Chapter Seventeen

Stacey sucked in a deep breath as the hospital elevator gradually came to a complete stop. She could do this. Julian and Martha depended on her. They’d hired her to create a good experience, a memorable experience. A fun experience. Julian’s orders.

She would put her own heart, still crushed after Grant stomped all over it, aside.

There would be no tears, no sadness, nothing to remind them that they were having their last dinner together in a hospital room instead of in their backyard like he’d hoped.

She clutched the insulated picnic basket in one hand and adjusted the strap of a shopping bag over her shoulder. The elevator doors slid open and she stepped past two nurses in hospital scrubs, talking animatedly in a foreign language.

How Julian had managed to convince hospital administrators to let her cater a meal was beyond Stacey, but she’d have fought for it herself if the older man hadn’t been successful. Fortunately, he’d been an influential member of the Milestone community for decades. No doubt hospital administration was eager to accommodate one of their best patrons.

Walking down the brightly lit hallway, she glanced at the door numbers, and did her best to keep her mood as elevated as she possibly could. Julian’s orders. Martha had enough to deal with as it was.

“You must be Stacey,” a man said when she passed the nurses’ station.

“I am.” She retraced her steps. “I think I’m headed the right way?”

“You are.” The nurse indicated a hallway off to the left. “Julian’s waiting. He’s very excited about having you here.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Hanging in there.”

Probably code for “no improvement.”

“Not great, huh?” Not that she expected the guy to divulge anything.

The nurse gathered up some paperwork and straightened them. “He’s a fighter. With the privacy laws, that’s all I can say,” he added. But the sad smile on his face told Stacey all she needed to know.

She bit down on her lower lip. She was on the brink of wanting to know, and not wanting to know. Curiosity won. She eased in a deep breath, then slowly blew it out. “How much longer?”

The nurse hesitated, scrubbed a hand over his neatly trimmed beard, then nodded as if making an executive decision. “A day, maybe two. Hard to say exactly, but it’ll be soon.”

Oh, God.

Stacey nodded. She needed to get a grip. On top of losing Grant, this was going to be tough, but she had to do it. Julian and Martha depended on her.

“Thanks for taking good care of them.”

He flashed an easygoing grin. “Thank you. Julian’s talked nonstop about how much joy you’ve brought him and Martha, about how much the two of them have been able to recreate some of their fondest memories because of you. Not too many people have that kind of outlook when they’re…faced with these circumstances. But you’ve been instrumental in making it a little bit easier on them.”

“I never thought of it that way.” She’d started Dinners for Two for hapless guys who couldn’t cook and still wanted to impress a date, but she’d come to understand it was for so much more than that. “I guess I’d better go set up.”

She walked the long hallway, concentrating on the preparations she’d have to make, and mentally cataloging the ingredients she’d brought with her. Foie gras and french bread. Pumpkin soup with crème fraîche. Goat cheese for the beet salad. Some good olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar that Julian had raved about in the past. Lavender shortbread cookies and a carafe of decaf coffee.

Thank God Carly could squeeze in the time to throw this last-minute meal together.

Yes, she’d brought them all. Including the vase with the single red rose that Julian wanted to give Martha. Just like the red rose he’d given her on their first date all those decades ago.

She stopped just outside his room. Okay, it was time to get her game face on. With a bright smile, she entered the old man’s room. “Hey there.”

“Hello, love,” Julian whispered. He held out a hand to her. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He looked so fragile, cradled among pillows, with an IV line connected to a point on his arm and an oxygen line placed underneath his nose. Yet through it all, he smiled as if there was nothing unusual about where they were or why they were there. “Did you bring the foie gras? Martha loves foie gras.”

“I did.” She dropped her bags and set the rose on the corner table, then walked the short distance to his bed. She clasped his cold hand between her own, and an odd sense of peace surrounded her, a feeling that she was helping and not helpless. “She’s gonna love it.” Stacey looked around the room for a place to set up.

“I’ve asked for a table to be brought in,” he said. “Should be here any minute. Now,” he squeezed her hand, “tell me, what’s going on with you and your young man. Quickly. Before Martha gets back.”

And just like that the mood was shattered. Reality intruded, and along with it was the realization that time was nothing but an illusion. An illusion born of necessity, but an illusion nonetheless.

“Julian, don’t worry about me.” She smiled. “I’m going to be fine.”

His shrewd eyes latched onto hers. “Are you?”

“Well, sure. I mean, it’s not like Grant and I won’t ever be friends again.” A sharp stab struck her chest, and she quickly glanced away. Were they even friends now?

“You’re no longer friends?” His voice was gentle, caring, the way it always was. How could he be even remotely concerned with her relationship with Grant under the circumstances?

Julian smiled weakly, and as if he could read her mind, he said, “We know what’s going to happen to me. Right now, I’m more concerned about what’s going to happen to you. You’ve a whole lifetime to walk through, and a lot of experiences waiting for you. One of the experiences I don’t want for you, young lady, is regret.”

Would there be regret if she broke things off with Grant for good? To not be friends anymore? No more Therapy Tuesday. No more Netflix. No more hikes or bike rides or kayaking down the river. Could she really do it?

“So tell me,” Julian said, grasping her hand. “What happened?”

She swallowed back the pain. She’d cried her eyes out at Carly’s that night, and she was pretty sure there were no tears left to be shed. “He canceled our standing date at The Chinese Stop so he could take another woman out instead.”

The pain intensified, catching her off guard. Maybe there were still tears holed up in there, not that she’d let them fall. Sharing what had happened was one thing—falling apart was another. “I’m sorry, Julian.” She attempted a smile and tried to pull herself together. “It seems silly to care so much about stuff like that.”

He nodded sympathetically. “I’d hardly call it silly.” He shifted. “Is it possible you were mistaken about the other woman?”

“No.” She clasped her hands together. “He made it pretty clear, and he’s well within his rights to go on a date. I mean, we’re best friends and all, have been since we were kids, but he doesn’t owe me anything.” Nothing like loyalty or…love.

The old man chuckled.

“What?”

“When you’re my age, my dear, it amuses me to hear you say that you’re anything but a kid now.” He coughed. “But, please go on.”

She shouldn’t share so much, but something in his kind tone and smile tugged the words out of her. “Well it’s just that I was beginning to think he was someone I could have more with. But it turns out he’s just like the others.”

And, really, it served her right for indulging in thoughts of a possible happily-ever-after with him. Despite her feelings, reality told her something completely different. Reality told her she needed to take Grant Phillips at face value. He didn’t want a relationship—he’d even told her to keep an eye out for her Mr. Right—and she’d been dumb enough to think he’d change his mind. She should know better. Not even burning an offering at Chinaman Hat would overcome Grant’s resolve.

“The others?”

Julian’s question pulled her back to the moment, something Grant would’ve teased her about. Grant again? Ugh. She needed to get him off her mind. “The other guys I’ve dated. There’s always something wrong with them. I mean, they start out great and stuff, and then one day I realize that something’s not quite right with the guy.”

She frowned. “Take the last guy, for instance. Turned out he was a cheating jerk.” And she was more than happy to be rid of Leo.

“Good reason to walk away from him, then, but I’m sure you’ve dated others.”

Clearly Julian wasn’t going to drop it. She rested a hip against the hospital bed. “One guy had a thing about gluten. Wouldn’t touch a piece of bread or get within three feet of one.”

“Oh, he wouldn’t eat a piece of bread.” Julian nodded sagely, the corners of his mouth inching up. “I can see why you broke up with him.”

“Are you making fun of me?” Julian’s smile was so contagious, she couldn’t help but mirror it.

“Of course not. Now, go on.”

“Well, another guy insisted he do all the driving whenever we went anywhere. Like he didn’t trust my driving at all.”

“Which meant that he’d have to cart you everywhere. Tsk, tsk… What was he thinking?”

“You are making fun of me.”

“Maybe a little.” He smiled. “I hope you’re listening to what you’re saying, my dear. Aside from the cheater, were those true reasons to reject a potential suitor? Or maybe someone else was the reason?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “It’s like none of them were right. Like they weren’t good enough.”

“Yet Grant is good enough?”

She shrugged. “Sort of. Except he’s not interested in anything serious with me.” Which was the suckiest part of the whole thing. The dull ache started again, drawing her in so that she had to fight hard to keep from tromping down that path.

The old man sighed with a smile and shifted on the bed.

“Do you want some help?” She straightened. “Should I get someone for you?”

“No.” He waved her off. “I’m fine. Just trying to get comfortable. But back to you and Grant.”

“There is no me and Grant. Falling for him would be extremely stupid. All I wanted was for the two of us to be willing to explore where this relationship might go.”

God. She sounded whiny and pathetic. How the hell had she been reduced to this?

“Is it possible,” he began, ignoring her comment, “that you were involving yourself with men you subconsciously knew you’d never commit to because it was always about Grant?”

Stacey blinked and tried to get the words to make sense to her.

“Well, no…” Stacey felt the heat sear her face. Aside from Leo, was it possible that’s why every man she’d ever dated was lacking somehow? Because she didn’t really want a serious relationship with any of them? She glanced at Julian, saw the wisdom and the kindness in his eyes. “Maybe?”

“You are the only one who can answer that, my dear. But know this: love is the greatest gift that can ever be given and received. It is worth having, it is worth finding, it is worth waiting for.”

“Julian’s right, you know.”

Stacey turned at the sound of Martha’s voice behind her.

“You make it sound perfect.”

She carefully walked into the room, each stride assisted by her leopard-print colored cane. “Oh, goodness, no relationship is perfect. Look at us. We’ve had our rough spots, but what relationship doesn’t? When you find love, and if you’re brave enough to reach out and embrace it, that love will transform you, making you better than who you were. But finding that kind of love means finding a heart that hears yours.”

The words were so beautiful, so romantic, they strummed a chord deep inside Stacey. This was what love was about: a gift that inspires a person to be the best version of themselves possible. She wanted that so badly she felt the intensity down to her core.

“What if he doesn’t?” She hesitated, not sure how much to say. “What if he doesn’t recognize my heart? Then what?”

“I promise, if he’s the one, he will.” Martha’s smile radiated from her even as her gaze locked onto her husband. “And, like Julian said, I also promise it’s worth finding.”

She huffed out a breath and frowned. Grant had tried to text her that night, wanting to see her, but she’d replied that she needed space, needed a break. Thankfully, in true Grant fashion, he’d respected her wishes and hadn’t made any attempts to reach her since.

That was two days ago. Two long, miserable days.

Martha stepped around to the opposite side of the bed, and Julian’s gaze followed her. “How are you feeling?” she asked, taking the hand her husband offered her and squeezing it gently.

“Like we should break out of this joint and go salsa dancing,” he said softly.

Martha grinned. “I bet I can distract that hunky nurse while Stacey busts you out of here. We’ll meet up in the parking lot.”

Based on what she’d witnessed, they were right. Love was a truly powerful force, bringing out the best in a couple even through life’s crappy times. Love was definitely worth fighting for, but it was up to both people in the relationship to make it happen. Clearly, Grant wasn’t fighting for the relationship. She stifled the sudden burst of pain in her chest and forced herself to face facts once and for all. Grant wasn’t “the one.”

Now she just had to figure out a way to move on with her life.