Love Today Page 2

  “Just the pretty brown hair,” he said, seeming to read my curiosity. “And…the beautiful dark eyes… I don’t know; you just look like a Taryn to me. Smart, confident, independent…just lovely all around.”

  I wasn’t sure what to respond. I understood he was complimenting me, so I just smiled and said, “Well thank you. And you look like a very…stylish Jared.”

  That made him laugh and he smoothed down the front of his suit jacket. “Stylish, huh? I suppose I’ll take that for today. I guess clothes do change everything, huh?”

  I eyed him carefully and asked, “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning this is not something you’d ever see me in.”

  “Oh?”

  “Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “Does that change your opinion of me?”

  “I don’t have an opinion of you.”

  “Sure you do. You thought I was one of these snooty business people.”

  I was going to deny it but I just couldn’t; he was right. “Okay, so you’re not here for business, but just supporting your family. Sorry I made assumptions.”

  “Nah, it’s cool,” he shrugged. “So now that that’s out of the way, you’d actually go out with me if I asked you out, right? Now that you know I’m not corporate?”

  Suddenly I became nervous. This guy was interested in me. This very put together, very beautiful man—John Miller’s son.

  I tried to smile naturally when I politely declined. “I’m sorry. No, thank you.”

  His expression hardly changed but he seemed to stare into my eyes like he was trying to figure me out. It made me even more insecure, like he could see right through me—see that I wasn’t exactly a smart and confident woman.

  “Um, I’m not really available these days,” I added, hoping he didn’t hear the uncertainty in my voice.

  He slightly shrugged, but he was still staring right into me. “Well I’m not either, but you have to eat sometime, right? I’m in the area for a while, so how about dinner one of these nights?”

  I smiled again, but then my suspicious side punched its way to the surface. “Is my unavailable different than your unavailable? –Because I meant life-wise. I’m kind of busy. I’m not up for making girlfriends jealous, or giving a little on the side. And I definitely don’t deal well with cheating husbands. If you think—”

  “Hell, you’ve seriously experienced all that? I’m sorry, but I meant that I’m kind of busy too. I don’t have a girlfriend or a wife or any other reason to ask you out other than I think you’re beautiful, and I’d like to get to know you better.”

  He really did seem a little offended, and I definitely knew better than to make the situation worse. If Rachel knew that I was insulting her boss’s son, she’d have a cow. But I really didn’t feel like indulging this guy’s request because of who his dad was, so all I did was apologize for jumping to conclusions, and then politely declined again.

  “I really do have to get going, though,” I added. “Bye, Jared, it was very nice to meet you.”

  He smiled, whether it was real or not, gave me a slight nod, and allowed me to exit as he said, “Goodbye, Taryn. The pleasure was all mine.”

  The next morning found me at the soccer fields again. Maggie had just walked right off the field in the middle of the game to tell me she was tired, and the coach had to quickly put someone in to replace her when she wouldn’t return.

  “You can’t just walk off the field, sweetie,” I told her, putting my camera in its case.

  “But I’m tired.”

  She actually didn’t look well after I studied her more closely. I felt her forehead, but since she’d been playing soccer, I wasn’t sure if she was heated from that or had a fever.

  “Here, drink some water,” I told her.

  She did what I asked and I made her sit down in the grass next to me. Her coach caught my attention, but I silently gave him the confirmation that Maggie wouldn’t be returning.

  “Do you feel better?” I asked her.

  She barely shrugged.

  “Okay, let’s just head home then. You wait here and I’ll go let your coach know we’re leaving.”

  She didn’t reply, so I gave Henry our decision, and then packed up our stuff.

  “No chair or umbrella, I see,” a voice said.

  Zack had approached from the neighboring field as I was slinging my camera over my shoulder.

  “No, I decided to just leave it all in the car until I needed something,” I smiled.

  I encouraged Maggie to stand, and when she did, Zack asked, “Are you guys leaving?”

  “Yeah, Maggie doesn’t feel well. Maybe she’s just tired, but I don’t want to make her sit here in the sun for no reason.”

  “Sure, understandable. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  I looked at Maggie and shook my head. “Nah, I don’t think so. But thank you.”

  He walked with us for a little ways to the parking lot and I wondered why he’d just leave his daughter’s game like that. I glanced over to the next field where the Cheetahs were playing and assumed maybe she was just one of the little girls sitting out at the moment.

  “I was going to talk to you about photographing a wedding,” he said. “But maybe now’s not the time. Uh, if you’re interested let me know.”

  I was interested, and there was still the trek to the car to make anyways, so I asked, “When is it?”

  “Um, next weekend.”

  “Next weekend and they don’t have a photographer?” I chuckled. “Wow, that’s cutting it close.”

  “Well…yeah, kind of. I mean they have a photographer, but it’s a family member and… I just kind of suggested that someone else might be a better choice. They agreed if you agreed.”

  “Really?” I smiled, and then I lightly laughed again. “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, but you don’t even know if I’m good or not. How can you recommend me if you don’t know what kind of photographer I am?”

  “Well, the guy that was going to do the pictures is the bride’s uncle, and we all pretty much agree that he’ll be wasted halfway through it.”

  That made me laugh again. “So you at least assume I’m better than the sloshed uncle, huh?”

  “Yep, I guess so,” he grinned.

  I thought about it for a second as we made it to my car. “Well, I’d like to at least meet the bride and groom. And the wedding planner if there is one, or whomever is in charge of the whole thing.”

  “Bride’s mom.”

  “Hmm. Well…” I set my camera in the trunk and unzipped a side pocket to take out a business card. “Here’s my card; have someone give me a call.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “All right, Maggie Mae, let’s get you home,” I said to her. I was just about to lead her to her car seat when she suddenly had that look on her face, and then she barfed all over the ground in front of us.

  And all over Zack’s shoes.

  “Oh gosh,” I said, trying to decide what to do.

  I quickly tended to Maggie first and led her to the car to sit down. I really hoped she wasn’t going to freak out or puke again, but she actually looked pretty calm. I gave her a drink of water and asked if she was okay—she said she was fine. I tried to find something she could throw up in if she had to again, but I came up empty. Finally I handed her a sweatshirt of mine and said, “Here, puke in that if you have to, okay?” She nodded, so I turned my attention to Zack, who was kind of shaking the vomit off his shoes.

  “I am so sorry,” I told him.

  “Oh, pssh,” he said, waving it off. “I get puked on everyday.”

  I smiled because I knew he was going to be very nice about it. I appreciated that since I was embarrassed beyond belief. “Can I uh, I don’t know, do something? Like wipe it off or…?” I searched my car again, but the only thing I had that could help clean him up was the sweatshirt over Maggie’s lap.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he told me. “I can just wash it off later.”


  “Oh, water… I have water,” I said, producing a brand new bottle from my trunk.

  I was trying to get the lid off fast so he didn’t have to stand there with puke on him any longer. But of course it finally came off awkwardly and I ended up flinging the water across the front of him instead.

  “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, horrified by what I’d just done. Even if I’d planned it deliberately, I didn’t think I could have made it look so awful. It really looked like he’d wet his pants.

  I covered my face with my hands and groaned, but Zack just kind of laughed as he looked over the crotch of his shorts. “Hmm, I guess there’s a story I’ll have to explain.”

  “I am so sorry,” I moaned, totally mortified. “I mean here, maybe I can find something you can dry it with…”

  “No, don’t worry about it. I’m not sure what might happen next.”

  He was teasing, and I knew it, but I was still embarrassed. By then Maggie had stepped out of the car, claiming she felt better and wanted to go play again.

  “No, go sit back down,” I told her. “We’re going to go home.”

  “Aw, but I feel better,” she pouted.

  “I’m sure you do, but the game is almost over anyways, Maggie.”

  She looked at Zack and noticed the front of his shorts. She seriously asked, “Did you pee your pants?”

  I quickly ushered her back to her car seat and buckled her in, and then I turned to Zack and said, “I’m so sorry, I just—”

  “Don’t worry about it. Honestly. I’m heading straight home anyways.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. It’s okay.”

  I had no idea if he was being truthful or just trying to make me feel better, but I chose to believe him. He even could have been saying that just to get away from me at that point.

  “Again, I’m sorry,” I said as he wandered a few cars away.

  He smiled and held up my business card. “I won’t hold it against you.”

  Chapter Three

  I have to admit that Zack’s reference for the wedding was a good one. Normally weddings weren’t my preference, but I wasn’t established well enough in Everett to be choosy about the work I took on.

  Melissa called me the next day, and just talking to her on the phone gave me a good feeling. She was pretty down-to-earth, even joking about her drunk of an uncle and the things that could go wrong that day. She was easy to talk to and loved all of my ideas, so I was eager to meet her and her husband-to-be.

  I could understand why Zack held a personal interest in the wedding. His brother was the groom.

  I met with Melissa and Jason twice that week. I made the thirty-minute trip from Everett to Bellevue on Tuesday, and then on Thursday we met at the Seattle hotel that the wedding would be taking place. I really enjoyed working with them, and I knew it was going to be a great experience.

  Again I saw Zack at the soccer fields that Saturday. I was somewhat disappointed that my sister was actually at the game that day, but I was annoyed for a different reason. I kind of liked having Maggie to myself to use as an excuse if I had to. Now it would be pretty obvious that she wasn’t actually my daughter, and I wasn’t sure if Zack would think that to be better or worse. Maybe he liked the idea of dating another mom with a child the same age as his. I’d already determined that he wasn’t married—he didn’t wear a ring—and I was sure he wouldn’t be interested in a person publicly if he had someone in his life already. So yeah, I was a little intimidated by soccer dad, especially now that Maggie couldn’t be my crutch.

  “So you ready for tomorrow?” Zack asked after the games were over. Again he’d wandered over to the field that we were on, but Rachel was the one handing out treats with Maggie, and I was left all alone.

  “I am ready. I’m really excited.”

  “My brother and Melissa really like you,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of great things about you.”

  “Oh, yeah? Are they the things that I made up just because I knew it’d get passed along to you?”

  He laughed, but I was embarrassed when he said, “That means you wanted me to think good things about you?”

  I could feel my cheeks turn warm. Jeez, was I that stupid?

  I tried to recover quickly when I said, “Well, I prefer you to remember those things and not the vomit on your shoes.”

  He laughed again, seeming to agree, but said, “I’ve been puked on before. Not a big deal. Do you want to make that up to me? –Because I’ll let you be my date to the wedding.”

  I was a little surprised, yes, but I answered, “I’m employed by the bride and groom. Sorry.”

  “Ah,” he replied with a nod. “So that means post-wedding date? I’m free all next week.”

  Thankfully my niece saved me by handing over a Twinkie. “Oh, for me? Thanks, munchkin.”

  “Bye,” she also said.

  “Oh, are you leaving with Abigail now? Okay, you be good. No bullying her brother this time, got it?”

  She giggled. “He’s a pain.”

  That made me laugh. “Yes, most boys are.” I looked at Zack deliberately, but he seemed to agree with a nod. Rachel was busy talking with a few other parents, so I took the liberty of reminding Maggie of her manners while she played at someone else’s house, and then I made her give me a hug.

  “I’ll miss you,” I told her. “Have fun.”

  She skipped off to join Abigail and her parents, so I waved at them to acknowledge that I knew Maggie was leaving.

  My sister glanced my way as I grabbed my stuff, and she just waved as well. I guess she was busy enough, so I didn’t bother her with formal goodbyes.

  “You have plans for the rest of the day?” Zack asked me. “You are now childless.”

  I scrambled for something to say, an excuse I guess, but nothing came to me. I wasn’t very good at lying, but I was okay with letting him think that Maggie was my kid. I felt safer that way. I really was awkward when it came to guys and dating, but jeez, now I’d resorted to using my four-year-old niece as an excuse?

  “I don’t really have anything set in stone,” I finally replied. “But I do have some things I need to get done at home while I have the chance.”

  He didn’t respond to my lame excuse, but we’d made it all the way to my car again, and it was his turn in the conversation. He didn’t say anything though, and I didn’t have anything to put away that time to busy myself with—I was just holding a Twinkie in my hand.

  However, something did catch my thoughts, and I looked around the parking lot for a few seconds.

  “Uh, you waiting for someone?” he asked, following my gaze.

  “Oh. Um, don’t you have a little soccer player you’re here watching?”

  He paused for a second and then smiled. Then he scanned the parking lot for a moment until he stopped at a minivan. “Yep, right there,” he pointed.

  I followed his gesture and took a second to look the little girl over, the same girl I saw leave with him before. She was pretty cute, with dark hair just like Zack’s. She was with an older couple, and I had to assume they were grandparents.

  “Isn’t that the little girl that tried to throw a punch in our game?” I joked.

  He laughed. “Actually that could be Ashlyn. She’s kind of feisty.”

  “And you let her get away with such antics?” I smiled.

  “What can I do,” he shrugged. “I can’t really hit her back. Maybe in a few years, when she’s older.”

  I stared at him with disbelief. He was joking, right?

  “What, you don’t have any siblings?” he asked, realizing I was sort of appalled.

  “Siblings?”

  “Uh, yeah, you know, brothers or sisters?”

  “Um, yes, I have an older sister and a younger brother…” I finally understood what he meant and I said, “She’s your sister?”

  It was said in such a way that I thought he’d be offended, but he just smiled and replied, “Yeah, she is.”

  �
��I’m sorry, that was really rude of me. I didn’t mean to imply that it was weird or anything— I mean yeah I thought she was your daughter but— What I mean is that having such an age difference isn’t uncommon or anything, I just—”

  I stopped, feeling like I should just shut up. What was I even babbling about? Okay, so I realized that he wasn’t really a dad, and that kind of threw me off course. Before, he really was just a soccer dad that I was chatting with, but now…

  “My mom died when I was fifteen,” he informed me. “My dad ended up remarrying five years later, and he and Mariah had Ashlyn together. I have two older brothers too, but yeah…there’s a twenty year gap between me and my sister,” he smiled.

  I slowly nodded, glad for the clarification, but not expecting it. “Families can be interesting,” I stated. “My little brother is thirteen. I thought that was kind of a big gap growing up, but wow…twenty. What was that like?”

  “It was weird,” he admitted. “I mean my dad is twelve years older than my step-mom, and she hadn’t been married or had kids yet, so I guess it was kind of their agreement. My dad wasn’t so sure at first, but he does pretty good for an old guy.”

  I lightly laughed. “What about your other brother? Jason isn’t the oldest, right?”

  “No, he’s a year older than me. He’s twenty-six. And my other brother, Chad, is twenty-eight. He’s not married, but he does have a two-year-old boy with his girlfriend.”

  I nodded, wondering if it would be odd to have a daughter close to the age of your grandkids.

  Zack looked anxious again, kind of like he wanted to talk about that date some more. I could read it loud and clear, and now I was more insecure than ever. Now he was a regular guy trying to ask me out, and I didn’t want to admit that I was interested.

  But I did have the wedding as my justification to say no. I wanted to keep my personal life and my professional life separate, so before he could make it awkward again, I said, “Well, I need to get going. I’ve got…a long list of things to do and…need to make sure everything is ready for tomorrow and…”

  I could tell he knew I was making excuses, or worse, assumed I had no interest in going out with him. That made me feel bad, if he really thought that, because it wasn’t true.