Dating, Dining, and Desperation (A Dear Daphne Novel)

by Carlson, Melody

  “But I know you must be brokenhearted.”

  “Que sera, sera,” Daphne said lightly. “If it’s not meant to be, there’s no use crying over it. Right? You’re the one who’s always saying there are lots of available bachelors in town—more fish in the sea.”

  “Obviously you’re not suffering any shortage of them,” Olivia teased. “I must admit that Mick’s friend is just as good looking as Mick. Maybe even more so. Do you think you’re interested in him, Daph? He sure seemed to have his eye on you.”

  “Oh . . . I don’t know.”

  “Is he really a good guy? I mean I hear that some Aussie men can be pretty chauvinistic. Hopefully he’s not one of those. Mick doesn’t seem to be. And what about all that beer swilling?”

  “Beer swilling?”

  Olivia laughed. “Well, I’ve heard that Aussie men are really into their beer.”

  “I haven’t noticed that about Mick. And I don’t really know Collin well enough to say. But he seemed nice and polite. If he doesn’t go back to Australia next week, maybe I’ll get to know him better.”

  “He’s leaving?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Well, we won’t give up, Daphne. The right man for you is out there. A part of me is still holding out for Ricardo.” She let out a sigh. “That would be almost like having you as part of our family.”

  “And Ricardo is definitely a great guy. I really do like him—a lot. But that server of his—Kellie—she seems to be marking her territory. I’m not sure I’d want to cross her.” Daphne told Olivia about how Kellie treated Sabrina and her earlier this week. “It’s like she took our order and just disappeared. She never even brought our drinks. It was weird.”

  “Someone should tell Ricardo.”

  “We gently let him know. He did what he could to amend things.”

  “He should just fire her. That girl is nothing but trouble.”

  They talked awhile longer and it felt good to catch up, but Daphne didn’t appreciate Olivia’s subtle putdowns in regards to Sabrina. Daphne wasn’t sure if Olivia was jealous of the friendship or just plain didn’t like Sabrina. And to be fair, Sabrina was an acquired taste. But Olivia should at least give her a chance.

  “I hope you can get to know her better,” Daphne finally said. “There’s a lot more to her than meets the eye.”

  “Well, I am glad she’s helped you in getting over Jake. I still can’t believe he’s gotten back together with Gwen. That just seems nuts. Are you absolutely sure about this?”

  “Mattie Stone told me the whole story.”

  “Oh . . . well, Mattie should know. She and Jenna are practically joined at the hip. How come Mattie didn’t go on vacation with them?”

  Daphne told her about marching band.

  “Yes, summer is fading fast. And that just makes me feel even more anxious for you, Daphne. You really need at least six months to plan for a proper wedding. That means you need to be engaged by early December—no later.” She paused. “And that only gives you less than four months to reel in a guy.”

  “Reel in a guy?” Daphne teased. “Such a lovely image.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I know. But when I said que sera, sera, I meant it. What will be will be.”

  “Meaning you don’t want to stay here in Appleton? Or live in that house? Or drive that car?”

  Daphne forced a laugh. “Seriously, Olivia, I think you’re more worried about all this than I am.”

  “Sorry.” Olivia released a loud exhale. “I think I must’ve had too much caffeine today. For some reason I feel really worked up about this. I worry about you.”

  “Well, that’s sweet. But for your sake, take some deep breaths . . . step back. And instead of worrying, shoot up a quick prayer. That would be more helpful to both of us.”

  “You’re probably right. Just tell me the truth before I let you go. You’re really not brokenhearted over Jake, are you?”

  “The truth is, I was a little broken . . . okay?”

  “Okay. At least that’s believable. It’s encouraging that you’re not in complete denial. And I suppose it makes sense that you’d be gallivanting around town acting all happy and silly in order to get over him. Jake’s a pretty cool guy, Daphne. I could’ve imagined you guys together for the long haul.”

  Daphne let out a slow sigh. “Yeah. But really, I’ve put him behind me now. I want you to do the same. Time to move on. Okay?”

  They talked some more, but Daphne was relieved when they finally said good-bye. Olivia meant well, but as Daphne hung up the receiver, a wave of sadness washed over her. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t quite over Jake yet. But she would get there. With God’s help—and perhaps with Sabrina’s distractions too—she would get past this.

  Chapter 8

  I got to thinking about you and your lawyer friend last night,” Sabrina said the next morning as she and Daphne sipped coffee on Daphne’s front porch.

  “Oh?” Daphne frowned. Why was everyone so obsessed with Jake McPheeters right now? Furthermore, how was Daphne supposed to get over him if her friends kept bringing him up?

  “Didn’t you mention that he was your aunt’s attorney?”

  “Uh-huh.” Daphne focused on her coffee, swirling it around in the mug.

  “Then he obviously knows the conditions of her will, doesn’t he?”

  “He drafted it for her.”

  “So perhaps he realizes it’s unethical to be involved with you.”

  “Unethical?” Daphne said slowly.

  “Because he knows you’ll inherit if you get married. And as far as I understand, no one else knows this, right?”

  “Well, Olivia knows. She figured it out too.” Daphne took a sip of coffee, wishing for a different conversation topic.

  “Right. But I can understand why you want to keep quiet about it. You wouldn’t want to get a bunch of lowlife loser-types hoping to marry into money. Right?”

  She nodded. “But what does this have to do with Jake?”

  “Perhaps he felt guilty for having the inside track. Maybe he felt he was taking unfair advantage of your situation. Marrying you for money.”

  “Oh no.” Daphne waved her hand. “We even talked about that. We were both very clear on it. That isn’t the problem, Sabrina. I’m sure of it.”

  “So you really think he’s getting back together with his ex?”

  “That’s what it looks like to me.” Daphne forced a smile.

  “Well, since Jake sounds like a good guy, I think that’s nice.” She leaned back in the chair. “You don’t often hear of couples retying the knot. It’s kinda sweet.”

  “Yes . . . so let’s put the whole thing to rest, okay? I’m tired of rehashing it. And I told Olivia the same thing last night. Jake is with Gwen right now, and I’m sure it’s for the best. Onward and upward.” Daphne held up her coffee mug for a toast.

  Sabrina clinked her coffee mug against it. “That’s right. Onward and upward. Hey, I was just reading this week’s newspaper. Did you know that next weekend is Founder’s Day?”

  “I saw the article but haven’t read it yet.” Daphne took a sip of coffee. “I haven’t been to a Founder’s Day celebration in years. But as a kid I loved it. Mostly for the carnival rides and cotton candy. It’ll be fun to see how it’s evolved over the years.”

  “Sounds like they’ll have a lot of interesting activities. The mile-long antique sale is on Saturday. I’m dying to go to that. And there’s a barbecue and dance on Saturday night. I wonder if Mick and Collin would like to be our escorts.”

  That did sound fun, but Daphne had no desire to call the guys up and ask them out. She might be a modern woman in some ways, but not when it came to asking out a man. That’s where she leaned toward old-fashioned. Very old-fashioned.

  “So are you open to that?” Sabrina as
ked.

  “What?”

  “Going to the barbecue with Mick and Collin?”

  “Well . . . sure . . . but they haven’t exactly asked.”

  Sabrina set her empty coffee cup on the table with a wink. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. Sabrina will work out those details.”

  “But I hope you don’t—”

  “Like I said, honey, I’ll take care of it.” She stood, smoothing the front of her pale yellow capri pants. “Just you plan on being available, ya hear?”

  “You got it.” Daphne agreed. It was pointless not to.

  “I got the impression you are into Collin.”

  “He seemed nice enough.” Daphne studied Sabrina. “Were you more interested in Mick?”

  “I must admit that my first impression of him—that morning when he showed up in your lovely garden—oh my, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather.”

  “Really?”

  “You know what I thought when I looked into his eyes—those ocean-blue eyes—I thought this man is everything that Edward was not.”

  “You knew him that well that quickly?”

  “I have very good instincts.” She giggled. “Well, sometimes I do. Not with Edward. Although my instincts had probably been warning me about Edward. I just wasn’t listening.”

  Daphne nodded and took a slow sip of coffee.

  “But when I met Mick . . . well, I just felt myself getting swept away.” She looked intently at Daphne. “Do you know that most people know if they’re in love within the first three minutes of meeting a person?”

  “I’ve heard something like that before.”

  “That’s exactly how I felt about Mick. I knew. It didn’t even take three minutes.”

  Daphne nodded again, biting her tongue as a variety of concerns flashed through her mind. Was Sabrina serious? And if so, was this a rebound romance for her? And what about Julianne Preston? Should Daphne warn Sabrina about the beautiful landscape artist who worked for Mick? Daphne liked Julianne and appreciated her design skills, but the young woman was a force to be reckoned with. But even as Daphne considered these possible obstacles, she wondered why trouble Sabrina?

  After all, Sabrina was a grown woman, perfectly capable of thinking for herself. Besides that, Mick and Julianne were not an official couple. Sure, they did things together sometimes and it seemed that Julianne wanted to be with Mick. But it also seemed that Mick wasn’t moving too fast in her direction. Daphne’s theory was that Mick was still playing the field. He had the kind of good looks that drew lots of female attention. He probably felt confident that there were still plenty of sheilas to choose from. Including Sabrina. And Daphne hadn’t missed him carefully checking out her new neighbor. He was Johnny-on-the-spot when Sabrina put out the call for yard assistance. And if Sabrina and Mick were meant for each other, why would Daphne want to stand between them? It’s not like she wanted to pursue Mick . . . did she?

  On Sunday, Sabrina went to church with Daphne and afterward, Daphne took her up to meet Pastor Andrew, explaining how they were neighbors.

  “And Daphne has been so good to me.” Sabrina winked at the pastor. “She really understands the meaning of love thy neighbor.”

  He smiled at Daphne. “That’s very nice to hear.”

  “Sabrina only moved here last week,” Daphne told him. “From Georgia.”

  “I thought I heard a Southern drawl,” Pastor Andrew said to Sabrina. “Anyway, welcome to Appleton. And welcome to our little church. I hope you’ll come again.”

  “I just might take you up on that. It’s very different from what I’m used to back home. But I really like it. You have an interesting way with words, Pastor Andrew.”

  “Thank you . . . I think.”

  “Oh, I meant that as a compliment.”

  “I told Sabrina about your singles group too,” Daphne said. “I thought she might like to try it out.”

  “Yes, please consider coming. We’re always happy to see a new face.”

  “Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  As they walked out to the parking lot, Daphne told Sabrina a bit about Pastor Andrew. “I have great respect for him. He’s really genuine and transparent. The first time I heard him speak was at the singles group. He talked about his own life and how he’d had his heart broken a few times. But it was his words about how we need to trust God with being single that really helped me. He’s really come to terms with it. I’m not as far along that road as he is, but I’m trying.”

  “Do you mean to say that Pastor Andrew is single?”

  “That’s right.” Daphne got into the car. “And he’s not looking for a mate. He’s trusting God.” She shook her head as she started the car. “I wish I had that much faith. Sometimes I do.”

  “Have you ever considered Pastor Andrew as husband material?”

  Daphne laughed.

  “Well, a girl could do worse,” Sabrina said. “He’s nice looking in a pastoral sort of way.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “You know . . . quiet . . . reserved.”

  “He reminds me a little of Ralph Fiennes.”

  “Yes! I can see that.” Sabrina giggled.

  “But no, I’m not thinking of him as husband material. I prefer to think of him as pastor material.”

  “Maybe so, but you could keep him on the backup list.”

  “Backup list?”

  “Well, you know . . . May will come rolling along and you’ll want a backup list. Just in case.”

  Daphne sighed. Between Sabrina and Olivia, she shouldn’t be too worried about finding Mr. Right. On the other hand, maybe she should be more worried.

  “My house is really coming together,” Sabrina told her as they got out of the car. “I think I’ll be ready for company in a few days.”

  “That’s great.”

  “So what are you doing today?” Sabrina asked as they stood in the driveway. “Any big plans?”

  “My dad and his girlfriend are coming for lunch.”

  “Ooh, that sounds fun. Something with family.” Sabrina smiled but her eyes looked sad. “I won’t keep you. I better check on Tootsie.”

  Sabrina was already across the street when Daphne called out to her. “Hey, do you want to join us?”

  “You mean have lunch with you and your family?” she called back hopefully.

  “Sure. It’s at one. Want to come?”

  “I’d love to! And I’ll bring something. What can I bring? I don’t mind running to the store either.”

  “I’m just grilling chicken,” Daphne said. “And fixing a green salad.”

  “How about if I pick up some dessert?”

  Daphne nodded. “That’d be great. I hadn’t planned anything, but my dad will be thrilled.” As she went into the house, she wasn’t sure that inviting Sabrina was such a good idea. Usually lunch with her dad was their special time. But since he’d insisted on bringing his girlfriend today . . . well, maybe it didn’t matter. It wasn’t that Daphne didn’t like Karen. Mostly she was just unsure as to Karen’s intentions. At first she’d assumed that Karen was only pursuing Dad for her own real estate gain. But after the purchase of his condo unit and the sale of his house, Karen was still sticking around. So maybe Daphne was wrong about her. Still, she’d never crashed one of their lunches before.

  Sabrina showed up at a quarter to one. “I hope you don’t mind I came early. I thought maybe you could use help.”

  “Sure, that’d be nice.”

  Sabrina held up the pink box. “Boston cream pie.”

  “Oh my goodness. Dad loves that!”

  “And I left Tootsie at home,” Sabrina said as they went into the kitchen. “I thought you might appreciate that.”

  “Thank you. A little dog underfoot can be troublesome . . . especially with olde
r people.”

  “Is your daddy elderly?”

  “Not exactly. I mean he’s seventy-two, but he’s a young seventy-two.”

  “And his girlfriend?”

  “Karen’s pushing sixty. But she keeps herself up pretty well. She could pass for fifty.”

  “That’s so cute.” Sabrina set the pink bakery box on the counter. “Your daddy having a girlfriend.”

  Daphne frowned as she returned to chopping a cucumber. “I guess . . .”

  “You don’t like his girlfriend?”

  “Maybe I just don’t know her well enough.” Daphne pointed to a colander of loose-leaf lettuce and spinach. “Would you mind rinsing that for me?”

  “Not at all.”

  As they worked together, Daphne told Sabrina about how her mom died when Daphne was young. “It was like I forced myself to grow up—probably too soon—and I tried to handle the housekeeping and cooking.” She sighed. “In fact, it was only here—at Aunt Dee’s house—that I felt like I got to be a child.”

  “Your aunt sounds like she was a wonderful lady.”

  Daphne scraped the cucumber slices into a bowl. She hadn’t confided the true status of Aunt Dee to Sabrina yet. But since it was no longer a secret, she would go ahead and tell the story. At least that part of the story.

  “So your Aunt Dee was really your grandmother.” Sabrina just shook her head. “Very interesting.”

  “Which explains why she left everything to me.”

  “You mean if you secure a husband by May,” Sabrina reminded.

  “Yeah.”

  “Does your dad know about that part of the will?”

  “No. And that’s exactly how I want to keep it. My dad was already playing matchmaker with me when I first came here. He needs no extra encouragement.”

  “Really? Did he have some good prospects?”

  “Just Ricardo. Dad loves Ricardo.”

  “Hmm . . . maybe Daddy knows best.”

  Daphne pointed out the kitchen window, where a yellow convertible Mustang was pulling in front of the house. “That’s them now. Let’s change the subject, okay?”

  “You got it, honey.”