Non-Refundable Groom

“I’m out of gas,” she told him. “I promised my sister I’d pick up my two nephews from school.”

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll give you a lift.”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

He helped her out and then opened the passenger door of his car for her. “I’ll consider it our lunch date,” he said with teasing eyes.

As she slid into the front seat, she saw him take off his jacket and hurl it into the back. Her gaze lingered on the way his white shirt contoured his massive chest and muscular arms.

“Where to?” he asked, climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Take a right on Florence Street,” she replied, knowing she had to stop fantasizing about him.

“I’ll get my mechanic to bring a couple of gallons of gas to the parking structure and fill your tank,” he offered.

“You don’t have to,” she said, surprised.

“I want to.”

She didn’t know what to say. She was so used to handling her own problems and helping out her sister and nephews that she forgot what it was like to be taken care of.

“Do you live near your sister?” Garrett asked as he drove.

“My apartment’s about ten to fifteen minutes away at One Hundred Rochester Drive.” She abruptly stopped, realizing he hadn’t asked for her address.

He glanced at her and smiled, as though he knew she’d given her address so he could ask her out.

“Are you at your sister’s place a lot?” he pursued. “Or are you at home in the evenings and on weekends?”

“Most Saturdays and Sundays, I’m over at my sister’s. I’ve been helping out ever since her husband passed away,” she replied. “During the week, I usually work late hours.”

“Every night?” His sexy eyes held hers. “Don’t you set aside time for pleasure?”

“My life’s too busy,” she quickly replied, glancing away.

How could she tell him that she hadn’t dated since her ex-boyfriend because she didn’t know if she could ever trust a man’s word again?

She spotted Van Dyke Elementary School up ahead. “There’s my nephews’ school.”

Garrett parked his Mustang at the curb and watched Elena hurry out of the car toward the throng of laughing and chattering children.

He knew he’d upset her. Why had he asked such personal questions? He hadn’t meant to. Yet, he couldn’t help wanting to know everything about her.

“Bennie! Tod!” he heard her call out to two little boys, one taller than the other.

“Aunt Elena, where’s Mom?” asked the little boy with the dirt-smudged face, who was running toward her with a backpack and a boxed juice in his hand.

As Garrett watched her give her nephew a warm hug, a feeling of sadness washed over him. A wife and children of his own were a dream he’d had a time ago. But not now, not after the trauma of his divorce. He knew that marriage didn’t work for him.

“Aunt Elena, will Mom be home when we get there?” asked the older, taller boy, who seemed more mature and serious.

He heard her explain the situation as she took their hands and led them to his car.

“Garrett, I’d like you to meet Bennie,” she began as they reached the car. “He’s six years old and—”

“Smart!” Bennie spoke up for himself.

Garrett laughed. “How are you, Bennie?”

“And this is Tod,” she went on. “He’s nine and a fine baseball player.”

“I’m a catcher!” Tod said proudly.

“Great position.” Garrett shook his hand. “I’m a pitcher on a baseball team with my friends during my spare time.”

“You are?” The older boy’s eyes lit up. “Curve balls or windups?”

“Both,” he replied. “Hop into the back, guys.”

As he opened the door for Elena, she whispered, “You’re great with kids.”

“So are you,” he told her, feeling an inner connection to her that he’d never felt with a woman before.

“Are you my aunt’s new boyfriend?” Bennie asked, wide-eyed.

He noticed Elena’s cheeks turn scarlet as he gunned the engine.

“Garrett works at the same company I do,” she told him.

“Do you car pool to work together?” Bennie further inquired.

“I don’t even know where Garrett lives,” she said, her blue eyes on him.

“My apartment is in Santa Monica,” he told her.

“We live so close,” she said.

Thoughts of asking her out rushed into his brain, but he squashed them down, knowing she deserved more than he could give her.

“Where do you play baseball, Garrett?” Tod asked, picking up Garrett’s mitt from the back seat of the car.

“During the week, I practice at night at the Santa Monica baseball field,” he replied. “Where do you play, Tod?”

“At the Westside Little League field,” he said proudly and then added in a voice for only him to hear. “Maybe you can come with Aunt Elena and see me play sometime.”

He glanced at Elena, wanting to say he would so he could be with her again. But he knew that he could never get that deeply involved in her life.

“My sister’s house is two blocks down,” she told him, interrupting his thoughts.