Page 61 of Romance and Peppermint Lattes
A bittersweet smile crossed Maryanne’s lips. That was the irony of it all.
“Nolan does love me. I know it now, in my heart. I believed him when he said he didn’t, but he was lying. It’s just that he was in love with someone else a long time ago and he was badly hurt,” she said. “He’s afraid to leave himself open to that kind of pain again. To complicate matters, I’m Samuel Simpson’s daughter. If I weren’t, he might’ve been able to let go of his insecurities and make a commitment.”
“He’s the one who’s losing out.”
Maryanne understood that her mother’s words were meant to comfort her, but they had the opposite effect. Nolan wasn’t the only one who’d lost. “I realize that and I think in some sense he does, too, but it’s not much help.”
Her mother was silent.
“You know, Mom,” Maryanne said, surprising herself with a sudden streak of enthusiasm. “I may not feel like flying off to Paris, but I think a shopping expedition would do us both a world of good. We’ll start at the top floor of Sak’s and work our way straight down to the basement.”
***
They spent a glorious afternoon Christmas shopping. They arrived home at dinnertime, exhausted yet rejuvenated.
“Where was everyone after school?” Mark, the older of theSimpson boys, complained. At sixteen, he was already as tall as his father and his dark eyes shone brightly with the ardor of youth. “I had a rotten day.”
“What happened?”
Every eye was on him. Mark sighed expressively. “There’s this girl—”
“Susie Johnson. Mark’s bonkers over her,” fourteen-year-old Sean supplied, grinning shrewdly at his older brother.
Mark ignored him. “I’ve been trying to get Susie’s attention for a long time. At first I thought she’d notice me because of my brains.”
“What brains? Why would she do anything as dumb as that?”
Samuel tossed his son a threatening glare and Sean quickly returned to his meal.
“Some girls really go for that intelligent stuff. You, of course—” he looked down his nose at Sean “—wouldn’t know that, on account of only being in junior high. Which is probably where you’ll stay for the rest of your life.”
Samuel frowned again.
“Go on,” Maryanne urged Mark, not wanting the conversation to get sidetracked by her two brothers trading insults.
“Unfortunately Susie didn’t even seem to be aware I was in three of her classes, let alone that I was working my head off to impress her. So I tried out for the soccer team. I figured she’d have to notice me because she’s a cheerleader.”
“Your skills have been developing nicely,” Samuel said, nodding proudly at his eldest son.
“Susie hasn’t noticed.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Maryanne said.
“No, it’s true.” Mark sighed melodramatically, as if the burden of his problem was too heavy to bear. “That was when I came up with the brilliant idea of paying someone—another girl, one I trust—to talk to Susie, ask her a few questions. Ifigured if I could find out what she really wants in life then I could go out of my way to—” he paused “—you know.”
“What you were hoping was that she’d say she wanted to date a guy who drove a red Camaro so you could borrow your mother’s to take to school for the next week or so.” Samuel didn’t succeed in disguising his smile as he helped himself to salad.
“Well, you needn’t worry,” Mark muttered, rolling his eyes in disgust. “Do you know what Susie Johnson wants most in this world?”
“To travel?” his mother suggested.
Mark shook his head.
“To date the captain of the football team?” Maryanne tried.
Mark shook his head again.
“What then?” Sean demanded.
