The car speeds past, not even slowing for a second.
“Gee, thanks!” I call after it, sinking back against my car door.
I guess there’s nothing left to do but wait.
After a half hour out by the side of the road, I’ve seen ten cars, two trucks, and a couple of Harleys zooming past, but none of them so much as gave me a second look before leaving me in the dust. So much for small town hospitality. It’s getting even later, and the mosquitos are flying thick. I’m starting to wonder if my aunts got my message. For all I know, they could be in bed fast asleep by now, or – more likely – too wrapped up in their art projects to notice their phones buzzing on the table. And didn’t I hear Rae saying she didn’t want cell phones in the house anymore, on account of their negative energies? I groan. At this rate, I’ll have to walk all the way back to make it home before dawn.
Finally, just as I’m about ready to grab my purse and start hiking, I see another set of headlights, coming from the direction of Pelican Key Cove.
“Over here!” I try waving again, as – glory be! – the vehicle slows down and eases off the main road to park in front of my car. It’s Jimmy’s tow truck, muddy and weathered, but to me, it’s like a golden chariot come to save me from death by mosquito bite.
“Thank God you’re here!” I exclaim, hurrying up to the front of the truck. “I wasn’t sure they got my message, and—”
I stop as Jimmy climbs down from the cab. Except it’s not balding, overweight Jimmy in front of me: it’s Luke.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, dumbfounded.
He grins. “Now, that’s no way to speak to your night in shining armor. So, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?”
Chapter Twelve
Never mind shining armor, this knight is looking pretty fine in worn out jeans and a casual shirt. For a moment, it feels like my conversation with Jules has conjured him up out of thin air. Then Luke explains. “I was having a drink at the bar when your aunts called Jimmy. He’d had a couple too many, so I volunteered to come get you.”
“Thanks,” I stammer, still thrown. “I’m sorry you had to come out of your way.”
He shrugs. “It’s not far. Where were you coming from? Partying with your Hollywood folks down in Key West?”
I snort. “Not so much. Marcie has everyone on an early-morning call time. I was out scoping bakers for our wedding cake.”
“Oh, you must have dropped by Jules’s place, then,” Luke says as he walks over to my car.
“Yes.” I’m thrown. “You know about her shop?”
“Sure,” he says. “It’s a small world. I see her around sometimes. We all pretty much kept in touch after high school.”
Everyone except me.
“Anyway, she’s going to join the madness and bake a cake for the wedding,” I babble, feeling nervous. “We got talking, and I didn’t notice how late it got.”
“You girls could always gab,” he remarks, rueful. “I must have spent hours waiting around for you two to get finished up your gossip.”
“Why is it that when guys sit around talking it’s having a real conversation, but whenever women get together it’s just gossip?”
Luke grins. “Because we men talk of worldly things.”
“Sure, like football scores and beer,” I shoot back.
“We don’t talk about beer, we drink it,” he corrects me. “But do you want to stand around arguing your point, or should I go ahead and see what’s got you stranded out here?”
“Right.” I flush, standing aside. “Thank you.”
“Well, it looks like your engine’s blown a gasket,” Luke says, after he yanks up the hood and shines a flashlight around. “I’m betting Jimmy’s got a replacement back at the shop, but the best I can do for now is a tow.”
“That would be great. I really appreciate it.”
Luke nods, and sets about hooking up the car to the back of the tow truck. I grab my stuff from the front seat and go climb into the cab.
Luke swings up and slams the door behind him. He starts the engine, and a golden oldies station starts playing loud.
“Since when did you turn into your dad?” I ask, laughing, before I realize what I’ve said. I want to throw myself out of the slowly moving vehicle, but Luke just grins.
“Hey, these are classics. And it was tuned this way when I got in.”
“Sure it was,” I tease, relieved. “Grandpa.”
We drive the dark highway back towards Pelican Key Cove. Luke seems relaxed beside me, occasionally humming along to the radio, but I can’t relax. After my reunion with Jules, the past is weighing heavy on my mind.
All those years, I focused so much on my own pain that I didn’t realize the damage I left behind. My heart was broken, sure, but I wasn’t the only one.
“I’m sorry.” I say again out of nowhere. “For leaving like that. You didn’t deserve it, nobody did.”
Luke’s jaw tenses. “I told you—”
“I know, it’s behind us now and you don’t want to think about it. I understand, but I need to try and explain.” I know I sound crazy, just unloading all my emotions out of nowhere, but I feel that guilt and regret twisting in my gut. I know that if I don’t tell him now, I might never find the courage.
My voice gets choked up as I finally admit. “It wasn’t because I didn’t love you. I left because I loved you too much.”
There’s silence.
“You had a funny way of showing it,” Luke says, his voice rasping with emotion.
“I know, and there isn’t a day goes by I don’t regret it,” I promise. “But I wasn’t ready. For the future you wanted, for any of it. You were so sure of everything. All you wanted in the world was to get married and go work with your dad’s crew. But every time I tried to imagine that future, I felt trapped. Not by you,” I add quickly, “But by everything. I wanted so much out there, to travel, to figure out who I really was. I knew you were going to propose that summer after high school, and there was a part of me that wanted to just say ‘yes’ so bad.”
“So why didn’t you?” Luke asks quietly. “You could have gone away to college, we could have figured moving someplace else. It was only you I wanted, none of the rest mattered.”
His words cut through me, right to the core.
“I wasn’t ready. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it’s true. I knew we would screw it up somehow. You know it wasn’t perfect,” I remind him. “We fought like crazy sometimes. Nobody could make me madder. Sometimes I’d get so angry I wanted to throw stuff.”
“And you did,” he says, with a wry note.
“But didn’t that tell you something?” I plead. “We couldn’t have made a real future like that, don’t you see?”
Luke exhales slowly. His eyes are still fixed on the road, knuckles white with tension as he grips the wheel.
“I know,” he says at last. “I knew you couldn’t stay here. I even went after you, thought about trying to make it work in New York—”
“You did?” I gape at him, shocked. “I never knew!”
He turns then, glancing at me. His eyes are dark in the shadows. “I made it as far as the New Jersey turnpike before turning around and driving right back down. You wanted a fresh start, the life you’d always dreamed about. I wasn’t going to take that away from you, not just to keep you for myself.”
My heart aches at the tenderness in his voice. Even after everything I did, he still wanted the best for me. Just like I knew it would be easier for him if I just stayed gone. No painful phone calls in the middle of the night, no tearful partings at airports and by the curb. Long distance would have been a slow death for our relationship. Better just to sever the bond straight out than see our love wither away and die.
I think about telling him the real truth, the one thing even Jules doesn’t know. But just as I’m opening my mouth, the tow truck comes to a stop. I realize we’re already at my aunts’ place.
Suddenl
y, the front door flies open and Rae and Bettina come flying out in their nightclothes and robes.
“Oh my God, you found her. Thank you, Lord!” Rae cries.
“We were worried sick. I was just about ready to call the sheriff out,” Bettina frets. “I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere.”
“I’m fine!” I quickly climb down and hug them both. “I’m sorry you worried, but look, I’m in one piece. Not murdered by a serial killer at all!”
“Thank you, Luke,” Rae says, turning to him. “I knew you’d take care of our girl.”
“My pleasure,” Luke says, and his eyes meet mine for a moment. I think I see some affection there, a glimpse of the old connection between us, but it’s dark, and he turns away so soon. “I’ll go drop your car at Jimmy’s shop now. Have a good night, you guys.”
I want to call him back, try and finish the conversation we just started, but it’s already too late. My aunts hustle me through the door, and he drives away into the dark.
Inside, I want to catch my breath. My head is still spinning from our talk, but my aunts don’t give me a chance. They fuss around me in the kitchen, making some herbal tea and quizzing me about the night.
“It was just some engine trouble!” I protest. “I stood around on the side of the road, and then Luke arrived to pick me up. It’s not exactly a big adventure.”
Bettina looks over. “He’s driving you home an awful lot. It’s just like old times.” She pauses. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“First of all, twice isn’t an awful lot,” I point out, feeling tense. “And it’s not like we planned it. He was just helping out. Would you prefer I was still stuck out there, flagging down a potential serial killer?”
“No, sweetheart, of course we’re glad you’re safe.” Rae hugs me again.
But Bettina is still studying me. “I know you left a lot of things unfinished when you left,” she says slowly. “And those feelings never had a real chance to resolve. But honey, be careful. Please. You need closure, not to start something that’s only going to hurt the both of you all over again.”
“I’m not going to hurt anyone!” My voice is loud and defensive. And even though I know Bettina’s just trying to help, somehow it only makes my confusion worse.
Rae speaks up. “We’re just looking out for you. We want you to be happy; you know that. But that boy, he’s been through a lot.”
“And you’re not kids anymore,” Bettina finishes.
I feel an unfamiliar anger, all my emotions whirling in a storm I don’t like one bit. “Exactly. I’m an adult, and I can take care of myself. Maybe if you’d both stay out of my business, I’d have a chance to figure this out.”
I whirl around and head for my bedroom. It’s only when I slam the door behind me and flop down on my bed that I realize I’ve just proven their point. I’m acting like a teenager having a temper tantrum, but why?
That talk with Luke has thrown me off-balance. Knowing he came to New York to get me back – and turned around because he didn’t want to hold me back – has made everything come rushing back to me.
I loved him too much to stay, and he loved me enough to let me go.
What a pair we turned out to be.
There’s a gentle tap on the door. “Yes?” I sit up, feeling guilty. Rae pokes her head in.
“Is it safe?” Bettina’s voice calls from the hall.
I smile. “Come in.”
They file into the room and come sit on the bed, one on either side. Bettina puts her arm around me. “This takes me back,” she sighs.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” I say. “I guess being back here, seeing him, it’s affecting me way more than I thought.”
“It’s only natural.” Rae squeezes my shoulder.
“But still, you’re right. Spending this time with him brings back all my old feelings. Except they don’t feel like history,” I admit. “Everything’s getting tangled up in my mind.”
Bettina is silent. I look over and give her a nudge. “What?”
“Have you thought about telling him the truth?”
I tense. “You promised.”
“I know we said we wouldn’t talk about it. But I hate seeing you like this, sweetheart.” She looks worried. “Maybe this is the one thing that’s still holding you back. You know deep down there’s still a conversation the two of you need to have.”
“Betts.” Rae looks distressed. “It’s OK, honey.” She comforts me. “You don’t have to. Just get some sleep, and everything will feel better in the morning. Come on.” She kisses my forehead and practically yanks Bettina from the room.
But I can’t stop thinking about what Betts said. Is this what I need to do to really move on? And, worse still, do I really want to? I’ve been focused for ten years on putting Luke behind. But now that I have the chance to once and for all, suddenly I’m not sure it’s the right thing. Questions whirl in my mind – our past, my future – over and over, until I finally fall asleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Rae is right; things do feel better in the morning. I don’t have any answers for the weird situation I’m in right now with Luke, but at least I have a million things to distract myself with. Like getting ready for this wedding—until I walk in to town to meet Theo for breakfast, and run straight into Luke coming out of the café.
“Whoops, sorry.” I back up, blushing like he can tell I spent half the night restlessly remembering the feel of his lips on mine.
“No problem.” Luke holds the door for me. “I stopped by the shop. Jimmy says the gasket will only take a day. You should have that old beast back on the road in no time.”
“She’s not a beast!” I protest.
He chuckles. “Tell that to the guy doing open surgery on her insides. Your aunts calm down?”
“Eventually. Thanks for getting me back safely,” I say, awkward.
“Of course,” he says simply, like it’s nothing in the world for him to come pick up his ex-girlfriend in the middle of the night and then deal with her emotional outbursts on the drive home.
I pause, wanting the moment to last, but Luke gives me a nod. “I better get back. We’re juggling two new constructions right now, plus the mansion project.”
“Sure. Sorry.” I stand aside for him to pass. “Thanks again.”
I step into the café, still looking over my shoulder.
“About time.” Theo’s voice pulls me back. He’s sitting at a corner table, stacked high with fabric samples and centerpieces. “Enough flirting with the locals, we’ve got work to do!”
Theo’s right – not about the flirting part, but the work. In addition to our big event here in Pelican Key Cove, there are still some clients to handle back in New York. I skype in, reassuring them that my team has everything handled, and their big days will go off without a hitch. I spend the morning going over plans for a gorgeous park wedding and a country club affair upstate, chatting with the clients, and making sure everything’s still on schedule even with me out of the state.
It’s weird to be sitting here in Eddie’s pie shop with plastic pelicans adorning the walls, and meanwhile be planning black tie events a few hundred miles away. New York is such a fast paced world, everyone powering along building their own little empires. I didn’t remember just what a bubble this town can feel like. Once you get into the laid back pace of life by the ocean, the rest of the world seems to melt away. It’s hard to remember that the real world is still out there. But it is, I remind myself. This is just a short detour from my regular life. As soon as Pixie and Clyde make it down the aisle to ‘I do’, I’ll be heading back to the city and everything I left behind.
Not that there isn’t enough here in town to keep me busy. I try my best to focus on pulling off wedding impossible, but it’s like the universe decided to play a cruel trick on me. No matter where I go, or what I do, Luke Porter is right in front of me. Chatting with Wes in the town square as I head to meet the others; grabbing a burger at the beac
h when we’re doing some late-night filming. He’s working at the mansion when I go to take measurements for the furniture, and he’s even at the farmer’s market when I go to find flower samples. There’s no escaping him.
Is this that karma Rae was warning me about?
What’s even worse than seeing him around, just out of reach, is the fact that half the time Marcie is buzzing around, flirting and smiling, and just about doing everything except laying down on the grass and calling, ‘take me now!’
OK, maybe I’m exaggerating just a little, but it’s still tough to see her all over him when I still haven’t figured out if my feelings are nostalgia or something more. Never mind trying to think what he’s feeling too – if anything at all.
Friday morning, Marcie calls me as soon as the sun’s up. “Change of plan,” she tells me, when I ask about my session with Pixie and Clyde to out flowers for the decorations. “We’re over at the high school today.”
“For what?”
“Clyde’s going to teach the marching band one of his songs to serenade Pixie.”
“I shouldn’t have asked,” I laugh.
“See if you can come by. I want to double check the guest list, make sure we’ve got enough celebrities and industry people at the right table.”
“And the couple’s family and friends,” I remind her gently.
“If there’s room.”
I head over to meet them. It’s a trip pulling into the old parking lot and remembering the years I spent here as a teen. The same squat concrete buildings, the same peeling blue lockers lining the walls. Class is in session, and the hallways are empty as I make my way through the complex. I pause by the big trophy wall, searching for familiar faces in the photographs on the wall. There’s Wes and Luke, on our winning football team, and even Jules and I from that one misguided time we thought it would be fun to try for cheerleading. In a school district as small as this one, they took anyone they got, so we lasted a whole semester contorting ourselves into kicks and jumps before finally admitting the fact we preferred to cheer from the bleachers – with sodas and snacks, not pom-poms.
Beach Wedding Page 10
