He had an early morning himself. He needed to be in Weymouth by three in the morning for an arrest. Even with that obscene hour hanging over his head, he didn’t want her to go. After fifteen years, he could once again touch her, kiss her, hold her. He wasn’t ready to give that up today. “Can’t you do it in the morning? Leave here early, stop home and do whatever you need to.” They wouldn’t have any time together in the morning, but at least she’d be next to him when he woke up.
“I’d feel rushed. Besides, JoJo is at home. She’ll need to go out soon.”
He had no good argument for that reasoning. “Tomorrow night then. Come by after work with your dog and spend the night.” He pulled her close again.
“Maybe.”
Prepared with a protest, he started to speak, but Lauren placed a finger over his lips and silenced him.
“I need to end things with Kevin. Let him know I made my decision and give him back his ring. I’ll call him tomorrow and see if we can meet up. If he can’t do it tomorrow night, I’ll come here. Sound fair?”
“Tell him over the phone. You can get the ring back to him later.” What difference did it make if she told him over the phone or in person? The end result was the same.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Would you want news like that over the phone? Never mind, don’t answer that. If I don’t see you tomorrow, then I promise I’ll see you on Friday.”
She placed a feather-light kiss on his lips and his mind momentarily stopped its search for a sound argument. “I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight this weekend.” Or my bed.
***
Did she have an answer for him? Already a week had slipped by since his proposal. Perhaps he’d been overly optimistic, but he’d expected an answer by now. In all honesty, he’d thought she would agree the day he’d asked. During their phone call days earlier, she’d only said they needed to talk face-to-face. She’d given him no hints during the brief phone conversation Thursday afternoon. Well, nothing other than to sound annoyed that he couldn’t meet with her until Saturday afternoon. He’d tried to explain that several key projects required his attention. Whether or not she understood was anyone’s guess. In the end she’d sounded resigned to the fact. Briefly, he’d considered rearranging his Friday schedule so they could meet sooner. But if they married, she needed to learn business came first, followed by family and friends.
From the driveway, Kevin saw Lauren walk by the large bay window and glance outside. When she spotted him, she waved. He waved back to acknowledge he’d seen her and grabbed the dozen long-stemmed red roses off the passenger seat. He’d picked them up at the last minute as a peace offering. If she was upset because he hadn’t made it sooner, they may help. After all, what woman didn’t like receiving flowers?
Even from the walkway, he could hear her dog. Lauren insisted the dog was friendly and not an excessive barker. Yet the dog didn’t seem to like him. When he came over, it hovered around them. On more than one occasion it had growled at him and barked nonstop until she put it outside. Lauren had even commented how uncharacteristic the dog acted when he came over. Although he didn’t think dogs or animals in general were all that intelligent, maybe this one could sense he wasn’t a dog person.
“Knock it off, JoJo. It’s Kevin.” Lauren’s words traveled down the walkway toward him when she opened the door. Next to her, the dog quieted but remained vigilant by her leg.
I’ll never get why people have pets. He held out the flowers and pasted a warm smile on his face. “With her around, you always know when someone is here.”
She hesitated before taking the flowers from him with a timid smile. “She’s better than a doorbell, that’s for sure. Come on in.” Her tone of voice and body language told him little.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.” No matter what, you couldn’t go wrong with an apology. “I wanted to, but the logistics just made it impossible.” He moved into hug her but stopped when Lauren took a step back.
“It’s okay. I understand.” Her words came out slow and measured, almost as if she’d spent time rehearsing them. “But we need to talk.”
A warning bell went off in his head. Either she intended to say no or she was leaning toward that decision. Either way it messed with his plans. “I’m listening.” Kevin sat down, careful that he kept his posture relaxed.
Lauren paced in front of him a few times and her dog followed. Given a different set of circumstances he would have laughed at the sight. After the fourth pass though she stopped and faced him. “Kevin, we get along well and have fun together.”