15. Melanie
CHAPTER 15
Melanie
I sucked my chocolate milkshake through the straw, not really tasting it. It had sounded good when we’d decided to stop at the Zany Zebra after dinner, but Luke had ruined it.
He ruined everything.
Fortunately, he’d left. And Hank had been oblivious to his presence, and the fact that it had taken every ounce of my self-control to keep from telling Luke to stop messing with my very nice date. In my outside voice.
Because it had been a nice date. A great one, as a matter of fact. Hank was awesome. He was smart, interesting, funny, attractive. Great hair, warm brown eyes, chiseled jaw, nice smile. He clearly spent time in the gym. He looked fit and strong.
So why was the fact that he was objectively handsome doing absolutely nothing for me physically?
This was a problem. I wondered if I was broken. Had it been so long that my hormones had decided I was finished with things like attraction and arousal? Were my lady parts planning an early retirement?
We’ll just ignore the rush of heat I felt when I walked in and saw Luke. Nope. Didn’t happen .
The man who should have been giving me pleasant, tingly feelings was sitting across from me. And he just… wasn’t.
“Are you done?” Hank asked.
I lifted my half-full milkshake. “I guess I overestimated how much room I had left after dinner.”
He grinned. “Me too. Ready to go?”
I nodded, and we both stood. He threw our cups in the garbage and led me out to his car—a Toyota RAV4. A perfectly sensible car and much more comfortable than the muscle cars Luke always drove.
We chatted a little more on the way to my house, and it was… nice. He made me laugh, and his smile was charming.
But the fire inside me wasn’t for Hank. It was indignation at Luke for being at the Zany Zebra. The whole thing had to be his fault. He’d been sitting there in his faded T-shirt that stretched over his broad back and muscular arms, with that stupid scowl on his stupid handsome face. And all I could think about was that groove he got between his eyebrows when he was mad and how much it looked like the expression he wore when he—
No. I wasn’t going there. I didn’t even remember the face he made when he—
No. Again.
And there I was, blood boiling as we pulled up to my house. Hank got out to walk me to my door, and I tried as hard as I could to smooth out my features. But my face had a way of talking out loud, whether I wanted it to or not.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his brow creasing with concern.
“Yes. Sorry.” I took a deep breath. “It’s just work stuff. Something popped into my head that I have to deal with tomorrow, and my face doesn’t have an inside voice.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough. I had a good time tonight.”
“Me too. ”
Leaning in, he brushed a quick kiss on my cheek. “Thanks, Melanie. I’ll call you?”
“That would be great.”
While he walked back to his car, I unlocked the door. He paused before getting in, as if waiting to make sure I made it inside okay. That was polite of him. I waved, then went in the house and shut the door.
I let out a long breath. I had no idea how to feel. Hank seemed like a good guy, and it had been a perfectly decent first date. What did I expect? Fireworks? To fall head over heels in love with someone over dinner and milkshakes?
And how would I manage to date anyone when Luke Haven seemed to be everywhere? What was next? Dinner seated at adjacent tables?
I shuddered.
Living in my hometown was turning out to be more complicated than I’d thought.
And what was going to happen at work tomorrow? I groaned. That was going to be awkward.
Apparently, I’d been wrong about the awkwardness at work. It wasn’t. Because Luke wasn’t there.
Where was he? It was irritating that he wasn’t there, and just as irritating that I was irritated. I wasn’t his keeper. I didn’t need to know where he was every second of the day.
Ollie walked into the lobby from the garage, his battered baseball cap on backward. “Hey, Mel.”
“Hi, Ollie.” I started to ask if he knew where Luke was but pressed my lips together to stop myself. I didn’t need to know.
Didn’t even care.
He grabbed some mail off the desk and went back to the garage .
I checked the clock again. I still had a couple hours before it was time for me to go home. I needed to get out of there and stop pouting about the fact that my ex-boyfriend-turned-boss hadn’t been in to work yet.
My cell rang. It was my mom, so I answered. “Hi, Mom.”
“How was your date?”
I shook my head slightly at her bluntness. “It was fine.”
“Fine? Just fine? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean it was good. We had a nice time.”
“And…?”
“And, what? Do you think I’m going to give you the details of any post-date bedroom activities? There were none, by the way, but why are you even asking me that?”
“Why not? We’re adults. Melanie, this may come as a shock, but I know you’re not a virgin.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to discuss my sex life with my mother.”
“Mother? Why do you have to be like that? You know I hate being referred to as ‘mother.’”
“Sorry. Mom. And I’m still not discussing this with you. Besides, there’s nothing to discuss.”
“Well, that’s disappointing.”
“You’re disappointed I didn’t sleep with Hank on the first date?”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean. We’re getting off track. I wasn’t talking about sex. I was just hoping you’d tell me you had an amazing evening. Maybe thank me for inviting him to the pizza tasting and making sure you got together.”
“Why do I feel like you already have a wedding venue in mind?”
“Considering your first one was at that awful hotel with all the modern decor, I think you should listen to my suggestions this time.”
“There’s no ‘this time.’ I went out on one date with a guy. Don’t start dress shopping. ”
“Okay, but when the time comes, you’ll of course take me with you.”
“Mom,” I groaned.
“When are you going out with Hank again?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t called.”
“What? Didn’t you make plans last night?”
“No, and please stop trying to micromanage dating for me. He’ll call.”
I could practically hear her pouting. “He better.”
“He will. We had a good time, and he said he would. He doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who plays games. If he said he’ll call, he’ll call.”
“I’m sure you’re right. He does seem emotionally mature. And so handsome.”
“Seems like you should date him,” I said with a laugh.
“In another life, maybe. You know I only have eyes for your father.”
“And I love that about you.”
“All right, I’ll let you get back to work. But tell me when Hank calls.”
“I’m not telling you when he calls. You need to stay out of it.”
“I just want to know.”
“Look, as soon as I decide to let him bang me senseless, you’ll be the first to know. How’s that?”
Mom laughed.
Patrick stopped on his way past the front desk and gave me a look. I hadn’t even realized he’d come into the lobby.
I rolled my eyes. “Mom, I gotta go.”
Patrick shook his head and left.
We said goodbye, and I ended the call. Of course one of the guys would walk by right as I said that.
At least it hadn’t been Luke.
I paused for a second, trying to imagine letting Hank bang me senseless. Not that I was in a rush to jump in bed with him—or any guy. But could I picture it? It seemed like I ought to be able to at least imagine it as a possibility to look forward to.
But I had nothing. No little bursts of heat between my legs. No dirty fantasy flitting through my mind, hinting at where I hoped things would go with him when the time was right.
Oh well. We’d been on one date, and it had ended with a rather friendly kiss on the cheek. He hadn’t exactly given me any daydream material. Maybe we just needed another date for my hormones to wake up and take notice.
The door opened, and I glanced up. Luke walked in, sunglasses on his face, dressed in a gray T-shirt and faded jeans.
A flush crept across my cheeks, and warmth stirred in my core. The fireworks I’d been lacking with Hank absolutely did not begin to explode when Luke came in. Of course every cell in my body wasn’t drawn to him. It had to be something else. Anger, maybe. I was mad, not aroused.
“Morning,” I said with exaggerated cheerfulness. “Oh wait, it’s afternoon.”
He took off his sunglasses with a glare, and his tongue brushed his teeth. “I’ve been working. Just not here.”
“I was just…” Something about his expression took the wind out of my sails. “Fine, I was being snarky. I’m sorry.”
My apology seemed to catch him off guard. His glare melted, but he still eyed me with suspicion like he was waiting for my mood to flip.
“It’s fine.”
He hesitated, and the awkwardness I’d been dreading permeated the air. Should I say something about seeing him at the Zany Zebra? About Hank?
“I didn’t sleep with him last night,” I blurted out.
His eyebrows drew in.
Why couldn’t I have a filter like normal people? “All I mean is that I barely know him and we just had dinner. My mom introduced us. We were there for milkshakes and I went home after. Alone.”
He moved closer to the front desk, his expression serious. My insides swirled. Why did he have to smell so good?
“Mel, it’s fine. I don’t need to know.”
“Right, of course. You probably don’t want to know. If it were you, I wouldn’t want to know.”
Something almost like alarm flashed across his expression. The tantalizing swirl was replaced by a mildly sick sensation. He had a date. He hadn’t said a word, and the look was gone almost as quickly as it had come. But I knew.
Words started tumbling out of my mouth in a rush, and my hands were all over the place, gesturing wildly. “Maybe we should consider sharing our calendars so we know what places to avoid. In case of, you know, dates or whatever. That might be helpful. Although I’m not sure if it would have helped last night. I have a feeling we both wound up at the Zany Zebra on a whim. That’s not the kind of place you plan for.”
The corner of his mouth lifted.
“Are you laughing at me?” I asked, indignant.
His smile grew. “I’m not laughing.”
“Okay, but you’re smirking.”
“I’m not smirking.”
“You’re absolutely smirking. You’re making fun of me.”
“I’m not. It’s just…”
“What?”
He casually rested a forearm on the counter. My swirling insides were back, as was the warmth in my cheeks.
And elsewhere.
“I just never know what I’m going to get with you.” He sounded mildly amused. “Sometimes you’re completely self-assured, like you have no doubt you’re going to get exactly what you want. And other times, you’re a hot mess. ”
“I’m not a hot mess,” I said with a pout.
He raised his eyebrows. “It’s a miracle you didn’t knock over your water bottle just now.”
“I was talking with my hands, wasn’t I?”
“A lot.”
I tucked both hands under my thighs. “There.”
He grinned again. “Look, let’s just… be at work today. And not worry about the rest of it.”
Still pouting slightly, I nodded.
With a soft laugh, he shook his head a little and turned to go to his office. I felt a hint of disappointment, as if I didn’t want him to leave.
He paused and turned back to me. “Can I just ask you one thing?”
“Yeah.”
“Him? Are you sure?”
It was my turn to smirk. “You said we were going to just be at work today and not worry about the rest of it.”
“I know, I know. It’s not my business. But really?”
“What’s wrong with Hank?”
“That dude’s name is Hank?”
I pressed my lips together to suppress a laugh. “Yes. And of course I’m not sure. I went out with him one time. And since apparently we are going to talk about this, if he asks, I’ll see him again. I’m open to the possibilities.”
“You’re really ready, though?” His gentle concern was disarming. “For dating again?”
The way he said that softened me, and instead of being flippant, I answered honestly. “Yeah, I am. I know it seems like my divorce just happened, but we actually split up over a year ago.”
“All right. Just making sure.”
I pulled my hands out from beneath my thighs, pretty sure I wasn’t going to knock anything over. “Thanks. You should probably go fix a car or something. ”
His half grin was back. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”
I scowled at the door as he left the lobby. But for once, Luke wasn’t making me angry. It was the unfairness of it all. The fact that the last man on earth who ought to be giving me tingly feelings was the one who did.
My phone buzzed with a text. It was Hank. I blew out a breath, hoping to rid myself of all vestiges of Luke-induced sensations.
It didn’t really work.
Hank: Thanks again for last night. Had a great time. Are you free Friday?
I hesitated. I was free on Friday. My eyes flicked between my phone and the door Luke had just gone through.
What did he have to do with it? I had a very strong feeling he was dating someone. And even if he wasn’t, I could date Hank if I wanted to. It wasn’t about Luke. It was about me, starting a new life. Moving on.
All those tingly feelings were just echoes—memories of something that had ended a long time ago.
Me: Yes, I’m free.
Hank: How about I pick you up at 6?
Me: Perfect.
Hank: Great, it’s a date.
I set my phone down. Yes, it was a date. And it was fine. I’d go out with him again, and damn it, there would be sparks. There had to be.
And if not, it was probably Luke’s fault. Somehow.