So complicated, p.6
So Complicated, page 6
“I’ve never left work early before.”
“Then it’s about time you did.”
His voice was too cheerful for the situation, but she was grateful for the rays of sunshine and happiness from him.
He ushered her out to his car, telling her he’d bring her to pick her car up later.
“You’re the only good guy left, Lukey.”
She rested her head against the car window, knowing without looking that the freckle on his cheek would have disappeared in the crease of his smile.
“You’ve just managed to meet the worst men in New Hampshire. What can be expected from an anonymous online dating site?”
“I bet that’s what they’re all thinking about me, too.”
“Not a chance. They’re all kicking themselves for judging you too quickly and too harshly.”
“You know what’s sad?” Aleen shifted in her seat so she could look at her friend. “Two out of the four men commented on my weight. Scratch that—the macho kitten dude told me he could be my personal trainer. He was nicer about it, but still. I don’t get it. First of all, I know I could lose a few pounds, but I’m not obese. Second of all, why would they think it’s appropriate to comment on a woman’s weight at all, never mind on a first date?”
Luke reached his hand out to cover her knee.
“Don’t give anything those pricks said a second thought. Men like that are intimidated by women like you.”
“Yeah, that must be it.”
“Are you kidding?” Luke pulled into the driveway, shifted the car into Park, and turned in his seat so he could look directly at her. “Accomplished. Intelligent. Independent. Beautiful. Killer bod. As a member of the Y chromosome club, I can tell you that men with teeny dicks are terrified of women like you.”
“I am quite goddess-like, aren’t I?” she joked, knowing he wouldn’t ease up on the self-esteem boosting until he thought she believed him.
“Very much so. Now let’s get you out of those scrubs and into something that highlights your assets.”
“I’m not highlighting anything. I’m going to bed. For a week.”
“Oh, no you’re not. Last week was chick flick week. This week you’re coming with me to see stuff blow up on the big screen. We can hit a matinee.”
“You have work.”
“Nope. Cancelled.”
“We can’t both play hooky!”
“Why should you have all the fun?”
“But the poor, sick animals…”
“Do you think I’m heartless?” Luke held his hand over his heart. “It’s beating. I checked with Danielle—all of my afternoon appointments are routine check-ups. We’re rescheduling for Saturday afternoon.”
“You hate working Saturday afternoons…”
“Stop. No more from you. Get your butt in there, get dressed, and meet me back here in fifteen. I’m going to take Dagger for a quick run.”
“If you can get him to run, I’ll give you one hundred bucks.”
“How about a kiss instead?”
Her heart quickened.
“Sure, Dagger loves to give kisses.”
He hesitated for a second, then smiled as if that’s what he meant all along. That was what he meant, right? He wasn’t flirting with her… not for real.
“Clock is ticking.” Luke closed the car door behind him and raced up the stairs, skipping every other one.
She bit the inside of her cheek when she realized she watched his butt the entire time.
She didn’t know if it was his constant presence since he’d been staying with her, her vulnerability surrounding her sad dating life, the prospect of being forever alone and never bearing a child, or the remaining heat from that intense kiss they had shared at Jake’s.
Whatever it was, she had to put a detour sign on this dead-end feeling. Before she lost the one person who meant the most to her in the world.
Chapter Seven
“I can’t believe I let myself get talked into this.” Aleen blew her bangs out of her face as she talked to herself in the rearview mirror, parked outside Miss Molly’s shop.
She didn’t call Miss Molly for an appointment. She figured she’d go in, feel things out, and go with what her gut told her to do.
“Ah, there’s a familiar face I haven’t seen for a while.”
Miss Molly greeted Aleen as soon as she entered the store.
“Hi, Miss Molly. I’m sorry I haven’t been in for a while—I’ve been picking up extra shifts.”
“Oh yes, I’ve been hearing about these extra ‘shifts’. No luck in the love department, huh?”
“You really do know everything that happens in this town, don’t you?”
Miss Molly tapped her eye patch—a tye-dyed pattern with bright yellow stitching.
“I may have only one eye, but I see everything! And from where I’m standing, I see a woman who needs me to point out the obvious. You may have two eyes, but you are blind.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Come closer, dear. Write your worries on this paper and put them in my worry jar. I’ll release them into the universe for you.”
Miss Molly handed Aleen a square of pastel-green paper and a pen with feathers on the end.
“Go on, now. Write them down. And then open your ears and your eyes so you can hear and see what I’m about to tell you.”
To appease Miss Molly, Aleen jotted down her one worry.
She wasn’t superstitious, but if this thing really worked the way people around town claimed it did, she would be forever grateful.
“This is confidential, right?”
“Of course, my dear. I would never tell anyone that your greatest worry is that you won’t have a baby of your own.”
How had she read that? Aleen purposefully wrote more sloppily than normal, and she had folded it as soon as she finished writing.
“Thought it would be confidential from everyone…”
“Oh, I don’t read them. I just know. Remember? I see everything.”
Aleen concentrated on taking a deep breath, just like she told her patients to do when they were on the brink of an anxiety attack.
Why had she come here? Why hadn’t she gone straight home from work, as planned?
Why had she allowed Sabrina’s voice to be louder than her own?
“I can see you don’t want to be here, so let’s get the advice out of the way. You have tried on several types of shoes, and none of them have fit. I know your generation is keen on catalog shopping and getting everything on the internet, but why pay for shipping when you have what you need in this quaint town of ours?”
Aleen studied Miss Molly’s face, trying to determine whether or not she had begun to show signs of senility.
“Don’t look at me like I’ve lost my marbles.” Miss Molly threw her permed head back and cackled. “I’m talking about that cute veterinarian of yours. He is the one you are most compatible with. He is the one I would match you up with in a heartbeat. Don’t make that face, dear. I’ve been watching and listening. He came in here just yesterday to buy those soaps you like. Did you like the new scent? Sweet Julia has been busy making more types. But I digress. As I watched the way he spoke of you, the way he carefully selected soaps based on what he thought you’d like, I knew. You should know, too, but you’re too close to the situation.”
“Yeah, too close because he’s my best friend. We don’t belong together in the way that I need to belong with a guy.”
Aleen laughed nervously, then popped a mint in her mouth when she realized what she was doing.
“Nonsense. Friends make the best lovers. Don’t ask me how I know.” Miss Molly wagged her eyebrows at Aleen, settling Aleen’s fired-up nerves. “You can search the stratosphere for true love, but I’m telling you, dear. Luke is your man.”
Aleen thanked Miss Molly, picked up several items to purchase, and after a few moments of non-Luke small talk, left the shop.
She fought the urge to vomit on the sidewalk.
Finding love in the microcosm of Healing Springs probably wasn’t the best idea she had ever had. Importing men from the surrounding areas via the cruel world of online matchmaking hadn’t done her any favors.
She wasn’t the clubbing type—she enjoyed hanging out at Jake’s now and then, but only to kick Luke’s butt at darts or for a quick game of pool.
She had to find love. Fast. Before her birthday, and before Luke found out that every damned soul in this town was trying to merge her heart with Luke’s.
Aleen called her mom for reassurance. Even she asked why Aleen and Luke weren’t together.
They all thought it looked obvious. Easy. Right in front of her face.
They didn’t understand.
True, she didn’t think of Luke as a brother. She had never had a brother, but she knew she found Luke way too attractive to be like a relative.
He didn’t annoy her. Not much. He was the tidy to her messy. He was the healthy food to her processed diet. He was the stable to her chaos.
She needed him.
He had never maintained interest in a woman beyond the first few dates. When he had allowed this last girlfriend to move in with him, Aleen had known it wouldn’t last. She hated the woman for hurting Luke, but she didn’t blame the woman for cheating—not really. Luke was never emotionally available to the woman, and though Aleen was delighted that he was always there for her, she couldn’t help but ache for the women in Luke’s life who had tried to crack him open.
He was never unkind to the women, just not lovey-dovey. He didn’t believe in sending flowers. He couldn’t stand to listen to their daydreams unless they had concrete plans for achieving their goals. He didn’t appreciate long-term laziness, and he despised long grooming sessions. If she couldn’t be ready to go within fifteen minutes, he didn’t want to bother leaving the house.
But he was hard-working, ridiculously intelligent, and he could melt a heart with the way he treated animals.
Aleen had watched him jump all in with women more times than she could count, but when the relationships died, he never tried to contact them again. Never responded to texts or calls. He didn’t believe in social media, so no late-night reunions happened there.
When they were done, they were done.
The idea of Luke being done with Aleen splintered her heart into teeny, tiny stakes and drove them straight into her bloodstream, where they scraped and pinched and punctured.
She was bleeding out.
Aleen pulled over to a scenic spot near the Springs and forced herself to take deep breaths to ward off the hyperventilation.
As she regained her breath, her phone buzzed with an incoming text from Luke.
“You are a beautiful goddess. You will make a man very happy one day, but more importantly, he has to make YOU happy. See you tonight. Pinches.”
He always signed his correspondence with “pinches” instead of hugs or kisses, because when they had met in college, he had pinched her arm when he lost a Trivial Pursuit game. She had laughed hysterically at his immature pout, and he continued pinching her all over her body as she rolled around on the bed, laughing to the point of tears. When he saw her tears, he thought he had hurt her. He had scooped her in his arms and apologized profusely. She pinched him on his chest, and the pinching war resumed. They gave each other a few bruises, but she had never had more fun in her life.
From then on, he pinched her affectionately whenever she needed a laugh.
Tears puddled around her lips and dripped on her neck at the memory.
God, how she loved that man.
He always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better.
She needed to find a husband to father her children, but she already had her soul mate.
Chapter Eight
Luke tucked a daisy behind his mother’s ear and kissed her on the cheek.
“How are you feeling, Mama?”
Her lips trembled as she broke into a smile.
“Happy to see my boy. I didn’t expect you on a weekday.”
“I had some extra time and didn’t want to miss seeing you this week.”
She reached out and patted his hand.
“You’re a good boy, Luke.”
Luke handed his mother the freshly-squeezed lemonade he had picked up from the vendor on the town common. She smiled and hummed in appreciation.
“You’re bringing that girlfriend of yours to the barbecue this weekend, right, Luke?”
Luke closed his eyes. He had been dreading this moment.
Since his mother’s terminal diagnosis, she had been not-so-subtly urging him to find a life partner before she passed on, thus leading him into the cohabitation nightmare he was currently disengaging himself from.
“We broke up, Mom.”
Her mouth formed a surprised and disappointed, “O.” She brought her too-thin hands to cover her gaping mouth. Tears filled her red-rimmed, tired eyes.
“I’m sorry. We weren’t right for each other.”
“I had hoped.” She placed her hands on her belly. “But above all, I want you to be happy. If you’re happier alone, that’s the way it should be.”
He felt like her words were a trick—a trap to get him to admit that he had committed some wrong-doing. Like the time he had nearly killed their whole family when he turned on every burner on the gas stove, forgetting to turn them off. She had sympathized with his curious six-year-old mind until he confessed. She had hugged him and told him that if he was curious about how things worked, to come see her or Dad and they’d teach him.
She had never raised her voice to him in his entire life. She never asked him for anything. The only thing she wanted was to be sure he was happy and settled down before she died. She would have liked grandkids, but she didn’t have enough time left on the planet.
The least he could do was let her believe he was over-the-moon happy. The way she had been with Dad.
Luke watched as his mother’s face grew pale. His presence tended to perk her up for a while, but like a flower denied sunshine for too long, she began to wither after a short time. Most of her time was spent in bed, so seeing her in the sunshine had make him forget for a moment that she didn’t have much time left.
“The reason it didn’t work was because we were each in love with someone else.”
“In love?” She perked up in her chair. “I’ve never heard you say you were in love before. Even when you told me this girl moved in with you—you never said anything about love.”
Had he not? Hmm. He had never said it to a woman (other than his mother and Leeni), and he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised at her astuteness.
He nodded, a lump forming in his throat. What had he just done? Giving her false hope was cruel.
“Bring her here. For the barbecue. I want to meet this girl who managed to steal my son’s heart.”
Luke swore in his head as he moved behind her to rub her shoulders, knowing she’d read the deception in his face if she looked long enough.
“Well? Do you have to check with her?”
“No, of course I already invited her.” He was going to Hell. “We’ll be here in all our loving glory.”
“Oh, my sweet baby son. I am so happy. So happy.” She clutched his hand on her shoulder, squeezing with more strength than he expected from her in her condition. “What’s her name?”
Backed firmly into a corner, one he built himself with spikes sticking out of each surface, he swallowed before spitting out the lie.
“Aleen.”
“Aleen! Aleen! The girl you’ve been telling me is a friend for all this time! I adore that girl. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing her in far too long.”
He didn’t say a word. He knew she’d agree to come with him, and he knew she had Sunday off this week. He’d owe her. Big time.
“I love Aleen, son. It’s about time you woke up to see her kind heart.”
“I’ve always seen her kind heart, Mom.”
“Then what took you so long?”
“I’m a guy. We like to torture ourselves for a while before settling in for the long haul. You told me that about Dad, remember?”
His mother laughed before dissolving into a coughing fit.
He held the lemonade to her mouth so she could sip.
“Thank you, son. And thank you for surprising me today. I’m starting to get tired.”
“I’ll take you to your room.”
“I want to make sure I have my energy for Sunday. Want to impress that girl of yours.”
“You don’t even have to try—she’ll be blown away by your beauty and grace.”
“Oh, you charmer. Just like your dearly departed dad. Oh, how I miss him.”
“I know, Mama. Me too.”
“I’ll be seeing him soon.”
Luke couldn’t reply.
And he couldn’t disappoint his mother.
***
“You told her what?”
Aleen dropped her fork in her spaghetti and glared at her best friend.
“I know—I panicked. She was so upset about my break-up. She wants to see me happy before…” he hesitated.
“I get it. I do. But you’re asking me to pretend to be your girlfriend in front of a whole lot of people. Not only that, but we’re supposed to be madly in love? How are we supposed to pull that off?”
“Don’t worry, my love. I can be very convincing.”
“Yes, you’re used to acting your way through a relationship, but I have qualms about lying to a dying woman whom I happen to respect.”
Luke stared at his twirling fork for a moment before shoveling it into his mouth.
“I spoke to the nurse. They don’t think she’ll be around longer than another couple of weeks.”
“Oh, Lukey. I’m sorry.” She shuffled around the island to hug him from behind. “I’m so, so sorry.”
He shrugged, then reached for his drink.
“I’ve known it was coming. She’s been sick for a long time, and already outlived the doctor’s predictions. Besides, she wants to join my dad. How can I hope for her to stay here when she’s already suffering?”
