Chapter 15

Frankie learned exactly why couples with children talked about the importance of “date night” the next evening. She’d been getting dressed to go hang out at Ryan’s when Miles knocked on her open bedroom door.

“Hey, bud. How’s it going?” She sat on the air mattress and pulled on a pair of bright pink Converse.

“What are you doing?” He walked further into the room. His pants were too loose and Frankie wondered if he’d lost weight during his illness.

“I’m going to go hang out at Ryan’s for a few hours,” she answered as she tied her laces.

“But who’s gonna help me with my essay?”

Frankie looked up at him and blinked. “What essay?”

“My teacher says we gotta write an all about me essay. Travis is sleeping and Carter says I don’t want him helping me.”

She frowned. Okay, at least it was writing and only the second grade, right? “When’s it due?”

“Tomorrow.”

Of course. “Why didn’t you mention this before, bud?”

Miles shrugged and walked over to her air mattress to sit down. She really needed to order a bed.

“Okay. Can we work on it when I get back from Ryan’s?” Even as she said it, she knew that wouldn’t work. It was close to seven now and if they were watching a movie, there was no way Miles would stay up until she got back.

“Never mind,” she said before he could answer. “Go get your stuff and bring it to the kitchen table.”

He smiled, bounced off the bed and left the room. Disappointment tugged at her chest, but she knew Ryan would understand. She texted and apologized and teased about having to make it up to him. She frowned when his only reply was: no worries.

Forty minutes later, she and Miles had mapped out a plan and organized a rough draft. She heard the knock, but let Carter answer the door. A moment later, Ryan walked into the kitchen carrying a pizza with a brown paper bag resting on top of it.

Frankie’s heartbeat sped up and she couldn’t stop her smile. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Pizza!” Miles scrambled out of his seat and hurried over to Ryan, who grinned down at him.

“Not so fast, mister. You done your homework?”

Frankie bit her lip to suppress the dreamy sigh that wanted to escape.

Miles looked back at Frankie. “We’re almost done, right?”

She nodded. “Just about. He’s working on his good copy.”

Carter, who’d joined them, pulled some plates out of the cupboard. “I don’t have homework so I can have some now.”

Ryan shot him a wry glance and arched an eyebrow.

Carter smirked at him. “Please?”

Frankie laughed. “How can you say no to that?”

They shared the pizza at the table while Miles finished his essay and Travis slept on the couch. They saved him a piece and even though he’d barely arrived, when it was time for Miles to go to bed, Ryan kissed Frankie on the cheek and said goodnight. As she waited for Miles to brush her teeth, he spoke around the toothbrush in his mouth.

“You and Ryan got crushes on each other,” he mumbled.

Frankie laughed. “Maybe. Do you have any crushes?”

His eyes widened and he pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth. “No! That’s gross.”

She could see he truly meant it. He rinsed his mouth and walked out of the bathroom. “Carter’s always got crushes though. I’m never gonna be like him.”

Frankie could only nod and think, just wait, bud.

A few nights later, Ryan took Frankie out on a real date. She leaned back in the leather seat and watched the landscape sail past.

“You’re not even going to ask?” Ryan glanced over from the driver’s seat. He wore a short-sleeve, black polo shirt despite the chill of the evening. Frankie didn’t mind as it let her admire his tattoo. In black and red ink, he had what she guessed was the seam of a baseball encircling his forearm. Block letters under the seam read MMV.

“Ask what?”

He checked the rearview and then switched lanes, pulling off of the freeway. “Where we’re going.”

“It doesn’t really matter. I’m just glad that homework and coughing and article deadlines didn’t get in the way. What are the letters?”

His smile was warm. “2005. When I signed my contract.”

“How old were you?”

“Nineteen.”

Frankie thought about that as Ryan drove. They were about twenty minutes outside of West Lake and now that he’d mentioned it, she was getting curious. “Nineteen is young,” she commented.

He shrugged. “Felt like it took forever to get there. What were you doing at nineteen?”

He took a right turn that led them onto a winding road. She thought back. “I’d enrolled in writing courses, but hadn’t told my parents so I was sneaking out to college and the library.” She hadn’t exactly been a rebel.

Like he thought he same thing, Ryan scoffed. “Wild child. Why would you have to sneak off to college? Don’t most parents want their kids to go to school?”

The road was taking them up and Frankie saw a lake out her side. “They thought it was a waste of time. If I just traveled in the right circles, I’d secure a well-off husband and wouldn’t need to worry about my education.”

Ryan glanced over at her, his mouth hanging open slightly. She nodded and laughed. “My thoughts exactly.”

At the end of the road was an adorable cliff-top restaurant. It looked like a modern day, elaborate grass hut overlooking the water. “I heard this place was good. Mostly seafood. That okay?”

She nodded and locked her gaze on him as he parked the truck. It shouldn’t make her feel warm inside that he’d thought ahead; that he’d been thinking of their date like she had.

He turned off the car and found her staring at him. “What?”

Undoing her seatbelt, she slid across the leather and kissed him. “Thank you.”

“For what?” He brought his hand to her arm and rubbed up and down.

“Just for this. For dinner. For a nice night out. For being flexible and sweet.”

He laughed. “You’re an interesting woman, Frankie. About the easiest person to please that I’ve ever met.” He kissed her again then rested his forehead against hers. “And you’re welcome.”

The restaurant wasn’t busy and they were seated near a stone fireplace that went all the way to the ceiling. The Beach Boys played in the background softly and Frankie felt like she was on a tropical island. Not really a grass hut, the restaurant had floor-to-ceiling windows that let them look out over the water. The waitress brought them a dinner and drink menu.

“I’ll have a glass of house red,” Frankie said.

“Just club soda for me,” Ryan said. The waitress stared at him a moment longer than Frankie thought was necessary before collecting the drink menu.

“Sure. I’ll be right back.”

She was mid-eye roll when Ryan turned his attention back to Frankie. “What?”

Frankie shook her head. “Even if they don’t know you’re a former ballplayer, women go dreamy eyed over you.”

Ryan’s laugh was genuine, like she’d said something hilarious. “There’s only one woman I’m interested in making dreamy eyed. And your eyes look pretty damn clear.”

It was her turn to laugh. “Maybe I just hide it well.”

“I’ll have to work harder to bring it out of you.”

Frankie shivered at the thought and didn’t let him know that he really wouldn’t have to work that hard at all.

When the waitress returned, they ordered two different seafood meals and agreed to share. Frankie couldn’t help but tease him. “And here you said you didn’t like to share.”

He folded his arms across the table and leaned forward. “Food is fine for sharing. Women, not so much. Speaking of which, did you tell your not-so-secret admirer that you aren’t going to his little block party as his date?”

Frankie sipped her wine then set it down. “I haven’t had a chance. I figured I’d let him read between the lines when I show up with you.”

Satisfaction gleamed in his gaze and made her stomach feel like she’d spun around too fast. “That’ll work. So, why West Lake? Just because of the house?”

She shrugged and glanced at the patterned table cloth. Because she wasn’t a coward, she looked back up to see he was watching her. “Mostly I hated the thought that Beth died alone and her own brother didn’t even want to come here to close up her house or pack up her belongings. He took care of everything over the phone and would have sold it to the first interested buyer if I hadn’t stopped him.”

“You and Beth weren’t close.”

Twisting her napkin between her fingers, she shook her head. “No. And I started thinking about that. How she didn’t have anyone and I worried her life was empty and then I started thinking about my own life and realized I wasn’t one to judge. I was on the board of six charities, a trophy-fiancée, and pretty miserable to be honest.”

Ryan picked up his soda and took a long drink. “Fiancée?”

She nodded. Someone laughed loudly over the music and glasses clinked behind them. Frankie’s stomach growled when their waitress walked passed their table to bring another couple their food.

“Yeah. For a little while. I thought if I focused on making a home and starting a family, I wouldn’t feel so empty. Turns out you need to actually be in love with the person and have them love you back for that to have any meaning.”

His smile was slight, but it soothed Frankie’s nerves. “I’ve heard that.”

In for a penny, she started in her head then cut herself off. “I just got tired. None of it felt real. After we got engaged, it was different. Robert didn’t even want to celebrate alone, you know? He did it in a crowded restaurant because, like for my parents, everything was for show. I was tired of being part of the show. About six months ago, I had this weird…I don’t know, almost vision. I love my mom but I didn’t want to be her. I didn’t want to be known for how good my dinner parties were or how great I looked in Kate Spade. One night Robert told me that my dress didn’t match his tie. He didn’t want to change so I needed to. And I thought, yes. I really do. Because I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t want that life. I wanted my own, regardless of where that took me. And even though it was sad, Beth dying was like a wake-up call for me.”

Before Ryan could respond, their waitress brought their food. “Can I get you two anything else?”

Ryan looked to Frankie, who shook her head. “We’re good. Thanks very much.”

“No problem. Enjoy.”

“For the record? Your ex sounds like a good match for my mine. I’m sorry about your aunt, but I’m glad you came to West Lake.”

“Me too,” Frankie said low. They both let the conversation go to enjoy the food. When they’d each eaten half, they switched plates and Frankie found it ridiculously charming.

“You talk to anyone about the boys?”

Frankie took a piece of bread from the basket. “No. Not yet. I’ve made some phone calls and inquired about different options, but I haven’t spoken to anyone specifically about them. My friend Chloe says I’m asking for trouble, but I just don’t want them to go yet. They’re surprisingly cool kids.”

“Your friend is probably right. But you’re right, too. They are cool. But they need more than you can give them, don’t you think?”

She did, but she hated to say that out loud because she didn’t want that to be true. “Maybe. I just need a bit more time. Plus, I’m going to paint a couple more rooms so I figured I might as well get Carter to help me. Can’t do that if they leave.”

Ryan’s smile was indulgent. “True. Put him to work while you can.”

The rest of the meal was easy and light, but in the back of her mind, Frankie knew that Ryan and Chloe were completely justified to worry about the decisions she was making regarding the boys. Finding a stray puppy and letting it stay was one thing, but children? If she had heard the story about someone else, she’d think the person who let them stay was a nut job. But their presence filled Frankie’s heart in a way she hadn’t known she was missing.

“Hey. You’re too serious for a first date,” Ryan said, spearing his last piece of shrimp with his fork.

“Why doesn’t this feel like a first date?”

He winked at her. “Because in between making the date and actually having it, we’ve hung out several times and you’ve tried to seduce me when the boys weren’t looking?”

Frankie laughed. “Right. I knew there was a reason.”

Ryan pulled out his wallet and signaled the waitress. “If you play your cards right, I might let you try again tonight.”

A shiver of anticipation rushed over her skin. “Hmm. And this time, there’ll be no interruptions,” she mused out loud.

Just before the waitress approached, he frowned. “I should have asked. You want dessert?”

Frankie gave him a sly smile. “Sure. We can get it to go.”

His rich laughter tugged at Frankie’s heart strings. She’d come a long way to find herself and looking at Ryan, across the table in the dim light of the restaurant, she wondered how she’d been lucky enough to find so much more.