Just Want Somebody to Love (Bella Warren Book 1) (8 page)

“Will we see you this evening?”

She winced. “Mom is coming in sometime later today. I imagine we’ll have a night in.”

“Oh! I’ll stop by this week. I just love getting to visit with your mom.”

Whitney’s favorite table was oh so close. By the time she made it there, it’d likely be one o’clock and he’d be here and getting across the room would be pointless. “She would enjoy that.”

“My daughter asked this morning when planting season started, because she knew you and Kara would be busy with that. She thought about seeing if you girls wanted to do Sunday school one day during the week after dark, since you wouldn’t be able to make it on Sunday mornings. You two make up half your group, so they’ll probably cancel it until you’re done if not.”

“That’s very thoughtful of her. I’ll talk to Kara and see what she wants to do.”

Laura flipped her wrists. “Ain’t no trouble. I think she came up with the idea so she wouldn’t have to get up early for church those days, and Jessica agreed because then she wouldn’t either.”

Whitney couldn’t help but laugh. “I hear that. Meeting like that sounds wonderful. She can send me a text, and we can see about setting that up. And Mom’s in town, so I’m sure she’ll participate too. And if Wade’s there, he might as well.”

“Sounds like y’all are going to have a good time.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Whitney saw her chance and took it. She patted Laura on the shoulder. “I better get out of your way so you can eat before your lunch gets cold.”

Head down, eyes on the floor. She never looked up as she followed the familiar walk around another chair and stopped at her table. She made a point to sit in the chair closest to the window. Not because she wanted to see out better—though that was a huge bonus—but because this table sat to the back and away a bit. Even a foot and a half away from the crowd would let her disappear.

It was already twelve twenty. The room was crowded and loud. Maybe she missed him sitting somewhere. She glanced around the diner, careful not to make eye contact. It was like hunting season in here. Just don’t connect gazes and they wouldn’t see you. The Millers had brought their crew in and had pulled several tables together and crowded chairs at the corners to get everyone in.

She leaned forward and back, but still couldn’t see across to the back side.

“Who are you looking for, Whitney?” Melody stopped by her table with a hand on her hip, and her notepad tucked under her arm.

Heat filled Whitney’s cheeks. “Do you know Justin Rawlings?”

“Brandon’s brother?”

Whitney nodded. She wasn’t BFF’s with Melody, but they weren’t enemies. Just the kind of friends who passed in talking. “Yep.”

“I haven’t seen him since last night when I heard he left the bar with you.”

More warmth in her face that bloomed to her chest. “All right then.”

“Can I get you something?”

“I’ll wait. Thanks.”

She sat back in her chair as a hard breath blew out of her. Who knew meeting a guy would be so exhausting? If she’d had half a brain functioning when he left, she would have realized this was the last place they needed to meet on a Sunday at lunchtime. She would have picked the park instead. Or hell, she could have just met him at the bar, and they could have gone from there.

She checked her phone and saw it was already ticking over to twelve forty-five. Maybe he’d already walked in, saw her, and left. She could have been distracted with the Sunday school questions. If she looked like trash, then he could have walked in, made excuses and left. She tugged her shirt down, hoping Kara was right, regardless of her brother’s opinion. Considering they were meeting for sex, it probably didn’t matter what she wore.

An uncomfortable bounce started in her belly.

She bit at her lip. Or maybe she was terrible and that’s why he left last night instead of staying. This meet was a fake-date. He’d agreed to get out of there faster. She drummed on the table.

No.

If she was awful, he wouldn’t have been there last night for as long and doing all that he did. Nerves, that’s all. It’s not like she did this kind of thing every day. Even when she was a teenager, she didn’t arrange hookups. She flipped hair away from her neck. Was it getting extra hot in here? Damn window. The sun beamed through it.

Melody stopped back by. “You sure you don’t want something while you wait?”

“How about a Dr. Pepper?” Something to cool her off. And all that caffeine. Oh boy.

Melody walked off, and Whitney bit back the urge to call her back and change it to water. She focused on a spot in the center of the table before she launched out of her seat. She had to calm down. He planned to talk with Brandon this morning, and then he said he’d be here.

Hell, she’d slept in, so he probably did too and then lost track of the time talking with Brandon. They were brothers. It wasn’t a crime. If it was, she’d have been thrown in the slammer ages ago. Besides, this kind of worked in her favor. If he was late because time got away from him, well then, she could picture his apology now.

I’m so sorry. We got to talking, and when I saw the time, I ran over here as fast as I could. How will I ever make it up to you?

A dark chuckle and big grin got to her. Oh, she could come up with so many ideas and ways to answer that question.

Melody dropped her drink off. Her lips parted like she planned to say something, but someone on the other side of the diner hollered.

Whitney sipped and cooled the heat inside her. Any minute now and he’d be here and the kissing would start soon after. Lots and lots of kissing. He wasn’t like other guys. She suspected he wasn’t an ass man. Or a leg man or boob guy. He was a lips man. With a mouth like his, she was finding a new love for kissing.

Long, slow kisses that started at her mouth, but didn’t always end there.

She shifted in her seat. Her legs stiffened and butt ached as the big family in the middle of the room gathered up their things and left. She’d been here longer than it took to serve that big table. She was afraid to see what time it was, but knew she had to.

She should have stuck with being afraid. Or maybe she’d read the time wrong. She leaned back over her phone and turned on the screen only to be hit with disappointment two times in a row. The white numbers in the top corner beamed the truth at her. He wasn’t just a little late. He was into the uncomfortable kind of late.

She rubbed her arms. Something happened. As soon as the idea started filling her head, she shut it down. If someone so much as breathed in too much smoke from burning leaves in a ditch, the news would have already passed through the diner. This place could pass for Grand Central Station.

She picked her phone up again and flipped to a matching game. The colors flashed as the app loaded. Probably he just lost track of the time. He’d be here any moment now. She tried putting a few matches together and instead found herself looking out the window. Not the way to win on a timed game. She turned it off before screwing with her high score.

Another check on the phone for the time, though.

One thirty. She sank.

One. Thirty.

Maybe he got lost? There were, like, three streets in town. He could be out there somewhere going around in circles. The bell on the door jingled and she turned. Maybe she missed him pulling in the lot. Instead, her day just got a hell of a lot worse as Maddy Booth walked in.

Her stupid smile with her lips that all the boys talked about sent her a nasty grin. Yeah, people may think she looked pretty, but she was damn ugly under the surface. Maddy flipped her hair off her shoulder with a turn of her head as she walked across the diner like she owned the place—which she didn’t.

“Well hi, Whitney.”

She only smiled to ward off the evil. “Hi, Maddy.”

“I noticed your car parked out here when I drove by and now here you are, still here.”

She hadn’t liked Maddy since grade school when the witch stole all the purple glitter off the art table. It went downhill from there and got nastier as they went. “Does your life suck that much that you need to find some adventure in mine?”

Her hand landed on her hip. “I’m not the one who got stood up, am I?”

Cold chill chased away all that nervous energy. “Who said I was stood up?”

“You’ve been sitting here for over an hour, and you look more pathetic than usual.”

“I guess you more than anyone would recognize pathetic when you saw it, but in this case, you’re wrong.” Because like hell was she admitting the hottest guy to ever pass through town was late. “I’m tired and so was Kara. She wasn’t up for making lunch. I’m just enjoying this pretty afternoon.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“
I’m sure you are,” Whitney muttered under her breath as Maddy walked away. Devil woman.

Whitney turned her phone around. Quarter till two. Screw it. She sent Tasha a text. The ice cream shop was down the road to the bar. Maybe she could do a drive by to see if anyone was there.

She sat the phone aside and finished her Dr. Pepper before she lost a good drink to melting ice. He was tied up. He wouldn’t stand her up. Why would he? They’d had a good time. He’d said himself he wished he didn’t have to leave. So. Really. No reason for him to not be here.

Melody eased back by. “You want a refill while you keep waiting?”

She shook her head and tried hiding the wince. It would be great if Melody didn’t have to yell while she talked. “That’s okay.”

“You about to give up?”

Whitney refused to glance across the room to see if Maddy was trying to overhear. If Maddy found out she had been—maybe been—stood up, she’d never hear the end of it. “Checking now to see if something happened.”

Melody gave her a smile like she knew. With Melody a few steps away from Maddy, everyone in this town would sure as hell know in less than five minutes.

Come on Justin. Don’t leave her hanging to be humiliated by the whole town. You can’t stand people up in a town like Bella Warren. That kind of thing wasn’t forgotten, especially since it was already around that they were together last night. Nasty comments from the Bella Bitches wasn’t the worst of it.

Old ladies patted your back. Old men offered to shoot somebody. Friends fed you snacks until you gained weight.

Whitney hadn’t ever experienced it, but she’d witnessed it.

Her fingers curled as she watched her phone.
Please, please, please
. At this point, she didn’t give two shits why he was late. She’d all but jump in his arms just for showing up.

The phone buzzed, and she snatched it faster than she’d meant to. Tasha’s name was highlighted, and Whitney hurried across the messages for news she didn’t want.

She sank against her chair as she read the text another two times.

Brandon’s truck was there. No car
.

Dare she hope that meant he was on the way? Her phone buzzed again as another message came through from Tasha.

OMG, I just realized it was almost 2. U been there for 2hrs & u haven’t heard anything?

Whitney slumped. It seemed so much worse reading it than living it. Oh God, Maddy was right. Pathetic. She sent the depressing word back.
Yeah
.

It took moments and her phone rattled once more.
That piece of shift!

Then it buzzed again.
*shit. Tell me you’re leaving. Don’t waste another second on him!

Whitney glanced at the road once more. She’d planned to wait a few minutes. What if Tasha just missed him after he left? Not like it was far. He should have been here by now. And if not now, then by the time she got to the door. For sure by the time she reached her car. She fished a couple dollars out for her drink and left it on the table.

I’m going.
She sent the message as she headed for the door. Even after the text was sent and gone, she didn’t look up from her phone. The last thing she wanted right now was to be stopped by anyone.

But no running. On top of the rumors that would be in full force before she got home, having “she ran out of there. Probably crying” added to the list wasn’t appealing. If she could just make it to her car. She rounded the front of the building and was able to slip in without being stopped. She wasted no more time and got the hell out of there.

The basket Kara had made was still on the car seat next to her. All those snacks just for her to eat later. All alone. When they were meant to be shared. They probably would have already been eaten by now. Her jaws clenched together.

He. Stood. Her. Up.

Worst of all, she’d waited a ridiculous long length of time while he stood her up.

Two hours. Just to be extra infuriating, she’d made excuses for him. Whitney dropped her head against her car seat as she idled down the drive back home. Somehow, she’d spent the same amount of time waiting for him as she’d used digging for the perfect pair of underwear.

At least while searching for panties, she’d had privacy.

Grr
, she could just about rip her steering wheel from the dash. Planting season finally had some highlights coming. In another week, she’d be so busy with work, she wouldn’t have time to think about him or last night.

Or all the pity looks and touches and buck-up comments.

She rumbled around the last curve, and the trees parted for their property. In front of her brother’s house was Mom’s car. She was early. Whitney sat up in her seat and hit the gas for the last bit of the driveway. Something happy on this wretched afternoon.

Mom was home. That’s what she needed to get her mind off things. She hadn’t seen her mom since Christmas, and she had to have some gossip to share. Up until the day when planting season officially started, they could stay up late, watch reruns on TV, and just talk. Have some fun like they always did.

She stopped at her house. The basket stared at her from the seat. She didn’t know what Kara had put in there, but there was mention of protein. “Yeah, yeah. I see you.”

She grabbed the handle because she didn’t want to add spoiled meat in her car to today’s list. Actually, screw him. She was getting cozy with this basket soon. All hers. Fine, all hers and her mom’s. And probably Kara’s too. She made it all the way to the front door when she was yelled at.