Page 187 of Sing with Me

“Sure. We’re just analyzing relationships. Just between us.” Diehl drank more water as he watched Skye drink her unsweet tea. He hadn’t ordered any tea because this place made sweet tea too sweet and unsweet tea too bitter. Other than that, they made the best ribs and brisket.

“My brother was engaged to Talia a few times. Every single time, she’d break off with him, run off to other men, break up with them, and return to Sebastian. You’d think he’d get the pattern. Oh no, he still thought that Talia was the one. Then he asked me—his own sister—to help him get Talia back. I said no.”

“You said no.” Diehl smiled.

“I told him to move on. Talia refused to go to church with him, so right away, they had that divide. And blah blah.” Skye finished her tea. “Instead of listening to my advice, my big brother—whom I love to death—asked my best friend Emmeline behind my back and paid her to be his rent-a-girlfriend for the summer.”

“Paid escort?” Diehl spluttered on his water.

“What I said. Trust me, it’s all clean—they’re both Christians. My brother promised to help find her brother who had vanished some years ago. They faked a relationship so that Seb could win back Talia.”

“I gather it ended well since they’re both married now.”

Skye nodded. “In the process of helping each other, they fell in love. So that’s not love at first sight for you.”

“What about us?”

“Us?” Skye went quiet. “What do you think?”

“When was the first time we ever saw each other?” Diehl tried to recall when Sebastian first catered luncheons and dinner parties for his parents at Brooks Cottage.

“It was before your parents hired Chef Pierre,” Skye said. “Seb had a catering business then, and I just graduated out of chef school—wow. That was at least ten years ago.”

“Has it been ten years? I remember your brother more than I remember you.”

“I was working at Sage Café at that time as chef de cuisine, so I didn’t go to the catering venues unless Seb needed me to fill in for someone. I think we had a few Christmas dinners at Brooks Cottage—before they bought the house next door—where I saw you. You were with friends, but your wife was not with you. That’s all I remember because I was busy in the kitchen.”

“Isobel rarely went with me to Seaside Island. If she ever did, she would stay at the Priory and not at Brooks Cottage. It was awkward. I don’t mean to dredge anything up or put her in a bad light—though I suppose I just did, and for that, I apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re being objective about our past history as a matter of analysis,” Skye said.

There she went again, compartmentalizing things. Diehl found it fascinating that Skye hadn’t shown any shred of jealousy.

As for him, he wanted her for himself exclusively.

“What about your kids?” Skye pushed her plate to one side and wiped her hands with a paper towel. “I don’t recall seeing them around at the dinners and luncheons.”

“They were always with nannies. That was Isobel’s wish that the kids would not be attached to us. That way, we could do adult things or take vacations without a bunch of kids clinging on to us.”

“That’s sad. Poor kids.”

Diehl realized that he didn’t feel that way anymore. “When I got saved, I saw how precious my kids are. If I were to do it over, they wouldn’t have nannies. They’d have me.”

“They’re older now, so they might not be as needy—although I remember a sermon that Pastor Gonzalez preached a few years ago in which he said that teenagers need their parents more than we realize.”

“Really?” Diehl hadn’t put too much thought into it.

“I’m just telling you what he said. I have no experience of my own.”

“Well, Elisa will be thirteen next year, so I better pay attention. Could you send me the link to that sermon? I need to hear it.”

“Sure. Remind me later, okay? I don’t want to touch my purse with my sticky fingers.” Skye wiggled her fingers in the air. “By the way, there are many godly parents at Seaside Chapel who are ahead of you in parenting teens and college kids, so you might get some good advice from them too.”

“Good idea.”

“If you ever go back to St. Simon’s, you might talk to the pastor about it and he’ll point out some godly fathers who can provide wise counsel. Iron sharpens iron, you know.”

“I’ve heard of that phrase.”

---