“Please do me a favor and forget all this. I can’t believe I cried all over my brother’s brand-new girlfriend’s shoulder.”

Gwen fidgeted. “Well, I don’t know that Conlan and I are that tight.”

“Oh?” Lisa raised a brow.

“Your brother and I met over less than pleasant circumstances. We’re both writers, we’ve both dealt with cheating exes, and we both give relationship advice.”

“Sounds to me like you’re made for each other.”

Gwen forced a laugh, ignoring the longing she had no business feeling. “Yeah, well, we’ve known each other a grand total of seven days.” Yet she felt like she’d known him for much longer.

“That’s all? Hmm.”

“What?”

Lisa smiled. “Conlan talked to me about you, and he doesn’t usually share about his personal life until he’s well into something serious. Now maybe it was to take my mind off Aaron or to show me how much of an ass my ex-fiancé is. Either way, you’re different.”

“I don’t know…”

“You gave me some sound advice. Let me give you some too. My parents fell in love at first sight. My cousin did too. My friend Sara met her husband, hated him, and met him again years later. They’ve been together for fifteen years. Love happens when it happens. Now I’m not saying you and Conlan are soul mates after a week of knowing each other, but to deny the possibility because it’s too soon is wrong.

“You got over a man who broke your heart. Trust me, I’m taking note. If you can do it, then so can I. And my God, so can Conlan. That man moped like crazy when Ally screwed him over. Frankly, I was glad. I didn’t like her. But he thought she was terrific. Until the end, then he couldn’t stand her. He wasn’t like me or you.”

“I’m just glad I’m over Perry.” For the first time, Gwen truly believed she was. She didn’t want to cry or scream at the thought of Perry Warrington. She didn’t wish him well, by any means, but she no longer wanted him to be run over by a large bus.