Read Online Sweet Home Alaska by Rebecca Thomas - Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t enough for her. He could never offer her the kind of life she had longed for when she left Alaska for Hollywood.
    He crawled out of bed and got into the shower. He washed up and rinsed shampoo from his hair, then heard a tapping sound on the bathroom door.
    “Trey?” Lauren called.
    “Come in.”
    She opened the door. “I need to check in at the bakery. Make sure they opened okay. I’m sorry I’ve got to run, but will I see you tonight?”
    “Yes, you will.” He wondered about the questioning way she asked to see him. She was probably wondering about the status of their relationship, too. They needed to talk and iron things out between them, decide if they were going to continue as a real couple or not. He couldn’t imagine not seeing her. Before he had a chance to say anything more, she had shut the door and left.
     
    When it was almost dinnertime and he still hadn’t heard from her, he began to wonder if he had misunderstood something when they spoke in the bathroom that morning. He tried to call her cell, but it went straight to voicemail. In the lobby of the hotel, he asked the front desk clerk if she had seen Lauren leave this morning. She had.
    Trey had been preoccupied with the opening of the hotel, but his mind still had plenty of room for thoughts of Lauren. The woman was brilliant, fun, and made a heck of a Princess Leia. He’d made very quick, decisive decisions with business, but affairs of the heart were another matter. Regardless, he knew he was falling fast for her.
    He could speculate all he wanted, but he didn’t know where Lauren stood. Her blog talked about a fast-paced life amongst the stars, but it also talked about food and family. He tried her cell phone again, and again, it went straight to voicemail.
    He drove to the Moose’s Tooth. He got there at 5:00 p.m. as they were closing. A girl was about to lock the front door.
    “Wait,” he said, “Is Lauren here?”
    “No, sir, Mr. Briggs,” the brown-eyed teenager said. “Didn’t you hear the news?”
    “What news would that be?”
    “Lauren got a call from someone in Hollywood and off she went. She’s on an airplane.”
    That explained why his calls went straight to voicemail. He scrolled through his text messages and saw nothing from her, but he did notice a missed call from her earlier in the day. He’d been so busy he hadn’t even heard it.
    The girl stood holding the door open, clearly waiting for him to leave so she could lock it and close up.
    “Was it an emergency?” he asked. “I know she has friends down there. Is everything all right?”
    “Oh sure, everything is great. She got a call from the Food Network.” The girl craned her neck around and yelled through the bakery. “Lianne, wasn’t it the Food Network who called her?”
    “Yes!” someone yelled back. “They want to give Lauren her very own show.”
    Trey felt like he’d been sucker-punched in the gut. Her own show? It was her dream. Her dream was about to become reality, and while he wanted to be happy for her, all he felt was sadness. He stepped away from the door. “Thank you.”
    Trey wasn’t sure where to go. He felt disoriented. Should he go back to the hotel, to his place, or to the office? Every decision he’d made in the past weeks was with Lauren in mind. Where he’d meet her, what they would talk about, the grand re-opening, and her ideas to make it a success. Now he felt adrift and alone.
    How she’d managed to become so important to him in such a short period of time, he couldn’t begin to understand. He drove. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but driving his truck always helped to relax him.
    It was approaching 7 o’clock and the midnight sun still illuminated the sky. He ended up at the bluffs near the playground where he often ran. He got out of his truck, and stared at the ocean of Cook Inlet and beyond to Mt. Redoubt. The wind whipped his nylon jacket. He loved this view, and never imaged himself living any other