North Dakota Weddings (17 page)

T
he next day, Andi and Elisa waited in the lobby for Vance. “I don’t understand why we can’t stay one more day.” Elisa slouched in a plush chair.

“I have no ide—”

“Ready for breakfast?”

How did Vance come in without them seeing? Andi stood to greet him. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all. “Good morning.”

Nor had he shaved, looking a little scruffy. Andi liked his rough appearance.

“Let me take your bags.” Vance grabbed them, ignoring the bellhop, and strolled through the revolving doors.

As Andi sat down in the car, she noticed for the first time this weekend that Vance hadn’t opened her door. She looked out the passenger window, releasing a slow sigh. The romance she’d imagined with Vance was ending before it even started. Just as well.

As they headed out of town, they made small talk. Passing all the pancake houses only heightened the rumble Andi was beginning to feel in her stomach. She thought he’d said something about breakfast. They hadn’t eaten the continental breakfast. She wanted to mention it to Vance but he was clearly distracted. Something obviously bothered him. Andi hoped it wasn’t her.

“So, what’s wrong with you?” she asked. He was anything but warm and friendly. “Haven’t had your morning coffee?”

He shot a grin in her direction but kept his focus on the road as he accelerated. “You know me too well already.”

For Elisa’s sake, she would remind him about breakfast.

She opened her mouth to speak, shutting it as he pulled into a restaurant parking lot just outside of town. “Why are you in such a hurry to get out of town?”

They strolled into the small coffee house. “Would you believe me if I told you I miss Ground Zero?”

She laughed at his unexpected comment. “Nope.”

They ordered coffee and pancakes. Vance rubbed his temples and stared out the big windows. Andi wanted to ask him what was going on but figured he would have volunteered the information if he felt like sharing. So, she and Elisa talked about Todd, engaging Vance once in a while. His mind was clearly far from them as he took a long gulp of his black coffee.

Black coffee?

“You didn’t sleep last night, did you?” she pressed.

He set his mug down and leaned against folded arms. “I worked most of the night, not so unusual really. But I’m exhausted today. Sorry, I’m not in a great mood.”

“But we sure had fun yesterday, didn’t we?” Elisa offered.

Vance grinned. “Sure.”

Andi relaxed against her seat, confused.

He finished his coffee, then asked for a double shot.

“Doesn’t so much caffeine give you palpitations?”

“Maybe. Right now I need to be alert.” Something in his expression softened. He reached across the booth and took her hand. “I need to deliver the two of you safely home.”

Andi enjoyed the effect his touch had on her. Her thoughts from the previous night’s girl talk crept into her mind—

When you had the feeling, it was like a drug and you couldn’t get enough. No one could tell you that you weren’t in love
.

A girl could be smart, be strong. But when it came to matters of the heart…Even though she knew better than to allow her guard down, she had no control over the way he made her feel. And now, she wished he’d stare out the window again, think about something else rather than give her the look he was giving her.

She slipped her hand from his.

He looked out the window again. Good. Things were better this way.

Weren’t they?

Vance concentrated on driving and kept watch in the rearview mirror, wishing he could explain to Andi all that he was going through. But he couldn’t even explain it to himself. At the moment he had too much on his mind to carry on a meaningful conversation. And women liked meaningful conversations, sensitive men. In that regard, he was sure he was blowing it with her. She tried to present herself as tough with a hard exterior, but he’d seen her soft side. She wanted what every woman wanted.

The problem was, Vance wasn’t sure he could give that to her.

But maybe she wasn’t part of God’s plan for him. How could she be? He wasn’t even sure she was a Christian. Every time he brought up God she couldn’t get away fast enough. Then why did thoughts of a life without her sit wrong with him?

He risked a glimpse her way, noticing her dull expression—so different from her glowing demeanor yesterday. Without giving himself too much credit, he believed he was the cause of it.

He looked in the rearview mirror again.

That car. Unless he was being paranoid, he’d seen that car in town near the hotel, near their breakfast stop, too. Elisa needed a rest stop, so he pulled in at the next one, all the while cautious of the suspicious car. Probably nothing. The ladies returned from the restroom, and Vance drove back onto the highway, never seeing the car pass them. Where had it gone?

After ten minutes or so, he noticed the car in his rearview mirror again, though far enough behind that he could be imagining things. He’d made a huge mistake going into ANND Systems. The more he thought about it, the more he suspected that Peter knew Vance never went to Cancun, after all. Had the whole problem with the data been a ruse to bring him in? And, if so, why? If Peter had wanted to know where he was, all he had to do was ask, unless he was up to no good.

What sort of man was Vance to bring Andi and Elisa into possible danger?

Vance finally exited the highway for Herndon. He drove the long way around town to Andi’s house, making sure he didn’t see the suspicious car. After several stops and a wrong turn, Vance believed it was safe.

“Did you forget how to get to my house?” Andi asked, her voice sweet, yet laced with concern.

He shook his head. “No, I could never forget that.” Grinning, he wanted to reassure her, especially after the way he’d acted this morning.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Just hate that our time together is ending.”
She’s going to think I’m an idiot, if she didn’t already
.

A breathy laugh escaped Andi. “You’re funny.” But Vance saw her cheeks redden before she turned her face away.

Vance looked in the mirror again.

Blowing out a breath, he wasn’t sure they’d even been followed. He rubbed his hand over his face, too exhausted to tell if he was only being paranoid.

Finally, he turned into Andi’s driveway. While tugging their luggage from the trunk, he watched for the suspicious car. But it never showed. Relieved, he toted the luggage into the house and set it in the living room.

“Would you like something to drink? You’re probably thirsty.” Elisa offered him a cola.

“Sure, thanks.” He took it and popped the top.

Andi came out from the hallway and smiled, looking nervous.

Vance toasted her with his soda. “Well, I’d better get going. See you on Monday?”

“Yeah, of course. But…can we talk?” She motioned for him to step outside onto the porch. Elisa smiled and disappeared down the hallway.

Vance took a sip. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to thank you. This meant so much to Elisa, to me. She really needed to get away. We had a good long sisterly talk. It seems like years since we’ve done that.” Andi looked up into his face.

Her crystal blue eyes sparkled like a not-too-distant glittering star, and though her guarded wariness remained, something else took prominence in her gaze. Something big. Huge. Six hundred fifty times the size of the sun.

Searching the depths of her eyes—what he saw in them…Admiration. Longing.

He almost took a step back.

Was he…? No, it couldn’t happen. He was a geek. She was a non-geek. Never the two shall meet.

But was he finally…disarming Andi?

Had it been a game to him all along because he never believed it would really happen? “I…uh.” Vance shook his head, snapping himself out of the daze.

Andi giggled and gave him a strange look. “Say, Elisa brought up having a picnic tomorrow. Want to come?”

“How about church first? I’ve tried the one just on the edge of town. Community Fellowship something. Ten o’clock. You want me to pick you up?”

Andi hesitated, her warm smile fading a little. Vance’s heart thudded, expecting to be disappointed and hoping he wouldn’t be. But he couldn’t go further, shouldn’t have gone this far, without knowing where she stood with God.

“Sure. Elisa said something about Todd inviting us as well. Who knows, maybe he goes to the same church. It’s a small town, after all.”

She lingered, and he couldn’t help himself. Wanting to see and feel her response again, he traced a finger gently down her soft cheek, then cupped her chin and…she closed her eyes, leaning into it.

Her lips parted gently and Vance was there to meet their soft sweetness. He started to wrap his arms around her, bring her against him nice and tight.

Oh man. Wait!
They were standing on her porch in broad daylight with Elisa probably peeking through the living room curtains. Slow down. Way down.

He gently pulled away and opened his eyes to meet hers. Again, he saw more emotion there than he should ever deserve. Girls didn’t fall for him. Not like this. And they were lying if they said so. He knew that from experience.

Apprehension engulfed him. He sucked in a breath. Andi noticed him tense, then hurt flashed across her face.

“Come here.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her to him in a hug. No way would he let her throw up the blast door to her heart again. He kissed the top of her head, smelling the scent of sweet watermelon in her hair.

Lord, I could stay here forever
.

I think…I think I love her. Help me
.

A
fter grabbing a few groceries at the local store, Vance drove out of town on the lonely road to Ground Zero, oblivious to his surroundings, not caring about the car that had supposedly followed them. Somehow, he’d dug himself into a lot of trouble the last few weeks. And not just with his company. ANND Systems was about to blow up.

Not even a bomb shelter could protect him.

The scent of Andi’s hair, the feel of her lips, had an intoxicating effect on him, making focusing on his company problems almost impossible. A myriad of confusing thoughts and emotions battled to overwhelm him.

What was he thinking? Why had he let things go this far? Andi was a vibrant and beautiful woman. The last thing she needed in her life was a computer geek, especially one that had no intentions of staying in Fargo or at Ground Zero or in North Dakota where the winters were as frigid as absolute zero.

He’d been through enough rejection himself. Usually things never got this far and he hadn’t worried that they would. Had he simply answered the challenge she presented with her hard shell? He hated thinking he could do such a thing, but there it was. Or was it because he’d seen her every day before he’d even arrived at Ground Zero by means of the photograph on his desk?

Maybe love was a black hole. You couldn’t keep from getting sucked into the vortex of its gravitational field no matter how hard you tried—nothing, not even light could resist a black hole. The only problem was—it was a one-way trip. Once you fell in, there was no way out.

Stellarific
. Despite the heaviness in his heart, he laughed. He was probably the only guy in the universe to compare love to a black hole. But it was somehow comforting. And, if it were true, then he could stop blaming himself for letting it happen.

Her smile, though guarded, had been the gravity that tugged him ever closer and even now he was falling deeper and deeper.

He’d never had a chance.

Turning onto the main drive that would lead him to the launch facility, the heaviness lifted a little. He wouldn’t blame himself for falling for Andi, but there was still a problem—what did he do now?

Two explosive situations waited for him to act, but he had no idea how to proceed. After climbing out of the car he walked to the entrance, his legs dragging. He’d planned to use his vacation time to pray and contemplate his future. Because of distractions, he’d done little of either since coming here. But now, circumstances forced him into having that serious talk with God.

Before entering the underground quarters, he glanced up at the sun high in the sky. It would be hours before he could look at the stars—when he seemed to hear God the best. He grinned. Tomorrow he’d pick up Andi and Elisa for church. A small prick in his heart told him there was hope in that—a small thing really—but huge in God’s kingdom. Vance held on to that as he descended into his temporary home nestled deep underground.