down at Lindsey’s hand, curled around her bicep. Smooth skin, manicured nails, no ring. Her Internet research hadn’t revealed anything about a spouse or partner. Lindsey Ryan took care of herself, but not for someone waiting at home. More likely, she self-pampered for the camera and her career. What must it be like to have a job where someone younger and more beautiful was poised to take over the minute your ratings slipped?
She didn’t have much time to contemplate the answer before they were next to a van from the local station Channel 8 news. The side door slid open, and she looked inside, recognizing the driver as the guy who’d accompanied Lindsey to the office earlier in the week. The other two passengers were women who could not have looked more different. One was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and Doc Martens. She was cute in a here’s-my-younger-sister kind of way and she looked all of fifteen. The other woman looked like Lindsey did today, polished, professional, and dressed to the nines, but she didn’t look like she would ever be comfortable in the outfit Lindsey had thrown on yesterday morning. She was classically beautiful, but in that too good to be true and completely untouchable kind of way. This chick probably slept in ironed sheets wearing expensive lingerie, and she definitely loved salads. Not at all her type.
The thought hit her like a stun gun—unexpected, hard, and painful. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d thought about another woman being her type, but she knew it had to be before she’d met Maria. Peyton’s words from earlier in the week echoed in her head and dug their claws into her heart. She hadn’t thought about dating since she’d lost Maria, and a simple observation about whether another woman was attractive or not didn’t mean her perspective had changed. Especially since she’d concluded she wasn’t attracted to her at all.
“Climb in and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
Dale turned at the sound of Lindsey’s voice. She might not be attracted to the polished beauty in the van, but Lindsey…Lindsey was a different story. Today she was polished for the camera, but the image of Lindsey in her rumpled sweatshirt, hair pulled back in a jumbled mess, and no makeup yet looking absolutely stunning flashed in her mind. Her probing questions, her teasing tone, the way her eyes reflected kindness even when she was asking hard questions—all of these things rattled against the barriers she’d erected, and the realization caught her completely off guard.
The air around her grew thin, and she was crawling out of her skin. One thing was certain, no fucking way was she getting into a van with Lindsey Ryan. She muttered something about needing to drive her own vehicle and stalked back to her truck.
Lindsey watched, baffled, as Dale walked briskly away from the van. Just when she’d started to breach the barriers Dale had erected, she morphed from mildly reluctant tour guide to I can’t be bothered to be near you. Dale had turned pale and distant just before she bolted, and Lindsey wanted desperately to know what had caused the change.
“What the hell was that about?”
Lindsey turned to Elaina. She was so absorbed in curiosity about Dale she’d almost forgotten about Elaina and the others. “New development. She’s meeting us there.” She shrugged and kept her face fixed in a nonchalant expression. “Work thing.” She climbed into the van. “Let’s go.”
Elaina huffed, but told Jed to take them downtown. Lindsey consciously avoided the questioning looks from Jed and Alice. They’d seen the entire exchange and were probably wondering what in the hell had gotten into Dale. She wondered too and had no idea why she’d told the little white lie to cover for Dale’s sudden attack of odd. In the moment, she’d sensed Dale was vulnerable and hadn’t even tried to combat the powerful urge to protect her.
She’d have to get over that if she was going to do
She didn’t have much time to contemplate the answer before they were next to a van from the local station Channel 8 news. The side door slid open, and she looked inside, recognizing the driver as the guy who’d accompanied Lindsey to the office earlier in the week. The other two passengers were women who could not have looked more different. One was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and Doc Martens. She was cute in a here’s-my-younger-sister kind of way and she looked all of fifteen. The other woman looked like Lindsey did today, polished, professional, and dressed to the nines, but she didn’t look like she would ever be comfortable in the outfit Lindsey had thrown on yesterday morning. She was classically beautiful, but in that too good to be true and completely untouchable kind of way. This chick probably slept in ironed sheets wearing expensive lingerie, and she definitely loved salads. Not at all her type.
The thought hit her like a stun gun—unexpected, hard, and painful. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d thought about another woman being her type, but she knew it had to be before she’d met Maria. Peyton’s words from earlier in the week echoed in her head and dug their claws into her heart. She hadn’t thought about dating since she’d lost Maria, and a simple observation about whether another woman was attractive or not didn’t mean her perspective had changed. Especially since she’d concluded she wasn’t attracted to her at all.
“Climb in and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
Dale turned at the sound of Lindsey’s voice. She might not be attracted to the polished beauty in the van, but Lindsey…Lindsey was a different story. Today she was polished for the camera, but the image of Lindsey in her rumpled sweatshirt, hair pulled back in a jumbled mess, and no makeup yet looking absolutely stunning flashed in her mind. Her probing questions, her teasing tone, the way her eyes reflected kindness even when she was asking hard questions—all of these things rattled against the barriers she’d erected, and the realization caught her completely off guard.
The air around her grew thin, and she was crawling out of her skin. One thing was certain, no fucking way was she getting into a van with Lindsey Ryan. She muttered something about needing to drive her own vehicle and stalked back to her truck.
Lindsey watched, baffled, as Dale walked briskly away from the van. Just when she’d started to breach the barriers Dale had erected, she morphed from mildly reluctant tour guide to I can’t be bothered to be near you. Dale had turned pale and distant just before she bolted, and Lindsey wanted desperately to know what had caused the change.
“What the hell was that about?”
Lindsey turned to Elaina. She was so absorbed in curiosity about Dale she’d almost forgotten about Elaina and the others. “New development. She’s meeting us there.” She shrugged and kept her face fixed in a nonchalant expression. “Work thing.” She climbed into the van. “Let’s go.”
Elaina huffed, but told Jed to take them downtown. Lindsey consciously avoided the questioning looks from Jed and Alice. They’d seen the entire exchange and were probably wondering what in the hell had gotten into Dale. She wondered too and had no idea why she’d told the little white lie to cover for Dale’s sudden attack of odd. In the moment, she’d sensed Dale was vulnerable and hadn’t even tried to combat the powerful urge to protect her.
She’d have to get over that if she was going to do
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