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I wondered whether to dump the news of my humiliating near-miss kiss on her, but decided I’d work my way up to it. “There were a few mishaps, but everything is okay now.”
She sat, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m glad it’s sorted.”
I sank into the other chair. “How about you? Have you had any run-ins with Sexy Daddy lately?”
She’d confessed to me a while ago that before moving to town, she’d had an epic one-night stand with a man who’d turned out to be the father of one of her students.
She sighed. “Alas, no.”
She looked disappointed, so I tried to move the conversation along.
“Never mind. Let’s get a drink and pretend like we don’t care.”
“Sounds good.” She offered a weak smile. “I’ll get them while you decide what you want to order.
As she got to her feet, the pub door opened and I looked over. Then froze, my heart in my mouth. There, standing in the doorway, was Cal, alongside a big, tattooed guy.
I couldn’t deal with him right now. Not so soon after going face-first into a pile of crap and then getting rejected.
I shoved my chair back, dropped to my knees, and ducked behind the table.
“What are you doing?” London demanded.
“Don’t look at me,” I hissed. “Act like I’m not here. I have to go.”
I was being ridiculous, and I knew it, but I couldn’t seem to stop.
“Um, okay,” she said hesitantly.
I gestured toward the men at the door. “Can you distract them for me?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I want an explanation later.”
I nodded furiously. Whatever she wanted, I’d give her, if she’d just save me from one embarrassment too many. She made her way toward them, and I crawled for the door, slipping behind tables occupied by people who clearly thought I was mad. When I finally got outside, I breathed a sigh of relief. That had been a close call.
I collected myself while I walked to my car. On the drive back to the farm, I gave myself a stern talking to. I couldn’t continue being such a loose cannon. Things had to change. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to manage it, but I’d make it happen.
When I arrived home, the construction workers had already cleared out for the day, so I poured myself a glass of wine in the makeshift kitchen and sat on my futon while I drank it and watched funny videos of cats.
An hour passed, and I was beginning to think about settling in for the night when there was a knock at the door. Frowning, I slipped on a pair of shoes and made my way down the hall to the front entrance. I hesitated for a moment, debating whether to open it when I didn’t know who was on the other side. I’d have to get a spy hole put in when the door was replaced, and then I wouldn’t have this issue. Eventually, I tugged the door open and gaped at the sight of Cal in dark jeans that clung to his studly thighs and a tidy off-white sweater.
“Uh, hi,” I said, wishing he didn’t look quite so good. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
He scraped a hand through his hair, wearing an unfamiliar expression. “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” I stepped back. “Do you want to come in? I don’t have much in the way of furniture yet.”
“No, I won’t take long.” He smoothed one palm down the front of his jeans. “I wanted to tell you that I didn’t stop you kissing me earlier because I’m not interested in you.” He raised his warm brown eyes to mine. “I am. Very much so. But I’d have preferred to get you clean before our first kiss.”
My hand flew to my mouth as I realized what he was saying. “Oh my God. I had manure on my face.”
He cringed. “Yeah, you did.”
At the time, I’d just thought of that as yet another nail in my humiliation coffin, but now I could see how it had played a part. “That makes so much sense.”
He nodded. “Unfortunately, you didn’t stay to hear me out.”
Embarrassment churned in my gut. “I’m sorry about that. I’d hit a limit and didn’t think I could handle anything else going wrong.”
