What Lovers Do(47)

Gah! Such a lie. I need Jimmy out of my house and Shep out of my head. I have imaginary sex with him at least a dozen times a day.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE





Shep texts me the time and place. I go through six outfit changes, three hair styles, and five shades of lip gloss. After settling on a gold shift dress with a lace hem and lace neckline, I bolt past Jimmy, ignoring his “where the hell are you going in that” comment. Arriving at the restaurant twenty minutes early, I request a table for two.

The waiter brings me a lemonade and an order of caramelized brussels sprouts with garlic and honey pistachios. After a few minutes of taking small bites followed by a swish and swallow of water to ensure I don’t have anything green stuck in my teeth, Shep and his parents pass my table as the hostess leads them to their table.

“Sophie?” Shep stops.

I stiffen and smile, making a quick glance at his parents who have turned to look at me. “Hi.”

“How are you?” he asks in a well-rehearsed tone, perfectly infused with inflections of surprise.

My gaze continues its nervous ping-ponging between Shep and his parents. “Fine.” I’m really good at one-word answers because we didn’t work out any specific dialogue.

“Sorry … Sophie, these are my parents, Hillary and Gordon. This is my friend, Sophie. I met her at the store. And it just so happens that she’s a really skilled golfer. Had her dad not suffered injuries from an accident, he would have qualified for the PGA.”

My smile gets faker with each passing second. This is too weird. Why did I agree to this? Can we go back to our exclusive little bubble?

Gordon perks up. “Is that so?”

I nod. “It is.”

“What’s his name?” Gordon asks.

“Dalton Ryan. It was many years—”

“Oh yes. I’ve heard of him. I remember the accident. It was in the news. He was a very promising player. So tragic. How is he now?”

“Good. Some arthritis in the joints where he has hardware, but he plays almost every day. And he’s as good as I remember him being when I was younger.”

“That’s great,” Gordon nods.

“Are you alone?” Shep asks.

Here we go. Am I playing the loner, the loser, or the boyfriend-is-saving-a-life dreamer?

“I am. My plans sort of … fell apart. So here I am, having dinner by myself.” Vague. There’s a fourth option.

“You should join us.” Shep glances at his parents as if he needs permission. Now it’s just awkward. But the awkwardness doesn’t last because they quickly agree.

“Perfect. Is a booth okay?” the hostess asks as I realize she’s been waiting during the entire conversation about my dad.

Shep nods. “That works.” He grabs my lemonade and my appetizer as I stand. His gaze shows complete appreciation for my dress. “You look … tempting.” He smirks, whispering his words so his parents don’t hear him.

I bite my tongue because what I want to tell him is that I heard the heartbeat of the baby in my tummy. I’m still reeling from the morning in the doctor’s office.

The hostess waits for us to file into the booth before handing us menus. Shep grabs his menu with one hand and my leg with his other hand, sliding it from my knee to halfway up my thigh.

I suck in an audible breath. His mom glances up at me from across the table. My smile attempts to cover up my reaction.

“I’m glad we ended up at the same restaurant tonight,” I say before sipping my drink as everyone else scans their menus. The heat from Shep’s hand leaves a singe mark on my leg. “I don’t know if Shep passed it along, but I really enjoyed staying at your house in Sedonaaa!” I clamp my mouth shut so I don’t disrupt the entire restaurant as Shep squeezes my leg harder than necessary.

His parents narrow their eyes while I gulp down the rest of my words. Oops … that was supposed to be a secret.

I knew that. I just forgot. This … this is the reason we shouldn’t be together in the presence of people from our real lives. Things get too jumbled.

“Oh?” Hillary eyes Shep.

He loosens his grip and clears his throat. “Yeah. Last week, Howie had to skip out on our trip, so I invited Sophie to golf with me in Sedona.”

“You did?” Hillary asks with so much hidden suggestion in her voice it makes me blush. “We had no idea you were seeing anyone.”

“Oh! We’re not seeing each other.” I push my black-framed glasses up my nose. “I mean, not in a romantic sense. We’re just friends who have dogs and like to golf.”

Shep inches his hand up my leg as if I need a reminder that we’ve done more than play a few rounds of golf and hang out with the dogs. I don’t need the reminder. It’s on constant replay in my head.

“I see.” She nods slowly. “Are you married? Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Mom, really?” Shep cocks his head to the side.

“I’m just asking.” She shrugs and returns her attention to the menu.

“Well, anyway…” I feel the need to make things better “…it’s a lovely house with stunning views. And I had a wonderful weekend. So thank you for your generosity.”

Gordon lifts his gaze to Shep and narrows his eyes a bit. Shep returns a barely detectable headshake, but I don’t miss it.