Love Finds You in Martha's Vineyard (26 page)

“Right.” Waverly made a stiff smile. “Just keep a safe distance from me, in case.”

As they went back outside, Waverly was surprised to see Blake sitting with Janice and Reggie. Of course, he'd probably brought Sicily to town. But why had he stayed?

“Here you go, Princess,” Waverly said as she set the latte and chocolate bar down.

“What's this?” Janice poked the plate that held the treat.

“Something to sweeten your, uh, disposition.” Waverly watched as Blake stood and went over to another table, getting a couple more chairs.

“Oh?” Janice broke off a piece and tasted it primly.

“Actually, I was trying to sweeten her disposition too,” Reggie told Waverly. “In fact, I hope you don't mind that I invited Janice to Belinda's party. When I heard about her political aspirations, I had a feeling she'd enjoy meeting some of those people.”

“It sounds like a fun evening,” Janice said to Waverly. “And I felt fairly certain you wouldn't mind if I went.” Janice narrowed her eyes at her cousin.

“You don't mind, do you?” Reggie asked.

Waverly felt disappointment mixed with appreciation as she sat on one of the chairs that Blake brought over. She shrugged. “Not at all. Janice can go in my place.”

“Not in your place,” Reggie assured her. “But with us.”

“Oh.” Waverly sighed. “Although I'm surprised Janice is willing to go anywhere with me.”

“But only if Blake can come too.” Janice switched to a childish tone now. “I refuse to go along as the fifth wheel.”

“Wouldn't that be a
third
wheel?” Sicily asked.

“Whatever.” Janice turned to Reggie. “Otherwise the deal is off.”

“What deal?” Waverly asked.

“I told Janice the condition for going to the party with us was that she had to stop terrorizing you over the loss of her car. And she agreed,” Reggie said quietly.

“Although that doesn't mean you're not still 100 percent responsible.” She shook her finger at Waverly. “I expect you to make good on it too,
Cousin.”

Reggie looked sternly at Janice. “So if Blake comes, will you be on your best behavior toward Waverly, starting right now?”

“Wait a minute.” Blake held up his hands. “What if I don't want to come?”

Waverly looked at Blake now. “Why wouldn't you come with us?”

He appeared torn. “Well, I just—”

“I refuse to go stag to this party,” Janice said sullenly.

“Maybe you could go with Reggie,” Waverly offered.

Reggie cleared his throat. “Does Reggie have a vote here?”

“Look, I appreciate your diplomacy.” Waverly stood. “But maybe we should forget it. If Janice wants to be mad at me for a while, why not just let her?” She turned to Sicily. “And we have work to do, right?”

“Right.” Sicily stood.

Leaving Janice with Reggie and Blake, Waverly linked arms with Sicily and began singing, “We're off to see the wizard…,” and barely missing a beat, Sicily joined in.

They'd just laid out the drop cloths, gotten the paints opened and arranged with brushes, and were beginning on the mural when Blake knocked on the front door. Since it wasn't officially business hours until ten, Waverly had kept the doors locked.

“Yes?” she said as she opened the door, glancing down the sidewalk to see that Janice wasn't with him.

“I'm alone and unarmed,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “May I come in?”

So she let him in, relocking the door even though it was only a quarter until ten now. She waved her hand toward the machines. “Did you want to play video games this morning?”

Sicily laughed from her ladder perch. She was painting a bright yellow button on a purple vest that was worn by one of her game characters.

“No thanks.” Blake followed Waverly over to the counter.

She went on one side, keeping him safely on the other. “What can we do for you then?”

“Well, this was more about what I can do for you.”

“What?”

“I agreed to go with the three of you to that party,” he told her. “But I want you to know that I am only doing this for you. Not for Janice. Is that clear?”

She shrugged. “It's clear to me. I can't vouch for my cousin.”

“No, I didn't think so. But I need to make a disclaimer.”

“A disclaimer?”

“After I tell Janice what I must tell her, she might not want me along at all.”

“What are you going to tell her, Dad?” Sicily peered down at him with interest.

“The same thing I've been telling her or trying to tell her practically since we met. That I'm not interested in a serious relationship with her.”

“What kind of relationship are you interested in?” Waverly questioned.

“No relationship to be honest.” He paused. “Or, at the very least, a friendship, but I have my doubts that she's capable of that.”

“Why don't you wait and tell her
after
the party?” suggested Sicily.

“Because I don't want to,” he said back. “I want her to get this, Sicily. To know where I stand.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “Okay.” She turned back to her painting.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “So I have your blessing then, Sicily?”

“Yeah. I never liked Janice in the first place.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I just thought you did, Dad.”

“There's a lot of that going around lately.”

“A lot of what?”

“General confusion.”

“So, is that it then?” Sicily squinted at the clock.

“Uh, no, there was something else.” He glanced over at Waverly. “And I think I might as well say this in front of both of you.”

With brush in midair, Sicily turned to stare at him again. “What, Dad?”

“I might be about to make a fool of myself, Sis, but I figured you'd enjoy it.”

“Huh?” She looked thoroughly confused.

“Well, I wanted to tell Waverly that one reason I've been trying very hard to break things off with her cousin was so that I'd be free to pursue someone else.”

Waverly took in a quick breath, bracing herself. What was he doing?

“Who?” Sicily came down the ladder with a curious expression.

“I've been hoping to ask Waverly out. But everything—mostly Janice—has been getting in the way.”

“You
like
Waverly?” Sicily was down the ladder now. She came over and stared at her dad with a hard-to-read expression.

“Yes.” He nodded. “Is that okay with you?”

She looked perplexed. “I don't know.”

Waverly wondered if she should say something, but for the life of her, she couldn't think of a single word.

“But you like Waverly,” Blake tried.

“Yeah, Dad, but she's
my
friend.”

“Oh?” He glanced uncomfortably at Waverly now. “Is my face getting red yet?”

She nodded. “A little.”

“Maybe I should leave.” He started toward the door.

Sicily looked at Waverly now, holding up her hands in a helpless gesture.

“I have an idea,” Waverly said.

Blake turned with a slightly desperate look in his eyes. “Yes?”

“Why don't we all try to be friends?”

“All?” He appeared confused. “As in all who?”

“The three of us. You and Sicily and me.”

He broke into a smile. “Yeah. That sounds good.” He turned to Sicily. “How about you? Does that sound good?”

She grinned. “Okay. But don't forget, Dad, she was my friend
first
.”

“Don't worry. I won't forget.”

Waverly went over to unlock the door for him. As their eyes locked, she felt an unexpected warmth rush through her. What had she just agreed to?

Blake wasn't eager to go home, so he ran some errands in town, taking his time to get the mail and gather a good selection of groceries and a few other things. He knew his leisurely morning was simply his guise for delaying the inevitable—breaking it off with Janice. And he did plan to do it today. It's just that he was in no hurry. The more time he put between Janice's fit at his house this morning and now was a good thing. But finally he had no more excuses to linger in town, yet he still had more than an hour until it would be time to pick Sicily up. Also, he was well aware that the heat of midday would wreak havoc on his groceries, plus there was ice cream involved.

So he drove slowly home, enjoying the sights of beach properties, the Sound, and boats as he went. He still couldn't get over the serene beauty of this place. At home he unloaded his car and put things away. At last, saying a little prayer along the way, he walked the path between the houses. As he knocked on their front door, he stood straight. Determined to permanently end this thing with Janice—no loopholes, no backdoors, no clauses—he braced himself.

“Janice caught the ferry this morning,” Vivian informed him after he'd asked for her.

“She's gone?”

“Yes. She wanted to return to Boston for a few days. Louise offered to drive, and they both left here around ten. They took a chance of getting on a ferry without a reservation, but Louise called awhile ago to say they were safely loaded on the boat and on their way. Janice plans to find a rental car, as well as order a replacement for her wrecked car. Plus it sounded like she needs to attend to some other business. They expect to be there a few days.”

“Oh, I see.” His sigh was partly relief, partly frustration.

“You didn't get a chance to talk to her, did you, Blake?”

“No, not really. The drama with her car sort of took over.”

Vivian shook her head with a look of wonder. “Wasn't that the strangest thing?”

“You're telling me.” Then he filled her in about speaking to Waverly this morning, and how they had agreed to be friends. “All three of us.” He grinned. “Sicily gave us her children's stamp of approval.”

Merriment twinkled in Vivian's eyes. “Maybe you'll consider including me in your new pact of friendship.”

“Of course!” he said eagerly.

“With Janice and Louise gone, maybe we could do something together this week, just the four of us.”

“Absolutely. In fact, why don't we have you and Waverly over for dinner at our place tonight? I just got groceries, and I have no idea why I bought so much.” Well, except that he was avoiding something. “How does that sound?”

“Lovely.”

“Great.” He nodded, pleased with this plan. “My culinary skills aren't as good as your sister's, but I'll do my best.”

“I've heard it said that dandelion weeds, eaten with friends, taste better than top sirloin steak that's eaten with enemies.” She smiled. “Something easier to commit to back when I was still a vegetarian.”

“Hopefully I can do better than dandelion weeds. Is seven okay?”

“Perfect.”

And it was perfect. Or almost. The chicken he'd grilled was a little on the dry side, but no one complained. Thanks to Waverly, the salad was delicious. Mostly it was the company that was perfect. What a difference it made, knowing that Janice was back in America for a while. He'd just heard that was what
real
Vineyarders called the mainland—
America.
Like it was a different country, and in a way it was. And right now, as they sat eating fresh strawberries and ice cream with their toes in the sand, it felt like they were a world away.

The next few days passed blissfully, wonderfully, magically. With Janice and Louise still gone, Waverly had decided to stay with her mother and enjoy the benefits of beach living. Blake gave Waverly rides into town and even let her use his car for the whole day sometimes, leaving him happily homebound. While Sicily was off helping with the mural and other things, he puttered on a screenplay he'd started several years ago. And sometimes he sat and visited with Vivian, sharing iced tea or lemonade on the screened porch. Also he took photos, lots of photos. Not just of the gorgeous seascape or wildlife either. He was getting lots of great candid shots of the three different generations of “women” in his life.