Now, three years later, he had done it again. Not expecting him for another hour, she’d not yet changed for their dinner date. Even though he’d offered to bring in take-out, she still wanted to dress up. She managed to throw on a sundress and some lipstick before he rang the bell.
She could smell the pizza as soon as she opened the door.
“Hope you’re hungry,” he said, balancing the pizza box in one hand and holding up a bottle of wine in the other.
“Starved,” she said, taking the box from him and walking it into the kitchen. “What kind did you get?”
“You have to ask? Your favorite, of course.”
Thea lifted the lid and smiled down at the ham and pineapple pie, Mario’s Hawaiian Surprise. The irony, of course, was that there was nothing surprising about it. Dennis was right—it had always been her favorite. So why did she suddenly long for mushroom and olive?
“This place isn’t bad,” he said, looking around. “What are you paying a week? A grand? I hope it’s not more. This place isn’t worth more than that.”
Thea moved to the cabinet to take down two plates, not sure if she was more annoyed at Dennis’ demanding of her rent or his structural assessment of a condo he’d been in for exactly two minutes. “I’ve been very comfortable here,” she said, pulling out the drawer to hunt for the corkscrew. She found it, trying to ignore the prickle of regret at the memory of Calder’s search for it the night before. She turned to hand it to Dennis to do the honors, but he was on the other side of the breakfast bar, scrutinizing a chip in the molding.
She took the bottle and stabbed the tip into the cork, twisting and tugging it free. All at once, another memory returned—a much sweeter one: the moment she’d fought to remove the cork and Calder had come from behind to rescue her. She glanced across the counter at Dennis, trying to imagine him doing something that seductive, that spontaneous. It had been a long time since they’d found themselves crushed against each other with that kind of hungry passion.
“I would have talked them down to eight or nine,” Dennis said, coming back to take one of the glasses she’d poured. “So how is it going at the house? Any news on when you can move back in?”
Her house! She’d been so delightfully immersed in her getaway that she’d barely thought about it.
Dennis frowned at her over the top of his wine. “You did go check on it after you left the office yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Actually, no,” she said, hearing the surprise in her own voice.
“Well. It’s understandable.” He smiled. “You had other things on your mind.”
She nodded and gulped her wine.
“Speaking of that…” He stepped closer. “I’m not pressuring you, I promise. I’m just wondering if you’ve been thinking about…you know…”
“All the time,” she said.
“Did you tell your family yet?” She nodded. Dennis smiled, obviously pleased, as if the admission to her sisters were proof enough that she meant to accept his proposal. “And what did they say?”
“Willa wanted to know why you didn’t ask my father’s permission first.”
“Thee, come on. We’re a little old for all that, don’t you think?” Dennis moved around the counter and tapped his glass against hers. “To fresh starts.”
She met his toast but wasn’t yet ready to repeat it. They took their pizza and wine to the table, but after one slice, Thea couldn’t sit still. When Dennis asked for a glass of water, she rose quickly. When he needed more napkins, she did the same; any excuse to move around.
It was this condo. Yes, that was the problem. Her time here had been with Calder. The history in this place, brief as it was, hadn’t included Dennis and it was apparent to her, and deeply unsettling. Surely when she was back at her townhouse, everything could go back to normal, to the way it was.
But in the meantime, they needed to get out of here, she decided, after rising a third time for more wine. They needed to go somewhere fun, somewhere different. Someplace totally unlike the places they used to go.
If Dennis meant to make the fresh start he vowed, then they needed to find new favorite spots.
“I was thinking we could go out,” she suggested brightly.
“But I thought you wanted to stay in?”
“I did, but it’s just such a gorgeous night. Maybe we could go out and hear some music. They have great outdoor concerts at Awendaw Green.”
Dennis sat back. “Why in the world would you want to go to Awendaw Green? You always talk about how loud it is there.”
“It’s not as loud as I thought,” she said.
“You say that like you’ve been there recently.”
“I’ve just heard things, that’s all.” What would Dennis think if she told him she’d been there just two days ago with her high school crush?
“Hon, if we do anything, we should go back into the city and see about your townhouse,” Dennis said. “The sooner you get the clean bill of health on that place, the sooner we can put it on the market.”
Thea blinked at him. “Why would I put it on the market?”
“Because I just assumed we’d move into my place.”
“Why would you assume that?”
“Because it’s bigger, obviously.”
“Well, that may be the case, but I’m not crazy about the location.”
“Since when? You never said anything about it before.”
“Maybe that’s because I never thought I’d be living in it before.”
Dennis waved his hand. “Look, we don’t have to decide tonight. We’ve got plenty of time to talk it over.”
Thea swept up her glass and took it to the counter to add more wine. Had he not even considered the possibility that she might want to buy a new place? Something without history, something fresh? If they needed to talk about anything, it should have been to discuss why he’d needed a three-month break from her—not the status of her termite fumigation.
Thea returned to the table and sat down slowly, observing Dennis as he ate his pizza like she was seeing him for the first time. Only she wasn’t. How was she supposed to believe he’d changed in three months when nothing about this evening was any different than any other evenings she and he had spent together over the years?
What if Willa was right? What if Dennis just figured they’d pick up right where they left off. Same pizza, same nightly routines, same places to avoid?
Or what if Peach was right? Lots of couples took breaks from each other and found themselves stronger for the time apart. Dennis had obviously felt that way—and she probably did too, it was just that she’d been distracted the last few days, ever since she’d moved in next to—
Calder
. Her heartbeat hastened, try as she did to calm her racing pulse.
What she had felt for Calder was girlish infatuation, the kind of romantic fantasy that can happen to anyone when they go on vacation, right?
What she and Dennis had was history. Lots of it.
What did she and Calder have? A few motorcycle rides? Hot kisses and a couple of heart-to-heart talks?
Then why was the news of his leaving sticking in her throat every time she swallowed? And why was it their heart-to-heart talks had filled her with hope and wonder, and a fierce desire to bring the kind of good to the world that he did?
“Babe?” Dennis leaned in. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem, I don’t know, like you’re somewhere else.”
“I’m fine,” she said, smiling. “I’m just tired from all the excitement today.”
“Then maybe we should just call it a night.” He put his hand on hers where it lay on the edge of the table and rubbed her fingers. “I’ve missed you.”
She had missed him, too. She really had. Wasn’t it just a few days ago she’d woken up and searched through her emails, desperate to see one from him because her longing for him had been so strong? She slid her fingers up through his, watching hers and his weave together, tangled, just like her emotions. On the one hand she wanted him to stay, wanted him to tear her clothes off and lift her onto the counter the way Calder had nearly done , just to prove that Dennis had it in him—but another part of her wanted him to go and leave her to her jumbled thoughts. Alone.
“It’s a lot to process, Dennis,” she said, rubbing her thumb against his. “One minute we’re done and the next minute we’re back together. It can’t be like a light switch that way. You can’t expect that we can just—“
“I know, I know.” He nodded thoughtfully. “I didn’t mean to pressure you. I never expected we’d…that you’d want me to stay…”
Didn’t he?
Dennis picked up his empty glass and turned the stem between his fingers. “Then I guess I shouldn’t have another glass if I have to drive back to Charleston,” he said, looking at her expectantly, as if hoping she might tell him he could stay. But her decision was made. Thea wanted her own space tonight. She hoped he understood.
She wrapped up the last few slices and slid them into the fridge while he checked his phone. Back at the sink, she kept her eyes down, afraid to look up and see Calder stepping out of his house or even in the driveway. Afraid to know he might be going out, hoping to meet someone, someone who wasn’t her.
At the door, Dennis turned and stroked her cheek. “Why don’t I come by in the morning and take you out for coffee? What’s that corny little place you like so much out here?”
She frowned. “Bay City Beans?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Since when was her favorite café corny? It may not have been as hoity-toity as the upscale cafes in Charleston, but it had been her second home throughout high school and every summer.
“I’ll come by at ten,” he said, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
But even as she watched him descend the steps and slip into his Range Rover, her heart thundered, the realization as clear to her in that moment as the night sky above her.
She hadn’t been following her heart. Until now.
Chapter Thirteen
Five weeks later
Thunder
crackled across the steel-gray sky, the rumbling near enough that Thea turned her office chair away from her window, dreading the inevitable streaks of lightning that would surely follow. She glanced at her phone and groaned at the time. She had promised to meet Willa for lunch at noon and it was nearly twelve-ten. She’d walk fast. She wasn’t usually late but today she’d been compiling notes for one of her pro bono clients at the shelter and she wanted to make sure she had all her information. Willa would understand.
She rummaged through her desk for a fresh packet of Post-it notes and smiled to see the receipt from the leasing agent at Bay Villas among her supplies. Had it really been over a month since she’d stayed there? Over a month since she’d told Dennis she couldn’t accept his proposal? Over a month since…
Calder Frye.
She tore off a Post-it and pressed it on the top of her stack of files.
It had been a relief getting the call that her house was ready for her return a few days ahead of schedule. As much as she had hated giving up paid days at the condo, she couldn’t bear living next to Calder’s soon-to-be-rented condo. Just days after announcing his job offer—he’d flown out to San Francisco for his interview and not returned before she’d vacated her condo, four days before her lease ran out. When she’d met with the Villas’ leasing agent to give back the keys, the woman had mentioned that Calder was staying on in San Francisco for a trial stint at the hospital, before he made a permanent commitment, which the agent—and Thea—agreed would certainly happen. Her interest piqued, Thea had googled the hospital’s website later that day and her breath had caught when she’d clicked on the staff news page and saw a picture of Calder standing among a group of doctors, looking just as confident as she remembered him—and as gorgeous. No doubt the women of San Francisco were welcoming him with open arms.
Just as his world had changed dramatically in just a few weeks, so had hers. She’d started taking pro bono cases for a women’s shelter outside of Charleston and the work had given her a sense of purpose—and a sense of perspective—she’d never imagined. When her gym membership ran out, she started a yoga class. She’d even agreed to join Willa and Peach’s You Had Me At Merlot Book Club! Turning down Dennis’ proposal had freed her in ways she’d never expected. Even now as she hurried down the block to the fast-food place, she felt lighter, unburdened.
Willa had secured them a booth in the back and already ordered them cheeseburgers and Cokes.
Thea dug in, starving.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come to the Blue Crab Festival with me and Knox tomorrow?” Willa asked.
Thea dragged a fry through her pile of ketchup. “I can’t—I have that yoga workshop.”
“Look at you,” Willa marveled. “My hip, alternative sister—who knew?”
“I’m taking yoga, Will. Not getting a nose ring.”
“Is that next?”
“Very funny.”
“Dennis would’ve loved that.” She glanced up at Thea. “Is he still sending you emails?”
“And leaving messages,” said Thea. “He wouldn’t even take back the ring—I had to drop it off at his office with his secretary. He thinks I’m going through some kind of phase and I’ll snap out of it and realize we should be married.”
Willa took her hand and squeezed. “I’m proud of you, Thee. You listened to your heart.”