The Sunday Potluck Club

by Melissa Storm

  Olivia giggled, then arranged herself on the floor, leaning against Jet as an oversized pillow.

  “Your daughter’s an evil genius,” Amy whispered to Trent once they were both settled inside amidst the pillows and blankets. This was it. This was real. What would happen now that they had a bit of privacy? Now that Trent knew he clearly had his daughter’s approval?

  “I don’t know where she gets it from,” he whispered back. He sat so close their hips pressed right up against each other. It would have been so easy for her to rest a head on his shoulder, for him to wrap an arm around her and pull her closer.

  Olivia giggled again from outside the fairy house.

  “If I hadn’t helped her build this earlier, I’d think she had spy cameras set up in here,” Amy joked. She craved what came next, but she also feared it. Once they kissed, once they had the relationship talk, there’d be no more going back, no more changing her mind. If she kept the focus on Olivia, kept making jokes, then maybe . . . maybe she could put it off a little longer.

  “Well, I wouldn’t put it past her.”

  They shared a laugh; then Trent walked his fingers across the pillows until he found Amy’s hand. “Thank you for coming,” he whispered, leaning in close to her ear to make sure the words couldn’t be overhead.

  His fingers wedged between hers, and Amy felt Trent’s pulse pounding every bit as wildly as hers.

  She wanted it so badly, wanted him. That was the scary part.

  “Why do you think she went through all this trouble?” Amy whispered. Her lip accidentally brushed up against his earlobe, and their breaths grew heavier.

  Trent didn’t say anything for a long time, then slowly turned his face toward hers. “Because we say what we need, no apologies. This time, I didn’t say it, but somehow she knew, anyway.”

  Their faces hung so close that each syllable Trent spoke caressed her cheek with new warmth.

  “What did she know?” Amy asked, taking a moment to swallow back the last of her hesitation.

  Trent’s smile grew and he released a shaky breath; then he lifted his hand to the side of Amy’s face, letting his fingers get lost in her hair.

  “What do you need?” she whispered—feeling scared, excited, and everything in between.

  Trent laughed softly, then pulled her face to his. Their lips met in a tender moment of passion that spoke more than words ever could.

  This.

  This was what had been missing the whole time.

  Trent. Amy. Together.

  Not speaking,just feeling. So much feeling.

  Trent pulled back less than an inch. “You, Amy. I need you,” he mumbled; then his lips found hers again.

  Chapter 39

  Amy and Trent stole several more kisses before the movie was through. When they climbed out of their private fairy house made of blankets, they found themselves completely alone in the living room.

  “Where’d Liv go?” Amy asked, scanning the entire lower level, but spotting neither girl nor retriever nor hound.

  “I’ll go find her,” Trent said, taking one more kiss before he jogged up the stairs.

  “I’ll start the tea!” Amy called after him. Since they’d already begun to recreate their first night together, they might as well go all out.

  She made quick work of tending to the kettle, then lifted a trembling hand to her lips and smiled. Trent’s lips had just been there, claiming them as their own, offering his in return, saying what he needed without any apologies.

  How had she almost walked out on him?

  She’d had relationships before, had crushes, but none had ever felt like this. Maybe because of their shared grief or maybe because they both needed someone to understand. Whatever the case, something in them aligned so perfectly, it almost felt as if they were custom-made for each other.

  How could this be? And why now?

  Trent returned and wrapped his arms around Amy’s waist from behind, pressing his face against hers with a sigh. “I guess sometimes it takes a child to see the things we’re too grown up to admit,” he mumbled, taking a step back and then twirling her to face him.

  “Is everything all right?” Amy asked as Trent pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “She’s in her room reading with both dogs. Apparently, they left quite a while ago.” He swayed with her in his arms, their hearts thrumming the beat.

  Amy chuckled and laid her head against his chest. “And we had no idea,” she murmured into the soft fabric of his T-shirt.

  Trent hummed a tune and for a moment they just swayed.

  “She admitted it, by the way,” he told her. “That she set us up. She’s been planning it all week. Some of her friends from school were even in on it, too.”

  Amy probably should have been embarrassed that multiple students had now inserted themselves in her love life, but at the moment she was just too deliriously happy to care. When tomorrow came, things might look different, but for now, she was all too happy to bask in the blissful glow of Trent’s eyes as they shone just for her.

  The tea kettle whistled, and Trent reluctantly let her go so that he could finish preparing their drinks. “There’s something I want you to know,” he said, dunking a tea bag into each cup.

  Amy held the warm mug between her hands and leaned back against the counter while she waited.

  “I’m getting help,” he informed her, coming to lean beside her. “I know how much it’s helped you to have your friends for support, so I signed up for a grief support group of my own. It’s hard to find time to go in person with my work schedule and Liv, but I’ve been attending online three times a week.”

  No wonder everything felt different now, as if it could really happen between them. He’d said that he would put in the work to heal, to be ready for whatever might happen for them. And he had.

  Pride swelled in Amy’s chest. She was proud of him and honored that he had taken this step, in part for her. “Wow, that’s great. Do you think it’s helping?”

  Trent nodded thoughtfully. “They’ve all been really great. They’re helping me see Julie’s and my relationship for all the things it was as well as the things it wasn’t. I even have some assigned reading, just like back when I was in school.”

  Amy smiled over at him. She wondered if he had any of the same books Nichole had lent her, if he had the one that talked about changing your heart to change your life, if that sentiment resonated with him the way it did her.

  “I’m really happy to hear that,” she said, smiling over at him. She loved everything about this day, about this moment here with Trent. “I’m glad you’re getting help. No one should have to struggle through this kind of thing alone.”

  He glanced down into his mug as if his entire future were written in the dark, swirling liquid. “That’s the thing. They told me it’s best to avoid any new relationships while I’m doing so much work on myself.”

  “Oh.” Amy closed her eyes, so she wouldn’t have to see the look on his face as he broke her heart. He’d just wanted one evening with her, but he wasn’t ready for more. Of course, of course. She should have known, never should have come, agreed to stay.

  “But, Amy,” he continued quickly, reaching over to take one of her hands. “We already tried that, and I’m miserable without you.”

  “So where does that leave us?” she asked, trying hard to keep her heart from breaking as she opened her eyes and took in his drawn expression.

  “I wish I knew what was right,” Trent admitted with a sigh. “But I just can’t let you go. Not again.”

  Amy took a sip of her tea and forced herself to focus on the light, earthy flavor. “Do you remember what our rule is? At the Sunday Potluck Club?” she asked.

  Trent shook his head. What was going on in his head? Was he still trying to find a way to let her down gently? Or, had they moved past that now?

  “Everyone grieves in their own way, and it’s up to each of us to respect that.” She paused to let her words sink in. “I kno
w the support group is there to help you and they all have a wealth of experience, but only you know what’s in your heart. If you need time to think things over, I understand.”

  He growled in frustration, then pivoted to stand before her. “I’ve already had time. Too much time. I don’t like how many days passed without hearing from you, without seeing you. I tried not to feel it anymore, I swear. But no matter what I did, what I felt for you just wouldn’t go away.”

  “It was like that for me, too,” she admitted—still nervous, still waiting.

  “I don’t know why or how this happened so fast, but the fact is it did happen. I am over the moon crazy for you, Amy Shannon, and I can’t just ignore that. Especially if you feel it, too.”

  She bit her lip and nodded, waited some more.

  He groaned and raked his hands through his hair. “I also don’t want to be stupid about this. You know what they say, only fools rush in and all that. I don’t want to move so fast that we skip the important parts of getting to know each other, of building a solid relationship.”

  Amy set her tea on the counter, then grabbed Trent’s and did the same. “You want to take things slow,” she said, standing a bit straighter now that she understood what he was asking, what he needed.

  Trent studied her with an apologetic expression. “What do you say? Slow and steady wins the race?” he asked with an adorable little shrug.

  “I like that,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a slow, languorous kiss. Just as he’d requested.

  “Mmm, I like it, too,” Trent said, and they both laughed softly.

  “So, what now?” she asked, running her fingers over his shoulders as he held her close.

  “One day at a time,” Trent told her with a smile that spoke to her very soul. “One beautiful day at a time.”

  Chapter 40

  For spring break, Trent took Olivia to Washington, where they would both spend the week with her maternal grandparents. He and Amy texted or talked every day while he was away, but both agreed the forced separation worked well as part of their plan to take their relationship slowly.

  Trent had already arranged for Jet to stay at Anchorage’s best doggie daycare facility. Otherwise, Amy would have eagerly taken the sweet Lab in, especially now that she knew he and Darwin got along so well.

  Amy did spend a few hours volunteering at the shelter with Bridget that week, but mostly she enjoyed snuggling up with a few good books and a couple very cuddly animals.

  I miss you, Trent texted more than once.

  And she missed him, too, but not the way she had before. Now she wasn’t depriving herself. She knew she’d see him again, that he felt all the same things that filled her own heart.

  “Was it like this for you and Keith in the beginning, too?” she asked Hazel one night when her friend stopped by to help plan April’s classroom theme. Needless to say, there were lots of umbrellas, galoshes, and storm clouds involved.

  “Like what?” Hazel asked, bunching giant balls of cotton together as she worked.

  “Good question,” Amy answered with a giggle. What she had with Trent was bigger than words, it was almost like . . . “Magic,” she told her friend with wide, dancing eyes.

  “Well, I don’t think I ever used that particular word,” Hazel said with a shrug. “But, yeah, kind of. I guess the magical part was how quickly he just felt like family. Dad felt it, too.”

  “I wish Mom could have met Trent,” Amy mumbled as she mixed paints together on a paper plate. That was the one part she would have changed if she could, that her mother hadn’t gotten the chance to know someone who was quickly becoming very important to her.

  Hazel set down her cotton batting and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. She smiled, but not in her usual confident way. “Well, I’ve met him, and I think he’s really good for you.”

  “Do you still remember him after all this time?” Amy asked. Her friend was saying all the right things, but her demeanor felt strange.

  Hazel grabbed some white yarn and began to wrap it around the cotton to form the classic shape of a cloud. “Well, I met him twice, remember? Once volunteering and then again at Bridget’s event.”

  Amy nodded, though that period was a bit fuzzy for her. There were now two epochs—the time with Trent and the time without. “We’re taking it slow,” she revealed. It felt good to say that aloud, as if it made her relationship with Trent much more official now that she could speak about it freely with a friend.

  Hazel nodded but kept her eyes and hands busy with the craft that took up the better part of Amy’s kitchen table. “Probably a good idea. For him, especially.”

  Pick us up from the airport Sunday? Trent texted just then. I have a special surprise for you.

  Amy let out an excited squeal, causing Hazel to shake her head and laugh. “You, my dear, are smitten.”

  I’ll be there, she messaged back, then jammed her phone under her thigh so Hazel couldn’t peek at the screen.

  “You’re ridiculous,” Hazel said, throwing her giant cotton ball at Amy’s chest. “But I like this Amy.”

  “I do, too.” Amy giggled and launched the cotton back toward Hazel. “She’s fun.”

  “And looking to the future instead of the past,” Hazel added, her mood sober once more.

  There was one part of the conversation Amy still wanted to discuss more. She needed to know for sure. “You really think Mom would have liked him?” she squeaked.

  “I know she would have for the same reasons I do. Trent’s a good man, but more than that, she loved seeing you happy.”

  They continued to work side by side to bring Hazel’s vision to life. Amy was in charge of painting fat, little raindrops onto several huge canvases that Hazel would later turn into a massive calendar for the back wall of the classroom.

  “Have you thought much about whether you’re ready to be a mom?” Hazel asked idly later that evening. Her tone remained light, even though she’d just dropped the heaviest thing imaginable into Amy’s lap.

  “Taking it slow, remember?” Amy pointed out with a forced laugh.

  “I know,” Hazel said, emphasizing each word forcefully. “But there are already three of you in that relationship. It’s something you need to consider sooner than later.”

  Amy swallowed hard. Yes, of course, she’d have to consider the fact she might eventually become Olivia’s stepmom, but it was way, way too early for that. Why did Hazel insist on pushing the issue so hard?

  She smiled sweetly, hoping it would put an end to this sudden interrogation. “I will, but we’re definitely not there yet.”

  “Just.” Hazel clenched her hands, then loosened them again and dropped them into her lap. “Just don’t use taking it slow as an excuse to take it nowhere. Know what I mean? Especially not when there’s a kid involved.” Hazel turned her face away, but not before Amy caught sight of the tears welling in her eyes.

  “Hey, hey, hey. Is this about me and Trent, or about you and Keith?”

  Hazel shrugged and kept her face turned away. No wonder she’d insisted on doing this project tonight, even though they were still a couple of weeks away from April. No wonder she’d acted so different ever since she’d arrived.

  “Hazel? What’s wrong?” Amy begged her friend to confide in her. “Did something happen with Keith?”

  Hazel turned back to Amy with an absolutely dejected expression on her pinched face. “He asked me to marry him.”

  Amy wanted to jump up and holler for joy, but she sensed that was not the right reaction here. “That’s wonderful,” she said slowly, hoping her friend saw it that way, too. “Congratulations?”

  “I said no,” Hazel revealed, then burst into tears.

  “What, Hazel? Why? You’re crazy about Keith, and he’s crazy about you.”

  She fell into Amy’s arms and cried into her shoulder. “I am. He is. We are, but . . .” She stopped and sniffed. “I thought I was used to my dad being gone, but as s
oon as Keith popped the question, I just kept thinking that I’d have no one to walk me down the aisle. It’s supposed to be my dad. He’s supposed to be there.”

  “Aww, Haze.” Amy didn’t know what else to say. Hazel was the strong one. She was the one who’d gotten all better, who no longer let grief rule her life.

  “I know it’s stupid, and now I’m worried I’ve ruined what was supposed to be this perfect moment. What if Keith doesn’t ask me again? What if he doesn’t want to marry me anymore?”

  “No, no, no, no,” Amy said like a soothing chant. “He loves you more than anything, and I’m sure he understands. Have you told him what you’re going through and why it’s hard?”

  Hazel shook her head and sniffed again. “I haven’t told anyone but you.”

  “But why? Hazel, this isn’t like you. You’re always so open and confident. You don’t need to hide your feelings from Keith.”

  “I guess I just keep hoping that if I hide them long enough, they’ll eventually go away.”

  “Girl, I’ve been there. I’ve been there a lot. C’mere.” Amy opened her arms back up to Hazel and held her as she shook and cried.

  “You know,” Amy said a while later as she stroked her friend’s hair in an almost maternal fashion. “If you really want to marry Keith—and I think you do—you could always ask him.”

  Hazel sniffed again, then pulled back to smile at Amy. “Now there’s an idea,” she said; then they both went back to work.

  Chapter 41

  For the rest of that week, Amy tried to get Trent to share the surprise he had planned for when she picked him and Olivia up at the airport. He, however, steadfastly refused to share even the slightest hint.

  We’ll be together soon enough, he’d promised, and Amy found herself smiling like a lovesick fool.

  Now the big reveal was almost here, and Amy couldn’t wait to find out what would be waiting for her when they returned. She plucked her mother’s pearl earrings from her jewelry tray and gently pressed them into her ears. She’d even bought a new dress just for this occasion. Instead of the usual bright, bold patterns she picked out with her students in mind, she wore a delicate pink party dress trimmed in lace. She’d picked it because it reminded her of her mother’s pink pearls. It also made her feel feminine, beautiful, and above all, as if her mother would be with her for whatever happened next.