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Authors: Allison B. Hanson

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BOOK: When Least Expected
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“Sausage?” Ian asked with a grin.
She winced. “We didn't make those.”
“I'll take plain cheese.”
She seemed happy he agreed to take some, and that seemed to throw peckerhead off his game.
Ian smiled smugly as she got a plastic container and threw in a few servings. But the smugness faded as he realized he was going to need to leave now, and this guy was going to get to stay with her. Maybe even all night. He tried to swallow and was having difficulty.
She walked him out to the driveway.
“Thanks again for getting the painting fixed,” she said. She wasn't angry or sad or anything. She was nothing. As if his being there was nothing. He was nothing.
“I don't like that guy,” he said as soon as they were alone.
“Well, it's a good thing you're not dating him, then.”
“I'm sorry I didn't text you back,” he said what he had planned to say. Finally.
“I shouldn't have bothered you in the first place.” Her words cut him like a knife as she turned with a wave and went back into the house to the surgeon.
Of course Ian knew this was all his fault, and he knew how hypocritical he was being. He should be happy for her. She was moving on, and she'd found someone who was probably a nice guy. That's what he had wanted for her all along.
He had no right being angry or hurt. But as he drove home, that was exactly how he felt.
 
“Sorry about that,” Lex said as she walked back into the kitchen. Ian's interruption had totally killed the mood.
“No problem,” Jeremy said as he kept working. She went to stand next to him to help. “So how long have you guys been divorced again?” he asked, though she had already told him.
“Almost seven months.”
“And in those seven months you haven't dated anyone?” he guessed.
“I did.”
“How many times?”
“Counting you?”
“No. Not counting me.”
“Twice.”
“Oh.” He nodded slowly.
“What does
oh
mean?” It sounded bad.
“You're still rebounding.”
“No. I'm not,” she said.
“You offered him our ravioli.” He pointed at the mess on the counter.
“I was being polite,” she defended herself.
“Okay, then. You were being polite,” he corrected himself, as if that was another point all on its own. “Divorced people aren't polite to each other. They say snide little passive-aggressive things to piss each other off.”
“I'm sorry I'm not passive-aggressive enough for you,” she spat.
“And now you're mad at me?” he said incredulously.
“Apparently!” she fumed. Why was she mad at him? Because he'd made her see the truth?
“Fine. I'm going to go before we get carried away and say something we'll regret.”
Great! He was one of the reasonable guys. Ian had always been reasonable, too. Look how far reasonable got her. She took a breath to calm down. She knew she was acting crazy. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you away, too,” she said as she covered her face.
“Too?”
He picked up on the key word.
She shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. “At least let me pack you up some of this,” she offered.
“Just make sure I get more than he did.” Lexi looked up at him to see he was joking. At least she was pretty sure he was joking.
She gave Jeremy twice as much as she had given Ian and he smiled at her as she handed it to him.
“I hope I didn't ruin our lovely evening.” He looked remorseful. “I honestly haven't had this much fun in . . . I can't remember how long.”
“You're probably right about Ian and me being overly friendly. My friends say the same thing. I don't know why . . . I feel like I owe him.” She felt more than that, but it was the easiest thing to say.
“Why would you feel that way?” he asked.
She sighed. Surely she shouldn't tell him this. But she needed to say it to someone. “Because he invested so much time in me and then I couldn't give him a family. I feel like I let him down.” The old feelings of failure and sadness surrounded her.
Jeremy took in a quick breath and wrapped his arms around her tightly. It felt so nice. Having someone care.
“Sweetie, I don't know him, but I guarantee you he doesn't feel that way. I bet he feels lucky for every second he got to spend with you.”
“Oh, good.” She laughed. “My rebound guy is delusional,” she teased him, wanting to change the subject in the worst way.
“It's getting late,” he said. “Thank you for inviting me over. Can we get together the next time I have some free time?”
“Sure. Give me a call. This will be easier in a few weeks, when I'm out of school for the summer.”
“Now you're just rubbing it in.” He laughed.
 
She didn't see Jeremy at all the next week and started to worry that she had scared him off.
Then the phone rang Sunday night around nine. Jeremy.
“I know you work tomorrow and it's late, but can I bring you dinner so we can just sit together? I've had a horrible day and I just want to be with you.”
“Of course. Come on over.”
“Actually . . .” The doorbell rang. “I'm already here.”
She opened the door and he held out a bag of food.
“Thank you,” he said.
He looked exhausted. Worse than exhausted. “What happened?” she asked.
“I lost someone today,” he said. It took her a moment to figure out he hadn't actually misplaced them. He'd . . .
“Oh. I'm so sorry.” She pulled him into her arms, and he held on to her like she was going to pull him to safety from a sinking ship.
They started kissing in a frenzy. He pulled her onto his lap as they fell onto the sofa. His skilled hands began to work under her shirt. Then he leaned her back on the pillows and lay on top of her.
“We're not actually doing this,” he said against her neck.
“We're not?” Her breathing was ragged. She was all for doing this. She hadn't had any time to get nervous or second-guess the situation. It was just pure lust. Now she was starting to think.
“No. If we did, it would be about me being in a bad place and you making it better. I don't want that. When we do this—and so help me God, I really want to—it's going to be about me making you forget I'm the rebound guy.”
“Okay.” She appreciated him immensely, even if her body was a little disappointed. “But I could still make you feel better,” she offered with a smile and pulled his lips to hers.
They fell asleep on the sofa together. His head was on her chest as she played with his light brown hair. It was softer than Ian's. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse. It was just notably different.
At five, his phone went off and he crawled over her to leave after a quick kiss on the forehead.
Chapter 10
“H
ave you met this peckerhead?” Ian asked Kelly when he stopped by under the pretense of checking in.
“Are you referring to the gorgeous surgeon my sister is dating?” Kelly batted her eyelashes. He snorted his disapproval at her description as well as her disloyalty.
“You're
my
sister,” he pointed out.
Never in a million years would he have thought he'd one day fight for that right. When he was younger he would have gladly given her away.
“Please. I don't want people to know I'm related to the dipshit who walked out on someone as nice as Lexi.”
“Mommy said dipshit.” Aidan giggled from the next room.
“Aidan! Go to your room,” she called with a frown.
“Why?” he whined.
“For cursing. I'm going to my room soon, too.”
“Mother of the year,” Ian muttered.
“Let me ask you this: What did you think was going to happen when you left? Did you think she was just going to sit around in that big house alone forever? Did you not expect there to be a line from Roanoke to Florida to get a chance with someone as amazing as her? She's beautiful, smart, funny—”
“I get it!” He cut her off.
“Do you? Because if you knew how perfect she was, you wouldn't have left.” He said nothing. “Unless it really was because of the baby.”
“What?”
“Lexi thinks you dumped her because she couldn't give you a baby. I know she torments herself with this feeling of inadequacy, but I've told her over and over again it wasn't because of that. Was it?” Her eyes narrowed, and he knew that look. It was the don't-answer-wrong-or-you'll-get-hit-upside-the-head look.
“Of course that wasn't it. It wasn't her fault.”
“It wasn't your fault either,” she said, calming down slightly.
“I know,” he said, though he looked away as he said it. It
was
his fault. He was the one who'd walked out. “I think that guy spent the night.”
“Are you stalking her?”
“No.” He sighed. “Maybe.”
“It's not too late. She hasn't married him. You could still—”
“Still
what
, Kel? Still get her back, so I can make her just as sad as I did the first time?”
“No! Get her back and be happy with each other.”
“I can't.”
“Why not?”
“Because I'm not enough.”
“That's ridiculous.”
“I wasn't enough to make her happy the last time.”
Kelly sighed and then held out her arms to give him a hug.
“It's okay. I'm sorry for pushing you. I just wish so much this would work. You were always so great together.”
“I know, Kel. I know.”
She let him leave eventually. He drove past the house he used to share with Lexi. He almost stopped but didn't.
As if his day hadn't sucked enough, his next stop was sure to be awful.
Meeghan answered her door with a big smile on her face. “Come in. I made dinner.”
“Actually, I already ate.”
“Oh. Okay.” Now she was upset. He needed to power through.
“Look, I asked to stop by because I need to apologize to you. I got into a relationship with you before I was ready or even capable of being in a relationship. I . . . used you to make things easier for me. It wasn't right, and I'm sorry.”
“It's okay. What about now? Are you ready now?”
“It's not okay.” He'd realized this was part of his problem. Too many women willing to let him off the hook when he did something stupid. “And no, I'm not ready.”
“But when you are—”
He shook his head and took both of her hands in his. It would be easier to let her have hope, to walk out without dealing with it. But he wasn't that guy anymore. His homework was to take responsibility and end this properly. He needed to do it. He owed it to Meeghan and he owed it to himself.
“We're not going to be together. It's not right to you, and when you meet the guy who can love you, you're going to be glad.”
Tears welled up in her eyes and she nodded.
“I'm sorry, Meeghan,” he said with complete sincerity.
“Are you seeing someone else?”
He shook his head. “No. I'm alone.” And he was going to be okay.
 
Lexi and Jeremy saw each other once or twice the next week. She was dealing with it, even if it took three tries to watch an entire movie. She was almost out of school for the summer, which would give her more time alone to dwell on the fact that she didn't see him as much as she wanted to.
During their third installment of some action movie, she got up to go make popcorn. She had forgotten the characters' names and the basic plot so she wanted an escape.
On her way to the kitchen, she noticed the room had begun to look slanted. Sometimes when she stood up too fast she would get a little woozy, but this didn't go away. She put her hand out to steady herself on the counter. She missed the counter as everything around her went black.
She woke up with Jeremy leaning over her. At first she was surprised it wasn't Ian waking her up. Then she realized she wasn't waking up in bed; she was on the floor.
“Ow,” she mumbled as the pain set in.
“Stay still for a moment. You passed out and fell. Let me look you over before you move too much,” he ordered, sounding all doctorlike. She would have laughed if she wasn't in so much pain.
“Where does it hurt?” he asked.
She concentrated on the question before answering. “My left wrist. My left knee. My chin.” She made a little groaning sound, and Jeremy jumped up to get her some ice.
“Don't move yet.”
He looked at her chin carefully, then held a wet paper towel against it. She knew that meant it was cut. The ice was in a Baggie on her left cheek. She hadn't realized anything was wrong with her cheek, but yes, it hurt, too.
“I should have stopped for food before coming over. Did you eat today?” he asked.
“Um. Yeah. I had a chicken salad sandwich at lunch.”
“Dinner?” he asked as he gently checked her wrist for a break.
“I was on my way to make popcorn,” she said in self-defense. “I guess I got carried away with work stuff and forgot to eat.” Ian used to be there to remind her. She frowned and then winced when he turned her wrist from side to side.
He gave her the once-over, making her look into a light and follow his finger. Eventually she was permitted to sit up, and then slowly get up and go back to the sofa while he made them grilled cheese sandwiches.
His phone buzzed after his first bite.
“Goddamn it!” he muttered with a sigh.
He went to the bathroom and got her ibuprofen. He kissed her forehead while she swallowed them down.
“I'm going to come back with an AirCast for your wrist. It doesn't appear to be broken, but I'm pretty sure you sprained it when you fell. Try to keep ice on your cheek. Your chin will be okay.” He had put a Steri-Strip across it after he was certain she didn't need stitches.
“Thank you, Dr. Landis. However can I repay you?” She fluttered her eyelashes, trying to be seductive.
“Maybe staying conscious would be a good start,” he said with a wink, and then he kissed her once more before he left.
He was back before she left for work, and fit the brace on her wrist.
“Are you sure I need this?” she asked as he pulled the Velcro closed.
“Do you want to come down to the hospital to get an X-ray? It's not broken. It's either sprained or strained. We would put a brace on it either way.”
“Fine.” She frowned at the inconvenience.
“You can take it off when you're relaxing at home, but leave it on when you'll have a tendency to use your hand.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“No problem.” He kissed her. “How do you feel today? Dizzy?”
“No. I'm fine.”
“Make sure you eat,” he commanded. It was kind of cute when he acted all authoritative.
“Yes, sir. I will.”
He kissed her cheek tenderly where she had a huge bruise that had morphed into a black eye overnight.
“Maybe you should take the day off,” he suggested.
“No. I'm so close to the end of the year. I only have two more days. I have seniors freaking out about college. I need to be there.”
“Just be careful, and if you start to feel funny, for the love of God, sit down right away.”
“I can do that,” she promised. He gave her another kiss before he left.
Roslyn was a mess when she saw Lexi walk into school. She had to answer ten million questions and Roz still seemed skeptical. Roslyn had been in an abusive relationship in college, and Lexi realized she must look like someone beat up on her rather than like she took a fall.
“That's just not what happened,” Lexi said, trying to reassure her. “I passed out and fell. That's all. No drama or anything. Jeremy actually got me the splint and took care of me. He's great. He'd never do anything to me.”
“We'll go out after work,” she said. “I'll call Riley and Nichole. She's a doctor. I think you should get a second opinion.” Lexi nodded, though she wasn't really up for going out. But if it would convince her friend she wasn't in an abusive relationship, she'd make it through.
Lexi got to Ralphy's before the other girls. They were probably changing into something dressy. Lexi didn't give a crap. She felt like hell and wasn't looking to pick anyone up at the bar.
She ordered a Corona and a rum and Coke, again without thinking.
When the bartender brought the drinks, he automatically placed the Corona at the empty seat next to her.
“Son of a bitch,” she whispered as she looked at the innocent gold and blue bottle that caused her more pain than her sprained wrist and twisted knee. Why couldn't she just get over him already?
Instead of asking the bartender to take it away, she let it sit there. Maybe it would make guys think she had someone with her. Not that anyone would be approaching her with that shiner and the wrist brace.
She rested her head on her hand, feeling like a truck had run her over. She didn't want to be here. She wanted . . . she wanted Ian to take care of her.
She wanted him to tuck her into their big bed and fluff her pillows like he always did when she was sick.
He made her feel cherished and cared for.
She desperately tried to force the main character of her fantasy to be Jeremy instead of Ian, but even her imagination had his phone go off a few seconds into the daydream. The truth was, Jeremy didn't make her feel cherished and cared for. He made her feel like one of his patients.
She angrily pushed the daydream away.
Jeremy was a good guy. He wasn't Ian—she knew that—but he wanted her and Ian didn't. She'd have to find a way to make it work.
 
Ian was on his way to visit his sister when he saw Lexi's car parked at Ralphy's.
He kept driving, but as if possessed by some spirit that needed to see her, he turned around and went back to the bar. In the parking lot he pulled out his phone.
“What?” Kelly answered.
“Hey, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it in time for dinner. Go ahead and start without me. I'll be there later.”
“Whatever,” she said and hung up. Kelly was still angry that he wasn't doing what she wanted. Maybe stalking Lexi at the bar would be a step in that direction.
He walked into the bar after scouting out the parking lot for any other cars that looked like hers. He didn't want to intrude if she was there with peckerhead.
Lexi was sitting at the bar alone, an empty bar stool on either side of her. On the bar to the left of her was a bottle of Corona.
He stopped walking and then remembered her story of ordering him a drink without thinking. He'd had the same thing happen to him. Except he'd been with Meeghan, and Meeghan didn't drink rum and Cokes, she drank Absolut Razz and Sprite. He had blamed the mix-up on the bartender.
Ian sat down to her left and took a sip of his beer, waiting for her to look over.
When she did, he nearly fell off the stool.
Her eye was black and her cheek was swollen. She was wearing a cast.
“What the hell happened to you?” he said, loud enough to get the attention of everyone else in the bar.
“I fell.”
“You
fell
?” he challenged. He'd seen this in Lifetime Movies. When a woman said she ran into a door or fell, it meant she was being abused.
I. Will. Kill. Him.
“Relax. This isn't one of those Lifetime Movies. I really did fall. I swear.” Damn. How did she know he watched Lifetime Movies?
He nodded slowly, not having any choice but to believe her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“You ordered me a drink.” He calmed down slightly and picked up the beer as she shook her head.
“I did that by accident.” She frowned and let her head rest on her palm.
“I know, but I'm not going to let it go to waste.” He winked at her. Her drink sat in front of her untouched.
“Are you okay?” He let the worry he was feeling coat his words.
“I promised I would meet some friends here, but I just want to go home to bed. I feel like hell.”
“Come on. I'll take you home. They'll understand.”
She pulled out her phone and sent a text before she pushed her drink away.
BOOK: When Least Expected
5.68Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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