“Are you attached to your truck?” I ask, my voice raspier than I intend.
“I’m grateful for it, but that’s all.”
I shake my head, reminding myself that heisDaisy LaFleur’s brother, after all. “I bet you’d get more action in a brand-new truck or a fancy sports car,” I pose and glance his way.
“I’m not into women who are more interested in men with money,” he replies quietly. He’s entirely too cute when he’s shy.
“No, you wouldn’t be,” I confirm as I pull into Coach Reed’s driveway. I’m still not sure how Loren and Landry’s dad earned so much respect. By the time I started teaching at Camellia High, no one even dared to bother him with requirements like writing lesson plans or completing his online blood-borne pathogen training. He just flat-out refused to do anything but coach football, and I suppose the powers that be had no choice but to tolerate him until he retired. I wonder to myself whether I’ll be that stubborn by the time I reach thethirty-year mark, but I guess managing teenage boys all day can do that to a person.
“Thanks again,” Rowan says when I put my car in park, bringing me back from my thoughts. I watch him swallow hard before he turns to face me. “I’m sorry about earlier, too. You’ve been much nicer to me than I deserve.”
I lift one shoulder in a shrug, suddenly feeling embarrassed. I probably shouldn’t admit that I’ve been mostly motivated by guilt, and I certainly can’t tell him about the part of me that genuinely missed him. “I wouldn’t have wanted the bride and groom worrying about you today.”
“Right,” he says, looking surprisingly disappointed. “I’m glad my sister has friends like you looking out for her.”
“It’s easy to be a good friend to Daisy. She’s the kind of person that makes you want to do better.”
“Yeah, she is. Landry has his moments, too, I suppose,” he adds with a smile.
“He’s not so bad once you get past his bark,” I agree, narrowing my eyes at him. Why are we talking about Landry again? Is he … stalling?
Rowan nods. “I guess I should feel hopeful after all this, since there’s apparently someone out there for everyone.”
“Yeah, because if Landry Reed deserves to find his soulmate, shouldn’t you?” I reply once I catch on to his thought process.
He cringes. “Gah, that sounds so much worse when you say it aloud.”
“But you were thinking it,” I point out, and his sigh is laced with regret.
“God forgive me, but I was,” he admits.
“I get it,” I reassure him. “And I’m sure your person is out there somewhere. Don’t give up.”
He rolls his lips in, as if he’s considering what he wants to say next.
“You’d better get in there before Coach locks up for the night. He doesn’t strike me as the kind to wait up for anyone,” I add quickly tokeep Rowan from turning my last claim into another deep conversation.
“Yeah, good night, Claire,” he says, sounding even more disheartened. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning?” He notices the confusion on my face and adds, “Once I work up the courage to ask Coach for a ride to pick up my truck.”
“Oh, right. Don’t worry about coming inside, though. You don’t need to get my permission or anything.”
He nods one more time and mumbles his thanks as he finally gets out of my car, and I let out a relieved exhale as I shift into reverse. But I can’t bring myself to leave until I know for sure he’s safe for the night. I watch with a restless foot on the brakes as Rowan knocks on the front door for the third time. Then I whimper to myself before rolling down my window.
“He’s not answering, is he?”
“I’m sure he’ll open up … eventually,” Rowan says, sounding less confident by the end of his claim.
“Have you met the man before?”
“You’re right.” He turns and leans back, his head hitting the door with a thud. “All I need is to slip inside long enough to grab the bag I left earlier, so I could have my glasses for the drive home. But this is just par for the course tonight.”
I bite my lip, trying not to think about those glasses. Maybe I’ve been repressing some weird, girlish fantasy, because I can’t recall another time when I thought glasses made a man sexy. But I’d be lying if I said my imagination hadn’t been running away with the idea of a bespectacled Rowan since the night we met, especially once I realized I’d be seeing him again.
“Get back in the car, Rowan,” I call out after a while, trying to hide the way my voice cracks.
He straightens his posture. “Are you sure?”
“Hurry the hell up before I change my mind.” I stifle a smile when he shuffles down the front porch steps and climbs back into my Bronco.
