Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (42 page)

We f
ollowed t
he curves
on Shoreview Drive
for a few miles and
mad
e the tur
n in
to the restaurant’s parking lot
.
Inside
,
we were seated
on the top deck with a view of the sea spread out before us.

Over dinner
,
Sam
told me about a
letter she
’d
found from
Anne
.

“She didn’t
hint
at who your father was
?”

“Not really, it was more like she wanted to protect him.
It makes me curious if
she
even
told
him about th
e pregnancy
—
or
me?
”

“That’s a good question
.
”
I signal
ed
the waiter for the check.

Weaving our way through the tables
,
we acknowledged
several
hello
s
. In
a close-knit community like Serenity
Cove
,
dinner can often feel
more like a block party
.
I noticed Mark and his wife Carrie and introduced them to Sam.

“You guys have time to
join us for a drink?” Mark stood
and shook hands with Sam.

“A rain
check?” I slapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe the four of us can get together for dinner?”

Mark had
sat back down, and Carrie smiled at Sam. “We’d like that.” Wouldn’t we, hon?”

“You bet.” Mark nodded
. “Give me a call and we’ll set something up, soon.”

We exchanged goodbyes and made our way down the stairs and to the parking lot. While we had dinner, h
aziness had settled over Serenity Cove.
“Mar
k is Thelma’s son, we were
buddies all through school.”
I made a right on Shoreview Drive.

“They seem like a nice couple, I’d enjoy getting together with them.” Sam’s comment
pleased me. She and Carrie would probably hit it off. They were both soft spoken and sweet—of course only one sent my pulse racing.

W
e pulled in behind the bookshop and I walked her to the door. “I need to get home.”
I didn’t want to tell her my leg throbbed from being on it too long
.

“Th
anks for going
with me to
John
’s
.” She branded my cheek with a kiss.

I hugged her
,
wishing I didn’t have to let her go, now or ever.
She lingered in my arms.
I stepped back. “Do you realize how crazy
I am about you?”
I
laced
my fingers through her hair
. “Isn’t
it time we gave
us a chance—see where it might lead?”

“Yes.
” The wo
rd flowed breathlessly from her
par
ted
lips. S
he tilted her face
up. I nipped her lower lip and explored
the fullness of her smile. My hand caressed
her back as I
ravaged her mouth again. She moaned softly and wi
th every ounce of willpower I owned
—I pulled away.

She placed her hands on my chest. “See you tomorrow?”

I managed
a nod and watched her go inside—
the la
st thing I wanted was to leave
.

My mind on autopilot, I drove the
coastal road home. A
ll I could think about was
her kiss.
Had this beautiful creature really said yes?
Would she really stay? Wou
ld life really give us a chance?

Chapter Thirty-five

With eager anticipation
,
I envision being surrounded
by lace, silk, and chiffon. And
Maggie helping me plan a small
eloquent ceremony on the bluff
. I imagined the look on Logan’s face as I strolled toward him to say
,
I do
.
Oh, my, talk about fantasies.
It’s not
as though he
asked me to marry him.
~
Journal entry

Magnolia’s Antiques was
the perfect place to find a friend and
,
with any luck
,
a cuppa.
I
stepped in
side
and
lo
oked up to see whether
the brass ship
bell had announced my arrival—it swung back
and forth.

“
F
or hundreds of years, m
ariners
used a s
hip
bell to regulate time
.”

“I could spend hours in your shop hearing about the history of the pieces.” I followed Maggie
to the
table
already laid for tea
. An onlooker would have thought
she’d been expecting me.

“These teacup
s are lovely
.
”
I tilted the cup and inspect
ed
the design
.
“Makes me think romance is in the air.”
Or was it my imagination working overtime.

“Arrived yesterday.
They
’re early nineteen hundreds,
Doulton Watteau pattern.
I adore
the
antique
flow blue
.
Isn’t this
Victorian courting scene
exquisite?
”

“Flow blue?”

“The blue glaze blurred
or
flowed
d
uring the firing process. They were
first used around 1820. T
he
blue and white china
pieces are highly collectible
.”

“I’m honored to use them
.
Shall I pour?”
I c
huckled at my
attempt at sounding proper
as I
reached for the matching teapot.

Maggie
placed
berry
crepe
s on two
small plate
s
. “
Imagine
the
women wh
o sat with friends drinking
from these very
cups more than a hundred years ago—sisterhood through time.”
She
held
the delicate
cup in her hand.

“Incredible. A story cou
ld be written following a
tea set from generation to generat
ion.” My mind started plotting
,
t
ak
ing my excitement to the limit
.
I hadn’t entertained writing a novel since c
ollege.

“How was the visit to your grandparents?”

“Nothing changed
.
” I smiled teasingly at her.

“
I’ll bit
e. What’s the glowing smile for?” Laughter
filled her eyes. Had Logan already told her?

“Have you spoken with Logan?”

“Not since I saw the two of you yesterday.” She reach
ed over and touched my arm. “Tell me
, the suspense is killing me here.”

“Logan and I are official. We’re dating.”

She clapped a couple of times and grasped her hands against her chest. “I am thrilled for you. Does this mean you’re staying here in Serenity Cove?”
The way her
lips moved I felt the anticipation
of her words
.

“I’m not sure at this point what it means.
”

The light in her eyes dulled, and the corners of her mouth turned down. “Sam. I couldn’t be happier about your news. I loved Anne, and I’ve come to admire you as well. But I’m concerned about Logan.” She ran a small silver
dessert
fork through the crumbs on her plate. “I’m going to be blunt.” Her frown bordered on irritation. “He’s in love with you. I see it in his eyes when he looks at you. I see it in his smile
as he talks to you. I hear it in the
way he speaks your name. If you’re
intent
on leaving and breaking his heart—it’s better you leave now.” She placed her napkin on the table—I followed her with my eyes
as she walked over to help a customer.

The sting
the slap her words had delivered left me spinning. She reached me as I pushed on the door. “I love you like a sister. He’s my brother.” She gave me
a hug. “Y
ou
’ll work it all
out
.”
I loved Maggie like a sister, too. The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt her, or Logan.

Her remarks had merely buttressed what I already knew. Had I been too hasty in saying yes to Logan? In my apartment
,
I tossed suitcases on the bed. Tears welled up. Maggie had given me a reality check. She had come close to losing her brother
, and
now she feared
I was going to
hurt
him, with
a pain that cut deeper than
a bullet
.

I texted Logan and asked him to come by. Hopefully
eye
drops would clear away the redness in my eyes—the last thing I wanted was to use womanly wiles to elicit his pity. Close to the time for him to arrive, Goldie nudged me.

I opened the door and Goldie wormed her way in front of me. He bent down, greeted her, stood back up and planted a light kiss on my lips. “What’s up?”

I inhaled the woodsy smell of his aftershave and my heart leaped to take the conversation in a different direct
ion, like a student waving her
hand and
jumping up and down because she has
the correct answer. But I held my ground. “Let’s sit i
n here.” I led him to the sofa
.

I folded my shaking hands in my lap. “I want to be honest with you
.
I don’t want any misconceptions between us.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why do I think my sister is behind this?”

“This is a conversation we need to have. I can’t deny there’s something special between us. My pulse races when you come into the room. When we’re together
,
my happiness meter breaks all records.” I took a deep breath before I delivered the next blow. “My life isn’t i
n a good place right now. As
much as I want to tell you I’ll stay—I can’t make promises I might not keep.”

He wiped a tear from my face. “I haven’t asked for promises—I’ve only asked you to give us a chance.” He placed his head on mine. I fell under his spell as he pulled away and tilted my face
up
. “When I saw you in the hospital after your fall, I saw the world in your eyes—a world I wanted to be part of. I’d like to see where it takes us.”

My planned script had been shredded into ti
ny pieces. In answer
,
I raised my mouth
and allowed the burn of his kiss to caress
my senses. I pu
lled away. “I think Goldie needs
to go out.” I desperately
needed
air.

We fell into line behind the little dog as she scampered down the stairs. While she ran around her routine course, I asked him to watch her for a minute.

I strolled through the back door of Maggie’s shop
,
where
I found her opening cartons of merchandise
. “Maggie?”

She
rushed to me. “I’m so sorry.” I cou
ld tell from the pink rims of
her eyes she’d been weeping.

“Don’t be. Logan and I talked—for now we’d like to see where our hearts take us.” I hugged her. “I promise to
always
be honest with Logan.” At the
door I turned. “Love you
.”

“Love you, too.”

I mirrored her acti
ons and dashed a wayward tear with the back of
my
hand
. “See you in a while.”