Sweet Serendipity (17 page)

He walked across the kitchen and cupped her face in his hands. He pulled her into him again and kissed her gently this time. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, waiting for a reaction. He slowly closed his eyes and backed away from her.

“OK. I’m going to head out. I’ll give you the space that you need. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He kissed her on her forehead and left.

After cleaning her kitchen, she poked her head into Tasha’s room. Tasha was still out like a light. Rebecca was making sure she was still breathing when Tasha’s eyes popped open and looked dazedly at her.

“I’m fine, baby. I’m just trying to deal with it all. You don’t have to hover, although I like you babying me.”

Rebecca smiled at her friend and crawled into bed with her. She wrapped her arms around her and hugged her.

“I love you, Becca. No matter what happens to me, I love you. You have been the best friend I have ever had. I just wanted you to know it in case I didn’t tell you enough.”

Rebecca rested her head on her friend’s shoulder.

“Well, you can remind me a year from now and a couple years after that. I know how stubborn you are, and you’ll fight this.”

“I wish it were that simple, babe. I feel like I’ve been handed down a death sentence. It makes you realize that there are so many things I never got to do.”

“Like what? You made it through law school. You have your own practice. You raised an unbelievably smart daughter. You have me, which for some reason you think is a prize. You have never been one to let bad news keep you down. I see this as just another obstacle for you to beat. You really are the strongest person I know,” Rebecca confided in her.

“I’m really a big chicken shit.” They laughed.

“I’m serious. I have been too scared of failing and falling on my ass, so it made me work twice as hard.”

“See! This is just another one of those times. We’ll figure it out. We promised that we’d grow into old biddies together. I expect you to keep your promise to me.” Rebecca swept Tasha’s hair out of her face.

“I happened to overhear everything between you and Em, and you and Jack. He’s laying it on pretty thick with you.”

“I’m not sure what to think about it all right now. I told him the truth. I told him I’m seeing someone else, and I need time to think things over.”

“I’m not going to lecture you. I won’t even put my two cents in. You need to find your own happiness. If it’s with someone new, then so be it. If you find your way back to Jack, then so be it. Life is too short, sometimes something unexpected can come up and it changes your priorities and your outlook a little. Just follow your heart and be sure that it’s for your happiness. The kids will be gone before you know it, and it’s you that is left. Who do you see yourself within five years?” Tasha’s eyes began to get heavy.

“Would you hate me if I ran out for a while? The kids are all upstairs, and I’ll tell the girls to keep an ear out for you,” Rebecca asked suddenly.

“I’ve got my cell, babe. Go! You don’t have to fuss over me twenty-four seven. I’m just going to go to sleep anyway.”

Rebecca leaned over and kissed Tasha’s cheek.

“I won’t be long.”

Tasha giggled.

“Take your time. Just come home before the kids ask questions.”

Rebecca ran upstairs and changed her clothes. She threw on a pair of black shorts and a white lace tank top. Her hair flowed out of her ponytail and she fluffed it. She poked her head into Adam’s room, but he had fallen asleep. She turned off his light and pulled a blanket up over him. She gently knocked on Riley’s door and opened it.

“Hi, Mom. Why are you all dolled up?” Riley asked with one eyebrow raised.

“I was hoping that you’d keep an ear out for Adam and Tasha. They are both sleeping, but just in case.”

“Are you going to go and meet that guy?” Riley asked questioningly.

“I’d like to, but not if it upsets you.”

“Go, Mom, we’ll be fine! I promise that we’ll be good.”

“I love you, Riley.” She hugged her daughter and then hugged Ashlee. “I love you, too, daughter.”

Ashlee hugged her back.

“I love you, too, Aunt Becca.”

Rebecca parked her car in the back parking lot so she could go in through the back to Ethan’s loft. She sat gripping the steering wheel, unsure of why she was there. Yes she did know why; she wanted to see him. She thought about him all the time.

She got out of her car and shut the door and then stood staring at the back of the building. The lights were on and she hoped she wasn’t going to interrupt him. She hadn’t called to let him know she was stopping by. She was losing her nerve. Turning back to her car to open the door, she felt a hand reach past her and close it. She quickly saw Ethan standing there and then completely lost herself when she looked into his eyes. It was like being a school girl, all giddy and reckless.

“Hi!” He said to her.

“Hi,” she responded.

“Are you about to change your mind about coming to see me?” He asked teasingly.

“Actually…yes, I was.”

He leaned in and kissed her. He wrapped his strong arms around her and made her forget why it was that she was trying to run away in the first place. She knew why she was there. She had to see him. He was becoming a drug to her. He made her feel things she never thought possible. He made her feel alive.

“Well I hope you decide to stay for a while. There is actually something I’d like to show you.”

“A surprise?” She asked.

“Sort of, come on, I’ll show you.”

He took her hand and wrapped his fingers through hers. He led her down the steps leading to his back door, and then he stopped.

“Umm, I need to cover your eyes until we are up the stairs. I wasn’t expecting you and I have some paintings that aren’t ready for viewing yet.”

“Hmm, now I’m curious. When will they be ready for viewing?” she asked him.

“When I open the gallery a month from now, but until then, no peeking.”

He covered her eyes and guided her up the stairwell. He walked into the studio and Rebecca heard someone talking. Her body became tense. Ethan wrapped his arm around her to comfort her.

“I have a couple friends over. Don’t be shy; they have wanted to meet you anyhow.

She opened her eyes and immediately noticed two people snuggling on the couch.

“Becca, I would like you to meet Ryan and Christine. I believe you met Ryan that night at East Bay Grille, but given the circumstances, you most likely don’t remember him. They have been my friends since college. Guys, this is Becca.”

Christine jumped up from the couch and threw her arms around her.

“Oh my God, you are all he talks about. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Rebecca stood motionless. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Christine slowly took a step back and laughed. “Oh I’m a huggie type of person. I’m sorry; I know some people don’t like that.”

Rebecca laughed.

“No, Christine it’s fine, really. My friends are the same way.”

“Well, it looks like we’ll all get along just fine then.” Christine hurried back to join Ryan. She pulled him up from the couch and slipped her flip flops on. Ryan looked at Christine quizzically.

“What’s wrong?”

Christine smiled at him and then tipped her head toward Ethan and Rebecca.

“I think maybe we should get going, if you know what I mean.” Ryan looked at her blankly so she gave his foot a kick. “We should get home.”

Then it suddenly hit him.

“Oh, yeah, home.” He stood up and Christina pulled him toward the door. They stopped long enough to say good night to Ethan and Rebecca and they hurried out.

When the door closed Ethan threw his arms in the air.

“I think they just made that a little awkward, don’t you?”

“A little, they could have stayed. I didn’t mean to chase your friends away. You had plans.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

“You didn’t ruin any plans. You actually just made my night. Any time I get to see you, it makes my day.”

He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. She burst out laughing. He looked into her eyes and she could see a deep intensity in his gaze. He made her feel as though she were the only one he could see.

“You have a way of making me feel like I am…”

He finished her sentence, “Irresistible, beautiful, sexy, I could keep going.” Ethan teased as he trailed his fingers along the side of her face. “You deserve to know just how you make me feel. You make every cell in my body come alive,” he told her.

“Ethan, I don’t even know how to respond to that. I have never met anyone like you.”

He wrapped his arms around her tighter.

“And hopefully you never will.”

He swept her up in his arms and carried her into his bedroom where he showed her exactly what it was she did to him.

She lay in the crook of the arm that was around her and he gently rubbed her hand with his palm as she ran her fingers over his chest.

“I’m beginning to feel like this was a booty call.” She laughed even as she said it aloud. She looked up at him and he smiled.

“Well, I will do whatever you want me to. If you want to go out and date, I am all for it. If you want to sneak here after your kids are asleep, I am fine with that, too. It really doesn’t matter to me as long as I see you.”

“How is it that you know exactly what to say? This whole thing is crazy.”

He wrapped his arms tighter around her.

“Nope, you are not going to shut down again. I won’t let you run out the door. For once I want you to just take this for what it is right here, right now. No pressure, Becca. I will move as fast or as slow, but all I want is for you to not run away every time you feel guilty. You have nothing to feel guilty about.”

She relaxed her body. She knew he was right. She did feel like she was doing something she wasn’t supposed to. She felt like she was cheating on Jack, or her kids. She didn’t know how to just be a woman; a woman who had a very sexy man wrapped around her at that very moment. She looked at him and kissed him gently.

“You are absolutely right and I’m sorry, Ethan. None of this is fair to you. You really don’t deserve someone who is so all over the place.”

He held a single finger to her mouth which made her stop talking.

“Becca, I’ll take what I can get. You have to know that every time I see you, I care for you even more. I see all of your layers and it doesn’t scare me. I’m falling for you, Becca, and I’m falling hard.”

She pulled away from him and quickly sat up as she wrapped the sheet around her.

“Ethan, no! You can’t do this, not now.” She quickly threw her clothes on. Ethan wasted no time. He pulled on a pair of jeans and raced to the door before she could run away.

“No, Becca. You’re not running this time. I just told you I’m falling for you and your first reaction is to run. Why?”

She stood before him with her shoes in her hand.

“Because I am wrong for you. You deserve someone without all of the baggage that I have. You travel; you don’t stay in one place for very long. You need someone who can do all those things with you. That’s not me. I’m rooted here in Plymouth. I can’t just travel on a whim. I have car pool and sporting events. I have bake sales and PTA meetings.” She began to well up with tears.

“Why do you automatically assume I wouldn’t want any of that? Ever think that maybe because of you; I can see myself doing all of those things?” Ethan protested.

She placed a hand on his face.

“You truly are unlike anyone I have ever known. You make me feel so special. I just can’t stop feeling like I am going to hold you back,” she told him as her thumb brushed past his bottom lip.

“Then let’s take it to the next level. Bring me around your family. Let me get to know your kids.”

She backed away, grabbed her pocket book, and stood near the door.

“Does that mean the end of the discussion, Becca? Do you just see me as some post-divorce distraction?” His tone began to change. She knew that she was hurting him.

“Ethan, we are just getting to know one another. To bring the kids into it…what if this doesn’t work out? Adam is in such a strange place right now. He’s not going to be receptive of another man. He wants Jack to come home.”

Ethan moved closer to her and placed his hand on the open door.

“I know that your favorite color is blue. I know your favorite food is Sushi. I know you dream of writing children’s books, and I know your favorite place to be alone is by the ocean. Should I keep going? Because I can. I know that when you love, you put your very soul into it. I know you are a damn good mother, and I also know you feel under appreciated.”

He was standing inches from her face as he confronted her.

“You are insecure, you feel as though you don’t deserve happiness because your son died. I know you feel like a failure because your marriage fell apart.”

“Stop, Ethan!” She began crying. “Please, just stop.”

He shook his head at her.

“You changed me the very first time I saw you. I never believed in all those stories of love at first sight. I always thought it was only in the movies, but you, you took my breath away. I knew that if I gave you the time and space you needed, I’d be able to break down your walls. I’m in love with you, Becca. There I said it. It’s out there now. I can’t help that. I have never completely understood what those words meant until now. I thought I did, but not like this. I love you!”

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her tears away. She didn’t know how to respond. She leaned her forehead into his chest and tried to gather herself together.

Ethan pulled away from her without so much as a glance or a word, and walked over to his work station. He returned a moment later carrying something in his hands.

“I took this from you when we had lunch that first time. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to surprise you with it, seeing how it’s been almost two months since our first meeting.”

He handed her a hardcover book and she held it in her hands. It was the book she wrote for Layla, but now the artwork was complete. There were no longer stick figures, but rather life-like images of all of them; Emily, Andrew, and Rebecca and her children, he even managed to have a life-like image of Tasha and Ashlee. She flipped through the completed semi-gloss pages and began to cry again.