Read Online Bachelor Number Four by Megan Hart - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Megan Hart
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man.”
Arden bit her lip. “Some women can’t, Aislin.”
“Can’t what?” This from Maeve, who’d barreled through the door with her typical sturdy gait.
“Not have a boyfriend,” said Aislin self-importantly.
“Is that so?” Bev, Arden’s stepmother, said as she followed Maeve. She gave Arden a look with raised brows.
Arden stood to give Bev a hug. “So says Samantha’s mom, anyway.”
“Mommy doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Maeve said, hand on her hip.
“No,” said Arden, catching Bev’s eye. “I don’t. Tell you what. Why don’t you girls run in the back and make sure I didn’t leave anything in the dressing rooms, okay?”
Arden wasn’t quite sure why Aislin and Maeve loved to play in the twin closets the shop used for changing rooms, but they headed off in a flash of giggles and trampling feet.
“That’ll take about ten minutes.” Bev stared after them fondly. She gave Arden a familiar penetrating look, the same one she’d used on nights of missed curfews and suspiciously mussed hair. “What’s up?”
“Aislin wanted to know what I was doing tonight,” Arden explained as she finished cleaning her workspace, crossed to the door and flipped the Closed sign so it showed through the glass. “I told her going out with a friend. She wanted to know if it was a boyfriend.”
“Ah.”
Arden realized all at once where she’d learned that simple one-word answer.
Bev looked over Arden’s shoulder to make sure they were still alone. “But you’re not.”
Arden shook her head. “No!”
Bev smiled. “Honey, it’s okay to go on a date. It’s been a long time. If you’re ready—”
Arden’s mother had run off to “find herself” when Arden was three. Arden’s dad had married Bev five years later. Though Bev was not the woman who’d borne her, she’d been Arden’s mother since childhood. She’d never known another mother and, while she and Bev had matured into a satisfyingly adult relationship over the years, there were still some things Arden was not about to discuss with her. Sex being one of them.
“It’s just another date,” she said quickly. “Not a boyfriend. I’m not ready for that.”
Bev gave her another long stare. “Arden, you know I lost my husband before I married your dad, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Bev’s first husband had been killed in a car accident.
“Do you know how old I was when that happened?”
She’d never thought about it. Though she’d never called her by the title, Bev had always been Mom, ageless, the same now as she’d been the first time she met her, only now with a few more gray hairs and wrinkles.
When she didn’t answer right away, Bev answered for her. “I was twenty-seven.”
“What?” Arden sputtered a moment. From the back room, giggles exploded into a few whining shouts, then died down again. “Wow. I didn’t know.”
Bev nodded. “Younger than you are now.”
Arden shook her head. “I guess I never thought of it.”
“I was thirty when I married your dad. Still younger than you are now. It might surprise you to learn your dad was not the first man I dated in those three years. He was just the last.” Bev smiled.
“How long did it take you to start dating again?”
Bev thought for only a second. “About six months.”
Again, Arden was surprised. “That seems—”
“I know. It seems like a short time. Well, Arden, I should tell you those first few dates had very little to do with my being ready to move on, or to find a new relationship. To put it bluntly, I was lonely, and I wanted companionship. Not love, necessarily.”
This was sounding a little too close to home. Arden busied herself with putting away her supplies before she looked up at Bev. “This was Lida’s idea.”
Bev rolled her eyes. “I guessed that.”
They shared a laugh.
“It’s just a date, Bev.”
“I know, honey.” Bev hugged her hard, then stepped back. “Just be careful, that’s all.”
Arden heard the
Arden bit her lip. “Some women can’t, Aislin.”
“Can’t what?” This from Maeve, who’d barreled through the door with her typical sturdy gait.
“Not have a boyfriend,” said Aislin self-importantly.
“Is that so?” Bev, Arden’s stepmother, said as she followed Maeve. She gave Arden a look with raised brows.
Arden stood to give Bev a hug. “So says Samantha’s mom, anyway.”
“Mommy doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Maeve said, hand on her hip.
“No,” said Arden, catching Bev’s eye. “I don’t. Tell you what. Why don’t you girls run in the back and make sure I didn’t leave anything in the dressing rooms, okay?”
Arden wasn’t quite sure why Aislin and Maeve loved to play in the twin closets the shop used for changing rooms, but they headed off in a flash of giggles and trampling feet.
“That’ll take about ten minutes.” Bev stared after them fondly. She gave Arden a familiar penetrating look, the same one she’d used on nights of missed curfews and suspiciously mussed hair. “What’s up?”
“Aislin wanted to know what I was doing tonight,” Arden explained as she finished cleaning her workspace, crossed to the door and flipped the Closed sign so it showed through the glass. “I told her going out with a friend. She wanted to know if it was a boyfriend.”
“Ah.”
Arden realized all at once where she’d learned that simple one-word answer.
Bev looked over Arden’s shoulder to make sure they were still alone. “But you’re not.”
Arden shook her head. “No!”
Bev smiled. “Honey, it’s okay to go on a date. It’s been a long time. If you’re ready—”
Arden’s mother had run off to “find herself” when Arden was three. Arden’s dad had married Bev five years later. Though Bev was not the woman who’d borne her, she’d been Arden’s mother since childhood. She’d never known another mother and, while she and Bev had matured into a satisfyingly adult relationship over the years, there were still some things Arden was not about to discuss with her. Sex being one of them.
“It’s just another date,” she said quickly. “Not a boyfriend. I’m not ready for that.”
Bev gave her another long stare. “Arden, you know I lost my husband before I married your dad, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Bev’s first husband had been killed in a car accident.
“Do you know how old I was when that happened?”
She’d never thought about it. Though she’d never called her by the title, Bev had always been Mom, ageless, the same now as she’d been the first time she met her, only now with a few more gray hairs and wrinkles.
When she didn’t answer right away, Bev answered for her. “I was twenty-seven.”
“What?” Arden sputtered a moment. From the back room, giggles exploded into a few whining shouts, then died down again. “Wow. I didn’t know.”
Bev nodded. “Younger than you are now.”
Arden shook her head. “I guess I never thought of it.”
“I was thirty when I married your dad. Still younger than you are now. It might surprise you to learn your dad was not the first man I dated in those three years. He was just the last.” Bev smiled.
“How long did it take you to start dating again?”
Bev thought for only a second. “About six months.”
Again, Arden was surprised. “That seems—”
“I know. It seems like a short time. Well, Arden, I should tell you those first few dates had very little to do with my being ready to move on, or to find a new relationship. To put it bluntly, I was lonely, and I wanted companionship. Not love, necessarily.”
This was sounding a little too close to home. Arden busied herself with putting away her supplies before she looked up at Bev. “This was Lida’s idea.”
Bev rolled her eyes. “I guessed that.”
They shared a laugh.
“It’s just a date, Bev.”
“I know, honey.” Bev hugged her hard, then stepped back. “Just be careful, that’s all.”
Arden heard the
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