Chapter Forty-Four
“Come on, Birdie. Tell me where she is.” Tim faced down Birdie McCorkle in his quest to get some face time with Angelique.
“She feels strongly that being with you is dangerous for her.” Birdie fisted her hands on her hips, clearly ready to do battle with him.
“I’ve got the paparazzi problem all taken care of. As long as Chester’s around, they’re not going to bother her.”
Birdie sniffed and stared at him, making him feel like a disgusting, slimy specimen on a lab slide.
“Please.”
“Oh, and it’s lucky you are that I’ve a soft spot in my heart for you.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve got her making up the rooms these days, so those damn reporters can’t find her.” She smiled. “She’s up on the third floor of the main house. Don’t blink. You might miss her.” She chuckled as she walked away.
Don’t blink? What the hell did she mean by that?
He shook his head. Birdie McCorkle had one very strange sense of humor.
****
Angelique pushed dirty linens into a bag to haul down to the laundry. Her lower back ached in throbbing waves as she stood to stretch and massage it with her hands. As she rolled her shoulders backwards and forwards she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She bowed her head and willed herself to become as invisible as possible.
“Excuse me,” the person said as he passed by her.
“Tim?” She spoke before she thought.
Tim stopped dead in his tracks. “Angelique?” His eyes widened and rounded. “What have you done to yourself?”
She ran a hand through her new short, blonde hair. “Like it?”
“It’s different.”
“I changed things up now that the paps are on the hunt.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head then let it hang down. After a moment, he raised his eyes and stared at her. “I need to talk to you.”
It was her turn to shake her head. “I’ve said all I have to say. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.” She turned her back to him.
“I’m seeing a therapist.”
She froze. “That’s good.”
“I haven’t had any nightmares for a week now. And I’m not going to do dangerous things anymore.”
She barely dared to breathe. “I’m glad. You’ve got a lot to offer the world. I’d be afraid to lose you.”
“Would you? I mean, be afraid to lose me?”
Her hands began to tremble. “Yes,” she whispered.
He put his hands on her upper arms. “Then be with me.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You can. We can face anything as long as we’re together.”
“I still need time.”
His hands dropped away. “Angelique.”
“I mean it. If you love me like you say you do, you’ll give me what I need.”
“How much time?” Impatience flared in his gaze.
“I don’t know! Just a little while longer.”
“You can’t make me wait around forever. I’m not like one of your old boyfriends that you can just keep on a string until it’s convenient for you.”
The sudden stab of pain made her gasp. She wrenched away from him. “Is that what you think?” she demanded as she faced him.
His mouth softened. “No. I don’t think that. I shouldn’t have said it.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. Are you going to bring that up every time we have a disagreement?” She felt like she could shoot fire out of her fingertips.
His shoulders slumped. “No. I don’t even know why I said it this time. I’m sorry.”
“I think you need to go. I’ve got work to do.”
“Okay, but I’m not giving up. We belong together, Angelique.”
“Please go.” She refused to cry.
She didn’t turn around until she was sure he’d left.
****
“Did our Timothy catch up with you?” Birdie walked into the Sea Crest Inn’s laundry room where Angelique was folding and stacking towels.
“Yes.” She really didn’t want to talk about Tim.
“So, are you going to give him a second chance?”
Angelique hugged a towel to her chest. “I don’t know. It all feels so complicated. I should just pick up and go somewhere else to live.”
“Don’t you dare!” Birdie gasped. “You belong here!”
Her head felt too heavy on her neck. “I don’t want to leave, but everyone knows who I am now. I’ll have no privacy at all.”
“Things will die down after a bit and they’ll find someone new to focus on. You’ll have all the privacy you want. With Tim.”
Angelique shook her head. “There’s no more me and Tim.”
Birdie stared at her. Angelique tried not to flinch.
“I had one great love in my life,” Birdie finally said. “Ian McCorkle. He was a fisherman, but so full of grand plans, he was. ‘Birdie, me girl,’ he’d tell me, ‘one day we’re goin’ back to County Clare, you dressed in the finest silks and shiniest jewels, and everyone will know our ship came in.’” She sighed. “My Ian could spin a tale longer than the day. I loved him with all my heart and soul. Now mind you, me parents didn’t want us to marry so young and to move so far away, but we didn’t hear anything else but what we wanted and dreamed about.”
“Oh, Birdie.” Angelique’s heart had just ripped in two jagged pieces.
“Don’t you dare pity me, Angie. I lived more in the time I had with my Ian than most people get for a lifetime. I thought I died when he did.”
“If you don’t mind me asking“
“The boat he worked on went out in a gale that turned fierce, hurricane fierce, in a matter of an hour. They floundered and crashed against the cliffs. All that was left was debris until the bodies washed up.” Birdie swallowed but remained dry eyed. “They’d been in the sea for several days, so identifying them was a difficult matter. We were able to tell my Ian by his watch. It was still ticking.”
“I’m so sorry.” Since Birdie wasn’t teary, Angelique didn’t dare let a single drop fall. “I just need some time.”
“So here’s me best advice. Don’t waste a second. When a man looks at you like Tim Baldwin does, you pay attention. Don’t throw love away with both hands. Give him another chance, Angie. He deserves it.” Birdie patted her on the cheek. “You deserve it.”
“Do I? I’ve not been the nicest person in the world.”
“You couldn’t prove that by me. Besides, it seems Lobster Cove is a place where people come and find true love. Don’t fight it. True love is a wonderful thing. As is forgiveness.”
A wave of love washed over her for this woman, who had horrible hair and not one single lick of style. She put her arms around Birdie’s neck, squeezed her eyes shut, and hugged her tight.
She finally had a best friend.