Page 41 of A Chance at Forever
Rusty’s smile turned her insides to mush. “Yes, ma’am.”
*
Bud wasn’t theonly one who needed pampering. Rusty wanted to pamper the dog’s beautiful mistress, too. After football practice, he visited Mia’s floral shop and tramped through it until he found the perfect bouquet of apricot roses.
The young clerk behind the counter stared with envy at it. “I’ve never seen you in here before, Coach. Who are the flowers for? Your girlfriend?”
Having been the subject of the small-town grapevine thriving in Marysville, Rusty had no intention of mentioning Victoria’s name. “A very special lady, and that’s all you need to know, Simone.” She rolled her eyes at him as he handed her the appropriate amount of cash.
Rusty chuckled to himself as he headed to Smith’s Diner to pick up dinner. Though he’d avoided answering Simone’s rude question, he couldn’t fool Ma Smith. She knew exactly for whom he’d bought the apricot roses and gushed her delight over Rusty and Victoria finding each other.
“I knew it,” Ma exclaimed. “I’m so glad Doug and I told Victoria about the McFarlands’ place. You two are perfect together.”
Rusty needed to downplay her enthusiasm. “Now, Ma, don’t get too excited. We’re only friends.” He glanced uneasily at the other diners who listened without shame to their conversation.
Ma bagged their dinner andtskedat him. “Not for long. Mark my words, young man. I hear wedding bells in your future.”
Rusty’s face flamed with color. He grabbed the bag and the cardboard container with their shakes and left before Ma could say anything else.
Marriage! Whenever he’d tried to envision a future that included a wife and a family, he saw only a dark void. But Victoria… With her, he imagined a world of possibilities. At the moment he imagined kissing her soft lips instead of her cheek. She hadn’t drawn away from him or slapped him, so perhaps she wouldn’t be averse to kissing him.
Keeping Victoria in the friend zone flew from Rusty’s mind. As soon as he stepped across the threshold with dinner and the flowers, her lovely blue-gray eyes lit with pleasure.
“Are those for me?” she asked shyly.
“Yeah.” He handed them to her and resisted the impulse to pull her into his arms. Bud yipped from his doggy bed, and Rusty bent to give him some attention. “You’re looking better, Bud. I have a special treat for you. Be right back.”
Rusty joined Victoria in the kitchen. She’d put the flowers in a crystal vase and set it on the table.
“The roses are beautiful. Thank you.” Her eyes caressed him.
“You’re welcome. I’m going to chop up these hamburger patties and give them to Bud. Did you have any difficulty bringing him home?”
“No, not at all. He’s walking pretty well but gets tired easily. While you feed him, I’ll unpack dinner for us. I’m hungry, and you must be, too.”
Bud attacked the patties with gusto, and Rusty laughed. “I’m about to follow suit, big fella.” He rubbed the dog’s head. “You lie here and rest.”
Rusty took the chocolate shake Victoria handed him and dropped into a chair. “Pass me one of those cheeseburgers, please, Tori. I’m starving.”
She waited until they’d eaten most of their cheeseburgers and fries before she asked in a soft tone of voice, “Are you feeling okay, Rusty?”
Her question hit him square in the gut as if he’d been sucker-punched. He took a long sip of his chocolate shake and schooled his reaction behind a blank face, though heat crept up his neck. “Never better. Whatever virus I caught after we met in Colorado is long gone.”
Victoria frowned. “You were sick for weeks?”
Rusty had put his foot in his mouth, and now he had to produce a plausible explanation without outright lying to her. A lie of omission, but still… “Yeah. My immune system must have been compromised, and I couldn’t fight this nasty bug. I would start to kick it, then have a relapse.”
“Oh. Something like that happened to me after my mom passed away. I developed an upper respiratory infection and couldn’t get over it while I grieved. I was sick for a month and a half that summer before I left for Harvard. Not quite how I envisioned starting my college life.”
He pounced on the subject of their college days to distract Victoria from asking him any more questions about his recent bout of illness. Bud provided aid when he heard them laughing and plodded slowly into the kitchen. He found his spot on Rusty’s feet, and their attention focused on the recuperating dog.
“I have no earthly idea why he keeps doing that to you,” Victoria commented with a smile.
Rusty chuckled. “I don’t mind. Besides, we wouldn’t have met in West Bend’s diner if he hadn’t taken a shine to my big feet.”
“So, you’re saying you wouldn’t have tried to flirt with me?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
He leaned forward and grinned. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you.” His gaze captured hers, and he watched, fascinated, as an attractive shade of pink rose in her cheeks.
