Chapter 2
It was hard to believe another week had come and gone. Time to enjoy the weekend. The sun was peeking from behind a white fluffy cloud in the bright blue sky. Dressed in a floral skort and pale pink tee, Melinda carried an oversized cooler and carefully picked her way down the well-worn wooden stairs to the sandy beach. The picnic was in full swing. Glancing around, she noticed the hostess Stacey hugging another late arrival.
With a big wave, Stacey hurried over to take one of the handles of the heavy cooler. “You should have left that up top. One of the guys would have brought it down for you.” She grinned from ear to ear. The glow of a faint tan accentuated her light brown eyes and sun-streaked bob. Together they lugged it across the sand and set it under the blue easy-up tent well back from the rising tide.
“It was no trouble…well, until I stepped on the sand.” Melinda kicked off the high-heeled wedge cork sandals. “They look cute, but these shoes were not the best idea for a beach party.” She wiggled her toes in the sun-warmed sand.
Stacey drew her into a hug. “You look great as always.”
“And you’re always giving me compliments.” Using her hand, Melinda shaded her eyes and scanned the group. She laughed. “Did you invite the entire town?”
Stacey slipped an arm through Melinda’s. “Come on. There are a bunch of people dying to meet you.”
“Meet me? Why?”
Melinda saw the look of surprise flash across Stacey’s face. “Everyone I know never thought I’d find anyone who could make me fall head over heels in love. So you did the impossible and now people are wondering if you can do the same for them.”
“You’ve given me far too much credit. I just took some basic information, sent you a few profiles. You’re the one who picked Will. After that, all that was left was for you two to sign the marriage license.”
Stacey laughed. “You mean after you sent me more than a dozen matches. You make it sound like it was so easy.”
“Love isn’t complicated, people make it that way.” Melinda smiled brightly. “So, give me the rundown on who is who.”
In a conspiratorial whisper, Stacey said, “Okay. That tall, well-built man over there?” she pointed to the one person who left a lasting impression on Mel at the wedding. “That’s Adam Bell. He and Will go way back to their Marine Corps days. They were deployed together and have been best friends since basic.” She gave Melinda a wink. “He’s single and Will is trying to get him to sign up with you. He could use a good woman. His ex-girlfriend dumped him after he came back from his last tour of duty.”
Melinda bit back a sharp retort about the kind of woman who would do that to a man who served his country. She quickly reminded herself to not be judgmental. There could be a very good reason why his ex broke it off, but it did sound a bit heartless to do it right after he came back from deployment.
She inclined her head toward a pretty woman about their age. “Who’s that?”
“The girl in the short shorts and crop top?”
Melinda gave a slow nod. “She seems to be a little out of place.” Glancing around, she noticed most of the girls wore longer shorts or flowing skirts and tops that covered up their midsections.
“That’s Mary, one of Will’s other friends from work. I’m surprised you didn’t notice her at the wedding. I saw a picture of her and whoa, I have no idea how she even danced in the dress she was wearing.”
Melinda’s eyebrow shot up. “She’s very pretty.”
Stacey grinned. “Someone said she’s quite the party girl. Like she hasn’t outgrown that stage of life yet.”
Assessing the woman, Mel said, “I wonder if it’s all a front. Maybe she dresses that way to get attention in certain situations but under it all, she’s shy.”
Stacey snorted. “You think so?”
Melinda nodded and continued, “I’ve met her type before and she really wants to belong, but she’s just unsure where she fits in. Instead she goes for the shock value.”
Stacey gave her a thoughtful look. “You’re such a nice person.”
Melinda had to chuckle. “You’re still in the honeymoon glow. I can be a pain in the butt just like everyone else.” She tugged Stacey toward the girl. “Introduce me.”
“Sure, she did say she was interested to meet you.” Stacey allowed herself to be led across the sand. “Mary, this is my friend I was telling you about, Melinda Phillips.”
Mary cautiously reached out her hand, her deep blue eyes round as saucers. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
Melinda was surprised her voice sounded soft, almost childlike. She shook Mary’s hand. “Stacey tells me you work with Will.”
“I sure do. I’m an accountant at the law firm.”
“So, you deal with numbers all day, I’m impressed.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.” Mary shrugged. “You just need to make sure everything balances at the end of the day.”
Melinda smiled. “There are days I have trouble balancing my checkbook.”
Mary’s eyes lit up. “You can call me anytime, I’d be happy to help you.”
Melinda thanked her. Stacey wandered toward a small group of people, leaving Melinda with Mary. “Stacey mentioned you wanted to meet me?”
With a quick look around, Mary said, “Did you really introduce Stacey and Will?”
Melinda smiled and said, “I did.”
Mary played with a long blonde ringlet. “Do you think you could help me? I can’t seem to find the right guy no matter what I do.”
“Why don’t you call my office?” Melinda withdrew a business card from her pocket. “We can talk about what you’re looking for, and you’ll need to understand my process to see if it works for you. If it does, you can fill out the questionnaire and we’ll go from there.”
Smiling, Mary said, “I’ll call you, maybe on Monday, if that’s not too soon.”
“I’ll look forward to it. Enjoy the picnic.”
Melinda eased away from Mary and the crowd. She enjoyed parties but wondered why no one ever asked her what she was currently reading or if she liked to bike or hike. They always went right to her line of work. Walking along the water’s edge with her head down, Melinda relished the brisk cool breeze as it caressed her face and tugged at her ponytail. She noticed a man approaching her from down the beach. Being social she held up a hand in acknowledgment and stooped over to pick up a wave-tossed piece of green glass.
“Hey, it’s good to see you again.” A deep male voice interrupted her quest for friendly glass on the beach.
“Hello. It’s nice to see you too.” She pushed up her sunglasses and said, “We met at the wedding, right?”
“We did. I’m Adam.” He reached out his hand. “And you’re Melinda.”
“Guilty as charged.” She grinned and scanned the water. “I love the ocean. It’s one of the main reasons I chose to move to Chester. No matter the season, I love walking along the beach, looking for sea glass and drinking in the salty air.”
Adam nodded. “There’s nothing like it.”
“Did you enjoy the wedding?”
He shot her a quizzical glance. “I did, and you?”
“It was lovely. Stacey and Will make a great couple.”
“You didn’t stay long,” he stated with simplicity.
“No. I had work to do, and I also wanted to do some gardening.”
“Flowers?”
“Well, some, but mostly vegetables.” She examined the piece of glass she held in her hand and tossed it back into the ocean.
Adam frowned.
“It needs a bit more polishing before it’s friendly enough for me to take home.” Melinda blushed at her words and hoped Adam wouldn’t think she had said something rude.
“Ah, I get it now.” He bent over and picked up a piece, then handed it to her.
“Thanks.” Melinda noticed he was wearing fishing pants. “Are you going fishing later?”
“Huh?”
She pointed at his pants. “All those pockets are good for storing supplies.”
With a shake of his head, Adam said, “Nope, they’re just comfortable.”
She was mildly disappointed at his short responses. She surmised he wasn’t much of a conversationalist. She looked toward the tents. The grills were smoking.
“Lunch must be almost ready.” She turned inland. “Are you coming?”
“Yes.”
The pair walked in silence with only the sound of the waves crashing on the shore behind them. Melinda wondered about Adam’s story, but figured it was none of her business. Based on her past experience as a therapist, she guessed his brief answers might be a leftover of being in the military.
Blankets had been laid out over the sand as people filled their plates with burgers and salads. Melinda helped herself to a beer from her cooler. Adam was next to her. She held out a beer to him. “Would you like a cold one?”
“Thanks.” He accepted the beer and popped the cap, carefully tossing it back into the cooler.
Unsure what else was left to say, she brought her plate to sit with Molly and Tim—they were never short on conversation.
“I’ll see you around.” Adam called after her.
She smiled over her shoulder. “Sure thing.” Melinda plopped down next to Molly.
“Did I see you talking to Adam?” Molly asked.
“It was pretty one-sided. He doesn’t say much.” Melinda looked at Adam over her sunglasses.
“He’s a super nice guy. But from what I’ve heard, he had a tough time after he came home from his deployment in Iraq. Got hurt pretty bad and had to retire. He planned to be career Marine. Only a few years short of full retirement.”
Melinda set her bottle in the sand. “Sometimes it’s hard to heal after a traumatic event. Hopefully time surrounded by good friends will help him.”
Molly opened her mouth to say something else but closed it. Melinda was relieved. She wasn’t looking to hear any speculation on Adam. Molly was right, he did seem like a nice man. Maybe a little lonely, but at least he wasn’t alone. He was surrounded by an amazing group of people. After all, they had welcomed Melinda into the group, and rarely did she feel alone.
Adam wasn’t sure why he had been at a loss for words when he was walking on the beach with Melinda. He wanted to ask her if she’d work with him to find a date or two. It had been a couple of years since the breakup with Anita. It was time to get back in circulation. Will certainly had been pushing him hard enough to contact Melinda.
But what was it about the melancholy that hovered in her eyes? It was there when he met her at the wedding too. Adam was sure there was a story behind that and the slender ring on her finger. Where was her husband? Did he leave her, and matchmaking was her way of trying to heal a broken heart?
He kept an eye on her and watched as she laughed and chatted with Molly. There was something about her that he seemed to understand but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. One thing was for sure, sometime in the next few weeks he was planning on dropping by her office and get things rolling. He was tired of being one of the only single guys in their group. And if he got really lucky, he’d be walking around grinning like his buddy Will.
Who knows, maybe he’d find someone who would want to have a kid or two, and his kids could grow up with Will and Stacey’s. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants?