To his credit, though, he didn’t push. Whether it was a tactical decision or just more evidence of his take-life-as-it-comes way of living, she was grateful for it.
She wanted to say yes. Oh, did she ever. But Seagull Point was such a far cry from the life she’d envisioned for herself, the life she’d worked so hard to attain. She felt as if she were betraying her dream, drifting into something because it was comfortable and easy, when she’d always, always wanted a challenge.
Was that the real problem? she wondered. Did she want to have to battle for Kevin’s love, the way Marianne had had to wait and fight for Bobby Ray’s? Was Kevin making it all too easy for her, the same way he smoothed over rough patches for everyone else?
“That’s absurd,” she muttered. Perverse, in fact.
“Talking to yourself?” Helen inquired, sneaking up behind her. “That’s definitely a bad sign.”
“Sorry. I didn’t realize anyone else was around.”
“Which must be why you had only yourself left to talk to,” Helen retorted. “Now that I’m here, want to talk to me? For all of my chatter, I can also be a pretty good listener.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s Kevin.”
“No,” Gracie insisted sharply. “It’s the reservations and the wedding and the fact that the rest of the beds were due this morning and still aren’t here.”
“Quick excuses,” Helen praised. “You’re good at avoiding the real problems, aren’t you? Is that what you’ve always done? Filled your life with so many details and crises, you didn’t have time left over to deal with your own life?”
Hearing the truth startled her. It also stung more than Gracie would ever have admitted. She busied herself with the stack of reservation slips that Delia had filled in over the past week. That Helen had seen through her so easily was a shock. No one had ever taken the time to look beyond her surface calm and competence before.
“I’m not judging you, you know,” Helen persisted. “I can relate to exactly what you’re doing, because it’s what I’ve always done. It’s been worse since Henry died. I was in so much pain I couldn’t stand it, so I filled my days with shopping and charity events and parties. I was so busy I thought I must be happy. It was only after I met Max that I realized what had been missing.”
“Love?” Gracie asked.
“Love,” Helen agreed. “And, every bit as important, someone to share things with. What fun is it to buy a gorgeous dress if there’s no one around to appreciate it? How rewarding is it to hand over a few thousand dollars to charity or even raise a few hundred thousand if there’s no one at home to remind you that it’s the people, not the dollars, that count? And who wants to go to a party if there’s not going to be someone to laugh with you afterward about the drunken guests’ tasteless jokes?”
Helen met Gracie’s gaze directly, then sighed. “I don’t know about you, but I miss the companionship as much as I miss the sex. I miss having someone sleeping beside me at night and looking at me across the breakfast table. I miss the tenderness, the quick, heated glance across a crowded room, the shared confidences, the stolen kisses when you think no one’s looking.”
“You’ll have all that again,” Gracie told her, praying that she hadn’t misjudged Max’s intentions the last time they’d spoken. He’d sounded as if he’d reached a decision about Helen.
“Yes, you will,” a masculine voice assured them both in one of the best bits of timing ever.
Both turned startled gazes on the sight of Max standing in the doorway. Gracie thought the always self-assured Max looked a bit uncertain of his welcome. She could have told him he needn’t have worried.
“Darling, I had no idea you were coming,” Helen said, rushing over to brush a kiss across his cheek.
Max shot an apologetic look toward Gracie, then swept Helen into his arms and kissed her soundly. When Gracie started to slip past them, Max snagged her hand.
“Stay for this, please. It’s important and I want a witness.”
“Witness to what?” Helen demanded, not leaving his embrace.
“I want someone around to see if you will put your money where your mouth is. Marry me, Helen. Let me give you back all those things you were telling Gracie you missed.”
“You were eavesdropping?” Helen demanded, ignoring the proposal.
“It’s the only way to find out what’s going on in that head of yours,” he said. “You’ve been amazingly reticent with me on the phone lately. So, darling, what’s it going to be? Will you marry me?”
Helen searched his face. “You’re serious? This isn’t just an impulsive gesture.”
Max smiled ruefully. “I don’t make impulsive gestures,” he assured her. “Ask Gracie.”
Helen grinned. “I believe she has mentioned that once or twice.”
“Well, then. Will you marry me?”
Eyes shining with tears, Helen didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Oh, Max, yes.”
This time when Gracie tried to leave the room, no one tried to stop her.
All around her people were saying yes and preparing to walk down the aisle. So what was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she take that same leap of faith when her love for Kevin was so powerful she ached with it? She was sure of it, sure of the kind of man he was. Maybe her reluctance was because, like Max, she was not inclined to impetuous decisions.
Yet everything she had done since coming to Seagull Point had been impulsive. She wandered into the almost completed kitchen, where the new appliances gleamed and the glass-fronted cabinets were filled with elegant china and sassy everyday plates covered with bright, bold flowers. The contradiction wasn’t lost on her. It was as if the dishes matched the two sides of her personality—one cautious and old-fashioned, the other daring. She was just discovering the joy of being daring once in a while.
“Something troubling you?” Delia asked,
