Third Time's a Charm (9 page)

The closed door muffled her voice. “Yeah, sure. I’ll get it.”

He peeled his T-shirt off and did the best he could quickly with a wet washcloth. He even ran it over his jeans and made them look almost clean. When he opened the bathroom door, Loralee stood in the hallway with a shirt in each hand.

“You can go casual”—she held up a blue University of Kentucky T-shirt—“or dressy.” The golf shirt had a Wildcat basketball insignia over the left breast, but at least it had a collar. Walt never went to college, but that didn’t stop him from joining in the rabid fanaticism enjoyed by every Kentuckian who lived within a hundred-mile radius of Lexington—U.K. basketball. His closet was full of blue and white.

Ryan took the golf shirt. “Thanks.” He pulled it over his head, then stepped back into the bathroom to run the comb through his hair.

Loralee leaned against the doorjamb. “So if she’s from Lexington, what’s she doing here?”

“Her mom lives in Danville.”

“Really? What’s her name?”

Ryan didn’t answer immediately. He put Walt’s toiletries back in the medicine chest and closed the door. When he turned, Loralee had folded her hands atop her protruding belly and stood watching him without any sign of moving to let him pass until he satisfied her curiosity.

Where was the harm? “Her name is Tori Sanderson. Her mom’s a nurse at the hospital in Danville.”

Loralee’s mouth flew open. “You mean Joan Sanderson’s sister? I know her!”

Great.
“Yeah? How do you know Tori?”

“Well, I don’t
know
her, but I used to know Joan a little. She played the clarinet, just like me. We were at band competitions together.”

Joan and Ryan and Loralee were all the same age, though they’d attended three different high schools. Ryan had been vaguely aware of Joan during school, but only as someone with whom he occasionally crossed paths when he hung out with the guys at the Sonic or in the shopping center parking lot. Loralee had grown up fifteen miles away, in Harrodsburg, and Ryan had never even heard of her until Walt introduced them. And he didn’t know Tori at all until he met her at church.

“Okay, so you know her.” Ryan put a hand on each of Loralee’s shoulders and pushed her gently backward so he could squeeze past. “Now I’ve got to go. It isn’t nice to leave a girl hanging out at a restaurant by herself.”

Loralee followed him to the front door. “Have fun. Do you want to fetch her out here for supper sometime?”

Ryan trotted down the metal stairs and then turned to give his sister-in-law an exasperated grimace. “I’m taking her for
coffee.
We’re a long way away from a family dinner, okay?”

Loralee raised her hands. “Just asking!”

Yeah, right. And the next thing he knew, she’d be
just
fishing
for details about his coffee date, and then
just nagging
about the next date, and then
just insisting
that he bring Tori home to meet everyone. Which was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to mention her at all.

“Goodbye, Loralee.” He used the sternest tone he could to put an end to the discussion. Hopefully, she’d get the point. But he doubted it.

5

Tori stepped through the door of The Hub Coffee House on the corner of Main and Third Streets, and paused on the mat to inhale the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Hmmm. Was there a smell anywhere in the world better than that? The dark mustard-colored walls held giant chalkboards displaying the various coffees and teas, as well as specialty sandwiches and soups. An industrial-sized espresso machine hissed on the other side of a wood counter crowded with wrapped biscotti and pastries on display. Behind a cash register, a barista in a maroon shirt punched buttons as a customer on this side of the counter spoke in a voice low enough to be drowned out by the gurgle of the milk steamer.

Tori scanned the shop’s interior and experienced a flash of irritation. She’d beaten Ryan here. Which meant she’d be the one waiting for him, when it ought to be the other way around. Hard to make an impressive entrance when the audience hadn’t arrived yet. She pressed her lips together and felt them slide with the layer of shiny pink gloss she applied in the car at a stoplight on the way over. When she turned her head, a stray curl bounced at the corner of her eye. She grasped it between a thumb and forefinger and carefully tucked it back in place.

The lone customer stepped away from the counter and the barista turned a questioning glance her way. Tori flashed a quick smile and focused her attention on an old-fashioned sideboard covered with a display of tea canisters and mugs. Where was he? She couldn’t even step through the connecting doorway to the Centre College Bookstore to browse while she waited, since it was closed on Sundays.

She’d moved to another wall and stood examining a collection of framed photographs and artwork when the door behind her opened. She arranged her smile and turned. Ryan swept inside, bringing a rush of warm air with him. When he caught sight of her, an admiring smile lit his features. An answering thrill brushed away Tori’s irritation. Okay, maybe they had nothing in common, but he sure was nice to look at.

He crossed the distance between them with three long-legged strides. “Sorry I’m late. Have you been here long?”

“Just a minute or two.” Standing beside his muscled frame made Tori feel dainty and feminine. She flashed her eyes sideways up at him and affected a teasing tone. “Just long enough to worry that I was about to be stood up for the first time in my life.”

A grin eased the worry off his face. “Not by me. I was out at my brother’s farm in Junction City and got trapped behind a tractor pulling a load of hay on the way in to town.” He placed one hand at the small of her back and gestured toward the counter with the other.

Tori let him guide her, enjoying the warmth of his fingers through her blouse. They stood side by side examining the menu boards on the wall behind the counter, close enough for her to feel the heat radiating from his body and catch a spicy whiff of some sort of cologne. Strong enough to have been freshly applied, which meant he took the time to slap on some cologne before coming to meet her. Because he wanted to make a good impression, maybe?

She was still smiling at the thought when he looked sideways down at her. “What do you recommend? I’ve never been here.”

“But this is
the
place to go in Danville.” She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you drink coffee?”

“Sure, normal coffee. I have no idea what half that stuff is.” He waved a hand at the board. “I mean, I know what Rattlesnakes and Honeybees are, but they aren’t something you pour in a mug. And a Jitterbug is a dance, not a coffee. Maybe I’d just better stick with the regular stuff.”

She put a hand on her hip and tossed her curls. “Well, I don’t know if I can go out with someone who’s never drunk a Jitterbug.”

Oops. She shouldn’t have mentioned going out. No reason to pretend this was anything more than a spur-of-the-moment conversation between friends. Good looking or not, she needed to remember that they were just friends, and they’d better keep it that way.

He looked startled for a moment, and then a slow grin spread across his lips. “I’ll try anything once, and I’m highly motivated.”

O-kay. Obviously he’d like it to be more.

A blush at his blatant compliment threatened, and she looked purposefully at the menu board. “If you like caramel, the Jitterbug is good. Or if you like vanilla . . .” Her voice trailed off as the blush warmed her cheeks. The vanilla latte was called a French Kiss. Better not go there.

“It all sounds good. Hey, look at the Depth Charge. Four shots of espresso?” He gave a low whistle. “I’d be awake for a week if I drank that.”

“Amateur.” She pretended to heave an exasperated sigh. “Maybe you’d better leave this in the hands of an expert.” She stepped up to the counter. “We’ll have two Temptation Lattes.” She gave him a sideways glance and added, “Extra whip.”

He read the description. “Hazelnut, white chocolate, cinnamon.” Nodding with approval, he said, “Good choice.”

Tori considered paying for her own, but he whipped out his wallet before she could do more than reach for her purse. Okay, this was his idea, his invitation. Let him pay this time. She left him at the counter and wandered over to pick out their seats. Maybe the comfy leather sofa? Too hard to look at each other if they sat side by side. The matching oversized chairs? No, too cozy. A regular table, then. That way they could face each other and have the barrier of a surface between them. She selected one against the window.

A few moments later, Ryan set a steaming mug piled high with whipped cream and a couple of napkins in front of her. “Here you are. And I just want you to know, I’m expecting big things from this. My supper last night cost less than one of these cups of coffee.”

“Really?” Tori wrapped her hands around the warm mug. “Where in the world can you eat a meal for under four dollars?”

“Are you kidding?” He looked at her through narrowed eyes. “You obviously don’t indulge in fast food. I would die of starvation if it weren’t for the ninety-nine-cent menu at the restaurant near my apartment.”

“I’ll tell you a secret.” She leaned toward him across the table. “Sometimes on the way home from the office at night, I run through the drive-thru and get a super-size order of fries. I love them. I just can’t eat them as often as I like or I’d be as big as a house.”

His eyes warmed with admiration. “You don’t have anything to worry about on that front.”

Tori’s face heated and she tore her gaze away. Oh, this one was a charmer, once he got past the tongue-tied stage. She picked up her mug and held it aloft. “Okay, Mr. Fast Food, tell me what you think.”

He made a show of bringing his cup to his lips, elbow extended and pinkie in the air. When he lowered it, whipped cream clung to his upper lip.

He closed his eyes and swallowed. “Mmmmm. Okay, suddenly I see the attraction.” He opened his eyes and gave her a stern look. “But that is not coffee. It’s dessert.”

“It’s a treat. An adult treat.” She sipped from her own cup.
Ahhh. Heavenly.
Funny how her favorite drink tasted even better in the company of someone who was experiencing it for the first time.

“So, what was so important that your boss made you come in to work on Sunday morning?”

“A new project.” She grimaced. “It could either end up meaning a big promotion, or my exit from the company.”

He planted his elbows on the table, the mug engulfed by his hands. Big, strong hands. Tori fought an urge to hold her own dainty one up to compare.

“Sounds important.”

“Oh, it is.” The espresso machine hissed as the barista prepared another order. “And it’s going to be a lot of work. Just before Joan’s wedding too.” She couldn’t stop a scowl at the mention of the Big Event.

He cocked his head. “What was that for?”

Oops. He was, after all, one of Ken’s friends. “What?” She rounded her eyes and looked innocent.

“Come on, don’t give me that. You made a funny face when you mentioned the wedding. Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“Oh, totally.” She twisted sideways in the chair, coffee in her hand, and avoided looking into his face. “I just meant it’ll be hard getting my project done and helping with the wedding at the same time.”

Ryan looked unconvinced. “Hmmm.”

Better change the subject quick. “Tell me about you. You mentioned a brother. Do you have more family?”

He nodded as he gulped from his cup. “My mom and dad still live in Junction City, where I grew up. Pop has a farm there, and my brother Walt and his wife bought the adjoining property a few years ago. They have a pair of rascally boys and another baby on the way. In fact, I found out today that my sister-in-law knows Joan. We all graduated from high school the same year.”

“Your sister-in-law is Joan’s age and she has three kids?” Tori raised her eyebrows. “She must have married young.”

“Uh, yeah. She did.”

He looked away. Was he embarrassed?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” She placed a hand on his arm. Warmth from his skin tingled in her fingertips. Uh oh. She recognized that tingle. Definite attraction going on here. And she had been determined not to let that happen. She moved her hand and laid it in her lap where he couldn’t see her rubbing her thumb across her fingers.

He seemed not to have noticed. “No problem. It’s no secret around these parts. Walt is five years older than me. Loralee played in the band over in Mercer County, and she came to my school when their football team played ours during our senior year. Walt was there to see me play. They hooked up at halftime, and next thing they knew, Butch was on the way.” He twisted his lips. “It happens.”

“So Butch is how old?” She scrunched her nose, calculating. “Nine?”

“That’s right. And Cody is almost eight.” A smile softened his features. “They’re great kids. All boy, though. Always in trouble over something or other. They remind me of Walt and me when we were growing up on the farm.”

He grew up on a farm. Tori eased backward until her back was resting against the chair. Yet another big difference between them. And his parents were still together. Her smile became brittle, and she raised her cup to hide it.

Apparently not fast enough.

“What?” He cocked his head and fixed a speculative gaze on her. “You don’t like farms?”

“Honestly?” She lifted her shoulders. “I have no idea. I’ve never spent any time on a farm.”

“So what was that grimace about?”

Tori straightened, her spine stiff. “I did not grimace!”

“Yes, you did.” A teasing grin twisted his lips. “It was a cute little grimace, but it was a grimace.”

Stomach tickling, Tori couldn’t help returning his grin. He really was nice looking, with that dark hair and those light brown eyes that didn’t bother to hide his attraction to her. She relaxed and sipped her latte before answering. “I was just thinking of the differences in our backgrounds.”

“Like the country mouse and the city mouse?”

She gave a small laugh. “That, and the fact that you had both your parents while I only had one.”