Flowers on Main (42 page)

Bree wasn’t exactly shocked by the idea. It made a crazy kind of sense. In her view, though, Marty’s motivations for hanging around hardly made a difference. Her decision was made. She just couldn’t seem to convince Jake of that.

“Jake, I’m not sure it really matters. I’m not going back and that’s final,” she declared yet again.

He refused to let it go. “It matters because he’s not going to take no for an answer if he has something to gain by persuading you to change your mind.” He gave her a thoughtful look. “Or it could be that this is really about something else.”

“Such as?”

“You,” he said impatiently, as if it ought to be obvious. “It might be as simple as him wanting you back in his life on a personal level.”

Bree shook her head. “After the things I’ve said to him, I’m sure I’m the last person he wants to have a relationship with. Believe me, I’ve made my disdain pretty obvious.”

Jake studied her. “Are you sure that’s how you feel? As I recall, you don’t give your heart easily. Maybe you still have feelings you haven’t even acknowledged to yourself. Maybe you’ve enjoyed having him here, following you around and giving you all that undivided attention. I imagine it could be a pretty heady experience to know that someone in his position is so determined to woo you back to Chicago.”

Thoroughly exasperated by Jake’s refusal to accept that she and Marty were through in every way imaginable, she leaned across the table and looked directly into his eyes. “I am saying this for the very last time, Jake. I don’t intend to defend myself again when it comes to Marty. He and I are through, finished, over, kaput. We have no professional relationship. We have no personal relationship. The fact that he’s still underfoot is as annoying to me as it apparently is to you.”

He finally sat back and nodded. The tension in his shoulders eased, but only slightly. “Good to know.”

She scowled, aware that his reaction was still guarded. “It’s not as if I haven’t said the same thing or some variation on it a thousand times before. I’ve been trying to tell you that since he came to town.”

“I know,” he admitted. “I’m still working on believing you. His continued presence isn’t helping me buy into it.”

She stared at him with increasing annoyance. “What’s it
going to take, Jake? What will convince you that you’re the man I want and this is where I want to be?”

He sighed then, looking miserable. “I wish I knew.”

“Is it me you don’t trust, or Marty?”

He actually took the time to think about her question before responding. “Neither, if I’m being totally honest. I don’t trust myself not to make the same mistake I did last time.”

“Which mistake? Loving me? Believing in me? In us?”

He shook his head. “Not letting you go when I knew that’s what you had to do. I want to get it right this time. Then maybe we’ll have a chance.”

If Bree hadn’t seen the conflicting emotions darkening his eyes, she might have screamed in frustration. As it was, she knew she had no choice but to let Jake work through those emotions on his own and pray he finally reached the same conclusion she had, that they belonged together.

In the meantime, though, maybe putting them in the same room on Thanksgiving would let Jake see for himself just how low her opinion of Marty had sunk. The thought of inviting Marty to join her family made her cringe. She’d have to use some heavy-duty persuasion to convince her father especially to be on good behavior, but she couldn’t see any other alternative. She had to try something desperate because, clearly, just saying the words wasn’t getting through to Jake.

Mick, Megan and Nell sat at the kitchen table late on the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, chatting the way they used to after a big holiday gathering. It was the way they’d always put together the pieces of their children’s lives, since none of them had ever gotten an entire picture single-handedly.

Mick poured them each another cup of tea as they finally got around to Bree.

“Okay, what is going on with her and Jake?” Mick demanded. “One minute they’re going out. The next she’s moping around here or fending off another overture from Marty. I had trouble choking down my turkey with that man at our table.”

“Well, she couldn’t very well not invite him to spend the holiday here,” Megan said. “Bree’s incapable of being downright rude to anyone and he doesn’t know anyone else in town. Besides, I think she had an ulterior motive. She even admitted as much to me.”

“What motive was that?” Mick asked skeptically.

“To prove to Jake that he’s the one she cares about,” Nell guessed.

“Exactly,” Megan confirmed.

“That’s insane,” Mick declared. “Jake walked in, took one look at him and walked right out again. Can’t say I blame him either, so what exactly did Bree accomplish besides giving the rest of us indigestion?”

Nell had been silent up until now, but she gave him a scolding look. “I think we all know where Bree’s heart is, but she and Jake have to reach that conclusion on their own. They don’t need us meddling.”

“I agree,” Megan said, staring pointedly at Mick.

“Okay, okay, I won’t interfere, but I can’t swear that one of these days I won’t go over to the inn and kick that man’s butt myself. He’s tempting fate by sticking around here.”

“Perhaps you and Megan need to work on your own relationship, rather than meddling in your daughter’s,” Nell suggested. She stood up and added, “And that’s all I intend to say about
that.
” To prove her good intentions, she took her tea and left them alone.

“She has a point,” Megan said after Nell had gone. “I worry
sometimes that we’re raising everyone’s expectations about the two of us. Maybe we shouldn’t spend so much time together here, when we haven’t decided anything.”

Mick scowled. “What are you suggesting, that we call things off?”

“No, I’m not saying that at all,” she said hurriedly. “It’s just that I’ve been here several times in recent months. We act more or less as if I’m part of the family again.”

“You
are
part of the family,” Mick said emphatically. “Being divorced doesn’t change that.”

“Come on, Mick,” she chided. “You know what I’m talking about. One of these days our children are going to assume that we’re getting back together.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s not a sure thing.”

He bristled at that. “You saying this is all some game to you?”

Now her cheeks were flushed. The sign of embarrassment became her, he thought.

“You know perfectly well that’s not the case,” she said with a little huff of indignation. “I’m just saying that we haven’t talked about the future. We don’t have any plans. We’re drifting along, taking things one day at a time, which is as it should be. I’m just saying maybe it would be better if we drifted in private. We could go on seeing each other in New York, if that’s what you want, just not here where they might get their hopes up.”

Mick lost patience. “Meggie, you’re being ridiculous. These aren’t little kids we’re talking about. They’re adults. They know the score. We’re taking our time, being certain we get it right. I’m sure they can appreciate that.”

“Intellectually, I’m sure you’re right,” she said. “But emotionally, that’s another story.”

He studied her intently. “You sure you’re not the one worried about getting your hopes up? Maybe this craziness doesn’t have anything to do with our children at all.”

She blinked at the suggestion, then sighed heavily. “You could be right. Maybe I am scared. Can you blame me? I thought our marriage was going to last a lifetime. It didn’t. Why should I believe we’ll be together forever this time?”

“Because we’ve both matured,” Mick said at once. “I know what I did to you by staying away so much. I even accept my share of the blame for you turning to another man, however innocently that happened. And I think you’ve seen that you picked the wrong way to go about getting my attention. We won’t make mistakes like that again. At least I won’t.”

“I won’t, either,” she said quietly.

“Then there’s every chance in the world we’ll get it right this time.”

“Is that what you really want, Mick? Do you want to start over?”

He stared at her blankly. “I thought that’s what we’ve been doing, starting fresh, testing the waters, whatever you want to call it. You in a rush to get married all of a sudden?”

She met his gaze. “I think I might be,” she admitted, catching him off guard and taking his breath away. “I want this back, Mick. You, the kids, mornings just like this one, all of it. Sometimes it scares me how much I want it.”

Mick wanted the same thing, had been fighting for it all these months, but to his surprise he was less willing to grab it immediately. It was going to take time for him to trust what they had, to make amends for the ways he’d failed her. She might believe he’d done both of those things, but he hadn’t.

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. It was still as soft and smooth as it had been the first time he’d held it.

“All those things,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “I want that, too.”

“Then why wait?”

“I want you to know with a hundred percent certainty that I’ve changed,” he began, but she didn’t let him finish.

“That’s not it,” she said wearily, withdrawing her hand. “You still don’t trust me, do you, Mick? You can’t forget that when I grew disillusioned with us I turned to another man for company. Even though I never betrayed our vows, never had an affair with him, you can’t get past the fact that I enjoyed his company on a couple of occasions.”

“It’s a reality I have to come to terms with,” he agreed. “I’ve forgiven, but I haven’t forgotten.”

She blanched at that. “What makes you think you ever will?”

“Because I love you. This isn’t about you proving something to me. It’s about me proving to you that you will never have any reason to need another man in your life, that I will be here for you. Believe me, I want more than anything to leave the past where it belongs. The only way I know how to get to that point is to give it time.”

“What if we don’t have enough, Mick?” she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

He went around the table and pulled her into his arms. “Oh, Meggie, we will. That much I do know.”

She buried her face in his chest and let the tears flow. Mick’s shirt was soaked when she finally pulled away. “I love you, Mick O’Brien.”

“And I love you, my precious girl.”

God help them both to believe that love alone would be enough.

Thanksgiving with the O’Briens had been an abbreviated nightmare. Jake had walked in to discover Marty already ensconced in the living room, boring everyone to tears with tales of all his theatrical successes. Ignoring the sympathetic looks from Mick, Connor and Trace, Jake had continued straight to the kitchen, where he found Bree with her mother and grandmother, Abby and Jess.

“Why is he here?” he’d demanded in an undertone after pulling Bree aside. “Did you invite him?”

“I couldn’t leave him all alone at the inn,” she said.

“Actually, you could have,” he retorted. “Enjoy your Thanksgiving. I think I’ll have dinner with Connie and Jenny after all.”

“Jake, don’t go,” she pleaded, looking oddly shaken. “Come on. This holiday is all about generosity and sharing.”

“Well, call me selfish, but I am not about to sit at the same table with the man who did his best to destroy your confidence and who still wants you back.” He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “I’ll call you later.”

But he hadn’t. After suffering through a difficult dinner at his sister’s, where tensions were running high even before his arrival because Connie hadn’t allowed Jenny to go to Dillon’s for Thanksgiving dinner, he was in no mood for another pointless discussion with Bree about Marty’s continued presence in their lives. He still couldn’t quite believe she’d expected both of them to sit at the table and share a meal.

He knew Bree was annoyed with him, but he had no intention of apologizing for wanting that man out of Chesapeake Shores. It finally occurred to him that one way to put an end to this was to confront Marty himself and find out what exactly he was hoping to gain by sticking around. He might
not be able to read women, but he’d always had a pretty good idea when a man was trying to pull the wool over his eyes.

Since Jess had called him to report that some of the sparkling Christmas lights on the eaves had blown out, he figured he’d take the opportunity to have a little chat with the interloper. He found him in front of the fireplace in the inn’s drawing room, his lanky body stretched out in a relaxed position that suggested he was settling in comfortably at the inn. A thick, leather-bound book in his lap completed the pose.

“Making yourself at home, I see,” Jake said, standing over him.

Marty blinked up at him, feigning a lack of recognition. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, give it a rest, Demming. I’m not letting you intimidate me. You know perfectly well who I am and what I’m doing here.”

Marty’s eyes sparkled with sudden anticipation. He rose gracefully, a challenge in his eyes. “Ah, we’re going to have it out, then? A fight for the heart of the girl? The perfect denouement for act three.”

Jake ignored the dramatic reference. “No fight,” he said. “We’re just going to get a few things straight.”

“Really?” Marty said, obviously amused. “How quaint.”

“Oh, can the attitude,” Jake said impatiently. “What’s it going to take to get you to leave town? Bree’s done everything she can to make it clear she wants nothing to do with you or the theater company in Chicago. Why haven’t you taken the hint? It’s time for you to move on.”

“I don’t think so. You seem to forget that I was the one who made her dreams possible. She had an opportunity that many other playwrights covet. I can give her that again. She’ll be famous. What can you offer her?”

“A chance to make her own decisions, to achieve her dreams
right here. A chance to start a family. I don’t think fame’s that important to Bree. The writing is what matters to her.”

“That shows how little you understand about the creative mind,” he said derisively. “Of course the words matter, but it’s the reaction of the audience that keeps us going, the applause that we crave.”