Page 10 of The Proximity Factor

Brynn nudged Javon. “Did you know Lanie is from Goldenville? You know, that cute town with the gorgeous vineyard and yummy restaurant, La Vina? Remember, we did that wine tasting there and then had lunch?”

Javon reached for the potato salad. “Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled. Which meant he didn’t remember it at all.

“My best friend’s family owns both. Val is the main chef at La Vina, and her hubby is a viticulturist for the vineyard. He’s also one of the best winemakers in the country. That’s how they met.” Lanie grinned.

“That’s cute,” Anna said while handing her two-year-old, Jessalynn, a piece of watermelon. “We should all take a day trip up there. Don’t they have some great waterfalls up that way?”

No one was taking any trips up there if I had anything to say about it. But I had a feeling I had zero say. My hope of Lanie disappearing from my life in ten weeks was fading quickly.

Lanie nodded. “Yes. My favorite is Amicalola Falls. So beautiful and romantic,” she sang.

Brynn caught my eye and wagged her brows, as if I should take that as a hint. I ignored her insinuations and grabbed a piece of corn on the cob from the tray in front of me.

“Is that your idea of a good date?” Ethan asked Lanie.

I whipped my head in Ethan’s direction, silently asking what the hell he was doing.

He paid me no heed. He only had eyes for my roommate.

“Well, if a picnic is involved and my date plans to take a dip in the water, absolutely,” she perfectly drawled.

“This is good information,” Ethan replied, hinting he planned to make use of that knowledge.

Incensed by the entire conversation, and trying not to think about Lanie’s clothes hanging on a branch while she dove into the water, I slopped some potato salad onto my plate. That was a fatal error on my part.

Lanie leaned toward me, her soft skin brushing against mine, making me question whether a midlife crisis was such a bad thing. “You might not want to taste that,” she whispered. “If you do, you may find you like something about me. And I know that wouldn’t make you happy.” Her baby blues caught hold of me, and I found myself trapped in her gaze and memorizing the contour of her supple pink lips. No doubt they would feel like velvet to touch. The urge to know had me curling my fingers into a ball to remind them that was a door we would never unlock.

Yet her gaze held me captive. If she kept looking at me like that, imploring me to give in to her, I wasn’t going to need to eat her potato salad to know there were things I would very much like about her. She was right. That would make me unhappy. I cleared my throat and forced myself to look away.

The interaction didn’t go unnoticed by my friends. They all stared at me with a question in their eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know what they were asking. The answer was no. There was nothing between my roommate and me, nor would there ever be.

“Miss Lanie, would you help me with my cheer routine after dinner?” Olivia, Pete and Anna’s ten-year-old daughter, asked.

I inwardly groaned. I felt doomed. The way Lanie was ingratiating herself with the kids was the final nail in my coffin. Anna and Brynn were sure to keep her.

“I’d love to, honey,” Lanie chirped.

“Then we can play Minecraft, Uncle Parker,” Olivia added.

“I’m playing too,” Rhett, Olivia’s eight-year-old brother, loudly shouted.

For the two of them, I mustered a smile. I took my honorary uncle title seriously. “I look forward to it.”

Lanie offered me a thoughtful glance. She was probably surprised I liked kids. Little did she know how much I’d hoped to have some of my own one day. Maren and I had exhausted every possibility trying to conceive, but it wasn’t in the cards for us. Maybe it was for the best.

“So, tell us some more about your family,” Brynn asked Lanie.

I turned to my food, hoping to drown out the commentary. The less I knew about Lanie, the better.

Unfortunately, Lanie was all too happy to answer, and she was so perky about it, it was hard to ignore. “Well, it was just Mama, Daddy, my older brother, and me growing up. We own the hardware store in town. It’s a little family business that has never made much money, but it gave us what we needed. And everyone in town goes there. Our town doesn’t like big corporations. You should have seen it when Walmart tried to build a store in town. It was like the Salem witch trials. The city council was willing to burn them at the stake if necessary.”

All the adults, minus me, laughed. Instead, I made the mistake of taking a bite of her potato salad. I wasn’t sure what creamy concoction she used, but it wasn’t mayo. Whatever it was, it was tangy, with a hint of sweet paprika. It went perfectly with the crunch of the dill pickles that tasted like she’d canned them herself. Paired together with the hard-boiled eggs, it was hands down the best potato salad I’d ever eaten. I had to press my lips together before I sighed with pleasure. It was official. She was evil.

“Mama runs the store now,” Lanie continued. “Daddy,” she said with emotion, “died back in January.”

“Oh, goodness, I’m so sorry,” Anna voiced what everyone was thinking.

Lanie let out a meaningful breath. “We all miss him, but he hadn’t been well for a while. He was born with bad kidneys. That didn’t stop him, though,” she said proudly.

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