Page 67 of A Lesson for Laurel

Liam had asked him to come this weekend and he’d said no. That he had too much going on and would be home next weekend anyway.

Time was flying by faster than he thought it was going to.

“Do your friends know about me?” she asked.

He turned his head to look at her. “No,” he said. “I’ll tell them when I go home next weekend.”

Which was only a half-truth because he did tell Liam about the date in the beginning, but nothing more. It hadn’t come up and he wasn’t sure why that was. Liam normally was like a woman wanting gossip first thing on a Monday morning after a long holiday weekend, but he never asked and Easton wasn’t one for chatting much and kept things to texts.

Laurel knew he was leaving next Sunday. He’d planned on going on Saturday, knowing that Abe would be home that day, but decided to stay so that he could introduce Abe and Laurel to each other. He’d pack his car up and then stay that night with Laurel before he left.

“How do you think they will react?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “They don’t care about anything other than if I’m happy. They’d like you.”

She smiled. “Do I get to meet them sometime? And if I’m coming off as clingy, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be.”

“You’re not,” he said. “I know we haven’t talked much about what is going to happen next weekend.”

“You’re going home on Sunday,” she said. “I’m going to meet Abe on Saturday and then he’s going to be my neighbor.”

She laughed when she said it and he had to fight hard to keep the frown from his face. “I plan on us seeing each other on the weekends. We can take turns visiting. I don’t expect you to come to me and I know sometimes you’ve got to work on the weekend too.”

“It’s only about ninety minutes,” she said. “Right?”

“Pretty much,” he said. “Depending on traffic. Not the end of the world.”

“Nope,” she said. “It will be fine.”

“I think so,” he said.

If she was going to have an issue with it, there wasn’t a lot he could do right now. She worked in Mystic and he had a place ninety minutes away.

He could work anywhere, but he wasn’t going to pick up his life for someone he’d only been dating a few weeks.

She would never quit a job she loved and just started.

“My father is most likely going to ask those things,” she said. “I told him to lay off it.”

“He can be the way he wants,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I’ve got to answer anything, but I won’t be disrespectful if that is your worry.”

“It’s not a worry,” she said. “Not at all.”

“Good,” he said. He reached for her hand. He wasn’t one who showed affection often. Not unless they were having sex. “You’re not worried about us being apart, are you?”

“No,” she said. “We don’t see each other every day and I never expected that. If I need a cup of sugar to borrow, I’ll get it from Abe.”

“Not funny,” he said. He was smiling when he said it though. “And he’s not liable to have any sugar in the house either. He’s not much of a baker anymore than me.”

“Good point,” she said. “I’m not either.”

“But you’ve got that pie you made,” he said. “And it smells good.”

“I do like apple pie. My father likes it too. That is about one of the few things I make.”

“You seem nervous,” he said. “Why is that?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. My aunt, she is a little out there.”

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