Only Her Best Friend - Cami Checketts Page 0,30
headed.”
“No … Mom.”
Cruz stopped abruptly and stared down at her. The thought of going to the Montana State Prison that was over an hour away had never crossed his mind. “Why would I do that?”
“It’s actually pretty freeing.”
“What is?”
“Forgiving.”
Cruz just stared at her. He could forgive his mom without seeing her. He wasn’t sure he was ready to forgive. Why would he even try when it had worked okay so far to just push it all away and not think about her?
This was an argument he wouldn’t win with Cat, so he checked his non-existent watch. “Mer’s waiting. Gotta run.”
She pursed her lips and gave him a challenging look. If anyone could relate to how he felt, it was Cat, but he didn’t want to talk about his anger with his mom, even with his sister. Cruz gave her another squeeze. “Thanks for a great day, Kitty-Cat.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t call me that.”
He chuckled and hurried out the door.
“Have fun kissing on my friend!” she called.
He didn’t respond verbally, but he sure did physically. His heart raced, and his palms started sweating. What would kissing Meredith be like? The best kiss of his life, he was certain. The best kiss of his life to date was pathetically a stolen kiss in the woods with Hope Greenwood. That kiss had spurred him into dating her, but no kiss had ever lived up to that one, even with Hope herself.
He picked up the food from the resort and then drove his truck down to Meredith’s house. He passed Grams’ cabin on the way, promising himself he’d go see her soon. Grabbing the sacks of food, he hurried to Meredith’s door. Anticipation for tonight was rushing through him, but then the doubts crept back in. This morning hadn’t ended so great. At lunch he’d asked if she wanted him around, and she’d refused to answer. Maybe he should just concentrate on friends and try again in another twelve years.
He squared his shoulders, borrowed some of Cat’s confidence in him, and rapped on the door. Meredith opened it wearing a simple pale blue floral sundress. Her dark, firm shoulders and arms were revealed, and her beautiful smile lit up her dark eyes.
“Hey.” Clutching the sacks of food, he instinctively leaned forward and brushed her cheek with his lips in greeting. Warmth and desire rushed through him at the simple touch. He pulled back quickly and studied her for clues if he’d been too forward and too fast.
Her smile had grown shy, but it was still vibrant. “Hey, yourself.” She gestured to the bags. “So, this is how you cook?”
Cruz chuckled as she stepped back from the door, and he walked inside. She shut the door behind him, and they walked to her counter where he set the bags of food down and turned to her. “This is much better than me cooking.”
“No time for our busy superstar to learn to cook?” she asked.
He pumped his eyebrows. “Nope. I pay people to do that.”
“Oh, I see how you are.”
“Yeah, we have a saying on my crew.” This was good. He was an expert at pretending all was well and keeping things light and happy. Maybe he’d get a cue from her to take their friendship to the next level. He prayed for some kind of sign from above or from Meredith herself.
“What’s that?” She tucked her long hair back over her shoulder, and he wished he’d been the one to touch her long curls or that smooth shoulder.
“I’m too pretty for that.”
“Excuse me?” Her lips twitched.
“That’s our saying. Whenever you don’t want to do something, if you’re the first one to say, ‘I’m too pretty for that,’ someone else has to do it.”
She laughed. “Wow, just wow. It sounds like you have fun with your crew.”
“They’re the best. We’re close like family.” Except for Josh. Hopefully, the guy was long gone. Cruz pulled out the food containers with meals of salmon, steak, and teriyaki chicken, with sweet potatoes, a veggie medley, and rolls on the side. “I thought we could share.”
“Perfect.”
“Do you have paper plates and napkins?” he asked as he glanced around the kitchen.
“In the pantry, but we can use real plates.”
He was already walking to the pantry. “Nah. My night to cook means my night to do the dishes.”
She laughed, and he savored the beautiful sound of her laughter.
He opened the pantry and looked around for paper plates and napkins, but a paper pinned on the back of the door caught his