Page 21 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
With Nick distracted by this Andrea woman, I slipped out the door. The last thing I wanted was to witness my soon-to-be ex-husband being hit on.
Practically sprinting to my Jeep, I shut the door and sagged against the steering wheel.
Five dates.
I just had to get through five more encounters with Nick and then I could put this all behind me. And tomorrow, I could talk to Logan.
Driving home, I tried to concentrate on the beautiful scenery around me but my mind kept drifting back to dinner. Had Nick been sincere? Or was this just another one of his games?
I had left dinner with more questions than answers. I was sick to death of the unanswered questions.
And I was sick to death of how much Nick had consumed me these last few days.
Even now, when I should be worried more about Logan and arranging my divorce, I couldn’t shake the unwelcome chills that traveled down my spine at the mental image of that Andrea woman rubbing against Nick at the restaurant.
I was annoyed that Alice was paying too much attention to Logan but that jealousy was just a pinch compared to the gut-wrenching twist I was feeling over Nick. The thought of him having sex with her, or any other woman, was making me nauseous.
This had to end before I went mad.
“Five dates. One week,” I said to myself. “Then this will all be over.”
Prescott’s movie theater was located in the middle of Main Street, sandwiched between the deli and a fly-fishing shop. Main Street was Prescott’s hub, filled with locally owned shops and stores. It ran right through the middle of town, eventually connecting with the highway. The highway had other businesses, including the motel and grocery store, but so far, I’d spent most of my time wandering downtown.
Walking down the sidewalk, I spotted Nick standing outside the theater’s ticket window. His canvas jacket showcased his broad shoulders. His jeans molded perfectly to his thighs and highlighted the perfect shape of his ass. He was wearing a hunter-green baseball cap and the longer hair at his neck was hanging free, curling at the ends.
My feet teetered and I almost fell down. After all these years, the sight of him still made my knees weak. I cursed myself for letting his looks get to me, but on the bright side, at least he wasn’t looking and had missed my stumble.
“Hi,” I called out.
“Hey,” he said. A crooked grin spread across his face as his eyes raked over my body.
His eyes were hungry and I was glad that I’d been able to swing home after school to change into something less flattering than the dress I had worn to work. I was in jeans and a tan sweater with camel suede elbow patches. Because I always got cold in theaters, I had pulled on a slouchy, brown beanie.
The first of our five required dates was a movie. Nick had wanted dinner but I’d managed to convince him (via a lengthy text message exchange) that I’d been dying to check out Prescott’s Rialto Theater. Though it hadn’t been a lie, my real motivation had been because we wouldn’t be able to talk.
I had four more nights to get his explanation. Tonight was all about avoidance and getting this over with quickly.
Handing me my ticket, he asked, “Snacks?”
“Popcorn. Skittles. Junior Mints. Diet Coke,” I ordered. “What? Don’t give me that look. It’s my dinner.”
The lobby of the theater was packed full of people. Next to the small ticket box was a long concession counter where four high school kids frantically filled food and drink orders.
“Is it always this busy?” I asked.
“Tuesday night they run a special where everything is half off,” he said.
We waited our turn in awkward silence. This was not the place for a serious conversation but casual chitchat wasn’t an option either. We had too much baggage. After what felt like hours, we had our snacks and shuffled into the theater.
The two-story room was much larger than I would have guessed from the outside of the building. A small balcony hung above the main floor. The walls were draped in maroon curtains tied with gold, tasseled rope. The wood trim was carved in intricate swirls.
“This place is amazing,” I said, following Nick to a pair of open seats on the lower level.
“Yeah. A couple of years ago they renovated the place, but this has been the theater in Prescott since the early 1900s. Back then they used to do vaudeville shows. The stage beneath the movie screen is the original.”
“Very interesting. Do you come here often?” I spr
ead my snacks around me for easy access during the movie.
