KEPT: A Second Chance Fairy Tale (29 page)

He’s mistaken my lack of enthusiasm. I’d rather stay in here with him until it’s time to go home, back to the reality that could potentially change everything that’s happened.

“That’s not it.” I don’t explain further.

The look on his face is concerning. He clenches his jaw before asking, “You’re sore?” The heat of my cheeks is evident and he offers a wicked grin, seemingly satisfied with himself. “It’d be an insult if you told me you weren’t sore and exhausted, Lucy. So lie to me if you have to.”

Nodding, I confirm
without
lying, “I’m sore.”

“Well, there goes that idea.” He sighs, pushing his hands on the bed and making a move to stand.

When he offers to help me out of bed, I take his hand in mine and let him pull me up.

“Your ideas…” I
tsk
.

“Yeah, right. All mine,” he returns. “We’ll talk about my ideas later. Go shower.”

Just as I start to pass him to do as he says, his hand reaches out, wrapping around the back of my neck. His lips touch mine briefly before he pulls back and watches me walk away.

Michael

“S
O,” DENI STARTS. BY THE
tone of her voice using just that one word, I’ve determined my snitching little niece has already ratted Lucy and me out so, clearly, there’ll be no point in lying. “How did today go?”

“Good,” I tell her, setting the bags I just pulled from the trunk onto the pavement.

“Good, huh?” she repeats. “What was your favorite part?” she asks, then answers herself. “Spending quality time with your niece? Horseback riding? Or maybe it was the department store browsing.”

My little sister is a pain in the ass.

If I didn’t love her as much as I do, I’d deliberately shut her down. It’s hard to think about doing that, though, when she looks so damn happy with herself.

The day went as smoothly as I thought it would. Horseback riding was quick and easy. Lucy adamantly refused to get on a horse, so rather than leave her behind, Grace got to ride the smallest pony around in the circle. This made her feel much older, and she had no problem giving the man in charge of taking care of her explicit instructions on how she wanted to ride. Again and again and again.

After Grace’s ride, she insisted we all go shopping. Grace and Lucy kept each other busy, talking about fairylands, enchanted forests, dwarves, elves, and magic, while I hung back, taking calls from Corbin. He’d been giving me feedback on what Jane had found out about Lucy. It was exactly the news I wanted to hear.

Margret doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

Thankfully, Deni changes the subject. “You and Lucy are leaving in the morning, right?”

“Yeah. Flight leaves at eight,” I confirm, handing her an overpriced, oversized black bear Lucy insisted she buy for Grace because under no circumstances could we leave it behind being that it was the only one left.

“So we won’t see you tomorrow?”

“No. I’ll say goodbye to Mom tonight.”

“And you’re not going to screw this up?”

My patience in dodging my sister’s examination is waning. Whatever she has to say, she needs to say it and be done.

“What are you talking about?”

“Grace told Mom and me she saw you kissing Lucy. I think she meant to say you French kissed her, but she explained it like you were licking her mouth.” She smiles.

“Jesus Christ…”

I can’t deny it happened. I was so sure Grace had been too busy trying on dresses not two feet from where I had Lucy backed against the wall just inside the dressing room hall. Instead of stealing a few minutes to touch Lucy’s face and feel her near me, I heard Grace chuckle. Much to our horror, she was peeking at us from underneath the door.

That little girl is so much like her mother, it’s ridiculous.

“But really,” Deni shifts her tone to serious. “I’m happy for you.”

“You’re happy I made out in the dressing room of a high-class department store while your kid watched?” I sum up my guilt in one statement.

I’m the world’s worst uncle.

Deni lags slightly behind me as we make our way up the driveway. “Not all that, I guess. If I’m being honest, Grace hasn’t seen what a loving relationship looks like. I’m not with anyone, and neither is Mom. You get what I’m saying?”

“Yes, but–”

“The only healthy relationships she’s ever been exposed to are characters in cartoons.”

“I get it, Deni.”

“And you can understand how much she loves her uncle and wants him to be happy.” She’s not talking about Grace’s feelings anymore. These are hers. “We
all
love Lucy for you, Michael.”

Turning around, I stop just outside my mom’s front door. “I don’t know exactly what this is yet. Lucy and I–”

“
You’re happy
, Mike,” she asserts, leaning in and standing on her toes for emphasis. “Just leave it at that. Enjoy it for whatever it is. If there’s anyone who deserves a break in his love life, it’s you.”

“I’ll try,” I assure her. Whether or not I’m lying, I don’t know yet.

Lucy and I didn’t manage to talk much today. Between Grace’s constant interruptions and my phone ringing, there wasn’t a lot of time. However, being all that today was, it was a day I won’t forget. I like Lucy. She’s fun to be around, and her enthusiasm for life has become slightly contagious.

With her head tilting to the side and her large, dark eyes shining with excitement, Deni asks, “Do you feel it?”

“Feel what?”

“Like you’re falling,” she states, allowing her whole face to light up.

It’s hard to figure what I’m feeling. I’m not sure if I’m living in the moment or looking to a possible future. Nothing’s been discussed or decided between Lucy and me.

For now, I tell her the truth as best I can. “I feel…still.”

“Still?”

“Content. Comfortable.”

“Not the words I was hoping you’d use to describe it, but all right.”

“It’s all I have right now, Deni.”

“Well, maybe it’s because you’re worn out,” she offers. “Making out in public is a big deal. I see good things.”

Looking down at the porch, preparing to shut her down, I note my sister’s feet are bare. Rather than continue our sibling banter, I all but lose my patience.

“
Shoes
. Damn it, Deni,” I clip out. “When we picked Gracie up this morning, I talked to Mom about meddling in your life. I told her I
thought
you were taking care of yourself. You have an illness, whether you admit it or not. Shoes are necessary elements in keeping you healthy while living with that illness.”

“Shit,” she mumbles. “I was so psyched to come out and give you a hard time about making out in front of Grace, I forgot. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. Just take care of yourself. I don’t want to come back here three weeks from now and be visiting you in a hospital.”

As I turn to open the heavy storm door, Deni ignores my anger and further torments me. “Bring Lucy with you when you come. We’ll make it a party.”

Shaking my head as I take the first step into the house, I tell her, “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“Maybe I am. But you, brother, are smitten by one of the same. I’m starting to take pointers from Lucy. The woman knows how to rile you.”

Lovely
.

Lucy

“I
’LL BE HOME TOMORROW MORNING
, buddy. Tell Stella thank you for cleaning,” I urge my son.

From what he’s explained, Stella let Dillon take the lead in making pancakes for dinner, and she let him do it from scratch, no less. He told me he stopped helping and made ‘flour pies’ after she lost patience and took over.

“Can we go to the zoo tomorrow?” he casually inquires, ignoring my strongly advised suggestion and moving on to what’s most likely been on his mind for well over a month.

“Honey, I don’t know what we’re doing yet.”

“I do,” he assures. “We can go to the zoo.”

Nearly laughing out loud at his attempt to corner a plan I’ve thought nothing about, I gently explain, “We’ll see. I’ve had a long trip and I miss you. Maybe we can visit the animals another time.”

“Sure,” he whispers. I can hear the disappointment in his voice, and although I hate it’s there, I don’t spoil him. I never have.

“I love you, buddy. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Love you, too,” he returns with a slight whine before hanging up.

My time in Chicago has flown by. Because of this, I haven’t been able to catch my breath, let alone think about all that’s happened. Meeting Michael’s family. A downtown horse-drawn carriage ride. Shopping with sweet Grace. And, the most obvious, Michael and I being together. This trip was nothing I had expected it to be.

“What are you doing?” Michael questions, standing just inside our adjoining door with a towel wrapped around his waist. His bare chest still glistens from the shower and doesn’t help in keeping my thoughts sorted.

“Packing,” I reply casually, although it should be obvious being that my suitcase is open on the bed and I’m putting my things in it. “How’d I buy so much stuff?”

“Between you and Gracie, I unloaded a trunk full of crap.”

Turning quickly, I narrow my eyes. “Not crap.”

“Crap,” he utters.

“If you’re not here to be helpful, why are you here at all?”

“She makes shit difficult, even after a relaxing day.” He’s talking to himself again and, as usual, taking a jab at me as he does.

I ignore his comment and continue trying to cram everything I bought that Grace said Dillon would ‘love’ into my bag.

The lump of sadness which I felt in my chest earlier this morning is back, but now it’s seated high in my throat. Michael will notice just as surely as if it were visible.

“Lucy?”

Feigning a calm I in no way feel, I don’t stop what I’m doing to answer. “Yeah?”

When I said goodbye to Michael’s mom, I felt my eyes burn with tears. She told me she couldn’t wait to see me again and she expected to meet Dillon soon. I loved telling her about him.

Denise repeated much of the same, but when she reached out to hug me goodbye, her embrace was tighter than I expected.

I grew up as an only child and was conceived during a one-night stand. I never had an older sister or brother to terrorize the way Denise does Michael. I really like her, and leaving without knowing if I’ll see her again shouldn’t bother me this much, but it does.

Saying goodbye to Grace was just as difficult. Dillon and I have been alone for so long, and meeting Grace reminded me that at the rate I’m going, he may be an only child, too. He’ll be as alone growing up as I was. Not that it was horrible. I had all I ever needed. It’s just that Dillon’s lost so much already. He’ll never carry any memories of his father.

The touch of Michael’s hand on my back startles me. I jump in place and turn around. Apparently, the lump in my throat has made itself to my eyes because when I look up at him, he’s just as gorgeous as he was moments ago, but now he’s all blurry.

Shit
.

His finger touches my cheek, swiping the tear that fell when I jumped in place.

“Hey. What’s all this?” he asks, tilting his head to the side and staring down with concern.

“I’m ridiculous,” I admit, pushing his hand away to wipe my face.

Michael pulls me and bends his neck slightly when I avoid looking up. “What is it?”

Pulling in a breath, I simply explain, “I like your family. Your mom, sister, niece. Meeting them, seeing how you all are with each other, and just being a part of…all of it.”

“So this upsets you?”

“Ridiculous,” I repeat.

“A little,” he softly agrees, pushing my hair off my shoulders and onto my back.

“When your sister hugged me goodbye, I thought…”

Shaking my shoulders, he grins. “My sister is nuts. The only thing you should’ve thought about when she was hugging you was what she was probably plotting. Believe me on this, sweetheart. I’ve got years of experience.”

I smile. I love the affection in his words, and how easily he finds it to call me ‘sweetheart’.

“I’d do just about anything to have a sister who loves me as much as Deni loves you. And even if she’s a little nuts, I really like her. She’s quirky.”