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“Is there a reason we aren’t heading into Nurture Space?”
“I’m not the only person you’ve been avoiding. Since your class was canceled, I figured we could hang out with Selina for a little while and catch up.”
“Sure. You just want backup to give me the third degree,” I respond, barely above a whisper to ensure no one overhears what we’re saying. “But don’t change the subject. Seth isn’t your dad. Just like you continue to tell me Connor isn’t Ian.”
No one in town knows who the father of Bristol’s baby is. At first, she wanted to keep it a secret to ensure she was the one to tell him, but when she never received any contact from him, she decided to never speak of it again. I only found out by accident. Bristol called me completely heartbroken and terrified of raising a baby on her own, something I know a lot about. After calming her down, I let her know that she wasn’t alone and that we’d all be there for her and the baby after it was born. She told her parents it was a silly one-night stand. They were disappointed, but they never pushed for more information besides that.
“I know Seth isn’t my father, but he’s a Marine. The Marine Corps is his life, and it will be until the day he retires, no matter what he says. It just makes things between the two of us even more complicated. The Corps always came first in my father’s eyes. Birthdays, graduations, wedding anniversaries were all forgotten if the Corp needed him.” Bristol’s hand absentmindedly rubbing her baby bump as she pulls open the door. “ He didn’t even put up a fight when we had tomove from Louisiana, leaving you and Love all alone. I refuse for my baby to feel the same way…” Bristol trails off as she pulls open the door.
Thankfully, there’s no one else in the waiting room. I wouldn’t put it past Bristol to be hiding Connor in the waiting room so he could blindside me and ask me on a date.
“The man practically laid his heart on the line for you that night, Bristol. What else do you want from him?” I sigh, dropping my bag onto one of the chairs in the waiting room.
“A phone call or a letter would be nice. I haven’t heard a peep from him since he deployed. If he wanted anything to do with me, he would have called.”
“You know how hard it is to call people from overseas.”
“He’d find a way if he really wanted to,” Bristol grumbles as she pulls out a chair and takes a seat. We stare at each other for a few minutes before she smiles brightly and changes the subject. “A little birdy told me that Connor is looking for the perfect opportunity to ask you on a date.”
“Is that so?”
“Don’t be like that, Audrey. Connor likes you. You should be nice and put the man out of his misery. You’ve been avoiding him, and we all know it.”
“I’ve been busy, not avoiding him,” I mutter, knowing that I’m full of crap. I promised Connor he could make me dinner one night when he was feelingbetter, but I expected I could use the girls as a buffer. However, the last night we all had dinner together, he made it perfectly clear he wanted an adults-only evening, and I’ve been ducking his attempts to ask me out ever since. I’m sure he plans on making a big deal out of it, thinking that my fear of embarrassment will stop me from turning him down.
“You can’t avoid him anymore,” Bristol says as her phone chimes softly. “Because I may have let him know you’d be here today.”
“What happened to chicks before dicks?” I growl, grabbing my bag and contemplating making a hasty retreat out the back door.
“This is the same thing. Friends don’t let friends do dumb shit. It’s just a date, Audrey. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You are so lucky I love you…”
“And you’re lucky I love you. That’s why when Connor asks, you’re going to tell him you’d be happy to go to dinner with him.” Just as I’m about to reply, the tiny bell above the door sounds, and Bristol shoves me toward it.
“Just the woman I’ve been looking for.” Connor’s deep voice causes me to freeze in place.
Well, here goes nothing.
Chapter 12
Connor
“Fancy meeting you here.” Audrey’s voice quivers. I have it on the best authority that she’s been avoiding me for the last few weeks, but that ends now.
“Did you forget our deal?” I smirk, stepping closer toward her.
“I didn’t forget. I’ve just been busy. When would you like for us to come over for dinner?”
“Oh…” I rub the back of my neck, my entire face flushing with embarrassment. My palms sweat as my heart pounds inside my chest.
Audrey has been avoiding seeing me for weeks. We still chat on the phone almost nightly, but every time I bring up our date, she changes the subject immediately. I know she fears being hurt, but I thought all the time we spent together while I was recovering from my fall had changed her mind. I called Bristol, hoping for some advice, but she told me to come to the Barre Studio tonight, ready to ask Audrey out on a date, before promptly hanging up on me.
I told Vance what happened, and he insisted on tagging along with me to drop off Jade at dance class. I have a feeling they are all waiting in the wings for the fireworks to begin. Cornering Audrey like this seems like a bad move, but I need to know where I stand. I have a feeling that if it was up to her, she’d continue avoiding me until I gave up. Too bad for her, I have no intention of doing so. I want to explore this connection between Audrey and me, and I have no intention of giving up until I do so.
“I was hoping we’d be able to have dinner alone, giving us a chance to get to know each other. I love my daughter, but I don’t make a habit of taking her on dates.”
“This isn’t a date, Connor.” Audrey sighs before stepping to the side and heading toward the door. “I promised you dinner, not a date.”
