Chapter Eight
Alexandre bit into his crab cake sandwich and tried to enjoy the salty air on his face.
For the first time all week, he was alone.
Tonight had turned into an unofficial date night.
Mei and Joey were at an Italian restaurant.
Ali and Luc had found a seafood place with a nice kids’ menu for Kaia.
Both couples had invited him along, but Alexandre declined.
He figured they all wanted some time to themselves.
Since he’d always lived a bachelor lifestyle, Alexandre expected the solitude to feel normal, or even welcome after so many days in a house full of people. Instead, loneliness lingered around him like a cloud.
To shake himself out of self-pity, Alexandre opened his latest fantasy novel. Ever since he left Oregon, he’d devoured one series after another. The escape into otherworldly realms was exactly what he needed—along with tales of good people embarking on epic quests against impossible odds.
He was so lost in his book that he jumped sometime later when the porch door creaked open behind him.
Ali stepped onto the porch, rubbing her sweatshirt-clad arms. “Sorry, Alexandre. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No worries.” His shoulders dropped. He hadn’t realized he’d been hoping Mei would walk through the door.
“Luc’s giving Kaia her bath.” Ali sat beside him at the picnic table so they both faced the beach. Streaks of pink, purple, and orange lit up the feathery clouds. “You’ve got the right idea being out here.”
“I’m having a great time. Thanks for letting me be the fifth wheel on your vacation.”
“Oh stop! No one’s a wheel. We’re Legos. We break apart and form new combinations, and they all work.”
Ali’s description was accurate. Alexandre enjoyed spending time with each permutation of people, except for Joey.
As much as he tried, he couldn’t see him as anything but an overgrown child.
Alexandre grimaced, remembering how he’d challenged Joey to help Mei with wedding planning. That was none of his business.
“Who knows?” Ali said. “Maybe you’ll have a girlfriend or fiancée next time we’re here.”
Alexandre raised his eyebrows. Usually, speculation about his love life irked him. If he compiled all the unsolicited advice, pep talks, and questions he’d received in his forty-two years, that volume would be thicker than his academic publications.
But Ali’s casual directness made Alexandre consider her words. Mei’s face popped into his mind before he could stop it.
“Maybe.”
“You’ll be dating at a good age.”
Alexandre let out an incredulous laugh. “Why’s that?” What did Ali know about dating? Her last date was when Luc asked her out sixteen years ago. She’d never downloaded a dating app, been set up by friends, or mingled at parties hoping to meet the one.
“People are more fully formed in their thirties and forties. You know what you want, and you have your life together.”
Mei was completely different from the twenty-something he’d met all those years ago.
But his big scientific accomplishments, grants, and publications had been in his early thirties.
Even his prestigious Nature publication, which should have made him untouchable, hadn’t been enough to save him when everything had gone so spectacularly downhill. Alexandre snorted.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Ali eyed him. “You don’t feel fully formed.”
“How’d you guess?”
“But you will be. Because you’ll be doing what you love.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Whenever you talk about teaching, you’re relaxed. You give off a sense of calm.” Ali shrugged. “You were always passionate about research, but it stressed you out.”
“My research wasn’t exactly going well.”
Ali bumped her shoulder against his. “I’m not just talking about the last few years. We’ve been in-laws for a long time.”
“You’re right.” Agreeing that his new job was good for him had become like a script. Alexandre just had to follow it. “Teaching will be good for me. And who knows? Maybe I’ll have my own Joey soon.”
Ali’s grin wavered for less than a second. Before Alexandre could determine whether it was a trick of his imagination, a moment of wishful thinking manifested, Ali’s smile was as vibrant as ever.
“Oh, you will.” She patted his hand, then stood up. “I’m going to put Kaia to bed.”
After Ali left, Alexandre watched the daylight fade from the sky.
His thoughts drifted to Mei. Her spirit had captivated him—her stubborn determination and somewhat delusional optimism.
Alexandre could already read her mannerisms: The way Mei cocked her head and shot him a challenging stare when he asked a question she didn’t want to answer.
How she’d flick and smooth her hair when she was pleased with something he’d said.
Her begrudging smile that blossomed into a brilliant grin.
Alexandre’s internal compass drew him toward Mei whenever she was around.
He dragged his hand over his face. Great. The first woman to catch his attention in years was his sister-in-law’s sister. Who was already engaged.
A car door slammed in the driveway. The breeze carried Mei’s and Joey’s voices toward him. Alexandre grabbed his book and headed upstairs. It was better for everyone if he didn’t see them now.