Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) (3 page)

This was the first time Mike had mentioned Zane’s mom, and Allie found herself asking without thinking, “If you don’t mind me asking, where is she?”

They pulled up to a stoplight and Mike looked over at her. A strange looked passed over his face before he said, “Elizabeth passed away almost eight years ago … breast cancer.”

Allie had no idea those were going to be the words that came out of his mouth. She knew he had been married and that now he wasn’t, but for whatever reason, she had never considered that the two of them had something this significant in common. Knowing exactly what it felt like to remember the one you had lost, she felt the need to offer him some comfort. Reaching over, she placed her hand on his bicep and said, “I'm sorry, I didn’t know. It was rude of me to ask.”

Mikes
hand left the steering wheel and landed on top of hers, holding it to him. Looking toward her, he said, “Thanks. It’s on days like this that it can be hard, but life goes on.” Allie held his stare as they sat there at the light, and she felt a current pass between them, a kinship she hadn’t known was there. Someone behind them honked letting them know the light had turned green. Mike gave her hand a slight squeeze before letting it go and putting it back on the wheel. Slowly, Allie removed hers and brought it to her lap. A few moments of silence reverberated around them before Mike spoke up.

“You didn’t realize we had that in common, did you?” Well, that was an understatement in her book. She shook her head but continued to gaze out the front window as they drove.

“I hadn’t even realized that you knew it was something we had in common. How do you know about my husband? I know you and I haven’t discussed that,” she asked in a soft tone.

MIKE
knew he had to tread carefully in this area; he knew from conversations he’d had with Gillian that Allie’s husband was a subject that she was closed off about. But he also knew he wasn’t going to lie. He trusted that Gillian had only shared minimal information with him so he wouldn’t be getting her in trouble for saying she told him.

“Gillian mentioned it to me when we had discussed you moving back to San Diego and were looking for somewhere to live. Do you mind me asking how you lost him?” He glanced over to see her reaction to his question, knowing she would probably answer him since he answered hers, but he didn’t want her uncomfortable with the conversation. He had done the whole grief-counseling thing after losing Elizabeth so he knew that people didn’t mind talking about it as much with a person who had dealt with the same thing. Patiently waiting for her answer, he navigated the streets and graduation traffic that seemed to be getting thicker as they got closer to the school.

He heard her take in a deep breath before speaking. “He was in a car accident. It was late at night, or I guess I should say the early hours of the morning. Coming home from his week of working … they think he might have fallen asleep while driving. You know that curve on the southbound Interstate 5?” Mike knew of a few of them, having made that drive hundreds of times, but he wasn’t sure which one she was referring to. He was about to ask her when she started to speak again.

“It’s the one just south of San Clemente, while driving through Camp Pendleton. There’s a viewpoint there. They said that he had the cruise control on, so when he dozed off, his speed didn’t decrease like it should have. There was minimal skid marks, showing he wasn’t aware it was happening until it was too late.” She paused again and
took in a shaky breath, “He was gone before anyone even made it to him.”

“Jesus, Allie I'm so sorry.” He wanted to comfort her, it was instinctual, but since he was driving, all he could do was reach over and take her hand. Pulling it halfway across the distance between them, he rested them down on the bench and kept on driving. She let him hold her hand—
apparently needing the contact, too. Pulling into the school parking lot, Mike maneuvered the truck around the lot with only one hand because he didn’t want to let go. She had made an attempt or two to disengage it from his hold, but he refused to let go.

Once they were parked, he reluctantly let go. Climbing out of the truck, he made his way around it and noticed her checking her face in the visor mirror. Opening her door, he offered her his hand. Allie looked down at it and sighed as she placed it in his firm grip. His other hand went to her waist as she secured the hem of her skirt. Once he had her firmly on the ground, he kept his hands exactly where he had them. Staring down at her, since he had at least a foot of height on her, he waited for her to look up at him.

A few long moments passed before she finally did. That vulnerability was there again, and he had to make sure she knew that she could lean on him. Letting go of her hand, he slid his arms around her body and slowly pulled her against him. She stiffened at first, but then he felt her body sag into his. It was a hug based in friendship and comfort, not lust, and she must have known that because she didn’t push him away. Standing in the parking lot of the high school, with cars and people moving all around them, Mike let her know that he understood her pain.

Kissing the top of her head, he took in a simple breath that filled his senses with
her
and couldn’t help the feeling of rightness in that moment. After a few more moments, he gently pushed her shoulders back from him and told her, “If you ever need to talk about this with anyone, you can talk with me.” She blinked, a light sheen of tears glistened in her eyes as she nodded and said something that shocked Mike down to his core.

“I appreciate that Mike, I do. But just because we share the same marital status of widowed, doesn’t mean you know what I am feeling. After all, your wife’s death isn’t
your
fault.”

CHAPTER TWO

MIKE couldn’t have been more surprised by those words. They just didn’t make any sense. He knew the look of confusion on his face must have been evident because Allie started to say something else when her family interrupted them.

“I was just about to call you to see if you’d made it yet,” Gillian said as she approached them. Allie easily removed herself from the space in front of him and made her way the few steps toward Gillian. The two women held each other for a moment, before Gillian glanced up at him and cocked an eyebrow in question. Mike was at a loss at how to respond to that, so he didn’t. He watched as Gillian picked up on Allie’s need at the moment because she let go of her son’s hand next to her and firmly wrapped both arms around her friend. Well, as firmly as she could with her pregnant belly.

Allie giggled and pulled away from her best friend, and her hands immediately went to the swollen belly between them. Leaning over, Allie spoke to it, “Well, hello to you too my little lady bug.” She kissed the bulge and then rubbed it before speaking to Gillian. “I think she might have been upset I didn’t acknowledge her first.”

Gillian let out a laugh in agreement. “I'm sure she was, and of course, you can see she already has you wrapped around her little fingers. I can’t wait to see how high you jump when she tells you to.”

“Oh stop, I'm not that bad.”

“So you say. Just ask any of us, and we can tell you otherwise.” Gillian shook her head at Allie, who had now turned her attention to her young nephews. Gillian turned toward Mike and said, “Trust me, she really is that bad. How are you, handsome?”

Moving the few steps toward her, Mike leaned down and gave her a gentle hug, being cautious of her belly. When he pulled back, she tiptoed up and kissed his cheek before whispering, “Is she okay?”

He smiled at her concern and nodded while speaking in a soft tone, “I think so, but she just said something that has me really bothered.”

She must have known now wasn’t the time to go into it, so she nodded and said, “Later. Are you coming to the party at our house?”

Mike smiled; he was glad he took a chance and talked to Gillian that day all those months ago. Even if it was to ask her out on a date with him. He was glad they did, even though it didn’t work for them. He wouldn’t have met Allie otherwise. Besides, he really liked that group of friends and how they all looked out for each other. It was a close-knit clan, and it appeared he had been accepted into the ranks. Jake, who won
Gillian’s affections before Mike even had a chance, was a bit resistant at first, but he eventually caved when it was clear that Mike had no intentions of poaching his woman. Since that one date, all those months ago, so much had happened for them it was almost mind-boggling to think of it. He couldn’t imagine how crazy it must have been for Gillian and Jake.

“Wouldn’t miss it, besides, Allie is going to need a ride home.” He winked at her, and Gillian smiled a knowing smile.

“You are a smart man, Mike Lawson. She’ll most likely catch a ride there with one of us, but I’ll have to make sure that everyone else is conveniently unavailable to drive her home later.”

That brought a small laugh out of him. It was nice to have an ally in the pursuit of Allie Baxter. He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly in appreciation. Standing up, he met the grumpy face of one Jake Michaels
, and had to smile again.

“Get your own girl, Lawson.” Gillian laughed and turned her pregnant body into Jake’s as he secured her to his side. Reaching up
, she pulled Jake down to meet her lips. Mike watched as Jake fell under the spell that Gillian cast over him and couldn’t control the slight feeling of envy that gripped him. He wasn’t envious over Jake having Gillian; he was envious over the love and adoration he saw expressed between the two of them. Mike missed that, and was chomping at the bit to discover if he could have that again … with Allie.

When Jake and Gillian parted lips, she smiled up at him and patted him on the cheek, the spark
le of a ring catching Mike’s eye. “Well, we all know she’s your girl, Jake. If we didn’t, that ring on her finger sure would have told us. Congrats, man.”

Mike went to shake Jake’s hand when he heard Allie’s voice, all high pitched and accusing. “What? Oh, hell no! This is how I find out that my two best friends are getting hitched … when a bystander sees the ring?” Jake rolled his eyes, looked at her, and laughed as Allie grabbed Gillian’s hand to admire the ring.

“Calm down, Super Bitch, your sidekick did fine on his own with this one.”

“Sidekicks don’t make decisions,
Super Dick
, we’ve covered this already. I sure hope you didn’t do something cliché like get down on one knee.”

Mike had no idea what they were talking about, but it was amusing to watch the exchange either way. The fact that she had just called him Super Dick should have been surprising, but for Allie, it somehow wasn’t.

“Give me some credit, Little Cockblocker
,
I know my girl and knew just how to do it.” Jake turned his attention away from Allie and smiled down at
his girl
, who was leaning her head against his chest, witnessing the colorful exchange between him and Allie. When she turned her amused expression to meet his, he said, “It was the perfect proposal for us, wasn’t it, beautiful?”

“Of course it was,” Gillian confirmed with a smile, then continued, “Now the two of you need to knock it off; I swear you bicker like siblings. Besides, little ears have now heard the terms Super Dick and Little Cockblocker in a
twenty second timeframe, so you think you can keep any further super hero names to yourself ‘til they are out of earshot? I am not going to be the one to explain what those mean.” She was obviously amused, glancing back and forth between the two of them.

Mike’s amusement at it all kicked up a notch more when Allie declared, “No worries, I got this. Come on boys, Aunt Allie will tell you everything you need to know.”

Then Gillian, Jake, and Mike watched as the two eight year olds walked off with Allie. Turning toward them, he asked, “I assume you’re not worried about what she will tell them?”

Jake and Gillian both laughed a little at that, before they started following behind them, and she replied, “No, I'm not worried. Allie will find some silly way to distract them from the subject, and they won’t even remember it. She’s a great aunt.” Jake nodded his agreement as he slung his arm around her back and protectively guided her through the maze of cars in the lot toward the football stadium.

Once inside the football stadium, he patted Jake on the back, “Catch you later, man—need to find the family.”

“You coming by the house later?” Jake asked.

Giving him a nod and a wave as they headed in separate directions, Mike answered, “I’ll be there after dinner.”

Mike paused and pulled his phone out to track down his family and shoot his son a text. It was going to be pure chaos after the ceremony, and he wanted to find out
where they should meet up afterward. While sending out a message, he saw that he had one from sister, Paige, telling him where to find her and the family. After making his way to where she said they were, he scanned the crowd and finally spotted his brother-in-law, but only because he was topped off with a five year old version of his sister.

His adorable niece sat on her father’s shoulders, holding a bundle of balloons and wearing a tiara. Sneaking up behind her, his plan was to tickle her, but his sister intercepted him. “Don’t even think about it. You scare her and that bundle of balloons will be let loose, and then she’ll be all upset she didn’t get to give them to Zane.” Paige gave him a hug and added, “Besides, she had a big drink before we got here and if you make her laugh, she might pee all over Brett.”

He let out a loud laugh at the thought of that happening. “We wouldn’t want that to happen now would we?” The little princess in question heard him and turned on her father’s shoulders. Her grip with her knees was strong enough to turn him with her. “Uncle Mike! Uncle Mike! I have balloons for Zane! Put me down, Daddy.”

Mike reached up and removed the boisterous five year old from her perch on his brother-in-law’s shoulders,
accepting her big hug while giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Do you see the balloons I have for Zane, Uncle Mike? They’re his school colors. Mommy says he’ll love them. Do you think he’ll love them, too?”

He quickly blurted out, in an attempt to get a word in, “Hello to you, too, Hannah Banana. I think Zane will love the balloons very much. Red and blue are his favorite colors.”

She squealed then wiggled, signaling her desire to get down, so Mike complied as he extended his right hand to Brett in hello. Once on the ground, the little one grabbed onto his left hand and said, “Now we can go sit down. Mommy said we had to wait for you.” Then he was being tugged in an unknown direction, and all he could do was follow.

Calling back toward his sister, he asked, “I assume she knows where we
’re going?”

His sister only smiled and said, “I dare you to tell her she doesn’t.”

“No thanks, I’ll assume she does. I remember what happened last time I fell into that trap.” He recalled when his vibrant, sassy niece tried to tell him he was going the wrong way when he was taking her to school. It wasn’t that he was going the
wrong
way; it was just that he wasn’t going the
same
way she was used to going. When he tried explaining this to her, she got upset at him for accusing her of not knowing how to go to school. This was apparently something she prided herself on because she and her parents made sure she knew where home was if she were to get lost.

Bobbing and weaving though a crowd of people, as only a five year old does, he had to take command of the bundle
of balloons that were assaulting him as he followed. She, of course, released them because her current mission was to get them to their seats. Once she stopped short in front of him, he looked over to see his parents smiling at them. Handing off the balloons to his sister, he made his way into the aisle of seats to greet them. They stood up when he approached; tears in his mother’s eyes had him smiling at her predictability. “Hi Mom, don’t cry, it’s a happy day.”

Hugging her to him, she said, “I just wish Elizabeth was here to see what a handsome young man he has turned out to be.”

Disengaging from the hug, he looked down at her. “We all do, Mom, but Zane and I already had our moment today in her honor. Don’t bring up the heavy stuff when he should be focused on exciting stuff. I don’t mind if he brings up his mother, but we shouldn’t.” She nodded her acquiescence as she blotted the tear that escaped. He nodded back at her and moved his hello on to his dad—his namesake. Shaking his hand and giving the one-arm-hug-pat-on-the-back thing all guys did, he offered a simple greeting. “Hey Dad.”

“Hey son, I told her to control herself today, but you know how she is. The color of the leaves makes her cry, it’s inevitable.”

Mike moved to take a seat when his mother smacked his dad’s arm and said, “I am not that ridiculous, Michael. It’s a big day, I’m allowed to be emotional.” Smiling at the way his parents were, he turned and gave his sister a look, and she squeezed his arm. “Don’t worry Mike, she got it out of her system by telling you. She won’t worry Zane over it.”

“I'm not worried, it’s just not necessary to bring her up every time there is a significant event. It’s not like she chose to not be here,” he whispered his annoyance at her. But she once again patted his arm in reassurance as the music to announce the procession of graduates beginning.

ALLIE turned back to ask Gillian where they were supposed to be sitting and noticed that Mike wasn’t behind her anymore. A quick glance around confirmed that he was, indeed, not around. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed, but feared she leaned more toward the latter. Not wanting to ask her where Mike was, she instead asked, “Where is it that I’m supposed to be going. We were deep in Spongebob Squarepants over here, and I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Your nephew says that we should go up top to the baseball field that overlooks the football field. That way, we can get a picture of him coming down the steps since that is where they
’re entering from,” Gillian said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Allie replied before turning back around and making the trek up the giant staircase to
the baseball field. When they arrived up top, she found Logan and her niece, Madison, standing there waiting for them. Leaning over, she gave her niece a hug and then her brother. “Big day big brother. How excited are you that your kid managed to avoid getting his girlfriend knocked up before graduation?” Allie teased, nudging his shoulder playfully as she said it.

Logan huffed at her and said, “Al, while I am glad that’s true, I didn’t
knock up
Gillian ‘til after I graduated.”

“Oh, good come back! You mean when you were the adult in the relationship?” She laughed and he joined her.

“Yeah, I heard it when I said it, too. It’s been a long day already.” Allie knew her brother was referring to Gillian. Their divorce was finalized this week, and although he knew it was happening, and he knew the failure of their marriage was all on his shoulders, she knew he loved his ex-wife. It couldn’t be easy seeing her not only with one of their best friends, but totally pregnant with said friend’s baby. From the outside looking in, their crew of friends had to be totally Jerry Springer. She silently wondered if her brother knew that Gillian and Jake were now engaged. It’s not like they had to ask his permission or anything, but Allie was certain that Gillian took his feelings into consideration—she was just that way.