Chapter 27

Lanie

Latte clutched in hand, I stepped around a group of chatting girls and beelined for the table by the window. Judging by the quick stakeout I’d performed upon entering the cafe, it was the best spot. With a round table surrounded by cozy, plush chairs, it also provided a good view of the street.

Which meant I’d see Andrew before he saw me.

Just thinking about him had my stomach twisting into knots a sailor would have been proud of. The only contact we’d had all week was the sparse text messages on Wednesday night. Even though Andrew had said he wanted to see me, he hadn’t been able to meet until tonight, Friday. Apparently, just like me, he’d been filling up the calendar.

I only hoped this meant Raven wasn’t being pushed to the side again. If, after all the work Andrew put into repairing their relationship, life reverted back to its old way, I would feel awful. Like I had something to do with it all.

I suppose I did.

Taking a careful sip of my latte, I set it down on the table. I didn’t usually drink coffee in the evenings, but I’d ordered it so my hands would have something to do. Plus, I had a late night ahead of me anyway. Though I desperately wanted Andrew to breeze in, kiss me like there was no one watching, and invite me home with him, I hadn’t gotten the sense that would be happening.

No. He’d invited me to a public place, not to his home. And not to a romantic dinner, either—just to a standard cafe across from a park.

“Hey.”

I looked up, expecting to see Andrew, but finding a blond guy in a flannel shirt instead. He was smiling, showing off deep-set dimples.

“Hi,” I tentatively said.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking kind of uncomfortable. “I hope this isn’t weird, but I saw you from across the room, and I wanted to come over and introduce myself. I’m Joe.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lanie.” I stood, and we shook hands, his hazel eyes on me the whole time. He was undeniably handsome, and I couldn’t understand why he’d come over to talk to me.

“I was studying with my friends.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, toward a large table of college-aged students talking and peering at books and laptops.

“Oh. Nice. Let me guess. UW?”

“Yeah.” His smile lit his whole face. “Where do you go?”

“Oh.” I laughed. “No, I’m not in school.”

“Cool. Much respect. Everyone needs to pave their own path.”

I stifled a second laugh. “I did go, but I graduated some time ago. I’m twenty-eight.”

Joe’s jaw dropped. “No, you’re not.”

“Yep.” I surreptitiously peeked at the door. Andrew still hadn’t arrived.

“But you can’t be any older than twenty-two.”

“Twenty-eight,” I repeated.

I waited for his comments about how lucky I was to look young, and how I would age well, and blah blah blah. I’d heard it all before. None of it made me feel better about having to constantly wear a baby face to my big girl job.

“I’m sorry,” Joe earnestly said. “It must be annoying to be mistaken for being younger.”

I tilted my head, studying him. “Yeah,” I slowly answered. “It is.”

Usually, people didn’t understand that. That Joe should was kind of shocking.

He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I saw you were sitting over here all by yourself, and I was wondering if you wanted to join me.”

I bit down on a smile. “Don’t you have studying to do?”

His gaze was unwavering. “That can wait.”

My eyes darted to the closed door again. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m waiting for someone.”

“A date?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Joe frowned. “Well, thanks for talking to me.”

“Yeah. Good luck with studying.”

His bright smile was already back. “I’m sure it won’t be as much fun as hanging out with you would be. Oh, well. Good luck with the lucky guy. I guess you can’t blame me for trying.”

I opened my mouth to tell him we were good, but someone else spoke instead.

“No, you can’t,” a deep voice said from right behind me.

I spun on my heel to see Andrew, tie loosened and briefcase in hand. His eyes flicked down to me, bringing with them a shiver that shot from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

“Have a good night,” Joe said, already retreating. He was gone in an instant, leaving me with Andrew’s still intense gaze.

“Wh-when did you come in?” I sputtered.

A corner of his mouth twitched, and I couldn’t tell if he fought a frown or a smile. “Just a moment ago. You were busy.”

“Ah.”

If he was looking for an apology for my talking to a guy, it wasn’t coming. Andrew wasn’t my boyfriend, no matter how much I wanted something like that from him. He’d pushed me away, and I owed him nothing.

“Would you like anything?” he asked, loosening his tie further, though that didn’t seem necessary.

“No, thanks. I have something.” I picked up my drink as I took a seat. Anxiety was already flooding me, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to take another drink of the coffee, but it felt good to have my palms wrapped around its warmth.

Andrew sat across from me, face guarded. “Do you know that guy?”

“No. We were just talking.” I evenly looked back at him, waiting for whatever came next.

Andrew cleared his throat, shifting his weight around like he couldn’t quite get comfortable. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

Of course, lingered on my tongue, but that was too rude of a response.

“You’re welcome,” I answered instead.

“How have you been doing?”

“Okay. You?”

“Fine.” He tersely nodded, and revolt filled me. This was like a conversation between two strangers.

Without warning, Andrew sighed and dropped forward, his arms coming to rest on his spread legs. His head hung down, and for a long moment, he stared at the floor. “I’m sorry about this.”

I bit back a strangled cry. Despite the frustrations I’d been harboring, seeing him looking so broken had me coming undone. “Me, too,” I whispered.

Andrew looked up at me with sad eyes. “I haven’t spoken with your father.”

“Neither have I.”

His inhale sucked up all the air in the vicinity. “I’ve been trying to work this out, to figure out what we should do.” He paused. “What do you think?”

I slowly licked my lips. “It’s complicated.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I know I’m a coward.” My voice cracked on the last word, and I shut up, afraid that if I said any more, I’d break down.

Andrew stiffed. “No, Lanie, don’t say that. It’s not true.”

“It’s silly, but I still have this fear of disappointing my parents, you know? Like I’m ten or something.”

“A lot of adults feel that way.”

“I know.” I nodded thoroughly. “I’ve taken classes on the subject, for god’s sake. But that doesn’t make things any different for me, oddly enough.”

He smirked. “If it’s any comfort, I’m here right alongside you.”

I watched him warily, not sure what he was getting at. “You are?”

“Yes,” he softly replied.

His answer made warmth spread through me. I put the coffee cup down and laced my fingers together, leaning forward just as he was. “It’s been weird not talking to you.”

“It’s been driving me crazy.”

Awful as it was, hearing that brought me some pleasure. I’d spent the week half-believing Andrew never wanted to see me again. Being proven wrong almost made the pain of the last few days’ worth it.

Andrew worked his jaw around. “I don’t know what we have, Lanie. I know it’s a little soon to call it, but I like whatever it is. I want to keep exploring it, to see where we can go.”

My eyes stung as I worked to stop myself from smiling too wide. “I feel the same way.”

“Good.” Andrew’s smile lit up his face, allowing me to finally break into a full-out grin. “But if we’re going to keep seeing each other, we need to be honest with your parents.”

“I know,” I immediately answered.

He planted his hands on his thighs and sat up straighter. “I’ll talk to Bob.”

“No. I should do it.”

Andrew skeptically paused. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this on your own, Lanie.”

“He’s my dad. It’s important.”

“Maybe I should be there with you.”

“I think that would be a little too shocking.”

I could tell he agreed but was offering his accompaniment because he knew it was the right thing to do.

“You’re his friend, but I’m his daughter. Let me talk to him first.”

He slowly nodded. “Okay. When will you tell him?”

“He’s out of town until tomorrow morning, so I’ll do it then.”

Andrew nodded again. I could already feel the nerves collecting deep in my stomach. Sleep would not be coming easy that night. Maybe if I wrote down what I needed to say and rehearsed it, I’d at least have a chance of not fainting from fear.

Andrew cleared his throat, looking uncharacteristically nervous. “What are you doing now?”

I felt my eyes widen in surprise. I’d previously figured our meeting would end here. “My mom and I are going to some play.”

“Ah. That sounds nice.”

There was real disappointment in his voice, and for a second, I desperately wished that I could blow off my mother to spend the evening with Andrew. I couldn’t do that to her, though. She’d been so excited when I suggested we do something that night. With Erica busy, and my relationship with Andrew up in the air, I’d been doing everything I could to fill my schedule up.

“How is Raven?” I asked, genuinely interested.

Andrew’s lips pursed. “She’s been hanging out with friends. I haven’t seen her that much.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s good.”

“Very.”

I looked down at my hands, noticing they were twisting nonstop. There was still the issue of Raven’s beef with me, but we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. And, who knew? It could be that once I told my dad the truth, Raven would get over her animosity.

“Go out with me tomorrow night.”

The demand made me smile. “Okay,” I whispered.

“Good,” Andrew murmured back, cheeks flushed and dark eyes sparkling.

My phone erupted in song, my calendar reminding me it was time to get to the theater.

“Sorry.” I swiped the dismiss button on the phone. “I need to go.”

Andrew stood. “It’s okay. I’m glad we were able to meet tonight.”

“Yeah.” I stood as well, tilting my chin up to look him in the eye. “Me too.”

The table blocked us from each other, but we were still just a couple of feet apart. My lips tingled, and my heart raced. I’d almost lost Andrew, but now here he was, suddenly back in my life. I ached to fall into his arms and never leave.

“Can I walk you to your car?” he asked.

“I’m right there.” I pointed at my car, which we could see from the window, and wished I hadn’t scored such a good spot.

Andrew’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. Taking my hand, he brought it up and kissed the top of it. The unexpected act wasn’t cheesy, though. Every bit of it was genuine. A shiver danced its way down my arm, making me melt.

“See you tomorrow,” Andrew softly said, eyes on mine.

“Tomorrow,” I croaked.

His gaze stayed connected with mine as he stepped away from the table. With a wave, he turned, leaving the coffee shop. I closed my eyes, tingling with excitement.

My phone’s alarm sounded again, a second reminder about the play.

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, unlocking the screen and pulling up my texting thread with Erica.

I knew I had somewhere to be, but first, I had a best friend to share good news with.