Page 25 of The Proximity Factor

Admittedly, I was glad I had caught her off guard. Her flustered state was attractive. Even more to my liking was her comment that I looked good. I was under the impression she found me repulsive. She had called me old and grumpy last night. I shouldn’t have cared what she thought of me. It was reckless and opened doors I needed to keep slammed shut. But I was glad I had opened the door right now. Something about her freshly washed face, glowing and smiling at me, made me once again feel alive.

“Is everything okay? Did Greg call you or try to come by?”

“No, nothing like that, thank goodness. In fact, I just got word that he’s leaving Goldenville. I don’t think he’ll be bothering me again.”

I was glad to hear it. “The pitchforks came out, huh?”

“Yep. In full force. Which also means ...” She bit her lip. “The truth came out about us. I mean not us, because there is no us. What I meant to say is my mama knows you’re a man. And ... well ... she’s demanding I bring you to meet her tomorrow.”

I gripped the door, bristling. Like Lanie said, there was no us. That gave her mom zero right to demand anything from me. It wasn’t my fault Lanie lied to her mom. “Sorry, I’m busy.”

Without invitation, Lanie waltzed right into my room, brushing past me and filling my senses with her maddeningly seductive scent and the slightest touch of that baby-soft skin of hers.

I clenched my fists, doing my best to not let her affect me.

Lanie peeked around my room, her eyes landing on the three monitors all lit up on my desk. “I know you’re trying to get your new release out, but there’s more to life than work. Besides, I promised your sister I would help you get out a little more and have some fun.”

What the hell? Daphne and I were having words. “Meeting your angry mother doesn’t sound like fun. It’s a hard pass for me. It’s not my fault you lied to her.”

Her face quickly fell, while her eyes screamed I’d mortally wounded her, making me feel like a jerk. And I was. Yet she quickly rallied and squared her shoulders.

“Listen, I get it. You probably think I’m a liar, and after what you’ve been through, I don’t blame you.”

Daphne and I were definitely having words. Obviously, Lanie knew all about my ex-wife and who knew what else.

“But I’m not a liar,” she begged me to believe her. “Yes, I lied to my mama, but I had noble intentions. She’s had some really rough years, and I want to use the money from this experiment to surprise her and take her on the European vacation my daddy promised her. He never got to take her because his medical bills got so high and he was too ill. And I didn’t tell her about you because I didn’t want to cause her any more worry. Sure, I didn’t want to deal with her angst either. But haven’t you ever kept something from someone to protect them, or just because maybe you couldn’t deal with any more crap in your life?”

She certainly knew how to put a person in his place. I ran a hand over my hair and sat on the edge of my bed, feeling like I’d gotten epically owned. It was then I realized that I lie to myself all the time by not living life and pushing people away, convincing myself I don’t have time for either. But in reality, I don’t want to deal with the crap that comes with it all, as Lanie put it. Unfortunately, I think while trying to avoid the mess of life, I only created more for myself. Yet, getting more involved with Lanie was only asking for trouble.

Lanie stepped closer, an impish smile on her lips. “I know you’re busy and I’m asking a lot, but please consider it. My mama makes potato salad every Sunday in the summer, and no matter how she feels about us ‘living together,’ she’s going to want to feed you. And I know you love that potato salad, Mr. I-ate-three-servings-and-didn’t-even-say-thank-you.”

I couldn’t help but smile. She was irritatingly adorable. And right. I loved that potato salad, and I should have acknowledged it. “It was the best potato salad I’ve ever had. But ... I still don’t think—”

The woman jumped unceremoniously right into my space and put her perfectly manicured finger over my lips. “Shhh. Now don’t say things you’re going to want to take back.” Her eyes danced with amusement. She knew how to play the game, and how intoxicating she was.

I had to hold myself back from kissing her finger and grabbing her hand to pull her closer, before I agreed to anything she wanted me to do.

All the playfulness washed from her features. “Uh,” she breathed out. “You have gorgeous eyes.” She stepped back, blinking and shaking her head. “Anyway, we’ll leave tomorrow at two. I’ll get my Taylor Swift playlist ready for you.” She laughed melodically.

Coming out of the stupor she’d cast over me, I curled my lips in disgust.

“Just kidding.” She grinned. “But we’re not listening to any movie soundtracks, so I’ll be sure to check with Daphne to see what else you like. Good night, darlin’. Sweet dreams.” She waved as she flitted out of my room.

Meanwhile, I just stared dumbly after her, not sure what had just happened. All I knew was Maren was an amateur compared to Lanie when it came to getting what she wanted. Lanie was a master, and I was man enough to admit that terrified me.

A notification popped up on my monitor, reminding me I only had an hour to get my video diary in for the week. Great, more intrusions in my life. I sighed and pushed myself off the bed, still in a daze. I numbly logged into the portal, not thinking straight. On autopilot, I downloaded the questionnaire and clicked record.

“Question one: Did you spend more or less time with Lanie this week than the previous week?” I mumbled, “Maybe too much.” The jury was still out. I had a feeling I was going to lose this case. Especially with my sister and friends working against me. Maybe a better way to say it was they were playing on Lanie’s team.

“Question two: If there was a change in the amount of time, either more or less, please tell us why. I’ll tell you why,” I scoffed, ready to blame it all on Lanie before remembering it was my doing. I didn’t have to intervene with her and Greg. But what kind of man would it have made me if I hadn’t? Not the kind I could look at in the mirror. But I didn’t have to watch a movie with her or sleep on the chair to make sure she felt safe. She didn’t make me do any of those things.

“You know why, because I’m tired of barely seeing the light of day and staring at monitors all day, every day.” That’s all they needed to know.

“Question three: Do you feel like any of the barriers you’ve previously reported have come down? Have any additional barriers arisen? Please explain.” I had to laugh. The barriers had unwillingly come down. But I was less sorry about that than I’d have imagined. Even if it meant having to drive to Goldenville to meet Lanie’s mom. The potato salad would almost be worth it. That is, if Mrs. Davenport didn’t maim me first. “I’ve let my guard down some,” I admitted. “As far as additional barriers are concerned, I’m sure I’ll be throwing some up in the near future.”

“Question four: What does intimacy look like for you?” I growled. “You guys just can’t lay off these intimacy questions, can you?” I sat stewing about the invasive and inappropriate question, not sure what to say. Intimacy was multifaceted. My first thought was that it looks a lot like sex for me. But I knew that too often led to mistaking sex for love when I was younger. So maybe it looked like ... “Being able to be both emotionally and physically close to someone.” That sounded legitimate.

“Question five: Have you ever experienced what you described in question four?” I threw my hands up in the air. This was such BS. “Yes,” I spat, assaulted by thoughts of Maren. For years, I’d counted myself a lucky man to be with someone I felt so connected to.

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