Chapter Fifteen
That kiss. Well, it was more than a kiss. It was a lot of kisses. And touching. And wanting.
Michaela sat in her car for long minutes after Troy dropped her off at the office. She’d practically jumped out, and when he opened the back of the SUV, she’d grabbed her boots, then her backpack, hugging it to her as if it were a shield.
They hadn’t talked about those kisses or the touches—or how close she’d come to begging him to do more—on the hike back or on the drive down the mountain. She’d talked inanely about how great the hiking boots were, how well they fit, how much hikers would love them—anything to avoid talking about what they’d done on that picnic bench. He’d told her to keep the boots. She’d said she had to pay for them. He’d said he hadn’t paid for them anyway.
And on it went, when really she wanted to say the kiss hadn’t meant anything. But what if he kissed her again to prove his point? Or what if he agreed that it meant nothing? The flurry of thoughts in her head was made all the worse by the tactile memories. How good he tasted, how sexy he smelled, how much she yearned for more.
But it wasn’t a date. It couldn’t be a date. Troy was all wrong for her. They were wrong for each other.
So here she sat in her car, fighting with herself.
The man jumbled her up, and she didn’t need her life all jumbled up. She started the car, pulled out of the parking garage beneath her office building, and saw him still sitting in his SUV on the street out front. As if he’d been waiting to make sure she was safe and on her way.
He waved. She waved back. Then she punched the gas pedal, and he disappeared from view.
She returned home to find her mother on the back patio of their townhouse, enjoying an iced tea. They had a small backyard Flo had filled with hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and azaleas. Hummingbirds flew in and out of the blooms, and squirrels chattered in the surrounding trees.
“Come and join me.” Her mom beckoned. “I’ll pour you a glass of iced tea.”
Flo was so vivacious. She’d worked hard all her life, but she’d never seemed depressed, never complained.
Michaela sat on the little bistro chair and gratefully took the iced tea. “Thank you. Did you have a good day?”
Her mother fairly glowed in the afternoon sunshine, her smile radiant. “It was lovely. The day is so beautiful, don’t you think?” It wasn’t really a question. After a delighted sigh, Flo said, “So tell me how the boots were.”
Michaela had been sure to tell her this wasn’t a date, that she was helping Troy by trying out the new boots he wanted to carry in his stores if he could make the deal.
Michaela raised her feet and waggled the boots. “They’re so good. I forgot I had them on. Usually, as soon as I get back from a hike, I want to take off my boots.”
“That’s wonderful. And they didn’t give you blisters even though this was the first time you wore them?”
“Not one,” she said, thankful the conversation wasn’t about Troy.
“And how was the rest of the hike?”
“It was great,” she said with a casual wave of her hand. “That trail is nice. A bit of scrambling, but good. You and I should do it sometime.”
“Did Troy enjoy the special picnic you prepared?”
Okay, so now they were talking about Troy. She should never have had her mother call Susan to find out his favorite lunch. “Yes, he enjoyed the sandwich and ale.” She tried to sidetrack Flo by adding, “I’m not a beer kind of girl, but that ale was good.”
Flo said, “That’s lovely.” She added nothing more, as if waiting for Michaela to tell her the rest.
Because her mother knew there was more. She had a sixth sense that way.
Finally, Michaela couldn’t hold it in. “There was some kissing.” Some people had girlfriends they talked to, but her mother was her best friend.
And her best friend said, “Was it good kissing?”
Michaela couldn’t help a laugh. “Oh yeah. It was very good.” Then she sighed, a woebegone sound even to her own ears.
Which Flo interpreted correctly. “Honey, I know how conflicted your feelings are for this man.”
“I don’t have feelings for him,” she said quickly.
But Flo wouldn’t let her get away with that. “Sometimes the thing we think we want the least is exactly the thing we need in our lives.”
