Page 47 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

“Of course I want to talk about Troy. And after he died, I was desperate to talk about him, but everyone in town avoided the topic. Maybe they thought it would be more painful for me.” The cobblestones under her feet tilted and she almost stumbled. Cody grabbed her elbow and held her steady. “Thanks. They didn’t realize that talking about him would be helpful. Even Constance didn’t talk to me about him much. But you…you were the only one who grieved with me. Who would talk about him.”

“Okay, then. I don’t see the problem.” Cody dropped her elbow and drew a half step away.

“The problem is, Troy isn’t the only thing we have in common. And yet, you use him as a shield. It’s like he’s always between us. Sometimes I wonder if you do all of the stuff around my house to help me simply because he’s not here to do it…or because you’remyfriend—not his.”

Okay, then. Hadn’t meant to say all of that. She hadn’t even known she thought that until the words were out. And yet, she did.

Cody paused. A slight frown line developed between his eyes. “You’re right.” He shrugged. “It’s just that it’s always been you and me and Troy.”

“That’s not true. There was a you and me before Troy moved here.Wewere friends first. Being the middle child, it was easy to feel overlooked in my own house, but you always had time for me. Your friendship meant the world. It was a lifeline.” She stopped, looked at him. “It still is.”

“I’ll always be your friend, Mia.”

“And yet…once Troy moved here, you and I didn’t do much just the two of us, did we? The two of you were thick as thieves, and I was like the third wheel.”

“Are you kidding? You were the sun, and we were the planets orbiting around you. Trying to one-up each other to impress you, get you to laugh.” He shook his head. “If anyone was the third wheel, it was me. Once you and Troy started dating…well, you had eyes only for each other.” He started walking again.

She hurried to catch up as he reached Constance’s yard. Touched his elbow so he stopped. “I’m sorry, Cody. I had no idea we made you feel that way. I suppose we were pretty obnoxious, weren’t we?” Mia searched his eyes and was surprised to find a shuttering of sorts—not humor as she’d expected. But…more. Something deeper and sadder than her words warranted. Unless…

“Was there another reason you pulled away in high school? Not just because we were annoying, but…something else?”

“Something else?” His voice had gone husky, and was it her imagination, or was he leaning in closer? “Like what?”

“I don’t know.” She tugged on a loose piece of her hair that blew in the breeze. “Dani had this crazy idea that you liked me back then.” Oh goodness, now why had she gone and blurted that out? Surely he was going to laugh and give her a friendly tap on the shoulder and they’d smile about this later.

Instead, Cody shifted and looked away from her. “You were smart, funny, and talented. Not to mention beautiful. I guess back then, yeah. I had a thing for you.”

She stilled. “A thing? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“C’mon, Mia. Even if it took him several years to pursue you, you were head over heels for Troy from the minute he stepped on the island. And then he had the courage to speak up when I didn’t. My two best friends had found love together. So, what was I supposed to say? I chose to be happy for you and move on.”

“Oh, Cody.” She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Even through his flannel shirt she could feel the tension in his muscles. He spun to face her, just six inches separating them. His eyes flared a brighter blue in the midday sun. Her breath caught.

“You meant everything to me back then.” His voice had dropped until she had to lean forward to hear him. “In this tiny town, in our tiny school, you were like, I don’t know, a water sprite or some other fantasy creature. You always thought up the most interesting things to do, you were spontaneous and fun. And you could look at any situation and see beauty. I’d see a tree and think ‘oh, a tree’, you’d see the same tree and go home and paint something incredible.” He paused and wet his lips. “And I thought…Then Troy moved here, and we all became friends. But then your focus shifted to him. Which is fine. Honestly, I don’t hold it against you at all. But yeah. Troy is between us, because he’s always been between us.”

Under her hand his muscle rippled. She swallowed. He thought she was a fantasy creature? When had Cody become so…poetic? Also, she didn’t feel like that carefree girl anymore. But maybe she could again. In time.

Cody’s gaze flicked down to her lips.

Heat flared inside. What?—

“Mommy’s back!” Finn’s high cheer from Constance’s doorway broke the whatever it was between them. Mia gulped in a breath before taking a step back and dropping her hand.

“Hi Finn!” She pasted on a smile for her son, pretending that her heart wasn’t galloping faster than the time she’d run for the track team. In the doorway, Maggie poked her head under Finn’s arm. “Hi Mags. You guys ready to go home?” She made her way up the sidewalk. Before reaching the house, she flicked a glance back at Cody. The look he was giving her in return made her legs feel like jelly.

Their conversation wasn’t over.

Cody rubbed his neck. So that’s what whiplash felt like. Or at least that’s what this morning had been for him.

He’d been eating an omelet and deep into researching a new gasket for his boat when he’d gotten a phone call about a lead on some fishing tackle he’d need now that his dad had sold his.

After the call, he found he couldn’t concentrate on his research anymore, so he’d grabbed the car for Finn and texted Mia. Then he saw Matt on that dock, holding Mia’s hand. Then Mia asking him to talk about how he felt about her.

Culminating in whatever the heck that was outside her mother-in-law’s house. Had he really been about to kiss her before the kids interrupted them?

He’d hotfooted it out of there before Mia had a chance to razz him about it.

Coward.

---