Lizzie today when sheâd done nothing to deserve it. All because sheâd made a simple comment about his truck and heâd gotten all up in arms about her elitism.
He was in the middle of a ladder golf game with his nephew, Matt, when she walked in with Dave and Charlie. Charlie looked refreshedâtheyâd likely gone home after the game to changeâand Lizzie had dressed up as well, in a flowery sundress with a light sweater draped over her arm. Sheâd let her hair down, and soft curls touched her shoulders. Josh watched as Jess went over and said something to Lizzie and she smiled, popping a dimple he hadnât realized she possessed.
Because she hadnât had much cause to smile at him, had she?
âHey, Uncle Josh. Itâs your turn. Quit staring at the girls.â
He looked down at his nephew, who was grinning up at him cheekily. âWhat do you know about it, short stuff?â Josh looked at the ladder and noticed two of Mattâs throws had scored three points each. âDamn. No fair. I was distracted.â
âToo bad, so sad,â Matt answered.
When the game finished, Matt went off to meet up with a couple of his friends to play fetch with Rickâs dog and Josh wandered over to the snack table. His contribution to the day was chips and salsa, but heâd made an attempt to be festive and bought red, white, and blue corn tortilla chips. Apparently Sarahâs need to have every food group represented was quashed today, since the other offerings included chips and dip and pretzel twists.
From the corner of his eye he saw Lizzie, holding a glass full of something that was a greenish yellow and looked very citrusy and refreshing. She put the straw to her lips and took a sip of her drink, not a hair or thread out of place.
Heâd had time to think about her on his way home from the game this afternoon, think about why she set him on edge so often. It was the two Cs: Competence and Class. Lizzie had them in abundance. Erin had them as well. And heâd spent a good part of his marriage feeling like he wasnât good enough. Part of it was because of where Erin came from. The other part came from knowing that deep down his wife had really been in love with another man. Lizzie made him feel the same way. Like she was way out of his league. It was hard on a manâs ego.
As if she felt him staring at her, she looked over and met his gaze. She smiled and gave a little wave before turning back to her conversation. To his surprise, she put her hand on Sarahâs arm and seemingly excused herself. His pulse sped up as he realized she was coming his way, his palms started to sweat, and he wondered why on earth it should matter at all. She was his coworker, for Peteâs sake. He was technically her boss. He shouldnât feel this way ⦠like the unpopular kid on the sidelines of the gym, wondering if the girl walking toward him was going to ask him to dance.
âHey,â she said softly as she caught up with him.
âHey yourself.â Why the hell was he so nervous? âYou look nice.â
She looked down for a moment. âUm, thanks. I wasnât sure what the dress code was for this sort of thing.â
He realized she was the only one wearing a dress. âThings tend to be casual around here. My mom hasnât worn a dress since Jessâs wedding, I donât think, and the girlsâ¦â He looked sideways, then back up at Lizzie. âJess tells me that she hates dresses right now.â
Lizzie took a sip of her drink. âYour sister is beautiful, Josh. Almost eight months pregnant and rockinâ the boyfriend jeans look. I donât know another pregnant woman who could pull that off.â
Boyfriend jeans? Before he could ask what that meant, he heard Lizzie apologizing.
âJosh, Iâm sorry about this afternoon. I didnât mean to criticize.â
He met her gaze evenly. âNo, I should