“Do you know William Manning, the CEO?”
Had she found him out? He darted a look at her face but it was serene, innocent. His stomach fell to the bottom of the boat and the trickle of perspiration turned into a torrent. He dropped the oars and splashed a bit of cold water on his arms, giving him time to answer. “I’ve met him. He’s very private, doesn’t get out much. I’ve heard people say that when you look into his eyes you can see lines of code scrolling across.”
Lorelei laughed and the tension in his shoulders relaxed a fraction. He needed to turn this conversation away from him.
“What about you, what do you do?”
“Hmm?” Lorelei seemed lost in thought. “Oh, I’m an Event Director for the Happy Day charity. We arrange days out for children undergoing treatment for long-term illnesses. I organize some of the fundraising events.”
“Sounds like satisfying work. Do you enjoy it?”
“Yes. It can be difficult to come up with new ideas to keep the events fresh, but when I see the smiles on the kids’ faces after they’ve had their dreams come true then all the effort pays off.” A frown creased her brow. But before he could ask what was worrying her, she shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, it’s not what I really wanted to do in life. I just kind of fell into the job and discovered I had a knack for it.”
“What do you want to do?”
She fiddled with her necklace, not meeting his eyes. “You’ll laugh if I tell you.”
“Now I’m intrigued. I promise not to laugh.”
She looked him full in the face, her gorgeous green eyes wary yet resolute. “I want to be a mom, a wife, and a mom. Ideally, I’d like to stay at home and care for my family, cook, keep the house and garden, that sort of thing. I know, though, in this day and age most wives have to earn money as well.”
A chill swept through him at the thought of marriage and babies. He should stop this charade right now. This was not the woman for him. His chest tightened at the longing on Lorelei’s face and the wistful way she spoke. It had been bad enough when the woman at Coit Tower assumed they were married and said they’d make beautiful babies. To see the same desire written all over her had him wanting to jump out of the boat and swim for shore.
He had to clear his throat before he could draw in the air to answer, and judging by her face, he needed to answer. “I don’t think that’s funny. I think it’s great. Most women want a career at the expense of family life. It’s refreshing to find someone who wants to put her family first.” From the expression of relief that flooded over her face he knew he’d made the right reply. Oddly enough, he hadn’t had to think long before he spoke.
“Was your mom the stay-at-home kind, or did she work?” Lorelei’s innocent question unleashed a torrent of painful memories.
“She worked.” He hadn’t meant to speak so sharply. Lorelei’s smile faded. He plastered a grin on his face and pointed at the shore. “There’s Huntington Falls—you should get a picture.”
After Lorelei snapped a couple of photos, Liam headed back to shore. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Let’s get a bite to eat at the Japanese Tea Garden.” He’d been about to suggest Spruce, one of the priciest restaurants in the area and one he’d frequented before with some dates. That probably wasn’t in keeping with a casual date for a regular guy. There must be a hot dog stand somewhere nearby.
Lorelei was quiet and Liam wished he hadn’t been so abrupt when she’d asked about his mother. She had no idea of the loathing that churned in his stomach when he thought of the woman who had given birth to him.
He took Lorelei’s hand in his and led her along the tree-lined path to the garden. “So, why did you choose to move to San Francisco? Was it your job? Seems a big move if it’s not something you plan on doing long-term.”
“I wanted to leave Buffalo and this job became vacant at the same time. It was a win-win.”
“Well, Buffalo’s loss is San Francisco’s gain.” Oh man, that sounded so trite. Where was the comfortable companionship of earlier in the day? He’d ruined it by snapping at her. He’d have to make up for it with their next destination.
“So what human cargo containers do we take to get to Alcatraz?” They sat at a park bench eating hot dogs. Thank God she wasn’t a vegetarian; he hadn’t paid any attention to what she’d ordered last night at the restaurant. He turned and noticed the color leave her face. Now what had he done?
…
“I don’t want to go to Alcatraz. I have no desire to see the inside of a jail.” She stared across the park, not meeting his gaze. There had been a chill between them since she’d mentioned his mother. Now the talk of a prison visit put her on edge.
“Okay, it was only a suggestion. I thought it was a compulsory stop for a sightseeing day,” he said. “Where do you want to go?”
“I want to ride a cable car.”
“That we can do.” He stood and put a hand out to help her up.
Quickly she wiped her fingers on a napkin and then took his hand. He didn’t let go as she stood.
He stared at her face until heat infused her body again. “You have a spot of mustard on the corner of your mouth. I’m trying very hard not to kiss it off,” he whispered.
“Oh, uh, thanks.” She wiped the napkin across her mouth before she realized his suggestion for mustard removal was the better option to go with.
“So, cable car. What level of public transit hell do I have to go through to get to that?” Liam lightened his question with another one of his devastating smiles.
“If you liked the bus you’re going to love the metro. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and they walked toward the Muni station.
Twenty minutes later, Liam turned to her. “Have you got a mirror in that big bag of yours?”
“Yeah, why?” Lorelei opened her handbag and rummaged around.
“I think I must have something on my face you haven’t told me about. People keep staring at me and then whispering.”
She had noticed the odd behavior, too. But considering how handsome Liam was she’d figured regular transit users weren’t used to seeing such a gorgeous man on their system. No wonder he hadn’t taken the Muni before.
“There’s nothing on your face. Maybe they can sense a transit virgin coming of age.”
Liam had just taken a swallow of water from his bottle and nearly sprayed the couple across from him at her statement.