In honor of his recovery, Lauren had decided to fix him a big breakfast.
“Stop thinking that my scrambled eggs are ever going to be as fluffy as yours,” Lauren said, improvising.
She picked up a spatula and turned her attention back to the skillet, not wanting him to see the longing in her eyes. Lauren had stayed true to her silent vow to let him make the next move, but every time he touched her hand or came close to her for any reason it took everything she had not to wrap her arms around him.
“It’s all in the wrist action.”
She froze in place as he stood behind her and reached around so they both held the spatula. His face was next to hers, and if she turned ever so slightly, her lips would meet his. If she turned around completely, she’d be in his arms.
“Just like this.” He flipped over the eggs, then stepped back.
Was it only her imagination or was his breathing suddenly as ragged as hers? She’d like to think so, but since the night they’d almost lost control, he’d been a perfect gentleman.
“Have a seat at the table.” Lauren shoved aside her frustration and forced a pleasant smile. “Food is ready.”
“I’ll get the orange juice and coffee.” Seth headed for the refrigerator, and Lauren could breathe again.
She shifted her attention to Ivy, who sat at the table engrossed in the latest Junie B. Jones book. Ivy had gotten up extra early and had practically inhaled her cereal so she could return to reading.
“More juice, Ivy?” Lauren asked.
“No, thank you,” Ivy said, not looking up from the page.
Over bacon and eggs, they talked easily, as they did most mornings. She knew Seth well enough now to tell that something was bothering him. She sipped her second cup of coffee and waited for him to tell her what was on his mind.
“I heard you’re back analyzing compatibility surveys.” He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. His tone was casual, making his death grip on the cup even more puzzling. “I thought you had all the data you needed.”
Lauren sat back in her chair. “Kim Sizemore hadn’t been matched the first time around. She called the other day and asked if she could try again.”
“What about Adam? I heard he was throwing his hat into the dating pool.”
“News travels fast.” The Internet had nothing on the town’s gossip mill. “Who told you?”
“I ran into Loretta Barbee yesterday when Gwen and I were in town getting supplies,” Seth said, surprisingly serious. “Apparently Adam is convinced you and he will be a perfect match.”
Lauren resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “If I was a betting woman, I’d say he’ll match with Kim.”
“Why would he think it could be you and him?” Seth’s brows pulled together. “You never completed a survey.”
“Actually, I did,” Lauren admitted. “Adam suggested experiencing the survey process firsthand would round out my dissertation experience. Although obviously that wasn’t the reason he urged me to participate.”
“Why now?” Seth’s voice reflected the confusion on his face.
“Doing it earlier wouldn’t have been proper protocol.” Lauren took a sip of orange juice. “Since my research is complete, I can do it just for fun.”
“I like fun.” Ivy looked up from her book. She’d been so quiet Lauren had forgotten she was there. “What are you doing that’s for fun?”
“A survey,” Lauren said.
Ivy frowned. “What’s that?”
Lauren looked at Seth, but he’d picked up the iPad and was pretending to read the news.
“It’s a bunch of questions,” Lauren explained. “The answers tell me who in this area could be my good friend.”
It was a simplistic explanation, hopefully easy for a seven-year-old to understand.
Ivy smiled. “It’ll say me.”
“Me?” Now Lauren was the one confused.
“No, silly.” Ivy giggled, pointing with her cast to her chest. “It will say I’m your good friend, ’cause you and me are bestest friends.”
The sincerity in the little girl’s tone threaded a ribbon of love around Lauren’s heart. Over the past few weeks she and Ivy had grown close. Now to discover the child considered Lauren to be her “bestest” friend brought a lump to her throat.
She cast a sideways glance at Seth to see if he’d heard the touching words, but his eyes were still on the screen.
“If you could take the survey,” Lauren said to Ivy, “I’m sure it would show we are meant to be best friends. But this particular survey matches men and women. It matched your aunt Anna with your uncle Mitch. And Stacie and Josh.”
Ivy’s lips pursed together for a moment then she smiled. “And you and Daddy.”
Seth choked on his sip of coffee, telling Lauren he wasn’t as engrossed in the news as he’d appeared.
“You and Daddy are bestest friends, too.” Ivy’s smile was triumphant, as if she’d put the answer in a box, tied it with a bow and presented it to Lauren.
“You’re right, princess.” Seth set the iPad on the table. “But there are other men in town who could be Miss Lauren’s good friend, too. Like Mr. Nordstrom. He and Miss Lauren have a lot in common. They both—”
“Seth.” Lauren softened her interruption with a smile. She could see by the distress on Ivy’s face that the talk of other men was upsetting her. And for no good reason.
She might not match anyone. Look at Seth. He’d never been matched. For all his talk about her supposed compatibility with Adam, as far as she was concerned the professor’s boorish behavior on the trip they’d taken to Bozeman for the psychology lecture had disproved that assumption.
He hadn’t been interested in the speaker at all. In fact, he’d read e-mail on his phone during the presentation. Talking about her father all the way there and back hadn’t been much fun, either. But the way he’d slammed Sweet River every chance he got had been the last straw.
“Did Mrs. Barbee also tell you Adam is doing a lecture next week at your alma mater?” Lauren asked,
