A Matter of Honesty (7 page)

Steve and he‘s attracted to you. I haven‘t seen him look at a woman the way he looks

at you in a long time. Both of you also seem to be the type of people who won‘t make a

move unless you‘re forced to. You and Steve are good people. I believe the two of you

are compatible. Steve hasn‘t been completely happy in a long time. If you‘re the person

who can give him that, I‘m all for it.” Johanna smiled. “I would like to see the both of

you happy and if it‘s together, I won‘t complain.”

Lauryn dropped her face into her hands, trying to take in the overwhelming

information.

“I know it‘s confusing, but it really shouldn‘t be. If you like Steve, go for it. He

isn‘t seeing anyone; I know he‘s available.”

Lauryn leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest. “How

am I going to get Steve to go out with me?”

Johanna shrugged. “Ask him.”

A burst of laughter escaped Lauryn before she could stop it. It was an insane

idea. No, it was beyond insane.

“What‘s so funny?”

“Imagine me, plain Lauryn Anderson asking a drop-dead gorgeous man like

Steve out.”

“What do you mean ‗plain Lauryn Anderson?‘ You‘re anything but plain. You are

tall and slender with a nice figure. Besides, Steve has a thing for women with brown

eyes.”

“I don‘t think I‘m Steve‘s type, even with the brown eyes.”

Johanna pulled off another slice of pizza. “Why?”

“I don‘t think I look like the sort of woman Steve would date.”

Johanna chewed her bite of pizza. “I disagree. All you need to do is let your hair

down a little. The outfit you‘re wearing today is a good start.”

Lauryn looked down at the blue lace-edged tank top and khaki oxford shorts

she had on. She fluctuated between sizes eight and ten. She wasn‘t flabby; it was just

her hips got in the way most of the time. But Lauryn had to admit she was looking

good. “I am trying out a new wardrobe.”

“Well, you look nice. If I had your legs they would never be covered.”

Lauryn blushed at the flattering remark. She hadn‘t received that many

compliments in life. When she did, they gave her immense pleasure. “Thank you, but

do you really think I should ask Steve out?”

“Why not? What could it hurt?”

Lauryn couldn‘t hide her shudder at the potential answers to the question. The

real question was, what would happen if things went wrong? Still, she couldn‘t deny

she was attracted to Steve and wouldn‘t mind getting to know him better. She looked

up at Johanna, “Okay, I‘ll ask Steve out, first chance I get.”

At the gleam that began to appear in Johanna‘s eyes, she felt she‘d said the

wrong thing. Johanna‘s next words confirmed it. “Good. Why don‘t we round the

girls up and stop by the shop?”

Lauryn agreed reluctantly, knowing she was taking a step she might regret

later. Johanna maneuvered the car through the streets until the group reached the

store. Lauryn took as long as she could to get out of the car, trying to calm her nerves

in the process. By the time she made it into the store Johanna and the girls had already

found Dillon.

Johanna had gotten lucky to find a husband like Dillon. He was a tall, attractive

man with wavy dark brown hair and brown eyes. Even though Lauryn hadn‘t spent a

lot of time with him, she could tell he and Steve were like two peas in a pod. They

were both very caring people. Steve had proven it to her over and over again. Dillon

smiled warmly when he saw her and gave her a hug.

“Hi, Lauryn. How are you?”

She embraced him back. “I‘m fine and yourself?”

He nodded. “I‘m fine. Thank you for asking.”

Steve came around the corner. Her heart sped up and he froze when he saw her.

She saw him give her a slow once-over, starting at her legs. When his eyes finally met

hers she caught a glimpse of the desire there before he disguised it. A quick glance

over at Johanna told Lauryn that Johanna had seen the look as well. Lauryn jumped as

Steve spoke to her.

“Hi.”

Lauryn tried not to fidget but it was hard not to when his gaze was on her. He

warmed her skin with just a look. “Hello.”

“I heard you took the girls out for pizza and games.”

She nodded. “Yes, and they had a blast.”

Steve looked at them wryly. “They‘re probably having a blast in the back

destroying everything I just put away, as well.”

Dillon excused himself from the group. “I‘ll go and keep an eye on them. Even

though Wayne and Trisha are back there, they don‘t know how to tell the girls no,

and they will definitely manage to get into trouble.”

Johanna jerked her head toward Steve in what was supposed to be a discreet

motion. Knowing what Johanna was getting at, Lauryn shook her head. She knew

what she had promised a little while ago but now that she was here she wasn‘t ready

yet. This was harder than she‘d thought. Plus, she had never asked a man out before.

Johanna crossed her arms over her chest and mouthed words that made her want to

faint.

If you don’t I will.

Lauryn shook her head again and Johanna started to speak. “Steve, Lauryn has

something she wants to ask you.”

He looked at Lauryn, concern marring his face. “What is it? Do you need

something?”

Lauryn took a deep breath and plunged in. If she didn‘t, Johanna was likely to

beat her to the punch and end up causing more embarrassment than there was

already going to be. “I was wondering if you might like to go out with me sometime?”

Steve looked at her in shock. His mouth opened but no sound came out. He

closed his mouth then opened it to try again. “When?‘

Lauryn ran through her mind quickly for a good day. She hadn‘t thought that

far ahead. Her expectation had been that he would turn her down immediately. “How

about Friday night?”

“Not a good night for me. I already have plans.”

The joy Lauryn had felt was quickly squashed. Still, she pretended she wasn‘t

affected, keeping the smile plastered on her face, nodding as though she truly

understood. So this was what it felt like to want to die from mortification. She

wanted to crawl under the nearest table and hide. “It‘s okay.”

This had been a horrible idea. How could she have let Johanna talk her into

doing something so out of character for her? She backed away, avoiding Steve and

Johanna‘s gaze. The last time she‘d cried was a few weeks ago, but she was close to it

right now. She was hurt, disappointed, humiliated. It wasn‘t until she‘d asked him

she‘d realized how much she‘d wanted Steve to say yes. She turned and walked

blindly down the aisle. She needed time alone.

Johanna punched Steve in the arm.

” Ow! What did you do that for?”

“Because you deserved it!”

He looked at her with confusion. “What did I do?”

Johanna rolled her eyes. “You just blew the chance you‘ve been dying for,

Romeo. Lauryn really likes you. She also wants to go out with you, but if you‘re so

blind you don‘t realize it, then she doesn‘t need to waste time on you. It took a lot of

courage for her to ask you out and you turned her down.”

Johanna shook her head. “Let me tell you something. You‘ll never find another

woman like Lauryn. At first I was wary of her. Thought she was another gold digger

looking to latch onto you. Then I found out she didn‘t know about the money.

However, the more I got to know her the more I realized the money wouldn‘t matter

to her anyway. Seeing she is a low-key woman, she might even run in the opposite

direction if she knew you had it. I see things in her I don‘t see in your average woman.

In the two months since she started watching Hannah, I‘ve seen her blossom in a way

I never thought she would.”

With that, Johanna stormed down the aisle in the same direction as Lauryn as

fast as her pregnant body would allow.

“Johanna!”

A groan escaped him. He had screwed up royally. But he couldn‘t help himself.

He‘d been caught off guard when he came around the corner and saw Lauryn standing

there—with legs that went on forever. He thought her shape was lovely. If he were

ever given the chance to touch her, he was no longer afraid that he would hurt her.

She didn‘t look as physically fragile as he‘d originally thought. Then again, he

was willing to bet she‘d put on a few pounds since he‘d hired her. It was in all the

right places. He didn‘t mind in the least. A woman who had curves was a turn-on for

him.

He could still remember the night he‘d come down to the kitchen and found

her sitting at the table. The vision of her in her satin slip had plagued his dreams for

weeks. That night it had taken all of his self-control to keep from pulling her into his

arms and dragging her down onto the cool tiles.

If Lauryn had known what he was thinking that night…hell, even at this

moment, she would probably smack him. Although something told him her thoughts

weren‘t too far from his if she‘d just asked him out. But seeing her long legs exposed

up to her shapely thighs made him wonder what it would be like to have her legs

wrapped around his waist while he thrust himself deep into her. He shook his head to

clear it. The last thing he needed to do was embarrass himself by getting a hard-on.

This wasn‘t the road he needed to go down. In the past two months he had

learned something new about Lauryn every day. She was definitely an intriguing

person. He liked her a lot. She was quiet, kept to herself, but he could get her to open

up if he really tried. He also knew Lauryn was fragile. The one thing he would never

forget was the amount of trust he‘d heard in her voice when he had rescued her from

the tornado. She still had trust in him and he didn‘t deserve it. He would have to do

his best not to touch her in any sexual way.

However, none of it would matter if he didn‘t make this right. He berated

himself mentally for hurting her, even unintentionally. Smacking himself in the back

of his own head would have been his next step if he thought it would do any good. He

had just been given the chance to get to know Lauryn in the way he desired to. In all

the ways a man could get to know a woman. He wanted to see what made her tick, if

they were compatible. Stupidly, he had turned it down.

But what could she want with him? She was young, just beginning her life. He

was already settled in his. He began to pace back and forth, looking down the aisle

where Lauryn and Johanna had disappeared. He had an important decision to make

and not a lot of time to do it.

Lauryn continued down the aisle, hoping there was a way she could get out of

the store before anyone saw her break down. She sniffled, wiping away the tears

threatening to escape before they became visible on her cheeks. She saw Johanna

coming and groaned.

Johanna‘s look of pity made her feel worse. Lauryn dropped her head and tried

to wipe away more tears. She had never been so embarrassed in her life. Johanna

rushed up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Lauryn, you have no

reason to cry.”

” Oh my God, Johanna, I‘m so humiliated. I knew it was a stupid idea to ask him

out. I‘m not that kind of woman that asks guys out!”

Johanna shook her head. “No, it wasn‘t.”

“The way I feel right now it was.”

Johanna pulled back and made Lauryn look her in the eyes. “It wasn‘t Lauryn.

Steve likes you. He is interested in you.”

Lauryn swiped angrily at her eyes. “Then why didn‘t he say yes? You have no

idea how embarrassed I feel right now. I probably look like some desperate crazy

woman.”

“I don‘t know why he didn‘t say yes. Maybe because he‘s an idiot, but believe

me, you don‘t come across as desperate or crazy in any way.”

“Well, I feel like a fool and it isn‘t because he is an idiot. It‘s because I‘m

unattractive. A man as handsome as him can have the woman of his choice. I probably

don‘t even register on his radar.”

“No, you are attractive, but it doesn‘t matter. You took a chance. It might not

have gone like you wanted it to, but now you know. Besides, if you‘re with someone,

you should be with them because they like you for who you are.”

Lauryn groaned. “You can‘t tell me it doesn‘t help if you‘re attractive.”

“No, I can‘t—”

“But you are very attractive.”

They both looked up at the sound of Steve‘s voice. Lauryn hadn‘t heard him

come down the aisle. Judging by Johanna‘s expression, she hadn‘t either. Lauryn

stepped back from Johanna, making a quick attempt to wipe her face. It was hopeless.

She was one of those people whose eyes turned red, her nose runny, and her cheeks

splotchy. No, she wouldn‘t win any awards for beauty after a crying spell.

“Could I speak to Lauryn alone?”

Johanna looked at Lauryn. Lauryn nodded. As far as she was concerned the day

couldn‘t get any worse, so there was no harm in talking to him alone. She lived with

him, so avoidance wasn‘t an option. Johanna paused at the end of the aisle. “Yell if you

need me.”

Lauryn nodded, averting her gaze from Steve. She couldn‘t even look at him, she

was so mortified. He came closer to her and took her hand in his.

“Lauryn, I didn‘t mean to offend you.”