Chapter 5
MAGGIE
Maggie curled into the corner of her sofa with a glass of aged red in her hand and the light of the neighboring lighthouse flashing across the dark water, as she tried very hard to relax.
This was her spot where, on a warm summer evening, she’d open the folding doors, sit on her plush sofa, letting in the sea breeze as she unwound. It was her relaxation spot. But tonight, it wasn't working.
Maggie’s cottage sat out on the point near the lighthouse.
It was a quaint three-bedroomed house with gleaming wooden floors and big windows, and other than the lighthouse cottage, it was the closest house to the water on this side of the bay.
On a normal evening, it was the most peaceful place she knew.
The lighthouse swept its slow beam across the waves once again.
The bay murmured against the rocks below the deck.
Toby's bedroom door stood open down the hall, his nightlight off because he was at Linda's again tonight, having his third sleepover of the week with Jake.
On a normal evening, Maggie would have had a long bath, put on her softest pajamas, and read a few chapters of something gentle before bed, curled up in this exact spot.
Tonight she'd poured the wine instead, and the wine had been a mistake, because the wine had loosened something she'd spent the last hour or so clamping shut. But the memory of the collision in the hotel corridor with Michael was sharper than it had been the moment it happened.
She could still feel the impact and Michael's arms around her waist. The solid warmth of his chest against her cheek. Maggie had feared that the way her heart had slammed against her ribs the moment she recognized exactly where it was, he’d been able to feel, as they were so close.
Worse. Once Maggie had realized exactly where she was, she had made no move to immediately spring away.
Instead, she’d savored the feeling and moment a little longer than was necessary.
Feeling mortified by that admission. Maggie took a long sip of wine and closed her eyes.
She couldn’t believe she was right back here trying to push away the same feelings she’d had for Michael since she was a teenager.
Over years and years of practice, Maggie had felt she’d gotten really good at hiding her ‘crush’ on Michael Heart.
She’d thought that forty years of practice had made her an expert at the particular discipline of looking at Michael Heart and pretending to feel nothing at all.
She had done it across a Christmas table.
She did it at family weddings. During her visits to Miami, when Michael happened to be there.
Maggie had even managed to be so happy for him and his late wife when they’d found each other. She also adored his son, his son’s wife, and Michael’s granddaughter, Lily. She’d been there through all the major events of their lives. Just like he’d been there at hers.
But all it took was one accident of fate and Maggie landing in his arms to break down that flimsy wall, setting those emotions loose.
Here she sat trying to patch that wall back up with an expensive bottle of red wine.
What a waste of good wine, as it was only making it worse.
Her stomach growled, reminding her she needed to eat something, as cookies weren’t a meal.
She stood, put the wine on the table beside the sofa, and wandered into the kitchen.
She pulled the refrigerator open and found some Chinese takeout left over from the night before. This is what she’d resorted to now that Toby was staying at Heart House. Maybe she should go stay there, as he was getting meals made by Chef Molly while she was about to eat cold day-old take-out.
The thought of Heart House flashed Michael's face before her eyes again.
“Stop it!” Maggie hissed as she yanked the carton out of the refrigerator.
Stuffed it into a dish, then slammed it into the microwave, hitting the keys a lot harder than necessary.
When the microwave dinged, she pulled her dinner from it, grabbed a fork, and went back to the sofa.
She was sitting cross-legged and finishing off the last bite when her phone rang on the cushion beside her.
Linda's name lit up the screen, and Maggie's stomach dropped clean through the floor.
Guilt washed over her like a tidal wave as images of her in Michael's arms flashed through her mind once again.
Maggie let it ring twice while she gathered her emotions so they wouldn’t carry through her voice, then picked up.
"Hello," Maggie answered, and was relieved to hear how normal she sounded.
"Hi," Linda greeted with a cheer in her voice. "I hear my brother made quite the mess and created some dirty laundry for you.”
Maggie's heart lurched.
"He did," Maggie confirmed, and made herself laugh.
"As I told you at the hotel earlier, he walked straight into me as I was rushing toward my car. I had a full basket balanced on my hip and my nose buried in my phone.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, not allowing herself to relive the memory for the umpteenth time in the last few hours.
“It went everywhere. Sheets and pillowcases all over the floor.” Her cheeks pinkened.
“Even my Hello Kitty pajamas landed in a heap.”
“Oh, no,” Linda breathed in fake outrage. “Not the bright pink Hello Kitty pj’s.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “Hey, you were the one who chose those with Toby to give to me for my birthday two years ago.”
“I know,” Linda said, with a snort. “I’m sure Michael didn’t even notice them. You know how he is when his mind is full of a case, facts, or figures.”
“I do.” Maggie nodded. “And so does my now bruised hip.”
“Michael is absentminded,” Linda said with a sigh. “I know he felt very bad about it.”
“It was also my fault,” Maggie admitted. “I was checking my messages and not looking where I was going.”
“What a way to say hello, though,” Linda teased. “Rosa was really annoyed with Michael. Telling him that he really needs to watch where he is going. Not only did he mess up your laundry, but he also could’ve seriously hurt you, as he is a giant compared to petite Maggie.”
They laughed as she pictured Rosa scolding Michael. Rosa had scolded them all a lot when they were young and constantly got up to mischief.
“One good thing did come of it, though,” Maggie told Linda. “Michael offered to take over my divorce case.”
There was a small pause on Linda's end.
Maggie's heart stopped.
She replayed the last thirty seconds at speed, trying to work out exactly how much she'd given away, whether the breathlessness in her voice had read as nerves or as something far more dangerous, whether forty years of carefully masking her feelings for her best friend's older brother had just completely dropped.
Linda knew her better than anyone alive. If anyone on earth could hear the truth under all that babble, it was Linda.
"Maggie," Linda said. “That’s fantastic!” Her voice bubbled with enthusiastic optimism. “Because if anyone is going to finally get that divorce for you, it’s going to be Michael.” And another pause. “I wonder why he didn’t say anything to me about this?”
Relief hit Maggie so hard she nearly laughed out loud. That was the part Linda had caught. Not the breathlessness. Not the babble. Just the one genuinely good piece of news buried in the middle of it.
“I don’t know,” Maggie replied. “Maybe his mind is too full of the hotel mess.”
“True,” Linda agreed. "But, Maggie, this is the best news I've heard all week. You can finally fire that useless man you've been paying to help you with this case. Michael will run rings around Kevin's lawyer. He'll have this finished before the summer's out."
"I hope so," Maggie said, and meant it, even though her chest was doing something complicated at the thought of how much time finished-before-the-summer's-out would mean spending alone with Michael.
"I really hope so. I'm so tired of it, Linda.
Months and months of motions, continuances, and hearings that go nowhere. I just want it done."
"It's as good as done now," Linda assured her. "When are you meeting him?"
"Tomorrow," Maggie answered. "One o'clock, at the Bay Café.
I'm bringing everything. The whole file.
Every letter, every motion, every invoice from my lawyer that I've got nothing to show for.
" She reached for her wine and took a small sip.
"And I've got a meeting with Kevin's attorney the day after tomorrow.
I was dreading it. I'm not dreading it nearly as much now, knowing Michael will have looked at everything first and be the one to go there with me. "
"Good," Linda said firmly. "You walk into that meeting with my brother in your corner and watch how fast Kevin's lawyer changes his tune."
Maggie laughed, and this time it came easily.
"You're very confident in him," Maggie observed.
"I've watched him work for thirty years, Maggie. I've never once seen him lose when it mattered. Kevin has no idea what's about to hit him," Linda said.
They talked for a moment about the boutique, and then Linda went quiet, and again Maggie’s heart jolted thinking she knew and that Linda had figured it out. Then she wanted to slap herself. How would she know they were talking about the boutique, not Michael? Good grief.
"Maggie," Linda ventured. "Can I tell you something?"
"Of course," Maggie answered, her heart now feeling like it was hammering in her throat, trying to escape before it gave any more away to Linda.
"I'm going on a date," Linda admitted.
Maggie sat up straight. Her eyes widened, and her mind switched gears. Her guilt over her feelings for Michael was forgotten.
"A date," Maggie repeated, momentarily astonished. Out of everything that Linda could’ve said to her, this was not what she was expecting.