But she remained in her seat, looking at him.
“Joe,” she said, her tone serious. “I need to ask you something.”
He was surprised. “Sure.”
“Why didn’t you want me to go out with Landon?”
* * *
Sophie had spent the ride back to the golf range trying to stem her disappointment.
She’d been so sure Joe was going to kiss her, then felt like a fool for being completely wrong. Then again, what did she know about men? When was the last time she’d actually kissed one? Never, since the last kiss she’d experienced was a perfunctory one from her date at the senior prom, and that didn’t count. How pathetic. Thirty-five years old and never been kissed. How humiliating. At least by the time Joe pulled into the parking lot, she had disabused herself of the kissing idea.
But there was one thing she wanted to know. She hadn’t planned to ask him, but now that their friendly evening was over and he’d made up for interfering in her life, she wasn’t sure if she’d have the opportunity again. She needed to know why he had been so against her going out with Landon.
He was quiet for a long moment, then he rubbed his palms on the legs of his pants before turning to her. “You knew I was married before, right?”
She nodded. “To Jenna.” She’d been surprised to hear that they had gotten married, because they were so young and the first couple in their graduating class to do so.
“And you know we divorced six months later.” When she nodded again, he let out a bitter chuckle. “The perils of small-town living. Right after the divorce, Jenna moved to Malvern. I wasn’t sure why, since one of the reasons she wanted a divorce was because she didn’t want to live in Maple Falls anymore, and she was afraid of getting stuck here.” He frowned. “I told her we could move to Hot Springs if she wanted. I just needed to be within commuting distance of Henderson State, where I was attending. But that wasn’t good enough. And it wasn’t like Malvern was a big city.” He blew out a breath. “I’m sure you’re not interested in all those details.”
Actually, she was. Not for the gossip factor, but because Joe was revealing a part of his past, one she suspected he rarely revisited. He was trusting her enough to explain things, and she appreciated that. “I don’t mind.”
“I’ll give you the short version anyway.” He looked directly at her. “Jenna was having an affair with Landon.”
Sophie’s jaw dropped. “What?”
A dark look crossed Joe’s handsome face. “Yeah. It started about a month after we got married. I never asked her how, and she didn’t tell me, other than she thought married life was boring. Or more accurately, I was boring.”
Sophie couldn’t think of anything further from the truth. Joe Johnson was anything but dull. He was kind, considerate, an excellent coach and teacher, and good-looking. Jenna had to be nuts to throw him away like that.
“I guess she thought Landon was boring, too, because a few weeks after she moved to Malvern, she left for Florida. I haven’t talked to her or Ferry since.” He lifted his gaze to her. “Then when I saw him asking you out, I . . . Never mind. You know what I did.”
He’d wanted to protect her. That was what he’d been doing, and in turn she kicked him out of the shop. Granted, she had no idea, but did it matter? Sophie shivered at the thought that she’d had dinner with someone so vile.
“Anyway, that’s the reason,” Joe continued. “But I promise I won’t do it again.”
“You won’t have to. I won’t be seeing him again.”
Joe’s face brightened, only to turn serious again a moment later. “Good.” A pause. “Well, I guess I’d better see if Claude needs help. I don’t think two cans of bug spray will protect him if there’s another nest around here.”
It was as if he couldn’t wait for her to leave. Of course, he probably couldn’t. They had nothing else to do or to say.
“All right.” She reached for the passenger door latch, expecting him to jump out and finish opening the door for her, like he had at the house. Instead, he remained in place.
“Goodbye,” she said, getting out.
“See ya.”
Heaviness settled over her heart as she shut the truck door and made her way to her car. There wasn’t a bee in sight, and the calamine lotion had done its job soothing the sting on her backside. She was tempted to look over her shoulder, to get one more look at Joe before she never saw him again. It might be overdramatic, but considering how infrequently their paths crossed, she was sure it was close to the truth.
Even so, she kept her focus on her car and her thoughts in perspective. There hadn’t been anything between her and Joe in the past, and there wouldn’t be in the future. It wasn’t like he was the only single guy in the world.
There’s always internet dating.
Defeated, Sophie groaned as she opened her car door.
Chapter 7
Feeling like a heel for not opening the door for her, Joe waited for Sophie to drive off. He hadn’t wanted to face her after telling her about Jenna and Landon. He might’ve tried to stop her and ask for another date.
Instead, he pushed all that away, reminding himself that he and Sophie didn’t exactly run into each other very often. And even if she had been interested in another date, he was sure he’d squashed her interest after revealing his past. The pain still haunted him, although it wasn’t because he missed Jenna. She had made a fool out of him, and that was what hurt. He’d been in love, or thought he was anyway, and she had said she loved him. Yeah, she loved him so much she was in another man’s bed a month after their honeymoon.
He banged his fist against the steering wheel as the memories he’d shoved deep down coursed through him. Then he sat back in his seat. That was the past, and he needed to keep it there. He had owed Sophie an explanation, and he was grateful to see sympathy instead of pity in her eyes. But that didn’t mean they were meant to go out again, much less be together. The fact that he was even thinking about that right now made a new, confusing ache appear in his heart.
Joe flung open the truck door and walked toward Claude. He needed to do something to get his mind off the past, and especially off Sophie. The last thing he wanted to do was go to an empty house and stew, so he approached Claude, who was shaking one of the cans of insecticide. It sounded empty.
“Do you have any more?”
Claude nodded. “In the storeroom.” Then he turned to Joe. “Where’s your girl?”
Joe almost chuckled that Claude would consider a woman in her thirties a girl, much less his girl. “She went home.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Hey, bring her back tomorrow. I’ll give you both two buckets. On me.”
Shaking his head, Joe said, “I won’t be seeing her anymore.”
“She’s that upset about the bees?”
“It’s not the bees. It’s me. She’s not interested in me like that.”
“That’s not what I saw.”
Joe frowned. “What?”
“I pay attention to things around here.” Claude smiled, revealing a gold bottom tooth. “My friend, she couldn’t keep her eyes off you.”