“Me, too, sweet girl. But I’m far more interested in getting to know you, Marissa. Tell me a bit about yourself.”
An hour later, they’d covered politics, families, where they lived, and their favorite foods. And they’d split an ice-cream sundae.
“I love these sundaes,” she said. “They remind me of high school and hanging out with old friends. Nice memories.”
They were good memories. Mike and Todd’s home life had been a little stressful, but they had been lucky to live in a town where they were known and to have a circle of good friends. They also knew that even if their latest stepfather wasn’t a prince, there would be food on the table, a warm bed, and electricity. Lucy hadn’t been so lucky.
“My high school memories were just as good.”
“Did you always want to be a journalist?”
“I guess so. I was interested in what made people tick and how the world played out as a result of people’s choices. Journalism made sense. It’s a good way to observe.”
“You never wanted to get involved and change things? Just observe?”
He’d never thought of it like that exactly. “I believe giving people an objective, unbiased account allows them to decide how they get involved . . . I’m a tool, if you will.”
“You’re a tool?” She licked some syrup seductively off her spoon. “I’m not sure that’s a very flattering description of you, Mike.”
He laughed. “Okay, a conduit.”
“Better.”
“Why did you become a librarian?”
“Obviously I love books, but mainly I loved the atmosphere in the town library when I visited. Everyone was welcome, and it was like a hub for people. You didn’t need money or status or anyone to come in and participate or read, you just walked in the door. I loved that sense of community and welcome. I knew some people growing up who often had nowhere else to go, who couldn’t access heat, or books for that matter, and they always knew the library was there for them, so that appealed to me.”
“I think you might be a big old softy, Marissa.”
“I totally am and I make no apologies for that. The world has enough hard-hearted people always after themselves. I want community, friendship, and happily ever afters all around.”
Mike sure hoped she would give him the chance to give her one. “Well, I think that’s very sweet.”
“So, Mike, do you have any particular hobbies?”
“If I say playing Minecraft with my brother, will you walk out?”
“No. It’s nice you’re close to your brother. I’ll have to meet him.”
“We’re identical twins, but I’m the sexy one.”
“Oh, right.” She laughed. “What’s that like, being a twin?”
“It’s normal to me. We’re like a team, I guess. When I was away at college, I felt like I was missing a limb, truthfully. I didn’t know how to function without him. It sounds weird and a bit creepy, but it’s true.”
“And now he lives in town, too?”
It was weird telling her all this stuff she already knew. He nodded.
She checked her watch. “Well, Mike, I’m very sorry to say that I have to get back to work. Libraries are busy places on snow days, as I said.”
“Can I call you?” he asked.
“I hope you do.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek before turning to leave.
Chloe came over to clear the table. “I’m not sure if that was sweet or creepy. Were you guys on a first date?”
“Yeah, I’m trying to win her over,” Mike answered,
“Ah, well, my advice from what I know of Marissa is two-fold.”
“Shoot.” He stood and put money on the table for his lunch while she talked.
“Don’t do it if you don’t mean it; she’s looking for authenticity. And be consistent. Marissa doesn’t want a day of big flashy moments; she wants a lifetime of meaningful ones.”
“No pressure then,” he said ruefully.
“None at all. And you do know if you hurt her again, you’re going to be in big trouble. A posse has already started forming and people are angling to be deputized.”
“Noted.”
Chapter 18
Marissa hoped that was the last of her belongings loaded into the moving van. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t come back and pick up any extra things from the house, she’d be out here checking on it regularly, but she wanted to feel like this was a clean break.
The house now looked the same as ever but just more sparse, and with most of the mementos and all of the photos gone, it seemed to lack soul. She hoped when she came back she wouldn’t have the same sad misty-eyed feeling she had now.
“Okay, guys, I think that’s it,” she said to the delivery guys.
“Great, so we’ll see you at the other end?”
“Yes, just locking up.”
Marissa took one last look at her childhood home before pulling the door closed. “Time to move on, Marissa. Time to move on.”
She allowed herself half the drive into town to be sad about the past and then focused on the fact that this was her new future. She was finally moving into town, into a new apartment that was just hers. This was a fresh start. A new beginning.
She pulled up in front of the jam factory and smiled. She was moving into a funky converted condo. It wasn’t New York, but it was the closest thing her town had to urban. She knew most of the other residents were young, and at least she’d have neighbors she didn’t have to drive to visit. She could walk to work or the diner. Yep, this was going to be fun.
The movers already had a few pieces unloaded and her new furniture was delivered earlier. By tonight, she’d be sleeping in her new bed in her new home on new sheets. New, new, new.
Her apartment was on the third floor, and while the boys loaded up the elevator, she bounded up the stairs to open the door and let them in. Leaning on the door frame with coffee, donuts, and flowers was Mike.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, yourself,” he said with a lazy smile. “I thought maybe you could use an extra pair of hands.”
“Oh, well, thanks.” She hadn’t seen him for a day or two, and she’d been so busy she hadn’t had time to obsess about him the way she might have usually. Sure, she had wondered if he would bother to pursue her when push came to shove, but she hadn’t been sure. “Come in and check out my new digs.”
She unlocked the door and they entered the living room. There was a galley kitchen along the left wall and large windows in front looked out across the river. Her bedroom, study, and bathroom were off to the left. So far there was no furniture except two sofas still wrapped in plastic in the main room and a bed in the bedroom.
“This is nice,” he said, placing his offerings down on the kitchen island. “Great light.”
“I know, that’s one of the things I liked about it, and the high ceilings mean even though it isn’t a huge space you don’t feel hemmed in.”
He strolled over to the window and looked out. “You can see the paper from here.”
“Yeah, well you can see pretty much the entire town.” It was true; it wasn’t a huge town to start with. “See, there’s the library, the high school, Main Street.”
“Great location. I’m really happy for you.” He turned and looked her squarely in the eye and gave her arm a rub.
“Yeah, thanks for the flowers.” His face was so close to hers and she was well aware that he was watching her mouth as she spoke.
She thought he might lean in for a kiss but then the delivery men appeared at the door and broke the reverie.
“Okay, honey, where do you want this?” one asked.
“Oh, this way,” she said, returning her attention to the workers and away from Mike.
Mike wasn’t sure how successful his wooing had been. First of all, he hadn’t been the only one who had showed up to help. It felt like half the town was there unpacking boxes and offering Marissa advice and congratulations on her new condo.
“I see she’s still
foolish enough to talk to you again,” Patty had said with a firm headshake when she’d seen him.
Jacob had just given him a hearty slap on the shoulder. “If it’s what you want, hang in there.”
Todd had come direct from California, bearing fruit for cocktails and a harsh glare for Mike. “What the hell are you doing anywhere near her?” he had growled.
“Helping.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s been helpful for you. Her, notsomuch!”
Still, every so often he would catch Marissa looking his way or she’d give him a warm smile that had him thinking she was glad he was here. And there had been that moment just before the movers had barged in when he was thinking of kissing her. There was chemistry but then there’d always been chemistry, what there hadn’t been was commitment.
So he did what he thought a good boyfriend would do and helped position furniture and unpack boxes and smiled his way through it. To be honest, he was enjoying himself. It was fun to be out in a bunch of people doing something that wasn’t for work and didn’t involve poker. Frank was right, he had let his world become too small.
Marissa came up to him. Her ponytail was now askew and she had a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead from exertion. She looked happy and exceedingly beautiful.
“Hey, I think I forgot to say thanks for the flowers. I was about to and then madness ensued,” she said, giving him a big smile.
“Good madness, though.”
“Excellent madness.” She grinned. “I was so sad to leave, but this seems like it is the beginning of something rather than the ending.”
“It is,” he said, and bravely gave her hand a squeeze, setting off a tingle of desire all through his body.
“Marissa, where does this lamp go?” someone asked and she was off.
It was after eight and Marissa, Todd, Chloe, and Mike were the last ones left having downed some pizzas at the end of the day.
“Thank you so much for all your help. I could not have done this without you.” She was leaning back in a new wing chair she had bought, looking adorable and exhausted.
“It’s been fun actually,” said Chloe. “It’s nice to see how it has all come together since this morning. I think you’ll love it here.”
“I hope so.”
“And you’re lucky, look you’ve only got furniture that means something to you. I’m over at Uncle Linc’s feeling guilty that I want to set fire to his brown cord recliner and smash up his extensive collection of Elvis Presley memorabilia.”
“We could just put it in the basement,” Todd suggested. “Less mess, less fuss.”
“Really? You’d help me do that? I have so much stuff that I can’t just toss out, even though he says I can, but I do not want to look at that giant Elvis Presley velveteen picture in the ten-foot frame ever again.”
“Oh, now I have to come over,” Todd joked. “Because I must see it.”
“You can have it.”
“Steady on. Gazing upon it is different to owning it.”
“It’s hideous,” Marissa chimed in. “You’ll love it, Todd. Perfect for the treehouse.”
“What’s up with that treehouse anyway? I’ve been dying to ask,” said Chloe.
“I’ll walk you out and fill you in. I’m pooped, and I have a six a.m. conference call with Japan.”
“Japan?”
“More mystery.”
Marissa tried to get up to say good-bye, but they each leaned in and kissed her cheek.
“Stay there. Mike, get the woman another drink.”
And they were gone as she called out her thanks.
Alone again, not so naturally.
Mike handed her the wine and she took a good long look around her new home. There were still a few boxes of kitchen knickknacks to unload and some bookshelves to fill, but aside from that everything was where it should be. Her new sofas were buttery soft leather in brown and her wing chair was brown and pink striped. She has some matching throw pillows and a pink rug on the floor. Her collection of Tiffany lamps was scattered around the room, and the boys had hung a pot rack over the island so the hanging pots gave the stark white kitchen a homey feel. She’d brought wooden barstools for the island from home, and they had sweet pink cushions on them.
Her grandmother’s armoire was along one wall, and there was a television on a low stand. She’d need curtains because she wasn’t too keen on the austere blinds, but the building was on a small hill and the highest point in town, so she could leave them open for now and watch the dotted lights of the village below.
“It looks great,” he said, plopping on the sofa nearest her.
“It really does. A few things left to do, but tonight I get to sleep in my new bed in my new home. I almost feel like a grown-up,” she said.
“I seem to recall you telling me being a grown-up was overrated,” he said.
“Some aspects, for sure, I stand by that, but this, not so much.”
“No, this is pretty good,” he agreed.
“It was so nice everyone came to help. It’s going to be nice to be within walking distance of so many people.”
“Including me?”
“Well, you are a relatively long walk.” It was true; he was across town.
“It might be worth it to see my home gym,” he teased.
“Is that the equivalent of come up and see my etchings, Mike?”
“Totally.” He laughed.
“Maybe not your best line ever.”
“I’m a little rusty,” he teased.
“You and me both.” She sighed. She wasn’t sure if they were discussing pickup lines, dating, or more. All of a sudden the exhaustion hit.
“I think you need to hand me that wine and get your lovely tired self into those new sheets.”
“That is a better line,” she said, handing him the wine.
He chuckled. “Come on.”
He pulled her to her feet and her warm body settled against his. He pushed a stray hair off her forehead and smiled. Then he kissed her forehead.
“As much as I would like to join you, I was commanded to woo, and woo I shall.”
Then he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. Soft and warm and delicious.
“Me and my big mouth.” She sighed.
“You and your beautiful mouth were right. You deserve flowers and date nights and romance, and I’m going to show you that I can be the guy to give you all those things.”
She smiled up at him. “I can’t wait.”
“And yet wait you will,” he said, releasing his grasp and heading for the door.
“Sleep well, honey.”
Oh, she’d sleep all right and he would be featuring rather prominently in her dreams.
The next morning was New Year’s Eve. Mike wasn’t generally one to celebrate this event. He didn’t make resolutions and he often didn’t watch the ball drop. Last New Year’s, he and Todd were in the middle of a Minecraft marathon, if he recalled correctly.
That didn’t seem like the best way to woo a girl though.
It was eight in the morning and he was behind his desk. He’d sent Marissa a text.
Do you want to be my date for New Year’s?
Her reply had been, Yes.
Now he needed a plan.
He picked up the phone and did something no man liked doing. He asked for directions.
“Hey, Lucy.”
“Hi, Mike. How’re you doing?”
“Good,” he said. “I hope I didn’t wake you?”
“Nope. Even though I now don’t start work until about now, I’ve been getting up at sparrow’s crack for so long I’m always awake early.”
“Sparrow’s crack?” He laughed.
“That may be an Australian expression. Years of hanging with Piper and now I don’t know what is and what isn’t. You know dawn is what I meant, right?”
“I do. So listen, I need some advice.”
“From me? You must be desperate.” He heard her warm laugh down the line.
&
nbsp; “Maybe. So where should I take Marissa for New Year’s Eve?”
“Is this part of the wooing?”
“She told you about that, huh?”
“You know it.” He could hear the smugness in her voice. “Easy. Golf club dinner dance. Wear a suit. And be the most attentive guy in the room. Pull out the chair, fetch the drinks, dance every dance, and don’t take your eyes off her.”
“Okay. Why there?”
“Oh, well, in our town that has always been the place married couples, grown-up couples went. Marissa’s folks were never into that stuff and well, you know, my mom wasn’t exactly hanging with the Country Club crowd, but Patty’s folks and Jacob’s folks would get dressed up and go. We always thought it was the glamourous way to see in the New Year, and only for couples of course.”
“Right. How did I not know this?”
“You’re a dude,” she said as if that was enough of an answer. “You’ll know if Patty gets that competitive face that you’re batting a thousand. If she’s hauling Jacob on the dance floor or pulling him extra close making kissy face with him, then you’ll know you’re doing it right.”
He chuckled. “Kissy face? Okay, so I have a plan and a barometer. If I can get tickets.”
“You’re the newspaper, and a club member . . . not a problem.”
Of course she was right. One phone call and they were all set.
He texted Marissa late morning to say:
No jeans. You’ll need a dress.
Yay.
That little text had his own heart racing.
It was a New Year’s Eve tradition that Marissa had lunch at the diner with Patty and Tori Stephanovik. It wasn’t a tradition she loved, but today she didn’t mind so much. They usually had fun New Year’s plans and she didn’t, but tonight she had a surprise at least and a new home. Yes, she was feeling pretty good. Tori waddled in just after Marissa. She was six months pregnant with twins and looked enormous and uncomfortable. She was usually so glamorous.
“Hey, Tori,” she said as her friend slid in across from her in the booth, where her stomach barely had room for clearance. “How’re those babies?”
“Oh, they’re fine. And I know I’m not supposed to say it, but honestly I’m counting the minutes until they can come out and meet me. Between the kicking and the indigestion and the inability to get comfortable, I’m at my wit’s end.”
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