Ask Me for Tomorrow (12 page)

When Dean strode into the pub and found his best friend behind the bar, Caleb looked as if he was about to break into song. Cal pushed a dry rag over the counter – seemingly unaware that the task was achieving nothing – and waved cheerfully.

‘Dean! So Lana, huh?’

‘For God’s sake,’ Dean said, dropping onto a bar stool in front of him, ‘who called you? You know I drove straight here, don’t you?’

‘I know, this has to be some kind of town record. Apparently Lana was talking to Jess about it in the staff room, Nat overheard and called Rosie.’

As if summoned, Rosie, Cal’s middle-aged casual employee, edged out from behind the wall that divided the dining and bar areas. Wringing her hands together in an almost believable display of regret, she said, ‘I’m
sorry
, Dean! I didn’t mean to gossip. I didn’t really, I mean, when you think about it – Cal was listening in on my private conversation.’

‘About my private life.’

‘Yes – no!’

Cal’s grin broadened. ‘Rosie, I need you to clear out for an hour. I’m going to have a chat with my mate here.’

She didn’t move. ‘But there’s so much to be done—’

‘No, there’s not. I’ll pay you for the hour. In fact, I’ll call you when you can come back.’

‘But—’

‘You can tell everyone your boss is a dick. Seriously, Rosie. See you in a bit.’

Summarily dismissed, Rosie was not impressed. She pushed her lips together then stomped from the room.

Weary, Dean dropped his forehead onto the bar top.

The front door opened, Rosie stepped out and Ethan stepped in. He claimed the bar stool beside Dean and propped his elbows on the table.

‘What?’ was Ethan’s greeting.

‘You called Ethan?’ Dean groaned.

‘You bet I did,’ Cal answered. Then to Ethan, ‘You haven’t heard? Guess the news hasn’t got to the garage yet. What am I supposed to call that place now, anyway? The Fosters’?’

‘What news?’

‘Dean kissed a girl and he liked it,’ Cal said in a sing-song voice, to a tune Dean vaguely recognised.

Ethan turned in his seat and shoved Dean until he sat up. ‘Are you serious? That’s great!’

‘Actually she kissed me.’

‘Even better.
Hot
.’ Ethan smacked Dean’s arm. ‘When? I knew it, by the way – can I just say that? Knew it.’

‘She found me at lunch.’

Ethan frowned. Dean glanced at him and shrugged.

‘What did she say after she kissed you?’ Cal prompted.

‘That she’s felt like this for a while, and to take a chance on her.’

‘She channelling ABBA or something?’

Ethan snorted. ‘What do you know about ABBA?’

‘I’m practically an expert, thanks – it’s all my mum listens to.’ Cal threw the towel at him then began pouring a round of soft drinks. ‘So? You know, Sam told me this was coming – how the hell do women know these things?’

Ethan was frowning again. ‘How would Sam know?’

‘Beats me.’

‘I saw it.’ Ethan held his hand up. ‘The way you two look at each other, it was only a matter of time.’

Dean titled his head to the side and considered this. ‘How we look at each other? I barely see the woman!’

Ethan’s hand dropped to the bar. ‘I don’t get it.’

‘And that’s the other thing – I’ve been having these thoughts, you know?’ Dean dropped his eyes to his knees. ‘About Alice.’

‘What?’ both men chorused.

Ethan shook his head. ‘Who the hell are you talking about?’

‘What do you mean? Lana! Who are you talking about?’

‘Alice!’

‘How do you know I kissed Alice?’

Ethan’s eyes boggled. ‘You just said Lana kissed you!’

‘So did Alice!’

Silence. Then from Cal, ‘Are you frickin’ kidding me? Two women are throwing themselves at you? What cologne are you wearing?’

Ethan spoke over this. ‘What are you doing kissing other women if Alice kissed you, and you’re having thoughts about her?’

‘I just . . .’ Dean floundered, lost in the conversation, and the thoughts and memories of two completely different women. ‘It’s hard to explain.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ The kitchen door flew open and Liv strode out, her hands thrown over her head in agitation. She stalked to the bar, slapped her palms down on the wood and leaned forward. ‘Alice kissed Dean. No doubt Dean had no idea it was coming and bungled it. He’s been puzzling over it since yesterday – are you guys
blind
? And today when he went to the school Lana kissed him because she’s had a thing for him for years and lately . . . well, lately he’s been less of a widower and more of a bachelor, if you get my meaning.’

No one spoke.

Cal looked over his shoulder. ‘Have you been listening in this whole time?’ When she angled her chin defiantly, he grinned and dragged her into his arms. ‘Babe, you were born to be part of a small town.’

The front door opened and closed again.

‘Is all that true?’ Ethan asked Dean.

Dean couldn’t think how to respond before another person joined the group.

‘Wow, lucky me! All my favourite people in the same room – what are the chances?’ Sam came up alongside Ethan, propped her elbows on the bar and leaned forward. ‘What are we talking about? And can I have a serve of fries, Cal?’

‘Fries can wait,’ her brother answered. He gave Liv a dirty look. ‘You called Sam?’

‘Immediately.’

Sam said, ‘
You
should have called me. This is big news! Dean kissed a girl and he liked it!’ She said this in the same sing-song voice Cal had, and Dean had to laugh. The pair shared curious similarities, including a very strange sense of humour.

‘Dean kissed two girls,’ Liv said with an enormous smile.

Sam almost knocked Ethan off his bar stool as she lunged forward to grab Dean’s arm. ‘Really? Talk about getting back out there! In the one day? Who and who? One was Alice, right?’

Dean cleared his throat. So much for a quiet word with Cal. ‘
I
didn’t kiss anyone. Alice kissed me a few days ago—’

‘I knew it!’ Sam crowed. Ethan held up a hand and she slapped her palm against it.

‘— and yes, I liked it. And then Lana kissed me.’

‘Ten minutes ago,’ Cal supplied.

‘Wow.’ Sam blinked at Liv then looked back at Dean. ‘You wearing a new cologne or something?’

‘Okay, enough.’ Dean seized the soft drink that Cal had poured for him before Liv drank it. She was already sucking down her second of the three her fiance had poured. ‘I didn’t want to kiss Lana. That came out of nowhere.’ He pointedly ignored Sam’s rolled eyes and Liv’s disbelieving snort. ‘But I’d been thinking about Alice that way before she kissed me.’

Liv drained her drink and plonked the glass on the sink. ‘So what’s the problem?’

They’d arrived at the moment of truth. Dean swallowed, rallied himself, then said, ‘Has it been long enough?’

No one hurried to answer.

Eventually his brother ventured a response. ‘Have you been alone long enough? Have you put everyone else before yourself for long enough? Yes.’ He waited for this to sink in before continuing. ‘Don’t focus on whether you’ve grieved for long enough or what other people might say. Not everybody gets a second chance, and if your heart’s telling you you’re ready, then you are. Don’t overcomplicate things.’

Sam closed her arms around Ethan’s shoulders and hugged him tightly from behind. She kissed his head and smiled. ‘I love it when you get all deep. You’ve got all the words.’

‘Do you really like Alice or do you just want to kiss her again?’ Liv asked Dean.

‘I want to kiss her again because I really like her.’

The two women nodded.

‘You need to tell her about Lana,’ Ethan said. ‘Otherwise she’s going to hear it from someone else.’

Dean nodded slowly. ‘Can anyone babysit three kids tonight?’

Ethan glanced at Sam. ‘We can?’ She nodded.

Dean rose from the bar stool, smiled at each of them then turned for the door. If he got back to the garage fast enough, he might be able to head off the gossip and spare Alice any hurt feelings. Because if he was going to fight with her about anything, it was over who was paying for dinner tonight.

Chapter Nine

Alice stapled the credit receipt to the service record as Shauna Faulconer spoke into her phone, discussing with a friend the latest news in the lives of Hinterdown locals. Alice wasn’t listening closely, and kept glancing over Shauna’s shoulder to see if Dean was back from his inordinately long lunch.

Things had been going so well between Alice and Dean that she’d decided to tell him she had a second job. She knew his character enough now to guess that he’d be concerned rather than unsupportive, and she doubted he’d make her choose when she explained her situation. Or rather, she hoped he wouldn’t.

It was still a risk – her previous boss at the country real estate agency proved that – but she had to believe Dean would stand by her. It would be nice to tell him she wasn’t a depressive, and to explain why she hadn’t accepted any of his invitations to dinner. It would be even better to not be keeping secrets from him.

A small, hopeful part of her believed that the truth would bring them closer.

As Alice thought about the best way to approach the topic with Dean, Shauna’s conversation went from juicy to downright scandalous. ‘We all know she’s had a thing for him for years,’ she said into the phone, ‘but I must admit I hadn’t suspected her affections were returned! Yet there they were, brazen as they come, kissing in the front seat of Dodge’s car!’

Alice dropped the hand she’d extended towards Shauna. The receipt fell soundlessly to the desktop.

‘Cathy O’Hara called me not five minutes ago! Apparently Lana went back into school and Dean went to the pub. Guess he’s over his wife then, the poor soul.’ Shauna picked the receipt up, waved it gratefully at Alice then turned and walked out. As the door closed behind her, Alice heard her say, ‘Hearts are going to break, Sue. There were a lot of women in town waiting for that man to stop moping around.’

Alice didn’t move. Behind her the clock ticked out of sync with her heart. The whir of tools in the garage sounded vaguely like screams, and the office was somehow both chilly and stifling.

She sat there, startled, for close to a minute before a BMW turned in to the driveway and parked. Dean got out, closed the door and strode around the bonnet, and the bastard was smiling.

Her heart hadn’t been at his feet for more than twenty-four hours and he’d already kicked it into the wall.

She turned away quickly, thinking to hide in the storeroom, but when she remembered what had happened in there, she stopped. Now she was turned vaguely in that direction, still rooted to the spot, her head empty of clever, brave words.

Dean stepped inside and his smile widened. ‘Hey, Alice. Did you have a good lunch?’

Not as good as yours.
‘I haven’t had it yet.’

‘You’re leaving it late.’ He checked his watch. ‘You want to go now?’

‘Okay.’ An exit, a reprieve. A chance to decide what she was going to do about this, now that everything she’d thought about him had evaporated.

‘Listen, before you go and while we’re talking about food . . .’ He crossed the reception area and stood opposite her, the desk between them. ‘Can I take you to dinner tonight? Like a date? Ethan said he can take all the kids for a few hours.’

Wow. Lunch with Lana. Dinner with Alice. Had he met someone for breakfast?

‘No,’ she said. She grabbed the straps of her handbag and dragged her car keys from a side pocket. She needed to put a lot of distance between them, immediately.

Dean’s smile dropped. ‘Just no? No “I wish I could, but . . .”, no “how about tomorrow night”?’

‘Just no.’ Her voice was calm, but in her mind she was screaming at him, raging and accusing and demanding to know why he’d let her fall in love with him. This wasn’t how the story was supposed to go – she’d been ready to tell him her secrets and yet here he was, keeping his own, not realising that she knew.

Temper flashed in Dean’s typically friendly brown eyes. ‘What is it then, Alice? You see enough of me at work, is that it? You’re trying to let me down gently, or what?’

Alice rounded the desk and walked quickly to the door. He was standing much closer and beat her there.

‘You know, I’d think you weren’t interested, except you
kissed
me the other day!’

She tried to reach the door handle but he blocked her way. ‘That was a mistake,’ she said.

The words appeared to lash at him. Visibly less certain, he said quietly, ‘Really?’

‘Apparently.’

This brought his temper back. ‘What does that even mean? Give me more than a single word, Alice!’

‘Okay! It means I’m not free for dinner tonight, or tomorrow night, or
any
night, which clears your schedule right up for Lana. Get out of my way!’

Dean didn’t move. He did, however, sigh with relief. She wanted to smack the grin clear off his face.

‘Christ, this town is unbelievable! And you’re jealous!’ he said, looking pleased, which worsened her mood considerably. ‘Which means you do care, you infuriating woman. I went to see Nina at lunch, Lana got in the car and kissed me.’

‘I know all this!’

‘
She
kissed
me
! And you know how well I handle that sort of thing!’

Alice attempted to reach around him for the door handle, but this time he didn’t block her – he seized her. One hand gripped the material over her hip and the other curled around the back of her neck, and then she was breathing him in. He kissed her, and Alice was lost. All sensible thought abandoned her, all protests died in her throat and there was only his chest against hers, his hands on her body and his greedy, perfect mouth.

And then there were suddenly none of those things.

Dean made a startled noise in the back of his throat and drew away from her. The door had opened and hit his feet. Dean turned and Alice looked over his shoulder. There was a man standing on the other side of the glass, and he had already recovered from his surprise. Grinning, he pointed at the garage roller door.

‘I’ll just go around,’ he said, loud enough for his voice to carry through the door. He was already pulling a phone from his pocket.