Читать книгу Rich, Rugged...Royal - Cynthia Rutledge, Cynthia Rutledge - Страница 11

Lauren glanced around the trendy St. Louis coffee shop and wondered if any of the other patron’s lives were in such a mess.

“My life is spiraling out of control,” Lauren said with a sigh to her friend, Sara Michaels.

Sara sipped her Italian soda and focused her gaze on Lauren, her blue eyes curious but not alarmed. She lifted a perfectly shaped brow. “Don’t tell me Nordstrom decided to not put their coats on sale this week?”

“I wish that’s all it was,” Lauren said with a sigh. “Unfortunately it’s way more serious.”

Surprise flitted across Sara’s face. “What’s going on, Lauren?”

Lauren hesitated. Now that the moment was at hand, the words wouldn’t come. The Christian singer was her best friend and Lauren’s moral compass. Though she had no doubt her friend would be shocked and disappointed, Lauren knew Sara would be just the one to help her sort through her tangled emotions.

Goodness knows Lauren couldn’t count on her parents for that kind of help. If only she could follow her mother’s suggestion and simply forget the guy. But the problem was Lauren couldn’t forget him. The memory of their time together was as vivid now as it had been when he’d dropped her off at the airport and they’d said their goodbyes.

“Lauren?” Sara flashed an encouraging smile.

Lauren traced a crack on the tabletop with one finger and forced a casual tone. “Have you ever done something you knew at the time was wrong, but you went ahead and did it anyway?”

A strange expression crossed Sara’s face. Instead of answering immediately, she took a sip of her soda and her eyes took on a faraway look. After a long moment, she nodded.

“I don’t need specifics.” Lauren leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. “But whatever it was, if you had it to do all over again, would you?”

“At the time I thought it was justified,” Sara said. “But I was young. In retrospect it was definitely the wrong thing to do.”

Lauren wasn’t sure what Sara’s sin had been, but knowing her friend’s propensity for doing the right thing, whatever it was couldn’t have been all that bad. Nothing on the order of a one-night stand. Still, it was good to know that Sara could understand how a person could stray from the straight and narrow.

“I did something recently.” Lauren waved a hand in the air, being deliberately vague. “Even at the time I knew it was wrong. But I went ahead and did it anyway.”

“And now you’re sorry.” Sara’s voice softened with understanding. She leaned forward and gave Lauren’s hand a squeeze. “At one time or another we all do things like that, things we’re not proud of, things we regret.”

Lauren stifled a groan. Sara had missed the point. It wasn’t regret that haunted her thoughts, but the absence of regret.

“The thing is, I don’t feel bad,” Lauren said. “I know I should, but I don’t. And, worst of all, given the chance I’m sure I’d do it again.”

A frown furrowed Sara’s brow. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s my mother,” Lauren said. “I’m starting to think I’m just like her.”

Sara’s gaze shifted to the bulging sacks of clothes next to Lauren’s chair. When Lauren got wound up, nothing soothed her like walking down the aisles of a department store perusing the merchandise, trying on clothes, mixing and matching. Sara, like the rest of Lauren’s friends, understood that shopping was her way of dealing with stress.

Lauren nudged at the sacks with the toe of one shoe. The only thing she regretted about the clothes was that she’d have to take most of them back. The high rent she paid on her luxury town house took most of her paycheck and her credit card couldn’t handle much more.

“Lauren.” Sara’s voice was low and filled with compassion. “You haven’t been yourself since you got back from Chicago. Did something happen there?”

“Chicago was fun,” Lauren said, avoiding the question. “It was great seeing everyone again.”

Still, the event had been bittersweet. Lauren had been happy for her last unmarried girlfriend. And she’d been equally happy for her other college friends with babies on their hips. But she couldn’t help but wonder when it would be her turn. When would she have a man of her own? And a child to hold in her arms?

“Tell me why you think you’re just like your mother,” Sara said when Lauren didn’t elaborate.

Lauren stared down into her cup then lifted her gaze to Sara. “She sees what she wants and she goes for it, regardless if it’s a wise course of action or not. Lately I’ve been doing the same thing.”

“That’s not true.” Sara’s response said more about her loyalty than her ability to be realistic when it came to her friends.

“It is true. I’ve leased a town house I can’t afford.” Lauren decided that sounded better than saying she’d had a one-night stand with a man she’d never see again. “And I’m constantly buying clothes I don’t need just because I want them.”

Her gaze dropped back to the sacks at her feet.

“If this is about money,” Sara began, “I have some extra and I’d be happy to—”

“Absolutely not,” Lauren said firmly. Taking money from friends was her father’s specialty. She’d sleep on a park bench before she’d accept a dime from Sara. “But I do have to get a roommate. So, if you know anyone who might be interested, send them my way.”

Sara leaned back in her chair, her expression thoughtful. “I might know someone. The only problem is, he’s a guy.”

Lauren resisted the urge to smile. Who, but Sara, would worry about such a thing? “That doesn’t bother me. I lived in a coed dorm in college.”

“I’m not sure how long he’ll stay in St. Louis but he is looking.” Sara raised a finger to her lips. “And I think the two of you would get along.”

Lauren raised a brow, her curiosity piqued. “Do I know this guy?”

“He’s not from here,” Sara said. “I’ve just hired him to handle the arrangements for my upcoming European tour.”

“Is he cute?” The question popped out of Lauren’s mouth before she could stop it.

“I think he’s attractive,” Sara said. “But then I’ve always been partial to guys with dark hair and hazel eyes.”

Lauren smiled. Sara’s husband, Sal, a hunky excop, fit that description to a T. So did Alex.

An image of Alex flashed before Lauren. Though it had been almost a week since their time together, she still found herself waking up at night and thinking about him. Even now, just the thought of him rekindled her desire.

Lauren shoved the memories aside. If she did get a male roommate, part of the ground rules would be that there would be nothing personal between them. Otherwise it would never work.

“How well do you know this guy?” Lauren asked. “I mean, I don’t want to worry about living under the same roof with Jack the Ripper.”

Sara chuckled. “This guy is definitely no Jack the Ripper. Both Tom Alvarez and his previous employer couldn’t say enough nice things about him. That was the reason I decided to interview him in the first place. I have to say I was impressed. And he passed muster with Sal.”

Sara’s eyes softened, the way they always did when she mentioned her husband. She’d been married for almost three years to the former undercover cop and Sal guarded his wife and baby daughter’s privacy with the zeal he’d once reserved for his police work. If he approved of this new guy, the man must be okay.

“Is he even looking for a roommate?” Lauren asked. “Maybe he wants a place of his own?”

Sara lifted the cup to her lips and paused. “I think he’d prefer a roommate. Money seems to be an issue.”

“Not paying him enough?” Lauren teased.

“According to my manager, I’m paying him too much,” Sara said with a laugh. “But he had great qualifications.”

“So why would money be an issue?”

“I don’t know.” Sara gave a shrug. “We didn’t get into his personal life. But a few things he said led me to believe he’s watching his pennies. It struck me as odd at the time because the clothes he wore were very stylish and definitely not off the rack.”

“Sounds like my kind of guy,” Lauren mused. Though the man would only be living under her roof and they wouldn’t necessarily have to be friends, it was reassuring to know they shared a love of nice clothes. “When do you think I could meet him?”

Sara’s eyes widened and she lifted a hand in a gesture of greeting. “How about right now?”

“Now?”

“He just walked through the front door.”

Lauren swiveled in her chair. Her heart stopped at the sight of the tall, broad-shouldered man making his way to their table.

“Alex,” she breathed the word, feeling suddenly light-headed.