Charlotte studied her. “Are you?”
“Digging for dirt? No!” But even Carly could tell by the defensive tone of her own voice that that’s exactly what she was doing. “Just curious,” she said softly.
“Look, all I’m saying is—be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Carly stood up. “I know. Thanks, Charlotte. I’m a big girl.” As soon as the words came out, Carly wanted to take them back.
“I know you are.” Charlotte stood up as well. “Shall we get back to work then?”
Carly nodded. “I’m meeting NYJedi today.” She’d said it softly, as if she didn’t want anyone to hear... in case he stood her up again.
“Wait, what? Why?”
A shrug. That’s all Carly could give.
“What do you mean?” Charlotte mimicked her shrug.
“I just want to know.”
“You want to know what? Does Mick know?”
No, Carly thought. “Does he have to?”
“I don’t know. I guess not,” Charlotte said. “I mean, if you guys aren’t really a thing-thing. Are you?”
No, Carly thought again. “No. We’re not.”
“Is he coming here?”
“Who? Mick?”
“No—the Jedi guy.”
“We’re meeting at lakeside park.”
Charlotte didn’t say anything.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Carly said nervously.
“I’m not,” Charlotte said.
“Stop it!”
“I’m not doing anything!” Charlotte laughed.
Carly paused. “I want to get to know Mick,” Carly said, her voice almost a whisper.
Charlotte took Carly’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I know.”
“Is it wrong?”
“Does it feel wrong?”
Carly shook her head. It felt good to be with him. There was something about Mick. Something that made her feel warm and fuzzy.
“You just have to trust your instincts.”
Truth be told, Carly’s instincts were all over the place. “I want to see who NYJedi is, and then that’ll be it. I’ll tell him that we can’t continue our relationship.”
“Is that what you want to do?” Charlotte asked.
Carly thought about it. “Yes.”
Chapter 16
From the parking lot, Mick walked slowly across the park, towards the lake. Nervously, he squeezed his palms into fists and stretched his fingers out again. For as long as Carly was thinking about NYJedi, he wouldn’t have a shot with her. And any relationship they would have would be based on a lie. Mick couldn’t risk it. He knew he should have told her the truth right from the very start. But when he first saw her, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Carly was a child. She was just a baby when Mick left Willow Oaks, for goodness’ sake. This time, Mick was determined to come out with the truth. Whatever happened after that was beyond his control.
Mick spotted Carly. There she was—sitting on the bench, her back turned to him. Her long blonde hair hung loosely over the backrest. He stopped in his tracks, his heart banging ferociously against his chest.
Stop being a coward and go up to her, he scolded himself. She’s different, Mick thought as he tried to give himself a much-needed boost in confidence. It was as if advocates of the angels and the devil sat atop each of his shoulders, whispering in his ears. Did you forget about Jodie Ann? the devil’s advocate whispered with a hiss.
His mind went back to Jodie Ann Keller.
At seventeen-years-old, Mick was certain that Jodie Ann was the love of his life. She was the only one who made life worth living. When her family moved away, it felt like the end of the world. For Mick, the world ended when he’d followed her to New York only to have a door slammed in his face, rejected.
That was thirty-three years ago, Mick. You’ve got to stop letting that bring you down, the angel’s advocate promptly nudged him.
You’re a dyslexic fifty-year-old without any friends. Why would someone like Carly even want you? She’s got the rest of her life ahead of her. Do you really want to drag her down with you? A battle ensued, with each advocate desperate to win.
The truth was, Mick had had enough of his demons. All his life, Mick had battled with them. Rejection had been at the core of his pain, and he wasn’t going to let that take over his life any longer.
Face it. That’s what he was going to do.
He was ready to face his fears.
He was ready to face life.
He was ready to face Carly.
Chapter 17
Carly sat on the bench facing the water. Anxious, she fiddled with her fingers and bit her nail from time to time. The last time Carly brought her nail to her teeth, she pulled it away almost a little too violently. Stop it! she scolded herself.
She’d been waiting for this moment. But this time, it was to end it. She wanted to face the person behind NYJedi and tell him that she didn’t want to do it anymore. Do what, exactly? Carly challenged the voice inside her head. This! All this nonsense.
Carly looked around. NYJedi could be just about anyone in the park. She shook her head, annoyed by the reality of what she’d done. He could be anyone—anyone! As if she hadn’t seen enough horror movies to scare the living daylights out of her, she’d gone and fallen in love with some stranger on the internet. But was it really love? Carly knew her own self-destructive ways all too well. And what about Mick? Sweet, handsome Mick. Carly sighed and turned around. Wait, she thought. Is that...?
“Mick?” Carly stood up. “What are you doing here?”
Mick stood in place, equally surprised at seeing her. Dressed casually in navy blue chinos and a crisp white polo shirt, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards her.
“That’s so weird. I was just thinking about you.” Carly waited for him to approach, but a thought came to her. She couldn’t have him there with her while waiting for NYJedi. Carly quickly checked her phone to see if there were any messages. None.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Mick said.
Carly clutched her phone and crossed her arms over her chest. “I, uhm—I’m meeting him today. NYJedi.”
“I know.”
“Did I tell you?”
Mick ran his fingers through his hair. “No.”
Carly shook her head. “What are you doing here?” It wasn’t as if she owned the park. Of course he had every right to be there. But did it have to be the same exact time that she was meeting NYJedi?
“You told me to come and meet you.” Mick was now standing in front of her. Next to her. Towering over her.
“Did I? No, I’m sure I didn’t. You must be mistaken.”
“Carly...” Mick’s eyes were soft, almost apologetic.
“What’s going on?”
“I didn’t want it to be this way,” Mick said.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean? Are you leaving?” Life had a cruel way of pushing her back down when things were going well. Carly was all too used to the game.
Mick took her hands in his. “It’s me.”
“What?” Carly felt disoriented. “No—”
“I am,” Mick said.
“You’re what?”
“I’m NYJedi.”
It hit Carly like a ton of bricks. Like a punch to the guts. “But—it can’t be.” Her eyes began to well up with tears. It was all coming to her now. Mick wasn’t in Willow Oaks on business.
IT HURT MICK TO SEE Carly’s reaction change from realization to shock, hurt, and betrayal—something he knew a lot about. Much more than he’d ever wanted to in a lifetime. “Please don’t cry.” Mick wiped her tears with his thumb.
“I don’t understand.” Carly’s brows met and formed a deep crease on her forehead. “What do you mean you’re... how?”
“The first time we were supposed to meet—”
“Is that why you’re here? In town?” The tears were flowing now.
He nodded. Mick couldn’t read i
f she was angry. Hurt, definitely. Relief? No, he couldn’t see that in her face.
“Then why—why didn’t you tell me?”
Mick reached for her, but Carly pulled away.
“Is this your idea of a sick joke?” Carly looked around as if looking for a clue. “Because it isn’t funny.”
But it wasn’t a clue she was looking for. Mick knew she was looking for NYJedi. He needed to convince her that he was NYJedi. “Carly—I know that you like your steak well done.”
Carly’s eyes rounded. “Everyone knows that,” she blurted.
“I know that you don’t like pork.”
“That doesn’t prove anything.” Carly picked up her purse and started to walk away.
Mick needed to dig more. Deeper. “You love to paint,” he called out to her.
Carly stopped.
“You love to paint and no one knows that you do,” he added. “Landscapes, objects, people. You love to paint people.”
Carly turned right back around and faced him.
“You’re tired. Tired of trying to please people all the time,” he continued. He took a step forward, towards Carly. “And I agree. Always trying to please others is exhausting.”
“Don’t.”
Mick slowed. He wanted to reach for her and hold her. Tell her that everything was going to be okay. “Your parents—they have a perfect marriage. Your sisters, too. And you want the same. You think that you’re the black sheep of the family.”
Carly looked away.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,”—Mick paused—“Willow Girl.” He had given her five pet names when they were online. Sweet one, Buttercup, Bunny, Cupcake, and Willow Girl.
Carly met his gaze.
“You’re perfect, just as you are.” Mick took another step forward. “I’m sorry, Carly. I never meant to hurt you.”
Chapter 18
Carly’s head was buzzing. Her lips tingled like pins and needles. It was disconcerting. Was she having a stroke? Was it her cancer? Had the cancer spread? Carly brought a hand to her chest. Her mouth felt dry. How could Mick possibly know all that? How did he know her innermost thoughts, her secrets? But in that moment, there was only one thing she wanted to know. “Why?”
“When we first arranged to meet,”—Mick put one hand in his pocket, the other, he ran through his hair—“I had every intention of seeing you. I wanted to. Everything that we’d talked about online, everything I’d learned about you—you were all that I had ever wanted in a woman.”
“Until you saw it was me.” Carly crossed her arms.
“No, that’s not true.”
Carly wished that she could believe the earnestness in Mick’s eyes. Once again, her tears betrayed her as they streamed down her face. Carly furiously wiped them away. “Then, what?”
Mick let out a sigh. He motioned back to the bench. “Can we sit?”
Carly looked at the bench. The same bench where she was to meet NYJedi. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect this. But then again, what did she expect? Didn’t she want to end things with NYJedi so that she could explore a relationship with Mick? There was never anything to end, she thought. She wanted to tell herself to get over it and just move on. Her whole life had been a rain cloud. This was just another example. From day dot, God had picked her out of the bunch. She was the bad apple. The unlucky one. God had had it in for her from the day she was born. She was plagued with an unforgivable illness that would one day take her back to her maker.
Mick’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Please,” he said.
Carly sat down, clutching her bag close to her chest as if it were the old teddy bear she’d held on to at night when she was scared as a child. Her own fragility didn’t escape her.
Mick sat down next to her. He leaned his elbows on his knees and intertwined his fingers as he looked out on to the water. “When I saw that it was you—that you were WillowCup717—I panicked.”
Carly blew out a sharp, bitter breath.
“I mean—I was at your mom and dad’s wedding, Carly,” he began. “I was a ring bearer—or something like that. You hadn’t even been born.”
She watched as his knee restlessly bounced up and down.
“I was at your christening, for goodness’ sake! Can you see why I panicked?”
“So, what are you saying? That I’m too young for you? Is that what you’re saying? Why don’t you just go ahead and say it?”
“Yes!” Mick said with haste.
“Then why didn’t you just turn around and walk away? Why did you even bother to come in to the cafe at all?”
“Because I couldn’t do that to you—” Mick bowed his head in his hands. “Carly, I was in love with you!”
“So was I!” she cried. Bitterness lined her every word.
“Then let’s try again. No secrets, no lies.”
Carly rose from her seat. She looked down at him, head in his hands. “I never lied to you, Mick.”
“Carly, please.” Mick took her left hand in both of his and brought it to his forehead.
Her heart banged against the walls of her weakened chest, but she couldn’t feel it. All the surrounding sounds stopped, and a shrill ring took over her ears. Carly closed her eyes. Breathe in, she told herself. And breathe out.
“We can still do this,” Mick said.
Carly opened her eyes to Mick’s distraught face. “I don’t know what this is.” Carly eased her hand away from his.
“Let’s talk about this, Carly.”
She wanted to hold him. No. She wanted him to hold her. Carly was desperate for Mick to tell her that it was all a mistake; and that if he could turn back time, he wouldn’t have lied. She wanted a lot of things. But life never gave her what she wanted. Even Carly’s own life wasn’t hers to keep. At that moment, what she wanted was time. Time to think things through—properly. There was no NYJedi, only Mick. Isn’t that what you wanted? She didn’t listen to the voice in her head that told her to give him a chance. “I need some time to think,” she said softly.
“I can’t change the past, Carly. What I’ve done—it’s unforgivable. I was a coward.” Mick sighed. “But I want to be with you. Give me a chance to fix what I’ve done.”
“I can’t do this right now.” Carly shook her head. She felt vulnerable. “I need some time to think.
Mick stood up and towered over her. He took her hands in his. “Take all the time you need. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t.” Carly turned and walked away.
“I’m not going anywhere, Carly.”
She heard him... but she didn’t look back.
MICK WATCHED AS CARLY disappeared into the distance. If it was the right thing to do, it certainly didn’t feel that way. He’d seen too many movies to know that the guy should always run after the girl. Somehow, he felt like there was something else he should be doing—some magnanimous gesture to show that, yes; he had fallen in love with her. That he was head over heels in love with her. There was no point denying that.
Love’s a pretty strong word, he thought.
But that was how he felt.
He was in love with Jodie Ann Keller, and he knew it for certain then.
He’d never been in love after Jodie Ann. The pain had emotionally scarred him, and he’d kept his guard up—until now. Until he’d gotten to know Carly. With her, it was as if the scars had lifted and Mick was ready to love again—and he hoped to be loved in return.
Mick reached for his phone as it rang. He looked at it. He hated his phone, hated being a prisoner to it. But it was his lifeline, so to speak. Business calls, emails, closing deals. It was how he connected with Carly in the first place—when she was WillowCup717. Before he ever knew it was Carly. “Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me. You’re still coming over for dinner, right?” It was Jenna.
Mick pressed his thumb to the side of his forehead. He’d forgotten about dinner. He let out a sigh. “Sure.”
“What do you mean, su
re? Are you coming or not?” It wasn’t hard to place the annoyance in Jenna’s voice.
Mick looked up and scanned the park for Carly. She was gone. All he could see were kids climbing up the jungle gym, swinging on seesaws, and their parents patiently waiting. “I’ll be there.”
“Oh, good! I was worried that you’d forgotten and that you wouldn’t come.”
He knew Jenna meant well. She was his only sister—the only girl in the family—and he loved her. It hadn’t been easy for her as well, growing up with their parents. And in spite of how their mother had treated them all, she was their father’s girl. Daddy’s girl. And as for Mick, he was the black sheep.
“Hello? Mick? Are you there?”
“I’m here.” Mick snapped back to the present. “I’ll be there—five o’clock okay?”
“Yes, but come any time. I wanna have time to catch up and chat, okay? In fact, come now if you’re free.”
“I’ve got some things I need to do first, and then I’ll make my way over. I gotta go.” He heard Jenna’s voice, but he clicked the call off anyway.
Mick glared at the painfully bright sky and clenched his jaw.
He was his father’s son, but one thing was certain—he was nothing like his father. He would never be like his father.
Chapter 19
That night, Mick walked up to the front door of Jenna’s house and rang the bell. The front lawn was well-maintained, as always. From where he stood, Mick noted the red flowers that dotted the fence line. On either side of him stood large, perfectly manicured plants. He had secured countless topiaries for properties he’d developed. Topiaries stood tall with confidence, offering a sense of affluent luxury. He smoothed the leaves between his thumb and forefinger. Of course Jenna would have real ones, he thought.
“Mick!” Jenna beamed when she opened the door. The smell of something roasting wafted up his nose, causing his jaws to tighten slightly. His stomach grumbled in appreciation. Jenna cast her eyes towards his stomach and laughed. “And hello to you, too!”
Love Me Timeless--A Willow Oaks Sweet Romance Page 7
