Lawrence Thorn’s presence and the vibration of Oliver’s phone in my back pocket are distracting me. I’m sure it’s her blowing up his phone, and I can barely concentrate on what my customer is saying.
It was a mistake to encourage Lawrence to stay. Her presence is only going to further muddle the already-murky waters of what I’m doing for Oliver. This is wrong. He shouldn’t have asked me to do this to his sister. And I shouldn’t have agreed.
I went along with Oliver’s request when Lawrence Thorn was some faceless person I didn’t know and would likely never meet. But now I have met her.
And I like her.
I’m interested in her.
I want to know her better.
I gesture for my dispensation guy to come over. “Allow me to introduce Matt. He’s in charge of distribution and I’m going to pass you off to him. He’ll take care of your every need.” I lift a brow and give Matt a quick nod, my cue for him to charm the pants off our new client.
I look at the time and find I’m free for a little while. Good. I plan to spend that time getting to know Lawrence, but first I must tend to her latest call, voicemail, and string of texts.
Lawrence: Hey, little brother. I’m sorry to ruin the surprise but I’m at your house. I’ll see you whenever you come home. I’m sleeping in the guest room.
Shit. This text is from last night. I’ve been so busy I completely missed it.
Lawrence: Where are you?
Lawrence: I just met Lucas. He says you left town to see a friend in Memphis.
Lawrence: What friend? What’s going on? I’m worried.
I have to be careful with the way I handle this or the shit is going to get deep fast. I need to be clear enough to answer her adequately but vague enough to avoid a problem.
Lucas as Oliver: I’m in Memphis with a friend from college. One you’ve never met. He’s having a hard time. I came to check on him b/c I was afraid he might do something stupid. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I can’t believe you came to town to surprise me. Wish I was there.
I hope that sounds like something Oliver would say. And hopefully it’s the right words to put an end to her worries.
Lawrence: I’m bummed I missed you but thinking about staying for the festival. Looks like fun.
I type out a message but hesitate before sending it. Fuck, it would be so wrong of me to answer Lawrence as her brother and tell her to stay because it’s what I want.
Wrong or not, I press send.
Lucas as Oliver: You should stay and have fun. Porter and Lucas will make sure you have a good time.
Lawrence: I haven’t talked to Porter yet but Lucas seems very nice.
Nice? I’ll take it.
How would Oliver respond? I’d like to think he’d tell Lawrence that I am a nice guy but it feels wrong to build myself up to her.
Lucas as Oliver: Let me know if they don’t treat you right. I’ll kick their asses.
Lawrence: Will do. Call when you can. Miss you. Love you.
Lucas as Oliver: I will. Love you too. Have a great time.
The festival is running smoothly so I think it’s fine to step away for a little while and spend some time talking with Lawrence. “Hey, Molly. I’m going to take a break for a little while. Shoot me a text if you need me.”
“Will do.”
I’m walking toward Lawrence when I see Porter has joined her. It would be a fucking disaster if he’s blown my story about Oliver’s whereabouts. He really should have checked with me before talking to her so we could get our stories straight.
I place a hand on Porter’s shoulder and squeeze when I reach the table. “Hey, man. You’re supposed to be working. Not hanging out with a pretty girl in the shade.”
“No ordinary pretty girl here.”
I’d agree with that.
I don’t know what Porter has said, but I need to cue him to the explanation I’ve already given Lawrence. “It’s a damn shame that Oliver had to leave yesterday and go to Memphis to check on his friend going through the divorce.”
“The whole thing is so weird, Porter. I’ve never heard him mention a word about a friend from Memphis. Do you know who he went to see?”
The concern in Lawrence’s voice is genuine. I feel terrible for deceiving her.
Porter comes to full attention, looking at me and then back at Lawrence. “It’s Raleigh, one of our frat brothers. The poor guy is not coping well with his wife’s infidelity. Oliver was worried about his well-being so he drove up to check on him.”
Good job, Porter. Good job.
“I guess he understands more than anyone what his friend is going through because of what Eden did to him. Damn, that woman did a number on my brother.”
Lawrence doesn’t know the half of it. The effects of that betrayal sent Oliver into a three-month party spiral, which I blame for the DUI. He would never have done anything like that prior to his breakup with Eden.
Porter chuckles. “Want to hear something funny? Eden’s cousin drives one of our delivery trucks. I saw him earlier this week and he told me the man she was cheating with has already left her for someone else.”
Lawrence nods. “I bet she’s seeing how good she had it with my brother. He treated her well and I’m worried she’ll try to weasel her way back into his life.”
“Don’t worry, Law. Oliver won’t have her back. Not after walking in on her with another man.”
“I hope you’re right, Porter.”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“Nope. Free as a bird.”
“It would be hard for me to picture you any other way.” Porter glances at his watch. “It’s almost three. I’ve gotta run but we have to get together later. It’s been too long since we’ve caught up.”
I’ll be the odd man out if he asks her to dinner. I’m certain he won’t invite me to join them. “Let’s all have dinner together tonight.”
Porter frowns. “I can’t tonight. I’ve already made plans with Perry from Yankee Brewery.”
“That’s too bad. I was hoping we could catch up before I go home.”
“When are you leaving?”
Lawrence looks at me and grins. “I’m staying until Monday morning.”
Well, well, well. That decision happened without a lot of persuading.
Porter kisses the side of Lawrence’s face. Just a quick, friendly peck. “We’ll definitely get together before you go.”
I’m surprised Porter didn’t jump at the chance to spend time with Lawrence. I was under the impression that he might have a thing for her. Was I wrong?
Lawrence’s smile curls but the corners are pinched. “These festivals are all about getting together with potential clients and schmoozing them, so how is it possible that you don’t have dinner plans?”
“Who says I don’t have plans?”
“Please don’t tell me that you’re canceling on someone to keep me company.”
“Okay. I won’t tell you.”
She inhales deeply and loudly exhales. “That makes me feel terrible. I can’t let you ditch clients to have dinner with me.”
“It’s a group thing with some other breweries. No big deal. I see them all the time so they won’t miss me. Promise.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Thank you. You’re very sweet.”
Sweet. That’s what Bridgette says that I am. But I’m not so sure.
“Would you care for another beer?”
She shakes her head. “Not right now. Maybe later.”
I don’t want to leave her here alone again but this festival is business for me. I have a job to do. “I need to walk around and show my face since Iron City is hosting this event.”
She nods and flicks her hand toward the crowd. “Oh yeah. Of course, you do.”
“It’s going to be hot and miserable and probably boring as hell, but would you care to walk with me while I make the rounds speaking to everyone?”
Beads of sweat rest on her forehead an
d upper lip. Her sunglasses have slowly slid down her nose, and I’m so close to seeing the eyes hiding behind them.
Are they blue? Green? Brown? Hazel? I’m dying to know.
“You don’t need me in tow slowing you down. I’ll be fine right here. Go be a host to your people.”
I have sixteen booths to visit. People are going to expect me to hang around and talk. “I could be gone a while.”
“If you are, then it means that you’re doing your job well.”
“I hate the thought of you sitting here alone.”
“It’s fine. I’ll grab another beer and people watch. I love doing that and there’ll be some good entertainment to come along in a minute. After all, this is a beer festival. Someone is bound to act like a fool soon.”
Lawrence with her messy bun on top of her head, her long hippie-looking skirt, and her shredded Iron City T-shirt, she’s easygoing, comical, and so very different from the women I’ve been with lately.
“Okay. Do your people-watching thing and I’ll be back as soon as I’m done.”
She props her feet on the adjacent chair. “No hurry. Take your time. It’s all cool here.”
I’m tied up much longer than planned. Almost two hours. Lawrence has to be tired of sitting around waiting for me.
Rounding the corner, I see that she’s gone from where I left her. Shit. I hope she hasn’t changed her mind and taken off on me.
I scan the crowd in search of a blond topknot. I see plenty but none of them belong to her. My eyes seek her red sliced-and-diced Iron City T-shirt, but it isn’t anywhere to be seen. She’s gone.
“That’s some serious searching you’re doing there, Captain. Who are you looking for? Maybe I can help you find them.”
Lawrence is standing next to me, pretending to look through the crowd with a pair of imaginary binoculars.
“I appreciate the offer but I think I may have found her.”
“Good.” She pretends to toss something over her shoulder. “Because I can’t see shit through these binoculars.”
“I’m sorry that took so long. Thank you for not leaving.”
“It’s fine, Lucas. I’m aware that this festival is about gaining new clients for Iron City. I expected you to be tied up for a while.”
Most women would be perturbed for being left alone for so long. “Thank you for understanding.”
“You’ll find that my feathers aren’t easily ruffled.”
“I was planning to take you to an early dinner after I finished rounds, but I ran into a young lady who is insisting that I meet up with her and share an order of fried Oreos at one of the food trucks.”
She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and tilts her head. “Well, I don’t think it’s possible to pass on this young lady if there are going to be fried Oreos involved.
“It’s okay.” She smiles and shrugs. “We can meet up later. Or I can take a rain check if you’d like to have dinner with her instead.”
“I want to have dinner with her, but I’d also love for you to join us.”
She parts her mouth as though she’s going to say something but then stops.
“You can come and enjoy some fried Oreos with us.”
“I appreciate your offer to entertain me while my brother’s away, but I’d prefer to not be a third wheel on your date.”
She seriously thinks that I’d ask her to dinner and then drop her for another woman?
“Trust me. You won’t be a third wheel.”
“You don’t think she’ll mind?”
“No, she’s not like that at all.”
Lawrence sighs. “Okay. But I’m out of there if she seems the least bit pissed or irritated about me being around. I don’t do lady drama.”
Good. That’s another thing we have in common.
“Understood.”
Lawrence doesn’t have a lot to say on the walk to the food vendor area. I can tell she isn’t excited about this at all, but she’ll change her mind soon enough.
“Uncle Bou,” Aubrey yells as she runs into my arms. I don’t think this child’s feet ever touch the ground in my presence. “Where you been?”
Patience isn’t one of Aubrey’s strong suits. “Someone’s excited for fried Oreos?”
Her little head bobs up and down. “Mm-hmm.”
“Can you forgive me for being late, my love? I had to find my friend.”
She nods. “It’s okay.”
I twist so Aubrey can see Lawrence. “This is my friend, Lawrence.”
Aubrey places her head on my shoulder, suddenly bashful, which I’ve never known her to be. “This shy little thing is Aubrey.”
Lawrence removes her sunglasses, placing them on top of her head, and I finally get to see her eyes. Light blue surrounded by long lashes. Stunning.
She rubs her hand up and down Aubrey’s arm. “You are precious. Very nice to meet you, Aubrey.”
“I’m Bridgette and this is my husband, Warren.”
And here comes the awkward moment where people put everything together. My ex-wife, the cheater. Her husband, my best friend with whom she cheated. Their child, the product of their union.
No one understands the dynamics of our relationship. These are my buddies and I don’t hold any kind of grudge against them because they fell in love with each other.
I love them and their child—soon to be children. I always will.
“Nice to meet both of you.”
If Lawrence puts together who Bridgette and Warren are, she never lets on by her reaction.
“Lawrence is Oliver’s sister. She came to town to surprise him but he left before she got here.”
“Ah, that’s too bad. I know he must be disappointed he missed you. Do you live far away?”
“Savannah, Georgia.”
“That’s about a six-hour drive?” Warren asks.
“Yes. A very long six-hour drive when you’re traveling by yourself.”
“The upside is the beer festival. Otherwise, I would imagine you’d have been forced to turn around and go home,” Warren says.
“Exactly.”
Aubrey pats her palm against my chest. “Uncle Bou. Can we get cookies now?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” I look at Bridgette. “Does the other munchkin want some?”
She rests her hand on top of her swollen abdomen. “I probably shouldn’t but come on. We’re talking about fried Oreos. I don’t know any pregnant woman who could say no to that.”
I look at Lawrence. “You wanna give ‘em a try?”
She scrunches her nose. “None for me, but thanks.”
“Seriously?” Bridgette says.
“I only eat all-natural, vegan organic foods unless I don’t have a choice.”
I’m not at all surprised. Her diet completely fits her hippie lifestyle.
“I’m sorry. I probably should have told you that when you asked me to dinner.”
Bridgette straightens and looks at me, grinning. “Oh, you’re having dinner together? That’s nice.”
I run through the list of food vendors in my head. Finch is a local organic farmer. “I have an option for you when you’re ready—if you don’t mind eating at the festival.”
“I didn’t expect to not eat here.”
“Are you hungry now?”
“I am. I haven’t had anything but beer since breakfast.”
I turn to Warren and Bridgette. “What about you guys?”
“We’ve been here all day so we’re ready to go, but we’ve got to get these cookies for the princess before she has a fit.” Warren lowers his voice, “We’ve been putting her off all day, hoping she’d forget about them.”
Bridgette glares at me. “And we’d done a right nice job until you came along and brought them up again.”
I tickle Aubrey beneath her chin. “Dessert before dinner. That’s how we roll, isn’t it, Bebelle?”
“Bebelle?” Lawrence asks.
“It’s Cajun French. It means doll.” And that’s what t
his little girl is to me. My doll.
Aubrey cackles. “Yes, Uncle Bou. Cookies.”
Bridgette rolls her eyes. “She’s rotten thanks to Boudreaux here.”
I tilt my head toward Bridgette. “And your p’tit boug will be, too.” But he won’t be sweet and delicate like Aubrey. I’ll make him rough and tough like a real Cajun.
Bridgette shakes her head. “Did you hear that? Boudreaux’s planning to ruin my baby boy as well.”
“It’s true. Aubrey knows that I can’t tell her no.”
“And she enjoys every moment of it,” Warren says.
I lift my shoulders in a slight shrug. “What can I say? I spoil my Bebelle and she loves it.”
Aubrey pushes her finger through the powdered sugar littering our table, drawing pictures. The mess reminds me of Café du Monde minus the pigeons.
“Don’t do that, Aubrey.”
Bridgette fetches a wet wipe from her bag and cleans her daughter’s hands. Always sanitizing her. Bridgette better get ready because this new baby boy won’t go for all of that.
“What do you think of the cookies, Bebelle?”
“Mmm. Yum… mee.” She smiles and black cookie remnants decorate her mouth and teeth.
I burst out laughing. “You have to get a picture of that, Bridg.”
“Oh good Lord.” Bridgette fetches her phone from her bag. “Smile for Mama.”
I push the plate toward Aubrey. “One left. All yours if you want it.”
Aubrey picks up the last cookie and holds it out to Lawrence. “Want it, Wren?”
“What a sweet girl you are. Thank you, but the last one should be for you.”
“I’m full,” Aubrey says. She holds it out to me next. “Uncle Bou?”
I lean forward and open my mouth so Aubrey can feed me. Not bad. But I guess anything tastes good deep-fried and covered in powdered sugar.
“Like it?” Aubrey asks.
I gobble at her fingers and Aubrey bursts into laughter. “Cookie monster like. He may eat fingers too.”
Bridgette gathers the plate and wipes down the table. “You ready to go, Warren?”
“Whenever you are, baby.”