The Better Man (7 page)

She should have
been home a week ago, but Lori was still in New Hampshire. Though they talked
at least every other day, Will’s frustration grew with each conversation. Lori
was cryptic about what she was doing up there and nothing Will said would push
her to reveal more. She hadn’t said she’d gotten the front desk job at the inn,
but did say she currently worked for the owner. Doing what, he didn’t know. She
also told him she was still thinking about where their relationship was
heading, trying to figure out what to do about them.

He told her he
loved her. That was true enough and he wasn’t going to hold his feelings back.
He’d already held them in for too long. Maybe if he’d said something sooner,
years ago, they wouldn’t be in this position.

Each time he
said it she returned the sentiment, and Will knew it was true.

But would their
love be enough to bring her back?

He just didn’t
know.

At least he wasn’t
the only one not getting information. Connie was furious. Apparently, Lori
wasn’t being any more open with her. “I’ll go drag her back here if I have to,”
she had told him the morning she showed up at his office in search of answers.

“I don’t think that’ll
do much good. She’s got to make her decision on her own. Pushing her  isn’t
going to make things any easier.”

Connie frowned.
“Probably doesn’t want to run the risk of seeing that ass and his new
plaything. I can’t say as I blame her. I wouldn’t want to be reminded of it
either.” Since that meeting, both of them were still waiting for some solid
news.

The “ass” and
his “plaything” weren’t going to be an issue. After the second week of Lori’s
extended absence, Brian showed up in Will’s office, definitely agitated. Even
though Will would have rather sent him packing, he decided to allow  to talk.

“Why isn’t she
coming back?” Brian demanded as he paced the office. “She should’ve been back
two weeks ago. She’s all right, isn’t she? Have you talked to her at all?”

“I talked to
her two days ago.” Will kept his voice calm. There was no way he was going to
let Brian know the status of his relationship with Lori.

There wasn’t
much point if she wasn’t going to come back to Florida anyway, but Lori didn’t
need the added hassle of Brian bugging her every five minutes.

“We have too
much to talk about and she knows it. Man, she’s doing this on purpose. To get back
at me. I called her work, you know. She quit her job. The day she was supposed
to return, she called her boss and apologized for not giving two weeks notice.
Is she actually staying up there?”

Will sighed and
rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache gathering right between
his eyes. “What business is it of yours? You made it pretty plain you don’t
want anything to do with her anymore. If it’s her stuff in the apartment you’re
worried about, I’m sure Connie and I could go and get it packed up. We can
store it at my place.”

“Hell no,
that’s not the problem. The problem is I need to talk to her. Tell her I’m a
jackass and want her back.”

The headache
that hovered as a mere shadow now pounded like a sledgehammer straight between Will’s
eyes. “Excuse me?”

Finally, Brian
sat down across the desk from Will. “Sounds stupid, I know, but what can I say?
I made a mistake. I want to fix it.”

“Well, I don’t
know if you’ll ever get that chance.”

Lori would
never give Brian another chance. Of that, Will was sure.

* * *

It didn’t take
Lori more than a minute to realize Brian was still living in their apartment.
It took another minute to determine no indication of feminine inhabitation. So
the bimbette wasn’t living under her roof. That was something anyway.

She carried two
empty boxes down to her bedroom. It would take too long to get all her stuff
packed up. Most of it she’d be leaving behind anyway.

All she would
be taking with her was personal stuff. Brian could have the dishes, the
furniture, and all the stuff that was theirs. She didn’t want any of it.

As soon as
she’d finished transferring the contents of her closet into boxes and
suitcases, she turned to her dresser.

“You came
back.”

Lori stiffened.
She’d hoped she could do this without seeing him, but Brian stood right behind
her. She clenched her fists and turned around slowly. “To get my stuff. How did
you know?”

He didn’t look
good, a bit thin in the cheeks. A small amount of cold triumph filled her. She
hadn’t expected it, though. Didn’t expect the tired circles under his eyes or
the rumpled clothes.

“Mrs. Paulson.
I asked her to call me if she saw you come home.”

“Great.”
Mentally she cursed her neighbor. Rue Paulson always did have a soft spot for
Brian. “Fine, then I won’t have to leave a note. I’m just taking my stuff. You
can have everything else. You can have the apartment, but I want my name off the
lease. I don’t care about the security deposit.”

Brian stepped
toward her. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“No way I’m
staying here. I’ll give notice to the landlord.” Maybe Bimbette had a better
place to live. After all, what woman would want to be surrounded by the ex’s
things? Whatever.

“No, Lori, I
want you to stay here. With me.”

“Excuse me?”
She couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d slapped her across the face.

“I made a huge
mistake. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness but I’m asking for it anyway.
Please. Let’s just forget the last month ever happened.”

Lori wanted to
laugh. It was very funny, after all. Just forget the last month, as if nothing
ever happened? As if he hadn’t taken seven years of her life and thrown it out
the window?

“Just like
that.” She shot him a bland stare, brows raised. “You think it would be a
simple thing just to kiss and make up and pretend you didn’t leave me at the
altar to deal with all our friends and family while you were off with your
little— No, Brian, I’m not going to be able to put that behind me and pretend
it didn’t happen. She broke up with you, didn’t she?”

Before he
replied, confirmation briefly flashed in his eyes. His male pride couldn’t hide
his humiliation entirely. “No. No, I left her.”

His denial spilled
out too quickly. He lied.

“Sure,” she
said.

“I did. I
realized she couldn’t hold a candle to you. Come on, baby, it’s true. I love
you. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was a stupid bastard. I know that, but
I love you.”

Lori pulled a
handful of socks out of her dresser and tossed them into a box. “No, I don’t
think you really do. Not in the way I deserve anyway. Because I deserve a hell
of a lot better. I can’t just pretend it didn’t happen. I’ve got my pride too.
And honestly, I’ve discovered you were right. We lost our love a long time ago.
Getting married was the next logical step, but I should actually thank you for
realizing it was all wrong.”

Brian stepped
to her and seized her hand. She didn’t try to pull away though his touch left
her empty.

“It wasn’t all
wrong. It’s just that damned mistake I made. Let me make it up to you, Lor. I
know I can do fix everything.”

“Never. Not
only can I never trust you again, not only do I really know how you felt about
me, about us, I’ve also figured out how wrong it was. You might as well leave
and let me finish packing.”

“Where are you
going? Back to New Hampshire?”

“That’s really
none of your business.”

“Fine.” He let
her go and stepped back.

There was a
long pause and Lori continued to empty another drawer, thinking he’d leave, but
he continued to stand behind her.

“For what it’s
worth,” he said flatly. “I am sorry I screwed things up for us.”

“Actually, I
think you set me on the right path. Guess I should be thanking you.”

He left without
a reply.

Lori finished
up and an hour later, she had the small U-Haul she’d rented filled with her
boxes. She headed over to the storage unit she’d leased that afternoon as soon
as she’d gotten into Orlando. By the time she had transferred everything into
it, night had begun to descend. She’d checked into a hotel earlier, but before
she returned, she had one more important stop to make.

She had to let
Will know she was back.

It was too late
for him to be at work, so she went directly to his house.

His truck sat
in the drive. She parked behind it, climbed out and walked up the path.
Standing at his door after pushing the doorbell, she crossed her arms tightly,
suddenly awkward. He wasn’t expecting her. She hadn’t told him everything about
what had been happening in New Hampshire since he’d left. She needed to fill
him in.

When he opened
the door, he stared for a long moment, his eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe
she was actually there. She took advantage of the moment and drank him in. His
solid build—clothed in a snug-fitting, charcoal grey T-shirt and faded
jeans—excited her. It didn’t take much to recall the way that body pleasured
her. Desire burned her cheeks.

She let her
gaze travel up to his short, dark hair with the cowlick, down over his face,
with his nose that would’ve been straight except for the time he broke it
playing football in college, the mouth she had come to know so well. She remembered
his taste and feel on her skin, and his strong jaw that had a dark, end-of-the-day
stubble. She allowed her gaze to slide back up to his eyes. They were nearly
the same color as his shirt, dark gray, tiny laugh lines at each corner. Such a
dear face. Lori couldn’t help but reach out and caress his cheek, and then she
smiled.

“Come in.” His
voice was impossibly soft. He caught her hand in his firm grip, as if she were
going to turn and leave.

As if. No, she
would do no more running. She’d made up her mind.

“You didn’t
tell me you were coming back. I would’ve met you at the airport.”

“I had Connie
pick me up.”

“Can I get you
something? When did you get in?”

“No thanks, I’m
fine. I got in about eleven. I wanted to get some things done before I let you
know I was back.”

He hadn’t taken
her into his arms yet. Why hadn’t he kissed her?

Maybe he had
given up on the idea of them. Maybe he was waiting for her to make the first
move.

“I was packing
up my stuff at the apartment. Brian found out I was there and came home.”

Lori carefully
watched the expression on Will’s face. His eyes narrowed and his lips tightened
just slightly. He nodded briefly.

“Guess he and
his plaything split up.”

Will nodded
again. No surprise on his face. So, he had heard that bit of news.

“He asked for
another chance.” Again, she waited for a reaction but only got another
tightening of his mouth and shake of his head. He may have known about Brian’s
plans, but it was obvious he stewed about it…was angry about it.

“Don’t worry. I
said no. Never. After all, how could I go back to a relationship like that
after
you?
”

He let out his
breath. “Just tell me if you’re going back to New Hampshire.” His voice was
tight, as if he were waiting for the worst.

“I didn’t get
hired for that front desk job. But it’s okay. Something better happened.”

His eyes
narrowed again. She stepped toward him and lifted one of his hands. His fingers
tightened around hers, but he didn’t make any other moves to close the gap
between their bodies.

“Mr. Goss, the
owner of the inn, asked me to consult on a new computer system for the inn.
Something more up-to-date and user friendly.

“And it happens
that he has two brothers who both own hotels, one in Myrtle Beach and the other
in Daytona Beach. He’s hooked me up to do the same thing for them. This might
not lead to a career or anything, but it’s something and I enjoyed doing it. It
got me thinking of other things I can do, consulting and updating hotels like
this, or hell, maybe I’ll take a plunge and buy my own hotel.”

“In New
Hampshire or Florida?”

Finally, she
couldn’t stand not being in his arms. “That would depend on where you were. If
it’s not too late, Will, I want to be wherever you are.”

Will’s brows
furrowed. “If it’s not too late? Lori, it’s definitely not too late. I’ve spent
the last two weeks trying to figure out how I could relocate to New Hampshire
if it came to that. This has been the worst damned two weeks of my life,
waiting to find out what was going on.”

Finally, he
pulled her gently to him and she slipped her arms around his body. She sank
into his strength, his palpable and solid love.

“I was kicking
myself for coming back down here. I wish I had stayed. I nearly went back,
several times. But I wanted to give you some space. I was afraid you’d step
back and think this was a rebound relationship and not take it seriously. The
thought nearly killed me.”

Such words.
Lori closed her eyes and let them wrap around her like his embrace. “You really
would’ve come to New Hampshire for me?”

“I’d go
anywhere for you, Lorelei. I love you. I want us to be together forever. I want
to raise a family with you, grow old with you. Wherever you want to live, I’ll
go.”

Lori kissed his
jaw, his chin, the stubble of his beard rasping against her lips, and then she
kissed his mouth, a long kiss, drawing out the sweet, slow-burning passion that
could flare into a raging fire at any moment. She pulled back and gazed up into
his gray eyes. “I don’t think we have to go running off anywhere anytime soon.
But thank you, Will. Maybe someday we can go back to New Hampshire.”

“How about for
our honeymoon?”

She grinned.
“Why, Will, are you proposing to me?”