Page 76 of A Lesson for Laurel

“She put his engagement ring on his dirty plate?” Nicole asked.

“Right in the ketchup,” he said. “He hates to touch food with his fingers and that would force him to fish it out.”

“That’s hilarious,” Liam said.

“She has that warped sense of humor,” he said. “And then the dick showed up at her house the first day we met. That’s how I met her. I was outside and heard her giving him what for.”

He told them that story too.

“Your face,” Nicole said. “If you could see what we see when you’re talking about her.”

He didn’t need to see it. He felt it.

He wasn’t saying that though.

“Do you have what you need now?” he asked.

“I do,” Liam said. “How about a beer?”

“A beer sounds great,” he said. “I know we haven’t talked all that much.”

“And now we know why,” Liam said. “I thought it was odd you didn’t come home once in the past month. Not even for Easter.”

“I went to Laurel’s father’s house,” he said. “With her aunt too. Her aunt raised her with her father.”

There went the damn looks back and forth between his best friends. “That’s nice,” Liam said.

“What? No comment on us both being raised by an aunt?”

“Nope,” Liam said. “I’m going to drink my beer with my best friend while my wife makes dinner.”

“Maybe you should take turns and cook for your wife now and again,” he said.

“You tell him,” Nicole said, moving over and kissing him on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re home, but I’m not so sure you’re happy about it.”

He wasn’t either.

26

YOU TO BE YOU

It’d been a long week.

Laurel didn’t get out of work until six last night. She’d planned on leaving by no later than five thirty for Easton’s and got on the road an hour later.

She’d grabbed a granola bar and soda and had them in the car. When she got to Easton’s condo, he pulled her in for one scorching kiss and they ended up in his bedroom before she could even get a good look at his place.

Then while she was putting her clothes away for the weekend, he warmed the pizza that had been delivered before she arrived.

They hadn’t talked much last night. Cleaned up their dinner, watched some TV, and went to bed.

This morning they’d talked some more about their week and went to the store for some food so she could put snacks together for their dinner at Liam and Nicole’s.

“What did you tell your friends about me?” she asked.

“Are you nervous?”

“Maybe a little,” she said.

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