He couldn’t hide his smile. “I’m having dinner at Meredith’s.”
“Yes!” Cat did a victory dance, but then her eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t she tell me about it?”
Stetson chuckled. “Maybe she didn’t want to get your hopes up.”
His dad flipped the fish and shut off the gas. “Get Cat’s hopes up? Cruz, you like Mer?”
“Welcome to our universe, Pops,” Cat teased. “He’s always loved Mer, and I’ve always tried to push them together.”
“Really? You never dated her.”
Cruz felt his neck heat up. This was going to be awkward. “I’ve always liked Mer, but I knew she was out of my league, so I didn’t pursue her.”
“Ah!” Cat protested. “Nobody is out of my bro’s league.” She gave him a significant look. If anybody understood how it felt to be torn down by their mother, it was Cat. Yet she had the confidence of Serena Williams. She grimaced. “But you are kind of known as a player online, and Mer is as beautiful, innocent, and perfect as anybody I know. Every time I try to get her to go for you she says you’re ‘just friends.’”
Cruz was the one grimacing now. “I’ve got a lot of hills to climb with her. You know I’m not a player, right, sis?”
“In my heart I know it, but have you googled yourself lately?”
Cruz blew out a breath. “Only every couple of hours,” he tried to tease.
“Oh, you!” Cat laughed. “I know you’re not as cocky, or as big of a player, as you appear, but I have to know if your intentions are pure with my wonderful friend.” Cat and her dad were the only ones who knew he wasn’t cocky at all. How could he be with the way his mom had demeaned him for the first eighteen years of his life?
“My intentions are pure,” he insisted. “As pure as yours and Stetson’s kisses.”
Stetson chortled at that, and their dad’s face reddened.
“Okay, so I recognize you have some deeper motives,” Cat said, “but please, please treat her right. She won’t admit it, but I believe she loves you and always has.”
That made Cruz’s heart thump happily. “I hope you’re right, sis. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck.” Stetson gave him a thumbs up.
“Thanks man. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” he told Cat. “We’ll go on a swim.”
“Tomorrow morning?” Cat exploded.
“What are you doing, son?” His dad’s brow furrowed.
His family was strictly religious and especially straight regarding moral issues. Since Stetson’s dad and Cat and Cruz’s mom had cheated together and run off, his dad and Cat had been even more strongly opinionated about staying pure before marriage and committed wholly to your spouse after. He’d stayed strong and clean while traveling the world, even though it wasn’t popular. He wanted to tease them, but it would probably go over like a lead balloon.
“Meredith has heard somebody outside her bedroom window a few times at night, so I’m going to camp out and catch the jerk.” He walked to Cat and hugged her. “I promise I’ll behave like a saint. Well, mostly.”
Cat hugged him back. “Why didn’t she tell me? I’m supposed to be one of her best friends.”
Cruz chuckled. “She’s not an open book like you, but I’m sure you’re her very favorite friend.”
Cat smiled. “Of course, I am. Well, be careful. Do you need camping gear?”
He shook his head. “I have everything in my bags. Sometimes we actually rough it to film in the right locations.”
“Ooh. Such a hard life you lead,” Cat teased.
Cruz chuckled, said his goodbyes, and hurried to his truck. Cat might be able to relate as well as anyone about the emotional abuse their mom heaped on them, but she’d still be her funny, sassy self and tease him. He was so impressed with how she’d risen above their mom’s belittlements. It gave him hope he could truly do the same. He had to dig deep and believe in himself because Meredith was worth it.
Meredith’s house was around the south side of the lake, a couple miles from his dad’s cabin. He pulled into her gravel driveway. He liked her cabin and wooded lot. As was common in Mystical Lake, the backyard bordered the lake. There were some cabins up in the trees away from the lake, but most took advantage of the beauty of the blue, glistening lake.
He hurried out of his truck and up the steps of the open porch, wishing he’d thought to bring flowers or something for dinner, but it had been a long day, and his brain wasn’t working properly as he was consumed with all things Meredith.
He rapped on the door, and Meredith swung it wide. She gifted him with her sweet smile, and Cruz had to lean against the door frame. She was wearing a simple white tank top and floral shorts with a pink plaid apron over top. Her long, dark hair was swept back into a ponytail, revealing the smooth skin of her neck. Her large, dark eyes and appealing, full lips were on fine display. “Ah, Mer … It isn’t really fair for you to be so beautiful.”
Instead of melting into his arms like most women would, if he’d ever said something like that to one of them, which he hadn’t, her lips pressed into a thin line, and she backed away. “I thought you said you were coming as a friend. Friends don’t give each other empty compliments.”
His eyebrows rose. “It’s not empty,” he insisted.
She simply shook her head and backed away. The delicious scent of homemade rolls and some kind of grilled meat floated to him. He followed her toward the kitchen area, focusing on the cabin and not her shapely backside.
Meredith’s cabin was probably half the size of his dad’s but fixed up very nicely. There was a decent-sized open area containing the kitchen, dining, and living rooms. It looked like a couple of bedrooms and bathrooms behind that, and an open loft was above the bedrooms. “What’s in the loft?” he asked.
“Right now, just an office. When we fixed it up, I was hoping for a play area … you know, for my future kids.”
Future kids? Kids with who? Him? Cruz felt a fire rush through him. He shook his head to clear it and felt he had to ask, “We?”
“We what?” She brushed her long, dark hair over her shoulder and walked to the kitchen.
He followed like a dog on a leash. “Who helped you redo your house?” Had Meredith been in a relationship with someone and been hoping to have kids with that man? Please say no. A worse thought rushed through his mind. Was she in a relationship now?
“Oh.” She opened the oven and started pulling out trays. His mouth watered as the smells of meat, veggies, and rolls all filtered through his nose. “Your dad helped me.”
Cruz relaxed. He’d had visions of some handyman that she liked or was dating or something awful like that. “Good guy that dad of mine.”
“He is.”
Cruz had been impressed with how well his dad seemed to be doing lately. He’d been afraid his dad would regress when he heard his mom had reappeared, threatened Cat, and then been injured and arrested. Cruz was pretty hardened where his mom was concerned. He couldn’t say that he’d forgiven her, but he tried not to think about her or let the way she’d always demeaned him bother him much—tried being the key word. It appeared his dad finally realized his ex-wife was a grumpy, irrational cheater who no one could make happy, least of all her family. Cruz had tried to make her smile for years, and it had only made her hate him worse. His dad showed all indications of moving on. It was an answer to prayers for sure.