Page 36 of Let Me Love You
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you said yes.” He gave a lopsided smile. His gaze dipped to her lips, and her stomach dropped like an elevator plummeted five floors.
Not that he wasn’t good looking. He was in that English-teacher kind of way. The problem was she didn’t get butterflies, nor did her heart skip a beat in his presence. Not like with Ren.
God!She’d never felt so alive as she had those few glorious days with him. Her physical reaction to him teetered on pornographic ever since the day he’d cornered her in the kitchen. More than that, he’d proved he genuinely cared for her. All the little things he’d done, showing his sensitive, loving, and devoted side. He did everything she asked of him and then some.
But that was over. It had to be.
Maybe if she kept telling herself that, one day she’d believe it.
“I’ve been wanting to ask you out for the last few months. I didn’t know your current situation or if you were ready. I know divorce can be complicated, having lived through it myself, but I thought ‘what the heck.’” His hazel eyes were warm. Todd was a couple years older than her. They had a lot in common. Except no spark, at least not for her.
“I need to be honest, I’m not quite ready for a relationship. I think you’re great, but I’m still mending from the divorce. I guess you can say I wasn’t expecting it.” If that wasn’t an understatement, she didn’t know what was.
If she were being totally honest, the spark of feelings for Ren were more unexpected than the dissolution of her marriage. He’d be the reason a relationship with Todd would go nowhere, but brutal honesty wasn’t necessary right now. “I’ve had a wonderful time. I hope you know that. Thank you.”
He blinked a bit longer than necessary.
She couldn’t tell if he was disappointed in what she’d said or if he found promise in her words. Either way, she wouldn’t string him along. Her heart was elsewhere.
“I hope it was wonderful enough to maybe want to do it again.” His voice filled with optimism. “I had a great time.”
All she could offer was a small smile. “Getting together again would be great, Todd. As friends.”
He didn’t seem fazed by her words. Instead, he reached across the table and squeezed her hand reassuringly like he understood where she came from.
A siren blared from a speaker as a guy with salt and pepper hair and a bushy beard plugged his guitar into the amplifier. Todd leaned into her so she could hear. “Seems like we’re going to get drowned out with some live blues.” The man on stage strummed a few chords and the small crowd hooted and hollered. “You want to turn your chair around so you can see the entertainment?”
Stacey rose from her seat and spun it next to Todd’s. He hung his arm loosely over the back of her chair as a man crooned into his microphone. Despite not having a physical attraction to Todd, their evening had been comforting. Putting herself back out on the dating scene had frightened her. She’d spent her entire twenties with one man. Dating after being married for ten years intimidated her. This was her first step and if nothing else it felt good to know she could go out on a date and the evening not be a total disaster.
The musician played a thirty-minute set before pausing for a break. The crowd dispersed, pushing toward the bar for another round of drinks.
She and Todd stayed seated talking about their summer plans outside of teaching.
“Aw, hell no!” A deep voice shouted above the hustle and bustle of the crowd. Stacey recognized the voice since it was etched into her memory, her fantasies, and dreams.
Ren.
What the hell was he doing at Mahuffer’s?
She turned to see him being wrapped up by two guys. One she recognized as his surfer best friend and roommate, Tyler, with the floppy blond hair. The other guy she’d never seen, but it took the two of them to keep Ren from charging toward her.
His gaze blazed with drunkenness and anger. He grappled with his two buddies, trying to get past them. He had every intent to get to her, as she recognized the determination in his eyes. The same look he’d had that first day he pursued her in the kitchen. Nothing would stop him.
She turned back around. Maybe if she ignored him he’d just leave. Making a scene wasn’t his style. Her heart pounded in her chest and she shuddered. She hadn’t considered that she could run into him while on her date. The thought had never crossed her mind.
Todd’s fingers thumped on her shoulder as he talked about taking his brother’s boat out on the water tomorrow.
A scuffle sounded behind them and several stools skidded across the dirt floor. Then Ren coasted in front of them and stopped. His khaki cargo shorts hung low on his waist. A green t-shirt clung to his chest and his biceps like a second skin. A masterpiece. When God created him, he broke the mold.
Despite his drunken anger, he practically melted her panties off with his wild, blue-eyed stare.
“What the hell?”
Todd sat up straighter in his chair. “Hey, man.”
“Are you on a date?” Ren’s words seethed out. He completely ignored Todd, his eyes never strayed from her.
His cheeks were pink, either from anger or alcohol, or both. His lips pulled into a tight line, but his bloodshot eyes couldn’t hide his hurt. She’d done that to him even after he’d given her exactly what she asked for—time. Her chest tightened and a lump in her throat threatened to choke her.
