Logan had pointed out that same possibility. Her eyes narrowing, Bonnie responded now the same way she had with her brother. “And that matters why?”
“Just putting it out there. The point is, you’re insanely busy here at the inn, and I figure you’d be better off spending your free time with someone closer to your own age, someone at the same place in life where you are. You know, someone who’s ready to settle down, ready to start fresh with babies and diapers and preschool and all that other stuff I dealt with years ago and that you haven’t had a chance to experience yet.”
Her hands clenched in her pockets. She could feel her spine stiffening with each word he said. “You think that’s best for me, do you?”
He nodded, continuing doggedly. “With Cassie’s wedding coming up in a couple of weeks, and school starting back a couple of weeks after that, it’s a hectic time for all of us. Once I’m back at work, I won’t have weekdays off like I do now, and your weekends are booked, so finding time to hang out could be difficult. We said we were just having fun for the summer, and I have. I’ve had a great time. I hope you’ve enjoyed our time together, too. And I hope we can remain friends.”
“Friends,” she repeated coolly. “Like you are with the other women you’ve dated. Holly and Tim’s sister, and probably a few others.”
“Well, yeah…” He eyed her warily, seeming to sense something in her attitude he couldn’t quite interpret. Still, he continued determinedly, almost as if he were reciting, “It’s better to end things on friendly terms. We’ll be left with very pleasant memories. I care about you quite a lot, Bonnie, and I hope you’ll smile when you remember the time we spent together, the adventures we crammed into a relatively short time. Maybe we can have coffee or something sometime.”
He motioned vaguely with one hand. “So, anyway, maybe this wasn’t the ideal time to have this discussion—I mean, I know you still have a lot to do this evening, but I thought it best for me to make sure I haven’t been leading you on, or keeping you from meeting someone closer to your age.”
“Well, isn’t that oh-so-noble of you?”
Paul blinked in response to her tone, making her realize he’d never seen her lose her temper. He was very, very close to finding out just what an experience that could be.
“I’m not implying that you were expecting anything from me,” he assured her quickly. “You’re the one who said you weren’t looking for strings, and I’m not conceited enough to imply that I consider myself an irresistible catch. Like I said, I just thought it best for me to make sure you know that I’m not looking to follow my daughter down the aisle.”
She wasn’t sure she’d ever been so angry in her entire life. Maybe pain was fueling her temper, but at the moment she was too mad to acknowledge even to herself how badly he had just hurt her. True, she’d wanted to have a serious discussion with him, and she’d been prepared that she might not hear what she hoped from him—but this had not been a dialogue. It had been a condescending monologue that had infuriated her.
She drew a deep, ragged breath and spoke with icy precision. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for looking out for my best interests. You know, being so much older and wiser than I am, of course.”
He grimaced. “Uh, Bonnie—”
“Let me just make something clear to you, Paul,” she said over him. “We will not be friends from this point, though I will be extremely polite and profession
al during your daughter’s wedding festivities. My friends—and I do have a few, despite my busy work life—give me credit for knowing what’s best for myself without their guidance. They have intelligent, adult discussions with me rather than making unilateral decisions that affect me. And they ask me what I want, rather than tell me what I should want!”
“Look, I—”
“I swear to God, Paul, you’d better leave now,” she advised him through gritted teeth. “If you say one more condescending word, I might just be tempted to punch you right in the face, if I could reach it.”
“I can reach him.” With his dog at his side, Logan emerged from the hiking trail just in time to hear the latter part of her threat. Logan glared at Paul while Ninja looked in bewilderment from one tense human to another. “Do I need to punch him, Bon?”
She whirled on her brother and poked him in the chest with one finger. “No. If I need to punch someone, I’ll handle it myself—even if I have to find a stepladder to do so.”
Logan nodded, not looking at all surprised. “Yeah, you would. Just letting you know you’ve got backup, if you need it.”
So grateful for her brother’s endorsement of her self-sufficiency that she’d have thrown her arms around him if Paul hadn’t still been standing there, she tossed her head and glanced over her shoulder at Paul.
“Please tell your daughter to let us know if there’s anything at all we can do for her during the next two weeks,” she said with the exceedingly courteous professionalism she had so furiously promised him. “Assure her that the staff of Bride Mountain Inn will do everything in our power to make sure her wedding day is everything she wants it to be. I trust you won’t think it ‘best’ for her to change her venue at this late date?”
“Of course not,” he said impatiently, looking more than a little irritated himself. “Bonnie—”
“I have to take care of my guests now. I’ll see you at the rehearsal, I’m sure. Goodbye, Paul.”
He looked frankly stunned as he stared at her for a moment. It was very obvious that this conversation had not gone as he had planned, that she had not reacted the way he’d expected. Had he thought there would be tears? Gratitude that he had so gallantly spared her from future disappointment? He’d been very wrong.
Without another word, he turned and walked away. He didn’t look back.
Logan waited until Paul was out of sight before speaking again. “I didn’t catch what set that off, but if you need to talk…”
Any other time, the reluctant sincerity in his offer might have amused her. As it was, she merely shook her head. “I’ll be okay, but thank you.”
“You know where to find me.”
She nodded. She would find him here, at their inn, just as he would find her there if he needed her. Later, when she lay in bed, undoubtedly sleepless and in angry pain, she would comfort herself with the knowledge that though her father in her childhood and the first man she’d loved as an adult might have walked away, her brother and sister and the inn would always be there for her. All in all, she supposed she was actually lucky. She was simply having trouble believing that at the moment.