Waterfront Weddings (20 page)

“Good to know.” He motioned toward a park. “Here we are.” Justin led her through the gate and onto a sidewalk that wound around the park. “I can’t tell you how many hours I spent here growing up.”

“Looks like paradise.” The giant trees scattered along the perimeter of the park were heavy with Spanish moss. The lush, green grass conjured up images of running barefoot and picnics and all the things that made summertime special.

Justin tugged on her hand. “Come on.” They walked past a water fountain to a set of bleachers in front of a deserted baseball field. “After you,” he said.

She climbed the bleachers and sat down.

“I learned to hit a baseball right there,” Justin said, sitting down next to her and pointing at home plate. “My dad coached my T-ball and Little League team. This is where we practiced and played.”

“I’ll bet you were adorable in your little uniform.”

He blushed. “My mom thought so.” He chuckled. “She came out here every day with a cooler of cherry Kool-Aid and those little paper cups.” He pointed at an old wooden dugout. “She’d set it up in there, and by the time we got finished, we’d all have red Kool-Aid mustaches.”

“Sounds like a perfect childhood.” Ashley’s own parents had split up when she was in kindergarten. Her dad hadn’t been in the picture, and her mom had always been too busy searching for her own “happily ever after” to worry too much about her only child.

“Some people might think my parents were too involved in my life, but I realize now how blessed I was. And still am.”

She tilted her head and admired his blue eyes. “Is that why Colton’s so important to you?”

Justin nodded. “I’ve always wanted a family of my own. Since I was a kid. Most guys are looking for freedom and making conquests. I’ve always prayed that God would lead me to the kind of woman who would make a good partner and who wanted a family as much as me.”

Her heart fluttered. She’d looked for that same thing. Prayed for the same thing. But had settled for Brian. She’d been terrified that he was her only shot at marriage and family. And when it didn’t work out, she’d assumed that real happiness wasn’t in the cards for her. “That’s an amazing dream. Most guys are so worried about being successful, they don’t give much thought to their family life.” She squeezed his hand. “At least the guys I’ve met, up until now.”

Justin locked eyes with her. He reached out and traced the back of his hand along her face. “I’m going to kiss you now. And it’s going to mean something.”

She gave him a tiny smile and leaned forward to meet his lips. The kiss was soft at first. Tentative. It grew deeper, more passionate, and by the time she pulled back, they were both breathless.

“Well then,” Justin murmured. “That was…” He trailed off.

“Nice?” she asked.

He burst out laughing. “I guess that’s one way to put it. I was hoping for something a little more enthusiastic.”

She wanted to keep her enthusiasm to herself, at least for the time being. The last guy she’d kissed had been her husband. And there’d been a time she thought those kisses were pretty great.

But they didn’t compare to kissing Justin.

“How about amazing?”

He nodded. “Amazing will do.”

“Well, how would you describe it?”

He took her hand. “I’d say that was the best kiss I’ve had in all of my twenty-nine years on earth.”

Ashley almost fell off of the bleachers. Twenty-nine? He was only twenty-nine? Her heart—that had been so full of hope for their budding romance—dropped.

She knew herself. And at thirty-six, she knew there was no way she could date someone who hadn’t even reached the thirty milestone yet.

No way.

Even if she’d never been kissed quite like that before.

Luke pulled into the driveway at his house. Disappointment washed over him at the sight of Summer’s empty parking space. He’d hoped she’d be home by now.

Her parents’ traditional Memorial Day party must’ve run long, because usually Summer was aching to get away from their house. Although maybe she wasn’t looking forward to coming home to an empty house. Just like he hated going to the quiet loneliness of the boat.

He let himself into the house and turned off the alarm. At least she’d started remembering to set it.

Milo looked up from his spot on the couch. The big dog rose and stretched. He padded over to Luke and looked up at him.

Luke knelt down and gave Milo a pat. “Hey, boy. Have you missed me?”

Milo sank lower onto the floor and rolled onto his back.

Luke scratched Milo’s stomach, and the dog wriggled with happiness. “Let’s go outside and take care of the yard.”

Mowing the yard made him think of meeting Summer for the first time. He couldn’t help but grin to himself. His buddies had told him that someone like her would never go for a guy like him, but he’d been smitten from the first time he saw her.

They’d started out as friends. He’d looked forward to the weekly visit to her grandmother’s house, because after a few weeks, Summer was always there. She’d bring him something cold to drink, and after he’d finished working, they’d sit on the porch and talk about books and music and what they wanted to do with their lives.

“Someday you’re going to hear my songs on the radio,” Luke told her
.

Summer gave him a slow smile. “I’d be your biggest fan.”

“ Yeah, well when that happens, maybe your daddy won’t mind if I ask you out.” Luke’s ego still stung from learning that
Summer’s dad wouldn’t hear of letting her go out with him
.

She shook her head. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Luke had asked her out to a movie, but she’d balked at the thought of him picking her up in his old truck and said her daddy wouldn’t let her go with someone whose family he didn’t know
.

“So you’ll meet me then? Even though you might get in trouble?”

Summer tossed her dark ponytail. “I’m staying at Gram’s tonight. I’ll tell her I’m meeting a friend for a movie.” She grinned. “Which is totally true.”

“Awesome. Meet me at the bandstand at the Battery at seven.”

She nodded. “I’ll be there.” She stood. “I’d better go inside.”

He grabbed her hand and felt a twinge of excitement. “I’ll see you tonight.”

At the time, it had seemed like it was them against the world. Luke had tried to make a good impression on her dad when they’d finally met, but Mr. Rutledge had always been cool toward him.

His own family had loved Summer from the beginning. She’d even broken through his dad’s gruff exterior. The elder Nelson had told his son that hanging on to Summer was the smartest thing he’d ever done.

And if he remembered correctly, Daddy had also warned him not to mess it up.

As he finished mowing the yard, he wondered if he’d messed up bad enough that they couldn’t come back from it. Nothing irreversible had happened. He’d just packed a duffel bag and spent a few nights away.

He sat on the porch steps and took a swig of water. He’d wait for her to get home. Give her an apology. She was the most important person in his life. And she deserved to be treated better.

He leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him. Just those few days apart and he’d realized that he needed to do whatever it took to get them back to where they used to be.

And if that meant going to counseling with some guy at Summer’s church, then he would have to man up and do it. The talk he’d had with Rose had made him realize a lot of things. Number one being that he’d crumbled under the grief of losing Bobby and the baby, and Summer had been the one to suffer because of it. He would have to figure out a way to make it up to her.

Milo barked at the gate.

Luke looked up to see Summer’s SUV pulling slowly up the driveway, Mitch’s red Porsche following behind her.

Summer climbed out of the vehicle and walked over to the porch. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” She looked good. Her khaki shorts and green polo shirt showed off her trim figure.

He stood. “I wanted to get the yard done and see Milo.” He met her gaze. “And you.”

Hope flickered across her face. “Yeah?”

Luke wanted nothing more than to run to her and take her in his arms. Kiss her until she couldn’t think straight and then carry her up the stairs to their room. But he knew they had a lot of talking to do first. “Yeah.”

“Luke, we missed you at the cookout,” Mitch said.

He looked up in surprise. He’d been so happy to see Summer, he’d forgotten that Mitch had followed her into the driveway. Much to his chagrin, Jefferson stood next to Mitch, an amused expression on his face. “Yeah, sorry I missed it.”

“Your wife put us to shame on the volleyball court,” Jefferson said. “That’s why we’re here. We promised to take her out to dinner tonight if her team won two out of three.”

“And they won three out of three,” Mitch grumbled. “So here we are.”

Summer locked eyes with him. “Why don’t you come with us? I think we’re headed to California Dreaming. You know how I love their crab cakes.”

He shook his head. “I’d better not. But you go on.”

She climbed the porch steps and stood next to him.

His hands ached to touch her. But he didn’t.

“I’ll go get changed. Be right back.” Summer brushed past him and went into the house, Milo at her heels.

The three men stood in silence for a long moment.

Mitch cleared his throat. “Well, this is a tension convention. I’m gonna go in and grab a bottle of water. You boys play nice.” He trotted up the stairs and into the house.

Luke eyed Jefferson. “So have you settled in yet?”

“I’m renting a carriage house a few houses down from here.” He raised an eyebrow. “That should make you feel better, knowing that if Summer needs anything, I can be over here in a few minutes. Especially now that she’s living all alone.”

So he knew Luke was staying on the boat. She’d told Jefferson of all people. Luke would’ve rather been sucker punched than betrayed by his own wife. “Yeah. It makes me feel loads better.”

Jefferson chuckled. “Now, now. It sounded to me like you brought all this on yourself.”

“Have I mentioned how happy I am that you’re back in town?” Luke asked. “Just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.” He glowered.

“Oh, I can imagine.” Jefferson smirked. “And believe me, I’m thrilled to be back.”

Luke stood. “If you’ll excuse me, there’s something I need to take care of inside.” He pushed the door open with a vengeance, almost knocking Mitch down. “Sorry, man,” he mumbled, walking past his brother-in-law and into the entryway.

He took a deep breath and headed up the stairs.

Summer stood in front of the mirror, twisting her hair into a bun.

“Can we talk?” he asked, sitting down on the bed, admiring the way her skin glowed from a day in the sun.

She turned to face him. “Luke, they’re waiting downstairs. I don’t think this is the right time.”

“When will be the right time then?” He rubbed his jaw.

“I don’t know.” She turned her attention back to the mirror. “You can’t just stop by and expect me to drop everything. I waited days for you to call and didn’t hear a word. So the way I see it, our talk can wait a little bit longer.”

“I’ve known you for a long time. I can tell you’re upset.”

She turned back around, fire in her blue eyes. “You think? My husband moves onto a boat that he purchased with money that I had earmarked for the child that I hoped to have someday.” She narrowed her eyes. “The child I
still
plan on having someday. And now you show up like nothing happened and expect me to forget it?”

He shook his head. “It’s not like that, and you know it. Besides,
you’re
the one who first suggested that I stay on the boat.” He sighed. “And you know I don’t expect you to forget everything that has happened. But we need to talk about it.”

“All those months. All those months I wanted to talk. Begged you to talk.” She grabbed her purse from the foot of the bed. “And you acted like I barely existed.”

“I know I have a lot to apologize for.”

She paused at the doorway. “Luke, I do want to talk to you. We definitely need to. But right at this minute, I don’t have it in me. Do you hear me? I am not capable at this point in time to have this conversation with you. It’s been a long day. A longer week.” She shook her head and sighed. “And at this moment, all I can handle is going to eat some crab cakes and letting Mitch and Jefferson make me laugh. At this moment, I want to forget for a couple of hours that I’ll be coming home to an empty house.”

“I’m sure Jefferson would be glad to walk you home and check the place out.” Luke glowered. “I can’t believe you told him that I left. What were you thinking?”

“What was
I
thinking?” She closed the bedroom door and turned to face him. “I don’t know—I guess I was thinking that it was the truth. You left. And to top it off, you haven’t called. Haven’t come by. I haven’t heard so much as a peep from you.” She narrowed her eyes. “Jefferson happened to see me out for a walk with Milo, and I was upset. I didn’t intend to tell him, but I’m not sorry I did.”