Page 82 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
He raised his eyebrows. He had no interest in her favors. “Please don’t worry about me.”
Glass clanked and rolled. A wine bottle stopped at his feet.
“Remember this?” she asked.
Surely he hadn’t shared a bottle of wine with Marilyn and blocked it out? Had she managed to drug him? “Can’t say so, no.”
She sighed, hands on her hips. “It’s the bottle I caught Addy trying to throw into the ocean. You remember, the day we met?”
“Oh, sure. I’m pretty sure she was cleaning it up.” And throwing out her shoulder. The memory warmed his chest.
“AndI’mpretty sure I know my own daughter,” she said. “You need to read the message inside and thinkabout what you’re doing. This is me thanking you. Got it?”
She picked up her coat and walked out, pausing to look over her shoulder. “I was never here.” She winked a big, fake eyelash.
He watched as she shuffled back out the door.
His senses were really too dull to argue with her or ask what she was talking about.
Yet, despite thinking Marilyn was batty, he pulled out the cork. It took a minute of shaking for the note to fall out. He unraveled it and Addy’s handwriting stared up at him.
It read simply, elegantly, in the middle of the page:Will anyone ever love me again?
His stomach lurched. What did that mean? How was Marilyn doing a favor for him by showing him this?
This seemed deeply personal for Addy. He shouldn’t have opened it. But now, how could he ever forget?
Thirty-two
That morning, Rick wasn’t outside Addy’s door when she opened it. She’d have to get used to that. Get used to not seeing him, not laughing with him. Not making breakfast for him.
Maybe once he got wherever he was going, she could send him an email and see how he was doing. He might still want to talk.
No. She needed to wipe this silly fantasy from her mind and leave him alone. As kind as he was, as gracious as he’d been, this had been nothing more than a job to him.
It wasn’t his fault her heart raced every time he walked in the room. He couldn’t help that her dreams were haunted by his smiles.
It was just a crush. She’d get over it.
Okay, there was a chance it was more than a crush for her. He’d awakened something in the depths of her soul. For the first time, she thought her future could hold something more than loneliness. There was more to her than her past, and she actually wanted to keep going to see what that was.
Still, it was something to keep to herself. Not every revelation needed to be shared.
Rick was set to catch the morning ferry, and Addy wanted him to have one last egg sandwich before he left. She snuck
down to the kitchen and melted clarified butter in the pan. She sliced the bread, not too thick, and popped it in the toaster. The coffee machine started its bubbling song, the aroma of roasted beans filling the air.
It had been nice, cooking for two. That was one thing that kept her from leaving the island. Russell and Sheila weren’t always around, but it was good to have company. After so many years of marriage, being alone in an apartment was jarring. At night, she jumped at every sound. Addy left the TV on so it felt like someone else was there.
She wasn’t ready to return to that life yet.
Rick came down the stairs just as she was putting his sandwich together.
“Good morning,” she said, keeping her eyes on the cheese. Best to get it on there while the egg was hot. Melted cheese was key. “I’m not sure if you have time to eat this here, or if you’d prefer to take it with you. I wanted you to have something for the road, for old time’s sake.”
Old time’s sake? Don’t spoil what you’ve had by being a weirdo.
“I’m not going.”
