“He did.”
She took a deep breath and, since the angle he was looking down at her offered a window-framed view of her breasts, he forced himself to look at the trees over the top of the car. Having sexy thoughts about her while discussing Mitch’s reaction to the idea of them having sex didn’t sit well with him. Neither did lying to his best friend, even if only by omission, but there was no point in putting a strain on relationships for what had been nothing more than a quick rebound fling.
As happy as he was for Mitch and Paige, their wedding had been hard on him. Divorce sucked extra hard when you were celebrating a marriage, and he felt lonely and cold inside. Then he’d seen Liz and turned hot in an instant. She was so vibrant and fun, dancing and laughing with her family but, behind the smile, he could see that she was lonely, too.
They’d circled around each other during the reception. Glances. Smiles. Touches. Then they’d run into each other in the house and found themselves alone. He still wasn’t sure who moved first, but the kiss made him feel like that bird that rose out of the ashes and they went upstairs.
Liz was just as vibrant and fun in the bedroom, and Drew wouldn’t want to ever confess how many times he’d thought about that day since. But he’d barely caught his breath before Liz heard her brother Ryan yelling her name and ran off like a teen who’d spotted her parents’ headlights in a window. There had been cake cutting and more celebrating and then he’d been doing the designated-driver thing, so he hadn’t gotten to see her again before she went back to New Mexico.
Maybe if she’d stayed, it would have amounted to something and they would have told Mitch they were a couple. Instead, the best sex of his life was an awkward secret.
“It’s not a big deal,” Liz said, and he wasn’t sure if she meant the sex, the Facebook photo or Mitch’s certainty his best friend wouldn’t put the moves on his sister. “I’m not worrying about what people think. I’m starting a new life and I’m going to have fun and do what I want to do. If people want to plaster it on Facebook, more power to them.”
“Do me a favor and don’t do it at sixty miles per hour, okay?”
She smiled and looked up at him. “Does that mean you’re letting me off with a warning, Chief Miller?”
He should give her a warning, all right. A warning not to look at him like that, with her pretty eyes and the smile that looked sweet, but held a hint of naughtiness. “Just this once.”
After waiting to make sure she pulled the Mustang back onto the road and drove off at a legal speed, Drew did a U-turn and decided to head home for lunch. While most of the time being in the house alone depressed him, sometimes it was a crazy-people-free refuge and that’s what he needed right now.
He made himself a turkey sandwich on wheat in deference to his uniform’s belt, but then slathered on the mayo in deference to his mood.
Sitting on one of the two bar stools at his counter, since Mal had taken the dining room set, he ate his sandwich and tried to clear his head. He vaguely remembered, from some high school English class, a story about beautiful women who’d lure sailors in so they smashed their ships on the rocks. That’s how he felt about Liz. Not that she was trying to lure him to his death, but he didn’t seem to be able to resist thinking about her, even knowing it wouldn’t end well.
Even without Mitch as a rock to crash up against, any relationship between Drew and Liz was a disaster waiting to happen. They were both starting over, but they were going in different directions. Liz wanted to have fun and figure out her new direction in life. Drew already knew what direction he was going in. He wanted children, so he was looking for a wife who wanted the same and he was tired of waiting.
He needed to stop thinking about Liz Kowalski every time he closed his eyes and start picturing the family he wanted to have. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough, he could imagine the sounds of young voices and the sight of bicycles left in the driveway. He’d wanted that for a long time, but had been married to the wrong woman. Now it was time to start making that dream come true, and being derailed by another wrong woman wasn’t getting him any closer.
No matter how good she might make him feel, he had to remember Liz wasn’t going to be the mother of his children.
Chapter Three