Page 40 of The Ex Next Door
Amy hung up with Rob, then went out front to talk to Declan. She’d have to cancel dinner tonight. Good thing she hadn’t gone through too much trouble worrying what to wear.
He looked up to see her waving, stopped the mower and grinned. “Hey.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go to dinner tonight. Rob is bringing the kids by in a few minutes. He had some work emergency.”
“Well, too bad for him, but great that you got the kids back early. I know you missed them.”
It was awfully insightful of Declan, and not even slightly judgmental that she, as a single woman, wanted to be with her kids instead of other adults.
“Yes, but I’m sorry about dinner. Tell your parents I appreciate the invite and maybe I’ll see them some other time.”
“Bring the kids. That’s not a problem.”
“Bring them? Really? You don’t think your parents would mind?”
“Are you kidding? My mom loves kids. She can hardly wait to have grandkids. She’s been bugging Finn and Michelle since they announced they were getting married.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to crash a dinner party intended for adults.”
“Clearly, you don’t remember my parents. Nothing fancy. It will probably be hot dogs and burgers.”
But Amy did remember his parents and they were thesweetest couple. They always made her feel like part of their family and she’d certainly had many dinners with them. Finn, with his current girlfriend, and her and Declan, together since they were young teenagers. Oh, there she went again with the nostalgic memories. She didn’t know whether these feelings of nostalgia were acceptable or whether she should at least make an effort to bury them deep. Declan was trying to be nice and welcoming but she refused to get caught up in remembering too much about how they used to be as a couple. It certainly wasn’t going to help to return to the setting where it all happened.
But as it turned out, Amy didn’t have to worry about any of that because Declan’s parents no longer lived in the same house where they’d raised their boys. They’d downsized. She was grateful that she wouldn’t have to see the same nooks and crannies of the home where she and Declan spent hours making out and a lot of other stuff they probably shouldn’t have been doing as teenagers.
Declan spoke as he drove all four of them in his extended-cab truck.
“Mom and Dad bought a fixer-upper with a great view of the coast and my father has been working on the house since then. It’s like HGTV, but the old Tim Allen version. Power tools, hamming it up, accidents, the whole bit. Believe me, plenty of pension dollars and elbow grease have been going into the house. I think my dad needed a project after retiring from the post office.”
The house was set on a small hill on the outskirts of Charming, and Amy grew unreasonably nervous the closer they got. These were old friends, simply people who might have at one time been her in-laws. She would have much rather had them instead of Nancy and John, who’d never thought Amy good enough for their only son. That’s the reason she was nervous, perhaps. Every time she’d been to her in-laws, something went wrong. David tripped over something shiny and expensive that Nancy had left out, forgetting children were coming. Or Naomi decided she didn’t want to tryMoroccanfood but there was literally nothing else she could eat. Not even peanut butter and jelly.
Still, maybe it was a little bit weird to be going to dinner with her ex-boyfriend. It might be odder if she was still married or if she didn’t still feel this intense attraction to Declan. But she was only human, and he really hadn’t changed from the person he used to be. He’d simply grown into himself, a bit taller, broader, even more confident. So, considering she’d still loved him when they broke up, and he was pretty much still the same person—except better—it made sense she was still attracted to him.
Though this would have been much easier if she could have had one of those “what was I thinking” moments about having once been so in love with him. Instead, every time she glanced over at him, she thought,Yeah, that makes sense.
“Hey, kiddos!” Mr. Sheridan opened the front door to a small beach cottage on a hill. “You’re just in time for dinner.”
David already knew Mr. Sheridan from the baseball game, but Declan introduced Naomi just before Mrs. Sheridan came up behind her husband.
“The prodigal son returns!” Mrs. Sheridan went on tiptoes to wrap her arms around Declan. “Finn and Michelle are already here, out on the deck enjoying the almost-sunset.”
“Dad sanded the deck himself last year,” Declan said to Amy.
“I made him hire some help,” Mrs. Sheridan said. “He already had arthroscopic knee surgery on one knee. We didn’t need problems with the other one!”
“It certainly helped moved the plans right along to getsome assistance. My sons have been too busy to help,” Mr. Sheridan said.
“That’s right, pile on the old Irish guilt,” Declan said.
The three large rooms downstairs were filled with beautiful skylights bringing in natural light. There were large bay windows, wood floors that gleamed and a kitchen large enough for an island that housed modern cabinets in a dark cherry wood.
“The place looks wonderful,” Amy said, as she followed the Sheridans to the deck.
There stood Finn with his arm slung low around Michelle’s waist. They both turned and Finn bent down to talk to the kids’ eye level, something she’d seen Declan do many times. Michelle beamed, too, as she smiled at Naomi.
“Hello! I’m Naomi Holloway.” She stuck out her hand to shake.
“I’m David Holloway. It’s very nice to meet you.” David nodded and also stuck out his hand.
