Jerilyn. “Jerilyn! Hi.” Suddenly he was only too eager to scout out a couple more seats for the dark-haired girl and her teacher.
They went through the serving line and loaded their plates with ribs, barbecued chicken, fat white rolls and coleslaw. Back at the table, CJ worked it so that Jerilyn sat next to him. The girl seemed to glow with pleasure at CJ’s attention. And CJ behaved almost like his old self, suddenly—smiling and happy, his face animated as he and the girl whispered together.
Connor ended up with Melanie on one side and Tori Jones on the other. Through the meal, his sister and Tori talked around him—about the barbecue and what a success it was, about the resort and how nice it was to see it packed full of people again.
Since Russ had bought the first beers for the four adults, Connor did his bit and went over to the bar to get a second round. He eased in next to a blonde woman, sitting alone, nursing a white wine.
She smiled and leaned close to him. “I’m Erin. Erin Castro.”
Was she coming on to him?
He decided she wasn’t. There was no breathless smile, no fluttering eyelashes. Probably just being friendly. He gave her offered hand a quick shake. “Connor McFarlane.”
She seemed to study his face intently. “No relation to the Traubs, the Cliftons or the Cateses?” She had named the town’s three major families.
He laughed. “No, but they’re thick on the ground around here.”
“So I’ve been told.”
He paid the bartender, gathered up the four beers by their necks and headed back to the table, forgetting about the woman named Erin as soon as he turned away from her. Mostly, he was thinking about Tori Jones.
Thinking that he liked the cute spray of freckles across her nose and those big hazel eyes. Thinking that he owed her an apology for his behavior on Thursday. After all, he was trying to be a better man. And one of the things a better man did was to say he was sorry when an apology was called for.
Sometimes trying to be a better man could be a real pain in the ass.
At the table, he took the chair next to her again and set one of the beers in front of her. “Here you go.”
She met his eyes. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” Holding her gaze, he tried a smile. She didn’t smile back. And yet somehow that look they shared went on far too long.
She glanced away first.
He passed fresh ones down the table to Melanie and Russ and tried to think of how he could smoothly suggest that the schoolteacher give him a moment alone.
Smoothly. That was the key. But for some reason, he didn’t feel especially smooth. And that really bugged him. He ran a hotel chain, for pity’s sake. It was part of his job to be smooth when a situation required it.
After the meal, which included red velvet cake and coffee for dessert, DJ Traub got up with a microphone and thanked everyone for coming to his annual summer kickoff barbecue. He introduced his visiting Texas cousins, Dillon and Corey, after which he announced there would be dancing out on the patio. Everyone applauded as DJ left the mike.
CJ stood and pulled back Jerilyn’s chair for her.
Connor snapped to attention. “What’s up?”
His son stiffened. But then Jerilyn gave CJ a gentle look. That was all it took. CJ actually spoke in civil tone. “We were just going to hang around out in the lobby area.”
“If that’s all right,” Jerilyn added, stars in her dark eyes.
“Just the lobby,” Connor warned.
CJ nodded.
Jerilyn promised, “Just the lobby, Mr. McFarlane. By the big fireplace.”
“All right.”
The girl turned her warm smile on Ryan. “Come with us,” she offered softly. CJ looked a little sulky about that, but he didn’t object.
“Sure.” Ryan, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, jumped to his feet and bounced off in the wake of the two older kids.
“She’s a lovely girl,” said Melanie.
On his other side, Tori made a soft noise of agreement.
Out on the patio, the band DJ had hired struck up a country song. Russ took Melanie’s hand and got up. “‘Scuse me while I dance with my beautiful wife.”
Melanie rose. “We’ll be back.” Russ put his arm around her.
Connor watched them make their way through the thicket of tables to the open patio doors, leaving him alone with the cute schoolteacher and his chance to make amends.
How to begin?
He had no clue. He felt awkward, tongue-tied as a kid with his first crush. Which was pretty ridiculous, really. He did not have a crush on Tori Jones. He’d just been put through the wringer with the divorce and the last thing he needed was another relationship.
Deeply annoyed with himself for feeling nervous, and for finding the schoolteacher much too attractive, he stared out through the open doors at the patio and the couples dancing there and started thinking about CJ.
And the girl, Jerilyn.
Jerilyn seemed like a kind-hearted person. And she was certainly polite and respectful of adults. But still, he’d better ask around, find out for certain she was really okay.
Being a full-time father was a challenge. You couldn’t just tell a kid to get with the program or get out, like you could an employee. The cold fact was that Connor’s life had been a damn sight simpler before the divorce, when CJ had been Jennifer’s responsibility and Connor was free to wheel and deal around the clock.
It had been Jennifer’s idea that he should take the boy to live with him for the summer, leaving her free to float around the Mediterranean on a luxury yacht with her new shipping magnate boyfriend. Connor might have refused. But he had felt obligated to spend some time with his son. Yes, it was probably too little too late. But CJ really needed guidance now and Connor was determined to try to provide it.
Beside him, the schoolteacher shifted in her chair. The movement reminded him that he couldn’t avoid facing her forever—and that to keep staring off into space while she was sitting right next to him was borderline rude.
He turned to her.
Those hazel eyes were waiting. A slight, knowing smile tipped the corners of her mouth and he realized she’d been watching him.
“What?” he demanded, knowing he sounded as surly as CJ did most of the time.
She only shrugged, a delicate movement of one slim shoulder.
“All right,” he said. “It’s like this. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you I’m sorry for my behavior Thursday afternoon. I wanted to be smooth about it, you know?”
Damn.
