If she’d doubted before that she still had feelings for him, the relief she felt at hearing that would have told her for certain that she did.
“No one I went out with was ever what I wanted.” His hands slid up her arms, her shoulders, her neck, and settled on either side of her face. “No one was ever you.”
She closed her eyes, unsure if the tears she felt building up were happiness or confusion or fear.
“I know your dad walked out on you,” he went on. “Every man your mom has ever been involved with has left too.” His thumbs rubbed gently along her jaw. “I have a feeling what you were afraid of was that I would eventually do the same thing. I thought, while we were together, that you knew that wasn’t me, that you got that about us. Obviously I need to be more blunt.”
She felt him lightly kiss her forehead. His lips trailed past her temple to her ear.
“No one will ever be you, Maddi,” he whispered. “I haven’t moved on after two years, even though you walked out on me.”
She rested her hands against his chest. She wanted so badly to believe him, but he was promising her the moon. She could not pin all her hopes on impossible dreams.
“You cut off everything between us, but my heart couldn’t move on. There was no one who fit there like you do, no one who fit me like you do.”
His arms wrapped around her, but his face stayed close to hers, his words whispered directly into her ear.
“There has been no one for me but you ever since the day you sat next to me in high-school biology. I didn’t get up the nerve to ask you out until college, and only after going through agony, fearing you’d pick a school in another state, and I’d never see you again.” He kissed her temple again, his arms firmly around her. “I’m not perfect. We’ve had our disagreements, even a fight or two. But we were good together. We always have been.”
“I know.” Somehow she found the voice to say what she was thinking. “But believing in a miracle only makes the disappointment worse when it doesn’t happen.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “Then trust me. Look back on all we’ve been through together. Listen to what I’m saying now. All of those things are reasons to believe that this is real. You have to trust me that much.”
“That’s a lot.” Trusting someone with her heart was enormous when she knew how fragile an organ it really was.
“I know,” he said, repeating her earlier words. “I’m only asking you to trust me enough to try.”
She opened her eyes and looked into his, so close to hers. “Sometimes a person is too broken to fix.”
“You don’t need to be fixed. You just need to be loved.”
He shifted the tiniest bit, and their lips touched. It was a tentative moment, neither of them giving over to the sensation of being together again.
His scent. His touch. His kiss. Her heart pounded and turned. She couldn’t help but steal a moment of that to keep for later.
Her hands slipped about his middle, and she returned his kiss with none of her earlier hesitation. His fingers threaded through her hair, cradling her head and pulling her to him until nothing remained between them but the air they breathed.
Madison poured two years of loneliness and regret and fear into that desperate moment, knowing she couldn’t stay, knowing she didn’t have the strength to put herself so entirely on the line. He would break her heart, and she would never recover.
The first tear trickled from her eyes, running down her face before rolling onto his. She wiped at it with her thumb as she pulled back.
“I can’t do this.” Her voice broke. Her heart cracked a little more.
“I know.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “I know.”
She stepped back, moving toward the door.
“Maddi?”
She looked back over her shoulder.
He gave her a tiny, tender, painful smile. “When you’re ready, come back to me.”
Chapter Eight
Madison had spent so much time during her first day back at work talking about APRs and refinances and small-business loans that she was tired of the sound of her own voice. Foot traffic slowed down in the branch midafternoon. Madison leaned back in her chair as Beth stepped inside her cubicle and dropped into the seat across from her desk.
“Cancún was amazing.” Beth sighed long and dramatic. “You should have come.”
“I’m sure it was great. But it was nice being back home too.”
“So how was your mom’s boyfriend? Total loser again?”
Madison realized with a jolt that she hadn’t thought about Grant McGee much since leaving Folsom Lake. Apparently she really wasn’t worried about him. Or she was too distracted. “He seems like a really nice guy, actually. And I haven’t seen Mom so happy in a really long time.”
You were happy with Derek. Mom’s voice spoke in her thoughts, all the things she’d said about liking Grant because he was so much like his nephew.
Beth was talking about pristine beaches and snorkeling in crystal-blue water. Exactly the things that originally pulled Madison to the idea of Cancún. She should have been writhing with jealousy, or at least hanging on every descriptive word.
Instead, her thoughts were full of hair touched by hints of gold, hazel eyes full of laughter, Chang’s spring rolls. She tried to shake it off and focus. Derek did that to her so easily. He was such a deeply entrenched part of her that she never could completely get him out of her system.
“The second night we were there,” Beth continued. “We met these guys. They were hot. I don’t mean hot like they knew it, kind of hot. They were nice-guy hot. Nice guys. And hot. At the same time. I mean, when does that happen?”
A hot, nice guy. If she’d gone to Mexico with her friends, she would have met these mystery men. But they would have turned out like every other guy she’d met in the last two years. She’d be intrigued at first, then vaguely disappointed.
No one I went out with was ever what I wanted. Derek had said that, but she could have said it herself and meant it completely.
No one was ever you. He’d said that too.
“We were all saying that we should go again next year. Or at least go somewhere next year.” Beth shifted forward, leaning a little against the edge of Madison’s desk. “But you have to come. You can’t miss out again.”
“I didn’t really miss out.” She was surprised to find she meant it. “I had a good time in Folsom Lake. I really did.”
Spying in a movie. Junior Mints and popcorn. Sitting in Derek’s car. She did have fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so content, so easily happy.
“Wait.” Beth looked more than a little suspicious. “He was there, wasn’t he? Not just there—you saw him.”
Madison let herself smile a little. “We spent a lot of time together. It was... nice.”
“You got back with the old boyfriend? Madison. How could you go all day without telling me this?”
She had Beth’s complete attention now. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” Beth held her hands out, like the enormity of this was obvious. “You’ve been talking about Derek McGee for a year. And you always look all heartbroken and lonely. What happened? Did things get going between you two again?”
“No.” She shrugged at that. “Maybe a little, but not really.”
“Madison.” Beth sounded like Mom always had when she was in trouble.
“It didn’t work in the end, okay? It never does.”
Beth slouched again. “You gave it an entire week. That’ll tell you a lot.”
“I gave it years the first time, Beth. He is the same person. I’m the same person. It’ll just turn out the same way it did before.”
Beth’s eyes narrowed. “Is he seeing someone?” Madison reluctantly shook her head.
“Has he been serious with anyone since you dumped him two years ago?”
Dumped wasn’t the word she would have used. “He hasn’t.”
Beth
didn’t let up on the interrogation. “Did he seem interested again? Interested still?”
She thought back on that farewell kiss, on all the times in the last week he’d held her hand or put his arm around her. He’d even said he still loved her. “Yeah, he is definitely still interested.”
Beth’s eyes widened far beyond normal. “Then why are you here? You have a hunky guy who is still so into you that he hasn’t dated anyone for years, even though you dumped him. And don’t tell me you don’t still have feelings for him. I’m not stupid.”
Madison propped her elbows on the table and leaned her head into her upturned hands. “I can’t do it again, Beth. What happens when it falls apart? I’ll be right back where I was before. I don’t want that.”
Beth came around her desk and gave her a friendly hug. “Your mom’s taking a chance, and she’s had far more relationship failures than you have. She found a good guy, but so have you. Go take the chance.”
“I don’t know.”
“Missing Cancún is one kind of regret,” Beth said. “But missing a chance to be with the person you have always loved who feels exactly the same way? That’s a completely different thing. That’s a regret most people couldn’t live with.”
Chapter Nine
Derek could only take so much of the conversation over dinner with Teresa and Uncle Grant. He’d hoped a night with someone else for company, anyone but himself, would take his mind off the month that had passed since Maddi left. Spring was giving way to summer. Life was going on, but his heart wasn’t in it.
He’d honestly thought she would come back. He’d sat facing his door all night when she’d first left. He’d set the table for two every night for a week. He still did a double-take whenever a green car drove past.
He knew he needed a distraction, but Maddi’s mom was the wrong choice. She would laugh, and he would hear her daughter. She would smile, and he would see Maddi.
They talked about everything from the unusually mild weather to the latest Hollywood scandal to the bank getting a new manager to music they’d listened to as teenagers. Derek spent the dinner hour picking at his food and trying to think of an excuse to leave.
In the end he didn’t have to. Uncle Grant gave him an understanding look and motioned to the front door with his head. Teresa nodded, her motherly expression coming a little too close to pity.
He thanked her for the meal and took the escape they offered. A drive around town didn’t help. Sitting for an hour at Folsom Lake was even worse. He finally settled on a takeout order of spring rolls from Chang’s. There had to be a game on. He didn’t care what sport or what team. He just needed something to do other than think about what a jerk Fate was sometimes.
Derek turned in at his complex’s parking lot. He parked in his space and sat in his car. He slouched in the seat, eyeing the steering wheel.
“This is ridiculous, and I know,” he told his steering wheel. “I wasn’t this bad when she left the first time.” The steering wheel was no help. “I don’t know why Maddi does this all the time.”
Everything always came back to her. He shook his head. I’m so lame. He grabbed his takeout then pushed open his door. Two steps from his car, he stopped.
A beat-up green Altima sat parked under a streetlight right by his apartment. Now I’m seeing things. Hallucination or not, he stepped closer. He didn’t see anyone sitting inside. It had to be Maddi. But he didn’t dare let himself believe it. If it was her car, where was she? There was no one standing by his door. The parking lot was empty. “It has to be her.”
If she wasn’t in the parking lot... He looked toward his apartment door. She knew where he kept the spare key. She used to let herself in all the time.
Maddi’s back. His keys fumbled around in his hand before he managed to get the right one in the lock and open his apartment door.
“Maddi?” She has to be here. “Maddi?”
He pushed the door shut behind him with his foot. His heart missed the next beat. There she was, standing in his living room, looking unsure of herself.
He tossed his carton of egg rolls on the coffee table as he rushed toward her. His arms were around her in an instant. He kept repeating her name, unable to think of anything else to say. She was back. He didn’t know why or for how long. But she was there, and for the moment, that was enough.
He pulled back enough to look at her. “Are you here for another vacation?”
The answer had better be no.
She shook her head. “I got a new job.”
He could tell he was grinning like an idiot, but he didn’t care. “A job in Folsom Lake?”
“I’m the new bank manager at the branch here.”
He’d never felt so much like pumping his fist in the air. “Your mom didn’t say anything.”
“She doesn’t know yet. I wanted to tell you first.”
“Why me?” He watched her closely, looking for the answer in her eyes.
“You’re the one who told me to come back.”
“I told you to come back when you were ready.”
She wrapped her arms around him, leaning against him.
It was all he needed. He held her close, rubbing her back and taking in the citrusy smell that always filled her hair. “You came back to me.”
“I can’t promise not to freak out sometimes,” she said from inside his embrace. “And I’ll probably be paranoid and worried and seriously messed up. But I’ll try.”
“I just want you here, with me, for better or worse, through the ups and downs. It’s all I’ve wanted for two years, Maddi. Longer than that, really. I wanted it even before you left.”
She looked up at him, an aura of hope in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. “You are the only one who’s ever been worth the risk, Derek. The only one.”
In moments like that, there’s really not much to be said. He kissed her, long and deep, with all the passion he’d held back a month earlier. She held tightly to him, as if determined not to let him get away from her. He wasn’t going anywhere. Not ever.
He took in the scent of her, the feel of her back in his arms and in his life for good. This was home to him. His Maddi was back, the one who got away, his lost love, his one and only. This time, he would never let her go.
About Sarah M. Eden
Sarah M. Eden read her first Jane Austen novel in elementary school and has been addicted to historical romance ever since. An avid researcher, she loves delving deep into the details of history. She was a Whitney Award Finalist for her novels Seeking Persephone (2008) and Courting Miss Lancaster (2010). Visit her website at www.sarahmeden.com
Twitter: @SarahMEden
Facebook: Sarah M. Eden
Other Works by Sarah M. Eden
Seeking Persephone
http://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Persephone-ebook/dp/B005JU5SQM/
Courting Miss Lancaster
http://www.amazon.com/Courting-Miss-Lancaster-ebook/dp/B005EOCET2/
The Kiss of a Stranger
http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Stranger-ebook/dp/B004HD6E42/
Friends and Foes
http://www.amazon.com/Friends-and-Foes-ebook/dp/B006UKH7KU/
An Unlikely Match
http://www.amazon.com/An-Unlikely-Match-ebook/dp/B009M84FL6/
Drops of Gold
http://www.amazon.com/Drops-of-Gold-ebook/dp/B00AYNQCSM/
Picture Perfect
An Aliso Creek novella
by Heather B. Moore
Chapter One
“I can’t go,” Arie said, the pout in her voice carrying through the phone. “If I lose this client, I’ll lose my promotion.”
Gemma exhaled with frustration. Arie was the second one to cancel for the weekend. Granted, her excuse was solid, but Gemma had gone through a lot to get three days off for their annual spring vacation. She stared out her condo window at the scenery that never seemed to change—green trees, blue skies—San Diego’s temperatures fluctuated only about twenty degrees throughout the year. “Je
ss isn’t coming, and now you aren’t. What about Liz and Drew?”
“Liz is still going, but I don’t know about Drew,” Arie said. “I haven’t talked to him much this year. He didn’t come last time; I wonder if that means something.”
Gemma talked to Drew quite a bit—well, about once a month. A text or quick phone call. They’d managed to stay in touch over the years since high school. All of them had stayed in touch—the “Five.” Other friends had come and gone—heck, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends—they’d all been a part of the group at one time or another. But currently, it was back to the original Five for this weekend. Or it was supposed to be.
Gemma could hardly believe it had been twelve years since they’d graduated from Aliso Creek High, which, of course, reminded her that she’d just turned thirty. She was the last of the group to hit that milestone—which made her the baby of the Five.
Arie was saying something else about work, and Gemma forced herself to tune back in. She already felt the despondency hit. First, turning thirty... next, her boyfriend, Randy, had been weird lately, but that was probably the funky phase that all relationships went through... then everyone was cancelling on the spring vacation plans. She’d been looking forward to the trip more than she’d realized.
“So sorry, Gem,” Arie said. “We’ll do lunch later this month.”
“Okay,” Gemma said. “Love you.” When she hung up, Gemma texted Drew and Liz separately.
R u still planning on this weekend?
Liz texted back immediately. Yep, can’t wait! What time will u be there?
Leaving @ 9 am Friday. Should be there 11 @ the latest, Gemma wrote.
Sounds good. I’ll be there @ 12.
Gemma tossed the phone on the couch and went to her bedroom to start packing. It looked like it would just be the three of them, assuming Drew was coming. She slowed as she passed the hallway mirror. She’d hardly changed a thing about her appearance since high school. Throughout college, she’d sported the same straight brown hair. The only evidence of the passing years was fluctuating weight and an inch here or there on the length of her hair.
A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology) Page 17
