Two

 

Clay Harper took Lauryn Warre's jacket, settled in at the quaint table across from her, and slid off his own coat. She gave him a sultry smile and flipped back her platinum blonde hair.

The server arrived and held out his hand. "Welcome to Roosevelt's. I'm Renaldo, and I'll take that for you, sir."

"Thank you." He handed Renaldo the jackets.

Lauryn brushed her bangs from her eyes and smiled, showing off her perfectly straight, white teeth. "I love this restaurant."

Renaldo nodded a thanks. "May I start you off with some appetizers?"

"Crab cakes?" Lauryn asked.

"The appetizer will be out shortly. I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menus." Renaldo smiled and walked away.

Clay opened the wine menu and found the most expensive drink they offered. He pointed to it. "Tonight, we celebrate."

"Oh?" Lauryn arched a perfectly manicured brow. "Why's that, honey?"

"I have a job actually using my MBA. I start on Monday."

Her mouth dropped. "You're finally moving to Portland?"

He shook his head.

She frowned. "Please tell me it's not here in Enchantment Bay."

Clay rolled his eyes. "No, actually it's in Ketchikan, Alaska."

"Excuse me?" She stared at him like he was crazy.

"Of course it's here in town. Where else?"

Lauryn's brows came together. "You're supposed to work in Portland with me. Why do you insist on this tiny, podunk town?"

"Podunk? First of all, it's charming. And second, it isn't that small."

Her nostrils flared. "You agreed to follow me to Portland."

Clay took a deep breath. "No, you accepted your job at that fancy law firm and took it upon yourself to find me a job in the city."

"Most people would've been happy about that." Lauryn twisted a strand of her hair around her finger, making the flesh turn white. "You hate working in a cubicle. That job would've been a dream."

"I want to be an apprentice so I can learn how to run my own future business."

"You could do that in Portland."

"Lauryn, we'll still see each other on the weekends. I can hop on my bike and be there in no time flat." His stomach dropped when he remembered Dakota mentioning Saturdays. He and Lauryn would just have to deal with that when the time came—assuming that Lauryn didn't flip. Maybe he would only have to work a few hours on the weekends.

She rolled her eyes. "You don't get it."

"It's not like we're married. And this job won't be forever. I just need some actual real-world experience before I start my own gig—maybe in Portland."

Lauryn tapped her sparkly, turquoise nails on the table. "Seriously? You want a long-distance relationship?"

He leaned his elbows on the table and stared into her gray eyes. "We've done it before. Remember when I went to school around here and you were at Yale?"

"Ugh. Not that again. Please." She reached across the table and grasped his hand. Her skin was silky smooth and the scent of her flowery lotion drifted his way. It was the same one she'd been wearing since high school. She pleaded with her eyes. "Reconsider."

"We'll be fine. Look at everything we've gone through, and we're still together."

She pouted. "I don't want to do long distance again."

"Portland is just a short drive."

Lauryn shook her head.

"You know how I drive on my Ducati."

"Yeah, and I know how much you rake in with the speeding tickets, too."

He squeezed her hand. "All to see you that much sooner."

"When are you finally going to sell that thing?"

Clay's entire body bristled and he let go of her hand. "You know how much it means to me—how long I saved for it. It's one of the best bikes on the market."

She frowned and opened her mouth. She closed it and they sat in an awkward silence for a minute before she finally spoke. "Is this your way of trying to break up with me?"

His mouth dropped. "What? Where did that come from?"

Tears gleamed in her eyes and she held up her hand to her mouth. "We're pushing thirty and you haven't proposed."

Clay snorted. "Pushing thirty? Last I checked, we're both twenty-seven. That's hardly pushing thirty."

"But we've been together since high school. What are your plans for our future?"

His stomach twisted in knots. "You're the one who wanted to make sure we both had our careers firmly in place before we even thought about anything permanent. This new job, it's the next big stepping stone for me."

"Fine, whatever. Let's just order." She opened her menu and held it in front of her face.

"Nice," Clay muttered.

"I heard that."

"What do you want me to do? You were mad that I quit my job, now you're ticked that I have a new one."

"Forget it."

"Forget what?" he snapped.

Lauryn glared at him from above the menu. "Just order your food, okay?"

He bit back a rude comment and shoved the wine menu aside.

Renaldo returned with the crab cakes. "Are you ready to order?"

Clay glared at Lauryn's raised menu. "We're not ready. Can you bring us two waters with lemon?"

"Of course. I'll give you two a few more minutes." He walked away.

Lauryn gave him a hurt expression. "What happened to the wine?"

"I don't feel much like celebrating anymore." He glanced down at the menu.

"Whatever."

He glowered at her. "Exactly. Whatever."

She brought the menu back in front of her face.

Hardly the celebratory dinner he'd envisioned. Lauryn knew how to shut him out by being the royal ice queen.

Renaldo came back. "Are you ready to order now?"

Lauryn dropped her menu on the table and ordered, keeping her gaze averted from Clay.

When it was his turn to order, he went with his usual. He'd been in the mood to try something new, but it didn't seem to matter anymore.

After Renaldo left again, he and Lauryn ate the crab cakes in silence.

There was nothing lonelier than feeling alone when he was actually with her. And he was sick of it—the mind games when she didn't get her way. When she was like that, she treated him like the hired help rather than a boyfriend.

Clay leaned over the table and stared at Lauryn, though she was busy staring at her phone's screen. "Why don't you tell me what's really bothering you."

She looked up and glared at him, sending chills down his spine. "I already did."

"You don't want distance between us?"

Lauryn folded her arms. "It's bad enough that you won't move in with me. All my friends—"

"I don't care what anyone else does. Our boundaries are ours alone."

Her mouth curved down. "Yours, you mean. You and your small-town mentality."

"It's called morals. Look, if you want someone who will move in with you, there are plenty to choose from."

She slammed her palm on the table, making her water shake. "I don't want anyone else. Why else would I put up with your ridiculous high standards? You know what people call us?"

"Did I mention I don't care what people think?"

"The nun and the pope. A nun. Me!"

He couldn't help snickering. "That is far-fetched."

She narrowed her eyes. "I want to get married, and you want a long-distance relationship."

Clay stared at her. "Married? Whoa now. You're the one who—"

Lauryn folded her arms. "Try reading between the lines, would you?"

"Try just saying what you're really thinking. Are you serious? You really want me to propose? Your career is more imp—"

"Don't. Just don't. Tell me the truth. Do you see a future with me?"

His mouth nearly hit the floor. "Why do you think we're together? Why we've been together since prom?"

"Then why the new job in Enchantment Bay? I thought you were going to follow me wherever I went."

Clay took a deep breath. "I told you—"

"You'll ride up each weekend. What about during the week?"

"There's this thing called a phone. I know you've heard of it. You haven't stopped looking at yours since I told you about my new job—which you haven't even asked me about."

Lauryn gave him a double-take. "What?"

"Not one question. What is it? What will I be doing? Am I excited about it? Will it help to advance my career?"

Renaldo brought their meals to the table without a word.

"Thank you," Clay said.

Lauryn's nostrils flared. "Why would I ask about the job? You certainly didn't ask me about it before accepting, much less applying."

"It was rather sudden, and I did try calling you. You didn't answer."

"So? I knew I'd see you here."

"You still could've at least acknowledged my call with a text."

"And you could have texted me that you had big news, you know." She raised both brows, daring him to argue her point.

Clay took a deep breath. It was times like these that made becoming a monk seem like a plausible option.

He grabbed Lauryn's hand. She tried to jerk it away, but he held on tightly while looking into her eyes. "It's a temporary position at The Chateau."

Her expression softened. "The wedding venue?"

"Exactly. Forty hours a week, all I'll be able to think about is holy matrimony."

Lauryn's eyes widened. "You'll get the bug. I mean, inspiration."

"It's possible." He sighed.

"Then on top of all that, you can take whatever business stuff you learn and apply it to any other work."

He tried to smile. "To Portland or Seattle, or anywhere."

She tilted her head. "What's the matter?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You're smiling, but your dimple's hiding. Are you hiding something?"

"I'm just a little surprised. You can't blame me. You went from pissed to excited on a dime. I didn't even know you were thinking about marriage. You're always saying how lame it is."

"Weddings, Clay. All that money for a big ceremony that lasts a day—and more people divorce than don't. Big weddings are stupid and a waste of money. May as well just set it aside for the divorce attorneys."

Clay stared at her. "Are you for real?"

Lauryn frowned. "Did that come off as harsh?"

"You could say that."

"Sorry. I see angry couples all the time. I've lost faith in the wedding ritual. It's so outdated, you know? Get a justice of the peace to sign the document, get a decent prenuptial, and call it good."

He stared at her, wondering what had happened to the person he'd fallen in love with.

She frowned. "I did it again, didn't I?"

Clay nodded.

"Obviously, I believe in us. That's why I want you in Portland with me. But if this new job will get you thinking about our marriage, I'm all for it."

"At least you approve now." He smiled ruefully. The only reason she had any interest in his new job was because of how she thought it would benefit her.

"Well, yes. You never told me what it was, Clay. For all I knew, you were working at some dumb construction company. You totally have to work on how you present things. That's something to keep in mind with your job."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he muttered and cut into his steak.

"Oh, you know I don't mean it like that. This is definitely the opportunity of a lifetime."

He stared into her gray eyes. They seemed lighter now.

Renaldo walked by.

"Excuse me," Lauryn said.

He stopped and turned to her. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Can you please bring by two glasses of Dom Pérignon? We're celebrating tonight."