Admittedly, Lucas wasn’t much of a cook, but he considered himself an expert when it came to mac and cheese. Sure, it was the powdered kind that could probably survive the apocalypse, but it was warm and tasty, and for a few months when she was two years old, it was all Maddie would eat. That, and these little baby-food chicken hot dogs, and even those were only acceptable if piled into some sort of modern-art display.
Paige seemed to enjoy it. In fact, she said it brought her back to her childhood. Although to be fair, that didn’t necessarily mean it was a positive memory. Either way, he was sure it hit the spot when all she’d had to eat in the past twenty-four hours was a granola bar and s’mores.
After lunch, Lucas washed the dishes while Paige dried them. He felt guilty about a guest doing household chores, but the more time they spent together, the less Paige Parker seemed like a paying guest and the more she felt like a—the word date came to mind, but he quickly dismissed it—friend? Yes, that’s it. And why wouldn’t she? Her stay had been far from customary, what with the storm and the puppies and then the power outage. It was normal for her to feel more like a friend than a customer after all they’d been through.
“I believe there is still the matter of my five questions,” Paige said when they were done. The tone of her voice made it seem like they were in a boardroom, not the kitchen of what his sister referred to as a “shabby chic” inn, whatever that meant. Perhaps that was just how Paige operated—all business, all the time. Then again, she certainly had a softer side when it came to the dogs. She was downright mushy with them at times, which was directly at odds with almost everything else he knew about her, although admittedly that wasn’t much. But that was all about to change, since he still had all ten of his questions.
Paige, on the other hand, did not. He noticed that she conveniently ignored the controversial sixth-question debate, but Lucas didn’t mind. Partly because he’d only been teasing her and partly because, much to his surprise, he didn’t mind answering her questions. He’d never been an open book, as they say, preferring to listen rather than speak, and after losing both his parents and later his wife, that inclination had only grown stronger. But for some reason, telling Paige about the loss of his parents felt cathartic, even after so many years.
Lucas took a seat on one of the iron barstools. “Shoot.”
Paige joined him at the island, but rather than diving right in, she took her time. Lucas assumed she was weighing her options. She was already halfway through her ten questions. If she was as competitive about Twenty Questions: The Paige Parker Edition as she was about cards and video games, she was probably strategizing how to turn five into seven.
“Just so you know,” he teased. “Two-part questions count twice.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She smiled, but the expression didn’t reach her eyes. “I was actually just trying to decide…”
Her tone had changed. Lucas knew exactly what was coming next.
“When you were talking about moving here,” she said, “you said your sister called ‘us’…”
“Me and my late wife,” he offered. It was a fair question for her to ask. To be honest, he was surprised it hadn’t come up sooner. He’d been dreading it, of course, the moment when the look on her face would turn to one of pity. It was an inevitable reaction when people heard the news. But as he searched Paige Parker’s expression, he didn’t find pity, but rather genuine concern.
“What was her name?” she asked. The question took him by surprise. Most people blurted out “I’m sorry” or “How terrible.” But not Paige. She didn’t belittle his loss with some generic response. Instead, she asked her name. It was a simple question, but it meant so much, because his late wife wasn’t a statistic or a tragic story. She was a person who had a name and loved ones who missed her.
“Jenny.” Lucas’s gaze shifted to the hallway. “I was looking at photos of her the other night when you saw me in the living room.”
“I figured they had to have been of someone you’d lost,” Paige said. “You seemed so sad, but there was also something almost peaceful in your expression. At least from what I could tell.”
Lucas knew exactly what she was talking about. He felt it, although he never quite understood it. How he could be so filled with anguish, yet at the same time feel like there was no place in the world he’d rather be. Looking at those images made him long for happier days, but at the same time brought him comfort like nothing else in his life. In the end, the pain far outweighed the comfort, which was why he’d forced himself to keep those albums locked in the cabinet. Until that night.
“She died two years ago,” he said. She hadn’t asked, but it was the next logical question.
“Will you tell me about her? Or is that too painful?”
Lucas considered his answer. “No, I think it actually might help.” In the early days, Jenny was never far from his thoughts. She was with him every day, from the moment he opened his eyes and reality seeped through the sleepy edges of his consciousness until he lay down in the bed at night. But lately thoughts of her seemed fewer and farther between. It wasn’t something he could control. It just…happened. “Lately, my memories of her are starting to feel like those old 8mm movies, sort of grainy and fuzzy around the edges.” He hated that. Hated it even more that Maddie was starting to forget her mother entirely. “Most everyone in my life tries to avoid the topic.” He smirked. “Probably because I bit their heads off when they tried to bring it up before, but now…”
“You feel ready?”
He nodded, but it was more complicated than that. He wasn’t ready to talk about Jenny to just anyone. He was ready to talk about her with Paige.
“How did you two meet?” she asked, offering him a place to start.
Lucas smiled. “In a completely boring way,” he said. “Wish I had a better story for you—like we were high-school sweethearts or we met at the top of the Empire State Building or something—but fact is we met while waiting in line at a Starbucks.”
“I guess if it’s meant to be, it will be. No drama necessary,” she said. “Nice Sleepless in Seattle reference, by the way. Didn’t peg you for a rom-com fan.”
“I’m not,” he said. “But what man hasn’t been subjected to watching that film?”
Paige nodded. “Or When Harry Met Sally. Or Notting Hill. Or The Proposal.”
Lucas held up his hands. “I get your point.”
Paige blushed. “Sorry. Favorite genre.”
“I can tell,” he said.
“How long were you married?”
Not long enough, he wanted to answer. But instead he stuck to the facts. “Five years.”
“And did you live here the whole time?”
Lucas appreciated the fact that Paige was asking him questions about Jenny’s life, as opposed to her death. People were usually so focused on the tragedy, they forgot that before the loss, there’d been a life.
“Only two years,” he said. “The place was a real mess when we bought it. Personally, I thought it was a lost cause and that the sellers should have been looking for a developer to tear it down, not some poor saps to spend their life savings trying to restore it.” He smiled. “But the Realtor was no fool. She framed this big black-and-white photo of the place in its heyday. Jenny took one look at it, and she was sold.”
“And you?”
“Not so much.” He chuckled. “But I was never very good at saying no to her, so here we are.” He looked around the room. “The place has gotten away from me a bit lately, but you should have seen it when we were done.” He felt a sense of pride that was quickly dashed by the disappointment he felt over letting their hard work slip so far away.
“It still looks great. Just needs a little TLC.”
Lucas laughed. “You’re a horrible liar.”
“Okay, maybe a little more than that,” Paige admitted. “But I can still tell how much work it must have been.”
“Took forever.” Lucas drew a deep breath. He’d reached the point of the story where things would take a dark turn. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. And then my wife died at the ripe old age of twenty-nine would be a surefire conversation killer.
Paige seemed to sense his uncertainty. Her expression softened. “How long has she been gone?”
“Just over two years,” he said. “She went to the store and…” He paused to regroup. No matter how many times he told the story, this part still ripped him apart. “The doctor said it was a cerebral aneurysm. Didn’t make sense. She didn’t smoke, didn’t have high blood pressure. And no one in her family had any history. Not that logic mattered. She collapsed in the store and was gone in minutes.” He focused his gaze on a grain pattern that stretched the length of the wooden countertop. “Paramedics said there was nothing they could do.”
Lucas paused to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. But when he tried to speak again, he found he had no words. He looked up at Paige and their eyes met, and for the first time he felt as though someone understood him. And not just in a way that expressed condolences or concern, but someone who really understood how it felt to have found love and lost it.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes. It was Paige who finally broke the silence. “I can’t imagine having to pick up the pieces after that,” she whispered.
“Believe me,” he said. “There were days I didn’t even want to try.” When he got the call that Jenny had died, his first thought was that he wanted to go with her. After all, they’d stood before God and their families and promised to spend their lives together, and lives were supposed to be a hell of a lot longer. Their marriage was meant to be a hell of a lot longer. It wasn’t the deal he’d signed up for, so why should he honor the lines about till death do us part? Why did death have to mean the end of their love?
But then he’d had his second thought: Maddie. That sweet girl was the manifestation of everything he and Jenny had meant to each other. Now she was left with only one parent to keep the promise they’d both made to her the morning she was born. We’ll always take care of you. Jenny couldn’t hold up her end of that promise, so it all fell on Lucas’s shoulders. He’d never felt so unprepared for a job in his entire life, but he kept going, dragging himself out of bed each morning not only for Maddie, but for Jenny. He couldn’t bring his wife back to her daughter, but he vowed he was damn well going to try to fill the void.
“How did you get through it?”
“My sister was a huge help,” he said, knowing full well that was the understatement of the century. Sophie had been by his side every step of the way the last two years. She’d come with him to the hospital when he had to do the unthinkable and claim his young wife’s body, and she’d stayed with him while he made all of the necessary arrangements. “To be honest, I barely even remember those first few days. She took care of everything.” Aside from caring for Maddie, which he was somehow able to do without fail, he was barely able to function. But thanks to Sophie, the necessary decisions were made, the flowers were ordered, and the church was booked. Not that different from their wedding but for the color of the clothing and the fact that Jenny was alone on the altar. Funny how some of life’s biggest moments had some of the same rituals.
“You’re lucky to have her so close,” Paige said.
Not trusting his voice, Lucas merely nodded. Although he often complained about just how close, the truth was he owed his sister more than he could ever repay. She’d seen him through his grief-filled fog and every horrible night after. And don’t even get him started on what a help she’d been with Maddie. He gave her shit for all the sparkles and glitter she introduced into his daughter’s life, but if it weren’t for Sophie, Maddie would probably be sporting a crew cut by now. No way he could have dealt with those curls on his own. At least not right away. Which brought him to the other truth he needed to share…
“I have a daughter,” he said. “Her name is Maddie.” The thought of his life with her brought a smile to his face. She’d not only gotten him through that dark time, but she was still pulling him through the memories.
“How old is she?” Paige asked. Lucas hadn’t given much thought to dating, so he’d certainly never considered how a woman might react to the news that he came as part of a package deal. But Paige seemed unfazed by this information and, if anything, genuinely interested.
“Four.” He gave a small laugh. “She’ll be five in a few weeks, which, as she is constantly reminding me, means she won’t be a baby anymore.”
Paige smiled. “Five going on fifteen?”
He nodded. “I blame her Aunt Sophie. Maddie is perfectly content to fish and skip rocks when she’s with me, but then she spends the day with her aunt and it’s all glitter nail polish and,” Lucas cringed, “boy-band music.”
“Hey, don’t be knocking boy bands.” Paige sat up a little taller on her stool. “I’ll have you know I had a Backstreet Boys poster on my wall when I wasn’t much older than she is.”
Lucas groaned. “Guess I should be grateful she hasn’t redecorated her room.”
“Oh, but she will. I hate to break it to you, but what you’re seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg. Pretty soon there will be YouTubers in your life.”
“Already happened.” He grimaced. “Her favorite show is some kid opening toys.” He shook his head. “Guess I’m the dinosaur for thinking Barney was still a thing.”
Then they both laughed. Was he really smiling and even laughing after reliving the events of the last two years? Sophie would no doubt tell him that was progress. Lucas didn’t know about that. What he did know was that it felt good to be able to speak of the past without feeling the crushing weight of overwhelming grief.
“You’ll be fine,” Paige said. She was talking about navigating Maddie’s teenage years, but Lucas knew she meant it in the broader sense as well. And for the first time, Lucas agreed. He would be fine. So would Maddie. Still didn’t mean he wanted a teenager anytime soon.
“I don’t want her to grow up too quickly. It’s already flying by.” A friend of his mom’s had given him some advice at Maddie’s christening. She’d told him to enjoy every moment because “while the days will feel long, the years will be short.” At the time, he didn’t fully understand what she meant, but he was starting to.
“What about you?”
“Me?” She stiffened. The movement was subtle, but not lost on Lucas. “Oh, I don’t have any kids.” That wasn’t what he meant, but now that he realized the miscommunication, he could understand her reaction. No doubt she was regularly inundated with questions on the topic. It never ceased to amaze him how people could be so pushy when it came to something so personal. He and Jenny had experienced it pretty much from the moment they walked down the aisle. “When are you going to start a family?” “You’re not getting any younger,” and his favorite, “Time to get a bun in that oven.”
“No,” he said. “I mean, what made you come here?”
“You mean to a sleepy little island with no cars?” she asked, echoing his earlier line.
“In winter no less.” Lucas leaned forward, placing one elbow on the counter and resting his chin in the palm of his hand. “You know my story, Paige Parker. Now tell me yours. And you can start with why in the world a beautiful woman like you is spending a week alone at the beach.”
Her face flushed and a warmth spread through his chest. Complimenting her was an attempt to put her at ease, but her response pleased him far more than he’d expected.
She shifted in her chair, and the red in her cheeks became more noticeable. “I’m celebrating Singles Day.”
For a moment, Lucas drew a blank. But then he remembered the special request that had accompanied the booking. “Ah, that would explain the cake.” He’d thought a request for a cake inscribed with the words “Happy Singles Day” was a mistake, or maybe even a joke. Either way, he had ignored it.
Paige raised a brow. “Yeah, where is that, by the way?”
“Afraid you’ll have to add that to the grievances you’ll be filing with the booking site.”
She shook her head. “It’s becoming quite a list.”
“Ah yes, but on the other hand, there are unadvertised perks.”
“Like what?”
“Not every day you get to play with a litter of adorable puppies.”
Paige nodded. “So we’ll call it even on the cake.”
He was half-afraid to ask, but curiosity got the better of him. After all, whatever she was about to tell him had brought her to the point of booking a last-minute vacation. Surely he would find it amusing if nothing else. “What is Singles Day anyway?”
Her eyes lit up. “Actually, it’s called Singles Appreciation Day or, in some places, Singles Awareness Day.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Sad.”
She pursed her lips, then let him have it with both barrels. “It’s not sad. There’s nothing sad about loving yourself and being content with who you are. The latest census showed that nearly half the country is single.”
That wasn’t what he meant, but the exasperated look on her face was so adorable, Lucas couldn’t help but laugh. And once he started, he couldn’t stop. Paige glared at him, which only made him laugh harder, and when she crossed her arms indignantly over her chest, he nearly doubled over. He hadn’t laughed this hard in ages. It was like he was back in grade school with a serious case of giggles. “No, no, I mean the acronym.” He struggled to catch his breath and, when he finally did, explained. “Singles Appreciation Day,” he said, saying the words slowly so as to separate them. “S-A-D. Sad. Rather unfortunate acronym, don’t you think?” He’d no sooner finished when the laughter returned. Hell, his abs actually hurt.
Paige’s resolve cracked, and her frown melted into an amused grin. “Yeah, I noticed that as well. But for some reason when you said it—”
“You figured I was just being an asshole?”
“Let’s just say you’re lucky I don’t have that cake,” she said, shaking her head. “Or you would be wearing some of it right now.”
“Sorry,” he said, trying his best to act contrite and failing miserably. “Let me make it up to you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How?”
“By celebrating Singles Day with you.”
She snorted. “I think you’re missing the point of the holiday.”
“Not at all. We can celebrate being alone.” He winked. “Together.”
“You seriously want to celebrate Singles Day with me?”
He’d have thought she was being intentionally obtuse if it weren’t for the genuine look of surprise on her face. “Yes. When is it?”
“Today actually. The day after Valentine’s Day. The day also known as Half-Price Chocolate Day, but that is beside the point.”
Lucas clapped his hands together. “Perfect.” He started for the front door.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To the store.” He shrugged into his coat. “A special occasion calls for a special meal.”