by Ginny Baird
“You were out a long time.”
“There was a lot to catch up on.”
“And did you? Catch up?”
“She’s just like I remembered.” He shouldn’t be disappointed in that, but he was. They hadn’t worked before for a reason, and he’d really hoped there’d have been some growth on both of their parts. He’d been counting on it, actually.
They said nothing for a while as his headlights painted white trails against the darkened road. After a pause, he said, “I’m going to tell her. About the whole fake engagement thing. The paparazzi mix-up. All of it.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “It’s probably time.”
“Maybe I should have told her tonight, but I didn’t want all the drama. Not after such a nice day.”
“Who said that there’d be drama?”
He shrugged. “It’s Olivia.”
“Well, if you really want a future with her, then you’ll have to accept that, because in my experience, drama doesn’t go away,” Meredith said. “So, tomorrow, let her know why I’m really here. That will help clear the air between the two of you, so you can move forward. Olivia’s probably worried about our relationship. She doesn’t understand what’s going on between us. Once she does, things will get better.” She paused. “Hopefully.”
“Sally said something to me in the kitchen.” He didn’t know why he was telling Meredith this but he felt like he ought to. After all, she was his matchmaker and on his side. “Something about Olivia.”
“She still doesn’t like her, does she?”
“I don’t believe she dislikes Olivia. It’s more like she doesn’t think she’s the right person for me.”
“Why’s that?”
“She said Olivia doesn’t appreciate me.” He laughed like that was absurd, but deep inside he wondered whether Sally was right. What did Olivia say they had in common? Passion? Spark? Had that really been all there was?
“Um. I’m not sure what you want me to say?”
“I want you to convince me that I’m doing the right thing.”
She was silent a moment. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
He glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
“Only you can convince you, Derrick. That’s what real love’s about. You either feel it in here”—she thumped her chest—“or you don’t. It’s really that simple.”
Nothing about his current situation seemed simple. Least of all, with Olivia. He’d believed there was a chance they could reignite their old flame, and based on today’s events, he stood a chance. But ever since Meredith had come to Blue Hill, his life had turned on a dime. It felt wrong pursuing Olivia when all he could think about was a brassy matchmaker from Boston. And yet it was on account of Meredith that Olivia was here, and them getting back together would benefit Meredith just as much as it’d benefit him.
This is so messed up.
“Maybe it’s too soon for love,” he said, thinking that might be it. It felt like he was trying to force his feelings.
“Maybe so.”
“Is that how it was for you?” he asked. “With Mr. Football?”
She appeared startled a moment before answering. “Oh! You mean Jack?”
“Yeah, the guy with the jersey. Did you feel it in”—he patted his chest—“here?”
She glanced away and when she turned back, her eyes were moist. “Yeah, I did.”
“Oh wow, Mer. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“The real problem was”—she drew in a shaky breath—“he didn’t return my feelings.”
Derrick kicked himself for broaching this topic now. He should have guessed that mentioning her ex might upset her. He pulled over to the side of the road and put his SUV in park. This conversation demanded his full attention and his compassion, and he was prepared to deliver both.
She sniffed. “You don’t have to pull over.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “We have time.” They were on a darkened stretch of road with a stone bridge up ahead and the low-rolling waves of Blue Hill Bay sloshing below them. The tide had turned and was ebbing out to sea, receding with a steady rhythm.
He viewed her tenderly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.” He wanted to hold her. But he couldn’t. They didn’t have that kind of relationship. A lump welled in his throat when he found himself wishing they did.
She took a tissue from her purse and dabbed her eyes. “It’s okay, really.”
“So,” he pressed gently. “If this guy was such a dirtbag, why still wear his jersey?”
“He wasn’t a dirtbag at first.” She sighed. “Not really at the end, either. He just wasn’t into me in that way.”
“In which way?”
She avoided his gaze. “The long-term way.”
Derrick swallowed hard. She was talking marriage. “I see.”
“And the jersey?” she said. “It was a gift in the beginning, when things were good. You know—hopeful.” She lifted a shoulder. “I guess I wear the jersey because of that more than anything else. It’s less about Jack and more about how he made me feel at the start. Special.”
His voice was husky when he said, “You are special, Mer.”
She smiled sadly and he wished he could take those painful memories away. “Thanks, Der.”
“How long ago did you break up?”
“It’s been more than two years.”
“So there was no one last summer?”
She turned to him in the pale light. The moon was high on the water, casting shadows across her face. “You mean, did I have a boyfriend then?”
He was dying to know. “Did you?”
“No.” She blushed. “If I’d had one, I never would have—”
She stopped and bit her lip. Was she recalling the same moment he was? That moment on the dock. She ran a hand through her hair and seemed to collect herself. “What I mean is, I wouldn’t have been nearly as flirty with you.”
He was bowled over by her remark. “Wait. You were being flirty?”
Her eyebrows arched at him. “Weren’t you?”
His neck burned hot. She was right. Only he’d never admitted that to himself. “I…” He hesitated and shook his head. “I guess I didn’t look at it that way at the time.”
“Didn’t you?”
He turned to her and that low-burning flame flickered in her eyes. His heart thudded as he accepted this new truth. Maybe she was right. Maybe that’s what all that tension and heat had been about at Brent’s wedding. They’d been flirting with each other, while desperately fighting their mutual attraction, although neither one had fully recognized that at the time.
“Mer,” he said hoarsely. “I’m sorry. Sorry if I messed things up back then.”
She laughed sadly. “Both of us messed them up in that case.”
He imagined the two of them on that dock but with a different outcome. Him taking her in his arms and pouring everything he’d been feeling into a kiss. Maybe things wouldn’t have ended badly. Maybe they could have stood a chance, but not now.
Not with Olivia here and this new plan of action in force.
She was probably thinking the same thing. “What’s important is we’ve moved past that.”
“Yeah. Good thing, huh?” he said, shooting her a wistful look.
“Good thing for Olivia.” She smiled wanly. “That’s who you were thinking about that night, not me, remember?”
Actually, no. After seeing Brent’s happiness, he’d been wallowing in a bit of self-pity about his own failed marriage, but once Meredith had come down the steps carrying that bouquet of hers his thoughts had taken a different course. He’d begun thinking of her in a new way. A romantically interested way. Maybe he’d been drifting toward Meredith that whole wedding week without consciously knowing it.
Meredith inhaled deeply, then brightened.
“And hey, look! Things are going great now, and you’re definitely on track for winning Olivia back.”
He frowned. “Yeah.”
She studied him. “Once you get through the hurdle of your confession tomorrow,” she said, “things will improve. You’ll see. The guilt of not being honest is probably holding you back, and she’ll feel that.”
“You’re probably right.” His shoulders sagged at this hollow victory. There was a chance he and Olivia could be a couple by Julia’s christening day. That was what he’d thought he’d wanted, and what he’d allowed himself to consider as a possibility since Meredith showed up with a pot roast and a plan. But what if he’d been wrong? “Ready to head home now?”
Home. It sounded so right saying that to Meredith. Not that her home was going to be with him anytime soon, or anytime at all.
Still, his mind took a little side trip, wondering what that would be like.
Maybe cozy. Maybe warm. Maybe they’d laugh and watch silly shows and sunsets together. He might even have to build her tons more shoe racks.
“Sure.”
He eased them back onto the shadowy road, then made an effort to lighten the mood. “Man,” he said. “I am baby diapered out.”
She grinned at that. “You were terrific.”
“Thanks,” he said, as they drove along.
“I mean it, Derrick.” She giggled. “One of a kind with that baby buffing action.”
“I’ve had a lot of experience with buffing,” he said, attempting to return her banter, but somehow it didn’t seem as lighthearted as before, because now his heart felt heavy.
He needed to buck up and look at the bright side. By this time on Wednesday, there was a good chance that both he and Meredith would have achieved their goals. It was nice to have someone pulling for him and to be able to pull for her in return.
Had he and Olivia ever been supportive of each other?
That’s not the bright side.
Her lip twisted wryly. “Let’s hope you don’t use that on your real kids someday.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t.” Her skeptical expression was enough to break through his mental turmoil and jar a laugh out of him. “Hey, I did a very careful job with Julia and she came out just fine.”
“Mmm-hmm.” She grinned. “The party was fun. I had a really great time with your family.”
“They loved having you around,” he said and he meant it.
“How do you know?”
“I could tell.” After a beat, he added, “Plus, Sally said so.”
“Aww. I love Sally. She’s her own woman.”
“Yeah, she sure is.”
“She’s not seeing anyone?”
“She’d never tell any of us if she was. She’s endured far too much ribbing from the family, and more than enough intrusiveness from Grandmother.”
“Well, I hope she finds the right one,” Meredith said. An idea seemed to occur to her. “If not, maybe I can help her?”
“Oh, no you don’t.” He chuckled. “One matchmaking venture with the Albrights is probably plenty.”
She smiled and sank back in her seat. “You’re probably right about that.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Meredith texted Beth the next morning as soon as she made her coffee, and Beth said to check her email. Derrick wasn’t around, so she figured he’d gone out to his workshop to spruce up that cradle. He was giving it to William and Sofia today.
She and Derrick hadn’t talked a whole lot after returning from his grandparents’ last night. They’d said their good nights pretty quickly and retreated to watch television in their respective rooms. As she flipped past House Hunters, she’d given a wistful sigh. That had been a fun night. Knowing it wouldn’t happen again…hurt.
It was hard to think about their conversation without feeling sad about it. When he’d said that thing about maybe having messed things up between them last summer, her heart had thumped so hard. Still, she’d given him the opportunity to say his heart wasn’t in it in trying to win back Olivia, but he hadn’t.
So it was full-steam ahead with that reconciliation plan. Meredith knew it was her duty to support them. Derrick in particular. She’s the one who’d suggested he try to reconcile with Olivia in the first place. If she’d never arrived in Blue Hill with her proposal, she doubted Derrick would have tried to reconnect with Olivia on his own. In fact, the more she watched what was happening between him and Olivia unfold, and especially Derrick’s body language and what he’d chosen to share since the moment Olivia arrived, she suspected reconnecting with her hadn’t actually ever been in his plans.
At least she’d received encouraging news from Beth. Her email revealed that Jerry’s meeting with the streaming exec had happened. No word yet on how things had gone, but Beth had sounded hopeful. There was still no decision on the syndication deal, either. Though Beth had been encouraging regarding that, too, assuring her that the buzz around the studio was good.
Rumors were spreading that Matched Up was destined for bigger things, a larger promotional budget, too. Word was advertisements on billboards and city buses. Boston’s hometown girl was making good, even if she hailed from Miami.
“Good morning,” Derrick said, walking in the door. He had his coffee tumbler with him and was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans.
“Oh, hey!” She shut her laptop and picked up her coffee. “You were up early.”
“Out in my workshop,” he said. “Finishing things up.”
He set his tumbler down on the counter, his eyes sparkling. “Want to see?”
Meredith glanced down at her football jersey. “Sure! Let me put on some—”
Derrick motioned her back into her seat. “Wait right here.”
He stepped outside and returned with the cradle, its wood taking on a maroon hue. Meredith slid aside her laptop as he set the cradle down beside the coffee table in the living area. The mattress portion of it stood about waist-high and the spaces between the smooth slats on either side were narrow. The headboard and footboard were exquisitely tapered and its supporting legs and rockers looked sturdy.
“What do you think?”
It was gorgeous with a mattress pad tucked inside, along with a sealed package of fitted sheets to match. They were decorated with cute cartoon ducks, resembling the toys little kids play with in bathtubs.
“Oh, Derrick.” She glanced up for permission to touch it. He nodded and she stroked her fingers along the buttery smooth surface of one of its rails. “It’s beautiful. But the mattress? Where did you get it?”
“Custom ordered from a shop that makes them.”
Meredith giggled at the ducky pattern, trying to imagine him picking that out. “The ducks are so sweet!”
He grinned proudly. “Yeah, I thought so, too.”
Meredith gripped one of its sides and attempted to rock it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Wait,” he said. “Let me release the lock.” He tugged at a lever underneath then said, “Now, give it a try.”
She did and it gently swayed from side to side. “Aww.” Meredith bit her lip, overcome with emotion. “It’s awesome.”
“You think they’ll like it?”
“Are you kidding me?” She playfully pushed his arm. “They’ll love it.”
“There’s one little thing. I haven’t figured out how to wrap it.” His eyes met hers and she flushed. “Will you help me?”
“I’d love to.”
He headed to his room. Meredith took the opportunity to quickly dress in jeans and a blue short-sleeved top.
She sure hoped Sally was wrong about Olivia not appreciating his talents. Because Derrick Albright was one amazing guy.
…
Derrick hauled a huge roll of extra-wide, heavy-duty wrapping paper out of his bedroom. It was light pink with white st
orks on it carrying baby bundles. Some were swaddled in pink and others in blue.
“Okay, now that is cute,” Meredith said about the wrapping paper. “Where did you get it?”
“From a favorite artist who sells it on Etsy.”
He was an artist himself, so it shouldn’t surprise her that he’d have thought to check Etsy, but it did. Had Olivia ever appreciated his thoughtfulness? Did she even know?
She surveyed his handsome features, loving this side of Derrick. The side that did thoughtful things for others and went to the trouble to order baby-themed wrapping paper for a cradle he’d built.
“I’m afraid we’ll need to use packing tape,” he said, producing a couple of clear rolls from the built-in desk’s drawer in the kitchen. “The heavy-duty stuff.”
Derrick approached her with the wrapping supplies and stared down at her feet. “Um. I’m not so sure those shoes are the greatest for working.”
Meredith laughed. “We’re wrapping a gift, Der, not running a marathon.”
“Yeah. I saw how well you did racing around in your heels yesterday.”
“That is so not fair. I wasn’t expecting those kind of games.”
“Neither was I,” he said, laughing at the memory. He walked to the front door and lifted an oblong package off a bookshelf by the door. He used the top of the bookshelf like an entrance table, keeping his keys there, but the shelves were loaded with paperbacks.
“What do you like to read?” she asked, seeing that many of the books looked worn and dog-eared.
“Detective stuff mostly. Police procedurals.”
“Whodunits?”
“Yeah, but not the cozy kind. Something more grisly.”
Meredith grimaced. “I preferred the lighter stuff.”
“Such as?”
“Podcasts.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Who has time to read, Der?” She shrugged and he laughed. “Except for maybe scripts.”
“I would have pegged you for glamor-type magazines, maybe the online ones. With all those fancy clothes and high-heeled shoes.”
She chuckled at this. “Okay, I might peek at those occasionally—for inspiration.”
