Meant for Love (39 page)

David and Hope were going over Marion’s medical records, so Jenny signaled to Paul. “Your brother has a big idea about playing hooky this afternoon. Any objections?”

“Not at all. Hope is here for the day, and she’s going to spend some time here with Mom this afternoon when she gets back with Daisy, so we’re covered.”

“What about the store?”

“They can handle things for a couple of hours. We need you for the big-picture management stuff.”

“I’ve got you covered there.”

“Go have some fun. You both deserve it.”

“So do you, Paul. There’s a party at the lighthouse later with the McCarthys and other friends. We’d love to have you join us, if you can get away.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Great.”

Paul glanced at the window to the porch where Alex was waiting for her. “You’re really good for him.”

“We’re good for each other.”

“I’m happy for you guys,” Paul said, his expression wistful. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”

“I hope so.” If only she had a single friend to fix up with Paul. He was a great guy—smart, funny, almost as handsome as his brother and genuinely devoted to his family. But all her friends were happily settled now.
 

“I’ve got the afternoon off,” Jenny said to Alex when she returned to the porch, “but I have to be back at the lighthouse by four to help set up for the party late this afternoon.”

“I need to talk to Paul and spend a few more minutes with Hope. I’ll be over shortly with my board.” He hooked an arm around her waist and kissed her. “Wear that pink bikini.”

“Yes, sir. Anything else?”

His eyes did that dark-chocolate thing that happened when he was aroused. “That’ll do for now, but I reserve the right to add to the list later.”

“So noted. See you soon.”

“I won’t be long. No more than an hour.”

Over her shoulder, she said, “Thanks for the warning.”

Jenny drove home to the lighthouse, thinking of him and how dramatically he’d changed her life since the day he and his lawn mower showed up and blasted her out of bed. Their connection had been instantaneous and intense. Her feelings for him seemed to grow exponentially with every passing day.
 

Jenny couldn’t wait to go public with him in front of her friends later and to introduce him to her parents next week. It was moving so quickly, but after years of marching in place, she was ready to move forward, especially if moving forward meant a future full of days like this one.

She’d forgotten how it felt to be newly in love. She’d forgotten the giddiness, the excitement, the endless possibilities, the constant hum of arousal and the need to make plans that included him. Jenny hadn’t made a lot of plans since she lost Toby. Rather, she’d coasted from one day to the next, focused on getting through and getting by.
 

She wasn’t yet to the point where she was practicing writing Jenny Martinez on her notebook covers or anything like that, but she was beginning to picture a future that included him, his brother and their mother in her life to stay.

Back at the lighthouse, she went upstairs to change into the requested bikini. After slathering on sunscreen, she found a beach cover-up and slid her feet into flip-flops. She was brushing her teeth when her cell phone rang, so she took the call without checking the caller ID.

“Hey, it’s Erin. Are you busy?”

Erin was Toby’s twin sister, and they’d kept in close touch in the years since their devastating loss. “Never too busy for you. How are you?”

“I’m okay. You?”

“I’m doing great, actually.”

“That’s really nice to hear. You sound happy.”

“I am.” Jenny hadn’t given the first thought to how she might break the news to Toby’s family that she was in love again. She sat on her bed when her legs began to tremble under her.
 

“Any particular reason?”

Jenny fixed her gaze on the picture of the fiancé she’d lost. Then she closed her eyes against the sharp bite of pain. “I’ve met someone.”

“Well, you have to tell me more than that!”

In for a penny, in for a pound, Jenny thought, remembering the grandmother who’d loved that saying. “His name is Alex Martinez. He and his brother own a landscaping company here on the island. He came to cut the grass at the lighthouse at five o’clock in the morning. I threw tomatoes at him, and that was the start of a lovely friendship that has become more. Much more. And now I feel sick because I have to tell you this, and… And, well… It’s hard.”

“Don’t feel sick, Jenny. Who knows better than I do what you’ve been through? I’d never begrudge you the happiness you so deserve.”

“Thank you for that. It means a lot. You have no idea how much.”

“So you really threw tomatoes at him?”

“I really did,” Jenny said with a laugh. “He woke me up!” She didn’t mention that he’d woken her out of a dream about Toby.
 

“Then I suppose he deserved it.”

“I hit him smack in the middle of his back.”

Erin’s laughter was a welcome sound. “I love it.”

“Luckily, he decided to forgive me. We’re having fun together.”

“It’s great to hear you sounding so happy.”

“How about you? Any new prospects?”

“No one worth throwing tomatoes at.”

“Are you trying, Er? Do you get out?”

“Sometimes. Other times, it’s just too much trouble.”

“I know that feeling,” Jenny said. She knew it all too well. “But you can’t jumpstart your life if you spend most of it hiding out.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right. It’s just knowing and doing can be two different things.”

“You should come out here for a visit. Alex has a very handsome and very single brother you might like to meet.”

“Subtle, Jenny,” Erin said with a laugh. “Very subtle.”

“Will you think about coming to visit? It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other.”

“I’ll try. I’d love to see your island and your lighthouse.”

They chatted for another few minutes about the news in Toby’s family before Erin said she had to run to a birthday party for her best friend’s son.

“Thanks for calling,” Jenny said. “It’s always so great to hear from you.”

“I’m so glad to hear about your Alex. I hope he makes you very happy for a very long time.”

“Thank you,” Jenny said softly. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Following the conversation with Erin, Jenny was filled with restless energy and decided to go outside to check on her garden while she waited for Alex. It had been great to hear from Erin, as always. The two of them had been close friends since the day Toby first introduced them, and had supported each other through the darkness after they lost him.
 

While she treasured her friendship with Erin and her close relationship with Toby’s entire family, hearing from Erin was always a reminder of what had been lost. It took her back to that awful day and the frantic calls from his family in Pennsylvania. Having to tell them he’d called, that he was in the building, that he was above where the plane had hit… She’d never forget their anguish or how it had added to hers.

Jenny hated to admit that she’d put a tiny bit of distance between herself and her old friend since she moved to Gansett. In bad need of a fresh start, she’d tried to put the past where it belonged, but doing that meant seeing less of the people she loved.
 

It was probably time to bridge that gap, and she hoped Erin would take her up on the invitation to come visit.
 

In the mudroom, she grabbed a metal bucket and headed out to harvest her tomatoes and the bumper crop of cucumbers. As usual on bright summer weekend days, the lighthouse grounds were crawling with tourists checking out the cliffs and the beach down below.

Sometimes she interacted with the visitors, other times she kept to herself. Today, she wasn’t in the mood to answer a million questions about the lighthouse and what it was like to live there, so she went about her work in the garden until someone called out her name.

She turned to find Jared James approaching her. Behind him, she noticed a black Porsche parked in the lot. He wore dark sunglasses along with shorts and a T-shirt. Other than the car, nothing about his appearance indicated his extreme wealth.
 

“Hi, Jared. Nice to see you.”

“You, too. Great place you’ve got here.”

His teasing grin made her smile. “It’s the best view in the world.” With her bucket full to overflowing with tomatoes and cucumbers, she gestured to the door to the mudroom. “Want a tour?”

“I’d love one.”

She took him inside and up to the first level, where he marveled at how compact and cozy the living space was. Upstairs in the combined bedroom and bathroom, he couldn’t get enough of her view.

“Did you paint this?” he asked of the canvas on an easel.

“I dabble. I haven’t worked on it in weeks. There’s so much other stuff to do here in the summer.”

“What’s it like in the winter?”

“Desolate and quiet. I actually welcome the change of pace after the craziness of the summer. My friends keep me busy and engaged, but I like coming back to my quiet lighthouse.”

“I wondered about you,” Jared said, glancing at the photo of Toby on the bedside table. “I didn’t know you well in school, but I knew Toby was engaged, and I wondered what had become of you.”

“Nothing worth writing home about. It’s been a very long and difficult journey.”

“Toby and I were acquaintances more than friends, and his death hit me very hard, so I can’t begin to know what it must’ve been like for you.”

“Did you know anyone else who died that day?”

“A couple of people I knew through work. Even all these years later, sometimes it’s hard to believe that it actually happened. It was so surreal, and New York afterward was such a different place for a very long time.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it. The first year is a bit of a blur for me. I was home in North Carolina for most of it.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dredge up unhappy memories.”

“It’s fine. It’s easier to talk about than it used to be, and I always enjoy meeting people who remember Toby fondly.”

“He was an awesome guy. I enjoyed him very much.”

“Me, too.” Mindful of the fact that Alex would be arriving soon and wouldn’t appreciate finding Jared in her bedroom, she led the way downstairs and offered him a cold drink.

“I’d love some water.”

“Coming right up.” She fixed glasses of ice water for both of them and joined him on the sofa. “So you said you were taking some time off this summer?”

He nodded, his gaze fixed on the icy glass. “Very bad and very unexpected breakup.”

“I’m sorry.” She looked over at him. “If you want to talk about it, I’m a pretty good listener.” The poor guy looked like he could use a friend. She no sooner had that thought when she chuckled to herself at the characterization of Jared James the billionaire being a poor anything. But even billionaires could get their hearts broken.

“It’s pretty simple, actually. She couldn’t handle the money or the lifestyle that goes along with it.”

As his words registered, Jenny stared at him. “She couldn’t handle the money.”

“That’s what she said when I proposed and she turned me down.”

“Wow.” Jenny blew out a deep breath.
 

“I knew she could be a bit squirrely about the luxury, the gifts, the benefits, the largeness of my life, but I thought she loved me enough to get past all that. I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to figure out a way to get rid of all the money.”

“You shouldn’t have to do that. If someone loves you, truly loves you, they love everything about you. If you have to change who you are to accommodate her, then she’s not the one for you.”

“So I’ve been told, and intellectually, I agree. Emotionally, however…”

“You grieve.”

“More so than I ever have over anything, which may sound sort of melodramatic to someone who’s been through what you have.”

“A loss is a loss no matter how it happens. Does she know you’re so crushed over this?”

“I haven’t talked to her since she ended it. She’s texted a few times, but I haven’t replied.”

“Maybe if she knew how upset you are it would make a difference.”

“I’m sure she knows. She was fully aware of how totally in love with her I was. I am.”

“I’m so sorry, Jared. That’s just such an awful situation.”

“Isn’t it ironic?” he said with a small smile. “And here I thought money bought happiness.”

Jenny smiled at his attempt at levity, and her heart gave a happy leap when she heard Alex’s heavy footsteps on the metal stairs.

“Hey, baby,” he was saying as he arrived at the landing. “Are you ready?” He took one look at Jenny sitting on the sofa with Jared, and his smile became a scowl. “Am I interrupting something?”