Page 30 of A Chance at Forever
The afternoon passed in a blur. Victoria hiked with Bud around the lake and lounged with him on the dock before she tackled the essays on her desk and cleaned the house. She didn’t want to take a half-eaten apple pie to her friends’ house, so she baked a pan of brownies.
Keeping busy didn’t prevent her from thinking about her sexy neighbor.
Victoria liked him. She admired Rusty’s intellect and his dedication to his students. He’d impressed her by discussing classic literature with her yesterday instead of boasting about his accomplishments. And he knew how to grill steak.
But seeing him earlier with all those women vying for his attention reminded her too much of Alan. Even though Patsy had told her Rusty never went on dates, Victoria couldn’t afford to spend any time alone with him. Her best option was to avoid him.
Victoria decided to walk the short distance to Mia and Steve’s house, and the cool fall temperature required a sweater. She slipped one on, grabbed the container of brownies, and whistled for Bud who bounded out of the house after her.
She arrived on time at five o’clock and pressed the doorbell.
With a weird expression on her face, Mia pulled her inside and exclaimed, “Victoria! What a surprise. Oh, you baked brownies.”
Victoria emitted a light laugh. “Mia, why are you acting…?” She broke off as she spotted Rusty rolling on the living room floor with little Stevie. “You should have warned me he’d be here.”
“I didn’t know Steve had invited him until a couple of hours ago.”
Victoria opened her mouth to reply, but Stevie broke away from Rusty and threw himself against her. “Aunt Tori! You’re here! And so is Bud!”
She bent down to hug the little boy. “You didn’t think I’d forget to bring him, did you?”
“Nope. I’m gonna go tell Mark.” He skedaddled into the family room.
Rusty watched Victoria with his fascinating emerald eyes. “Hi.”
“Hi. Mia, didn’t you say you needed help in the kitchen?”
“Um, yes.”
Alone in the kitchen with Mia, Victoria reproached her friend as she placed warm yeast rolls in a basket. “Honestly, Mia, you should have given me a heads up.”
“Why are you so bothered by Rusty being here?”
“He came over yesterday and wrangled an invitation to dinner.”
Mia laughed and removed a standing rib roast from the oven. “Pulled the old ‘I’m hungry’ hospitality gag on you, huh?”
“Yes, and I didn’t appreciate his barging in on me like that.”
“Oh? Now, tell me the real reason you’re perturbed.”
“I don’t want to be friends with him.” Victoria carried the basket of rolls and a vegetable bowl to the formal dining room. Mia followed with the rib roast on a platter.
“I think you’re being unrealistic. Take tonight, for instance. We’re all friends, Tori, and we’re not excluding either you or Rusty. So, put a smile on your face.”
Victoria gaped at her friend and bit back a sharp retort.
Okay. You can do this. It’s dinner with your friends. Not a date, silly girl.
Mia called everyone into dinner. They trooped into the dining room, and Victoria found herself in the most uncomfortable seat right across from Rusty. His intense scrutiny made her feel like a bug on a slide under one of his microscopes. She squirmed like one, too. Especially when the conversation included stories about growing up with Mia and Jonica.
And then Rusty chimed in. “You know, Tori, I could give you fishing lessons. I saw you get slapped in the face with a trout.”
Ugh! Did he just say that?Forget the trout. Her nickname fell as sweet as honey from his lips.
Mark and Stevie burst out laughing and pointed at her. “Aunt Tori got hit in the face with a fish!”
Mia hushed her boys as Steve’s and Rusty’s grins brought a hot flush to her cheeks, and she glared with sudden dislike at the man sitting across from her. “I don’t need your fishing lessons.”
