The Billionaire's Best Friend(66)

“How—”

Allison held her spoon up as a signal for Lauren to stop. “One sec, I’m getting to that. My brother Trent would’ve done the same thing. He focuses on the here and now, not the what-ifs. If your boyfriend is anything like Trent, he failed to tell you because it was a what-if. It didn’t play into his immediate plan.” Allison scooped up a spoonful of chocolate pudding as Lauren digested the words.

Snippets from her conversation with Nate surfaced. He’d admitted that when he proposed tryouts hadn’t been announced. Was Allison’s theory correct? Had it been less a matter of his making all the decisions for them and more because he figured it may never happen? In many ways, Nate lived in the here and now. He never lost sleep over what the next day would bring, and for the most part he didn’t dwell on the past.

“Don’t get mad when I say this, but I don’t think he’s trying to control your relationship. I think he was just being a typical guy. And unfortunately, they don’t always use their brains.”

“You and Sara might be right. Still, I need to sort stuff out.” Lauren took another sip of her milk. “How do you survive with four brothers, anyway? Are they all younger?” Over the past few years she’d met many of Callie’s cousins, but with the Sherbrookes being such a large family it was difficult to remember all the specific relationships.

“Trent and Grayson are older. Derek is my twin, and Alec is two years younger.”

She remembered meeting Trent and Alec, the other two didn’t sound familiar.

“What’s it like with that many brothers?”

While Lauren finished her milk, Allison kept her entertained with stories about her brothers. From the sound of it, her relationship with them wasn’t much different than any other brother-sister relationship, despite the family’s wealth.

“Your brother Trent sounds a lot like my brother. He always thinks he’s right, too. Must be an older brother syndrome or something.”

“Must be. Sara’s complained about the same thing, too.” Allison looked across at Lauren, and her carefree smile faded away. “I think I’m ready for bed now. But, Lauren, whatever you decide about your engagement, don’t rush your decision. Take your time and think it through. And if you want to talk again, I’ll be here all weekend. I know you’d probably rather talk to Callie, but if you need a fresh pair of ears, I’m around, too.”

Prior to this weekend, Lauren had only interacted with Allison a handful of times, and she appreciated the other woman’s kind gesture. It never hurt to bounce ideas and thoughts off more than one person.

“Thanks. I might take you up on that. See you in the morning.”

Alone once again, Lauren stared down at the empty mug, just as awake now as she had been when she came downstairs. Still, her trip to the kitchen had not been a total waste. Allison had given her a lot to think about. Her opinion not only made her think, it gave her hope. If Nate omitted the information about a possible move because he thought it might never happen rather than because he wanted complete control of their relationship, it put a different spin on things. How was she to know for sure, though?

“Sitting in here isn’t going to help.” She came to her feet. Even if she didn’t fall asleep, her bedroom upstairs would be a more comfortable place to contemplate her future.





Chapter 15



“You did what?” Callie asked in a voice so loud Lauren suspected everyone in Cliff House heard her.

“Callie, you heard me. I gave Nate back the engagement ring.”

Callie leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Lauren’s. “Have you lost your mind? Why did you do that? This doesn’t have anything to do with Kevin, does it?”

Unable to hold her friend’s stare, Lauren looked away. “Thursday night he dropped this bomb on me. The FBI has this thing called the Hostage Rescue Team. I have no clue what they do, but Nate wants to be a part of it.” For the first time since she’d heard the words, she realized she honestly had no clue what the team did. The name implied they rescued hostages, but really they must do more than that. After all, how many hostage situations could there be in the US on a yearly basis?

“Anyway, this week he learned that HRT tryouts start next month. He needs to be down there for the 15th. If he makes the team, he’ll need to relocate to Virginia.”

Leaning back, Callie’s eyebrows creased with confusion. “I understand all that, but I don’t see why you called off the engagement. Either push-up or postpone the wedding. Don’t call the whole thing off.”