was he doing? Rubbing her feet, thinking about kissing her. He didn’t need a woman messing up his life!
Especially a woman like Meg Remington.
“So you met Steve again,” Laura said. They sat on a bench in Lincoln Park enjoying huge ice-cream cones. A ferry eased toward the dock at Fauntleroy.
“Who told you that?” Meg answered, deciding to play dumb.
“Lindsey, who else? You really didn’t think you fooled her, did you?”
“No.” Clearly she had no talent for subterfuge.
“So tell me how your meeting went.”
Meg didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She wasn’t sure what, if anything, she and Steve had accomplished during their meeting at the bar. They’d come up with a plan to dissuade his sister and her daughter, but the more hours that passed, the more ridiculous it seemed. And Meg’s willingness, indeed her eagerness, to see Steve again was disturbing.
In retrospect she saw that it’d been a mistake for them to get together. All she could think about was how he’d lifted her legs onto his lap and rubbed the tired achiness away. There’d been a sudden explosion of awareness between them. A living, breathing, throbbing awareness.
Rarely had Meg wanted a man to kiss her more. Right in the middle of a sports bar, for heaven’s sake! It was the craziest thing to happen to her in years. That of itself was distressing, but what happened afterward baffled her even more.
Melting ice cream dripped onto her hand and Meg hurriedly licked it away.
“Meg?” Laura said, studying her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said, laughing off her friend’s concern. “What could possibly be wrong?”
“You haven’t been yourself the last couple of days.”
“Sure I have,” she said, then deciding it was pointless to go on lying, she blurted out the truth. “I’m afraid I could really fall for this guy.”
Laura laughed. “What’s so awful about that?”
“For one thing, he isn’t interested in me.”
This time Laura eyed her suspiciously. “What makes you think that?”
“Several things.”
Laura bit into her waffle cone. “Name one.”
“Well, he wanted to meet so we could figure out a way to keep the kids from manipulating our lives.”
“That sounds suspiciously like an excuse to see you again,” Laura murmured.
“Trust me, it wasn’t. Steve did everything but come right out and say he’s not interested in me.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“Of course I am! There was ample opportunity for him to suggest we get to know each other better, and he didn’t.” She’d assumed Steve had experienced the same physical attraction she had, but maybe she’d been wrong.
Lindsey and Brenda had insisted she still had it. All Meg could say was that recent experience had proven otherwise. Whatever it was had long since deserted her.
“Did it occur to you that he might’ve been waiting for you to suggest something?” Laura asked.
“No,” Meg told her frankly. Steve wasn’t a man who took his cues from a woman. If he wanted something or someone, he’d make it known. If he wanted to continue to see her, he would’ve said so.
“There’s got to be more than that.”
“There is.” Meg took a deep breath. “I was just getting ready to tell you. Steve came up with the idea originally, but I agreed.”
“To what?”
Meg stood and found the closest garbage receptacle to dump what remained of her ice cream. “Before I tell you, remember I’d been drinking beer on an empty stomach.” Okay, she’d had the pretzels.
“This doesn’t sound promising,” Laura said.
“It isn’t.” Drawing in another deep breath, she sat down on the park bench again. “We realized that the louder we protested and the more often we said we weren’t attracted to each other, the less likely either Lindsey or Nancy will believe us.”
“There’s a problem with this scenario,” Laura muttered.
“There is?”
“Yes. You are interested in Steve. Very interested.” Laura gave her a look that said Meg hadn’t fooled her.
Meg glanced away. “I don’t want to confuse the issue with that.”
“All right, go on,” Laura said with a wave of her hand.
“Steve thinks the only possible way we have of convincing Lindsey that he’s not the right person for me is if he starts dating me and—”
“See?” Laura said triumphantly. “He’s interested. Don’t you get it? This idea of his is just an excuse.”
“I doubt it.” Meg could see no reason for him to play games if he truly wanted a relationship with her. “You can come over this evening if you want and see for yourself.”
“See what?”
“Steve’s coming to meet Lindsey.”
“To your house?”
“Yes.”
Laura grinned widely. “R-e-a-l-l-y,” she said, dragging out the word.
“Really. But it isn’t what you think.” Because if Laura did believe Steve wanted to pursue something with Meg, her friend was in for a major disappointment.
Meg got home an hour later. Lindsey had taken Steve’s visit seriously. She’d cleaned the house, baked cookies and wore her best jeans. A dress would’ve been asking too much.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
“Mom,” Lindsey said, frowning at her watch. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you think you should shower and change clothes? Steve will be here in an hour and a half.”
“I know.” She supposed she should reveal more enthusiasm, if only for show, but she couldn’t make herself do it. This had been Steve’s idea and she’d agreed, but she still wasn’t convinced.
“I was thinking you should wear that sundress we bought last year with the pretty red-rose print,” Lindsey suggested. “That and your white sandals.” She studied her mother critically. “I wish you had one of those broad-brimmed sun hats. A pretty white one would be perfect. Very romantic.”
