by Kristy Tate
“So, you really don’t know him all that well.”
Darby bristled because this was exactly what her mom, sisters, brothers, and friends had been saying. “We’ve Skyped every day. In some ways, this is a better way to get to know each other because we couldn’t get carried away with snogging. That’s the British word for—”
“I know all about snogging,” he said with a smile.
Yes, from the looks of him, he probably did.
“I know it’s absolutely none of my business.” Chad buttered his potato. “But when you only know each other via social media, it’s really easy to just show your good bits.”
Wow. He really did sound like her mom. “You’re right.” She swallowed another spoonful of soup. “It’s none of your business. But sometimes, when you meet the right person, you know.”
“You just know, huh?”
She nodded. “That’s how it was for me and Benjamin. He fell into my life at the right time. It was meant to be.”
“Hmm…I wonder if the hotel owners felt the same way.”
“What? Why would they care?”
“It was their hotel on fire, right? I just wonder if they had such a fatalistic attitude.” He grinned and took a bite of his steak.
“Do you believe in fate or Kismet?”
“There are people who believe there’s no such thing as coincidences. I’m not sure if I’m one of those people.”
“What sort of people are you?” Darby asked.
“I believe that relationships take work and commitment. Just because someone fell into your life doesn’t mean they’re bound to stay there. They have to want to stay there, and you need to make it an enjoyable place to be.”
Darby thought about her parents and their noisy and chaotic home. “In my house, sometimes it seems as if love is more about taking out the trash, mucking out the garbage disposal, or being the one to change the poopy diaper. But I don’t think it has to be that way. There should be room for romance, too.”
“Are you from a large family?”
“I’m the youngest of seven.”
Chad whistled. “But if you’re the youngest, your parents can’t still be changing diapers. At least, I hope not. Sorry if that’s too personal a question.”
“I’m not wearing Depends, if that’s what you’re asking. My sister and her three children live with us.”
“You live at home?”
Darby nodded.
“Your parents must have a full house.”
“You have no idea.” She didn’t feel the need to tell him she shared the house with her parents, her brother Tom, her sister, Meg, her two nephews Tristan and Luke and niece Jolene, her other sister, Henley, her Grandma Betty, and the dog, Wheezer.
“So, there’s not a lot of romance…”
“There’s a lot of love, but sometimes…” Darby grappled for the right words. How could she explain her family to this stranger? “It can be chaotic, too. Not a lot of bathrooms and too many people—and creatures—in too tight a space. Romance gets lost in the piles of laundry or the overflowing toilet.”
“I’d like to meet your family.”
Darby put down her spoon. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“I’d pick love over romance any day.”
“I don’t think it has to be an either-or choice.”
“And you think Brit-boy can deliver both?”
Darby nodded. “I know he can.”
“I hope you’re right, for your sake. But I’m pretty sure real-life steps in eventually on everyone’s romance.”
“That’s very jaded.”
“Not at all. Being in love isn’t something that just happens to us, it’s a way of being. It’s a choice, or rather a series of choices. It’s choosing to put someone else’s needs over own over and over again.”
“Which brings us back to the clogged garbage disposal and the poopy diapers.”
Chad pointed his fork at her and smiled. “Exactly.”
“Life doesn’t have to be so real,” Darby argued. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting more romance, flowers, wine, and less chaos and noise.”
“No, but I bet the chaos and noise keep things interesting.”
“Interesting is a good word for my family.”
“I’d like to meet your family,” he said again.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.” Darby didn’t want to be annoyed by this handsome stranger, but it rankled that his words echoed pretty much everything her family had been saying about Benjamin, romance, and real life.
“I’m waiting for my sister,” Chad said after a moment to fill the awkward silence. “She’s coming into town to help celebrate my grandfather’s eightieth birthday.”
While Chad went on and on about his family, barely noticing her prolonged silence, Darby ate her soup as quickly as she could without slurping and occupied her thoughts with memories and fantasies about Benjamin.
Where he would stay had been a trick since she couldn’t very well bring him home. Not only was she from a long line of staunch Catholics, she was also from a large family…who happened to live in a not so large house.
Benjamin, of course, had understood and made arrangements with some friends who lived in L.A. Still, it made snogging difficult.
“Are your grandparents still alive?” Chad interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes,” she said, though she did not want to talk about Grandma Betty. Darby shoveled in the last drop of soup and put down her spoon. “It’s been really nice meeting you and thanks for the lunch, but I have to go.” She gathered up her purse, said goodbye, and left.
#
Chad watched Darby walk away. Guilt about ruining her blouse pricked him. He finished his meal, and while he waited for the check, he looked up the cost of shirts online and debated whether he should send her one. He didn’t know her address, but he did know where she worked. Would that be too stalkerish? How would her boss feel about her receiving personal packages at work? What size did she wear? All these questions kept him company as he wandered back to the baggage claim area where he’d arranged to meet Cecelia.
He spotted Darby. She had her back to him, but he recognized her high ponytail and dark curls—a very non-accountant sort of hairstyle. She sat on a chair, her legs crossed. A book dangled from her hand.
He wondered what she was reading and considered going over to ask, but changed his mind when he heard, “Chadwick!”
He spun around and opened his arms to Cecelia. Lean, with shimmery dark blond hair and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks, she still looked like his baby sister, only taller. She launched herself at him, and he caught her. “Hey!” He smiled down into her beaming eyes. “I’m so glad to see you!” Looking into her green eyes was almost like looking into his own.
“How are you?” she asked.
“I’m good,” he said, “but school starts soon, so that will change.”
She slugged his arm. “You know you love it.”
“I do,” he admitted. Although being a P.E. teacher hadn’t been his first choice, in the last few years it had become his only choice.
“How are the parentals? Are they still giving Grandpa a hard time?”
He nodded slightly. “It’ll be good to have you here to take off some of the heat.”
A small frown touched Cecelia’s lips.
“Just kidding,” Chad said as guilt swamped him. He wanted his sister home and not for the reason he just gave. He had missed her while she’d been in Paris.
He took in the tired lines around her eyes and the rumpled hair. Like him, she shared their mother’s coloring and height. He also noticed her blouse. It looked a lot like the one Darby had been wearing—minus the coffee stain, of course. “Huh, Cecelia, strange request.”
She lifted her eyebrows, waiting.
“Can I buy that blouse off you?”
Confusion flitted across her face. “What? Seriously?”
He nodded. “I spilled coffee on this woman, a
nd I want to make it up to her.”
Cecelia elbowed him. “Do you like her?”
“You know I’m with Jessica.”
“Ah. Yes, Jessica.” Cecelia blew out a quiet, but non-informative, raspberry.
“What?” Chad asked. “You like Jessica. Right?”
“Of course, I do.” She looped her arm around his. “But if we both like Jessica so much, why are we giving this stranger my blouse?”
“I just…I probably not only spilled coffee on her, but I also probably offended her.”
“Oh! Tell me!”
Beside them, the luggage carousel began to whirr, announcing the arrival of the bags.
Chad repeated Darby and Benjamin’s story while they waited for Cecelia’s luggage to arrive. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I mean, I barely know her. Why should I care if she’s being scammed by this guy?”
“What makes you think she’s being scammed? If you like her enough to give her my blouse, he probably likes her, too.”
He thought about this. Darby hadn’t actually said she had bought Benjamin’s ticket to L.A., so what had made him think she had? In his mind, he raked through their brief conversation trying to put his finger on what had raised his hackles…Raised his hackles—that was something Grandpa Bern would say. Still, his hackles were quivering and maybe if he gave Darby a blouse he’d feel better. And maybe he could forget her as she obviously wanted him to.
“Let’s not give her this blouse, because, you know, I’ve been wearing it for the last ten hours,” Cecelia said. “If you really like her, you can pick a clean one from my suitcase.”
Chad brightened, and he cast Darby another glance. She stood on the opposite side of the baggage claim area in a shaft of sunlight pouring through a sky-light. She seemed illuminated—a bright spot in an otherwise Fluorescent-lit monochromatic world.
Cecelia followed his gaze. “Is that her?”
He nodded.
“She’s smaller than me,” Cecelia said.
“That’s okay, right?” Chad asked, wondering why he cared so much. “It’s better for the shirt to be too big rather than too small.”
Cecelia nodded at the luggage carousel. “There’s my bag. It’s got a red bandana on the handle.”
Chad hurried to the carousel to retrieve the bag. Cecelia followed him to an unoccupied row of chairs. He placed the suitcase on the chairs and she unlocked it.
Clothes in all shapes, sizes, and colors…he didn’t know how to do this.
Cecelia took pity on him. She pulled out a silky floral top with a ruffle for a sleeve. “How’s this?”
He nodded. “Good choice. How much?”
Cecelia’s eyes glinted as she waved the blouse in front of him like a flirty flag. “Fifty dollars.”
Chad faked a smile and wondered what made Cecelia and their dad, for that matter, so greedy. Chad reached into his pocket, pulled out some bills and handed them to his sister.
Cecelia reached for the money, but he yanked it away. “You’ve got to give it to her.”
“What?”
“You have to be the one to give her the blouse.”
“No way! You’re the one who spilled the coffee!”
“Yeah, but I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.”
Cecelia narrowed her eyes. “And what idea is that?”
“I’m never going to see her again, so—”
“Exactly, you’re never going to see her again.”
He blew out a breath, reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and drew out another twenty.
Cecelia held out her hand, wrapped her fingers around the bills, and stuffed the money into her pocket as if afraid Chad would change his mind.
It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born,
And was always his treasure and pride;
But it stopped short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
CHAPTER 2
Darby found it difficult to focus on her book. It was about increasing productivity, but advocated having a ‘leisurely morning.’ How was this even possible? According to the author, by allowing yourself time to exercise, shower, dress, and have a ‘satisfying’ breakfast, you not only refuel and recharge for the day, you may also prevent yourself from making disastrous mistakes. Sleep experts suggest no one should make important decisions until they've been awake for ninety minutes. This sort of advice always irritated Darby, who tended to wake in the morning with her feet running.
She glanced at the book cover and wondered if the author was a housewife who had never worked a day of her life and had one-point-two kids, a wealthy husband, and a pedigree dog.
“Excuse me.” A tall lovely honey-blonde dressed in jeans and a tank top stood in front of Darby. “Are you Darby?”
Confused, Darby didn’t answer right away, but she didn’t mind being interrupted from her book.
“I can tell you are by that large stain on your blouse,” the woman continued. She dropped a floral garment onto Darby’s lap. “My brother asked me to give you this.”
Darby glanced around, searching for Chad, but she couldn’t see him.
“If you’re looking for Chad, he’s gone to get the car.” The blonde settled into the empty seat beside Darby. “He doesn’t know I’m doing this.”
“But you just said he asked you to give me the blouse,” Darby said, recovering her voice.
The blonde tossed her long hair over her shoulder and gave Darby a winning smile. “Oh, he knows about the blouse. That was his idea. It’s my idea to get your number.”
“My number?”
“I’m Cecelia, by the way, Chad’s sister.”
“I’m Darby.”
“I know,” Cecelia said. “What I don’t know is your number.”
“But why?”
Cecelia answered with a shrug.
“Did Chad tell you I’m waiting for my boyfriend?” Darby asked. “He’s coming all the way from England.”
An unreadable expression flinted across Cecelia’s face. “As I said Chad doesn’t know I’m asking for your number.”
“Oh…it’s for you, then?”
Cecelia pressed her hand against her chest and laughed. “Huh, no. You think I’m a lesbian?” She laughed some more, then sobered. “I’m just acting on a hunch. If you want the blouse, I need your number.”
“But I don’t want your blouse.” Darby handed it back to Cecelia. “I mean it’s really nice of you…and Chad. But he already bought me lunch. That’s enough. You don’t need to give me your shirt.”
“Are you sure? Because what’s your boyfriend going to think when he sees you with that big ugly stain?”
“I’m sure,” Darby said with a laugh. “he loves me for more than my blouse.” She reached into her bag, pulled out a slim silver case, and extracted her business card. “But here, you can have my card, if you’d like.”
Cecelia gazed at it. “You’re an accountant?”
Darby sighed. “I don’t know why people always seem so shocked.”
Cecelia tucked the card into her bag, then took the blouse, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her bag as well. “Maybe it’s because you don’t have a pocket protector.”
“Do you think it’ll help people take me more seriously? Because, if so, I’ll get one.”
“Nah, I think it’s better that people don’t think you’re an accountant. That way you can surprise them and catch them off-guard with your business savvy.”
“What makes you think I have business savvy?”
“This is a very good question. Why should I think you have business savvy, especially when you just passed up a very nice free shirt? But I’m great at reading people and everything about you says savvy.”
“Good to know. Maybe I should have you tell that to my boss.”
“I’d be happy to. Who’s your boss?”
“Glenn Hopper, of Hopper and Rhode Accounting.”
“Hopper and Rhode?” Cecelia giggled.
“Hopper and Rhode?” Cecelia giggled again. “I’m sorry, but they sound like frogs.”
Darby couldn’t tell her that a lot of her co-workers called her firm Hopper and Toad.
“Well, it was nice to meet you, Darby the accountant.”
“And it was very nice to meet you, too, Cecelia, the sister of Chad.”
Darby watched the tall, blonde walk away, wondering if she should have taken the shirt. She pulled her blouse away from her to inspect the spot. After another quick glance at the arrival board, she headed for the bathroom to try to wash off the coffee stain, again. It still looked awful, but she didn’t care. It had been worth it to meet Chad and Cecelia. She stopped herself, horrified by the thought. She was in love with Benjamin. He had given up his whole world to travel to L.A. just to be with her. She couldn’t waste another minute thinking of other men.
#
Two hours later, Benjamin swaggered through the arrival. A small cluster of women followed. Even a drug-sniffing beagle seemed to be caught in his thrall. A thrill tingled through Darby when she caught sight of him. He’s mine.
He spotted her and lifted his hand in a small wave. She ran to him, but it was as if she moved in slow motion, like those frustrating dreams where you run as hard as you can but your feet never touch the ground and you hang in mid-air. He didn’t match her speed, probably because of the heavy duffle bag hanging over his shoulder, or the redhead clinging to his arm.
The female entourage parted, making way for Darby. She decided to ignore them—they were as little consequence as the nearby security guards, plastic chairs, or trash receptacles…Darby launched herself into his embrace. He staggered against her weight, stumbled for a moment, then laughed. “Hey there, girl.”
“Oh Benjamin,” she gushed. “I can’t believe you’re actually here!” He was as handsome as she’d remembered, even after his long flight.
He glanced over her shoulder, as if he expected to see someone, before he caught her gaze and pressed his lips to hers. Memories of their one night together flooded her. This was so much better. For one thing, she wasn’t sitting on the dew-soaked ground in her barely-there pajamas, and there wasn’t smoke hanging in the air, or firemen milling around.
