“I don’t want to make her uncomfortable or push her. I’ve about decided we can just be friends,” he said calmly, though it sounded like a death sentence.
“How did you get to be so successful? Hmm?” Cat had cutely planted her fists on her hips and glared up at him. “Not by giving up. She wants you! You just have to prove to her that you’re in it for the long haul and she’s important to you. Then she’ll kiss you so hard your head will spin.”
Cruz smiled just thinking about the interaction. Could he be in it for the long haul? Maybe Meredith would understand about his busy career, and they could have a long-distance relationship. Who knew? Cat was right that he wasn’t one to give up normally, so why would he give up on something this important? With his career, most of his motivation had been that he’d been taught by his dad to work hard, and he absolutely loved what he did. There was also a huge part of him intent on proving his mom wrong. Why did he let his mom’s negativity rule his head when it came to Meredith? It was a slim chance, but possibly he could be the right man for her. He could be what Meredith wanted and needed.
Cat had eventually talked him into stopping at Meredith’s shop. Unfortunately, Meredith couldn’t go to lunch with them, but he had been able to talk to her while she ate at the park thanks to Cat helping at her ice cream parlor. His sister was great, and they had a good time on their long mountain bike ride.
When they got back to the house, he called in an order to the resort and jumped in the shower for the second time that day. As he walked down the stairs, Cat glanced over him and whistled low. “Sheesh, my bro cleans up nice. Good luck tonight, big boy.”
“I’m going to need it.” He looked around for their dad. “Where’s Dad?”
“Fixing Holly Monson’s sink.” Cat grinned. “He’s so going to get together with her.”
“That would be great. I’d love to see him get over Mom.”
“You and me both. Now why are you going to need luck? I told you my girl is into you.”
Cruz shrugged. Cat probably understood the demon in his head since she’d been raised by the same woman, but Cruz had long suspected his mom had hated him and dug at him much deeper than Cat or his dad. “She’s fighting it hard then,” he said, focusing on Meredith.
“Think how hard I fought my feelings for Stetson. It’ll work out.” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “It has to. I love Meredith, I love you, and soon you’ll come home.”
Cruz pulled back slightly and looked at his little sister. “Cat. I love you, and I am very interested in Meredith, but I’m not moving home.”
“Why not?” Her lower lip pressed out in a pout.
“I’m at the height of my career, I love what I do, and I’ve worked my butt off to succeed in a very competitive field.” He studied her as it looked like she was about to cry. “I can try to arrange my schedule to be here more.”
She gave him a faltering smile. “That’d be nice.” She pulled from the hug and walked with him toward the door. “Are you going to go visit her?”
“Meredith? That’s where I’m 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.”