Megan hugged her back, kissing her on the cheek.
“Of course I do. I was just caught off guard. I didn’t know what to think. We’re still friends.”
Trevor watched his mom and Megan hug and laugh together and wondered if there was still hope for him. Maybe he would keep the diamond ring around for a little while longer yet. He patted the pocket where he kept it and smiled. He could wait another week.
Seventeen
I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU NAMED this dog Marjorie. She’s more like a Katie or Bridget. Where’d you come up with it?”
Megan tried wrapping the leash around her waist and then her arm to keep control of Marjorie, but her border collie was impossible. Her walks with Marjorie were always like this. Megan was pulled from one end of her subdivision and back again. Her arms and back always ached the next day.
“I read the book
Glimpses Into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Hinckley
and thought it was utterly unfair that I didn’t know anyone like her. And, if you haven’t noticed, I don’t exactly have a house full of kids to keep me busy, so I went down to the Humane Society and picked out Marjorie. I knew she would be the perfect companion. I pictured myself going on peaceful walks with her, having her lay at my feet in front of the fireplace while I read a book. You know, all that neat dog stuff. Then I woke up to reality. She outright refused to be house trained, so she has to be outside; I have her to thank for the polka dot pattern on my grass. And she was personally offended by all of the flowers and trees I had planted back there, so she took it upon herself to rip them all out. She’s quite the companion.”
Trevor winced as Marjorie pulled so hard on the leash that it almost took a few of Megan’s fingers along with her.
“Give me that before you hurt yourself.”
Megan gratefully handed over the leash and was amazed when a curt “heel” had Marjorie slowing down and keeping pace. Every time Marjorie jumped ahead, Trevor pulled her back consistently and patiently. A half a block later, Megan was actually enjoying her walk. It was a new experience.
“Well, you seem to know all about me, why don’t you tell me more about yourself. What have you been up to these past ten years besides getting worms in Guatemala and becoming a millionaire?”
Trevor bent to pick up a broken piece of glass lying in the middle of the sidewalk and stuck it in his pocket. He sighed before answering.
“There’s not much to tell, really. I came back from my mission and started a computer repair business. I had always loved working with computers and just felt that was where I wanted to be. But in my spare time I developed a computer program that I ended up selling for quite a bit of money. Then it dawned on me. Why don’t I forget the repair business and focus on the development of new software programs? After a few years things really started to take off. I’ve branched out, picked up a few more companies along the way. Sometimes I miss the repair business though, believe it or not. Life was a lot more simple back then.”
Megan smiled and shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. It felt good talking to someone. She usually didn’t mind being by herself all of the time, but lately she had been feeling sort of lonely. Like she was missing out on something important. Or someone important.
“What about personally? Why didn’t you ever get married?”
Trevor paused by a tree to let Marjorie do her business. He scuffed the toe of his shoe across the concrete, as if he were a little kid. He looked very uncomfortable by the question, but Megan didn’t feel too guilty. It was her turn after all.
“There was someone. I was twenty-five, and I had just made my first million. I was feeling on top of the world and I figured it was about time I settled down and started my family. So I went to my singles ward that very next Sunday and began trying to pick out my bride to be. When I did, she looked a lot like you, believe it or not. Well, like you used to anyway. I knew I had made a huge mistake where you were concerned, so I was determined not to be sidetracked by outer appearances. Her name was Bethany. It wasn’t hard to get a date with her. She had heard about my company and knew I wouldn’t be taking her to McDonald’s for dinner. We dated for a few months and then I popped the question. She said yes, and then, of course, we went and picked out rings. I started to wonder when she picked out the biggest ring available. But I thought, what the heck, I could afford it. She eventually dumped me and immediately pawned her ring to start up her own business. She’s a successful caterer now and very happy, I hear.”
Megan laughed softly, not wanting to believe there was someone as unlucky as she was.
“If I were you, I’d start handing out cubic zirconium rings. You’d save a lot of money that way.”
Trevor scowled at her, hoping she was joking. She wasn’t.
“As long as we’re talking about our personal lives, do you mind me asking what happened to make you change so much? I honestly didn’t even recognize you at the reunion. I couldn’t believe my ears when Dylan called you Megan. I had been staring at you from the moment you entered the room. I was racking my brain trying to figure out who in the world this incredibly beautiful woman was.”
Megan looked at Trevor quickly, wondering if he was giving her a line or telling the truth.
“What seems sudden to you was gradual for me, really. I moved out of the house to go to school and my roommate really opened my eyes. Jeanette was kind. She was genuine and not fake at all. At first I kind of sneered behind her back at her. At the time, I just didn’t get it. But she taught me a lot about myself. She taught me that I could be liked for myself and that I had the right to expect other people to like me for myself, too. She also encouraged me to go to church regularly.
“I have to admit I didn’t go to church as much as I should have after Dylan went on his mission. It was hard for me to go with roommates who had been members all of their lives. I felt like such an idiot as far as the gospel went. They would talk about ideas and concepts that I just wasn’t ready for. So Jeanette would bribe me with her homemade brownies to get me to go to the devotionals and firesides with her. When I joined the church, I had a testimony that it was true, but there was just so much I didn’t understand. And she helped me with that. I can’t believe how much I still miss her. She met and fell in love with an Australian—that’s where they live now. She still sends me Christmas cards every year.”
Megan glanced over at Trevor to see if she was boring him to death, but he just smiled encouragingly at her. Megan smiled shyly back, embarrassed to be revealing something so personal. But it was actually kind of nice to talk about it. She’d never really formed how she felt into words before.
“So, eventually, I started to find myself layer by layer under all of the junk I had covered myself up with. The real me—the daughter-of-God me. I’m not saying people who highlight their hair or wear red lipstick need psychoanalysis or anything. But, for me, all of those extras added up to one big shield against the world.” Megan grinned suddenly as she remembered. “You should have seen Dylan’s face when he stepped off the airplane after serving two years in Alaska. It was as if the light had gone out of his eyes. For the next three months, he tried to convince me to go back to the way I used to be, but I just couldn’t. It took a long time, but this is me. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take you.”
Megan was alarmed at his reply. She hoped he was kidding, because she wasn’t ready to be taken by anybody—gorgeous, kooky millionaire or not.
“Don’t say that.”
“If it’s the truth, why shouldn’t I? Why does it make you so uncomfortable to know that someone wants to be with you? I’ll be honest. I think you’re beautiful. And I think you’re still that kind, wonderful person I saw peeks of in high school. I want you to give me a chance.”
Megan stopped and stared open-mouthed at Trevor. She was floored, and there he was standing there smiling at her with her dog at his feet waiting patiently. This couldn’t be happening to her.
“You’re going way too fast for me, Trevor. Whatever happened to dating a person and seeing if you’re compatible with them? Whatever happened to courtship? You sound like you want to go pick out rings tomorrow or something. I just don’t work that way.”
Trevor thought of his grandmother’s wedding ring and wondered if Megan’s green eyes would match the emeralds.
“Don’t even worry about the ring, Megan. All I want from you right now is your word that you’ll give me a chance. How about this: why don’t we go out together for the next month and then, at the end of the month, if you want me to hit the road, then I’m out of here. I won’t bother you again. A restraining order won’t be necessary, I promise.”
Megan giggled and began walking again, as she thought about it.
“Will I have to introduce you to people as my boyfriend?”
Trevor smiled reassuringly. “Absolutely.”
Megan laughed, but then realized Trevor was being serious.
This guy was a nut, but he was starting to grow on her. And, after all, it was just for one month.
Megan looked up and realized they had made a full circle and were now standing in front of her house again. Through the open window she could smell the popcorn that Linette was making for everyone. She still couldn’t believe tonight hadn’t turned into a complete nightmare. What was wrong with her luck? Was it possible for luck to change? She waited while Trevor put Marjorie in the backyard, leaning up against her railing and staring up at the setting sun. It really was a perfect night. Something that was totally abnormal for a date in her life.
Trevor walked around the corner, and seeing Megan leaning up against the railing, decided patience was a completely boring virtue.
“Hey,” Trevor said as he walked slowly up the stairs towards Megan. “Remember at dinner when you said all I had to do the next time I wanted to kiss you was ask?”
She narrowed her eyes and held her hands out defensively towards him.
“Trevor, you have got to be kidding me. This isn’t even the end of our first date, and you already want a kiss? Isn’t this a little premature?”
Trevor moved in closer, smiling confidently down into her still narrowed eyes. “You might as well get it over with. This way, you don’t have to kiss me later in front of everyone.”
Megan’s hands dropped momentarily as she tried to figure a way out of the kiss. “Who says I have to kiss you at all? And besides, I really don’t think we should rush—” That was as far as Megan got before Trevor bent down and kissed her soundly on the lips. He pulled back briefly, but then came back for another one when she didn’t push him immediately away. He even ventured to put his arms around her waist. When, a few minutes later, she did break the kiss, her cheeks were as red as apples. She was blushing.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go get some of that popcorn, before Blaine eats it all.” Trevor grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, very grateful that this kiss had ended much less painfully than the last one.
* * *
“He kissed you. He kissed you,” Linette said in a singsong voice as she picked up the empty popcorn bowl.
Megan knew she was blushing again and glared at her sister’s back as they walked into the kitchen.
“How do you know? Were you all peeking out the window?” Megan asked, horrified at the very thought.
Linette laughed as she reached for a glass from the cupboard. “Don’t be paranoid. I just happen to be very good at reading people. What would you think happened if someone walked into a room looking like they had been hit by lightning, followed by a man who couldn’t stop grinning for an hour and a half?”
Megan giggled, knowing it was true. “Okay, you win. Yes, he did kiss me.”
Linette sipped her water and stared at her sister expectantly. Megan rolled her eyes and sighed theatrically. “What!?”
“Tell me. What was it like? Was it like a nerdy kiss or a Brad Pitt kiss?”
Megan smiled and leaned against the counter, remembering every second. “Hmm. Well, it’s hard to describe, but if I had to put it into words—and I guess I do—I’d have to say it was a mix of Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, and a little Russell Crowe thrown in.”
Linette laughed and put her glass in the sink. “You’re impossible, Meg. Just tell me if it knocked your socks off.”
Megan grinned, knowing her socks were definitely still on, which was just as it should be. But there was potential.
“Linette, you said yourself I looked like I had been hit by lightning. What do you think?”
Linette followed her sister out of the kitchen, frowning. “I think Blaine better kiss me on our next date or I’m going to start feeling very jealous.”
Eighteen
MEGAN WATCHED BRENNA WIPE ketchup off her little toddler’s mouth and then lean down and kiss her, before sending her back to the McDonald’s playland. She looked very happy and very content with her life. She looked like everything Megan wanted to be: a mother and a wife.
“Brenna, you are the luckiest woman alive. You do know that, don’t you?”
“You don’t know very many people, do you?” Brenna grinned at Megan before eating the rest of her kid’s forgotten fries. “So lay it on the line, Megan. I want all the dirt, I want all the smut—every bit of scandal you can come up with. I want everything a combo meal will get me.”
Megan looked down at her double quarter pounder and wondered if it was worth it. She took one more bite and then nodded. Yeah, it was.
“How much time do you have?”
Brenna glanced at her watch and frowned.
“Thirty minutes before I have to pick up Mitchell from school, so give me the short version. But you have to give me half of your fries back.”
Megan raised her eyebrows questioningly.
Was she serious?
She was. Megan pushed half of her fries over to Brenna’s side of the table but kept her ketchup. Brenna deserved naked fries.
“Okay, the short version. Well, the morning of my wedding arrives, and Taffie calls me forty-five minutes before I’m supposed to leave for the wedding breakfast. She tells me all about how Dylan went to a wild bachelor’s party the night before and had gotten down and dirty with one of the waitresses. She wasn’t sure if he had actually gotten drunk, but, according to her brother, he’d had at least three beers.”