“So I brought her here the Mother’s Day that I was sixteen. My driver’s license was pretty freshly minted in my pocket. I didn’t let her order. I bought her that.”
He nodded toward the mountain of whipped cream and chocolate sauce and ice cream melting in front of Krissy.
“She tried to smile, but she got these tears in her eyes. I guess there’s a day when a mother realizes maybe, just maybe, her kids are going to turn out all right. She was just so pleased. She ate every bite.
“Looking back, it seems so small. And too late. Why didn’t I see sooner how much she gave and how little she asked in return?
“Her and my dad died in the winter of that year. A car accident on a slippery road. People say funny things after a tragedy like that. Things like what a blessing that they went together. They loved each other so much.”
For a moment, he could not trust himself to speak. “But me and Theresa loved them that much, too. Theresa managed to turn everything they gave us into a gift. She has a life much like the one we experienced as children.”
“But you never got over it.”
Her words were so quiet.
“No,” he admitted, “never. I told myself for the longest time that becoming responsible for Theresa so young made me allergic to being responsible for another person.”
“But that isn’t it, is it?”
It was unnerving that she got him so completely.
“You love so deeply,” she said softly. “So deeply.”
And Jonas knew that was it exactly. He had experienced the kind of pain that came from losing someone you loved that much. “I’m not sure I could survive another loss like that.”
He glanced up at her. Her eyes were dark and wide, filled with an ache for him that was soothing rather than embarrassing, that made him glad he had confided in her, rather than regretful. Of course, because of her close relationship with her aunt, she would understand like few others would.
After a long time, Krissy nodded. “So here we are,” she said. “A match made in heaven. Two people who have experienced the terrible pain of love in very different ways, but with the same result. Sworn off it. Forever.”
“Forever,” he agreed.
She took a bite of her sundae. For someone sworn off love, he felt inordinately aware of her lips.
He took a sip of his shake. For someone sworn off love, she seemed inordinately focused on his mouth.
She looked away first. They finished their ice cream treats in silence, with eyes skittering everywhere but on each other.
On the walk home, it occurred to him the excursion had been a success only in one area. Chance was coming along nicely.
But really, if the goal was convincing Theresa and Mike this thing was real, there were other issues they should have tackled.
They stopped outside of her cottage.
“Are you still game for this?” he asked her.
“More than ever,” Krissy said firmly, as if sharing confidences had strengthened the agreement rather than sending it galloping off in unexpected directions.
“We need to start filling in some blanks,” he said, meaning they needed to get it back on track. And that didn’t mean sharing vulnerabilities. They needed to stick to the facts!
“How about if I pick you up for dinner Friday night?” he suggested.
“Maybe we could meet in New York? I only work half a day on Fridays, and I was going to go finish up some things at my aunt’s office.”
“That’s perfect. I have a great place in mind.”
* * *
Krissy considered that. Jonas would know all the great places. Of course he would. Did she even have the right dress for a great place in New York? Was she really already worried about that? Yes!
“I’ll pick you up from your aunt’s office around six. Bring a list of questions.”
“What kind of questions?” she asked.
“You know. Filling-in-the-blanks kind of questions. Knowing-a-person kind of questions. Who was your best friend growing up? What was your dog’s name? What was your favorite subject in high school? That kind of thing.”
“Okay,” she said, but the funny thing was she felt like she already knew quite a lot about Jonas without having any of those kinds of questions answered. He was a man who would take hours out of his life to drive someone home on a dark night. He was a man who could make a dog mind, firm and gentle by turns. He was a man who had suffered horribly at the hands of fate, and—despite what he said—he had not allowed it to make him hard or bitter.
“You have a bit of chocolate, right…” He touched her lip.
They stood staring at each other for a long time. Long enough that Krissy was well aware that knowing a person had nothing to do with who their best friend was growing up!
He jerked his hand away from her lip, which was a good thing, because she had nearly nibbled it.
It wasn’t until he had driven away that Krissy realized he was right. How very little she knew about Jonas. She hadn’t even thought to ask him what he did for a living! This fact-finding dinner was a great idea. Essential.
She touched her lip. Good grief! Was it? A woman could redefine what she thought essential was around a man like that!
* * *
Late Friday afternoon, Krissy stood in the middle of her aunt’s office. She glanced at the clock. It was time to get ready for Jonas. She took one last look around the office.
Finally, all the phone calls had been made, all the files had been closed, all the boxes had been packed. A mover would come, pick everything up and schedule a delivery for a later date when they could combine several deliveries to Sunshine Cove into one. Thankfully, there was a basement under the cottage where she could store this stuff when it finally arrived.
It should have
