Page 36 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
She sighed. “Here I thought you were high tech.” She pulled a pan from the cupboard and set it on the stove. “Egg sandwich?”
It wasn’t her responsibility to feed him. But those sandwiches were so good…
“If it’s not a bother.”
“Not at all,” she said, turning to the fridge. “One of the neighbors gave Mia a business card. It has a different address than the one on the website. Maybe we should check it out?”
It was a terrible idea. This company was shady in some way, and these guys were just the start of it. They should leave it alone and help Marilyn find a new place to live. Maybe talk to a social worker and find her senior assistance.
Adelaide stopped, a carton of eggs in her hand, and peered up at him.
Who was he to squash the hope in her eyes? “Whatever you think is best.”
“I knew I liked you,” she said with a wag of her finger.
She turned, flicking water into the pan. Little beads of liquid jumped into place, bouncing against the edges. Adelaide threw in a glob of butter. She cracked one egg, then a second.
It was rude to stare. Rick picked up the coffee pot and turned away. The smell of the coffee beans helped him focus.
Still – why had his heart jumped when she said that?
Thirteen
The view from the ferry window was breathtaking, spanning the entirety of their booth, showing off the passing bluffs and impenetrable tree lines of the passing islands.
Rick sat across from her, reading, always reading, this time a bent paperback.
Addy peered up, tracing the lines of his face. She’d finally gotten to see behind that scowl. War, philosophy, corporate life. There was even more to him than she’d suspected.
She must’ve really embarrassed herself at dinner. What other reason could there be for Rick’s sudden change in personality? Confessing his secrets, as he put it.
At the same time, Addy refused to feel embarrassed. She was too old for that. All things considered, the awkwardness of the blind date had been Patty’s fault, and Addy had handled it well. She let the poor guy off the hook and still had a nice evening, thanks to Rick.
It was a kindness on his part – talking about his vulnerabilities after getting an open view of hers. Addy had that effect on people. She could be so hapless, so chaotic, that people didn’t feel self-conscious about spilling their secrets to her.Addy won’t judge me,they think.She’s a mess!
Addy didn’t mind. It was who she was, and she wouldn’t apologize for it. The first time she’d truly doubted herself was after the divorce, but that was to be expected. The one person who had always thought the world of her had suddenly changed his mind.
She now knew it had more to do with him than it did with her, but of course it still hurt. Shane had gone through a cliché midlife crisis, refusing to let anyone help him. All the issues he’d built up during his life – many going back to his childhood – had crashed over him like a tsunami and washed their shared life away.
Shane’s new girlfriend fit the textbook midlife crisis case, too: sixteen years his junior, a fan of posting pictures of the two of them driving in his new red convertible.
What could Addy do but laugh?
It was like the ground had opened after the divorce, a sinkhole no one knew was there. Maybe she’d felt rumblings, but it was too ridiculous to believe.
She’d doubted herself in every way afterward, and though she’d made a lot of progress, she was still picking up the pieces. Her greatest fear, tucked into that wine bottle in Russell’s house, lurked behind every thought.Am I worthy of love? Are my best years behind me, or was I never all that great to begin with?
Maybe she was nothing more than chaos and happenstance. She couldn’t keep her marriage from imploding, yet she thought she could track down her mom’s stolen money?
“I hope this isn’t too forward,” Rick said, setting the book down.
Addy snapped her head back toward him. “Oh?”
He stared at her with those penetrating eyes. “Has your mom always been like this?”
She bit her lip to stop the smile creeping across her face. “What do you mean?”
He hesitated, “Well –”
