Chapter 5
Chapter Five
After the Monday morning rush, Billie was refilling the display case when she felt Jade watching her. Placing the last of the muffins in the case, she turned. “Something on your mind, Jade?”
Smiling coyly, she said, “A little birdie told me that you and Silas had some company while you were up at the lodge this weekend—a certain former fiancé. Care to tell me about it?”
Rolling her eyes, she walked back to the kitchen and put the muffin pan in the sink and washed it.
Jade strolled in behind her.
“I think your son told you everything,” she reasoned. “And there wasn’t much to tell. Silas ran into Marcus while we were racing and…”
“You were racing with Silas? Why?”
Ugh…me and my big mouth.
“It wasn’t a big deal; we were just goofing around. Anyway, he bumped into Marcus and then he hung out with us for a little while at the arcade and then we all went on the mountain coaster. That’s it. Nothing else.” She rinsed the pan and placed it to the side to dry before facing Jade again. “So, you see? Nothing to it.”
“Uh-huh…”
“Jade…” she whined.
“Look, I just think it’s wild that a week ago, you were raging about seeing him and having an openly hostile interaction. Then you run into him up at Summit Ridge, and you invite him to hang out.” Taking a slow sip of her coffee—probably for dramatic effect—she waited for Billie to defend herself.
Only…she didn’t have a defense.
She replayed that one hour with Marcus over and over in her mind for the rest of the weekend. But the part that stuck out the most was how he thought Silas was their son. Did he really think so little of her that she wouldn’t have let him know she was pregnant at the time? How could they have gone from loving each other so deeply and knowing each other so intimately, to the less-than-polite strangers they currently were?
“You know the part that gets me wondering,” Jade went on as they walked back out to the counter. “Is…what could he have possibly said to make you want to extend the conversation? I mean, all Silas had to do was apologize and the two of you could have been on your way—no harm, no foul.”
Did she want to tell Jade about the mistaken identity factor?
Hell no.
Shrugging, she began wiping down the counter. “I don’t know what to tell you, Jade. It just sort of happened. Marcus is probably on his way back to D.C. as we speak, and it will be another ten years or more before we see each other again.”
The bell over the front door rang, and Jade practically glued herself to Billie’s side. “Or maybe ten seconds!” she whispered.
“Wait, what?” But when she looked up, she saw Marcus walking toward her.
Seriously?
“Hey, Billie,” he said softly, and she wanted to kick herself for getting the fluttering in her belly at the sound of his voice.
“Hey! On your way out of town?”
I hope.
“Actually, I’m staying for a few more days. Dad’s at a doctor’s appointment—I just dropped him off—and I figured I’d come in and pick up some cake and whatnot for him.” He shrugged. “And I was seriously hoping to get one of the banana chocolate chip muffins if you have any—and if you could put it in the box with the rest instead of smashing it in my face, that would be great.”
He was grinning and she knew he was teasing, but she still felt herself blush.
“Um, yeah. Sorry about that. Not my finest moment.”
“For what it’s worth, I totally provoked you. I’m kind of surprised you didn’t do worse.”
That made her relax a bit. “My weapon options are rather limited, but you’re the only one I ever had to use a muffin on.”
They both laughed at that and it felt…good.
Really good.
“Listen, I know this might be a stretch, but…maybe we can get together sometime and…talk? I’d say meet for coffee, but I have a feeling when you’re done for the day, this is the last place you want to go to relax.” Then he glanced over at Jade and smiled awkwardly. “Plus, it might be nice to…you know, not have an audience.”
Sadly, she had to agree.
“I don’t know, Marcus. I don’t think it’s a good idea. We both have powerful personalities and equally strong thoughts about what happened. It was nice to just be…well…nice to each other on Saturday. I’m not sure I’m willing to risk going anywhere and fighting. What good would it do?”
“Closure,” he said gruffly. “After all this time, I think we deserve it. We already know we’ll have to agree to disagree on some things, but I think we didn’t really communicate very well at the end of our relationship. I know I have some questions, and…maybe you do too?”
All she could do was nod because…she did.
“How about we go to that restaurant up at Summit Ridge? I think we’re both mature enough not to get into a shouting match at a fancy restaurant.” He chuckled. “Right?”
Even though she knew he was teasing, she couldn’t help but get in a little dig. “I know I can, but can you?”
Luckily, he laughed. “I promise to behave.”
It would have been easy to say yes, but she was still hesitant. “I need to think about this. It seems so fast and…”
“It’s been ten years. If anything, it’s long overdue.”
Another nod. “I’ll meet you up there at say…six? I have to get up really early in the morning, so I go to bed early.”
“I can pick you up. That’s not a big deal.”
“But if we get into a fight, neither of us is going to want to get in the car together and I certainly don’t want to have to call Levi or Chloe or Ashlynn to come and get me.”
“I promise you right here, right now, in front of…your coworker here, that won’t happen.” He looked over at Jade. “You have my word that this will be a completely cordial and pleasant evening.”
“He sounds sincere, Bill,” Jade said. “But I’ll make sure your brother doesn’t go to sleep until you text that you’re home. How does that sound?”
Marcus looked between the two of them in confusion.
“Oh, Jade’s my sister-in-law,” she explained. “Jade, Marcus. Marcus, Jade.”
After they exchanged pleasantries, he went back to looking at her, waiting for an answer. “What do you say? Can I take you to dinner? Please?”
Inwardly she groaned, but maybe it was time for them to just talk everything through and get the closure like he said. She’d spent far too many years agonizing over the way things went down. For all she knew, this one dinner would help her break free and finally move on. Maybe this was the thing that had been holding her back from finding a man to fall in love with.
Finally, she nodded. “Okay. That would be nice. Thank you.” Letting out a soft sigh, she asked, “So, what else can I get for you? I have the banana chocolate chip muffins today, and I promise to give it to you free of charge.”
He laughed softly. “That’s not necessary. I deserved the muffin to the face.”
“Well…”
“Okay, other than the muffin, let me get a slice of the lemon pound cake, two chocolate chip cookies, two pieces of coffee cake, and a blueberry muffin.”
“You got it!” After boxing everything and ringing him up, she gave him her address and told him she’d see him at six.
Please don’t let this be a mistake.
At four-thirty, Billie opened her front door to find Ashlynn standing there with an armload of clothes and a duffel bag.
“Um…what are you doing here?”
She took one look at Billie and huffed. “It looks like I’m just in time. Is that what you’re doing with your hair?” And before she could utter a word, her sister was walking down the hall toward the bedroom.
“Ash? Seriously, what are you doing here?” She caught up with her in her primary bathroom and found her setting up brushes and sprays. “Well?”
Without stopping, Ash replied, “Jade told me you’re going out with Marcus tonight. You need to look amazing so he can eat his heart out and realize everything he lost. I’m here to help with your hair, makeup, and what you’re going to wear.”
“I don’t need any help. I think my hair looks fine and I was just going to wear my black pants and a floral blouse. No big deal.” But then she looked at herself in the mirror and realized she looked tired and a little washed out. “And for the record, I’m not trying to make him eat his heart out or even impress him. This is strictly so we can have the conversation that we never had, and then we can move on.”
“Pfft…I call bullshit on that one.”
“What? Why?”
“Sit. I need to get started on your hair.”
No sooner had Billie sat, than Ash was running a brush through her hair and waving the curling iron around.
“First of all, it’s always about making an ex eat their heart out. Even if it was an amicable breakup, you always want them to have regret. It’s just science.”
“Yeah, um…I don’t think that’s a thing…”
“Trust me. It is.” She continued to brush and curl. “Marcus was already a total jerk about what you do for a living, so you need to look fabulous and present yourself like you’re living your best life and leaving him was the absolute greatest thing to ever happen to you.”
“In some ways, it was,” she lowly admitted. “I couldn’t have kept living the way we were when we were together. Coming home…”
Ashlynn stepped in front of her and forced her to look up. “You did what you had to do. Whether it was for us or yourself, or maybe both. Whatever the reason, you blossomed and I couldn’t imagine where we’d all be without you. There have been so many milestones that wouldn’t have happened without you.”
“I don’t know about that…”
Tears shone in her sister’s eyes. “I know this isn’t the time; we need to get you ready. Just know that I’m here to cheer you on in whatever capacity you need, just like you’ve always done for me.”
“Thanks, Ash.”
“Now, let’s make that man drool!”
It was crazy to feel nervous, but as Marcus pulled up to Billie’s house, he swore his palms were sweating. They had dated for ten damn years, she wasn’t a stranger, and this certainly wasn’t a first date.
Actually, it wasn’t a date at all.
Well…maybe.
Not a romantic one, but a dinner date between old friends.
“That doesn’t sound right either,” he muttered before climbing from the car. Letting out a long breath, he went all of two steps when Billie stepped out onto the front porch. Her strawberry blonde hair was done in soft waves, the dress was dark purple with a deep vee that wrapped around her, and her lips were a glossy shade of pink. She was stunning.
And I’m in trouble…
“Hey,” he said softly as he met her halfway. “You look…very nice.”
Smiling, she walked around to the passenger side of the car. “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He helped her in before jogging around to the driver’s side and sliding in beside her. “I promise not to keep you out too late. My father threatened me about that before I left.”
Her laugh was soft and husky. “Really? Why?”
“He and Max ate half of what I brought home from Books I was afraid of having to go back through all the painful memories. And the thing is, it doesn’t matter if you never found the letter—even though I wrote it and put it on your desk…”
“It wasn’t there!”
“The point is…we’re both doing what we love. You’re happy, right? I mean…you’re living your dream! You’re a fancy financial bigwig, traveling the world, and living in your ultra-modern penthouse. That’s what you always wanted.”
“You wanted that too at one time,” he reminded her.
“I did,” she said, nodding. “Then I realized it didn’t make me happy. What I do now—the baking and investing in the local businesses—that makes me happy. Being close to my family? That makes me happy. So really, we should both be happy that we were free to be who we genuinely are.”
“I suppose,” he murmured after several long moments. “So…this is closure, huh?”
Her smile was sad as she squeezed his arm one more time. “It is.”
It was.
For the rest of the drive back to her house, they talked about old friends and caught each other up on things that didn’t really matter. When he pulled into her driveway, he was both relieved and incredibly sad.
This was it.
This was…goodbye.
Billie twisted to face him. “Take care of yourself, Marcus. Be happy.”
Nodding, he turned and got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door for her.
“You didn’t need to do that, but…thank you,” she said softly.
“A gentleman always opens a door for a lady,” he said. “My mother taught me that from an early age.” And as much as he knew his mother would be proud of his manners, she probably would be less than thrilled with the rest of his life.
A depressing thought for another time.
At the front door, Billie pulled out her key and looked up at him. “I appreciate you walking me to the door.”
He nodded.
“I hate to ruin this mini truce,” she said cautiously, “but I can’t help but feel like there’s something you want to say.”
Another nod. “First, thank you for agreeing to go out with me tonight. I know it didn’t exactly go very well, but…like I said…this was for closure. So…thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the same for me.” She paused. “I should go in. Four-thirty comes way too early.”
Marcus took a tentative step back. “Goodnight, Billie, and…you take care of yourself too.”
“Goodnight,” she whispered.
When she turned her back to him, he didn’t move. He couldn’t. He didn’t get his answers, and there was still a part of him that felt like there was supposed to be more. It took mere seconds for him to realize exactly what he needed.
“Billie?”
Glancing at him over her shoulder, she replied, “Hmm?”
Maybe he should have asked for permission, but if this was going to be the last time he saw her, then he wanted a better memory than a ring on the corner of a desk.
Moving in close, he spun her around, cupped her face, and kissed her with all the pent-up emotion and longing he’d been too afraid to unleash. She moved in closer, pressing up against him even as her arms went around him, and kissed him back with equal fervor. It was hot and passionate and almost brutal, and then…
It was over.
He pulled back first and stared at her lovely, dazed expression. “Goodbye, Billie,” he whispered before turning and walking back to his car.
Now he had closure.
Didn’t he?