Chapter 12 Rowan
CHAPTER TWELVE
rowan
“Careful there, Doc,” Blake drawls as he winks at Loren and gathers a second baby at his side. “My wife had a peanut butter and pickle sandwich earlier, and I hear you’ve got a pretty severe allergy.”
I snort out a laugh, but I still hesitate to take Loren’s hand when the wedding party is called up for a dance. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll be sure to keep my distance,” I reply, doing my best to sound witty and totally not as intimidated as I actually feel.
“Ignore him,” Loren tells me, rolling her eyes as she grabs me by the elbow. “He knows you’re a gentleman. And even if you weren’t, his arms are too full to defend my honor, anyway.”
“Come on, Agnes. We all know I do some of my best work with my hands full.” Blake grins at her as their twins squirm against his chest. “Look what I made last time.”
From what I can tell, they’re one of those couples who don’t mind making everyone around them uncomfortable with their public arguments and borderline inappropriate banter.
Except their threats always sound more like shameless flirting, especially with Blake undressing her with his eyes as he delivers his comebacks.
Loren hauls me onto the dance floor as she calls out, “Whatever you say, Daddy,” over her shoulder, and I laugh through a groan.
Man, do I want this. Well, maybe not this exactly.
I could certainly deal without the crude undertone.
The memory of Claire’s sexy smirk as she delivers a suggestive line flashes through my mind, stirring enough butterflies within me to immediately disprove that theory.
I shake my head as I attempt to refocus.
“Sorry about that,” Loren says with a contradictory smile. “We’re weird. I know.”
“This whole situation is still a bit weird,” I retort as we shift into a platonic waltz.
“Oh, it’s downright awkward. It’s a good thing you’re so cool.”
“Yeah, sure.” I know she intended it as a compliment, but I can’t help that I’m getting tired of being Mr. Nice Guy.
“Wanna make it even weirder?” she poses with a bit too much excitement, and my brow lifts. “Let me set you up. Word on the street is you’ll be spending more time in Camellia, and I work with a few cute, single teachers. A couple of them are here tonight.”
I chuckle softly in relief. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine.”
She frowns. “Are my friends not good enough for you?”
“Of course they are,” I reply too quickly.
“I know what you must think of me, Rowan,” she says quietly as we continue swaying.
My stomach dips in panic. “I don’t think anything—”
“Oh, stop,” she interrupts me, but she’s smiling. “You may have told me you wanted kids, but we both know you’re relieved after dodging this hyper-fertile bullet.”
I tilt my head to the side and attempt to match her playful tone. “Do I seem relieved? I was going for gracious.”
“And this is why things never would’ve worked out between us. You’re entirely too sweet, even when you have every right to be a jerk.”
I force a smile. I know she means well, but it’s a little embarrassing to get this speech from a woman I’ve already dated, especially after divulging how desperately I want a family shortly before said date was crashed by the guy with whom she’d already started a family of her own.
Loren’s grin grows wider as she leans over to catch a glimpse of our siblings dancing together. “Then again, who would have thought that combination of salty and sweet would balance out this well?” she asks, nodding her head in Daisy and Landry’s direction.
“No kidding,” I agree, my expression softening.
She sighs wistfully as she watches them.
“It may not be obvious to everyone else, but we both know he needed her even more than she needed him.” I nod, and she continues.
“After everything he’s been through, he deserves to be loved by someone as good and kind as Daisy.
But I’m just as grateful to you and the rest of your family for picking up our slack over the years. ”
“Landry is one of the best people I’ve ever known. He’s been a loyal friend, and I’m honored to call him my brother now,” I tell her after swallowing down the unexpected emotion in my throat.
Loren’s brows draw together in a way that makes me self-conscious. “You really are perfect, aren’t you? You’re definitely too emotionally mature to go to waste. Are you sure I can’t set you up?”
My cheeks flush, and I force myself to look away, my gaze landing on Claire as she walks into the reception hall. “I’m far from perfect. Trust me.”
“Even better,” Loren replies. “Most women prefer their men morally gray.”
I let out a huff, thinking back to Claire labeling me as a dangerous man. “So I’ve been told.”
“Maybe you are just like the rest of them, then,” Loren muses, nodding her head in Claire’s direction when she catches me staring. “I get it, though. She’s hot, and she’s a total badass, but I’m pretty sure she’s just gone through a divorce.”
“Yeah, but she’s—I mean—I don’t …” I stutter as my heart speeds up.
If Loren or anyone else here were to find out about Claire and me, they might jump to conclusions and think we’d been having an actual affair.
A knowing smile creeps across Loren’s face, making it even harder to regulate my breathing.
“But you don’t need me to tell you anything about Claire LeBlanc—or rather, Claire Bergeron. You already know her, don’t you?”
I gulp and force a shrug. “Sort of.”
Loren studies me carefully. “Do you … know her, know her?”
I shake my head too quickly, dancing around another lie.
“Has Daisy introduced you?”
“This has nothing to do with my sister,” I blurt out defensively.
“Hmm. And I didn’t think she’d be your type, but …” She bounces her eyebrows suggestively, ignoring my tone.
“Neither did I,” I mumble to myself, and her grin widens when she catches it.
“Wait, is this like the time I went out with my brother’s best friend because I was in denial about being so into the guy I wasn’t supposed to be into?”
I swallow hard again. “Remind me, was that before or after your hands-free project?” I add my most charming smile at the end.
“We both know I was already knocked up by then. And don’t think you’re distracting me from drawing all kinds of inappropriate conclusions about you and Claire.”
I cringe. “Let’s just say this situation keeps getting stranger by the second.”
“Does that mean you’ve been working on a secret project of your own in ag class?” Her eyes sparkle with excitement.
“Ah, I think you’ve lost me now,” I fib in another poor attempt to create a diversion.
She gasps. “Oh my gosh, does Daisy even know her work bestie’s been fitting your pipes?”
I choke and mumble something incoherent, but I’m afraid my train of thought derailed the moment Loren referred to Claire as my sister’s bestie.
“Look at you, Doctor Athanasius,” she continues, shimmying her shoulders, “I wasn’t sure you had it in you, but maybe you are a bad boy.”
My face feels like it’s on fire now. The song finally comes to an end, and I mutter a polite thank you before darting off to the men’s room to splash cold water on my cheeks.
I’m so busy searching the room for Claire as soon as I emerge that I bump someone’s shoulder.
“Oh, sorry, ma’am,” I say once I hear heels clicking against the floor. I reach out to offer a hand, but she manages to steady herself without my help. And I suck in a sharp breath when her hazel eyes meet mine.
“Um, hi,” Claire says hesitantly as her posture straightens.
She smooths a hand over her hair and adjusts the waistline of her fitted jumpsuit.
It’s far more modest than that purple cocktail dress, the lines of which have been burned into my memory.
But I suppose that dress hadn’t survived the night in one piece, much like me.
“Hi,” I return, dragging my gaze away from her body. “It’s good to see you.”
“Is it?” she asks, her voice full of doubt.
I shove my hands in my pockets to keep myself from reaching out again. “Yeah. Unexpected, but good.”
She shrugs. “Wasn’t sure you’d remember me. That Benadryl buzz of yours was pretty strong.”
“Not strong enough to forget you, Claire,” I murmur. “I’m more surprised you remembered me.”
“I don’t get around that much,” she says with a sardonic smile. “Plus, I was sort of expecting you to be here after recognizing you in my favorite work friend’s family photos a couple weeks back.”
My stomach bottoms out once she makes it clear she could have found me but didn’t want to. “Maybe that’s why I looked so familiar to you, then.”
“I figured it contributed to that inexplicable trust on some subconscious level, at least.”
“So you and Daisy taught together for a while?” I continue, trying to move past the ache in my chest.
“I was her mentor, actually,” she explains, lifting a shoulder. “I got to show her the ropes.”
Well, that makes two of us.
I clear my throat. “Then I suppose I owe you my gratitude for taking her under your wing.”
“Your sister’s a doll. You can’t help but love her.”
“Yeah, she’s the best.”
“And there are, what, nine of y’all?” Her eyes graze the crowd where some of my siblings and their families are gathered. I nod, my cheeks heating again as some of them take notice of our interaction.
“Growing up with so many brothers and sisters must have been amazing,” Claire continues.
“It’s certainly made life interesting,” I say.
“For your parents, too,” she adds wistfully. “Not many people would be open to having so many kids.”
There’s a twinge in my chest when I recognize that longing she mentioned before, the one we had in common, but I let my resentment override my remorse this time.
“Are you here alone?” I venture after an awkward silence.
She looks down at her feet as she speaks. “I don’t have a date, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What about a husband?” My tone is rougher than I intend, but it’s probably for the best since we have an audience.
“Officially my ex-husband,” she confirms with an eye roll.