A Matter of Honesty (8 page)

Lauryn shook her head and tried to pull her hand out of his but he wouldn‘t

budge. “Don‘t worry about it.”

“But I would like to explain.”

“It doesn‘t matter.”

Steve caught her chin in his hand, and forced her to look at him. “Yes it does, or

you wouldn‘t be standing here with red eyes.”

“Look, I don‘t why I did that. I shouldn‘t have asked you out.”

He smiled. “To tell you the truth, I‘m glad you did. I didn‘t mean to hurt your

feelings but this weekend isn‘t a good time for me to go out. I‘m going to be covering

for Dillon here at the store Friday night. Johanna doesn‘t know because it‘s a secret.

Dillon plans to surprise her with a getaway, because after she has the baby it might be

a while before they‘re able to have a weekend to themselves. But I wouldn‘t mind

going out next weekend.”

She laughed, but it was devoid of humor. “Please don‘t try to pacify me by

making it up to me.”

“I‘m not.”

She looked up and saw the seriousness on his face. “Are you sure?”

“I should be asking you that. I can‘t figure out what you could want with an old

man like me.”

A true smile came to Lauryn‘s face. “You‘re only thirty.”

“Eight years older than you.”

“Well, regardless of the age, I‘m interested in going out—” She paused, a look of

worry crossing her face. “Wait, before we do this. What about Hannah?”

“I think we should approach it slowly. Hannah has made it clear to me on

several occasions that she wants a mother. I don‘t want her, or anyone else, jumping

to conclusions. I want to take this slow. See what we have between us first before we

bring her into it. Besides, you know as well as I do she‘ll be excited. Hannah adores

you.”

She wanted to ask him if he felt the same, but there was no way she could

squeeze the words out. Steve saved her by speaking first. He ran his hands down her

arms, making her shiver. “Now, let‘s round everyone up and get out of here a little

early today.”

“Sounds good to me,” she managed to murmur.

She just wanted to get somewhere and sit down before she fell down. It had

taken all of her strength to ask Steve out, the last of which had disappeared when he

touched her. She had never wanted a man so badly in her life. It scared her. She had

already taken one chance by accepting his job offer, now another in asking him out.

Still, she was more than willing to take this one to get to know him on a more

personal level.

Lauryn tried on her third dress, groaning in frustration. Maybe this was why

she never dated. All the preparation for going out was nerve-racking. She reached for

the fourth one she‘d picked out. That didn‘t look right either. She took off the

disappointing fabric and picked up the last outfit. If this dress didn‘t work, she was

going to have a fit.

She felt kind of foolish because she was fretting and it wasn‘t like her to fret.

Cool, calm, and collected was normally what she was. Taking a deep breath, she

stepped into the dress and smiled. This was the one she was going to wear. It was

perfect.

“Johanna, could you zip me up?”

Johanna called out from across the hall. “Yeah, just a second.”

Johanna had come over to pick up Hannah for the slumber party she‘d planned

for the girls and Lauryn had talked her into staying to help her get dressed. Tonight

Steve was making good on the date he‘d promised her, but they were going to stay

close to the house since bad weather was forecast.

Still, she was excited about tonight just for the simple fact it was her first real

date. The guy she‘d given her virginity to hadn‘t really been a date in her opinion. He‘d

taken her to a burger place to pick up some food, and then they had gone and parked

by the lake. It didn‘t take a genius to figure out what happened from there. That was

the last time she had focused any attention on a man other than her father, basically

because her first lover had proven her father right.

Not wanting to think about bad memories on a good night, she crossed the

room and went to stand in front of the mirror. The knee-length spaghetti-strap dress

was going to have Steve‘s jaw clanging to the ground.

The form-fitting black knit dress was a little snug around her bottom, but Steve

seemed to like her shape. She had caught him staring on more than one occasion

recently, so why not show it? Johanna walked into her bedroom and whistled.

“Wow. You look great. Steve just might start drooling.”

Lauryn felt her cheeks heat at the compliment. “Thanks. I just hope you‘re

right.”

“Trust me on this one. He‘ll be drooling.”

A short time later she realized Johanna had been right. Steve hadn‘t taken his

eyes off her since she‘d come downstairs. Lauryn glanced across the table at Steve

when he spoke.

“How‘s the food?”

“It‘s good.”

“Are you sure? You haven‘t really eaten anything.”

She reached for her glass of soda. “Yes, I‘m sure and the food is wonderful.”

“Good.”

She took a bite of food and looked outside. They weren‘t seated next to a

window but close enough so she could keep an eye on things. So far the weather

seemed to be holding. It hadn‘t even rained.

She looked back at Steve when he called her name. He leaned back in his chair

and studied her before speaking. “Tell me something about yourself.”

She shifted in her chair at the loaded request. “What would you like to know?”

“Everything I don‘t already.”

“Well, that could be a lot. How about I start with the basics first then go from

there?”

He nodded his agreement and she continued. “Well, let‘s see. I like to cook and

love the outdoors. I‘ve always wanted to travel but I haven‘t had the opportunity yet.”

“You are definitely an excellent cook.”

She chuckled. “So are you.”

Steve had surprised her with a meal he‘d prepared this past weekend. He‘d put

some steaks on the grill, served with loaded baked potatoes, roasted ears of corn, and

a dinner salad. She glanced up at Steve who was studying her intensely. Glancing

down at herself, she made sure she wasn‘t wearing any food on the front of her dress.

When she didn‘t see any she relaxed a little before looking back up to meet Steve‘s

gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Have you ever been to Stillwater?”

She frowned at the odd question. “No, I haven‘t.”

“Would you like to go?”

Her eyes widened. She realized the potential implications of his question and

her nerves threatened to take over. There was only one reason she could imagine Steve

would be asking her to travel with him to the city where he‘d been born. The place

where most of his family still lived. She tried not to let her nerves show. “When?”

“Next weekend. My family is having our reunion.”

She inhaled sharply, and then choked. She reached for her glass, ducking her

head when other patrons began looking in their direction. It took her several

moments to compose herself. “Are you sure you want me to go?”

He smiled. “Yes, I do. I want you to meet my family. Besides, I think Hannah

would be disappointed if you didn‘t come. And so would I.”

Warmth fused through her. She tried not to get too excited at the idea of Steve

inviting her to meet his family. This didn‘t mean anything. She was Hannah‘s sitter.

He probably needed her to go to keep any eye on his daughter so he could enjoy

himself. Lauryn stifled a sigh. She would just go and have fun with Hannah.

“I would love to go with you to the reunion. Is all of your family going to be

there?”

He chuckled. “Yes. I haven‘t heard otherwise, so my father, Alan, and my

mother, Kathleen, as well as both my paternal and maternal grandparents are going to

be there. My uncle and three cousins will also be there. Last but not least, so will my

younger sister Sabrina and her boyfriend Will, if they‘re still together, that is.”

Lauryn hadn‘t even met his family and she already felt overwhelmed. She could

only imagine what it would be like to meet them in person, especially since she had

never really been around family. It might be a nice change and she would welcome it.

“Well, it sounds like you have a wonderful family.”

He smiled. “I do.”

He told her a little more about Stillwater while they finished their dinner. She

turned down dessert because she couldn‘t eat another bite. It was hard for her not to

fidget while he took care of the check. He made her nervous. The wind had picked up

a little by the time they made it outside. She huddled close to Steve for protection, not

able to relax until he pulled into the driveway. He helped her out of the car and she

smiled. It felt good to have someone wait on her for a change.

Steve was such a wonderful person it was hard to imagine him being single.

Any woman in her right mind would snatch him up if given the chance. She laughed

to herself. Here she was presented with the chance, yet she wasn‘t taking full

advantage of the opportunity.

“Why haven‘t you ever been married, Steve?”

Steve body stiffened. She felt apprehensive about asking a question that caused

him so much discomfort. She opened her mouth to tell him he didn‘t have to answer

but he started to speak. “I thought I would have married Hannah‘s mother, but let‘s

just say she showed her true colors in time, so it didn‘t work out. I haven‘t met anyone

I‘ve wanted to get serious with since.”

Lauryn remained quiet, mulling that one over, while she followed him into the

kitchen.

He continued talking. “To be honest, I proposed to Tina more for her sake. It

just took me a while to realize it. I wanted to pacify her. If I hadn‘t, she would have

terminated the pregnancy without any hesitation. Or at least she always used the

threat.”

Lauryn gasped in shock. This Tina sounded like a piece of work. It was a

horrible ultimatum to issue to a person.

“From the moment I found out my child existed it was the only thing I lived

for.” He cleared his throat, smiled, but it came across more as a grimace. She studied

him as he turned to open the freezer. He was very attractive, even when he was upset.

“Now, dessert.”

“Actually, I‘m not sure I have enough room. My eyes were bigger than my

stomach at the restaurant.”

Steve laughed at her expression. “Nonsense,” he replied as he pulled out the

vanilla ice cream.

“We‘re going to have ice cream sundaes. What kind of toppings do you want?”

She stifled a sigh. What she wanted to do was go to bed, or at least get away

from him. She had been thinking about kissing him since before they left the

restaurant. It was something she knew wouldn‘t be a good idea.

She looked over at him. His gaze met hers. His expression told her there would

be no argument about the sundaes. Knowing she would be fighting a losing battle she

raised the white flag. Lauryn didn‘t have to think about what she wanted on her ice

cream since she was the one who‘d purchased all the toppings during her last trip to

the grocery store. “Alright, you talked me into it. But just one scoop or I‘ll have

nightmares.”

“Okay.”

She bit back a smile at his boyish grin. “I‘d like almonds, whipped cream, and a

cherry.”

Eating her ice cream, she was unable to hold back her moan of pleasure. She

was going to be a complete pig about this, but it just meant she would have to run a

few extra miles this week or her dress would be snugger than it already was.

Still, her one scoop of ice cream was nothing compared to his three. She picked

up her spoon and dug in again. “You are going to be bad for my butt and thighs.”

A blush stole to her cheeks when he chuckled, indicating her words had been

spoken aloud. She wanted to die from mortification. When she was able to look at

him, his expression told her he had no problem with how she looked. His words

confirmed it.

“Your body is fine. Besides, I see the workout you do in the mornings.”

She looked up at him in surprise. He was asleep when she left for her run so she

had no idea how he knew. “You do?”

“Yes, I do. I see you sometimes. When I look out my window after I wake up,

sometimes I see you running back.” He took a bite of his ice cream sundae before

speaking again. “Now, Ms. Anderson, tell me why you’re single. You‘re a very

attractive, intelligent woman but I haven‘t heard you mention anyone casual or

serious in your life.” He grinned. “I have to say I don‘t mind, because we wouldn‘t be

here like this if you were. Yet I can‘t help but think that someone has hurt you. You‘re

so wary. I want to know what I‘m up against.”

Lauryn laughed before answering. “Are you always this forward?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I guess it could be a good thing.” She paused and ate a spoonful of her ice

cream. “Well, to begin with, I don‘t think I‘ve really been with anyone long enough for

it to constitute as dating.”

He frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“Because it‘s true. My judgment in men is usually lacking, so I just figured I

would stay away from them.” Lauryn sighed heavily before continuing. “I‘ve really just