Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) (12 page)

"Maybe. I guess it couldn't hurt," she
replied, noticing that Eric had glanced at her sharply when Holly said that.
She had told him about her idea of returning to school--hadn't she?

Everyone ended up joining them in the dining room
for dessert. The dessert wine Eric had brought went perfectly with the pies.

"All of you had better take home
leftovers," Betsy reminded them.

"We have it all planned out," Julia
said. "When we were putting stuff away we divided it up. It's all ready to
go."

They sat around the table, sipping wine, and
talking of everything from the Sully Point Project to the latest antics of
Joshua, which involved dumping an entire bottle of shampoo onto a carpet. Eric
held Maggie's hand and she felt thoroughly content with her world.

Finally everyone began to leave. Hugs and kisses
were given and received. Eric left the rest of the bottles of wine that hadn't
been drunk, over Frank's protestations. Maggie gathered up leftovers along with
a piece of pecan and a piece of pumpkin pie.

In the car on the way home, Eric said, "I
can't tell you when I've had a more enjoyable time. Those are a great bunch of
people."

"Mm, yeah," Maggie said sleepily. She
could hear her comfy bed calling her name.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back
against the seat. She was almost asleep when she felt the car slowing down.

"Are we there yet?"

"Not quite. I have to show you
something."

She opened her eyes to see that Eric had pulled
into a parking space in front of Lucretia's. He turned to Maggie and said, "I
can't keep it a secret until Christmas--I have to tell you about it now."

"Tell me what?" Maggie asked, bemused.

"Here's the thing. It was supposed to be a
Christmas present, but...You see that empty building next to Lucretia's shop?
I'm buying it for you. So that you can start an arts and crafts business here
in town."

Eric was looking at her with a huge smile on his
face, clearly waiting to hear that she was thrilled. There was silence in the
car for a full minute.

"Maggie? Did you hear me?"

She turned to face him, and knew her face had
flushed red. "Let me get this straight. You are buying me a building so I
can start my own business. And you've even picked out what business it is to
be. Correct?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"And you did this all without consulting me
at all? You didn't think that maybe I should have some say in it? It being my
life and all?"

"No, I mean, yes. You have to
understand--"

"Oh, I understand all right. You think you
need to make this kind of decision for me. That the brilliant Eric Stanton
knows better than average little Maggie. That somehow I can't make decisions on
my own. Believe me, I understand perfectly."

She saw his mouth shut firmly this time, unwilling
to say anything.

"What on earth made you think that I'd want
this? Have I ever said I wanted a shop of my own? Have I even hinted that I
wanted to make arts and crafts my job? How dare you presume to make that kind
of decision for me!"

"I thought you were just not focusing on what
you really wanted."

"Not focusing...Eric, I'm not the airhead you
seem to think I am. How--why--"

"I'm sorry, Maggie. And I don't think you're
an airhead. Frank tried to tell me I was presuming too much--"

"Frank! You told Frank you were doing this?
Who else did you tell? My brother?"

"No, no, nobody else. I saw that you were
unhappy with public relations, and everyone said how much you were into doing
arts and crafts. It seemed to me that you were going to stay doing something
you didn't enjoy, when you could be doing something you felt passionate about.
Then I thought maybe money was a stopping point for you, and that I could take
care of that part of it for you."

"You thought I'd just accept a building,
accept money from you for this?"

"Well, yes, I thought it only made
sense."

"You really, really don't know me very well,
Eric. I would never let you buy me a freaking building! If I ever do start up
my own business it will be with my own money, or a loan from the bank. I'd die
before accepting a handout from you like that."

"A handout? Maggie, you're taking this all
wrong."

"Wrong? Did you, or did you not, buy me a
building? With the intention of my starting up an arts and crafts
business...all without asking me, ever, if I wanted any of it?"

"I...I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh, it's a surprise all right. I'm surprised
at how you could think I'd go along with this."

Maggie had crossed her arms across her chest, and
was breathing rapidly. Eric was obviously thinking fast, trying to figure out
how this had gone so wrong.

"Maggie," he said, tentatively. "I
didn't think. I wanted to do something special for you and I just assumed. I
assumed a lot. Of course, I know it's your life and your choice, what you end
up doing. I wondered tonight when I heard Holly mentioning school to you, and I
guess that's partly what pushed me to tell you about this now. Are you
seriously thinking of going back to college?"

Maggie threw up her hands. "I don't know yet!
I know I mentioned it as a possibility to you before this. I need time to
explore a lot of different avenues, to see what it is I really want to do with
my life that means something. I'd never considered an arts and crafts shop, but
now that I am, I can tell you it doesn't really appeal to me. I love all my
crafty projects, but they are just for me, not something I feel like teaching
or selling. And you'd know that, if you had bothered to ask me about any of
this instead of presuming for me. Man, I am so sick to death of people thinking
they can or should decide for me, of being over-protective. I'm not a helpless
little girl!"

Eric looked up at that and gave her a small smile.
"No, you are definitely not a little girl. But maybe, okay maybe I was led
astray by how small and petite you are. I forgot that you are a fully capable
adult and that is...terrible. Can you forgive me?"

"I don't know. I'm still completely blown
away by all this. First I spend half the evening hearing from various family
members just how smart you are, the genius in our midst, and must confess that
kind of blew me away. Now this. How can you be a genius and be so utterly
stupid about me?"

He cringed. "I'm only a genius in particular
areas, not when it comes to people. I'm still learning about people, how to
interact, how to live really. Please forgive me. It was crazy stupid of me to
assume so much. I should have talked to you."

"Eric, do you think we have too many
differences to make it?"

"Don't say that. Yes, we have differences,
but I love you! Maybe our differences can only enrich our lives together. Does
it bother you, the whole 'genius' thing?"

"A little bit, I'll admit that. I don't want
you seeing me as dumb compared to you."

"No, no, no, I never would. You don't
understand--to me, you are the genius. Your passion, your zest for life, the
way you are with people, so open and honest, your ability to have fun--it's all
so different from what I've been all my life. I'm in awe of you."

"Really?" she asked, feeling suddenly
quite a bit better.

"Really. Don't let my idiocy with the
building interfere with the good thing we have going here."

"All right. I forgive you. As long as you
promise, sincerely promise, to never make decisions about my life without
consulting me again."

"I promise. Are we okay now?"

"We will be," she said, and leaned
across the seat to kiss him briefly.

He started the car and as they drove away, she
asked, "What about the building? Did you actually buy it or were just in
the process?"

"The closing was to be this week. I can get
out of it. It will disappoint Lucretia, however. She owns that building and has
wanted someone to buy it for a while."

"Hmm. I wonder..."

"What?"

"I was thinking about what is missing on the
town square. You know what we need there? A music shop. A place where people
can buy music cd's but also instruments. You know, Eric, you would be perfect
to do that. With your interest in music, you could really make a go of
it."

"Uh, wait a minute. I have an interest in
music but I wouldn't want--" He stopped and groaned.

"See what I did there?" Maggie asked,
grinning at him.

"Yeah, yeah, okay I get it. That's not a bad
idea for a shop here. Just not run by me."

"It's too bad my sister loves L.A. so much.
If we could get her out here, she'd be perfect for it. She loves music."

"Which sister is this?"

"Beth. Her name is actually Maribeth, but she
likes it shortened. She's the true baby of the family in terms of age. She's a
year younger than me. She and I used to share an apartment in Philadelphia.
Then I ended up here. She went out to L.A. in hopes of becoming an actress. I
don't think that's gone too well for her. Maybe I should ask her if she'd be
interested in a project like this."

"If that were the case, maybe I should buy
the building after all. Although, aren't we doing the same thing to Beth that
we've agreed not to do to each other?"

"Good point. I'll call her and just throw the
idea out there. See how she responds."

They'd arrived at Maggie's apartment parking lot,
and Eric shut off the car. "So, is this good night? Or can I come
up?"

She was startled, and then appreciative that he'd
asked. "Please do come up. You are forgiven, and I think we've learned
some stuff about each other in the process. And I have to say, buying a
building for a girl is a nice gesture."

He laughed. "Believe me, I'll not make that
mistake again with you. No more buildings unless you ask for one."

They ran up the stairs, carrying a bag of
leftovers and pie. Once inside, and after the food was put away, Eric turned
her to face him and kissed her passionately. His kisses were just amazing, she
thought. Like a wonderful present each and every time.

When he came up for air, he said quietly,
"Now I know we're really okay."

"You know, we might need to have make-up sex
to be sure," Maggie suggested.

"That is, of course, necessary."

She laughed and threw her arms around his neck,
planting little kisses all over his face. "I love you, Eric, I love
you."

He hugged her tightly to him. "Thank God."

Chapter 5

The next week, Maggie called her sister Beth. She
discovered that Beth was depressed and very unhappy about her prospects there.
Maggie felt there was more to the story than what Beth was saying, but she
couldn't get it out of her. She finally got off the phone with her, deciding to
sic her sister Rose on Beth to find out what was going on.

She continued to work on her gift for Holly. Ever
since she found out that Holly owned the bakery in Sully Point, and since she'd
been going in there often, she'd thought that the look of the place might be enhanced
by two macrame hangers. She was making them out of silken chord, and they were
tiered, so that there could be baskets inserted on each level, filled with
rolls, cookies and more. She thought the golden color of the cords would go
well with the butter-yellow color of the walls.

Her quilts were finished, the decoupage boxes were
all done except for Eric's. It had taken some begging on the phone to her
mother to get her to send a couple of childhood photos. That phone call had
been cut short by her mother getting another call. The questions about who Eric
was, who his family was, had just started. Maggie had felt relieved at the
reprieve.

Not that she was worried about her parents liking
Eric. He was easy to like. He'd decided to go ahead and buy the building from
Lucretia, and Maggie was pretty sure it was only due to his wanting to take it
off Lucretia's hands to make the woman happy.

The first big snow of the season started at the
end of the next week, in the evening when she was staying at Eric's place for a
change. He sat in the big rocking chair, in the area in front of the bay
window, and she sat in his lap, curled up under a blanket, her head on his
chest. They'd had a wonderful dinner. He had finally made the lasagna, and it
was just as good as expected. When the snow started, they'd brought their
brandy over to watch it through the window.

Maggie wondered if it were possible to be more
content. The quiet of snow falling outside seemed to penetrate the cabin on the
beachside cliff. It felt to her like they were in their own little bubble of
time and space, suspended in the randomness of snowflakes falling to earth.

"Ah, I get it now. Randomness can be
fascinating."

He looked down at her as she looked up at him.
"Exactly!" He bent his head and kissed her softly, and then she laid
her head back down against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, slow and
steady, strong and reassuring. She fell asleep, listening to that heart so
filled with love.

When he was carrying her into the bedroom, she
woke up.

"Where--oh, I fell asleep."

"Yes, you did, and you even snored a
bit."

"I did not!" she said, horrified.

"Oh yes, you did," he said, laughing at
her expression. "I think it was because of the brandy."

"I never snore. You must have misheard."

"Darling, you snore when you've been
drinking."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because, it's..."

"Don't say it!"

"Cute."

"I told you not to say it."

"Uh oh. Sounds like I'm in trouble."

"You bet you are, pal. Put me down."

"Okay." He dropped her on the bed.
"Now what?"

"Now--you pay!"

She attacked him with tickling and it turned out
he was surprisingly very ticklish. He managed to distract her fairly quickly,
however, with kisses and caresses that turned her on and sent her thoughts of
revenge flying. She'd once asked him how, if he'd been such a geeky teen and
even adult, that he'd gotten so good at being with a woman.