The Billionaire's Best Friend(14)

“Nice to see you again.” Kevin extended his hand.

“Nate was just leaving,” Lauren said before he could say or do anything. “Give me ten minutes, and we can leave too.” Lauren took a step toward him. “Thanks for stopping by. It was good to see you.” Lauren clasped her hands behind her back as she met his gaze. “Sorry we couldn’t talk longer.”

The confusion and apprehension in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. She obviously wanted him as far away from her as possible right now.

“That’s okay. We’ll catch up some other time.” He took a step back toward the door. Retreat. The word rolled through him along with disgust. He wasn’t the kind of man who retreated. Yet at the moment he had no other option. She’d made that quite clear.



***



The theater exploded in another roar of laughter when Lisa Jones, the comedian on the stage, delivered the punch line. Lauren, however, remained silent. She had missed the first half of the joke, so the punch line made no sense to her. Actually, so far that night, she’d missed most of the jokes. Sure, she’d heard the comedian’s words, but she hadn’t processed most of them. Instead, her thoughts returned time and again to her past two conversations with Nate.

When she’d opened the door that night, her first instinct had been to throw herself against him and wrap her arms around him. But that emotion quickly changed, and the urge to slam the door in his face took over. Thanks to sheer willpower, she’d avoided doing both.

Who did he think he was just dropping by like that? He could have called first. His mother, also her boss now that she’d become principal at the elementary school, not only had her address, but also her cell phone number. How could he think she’d believe his line about missing her? He’d been the one to end things all those years ago, not her. She would’ve stayed with him as he went through the Naval Academy and whatever else the Marines required from him.

A smooth warm hand settled over hers, and Kevin’s breath spread across her cheek. “Did you hear me?”

Lost in her own thoughts, she’d tuned out the rest of the room, including her date. “Sorry. I’m a little tired tonight.” She gave him a small smile. “I spent most of yesterday helping Kelly decorate the nursery, and then I worked on this week’s lesson plans.”

The house lights overhead came up, filling the refurbished turn-of-the-century theater with light. “There’s a fifteen- minute intermission. The cafe probably has some decent coffee.”

“Sounds good.” Lauren stood.

Kevin kept a hand at the small of her back as they weaved through the crowded theater. Judging by the long lines outside the restrooms most patrons were making a bathroom stop before doing anything else.

“Your sister is due soon, right?”

They’d had this conversation twice already. How could he have forgotten again? “Three weeks.” Lauren sat down at a covered table.

“What do you think of the show?” Kevin took the seat next to her and handed her a coffee.

“Great,” Lauren said, although she didn’t have an opinion. So far she’d managed to miss the entire thing. “Lisa Jones is hilarious. I don’t know how she manages to keep a straight face.” At least the few times she’d seen her on television she’d managed to get out the most over-the-top jokes without cracking a smile. Why would tonight be any different?

Kevin draped an arm across the back of her chair, his hand brushing against her arm. “I preferred Carl Patterson myself. I thought Lisa’s jokes bordered on redneck territory.”

Lauren shrugged. Truthfully, when she’d seen the show performed on a cable comedy channel, she’d much preferred Lisa’s down-to-earth comedy to Carl’s politically laced humor. Yet it didn’t shock her that Kevin either didn’t or couldn’t appreciate Lisa’s jokes. Even before the last two comedians went on tonight, she could guess which one he’d favor. The four comedians had been touring for years together and had done many television specials despite their different styles.

“Are you driving back to Providence tonight?”

Kevin sipped his latte. “No, I’m heading to my parents for the night. I have a meeting in Boston tomorrow morning, so I figured I’d stop in to say hello and spend the night.”

Ah yes, his elusive parents. They’d been dating for months now, and she still hadn’t met them, even though their estate in Weston was less than an hour from her house. She’d hinted at wanting to meet them, but so far he’d not caught on. Or maybe he didn’t want her to meet them. Every time she thought that, she pushed the idea away. Still, the more time that passed, the more it popped up.