by Fiona Grace
“What’s the commercial?” she asked. Teddy had a weird and wacky commercial portfolio, advertising everything from toothpaste to incontinence pads. It was always fun to discover what crazy product he’d been hired to shill next.
“Weight loss supplements!” he exclaimed.
Ali was astonished by the announcement. Her brother was rotund, to say it politely. No amount of acting could make someone look slimmer than they were! How was he supposed to pull that off?
“That’s… interesting,” she said.
“I’m the before actor,” Teddy announced as if telepathically hearing her hesitant thoughts. “You know, the lazy fat guy eating pizza in the hot tub!”
Ali began to giggle. “Ohhhh. Okay, that makes more sense!” she teased.
“Cheeky,” Teddy said. “So we should celebrate tomorrow. It’s your day off, isn’t it?”
Ali paused. She did have a day off tomorrow—after a couple of months plotting and graphing her bakery sales, she’d discovered there was always a lull on Wednesdays, and so she and Piper now took it in turns to take the day off. But Ali hadn’t anticipated spending the day with Teddy and was reluctant to do so, for a very specific reason…
Not that long ago, Ali had learned something about her missing father from a vintage candy shop owner; that he’d had plans to open a store in Willow Bay. She’d been avoiding telling Teddy about it because her brother had a much more fractious relationship with their father, since it had been left to him to assume the man of the house responsibilities after he left, something he was still bitter about. Ali knew Teddy would be peeved.
“I—I can’t,” she stammered, thinking of Seth. “I’m having a business lunch tomorrow.”
“Then we’ll do breakfast,” Teddy said. “Come on, come on, come on. It’s been ages since we’ve seen each other. It feels like you’re avoiding me.”
Guilt swirled in Ali’s stomach. She bit her lip with deliberation.
But before Ali had a chance to reply, Teddy shouted, “I’m adding it to my calendar now!”
With a pang of panic, Ali realized there was no way to back out of this. But perhaps that was for the best. It was time to stop being a coward and bite the bullet. Teddy deserved to know what she’d found out. It was only fair to be honest. He didn’t have to do anything about it, but it would be deceitful of her to keep what she’d learned to herself. Besides, she loved Teddy more than anyone in the world. Avoiding him for too long would only be detrimental to her emotional well-being.
“Okay,” Ali replied, relenting. “Let’s do breakfast. But don’t stay out too late or drink too much. You’re no fun when you’re hungover.”
“I promise!” Teddy slurred. “See you tomorrow!”
CHAPTER SIX
“Big night, huh?” Ali said.
Across the café table from Ali, Teddy groaned loudly. “Uhhh.”
He was wearing dark sunglasses to block out the bright morning sunshine. His head was resting in his hands with his strawberry blonde hair splayed over his fingers. He was looking pretty disheveled, a slight sheen on his chubby cheeks, and more ginger stubble than he’d usually allow on his chin.
The server arrived then with their orders. She placed a large stack of steaming blueberry pancakes in front of Teddy. He grabbed the syrup bottle and began squeezing golden goo all over his pancakes, licking his lips with relish as he did.
Ali grimaced. It wasn’t just his arteries she was worried about, but his taste palette! Pancakes should be enjoyed with fresh strawberries, clotted cream, a sprinkle of sugar and a sprig of spearmint, in her professional opinion. Not butter and copious amounts of syrup.
The server put their black coffees in front of them. “Are you sure that’s all you want, sweetie?” she asked Ali.
Ali nodded. “That’s perfect. Thanks.”
As the woman walked away, Teddy paused mid-squeeze and eyed her coffee with a look of confusion.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you sick?”
“No,” Ali replied. She took a sip of black coffee. Bitter, dark chocolate flavors danced against her tongue. “It’s Delaney. She’s trying to whip me and Piper into shape. No solids until eleven AM.” She glanced at the clock on the diner wall—a vintage Elvis swinging his hips—and saw that it was only half past nine. She let out a groan of despair.
Teddy shook his head. “Better you than me.” He patted his stomach, happily, and forked a large bit of syrup drenched pancake into his mouth. “Luckily, I got cast as the before actor in the weight loss commercial, rather than the after. And if I’m really lucky, I’ll get typecast!”
Ali chuckled, then fell silent as she remembered what she’d been trying to avoid speaking to Teddy about in the first place. She set her cup down and nervously twiddled the handle as she tried to find the right words.
“Hey Teddy,” she said, “I need to tell you something.”
Teddy instantly dropped his fork, which clattered noisily against the plate. His big blue eyes went as round as the pancakes in front of him. “Oh no. Are you pregnant? Is it Nate’s?” He gasped loudly. “Is it SETH’S?”
“Shhh!” Ali cried, gesturing with her hands for him to quiet down; his exclamations were drawing the attention of the diners around them. “I am not pregnant.”
“Thank goodness,” Teddy replied, a hand going up to his chest with relief. “Not that you being pregnant would be the worst thing in the world, it’s just, you know… Look at you.”
Ali frowned and glanced down at her outfit. She’d actually bothered to dress up for the occasion, in a denim skirt and cute yellow strappy top. Her thick blond hair was in its customary over-the-shoulder braid, and there wasn’t a splatter of batter in sight.
“What are you implying?” she asked. “I’m thirty-four years-old. I could be a mother.”
Teddy reached across the table and patted her hand. “Oh, sweetie, sure you could,” he said without conviction. He picked up his fork and shoved a bit of pancake in his mouth. “So what is it you needed to tell me? And what’s with this super serious face? It’s freaking me out—”
“It’s Dad,” Ali blurted.
A beat passed. Ali eyed Teddy anxiously, watching as he swallowed his mouthful, pressed his lips together, and lay his fork carefully back down beside his plate.
“What about him?” he asked in a forced tone, picking up the napkin and dabbing the corner of his lips with it.
“I found out a weird thing about him,” Ali said, cautiously, as if testing the water. “From a vintage sweet shop man. Apparently, he wanted to open a store in Willow Bay.”
Teddy blinked a few times. “And?”
Ali faltered. “And… nothing. That’s it. That’s what I found out.”
Teddy exhaled with his whole body, instantly returning back to his usual chirpy self. “Phew! Okay. I thought you were going to tell me you’d be in touch with him or something.” He rolled his eyes as if such a thing was too ludicrous to even consider.
Ali drummed her fingers on the porcelain of her hot coffee mug. “Why would it be so bad if I did try to get in touch with him?” She spoke in a small voice. An apologetic one. Ali loved Teddy more than anything and didn’t want to rock the boat and upset him, but what was so crazy about the idea of being in touch with their dad again?
Teddy raised a single blond eyebrow, in a clearly unimpressed expression. “Because he left us,” he stated. “He walked out and never came back. Remember all that crying into your pillow at night? All that wondering whether you’d get a birthday card this year or not?”
“Of course I remember,” Ali said, stiffly. Those were her most awful memories, and also her most replayed ones. She didn’t need Teddy to remind her of memories that lived just below the surface of her mind. “It’s just…maybe he had his reasons, you know? Maybe things are different now?” She went back to fiddling with the handle of her coffee mug, averting her eyes from Teddy’s stare. “We’re all adults. Maybe we should give him a chance?”
“Sure,” Teddy said, scathingly. “Except he made that basically impossible, didn’t he? We don’t even know where he is. He could be dead for all we know.”
“Teddy!” Ali cried, her heart lurching. “What an awful thing to say. Don’t even suggest that!”
Teddy cast his eyes down to the tabletop. “Sorry,” he muttered.
An uncomfortable silence fell around them. Ali stared into her coffee mug, an ache in her chest. Teddy was right, of course, but she hated to think that her father might have passed away without anyone even knowing. It was too unbearable. She chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to hold back tears.
“I… already knew,” Teddy said, softly.
Ali looked up to meet his gaze. “Knew what?”
“About the vintage candy store. About Dad wanting to open one.”
A horrible feeling of betrayal washed through Ali. Betrayal and confusion.
“What?” she demanded. “How? When?”
Teddy shrugged. “I don’t know. I visited the store a few years back researching a role—Victorian Candy Store Owner—and when I told the owner my name, he asked me if I was any relation to Richard Sweet. It was a few years back. I didn’t tell you because I thought you were better off not knowing.”
“Years?” Ali echoed, incredulously. “You’ve known for years that our father attempted to put down roots here in Willow Bay and you never told me?”
The moment she’d found a clue about their father’s whereabouts, she’d told her brother. But he had not extended the same courtesy to her.
“You were in France,” Teddy said as if trying to excuse himself. “Living your best life as Milo Baptiste’s protégé. I wasn’t exactly going to spoil that for you!”
Ali tightened her hold of her coffee cup. She was so furious, she could hardly even feel the heat coming from it. “I left France five years ago, Teddy. FIVE.”
Now she was getting irate, but she couldn’t help it. Teddy had found a clue about their father’s whereabouts five years ago and sat on it, all because he held onto his grudges like they were liferafts.
But the other, more logical, less emotional part of Ali knew that Teddy was only trying to protect her from pain. Their father clearly did not want to be found. His contact with them had dwindled year after year until it had stopped. It was such a gradual fading out from their lives, it had almost gone unnoticed.
Teddy was right, Ali realized. Their father had abandoned them. Trying to find him would only cause pain. But that was a choice she was supposed to make for herself, and she couldn’t help but feel bitterly betrayed by Teddy for withholding the information from her.
Ali opened her mouth, about to give Teddy a piece of her mind, when something out the window distracted her. A familiar looking man in dark blue jeans was passing by the café. Dark brown hair. Tan skin. It was Seth.
Ali’s stomach immediately began to do somersaults.
She watched as Seth halted. He shielded his eyes against the sun as he squinted to see inside the café. His dimple-cheeked smile burst onto his face in its full, disarming force.
Ali’s heart began to race.
“What is it?” Teddy asked, frowning at her sudden change in expression. He followed her gaze out the window. “Oh. Is that your baby daddy?”
“Teddy, shut up,” Ali said.
She wasn’t in the mood for his jokes. She was still too mad. And also panicked, because Seth had changed his course of direction and was now making his way to the door.
Ali watched helplessly as he approached.
Then a sudden, strange look overcame him. His smile disappeared, as if it had been stolen off his face. His gaze had found Teddy sitting opposite Ali, and a darkness appeared in his features.
Did he think she was on a date with another man? Ali wondered. Is he jealous?
She gulped, recalling her mini golf date with Nate last night. She’d come to the decision to be open about the whole thing, but Seth’s darkening expression didn’t fill her with confidence. And it certainly didn’t bode well for her whole simultaneous dating plan…
The door opened, the bell tinkling overhead, and Seth walked in. He marched up to the table, the same suspicious look in his dark eyes.
“Ali,” he said, in a slightly stilted manner. “Hey.”
“Hi Seth,” Ali said rapidly, gesturing across the table to Teddy. “You remember my brother, Teddy, don’t you? He’s here visiting me.”
Seth’s gaze darted across to Teddy, who gave him a small wave. Seth’s face immediately relaxed.
“Your brother! Of course!” he said, with relief. “Teddy.”
He held his hand out for Teddy’s to shake. Teddy readily obliged.
“What are you doing in this part of town?” Ali asked Seth, conversationally. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, and she could feel her palms getting sweaty.
“Just out for a stroll,” he replied. “Carys is covering the restaurant because of our plans later, so I’m just killing some time.”
Ali looked across at her brother, feeling extremely unhappy with him. Then she looked up at Seth, wishing she was with him instead.
“Hey, you know what,” Ali said. “I’m finished here, anyway, and if you’re free, how about we start hanging out now?”
She stood, and Seth blinked with astonishment. A small smile appeared at the side of his mouth. “Now?” he echoed with an air of excitement.
“Yeah,” Ali said, taking her purse off the side of her chair where she’d hung it. “Why not?”
“I’m still eating,” Teddy said, glowering up at her. He still had pancakes on his plate, and she’d barely taken two sips of her coffee. But she desperately needed some space away from him.
“You’ll be done in two mouthfuls,” Ali said, coolly, pointedly. “Would you like me to watch?”
Ali and Teddy often spoke sarcastically to one another, but usually in the spirit of playfulness. That time, Ali had meant it pettily, and she instantly regretted it. But she was so annoyed with Teddy, she couldn’t hold back. All the more reason to get out of this place. She would only say something even more regrettable if she stuck around him any longer.
Seth looked hesitant, like he’d picked up on the bad vibes between them. “Are you sure you’re done?”
Teddy looked at her with a cool look. “Of course,” he said in a tone of forced pleasantness. “I’d hate to stand in the way of blossoming love. Please, enjoy your date, you two.”
Ali narrowed her eyes, knowing full well Teddy had mentioned love to make her uncomfortable. She pulled the strap of her purse over her shoulder with a huff and flicked her blond braid over her shoulder as she turned on the spot and looped her arm through Seth’s.
“Oh we will,” she said between her teeth.
With that, she marched for the exit, half dragging a slightly bemused looking Seth along after her and leaving her treacherous brother alone at the table to think about what he’d done.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ali felt a pit of guilt in her stomach as she slunk down in the passenger seat of Seth’s car. Leaving Teddy alone at the table in that manner made her feel terrible. It was unjustified. Childish. But what she’d learned from him about their dad had been super painful, and she’d simply needed to extract herself from the situation before she said something mean that she regretted.
She glanced over at Seth in the driver’s seat. The sun was blazing, and he had all the windows down in his car. The traffic was also light, and Seth’s dark hair was ruffling sexily in the breeze caused by the car’s propulsion along the palm tree lined road. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows; his exposed forearms had been lightly tanned by the golden sun. Ali drank in the sight of his sinews and muscles as they flexed against the steering wheel.
“Ali?” Seth queried.
She snapped out of her reverie with a start, and turned her gaze up to meet his, discovering he was now smirking at her. He’d obviously caught a glimpse of her admiring him.
Ali felt her cheeks burn. She cleared her throat and regained her composure.
“So where are we going?” she asked.
“The next bay along,” Seth said, the New York City inflection in his voice sounding more pronounced. “It’s like Willow Bay, only much less busy. A bit more of a rustic gem.”
“Sounds lovely,” Ali said. “With all the development going on at the moment, it will be nice to get some quiet.”
“Ah yes, Sullivan Raine’s expansion mission,” Seth replied, speaking over his steering wheel as he focused his dark eyes on the road once again. “Is the building work driving you crazy?”
“No, actually,” Ali replied. “Delaney’s got me and Piper doing these daily meditation yoga things. I think it’s helping me tune out the background noise.”
“Maybe I should join,” Seth commented.
Ali smirked. “You’re more than welcome. It just depends on how much you feel like you need to connect with your inner goddess...”
Seth grinned his wide, warm grin. “Oh, me and my inner goddess are pretty solid,” he quipped.
Ali smiled to herself and gazed back out the window.
Seth turned the car into a walled parking lot just off the main road. It was full of thirsty looking palm trees and dust bunnies gathering in the shadowy corners. The asphalt was cracked, and the parking lines had long since faded into nothing.
“This is where we’re going?” Ali asked, a little taken aback. She’d not expected the suave Seth to be quite so modest.
“Just wait till you get to the beach,” he said, wiggling his dark brows.
He killed the engine, and they both got out of the vehicle. The midday sun bore down on Ali, and she felt a wave of light-headedness. Delaney’s diet probably had something to do with it. Oh, and the present company, of course. Seth was so classically handsome, Ali sometimes wondered whether she’d just conjured him into existence. But then, on the other hand, why would she invent such a complicated love triangle situation for herself? It was already proving rather stressful.
Seth led the way down to the beach. It was much wilder than Willow Bay, with rock formations and shrubbery dotted about the place. Rather than the busy waters filled with surfers and yachters and swimmers that Ali was used to in Willow Bay, there was next to no one. Seth had really found quite a hidden gem here.
