Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2)

by Adrienne Frances

  Lucy looked from side to side and assumed he meant her. “Hugh, right?”

  He grinned a beautiful Mathews smile, and dropped onto the stool next to her. “Very good,” he said. “No one ever gets that right. They usually say, ‘Hey, you’re Brandon and Charlie’s little brother,’ or ‘Hey, it’s one of the younger Mathews.’ I’ve even gotten, ‘Aren’t you one of the twins?’”

  Lucy started to laugh and covered her mouth. “The forgotten Mathews child.”

  Hugh smiled in appreciation. “I am, indeed, the forgotten Mathews. Thank you for your sympathy.”

  Lucy watched as he stabbed his fork into the cake and took the last bite. She couldn’t help but stare at him as he chewed and swallowed. He seemed to like it, which pleased her.

  He wiped his mouth. “So, Lucy, how do you stick a buffalo wing on a cupcake and make everyone want to eat it?”

  “Magic, I guess,” she answered with a sigh.

  “What exactly did I just eat?” he asked and took a drink of his beer. “It didn’t taste like cake, but I liked it.”

  “Flour, sour cream, hot sauce, blue cheese … you know, the good stuff.”

  “And the frosting?”

  Lucy laughed and shook her head. “I’m afraid to tell you that part.”

  “That bad, huh?” Hugh raised an eyebrow.

  “Bad? No. Weird? Yes.”

  He leaned forward, confident, cocky, and flirty all wrapped up into one. These Mathews men just radiated everything that was needed to knock a girl right on her bottom. “I won’t tell a soul,” he said with a wink.

  Not wanting him to gag in front of her, Lucy bit her lower lip nervously. “Okay,” she began, “but only if you keep it a secret. It’s really simple. The frosting is butter, blue cheese, and powdered sugar. That’s it.”

  “What?” he asked, surprised. “Sugar and blue cheese?”

  Lucy nodded.

  “That is weird.” He took another drink of his beer and looked across the room. Suddenly, fear washed over his face and he nearly jumped up from his stool.

  Lucy followed his eyes to see what made him jump. When she hit her target, she saw that it was Charlie … and he was shooting daggers at his brother.

  Hugh flashed a grin Charlie’s way and gave him a small wave.

  Charlie’s eyes found Lucy and his glare softened at her smile. She, too, gave him a wave, but hers was a lot more bashful than Hugh’s. Charlie nodded and she was pretty sure his cheeks turned a bit red as he waved back.

  “I should move. I don’t want to die tonight,” Hugh teased, and gave her another little wink when she looked back at him.

  “Who’s dying?” Jonah asked. He picked up a buffalo wing and dipped it in the frosting before taking a bite.

  “I didn’t know we were supposed to dip the chicken in the frosting,” Hugh said, the imaginary light bulb going off above his head. “Damn. Now I need another one.”

  Jonah swallowed. “That’s because you’re an idiot.”

  Lucy giggled and watched as they stared each other down and then laughed. They were brothers, yes, but they were also friends. She didn’t have a sibling—or, at least, she didn’t think she did—but that bond was unmistakable, and Lucy admired it.

  She pulled her eyes from Jonah and Hugh and found Charlie once more. He was stuck in a conversation with an elderly woman that Lucy could tell he didn’t want to be in. Every few seconds, he would make eye contact with Lucy and purse his lips, suppressing a smile that lingered just on the edges of his mouth.

  The man was just too adorable for words.

  He patted the woman’s arm and nodded a few times before finally heading Lucy’s way. As he walked, he was almost stopped by a few other people, but he evaded each conversation until he was almost in front of her.

  Her chest rose and fell with each step he took. The closer he got, the harder it was to breathe. She had to laugh at herself a little. The mere sight of him made her act like a silly fool.

  “That might be our cue,” Jonah said, and nudged Hugh along.

  Hugh flashed her that famous Mathews grin. “Later, Cupcake.”

  “Uh, later, I guess,” Lucy said.

  “Everyone!” Linda suddenly yelled. “Let’s all head into the living room to watch the birthday boy open his gifts!”

  Defeated, Charlie’s shoulders slumped and he threw his hands in the air. He mouthed I’m sorry, and bent over to pick up Jackson, who was running past him.

  Lucy shrugged and smiled. She got up and followed the crowd into the living room.

  She leaned against the wall and watched Charlie and Jackson sit in the middle of the room, surrounded by presents. Embarrassment washed over her as she took in all the monster trucks, sporting goods, and blue gift bags. A baking set for a boy? Crap. And not just any boy. Jackson Mathews, raised by a man and surrounded by uncles, more than likely wanted a toy truck.

  Mesmerized by the wrapping paper, Jackson tore into his presents while Charlie attempted to read the cards. Charlie would point to the box, but it didn’t seem like he understood that the present was inside. Really, it was too cute for words.

  “Jack, say thank you, Aunt Chloe,” Charlie said when they tore the paper off of a small bike that put Lucy’s baking set to shame.

  The woman standing next to Lucy smiled and said, “You’re welcome, Jack.”

  She was covered in designer clothing, right down to her Jimmy Choos; she was expensive from head to toe. Grace would have been drooling, Lucy was positive. But that wasn’t what was so intriguing about her. Lucy stared at her for a moment and instantly recognized her features, her hair … just about everything.

  Meredith’s sister.

  The woman glanced at Lucy and smiled. “I didn’t get to meet you in the kitchen earlier. Linda kind of whisked you away before I got the chance.” She held out her hand. “I’m Chloe Monroe.”

  Lucy took her hand and attempted to get her expression in check. She was positive she looked as if she had seen a ghost. It was a poor choice of words, but that’s how she felt. “Lucy Dalton,” she said, and was finally able to turn up one corner of her mouth.

  “You made the cupcakes?” Chloe asked. “I’m a vegetarian, so I didn’t try the buffalo wing one, but I’m looking forward to the others.”

  “I’ll try and remember that for the next party: a vegetarian-friendly cupcake appetizer,” Lucy said, and immediately wished she had come up with something better to say.

  Chloe gave her a funny look. “Thanks.”

  Lucy’s attention was pulled away by laughter. Her eyes landed on Jackson, who was wearing the chef hat with the bumblebee sewn onto it. He giggled and pulled the play baking items from the gift bag as Charlie grinned down at him.

  “Bee!” Linda yelled and covered her mouth.

  “That’s such a great idea, Lucy!” Dylan said, laughing. “Bee!”

  Lucy smiled and watched as Jackson stirred the rolling pin into the mixing bowl. He kind of had the right idea. He loved the hat, which made her almost melt into a puddle right there on the living room floor. It was big for him, but he would grow into it soon.

  Charlie raised his eyes and gave her a warm smile. “Say thank you to Lucy,” he said to Jackson, and pulled him into his lap.

  “Bee!” Jackson yelled into the air, and giggled when everyone else did it, too.

  “I must’ve missed the bee thing,” Chloe muttered next to Lucy.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Lucy said, feeling terrible. “It’s just something he’s been saying. We—they don’t know what it means.”

  Chloe took a drink from her punch and nodded a few times. “I see,” she said flatly.

  “Mike?” Dylan suddenly gasped, and nearly hurdled people to get to the door, where a man—a very familiar man—stood with a baseball bat and glove in his hand.

  “No way!” Hugh belted out, and followed Dylan to the door.

  “All right, all right,” the man said. “Don’t hurt anyone.”

  Dylan wrapped
her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek that made him blush. “I love that you’re here,” she said with a grin.

  Lucy stared at him, trying to pinpoint exactly where she had seen him before. Then it hit her, hard: he came into the café a few times and he was the man who ordered all of the banana muffins.

  Well, that all made sense. There wasn’t a person out there who didn’t want Charlie moving on, and she was definitely on their radar.

  She felt Charlie’s eyes on her and when she looked back he closed his eyes and nodded a few times, telling her that, yes, she was right. He didn’t even need to hear her thoughts; he just knew.

  Mike made his way inside and stopped when he saw Lucy. He smiled and gave her a little wave, which she returned with a knowing smirk. He knew he had been caught, but his carefree reaction just made her like him more.

  Charlie and Jackson kept opening presents while Mike made his way over to Linda. He stopped in front of her and Lucy couldn’t help but notice the change in her expression. They exchanged a few words that Lucy couldn’t make out; however, she didn’t need to hear them to know that their exchange was a bit frigid. With her icy look, it was clear that Linda did not have the same excitement as her children did over his arrival.

  Mike stepped away, his expression unreadable, and headed into the kitchen, with Jonah and Hugh hot on his trail. Pretty soon, the sound of beers cracking open echoed from the kitchen, followed by the sound of the sliding glass door opening and shutting.

  Dylan walked over to Lucy and pulled at her hand. “Let’s go set up the cupcakes while they finish up with the gifts. I want to take a picture of them all arranged and pretty before everyone destroys them.”

  Lucy cut a look at Chloe, who was staring down at their joined hands. “Sounds good.”

  “You coming, Chloe?” Dylan asked, her eyebrows raised.

  Chloe smiled and pushed off from her position leaning against the wall. “Why not?” she said, and followed them into the kitchen.

  Lucy bit her lip and tried to figure out Chloe Monroe. She wasn’t exactly rude, but she wasn’t exactly friendly, either. She could imagine how difficult the situation was for her. There was an obvious rift between Charlie and Meredith’s family, but Lucy had been under the impression that Chloe wasn’t part of the problem. Nevertheless, Lucy couldn’t help but feel sorry for Chloe; here she was at the first birthday for her nephew and her sister couldn’t be there to share in the joy.

  “Charlie’s cabinets are so confusing,” Dylan complained as she opened and closed doors. “I just want to find a platter or something. I know he has one, but everything is so disorganized.”

  Lucy opened a cupboard door. “These two will work,” she said, pulling out two porcelain dishes.

  “Perfect!” Dylan said. “I think two more should do the trick.”

  “And these?” Lucy asked, pulling two more down from a higher shelf in the same cupboard.

  “Are you insane?” Chloe snapped, and took them from Lucy’s hands. “These are pieces from their wedding china. They’re Raynaud. I can’t believe he just throws these up on a shelf.”

  Not understanding the significance, Lucy and Dylan looked at her questioningly.

  Chloe sighed as if she were talking to children. “From the Allée Royale collection?”

  “But they are platters, right?” Dylan asked, confused. “I mean, they’ll work.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes and put the platters back. “These platters are about six-hundred dollars each, Dylan. You can’t just throw a bunch of amateur cupcakes on them in the middle of a barbeque.”

  Dylan crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Well, I don’t think my brother’s going to be serving up any lobster, caviar, or expensive cheeses any time soon, so why don’t you just take them with you? I doubt he even wants them.”

  “Uh, you know what?” Lucy intervened. “I think we can just use the two platters we found and then stack the cupcakes all around them.”

  “Whatever,” Chloe said, and walked out of the kitchen.

  Dylan stepped closer to Lucy and gave her a sympathetic smile. “That wasn’t about the cupcakes or the Ray-whatever platter. She just misses Meredith and sometimes she gets mean because of it.”

  “Is Chloe okay?” Linda asked as she walked into the kitchen. “She looks upset.”

  “Same old Monroe drama,” Dylan sneered. “What was once Meredith’s is now all theirs for the taking. Never mind her husband, though.”

  “Oh, no,” Linda said, and sank into a chair. “What do they want now?”

  “Nothing. It doesn’t matter,” Dylan said, clearly wanting the topic to end. “Lucy? Let’s get these in order.”

  Lucy nodded. She walked over to the four boxes of cupcakes that sat on the kitchen table and got to work arranging them on the platters in no particular order. It was a tight fit, but she was determined to make it work. While she worked, she snuck a look outside and noticed that Mike, Hugh, and Jonah were all standing around the grill, beers in hand. They laughed, their closeness obvious, and Mike seemed to look at them with the same adoration Charlie had for Jackson.

  “What’s the story with him?” Lucy asked Dylan.

  Dylan looked out the window and smiled. “He was my dad’s best friend. We never see him anymore.” A frown crept slowly over her mouth as the thought hit her. “Mom, why doesn’t Mike come around anymore?”

  “A cupcake stand!” Linda yelled a bit too excitedly from her place on top of a chair, where she had been digging through the cupboards above the refrigerator. She displayed it proudly as she flashed her white teeth.

  “Good job, Mom,” Dylan said with a laugh.

  “See, I knew Meredith had to have more than what you found. Do you remember that bridal shower? They got a ton of things for entertaining.” Linda handed the stand over to Lucy and turned back around to continue searching through the cupboards. “I bet there’s lots of good stuff in here. Charlie probably never looks in these cupboards.”

  Lucy wiped down the cupcake stand and began to set it up. It was like a puzzle, with one long rod and five tiers that each needed to be screwed into place. She was able to get two dozen cupcakes on the stand, which really freed up room on the platters.

  Once everything was all set up, Lucy took a step back and crossed her arms. “It’s missing something,” she said, and bit her lower lip as she thought.

  “What are you thinking?” Dylan asked, eyeing the cupcakes.

  “Ah!” Lucy exclaimed. She raced over to the counter where she had seen toy cars by a jar full of pencils. She grabbed all five and placed them around the platter, with one on the stand. “Voila!”

  Dylan smiled as she took in the sight. “Perfect.”

  “Oh!” Linda said as a crash erupted.

  Dylan and Lucy both spun around to see the last of the things falling from the top of the refrigerator. A pink index card fluttered down after them, but Linda managed to grab it before it hit the ground. Upon seeing what it was, her hand flew up to her mouth and tears sprung to her eyes. Without saying a word, she handed the card over to Dylan.

  Dylan gave her mother a strange look, but reluctantly took the card. As she scanned it, her eyes welled up with tears, too. “Charlie’s favorite chicken,” she whispered, and covered her mouth.

  “Do you remember that?” Linda asked, her voice hoarse with grief. “Do you remember what she said?”

  Dylan nodded and wiped away a falling tear. “She marked all of Charlie’s favorite dishes down on her recipe cards in case … in case …” She let out a small sob and took a seat on the stool behind her.

  “Oh, honey,” Linda said, and got down from the chair she had been standing on.

  Lucy looked over Dylan’s shoulder and snuck a peek. Sure enough, right on top of the card, in what she assumed was Meredith’s handwriting, was written, “Charlie’s Favorite Chicken.”

  “What did she say?” Lucy asked, not really wanting to know, but needing to know at the same t
ime.

  “She said that in case anything ever happened to her …” Linda paused to take a breath and wipe away her tears. “She wanted to make sure that someone still fed her Charlie Bear all of his favorite meals.”

  Lucy’s eyes widened. Charlie Bear? Ah, that made sense. It was one of those slap-your-forehead moments, but she would do that later when she was alone.

  Dylan shook her head as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “The worst part is … do you remember us laughing at her when she told us she did that? Do you remember how ridiculous we thought it was? Oh, God. I feel horrible, Mom.”

  Meredith had loved Charlie with a fierceness that Lucy hadn’t comprehended until just now. Her heart felt like it had been split in two as she understood the selflessness of that love. Meredith Mathews had been beautiful, both inside and out.

  Lucy’s chin quivered as she attempted to control her nerves. All she needed right now was to burst into tears with these women who she barely knew over someone she’d supposedly never met.

  “She sounds like a really special person,” was all Lucy could say.

  “She really was,” Dylan said, but then chuckled. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, she had her princess moments. But her heart was made of pure gold. She would have done anything for anyone.”

  Linda sniffled and then nodded in agreement. “She was an extraordinary woman.”

  Lucy contemplated that word: extraordinary. It was something that she would never be—a description she could never be worthy of if she continued down this path with Charlie. He didn’t deserve this and she needed to find a way to stop everything that had begun.

  Meredith Mathews didn’t plan for a liar to make those dishes for her husband. She intended for an honest, selfless woman to continue taking care of her Charlie Bear.

  Lucy was not that person.

  She looked between Linda and Dylan. She was even deceiving them; she was misleading all the people in the Mathews’ world who thought she was the one who could heal Charlie’s broken heart. It was almost too much to bear.

  “Uh, you know what?” she began, tears threatening her eyes. “I have to get back to the café and finish up a few things.”