“Yeah. Are you on your way? If so, I’ll tell Jenn to have them bumped down the list. They’ve already done a couple—and believe me, you don’t want to miss this. They’re in rare form tonight.”
For the remainder of the twenty-minute drive, Meredith fought the urge to speed. Major was at family dinner, and she’d missed it. How had he—
His meeting with Forbes to go over the details of Mom and Dad’s offer on the restaurant. Of course. She’d promised to pray for him before and during the meeting and had completely forgotten.
The gravel crunched and popped under her tires when she pulled in to the overflow lot adjacent to Jenn’s restaurant. Yes, indeed, there was Major’s green Jeep.
She jogged a few steps then forced herself to slow down. She had no reason to think he’d come because he expected her to be here—only to hope it.
Music spilled out when she pulled open the front door. Though not dark, the houselights had been dimmed to direct attention to the brightly lit stage.
The hostess greeted her by name, as did several servers. Meredith’s heart thumped in time with the upbeat country song someone was singing. She skirted the perimeter of the main dining room toward the separated party room at the back.
She strained to see who all was there. Her heart flip-flopped when she saw Major—then almost stopped completely when she saw him with her younger cousin Jodi. Her much younger cousin Jodi.
Meredith stopped and watched as Jodi wrote something down on a drink napkin, folded it, and tucked it into Major’s shirt pocket.
More clearly than she could see anyone at that table, Meredith could see the choice now standing before her. She could let this bother her, or she could remember that she’d just been taken to dinner—a second time—by a handsome stranger.
She slapped a smile on and approached the table.
“Hey! You’re here.” Anne pulled out the chair beside her.
Fortunately, everyone else was involved in poring over the lists of available karaoke tracks and barely spared her a glance, much less forced her into hugs and kisses.
Anne leaned close. “So what happened tonight?”
“Oh, it’s—” On Anne’s other side, Meredith saw Forbes turn his head their direction as if expecting to hear the explanation for her lateness as well. “It’s nothing. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Hey, Mere, what’s this I hear about some guy coming to pick you up at the office a couple of weeks ago?” Rafe called across the table.
So much for her personal life staying private. She tried to laugh it off. “Who told you that?”
“Tonya. She said he was very good-looking and that you were very dressed up.”
She’d forgotten Rafe occasionally dated one of the front-desk receptionists. Around the table, everyone focused on Meredith. Except Major, who gazed at Rafe through narrowed eyes.
“Yes. I had a date the other night. What’s the big deal?”
Anne squeezed her wrist. “What’s the big deal? You had a date, and you didn’t even tell me?”
Though feeling bad for not telling Anne immediately, Meredith started getting angry. “It’s not announced around the table every time Jenn goes out on a date—or Rafe or Jodi.” She flickered her gaze at Major and hoped that pairing would never come to pass. “So why is it worthy of the family grapevine when I have a date?”
“Duh—because you don’t date. What—did you decide to give up not dating as your New Year’s resolution?” Rafe teased.
She couldn’t look at Major now; in fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to face him again.
“That’s enough,” Forbes admonished their younger brother. “Meredith deserves to have a personal life that she can keep private if she wants to.”
“Aww, come on, Forbes. She hasn’t had a date in ten years and—”
Meredith jumped to her feet and grabbed her purse. “I knew this was a mistake,” she muttered. “Good night. See y’all later.” She almost ran from the restaurant, molten-hot embarrassment propelling her steps.
Halfway across the small, main parking lot, she dug in her purse for the car keys—and promptly dropped them on the pavement.
“Meredith, wait.” Major’s voice echoed over the dull sound of the music inside the restaurant.
Her eyes tingled and burned, and she had to blink quickly to eliminate the gathering moisture. She picked up the keys and stood—but couldn’t face him.
Chapter 14
Major hesitated when Meredith wouldn’t turn around to face him after picking up her keys. He could understand why she might not want to talk to a family member right now, but what had he done?
He approached with caution. “Meredith, is everything okay?”
The smile she wore when he got around to where he could see her face was the same one she wore when dealing with difficult clients. “Everything is fine, thank you. I just—it’s just been a really long day, and I have a puppy that’s been cooped up in my apartment since I ran home to let him out at lunchtime. He’s probably destroyed my bathroom, so I really need to get home.” She shivered and rubbed her arms.
Without thinking, he shrugged out of his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Thanks.” She clutched the front closed.
He cleared his throat. “May I walk you to your car?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
They walked in silence all the way to her Volvo. After she unlocked it, he opened the front door and looked in to make sure no one waited within to accost her—drawing a real smile from Meredith.
He’d missed seeing that smile from her. “When did things get weird between us?”
The streetlamp illuminated the surprise in her eyes at his question. “I’m not ... I don’t...” She swallowed hard and licked her lips.
Major’s breath caught in his throat. Those perfectly shaped lips.
“Major—I don’t know how to say this without coming across sounding stupid and juvenile and potentially making things even more awkward between us.” She wrapped his jacket tighter.
He leaned his shoulder against the back window and tried to draw his gaze away from her lips to her eyes. “You know you can say anything to me.”
She laughed—but it turned into a groan; her brows puckered, and she shook her head. “I don’t think I can. It’ll just make things worse between us.”
He leaned closer but clasped his hands behind his back to keep from taking her in his arms and declaring his undying love to her. “Whatever it is, I think I’m man enough to handle it.”
Tears welled in Meredith’s nutmeg eyes, and her breathing increased. “I can’t.” She swallowed a couple more times, and an odd expression overtook her face. “I didn’t realize you knew my cousin Jodi so well.”
The sudden change in subject threw him. “What?”
“You ... and Jodi. I saw you together when I walked in.” She reached into the pocket of his shirt. “I saw her give you this.”
She pulled out the napkin Jodi had stuffed in there a few minutes ago. He laughed and enclosed Meredith’s fisted hand with both of his. “Your cousin told me she’d heard about the restaurant on Alaine’s program. She offered to come up with a marketing plan and some materials for me—as part of her portfolio or internship or something for grad school—if the time comes. She doesn’t have any business cards, so she wrote her number down for me. I’m supposed to call her when I know what my schedule’s going to be like the next couple of weeks.”
“Marketing plan?” Meredith’s cheeks darkened. “I thought—I mean I didn’t think—”
Hope kindled in Major’s chest. “You thought Jodi was flirting with me and that I was lapping up the attention of a girl about fifteen years younger than me?”
She nodded, her throat working hard as she swallowed, face as red as a five-hundred-degree oven.
He tried to contain his smile. “So, you were jealous?”