His Curvy Beauty by Lana Love

Chapter 9

Mandy

Cheers!” Jimmy, Grace, Trevor, and I all clink glasses once everyone has loaded up their plates with the meal Trevor and I cooked today. For as much as I don’t know about cooking, I have to admit I had fun with Trevor in the kitchen. He made everything seem interesting and not-intimidating. It made me want to spend more time in the kitchen and learn how to cook better.

With his fork halfway to his mouth, Jimmy looks from Trevor to me, then back to Trevor.

“Trevor, I think we all need to know – what did you cook and what did Mandy cook?” His eyes glitter with laughter.

“Hey! I resent that!” I exclaim, though I’m laughing. I load up my fork with scalloped potatoes and I groan with genuine pleasure when I taste it.

“Well, I guess we know what dish Mandy made,” Jimmy says, eyeing the scalloped potatoes warily.

“It was entirely a joint effort,” Trevor says, a megawatt smile on his lips. “Mandy was a joy to cook with. I don’t know why you all don’t think she can cook.”

Grace coughs, then stares at Jimmy, her eyes open.

“Trevor? Is there rum in the eggnog you’ve been drinking? Haven’t you heard about Mandy’s cooking? I know you two haven’t seen each other in a while, but… Mandy is kind of legendary.”

“You guys,” I groan, rolling my eyes. “I’m not that bad!”

“Yes, you are!” Jimmy and Grace chime in unison.

“Well, be that as it may,” Trevor says, pausing to take a bite of food. “I did lead the cooking, yes. That doesn’t mean Mandy couldn’t hold her own in the kitchen. And everything truly was a joint effort.”

“You’ll never get a husband if you can’t cook,” Jimmy teases, taking the joke too far.

“Or maybe I just need a husband who cooks. Who says it’s still the woman’s role to do all the cooking?” I try to keep my voice light and do my damnedest to keep my emotions in check, but my brother’s dig hurts – and he knows it.

“Oh, come on!”I slap the counter of the bar and shake my head in disbelief as I watch the game on the big screen TV. I take a long drink of my beer and cover my mouth at the burp that rises up. “How did the ref miss that interference?”

The other guys at the bar and the bartender all look at me and nod sadly. The refs this game have it in for us. This isn’t their first bad call.

“They’re sure making it hard for us to get to post-season,” the guy on my left says.

“Oh, don’t be so hasty. That wasn’t an interference and the call was good.”

I swear under my breath at the voice coming from my right, even before I turn and see his face.

“What are you doing here?” I turn and ask Trevor. I’m still upset about what happened at dinner, even if it wasn’t his fault. I left because I needed space, not to be tracked down.

“Looking for you, as it happens. You left rather abruptly, you might remember.”

I grab my beer tightly and look away from Trevor. As soon as dinner was over, I excused myself to come out for a beer, alone. I thought I’d been graceful about it, but maybe not.

“It’s just…the holidays are hard. I hate that the first question everyone asks is if I have a boyfriend or a fiancé. And yes, I get that my cooking skills are…rudimentary, but maybe people could let up a bit.” I admit, hearing the tightness in my voice. A couple of beers hasn’t been enough to help me relax. Right now, I’m just down on the holidays. No boyfriend. Mad at my brother. “I’m going to head home tomorrow.”

“Do you have to go back to work so soon?”

“Not really, no,” I say, waving to the bartender for another beer. I hold two fingers up. Might as well get one for Trevor, since he doesn’t look like he’s just passing through. “It’s just…I had a bad breakup recently. I was hoping to escape that over the holidays. That’s all.”

“I understand,” Trevor says, quickly moving onto the newly empty barstool beside me.

“You have got to be kidding, right? You must have more girlfriends than you can even manage.” The words come out of my mouth sour and jealous, and I immediately regret it. “Sorry,” I add quickly. “It’s just…hard night and big feelings.”

Trevor gives me a long look, then takes a long drink of his beer.

“Anyway,” I say, wrapping my fingers around my beer bottle to stop them from shaking. What was I thinking, admitting this to Trevor? “Anyway, did Jimmy send you here to be all cagey, to lure me back to the house?” I ask, keeping Trevor in my line of sight as I watch the game. We’re halfway through the third quarter, ball in hand and we’re in the middle of a big drive. A touchdown is looking imminent.

“No,” he says, a slow smile spreading across his mouth. “I came for you. Me. The only agenda is mine.”

My insides flutter and somersault as I listen to Trevor. Our unfinished business washes over me and before I even realize what I’m doing, my fingers are on his wrist and stroking that spot where the base of his thumb meets his wrist.

“That’s a dangerous thing you’re doing there,” Trevor says, but he doesn’t pull away. The rest of the bar cheers as our team makes a touchdown, but Trevor and I keep staring at each other, the electricity building up all over again.

“Maybe a girl needs a little danger in her life? Why don’t we just have some fun. You’re leaving soon and I’m—”

“Hold up,” Trevor says, putting a finger on my lips. “I’m actually not leaving. I’m back to stay.”

I blink rapidly, wrapping my mind around the words I’m pretty sure he just said. I haven’t had so much beer that I’m hallucinating, have I?

“I… What?”

“I’ve been offered a job coaching at the high school. Coach Fitzgerald is retiring in June.” Trevor pauses, not once looking away from me. “I’ve already accepted the job. We’re both coming back home, Mandy.”

“Oh,” I mumble, unable to say anything coherent.

The universe has a funny way of doing things. I thought coming home would give me a break from the heartache I’ve felt, but now? Now I’m going to see Trevor regularly? That makes my heart ache in a different, more painful way. I honestly don’t know if I can take seeing him around, eventually settling down with another woman. It would feel like just another man that I’ve loved, but who didn’t love me back.

“Mandy, why do you look so blue? I thought you would be happy to hear this,” Trevor says, leaning closer to me. “Jimmy telling me that you were moving home is the reason I agreed to the job.”