He’d gone to his hotel room and congratulated himself on not mentioning the trip to Hoover Dam. Ten minutes later he’d talked himself into calling her on the off chance she might be interested.
Well, she’d told him. A smile pulled at the edges of his mouth. Summer had seemed downright angry when he suggested she’d prefer to be with friends her own age.
James liked the idea of being her friend. The operative word being friend. He wasn’t going to kiss her again—that was for sure.
First, he was afraid of a repeat performance of that kiss in the street. Secondly, he was way too old for her. He enjoyed her company tremendously, but then any man would. He wasn’t going to ruin the bond they’d created; becoming romantically involved, if she even wanted to, would do exactly that.
Summer stepped off the elevator, and James watched as every eye in the place seemed to gravitate toward her. She was stunning. It wasn’t the clothes she wore, although the pretty pink pants and matching sweater flattered her. It was Summer herself.
She searched the lobby until she saw him, and then she smiled. James felt as though the sun was beaming directly down on him.
He stood and waited for her to join him. “Did you have breakfast?” he asked.
She nodded. “Hours ago.”
“Me, too.”
“If you’re ready, we can be on our way.” All he had to do now was stop staring at her....
A few minutes later, the valet took his ticket for his rental car, and they waited for him to drive the luxury sedan to the back of the hotel. When the car arrived, the young man opened the car door and helped Summer inside. James was almost jealous to have been denied the privilege.
They drove out of Las Vegas in companionable silence. James had studied the map so he knew which freeway to take.
“Do you ever think about her?” Summer asked.
James had no idea what she was talking about. “Who?”
She laughed. “That’s answer enough. Christy. Your ex-fiancée.”
“Ah yes, Christy.” James mulled over Summer’s question. “Sometimes. Generally when I’m feeling especially lonely or when I see a couple with kids. That’s when I wonder what Christy’s and my children would have looked like.
“Do you still think about Brett?” he asked.
She lifted one shoulder in a halfhearted shrug. “Sometimes. It’s different with me, though.”
“Different?”
“From what you told me about Christy, she went to Montana to help her sister and met someone there.”
“She would’ve broken the engagement right away, but it seemed like a heartless thing to do over the phone.” Despite everything James felt a need to defend her. “When she did get back, her mother had arranged for a huge engagement party and I was extremely busy with an important lawsuit. I never blamed Christy for not telling me about Cody right away. She had her reasons.”
“I blame her,” Summer said stiffly. “It was a rotten thing to do.”
“You blame Brett, too, don’t you?” This was what their conversation was really about, James suspected. Something had happened recently that had hurt her all over again.
“Right before I left,” she said in a small voice, “a friend called to tell me Brett and his wife are expecting a baby.”
“A friend?” James wondered about that. There seemed to be a certain type of person who delighted in being the first to deliver bad news.
“I’m going to be twenty-eight next month,” she told him.
He smiled. “From the way you said that, one would think you’re ready to apply for your retirement benefits.”
Summer smiled back. “I suppose I sound ridiculous.”
“No, you sound hurt. It’s only natural, but that pain will fade in time, as well, especially if you meet someone else and get involved in another relationship.”
“You didn’t.”
James couldn’t argue. “It wasn’t because I’d dedicated myself to loving Christy for the rest of my life. To be fair, I’m not sure why I never got involved again. It’s not like I made the decision not to.”
“Do you date?”
“Occasionally.” A few months ago, two women had let him know that they’d welcome his attentions. James was flattered and he did enjoy a night out now and then, but he could never seem to dredge up much enthusiasm for either woman.
“What about you?” he asked, then mentally kicked himself. The answer was obvious. Someone like Summer had a long line of men waiting to ask her out.
“I don’t date all that often,” Summer surprised him by saying. “It’s funny, when Brett and I first broke up I saw a different man every night. Within a month I was sick of it, sick of pretending I didn’t care, sick of telling everyone about all the fun I was having.”
“And now?”
“I haven’t been out all month. December is crazy, anyway, with Christmas and family obligations and everything else. In November, I went to a dinner party with a member of the cast, but it was as friends, and it was more a favor to Steve than anything.”
Silly as it seemed, James was offended that she didn’t count their dinner the night before as a date. He certainly had. Their time together had been the highlight of the year for him.
“My parents want me married,” she murmured thoughtfully. “They hinted at it over Christmas.”
Now, that was something James could identify with. “My father’s a longtime widower and I don’t have any siblings. He’s been hounding me for years to marry, but his real interest lies in grandchildren.”
“I’m not willing to marry just anyone,” she insisted.
“I feel the same way.”
They glanced at each other and then immediately looked away. Silence again filled the car. James didn’t know what Summer was thinking, but he knew where his thoughts were taking him and it spelled trouble.
As they neared the outskirts of Boulder City, James mentioned some of the local facts he’d read. “This is the only city in Nevada that doesn’t allow gambling.”
“Why?”
“It was built for the men who worked on the construction of the dam. I’d guess it has something to do with making sure the workers wouldn’t squander their hard-earned cash on the gaming tables. If that happened, their families would see none of it.”
“I wonder if it helped,” Summer mused aloud.
The next hour and a half was spent driving over Hoover Dam. They didn’t take the tour. The day was windy, and James was afraid Summer’s sweater wouldn’t be enough protection against the cold.