Storybook Romance (9781460320433)

by Manley, Lissa

  “Of course not,” Coraline replied. “It’s been, what? A year since your split with Teresa?”

  “Fourteen months, actually.”

  “That long?” Coraline blinked. “My, how time flies.”

  “It certainly does.” Though why did it seem as if he’d been by himself forever? And would be for the foreseeable future. So be it.

  She patted his arm. “Well, I’m sure you’ll come around and want to revive your social life soon.” Her gaze strayed in the direction of the Kids’ Korner. “Allison is single, isn’t she?”

  He was suddenly on high alert; Coraline was known for her matchmaking tendencies. “Um…yes, I believe she is.”

  “And she’s good with your children?”

  “Seems to be,” he replied neutrally. How could he get Coraline off the track she’d taken?

  “She’s a very nice young woman,” Coraline said, her voice going up just enough to remind him she was probably fishing.

  “Yes, she is.” Pretty, too, though he was determined not to get caught up in that detail. Teresa was gorgeous, and look how that had turned out.

  Coraline sighed. “I’m just going to be direct. Do you have any interest in dating Allison?”

  He wasn’t surprised by the question. He was an eligible single man. “Coraline, while I know you have my best interests at heart, I’m not interested in dating Allison, or anyone else, for that matter.” Coraline had good intentions, so he’d be polite.

  She frowned and her eyes went soft. “Your divorce wounded you, didn’t it?”

  Put mildly. “Yes, it did.” He wasn’t a liar, and even if he were, an untruth wouldn’t slip by a sharp gal like Coraline. “Especially because of the way the whole thing played out.” It was common knowledge that Teresa had left him for Spense O’Laughlin, an up-and-coming lawyer who’d moved to Bygones a few years ago to take over a law practice in nearby Manhattan, Kansas, from his uncle.

  “Ah, yes, I’m sure that made the whole thing worse,” Coraline said, her voice tinged with sympathy.

  “That would be an understatement.” Their marriage had been on the rocks for a while—Teresa, a city girl, hated living in Bygones, and blamed Sam for keeping them there—but Sam had been willing to tough it out and stay together for the kids’ sakes.

  Until the horrible night Teresa told him she’d fallen in love with Spense and was leaving Sam. Sam’s heart had shriveled up on the spot, and he’d known then that there was no saving the marriage, especially when he’d found out that Spense had told Teresa they could move to Kansas City as soon as he could sell his practice. The proverbial final nail in the coffin had been hammered home.

  There had been no happy ending for Sam, just as there’d been no happy ending for his dad, who’d never been the same since Sam’s mom had left him to go “find herself” in a commune in Colorado when Sam was eleven.

  Given that, Sam was sure such a thing as a happy ending didn’t even exist, except in the books sold by the store in which he stood.

  “Divorce is never easy.” Coraline thought for a moment. “Your guard is up now, isn’t it?”

  “Pretty much,” he replied. “The last thing I want is another heartbreak.” He’d had enough of that, considering his and Teresa’s history, coupled with his mom’s desertion. In hindsight, he shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place, because he and Teresa were such different people. But love and attraction had skewed his judgment—lesson learned. And while there was undeniably bitterness in his heart due to Teresa’s betrayal, his marriage had produced his precious children, and he would always be thankful for that immense blessing.

  “Another love might be different,” Coraline said with a knowing look. “And you’re still a young man—too young to be alone for the rest of your life.”

  “Perhaps,” he said, though his response wasn’t accurate; the past didn’t lie. But he respected Coraline too much to go with the truth and denounce her statement outright.

  “I’ll pray for you about this, all right?” Coraline was a pillar of Bygones Community Church and had an abiding faith Sam marveled at and envied.

  “That would be wonderful,” he replied, not wanting to offend Coraline, appreciating her sentiment, though he had heavy doubts prayer would work. Hadn’t his been left unanswered?

  Her eyes slipped past him. “Oh, looks like Story Time is over. Here comes your darling son.”

  “Daddy!” Nicky cried, grabbing Sam by the knees. “I just heard a story about Mike and Mary Anne!”

  Sam turned and scooped Nicky up into his arms. “I know you did, bud.”

  Coraline held out her hand for a high five. “And what a good listener you were.”

  Nicky tapped her palm with his chubby one. “I got to turn pages!”

  “Excellent,” Coraline replied with a gentle smile. “You did a great job.”

  Sam looked down at Nicky. “What do you say?”

  “Thank you!” Nicky exclaimed.

  “You’re very welcome.” Coraline moved her purse to her other arm again, her direct gaze zeroing in on Sam. “You’ll think about what I said?”

  He inclined his head left, nodding. “Of course.” Another platitude for a worthy cause and a good-hearted woman. He’d hardened his heart quite a while ago and intended to keep it that way.

  “Good. Now I’m off to pick out a book on organic gardening.” With a wave, she turned and headed farther into the store, moving with a spring in her step Sam could only hope he would have at her age.

  Nicky chattered on and on about the story as Sam went back to the Kids’ Korner in search of Rosie.

  He found her on the floor in the middle of the story rug, “reading” a book. Allison knelt next to her, her finger pointing out something on the current page. Rosie turned and smiled at Allison, and Allison ever so gently smoothed one of Rosie’s dark curls back off her face. Rosie giggled, and then mimicked Allison and smoothed a stray lock of burnished hair back from Allison’s face, then patted her cheek. The look of adoration on his daughter’s face was plain to see.

  Sam stared, unable to look away from the touching picture the two of them made sitting there, two brunettes, a girl and a woman with no connection except for the one formed today.

  And for just a moment he wished that the past hadn’t shadowed the present with such profound lessons and that he didn’t have to keep such a tight rein on his heart.

  *

  Allison looked up from her spot on the floor with Rosie and saw Sam standing there with Nicky in his arms. Sam looked very much the athlete-coach in his high-end black athletic sweats and black-and-white basketball shoes. His short dark hair was attractively mussed and he was slightly tanned, as if he spent time outside on the weekends.

  The sight of him had always made her knees shaky, but seeing him now, as a loving, devoted dad, made every cell in her body quake. Add that to how mushy her heart felt from Rosie’s gentle face pats and Nicky’s wide-eyed fascination with Mike and Mary Anne, and Allison felt downright giddy. She loved kids.

  But Sam? She’d heard he was in town and had avoided him. She just hadn’t been ready to face him.

  But…now she had faced him, and she’d survived just fine. And in the here and now she could be giddy over his adorable kids. No harm there. In fact, that could only lead to good things all around.

  That thought put a genuine smile on her face as she rose and held out her hand for Rosie. “Would you like to sit at the table and look at that book?”

  Rosie took Allison’s hand and clambered up from the floor, somehow bringing the book with her. “Okay.” She looked at Nicky as she headed to the kids’ table and chairs Allison had set up. “Nicky, bring a car book over here and sit with me. We can read!”

  “Daddy, put me down,” Nicky commanded. “I’m gonna read with Rosie.” He paused. “Please?”

  As Sam obeyed Nicky’s request, Allison grabbed another car book from the shelf. “How about this one, Nicky? It looks like it has some pretty good p
ictures of cars in it.”

  Nicky ran over. “Yeah! Lots of cars,” he said, taking the book from her.

  Sam followed him to stand beside Allison. “Kids, we can stay for a few more minutes, but I have to get to practice very soon.”

  The twins settled themselves at the table. “Okay,” they said in unison.

  Allison smiled. “They’re being very cooperative.”

  “For now,” Sam said. “Guess I better enjoy it.”

  “Sounds as if they’re quite a handful.”

  “What three-year-old isn’t?”

  “True.” Allison looked at the twins, who were obviously two bundles of energy. “And you’ve got double the handful, right?”

  “Yes, but only half the time.”

  “So you share custody?” she asked, curious about his situation. Who wouldn’t be?

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “How’s that going?”

  “All right, but I miss them like crazy when they’re with Teresa.”

  “That has to be rough,” Allison said. If she ever had kids—which she hoped to someday, in the future, after she had her career cemented in stone—she couldn’t imagine not having them with her full-time. And she definitely hadn’t inherited her parents’ workaholic tendencies; she believed in actually spending time with one’s children.

  “Yep. The house just seems too quiet, you know?” He looked at his watch. “Oh, man, we’ve got to run. I still have to drop the kids at Teresa’s before I head to practice.”

  Teresa. His ex-wife. Allison had seen her once at the Hometown Grocery store but hadn’t ever spoken to her. She was tall and blonde and very pretty in a classic Southern-belle way. Teresa had left Sam for another man. News like that traveled at lightning speed in a small town like Bygones. Allison wouldn’t dream of bringing it up.

  “How’s the team this year?” she asked. Both her sisters played basketball for Bygones High School, so she was interested.

  He made a wiggly motion in the air with his hand. “Not bad. One kid in particular is particularly promising, but his academic struggles might keep him from playing.”

  “Well, if he has reading and writing problems, he might be interested in the creative-writing workshops I’m starting here next week.”

  Sam raised his eyebrows. “I hadn’t heard about that.”

  “Coraline Connolly and I came up with the idea as a way to bring in business and serve the community at the same time.” She pointed toward the front of the store. “I’ll go get you a flyer while you round up the kids.”

  “Great,” he replied. “I can’t guarantee Rory will be interested, but I’ll pass the info along just the same.”

  “I’d appreciate it.” A thought occurred to her. “And if you want to dangle a carrot, let Rory know that there are several high school girls already signed up for the workshop, including my youngest sister, Amy.”

  Sam grinned. “That ought to do the trick. If there’s anything that will motivate a teenage boy it’s the chance to be around a teenage girl.”

  How she wished that had been true for Sam in regards to her way back when; obviously he’d never seen her in that light, no matter how hard she’d wished it to be true. She wouldn’t be making that misguided mistake again. “I say use any ammunition at our disposal.”

  “I agree.” He gave her a pointed look. “I have to say, I really admire how hard you’re working to make this place a success.”

  A rosy glow spread through her, warming her from the inside out. “Well, thanks. I want it to be a success for me, but also for the town.” She pressed her lips together. “A lot of people don’t think the SOS Committee’s plan will work, and I want to prove them wrong.” She also wanted to prove it to her parents, who’d been livid when she’d told them she was leaving for Kansas City. They’d assumed she’d stay in Bygones and continue to provide live-in babysitting for her sisters in their absence. They’d made it clear they thought she’d fail when she left, and their doubts had crept into her and taken root. They’d said the same thing when she’d returned to run Happy Endings, and she’d feared they were right. Especially since one job in Kansas City had turned into a succession of four that had never been a good fit. Self-fulfilling prophecy laid down by her parents’ misgivings? Maybe.

  Well, she was done with trying to escape her problems by moving on, hoping to find the pie in the sky that would make her happy. She’d returned to Bygones and staked all her financial and emotional resources on Happy Endings. That, along with the faith the SOS Committee had put in her, had solidified her determination to make Happy Endings a success. Hearing praise from Sam simply confirmed all this.

  “Seems you have a bit of a stubborn streak,” he replied. “That’s a good thing in my book.”

  More glowing warmed her. “I hope so. Sometimes my stubbornness gets me into trouble.” Such as when she’d stubbornly—and foolishly—held on to her adoration for Sam in high school, though he’d never expressed one iota of interest in her. It was time for her to use her stubbornness toward more concrete goals.

  Nicky ran up. “Daddy, read with me.”

  Sam touched Nicky on the head. “We gotta get going, bud.”

  “No!” Nicky said, running back over to his book. “I wanna stay.” He gave Sam a defiant stare, full of three-year-old bravado.

  Seeing a conflict on the horizon, Allison piped in, “Would you like to come back to another Story Time?”

  Rosie jumped up. “Yes. I do.”

  “Me, too,” Nicky called out. “When?”

  “Well,” Allison said with a conspiratorial look at Sam, “we have Story Time every Monday and Wednesday afternoon at four o’clock. Today is Monday, so we will have another one day after tomorrow. Will you two come?” She gave Sam a teasing look. “You can come, too, if you want.”

  “Oh, is that so?” he said with a glint in his eyes that made Allison’s tummy drop. “You don’t think they should come by themselves?”

  Nicky and Rosie rushed over in unison, precluding Allison’s response. “Please, can we, Daddy? Please?” they begged in an excited tangle of words, each hopping around Sam like little monkeys.

  Sam laughed. “Okay, okay. We’ll come back on Wednesday, but only if you two cooperate now so I can get to practice.”

  Rosie glared at Nicky. “You cooperate, Nicky.” She grabbed his arm. “Daddy says.”

  Nicky jerked his arm loose. “Don’t boss me, Ro-ro,” he said, his eyebrows scrunched together. Then he paused and regarded Sam. “I o’operate with you, Daddy.”

  “Thank you,” Sam replied, with a gentle rub to Nicky’s dark hair. “Dad likes it when you do that.”

  Allison liked everything about this little family. Not that she’d ever be part of it. But she would look forward to seeing the twins every once in a while. Sam, too, but only as an old friend. Nothing more than that.

  The four of them walked to the front of the store. Allison grabbed some workshop flyers and gave them to Sam.

  He took them, promising to give one to Rory and some of the other basketball-team members, too.

  Allison lingered by Sam’s side as they all made their way toward the door, loath to see them go. She couldn’t remember when she’d enjoyed a Story Time more; sharing her love of books with others was gratifying.

  “What do you say to Allison?” he asked the twins when they reached the double doors leading out to Main Street.

  “Thank you!” the two darlings said in unison.

  “You’re very welcome,” Allison replied. “I’ll be sure and pick out really neat stories for you two at the next Story Time, all right?”

  “Yay!” they crowed, again together.

  “I owe you a big thank-you, too,” Sam said, his chocolate-brown eyes shining with sincerity. “These two don’t usually settle down much, so it was a nice break for me to have them interested in something else.”

  “Books are a great way to keep kids occupied,” she replied dutifully.

  “I t
hink it was the storyteller who kept them enthralled.” He squeezed her upper arm. “Kudos to you.”

  His praise, as well as his touch, had her lighting up like a sparkler again. “I love exposing kids to literature, so it was not a chore, trust me.”

  “We’ll count on seeing you on Wednesday.”

  She’d also look forward to it. Because of the kids, of course.

  Sam opened the door and he and the twins left. When they reached the curb, he turned and waved, his dark hair shining like polished walnuts in the early-autumn sun, his teeth flashing in a smile that almost stopped Allison’s heart.

  She stood there for a few moments, unable to drag her gaze away. Sam took a twin’s hand in each of his and walked across the street and her heart twisted. What adorable children—a handful, yes, but that was to be expected at their age. And to think they might have been hers if her dreams of marrying Sam and having his babies had come true.

  But that’s just what they were—girlish dreams, not reality. She was older now, and wiser. Of course, she had to keep up her guard; her focus now was her business, not romance.

  But the twins… Well, she had no idea how she would manage to stay away from them.

  Chapter Three

  Allison made herself turn from the window, only to come up against Coraline Connolly’s bright blue gaze. “Oh, hi, Coraline. I didn’t see you come in.” She noted the large book in the older woman’s arms. “Did you find everything you need?”

  Coraline bestowed a beatific smile on Allison. “Oh, yes, I discovered quite a lot here today.”

  Was Coraline referring to more than reading material? Allison drew her eyebrows together. “Um…okay. Excellent.” She headed to the check-out counter. “It looks like you located the book you wanted.”

  “Oh, yes, dear, I did.” She held up the book. “I want to try my hand at organic gardening next spring, so I’m going to purchase this book.”

  “Excellent!” Since Viv was helping another customer at register one, Allison stopped at register two. “Anything else today?”