The Big One (Second Chance Romantic Comedy)

by Katherine Hastings

  “Let me guess. Mackinac Island Fudge and a specially requested blue jelly bean in the bottom?”

  He smiled and licked a bit of ice cream off his lip. “Well done.”

  “What can I say, I’m a pro. Once a Wilson’s girl, always a Wilson’s girl.”

  We bumped shoulders and sauntered outside. The sunshine beat down on my ice cream and I hurried to catch the drips before they made it down to my hand. I followed him across the street to the docks. They looked so different in the light today. They looked exactly like I remembered from that summer, and I could almost see his silhouette jogging toward me like it had the first time I’d laid eyes on him.

  “Do you recognize it?” he asked, jarring me from my memory.

  “Recognize what? The docks? Of course.”

  His eyes sparkled with mirth. “No. The boat.” He pointed to the sailboat tethered to the dock behind him.

  My eyes widened as I followed the lines of the sleek sailboat and saw the familiar red sail. “No. Way. It’s not. Is it? It can’t be.”

  “Yep. That’s the same one.”

  The boat I’d lost my virginity on bobbed just beside me. Ten years later and she looked exactly the same. “Holy shit. I can’t believe it’s still here!” I stepped toward it. “They took really good care of it!”

  “Are you ready?”

  “For what?” I turned back toward him and the dimples in his cheeks deepened with his smile.

  “We’re taking it for the day.”

  My mouth fell open and I almost dropped the last bit of my cone, and the jelly bean tucked away at the bottom rolled out. Liam launched forward and caught it with his hand. “Don’t drop the jelly bean! That’s your favorite part!” He popped it into my gaping mouth and pushed my jaw closed.

  I bit down on it and chewed, glad there was something to keep my mouth occupied while I struggled for words.

  “I saw it last night when we were here. So, I made a few calls, and it turns out the same guy still owns it. I called him up and he remembered me and said I was welcome to take it out. So, what do you say?”

  I swallowed my jelly bean and glanced over his shoulder at it again. If his eyes were Love Medusa’s, then that boat was my kryptonite. Staying mad at him would be difficult on the very boat I’d been on when I gave him my heart all those years ago. The same heart I’d forgotten to get back.

  “Well?” he asked again. I looked back at him and his eyes softened, the excitement replaced with worry.

  “Okay,” I breathed and nodded my head.

  His face lit up like the sun and his grin stretched across his face. “Really? You’ll sail with me?”

  “Yes.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he reached for my hand. When his skin touched mine, that familiar spark radiated through me, and it felt like coming home. I held his eyes while he guided me onto the boat and the moment my feet touched the floor, memories of being in his arms under the stars crashed through me, and I knew I was losing the battle. I shouldn’t forgive him. He’d lied to me. He’d hurt me. But when he landed at my side and I saw those same eyes I’d been lost in that night, even more walls started tumbling down.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Liam

  She’d been unusually quiet most of the day while I sailed her to Fish Creek and out past the little surrounding islands. I could feel her eyes on me each time I turned away, but when I looked back, they would dart away, and she’d stare out at the incredible Door County scenery. She was acting like she’d turn to stone if she looked directly at me. Being this close to her and not holding her in my arms felt like some kind of barbaric medieval torture.

  After sailing back over to our old haunt at Nicolet Bay, I guided the boat along the bluffs and followed the shoreline past Ephraim and over to the Sister Bay Marina.

  “What are we doing in Sister Bay?” she asked while I finished securing the lines to the cleat on the dock.

  “Step three in the hangover remedy.” I offered her my hand and saw the hesitation before she took it. Baby steps, I reminded myself, glad she had taken it at all. After helping her onto the dock, she dropped my hand, and I felt like she’d kicked me directly in the gut. Not that I didn’t deserve it, God knows I did, but it didn’t make the physical rejection any more bearable having her so close and yet feeling miles apart. I wasn’t normally a liar, my mother had raised me better than that, but enduring the deep freeze secured the decision I would never ever lie to her again. That was if I could get her to forgive me for this first transgression.

  I should have told her. I almost did a hundred times over those three days, but each time the words were on my lips I choked on them, worried that it would send her running. Not only did I not want to bring my current drama into our little bubble of happiness, but for a few days I wanted to pretend that I hadn’t made the biggest mistake and was still married to another woman. A woman who wasn’t the love of my life. A woman who wasn’t Ellie.

  I’d seen Ellie’s face at the altar when I’d realized my colossal mistake. I’d had to force my leaden legs to walk toward Sophia. With my head spinning and my heart aching, I’d convinced myself that not getting married because I still loved a girl I hadn’t seen since I was eighteen was crazy. In a haze of sadness and regret, I’d repeated the words ‘I do’ and hoped that with them, the ghosts of the past would stop haunting me. I’d been wrong. After the wedding I’d only pined away for Ellie even more, and each time I did, a guilty pang would pluck at my gut that I’d married another in a moment of loneliness and weakness.

  “The goats!” She pointed as we walked along the boardwalk toward town. Hearing her speak without my prompting startled me, and I followed her finger up to the top of the sod roof on Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant. Sure enough, the goats were still there and grazed along the rooftop. I’d seen them several times that summer I spent here, but the sight of goats on a roof still made me smile.

  “That one’s Snowball,” she said, pointing to the shaggy white one.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I follow them on Facebook,” she admitted. “She’s my favorite and I’m feeling a little like it’s a celebrity sighting right now.”

  “Want to go ask for her autograph? Think she could hold a pen in her hooves?” I teased, and she giggled.

  “Shut up. She’s adorable and I love her.”

  Do you still love me? I had to bite my tongue from asking. It was too soon. Spending time with her right now felt like trying to coax a wild animal out from its den, and at any moment I expected her to fly at me with claws and teeth. Nita had showed me her impressive set this morning, and I knew Ellie had one to match.

  “Here. This is it. Stabbur Beer Garden. It was a new addition years after you and I left,” I said when we reached the grassy space next to Al Johnson’s. “I’m told this is the best spot for Bloody Mary’s... step three in the hangover remedy process.”

  The unique-looking carved wooden building towered over the green space and looked like something that belonged in Europe, or in a hobbit village. When I’d been to Good Eggs this morning, I’d asked where to find good bloodies and they’d all agreed that this was the place.

  “God that sounds good,” she said, leading the way down the path to the open-air bar. We found two bar stools and climbed on up, and her arm bumped mine while she settled in. Her eyes shot to it and she jerked it away like my skin was made of lava. Another agonizing squeeze constricted my heart.

  “Hey! It’s Whitesnake!” The bald bartender came striding up to her wearing a warm grin.

  “Whitesnake?” she asked, and I could see she was as confused as me.

  “Or do you prefer Gloria?”

  “What? Oh! Karaoke!” She burst out laughing.

  “Hell, yeah! I was there last night. You crushed it, sister!” He mimicked holding a microphone and started belting out Here I Go Again On My Own.

  Her face flushed red and the nervous giggles poured out of her. “Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed!”r />
  He stopped singing and raised a hand. “Seriously. Crushed it. High five!”

  She paused for a moment before giving in and slapping his hand. When I’d walked into Husby’s following the #fuckliam crumb trail last night, she was already on stage. Seeing her up there singing her heart out had made me love her more, but then realizing she was singing about being alone again broke my heart. I’d been the one to make her feel that way.

  “What are you having?” he asked us.

  “I hear you have the best hangover cures in town,” I said.

  “Two of Bob’s best Bloody Mary’s coming right up! These will undo all the damage you did last night.”

  “Ugh, Jägermeister,” she groaned.

  “I see you met Eddie?” He chuckled, and she joined him.

  “He tried to kill me.”

  “With love,” Bob cooed and clutched his heart. “Some people show love with food, others with gifts, Eddie... Jägermeister.”

  She laughed, and Bob started off to make our drinks.

  “I got to the party late, so I’m in good shape today,” I said to her, hoping to get her to look at me again.

  “Lucky,” she responded, but her eyes stayed fixed on Bob while he poured vodka over the ice. “You missed out on all the Jäger. Fucking, Eddie.”

  “So we’re blaming Eddie? Did he dump them down your throat against your will?” I teased.

  “Actually, Eddie was just trying to help me forget you, so in reality I guess I should blame you.”

  Her eyes moved to mine, and I saw the dagger emerge and waited for it to shoot out at me.

  “I’m really sorry, Ellie.” I slid my hand onto her forearm, but she pulled it away.

  “Here you go!” Bob slammed the large glasses on the wood bar and her eyes widened at the sight of them. Beef sticks and cheese stuck out of the top, joining a skewer of olives and a pickle. “You’ll be right as rain by the time you get to the bottom, and then we’re moving on to Malmo Mules.”

  “Malmo Mules?” she asked before she pulled her drink to her lips and took a sip.

  “Yep. House specialty.”

  “If it’s as good as this, I’m in,” she said after setting it back down.

  “I’ll start you a tab, Whitesnake,” Bob said before moving down to the next customer who’d just arrived.

  Her eyes stayed fixed on her Bloody Mary, and I could feel the anger pulsing off her. I’d managed to nick the wound with my joke, and it seemed I’d ripped it back open.

  “Ellie,” I started, but she wouldn’t look at me. “I know I screwed up so bad. I mean, so so bad, but you have to forgive me.”

  “I don’t have to do anything,” she said, whirling to let loose the dagger this time. The anger in her eyes bordered on hatred and I felt it rip apart my soul.

  “That’s not what I meant. I just meant I can barely breathe knowing I hurt you. That my lies hurt you. I wanted to tell you every day, but I was an idiot and every time I opened my mouth I chickened out, thinking it would be better to wait until after the court ruled. I should have told you the moment I saw you and I am so sorry I didn’t. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. A lot.” I blew out a breath. “But I’ve always said I didn’t regret those mistakes, because they made me who I am. The only two things I still truly regret are not waiting to be fully healed before going back to play soccer and getting on that plane without you ten years ago. Now I have a third regret to add to that list. I should have told you.”

  “You should have. I wouldn’t have run.”

  “I know that now... I do.” Reaching out, I grabbed her hand and held it until she gave up her struggle. “I didn’t know that then, but I should have told you anyway. It’s just that I didn’t want to lose you again. I can’t bear the thought of not spending my life at your side.”

  Lines formed on her face when her glare softened. “I want to believe you, Liam, I do. I’m just so confused and angry, and I’m still not convinced there isn’t a homeless woman waiting in a house you rented ready to pretend to be your mother.”

  I tried not to laugh, but the way her mind worked was one of my favorite things about her.

  “It’s not funny! It could be true!” she argued, but a smile broke through her stern expression.

  “I’ll let you DNA test me and my mother if you ever come back to meet her. You can take the samples yourself so you can be sure it’s her.”

  “I will,” she warned. “If I do decide to forgive you, and I’m not saying I will, I’ll know if it’s a homeless actress.”

  “My mother will welcome the test if it means you’ll be in my life again. She’s heard about you for ten years and she was elated that we’d found each other again. She never cared for Sophia and thought fate had finally brought me the happiness I deserved. And then I blew it.” I shook my head.

  She didn’t try to comfort me like she normally would, and it stung that she didn’t argue my point.

  “Speaking of fate. I know now what I want to do with my life.”

  “Oh, yeah? What’s that?” The fact she was speaking to me was a big step in the right direction.

  “When I was in Old Naples, right before I saw you with your wife.” She paused and shot me with a well-placed dagger. “I saw a woman marching a line of children around, teaching them English words. We talked, and I told her I’d been a High School teacher but that they ruined teaching for me. She told me I should teach small children, and she even offered to teach me Italian and make me an English teacher at her school once I was fluent enough.”

  “You had a job lined up in Naples?” My eyes widened, and even though I didn’t know it was possible, my regret deepened. We’d been so close to having it all and then my lie had exploded our happy bubble.

  “Yep. She gave me her card and I was going to take Italian lessons. Then, I’d turn around and teach English to the children. It felt like the perfect fit for me, and for the first time in years I knew what I wanted to do, and I was overjoyed with excitement. Then I saw you with your wife a minute later.”

  Ouch. She slammed another dagger into me.

  “But,” she went on, “I’m still going to pursue teaching children, even here in the US. It won’t be teaching English to Italian children, but I’ll find the right job with the little ones. At least, unlike teenagers, they’re too young to swear at me, tear apart my self-esteem, and spend every waking minute trying to figure out how to destroy me.”

  I hated hearing her plans for a life in the US without me, but I understood. “I can’t believe that happened to you in Italy. Fate brought you there, and I’m so excited that you’re excited again. You deserve to have everything, Ellie. I just want you to be happy.”

  “I just want to be happy, too. And I was. I was so happy, Liam. For about one whole minute I had everything. I had you. I had a new career possibility. I had a new love for making a home in Italy. And then you ripped it all away.”

  The words smashed into me and I dropped my gaze to the bar.

  “But I’ll find happiness again. And I’m going to start with teaching.”

  “Am I part of that happiness?” I looked up, now wishing I could shove the words back in my mouth. It was too soon.

  “I don’t know.” She sighed and finished her Bloody Mary. Bob noticed and started mixing a drink in a copper mug right away. “I really don’t know, Liam. I want to believe you. I want to trust you. But I don’t know that I can again. It’s kind of a thing with me. I’m a fool me once shame on you, and then that’s it. There is no fool me twice. Not anymore. I’ve done that before and guess what? I always got fooled again and ended up with regrets.”

  “I love you, Ellie. And even if you don’t forgive me now, I’m going to keep begging for it until the day I die. I swear it. And even after I die, I will crawl back out of my grave like a love-sick zombie, probably starting the zombie apocalypse you’re so prepared for, and still grovel at your feet until you forgive me. I will prove it to you that you can trust me, and that I w
ill never ever lie to you again. Not about anything. If you cook me food and I don’t like it? Guess what, I won’t spare your feelings. I’ll tell you it tastes like shit. If you ask what I think of your shoes and I don’t like them, I won’t pretend I do. I’ll tell you straight up that they’re hideous.”

  “My shoes are hideous?” She looked down at the sandals strapped to her feet.

  “No.” I laughed and squeezed her hand. “I’m just saying that if, and it’s a big if, you’ll give me another chance, I won’t utter one breath that isn’t true for the rest of our lives. And that includes omissions. You’ll be sick to death of hearing me spill out needless facts just in case you find them relevant.”

  Bob appeared and placed the copper mug in front of her. “A Malmo Mule. This will finish erasing all of Eddie’s love.”

  “Thanks, Bob!” she said with a smile and he left us again. The hot afternoon sun beat down on us, and I waited for her response.

  “I’m trying, Liam. I’m trying to forgive you. I want to.”

  “Then do it. Please.” Rubbing my fingers across her hand, I caught the soft look in her eyes.

  “I’m working on it.”

  “That’s all I can ask for. And more than I deserve.”

  We continued sipping on drinks all afternoon and Bob cut through the tension between us when he continued appearing and spitting out random jokes. Hearing Ellie’s laugh again set my heart at ease, and I could feel the anger sloughing off her.

  “I’d better stop before I get drunk again. The last thing I need is another hangover or letting my guard down around you.” She arched an eyebrow. “Drunk Ellie makes poor decisions.”

  “Drunk Ellie is the one who messaged me, the one who jumped on a plane to see me, and the one who kissed me last night. Maybe we do need a few more drinks.” I grinned.

  “See what I mean? Bad decisions.”

  The words stung a bit, but I could feel the playful tone behind them. “Bob, can we close out?” I called, and he nodded. When he returned with my tab, I tipped him well for keeping us entertained and helping to chip away at Ellie’s well-placed anger.